#Shining (Sega Series)

[posthumanwanderings]

Shining Force III Scenario 1 (Camelot Software Planning - Sega Saturn - 1997)

[annon-guy2]

SEGA Saturn Collection Game Volume Three - Voting Poll

Note 1: Puyo Puyo and Madō Monogatari were owned by Compile until SEGA bought the rights, so it is now a SEGA owned IP.

Note 2: Atlus Games is now a subsidiary of SEGA, so Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is included here.

Note 3: Even if you hadn't played the game yet, you can still vote for that option if it appeals or interests you.

[devileater2]

[scarletpath]

Shining Force and Shining Force 2 were my Baldur's Gate 3 when I was younger. I went back to play a bit of it and it still is an amazing game.

It's set in a fantasy world (With a little Sci-Fi sprinkled in). It's a mix of tactical and turn base. You can choose your companions to use. You can find and gain new ones as you progress. Each character is unique and has their own strengths and weaknesses. The music is just epic and the story telling is just perfect.

There are Centaurs, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Birdmen, a Wolfman, Monster kind and a unique race called Kyantol that are just a doglike elves. (AND SO MUCH MORE!)

(Look at this precious Wererat thief, Slade)

So if you don't mind playing a retro game, I HIGHLY recommend playing these games. I'm pretty sure there are emulators out there and Steam has a Sega Geneses emulator and you can buy the games.

[d-a-l-3-k-s]

Continuations

[doamarierose-honoka]

Yoshitaka Tamaki, the artist and character designer behind Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force, Landstalker and many other classic titles, passed away earlier this year, it has been revealed.

Tamaki passed away on July 13th following a battle with lung cancer. He was just 55 years old. A private service was held in his memory today.

Having initially worked as a freelance artist for Enix, Tamaki would join Hiroyuki Takahashi at the newly-formed Climax Entertainment to create Shining in the Darkness on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. While he is most famous for the art and character designs he produced, Tamaki would also contribute to story and scenario writing on several titles he worked on.

As well as working on the Shining series and the seminal action adventure Landstalker, Tamaki would also work on FEDA: The Emblem of Justice (Super Famicom), Lady Stalker (Super Famicom), FEDA Remake!: The Emblem of Justice (Saturn), Alundra (Playstation), Time Stalkers (Dreamcast), Shining Soul (GBA), Shining Soul II (GBA) and Shining Force Neo (PS2). He is also credited on Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon, a GBA remake of the original game.

Back in 2018, fellow Climax / Camelot Software Planning artist Hiroshi Kajiyama, who also worked on the Shining series, passed away.

[z2z-gaming-and-random-art-ai]

Console Strategy Tactics Games of 1993 - Shining Force II

Shining Force II is the fourth entry in the Shining Force series of Strategy Tactics RPG's and a part of the wider Shining universe which last received a release in 2018. 

Shining Force II was developed by Sonic Co and published by Sega and was an exclusive release to the Sega Genesis. Shining Force II released first in Japan in 1993 with a US releasing following in 1994, this exclusivity would last until 2008 when the game would be ported to the Wii. A PC release of the game would follow, and in 2022 the game was released for the Nintendo Switch. 

1. Intro 00:00 

2. Games Intro 00:15 

3. Gameplay 07:52 

4. Outro 10:57 

YouTube (Gaming & AI Art)

https://www.youtube.com/@Zero2Zed

Twitter (Gaming & AI Art) 

https://twitter.com/zero2zedGaming Or follow me on 

Instagram (AI Art) 

https://www.instagram.com/random_art_ai/ 

For more strategy tactics game videos check out the playlists below 

Console Strategy Tactics Games of 1993 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CF8WnopSCYYJuc5yovptH7D

[claire-starsword]

finally found an upload of the arrangement cd, this song is such a banger

[thankskenpenders]

IDW's Fang the Hunter miniseries! All four issues are out now! I don't have as much to say about it as I did with the Knuckles show, but I do have some thoughts.

So! This is a pretty fun miniseries. I liked it.

It's fun to see Ian get to write a four-issue arc starring the Hooligans, his precious boys, with a B-plot showing Sonic and Tails' perspective on this little adventure. As always, Ian captures the characters' voices well. In particular, I really liked Bean in this, who despite being a slapstick screwball is actually a pretty perceptive guy. He often acts as sort of a voice of reason for Fang, seeing right through his sweet talking and pointing out how badly all of their schemes go but sticking around nonetheless just for funsies. And the art (illustrated this time by Mauro Fonseca for the first issue and Thomas Rothlisberger for the rest) is as good as we've come to expect from IDW's Classic Sonic output. Overall, this is a fun little romp that captures the vibes of the Classic era very well.

...But...

Well, as I've said before with the Amy and Tails anniversary specials, I feel like we're kind of seeing diminishing returns with these Classic spinoffs. They're fun, sure, and very nice to look at, but their writing always leave me wanting more.

A big part of this is just that there's just less to work with compared to the Modern universe. The Classic cast is much smaller, and within that cast there are a bunch of characters currently going unused, some of which are currently off-limits. Aside from the appearance of the Witchcarters in Tails' special, we've pretty much just stuck with the cast of Sonic Mania and the Hooligans, as established in the first special. No Chaotix, no Battle Bird Armada, barely any Honey. (Classic Vector was able to get a tiny cameo in the Amy special only because he was so obscured that it gave the IDW team plausible deniability to say it was actually a different character if Sega complained.) It's a very small box, and Ian's recent Classic comics haven't particularly expanded the boundaries of that box. They're just excuses to play the hits for old times' sake. And that was a lot of fun the first time around, but the novelty is starting to wear off for me.

I will admit, sure, the tighter focus on a specific set of characters from the games is a big part of the appeal of these Classic comics. They're simpler. They're nostalgic. They're shining the spotlight on characters that can't be used in the main series. They're the slavishly faithful old school Sonic comics that we could never get in the '90s, because the comics we did get diverged into their own continuities with tons of new characters. I get all that.

But the thing is, the Sonic comics have always added all those new characters because you can just do so much more with them. The game cast is great! But they're corporate mascots Sega keeps on a tight leash. You can do so much with a character like Sally or Surge that you could never do with any of the game characters, and by pushing into new territory with these new characters you can also bring out interesting new sides of the game cast. Maybe Sonic himself can't have some crazy complex character arc, but you can see how he'll respond to the things going on with these other characters, and how these other characters' arcs are informed by their relationships with Sonic.

So I look at the Fang miniseries, and I'm like. This was pretty fun. But by the end, what was the point of the story? What did we learn about the Hooligans as characters that we didn't already know? Is the point just to depict an adventure where things go off the rails a little and Bean and Bark end up a little miffed, explaining why they weren't with Fang in Superstars? There's potential for an arc there about the dissolution of the group, but it really does come off more as the type of spat these three probably get into all the time before coming back together for the next job. It's neither super dramatic nor super funny, feeling more like it ends on a fairly matter-of-fact note where Fang's like "welp, time to go do the events of Sonic Superstars" at the end, not particularly plussed by anything that happened in this arc. What we're left with is four issues of the Hooligans encountering recognizable characters and visiting recognizable locations from the Classic games, with little that really feels new or fresh here.

Ironically, the most interesting story element to me here (aside from Bean's characterization) is its tie to the main comics, something previous specials couldn't do since Sega had yet to reunify the Classic and Modern timelines. The plot of this comic revolves around Fang following the myth of the "eighth Chaos Emerald," riffing on both old playground rumors and Sonic the Fighters. What they actually end up finding isn't an extra Emerald, but rather the Warp Topaz that would eventually end up in Starline's possession in the Modern era, having apparently been found by the Hard-Boiled Heavies in the cave seen in the 900th Adventure special.

That's kinda neat, and the abilities of the Warp Topaz are used in fun ways. But this isn't exactly something to write home about for people who aren't lore nerds like me. There isn't a particularly meaningful connection between Fang and Starline's arcs here due to the presence of the Warp Topaz, it's just a thing for the wiki. Again, Ian's in his connect the dots mode a little more than I'd like here.

(...So wait, if Starline didn't find the Warp Topaz himself, did he track down the cave where the Heavies found it to leave that "greatness began here" graffiti? Eh, I guess that sounds like something he'd do. He's known for nothing if not his obsessiveness.)

So, again. This was a pretty good miniseries. This all makes it sound like I hated it, but I did like it overall. I particularly liked seeing the Hooligans fight the Hard-Boiled Heavies. But it leaves me feeling less fulfilled than something like Scrapnik Island or Tangle & Whisper or Imposter Syndrome. I get that, by the very definition of the word, Classic Sonic is always going to remain trapped in amber to some extent. This isn't the version of the franchise that's supposed to grow and change. That's what Modern Sonic does. Classic Sonic will always be trapped in the early '90s. I'm not asking for them to add a dozen new characters with complex dramatic arcs to the Classic comics, since that's not what Classic Sonic is about. But I think the other Classic Sonic stories not written by Ian - i.e. the driving school story by the McElroys and the two stories about Amy by Gale Galligan - show that you can tell fresh new Classic Sonic stories that aren't just about remixing the hits from the games.

If we're going to continue getting Classic Sonic comics from Ian (and I hope we do!), then I just hope he's able to find a better balance between familiar and new ideas, like he and Evan do so consistently with their Modern Sonic output.

[icekingofhope]

(Enjoy this meme here-)

so the Sonic 3 trailer is out and I decided to go on and make a silly post and a small announcement

I have decided after much debate I will start officially making sonic art NOW KNOW I am new at drawing the sonic artstyle so the characters may look like something out of the shining or something cause I’m getting used to drawing them I done the same with the lmk style until I perfected it

Anyways I decided to ramble my thoughts on the trailer and why I love Sonic

now I am a sonic veteran I have drawn sonic before but when I was way younger but Sonic has stuck by me I remember back in the 2000s I used to watch sonic underground a lot on Netflix that’s how long ago it was I always loved sonic I loved the video games even own some sonic games myself!

my first one was sonic unleashed one of my favorite games I always loved and still love to this day the time where he was a werehog and sometimes I even wish he can go back to werehog sonic and plus it introduced me one of my comfort songs endless possibilities

I got way more into Sonic thanks to the anime Sonic X I didn’t watch the whole series cause it started to get weird but it was how I was introduced to shadow one of my favorite characters

I remember I was so intrigued I tried to find other content and then I found YouTuber named animebromii (who unfortunately is a…well piece of shit to sum it up he was one of those found out to get to close to kids type of YouTubers category but that was found out right after I stopped watching him) I remember his Sonic videos always made me filled with joy and made me love the characters more

although I stop getting into Sonic as fans started to get a little to weird for my taste and such and Sega didn’t know what the fuck they were doing

what rekindle my love for Sonic was well the Sonic movies and as I watch I remembered the joy I had for it and started to slowly get into Sonic again and explore more of it due to being more mature and such I turned out to have well a lot of unpopular opinion that I know will have a mob of angry Sonic fans chasing me with pitchforks

Just Some headcanons and ships I don’t agree on and such even some dislike on how Sega is going about like trying to make sonamy now NOTE I don’t mind sonamy hell as a kid I was one of the people who ship it or more specifically the werehog sonic x Amy (i saw so many AMVs and one of those story shits….you have no idea how much of a huge werehog sonic fan I was) but the reason it makes me uncomfortable cause I found out Sega have gave the group canon ages at one point….

which where Amy is 12 and sonic is 15 NOW I don’t know if this is true I haven’t seen proof and out of all honestly I personally think the ages shouldn’t have been confirmed cause well it feels like to me it fucks up the lore and a lot of ships people love and you could have your own headcanons and such for their ages and to me Sonic doesn’t feel like he is 15 to me like hell when I was younger I thought he was ALEAST 18 or 16

There is only few ships I feel comfortable with that is Elise x sonic and sonia x knuckles

now admittedly yes I maybe not the biggest Sonic fan I haven’t read any of the comics i haven’t played all the games hell sometimes I don’t know half of the characters sometimes but still I love Sonic with all my heart and I hope you guys enjoy this little adventure of mine of Sonic the hedgehog

[kdinjenzen]

just saw your post about how Golden Sun is on the switch now. would you be cool with telling us more about it?

(i struggle to get into media that is new to me without knowing a bit about it first, and it's usually best when i hear it from someone who loves the media in question)

Golden Sun began as a two-part Game Boy Advance JRPG series starting with 2001's "Golden Sun" and ending the first arc with "Golden Sun: The Lost Age" in 2002. The second arc of the story began with "Golden Sun: Dark Dawn" on the Nintendo DS released in 2010 and is the last title in the series to this date with an unfortunate "The End?" cliffhanger suggesting the closure of the series as a whole would come with a FOURTH game to be released at some point in time. To this day there has been no true word on a fourth title to finally finish the series.

The Golden Sun series of games were developed by Camelot Software whom originally were a Sega Only Developer specifically focusing on the "Shining" series starting with Shining in the Darkness in 1991 and ending with Shining Force III in 1998.

Camelot Software then became a Second-Party Development Studio for Nintendo focusing on the Mario Sports series of titles including both the home console and handheld versions of these games, beginning with Mario Golf in 1999.

Camelot Software was also the creator of the Waluigi character who first appeared in Mario Tennis in 2000. (They also created both the UNSEEN version and now KNOWN versions of Wapeach for Mario Tennis and Power Tennis respectively.)

The game series was created with the intent of allowing Camelot to get back to their roots or more RPG style games and to bolster the Nintendo IP owned roster with diverse gameplay titles. Much of Golden Sun's style can be seen in Camelot's older "Shining" titles with a more evolved and "of the era" style. Golden Sun was originally being conceived as a Nintendo 64 title before it was revealed that the Game Cube would be releasing soon and the N64 would be sunset. Development then moved to the GBA.

Originally Golden Sun and The Lost Age were intended to be ONE GAME, but the cartridge space on the GBA was too small and would need far more memory to whole the full game so the idea to split it in two was devised to create a much more well rounded story, give devs more time to finish the latter half of the game, and get the first title out sooner.

Golden Sun (as a series) is fairly simple and follows more traditional JRPG standards of turn based battles, a party of four characters, elemental magic, leveling up, and various collectable armors and creatures to enhance characters in and out of battle.

Elements are a key point to both gameplay and story as the world is inhabited by a small amount of "Adepts" whom can control these elements based on four types: Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water.

Djinni, small elemental creatures, can be found all over the world that will add new abilities and skills to the party's Psynergy (the game equivalent of magic spells) as well as used as parts of larger summons.

The main plot of the first title follows Isaac and Garet, years after the tragic loss of Isaac's father and their mutual friend Jenna's brother and parents being killed in a storm, as they learn more about their town, the world around them, psynergy, and the history of Mt Aleph's Sol Sanctum (a temple hidden within mountain near their small village) from one of the village's historians Kraden.

After opening up Sol Sanctum they are approached by two people who were part of the cause that ended up taking the lives of Isaac's dad and Jenna's family, a third masked figure, and their presumed fourth partner who are currently hunting for the Elemental Stars in an effort to light all the Elemental Lighthouses and releasing the power of Alchemy and Psynergy (again, the game's magic system) across the world which could be potentially disastrous.

After most of the Elemental Stars are stolen, Jenna and their teacher Kraden are kidnapped, Garet and Isaac meet "The Wise One" (a giant floating rock with an eyeball) who tasks them to stop the opposing party of four before they can attain their goal and quite possibly doom the world.

Along this journey they are eventually joined by Ivan, a young Wind Adept, and Mia an expert healer and Water Adept. Between these two and Isaac, an Earth Adept, and Garet, a Fire Adept, the party is able to round out with the full elemental psynergy roster.

They end the first game with a cliff hanger that directly and immediately starts back up with Golden Sun: The Lost Age.

The Lost Age features 4 new party members, who you do meet some of in the first game (no spoilers), and eventually the two teams of four merge into a team of 8 (two of each elemental type) - the groups combine their powers and the first arc ends.

Dark Dawn, the DS title, takes place 30 years after the end of The Lost Age and primarily follows around the children of the protagonists from the first two games going on an adventure that started far before their birth with something that happened at the end of The Lost Age.

Each game features both in and out of combat use of Psynergy. For combat it's as simple as attack/defend/buff/heal/etc. Outside of combat certain elements of Psynergy are used to solve puzzles in various ways from growing plants, pushing large stones, reading character's minds, blowing away objects with great winds, freezing water to create new platforms, etc.

The game features lots of fun collectables, side-quests, world building events, optional dungeons, and more.

I could go on and on about this series more, but that would involve a TON of spoilers so like... GO PLAY THE GAMES! THEY ARE VERY FUN!

[posthumanwanderings]

Shining Force III Scenario 1: Pt.4 (Camelot Software Planning - Sega Saturn - 1997)

[annon-guy2]

SEGA Saturn Collection Game Volume Two - Voting Poll

Note 1: Puyo Puyo and Madō Monogatari were owned by Compile until SEGA bought the rights, so it is now a SEGA owned IP.

Note 2: Atlus Games is now a subsidiary of SEGA, so Devil Summoner is included here.

Note 3: Even if you hadn't played the game yet, you can still vote for that option if it appeals or interests you.

[useless-catalanfacts]

A Catalan verb I love: formiguejar.

It means "to teem" or "to swarm". The verb comes from the word formiga ("ant" 🐜), and it evokes the constant busy movement of ants, up and down all day without stop.

The poet Jacint Verdaguer used this verb in this verse from his poem Plus Ultra:

L’univers és infinit, pertot acaba i comença, i ençà, enllà, amunt i avall, la immensitat és oberta, I a on tu veus lo desert eixams de mons formiguegen.

Here I attempt to translate it to English:

The universe is infinite, it ends and starts everywhere, and since, further up there, up and down, the immensity is open, And there where you see the desert, swarms of worlds teem.

Verdaguer was a master in creating this mental images. In this case, I love how these two lines ("and there where you see the desert / swarms of worlds teem") because the verb is very descriptive of this view, that seems still and quiet to us, but if we were to take a close look, we would see thousands in constant movement, at a minuscule scale maybe, but with no stop.

Find the full poem + English translation under the cut.

Plus Ultra by Jacint Verdaguer.

Original poem in Catalan:

    estello, fai-te clara,       car cerque moun camin.

Allà dellà de l’espai he vist somriure una estrella perduda en lo front del cel com espiga en temps de sega, com al pregon de l’afrau una efímera lluerna. -Estrelleta –jo li he dit-, de la mar cerúlia gemma, de les flors de l’alt verger [heaven] series tu la darrera? -No só la darrera, no; no só més que una llanterna de la porta del jardí que creies tu la frontera. És sols lo començament lo que prenies per terme. L’univers és infinit, pertot acaba i comença, i ençà, enllà, amunt i avall, la immensitat és oberta, I a on tu veus lo desert eixams de mons formiguegen. Dels camins de l’infinit són los mons la polsinera que puja i baixa a sos peus quan Jehovà s’hi passeja.

English:

star, shine bright for I am searching for my path.

Up there, on the other side of space I have seen a star smile lost in the sky's front like a wheat spike in reaping time, like the depths of a canyon an ephemeral torch. "Little star" I have told her, "out of the sea's cerulean gems, out of the flowers of the tall lush [=Heaven] would you be the last one?" "I am not the last one, no; I am nothing more than the lantern at the garden's gate that you believed to be the border. What you took for an end, is only the beginning. The universe is infinite, it ends and starts everywhere, and since, further up there, up and down, the immensity is open, And there where you see the desert swarms of worlds teem. The worlds are the dust of the infinity's paths that are moved up and down at his feet when Jehovah [God] takes a walk in them.

Jacint Verdaguer is one of the most beloved Catalan poets of all times. He lived in the 19th century and was very involved in the Catalan revival movement, defending Catalan folk culture and language. He was also deeply religious and became a Catholic priest since an early age.

The poem Plus Ultra was published after Verdaguer's death in 1903.

[hall0wedwyrm]

Basically, TLDR i saw a fake screenshot on TikTok showing Amy in the Knuckles series and it got me thinking about how she... doesn't quite fit in the movieverse yet...

So here is my long rant about why it would be bad for her to join in Movie 3 and she should be saved for a future installment.

to preface: I DO NOT HATE AMY OR HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST HER. I think shes wonderful and shes literally a main character so shes very important obviously.

First, the elephant in the room. Shadow the Hedgehog. One of, if not THE most, complex character in the Sonic franchise, let alone in the main expanded cast. Having to introduce, and illude to, aspects of Shadow’s backstory (his relationship with Maria and Gerald, The ARK, how he was made, and the fallout) and his future (returning with amnesia in his next appearance, potentially introducing the Black Arms and some of the Heroes and Shad05 story beats that are important who he becomes) in about an hour and a half to 2 hours. I just don’t see how it would be a good idea to introduce a core member of Sonic’s friends into the movie series when she could be introduced later so that Shadow has more of a time to shine, and Amy can too later on.

Historically, Amy’s talk to Shadow to remind him of his promise to Maria has been filled in by another character when the plot called for it. In Sonic X, during its own adaptation of SA2, Chris spoke to Shadow to try and help him remember his real purpose and talk sense into him. While it didn't exactly work out, it shows that this role could be interchangable in SEGA’s eyes. I propose a similar story, using Tom’s niece Jojo. Being a character who is around Maria’s age and doesn’t have a complete character behind her as of now, this could be a more meaningful way for Shadow to realise his purpose and remember his promise. Hearing the words from someone who is like Maria (a young girl who cares about Earth) would be more impactful to him. I can see any human character taking up this role though, but Jojo would be the best candidate, due to her simiarities to Maria.

However, while not introducing another new character could be good for not overcrowding the movie with new arcs and introductions involving them, I could see this working for one character; Rouge the Bat. She was introduced along with Shadow in SA2, which is immediately a good sign, as their plots intertwine with each other. They both work with Eggman, until they turn the focus on saving the world. Rouge is one of Shadow’s closest companions going forward, and has her own arc too. She is the one who frees Shadow in Heroes, and rekindles their friendship there.

Rouge also could connect back to the previous movie. Being a jewel thief at heart, she goes after the Master Emerald, but in Movieverse its destroyed and the Chaos Emeralds are retrieved from it. She is established as being the Rival to Knuckles, and this could help him fill a new purpose on Earth (cos lets be honest… he didn’t really do that in his show-) of becoming a protector of the Chaos Emeralds instead or something. The main part of SA2 is about the Chaos Emeralds so this makes sense. Refinding the Emeralds or going to the right spot to use them and such but thats besides the point.

Another huge loss of introducing Amy in Sonic 3 is missing out on how she was introduced in the franchise. In Sonic CD, she was introduced along side another key character in the franchise; Metal Sonic. She saw a blue hero coming to help her, believing it to be Sonic, but turned out to be Metal instead. Having Amy navigate the trio around and give them the lore would make a lot of sense, given the way that others were introduced in the second installment.

Its also appropriate for this introduction too, since Metal Sonic is the perfect equal to Sonic, compared to Shadow's unintentional equal. After Eggman's failure of using Shadow, creating Metal is the next best thing. Whatever the story is with Metal, whether its faithful to Sonic CD or is twisted to fit the Movieverse story.

Now... I think introducing Amy could also mess up a lot of aspects of what the movieverse has set up for the stories of the characters. I 100% know that they will try and pull off a romance for Sonic and Amy, since its one of her main character arcs and for the longest time and its kind of (??) the main romance of the franchise. BUT according to the Sonic Dream Team character profiles, and the ending of Frontiers, she's drifted away from that interest in him... so to go back to that would be a really weird choice. I know its a different universe, but if SEGA is trying to steer away from that, then why would they go back on it?

PLUS I think it would be a huge detriment to both of their characters. Movie Sonic is much different to the Sonic's of the past, as he has all of the charms of Modern Sonic (his quick wit and charming personality) but hes younger and less experienced and jumps head first without thinking because he doesn't know what to actually do. He was thrown into the role of the hero in the first movie because the place he grew up was being threatened and he refused to run away. Amy being introduced as solely 'the love interest' also does a disservice to her character. She's strong willed, and unafraid to stand up to Eggman and any other wrong doer. She's also rather hot headed but still kind and cares for those who matter. (this is also part of a larger discussion i wrote about how in canon Sonic and Amy wouldn't work out because they want different things and are very different people but thats for a different day and/or if anyone is interested). Sonic immediately switching to a head-over-heels guy would be a complete ruin of his character built up, while also immediately destroying Amy's.

Another problem is that there isn't a focus on romance of any kind in the story so far, and introducing it could mess up what they have going. The Movie's are clearly about familial love and growing up and filling the boots of a hero. It is not a story of romance in any way. The first movie was friendship, the second was about family bonds and making new friends, and the third is most likely about trust or learning to trust again (Shadow has to trust Sonic to save the world). It'll also be a huge moment for Sonic's character; Meeting someone who is not just against him and Knuckles and Tails, but against the world itself, someone who is so hellbent on revenge for the one he lost, and how hes going to over come that WHILE meeting his new love interest... is a huuuuge task to pull off and the two stories don't really mix imo. Plus even in SA2 the extent of the romance is just 'Amy mistaking Shadow for Sonic and then she thinks its awkward and gets embarrassed and thats how they meet for the first time'.

So yeah this could be done much better if it's something thats going to happen, and it would be better left for a 4th or separate installment. Having a mini romance arc along with the Metal Sonic stuff works better because the introduction of a potential romance was worked more into Sonic CD than anything.

Im still gonna be pissed off if they do a romance, because Sonic the Hedgehog has never been about romance... but its also a multimillion kids film franchise and its bound to happen, especially when its the main male and main female character. Just know i won't enjoy it lol.

IF they do Amy... I want tarot cards AND the Piko Piko Hammer and if you take either of them away i will be causing problems (on purpose). If you give her the original outfit +11 points and if you make up an outfit whatever as long as it works and its cute (I'm partial to Dungarees myself).

anyway yeah id like to see other opinions on this... maybe some other ways it could work out? or how else she could be introduced? or maybe even of she could be in Sonic 3 but idk what they would do for her to make her not get sidelined or overtake the plot...?

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Mega CD - ARCUS I-II-III

Title: ARCUS I-II-III / アークス I・II・III

Developer/Publisher: Wolf Team

Release date: 23 July 1993

Catalogue No.: T-32094

Genre: RPG

Those of you who played Arcus II: Silent Symphony already know about half-elf Pikt's epic battle against the demon lord Warren. Due to poor game design, the combat itself wasn't particularly special. However, the emotion behind the battle was unforgettable. On one side, a naive orphan crossed oceans and endured persecution to honor the memory of a father he never knew. On the other side, an indomitable miscreant fought to bring carnage, chaos, and justice to the world that screwed him over.

In Arcus I-II-III, Pikt's emotional confrontation against Warren is even more powerful than before. It's hard to shake the image of the blue-skinned demon's twisted face, laughing at Pikt from within a bed of flames. Victory in defeat — it's a bittersweet finale.

Most of you wouldn't know anything about that. You see, by mid-1993, time had already passed Wolf Team by. Their parent company, Telenet, was hemorrhaging millions of yen and losing talented staff members by the month. Projects were quietly canceled or quickly rushed to production to plug bleeding wounds. Telenet's collapse crippled Annet Again (Anetto Futatabi in Japan). It killed Apros: Castle in the Sky. The Mega CD dream was over.

But somehow, Arcus 1-2-3, a revamped compilation of Wolf Team's entire RPG series, survived. Bumped from March to May and then to July, delayed to the brink of death, this CD finally saw commercial release (albeit in miniscule numbers). The game shines with love and care, as though the Sega side of Wolf Team knew this would be their eulogy. Unfortunately, judging by the lack of internet reviews (I found one in Japanese), it has been forgotten.

Similar to the Turbo Duo's well-known classic Ys Book 1 & 2 (Ys I-II), the Arcus games must be played in sequential order. Each of the three episodes stands alone as its own complete dungeon crawler (lasting 20 to 40 hours apiece), but they do build upon each other with progressively more complex dungeons, more challenging puzzles, and more dangerous creatures.

It all begins with an exciting vocal song about Jesus! After that... unusual... introduction, the real story begins with a young knight-in-training, as many stories do. This particular knight is named Jedah Chaff. He soon meets a friendly thief named Toron and a drunken female mercenary named Erin. Fans of Arcus Odyssey take note — you've seen some of these characters before! Each has their own unique and useful specialty; Jedah wields a mighty sword, Erin's chain-dagger can slice through an entire group of goblins, Toron is an expert at disarming poison gas traps (or hiding like a cowardly hobbit), wizards and sorceresses cast powerful and decently-animated spells, archers can pick off enemies at any range, and Pikt... well, 12-year-old Pikt summons the spirits of nature. As in The Bard's Tale, summoned dragons, golems, or Arabian spirits temporarily join the party and behave like additional characters.

Their first quest is to find and appease the golden dragon "Rig Veda". Wolf Team often waxes philosophical in their games, and Arcus is no exception. This time around, they've crafted a story about the evils of war: the golden dragon sits in judgment of the world, and it's up to the heroes to prove humanity's worth. Although the concept isn't entirely original, it makes for an unusually reflective journey that often seems more concerned with exploring the nature of humanity than with saving the world.

Although several of the visual scenes focus on action-packed swordfights, others instead highlight quiet, introspective moments. Imagine a beautiful midnight atop the magical tower of Miryuu: a clear, comfortable night of relaxation spent admiring the twinkling stars... You'd have to be a heartless beast to not be moved by the way Erin tells her story, to not notice the lingering nuances of her voice that betray the disdain she feels for the way she used to live.

Life never stays quiet for long, and this is no exception — Jedah and Erin are about to be interrupted by their blonde Bishounen archenemy! The original PC version of Arcus, released way back in 1988, lacked a compelling "villain" character. Sure, the golden dragon is lurking somewhere in the world, but Rig Veda represents an idea more than he represents a strong, tangible GUY TO HATE. For this compilation, Wolf Team has actually inserted the third chapter's villain into the first two episodes. So, during Erin and Jedah's quiet conversation, a familiar villain from Wolf Team's past appears in a red swirl of mist and unabashedly announces his presence. Luan Khan!

It's nice to see a villain who's not afraid to tell the heroes his name. It's also nice to see a villain who's introduced early in the game, instead of during the last ten minutes.

He's quickly fought off by the group's combined efforts... but he'll appear again, and again, and again. Luan Khan's looming presence throughout the entire disc is a brilliant addition that gives the first chapter a stronger sense of purpose, adds unpredictable suspense (since you never know when he'll appear), and builds anticipation for the game's final battle. Khan is an expert swordsman, but his dark sorcery can twist the hearts of friends and force companions to turn against each other. Across the game's 13 years, from initial hero Jedah to final hero Pikt, Luan Khan is the glue that holds it all together.

Why Arcus 1-2-3 succeeds is that even though its story is deep, insightful, and engaging, it never forgets that it's a game. Even the combat becomes progressively more involved, to the point where random encounters require frequent healing and careful spell selection. Aside from some interesting visual effects, the battles aren't so much graphically impressive as they are mentally engaging. Along with the aforementioned spell management, each character is also able to "encourage" other party members (with actual voices!), which raises their level of willpower (which increases magical effectiveness). Whether it's adult Pikt curtly telling love interest Suu to "hang in there" or the minuscule fairy Ruu-Shan chattering away endlessly, this feature gives battles a unique sense of camaraderie that's missing from most dungeon crawlers. Each character has several different messages, depending on who they're trying to inspire.

As you defeat enemies in battle and gain levels, each character undergoes a complex series of promotions. At level ten, Pikt can become either a knight or a spirited fighter; if you choose "knight", he might later become a warlord or paladin... but if you choose "spirit fighter", he's walking the path toward elementalist or summoner. Each new promotion affects vital statistics, spell selections, and even the weapons that a character can use. This allows for a lot of experimentation. I know I'll be playing the game again, and I'm eager to see how my choices affect character development the next time through.

After exploring over three dozen dungeons, and defeating mad kings, demonic armies, and even close friends, everything ends with an immensely satisfying (and difficult) finale that makes a poignant statement about taking responsibility for those you love. It also ties every loose end together in a convincing and surprising way. There are revelations that I never saw coming, revelations that fill plot holes that most games wouldn't even acknowledge. How did Luan Khan get hold of the mystical sword "Bloody Rose"? The last time we saw that blade, it was in the hands of that crazed devil Warren...

Play Arcus 1-2-3 to the end and you'll find the answer. You'll also find a deep and complex series of dungeons, a legendary soundtrack, an intricate system of character advancement, humorous dialogue, serious discussions, and a story that actually means something.

Wolf Team could have simply ported the PC versions to disc. They could have just slopped all three chapters together and said, "here's your compilation". But instead, they reworked and re-tooled three disconnected adventures to create a unified, meaningful whole. Someday, I'll search the internet again. I hope that instead of one review, I'll find a hundred. Then, I'll know that I'm not alone; I'll know that others heard Wolf Team's cry.