#sf kouryaku no tebiki translations

[claire-starsword]

I’ve skipped a bunch of his pokemon speak but here’s the gist of his “dialogue”. It’s boring as heck so let’s sprinkle some extra context on this:

I’ve skipped these little bits when translating the guide book for the original game because they were in the middle of the epilogue and would break the flow, and then I just didn’t care, but now I realize they explain Domingo’s change. I don’t wanna translate the text itself but they did a voting of favorite and least favorite characters between 13 staff members of the game. Domingo won the least favorite category by 3 votes. As for reasons:

Masaki Wachi (writer for both versions), claimed he was “too strong and not cute”;

Yoshitaka Tamaki (character designer for both games), said he “was hard to understand”, and;

Yoshinori Tagawa (programmer for the original version), also claimed he’s too strong.

The text implies even more people were bothered with Domingo’s strength as well. It would explain why the character was completely changed to a cuter mascot-like creature (though still the same gameplay-wise so, lol). I do wonder though, given that Sonic co./Camelot brought Domingo back in their very next game (Shining Force Gaiden), if there wasn’t like, a big rift between opinions on the character lmao. Controversial blob.

This post is already bigger than it should so might as well list everything else about the voting.

The second least liked character, to no one’s surprise but great emotional pain for me, was Adam, with 2 votes and the very obvious criticism of “despite having big expectations, he wasn’t useful when we used him”. My brothers in christ you were the game devs.

(and yes, the irony of complaining about a strong character and then this is not lost on me, there’s reasons i avoided translating this part, some opinions are pretty nonsense)

the rest of characters listed here are enemies/NPCs but I think it’s still the same voting? Which would mean Domingo was more disliked than the enemies, yikes. Anyway:

Yojiro Hirashita (graphic designer) says Golems “come out in mountain terrain and are the worst”;

Ryushiro Miyazaki (graphic designer) also complains about how resistant Golems are;

Opinions on Chimeras and Blue Dragons are lumped together, perhaps because they’re often together in game as well. Yasuhiro Taguchi (director and programmer) says “they’re often a pain”, while Hiroyuki Takahashi (producer of the whole classic series) says “everyone dislikes them”.

Hidehiro Yoshida feels the Cerberos only uses its breath attacks when he’s the one playing;

1610. Nakashima (graphic designer) says the Jets don’t look appealing;

Haruki Kodera (programmer) mentions the fisherman NPC in Alterone. That fisherman complains about having too much money and tosses a gold bar in the river, so yeah, I get it.

As for favorite characters,

to not much surprise it’s Zylo. He got 4 votes.

Yojiro Hirashita says he’s good through the whole game if you raise him well, and also likes how he looks after promotion;

Yoshitaka Tamaki is unsurprisingly a fan of beastman characters, and also enjoys that Zylo doesn’t use weapons;

Ryushiro Miyazaki, Hirotada Kakusaka (graphic designer) and others think “he’s cool”, which the writing concludes it’s the main reason for his popularity.

Second place went to Khris, with 3 votes and a variety of reasons:

"Okochama" Naitoh (programmer) says it’s cute how a line forms from her right hand to right leg when she swings down her staff;

(i can only assume they’re speaking of the sprite above. but that’s a, very elaborate way of saying “dog girl cute” in my opinion);

Yasuhiro Taguchi claims it’s because she’s stronger than some of the bad fighters;

1610. Nakashima says her white clothes upon promotion are gorgeous.

As for the remaining votes:

Two people voted for Max, his strength being listed as one reason.  Hirotada Kakusaka also mentions him being the first character they’ve drawn for the game;

Two people voted for Tao. Hidehiro Yoshida mentions burning things nonstop with her through the first half of the game, and says her nickname should be “Great Student of Flames”;

Masaki Wachi follows up saying Guntz’s nickname should be “Engine”. Take this one with a grain of salt though, the line is super vague so I’m a bit unsure;

Hiroyuki Takahashi says Kokichi is pretty striking, and also mentions Mishaela as a favorite;

Kenji Orimo (director) likes weird things and thus voted for Yogurt;

Yoshinori Tagawa mentions Balbazak because “their faces look alike”;

Finally, Haruki Kodera again brings up a NPC, this time the King of Waral, because “he’s real fast”.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Country Guide Translation - Part 4

The usual pie chart legend:

Pao

Population: 130 inhabitants GNP: 2300 gold

Species Ratio:

The Pao tribe itself has only 130 people, but as they often take visitors on the ride as well, the population tends to fluctuate. Most are humans, as Pao citizens are racially homogeneous. ____

The transport revolution attained by the people of the plains

The Pao plains are around 1500 meters above sea level. This vast area that makes up the majority of the northern region of West Rune is entirely territory of the nomadic people of Pao. Around 2500 years ago, there was a massive immigration from East Rune, going from island to island of the Uranbatol archipelago. This group arrived all the way to these great plains after many generations, and their population slowly increased as well. It eventually divided into several tribes (still sharing the same ethnic identity) that would gather than split up again and again through their nomadic lifestyle, until an influential tribe emerged in the southeast around 2000 years ago, and got the others under their control (with an hereditary line of succession).

Paopigs were wild creatures living in the region, but being naturally calm animals, they were incredibly well suited for the nomads. They live off mostly of raising the paopigs as livestock, making dairy products out of their milk, and other specialties such as woolen goods made from paopig hair. These woolen goods in particular are valuable enough to gather merchants from other countries all year around, fighting for the chance to buy them. They mostly use the bartering system, with little interest to adopt any foreign currency.

It can be said that the adventurous and pioneer spirit of the Pao people is what made it possible to establish a nation in this region. As they continued to live reliant on the paopigs, they developed a strong faith on them as holy beasts, and thus do not eat their meat. Around 150 years ago they found by chance a huge engine in ruins of the previous civilization, and built the Pao Train. It brought a huge upheaval in their economy when it comes to the circulation of goods, and their culture has been modernizing as well. Besides that, the Pao Train also brought an energy revolution, as they began successfully using paopig excrement as fuel for it. Currently, Pao welcome a time of great changes.

-At a glance, it looks like a mere village. However, this is how Pao looks like while the Pao Train is stopped. A kilogram of paopig excrement fuels the train to run approximately 20 kilometers. The Pao Train is 300 meters long.

-The paopig's cry is surprisingly beautiful. It is comparable to the sound of a sitar (an octave higher to be precise). Such heartrending echoes deeply move the hearts of travelers around.

I'm very shaky on my translation of this caption. It mentions an instrument called カラッコ (karakko), and I could not find translation anywhere, so it might be made up? But since I was unsure I just brought up the sitar it is compared to right after.

Waral

Population: 300 inhabitants GNP: 5600 gold

Species ratio:

Waral is built atop a small island. The 50% percent of "other" species here are all merpeople. While they do not show up in the game, plenty of merman live there as well. ___

The ocean people who lost themselves in the mermaid paradise

A small island country north of the Lunatic Ocean. It has the hot and humid climate of tropical rainforests, and the coast is rich in resources. At the southern coast of the island, there is an encounter of warm currents flowing north and cold currents flowing south, called "The Sea God's Cauldron", famous for the frequent shipwrecks it causes. Around 150 years ago, a fishing ship from Rindo suffered such an accident and drifted to Waral, founding the country. Back then, Rindo was still a fishing country, and their main fishing spot was the "Mermaid's Roundtable", a wide shallow beach west of Waral.

The stranded people thus settled in the island, and eventually the fishing spot to the west became their alone, as Rindo shifted to merchant activities. Even now fishing is their main activity, with 70 percent of the population working on it, and the remaining part being mostly shipbuilders and the merpeople who already lived in the region.

Back when the country was founded, coexisting with the merpeople was a huge social issue for the small island. However, Harengett Splasher II of the royal family married a mermaid, reaching a compromise between both parties this way, and it stays to this day. Some historians criticize this as a marriage of convenience.

The country was born out of an unfortunate accident, yet supported by the warm climate and its plentiful resources, the citizens are distinct for their endless cheerfulness. Its GNP of 5600 gold is third place in Rune, after Rindo. In recent years it has also been planning to expand its tourism business, as its strategic positioning right between the west and east parts of the continent makes it a country that cannot be ignored.

-It's an unusually small island, yet it is blessed with warm climate and plentiful resources. Because of this, it might be the greatest place to live in all of Rune. Its main activity is fishing, but just setting up nets is enough to catch plenty of fish, so people don't work much.

-Described by the king himself as a tropical paradise, life in Waral is full of pleasures. Swimming in the ocean, fishing, gathering shellfish and the like in the beach, there are plenty of ways to kill time. Even so, some who are still bored have began to venture into the tourism business as a hobby.

The weird royal guy name was unfortunately left for me to romanize. I have no clue if his first name means anything, but his last name, チャップチャップ, is literally "chopchop", but given that it is close to チャップン, the onomatopoeia for splashing, I feel that's what they were going for.

Rudo

Population: 40 inhabitants GNP: 1700 gold

Species ratio:

Much like Manarina, Rudo doesn't look anything like a country. As said in game, it is in fact just a village. The species distribution is very balanced, excluding centaurs. Perhaps they have all gathered together because of the dragon gods. ___

The mountain village of the dragon gods' faith, declining in population

The west side of the Dragonia mountain mass is extremely steep, and this natural barrier forms an unusually long and narrow coastline between mountains and the Cypro Ocean. The village of Rudo is in this northwestern area of East Rune.

Around 300 years ago, to protect the dragon gods who were on the verge of extinction, the royals of Guardiana proposed that each country sent some settlers there, and thus the village was born. At first they succeeded in their conservation efforts, but then reached a dead end, and in recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of people leaving the village and spreading the view that the dragon gods are over.

To show how complicated this tendency has become, the village currently only has about 40 people. It is also said that they are all children under the age of 11. The adults seem to have moved to some other village north of Prompt. The dragon god faith the adults had converted into was still deeply rooted in the hearts of the children, and some sociologists think of this village's separation as a sort of religious schism. The children, following a girl named Karin as their leader, have developed small scale agriculture and fishing, restoring the self-sufficient activities the village had sustained so far. Besides that, they have also gone past their original boundaries, advancing halfway up the Dragonia mountains and hunting there.

Before the schism the village had a prosperous fishing industry in the calm waters of the Cypro Ocean, as the gulf surrounded by sandbanks on its north and south made for a good fishing spot thanks to the ocean currents. Some think the place could recover economically fairly easily if the population problem was solved.

-Rudo village is blessed with a surrounding environment of plains and the ocean. It is hard to believe that the place is suffering from a decline in population. Going east from there, there's Dragonia, where the remaining dragon gods live.

-Since there are so many children younger than 10 gathered together,  the village is really lively. They aren't playing around, being pretty busy each with their own tasks (such as taking turns to cook or doing the laundry). Despite that, the whole village has the feel of being their playground.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Country Guide Translation - Part 5/Final

I’ve been reminded that today (March 20th) is the anniversary of Shining Force’s original release! What a sweet time to be wrapping up this guide book, huh? this was in no way intended lmao i suck at remembering dates

say your final goodbyes to the species pie chart:

Prompt

Population: 1000 inhabitants GNP: unknown

Species Ratio:

Prompt is the country of direct descendants of the Ancients. Therefore the population is mostly human. The other species are impossible to identify, as there's no data on them.  They are said to carry the blood of the previous civilization in their veins.

____

The cradle of civilization that passes on the blood of heroes

A large country in the center-south of East Rune, in the so-called Old World. It is said to have been founded around 1000 years. The founders were the few survivors of the fall of the previous civilization, but the objective of this founding according to the Book of Genesis was "the succession line of the heroes entrusted with a duty to Dark Dragon's seal". It is unknown if this is true fact or not. Historians are stuck in a dead end on this research.

It is currently an extinct volcano, but Mt. Siglas has previously caused many disasters in this land. The reason Prompt's castle also got buried underground when close to its completion was also due to a huge earthquake. Going on a bit of tangent here, the Conga basin was also formed due to a caldera from an eruption of around 7000 years ago.

Metapha, floating at the southwestern coast, has been a prosperous place of religious cultural exchange, however due to Darksol's looming threat in recent years, relations with other countries have been forbidden. Many ancient writings relating to the previous civilization have survived in Metapha. Prompt historians are the ones most infuriated at the series of incidents with Darksol.

As the Ancients were a civilization of advanced scientific knowledge, their descendants are incredibly cultured as well, but live frugal lives in order to hide it. Once a theory became established that the fall of the previous civilization was due to their scientific advancements going rogue, this tendency became stronger, and their lifestyle has fallen to what could be called primitive. The sumptuary laws proclaimed by the current king, Grando Zussa XII, are likely another reason for this.

Their main activities are farming and hunting. Of course, because the land is bad, harvest isn't plentiful. Not much of their food comes from the agriculture.

-The country is within the jungle, and not even Runefaust can pinpoint its exact location. Had Darksol been able to find it, Prompt wouldn’t be able to exist as it is. He is perhaps more trouble than any volcano...

-The people of Prompt are said to keep a stylish appearance. The way you see them in town (with unshaved faces and naked chests) is somehow disguising their suits! ...or that's the rumor that goes around. No one has confirmed its authenticity. But, it's tough to picture a stylish image from that. Sorry.

i forgot to bring this up last time but it fits better here anyway. The event section for Rudo and Dragonia has something that stood out to me:

The destined duo, Cain and the protagonist, and Darksol’s scheme

Cain has been the great archenemy to the protagonist through the first half of the game, and finally the Shining Force fights the decisive battle against him in Dragonia. When Cain is defeated, his real face behind the mask is revealed... The truth is, Cain and the protagonist were both swordsmen sent to this world with the same mission. They were meant to join forces in fighting Darksol...

“Sent to this world” is some weird phrasing that is only used here from what i’ve seen, and reminds me a lot of their different backstory in the GBA version. Everywhere else they’re just treated as descendants of a family meant to tend to Dark Dragon’s seal, which is vague enough for either interpretation. So perhaps some idea of them being from the past was already kicking in the writer’s head.

Arthur is no longer helpful at this point, but thankfully, Torasu is, and brings up a lot of Prompt's lore in his HQ dialogue, including the romanization for the volcano's name.

He does not mention the king's name though, but here's the thing. The king's name is said even in the original game, and it's Kusko. The guide might have forgotten about it here.

A basin, geography wise, seems to be a dip or depression in the earth's surface. A caldera is a hollow formed by a magma chamber emptying after an eruption. I learned more geography through this guide than through all of high school.

Runefaust

Population: 2000 inhabitants GNP: 3450 gold

Species Ratio:

The huge amount of centaurs is because, much like Guardiana, the country was created mostly by knights from the previous civilization. The population used to be 2000 inhabitants but, since Darksol arrived the army has expanded. 8000 have joined in for military affairs. ___

The rampaging nation causing international distress

The country was founded around 800 years ago, to watch over the Gate of the Ancients to the south of East Rune, just like Guardiana. The founders were mainly knights from Prompt but, this region used to have many small countries and barbarians (people whose cultures had been completely ravaged by Dark Dragon), so establishing the country was extremely rough. After called their homeland for reinforcements countless times, they finally managed to take control of the many countries in the area.

Their political system is a constitutional monarchy, but the knights are extremely influential, and thus the royals' authority weakened little by little. The current king as well, Arc Rei Ramladu VI, just lends his approval to the authoritarianism of his chancellor Darksol. In recent years the army has expanded at a remarkable rate, conquering one after another the small countries surrounding it and taking over their land. Its territory is already three times larger than it was during the previous king's rule, and it quickly became a huge military power.

On the other hand, the agricultural economy it sustained before has collapsed, and it diverged extremely from Guardiana, though they once held the same goals. All that sustains its economy now is the exploitation of conquered lands, and the tyranny of Runefaust's army as it continues to raid country after country now shows even to the west part of the continent, beyond the Lunatic Ocean.

It once had the respect of other countries as a leading power of chivalrous spirit that valued the military arts, but as mercenaries continued to come in, it became a crude belligerent nation. It seems that the knights of the past were executed. There's nothing within the country itself that can curb its military expansionism now.

-Until not long ago there were many small neighboring countries. However, they were all destroyed and annexed into Runefaust. The menacing power of a military empire can be felt from the great wall surrounding it. One can't help but be impressed as well.

-In the peaceful time before Darksol arrived, the greatest entertainment were fighting tournaments from the knights, much like in its sister country, Guardiana. Since the country was more stoic than Guardiana, there were no other forms of entertainment to note.

The stage for the final battle, the Castle of the Ancients is like this

A castle of devils, or a holy land?

The place where Dark Dragon is sealed. It was originally a facility for extracting resources from the seafloor, made by the Ancients. Being a giant building with over 10 kilometers in diameter, it took 20 years for it to be completed even with the Ancients' scientific prowess. Created with the assumption that it would be staying underwater for long periods of time, it was designed to withstand over 1000atm of pressure, and its exterior is made of a special alloy with a ceramic coating.

As the Ancients saw their civilization fall, their repurposed this facility into becoming Dark Dragon's seal, adding the defense system led by Colossus, and then sinking it to the ocean's depths. After that, they wrote a manual for the control of the facility into a single flat metal piece called "the Book of Secrets". This is final stage of "Shining Force".

-The Gate of the Ancients. There was one to the west of the Guardiana Kingdom as well, but the one pictured here is the one west of Runefaust. Within them lies a mechanism leading to the castle.

-The place you arrive at upon warping from the Gate. Lots of machines can be seen in use. It shows the power of the ancient civilization.

-The interior of the castle has a plain design. But castles bring to mind the idea of defending from foreign intruders, and it does resemble the usual buildings in that sense. Within its depths will be the final battle...

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Country Guide Translation - Part 3

The usual pie chart legend:

Shade

Population: 20 inhabitants GNP: Unknown

Species ratio:

Shade is more of a village than a country. It consists of only a church and associated buildings. So its population is only 20 people. Besides the humans who work at the church, the other species there are elves. They work as guides in the mountain paths. ____

The decline of royalty casts a shadow in the holy land?

A small region at the Sarastone peninsula northeast of Rindo. Back when Guardiana was founded, the Order of the Knights would be frequently sent in expeditions to expand their territory, and this peninsula was the northernmost point they reached, and thus Shade became a holy land directly under the royal family's control. After the wyvern raid from the time of Arissort von Guardiana II's rule, a church was built in this region to appease the souls of the knights fallen in that battle, and the third prince at the time entered priesthood and became its priest. After that it became a place which disseminated Guardiana's ways to all of the western continent, and little by little a town grew around it, thus around 500 years ago it was recognized as a holy city with the priest as sovereign, under the protection of Guardiana's royal family.

Shade's population, including the priest, is a mere twenty people. They are all clergyman who work on proselytizing and studying ancient texts. When it comes to politics, the executive power is Guardiana's, while the judiciary and legislative powers are under the priest's authority. It is generally a neutral state, but takes measures to protect the church against oppressive forces.

Throughout history, the priests have gathered previously lost records about the Castle of the Ancients, decoded ancient texts from all over the continent, thus getting closer to the truth on the Ancients and their civilization with their research. The current priest, Kahn, is in the middle of editing a compilation of this research of the past, named "Prehistory of Rune", and it has gathered attention all across Rune as it might shine a light on the mysteries surrounding the Castle of the Ancients. Unfortunately he's already very old, and many lament that there's aren't enough people to continue his research.

-The church is the highlight of Shade, but behind it is a small village, with some cabins offering guidance to travelers in exchange for payment. People heading to Bustoke should pay for the guides here, or they'll get lost in their way.

-Shade's bell rings once in the morning and once in the evening. The morning time is at 6am, and the evening at 6pm. This bell announcing the start and end of the days is of course heard from Rindo, but some claim to hear it all the way back in Alterone some days.

Priest Kern versus Darksol

Darksol disguises himself as the priest, and appear to the protagonist for the first time. Why did he kill the real priest? The current priest, Kahn, knew a man named Darksol was planning to revive Dark Dragon. He intended to tell Guardiana along with all the information the priests had gathered through the ages, but Darksol became aware of this as well.

Around the time the protagonist got the Orb of Light in the Cave of Darkness, Darksol arrived at the church of Shade, and attacked the priest. Kern might have lost, but inflicted deep wounds on Darksol. That's why he fled from the protagonist that time.

Romanization of the priest's name is my own, as Arthur decides to be unhelpful for this one.

also, I`m sure you’ll be shocked to hear that Darksol fighting the priest and getting wounded, plus the priest’s connection to Guardiana’s royal family, are mentioned in the original game and poofed in the translation, only brought back in the GBA version. I have never pointed out such things before.

Bustoke

Population: 800 inhabitants GNP: 2900 gold

Species Ratio:

The territory isn't big, yet the population is bigger than you would imagine. As for the species distribution, since the terrain is all forest, there's a lot of elves. Among the 18% percent of humans, many have mixed blood. ____

A critical point of modernization arrives to the people in the heights

A diverse country at the north of West Rune. Hunters settled mostly in the forest region among the mountains. As the territory was split between many different tribes, small scale conflicts happened time and time again. In the past, many magical beasts lived in the area, making it an extremely dangerous place, but around 500 years ago, a wolfling hero knows as the Young Wolf King (Zylo's ancestor) suppressed the beasts, and founded the country, unifying the tribes.

As the country has many different races, is crucial to have a strong leadership, and the current king Zylo Dunn Munster (meaning "Zylo, king of the mountains" in the region's dialect) rules fiercely, despite allowing his people many freedoms.

Self-suficient hunting is their main economic activity, so there's not much trading, but the marble and obsidian extracted from the southwest are highly valued as construction materials. However their mining skills are low and haven't been very efficient with these extractions, and thus there's a joint venture with the merchant guild of Rindo to develop modern excavation tools. Also, Bustoke strawberries, which were once eaten even by the magical beasts, and are said to taste great in juice, had their numbers dropped drastically due to overconsumption, and nowadays can only be harvested by the royal family, the exportation to other countries being forbidden as well.

The most distinct point of their livelihood is definitely the unique habitations built in the mountain walls. The natives' faith worship the forest, thus it is forbidden to cut tree for lumber, and on top of that there's little plain terrain, so this kind of dwelling naturally came to be. Since they are on great heights, the temperatures are low. Their designs work well for keeping them cool during the summer and warm through the winter, but in other countries some will still badmouth them as "hole people" or "primitives".

-Bustoke is built among the towering cliffs. It is surrounded by forest and quarries, but that environment doesn't seem to bother them at all. From the tallest point of the country, seeing the Pao bridge is a given, but on clear days with no clouds one can see all the way to the Pao plains.

-The famous bungee jumping of Bustoke. When coming of age, one must jump off a precipice held by nothing but a single rope. Is it a ritual done since long ago for boys born in Bustoke. In recent years, tourists have come to enjoy it as well.

Zylo's full name romanization is from the GBA version. Dunn seems to be a real Irish surname, while Munster is a province in Ireland.

Also, the part about Zylo's leadership seems to be describing his as an enlightened despot, which contradicts his bio describing him as merely as overseer. The bio makes more sense to me given how he is free to leave the country for a good while to fight.

Given this series’ obsession with young heroes I figured the title for Zylo’s ancestor is young wolf hero, however! 青 can also mean blue/green, so technically there’s nothing stopping you from picturing a technicolor furry family for Zylo. Do what you will with this information.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Country Guide Translation - Part 2

The usual pie chart legend:

Alterone

Population: 5000 inhabitants GNP: 27000 gold

Species Ratio:

Since it's a country founded on mining, there are many of the physically strong dwarves. Also, there's notably not many centaurs. From this data, one might wonder if Alterone's army is lacking.

____

No cure for being spoiled rotten by money

A newly prosperous country in the mountains at the center of West Rune. Around 200 years ago, a town was built to extract ore from the northeastern mines, and as the population sharply grew in a short span of time, government became chaotic, and it failed to become a stable city-state. After that, Guardiana mediated things and assigned a administrator to it, and staying 99 years under this concession, its political situation came under control. Its independence was recognized 100 years ago, and it became a constitutional monarchy headed by the administrator from Guardiana.

Their main activity is steelworks using their abundant mineral resources, and their production of processed goods such as weapons and armor increases year after year. Also, a mineral of extraordinary hardness (maybe Mithril?) was found in the mine opened to celebrate the centenary of the country's founding, and exportation has gone up by a remarkable 180 percent. In a single year it became a focus of commerce. The industrial policies enforced by the current King Charles Granard Culprang Don IV, known as the "Miracle of Alterone", restored the economy.

The citizens are gentle and heavily inclined towards pacifism. Because of the barren and mountainous terrain they used to lead a frugal lifestyle, but the sudden rise in life standards led to eccentric changes in their culture (ostentation of the nouveau riche). As an example of this, they've bought every work of art they could get their hands on from Rindo and such places, getting also the antipathy of several countries with that. On the other hand, neighboring countries like Guardiana couldn't renew their own economy without keeping connections with Alterone, and thus more complicated international problems formed.

-The castle town surrounded by forest. A road was built to facilitate the delivery of goods between them and Guardiana. Plenty of times you can see carriages doing five round trips in a single day. Guardiana's economic growth depends on Alterone.

-The royal family and the townspeople went from rags to riches all of a sudden. Because that, they are not wise on how to spend the money. They are obsessively indulging themselves with acts such as buying works of art of dubious origins from Rindo merchants. You can't call that real enjoyment.

Hobbit discourse maybe? The pie chart definitely doesn’t indicate many dwarves as the text does, so they have likely been swapped with hobbits. As usual.

Romanization of the king’s name taken from the GBA version. It sounds a little different in japanese but I couldn’t find any meaning to it so I don’t think it matters.

Rindo

Population: 3000 inhabitants GNP: 6250 gold

Species Ratio:

The place with the biggest human population in the Rune continent. The population count here only includes the residents, if you counted the travelers staying there as well, it would go up to 6000 people. Since it doesn't have an army, the amount of centaurs is even lower than that of Alterone. ____

The leading power of a liberal economy is a country based on commerce

A trading country that has just passed the 200 years mark, located at the easternmost point of West Rune, surrounded by mountains from three directions and facing the ocean in the remaining one. It was founded mainly by immigrants from fishing villages in the Guardiana southeast. They named the land they first landed on through their sea route "Costa de Alexis", after the royal family of Guardiana. At first, it was mainly a fishing country, but eventually progressed in the arts of shipbuilding and sailing, as a coastal nation tends to. Currently they're active on both sides on the continent facilitating commerce, and their trade with inland areas supports the economy.

When it comes to politics, they have a parliamentary democratic system, but the true power is in the hands of the merchant guild, as many of the voters are affiliated with it. The current leader, Mr. Mocha Doccha, has been elected for the tenth time (each term lasts three years) and has a huge approval rate. His mercantile policies were highly recognized for turning a developing country into a model of economic growth, but on the other hand, there are those on East Rune who mockingly call him "the west's wallet".

As a country built by immigrants, it has a more liberal ideology, and as the gateway to the western continent it sees a big mix of different cultures. Its educational standards are also high, and wealthy merchants show more of their influence by having the education of scientists and artists under their guard. The laboratory of Dr. Crock, renowned as the greatest scientist of the century, was also built with the support of Zacha Doccha (the leader's son-in-law). A project to expand on tourism was also recently announced, with the intent of increasing domestic demand. An overhaul of the urban area, also related to stimulating the economy, was approved by a majority of the parliament. The first step planned for it is the construction of a theme park. As it hasn't been announced yet, details are still unknown.

-Rindo is the heart of commerce in West Rune. It often trades with Guardiana and Alterone. From its harbor, it is establishing trade routes with continents other than Rune. It is a merchant country willing to brave the empty ocean.

-It specializes in importing rare items from other continents. The townspeople have the Rindo theater (playhouse) as entertainment all year. And once per year, the visiting circus becomes the greatest attraction. However, due to several issues, it did not come this year. 

Romanization of Rindo’s leader also from the GBA version, though the son-in-law is my own take, as I don’t believe he’s mentioned anywhere.

Mocha Doccha's title is something like chairman of president of a council. Since these countries are implied to be little city-states and I don't care much, I've been sticking with "mayor" as the english versions do, but there's mentions of a parliament here so I switched to a vague "leader" just like the GBA version does, which makes me think they faced similar dilemmas translating that. Listen I don't politics okay, it's already wack enough to be constantly googling systems of government because of freaking, 90's rpg book.

Costa de Alexis = Alexis' Coast in portuguese and maybe also spanish but don't quote me on the later. Alexis has already been mentioned as the name of Anri's dad, but this is 200 years in the past so there was probably another king with that name. Makes it weird that they didn't give a number to either but whatever.

The event section for this town brings up a different point of view on its funding of the sciences:

Dr.Crock’s strange experiment?

The self-proclaimed genius, Dr. Crock. He is currently developing a iron armor, the “Steam Suit”, with help of his assistant, Guntz. By the way, his experiments have been failing a lot. “It’s because that darn mayor won’t fund our work!”, says the doctor. “Man, when will we ever finish this Steam Suit...” laments Guntz.

Manarina

Population: 200 inhabitants GNP: Unknown

Species Ratio:

Since it's the country of magic, the ratio of elves is relatively high, while that of species with low magic talent such as centaurs and dwarves is low. The 19% percent in the "others" category is mostly monsters of unknown species. ____

Spiritual ideals as the basis of collectivism

The western coast of West Rune has the typical coastal climate, with a rain precipitation of over 2000 millimeters and warm temperatures, that give place to lush forests. The spiritual country of Manarina expands from these forest region to the mountains.

It is recorded in the ancient "Book of Genesis" that, around 3000 years ago, the first generation's Otrant (the current Otrant is of the 34th generation, full name Otrant Eismann, also knows as the "Thousand Eyes Guardian") retreated to this land to train magic, and that's how the country came to be. After that, mages came from many other lands idolizing the powers of the successive Otrants, and formed a commune of sorts. It was a primitive collectivist community with loose social and spiritual ranks based on one's magical power. Even nowadays its structure as a country remains lax, with only Otrant's authority as a constant. Citizens only have to pay taxes to fund public works, and don't have any political duties.

They entrust their economic activities to Rindo's merchant guild, and also follow the same currency as Rindo. Many citizens make their living out of magical materials and magic-infused goods.

In this Manarina of harsh spiritual discipline, frugality is seen as a virtue. As most people follow an ideology of stoicism, there isn't much entertainment. Only those on top of this magical world are respected by people of the other countries, and in Shade, a state of similar religious inclination, the people of Manarina are respectfully known as "people of the holy scriptures".

-Manarina is a single mansion being built upon over and over. If you want to go live in Manarina, first you must build your own room. It's common for rooms to be taken over if the owner left for too long.

-There's no entertainment in Manarina. That isn't because everyone is training hard. Since they work on plenty of weird studies, there's not a moment of boredom. They sure use up all their funding, but that might not be a great thing after all. There really seems to be a bunch of weird people there.

Either I’m very bad at reading charts, or the hobbits and dwarves are swapped again.

Otrant's name romanization taken from the GBA version. Also Otranto is a town in Italy, but idk if that was anything to do with anything.

(All-seeing Guardian isn’t a bad adaptation of the title at all, I just went with the more literal “thousand eyes” as we know Otrant has literally more eyes than the average person anyway)

And no I don't know where they are seeing forests in Manarina either, the geographical description for this one is very weird.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Country Guide Translation - Part 1

It’s finally done. This is enormous and quite technical or redundant at some parts, so I apologize in advance if the translation isn’t flowing well or has more mistakes than usual.

I’ve also skipped a few things. There’s a map of Runefaust’s invasion that pretty much just describes things said in game or other parts of the guide (like, which parts of the continent each boss was responsible for), so I skipped it. There were also checkpoint section just explaining the plot and secret events in game for each town, I will bring up a thing or two from them but otherwise skip it. And lastly, each town had a section describing what’s sold in their shops and tips on what players should buy. Only exception is Shade Abbey which instead had some extra lore I did translate.

All this rambling done, let’s begin.

The Continent of Rune

Let's take a took at the continent of Rune that will be the stage for the adventure, with an overview of its topography and history.

___

Species ratio:

Humans: 45% Centaurs: 25% Elves: 11% Dwarves: 4% Hobbits: 8% Others: 7%

Total population: 26580 inhabitants Average temperature: 26.5°C

___

An explanation of Rune's distinct geographical aspects

As shown by the map above, the continent of Rune is shaped in quite a peculiar way, divided into an eastern and a western part by the ocean. According to ancient history research still in progress, when the previous civilization was still at its peak, the continent's shape was very different from the current one. By Dark Dragon's destructive power, countless peninsula were wiped out, and there's evidence that even tectonic movement was slightly disturbed.

When it comes to topography, many are deeply interested in the differences between the west and east sides. Compared to the west side that has plenty of flat lands, the east side is rugged and mountainous. Those geographical differences reflect in different developments in agriculture, this world's main production. Also, because the west side is less rough, travel and trade between countries is easier. The eastern countries (like Runefaust), who had to dealt with tough life conditions in a harsher environment, might have naturally harbored intentions to conquer the west side, but things aren't so simple as to just put the blame on them.

There’s actually a colored version of this map somewhere else in the guide, hang on

Nice. Moving on.

Chronology of Rune's history:

Year 0 - The previous civilization is destroyed by Dark Dragon; Year 199 - Founding of Guardiana; Year 203 - Founding of Runefaust; Year 399 - Guardiana is raided by Wyverns; Year 501 - An abbey is built in the Shade region; Year 504 - Founding of Bustoke; Year 710 - Founding of Rudo village; Year 797 - A town is built in the mining area of Alterone; Year 798 - Founding of Rindo; Year 838 - Founding of Waral; Year 842 - The Pao Train is completed; Year 894 - Founding of Alterone; Year 999 - Guardiana is attacked by Runefaust (start of the game)

___

Past and Present

Of the remaining historical records in current Rune, almost all are from less than 1000 years in the past. Records of the civilization destroyed by Dark Dragon are practically all lost, with whatever existing ones being guarded by Prompt and Manarina, who continue to decode and study them.

Main events of these past 1000 years are shown in the table to the right. This Rune calendar, using the year of the previous civilization's downfall by Dark Dragon as the starting year, is used by almost all of Rune. Plenty of countries also have their own imperial era system based on their rulers (for example, Year 999 of the Rune calendar in Guardiana is Year 28 of His Majesty Alexis's rule), but treaties and such between countries use the Rune calendar.

In these 1000 years, no big scale conflicts between countries have occurred. This isn't due to an ideal peaceful coexistence, but because each country was busy fighting against frequent assaults by groups of magical beasts and natural disasters. As Dark Dragon's seal is released once more in this adventure, a new age is ushered where the real way of life of the people of Rune is put into question.

From here there are sadly no exact percentages for each country’s species pie chart, so you have to kinda eyeball it from the description and the legend below, and I did not feel like pasting it into every page, sorry

Kingdom of Guardiana

Population: 3000 inhabitants GNP: 3500 gold

Species ratio:

Known as the country of knights, the ratio of centaurs is high. Also, the ratio of elves is lower than that of other countries. Perhaps because they don't prioritize mages and archers as much?

___

What is the full story of the country of wandering knights?

A small country at the very south of West Rune. Around 800 years ago, with the purpose of protecting the Gate of the Ancients, a huge group of immigrants from Prompt, mostly knights, founded the country. During the rule of King Arissort Von Guardiana II, the kingdom was raided by a large group of Wyverns, and many documents were lost in the fire, thus there are no remaining records from before the country's founding.

Their main production is agriculture. The production is concentrated in the fertile delta of the Beaune River (the source of Maar Lake at the southeast of Manarina). Starting from their specialty, the "Guardiana carrot", they produce many diverse agricultural products, and achieved 100% self sufficiency. While still in a small scale, fishing activities have developed in the coast of the Monostone peninsula, so that region is sustained by a mix of agriculture and fishing. Since most of the country's land is plain field, it lacks in mineral resources, and industrial development is very slow. Because of that, it currently does not have goods to export, and thus has not established trading with other countries. One can say that self-sufficient agriculture is the lifeline of Guardiana's economy.

History wise, since it was founded by knights, it is expected that the citizens value the military arts. Having said that, they are not the kind to fight for no reason, and their standards of education are also relatively high. Since they've inherited a peculiar spirit of chivalrous spirit, their culture is permeated by the philosophy of being adept at both literary and martial arts.

The Fighting Tournament held every six months is a grand festival held through the castle and the town areas, where knights and townsfolk compete in the arts of their choice. It's the most remarkable expression of Guardiana's culture.

-Following the road to the west, there's the Gate of the Ancients and the mountain cabin. The road extending to the southwest connects to Guardiana's only allied country, Alterone. Guardiana's castle and town blend together into a castle town. Alterone also followed the same model.

-The bustling town is usually peaceful. Because of that, selling weapons isn't a great business there, and it seems the shop owner has decided to retire. Guardiana's only inn, the Guardiana Hotel, has been in a slump day after day. Not many tourists are coming.

The roads' directions in that pic caption do seem switched up, don't they?

To my knowledge the kings of Guardiana aren't named anywhere else so the romanization of their names is my own. Alexis however is a pretty normal name so I'm confident on it. Arissort however... yeah.

Same for location names as well. Beaune is apparently the name of a french city named after Belenos, a god of flowing water, so I guess it makes sense as a name for a river. Maar is a broad, shallow volcanic crater, so it made the most sense as romanization for the lake name as well.

The Guardiana tournament has already been mentioned in Hans' bio. It and Guardiana's carrots are also mentioned by Arthur in the GBA remake. In fact, all of Arthur's dialogue there is based on this country guide, which will be very convenient for me as I don't want to romanize even more names myself, thanks Arthur. Sadly he only comments trivia up to Waral though.

[claire-starsword]

Anri [Human] Class: Mage -> Wizard

The princess of Guardian who uses the cold as her weapon

*** The princess of Guardiana. First in line to inherit the throne.

She went to study magic in Manarina out of her own aspirations. However once the protagonist comes to Manarina and she learns that Guardiana has fallen, she joins the Shining Force. Her specialty is the Freeze line of magic. ***

She has talent for magic, rare among the people of Guardiana.

Her mother, the queen of Guardiana, died while giving birth to her. As the king's only child, she's destined to rule the country of Guardiana in the future.

The bluish purple clothes she wears were given to her by Otrant of Manarina to honor her time studying there. The huge gems that she, Tao and Alef wear on both shoulders are not for decoration. They are called "Mage Stones", and have the ability to gather the Mana (the source of magic) in the air, convert it into magical power, and control it when the magic is cast. It is hard to use high level magic without Mage Stones.

_________

Domingo [Magical Creature] Class: Magical Creature

He's an unknown lifeform but the guy's really powerful!

*** An artificial lifeform brought to life by the magic science of Manarina. Is classified as a mage.

Capable of flying, with great endurance... If you ignore the low MP, he's the greatest magic user. He's born from an egg called "Domingo Egg". ***

It seems that Domingo was created when Manarina mages were coming up with products to sell. They planned to sell them for a role much like that of guard dogs in our world.

But since incubating the Domingo Eggs is complicated, they gave up on selling them.

Domingo's size is 60 centimeters. Very small. However, what we see is Domingo's "larva" state, once he molts into his "adult" stage he'll be bigger than mountains... is what the rumors say, but it comes from Manarina mages, so it might be all fake.

______

Notes on Anri:

I've heard that other guide books were more vague on their language and left people unsure if Anri might have siblings. This one is very clear about her being an only child. I've also heard that there's a manga where she has a sister, but everything else I've heard of that manga is weird ecchi stuff, so let's not think about it too hard.

The Mage Stones are a fun piece of worldbuilding but now I will obsess over every other spellcaster design in this series to see if it works or not lmao. Perhaps other places have different materials that serve the same purpose. Kazin does have more feathers than the average man.

Notes on Domingo:

Domingo shows up again in SFCD, so if he is a larva state, he has been so for 20 years. Worth mentioning is that in the japanese versions of both games, he speaks with a very babyish accent, saying "dechu" instead of "desu" and so on. What I mean is that Domingo would say hewwo. Frequently.

[claire-starsword]

Max’s Diary - Chapter 1

[Welcome to Max's very own Shining Force Let's Play! These diary snippets are spread along the actual strategy part of the guide, so there's one for each battle, except Dark Dragon since these guides tend to avoid spoiling final bosses. So it makes the ending a little abrupt sadly. They are also labelled "Protagonist's Diary" because this guide really didn't want to use Max's name for some reason.]

___

(1) Month of the Crimson Sparrow, Day 23

Is something happening at the Gate of the Ancients? Because of this and that, His Majesty entrusted me with this task, so we went to check the gate. When we arrived, a Rune Knight and some others were there, looking for a key to the seal. We have to drive these guys out before anything else...

Just as we were about to fight an earthquake struck. Our heads were spinning, so we retreated to a mountain hut. It was lucky, because Gong was in that hut and became our ally. Nice. If these things keep happening, even someone with little real experience like me might be able to do something. We went back to the gate and started the fight again. But, those dwarves swinging their axes are really scary. I really have no choice but to let everyone else do their best. That’s why I don't wanna stop being a leader anytime soon. Heheh.

___

(2) Month of the Crimson Sparrow, Day 27

I worried about what that Rune Knight said, so we left the Gate of the Ancients right away. But, Guardiana was already surrounded by Runefaust's forces. We had to hurry. His majesty was in danger.

I wanted to go back in just a couple of seconds with the carriage, but the one we took to the gate was nowhere to be found. I didn't expect to get robbed in a place like that. With no other choice, we had to go back on foot while fighting. And, going through mountain terrain sucks. Felt like we had used all our power before the battle even started. As I thought, by the time we got to the bridge near Guardiana, Lowe and Gong had already used up all their magic. No one can even hide how exhausted they are. Huh, what? Hans looks just fine though. Since he just shoots with his bow. It's kinda unfair.

___

(3) Month of the Crimson Sparrow, Day 35

We're chasing Cain who went to Alterone. This time Mae and Gort have joined us. Both are pretty strong, so that's a relief. But, we couldn't relax yet. There were Huge Bats. Their agility is high, and their movement is absurd...

If that wasn't enough, their fangs can infect you with something that puts you in a deep sleep. Because of that, people kept falling asleep on their feet again and again. I felt like we should have just booked a night at Hotel Guardiana if that's how it was gonna be. To counter that, I had Ken weaken them up with the Spear, then dealt the final blows myself. These combos born of mutual trust are what lead to victory after all.

___

(4) Month of the Green Swallow, Day 7

Unlike the other battles until now, we had to battle the Runefaust army within the city of Alterone. When I think of the people that are gonna have to clean all that up, my heart hurts a little.

But, we had to fight so of course it would cause a mess. That's just how it is.

In this battle, our dedicated mage Tao quickly got to Level 4, and learned how to use Blaze level 2. She can hit several enemies at once with it. That’s how I was thinking, but she got excited and used it a lot. Burning and burning. If you burn down enemies you burn down the ground they stand on as well. Or you might end up burning some houses. They weren't anyone's houses so it ended up fine but, we gotta be careful next time or we'll be in trouble.

___

Notes:

In both SF1 and Final Conflict, Max uses the formal first person pronoun "watashi". The other encyclopedia even remarks that he's well mannered. Here on the other hand he uses the casual and tough pronoun "ore", and mostly casual language. Keep this in mind for later.

(As an aside, the same goes for the GBA remake, where he tends to switch between “ore” and the more softspoken “boku” instead of “watashi”. I haven’t checked all the dialogue on that one though, so this is a general observation.)

[claire-starsword]

Villain time

Cain [Human]

The face hidden under the mask is...?

Commander of Runefaust's elite group, the "Silver Knight Squadron". By Darksol's orders, he led a squad to the Gate of the Ancients and one to raid Guardiana, and overthrew Guardiana's castle.

His weapon, the demon sword "Sword of Darkness" carries the magical power of "Desoul", and along with Cain's own ability can also spread the scorching flames known as "Flames of Hell". The protagonist's greatest rival.

____

Mishaela [Dark Elf]

The dark elf witch followed by monsters

The "Dollmaster". A Runefaust witch whose weapon is the "Magic of Cursed Manipulation", which lets her control cursed dolls and magical beasts.

Following Darksol's orders, she shows up against the force to gather information. Resenting the defeat of her clone, the Mishaela Doll, she goes after the protagonist.

____

Mishaela Doll [?]

Cursed living doll

A doll that has possessed a soul for hundreds of years, and became a monster by receiving part of Mishaela's own cells from her. Mishaela is fond of it for being a clone of herself. It can use high level cold spells.

____

Elliot [Dragonewt]

The dragonman general who fight for his own justice

The supreme commander for the forces conquering the west side of the continent. Head of a family of dragonmen (dragonewts) that answers to Runefaust since ancient times.

Though he knows the current Runefaust is immoral, the people of his territory were taken as hostages by Darksol, so he has no choice but to fight. He believes the protagonist is a legendary hero, and to test his power, challenges the Shining Force to battle at Pao Plains.

_____

Balbazak [Human]

The steel general who commands the great fort

A general sent alongside Elliot to conquer the western side of the continent. He commands the base of operations for this conquest, Uranbatol.

He used to be a nameless soldier, but became a subject for Darksol's human experiments and gained a strengthened body.

Contrasting with Elliot, he's a cunning and cowardly man. As soon as he heard the Shining Force had broken into the fort, he began planning his escape.

_____

Ramladu [Human]

The superhuman emperor of Runefaust's army

Arc Rei Ramladu VI. Runefaust's emperor. The greatest authority there.

He was once known as a wise king who ruled fairly, but the tactician Darksol appeared one year ago inspiring ambitions of conquering the continent on him, and thus he began running down a dark path.

In his youth he would also head into battle himself, and was known as a dauntless warrior. That power hasn't faded at all in present times.

______

Chaos [Robot]

Crazed killing machine

A mechanical soldier created by the Ancients' science. He was originally a robot created to help the heroes that would seal Dark Dragon but, by Darksol's magic, turned into a devilish machine to fight the protagonist. He is something of a big brother to Adam, but his battle skills are far greater.

______

Colossus [?]

Guardian of the Castle of the Ancients

The defense system of the Castle of the Ancients where Dark Dragon is sealed. Created by the ancients.

They eliminate those who break into the castle without following the right procedures.

______

Darksol [?]

The demon king from a world of darkness

The tactician holding the real power over Runefaust's army. Even Emperor Ramladu is dancing at the palm of his hand.

His real identity is entirely a mystery. It seems he dreams of reviving Dark Dragon and conquering this world.

______

Dark Dragon [?]

Will it awaken from its 1000 year slumber?

The ultimate living weapon that is said to be behind the collapse of the past civilization. It was sealed in the Castle of the Ancients by the ancient people, but is waking up from its long sleep. The Shining Force's final enemy.

______

Notes on Cain:

The Flames of Hell are mentioned in the japanese version (and GBA), since he uses them to kill Varios.

Notes on Mishaela & Mishaela Doll:

Mishaela Doll was called Marionette in the localization, but the info here really makes it sound like a unique creature so I kept the more specific japanese name. Despite that, several of it show up in Final Conflict later on. The strategy guide for that game even mentions that they are mass produced.

Also, while this guide only talks about cells, the japanese manual says the doll was made with Mishaela's own soul.

Notes on Balbazak:

blah blah blah the english localization cut some dialogue etc etc you know the drill by now don't you

"I rebuilt your body, gave you the blood of a dragon master, and you still betrayed me..."

The GBA version even elaborated upon this dragon master thing by giving Balbazak a Blue Dragon, which makes sense since Balbazak apparently leads the Magical Beast division of the army. However, "dragon master" is also the japanese name for Bleu's promoted class, so it's possible that the original game meant he received dragon blood.

Notes on Chaos:

The big brother comment plus Adam's original HQ quote make me very emo:

"Darksol... I cannot forgive him. Even Chaos was used by him... I won't ever forgive him..."

:(

[claire-starsword]

Gort [Dwarf] Class: Warrior -> Gladiator

He has been in as many battlefields as there are stars in the sky...

*** Long ago, he was known as the greatest warrior of Guardiana.

Even after retiring, he couldn't fully put the fighting behind him, and spent everyday on the tavern lost in grumbling and reminiscing of the past.

During Runefaust's attack, his daughter was killed, and thus he decided to join battle once more. ***

As they say, this Shining Force has more grandpas and weird creatures than girls. Gort here represents the old guys of the team. It is possible to forget to pick him, so pay attention to that.

Despite his age, his physical strength and sense for battling are not outdone by the young ones. You might think that at his age he has already peaked... but it's not like that at all, his skill grows steadily so don't worry about it. Perhaps he's a good example of how those with talent keep developing as long as they live. By the way, it seems he has also fought alongside Varios sometime in the past.

_______

Hans [Elf] Class: Archer -> Bowmaster

The kind archer who loves peace

*** An archer of Guardiana's army. By the king's orders, he joined the party heading to the Gate of the Ancients, and therefore became one of first members of the Shining Force.

He's certainly skilled with the bow, but is a kind man that hates fighting. Because of that, his fellow soldiers at the castle look down on him. ***

Because his lines show no fighting spirit at all, you might think he won't be useful, but that's not the case. He has somehow managed to win three consecutive times at the archery category of the tournament held once every six months.

Hans here, along with Tao, Ken and Luke, were the members of the party heading to the Gate of the Ancients, that is, the Shining Force's first members, chosen directly by Varios for that specific mission. Now you can't help but imagine that, maybe Varios expected Guardiana to fall, and chose people able to see carry out their mission along the protagonist to the end, to keep them away from the castle on purpose...

______

Notes on Hans:

While his hesitance to fight still came across in the english version, the japanese version has a different HQ line for when he's not in the team that I feel like bringing up:

"Max, seems like you were really fierce in the last battle... You're brave... While I'm so, so afraid. I wonder how the others feel."

The GBA remake also adds a great line if you bring him to fight Dark Dragon:

[claire-starsword]

Today I bring you Good Boy and Laundry Man. Tomorrow? Who knows. (I know. It will be very stupid stay tuned)

Ken [Centaur] Class: Knight -> Paladin

The young knight carrying the future of the Order of Knights!

*** The youngest member of Guardiana's Order of Knights. He's still seem as only an apprentice instead of an official knight. Mae treats him like a little brother, but he secretly admires the protagonist for his swordsmanship skills. Perhaps due to the flexibility of youth, he shows surprising growth once in the real battles. ***

Little Ken who comes with that awkward flattering line "I admire you, (protagonist)!" and despite that, quickly grows stronger than the protagonist. If you use him that way you should go through the battles with ease, and yet it seems he often gets dropped off the team along the way... Perhaps people don't like his "good boy" appearance in the artwork? Maybe he still needs more training to survive among the other older knights.

_____

Arthur [Centaur] Class: Knight -> Paladin

The knight that hides endless possibilities!

*** He hates fighting, and was taken in by Manarina. There he meets the protagonist, and decides to throw himself into battle once more. It seems he's a noble from another continent. He's the only one among the knights who can learn to use magic if you raise him. ***

Arthur, who joins your force with the cool line "If I get in your way, you can get rid of me", and then really gets in your way...

Between his quite pathetic first appearance and his quite low initial stats, his reputation is poor, but that's a temporary state. If he gets enough experience in the battlefield, he becomes stronger than anyone else (he also learns how to use magic)! Only you can make Arthur a man!

_____

Notes about Ken:

I'm not very confident on my translation of the line on how to use him as it makes little sense, so take it with a grain of salt, sorry.

The line quoted is from Ken's introduction in the japanese version. It is basically the same in the GBA version (only even more adoring lmao) and was translated accurately there.

“I... I admire you, Max! ...I can’t let Mae know that, though.”

Unlike other guides, this one says nothing about him having a crush on Mae. The GBA version also ignores this fact. I feel this guide was the main if not only reference used by that remake.

Notes about Arthur: I'm cringing so hard at that last line, god.

Again, the line quoted is in the japanese version, and was mostly the same in the remake, and more accurately translated.

[claire-starsword]

Found scans of what I think is the best Shining Force guide in terms of lore, so I’ll be translating and discussing some stuff here for the next days. Let’s start with the two characters you’d expect:

Protagonist [Human] Class: Swordsman -> Hero

The young hero who faces battles, spurred on by destiny

*** As protagonist of the game, he's the young hero who leads the Shining Force. One year ago, he lost his memory, and was found unconscious by Lowe in the coast near Guardiana. After that, he continued to train his swordsmanship in there. His real identity (?) is descendant of the family entrusted with the duty to protect Dark Dragon's seal. ***

As revealed in the later half of the game, he is the younger brother of Cain from the Runefaust army, and the two were fated to fight Dark Dragon.

The black armor (reinforced clothes?) he wears after changing class to "hero" were designed for this mission, much like Cain's white armor. It seems the armor itself has been among his belongings even when he was still in Guardiana, but before becoming "hero" class, he didn't know how to put it on, and thus could not use it in battle. _____

Mae [Centaur] Class: Knight -> Paladin

The crimson fighting spirit galloping through the battlefield! Shining Force's offense captain!

*** The only daughter of Varios, captain of the Guardiana knights. She's very proud of her class and species. At the start she was prejudiced against the protagonist because he was an outsider, but once the castle fell she realized their duty, and vowed to cooperate with him. After that she became the Shining Force's main fighting power. ***

In the game she's the focus of the event with Varios, and thus it isn't mentioned anywhere, but of course, Mae had a mother as well. Her name was Allia, and she was a female knight who fought alongside Varios in her youth. However, she died of an illness when Mae was young.

Her popular (?) strong personality is in part due to having her parents in mind. Ever since she was young, she dreamed of becoming a knight like her mother and helping Varios in battle.

_____

Notes about Max:

The armor thing is a detail mentioned only by this guide, but Max's backstory and family are explained in the original game, the english localization just did away with all of it because it is uh, Bad, to put it mildly.

"My name is Adam... I am a mechanical soldier created to help you in battle... You and Master Cain have the blood of the ancients in your veins... You were fated to fight Dark Dragon since you were born... Darksol... He plans to resurrect Dark Dragon, and found out about the both of you. He schemed to manipulate you in order to obtain the key to the seal and the Book of Secrets. Master Cain fought to give you a chance to escape... But he was defeated by Darksol... And you suffered terrible wounds. Because of that you lost even your memory."

[The official translation uses "manual of the seal" for ひでんのしょ, but "Book of Secrets" (used by the GBA version) is a more accurate translation.]

Lowe finding him at the shore is mentioned both in game and in the manual from what I recall, and the interesting thing is, the manual contains a pixel art illustration of Lowe carrying him into Guardiana. It's the only time I've seen a pixel art scene in these extra materials, so I wonder if it was made for an intro in the game itself and got cut.

Notes about Mae: Mae's initial distaste for Max is also clearer in the japanese version.

“Don’t get too full of yourself just because you’re training with my father. You’re still an outsider!”

Mae talks about her mother in the GBA version, and it matches this backstory perfectly, with extra details on how she became a knight and married Varios. Her name was however changed to Arisa (アリサ in the JP version). I chose to romanize the original name here as Allia to avoid bad implications, but throwing アーリア in the online dictionary gave me a lot of result related to aryan race and similar things, so this might be why they changed it, and I deeply support that change. The new name might also be an homage to Alis of Phantasy Star, but that's just me speculating.

[claire-starsword]

Bleu [Sacred Dragon] Class: Dragon -> Great Dragon

The flames of a wrathful Dragon God lay waste to evil!

*** A descendant of the Sacred Dragons who protect the treasure of the Ancients known as the "Book of Secrets".

While Sacred Dragons are incredibly powerful, their fertility is extremely low, and Bleu is now the last of them. Encouraged by the children of Rudo, he joins the Shining Force. ***

Many creatures known as "dragons" live in the continent of Rune. The Blue Dragons seen on the enemy's side, the Red Dragons that aren't seen in game but live in the magma underground, the Hydra with its many heads, extremely rare small dragons used as mounts by knights, and so on.

Sacred Dragons are the strongest among those, the ultimate dragons... at least that's how it's supposed to be, but our boy Bleu here isn't all there yet. He still needs more time before he can show his real power.

______

Zylo [Wolfing] Class: Werewolf -> Wolf Baron

The king of beasts dashing through the forest!

*** Ruler of Bustoke, the people of the mountains. He's respected as a forest spirit.

He was prepared to join the Shining Force at Otrant's request. However, due to Runefaust's plotting he went feral, and had to be tossed in his own jail... ***

The Shining Force has a lot of people of noble birth, but none can compare to Zylo. For he is the king of Bustoke.

Politics in Bustoke are a bit complicated. The country's government system is (a rudimentary) parliamentary democracy. Zylo is merely an overseer. As a "forest spirit", his role is to make sure that people aren't taking from the forest any more than what they need.

That is the uniqueness of Bustoke's political system, to manage all of their lifestyle relying on the resources of the forest and mountains (such as lumber, stone, and animals to hunt).

_______

Notes on Bleu:

I feel that Bleu's species, 神竜, would be better translated as "divine dragon" than Dragon God, given the kanji order, but it's a small nitpick so I went with the official translation everyone's familiar with. Nevermind, I’m a dummy that had forgotten the original localization for Bleu’s species was “Sacred Dragon”, and “Dragon God” was a GBA only thing. Sacred Dragon is more accurate so I’ve updated the translation accordingly.

On the other hand, as I've mentioned before, 秘伝の書 was translated as "manual of the ancients" in game, but "Book of Secrets" (from the GBA version) is more accurate.

Part of the reason I care so much about the above is that there is a novel starring Bleu, where supposedly the book is an important part of the plot despite not involving Dark Dragon's seal this time. The novel also might delve deeper the Sacred Dragons' lack of fertility thing, but sadly I have not found scans of it and I lament this daily. Update: all of this is outdated just go read the novel and the notes on it instead.

Notes on Zylo:

My grammar is a little shaky on that last line, sorry. It feels weird to say that it's unique for a country to manage itself according to its resources because that's very normal. But I guess the point is that they never aim for unsustainable growth, as the rest of the text implies.

Once again, him knowing Otrant is a fact in the japanese version.

"I received a letter from Otrant of Manarina requesting I assisted you as I could. To repay for your great help, let me join you in battle."

The GBA version expanded upon that.

[claire-starsword]

Amon [birdwomen] Class: Birdwomen -> Sky Warrior

The blue lightning flash dancing in the skies!

*** She set off to find her husband Balbaroy, who had been injured and disappeared.

Once she found out of the danger Balbaroy was in, she asked the Shining Force for help. They become some of the few flying members of the team. She's a reliable married lady (?) whose power is on par with her husband. ***

Birdmen like Amon here and Balbaroy used to live in the eastern side of the continent.

Before being attacked by Runefaust, they had their nests at the peaks of rocky mountains near the Tower of the Ancients, but those were all burned down once the Pegasus Knights attacked.

Birdmen usually love to travel, and only return to the nest they were born in to give birth to and raise their own children (they are born from eggs). It isn't just a fancy phrase, the skies of Rune really are their garden.

Runefaust's army found out the time of the year where they reproduced, and attacked their nests at once. Many birdmen gave their lives trying to protect their eggs. _______

Kokichi [Human] Class: Wing Knight -> Sky Lord

The man who staked his life on the dream of flying

*** An elderly man who lives in Bustoke. Dreaming of being able to fly, he perservered at his research for 50 years.

He joins the Shining Force wearing his finished flying machine with flapping wings. His motive is of course, to fight for justice! ***

At first he uses a flying machine with flapping wings but, once claiming the title of "Sky Lord", he remodels it into a small-scale helicopter. What powers said helicopter is a prototype magical superconductor motor (see Guntz's section).

There's evidence of research into flying machines similar to Kokichi's in Runefaust too.

They completed many flying machines, and came under General Elliot's command with the designation of "Flying Soldiers". They were meant to debut at the battle in Pao Plains but, all had engine troubles, and crashed before arrival.

______

Notes on Amon:

No I don't get why there's that question mark when calling her a wife/married lady, I'm likely missing some joke here.

Also untranslatable wordplay time! The word used here for lightning flash is 稲妻, which is written using the kanji for wife (妻).

Just me speculating now, but birdmen originally living in mountains might have been inspiration for Bedoe in SF2? Though those live not at summit but all over the mountain. Small detail though.

The GBA version contradicted this though, in a way I always thought was boring as heck.

Notes on Kokichi:

The GBA version connects his technology further with Dr. Crock's, by saying Crock gave him the pointers to make a steam engine for the first winged machine (he had to adapt it for flight though).

[claire-starsword]

Max’s diary - Chapter 2

(5) Month of the Green Swallow, Day 15

We've only just got to Rindo, but we're setting off to Manarina immediately. But ahead of us were a bunch of monsters protecting the city and a vast desert. In terms of distance, it's around the same as going from Guardiana to Alterone. But, our movement is definitely worse in the desert. We kept whining about it as we walked, and if the Dark Mages hit us with Blaze, it'd just get even hotter. They also won't advance on their own. I keep trying to come up with a brilliant idea, like breaking through them without taking damage, but it seems impossible. My plans need to make sure they don't wipe several people at once... Being a leader is tough. If only Nova had come along. By the way, I don't think Zombies fit this kind of dry desert? What do you think?

___

(6) Month of the Green Swallow, Day 26

The greatest authority in Manarina, Otrant, said we should challenge the Cavern of Darkness. We don't know what to expect in this journey, so getting to understand our destiny here would be great... Also the princess of Guardiana, Anri, will be fighting with us from here on. She doesn't know much about me, so I gotta do my best to show her what kind of person I am.

Inside the cavern is very damp. That kind of place is of course crawling with Zombies. Well, I'll leave them to Tao who looks eager to Blaze stuff. The problem is the Skeleton guarding the treasure chest with (I think) the Orb of Light. Those bones look tough. So I guess I'll send Gort. I'll let everyone else handle it.

___

(7) Month of the Blue Deer, Day 2

We sneaked into the circus tent looking for the mayor's grandchild, and that fortune-telling lady I saw in Alterone was there. Turns out she's from Runefaust. She said a bunch of harsh things at me and left. What stayed behind were her clone, the Mishaela Doll, and circus monsters. Well okay then. Let's fight them. But, Mishaela Doll's Freeze level 3 is way too cold. Once she uttered the spell, the pillars supporting the circus tent froze. I'm afraid the ceiling will collapse because of that. I'll start by asking Tao and Anri to cast Blaze and make a bonfire. We gotta keep warm or we'll lose any will to fight. Gong's barely wearing anything.

___

(8) Month of the Blue Deer, Day 10

I met Darksol for the first time. He said a bunch of things I didn't understand much and left. When I realized, I was surrounded by Zombies. I guess that was trap that the petrified Balbaroy warned about. I could retreat with Egress for now but, I'll do it if we get close to losing.

I mean, as long as I don't get defeated it's fine. I'll do my best along everyone that believes in me.

There's a lot of Zombies, so I need Tao and Anri to be working to the max. The warriors will fight the Skeletons. Mae and Ken will be giving support. Huh? Arthur, what are you doing? Hey, hey. You don't work with the laundry anymore, stop doing the laundry. If you want to help then fight. Please. I'm begging you...

[claire-starsword]

Gong [Giant] Class: Monk -> Master Monk

His trained body is his strongest weapon!

*** A traveling monk in training. He travels alone to train his body and spirit.

During his travels, he heard rumors about the protagonist, and joined the Shining Force. Compared to priests, his magic is inferior, but his endurance and strength are higher, so he can fight at the front lines. ***

Gong joins the force right after the first battle at the Gate of the Ancients.

Most notable thing about his appearance is the huge backpack he carries. He keeps the contents secret, but it apparently includes the things listed below. -Sleeping bag (to sleep well anywhere out in the wild); -Preserved food (look like small pills. A single one per day is enough to sustain him); -Spare underwear and hand towel (he likes to stay clean); -Ointment (even though he trained his body so much, fighting bare-fist can always lead to injuries).

And it is said that at the very bottom of the backpack is a treasured letter from his mother.

_______

Balbaroy [Birdmen] Class: Birdmen -> Sky Warrior

The sky hero faster than wind!

*** One of the birdmen, the race that ruled the skies of Rune. Runefaust's army feared this power and thus launched a surprise attack, and the birdmen were annihilated. Balbaroy too was wounded, but the priest of Shade Abbey saved him. He fought alongside the priest when Darksol attacked the abbey and yet...

He's also Amon's husband. ***

While the continent of Rune is home to a bunch of different species, there are few that are able to fly. There are birdmen like Balbaroy here, the pegasi, and the dragon gods at least.

When it comes to flight only, birdmen are the number ones be it speed, distance or maneuverability​. However, they disliked fighting, and weren't too good at offense.

That's why they couldn't do anything against a massive attack of the Pegasus Knights, who were clearly inferior in flight skills but more powerful, and were thus defeated. Will the birdmen counterattack succeed in the end? _______

Notes about Gong:

GBA Gong does not care as much for keeping his belongings secret (or maybe he just trusts Max?), and thus talks about a lot of the things said here, but not the mother's letter, sadly. It would have been more interesting to unlock than all his other things.

Weird that he "heard rumors of the protagonist" when he joins at the very first battle when Max is still a nobody, huh? Perhaps because of this the GBA version added some stuff about it being fate. _______

Notes about Balbaroy:

Again, the GBA version brings up the annihilation of birdmen. It does change the story slightly though, as Balbaroy and Amon are already traveling together.