3.5/5 ★ – CartridgeDust's review of Shining Force II.

Playing this right after its predecessor turned out to be a good idea. Quality of life upgrades abound, and they're all especially apparent right after playing the original. Single-button environmental interaction! Easy stat comparison, including the menu in weapon shops! A backtrackable world map! I feel so spoiled by the common JRPG conventions of the mid-90s. On its face, this game is very similar to its predecessor. The same engine, the same color palettes, the same fonts and textures. Beneath the surface, though, is a very, very different experience. The story is much more thoroughly told and with a much more comedic, playful bent. In many ways, this feels closer to my other beloved Camelot series (Golden Sun) than the first Shining Force. The difference is subtle. It's a tone thing and a game-feel thing. That bleeds into the negatives, though. Like Golden Sun games, the middle of Shining Force II drags pretty terribly. Whereas every fight in the first game had a specific purpose and theme and idea, many fights in the bloated middle portions of the sequel just pop up on the world map with no other reason or concept than "a fight should happen here." The game is significantly longer than its predecessor and, I would argue, it didn't need to be. The same story with less repetitive grinding would have shone brighter. The truly interesting battles like the kraken battle of attrition or the miniaturized chessboard war didn't need Forest Battles #8-17 clogging up the game between them. (Oh, and the mithril side quest with randomized rewards is execrable.) The music rules, even the bits which repeat a little too frequently. The score pumps and surges and heralds synthesized cartoon glory. And the option to increase the difficulty serves the game extremely well. You can trip and fall into victory in the first Shining Force; this time around, careful tactics and strategy were required, which (as with any well-calibrated difficulty setting) forced me to really learn the game's ins and outs. It's still way less crunchy and detailed than I like, but there's enough tactical nuance to tide me over. The first Shining Force was laconic, and its story underserved its setting and cast. The sequel is open, inviting, playful, and talkative, with a ton of creative charm and some surprisingly bleak and wrenching story beats, too. (Hot dog knight's existential despair is... distressing.) The best sword in the game is a medieval green lightsaber again. I am content.