Shining in the Darkness (Final)

     I was able to level up pretty quickly while grinding about in level 5.  I also discovered that having the "Magic Ring" item in one's inventory actually assisted against magic damage.  I really wish I knew this awhile ago.
     Once I got everyone around lvl 50 I decided I was strong enough to try and take on Dark Sol, as I anticipated that he'd be crazy strong.

     I made my way back to the glowing fountain now that I had the "vial of tears" to see what all that was about.  Upon using the vial, an apparition appeared and told me that I was now the "Shining Knight" and that she would make me stronger.  Also, she healed the whole party and replenished magic points, so I was pretty set to go.

     Dark Sol was supposedly nearby, just north of where the fountain was.  I actually had to fall down a pit back to level 4, then up some stairs to get back to where he was.
     I made sure that we were healed up, and that everyone had a "miracle herb", which would revive anyone who died with full stats.  I went into the room, and the fight started.

     The room looked all crazy and had what looked like machinery, which was different from the rest of the game.  He told me was going to kill me, etc, etc, and then we went at it.  Surprisingly, he did very little damage, and I was able to kick his ass pretty quickly.

     Well, it tuns out that this was only his first form.  He went on about the powers of darkness helping him, and thats when he turned into this-

     So now the damage was much more, and he attacked a few times per turn.  However, despite all of his new crazy power, I managed to kick his ass pretty quickly again.  In the last round, he did manage to kill Pyra, but the next round would have seen one of the others using a miracle herb, so it was no big deal.  In fact, I never used any of them.

     After he dies, you see the roof tear away, and doves flying overhead, then you're instantly taken out of the dungeon, which you can no longer enter.  Going back to the castle, you're greeted by everyone with praise for saving them all.  The King actually makes you a knight, but also the ruler of the land, which is confusing because he still sits in the throne, wearing the crown that sounds like it should be yours.  I'll let it slide.

     So that was that.  I got credits and "The End".

     I liked the game a lot.  It was the first 16-bit console RPG I had played, and was quite a step up from anything the NES had to offer at the time.  I had always looked down on console RPGs what with being used to games like Wasteland or Ultima V for 8-bit computers, but this game started turning that around.

     The Genesis also saw other "Shining" games, such as Shining Force 1, 2, and CD, but a proper sequel to Darkness never really came out.  In the future I'll probably play Shining Force CD on here, since it's the one of the 3 others I haven't played.

     I played the game using Fusion, a Genesis emulator for Windows.  You can actually get it here.

HuckleCat

Shining in the Darkness #2

     More grinding along.  I did manage to get a bit further, this time getting all the pieces of light arms together and saving the princess.  I remember the first time I played, I figured the final end boss fight would result in saving the princess, but that's not the case.

     A bit about the "dungeon proper", like I said, it's the 4 levels above the main ground floor.  Each one graphically looks about the same as the others only with a different color scheme, with the exception being level 5.

The one on the left is level 5

     A few things take place outside before you actually go into the upper levels.  First, you're told that one of the kings lackeys has not only disappeared, but the he actually was Dark Sol in disguise.  Second, Dark Sol actually shows up twice, once to tell the king that he's in deep shit, and again in the tavern to try and get you to join him.

     Third, the parents of the 2 adventurers that join you in the earlier part of the game, Pyra and Milo, show up at the tavern to yell at their offspring for doing such a dangerous and stupid thing.  In fact, Pyra's mother is so angry that she literally beats her ass.

The good old days.

     Despite the rage, they end up letting your party stay with you since the game would become otherwise unplayable.

     Back to the dungeon, I had managed to grind through level 4 enough that all my guys are in the mid 40s in terms of level strength.  I did not really find anything else of note besides the Light Blade and the princess stuff.
     The princess stuff - yeah, I did find her.  She was locked up in a cell and told me that she had in fact been locked up by my dad, who evidently went apeshit and is now working for Dark Sol.

     So not only does he now work for the bad guys, but I also have to fight him in order to get the key that opens the cell door.  She also lets me know that he's just around the corner.
     I head over, and sure enough, there he is.  I honestly thought the fight would be tougher than it actually was, but I managed to beat him pretty easily.  Afterwards he tells you that he was given a Darksword, and that it drained his soul and turned him into a serious asshole.

     So I killed my dad.  On the bright side though, I did get the cell key, saved the princess, and also managed to obtain the Light Shield, which was locked in a cell back in level 3.

     Beyond this, I have been grinding level 5.  I did manage to grind enough that I found the Light Armor, and now have all the pieces of Light Arms.  I also found a colored fountain, which did nothing upon finding it.  However, when I got back to town after this, the Princess and the others in the kings room gave me a vial of the princess' tears, and that I should go and use it with some water spirit.  I'm guessing that's what the glowing fountain was about.

     So that's where I am now.  Use the tears on the fountain, then find and kill Dark Sol.

HuckleCat

Backlog #4 - Shining in the Darkness

     I actually had this game the year it came out, and had completed it back then.  A few years ago, in 2011, I had required another heart surgery, and was pretty scared at the time.  I picked a few games to go back to and finish again before I went under the knife, Wasteland, and this one.
     While I managed to finish Wasteland again, this one I did not.  I am picking up where I left off from that saved game.

The boxart, from Wikipedia.

     Shining in the Darkness came out in August of 1991 from Sega, for the Sega Genesis.  In Japan it was actually called Shining and the Darkness.  Don't know what's up with the change.  The game was pretty successful, and spawned a ton of other "Shining" titles over the years of varying genres.
     It's essentially a "dungeon crawl" RPG, a type of game that was pretty popular in the 80s on 8-bit computers, modeled after games like Wizardry, or The Bard's Tale.  The player sees a first-person view of a dungeon hallway and you get lost endlessly while trying to get from point A to B.  These games, back in the day, usually required that the player bust out graph paper to map out the dungeons.  This was before games started introducing automap features.

     This just so happens to be the last game that I ever played where I actually mapped it out with graph paper.

     The plot sees "the hero", which is you, on a quest to find the Princess and your dad, who have both gone to do who knows what in the "local dungeon".  While absolutely not playing "tiddly winks", a bad guy named "Dark Sol" comes and kidnaps them.

     There's 9 levels in all, 4 of them are underground and consist of 4 "trials", while the other 5 are ground-and-up.

     The game starts out in the Castle, where the King tells me how his daughter and my dad are gone.   They give me gold, I go equip myself, then go to the dungeon.  It's set up with these 3 locations being where you can go - the Castle, Town, or the Dungeon.

Part of the town.

     In town there are several different building that you can choose from by going left or right.  Places to buy armor, weapons, and herbs, as well as a tavern to rest up in, and a shrine where a priest will save your game.  (This is sort of a common thing with JRPGs I'm finding.  Dragon Quest 5 does the same thing.)
     I like how the music in the town increases and decreases in volume relative to how close you are to the Tavern, making it seem like that's where the fun is.

     In the game's beginning I'm going into the dungeon by myself, but once I find the princess' tiara somewhere on level 1 I'm joined by 2 more characters, which helps a ton.  After this point you're given a key that will allow you go through 4 "trials" which are located under the first level.

     So far I have done the 4 trials, which are Strength, Courage, Truth, and Wisdom.  Some involved fighting a boss, getting a key, an orb of truth is somewhere in there, and grinding to gain levels.  Lots of grinding.

Some of the bad guys early on.

     Along the way you'll get better stuff with which you'll be better able to kick more and more serious ass.

I kicked his ass.

     I forgot to mention that while in the 4 trial dungeons, you'll eventually come across 3 other adventurers who were also sent to do the same job, but have each failed in some way.  They each join up temporarily until you leave.  This makes one of the Kings lackeys, who was very skeptical of your ability to do jack shit, less skeptical with each one you rescue.

The bald douche with the crazy eyebrows.

     Once past the 4 trials, by task is to enter the "dungeon proper", which is the 4 upper levels, in search of not only the princess, but also the "Light" arms, which will help me beat Dark Sol.  So far I've found the Lighthelm and the Light Sword between levels 2 and 3.  Now I'm grinding through level 4 in search of more light stuff and the princess.  I think I'm pretty close to the end, IIRC.

HuckleCat