| Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya | |
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North American box art of Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya |
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| Developer(s) | Sonic! Software Planning |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Composer(s) | Motoaki Takenouchi |
| Platform(s) | Game Gear |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | VRC: GA (General Audiences) |
| Media/distribution | 6-megabit cartridge (Physical) |
Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (シャイニング・フォース外伝 II ～邪神の覚醒～ Shainingu Fōsu Gaiden II: Jashin no Kakusei, lit. "Shining Force Gaiden II: The Evil God Awakens") is a 1993/1994 tactical role-playing game for the Sega Game Gear console. It is not to be mistaken with Shining Force II for the Mega Drive/Genesis, as it is the sequel to the original Shining Force Gaiden for the Game Gear, not Shining Force for the Mega Drive/Genesis.
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Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya uses gameplay mechanics identical to those of its predecessor, Shining Force Gaiden. The player progresses through a series of turn-based tactical battles interspersed with short cutscenes. Between cutscenes the player is allowed to save the game, promote characters, resurrect fallen characters, and sometimes buy and sell weapons and healing items. As with most strategy RPGs, the battlefields are divided up into a grid where player characters and enemies take turns moving, attacking, casting magic and using items. Player characters gain experience by battling enemies, and may choose, once they reach level 10, to upgrade their class into a more powerful one.
The USA release of Shining Force Gaiden II made drastic alterations to the spells Blaze level 3 and Freeze level 3, more than doubling the damage they inflict while increasing the radius of their effect from two to three squares. This results in mage characters being overpowered compared to other playable characters. More importantly, it makes enemies with level 3 magic absurdly dangerous, as any one of them can kill several characters at full health in a single move.
The story revolves around Deanna and his companions, young soldiers in the army of Cypress. Nick, the Prince of Cypress, has left the castle in order to defeat Iom, an aggressor nation. He leaves, however, without the powerful Sword of Hajya due to his inability to wield it - his arm has been turned to stone. Deanna and his friends are left behind to defend the castle and the Sword, with Prince Nick's friend Mayfair placed in charge of them. When forces from Iom attack and steal the sword, Mayfair directs the young soldiers to pursue them in order to regain possession of the sword.
Shining Force Gaiden II/Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya is a direct continuation of the story of Shining Force Gaiden and takes place just two months after.[2] Shining Force Gaiden I tells how the war between Cypress and Iom began, how Nick befriended Mayfair, how his arm was turned to stone, and several other major plot points. Gyan, Ruce, Woldol, Randolf, and others all originally appeared in Shining Force Gaiden I.
Shining Force CD, in turn, contains a scenario which takes place just a few months after Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya and features most of the major characters.
The hidden characters Hanzou and Musashi (mistranslated in the game as "Higins" and "Rush"[3]) previously appeared in Shining Force I.
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