Shining Force CD: The Sword of Hajya

A few days ago, I beat the first scenario of Shining Force CD, "Towards the Root of Evil," based on the Japan-only Game Gear game, "Shining Force Gaiden." Sadly, there were no additional battles as creative (or fun) as the one where you had to find weapons on the beach, but the game did ramp up the difficulty a bit as it wore on.

Which isn't to say it is as difficult as its console counterparts; it isn't. Very rarely did I feel in danger in "Towards the Root of Evil," and really wasn't until the very last battle. There were bosses, sure, but with proper movement, and the slow pace I usually go through battles, I very rarely had player characters in any amount of danger. Now, it's very likely this is just because I know the battle system of these games inside and out, and therefore know the AI patterns of the enemies, but I would like to see a bit more challenge in the second part of Shining Force CD.

As for the final battle... The main bad guy of the game, Woldol, inexplicably turns into a scorpion and is invincible until you hit him with the Sword of Hajya. Going into the battle, I thought this was a Taros from Shining Force II situation in which only the main character could damage him, so I prepared accordingly, only to find out that after being damaged once with the Sword of Hajya, any old Force member can damage him. By the time I realized this, I had let a few of my party members die while trying to fend off Woldol from targeting the main character. It didn't matter, though, because once I realized what to do, I just threw everything I had at him and he went down pretty easily (coincidentally by the main character, no less).

What I do like about this scenario is how it ties into the second Game Gear game (part 2 of Shining Force CD, released as Sword of Hajya in America on the Game Gear in 1994). The main character of "Towards the Root of Evil" is actually Prince Nick, who, at the beginning of the second game, along with Gyan and presumably Claude, leave to go conquer Iom, where they eventually get defeated and your party has to help them. When I first played the Sword of Hajya, I had no idea why Prince Nick seemed to be important and why there was some random bird who looked important in the army that left that never spoke. And why Gyan had a face portrait. I never beat the Game Gear game, so it's possible that I'll eventually join up with those guys in "The Evil God Awakes," as part 2 is called in Shining Force CD (confused yet?).

Looking at a FAQ for what I missed in "Towards the Root of Evil" shows that apparently there were a few secret characters you can only get by searching certain bushes during certain battles. I like the idea of secret characters, but think it's dumb you can only get them by randomly searching bushes during battles. It'd be one thing if the game gave you some kind of hint, or something, but I had no idea they were even there. Also, I apparently missed a secret already in "The Evil God Awakes" because I didn't search a well a few battles ago. The item you find there supposedly unlocks the hidden boss rush chapter, where your party fights every boss from both "Towards the Root of Evil" and "The Evil God Awakes." I suppose I might try to get that eventually, just to see all the content the game offers (I'd also like to write about it).

Anyway, so I'm underneath the castle of Emild, about to fight the first true boss of the game, Gordon, to finally re-obtain the Sword of Hajya. I have gotten this far in the Game Gear version, and don't really remember having a problem with Gordon, so we'll see if that still holds true. I will likely write about Shining Force CD soon...