Shining Force Gaiden III - connecting SF1 and SF2

[Roareye Black]

Okay, this is a retro title not yer fancy new Switchamagizmos with yer Zeldas, yer Splatoons and yer skateboardin on the sidewalks. Crazy kids.

 

Shining Force Gaiden was a Shining Force trilogy on the Game Gear that acted as a sequel to Max's story from Shining Force 1. Only the second title got an official English translation (called The Sword of Haija) until Shining Force CD was released on the Mega CD with the first two games, an epilogue and a bonus bossfight stage.

Having smashed up my knee in a motorbike accident, I finally tasked myself with completing SFCD, unlocking the extras and completing the stories. I then moved onto modding Mario Kart 64 to include Sonic, then found you can mod Game Gear games to run on a Master System (PS they only run on a Master System, they don't run on a Mega Drive with an MS Converter). Out of curiosity I adapted the three Gaiden titles expecting Gaiden III to be the short epilogue story from SFCD. It isn't.

In Shining Force Gaiden III, you follow (at least partially, your main character is called Ian) Max from Shining Force 1! The game is set in Parmecia, starting gameplay in Hassan. Shining Force 2 fans will recognise that as the continent you travel to after Granseal is destroyed in SF2! Hassan was the port town (dried up by SF2) that you reach after your battle with the Kraken.

The story starts with Max and his team as he chases down Mishaela with his team. They get separated and you begin the game in Hassan.

I've yet to get very far but this is a crucial piece of missing SF story. The opening scene even includes the SF2 caravan as it is still in the shrine (no sign of the giant robot though).

Shining Force's first few games are always stated to be connected, little did I know there was a direct crossover title between the first two games. Shining Force CD is excellent, but as Shining Force 2 was already made why didn't they convert Gaiden III over too? It's odd for such a vital connecting story to be forgotten.

Shining Force 2's Hassan included a gladiator townsman who was a standard NPC, and he looks out of place for it. Already he's in my team in Gaiden III. I'm excited to get through this now.

Anyone else played this missing gem?