Those cognizant of the history or the game elements of the past Shining Force games will know that many of these installments have received numerous bouts of critical acclaim. Unfortunately, Shining Force EXA does not live up to the series' past reputation. At best, it's a budget title, to be purchased when the price has dropped considerably or has been traded in by another disappointed gamer.

The story of Shining Force EXA is fairly basic. Toma, a young and brash barbarian warrior, is searching for the legendary Shining Force; a sword said to grant its owner, known simply as the Heritor, great power. He is joined in this quest by other hopefuls who want to possess the Shining Force for their own purposes. When Toma finally gains the Shining Force, this action awakens the Geo-Fortress, a high tech castle with its very own dog like guardian called Zenus. The group is soon embroiled in a war between two countries: the Noswald Empire which is ruled by humans and Fyrlandt which is ruled by creatures called the Magnus.

A game may be forgiven for a few shortcomings if, at the very least, it provides a decent enough story to sink your teeth into. Unfortunately, nothing about the plot or characters really stands out, which results in a story that's unbearably clichéd. It's obvious that Toma is going to be the one who possesses Shining Force, and that he's going to help every member of his party to complete what they wanted to use Shining Force for. So, as a result, there is very little perceived conflict in the game. And really, how many times does a game need to feature a 16 year old hot head who, despite being a selfish idiot, still manages to save the world from impending doom? The developers chose to stick with this formula for the story, and it leaves the experience all too boring and predictable.

It doesn't help that the battle system of Shining Force EXA isn't particularly noteworthy. With only two players to control, you must choose between either Toma, a barbarian warrior, or Cyrille, a magic user. The other in-game characters are actually unplayable, and although you can set the way they react in battle, they will still wade into the waves of monsters with little forethought or strategy. In fact, nowhere in the game can you take direct control of any other character other than Toma and Cyrille, which is unfortunate. The gameplay itself is essentially divided into two parts: quest and defensive battle. In quest, you are given a specific objective to complete, usually culminating in a boss battle or defeating a large force of monsters.

While on these quests, the Geo-Fortress is sometimes attacked as well, and this will start a defensive battle. Depending on the character you choose to leave behind, that individual must go it alone, and defend the fortress from attack. You cannot continue the game or use the Geo-Fortresses' normal functions until these battles are won, which can grow irritating. Winning consists of defending the Photon Converter from monster attacks and defeating a boss, but that pretty much just translates into mashing the X button while occasionally letting a spell loose to shake things up a bit. There's very little strategy involved in defeating these enemies, and after a while, the combat becomes more of a chore than anything else.

Shining Force EXA uses cel-shading for its cutscenes, and normally, if this technique is used well, it adds an impressive visual flair to a game. So upon seeing the first cutscene of Toma hunting a boar, things were looking up, as the developers had seemingly chosen to use this particular art style. However, its potential is never fully realized, resulting in graphics that ultimately fail to impress. In fact, it feels as though the game's graphics are actually unfinished. The only part done well from a visual standpoint lies in the character design, in which Toma, Cyrille, and the other main characters are look quite well, actually. In particular, Maebelle's design looks great. Other than that, all that's left is a graphical presentation that's far from extraordinary.

Nothing about the sound in Shining Force EXA is any better, either. The voice-overs of the characters are what is to be expected from a second tier role playing game: both annoying and whiny. There is very little life in the performances given, and it sounds like the actors are simply reading from a script instead of actually acting. The only character that stood out was Philip, and that has more to do with his strangely placed British accent than anything else. The sound effects are merely adequate, and at the very least, do not get in the way of gameplay. The music is also disappointing, and has a notably generic feel, especially when compared to other games of the genre.

If one word were used to describe Shining Force EXA, it would be mediocre. Excluding fans of the Shining Force series, this game cannot be wholeheartedly recommended. Although EXA has some of the elements that one would want in a role-playing game, it never fully takes advantage of any of them. With such a well-established gaming pedigree, it's a shame that the Shining Force series has gone so far downhill in recent years. Hopefully, in the future, the developers will get things back on track. But, until then, you best stay away from Shining Force EXA.