Sega have put up a mini-site for Shining Soul II, including all sorts of new information and new artwork.
I can’t translate the storyline summary at this point, since it’s an image, not text, but I can get some of the character information down for you…
The characters have default names now:
The Hero is named Alex (oddly enough, what I named my original SitD character… my first Shining Hero!) and he is able to use Swords, Spears and Axes. He is the decsendent of a hero who defeated the Dark Dragon long ago (presumably, the Warrior of the original Shining Soul), but Alex doesn’t know this. A mischevious young adolescent, Alex has been well looked-after and is, as such, in prime condition. He’s always wanted to travel the world as a soldier. He’s an easy-to-handle character, able to use strong weapons, and has a good defence.
The Wolfling is named Sachs, and is able to use Claws and Dantou. As a young wolfling he was raised in a place where he learned a special technique (from the description, it sounds like it may be similar to Zylo’s wind-type attack). Though he has a very high attack, his defence power is low – he doesn’t carry much equipment, in order to maintain his great speed.
The Dragonute is Tieloss, who can use Axes and Flails. Originally, from the Lava Zone of the continent, Tieloss, despite the long period of peace, would like to do and see much more. He has the best attack strength of all the characters, but due to the weight of his weapons, he is a slow-mover.
The Magician is named Pamela, and can use Staves and (light) Magic Books. Palema is Alex’s older (by 2 or 3 years) sister, who though still not fully skilled in the magical arts, has magic in her blood from a legendary magical quest in her descendents past. Her desire is to go on the Kingdom’s first magical quest of recent times, but this goal does not distract her from her studies – day or night! When she specialises in a spell, she can cast it from further away. She can also combine her spells with a partner to create powerful (and colourful!) magic. She does, however, lack strength and defence, meaning you must keep her safe from physical harm.
The Dark Wizard is named Bloodstar, and he too can use Staves and (dark) Magic Books. He’s a human-vampire halfling, who’s past was filled with darkness… and he’s proud of his dark magic skills. He is the older brother of a pair of twins. He uses the Powers of Darkness in his magic, and changes himself into a half-vampire monster, able to fly and poison (or so the translation leads me to believe… I could be wrong…). In addition, if you find a special sword, he is able to fight.
The Kyantol is called Prim (yes, Cull, a Kyantol!!) – a priest who is able to use Staves, Flails and (holy?) Magic Books. She(?) is one of the small Kyantol (half dog) population. She is proud to be of the Preacher of Light bloodline, and though she is not yet a fully-fledged monk, her spirituality and sixth sense are where she truly excels. Although she can use weapons, her recovery and auxillary magic are her main way of helping the party. However, she should of course be protected from attacks as much as possible.
The Ninja, named Raizen is able to use Swords, Dantou and Makimono. Born in a land to the far east, he is a typical ninja, continuously practising the art of ninjitsu (and invisibility? the translation was a bit garbled, at least I’m quite sure he doesn’t have a ‘sorcerer potato surprise’ 😉 ). He has fast attacks and special tecniques (which may be tricky to pull-off). He has the fastest movement speed of all the characters.
The Archer is named Ruin, and can use Bows, Spears and (nature-related) Magic Books. It is not certain whether he is descended from the Archer who originally fought Dark Dragon. He’s been in the area for several years, and has noticed in this time strange, noisy creatures in the forest, indicating that the balance between the Powers of Light and Darkness is deteriorating. He has long-distance spear and bow attacks, but doesn’t have a very good defence. His magic abilities allow him to use the power of the forest animals to attack.
There are lots of in-town NPCs and information about them too, but it would take me too long to put all the information here right now. I’ll list a few of their names, in case you’re interested though 😉 Perhaps I’ll translate more later on when I’ve done some more sewing on these Yog toys 😉
NPCs: King Marchel; Queen Yvonne; Princess Kokotto; Samuel; Deathheart; Boken; Morgan; Borb; Irma, Rin & Ran; Pendorino; Craft; Stella; Jensen; Angela; Fender.
Monsters: Viking; Salamander; Armour Obgaas(?); Ghost; Unicorn; Orc; Reaper(?); Gargoyle.
The artwork, as in Shining Soul, was created by Salamander Factory.
There are 6 ‘power up points’ (features enhanced since Shining Soul?) listed on the site:
- 8 Characters to choose from
- Dramatic story and events
- 10 times the amount of items as in Shining Soul; special effect items (such as a bomb) added; matching sets of item (eg, armour, helm, sword etc that go together); items to be used in puzzles.
- Soul Crystals
- ‘Shine Force’ – a combined attack using the souls of the playing characters, it creates a ball of light midway between the characters. A certain item needs to be equipped for this.
- New action – throwing items: eg, medial herb to heal friends; throw bombs at enemies etc.
- The Controls for Single Player mode are listed on the site, along with a world map (it seems the main town is called Krantol, though there may be other towns from the looks of it). The interface has remained more or less the same as in Shining Soul, so playing the game shouldn’t be a problem for us importers 😉
- There’s also a brief page about Multiplayer Mode, showing how to link up the GBAs etc.
Wallpapers and link buttons can be downloaded from this page of the site.
The FAQ section is not yet available.
I’ll certainly try to get more info up on those NPCs shortly. Going to have some breakfast first (why do I always find this stuff as soon as I wake up?!!)