Our lovely sponsor, Lik-Sang have put up some reports about TGS, including two lovely quality screenshots from Shining Tears (see right – click to zoom).

Lik-Sang also now have Shining Force PS2 available for pre-order, at US$59.90 – click here to take a look! With free shipping worldwide, it is a deal not to be missed!

Also, according to Gamefront, the various videos of Shining Tears & Shining Force will be available on the bonus DVD which will come with Shining Tears in Japan. I will post the videos here at SFC when I receive the DVD!

Buy for US$59.90

Excited about Shining Tears? Why not pre-order from Lik-Sang?

Sega Japan have today updated their main site & Shining Tears site with reports on the Shining Tears event at the Tokyo Games Show.

If Babelfish has not let me down with the translation, it would seem that the producer of Shining Tears spoke about the game for around half an hour, much to the delight of fans. The event proved to be the most popular at the Sega Booth.

The performance of the Shining Tears theme song at the end of the event received a standing ovation and is apparently recorded on DVD – perhaps this will be available somehow through the game?

Something seems to be mentioned about the two sides to Xion, the main character, and that this is reflected in two voices – one sweet, one wild.

There is also something about a large amount of women being present – whether this was on stage or in the crowd is uncertain due to the translation, however the photos would suggest they were in the crowd.

It seems the crowd really loved what they saw and that the event was much enjoyed. A good sign indeed, still very much looking forward to this title!

Yes indeed folks, as mentioned at Famitsu recently, the Shining Tears Opening Theme will be available to buy as a CD single in Japan from November 26th onwards, priced at 1,134yen (around US$10).

No picture is available at this time, however the Sega Direct product page for the item also says that the Ending Theme is on the CD – so you had best make sure you have completed the game before listening to it 😉

I am quite surprised this one slipped past me yesterday – but no report on Famitsu about it that I can find, and the news went up on IGN long after TGS finished for the day yesterday…

Many thanks to GreatGen from the forums for posting this news!

IGN have posted videos showing the gameplay in Shining Force PS2, and also the an introductory vid for Shining Tears! 56k users beware, the files are both 7-10MB in size!

I have to say I am quite disappointed, watching the Shining Force video – though the game looks quite immense, the battles do not appear to be even slightly Force-style, and it all seems rather over the top (though I recognise that Sega will want to be showing off all the amazing-looking stuff at this stage). Sorry, but it does not look very Shiny at all to me – what is with these humanly proportioned characters wandering around? Where are the cute little stumpy sprites/models for wandering? What about that spaceship?! I will of course still wait until I have played the game, to judge it… but at this stage, Moogie is not waiting with great anticipation. Nice anime footage though 😉

Shining Tears, on the other hand…
Well, also nice anime – though many characters remind me of folks from Escaflowne and Lodoss, it looks nice, still Shiny (both those animes always remind me of the Shining series anyway ;)). Sounds like we can finally hear the theme song in the background too – the first Shining theme with lyrics, no less! I must admit, I made a few Shining tears myself the other day, watching the Shining Tears gameplay vids – overwhelmed with that Shining feeling. I felt the same watching this vid – roll on, Shining Tears!

Unfortunately, it does not look like Sega Japan are going to be updating their Shining Tears site with info about the TGS Event today, so I shall have to rely on Famitsu for information 😉

The game was apparently demonstrated, along with a talk about the gameplay (by the voice actor for Xion?) – introducing the tag system, presumably a 2 player feature. It seems that they were quite excited about watching the game – Famitsu comment that fans cheered wildly during and after the event!

The event finished with the Shining Tears theme song being performed. Sadly, no audio has been posted, so we cannot yet hear it – but there are photos of it being performed. Apparently, it may even be released as a CD single in Japan – it must be good then!

Many thanks to SFC Forum Administrator Koshums for posting this link 🙂

Gamespot now have a hands-on preview of Shining Tears, read and enjoy!

There’s also a better quality version of the promo vid from Sega’s site, and a video of an interview with the game’s developer. Good stuff!

I must have missed this yesterday, with so many people turning up at my house unannounced I barely had any time online >.<;;

According to IGN, Sega USA has announced that Shining Tears will be released in the USA. Estimated release date is sometime in Spring next year.

There is, as yet, no news on a European/Australian release – though here’s hoping! 😀

With the Tokyo Games Show upon us this weekend, Sega have updated their Shining Tears site to include more information on the game’s characters and gameplay system – but most exciting of all, a preview video has been added to the download page!

You can watch the video here. It’s two and a half minutes long, and though the quality isn’t great, it certainly gives a good feel for the game.

I must say, watching this and seeing the recent screenshots for the PS2 Shining Force title, Shining Tears seems a lot more Shiny to me, in looks at least. But, we all know that looks are not the most important aspect of a game, so I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve played them 😉

The graphics in the video remind me very much of Shining Force III, quite cutesy and the settings look Shiny enough to me 🙂 Not yet sure about the battle system, obviously not Force-style, but not quite like anything we’ve seen in a Shining title before either. Looks like it could be quite fun 🙂

The music doesn’t remind me of anything previous in the Shining world, but it does seem fitting – I’m looking forward to hearing more when the game’s Theme Song is performed at TGS tomorrow (unless I’ve misunderstood the information ;))

Back to the Shining Tears site – character-wise, Xion and Ryuna’s pages have been updated to include some nice quality pictures which seem to be targetted at cosplayers!

Xion’s front and rear views
Ryuna’s front and rear views

Their pages have also had some screenshots & overviews of their attacks added (click on the second button above the characters’ vital stats). Xion seems to have some attacks or spells named ‘Thunder Blade’, ‘Spark’ (ah, the old faithful!), ‘Gravity Slash’ and ‘Thousands Thrust’ (sp?). Unfortunately, I’m unable to translate the names of some of Ryuna’s attacks/spells, as they are written in Kanji 🙁 But, the first one mentions something about assorted monsters, the second appears to be some kind of support/defensive magic, the third is ‘Cure’ (which restores HP & SP… I still miss ‘MP’, but I guess Shining Soul changed that…), the fourth is ‘Shining’ and seems to be a combination attack/spell with Xion, the fifth I believe is ‘Turn Undead’ (which is another combination attack/spell), the sixth is something to do with light, the seventh seems to be some kind of summon (‘Opal Snake’?)… looks like there are a lot of ways to kill the enemy in this game 😉

Lots more screenshots and information has also been added to the System page (I’ll try to get some translated later today if possible) – Shining Tears seems to be full of options and rich in gameplay… though, the truth of the gaming is in the playing 😀 I’m very much looking forward to giving this game a go in the near future – November’s not far away now!

Many thanks to Aspartate for translating Sega Japan’s Shining Force PS2 info page!

<div class=”border2″ style=”padding:3px;”>
The Shining Series has been a popular Sega RPG series which obtains high appraisal from many users since its release on Genesis because of its high degree of completion and novelty of the system. And among them, the “Shining Force” series, starting from “Shining Force: Legacy of Great Intention”, are the most popular works in the series.
As the first feature presentation of “The Shining Project” in 2004, “Resurrection of the Dark Dragon”, a power-up version of “Legacy of Great Intention”, was launched on Gameboy Advance.
This time, we proudly present the new born “Shining Force”, “Shining Force” for Playstation 2.
“Shining Tears” and “Shining Force” marks the beginning of the rebirth of “Shining Series”. Theme music of the new series is made by the famous composer of MISIA and Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shiro Sagisu. Character design was by the popular manga artist Nishiyama Yuriko, who published “Harlem Beat” and “DRAGON VOICE” on “Weekly Boy Magazine”.
Synopsis

Young Max lived in Yukurist, the realm of thunder. He was attacked by monsters at the Ragail Stronghold when he visited there for training.
In the fight, the holy power “Force” in him awakened.
In order to become a warrior capable of using the Force, MAX returned to his homeland. What greets him are the familiar scenery and his childhood friend Meriru.
MAX received warm welcome from his homeland …… except from Gaia, his father.
MAX repels to Gaia’s harsh attitude and set journey to the holy land to prove he is a warrior worthy of the Force. All of a sudden, an uncanny masked man appears before Max, and dragged Max into the eddy of extreme destiny.
The crisis of the world, followed by the battle to reveal the true power of the Force, is already starting…….
The companions who venture together

– Summary of party
Your team grows when companions join. But the player usually can only make a party of 3, including the player himself. There are also special events that allows a party of more than 3 to fight.
The characters who became companions are always gathered in a place called “headquarter”. It’s possible for the player to change the party member. Furthermore, each companion fight with judgment of his/her individual thought.

– Type of companion
The members who will join are the 10 listed below.
In addition, there’re also characters who become your companion as NPC.

Meriru (human heroine)
Graham (centaur)
Mariel (centaur)
Chikitita(kyantol)
Baron (wolfling)
Rhinos (titan)
Fryea (birdling)
Klein (birdling)
Dryu (dragon)
Adam (guardian)

– The strategy which utilizes the personality of the companion
The companions has their own feature. For example, Chikitita the monk is strong at healing magic and against undead. As for Rhinos of a bare hand attack type, he’s superior in physical strength, but he can’t use any magic and his magical tolerance is low.
Knowing which fields these companions are good at, the player can choose a party that best fits his play style. On the other hand, in order to utilize the favorite companion in the party, adjusting your play style is also possible.

Title: Shining Force
Genre: RPG
Player number: unknown
Release date: 2005 Spring
Price: to be announced
Platform: PlayStation2
©SEGA,2004
Character design: Nishiyama Yuriko
Monster design: Yoshitaka Tamaki
</div>

Sounds like a cross between STHA/SitD & a Force game. Three characters at a time? Only ten in total…? Still reserving judgement here….