Much to the surprise of old-school fans, Sega announced today that the Shining Force series would be making a return in the near future. Sadly, it seems that this latest entry will be a mobile, free-to-play exclusive. Talk about a real monkey's paw situation.
Titled Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness, this long belated instlalment will be developed by Hive, a Japanese subsidiary of Korean developer Vespa. Vespa is currently the studio responsible for the mobile RPG King's Raid, a sidescrolling RPG that looks positively loaded with microtransactions. Things really aren't boding well here.
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A description of Heroes of Light and Darkness doesn't make it seem like Hive is changing the genre. This new game will still be a tactical RPG in the vein of the classics and Nintendo's own Fire Emblem Series. It is unclear if this will be a continuation of the previous games or possibly a prequel, but it hopefully leads to some brand recognition so that a proper resurrection can occur for consoles.
Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness is set to release in the first half of 2022 for mobile platforms. Specific countries haven't been named, but the licensening rights include distribution rights for Japan, South Korea, North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia. Hive is looking at holding a beta phase, so we may be able to try things out before the end of the year. As long as the game keeps the free-to-play chichanery to a minimum, this could be a decent extension of the once beloved franchise.
Source: Gamer.ne.jp, Gematsu
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