Shining Soul II

Lore & Background

Shining Soul II is set centuries after the defeat of Dark Dragon in Shining Soul, where an excess of light opens the way for darkness. The story begins with King Marcel and Queen Yvonne of Klantol, whose crystal reflecting the balance of light and darkness turns cloudy. An alchemist named Gillespie, a member of the dark order Chaos Knights, befriends the knight Deatharte and leaves him a 'forbidden fruit,' which Deatharte eats and becomes corrupted. After Princess Camille is abducted, Deatharte pretends to search for her but joins the Chaos Knights instead. The player character, a tournament participant, is sent to investigate goblins near the castle, discovers they abducted Camille for the witch Wizari, and rescues her. The hero later uncovers the Chaos Knights' plot to conquer the world, infiltrates their stronghold using a password learned by Camille, and slays Gillespie and Deatharte. This defeat awakens Chaos, which kidnaps the royal family and the court wizard; the hero defeats Chaos and restores balance.

Reader's Guide

Shining Soul II is notable as a handheld action RPG that emulates the dungeon-crawling style of Diablo and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Its eight character classes—Warrior, Archer, Sorceress, Dragonute, Priestess, Dark Wizard, Brawler, and Ninja—each offer distinct playstyles, with a secret Dark Wizard unlocked after completing the game once. The game allows characters to level up to 200, equip up to three weapons and three items (with extra slots via Backpack or Knapsack), and use charged attacks and Soul items for area damage. Elemental resistances can be increased by enduring damage of that type, but decrease if killed by it. Multiplayer supports item trading and cooperative play, with no pause when opening inventory, adding strategic depth. Reception was mixed or average according to Metacritic, with Famitsu scoring it 32 out of 40. The game's plot is largely self-contained, with only minor references to the broader Shining series, such as an alternate universe version of Boken from Shining Force and the mascot Yogurt hidden in a stage. Its legacy lies in providing a portable, multiplayer-friendly Diablo-like experience on the Game Boy Advance.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally scheduled for release on July 25, 2003 in Japan, but was delayed by two months.
• A secret Dark Wizard character becomes available after beating the game once and has the default name '???'.