Shining Soul
A reboot of the Shining series for Game Boy Advance.
Shining Soul is an action role-playing game released for the Game Boy Advance, and it belongs to the Shining series. This title acts as a fresh start for the franchise. Its story unfolds in the land of Rune, where a member of the Shining Fleet must lead an attack against the Dark Dragon and its five generals, who have been sealed in the land of Rune. A sequel, Shining Soul II, came out in 2003. Both games were later re-released in Japan during early 2006 as part of the Game Boy Advance "Value Selection" line.
Players choose from four main character classes: Warrior, Archer, Dragonute, or Wizard. The game features multiple dungeons that rely on hack and slash combat. During fights, players can switch between magic and weapon-based attacks. As characters gain levels, they earn points to distribute among core stats like strength and dexterity, as well as skill points. These skill points improve weapon and magic proficiency, along with class-specific abilities—such as defense for the Warrior or critical hits for the Archer.
The game was released in Europe in March 2003, with Infogrames handling distribution and Sega Europe managing publication. In December 2002, THQ—which had a deal with Sega to publish their Game Boy Advance titles in the region—announced it would not release the game there.
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Shining Soul received mixed or average reviews. Craig Harris of IGN criticized it, saying it felt like "a shell of a design" with good ideas lost in boring action. Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer argued it wasn't a true role-playing game, noting its failure to match the engaging plots and progressive combat of earlier titles. Star Dingo of GamePro remarked that the game's delayed American release finally made sense after players saw it.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Shining Soul
- Developer
- Nextech · Grasshopper Manufacture
- Publisher
- JP · Sega · EU · Sega Europe · NA · Atlus USA
- Director
- Akira Ueda
- Designer
- Akira Ueda · Masashi Niwano
- Artist
- Akira Ueda · Rika Kurokawa
- Composer
- Shingo Yasumoto
- Programmer
- Tetsuya Nakazawa · Tooru Yoshio
- Producer
- Junichiro Takahashi
- Series
- Shining
- Released
- JP · March 28, 2002 · EU · March 7, 2003 · NA · September 16, 2003
- Genre
- Action role-playing
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Shining Soul is an action role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance, released in Europe in March 2003. It is part of the Shining series and serves as a reboot of the franchise. The game takes place in the land of Rune, where a creature named Dark Dragon has gathered an army of Darkness to destroy the world. The player character is a hero of the Shining Fleet, which has sealed Dark Dragon and its five generals in the land of Rune and is preparing a final assault.
Reader's Guide
The game features four main classes: Warrior, Archer, Dragonute, and Wizard. Gameplay involves hack and slash combat across several dungeons, with the player able to cycle between magic and weapon attacks. As the player gains levels, they allocate points to main stats like strength and dexterity, and distribute skill points to raise weapon and magic proficiency, as well as class-specific abilities such as defense for the Warrior or critical hits for the Archer. The game received 'mixed or average' reviews on Metacritic. Critics noted its lack of engaging plot and repetitive action, with IGN calling it 'a shell of a design' and Eurogamer stating it fails to live up to previous RPGs. The game was followed by a sequel, Shining Soul II, in 2003. Both games were re-released in Japan in early 2006 as part of the Game Boy Advance 'Value Selection'.
Did You Know?
- Shining Soul is a reboot of the Shining series.
- THQ announced in December 2002 that it had no intentions of releasing the title in the American market.
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