Shining Blade - Yukihime was cute. Wait, half cast comes from another game?
Shining Blade (シャイニング・ブレイド) is a PlayStation Portable tactical RPG developed and published by Sega in 2012. It is part of the relatively popular Shining series, which features character designs by Tony Taka. I have to say that I am always wary of these titles because of the "curse" that affects games featuring his art; they often end up having amazing visuals but mediocre stories or gameplay.
The story follows Rage and his trusted Soul Blade, Yukihime (who can freely transform in and out of her blade form). They try to thwart the plans of the Dragonia Empire to revive their long-lost leader, the Dark Dragon, and save Roselinde, the Empire's priestess who is being used for the ritual.
As Rage continues his travels, he meets various other heroes and heroines. Together, they form a party to resist the Dragonia forces that are always present and trying to hinder his path. An important element in stopping them is obtaining the legendary blade and finding the Songstress who can sing the Song of Mana.
Yeah, it is a generic RPG story that you may have heard hundreds of times in the past. It does not help that there aren't really many twists in the story to try to keep your attention. It is not badly written per se, just very standard and predictable in its developments, which makes it hard to remember.
Apparently, some of the side characters that appear in this game are from previous entries in the Shining series (Shining Tears, Shining Wind, and Shining Hearts). They appear as a sort of cameo and do not really impact the main storyline. This was my first entry in the series, so their presence did not really help me get attached to the story.
The gameplay is based on a Concerto system where up to five characters take the battlefield, and the links between characters are pivotal to dealing more damage against the enemy. Most of the female cast has the "Songstress" role, which allows them to sing special songs to give the entire party a special buff in exchange for not being able to move. Think of it as similar to the Stella Glow system, but less polished.
The game also features a bond system. Making characters fight near each other or use skills together (group skills) increases their bond and may unlock special scenes in the overworld. There are both main battlefields and free battles where you can level up your characters as much as you want.
The cast of playable characters is quite large (over 10), so unless you want to max out all your characters by grinding, you will most likely stick to your favorites all the time. You will likely continue with those except for the few quests where you are forced to pick certain characters for the battle.
To be completely honest, I cannot say I have a favorite character from the series because the story never managed to make me care enough about the many heroines. They all have gorgeous character designs (as is usual for Tony Taka), and the seiyuu cast is top-tier. The elf Altina (voiced by Marina Inoue) is probably the one who left me with the best impression, partly due to her being present since the very beginning of the game.
Overall, it is a decent game with a decent storyline, but it just does not stand out enough to warrant playing it on its own merits. However, if you are interested in the Shining series, it is a good starting point due to its short length (21-ish hours) and a storyline that is easy to jump in and out of.
