Shining Soul

A standard dungeon crawler I might’ve never given a second look if I hadn’t loved “Shining Force 2”. The mechanics are fine, the artwork is great, and there’s plenty of room for player expression. A decent play until the floor count in the dungeons increases exponentially, making what was a leisurely stroll turn into a chore that can last dozens of minutes at a time. Does Atlus not understand that portable games are meant to be played in short spurts? There’s no story context for this increase in time commitment, either. The GBA had far better timesinks than this mess.

4