Thanks to the wonders of the Virtual Console, many Nintendo gamers have been introduced to the wonders of Sega's Shining Force and Shining Force II games, but sadly the series hit hard times during the Sega Saturn days, causing developer Camelot to part ways with Sega, and the series has never recovered. Several campaigns to reunite the two companies have fallen on stony ground, but the Shining Force community has lined up one last roll of the dice in the form of the Shining Force SOS campaign.
Shining Force community linchpin Moogie, also known as the "Goddess of all Things Shining", is calling for fans of the series to submit videos, letters and artwork showing their love for Sega's RPG outings, with the hope of convincing Camelot there's enough fan support to make a new Shining Force a viable proposition.
Our 10 Sega Games We Want on 3DS made the case for a new Force game on 3DS, and Moogie is optimistic that fan support could make this a reality:
Sega can't listen to our requests and ideas for legal reasons, but perhaps if Camelot were to approach them, Sega would listen. I understand that Sega did try to get Camelot back on board years ago, but failed. Maybe all Camelot need is a show of love from we Shining series fans.
Fans who submit a letter or video are also entered into a prize draw, with the top prize of a limited edition Shining/Sega collectible worth around $200, a Yogurt plush toy and Shining games as well.
If you want to get involved, you have until 20th March to send a letter or 29th March to submit a video. For more information, visit the Shining Force SOS site.
[source sos.shiningforcecentral.com]
Comments 39
Umm... Sega didn't even localize Shining Force Feather outside of Japan. I dunno how much Camelot's involvement has to do with anything.
A Shining Force 3 Translation and virtual console release would be a great testing ground for a market I feel!
Shining Force III part I was released in the west and can't be released on VC just because of the size. Would love to see a complete package of all three versions of Shing Force III in English through.
@Sabrewing I think if the games were higher quality, Sega would be more inclined to localise them. At the very least we'd be able to import a Camelot-produced Shining game
I love Shining Force games! I have Shining Force 1 and 2 on my Wii but and I played both through already almost 10 years ago
I wanna more Shine!
Then you need to contribute to the campaign! Write a letter or make a video and send it in
I think I'm gonna draw a picture with every Shining Force character I know
Now that's a lot of characters! Good luck
Then maybe I should write a letter. I've been playing Shining Force 1 on the VC once a month since it came out.
It's definitely worth writing a letter or making a video. I'll probably be doing mine later
I only ever owned Shining Wisdom because CVG gave it a good review and said how much like a Zelda game it was.
I grew up on the Shining games. Loved every one of them, including on the Saturn, until the PS2 bastardizations.
This has got my attention as Shining Force 3 is one of the finest games I have ever played. There's nothing else like it - I've tried them all, every game people claim is similar (Final Fantasy Tactics etc), but nothing else measures up. Shining Force is such a fine mix of traditional RPG and incredible strategic battles.
I don't know exactly what I can do to help other than sending a letter I suppose. Whilst I'm a massive fan, I generally just play the games and don't get involved in other ways (with anything really). I might make an exception this time.
But then, if we don't get a new Shining Force game, I'd love to see the Shining Force 3 trilogy released on WiiWare complete with translation.
@madgear I'd certainly recommend you at least send a letter stating how much you love the games. You don't necessarily have to commit to a life of activism, just send a developer a nice letter
Well, OK - if it means there's even a slight chance I can play a decent Shining Force again without having to dig it out on the Saturn, then it'll be worth it.
@Vonseux Well, it's about both really, as well as the translation issues and cost. I think we'd be more likely to see it on Xbox 360/PS3 anyway, but even that's about as likely as me waking up tomorrow with a solid gold 3DS in my hand.
I have never played this series, I should.
@Vonseux - I was kind of hoping a WiiWare conversion rather than an emulation. Smooth over the graphics a bit but still keep that nice 32-bit feel. It's very unlikely - but, you never know, they could always make a new game on there with the same feel to it.
Only one I played was the first one, but I loved it. The characters and attacks looked so cool to me.
I wonder if that Yogurt plushie will turn other things into Yogurt plushies if you're somehow able to break something with it.
@wanderlustwarrior As the proud owner of one of these plushies I can confirm that yes, this feature is included. Also, hidden in that cliff is a bikini.
Damn it, I wanna support this, but I don't wanna write a letter. Grr...I'm sure I'll give in eventually though. Camelot doing a new Shining Force would be awesome. The Shining series is getting deader and deader in Sega's hands. The only place to go is up.
Someone needs to submit a pic of a Shining Force tattoo. I vote James to do it
Great to see so many positive comments I hope to receive a few more letters & videos from the fans here, each and every one counts.
@Mickeymac: The letter needn't be very long and can be typed (but hand signed), just the fact that you make the effort to post a letter proves something to Camelot. You could just write "Hi Camelot. I've been playing the Shining Force games for (x) years and really love them. Happy Shining Anniversary! I hope one day you'll be able to work with Sega to continue the series, best regards (name)". Easy
@Irken004: I have a couple of Shining tattoo pictures from people who used to post at Shining Force Central, unfortunately I can't seem to reach them by email anymore. I may include the pics (afterall, they did post them on a public forum!) as examlples of how dedicated some fans are.
@James: Your plushie isn't quite the same as these new Special Edition ones... imagine the extra secret powers this new Yog might possess! Only the winner will find out...
Finally, for anyone who's been keen to play the entirity of SFIII, there is a high quality fanmade translation patch well underway at SFC. Don't know if I'd be allowed to link it here, but Google it!
@Moogie I will allow a link, just this once!
Bless yer scaley little heart Newts (are newts scaley?)
http://sf3trans.shiningforcecentral.com
Voila! Play SFIII in English
@Moogie More slimy than scaly, I'd say
@James Then bless your slimy heart! lol
Anyway, I digress.
Shining Force - revive the light! Save our Series - the time is right!
I love the Shining Force series with every fiber of my being. These games solidified my love for RPGs when I was young. n_n
I am going to write a a letter......in fact I might write 10 with fake names. XD I am sure getting stacks of physical letters is more eye opening than a petition or emails.
Seriously, these games are the best!
maaaaaan... Shining Force Central brings back so many memories of when I had the free time and spare money to try to build up a Shining [Force] collection as magnificent as Moogie's. Shining Force III is easily my second favorite game of all time, and though I tried a few of the Shining games after Saturn, I gave up on the Shining series long ago. I also faded away from SFC as things in my life changed over the years but I still check in every once in a while and I love to see that Moogie hasn't given up the fight. I would take a new Camelot-developed Shining Force over any other game anyone could possibly make. I will write my letter in Japanese and ship it out as soon as possible!
The Shining Force games are some of my favorite games of all time and really got me in to all sorts of RPGs and Strategy titles. I would buy at least 2 copies if these games were released on the 3DS.
weren't they also on the gameboy i have a game that is called shining force 2
I have to say I've never played them. Heard of them several times, but I'm a little young to actually have been able to play them. If they come out for 3DS, I'd definitely be interested, that's for sure. But in order to play them, I'd have to get a 3DS first.
@danschemen There's Shining Soul I & II on GBA, if that's what you mean
@danschemen As James said there's Shining Soul games but also Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon on GBA.
Just watched trailer of Shining Force: Feather (DS), I knew there's this game already, but never took a look at it. Only released in Japan. Has anyone played or seen it?
@Late I would consider Feather to be the best of the new gen Shining games, really very playable. Nice strategic battles, with a real time element on the attack screen. This is the first Shining game I've loved since SFIII - such a shame the development company (Flight Plan) shut down shortly after! There are plans brewing at Shining Force Central to campaign to Atlus USA to localise the game (I doubt we'd ever see a Euro release, but any English release would do!) but they won't be actioned until the SOS campaign to Camelot is done.
@shiningmoogie Thanks for the info. I'm gonna join the campaign as I said earlier and draw a picture with Shining Force characters I know (= every SF1 and 2 characters) after I get my Sora (Kingdom Hearts) drawing ready. I've spend about 10 hours with it to make it as good as I can. Gonna spend a lot of time with SF picture too.
I'm hoping that SOS campaign will be a great success.
@Late Thanks so much, you'll be our first supporter from Finland and I think it's wonderful that we can show Camelot just how many countries the series is popular in! I'm based in the UK, so your letter should only take a few days to arrive, as long as you post it by about March 16th it should be here in time, but of course if it's early all the better If you've got the time/ability to make a video for the YouTube campaign too, that would also be much appreciated.
Just some info for those wanting to support the campaign, as we're getting very close to the deadline now!
Last Posting Dates
Below is a rough guide to when you should have your letters sent, in order that they are with me in time. In some cases they may arrive more quickly, but it's better early than too late!
UK: Friday 18th March (First Class), Thursday 17th March (Second Class)
Europe: Tuesday 15th March (Airmail)
Rest of World: Saturday 12th March (Airmail)
For the final few days of the campaign, I will be accepting digital letters (eg, emails or scanned letters) to help boost the numbers. See http://sos.shiningforcecentral.com/2011/03/12/now-accepting-digital-letters/ for full details. Even if your letter is only a few lines long, it will help!
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