THE SECOND SECTION DOES HAVE SPOILERS!!!
Most of you still don't know who I really am, or what type of games that I love most. Sure I'm into Pokemon... who's 95 year old grandmother isn't? But my heart lies solely into the art of the classics.
For those of you that are inexperienced with the game, it is very similair to Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, and Fire Emblem. This game consists of strategy with 12 characters, your leader, and of course the gold. You buy weapons, can promote, fight monsters, etc. It's really a "hidden gem" for those that haven't even played this game. I highly recommend Shining Force I and II, which are available on the Wii Virtual Console for 800 Points apiece. Shining in The Darkness is more of a dungeon crawler-type of game and is also available for (IIRC) the same price. If you still aren't familiar, perhaps these games might spark some intuition:
For those wondering what Shining Force: RotDD is: it is nothing more but a revamped version of the first Shining Force game and such. But enough of that, let's get to the real program!
I've loved this game. For years, I thought this by far was one of the best classics that are "underrated" by many. I highly recommend for you to try this game otherwise.
---
Now for those of you who "have" played the game, I've decided to do an FAQ that is re-vamped from the rest of them (on GFAQs, the latest edit was 2001. So that's about 7 years ago). The first thing I wanted to implement in the guide was an explaination of team building and such. With that rooted my tiers theory, which still isn't quite finished. Here is how I've outlined everything:
By being used X% of the time, this usually means "on the final party". How everything is ranked is by availability, stats, weapons, Magic (if they have any), how it is affected by land terrain, and much more. I'll have an in-depth description of why each character is placed here later on perhaps, but that at the moment is a WIP. I've also listed what they should be promoted to, incase if you wondered (but only if their promotions split).
Now here is the tier list as of Dec 26th, 2008:
Top Tier
The top tier is fairly obvious. Peter is regarded as the best character in the game due to his stats, growths, and sporting a resistance to Fire-type magic. Karna falls next in line. Even if you turn her down in Creed's Mansion, she can easily catch up if you place her in your party after you've obtained the Sky Orb (thanks to Boost lol). Bowie starts a little shaky, but becomes a powerful threat in the middle and toward the end of the game. And without training Bowie, you're not getting anywhere past Taros. Gerhalt's starting stats and "no movement penalty" is very useful. With a Running Pimento or a Movement Ring, Gerhalt's becomes a powerhouse with little restriction. Slade is ranked a little lower because toward the beginning he isn't very noteworthy. By the time he becomes a Ninja, Slade is becoming a virtual powerhouse. Learning powerful magic and having his own special weapon: Gisarme, just screams how nearly broken he can be toward the end of the game. No movement penalties either and comes with the 7 movement, so no need to use the Running Pimento / Movement Ring on him! Kazin is useful altogether, especially in the Sorcerer class. He learns the spells quickly and flawlessly while maintaining good MP and Agility.
High Tier sports Jaha as #1. The Baron class is hard to turn down: access to Swords and Axes while having a movement of 6 makes Jaha a powerful tank. Sarah could possibly be your only healer for quite a while, perhaps indefinitely if you forego using Karna. Don't worry about this: Sarah easily accomplishes the mono-healing and Karna can come in late-game fine anyway. Elric is ranked over May as he isn't hampered as much by Land Terrain. His slightly higher Attack and Def are a good mix. May isn't horrible though: she is your only archer for a while, and only loses out in the movement department. Rick is perhaps the best recipient of the Pegasus Wing with his higher Def and slightly better starting stats. Chester has high HP, but has a nasty Def cut when promoted. Even as a Palidan though his Def is compensated with the Land Terrain (the movement bites again), making the HP worthwhile for absorbing both physical and magic hits this way.
Middle Tier is slightly confusing. Overall Tyrin takes the top of the roost. Once you're at Creed's Mansion, you notice a few things. First off, you lack a mage that can hit a widespread amount of units fairly well (Slade and Sarah can with their magic spells. Slade has MP problems, while Sarah should really use the MP for healing). This is where Tyrin steps in: he is able to learn Bolt, Blaze, and Freeze up to Level 4 (which by far is useful) and has good stats overall. He is the best pick in Creed's Mansion next to Karna. Jaro is a questionable unit in here, but his utility as a flying-unit is useful. Sheela is next in here. For a late-game character, she has good starting stats. Catching up magic-wise isn't difficult thanks to Boost. She also has Muddle Level 2, which is somewhat useful. Randolf really works two ways: He technically is the best Baron, but Jaha is stiff competition at this point. BUT, Randolf is an excellent unit even as a Gladiator. With a Movement Ring or Running Pimento, his movement is compensated slightly as a Gladiator. The Baron is obviously good as-is. Luke is technically the best Bird Knight in the game, but his mediocre starting stats and ending stats are difficult to cram him into the force. Lemon falls in last because his starting stats are also very good with the bonus of being the only other Baron in the game.
Low Tier is a mess unfortunately. Taya probably is the highest since out of the bunch she's the more useful one. Kazin is arguably a better Sorcerer though, so Taya is quickly overshadowed. Skreech falls under the "outlcassed" category as well, this time against Luke. If you notice, many of these characters are outclassed here, but still are fairly useful, though I stress rarely.
The Bottom Tier is very simply from worst -> THE worst. Frayja is the only person with Boost (ableit at a late level) and is able to learn Heal, Aura, and Detox up to Level 4. He doesn't start with Aura though, so good luck trying to get him up levels. Gyan is a saving grace because he has some nice starting stats at the very least. His HP is a little low, but his Atk and Def aren't anything to laugh at. Claude and Zynk fall as a tie, though I give Zynk the upper hand because of his higher HP being useful toward the end of the game. Kiwi just sucks. And don't get me started on Higins either.
Now for Creed's Mansion I"m giving a slight explaination here:
Most of you still don't know who I really am, or what type of games that I love most. Sure I'm into Pokemon... who's 95 year old grandmother isn't? But my heart lies solely into the art of the classics.
For those of you that are inexperienced with the game, it is very similair to Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, and Fire Emblem. This game consists of strategy with 12 characters, your leader, and of course the gold. You buy weapons, can promote, fight monsters, etc. It's really a "hidden gem" for those that haven't even played this game. I highly recommend Shining Force I and II, which are available on the Wii Virtual Console for 800 Points apiece. Shining in The Darkness is more of a dungeon crawler-type of game and is also available for (IIRC) the same price. If you still aren't familiar, perhaps these games might spark some intuition:
- Golden Sun
- Shining Soul
- Shining Force: Ressurection of the Dark Dragon
For those wondering what Shining Force: RotDD is: it is nothing more but a revamped version of the first Shining Force game and such. But enough of that, let's get to the real program!
I've loved this game. For years, I thought this by far was one of the best classics that are "underrated" by many. I highly recommend for you to try this game otherwise.
---
Now for those of you who "have" played the game, I've decided to do an FAQ that is re-vamped from the rest of them (on GFAQs, the latest edit was 2001. So that's about 7 years ago). The first thing I wanted to implement in the guide was an explaination of team building and such. With that rooted my tiers theory, which still isn't quite finished. Here is how I've outlined everything:
- Top represents that these characters are "the best". They are available at the right time, have unique qualities that seperate them from the rest of the crew, and lacks flaws. These characters are used roughly 90% of the time.*
- High represents that these characters are fantastic and work very well. They, too, are available when needed, have a lot of advantages, and have little flaws. These characters are used roughly 70% of the time.*
- Middle represents that these characters are good, but have "some" problems. It usually is because of availability, being outclassedby another character, or limitations. Some flaws, but don't let these guys fool you: they fit in quite nicely on teams. These characters are used roughly 50% of the time.
- Low represents that these characters are rather average, and they work alright. These guys usually are outclassed, come too late, or have many problems behind them. Usable, but not by very much. These characters are used roughly 30% of the time.
- Bottom represents what these characters are: rock bottom. Ranging from availability, being outclassed, or having a lot of flaws, these characters are rarely used and thrown on the bench. These characters are used roughly 10% of the time.
By being used X% of the time, this usually means "on the final party". How everything is ranked is by availability, stats, weapons, Magic (if they have any), how it is affected by land terrain, and much more. I'll have an in-depth description of why each character is placed here later on perhaps, but that at the moment is a WIP. I've also listed what they should be promoted to, incase if you wondered (but only if their promotions split).
Now here is the tier list as of Dec 26th, 2008:
Top Tier
- Peter
- Karna (Master Monk)
- Bowie
- Gerhalt
- Slade
- Kazin (Sorcerer)
- Jaha (Baron)
- Sarah (Master Monk)
- Elric (Bow Master)
- May
- Rick (Pegasus Knight)
- Chester (Pegasus Knight)
- Tyrin (Wizard)
- Jaro
- Sheela
- Randolf (Baron)
- Luke
- Lemon
- Taya
- Skreech
- Eric (Pegasus Knight)
- Rohde
- Janet
- Chaz
- Frayja
- Gyan
- Zynk
- Claude
- Kiwi
- Higins
The top tier is fairly obvious. Peter is regarded as the best character in the game due to his stats, growths, and sporting a resistance to Fire-type magic. Karna falls next in line. Even if you turn her down in Creed's Mansion, she can easily catch up if you place her in your party after you've obtained the Sky Orb (thanks to Boost lol). Bowie starts a little shaky, but becomes a powerful threat in the middle and toward the end of the game. And without training Bowie, you're not getting anywhere past Taros. Gerhalt's starting stats and "no movement penalty" is very useful. With a Running Pimento or a Movement Ring, Gerhalt's becomes a powerhouse with little restriction. Slade is ranked a little lower because toward the beginning he isn't very noteworthy. By the time he becomes a Ninja, Slade is becoming a virtual powerhouse. Learning powerful magic and having his own special weapon: Gisarme, just screams how nearly broken he can be toward the end of the game. No movement penalties either and comes with the 7 movement, so no need to use the Running Pimento / Movement Ring on him! Kazin is useful altogether, especially in the Sorcerer class. He learns the spells quickly and flawlessly while maintaining good MP and Agility.
High Tier sports Jaha as #1. The Baron class is hard to turn down: access to Swords and Axes while having a movement of 6 makes Jaha a powerful tank. Sarah could possibly be your only healer for quite a while, perhaps indefinitely if you forego using Karna. Don't worry about this: Sarah easily accomplishes the mono-healing and Karna can come in late-game fine anyway. Elric is ranked over May as he isn't hampered as much by Land Terrain. His slightly higher Attack and Def are a good mix. May isn't horrible though: she is your only archer for a while, and only loses out in the movement department. Rick is perhaps the best recipient of the Pegasus Wing with his higher Def and slightly better starting stats. Chester has high HP, but has a nasty Def cut when promoted. Even as a Palidan though his Def is compensated with the Land Terrain (the movement bites again), making the HP worthwhile for absorbing both physical and magic hits this way.
Middle Tier is slightly confusing. Overall Tyrin takes the top of the roost. Once you're at Creed's Mansion, you notice a few things. First off, you lack a mage that can hit a widespread amount of units fairly well (Slade and Sarah can with their magic spells. Slade has MP problems, while Sarah should really use the MP for healing). This is where Tyrin steps in: he is able to learn Bolt, Blaze, and Freeze up to Level 4 (which by far is useful) and has good stats overall. He is the best pick in Creed's Mansion next to Karna. Jaro is a questionable unit in here, but his utility as a flying-unit is useful. Sheela is next in here. For a late-game character, she has good starting stats. Catching up magic-wise isn't difficult thanks to Boost. She also has Muddle Level 2, which is somewhat useful. Randolf really works two ways: He technically is the best Baron, but Jaha is stiff competition at this point. BUT, Randolf is an excellent unit even as a Gladiator. With a Movement Ring or Running Pimento, his movement is compensated slightly as a Gladiator. The Baron is obviously good as-is. Luke is technically the best Bird Knight in the game, but his mediocre starting stats and ending stats are difficult to cram him into the force. Lemon falls in last because his starting stats are also very good with the bonus of being the only other Baron in the game.
Low Tier is a mess unfortunately. Taya probably is the highest since out of the bunch she's the more useful one. Kazin is arguably a better Sorcerer though, so Taya is quickly overshadowed. Skreech falls under the "outlcassed" category as well, this time against Luke. If you notice, many of these characters are outclassed here, but still are fairly useful, though I stress rarely.
The Bottom Tier is very simply from worst -> THE worst. Frayja is the only person with Boost (ableit at a late level) and is able to learn Heal, Aura, and Detox up to Level 4. He doesn't start with Aura though, so good luck trying to get him up levels. Gyan is a saving grace because he has some nice starting stats at the very least. His HP is a little low, but his Atk and Def aren't anything to laugh at. Claude and Zynk fall as a tie, though I give Zynk the upper hand because of his higher HP being useful toward the end of the game. Kiwi just sucks. And don't get me started on Higins either.
Now for Creed's Mansion I"m giving a slight explaination here:
Have fun!Colonel M said: