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Good: Presentation, exploration, customization

Bad: repetitive, repetitive, repetitive

About twenty minutes into Sega's Shining Force EXA something strange happens your characters discover Shining Force, the legendary sword they were supposed to search for the entire game. In hindsight, maybe Sega should have quit while it was ahead because that surprise at the beginning turns out to be the game's high point.

Instead of a traditional fetch quest, EXA focuses on what happens to the recipient of the sword after they prove themselves worthy. For starters, the sword comes with some pretty sweet perks, like a giant, technologically advanced sanctuary called the Geo-Fortress and Zenus, a Doberman Pincer who sounds a lot like HAL 9000.

But just because you were lucky enough to get Shining Force doesn't mean there aren't plenty of people eager to rip the sword from your cold, dead hands. Two warring countries also want the sword for their own evil schemes. What follows is a plot filled with the usual political intrigue. You discover that the Geo-Fortress is meant as defense system, foes become friends and an age-old enemy emerges, it's nothing that hasn't been done better elsewhere.

Unfortunately it's not just a generic plot that hinders EXA. The game also suffers from a painfully simple combat system and repetitive chapter objectives. Taking a page from the Dynasty Warriors franchise, combat consists of hitting one button over and over again as you cut down scores of identical enemies. It's possible to charge an attack for added damage and then charge it again for even more power, but that's the extent of the system's depth. You can switch between the attack-heavy Toma and the magic-inclined Cyrille, but the same tactics work for either.

The game is broken into several mission-like chapters, all of which follow a same basic pattern. One of your non-playable characters asks to come along on your journey, you oblige them and eventually reach your destination and fight a boss.

While on your quest the Geo-Fortress comes under attack and whichever playable character is back at home must defend it. At first these defensive battles dilute the monotony of the combat and the missions, but because of the same awful combat system, battles become just as repetitive as the rest of the game.

Despite the remedial combat, shallow story and repetitive chapter objectives, there are three elements of Shining Force EXA that keep it from being a complete loss.

The most immediately noticeable is the visual presentation. EXA features a mixture of cel-shaded characters with lush outdoor environments that feature muted, almost pastel colors. The result is a game that at times looks like a painting. This attention to detail also carries over to character animations during dialog and cutscenes. Unfortunately the dialog and voice acting don't match the visuals in quality or detail.

Another feature that helps the game straddle the line between average and bad is the experience system. Characters level-up just like in other Role-Playing Games, but it's also possible to spend Mythril, one of the game's three currencies, improving specific stats and learning new abilities. It also allows you to customize Toma and Cyrille to their own specific uses. It's even possible to improve the many functions of the Geo-Fortress by allocating resources to specific parts.

Finally, the only salvation for the dull chapters is the sheer amount of exploration to be done within the game's expansive world. The game abounds with hidden paths, enemy specific dungeons and areas that can only be accessed by powering up the Geo-Fortress' monstrous cannon.

Sadly even with those features in place it's impossible to ignore that the two main gameplay elements, combat and chapter progression, are fundamentally one-note and predictable. The game follows a simple, boring course and while the order might get changed up every now and then it doesn't stop from making Shining Force EXA unremarkable in every sense of the word.

Graphics: 8.5

Sound: 7.0

Gameplay: 5.0

First Play: 4.0

Last Play: 3.0

Overall: 5.7