Shining Force (Genesis) Character FAQ
This FAQ: (c) 2001 Ganalon for view ONLY at GameFAQs.com
If you would like to reproduce this FAQ in any way for profit, you CAN'T!
That's right folks, it's copyrighted by moi. If you want to use it on your
site, just toss me an e-mail:
[email protected]. Trust me, I won't be greedy
with it.
Obviously it's illegal to use this without my consent in magazines (like
you'd want to), but I probably won't waste my time with a lawsuit so if you
want, just give me credit. And sure, laugh at my disclaimer... it really
doesn't matter, if people are gonna rip it they will. Look at Kao Megura.
The hours you spend writing a disclaimer just leads to frustration when they
rip you and you sit there with your thumb in your ass... heh.
This FAQ's purpose is to give you the TRUE lowdown on the characters, compared
to Sephirstein's FAQ. Though the rest of his FAQ is truly excellent, I feel
his character section leaves MUCH to be desired, and it doesn't look like he's
changing his mind anytime soon. I mean, he has Arthur marked extremely low, as
well as Vankar and Earnest. Until very recently, he even had Bleu marked low.
It shows blatently that he hasn't used all the characters.
**VERSIONS**
Version 0.7 (5/28/01)
-First version. I'm expecting to have a few grade changes before the final
version, due to other's correcting me, but I feel I have pretty solid scores
down now...
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Table of Contents
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(Disclaimer)
Section 1: Foreword About Promotion
Section 2: Character Grades
Section 3: Acquiring Hidden Characters and Outfits
Section 4: Credits/Contacting
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Section 1:
Foreword About Promotions
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In Shining Force 1, you can promote your characters anytime from levels 10 and
on up to 20. At level 20, you can no longer gain levels unpromoted. Each
level you gain, you get a somewhat random amount of stats
(HP-MP-Attack-Defense-Speed). Generally, some characters always get high MP,
and some always get high Speed, etc., but the actual amounts you get when you
level up can be somewhat random (i.e. Hans might gain 3 Speed when you level
up. You reset, play through the fight again, this time he gets 2 Speed). Once
you promote, your character loses a certain percentage of their stats.
However, when they are at level 1 promoted, they now will gain experience from
things they would have when they were level 11 unpromoted... do you see the
picture here?
The thing is, it is BEST to promote at level 20. You get a whole extra *10*
levels of stat gains (some very big), and then when you promote, you lose a
small percentage of stats (not as bad as if you promoted at level 10), and have
a whole 10 levels to easily gain (with even higher stat increases since your
promoted) before you're 'caught up' with your level 20 experience cap (and
those enemies once again give you meager experience).
If you promote at level 10, not only will you not get any 'easy level ups'
(because the enemies you're fighting are at your level 10, and by promoting,
you become in essence, level 11, rather than going from level 20 to level 11 at
a later stage), but your stats get really bad for that stage in the game, and
you will have to struggle through a couple fights, and also the rest of the
game will be much harder, as your stats will never peak like they would if you
promoted at level 20...
-Ganalon
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Section 2:
Character Grades
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1 is AWFUL, 5 is average, 10 is jaw-dropping.
Max (N/A): I cannot give a grade for Max. You always must have him on the
team. If he dies, it's all over for you. His stats are balanced out, nothing
spectacular for the most part. He does have high speed later on, and once he
gets the Chaos Breaker, extremely high attack power. He is not a front line
fighter however. DEFEND him.
SPELLS: Egress(LV1)
KNIGHTS (promoted: PALADINS)
Ken (5.5/10): Ken is the first knight you'll use, and very good during the
early stages of the game. Later in the game, his noted stat becomes HP, as he
gets loads and loads of them. His defense however, does not get much better,
and thus, you have a character who can take lots of magic damage, but not much
physical. Thus, he is a little above average late in the game, when most
enemies use magic. It's just when they do try a physical attack on him, he is
finished.
Mae (7/10): The second knight you get, Mae is almost the opposite of Ken in
that she gets very high defense late in the game. Her HP is also pretty good.
Her attack power leaves a little to be desired however, especially later on in
the game.
Arthur (8.5/10): Arthur is the only magic-using Knight you'll find, but that
isn't why he's good. Early in the game, Arthur has less HP than magic users,
lower attack and defense than other knights, and stays this way even well into
his promotion. However, if you stay with him, his stats SPIKE at the end of
his career (approaching level 20 promoted), going higher than other knights (in
most areas). His attack gets very high, defense gets very high, HP is decent,
and even his MP allows him to make full use of his spells.
SPELLS: Blaze(LV1), Freeze(LV1), Bolt(LV1)
Pelle (5/10): He starts out with simply incredible stats, and it seems things
don't change much up to level 20 unpromoted. Unfortunately, once he's
promoted, things DO change. The level ups aren't all that impressive then, his
stats stay relatively the same (all while other knights go up a LOT in stats),
and he generally is average at best.
Vankar (7.5/10): It seems that at first, he wouldn't be worth building up,
seeing as how you get a better Pelle earlier. But, if you invest a little time
into him, he becomes a lot like Mae, but with more attack, and more HP, with a
little less defense. A great 'tank' character, good for getting in on the
front lines with relative safety.
Earnest (8/10): Much like Vankar, most are warded off by his lower starting
stats and small starting level. However, if you work with him, you get a great
Paladin. His stats are well above average in all stats well throughout the
game, and he has no problems in any area, really.
MISC. KNIGHT CHARACTERS
Winged Knight (promoted: Sky Lord)
Kokichi (8/10): Kokichi is a Sky Knight, a flying knight. He, like many
others, requires a little catch-up work, but he is very worthwhile. Aside from
his flying ability, he can use all Knight weapons, including Spears. Which
means you can have close to a flying archer! Add this to the fact that he has
very high attack power, and you have an incredible teammate. Kokichi is often
overlooked due to his goofy looks, but I assure you, he is not a joke. His
other stats may not be the best, but he can get anywhere fast, and support a
frontline with a spear like no other knight, doing incredible damage while
moving long distances.
Steam Knight (promoted: Steam Baron)
Guntz (9.5/10): Whew. Guntz is an absolute TANK. Definitely worth a little
bit of leveling up. His move level is very low, however, so expect him to be
always behind, unless you're willing to invest a Turbo Pepper or Mobility Ring
into him. His attack power is GREAT, his defense is just about as high as
defense can get, and his HP is pretty good, to top it off. If he can make it
to the front lines, he is almost unstoppable.
WARRIORS (promoted: GLADIATORS)
Luke (8/10): Your first Warrior, Luke's movement is unaffected by mountains
and forests, and his attack power is great. He gets a decent amount of HP and
good defense, making him a great frontliner.
Gort (7/10): You find Gort shortly after you do Luke, and his movement
qualities are the same. His attack power is a little less at higher levels in
the game, but his HP slightly less, but his defense gets quite a bit higher
than Luke's. Due to most enemies' magic attacks at the end, it makes him
slightly less effecient than Luke, however, during the middle parts of the
game, he comes in a bit handier.
MAGICIANS (promoted: WIZARDS)
Tao (6/10): A solid magician early on. In later levels, she is basically left
in the dust by Domingo, which is unfortunate. However, she is still an
alternative to Domingo, as her MP gets higher than his, as does her attack, and
she is the only master of the Blaze spell you get in the game (which is handy
vs. undead!). She also is the only one to get Boost along with Domingo, and
she can make better use of it due to her higher MP. Boost is a great power-up
spell. She also gets the helpful Dispell, which prevents enemies from using
magic.
SPELLS: BLAZE(LV4), DISPELL(LV1), SLEEP(LV1), BOOST(LV1)
Anri (7.5/10): Very weak in the early stages with low HP, but if you work with
her, you get a very great mage. She is a master of Freeze, like Domingo, but
also is good with the Blaze spell (up to level 2 at least). She even gets Bolt
up to level 2, which is handy even at higher levels, and gets a pretty
worthless Muddle spell. A less supportive mage than Tao, overall, and less MP,
but her defense is VERY high for a Mage! This is another perk. You'd be
surprised how high her defense is...
SPELLS: FREEZE(LV4), BOLT(LV2), BLAZE(LV2), MUDDLE(LV1)
Alef (7/10): You get her SO late in the game, unpromoted nonetheless. But, if
you are willing to spend the time on her, she gets to be pretty worthwhile.
Once she's caught up with your promoted characters at around level 20 or so,
she learns some pretty decent spells. Her Blaze and Freeze stay at level 2,
which is kind of worthless at that stage in the game. However, her Bolt
reaches a stunning level 4, which, while taking tons of MP, covers a HUGE
range, and does some major damage. As an added plus, she learns Desoul, which
randomly kills a low level enemy in one hit. Overall, her spell selection is
somewhat weak for how much work you must put into her. Bolt 4 is great, but it
takes loads of MP...
SPELLS: BLAZE(LV2), FREEZE(LV2), BOLT(LV4, DESOUL(LV1)
MISC. MAGICIAN CHARACTERS
Magic Creature (NO PROMOTION)
Domingo (8/10): Domingo is a flying squid-type creature. Yes, that's right,
he can fly! He can also cast spells with great precision and power, moves
fast, and has pretty damned high defense (even Minotaurs nearing the end of the
game do 1 damage to him). He also levels up like MAD. I don't know exactly
why, but he always seems to gain 48 experience from killing enemies unless
you're WAY ahead of the enemy's level! Which makes his level ups (and stat
increases) occur more, which may be another reason why his HP and defense get
so high. That aside, Domingo is an EXCELLENT addition to any team, as he can
cast, fly, take damage, and oh yeah.. did I mention he is the second biggest
target to any enemy besides Max? They just love to senselessly pound on poor
Domingo for a whopping 1 point. His spells also are quite good, getting Freeze
up to level 4 (like Anri), Boost (a great powerup spell shared only with Tao),
and others.
SPELLS: FREEZE(LV4), MUDDLE(LV1), BOOST(LV1), DESOUL(LV1)
HEALERS (promoted: VICARS)
Lowe (4.5/10): You start out with Lowe, but as you progress through the game
you will find Healers with better spell selections. It's up to you how many
Healers to take along, but usually 1 is plenty. Lowe's weakness is in his
spell selection. He has very high MP, but he doesn't have access to the Aura
line of spells (a clear cut disadvantage from the others). So he can only heal
one at a time, can Detox you (which is nothing considering there are
Antidotes), and use Quick and Slow (which are handy, but Khris also has them,
and Torasu has a better upgrade spell (Shield). Overall, his saver is his high
MP. If you don't mind healing one person at a time, you can do it LOTS with
Lowe.
SPELLS: HEAL(LV4), DETOX(LV1), QUICK(LV2), SLOW(LV2)
Khris (7.5/10): Khris is VERY weak to start. But it's not hard for her to
catch up, and when she does, she's a great Healer! She masters Heal to level
4, Aura to 2 (handy!), and gets the same Quick and Slow as Lowe. She has less
MP, but her defense is GREAT after she's promoted awhile, and even her attack
is pretty good! Imagine that, a fighting Vicar! She can run to the front
lines without fear, heal, and stay to fight a little bit. Pretty good if you
ask me!
SPELLS: HEAL(LV4), AURA(LV2), QUICK(LV2), SLOW(LV2)
Torasu (9.5/10): Torasu earns his grade the lazy-man's way: he has one REALLY,
REALLY, good perk. His stats aren't incredible (except for his great MP), but
he has this thing called AURA 4. Aura 4 heals everyone on the map (well, your
guys at least) to full HP, for not that high of an MP cost! Unbelievable. The
problem is, he takes awhile to build up, just like Alef (you get him the same
time). But once you do, it's quite hard to lose a battle. Oh yeah, and
besides Hanzou, he's the only guy that uses the great Shield spell, which is a
nice boost in stats!
SPELLS: HEAL(LV2), AURA(LV4), DETOX(LV1), SHIELD(LV1)
MISC. HEALER CHARACTERS
Monk (promoted: Master Monk)
Gong (7/10): Gong's a solid character. He may not seem like much at first,
but once he starts going up a little in level, his attack gets pretty damn
good, his defense isn't too shabby, and he gets a full four levels of Heal, and
even an Aura level one. He can be considered a mix between fighter and healer,
but is a master of neither. Overall, an above average fighter with some perks,
good for any team, and his attack as a Master Monk looks cool as hell.
SPELLS: HEAL(LV4), AURA(LV1)
ARCHERS (promoted: Bow Masters)
Hans (3.5/10): Hans seems like he really is good in the beginning. Note: "in
the beginning". Unfortunately, as he levels up, Hans just does not get much
attack power. So, your power dependant on his arrows, and later on, is almost
non-existant. Upon a level 20 promotion, he gets a little better, but not all
that much. One reason you may want to use him is his incredible speed. But,
his defense is so low, make sure you NEVER leave him exposed to the enemy.
Diane (7/10): Ah, much better! Diane has a lot more attack and defense than
Hans, though not quite as fast. She can put quite a hurtin' on enemies from
the back row (like any good archer should!), and can take more than a hit or
two before taking a dirt nap. Overall, a great archer, and she holds her own!
MISC. ARCHER CHARACTERS
Assault Knight (promoted: Strike Knight)
Lyle (9.5/10): This guy is pretty much the ideal archer, outclassing the
others in (almost) every field, unfortunately. He has the movement of a Knight
(he's a centaur), and after promotion and a few levels up, gets high defense,
good HP, and GREAT attack. He simply RIPS APART any enemy from very safe
distances. If you are going to take one archer character, I would suggest
taking Lyle!
BIRDMEN (promoted: Sky Warriors)
Balbaroy (7/10): Balbaroy is like a flying Hero. He has great mobility,
decent attack and defense, and HP. He seems awful at first (but not quite as
awful as Amon does at first), but with a little work, he becomes a great
addition. Perhaps his biggest perk is that he can equip the supposed
"Hero-only" swords, including the Sword of Light and Darkness. With these
equipped, he really does some insane damage. Otherwise, his damage output is
only average, which is why I did not rank him higher.
Amon (7.5/10): 99% of Shining Force players see her initial stats being worse
than Balbaroy and forget her. Shame on you. At higher levels, she gets to be
more of a fighter than Balbaroy does, in just about every area. She just takes
a little bit more work, so in the end, it is your call.
MISC. BIRDMEN CHARACTERS
Dragon (promoted: Great Dragon)
Bleu (10/10): Bleu is a dragon. He starts out as a baby that sucks. After a
nice promotion though, and a few levels, something strange happens. Bleu
starts doing sick amounts of damage. He starts taking only 1 damage per hit.
He starts gaining HP at an incredible rate (ending up sooner or later in the
80s). And, he flies. Yes, Bleu is a machine, Bleu makes the game easier by a
longshot, and Bleu takes some work to build up. But hell, when you have a
character that is stronger than almost every boss in the game on your side, is
it worth it? I would think 'yes'. Oh yeah, and don't give me flak about
putting him the "Birdman" category, he does the same thing as Balbaroy and
Amon.. flies around and attacks. :)
"FIGHTER" CHARACTERS
(all of the following don't fall into a certain group, they may/may not use
weapons, but all have one thing in common: their main attribute is front-line
fighting)
Werewolf (promoted: Wolf Baron)
Zylo (9/10): Zylo is a fast, very strong attacker that's movement is
unaffected by mountains and forests (like Warriors). His movement rate suffers
in indoor areas however, so beware. Other than that, he has good defense, with
good HP. A very popular choice among SF players, as he is just so good in the
long run, other than his lack of movement indoors, and decent HP and defense.
Yogurt (NO PROMOTION)
Jogurt (1/10): Too good for words. Though his stats are "1" in every area
(including HP), if he finishes off an enemy, you get a "Yogurt Ring", which
turns another character into a Jogurt look-alike. Can you see the pattern
here? Eventually you can have an entire party of Jogurts, ready to conquer the
world on a whim. He also has the highest magic resistance in the game (notice
this when an enemy casts a spell and he dies). To top all of his off, Jogurt
wears an extremely cute hat, and resembles a gerbil. Add him to your team
ASAP. Yes, that whole paragraph was sarcasm. :)
Samurai (NO PROMOTION)
Musashi (9/10): Like Guntz, his movement rate sucks. But as I mentioned, a
Turbo Pepper or Mobility Ring fixes that. With that problem aside, Musashi has
high HP, defense, and attack, and from reading all of the grades so far, what
does that make? Yes, correct, a GREAT FIGHTER! If he can make it to the front
lines, he can really rock them. Bonus points for having a very cool attack
(Ianuki)!
Robot (promoted: Cyborg)
Adam (8.5/10): Since he starts out at level 10 unpromoted, he requires the
most work of any character in the game to be good at that stage in the game.
Whether he's worth it or not, is entirely up to the player. He gets as good as
the other fighters, if not better. Once he starts leveling up while promoted,
his stats get quite high, and he begins to hold his own just as easily as Zylo,
Musashi, or others. The only reason I score him lower is the question, "Why
Bother?". That is, unless you're a huge robot fan. That, and I do agree he
looks cool!
Ninja (NO PROMOTION)
Hanzou (9.5/10): He moves fast. He hits hard. He has good HP and defense.
His attack looks cool. He has 4 good spells. The catch? You get him like,
two fights before the end of the game (d'oh!). Of course, he's already
promoted, and only requires a little leveling up to catch up, so it's not all
that bad. By this stage in the game, you may have guys who are better and can
just overlook him. Nonetheless, he is still one of the best characters. Do
not count out his spells either, as they sure as hell beat Arthur's, heh.
SPELLS: DISPELL(LV1), SLEEP(LV1), SHIELD(LV1), DESOUL(LV2???)*
*Hanzou seems to learn Desoul 2, but even though it says you learned it, he
does in fact, NOT. This must be a bug of some sort, as I think some enemies
have Desoul 2...
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Section 3:
Acquiring Hidden Characters and Outfits
----------------------------
Hidden Characters(in order of appearance):
GONG: Egress from the 1st or 2nd fight. Gong will be chopping wood on the
side of the cabin. Also make sure to speak to the Hamster-like thing on the
side of the cabin!
GORT: Speak to him while first walking through the first town (in the bar).
Listen to his stories. When you visit the town the second time (while it's in
bad shape), and are about to leave, talk to him again in the bar.
ARTHUR: He's in the magic city. Speak to him when you first visit. After you
complete the Cave battle within the town, talk to him again... he will join
this time.
JOGURT: Don't miss out on this powerhouse: after initially speaking to him by
where Gong is, you can now run into him in the FIRST Pao city (before it
moves). He is by the priest.. walk around that area.. you'll run into him!
VANKAR: He's left behind when Pao first moves. Talk to him and express your
pity. :)
KOKICHI: If you spoke with him in the mountainside town, and saw him attempt
to demonstrate his device, he will join after Pao first moves.
DOMINGO: You should've gotten a Domingo egg in the magic city. In the second
Pao, there is a man with an egg hatching device. Use the Domingo egg with it,
voila!
GUNTZ: If you spoke with his creator before in Rindo, you'll find him in Pao
II terrorizing the sheep (don't ask).
LYLE: In the city of children, he's at the top of the one tower.
MUSASHI: After you get thrown in prison in Prompt, read the little note that's
on the one building in town(before jail, you could NOT search it). After
reading it, Musashi has already joined you and is in headquarters. No music or
nothing, heh!
ADAM: After the battle with Chaos, search around that area, or you'll miss
him.
HANZOU: In the town of Runefaust, one of the bushes by one of the exits has
what appears to be a throwing star in it. Search it.
Hidden Outfits (in order of appearance):
In the battle within the cave of the magic city (where you find the Orb of
Light), search every wall. Eventually you will find an item that resembles a
swimsuit. If you put it in TAO's inventory, her map sprite (not her battle
one) will be in a bikini!
In the battle where you fight the Laser Eye, search the area where the archers
were holed up thourghly. You will discover a dress item that Anri can wear if
you place it in her inventory. Again, it only affects her map sprite, not her
battle one.
NOTE: All other 'hidden items' that you may run into during the game
(including outfits, a rifle, and a few other things) have no use that have been
found as of this writing. Considering this game is nearing a decade old [and
may be more as you read this], I'd say there's no use for them.
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Section 4:
Credits/Contacting
-----------------------------
Thanks to:
The crew at the Shining Force GameFAQs message board.
Why? They post lots of neat facts I would have never added into this
FAQ if it weren't for them!
CJayC. Because he's a cool guy, and runs GameFAQs.
Sega, for releasing their Smash Pack, which contains 12 pretty good
emulated games, one of them being Shining Force ;)
All the people online that make ROMs of these classics. Sure, you can
say how it's illegal, and I myself hate pirating, but if it weren't for
these people, some of these classics would die forever... long live them!
Special Thanks To:
No one really
FINAL NOTES: If you really liked this FAQ and thought it informative, give me
a mail at
[email protected] and tell me so. If I get enough requests, I WILL do
one for Shining Force 2, and 3, and perhaps even CD. Make sure to give me your
thoughts. Also, if you have some questions about Shining Force regarding
CHARACTERS, or your opinion, tell me. If you convince me, I'll change some
scores! Finally, if you have questions on anything else regarding Shining
Force, please check out the other FAQs here at GameFAQs, they will definitely
help you. I'll only respond to queries about characters, and MAYBE battle
strategies. Maybe. :P
This FAQ (c) 2001 Ganalon, for view ONLY at GameFAQs.com.
"Flank, surround, victory!"
The key to winning every boss battle. :)
-End-
