Introduction.

This article is part of a joint-blogging project with my brother over at Sodaware.net. Every two weeks we will be looking at some of the best games ever made and taking two very different approaches to them – I will be dealing with a very player-oriented angle, whereas as a game developer Phil will be examining the game’s design and production to see what lessons game developers can learn from them.

The accompanying half of this article is over at www.sodaware.net

What is Shining Force III?

Shining Force III is a roleplaying game for the Sega Saturn console in 1997/1998 that uses a turns-based battle system, rather like chess. It was released in three separate scenarios, although the second and third scenarios were only available in Japan. It remains my favourite RPG of all time, despite very scarily being almost ten years old now.

Mixture of gameplay

I think one of the principal factors in Shining Force III’s (SFIII) appeal is its balance. Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series uses an almost identical battle system, but loses out because it fails to develop its characters and world as successfully as SFIII. The gameplay in SFIII varies from hardcore tactical battling to more open-hearted town exploration, and your journey through the SFIII world takes in cursed ghost towns, rich autumnal castle towns and everything in between.

It’s this creation of a sort of networked world around the player that really sets this out as an accomplished RPG.

Towns feel like they belong together in these countries, and although they’re all sufficiently different to mark them out they have a very familiar and recognisable style. Villagers, too, are all individual but not bizarre; it’s an RPG that focuses on a coherent world rather than trying to show how many different races and wacky ideas it can fit in. You really get the sense that this world hangs together.

Although SFIII does include traditional epic-fantasy RPG elements of great evil and resurrections and so on, it also has a very grounded and quite serious plot involving two warring nations, and the decisions that have to be faced by those lands’ leaders. I’m not going to pretend that it’s an in-depth political commentary, but it does help to frame the impending huge-scale disaster by including more realistic issues of famine and refugees.

Brain Training

What else is it about Shining Force III that captured me? Well, it’s a game that needs brain power. Not in the puzzle sort of sense, but the battles certainly require brain power and strategy of the highest order. The comparison with chess is probably a little strong here, but you do need to calculate several moves in advance against the larger enemies to figure out who should go where, when and what they should do. Some battles, not content with facing you against squads of highly tough warrior dwarves and hooded mages, include refugees to rescue or ancient temples to explore. These optional diversions really do help branch out and develop the battles by allowing a degree of differentiation – the player has control over as much or as little of the battle as they want. Don’t want to rescue the refugees being persecuted by the Empire? You’re heartless, but it’s your choice.

TimeSync

Following on from this, the decisions you make in Scenario I affect events in the other games through Camelot’s “Synchronicity” system. When you finish the first game, you create a save file which can then be used at the start of the second game. As all three games happen simultaneously, and use some of the same characters, locations and events, your actions have consequences for other characters. Getting to see the same events from different perspectives is also a refreshing idea, and although the second and third discs were in Japanese, I find it rather intriguing to think about the subtle differences there would be in how each side sees the same situation.

Summary

RPGs are supposed to have elements of fantasy, but there is only so far the player can suspend their disbelief when considering the world presented to them. Generally, elements such as fantastic creatures and magic are accepted because they relate to the player’s imagination, and often I think the player wants to believe in them. I want to believe in birdmen and magicians who can summon the phoenix and so on.

For an RPG to stretch the player’s imagination and yet remain mostly acceptable, it has to operate within some form of logical boundaries. Shining Force III does this brilliantly by creating towns and villagers that fit together by not always being outlandish, almost garish characters. The game’s small details all combine to create a background to one of the most involving games I have ever played.

For the other half of this article, be sure to head over to www.sodaware.net/blog to read a really interesting look at the game and what lessons game developers can learn from it.

Here’s some pages from one of the other diaries I found. I think it’s from a few years after the first one, as James seems to refer to a wife and son, who don’t appear in the first diary. I’d love to know what happened in the years between these books, but unfortunately I don’t seem to have the missing books. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

Chapter two: Happy birthday!

Forget-Me-Not Valley has changed quite a bit since my first year here. It’s still mostly the place I fell in love with, and even in as small and insular a place as this progress is inevitable. The saddest change this year was when we lost Nina. Poor Galen hasn’t been the same since, plodding around town and tending to Nina’s grave and memorial. I try to get through to him with polite conversation and crops and milk, but he doesn’t seem interested, just grumbling and fixing me with his glassy eyes. Sometimes he stands on the bridge and stares at the river flowing away to the sea. I worry about what he might be thinking… he must be so alone.

A slightly happier change is the arrival of Samantha, Kate and Grant, a new family whose house is the middle one in this photo.

They’re a funny family really. Kate seems a bit of a spoil little brat, Grant is always running to and fro to the city (or the Blue Bar!) and Samantha seems a very uptight and proper lady. They’re a bit of an odd bunch, and it’s rare to see them together, but all the same, Forget-Me-Not Valley is richer for their presence.

Elsewhere around me I can see the effects of change. Lumina’s piano playing is fantastic now; I love hearing her play, and I’ve just noticed that Hugh and Rock seem older these days. I think in my mind they’ve been these cute little boys for the past few years, but now I can see they’re becoming young men.

Thinking about the younger residents of the Valley makes me cast my mind onto my son, Boris. It’s the hardest thing in the world to judge whether Muffy and I are doing a good job as parents, but I think we are – Boris is well-behaved (if not a little energetic!) apart from bedtimes, which have seen quite a few struggles! I think the key is not to play with him too close to “night night”.

He seems interested in eggs and milk, and anything to do with animals, which I suppose is natural growing up on a farm! All the clichés about parenting being “the greatest adventure” seem very true now!

The farm continues to grow, with new buildings, animals and crops. We have a couple of ducks called Jilly and Billy, a few new cows and a sheep. Money is thankfully no problem, so I can commit to giving Boris the best upbringing I can.

That’s all I could salvage from this second diary, but I think there are some great insights in there, and it’s clear that James has really settled into his life in Forget-Me-Not Valley, both in terms of farming and family. The next diary was much more intact, so I’m posting it up a season at a time. Click here for Fall’s diary.

Looking through my chest of drawers earlier I found some old books bound in cracked leather under a pile of dusty blankets. The pages flaked in my hands when I touched them, but as I read the blotty handwriting I felt a sense of a story coming together. They appear to be the diaries of a farmer by the name of James, and as a service to him I thought I’d post what I’ve found. Some chunks seem to be missing, but what’s here is, I think, genuinely fascinating. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Chapter One: The Beginning

I moved into Forget-Me-Not Valley a few years ago to take up the farm my father left me after his death. Those first few years were hard – I had to learn a new trade in a place that was completely foreign to me. I didn’t know anybody, and the pace of life seemed so different to what I was used to.

For the first year I tried to focus my efforts on making money from the farm. Wow, I remember what it was like back then; a run-down, ramshackle sort of place with a cow and a tiny house. It took a lot of effort to turn it around, but within a few months my cow was happier and I’d successfully grown my own crops for the first time. Whoever said that homegrown crops taste better should have tasted mine back then… I guess every rule has its exception!

That year went so fast, and by the end of those first four seasons I’d begun raising chickens, sheep, had a pond installed and even got engaged to my dear Muffy. Quite an eventful year!

Click here for the second diary

Here are some websites that I find interesting, enjoyable and helpful in my life. Give them a click and see if you agree.

Phil Newton.net
PhilNewton.net is dedicated to helping you get the most out of your life through various methods. Articles are regularly published on a variety of subjects, from time management to beating procrastination.

PhotoRouge
PhotoRouge is the photography website of Hannah Marshall where you can find inspiring images of breathtaking insight and beauty.

Sodaware.net
Sodaware is a UK-based software business formed in 2006 run by my brother, and includes a blog and articles to help other software developers.

The Shots Still Ringing
A fantastic fansite dedicated to the increasingly world-conquering band Embrace.

The Mean Machines Archive
A massive shrine to the video game magazine Mean Machines, including loads of interviews with old staff members – quite the feat!

My musical output over the past five years or more comes in two flavours: Prosody and James Newton.

Prosody

This name covers all my vocal music. In 2005 I completed recording my debut album Long Distance, a collection of ten original songs written, performed and recorded by me.

James Newton

All my instrumental music falls under my real name. Here you can find music I’ve written for projects including Shining Online, Tanner and a farming documentary.

Why two names?

When I began writing songs about five years ago, I was quite uncomfortable using my real name. I thought of using a pseudonym, rather like Neil Hannon using the Divine Comedy, so had a leaf through the dictionary (hey, it worked for Ash!).

I wanted a cool-sounding word with some relevance, and as I liked English and the letter P I went for “Prosody”, which is (of course) the study of poetical techniques. Rejected names included LipSnot, Provanity and Ellipsis. Prosody is much better.

After that, I found my instrumental music didn’t really sound like Prosody, so decided to use my real name for that. If I do record another album of songs I’ll use the Prosody name for that, but until then it’s likely to be all James Newton from now on. Which, let’s face it, is no bad thing.