https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC13903788E11281A

Shining Force was one of my favorite games as a child. It is a tactical RPG, so planning where to put your fighters required a lot of thinking (and grinding!) especially when you get all clumped up / stuck in narrow corridors. I also enjoyed the music very much. Even though I can identify its many weaknesses today this game still has excellent tracks.

The main weakness stems from the Sega Genesis sound chip. When the tracks are not heavily synthesized like Sword of Vermilion, the drum track is overly loud. Even though this game is highly militaristic, it can get annoying in the end.

Castle is the perfect example of this “drum abuse.” The main track is completely drowned in the drum track, making the few “regal” arrangements sound faint. World Map 2 (on the boat) also abuses the drums – it’s an upbeat version of World Map 1. It loops too quickly (like 15 seconds) and gets annoying.

Nevertheless, the rest soundtrack is still very enjoyable. The Prologue already sends the right tone. The tempo is slow, and the “string” in the background adds an excellent touch of mystery when the screen plays the legend of Dark Dragon and the invasion of Runefast. City is one of the most welcoming such themes I’ve ever heard. The “flute” effects, especially in the second part of the loop, are very soothing and better than what Squaresoft did before Final Fantasy VI. In contrast, After City Destruction sounds very sad. The background track is very monotonous, but the main track more than compensates. The end of the loop gets more high-pitch but doesn’t annoy the ear. Headquarters, despite a loud drum track, has the main track “flute” play loud enough so we can hear it clearly. It sounds like those flutes we hear when ancient armies walked. It’s a joyful military march.

But since it’s a tactical RPG, most of the music comes from the battlefields. #1 is drum-heavy but fortunately the main track (that has realistic-ish trumpets) sounds quite epic. I liked the pause (in drums) in the second part of the loop; it incorporated well. #2 is the most common battlefield theme (the first one you hear). Short of the battle against Dark Sol this is my favorite theme. The drum gives it the perfect tempo, the “trumpet” in the main track sounds very dramatic and the conclusion of the loop sounds even more dramatic with the brass. #3 is the one I call “public place” (in a circus, a village, etc.). The drum tempo is very quick and the main track is equally quick, sounding very dramatic. At about half the loop you start hearing high-pitch “flutes” that change the dramatic tone in a good way. #4 is the battle on a ship. Unlike its world map equivalent, the drum isn’t as heavy, which is good; it even sounds “sea-like) in combination with the other arrangements. The main track doesn’t sound “realistic” but still sounds epic.

And now onto the best themes: #5 is the battle against Dark Sol. It’s a very upbeat version of the battle against the fiend in Shining in the Darkness and it’s MUCH better here. The very upbeat tempo makes the track more dramatic, the “trumpets” are high-pitch and quite epic and the conclusion of the loop is so quick I wonder if any orchestra could ever do it justice… And #6 is the battle against Dark Dragon. Surprisingly it doesn’t sound as epic as #5 – it’s the final battle after all. The intro is rather slow, but the core of the loop sounds epic enough with its upbeat drum track to sound like a final battle. The main track get heightens the drama in the first part; it sounds a little too quiet in the second part.

In short Shining Force I is a good addition to any music libraries. Despite abusing the drum track at times, it’s usually fairly appropriate because it’s a highly militaristic setting. Make sure you can loop the battle against Dark Sol!