Nice Package! (Shining Force II, Mega Drive)

Although I've been a fan of Sega's 16-bit console--the Genesis in North America, and the Mega Drive elsewhere--since it first came out in the late 1980s, I only began "collecting" for it last year.

Even then, I've only got three Japanese Mega Drive games at the moment: the first Shining Force, the sequel highlighted here and the similarly styled ARPG, Landstalker.

All three titles have me wondering why it took me so long to start buying Mega Drive cartridges. After all, as the photos in this post hopefully show, as well as those found in the "Nice Package!" write-up I published about the original Shining Force, Sega produced some stellar packaging for its Japanese 16-bit games.

Now, I can't quite say I prefer Shining Force II's box art, above, to that of the first Shining Force, but I still like the former a lot. Maybe if Shining Force II's main illustration took up the entirety of its case's cover I'd find it more appealing?

I also prefer Shining Force's side spine to that of its sequel.

Both games' cartridges sport rather snazzy labels, thankfully, with Shining Force II's on display in the snapshot below.



One area where the Japanese Shining Force II ably competes with the SRPG series' initial entry is its instruction manual.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the section of the Shining Force II manual that showcases that game's colorful cast of characters.

The back side of Shining Force II's Japanese case probably is the least impressive part of its packaging, but that's OK. Most of the rest of it is nice enough that it's easy enough to overlook.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts

Nice Package! (Shining Force, Mega Drive)

Although I began the 16-bit generation favoring NEC's and Nintendo's machines over Sega's, that's not how I ended it.

OK, so I wouldn't say the Genesis (or Mega Drive, depending on your preferences) wound up being my favorite of that era's consoles, but I'd definitely say I grew to love it every bit as much as the Super Nintendo and TurboGrafx-16 (or Super Famicom and PC Engine, respectively).

This game is hugely responsible for that change of heart. I distinctly remember reading everything I could about its Japanese release in 1992 and swooning over practically every screenshot and piece of concept art I came across along the way.

That's understandable, right? I mean, Yoshitaka Tamaki's character designs, showcased in the Japanese box art seen above, are beyond fabulous, in my humble opinion.

Shining Force's in-game graphics are just as wonderful, of course. Also wonderful: the title's epic soundtrack, tactical gameplay and likable cast of characters.

In fact, I found all of those things so appealing then, and still find them so appealing now, that I wouldn't hesitate to call Shining Force one of my all-time favorite games.

I also wouldn't hesitate to call Shining Force's Japanese packaging an all-time favorite.

After all, not only is its outer box a stunner, but so is its cartridge. (Seriously, I've always loved the sexy, rounded carts that contained Japanese Mega Drive games.)

Unsurprisingly, its manual is well worth ogling, too, as the photo above should prove.

Don't worry, I'll try to scan and share the entirety of Shining Force's instruction booklet in an upcoming installment of my "Manual Stimulation" series.

In the meantime, please enjoy the snapshots shared throughout this post. (I especially like this last one, by the way. There's just something about its layout that rubs me the right way.)

Also, if you, too, are a big fan of the original Shining Force--or any of this long-running series' releases--let me and others know in the comments section below.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts