Shining the Holy Ark

About Shining the Holy Ark

Shining the Holy Ark (1996) is Sega's first-person Saturn RPG, a darker Shining game for adults that mixes polygons and sprites, sets up Shining Force III and lets pixies ambush enemies as battles begin.

Shining the Holy Ark in Depth

Like Shining in the Darkness, it is explored in first person, using node-based movement rather than the free movement of most first-person games of the time, with battles almost entirely confined to dungeons. A party of up to four fights random, turn-based battles, still in first person but showing allies as they act, and reserve characters can be called in mid-battle. As in every Shining game, each menu has exactly four icon options. Characters grow through experience and equipment and learn spells automatically as they level up. Towns can be explored without battles and offer shops, saving and healing.

The game introduced a "pixie" system: the party befriends fairies, pixies, succubi, incubi and leprechauns, and when enemies appear the player has a few seconds to send the right type for the direction they come from, such as leprechauns for enemies from underground or fairies for those dropping from above. A correct choice damages the enemies and increases the gold and experience earned. The story follows mercenaries Arthur, Melody and Forte, hired by the King of Enrich to capture the renegade ninja Rodi. A craft crashes into the mine where they fight, and all four are healed by possessing spirits, though Forte's is evil, and the heroes set out to stop the revival of the legendary 1,000-year kingdom.

Making Shining the Holy Ark

Producer Hiroyuki Takahashi said that until Shining Wisdom the series had aimed for a broad audience, but that Japanese Saturn owners were mostly in their late teens or early twenties, so Holy Ark was redesigned around "fantasy that can be enjoyed by adults", producing a darker, deeper world. In contrast to Shining Wisdom's action-adventure format, it returned to first-person dungeon crawling and turn-based combat, and it had greater critical success. Though opinions varied, nearly every review ended by recommending it. Next Generation said that "SHA truly shines", praising how its mix of polygons and sprites gave it a visual uniqueness, Sega Saturn Magazine's Rich Leadbetter called it "the best RPG I've played in ages", and EGM's Crispin Boyer praised "some of the best animation ever seen in an RPG". Reviewers liked the pixie system and the variety of enemies, but some felt enemy animations dragged, and GameSpot found the story generic, saved by a solid translation.