Sega Announces Shining Force Feather

Every big company needs its RPGs, and Sega, having been originally a console manufacturer, is no exception, with its Phantasy Star and Shining Force series leading the pack. Unfortunately, most fans would agree that neither of these series have really held up well since Sega bowed out of the console wars to take up a role as a publisher. Nevertheless, that certainly hasn't stopped them from making new iterations of both series. Phantasy Star recently got the oh-so-popular-in-Japan handheld treatment with Phantasy Star Portable, so now it's Shining Force's turn.

Developed by SRPG veterans Flight Plan (the developers behind Black Matrix, Summon Night, and the upcoming Eternal Poison), and featuring character designs by famous manga artisits pako (who worked previously on Shining Force EXA) and Noiji Itou (the artist behind the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Shining Force Feather returns the Shining series back to its SRPG roots, bringing a fresh coat of paint to the little handheld that could.

Shining Force Feather features a hot-headed main character named Jin and a mysterious artificially created girl named Alfin.

The gameplay features top-down strategic battles, but switches to a side view for the actual fighting.

You can take a look at the Famitsu scans below, courtesy of Gamekyo.



Shining Force Feather is being slated for a spring 2009 release in Japan on Nintendo DS. There is no announcement of a North American or European release at the moment. As usual, I will translate the article if there is enough interest.