Shining in the Darkness

n/a

Shining in the Darkness

System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console, Steam

Publisher:

Sega

Developer:

Sega, Climax Entertainment

Genre: RPG

Number of players: 1

Official in-game languages:

日本語

English

Português

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1991-03-29	¥8,700	G-5506
US	1991-10^[2]	$79.95^[1]	1310
UK	1991-10^[2]	£49.99^[3]	1310
FR	1991	?F	1310
DE	1991	DM ?	1310
ES	1991	?Ptas	1310
BR	1997-09	R$?	041260


JP ▼	2007-06-12^[7]	700^[8]pts
US ▼	2007-08-13^[4]	800^[4]pts
EU ▼	2007-09-07^[5]^[6]	800^[5]pts
US	2011-01-26^[10]	$2.99^[9]	71161
EU	2011-01-26^[10]	€2.49^[9]	71161
UK	2011-01-26^[10]	£1.99^[9]	71161
AU	2011-01-26^[10]	$3.49^[9]	71161

ESRB

VRC

PEGI

OFLC

CERO

Tectoy

Shining in the Darkness, called Shining and the Darkness (シャイニング＆ザ・ダクネス) in Japan, is a 1991 game by Sega and Climax Entertainment for the Sega Mega Drive. It is the first game in Sega's Shining series — but unlike most of the rest of the franchise, this one is a 3D dungeon-crawler RPG.

Story

You are the son of Mortred, a warrior who was last seen near a dungeon known as the Labyrinth in the kingdom of Thornwood with the Princess Jessa. King Drake summons you to go find her, but just as that is about to happen, the evil Dark Sol appears and offers a ransom — Mortred and the Princess for the kingdom. It is now up to you to save the two and defeat Dark Sol before he destroys King Drake instead...

Gameplay

The game takes place in three areas — the castle (where you talk to the King and his servants), the town (where you can buy weapons, armor, and items, save your game and heal in the church, and talk to townsfolk), and the Labyrinth (the actual dungeon). In the castle, towns, and buildings, use and to navigate and to interact.

The Labyrinth is (appropriately) a 3D maze. moves forward, and turn, and moves backward. and open a menu at the bottom of the screen where you can do mundane things to the members of your party. Enemy encounters happen randomly throughout the Labyrinth — the same menu is used to attack. Should you die in battle, you will be taken back to the church in the town, losing half your collected gold in the process.

History

Development

Shining in the Darkness was a joint venture developed by Sega's newly founded Sonic Co. and a team at Climax Entertainment, headded by Hiroyuki Takahashi, a rising stars in the world of RPG development (Takahashi had previously been involved in Enix's popular Dragon Quest series, so were seen as a good fit for the project). However, corporate reasoning gave Shining and the Darkness a minimal development budget, and a small four-man team, meaning Climax were responsible for the bulk of the game's development.

Nevertheless Shining in the Darkness was a success for the company, and led to other entries in the Shining franchise, most notably the next game, Shining Force.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Shining in the Darkness	Shining in the Darkness
English (US)	Shining in the Darkness	Shining in the Darkness
Japanese	シャイニング＆ザ・ダクネス	Shining and the Darkness

Production credits

Written and Produced by: Hiroyuki Takahashi
Special Effects: Yasuhiro Taguchi
Assistant Director: Yoshinori Tagawa, Bob Timbello
Artwork and Design: Hidehiro Yoshida
Outline and Storyboards: Yoshitaka Tamaki
Music: Masahiko Yoshimura
Visual Support: Ryutaro Ishimatsu
Technical Support: Haruki Kodera
Director: Kan Naitoh
Special Thanks: Media Mixture, Mad Cap
Executive Producer: Sega Enterprises
Created by: Climax

Digital manuals

Steam manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Shining in the Darkness/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

PDF

Mega Drive print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #120: "November 1991" (1991-10-15)

PDF

Ad with quotes from Hiroyuki Takahashi and Kan Naitoh in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1991-03: "March 1991" (1991-02-08)
also published in:

Mega Drive Fan (JP) #14: "March 1991" (1991-02-08)^[11]

PDF

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1991-04: "April 1991" (1991-03-08)
also published in:

Mega Drive Fan (JP) #15: "April 1991" (1991-03-08)^[12]

PDF

Advertisement on bottom half of page in Mega Drive Fan (JP) #16: "May 1991" (1991-04-08)

Artwork

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication	Score	Source
Beep! MegaDrive (JP)	83	№1991-04, p29^[13]
Beep! MegaDrive (readers) (JP)	79	№, p83^[14]
Weekly Famitsu (JP)	78
Games-X (UK)	91	№12
Games-X (UK)	80	№27
Hippon Super (JP)	90	№1991-04, p40
Joystick (FR)	91	№22, p121^[15]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)	75	№5, p63 №5, p94
Mega (UK)	89	№18, p71
MegaTech (UK)	72	№1, p80^[16]
Mean Machines (UK)	69	№14, p112/113^[17]
Player One (FR)	89	№15, p58/59^[18]
Sega Power (UK)	100	№23, p54
Sega Power (UK)	92	№28, p38/39
Sega Power (UK)	100	№46, p98^[19]
Sega Pro (UK)	93	№1, p58-60^[20]
Sega Pro (UK)	90	№6, p28^[21]
Sega Pro (UK)	88	№18, p67
Sega Force (UK)	90	№1, p52/53^[22]

	86
Based on 19 reviews

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

External links

Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK
Shining in the Darkness on Steam

References

↑ File:CGW US 091.pdf, page 22
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 File:SegaPro UK 01.pdf, page 9
↑ File:CVG UK 120.pdf, page 83
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/yCO37nvA4Ck5A7m_G3GEmGBstzt3YuTZ (archived: 2010-11-23 02:24)
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/shining_in_the_darkness (archived: 2017-10-31 18:34)
↑ https://archive.is/6BApK
↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/03.html (archived: 2018-03-06 00:26)
↑ http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_shiningdarkness/ (archived: 2007-06-10 16:58)
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 http://steamdb.info/app/71161/ (archived: 2013-05-22 20:00)
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 ^10.3 https://steamdb.info/app/71161/ (archived: 2017-05-25 05:33)
↑ File:Megadrive Fan 1991-03.pdf, page 2
↑ File:Megadrive Fan 1991-04.pdf, page 2
↑ File:BeepMD_JP_1991-04.pdf, page 31
↑ File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf, page 85
↑ File:Joystick FR 022.pdf, page 121
↑ File:MegaTech UK 01.pdf, page 80
↑ File:MeanMachines UK 14.pdf, page 112
↑ File:PlayerOne FR 015.pdf, page 58
↑ File:SegaPower UK 46.pdf, page 98
↑ File:SegaPro UK 01.pdf, page 58
↑ File:SegaPro UK 06.pdf, page 28
↑ File:SegaForce UK 01.pdf, page 52

Shining in the Darkness

Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Magazine articles | Region coding

Books: Shining and the Darkness Koushiki Guide Book (1991)
Music: Sound Story of Shining and the Darkness (1991)

Shining series of games
	Shining in the Darkness (1991) \| Shining Force (1992) \| Shining Force II (1993)
	Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei Jashin no Kuni e (1992) \| Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (1993) \| Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict (1995)
	Shining Force CD (1994)
	Shining Wisdom (1995) \| Shining the Holy Ark (1996) \| Shining Force III (Scenario 2, 3, Premium Disc) (1997-1998)
	Shining Soul (2002) \| Shining Soul II (2003) \| Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (2004)
	Shining Tears (2004) \| Shining Force Neo (2005) \| Shining Force EXA (2007) \| Shining Wind (2007)
	Shining Road to the Force (2005) \| Shining Force Chronicle I (2005) \| Shining Force Chronicle II (2005) \| Shining Force Chronicle III (2006) \| Shining Road II (2006) \| Shining Wind X (2008) \| SFCE Tokei (2012)
	Shining Tears Material Collection (2006) \| Shining Wind Fan Fest (2009)
	Shining Force Feather (2009)
	Shining Force Cross (2009) \| Shining Force Cross Raid (2010) \| Shining Force Cross Elysion (2012) \| Shining Force Cross Exlesia (2013) \| Shining Force Cross Exlesia Zenith (2014) \| Blade Arcus from Shining (2014)
	Shining Hearts (2010) \| Shining Blade (2012) \| Shining Ark (2013)
	Shining Resonance (2014) \| Blade Arcus from Shining EX (2015)
	Blade Arcus from Shining EX (2015) \| Shining Resonance Refrain (2018)
World
Characters \| Equipment (Items, Accessories, Weapons) \| Magic \| Geography \| Timelines

Shining related media

Albums

Sound Story of Shining and the Darkness (1991) | Shining Force Special Sound CD (1992) | Symphonic Suite Shining Force II (1993) | Symphonic Suite the Another Story of Shining Force (1994) | Shining Wisdom (1995) | Shining the Holy Ark Original Soundtrack (1996) | Shining Force III Original Soundtrack (1998) | Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon Original Sound Tracks (2004) | Shining Tears (2004) | Shining Force Neo Music Collection (2005) | Shining Theme Music Shiro SAGISU Collection (2005) | Shining Tears Music Collection (2005) | Shining Force EXA Music Collection (2007) | Shining Wind Music Collection (2007) | Shining Tears X Wind Original Soundtrack (2007) | Shining Force Feather Soundtrack (2009) | Shining Hearts Kaizoku Hihou Fan Disc (2010) | Shining Force Cross Raid Original Sound Track (2011) | Shining Hearts Original Soundtrack (2011) | Shining Blade Haru no Shin Seikatsu Ouen Fan Disc (2012) | Shining Blade Character Song Album (2012) | Shining Ark Tenshi no Fandisc (2013) | Shining Force Cross Original Sound Track (2014) | Shining Resonance Music Collection (2015)

Audiobooks

Shining Tears Drama CD Vol. 1 Dark Side: Memories and departure (2006) | Shining Tears Drama CD Vol. 2 Light Side: Yuushatei Hanjouki (2006) | Shining Wind Drama CD Vol. 1 (2007) | Shining Wind Drama CD Vol. 2 (2008) | Shining Force EXA Drama CD (2008) | Shining Wind Drama CD Vol. 3 (2008) | Shining Wind Drama CD Vol. 4 (2009) | Drama CD Shining Force Feather (2009) | Drama CD Shining Hearts (2011)

Books
Guide book: Shining and the Darkness Koushiki Guide Book (1991) \| Shining Force Kanzen Kouryaku Guide (1992) \| Shining Force Battle Guide (1993) \| Shining Force II: Inishie no Fuuin Game Guide Book (1993) \| Shining Force CD Koushiki Guide Book (1994) \| Shining Wisdom Koushiki Guide Book (1995) \| Shining the Holy Ark Koushiki Guide Book (1996) \| Shining Force III Scenario 1: Outo no Kyoshin Official Guide (1997) \| Shining Force III Scenario 1: Outo no Kyoshin Perfect Navi (1998) \| Shining Force III Scenario 2: Nerawareta Miko Official Guide (1998) \| Shining Force III Scenario 2: Nerawareta Miko Perfect Navi (1998) \| Shining Force III Scenario 3: Hyouheki no Jashinguu Perfect Navi (1998) \| Shining Soul Kanzen Kouryaku Guide (2002) \| Shining Force: Kuroki Ryuu no Fukkatsu Final Complete Guide (2004) \| Shining Tears Final Complete Guide (2004) \| Shining Tears Saikyou Kishidan Ikusei Guide (2004) \| Shining Tears Official Strategy Guide (2005) \| Shining Force Neo Force Master Ikusei Guide (2005) \| Shining Force Neo Final Complete Guide (2005) \| Shining Force Neo Official Strategy Guide (2005) \| Shining Force EXA: The Master Guide‎ (2007) \| Shining Force EXA Official Strategy Guide (2007) \| Shining Force EXA Final Complete Guide (2007) \| Shining Wind Saisoku Guide Book (2007) \| Shining Wind Final Complete Guide (2007) \| Shining Tears X Wind Original Soundtrack (2007) \| Shining Force Feather: The Master Guide‎ (2009) \| Shining Force Feather Complete Guide (2009) \| Shining Hearts Saisoku Guide Book (2010) \| Shining Hearts Complete Guide (2011) \| Shining Force Cross Raid Guide Book 1st (2011) \| Shining Force Cross Raid Guide Book 2nd (2011) \| Shining Blade First Blader's Guide (2012) \| Shining Blade Complete Guide (2012) \| Shining Force Cross Settei Shiryoushuu (2012) \| Shining Ark Complete Guide (2013) \| Shining Blade & Ark Visual Settei Shiryoushuu (2013)
Art book: Works for Shining the Holy Ark (1996) \| Shining Force III Koushiki Settei Shiryoushuu (1999) \| Shining Force EXA Visual Settei Shiryoushuu (2007) \| Shining Force Feather Visual Settei Shiryoushuu (2009) \| Shining Hearts Visual Settei Shiryoushuu (2011)
Unsorted: Shining and the Darkness Kouryakuhon (xxxx) \| Shining Force: Kamigami no Isan Hisshou Kouryaku-hou (xxxx) \| Shining Force Kouryaku no Tebiki (xxxx) \| Shining Force II Inishie no Fuuin Hisshou Kouryaku-hou (xxxx) \| Shining Force II Inishie no Fuuin Kouryaku no Tebiki (xxxx) \| Shining Force Gaiden Final Conflict Hisshou Kouryaku-hou (xxxx) \| Shining Force Gaiden & Gaiden II Hisshou Kouryaku-hou (xxxx) \| Tony's Artworks from Shining Worlds (xxxx)

Film
Shining Tears X Wind (2007) \| Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan (2010)

[:File:CGW_US_091.pdf_p22-1] File:CGW US 091.pdf, page 22

[:File:SegaPro_UK_01.pdf_p9-2] 2.0 ^2.1 File:SegaPro UK 01.pdf, page 9

[:File:CVG_UK_120.pdf_p83-3] File:CVG UK 120.pdf, page 83

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20101123022415.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.nintendo.com.2Fgames.2Fdetail.2FyCO37nvA4Ck5A7m_G3GEmGBstzt3YuTZ-4] 4.0 ^4.1 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/yCO37nvA4Ck5A7m_G3GEmGBstzt3YuTZ (archived: 2010-11-23 02:24)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20171031183422.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.nintendolife.com.2Fgames.2Fmegadrive.2Fshining_in_the_darkness-5] 5.0 ^5.1 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/shining_in_the_darkness (archived: 2017-10-31 18:34)

[https:.2F.2Farchive.is.2F6BApK-6] ttps://archive.is/6BApK

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20180306002649.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fwww.nintendo.co.jp.2Fwii.2Fvc.2Fsoftware.2F03.html-7] ttps://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/03.html (archived: 2018-03-06 00:26)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20070610165843.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fvc.sega.jp:80.2Fvc_shiningdarkness.2F-8] ttp://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_shiningdarkness/ (archived: 2007-06-10 16:58)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20130522200052.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fsteamdb.info.2Fapp.2F71161.2F-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 http://steamdb.info/app/71161/ (archived: 2013-05-22 20:00)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20170525053315.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fsteamdb.info.2Fapp.2F71161.2F-10] 10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 ^10.3 https://steamdb.info/app/71161/ (archived: 2017-05-25 05:33)

[:File:Megadrive_Fan_1991-03.pdf_p2-11] File:Megadrive Fan 1991-03.pdf, page 2

[:File:Megadrive_Fan_1991-04.pdf_p2-12] File:Megadrive Fan 1991-04.pdf, page 2

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1991-04.pdf_p31-13] File:BeepMD_JP_1991-04.pdf, page 31

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p85-14] File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf, page 85

[:File:Joystick_FR_022.pdf_p121-15] File:Joystick FR 022.pdf, page 121

[:File:MegaTech_UK_01.pdf_p80-16] File:MegaTech UK 01.pdf, page 80

[:File:MeanMachines_UK_14.pdf_p112-17] File:MeanMachines UK 14.pdf, page 112

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_015.pdf_p58-18] File:PlayerOne FR 015.pdf, page 58

[:File:SegaPower_UK_46.pdf_p98-19] File:SegaPower UK 46.pdf, page 98

[:File:SegaPro_UK_01.pdf_p58-20] File:SegaPro UK 01.pdf, page 58

[:File:SegaPro_UK_06.pdf_p28-21] File:SegaPro UK 06.pdf, page 28

[:File:SegaForce_UK_01.pdf_p52-22] File:SegaForce UK 01.pdf, page 52

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Shining series of games
	Shining in the Darkness (1991) \| Shining Force (1992) \| Shining Force II (1993)
	Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei Jashin no Kuni e (1992) \| Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (1993) \| Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict (1995)
	Shining Force CD (1994)
	Shining Wisdom (1995) \| Shining the Holy Ark (1996) \| Shining Force III (Scenario 2, 3, Premium Disc) (1997-1998)
	Shining Soul (2002) \| Shining Soul II (2003) \| Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (2004)
	Shining Tears (2004) \| Shining Force Neo (2005) \| Shining Force EXA (2007) \| Shining Wind (2007)
	Shining Road to the Force (2005) \| Shining Force Chronicle I (2005) \| Shining Force Chronicle II (2005) \| Shining Force Chronicle III (2006) \| Shining Road II (2006) \| Shining Wind X (2008) \| SFCE Tokei (2012)
	Shining Tears Material Collection (2006) \| Shining Wind Fan Fest (2009)
	Shining Force Feather (2009)
	Shining Force Cross (2009) \| Shining Force Cross Raid (2010) \| Shining Force Cross Elysion (2012) \| Shining Force Cross Exlesia (2013) \| Shining Force Cross Exlesia Zenith (2014) \| Blade Arcus from Shining (2014)
	Shining Hearts (2010) \| Shining Blade (2012) \| Shining Ark (2013)
	Shining Resonance (2014) \| Blade Arcus from Shining EX (2015)
	Blade Arcus from Shining EX (2015) \| Shining Resonance Refrain (2018)
World
Characters \| Equipment (Items, Accessories, Weapons) \| Magic \| Geography \| Timelines

Shining in the Darkness

From Sega Retro

Contents

Story

Gameplay

History

Development

Versions

Localised names

Production credits

Digital manuals

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Artwork

Physical scans

External links

References