Shining the Holy Ark

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NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J
Shining the Holy Ark
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic!
Sound driver: SCSP (1 track)
Peripherals supported: Saturn Backup Memory
Genre: RPG
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1996-12-20 ¥5,800 (5,974)5,800e T-33101G US 1997-07-02 $49.9949.99 81306 EU 1997-06-19 MK81306-50 DE 1997-06-19 MK81306-50 PT 199x UK 1997-06-19 £39.9939.99 MK81306-50 PL 1997 AU 199x FSHI09SSC

Shining the Holy Ark (シャイニング・ザ・ホーリィアーク) is a role-playing game in the Shining series of games. It was developed and published by Sonic! Software Planning for the Sega Saturn in 1996. Like the first entry in the series, Shining in the Darkness, it is a first-person dungeon crawler.

The game turned away from the saga of the Devil Kings that was followed by the previous installments of the series and instead introduced the saga of the Vandals and the Innovators, which would be continued in Shining Force III.

Story

Mercenaries Arthur, Melody, and Forte are hired by the King of Enrich to hunt down and capture a renegade ninja by the name of Rodi. The group pursues Rodi to the nearby mines where, after a brief skirmish, the mine caves in. All four characters are gravely injured, but they are soon healed and possessed by strange spirits. While those inhabiting Arthur, Melody, and Rodi seem benevolent, Forte is occupied by an evil spirit. The three unwitting heroes embark on a journey to prevent the revival of the legendary Thousand-Year Kingdom, which would return the world to an age of darkness.

The game takes place ten years before Shining Force III. While in the town of Enrich, Arthur and the others meet a young boy named Julian. He tells them that his father went to investigate a haunted mansion in the woods but never returned; since that time, he has been in the care of a family friend. It is later discovered that Julian's father was killed by Galm, one of the mythical Vandals that ruled over the world during the time of the Thousand-Year Kingdom. His father's death compels Julian to seek revenge against Galm, which sets into motion his involvement in the events of Shining Force III.

Gameplay

Map

Dungeon and battle

Status screens

Allied pixies

The game is a first-person dungeon crawler. The player explores towns and dungeons in the first-person view. Towns contain buildings where the player can buy weapons, armor, and items, save the game, rest in an inn, revive in the church, and talk to townsfolk. Dungeons contain battles where the party can gain experience and gold and find items. Exploration retains the traditional node-based movement from Shining in the Darkness rather than using continuous, free-form movement like most first-person games of the time. The player starts the game with three characters, with new characters joining as the plot develops over the game. The party can consist of as many as four characters, but additional characters can be kept in reserve and swapped in as needed.

The game is viewed from the perspective of the main character, Arthur. He moves forward with , moves backwards with , and turns with and . He can move sideways with + and + to move through corners in fewer steps. He dashes with , which allows him to move more quickly (and can be used to knock down some doors). Some objects can be pushed by moving into them, which is sometimes necessary to solve puzzles or uncover secret passages. Arthur looks left and right with or up and down with ; the player can reset the camera position to straight ahead with .

The game uses a cross-shaped menu system similar to the other Shining games. The menu is invoked with or . Pressing always opens the menu but pressing performs a default action if Arthur is near something (such as inspecting an object or talking to a non-player character). The menu contains icons for searching the area, using magic, managing items, or checking the status of members of the party. An icon is selected by pressing its respective direction on the D-Pad and selected with or ; menus are dismissed with .

Enemy encounters happen randomly as the party moves through a dungeon. Dungeons include locations such as caves, shrines, forests, and a mansion. Battles are turn-based and conducted through a similar menu system. When an encounter starts, the player can choose to fight, to substitute party members, or to try to retreat and avoid the battle. Battles maintain the first-person view, but allies move into view as they perform actions. On each turn, a character can be ordered to attack, cast a spell, use an item, or defend (reducing damage taken for that round). Characters have a chance of performing a unique Power Attack that does additional damage or sometimes has other effects, such as regenerating lost health or stunning opponents. At the end of a successful battle, the characters gain experience and gold from defeating enemies. After earning enough experience, they gain levels that increase their statistics. Statistics include:

• HP: Hit points, which determines how much damage they can withstand from enemies before being defeated.
• MP: Magic points, which determines how many spells they can cast.
• EXP: The number of experience points that the character has acquired. The character gains a level when they acquire enough experience.
• ATT: Attack rating when using his or her weapon.
• DEF: Defense rating, which reduces the damage taken from physical attacks.
• AGI: Agility or speed rating, which determines the character's turn priority in battle.
• CRT: Critical rating, which determines how frequently the character can execute a Power Attack.
• TEQ: Technique rating, which determines the Power Attacks that the character can use.
• LCK: Luck rating, which affects the character's chances of landing a hit successfully or dodging an enemy attack.
• MD: Magic defense, which reduces the damage taken from enemy spells.
• BD: Breath defense, which reduces the damage taken from breath attacks used by monsters.

If Arthur, Melody, or Rodi fall in battle, they are revived after the battle with a single hit point. If another character dies, he or she can be revived by a priest in town or by resurrection spells or items. If the entire party is defeated in battle, the party reawakens in church where the game was last saved (at the cost of half their gold). In between dungeons, the party can rest at an inn for a small fee to restore their hit points and magic points.

Each character has a class, which determines his or her capabilities and the spells and equipment they can use. Once a character reaches level 20, he or she can be promoted to the next class at a church, which resets the character to level 1 and gives the character access to new spells and equipment. The highest level that a character can reach without being promoted is level 40.

Throughout the kingdom, the player can find "pixies," who befriend the party and can be used to attack enemies at the beginning of an encounter. There are five types of pixie (pixie, fairies, succubi, incubi, and leprechauns) and ten of each hidden throughout the game for a total of 50 pixies. When a group of enemies appear, they enter the screen from a certain direction, and each type of pixie specializes in attacking enemies that come from a particular direction. For example, leprechauns only attack if enemies come from underground, while fairies only attack if enemies drop down from above. Pixies attack all enemies in a group regardless of how they entered, so when enemies appear from multiple directions, the player can use pixies corresponding to any of their directions.

The player has a few seconds while the enemy is getting into position to use the pixies for a first attack by selecting the pixie type with and and sending them to attack with or . If the player selects the right type of pixie, it deals some damage to the enemies and increases the amount of gold and experience points earned from the encounter. The pixies attack in a group, so the more of them that the player has found, the more damage that they collectively do. Pixies can help the party defeat enemies before they have an opportunity to attack. The pixies only attack once at the beginning of the encounter and cannot be used against bosses.

Pixies

	Pixies
	Pixies attack enemies coming from the front. Name Location Maple Forest of Confusion Cherry Desire Village Willow Forest Cave Cedar Dungeon Well Palm Mountain Cave Apple Far East Village Lime Enrich Dungeon (second time) Pear West Shrine Plum East Shrine Baldric Desire Mine (second time)
	Fairies
	Fairies attack enemies coming from above. Name Location Daisy Forest of Confusion Iris Forest Cave Camellia Enrich Dungeon Peony Forest of Aborigine Lily Mountain Cave Azalea Far East Village Sisal West Shrine Mimosa East Shrine Primrose Tower of Illusion Clyde Desire Mine (second time)
	Succubus
	Succubi attack enemies coming from the left. Name Location Muran Desire Mine Dahlia Town of Enrich Roberia Town Well Lacey Graveyard Catacombs Orlea Aborigine Mansion Ripanos Mountain Cave Kathorea South Shrine Viola Mirage Village Lunaria Tower of Illusion Natasha Desire Mine (second time)
	Incubus
	Incubi attack enemies coming from the right. Name Location Lantano Desire Village Enjewel Forest Cave Masakari Town of Enrich Krupis Forest of Aborigine Liknis Aborigine Mansion Cypress South Shrine Aster Enrich Dungeon (second time) Adonis West Shrine Croton Tower of Illusion Boris Desire Mine (second time)
	Leprechauns
	Leprechauns attack enemies coming from below. Name Location Dana Desire Mine (outside) Tak Forest Cave Morgan Enrich Dungeon Kokus Forest of Aborigine Zircon Aborigine Mansion Mangus Mountain Cave Darbie South Shrine Solo East Shrine Stilt Mirage Village (outside) Eric Tower of Illusion

Characters

	Arthur
	Race: Human Initial class: Swordsman Promoted class: Champion
	The main character, who can be renamed by the player upon starting the game. A mercenary swordsman who is possessed by a benign spirit. He is required to be in the battle party. He is generally the party's strongest attacker, and he learns some support spells. Swordsman Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Heal Level 5 — — — Return Level 10 — — — Spark Level 15 — — — Suppress Level 19 — — — Champion Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Heal Initially learned Level 11 Level 17 Level 26 Slow Level 3 Level 16 — — Spark Initially learned Level 6 Level 14 Level 18 Inferno Complete Ceremony of Evolution Level 20 — — Attack Level 19 — — — Raise Level 23 Level 28 — —
	Melody
	Race: Human Initial class: Shaman Promoted class: Summoner
	A mercenary shaman who is possessed by a benign spirit. She is Forte's partner. She is initially the party's only healer, and she has a poor attack but gains a large mana pool. Though she primarily learns support spells, she also learns some offensive magic, including the ability to summon elementals to fight for her. Shaman Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Heal Initially learned Level 6 — — Hell Blast Level 3 Level 8 Level 16 — Antidote Level 7 Level 14 — — Support Level 11 Level 18 — — Elemental Level 12 Level 20 — — Summoner Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Heal Initially learned Initially learned Level 3 Level 9 Hell Blast Initially learned Initially learned Initially learned Level 6 Elemental Initially learned Initially learned Level 11 Level 16 Raise Level 2 Level 14 — — Aura Level 15 Level 19 Level 23 Level 27 Restore Complete Ceremony of Evolution Level 21 — —
	Rodi
	Race: Human Initial class: Ninja Promoted class: Master Ninja
	A ninja who is possessed by a benign spirit. He is from Far East Village, a village where everyone is trained in ninjitsu from childhood. The Inferior Vandal Enchantress Rilix has hired the mercenies Arthur, Melody, and Forte to capture him. He is the first battle of the game but joins the player's party after the mine caves in and the spirits inhabit the characters. He is a balanced character with a good attack and high speed. He learns powerful offensive magic as well as spells for disabling or mitigating enemies. Ninja Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Brutal Fire Initially learned Level 8 Level 18 — Illusion Level 4 Level 20 — — Ayakashi Level 6 — — — Spider Thread Level 10 Level 16 — — Lightning Level 14 — — — Master Ninja Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Brutal Fire Initially learned Initially learned Initially learned Level 8 Lightning Initially learned Level 4 Level 13 Level 17 Madness Level 6 — — — Negate Complete Ceremony of Evolution — — — Ferocity Level 20 — — —
	Forte
	Race: Human Initial class: Magician Promoted class: Sorcerer
	A mercenary wizard who is possessed by a malevolent spirit. He is Melody's partner. He is part of the player's party at the start of the game, but he is replaced by Rodi after the mine collapse. He rejoins the party later after they obtain the Sacred Sword and use it to free Rodi and the King of Enrich from the evil spirits. He learns a number of strong offensive spells. Magician Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Blaze Initially learned Level 8 Level 18 — Freeze Level 6 Level 13 — — Shield Level 10 — — — Spark Level 15 — — — Anti Spell Level 20 — — — Sorcerer Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Freeze Initially learned Initially learned Level 2 Level 10 Attack Level 3 — — — Soul Steal Level 4 Level 12 — — Spark Initially learned Level 5 Level 13 Level 16 Shield Initially learned Level 6 — — Blaze Initially learned Initially learned Initially learned Level 8
	Basso
	Race: Dragonute Initial class: Dragon Warrior Promoted class: Dragon Knight
	A dragonute mercenary. He is Lisa's partner. The pair is initially antagonistic to the group because they want to capture Rodi. They split up to look for Rodi and the others, with Basso investigating the Aborigine Mansion. He joins the party to help them defeat Galm. He does not learn any magic, but he is a strong warrior with high attack and defense but low speed.
	Akane
	Race: Human Initial class: Kunoichi Promoted class: Chief Kunoichi
	A kunoichi from the Far East Village. She is Rodi's sister. She joins the party after they find the Sacred Sword to help them find a secret path to the throne room. Like Melody, she has a weak attack but learns many useful support spells. Kunoichi Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Healing Level 2 Level 8 — — Weasel Slash Level 5 Level 11 Level 18 — Antidote Level 9 Level 16 — — Chief Kunoichi Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Praying Level 3 Level 9 Level 14 Level 19 Healing Initially learned Initially learned Level 5 Level 13 Weasel Slash Initially learned Initially learned Initially learned Level 7 God's Wind Level 8 Level 16 — — Spiritual Level 11 Level 18 — — Swift Wind Level 15 Level 24 — — Revival Level 21 Level 27 — —
	Doyle
	Race: Human Promoted class: Berserker
	A wolfling ninja. He works for Rodi and follows the party throughout the game to safeguard his master. He joins the party if the player finds him hiding in a tree in Desire Village when revisiting it after saving Rodi and the King. He has a good attack and high speed. Like Basso, he does not learn any magic.
	Lisa
	Race: Human Promoted class: Paladin
	A mercenary soldier who is rumored to be a princess. She is Basso's partner. The pair is initially antagonistic to the group because they want to capture Rodi. They split up to look for Rodi and the others, with Lisa trying to find a way into the royal chamber. She is captured by Galm. She joins the party when they find her and Galm in the West Shrine. She is a capable fighter and learns several support abilities. Paladin Spell Level Acquired 1 2 3 4 Return Initially learned — — — Support Initially learned Initially learned — — Antidote Initially learned Initially learned — — Heal Initially learned Initially learned Level 4 Level 10 Anti Spell Level 5 — — — Barrier Initially learned Level 7 — — Aura Level 12 Level 16 Level 22 Level 27 Shield Level 19 Level 25 — —

Production credits

Japanese version

• Game Design: Hiroyuki Takahashi, Shugo Takahashi, Shuji Shimizu, Yusuke Sugimoto, Ayumu Shindo, Daisuke Takagi
• Program: Yasuhiro Taguchi, Takeshi Nohara, Yutaka Yamamoto, Akiko Sato, Yasuhiro Matsumoto, P. E. Jareth Hein, Kenji Numaya, Kaoru Shimada, Haruki Kodera
• Character Design: Shin Yamanouchi
• Map & Effect Graphics: Fumihide Aoki, Masayuki Hashimoto, Hiroto Nakashima, Ayumu Shindo, Mitsumasa Muraishi, Mitsuru Fukumoto, Shigeki Kimura, Junichi Ochiai
• Character Graphics & Movies: Junko Nakamura, Keisuke Futami, Mieko Koguchi, Toshiaki Tanaka, Kaoru Shimada, Shigeki Kimura, P. E. Jareth Hein
• Music: Motoi Sakuraba
• Music Guest: Takeo Shimoda
• Sound Effects: Satoshi Murata
• Sound Direction by: Masaaki Uno, Yasuhiro Taguchi
• Publicity: Tadashi Takezaki, Yasushi Nagumo
• Publicity Arrangement: Masaaki Uno
• Support: Takayuki Kawagoe, Daisuke Ikejiri
• All Illustrations by: Shin Yamanouchi
• Special thanks to: Camelot Co., Ltd., R.I.S. Co., Ltd., Treasure Co., Ltd., Oo Records Inc., Chikashi Aoki, Suigyoku Muraishi, Hidetoshi Sakamoto, Kanako Horiguchi, Emiko Kutsuma
• Assistant Director: Yusuke Sugimoto, Shuji Shimizu
• Directed by: Yasuhiro Taguchi
• Assistant Producer: Shugo Takahashi
• Produced by: Hiroyuki Takahashi
• Created by: Sonic Co., Ltd., (C)Sonic 1996
• Licensed by: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

Source:

In-game credits (JP)

Overseas version

• Game Design: Hiroyuki Takahashi, Shugo Takahashi, Shuji Shimizu, Yusuke Sugimoto, Ayumu Shindo, Daisuke Takagi
• English Translation: P. E. Jareth Hein
• Program: Yasuhiro Taguchi, Takeshi Nohara, Yutaka Yamamoto, Akiko Sato, Yasuhiro Matsumoto, P. E. Jareth Hein, Kenji Numaya, Kaoru Shimada, Haruki Kodera
• Character Design: Shin Yamanouchi
• Map & Effect Graphics: Fumihide Aoki, Masayuki Hashimoto, Hiroto Nakashima, Ayumu Shindo, Mitsumasa Muraishi, Mitsuru Fukumoto, Shigeki Kimura, Junichi Ochiai
• Character Graphics & Movies: Junko Nakamura, Keisuke Futami, Meiko Koguchi, Toshiaki Tanaka, Kaoru Shimada, Shigeki Kimura, P. E. Jareth Hein
• Music: Motoi Sakuraba
• Music Guest: Takeo Shimoda
• Sound Effects: Satoshi Murata
• Sound Direction By: Masaaki Uno, Yasuhiro Taguchi
• All Illustrations By: Shin Yamanouchi
• Special Thanks To: Camelot Co., Ltd., R.I.S. Co., Ltd., Treasure Co., Ltd., Oo Records Inc., Chikashi Aoki, Suigyoku Muraishi, Hidetoshi Sakamoto, Kanako Horiguchi, Emiko Kutsuma
• Assistant Director: Yusuke Sugimoto, Shuji Shimzu
• Directed By: Yasuhiro Tagushi
• Assistant Producer: Shugo Takahashi
• Produced By: Hiroyuki Takahashi

SOA Staff

• Producer: Keith Palmer
• Lead Tester: Amy Albertson
• Assistant Lead Testers: Dennis Lee, Jeremy Caine, Mark McCunney
• Testers: Lloyd Kinoshita, Arnold Feener
• Coordinator: Shinobu Shindo
• Creaded By: Sonic Co., Ltd.

©Sonic 1996, 1997

• Licensed by: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

Source:

In-game credits

Production

• V.P. SOA Product Development: Shuji Utsumi
• Producer: Keith Palmer
• Supervising Producer: David Locke
• Additional Scripting: Jason Kuo, Rick Wheeler
• Lead Tester: Amy Albertson
• Assistant Lead Testers:
• Testers: Jeremy Caine, Dennis Lee, Mark McCunney, Lloyd Kinoshita, Arnold Feener, Mike Dobbins, Jeff Junio, David Wood, Chris Lucich, Steve Bourdet, Karen Brown

Marketing

• Product Manager: Kristin McCloskey
• Product Specialist: Mark Subotnick
• Marketing Coordinator: Geraldine Dessimoz
• Manual: Douglas Sipp
• Special Thanks to: Sallie Suzuki, Michiyo Pattillo, James Faison

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Shining the Holy Ark/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-22: "1996-22 (1996-12-27)" (1996-12-13)

Artwork

• 

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 80

	80
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Consoles + (FR) PAL 91 Consoles + (FR) PAL 94 Computer & Video Games (UK) 75 Digitiser (UK) PAL 72 Edge (UK) PAL 60 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 80 Fun Generation (DE) PAL 90 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 83 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 80 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 75 Hyper (AU) PAL 73 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 82 Mega Force (FR) PAL 90 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U 86 Neo (PL) 70 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 75 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 68 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 77 Saturn Power (UK) PAL 89 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 90 Sega Power (GR) 89 Świat Gier Komputerowych (PL) 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 93 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 85 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 70 Strana Igr (RU) 80 Super Power (FI) 84 Ultra Game Players (US) NTSC-U 89 Video Games (DE) PAL 85

	81
Based on 30 reviews

Shining the Holy Ark

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, DE
Cover
Disc

Saturn, PT
Disc

Saturn, AU
Cover
Disc

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	259,477,344		CD-ROM (EU)	MK81306-50 V1.002
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	260,396,976	1996-11-22	CD-ROM (JP)	T-33101G V1.005
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	259,479,696		CD-ROM (US)	81306 V1.003

Extra content

This game has extra content which can be viewed when accessing the disc on a PC.

Saturn (JP) Extra files

Folder / File	Type	Size	description
ABSTRACT.TXT	TXT (Abstract)	300	About this game.
BIBLIOGR.TXT	TXT (Bibliographiced)	206	Series History
COPYRIGH.TXT	TXT (Copyright)	33	Copyright

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Saturn