Shining the Holy Ark

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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 .

Towns and dungeons are accessed from the overworld map. New locations are added as the player completes dungeons and progresses the story. The player chooses a location on the map using the D-Pad and travels to that location with or . The player can pan around the map by holding while moving the D-Pad.

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 highlighted by pressing its respective direction on the D-Pad and selected with or . Menus are dismissed with .

Dungeons include locations such as caves, shrines, forests, and a mansion. The player must explore the dungeon and often find items or solve puzzles in order to complete it. Enemy encounters happen randomly as the party moves through a dungeon, and the dungeon typically culminates in a battle with a powerful boss enemy. The game automatically makes a map of the explored areas of the dungeon, which the player can view with  START .

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. Some enemy attacks have a chance of applying a negative status effect to the target, such as poison, which does a small amount of damage on each turn (or as the character walks when out of battle), or paralysis, which stuns the character for a number of turns. Such status effects can be removed by special magical abilities or items.

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.

Pixies

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 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 — Sleep 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 Sleep Level 15 Level 20 — —
	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: Wolfling 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 but 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. As a paladin, she is a capable fighter while also learning many 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 — —

Items

Tool shop

Items are sold in shops, found in chests or hidden places, or sometimes dropped by defeated foes.

Category	Item	Cost (in gold)	Description
Auxiliary	Angel Wing	40	Teleports the party to the entrance of the current dungeon.
Healing	Herb	10	Restores 50 hit points to an ally.
	Potion	200	Restores 120 hit points to an ally.
	Elixir	1,000	Restores all hit points to an ally.
	Holy Rain	10,000	Restores all hit points to all allies.
	Goddess Tear	300	Restores 100 magic points to an ally.
	Light of Hope	10,000	Restores all magic points to all allies.
	Antidote Herb	20	Cures poison and paralysis effects.
	Fairy Powder	100	Cures all negative status effects.
	Life Candle	5,000	Revives a fallen ally with full hit points.
Boosting	Arcane Garlic	500	Increases magic defense by 3-5.
	Critical Juice	500	Increases critical by 3-5.
	Energy Bread	500	Increases hit points by 6-8.
	Lucky Cookie	500	Increases luck by 3-5.
	Magic Nectar	500	Increases magic points by 4-6.
	Power Juice	500	Increases attack by 3-5.
	Protect Milk	500	Increases defense by 4-6.
	Quick Chicken	500	Increases agility by 3-5.
	Stamina Onion	500	Increases breath defense by 3-5.
	Brave Apple	1,000	Raises the character's level by 1.
Crafting	Mithril Ore	500	Crafts Mithril jewelry.
	Mithril Ingot	2,000	Crafts Mithril weapons and armor.
Special	Pixie Bell	—	Calls all pixies to battle.

Equipment

Some equipment is bought from vendors but many items are only found hidden in the world. Some items have a chance of being offered by a vendor as a "Special Deal" in certain towns.

Mithril items are forged by the blacksmith in Desire Village. Accessories cost 800 gold and a piece of Mithril Ore; weapons and armor cost 12,000 gold and a Mithril Ingot.

Some items are cursed. They deal especially high damage but have adverse effects such as reducing a secondary statistic or stunning the wielder occasionally. Cursed items can only be unequipped by having a priest remove the curse.

Most usable items are consumed when they are used, but some items (such as the Pixie Bell or some equippable items such as the Shield Ring) can be used multiple times. These items have a chance of breaking each time they are used. When this happens, the item must be repaired by a vendor in town (for a fee) before it can be used again.

Weapons

Weapon shop

Category	Weapon	Equippable by	Notes
Axes	Middle Axe	Basso
	Power Axe	Basso
	Battle Axe	Basso
	Great Axe	Basso
	Heat Axe	Basso	Can be used to cast Blaze.
	Runic Axe	Basso
	Dragon Axe	Basso
	Demon Axe	Basso	Cursed. Chance to paralyze an enemy.
Claws	Iron Claw	Doyle
	Power Claw	Doyle
	Battle Claw	Doyle
	Demon Claw	Doyle
	Mithril Claw	Doyle	Mithril weapon.
Knives and Daggers	Warrior's Knife	Arthur
	Slash Dagger	Arthur
	Red Dagger	Arthur
Swords	Short Sword	Arthur
	Middle Sword	Arthur
	Long Sword	Arthur, Lisa
	Steel Sword	Arthur, Lisa
	Broad Sword	Arthur, Lisa
	Sacred Sword	Arthur
	Great Sword	Arthur, Lisa
	Force Blade	Arthur, Lisa
	Dark Sword	Arthur, Lisa	Cursed. Chance to blind an enemy.
	Shining Sword	Arthur
Ninja Swords	Dagger	Rodi
	Shoto	Rodi, Akane
	Daito	Rodi, Akane
	Broadsword	Rodi, Akane
	Kotetsu	Rodi, Akane
	Kikuichimonji	Rodi, Akane
	Masamune	Rodi, Akane	Can be used to cast Brutal Fire Level 2.
	Muramasa	Rodi, Akane	Cursed. Chance to panic an enemy.
	Kusanagi	Rodi, Akane
Staves and Wands	Wooden Staff	Melody, Forte
	Bronze Staff	Melody, Forte
	Iron Staff	Melody, Forte
	Power Staff	Melody, Forte
	Saint Ankh	Melody, Forte
	Magic Wand	Melody, Forte
	Rage Wand	Melody, Forte	Mithril weapon. Can be used to cast Freeze.
	Amulet Staff	Melody, Forte
	Mystery Ankh	Melody, Forte	Mithril weapon. Can be used to cast Heal Level 3.
	Demon Staff	Melody, Forte	Cursed.

Armor

Armor shop

Category	Weapon	Equippable by	Notes
Braces	Leather Brace	Melody
	Bronze Brace	Melody
	Iron Brace	Melody
	Battle Brace	Melody, Basso
	Shield Brace	Melody, Basso	Increases defense.
	Power Brace	Basso	Increases attack.
	Gauntlet Brace	Basso
	War Brace	Basso, Lisa
	Runic Brace	Melody, Basso, Forte, Lisa
	Spike Sleeve	Basso, Lisa	Mithril armor.
	Dragon Sleeve	Basso, Lisa
Circlets	Holy Circlet	Melody
	Iron Circlet	Melody
	Steel Circlet	Melody
	Silver Tiara	Melody
	Shield Tiara	Melody
	Golden Tiara	Melody, Forte
	Magic Circlet	Melody, Forte
	Royal Circlet	Melody
	Mithril Tiara	Melody, Forte	Mithril armor.
	Demon Crown	Melody, Forte	Cursed.
Gloves	Mesh Glove	Rodi
	Leather Glove	Rodi
	Chain Glove	Rodi
	Steel Glove	Rodi
	Shinobi Glove	Rodi, Akane
	Onmitsu Glove	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
	Spike Glove	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
	Iga Glove	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
Helmets	Iron Helmet	Rodi
	Steel Helmet	Rodi, Akane
	Shinobi Helmet	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
	Gold Helmet	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
	Goblin Helmet	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
	Fuma Helmet	Rodi, Akane, Doyle	Restores 2 magic points on every turn.
Mails	Ring Mail	Arthur
	Scale Mail	Arthur
	Chain Mail	Arthur
	Bronze Armor	Arthur
	Iron Armor	Arthur, Basso
	Battle Armor	Arthur, Basso
	Steel Armor	Arthur, Basso, Lisa
	Dragon Mail	Arthur, Basso, Lisa
	Mithril Mail	Arthur, Basso, Lisa	Mithril armor.
	Shining Mail	Arthur
	Haunted Mail	Arthur, Basso, Lisa	Cursed.
Robes	Silk Robe	Melody
	Leather Robe	Melody
	Feather Robe	Melody
	Hermit's Robe	Melody
	Druid's Robe	Melody
	Magical Robe	Melody, Forte
	Merlin's Robe	Melody, Forte
	Saint's Robe	Melody, Forte
	Angel Robe	Melody, Forte
	Demon's Robe	Melody, Forte	Cursed.
Shells	Leather Shell	Arthur
	Bronze Shell	Arthur
	Iron Shell	Arthur
	Plate	Arthur, Basso
	Spike Shell	Arthur, Basso
	Breast Plate	Arthur, Basso
	Mirror Plate	Arthur, Basso, Lisa
	Holy Plate	Arthur, Basso, Lisa
	Dragon Shell	Arthur, Basso, Lisa	Mithril armor.
	Force Shell	Arthur	Mithril armor.
Shields	Small Shield	Arthur
	Middle Shield	Arthur
	Large Shield	Arthur
	Power Shield	Arthur
	Spike Shield	Arthur
	Sacred Mirror	Arthur
	Knight Shield	Arthur
	Great Shield	Arthur
	Force Shield	Arthur
Suits	Leather Suit	Rodi
	Scale Suit	Rodi
	Chain Suit	Rodi
	Steel Suit	Rodi
	Disguise	Rodi, Akane
	Hayate Attire	Rodi, Akane
	Kasumi Attire	Rodi, Akane, Doyle
	Dragon Suit	Rodi, Akane, Doyle	Mithril armor.

Accessories

Accessories can be equipped by all characters unless otherwise noted.

Blacksmith

Category	Item	Description
Crests and Orbs	Holy Crest	Increases defense. Can be used to cast Heal Level 2.
	Royal Crest	Increases luck and magic defense.
	Dragon Orb	Increases breath defense.
	Elemental Orb	Increases agility, magic defense, and breath defense.
	Holy Pendant	Increases attack, defense, and breath defense.
	Evil Orb	Cursed.
Rings	Life Ring	Increases defense. Restores 8 hit points on every turn.
	Quick Ring	Increases agility by 30.
	Artemis Ring	Mithril item. Increases defense by 5, luck by 30, and critical by 10. Can only be equipped by female characters. Since they are earrings, they can be equipped along with a ring.
	Magic Ring	Mithril item. Increases magic defense by 30. Can be used to restore 10 magic points to an ally.
	Mars Chain	Mithril item. Increases attack by 5 and luck by 20. Can only be equipped by male characters.
	Power Ring	Mithril item. Increases attack by 15. Can be used to cast Attack. Can only be equipped by Arthur.
	Shield Ring	Mithril item. Increases defense by 10. Can be used to restore 60 hit points to an ally.
	Wisdom Ring	Mithril item. Increases defense by 20, magic defense by 30, and breath defense by 30.
	Evil Ring	Cursed.
Other	Turbo Boots	Increases agility by 10.
	Courage Suit	Increases critical by 4. Can only be equipped by male characters.
	Vigor Scarf	Increases critical by 5. Can only be equipped by female characters.

Magic

Most spells can only be used in battle. Auxiliary spells can only be used out of battle. Most healing spells can be used in or out of battle, with the exception of Restore, which can only be used in battle.

Many Ninja and Kunoichi spells are the same as the spells of other classes but have different names and icons.

Category	Name	Level	Mana cost	Description
Auxiliary	Return	1	7	Teleports the party to the entrance of the current dungeon.
	Suppress	1	5	Prevents random encounters when traveling in the overworld.
Healing	Antidote Antidote	1	3	Cures poison and paralysis effects.
		2	6	Cures all negative status effects.
	Heal Healing	1	2	Restores 40 hit points to an ally.
		2	4	Restores 80 hit points to an ally.
		3	6	Restores 150 hit points to an ally.
		4	8	Restores all hit points to an ally.
	Aura Praying	1	7	Restores 40 hit points to all allies.
		2	11	Restores 80 hit points to all allies.
		3	15	Restores 150 hit points to all allies.
		4	20	Restores all hit points to all allies.
	Raise Revival	1	10	Revives a fallen ally with half hit points.
		2	20	Revives a fallen ally with full hit points.
	Restore	1	3	Restores 50 hit points to an ally on each turn.
		2	6	Restores 100 hit points to an ally on each turn.
Offensive	Blaze Brutal Fire	1	2	Deals fire magic damage to one enemy.
		2	4	Deals fire magic damage to all enemies.
		3	8
		4	10
	Elemental	1	4	Deals wind magic damage to one enemy.
		2	6	Deals ice magic damage to one enemy.
		3	10	Deals fire magic damage to one enemy.
		4	15	Deals lightning magic damage to one enemy.
	Freeze	1	3	Deals ice magic damage to one enemy.
		2	5	Deals ice magic damage to all enemies.
		3	8
		4	12
	Hell Blast Weasel Slash	1	2	Deals wind magic damage to one enemy.
		2	4	Deals wind magic damage to all enemies.
		3	6
		4	8
	Lightning Spark	1	5	Deals lightning magic damage to all enemies.
		2	8
		3	15
		4	20
	Soul Steal Spiritual	1	7	Small chance of one-hit kill for one enemy.
		2	13	Small chance of one-hit kill for all enemies.
	Inferno	1	8	Deals large amount of fire magic damage to all enemies.
		2	15
Support	Attack Ferocity	1	7	Boosts attack of an ally by 30%.
	Support Swift Wind	1	2	Boosts defense and agility of an ally by 50%.
		2	5	Boosts defense and agility of all allies by 25%.
	Shield	1	2	Boosts mental defense of an ally by 50%.
		2	5	Boosts mental defense of all allies by 25%.
	Barrier God's Wind	1	2	Boosts breath defense of an ally by 50%.
		2	5	Boosts breath defense of all allies by 25%.
	Madness	1	7	Chance to confuse an enemy.
	Ayakashi	1	4	Chance to blind an enemy.
	Sleep	1	3	Chance of putting an enemy to sleep.
		2	6	Chance of putting all enemies to sleep.
	Slow Spider Thread	1	2	Decreases the defense and agility of an enemy by 50%.
		2	5	Decreases the defense and agility of all enemies by 25%.
	Negate	1	5	Counters enemy magic, turning its effects against the caster.

Production credits

Main article: Shining the Holy Ark/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