Shining Soul on GBA? Mega!

Although the Super Nintendo arguably felt like more of a home to serious Japanese RPG-heads, Sega's Mega Drive did enjoy its fair share of gems, too. And in 1992, Shining Force reminded us that Sega knows its way around a development kit as the Tamaki-designed characters waltzed their way through an expansive adventure. Ten years on and Shining Soul aims to make another name for the venerable former platform-holder, brushing shoulders with a field of GBA RPGs generally ported directly from the SNES. There is definitely room on this block for a new kid.

Set a thousand years before the events of Shining Force, Shining Soul allows you to pick from a warrior, archer, dragonute and wizard, who form the noble 'Crew of Light'. As one of the above, your job is to try and bring down the Dark Dragon, which has awoken from a long nap to raze blossoming civilisation as it once did hundreds of years before. As you might expect, a band of four different character classes is perfect fodder for a multiplayer link, and Sega is promising a four-way linkup option to keep us happy. Hopefully unlike The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords (Capcom's multiplayer quest bundled with the forthcoming A Link to the Past port), we'll be able to play through the entire adventure in this way.

That said, whatever the situation, original RPGs on the GBA must be encouraged and we look forward to putting Shining Soul through its pristine paces. In the meantime, get your glistening gawp round these 34 new sparkling screenshots.