Shining Force PS2 title renamed, dated

SEGA's PS2 Shining Force action RPG has been officially renamed and dated for release in Japan, bringing us closer to the end of Shining Force's brief revival on modern formats following the earlier releases of PS2 dungeon slasher Shining Tears and GBA revamp Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (review).

According to an update on the game's Japanese website, picked up on by 1UP, SEGA has dubbed the game Shining Force NEO, and plans to ship it in the Far East on March 24th.

As you may already know, Shining Force NEO is a classic action RPG where general navigation and combat take place on the same screen, just like the classic 16-bit ARPGs of old, and changes to the dynamic this time will see the player controlling recurring central character Max while the rest of his party is left for the AI to govern.

We also now know that there'll be four different weapon types to consider - one-handed swords (allowing for a shield in the other hand), two-handed swords (which are slower but deadlier when they strike), bows and arrows (which are weak, but ranged) and rods (for spellcasting).

There's currently no word on whether Shining Force NEO will make the transition to the West following its Japanese release, but GBA title Resurrection of the Dark Dragon even appeared in Europe via THQ, so we're distinctly hopeful.