The Shining Force

Balbaroy
Amon
Diane
Zylo
Pelle
Vankar

Jogurt
Kokichi
Guntz
Domingo
Earnest
Alef

Torasu
Lyle
Bleu
Adam
Hanzou
Musashi

Max

Max is the main character of the game. He is the leader of the Shining Force and overall nice guy! You get to give him whatever name you want, but if you don't put a name then it will automatically be Max. He's the only character in the game who knows the Egress spell. What that spell does is immediately teleport you and your army to the nearest priest. By being the leader, if Max dies your army wets their pants and escapes to the nearest priest. But don't let that aspect of him being leader bother you. Let him fight in battle so he can get strong and whup some ass. Aside from the Secret characters, he's the strongest character in the game.

Lowe

Lowe is Max's best buddy. He joins you when you leave Guardiana castle for the first time after talking to the king. His strength and defense is pathetic. But he's a good priest; he learns better healing spells faster and has the highest MP than Gong and Khris. So Lowe should be your main healer until towards the end of the game when Torasu joins. When he does, say bye bye to Lowe and say hello to Torasu and his wonderful Aura spells! (Aura spells cure HP to more than one character at a time) Also, Lowe is the victim of a typo. It's in his very first line right in the beginning of the game.

Mae

When you return to Guardiana to find it in ruins, Mae joins you after Varios and the King are killed. That scene is one of the most dramatic parts in the game. Keep a box of tissues nearby when you experience it. Mae is great when you first get her. Her defense is top notch and her attacks are pretty good. But as you progress into the game she doesn't develop very well. Later into the game I recommend ditching her for other centaurs.

Ken

Ken joins right after you've seen the King and have gone back into the town. Just like Mae, Ken is alright for the beginning of the game, but then he just doesn't grow as strong as your other attackers.

Luke

Luke joins you right after you've seen the King and have gone back into the town. He starts out stronger than Gort, but as battles go by, Gort ends up growing stronger than him. He's good to have around for the beginning and middle of the game. Personally, his nose bugs me. It makes him look like a clown.

Hans

Hans joins you right after you've seen the King and have gone back into the town. To be frank, Hans sucks. Look at him, he's skinnier than a toothpick! However, his archery makes him a valuable character whenever you're trudging through forests and deserts. Later in the game I recommend you drop Hans for Lyle. That is, if you decide to keep archers on your force. I like to ditch them altogether; I find flying characters more useful.

Tao

Tao joins you when you leave Guardiana castle for the first time after talking to the king. Tao is one of my favorites. Her Blaze spells kick ass!! Her strongest spell, Level 4 Blaze, totally blows the enemies away and makes the last battles so much easier. But poor Tao (like any other wizard) barely has any defense. She's gone in two or three hits. Make sure you have a healer close by for her!
*Did you know there's a way to give Tao a sexy new look? Yup. Go to the Secrets section to find out.

Gong

There's a house next to the place where your first battle takes place, and right next to that house is Gong. All you need to do is talk to him and he'll join you. Gong is cool. His strength and defense is average. Gong has the strongest defense of all the healers. However, he's not a very useful healer, as his learning rate of new spells is low and he has less MP.

Gort

Gort is an elderly dwarf who (conveniently) lives in your hometown of Guardiana. He won't join you when you talk to him for the first time. Being in the pub and all, he's too drunk to join you. Gort will join you after Guardiana gets invaded. What stumps me is that he's an old, experienced warrior, yet he starts out as weak as Lowe! What's up with that?? Gort is one of the best fighters in the game; he's very strong and has great defense. He develops better than his "warrior rival" Luke.

Khris

Khris automatically joins you after she frees you from the prison. She starts out pathetically weak but she can become a pretty good healer if you work on her. There are more useful characters in the game so I always end up ditching Khris after a while.

Anri

You find Anri in the mage school at Manarina and you tell her of her father's death. Then when she runs away you find her upstairs (right & up). Anri rules!! She starts out really weak (like every other new character) but it doesn't take that long for her to get a decent arsenal of spells. Her Level 4 Freeze comes to be very useful--especially when fighting your last battles!

*Did you know there's a way to give Anri a sexy new look? Yup. Go to the Secrets section to find out.

Arthur

You find Arthur in Manarina, the same mage school where Anri is found. And what is Arthur doing when you find him? He's doing laundry! I love it. Anyway, he joins you if you talk to him after you assembly with the Spirit of the Holy Spring. His strength and defense is average. And there's something special about Arthur that no other centaur in any other Shining Force game can do - learn magic! Yes, it's true. Arthur eventually learns Level 1 Blaze, Freeze, and Bolt.

Balbaroy

You first meet Balbaroy inside the chapel at Shade Abbey, but when you try to help him you'll find it's a trap and you have to fight a mass of undead soldiers. When you've beaten them Balbaroy asks to join the Shining Force. He tends to have better defense than Amon. While Balbaroy's strength and defense is pretty average, his ability to fly makes him an invaluable character. If you keep Balbaroy to the end of the game he actually develops into a pretty strong character.

Amon

You first meet Amon on the way to Shade Abbey as you travel North from Rindo. Amon will immediately ask you to help Balbaroy. When you do help Balbaroy... it's a trap! Oh, what suspense! A mass of undead soldiers will ambush you. Amon joins you after this battle. I suggest to have Balbaroy join and reject Amon.

Diane

You'll meet Diane in a house near the top of the mountainside town of Bustoke. She'll ask to join when you talk to her. To be frank, Diane sucks! Don't give her the light of day.

Zylo

Runefaust knows how awesome Zylo is so they made him psychotic to prevent him from joining you. You have to get some Lunar Dew to break him out of his insaity. An old man in Bustoke can make this Lunar Dew if you give him some Moonstone. You automatically get the Moonstone after you finish the battle in Bustoke. You must have Zylo be in your army! He's one of the most strongest fighters in the game. Also, land effect doesn't effect him much so Zylo is invaluable during forest battles. His attacks are so awesome too! He jumps into the air and BAM - he slashes the enemy with his mighty claws! When he's promoted he attacks by summoning wolf spirits! How cool is that?? Zylo rules!!

Pelle

Pelle is a mercenary originally working for the enemy. When you enter the laser eye battle, he's in the middle of complaining about what the enemy does and he quits. The enemy soldier he was talking to pushes Pelle over the cliff after he makes his "I quit" speech. Luckily, Pelle climbs back up the cliff after the battle to join you. He's a pretty good character, one of the better cenaturs.

Vankar

Vankar joins in the first Pao after being fired from his post as a guard. He is found between the wagon tracks after the first Pao has moved on. Vankar is a pretty good centaur. But I never bother with him because at this point in the game there are better characters to have.

Jogurt

Ah, Jogurt. He is the useless hamster. His attacks always take way 1 HP and he's defeated in one hit. He doesn't grow stronger because he doesn't go past Level 1, and he's always available for a fake promotion. When he "gains a level" for the first time, you obtain the Jogurt Ring. The wearer of that ring will look like Jogurt. Go to the Secrets section if you want to learn how to get him.

Kokichi

This old man is really strong - plus he can fly! You'll first meet Kokichi trying out his new flying machine in the mountainside town of Bustoke. If you talk to him he'll give you a demonstration of his flying contraption. Some time later, you'll find him in Pao after the caravans leave. He'll only be there if you had the demonstration in Bustoke. Go to the Secrets section if you want more information on how to get him. Kokichi is one of those characters you should have in your army. He stats start out a little bumpy but he quickly grows stronger. Some people consider Kokichi to be the strongest character in the game. His battle animations are cool too.

Guntz

Whenever you're in the town of Rindo you can visit Guntz by going to the house in the upper right part of town. He won't join you because his armor isn't ready yet. Guntz finally joins you in the second Pao. You'll find him in the sheep pen. Guntz is a MUST for your army! He's very strong in his attacks and defense. He also great for those annoying forest battles; he moves as fast as Zylo.

Domingo

Oh yes! Domingo is my second most favorite character in Shining Force! If you train him right, he'll be the character with the most HP, most MP, and best defense!! He's the only magic-using character that can fly. And having a flying magic-user is extremely valuable. He has a nice arsenal of spells, including the strength boosting spell. This spell is very handy when you're training Bleu and Adam to higher levels (since they start out so weak). Getting Domingo requires a couple steps - which I explain in detail in the Secrets section.

Earnest

You'll meet Earnest for the first time in Pao. He rambles on about getting revenge on Balbazak. He joins you when you see him again in Uranbatol right before the battle against Balbazak. He even helps you get through Balbazak's fortress. Earnest is one of the stronger centaurs.

Alef

Alef joins you as you leave Prompt in search of the Tower of the Ancients. She's an okay spell caster and she doesn't learn lv4 spells too quickly. She does learn Bolt spells quickly, but towards the end of the game when she joins you they're not too useful. You might have noticed that each female mage has an element specialty. Alef's specialty is bolt spells, Anri's specialty is freeze spells, and Tao's specialty is fire spells.

Torasu

Torasu joins you with Alef as you leave Prompt in search of the Tower of the Ancients. This guy is the ultimate healer!! He learns Aura up to level 4! So ditch whatever healer you have in your army and use Torasu in their place. FYI, Aura is the healing spell that cures multiple characters. Level 4 Aura doesn't have a target range because it cures EVERYONE in the battlefield!

Lyle

Lyle is cool! He's a centaur with a weapon similar to a bazooka. You'll find him in Rudo on top of a building to the left - in the oldies part of it. Lyle is way better than Hans or Diane so he's a perfect replacement for them. But still, when comparing Lyle to other fighters, he's not that strong. All the archers in Shining Force are pretty weak.

Bleu

Bleu is my most favorite character in Shining Force! You'll meet Bleu as an adorable baby dragon in the lost city of Dragonia. He's a descendant of the Sacred Dragons but he gets scared easily. I do admit that it's a pain in the ass to develop up Bleu to a good level, but once you do he will eventually be one of the strongest characters in your army! Bleu's critical attack is awesome! He summons a bunch of dragon spirits (the same attack promoted Zylo uses). I love Bleu so much that I made a whole section dedicated to him. Click here to visit it.

Adam

Adam is a guard in Metapha who joins you after the fight against Chaos. He starts out pathetically weak but if you give him a chance and bring up his level, he actually becomes quit strong! His critical attack is pretty cool; he shoots a laser from his arm.

Hanzou

Hanzou is (obviously) a ninja and he's one of the game's secret characters. You'll find him in the bushes right when you enter Runfaust. Check out the Secrets section for detailed instructions on how to get him. Hanzou is a pretty good character to have around. He can grow pretty strong, and he also uses some magic-like ninjitsu.

Musashi

Musashi is yet another secret character. He's invincible! No doubt about it, he's the strongest character in the game. You need to read a sign during a certain point in the game to get him. Check out the Secrets section for detailed instructions.


	Back to the main page