Shining Resonance Refrain Reviews
There are some wonderful aspects to the game that I would wholeheartedly recommend. However, I'd really only recommend the game to JRPG fans, primarily for it's dated approach to story-telling and world design.
Considering SEGA meant for this entry to be a reboot for the franchise, this overall is a pretty mixed bag. The lore and overall storytelling they have in place is good. It’s just that they need more interesting characters.How the soundtrack is implemented into the gameplay is a really nice though. Hopefully by the time we get the next entry, some if not all of the kinks will be ironed out.
Taking inspirations from other series, Shining Resonance Refrain returns the long running Sega franchise to the West for the first time in over a decade. Mixing a cliched story story full of enjoyable characters with a simplistic combat system, Shining Resonance Refrain can provide you with hours of fun, but certainly is far from a must play game in the genre.
This will absolutely appeal to the hardcore JRPG fan, those that enjoy deep combat and relationship mechanics, those familiar with the Tales of series, and those looking for an enjoyable story with a likeable cast of characters. For everyone else, especially those who despise fetch quests and quests simply for the sake of extending game length, definitely do some solid research before deciding on whether Shining Resonance Refrain deserves your time.
Overall, Shining Resonance Refrain is a good JRPG experience despite its incredibly slow start. If you have the patience to get into the meat of the story, it rewards you with fun gameplay and a pleasing audio-visual experience. Whilst it’s not breaking any ground in terms of character development or storyline, it’s still a solid game that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.
Shining Resonance Refrain looks like your standard JRPG with all the common elements; Grinding, Anime boys/girls, Bikinis, Monsters, and Good vs Evil, but there is so much more to it if you choose to invest your time and patience into learning the various aspects. The story isn’t going to blow you away as you’ll probably guess what’s going to happen next if you’re an avid JRPG fan, but the overall enjoyment you receive whilst playing the game only gets better the more you progress and unlock.
Shining Resonance Refrain is a title that should appease Shining and general JRPG fans, as it does a lot of things found in other games, and does them pretty well. The art style is cute, if the overall environments are a bit lacking visually, but couple with a solid audio presentation to create an enjoyable overall package. There is a lot to do here, though those turned off by grinding might not find the various systems interesting enough to spend oodles of time roaming and killing random critters encountered along the way. Personally I hope this is a sign of things to come, and we might see more Shining titles in the future - perhaps another strategy game please?
Shining Resonance Refrain is a rather difficult JRPG that will be great for hardcore fans, but unwelcoming for most.
What we have here is the video game equivalent of plain yogurt. There’s nothing really notable about it, but it’s perfectly edible and gets the job done if you’re hungry. If you’re really in the need to get your JRPG fix, there’s much worse you can play than Refrain. If you’re looking for something new and interesting, though, you’re not going to find it here.
With so many brilliant action-RPGs on the market, it's difficult to prioritize Shining Resonance Refrain, which is only decent by comparison.
Take on the persona of Yuma who contains within him the essence of the Shining Dragon and protect those who believe in freedom and kindness against an evil that would only wish upon others control and depressing conditions. Enjoy the dating simulation, bond with your companions, and dress them up to your heart’s desire – or don’t – the choice is yours. With a great deal of story twists and turns, deeply customizable battle system, and an alternative story, you can’t go wrong with this Action-RPG.
If JRPGs with layered combat systems, a beautiful worlds, and the call of unique lore sounds up your alley, then give this game a whirl.
Shining Resonance Refrain prefers a plethora of systems that are either inadequately explained or only serve as a reason to include additional grind. It feels the game errs on the side of caution and sticks to what is familiar, creating an exceptionally average action JRPG that neglects polishing core systems into something intriguing.
While it doesn’t necessarily boast many modern conveniences found in more recent JRPGs, Shining Resonance Refrain offers players an engaging story full of interesting characters in a world that’s as fun to play as it is pleasant to look at.
Shining Resonance Refrain pivots between enjoyable and very dull moments. For every good aspect, there is another that undoes it, while everything else is strictly mediocre.
While Shining Resonance Refrain’s story is yet another tale of going against an evil empire, the battle mechanics are simple and fun, with a wonderful theme of music to go with it. There isn’t much too deep to dig into compared to other JRPGs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time with this one. Play on!
It all combines into a game that has its flaws and doesn’t make a good first impression, but sticking with it will pay off depending on how you feel about the characters. I ended up liking the middle of the game the most, when I could leisurely work my way through while enjoying building relationships with my party members and watching interactions, while the beginning has fewer characters to work with and the end focuses more on gameplay and finishing the main story. The story is fine – not particularly original, but it is well-told with good writing – but the characters are by far the thing that makes it the most enjoyable and engaging. Even if it seems like I spent a lot of this review complaining, I ultimately did enjoy the roughly 40 hours I spent with Shining Resonance Refrain. It’s a decent game for $50 USD, including all the content that was originally available as DLC for the PS3 version and the new Refrain mode, where you have former NPCs and enemies Excella and Jinas as party members. If you’re interested there’s a demo featuring the first chapter, but keep in mind it’s short and I think it doesn’t highlight the game’s biggest strengths. Otherwise, if it sounds interesting and you can deal with some problems, I’d still recommend Shining Resonance Refrain.
All said, Shining Resonance Refrain does scratch the neo-classic JRPG itch in more ways than one. The story and waifu side-quests are a little cringey, and things get very grindy, but if you're looking to pick this game up, then that's probably exactly what you were looking for. This is a colorful, 40-hour affair that will delight series fans and Otakus everywhere, but it's not for everyone. For the price, I think it's well-worth the gamble.
If I can summarize the entirety of Shining Resonance Refrain into one word, it would be generic.
Shining Resonance Refrain might not be a classic example of the genre, but it gets the most important components of the genre right – the characters and the storytelling – and backs it up with some gorgeous art and a perfectly competent combat system.