Shining Wisdom

Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Zelda, here comes Shining Wisdom, developed by Sonic Team, and translated and released here by Working Designs.This cool action RPG was neat in its Japanese form, but lacked an interesting story.That's been remedied by the WD folks, who promise to deliver their patented brand of mischief while retaining as much of the original content as possible. I'll have a review next issue to see if they've been successful.

If you were a fan I of Zelda and " possess a Sega Saturn system, rejoice! You'll soon be treated to the world of Shining Wisdom. Control the main character, known as "Mars" (whom you can rename) and prepare to fight against the evil known as the "four terrors".

All the characters are cool-looking, 3-D rendered, super-deformed things that animate fluidly.There's also lots of neat items, such as a shell that will allow you to talk to trees, a magic suit that transforms you into a monkey, or boots that create earthquakes. There are supposedly 25 items to be found, and some of those will be hidden in secret areas.

Combat occurs real time and you have full control over the battles You'll have menus to guide you through your equipment and general inventory. Another menu is for crests that let you unleash new magic, and lastly, there's one for item tools such as the monkey suit.

Shining Wisdom is being translated by the folks at Working Designs and was originally programmed by Sonic team in Japan.The game will get the deluxe translation, complete with graphic and musical enhancements, and a full-color, foil-stamped cover and instruction manuals. Look for this puppy in April.

This is it, RPG fans, your first real RPG experience on the Saturn! Yes, there have been some half-RPG, half-something else-type games for the Saturn, but Shining Wisdom is totally immersive, with a good story and a long adventure. SW has you running about in search of items and solving puzzles while trying to find a princess who has been kidnapped and replaced with an imposter. Shining Wisdom's resemblance to Zelda is no accident and fans of the latter game are going to be in familiar territory. I'm sure most of you have picked this game up already; as for the rest of you, what are you waiting for?! Go get this game!

Shining Wisdom is the first in the long line of Saturn RPGs coming from Working Designs.

The game is viewed from an overhead perspective, much like Nintendo's Zelda. The combat is carried out in real time, with you actually using your weapons and magic in true fantasy style. As you progress, you'll find items to help you on your quest.

Some are simple healing potions, while others are strange shells that allow you to talk to trees. Shining Wisdom features some spectacular graphics, as all the characters were animated smoothly.

One has to wonder why Sega let this one go. but if anybody can do it, Working Designs can.