Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992)
Genres:Strategy, Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Themes:Science fiction
Game modes:Single player
Story:Dune II is often considered the first mainstream modern real-time strategy game and established many conventions of the genre. Even though set in Frank Herbert's famous Dune universe, the game is only loosely connected to the plot of any of the books or the films based from them. Controlling either of the three Houses, the player must fight a number of battles against the other Houses. In the early levels, the goal is simply to earn a certain number of credits, while in the later missions, all enemies must be destroyed.
The single resource in the game is the Spice, which must be collected by harvesters. The spice is converted to credits in a refinery, which are then spent to construct additional buildings and units. There are two terrain types: buildings can only be constructed on stone, while the Spice is only found on sand. However, units moving on sand attract the large sandworms of Dune, who are virtually indestructible and can swallow even large units whole. As levels progress, new and more advanced buildings and units are made available, including structures like a radar station, a repair facility or defense turrets and, for units, various ground troops, light vehicles and tanks. Each House can construct one unique special unit, and, after building a palace improvement, can unleash a unique palace effect.Show more
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As a 10 year old DOS gamer, this title brought me so much joy, and introduced me to reading the books which was a significant but not insurmountable challenge that I am forever grateful for.
The audio in this game, in particular "Construction Complete", is seared into my brain. I honestly can't speak to game balance as it has been a long time since I've played through.
The birth of a genre, it doesn't get much more influential than this.
Before command and conquer series was even a thing, Dune 2 set an example what a true rts genre should look like. The idea of protecting your harvester from worms was a brilliant move and added a new aspect to resource management.
Oh man.... I played this to death! This is the original C&C style rts. Everything from gameplay to the music is top notch. The intro was epic for 1992! The music and voices still live in my head to this day.
This and the original X-COM series were probably the games I played the most. They were so perfect and evoke many fond memories of my childhood. Today's games leave very little to the imagination (perhaps that's why we're seeing a rebirth of pixel art in so many indie games) and had just enough complexity to make them fun, instead of forcing you to spend countless hours learning strategies and game mechanics.
This was the first RTS I played in my life, back in 1995, and I really got it deep into it!
I found it challenging and interesting, I was not aware of the mythology behind, this make me search for more information and lead me to the Dune book. Love at first sight.
One time, I dreamed of a strategy to beat the final level... and it worked! :D
My first RTS. I was obsessed with this game back in high school. Played and beat all three factions before playing anything else. It even got me into reading the Dune books!
I loved this game. Played the hell out of it. I remember introducing it to friends and they loved it, too. It came out well before Warcraft and C&C and was better then either of them.
Shining Force: The Sword of HajyaThe peaceful kingdom of Cypress has suddenly been disrupted by the corrupt ambition of the evil King Iom. Terror rampages across the land. The Castle of Cypress is invaded and the magical Sword of Hajya is taken! It will take strength, courage, agility and your keen sense of strategy to defy this ominous power.
Shining Force Gaiden: Final ConflictShining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict is a turned based strategy game for the Sega Game Gear and the final game in the Shining Force Gaiden series. It was only released in Japan.
Last of the three gaiden (side-story) Shining Force games for Game Gear. The events of the game take place in a time period between the first and the second mainstream Shining Force games. After Max, the leader of the first Shining Force, defeated the Dark Dragon, peace was restored to the world. However, the sorceress Mishaela took control over the forces of evil. Pursuing her, Max' comrades got injured and were forced to quit. Upon returning back to their hometown, they found out Mishaela has already taken the Elder hostage. Lead by the young warrior Ian, the Force has to find Max and to defeat Mishaela.Fantasy
Shining Force III: 3rd ScenarioScenario 3, Bulzome Rising, stars Julian, a mercenary who appears as a secondary character in both Scenario 1 and Scenario 2. He is for all intents and purposes the true main character of Shining Force III. His initial motivation as the story begins is to track down and kill Galm, one of, if not the, most powerful member of the Vandals, a powerful race of beings that existed over 1,000 years ago. Julian believes that Galm killed his father and is seeking revenge. This story arc is first introduced in an earlier Shining game, Shining the Holy Ark, in which Julian appears as a young boy who asks the party to search for his missing father.
Julian joins Synbios in the midst of his quest in Scenario 1, but after an encounter with Galm, he is tossed over a waterfall at the suspension bridge and believed by Synbios' army to be dead. He reappears in Scenario 2, apparently washing ashore at the site of a battle between Medion's army and the Bulzome Sect. Knowing the sect's ties to the Vandals, Julian agrees to fight alongside Medion. As it becomes clear that the sect is trying to kill Gracia, a child intended to become the next Innovator (A Shining Series figure equatable to a god), Julian takes on the task of protecting him and helping him realize his destiny.
Scenario 3 starts about 60% through scenario 2's story, and focuses primarily on battles against the Bulzome Sect and their allies in both Aspinia and Destonia. While scenarios 1 & 2 happen at roughly the same time, much of scenario 3 takes place after both, but there is some "overlap". Eventually Julian leads a three-party coalition consisting of the armies of both Synbios and Medion, to engage in the final conflict against Bulzome, a powerful Vandal long sealed in another dimension, and the true orchestrator of the conflict.Fantasy
Shining Force III: 2nd ScenarioScenario 2, Target: Child of God, features Medion, Prince of Destonia, and youngest of three sons of Emperor Domaric. Although loyal to his father and his country, he senses that there are other forces at work beneath the tensions between Aspinia and Destonia. He attends the conference in Saraband on behalf of Destonia, along with his brothers Arrawnt and Mageron. As discovered in Scenario 1, much of this influence comes from the Bulzome sect, as well as collaborating separatist factions within both Destonia and Aspinia. Medion works parallel to Synbios of Aspinia, often disposing of rogue Aspinian elements to spare Synbios's force from fighting against its own countrymen. At the end of the game, Medion is forced to battle with Synbios' force when Julian steps in to stop them.Fantasy
Shining Force CDThis strategy RPG is a remastered compilation of two earlier Shining force titles: Shining Force Gaiden (originally released in Japan only) and Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya, both for the Game Gear. The two stories put players in the role of Nick, a hero of royal blood who must rescue Queen Anri of Gardiana and reclaim the kingdom of Cypress from the evil empire of Iom's clutches.Fantasy
Shining Force IIAs a student of Astral the wizard, you and your friends study all the usual subjects: reading, writing, and sword fighting. As your time at school draws to an end, dark events are taking place on the island of Grans. The two Jewels which seal the Door to Darkness have been stolen, allowing a creature of awesome power to be unleashed. Finding where the Jewels were taken, and why, is a task only the bravest of adventurers can undertake.Fantasy
Shining Force III: Premium DiscAction Fantasy
Shining Force IIIShining Force III is a fantasy turn-based tactics role-playing video game designed for the Sega Saturn by Camelot Software Planning. It is a continuation of the Shining series. Comprising three separate but overlapping storylines, the Japanese version of Shining Force III was released in three volumes, known as: "Scenario 1 - God Warrior of the Kingdom", "Scenario 2 - Target: Child of God", and "Scenario 3 - "Bulzome Rising".
In America and Europe, only Scenario 1 was released. The real ending to the game can only be viewed by completing all the games in the series.Fantasy
Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei - Jashin no Kuni heShining Force Gaiden is a turn-based tactical RPG. Battles take place in square grids, and each unit occupies 1 square. Units can belong to one of two sides: allies (controlled by the player) or enemies (controlled by the computer AI). Each unit can move up to a fixed amount of squares along the battlefield, determined by its Move statistic. Depending on its location relative to enemies and to allies, a unit also has the option to attack, cast a spell, use an item, search (if adjacent to a treasure chest), or stay and do nothing, all of which end the unit's turn.
Some commands, such as equipping or dropping items, don't count as actions, and the character's turn is able to continue. The order of the turns is determined by the unit's agility score and a random seed. Units can use offensive actions, such as physical attacks or offensive magic, only on units belonging to the other side and can use supportive actions, such as healing magic, stat-enhancing magic, and items, only on units belonging to the same side.
This game (together with Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya) was later given a remake named Shining Force CD, released on the Sega CD. This remake also saw a western release to both North America and Europe and the full english title was "Shining Force Gaiden: Towards the Root of Evil".
In 2013 the Game Gear original game got ported to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console (Japan only).Fantasy
Shining Force GaidenShining Force Gaiden is a tactical role-playing game.Fantasy