War of Velana is a project we first talked about back in October. Since then there have been some exciting updates, including a demo release!
There are new NPC’s, new maps, and new Chapters in development. Here’s a peek at some of the updated sprite artwork:
Speaking of those animations, with the new character art, there are a lot of sprite design changes that are taking place to have the characters look a lot closer to their official designs. Here are some before and after comparisons of the main cast.
The maps are also looking great:
If you want to keep up with development, updates are posted on the War of Velana Devblog.
But enough talk, go grab the demo and leave some feedback!
Aura4 got in touch to let me know about the release of his new Shining Force fan game, Mega Force 2!
Mega Force 2 is the sequel to Mega Force, which was released back in 2016. Just like its predecessor, Mega Force 2 features a complete cast of playable characters and a tonne of battles.
You start with a single character, but as the game progresses you’ll pick up some useful allies.
Not all of these characters are popular with the dungeon’s inhabitants though…
If you’re a fan of Shining-style battles this is definitely worth a play. Be sure to use your spells in the early battles as they can be very tough, and don’t be afraid to use egress if needed. Some of the later fights require a little bit of planning to make sure enemies are lured into range, which adds an extra layer of challenge to the experience.
War of Velana is a new 16-bit RPG in development. From the homepage:
In many ways, War of Velana is a spiritual successor to the Shining Force series on the Sega Genesis. Elements of those games are the core, and combine with some design ideas from Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics to create a new tactical experience. In War of Velana, your characters have static classes and gain a variety of skills and equipment upgrades as you progress through the game. In between combat, you’ll be able to explore and interact with the world around you.
The game has been in development for four years and has a great look to it:
There are more screenshots in the latest devblog, including some really impressive atmospheric animations. Check it out!
Shining Pod is a new monthly podcast that covers the entire Shining series! There are 5 episodes to listen to so far, and they cover the early Shining Force games as well as fan games like Ballad of Thuriana and War of Velana.
Jeremy Doolin got in touch with me about his new project, “Ballad of Thuriana”. It’s a Shining-style project that has been under development for about a year now, and if all goes to plan it will be released either fall 2020 or fall 2021 (depending on content creation times).
The game features all new graphics from the artist behind the Time Fantasy collection, and an original soundtrack composed by Ferret Entertainment.
Even more exciting, it is planned for release on Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and possibly Nintendo Switch.
More info about the project:
The graphics will be very different (see screenshots). Menus will not be the four-way style, but more traditional. There will be some gameplay changes, but nothing drastic. For example, I use the same stats, 100 XP per level system, same turn-based battles. But I have more damage types, a secondary weapon/equipment, a slot just for a ring and one for an accessory, more item slots and other differences
The game will also feature Shining Force 2 style exploration:
And I will have Exploration! In fact, that’s all I’ve been working on for months. It will be much more like Shining Force 2, with a world map, some random encounter battles, exploration, secrets, some side quests and more. I’ve nearing completion of the Exploration mode and will build the Battle system over Summer.
As you can see it’s an ambitious and exciting project!
You can follow the project’s status on Instagram (@doolindigital) and Twitter (@DoolinDigital). A website for the project will also be released in a few weeks.
