North America received only the first scenario. What they are: Shining Force III was released in three parts, each taking place from a different main character’s viewpoint and culminating at the end of the third scenario. Shining Force III Scenarios II and III (Saturn, 1998) But years later, after coming to my senses and wanting more Shining, I was happy to find that Shining Force Central had released an English translation patch! While it would have been nice to play when it came out, by 1995 (or 1996 after localization), with all the flashy new 3D systems hitting the market, I honestly probably wouldn’t have been too excited to purchase a Game Gear game. Tragedy level: Medium at release low now. What it is: This title takes place between the two Shining Force games on the Genesis. Shining Force Gaiden III (Game Gear, 1995) But fortunately, North American gamers had a chance to play an updated version of the title for Sega CD. As a Game Gear owner and RPG fan in the early 90s, I would have loved for this game to have seen release, of course. While similar to its prequel in combat and tone, there are no town-roaming sequences players instead save, resurrect, and shop via a menu. What it is: A sequel to the original Shining Force, this is a strategy title. Here, I take a look at the games in the series never released in North America, all to varying degrees of tragedy. Unfortunately, North American players have missed out on entries in all of the genres, except somewhat oddly, the dungeon crawlers. The series’ constant genre-swapping may frustrate fans most familiar with the Shining Force strategy titles (arguably the most popular genre to bear the Shining name), but change is a constant in the series (it’s important to remember that the series started with a first-person dungeon crawler). Sega’s Shining series encompasses multiple genres (strategy, dungeon crawler, and action RPG) and has seen a variety of teams work on it. In this era of HD remasters and digital download services, it’s never too late or impossible for a game to be brought over!

So for the well-I-think-it’s-cleverly-titled “Segac Orner” series of features, I’m going to bust out the Segac moniker (lovingly) and talk about the Japanese Sega games I really want to see released here in English. While Sega has been pretty good throughout their history about localizing (or at least allowing other publishers to localize) their games, there are some titles that never make it across the sea. “ Segac” is a name for Sega of America coined by North American Phantasy Star Universe players when they felt that they were not receiving the same treatment as their Japanese counterparts.

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