A Shining Force mobile game is coming in 2022

A new mobile game based on Sega’s Shining Force series is due to be released next year.

Tentatively titled Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness, the game is being developed by Hive, the Japanese arm of South Korean game publisher Vespa, Gamer.ne.jp reports.

According to a statement from Hive, the company has signed a licensing contract with Sega to develop a game based on the Shining Force IP and release it in Japan, Korea, other Asian countries, Europe and the United States.

The game is “based on the series’ unique worldview and storyline, and the fun of cultivating unique and attractive characters, and is currently under development with the aim of bringing the strategic fun of simulation RPG to mobile devices”.

Hive plans to release the game globally in the first half of 2022, following a beta test period.

“We are very happy to have this special opportunity to recreate the classic game Shining Force, which represents the global gaming family of Sega, through this contract,” a Vespa spokesperson said.

“We have prepared a game that will be enjoyed by many people, including existing users who have fond memories of the Shining series, as well as those who are new to Shining Force, and we hope that they will look forward to its release.”

There have been nearly 40 titles in the Shining series, but these range from dungeon crawlers to action RPGs. Shining Force is a specific sub-series that focuses on turn-based strategy and is best known for the Shining Force trilogy on the Mega Drive and Saturn.

The last Shining Force game was Shining Force Feather, which was released on the DS in Japan in 2009. The last to be released in the west was 2007’s Shining Force EXA on PS2.