> If having a Shining game in the action/RPG genre wasn't good enough, this game also features the fantastic character creation of Tony Taka. The main protagonist, Yuma Ilburn, must lead a "force" of "Dragoneers" to thwart the evil empire's effort to gain the power of all "World Dragons". They wield "Armonics" (musical weapons) that make a symphony of magical attacks and buffs. In addition, Yuma has the power to morph into the most powerful World Dragon, the Shining Dragon. Can he tame such an immense destructive force, or will it be his demise?

     > This remastered version, Shining Resonance Refrain, includes over 150 DLC elements from the PS3 original. A new "Refrain Mode" can be immediately accessed, which adds 'what if' side story content to the standard game. It is, however, recommended to play the Standard Mode first for better context. Throw in two additional controllable characters, Excella and Jinas (Jenius), to round out the added content.

     > Of course, the first thing one will notice and appreciate about this game is Tony Taka's amazing character creation; they get a 10! If there's one thing I frown upon, when it comes to RPGs, it's when the developer makes ugly female characters. That is not a problem in Shining Resonance Refrain. The male characters are cool too, even though Yuma is your stereotypical wimpy, nerdy anime kid. Overall, my favorite character is Kirika, although I prefer to control Rinna. The sexy moves Rinna makes definitely provide a distraction while grinding/farming.

     > So the other major factor for me is magic. Again, Shining Resonance Refrain delivers the goods. The mages cast force magic, while the fighters wield force skills that end up looking like magic. There are a few lame (looking) force abilities, mainly restricted to a few from water and ice. I love using the light and dark magic very much (with Rinna), while lightning, fire and ground have some sweet looking effects as well (on other characters). The one aspect I would change is to allow each character to learn magic from each discipline.

     > The battle system is straight forward, real-time action. Once the player sets up his party (up to three partners), Force abilities, weapon Aspects (attributes), B.A.N.D. options (buffs) and "Bond Diagram" (character interactions), it's time to walk into an enemy and begin the fight. The player is free to move around a pre-determined circular area, or exit to run away. Real-time fighting consists of basic attack/special attack (AP), block, dash, and Force abilities (use MP). The B.A.N.D. meter builds up as one battles, and has three levels. When the time is right (tactically), one can play the B.A.N.D. rune song, which bestows buffs or debuffs until the meter reaches zero, or the battle is over. At any point, one can pause to switch the controlled party member, and use items to heal or buff. If the party dies, one can restart the battle or go to the start screen. The only thing I would change is to allow toggling characters on-the-fly.

     > As I said before, Yuma has one ability all to himself: he can transform into the Shining Dragon. While the dragon is used, MP slowly drains to zero, and Yuma morphs back into a human. Initially, Yuma will loose control of the Shining Dragon, if he allows the MP meter to reach zero before reverting. Later on, that annoyance is removed as Yuma becomes more familiar with the nuances of controlling such immense power. For the dragon (at least), it would've been nice to have a HUD to display what the buttons do. Other than that, being a Shining Dragon is very cool.

     > The sound effects are great, and include explosions, gun fire, enemy roars, various magical effects, and magic casting. As for the voice acting: I'd say it's well done, and Sega did a great job of finding the right actors to pair with the proper characters. No complaints here.

     > Now, it's time to run through on Refrain Mode, and experience the game with two extra characters and various side story elements. This time, I'll pursue the Rinna's ending path. I may have something to add to this section in the future.