Tactical Role-Playing Games have seen a rise in popularity recently. With the PlayStation 2 receiving titles like La Pucelle Tactics and Front Mission 4 all in the past few months, it seems a little unfair that fans of the genre who've enjoyed the portability aspect found in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Advance Wars and Tactics Ogre, haven't received another treat recently. However, the rain has come to end this long drought in the form of Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, a remake of the Sega Genesis original, done up by Atlus.

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon starts off with all the necessary elements for the standard RPG plot. Max, the renameable hero, washed up on the shore with amnesia, and is somehow better than all the knights currently employed in the King's service. Because of this, when bad guys come a knocking at the doorstep, it's up to Max and his crew, known as the Shining Force, to save the kingdom. The only problem is that while Max is away, the decoy is in play. While they are away, enemies are razing the town. The Shining Force returns to town to discover the carnage, and that's where the story really begins. Relax; they only want you to save the world.

The game is broken up into eight different chapters, and on average there are about four battles between so there are no real dull moments throughout the story. In addition to the original story, the developers added epilogue sections that introduce more of the eclectic cast of characters. Like ninja bugs (or bug ninjas, depending on your interpretation of the situation). It's all extremely cohesive, so while these new elements could have really worked against the existing story, they only help to make it a more complete and unified experience.

Battling with these characters is enjoyable as well, as the simplistic set up makes it very easy for anyone with limited experience in the genre to jump right into the middle of things. It's a 2D plane that the characters can transverse, with their movement restricted both by the environment and their own limits. Characters that lack wings or hooves will obviously not be able to move as far in a single turn.

When your individual characters get within range of an enemy, it's time to attack. It's here where players of Golden Sun titles, also for the Game Boy Advance, can see how large of a contribution Shining Force made to that particular series (the text prompt with the heads shaking Yes or No is another example of this). The presentation is rather simplistic, with your character, back facing you, attacks the selected opponent in a nice letterbox format. It's quite no-frills, but it keeps with the style of the game.

That doesn't mean that all this time hasn't caused the title to look a little less appealing to the modern consumer, though. Some of the biggest flaws in comparison to current titles are the lack of an extremely extensive job system, wherein players can upgrade their warriors to more advanced classes.

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is a fun tactical role-playing game that really shows the roots of a genre. It's somewhat short as far as titles in the genre go - we clocked in at just less than twenty hours - and that might be a concern to those who don't mind investing more time in such a game. Also, it doesn't have the depth that other titles offer, such as an extensive job system. Don't get us wrong, the game is highly enjoyable and you'll have fun playing it, the problem is seasoned vets might find this trip to the humble beginnings of their favored genre a less than stellar outing.