Update: May 17, 2007
«©NCSX» The world of Endias is in a state of tension and three warriors known as Soul Bladers only serve to fuel the drama and intrigue that's afoot. Riviera serves as the setting where three kingdoms exist in an uneasy state that's teetering on the brink of all-out war. The Beastmen lord over the seafaring Seiran Kingdom, the Elves maintain their stronghold at Beilgarde, and the Humans keep watch from the Filias Kingdom.

The protagonist of Shining Wind is a lad named Kiriya who's a Soul Blader with the power to seal dimensional fissures known as Chaos Gates that are wreaking havoc in Riviera. Kiriya allies himself with the Filias Kingdom while another Soul Blader named Souma fights on behalf of the Seiran. The third and strongest Soul Blader named Traiheart leads the Beilgarde Empire.

At the outset, Kiriya explores the world with a friend named Seena who provides backup muscle and interactive foil. Kiriya carries a red-colored Soul Blade in his right hand which is activated by pressing the TRIANGLE button. Instead of a sword slash however, the Soul Blade shoots out spheres of energy which do significant damage to enemies. In his left hand, Kiriya also carries a short sword which is swung by tapping the SQUARE button. To bolster Kiriya's attacks, he can link up with Seena to throw out a powerful projectile blast where Seena serves as the missile.

Partial Bonus Giveaway
Early preorders for Shining Wind will ship with a bonus PC data disc which contains 40 attractive wallpaper designs, 53 desktop icons, 5 BGM tracks in WAV format, and a collection of voice samples for all of the major characters in the game. Unfortunately, we did not receive enough bonuses to give one away to everyone who preordered the game.

View the back cover and screenshots for this item on the main NCSX website.

Jan Code: 4974365831745

» Press START and a sleeping goddess appears accompanied by a little big-eared creature named Lassi who floats nearby. Her eyes open and she welcomes you to the world of Shining Wind. Three game options appear as follows:

New Game / Begin a new adventure
Load Game / Resume a game in progress from memory card
Option / Set sound volumes, position screen, etc

» Start a NEW GAME and an introductory sequence replete with voice acting commences. After the initial sequence, a white screen appears and a woman's voice says, "Kiriya" softly at first but with more urgency when she doesn't receive an immediate response. The scene changes to a view of the protagonist Kiriya Kaito standing on a walkway with a redheaded girl who's arms are crossed. She wears a uniform with a big red bow on her collar and she means business. Her name is Seena. After her haughty greeting, the two walk upwards and stand in front of some gates and she manages a smile soon afterwards. While talking, the ground begins to shake and rumble. The two are startled and wait for it to pass before rushing off to their appointed destinations.

» In the next scene, blossoms are lazily drifting away from a big cherry tree and Kiriya walks into view. He stands near the tree and gets a little woozy and takes a knee. A flashback commences where he sees a girl weraing a bandage around her head and standing near the tree sans blossoms and leaves - completely bare. He gets ups and wonders what just happened.

» Kiriya walks into a quaint building and control is handed over to the player. The lobby of the building features a grandfather clock and a flight of stairs which lead upwards. To the right is a cordoned off room and to the left is a small library. No one's around so run up the stairs. The L-Analog stick handles the movement and pressing X when moving makes Kiriya gallop. You'll find Seena upstairs standing in front of a desk and they have a short conversation before they run off again to the cherry tree outside. The ground starts shaking again and Seena looses a yelp of fear. The little ring of water around the tree begins to glow and the world fades out.

» A disembodied conversation between Kiriya and a being plays out against a starry backdrop

» In the next scene, Kiriya is lying flat on his back against the brick walkway near the gates. He gets up and runs to an area where the brick walkway has collapsed. Nearby, the cherry tree is still losing blossoms but a figure is standing there now. Another short cinema plays in color this time where the same girl with a bandage on her head, red eyes, and elfin ears appears. Her named is Xecty. Kiriya walks up and speaks to her but the words that come from her are stilted and uneasy. She lifts up her right hand and hands something over to Kiriya. At that moment, a cloaked figure named Killrain appears behind the girl. He walks up and looks like a vampire with white hair and gothic apparel. When Kiriya pipes up a little too much, the guy lifts up his hand and knocks Kiriya down with a high energy manifestation. After demonstrating his power, he stops and walks away with the girl to the trunk of the cherry tree and both become sparks of light which fly up into the air.

» Kiriya gets up and checks out the "gift" that he received from Xecty. He walks back into the building and while walking up the stairs, comes face to face with a green-hat-wearing gnome named Dag with goggles and red arm sigils. The gnome exclaims a frightened heehaw sound and dashes back upstairs with Kiriya hot on his heels. After sweating bullets, he faces Kiriya and explains his predicament. Satisfied, Kiriya allows him to leave the premises without conflict and control is handed over to the player again. The steady tick-tock of the grandfather clock may be heard while inside. There's nothing to do inside so head back outside and head for the cave that has opened up in the lower-right corner of the screen. Your new gnome friend greets you and beckons you to follow him up a short flight of stairs. Seena is already there and she's dressed in a new get-up and looks as peeved as ever. The three are later joined by an old guy who wears and crown and goes by the name of Kouuto.

» Control is handed over to the player once again. Explore the cavern and talk to the gnomes around. Wait a while since Dag is making a suit of armor and a weapon for you. After a while, walk back up to where Seena and Kouuto are waiting and you'll see Dag outside his work room. Talk to him and an event will be triggered where Kiriya is suited up in armor and given a sword. Soon afterwards, an attack by orange-haired misfits commences and Seena rushes out to face them. Kiriya joins her and a sequence plays where the misfits impale Seena with a blade. Kiriya grabs the blade while being aided by a disembodied female voice and removes it from her body. In the next scene, Kiriya is now armed with a Soul Blade and Seena is none the worse for wear. The two are ready to tackle their attackers.

» Encounters are fought on the same map that the party travels on. To shoot, press the TRIANGLE button and Kiriya's Soul Blade blasts out energy pellets to knock enemies out. A tutorial that plays during this sequence also shows how to link characters together by pressing the R2 trigger once to aim and pressing R2 again to ignite a blazing attack where Seena leaps forward while tethered to Kiriya with lightning to perform a sword strike. After defeating the enemies, Dag and Kouuto walk up and Dag exclaims a drawn-out "Sugoi" to congratulate them.

» Back inside the cavern, the team commiserates before Kiriya and Seena return to the cherry tree where Kiriya shows her the pouch he was given earlier. Back inside the building, they're joined by Dakgand Kouuto and then a Princess with spiky headgear and two knight attendants named Clalaclan.

» The dialogue is accompanied by voice acting and music during interaction sequences throughout the game..

» A nifty crystal-cracking effect is shown whenever you initiate an encounter with an enemy contingent. Sword slashes are triggered by pressing the SQUARE button and the Soul Blade fire energy bullets by tapping the TRIANGLE. When attacking major beasts, it's best to use the link attack to impact about 100 points of damage on it. You'll need about three of them to finish off big creatures while smaller underlings expire after being smited by a few sword slashes.

» To save your progress, go to the town square or home base and press START to bring up the menu options. Highlight the fifth option and then select a save slot from 10 available slots on each 8M memory card. To return to your home base near the cherry tree at any time, press START and then highlight and select the sixth option. You'll appear in the foyer of the building a few seconds later.

» When Kiriya roams, Seena dutifully follows but she may also be controlled independently of Kiriya by moving her around with the R-Analog thumbstick during the world exploration as well as the battle sequences.

» When Seena is close to Kiriya when performing the special R-Trigger link attack, she'll bound forward to perform a deadly strike. However, if she's far away from Kiriya when the R-Trigger attack is activated, she'll shoot out an arc of fireballs that hits every monster within range.

» The voice of Kiriya is provided by Akira Ishida.

This document is ©NCSX 2007. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.