Translation Issues
The English translation of Shining Force has perhaps the most confusing errors and omissions of any translated game in the Shining series save the Working Designs translation of Shining Wisdom. Most notably, the backstory of Max, the protagonist of the game, is entirely left out. The original Japanese script tells that Max has amnesia and was found washed up on the beach by Lowe, who subsequently came to be his best friend. Later, it is revealed that Max is in fact the brother of Lord Kane of Runefaust. All these plot points were lost in the official translation. In the official translation Kane still expresses horror that Darksol forced him to fight Max, but without any explanation why.
Numerous lesser errors and omissions occur. For instance, the character Lug is mistranslated as "Luke", which confused gamers when both the correct translation of Lug's name and a completely different character named Luke appeared in Shining Force CD. One character's name is translated as "Kane" in some parts of the game and as "Cain" in others. Also, the spell "Demon Breath" is mistranslated as "Demon Blaze"; though Demon Breath appears in all seven Shining games on the Mega Drive, Game Gear, and Mega-CD, Shining Force I is the only one where it is mistranslated.
The remake, Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon received a considerably more accurate English translation. However, since the remake itself contains additions to the plot which contradict the original story, it is not an authentic translation of the original Shining Force.
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