After a decade since the series last made its way outside of Japan, SEGA has announced it will be bringing Shining Resonance Refrain to the West this Summer.
Originally released in Japan in 2014 as Shining Resonance, the game is a traditional JRPG that plays similarly to the Tales series. It stars Yuma, a young man who has the soul of the ‘Shining Dragon’ within him. This makes him a target of the Empire, and so he is drawn into a conflict between the Empire and the land of Astoria via an encounter with their princess, Sonya. So far, so JRPG, but stick with us for this next bit.
So, characters fight with a cross between classic RPG weaponry and musical instruments, which allow them to perform powerful Rune Songs. Characters work and fight together to build up their relationships and a resource called BPM (Battle Performance Mana) so they can shred a wicked-sick guitar solo or blow the enemy away with some mad flute skills. See what they did there?
Honestly, it sounds bonkers – like some mix of Final Fantasy and Rock Band.
Shining Resonance Refrain will be released fully-remasted with dual English and Japanese audio later this year on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. The first release run of the game will come with an exclusive metallic slipcase.
