Vergil and Sephiroth, step aside. Shining Resonance reveals their own take on the cold, katana-wielding pretty boy character by officially revealing Jenius in a recent press release. We’ve seen him occasionally in trailers and other media, and BeastNote‘s entries on Shining Resonance have regularly made reference to the character. But it appears that leading up to Shining Resonance’s release Sega is periodically sending out press releases to explain more about the game and hype it up. I will provide my own recap based off of Gematsu’s exhaustive translation provided of the newest press release in this article.
Jenius is affiliated with no party or political group, acting alone in his vendetta against dragons. This vendetta consequently places him in opposition to the Kingdom of Astoria, which creates artificial dragons and wants to harness the power of natural dragons in order to accumulate more military might. Jenius also knows of Yuuma Irvan’s power to turn into a dragon and also aims to strike Irvan down. Motivations aside, he is renowned as a fearsome opponent known for slaying many dragons. Apparently, the path he walks and his knowledge of the world around him are key to uncovering the true nature of the world of Shining Resonance.
King Albert of Astoria is regarded as a wise ruler and also happens to be Sonia Blanche’s father. In fact, it is he who sends Sonia to rescue Kouryuu Irvan (Yuuma in his dragon form), albeit with the ulterior motive of recruiting Irvan to the service of Astoria. It seems like this is motivated from a desire to protect his people than a selfish desire for power, based on the translated description. Like the rest of Astoria, Sonia respects Albert and she loves her father. However, it remains to be seen if their differing opinions on Irvan’s future will place a rift in their relationship. He was also a Dragoner as his daughter is now, but after a battle injury he has stayed away from combat.
Another important character is Captain Barrows of Astoria, leader of the kingdom’s knights. Don’t let his gruff appearance and imposing stature mislead you; he is said to be chivalrous and a man of good character, and is also Sonia’s teacher in handling swords. A loyal subordinate to King Albert, he has led the knights of Astoria in successfully defending themselves from many threats. However, it appears that Captain Barrows harbors some resentment towards Yuuma Irvan for his unwillingness to completely align with Astoria.
Sega talked briefly about the city of Malga in their press release. Referenced briefly in their previous press release, it appears that Malga will be the game’s central town for the party. Not only will dates take place there, but there is also a library that contains data on enemies encountered so far. You will also be able to view cutscenes and tutorials here. Figures of enemies you’ve collected throughout the game, found either as drops from encounters or in the randomized Lucky Egg machines pictured above, can also be viewed in the library. Besides the library, Malga is important because it appears that many optional Requests from NPC’s will take place here. Requests will be available when speaking to any character with a special marker above them. Assisting the citizens of Malga can yield all sorts of rewards, so consider taking them on when you’ve got the time.
There’s no RPG town worth its salt that isn’t populated by sometimes quirky shopkeepers and tradespeople; you’ll find all sorts of characters within Malga, pictured above. Rizelotte is a female elf who peddles items and Materials, along with the more basic-level Skill Pieces. She has heterochromia (different colored eyes) and wears a purple and black outfit with a pointy hat. Besides Malga, you can also find her selling her wares wherever you decide to camp. Rapple is an alchemist identifiable by his blue outfit, short stature, youthful looks, and goggles placed on his head. He can synthesize items and Skill Pieces (notably, the more advanced ones) using Materials. The casual-looking Lyle in brown and yellow and with glasses is essential for changing the Tuning of your weapons. And the soft-featured Emma runs the Seagull Inn, where you can recover your HP and MP.
As the release of Shining Resonance nears, the wealth of information can appear to be too much to keep track of. If you find yourself forgetting something, consider checking out the tags on our articles or using the search bar to search through our previous posts!
Credit to the Gematsu writeup linked at this article’s beginning for the images and translated information.