10 Awesome Sega Mega Drive Games You've Never Played

3. Shining In The Darkness

Let's get one thing straight: Shining In The Darkness was not the first role-playing game of all time, nor did it particularly break new grounds in respect of how we view the genre today. But, and this is a big, sword-wielding 'but' here, this enthralling debut in the now popular Shining series did open the eyes of the European market to how accessible a turn-based adventure can be. The game was a good old-fashioned fantasy romp, where a chosen one was gifted the task of rescuing the king's daughter - plus your own father - which means heading into the game's centrepiece proving ground - the labyrinth - and battling an array of beasts in order to progress deeper into this dank tomb. The beauty of Shining In The Darkness was its setup; you had the main castle, which you'd visit once or twice for a natter with the king and his squires, the village where you'd find armour, weapons and alchemy bits as well as said labyrinth. Developers Climax Entertainment deliberately placed just one locale where the bulk of the action took place and ensured that a trial and error approach kept things interesting. Whereas at first players would visit the labyrinth, take a few knocks from an Man Ape and find themselves back, revived in the village on a rinse and repeat basis, a good levelling system ensured you got that raw power to help you progress. Throw in some compadres to rescue along with hard boss battles and this formed a sold adventure that can easily be recognised as the console's best RPG.