Today we’re playing Shining Resonance: Refrain.

 

Do you like dragons? Do you think musical instruments should be weaponized? I do, and so should you. So let’s demo. 

This game was previously unreleased in America and is a part of the Shining series developed by O-Two Inc and published by Sega. I’ve never played any of the games before and only know Refrain was released in English this month (with some added features) for Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Here are the demo notes!

 

Summary:

 

Length: 1/5

This demo is short and to the point.

Looks: 3.5/5

Simple but pretty. I enjoyed the little details in the dialogue boxes and menu screens. Everything is very cute. Cutscenes are engaging.

Sounds: 3/5

I don’t hate the music, but for a game about music, I wish this demo brought more to the table.

Gameplay: 4/5

Fun and interesting overall.

Tutorials: 5/5

Easy to follow, and they didn’t bog the demo down. I felt I could take note of the instructions without feeling overwhelmed. This is good if don’t want to expend a lot of time on a demanding learning curve before you know if you are even interested in the game.

Story: 3.5/5

A little cheesy and cartoonish but the demo is rich and story driven which I definitely appreciate! The plot seems light and fun. I feel like I could get into this game and play casually (stop and go) and easily re-engage without getting confused about what’s going on.

Buy-ability: 4/5.

I would definitely buy this title based on the demo alone, although it is a little pricey, coming in at $49.99 for the digital copy from the PlayStation Store. That said, the game currently has a 9/10 on Steam so I’m sure it’s well worth it.

 

Set Up

 

I’m going to be playing this demo on PlayStation 4.

Upon opening up the demo you see a bright and sparkly menu with booming, exciting music. This suits it because the characters’ weapons are all based on musical instruments (e.g. the violin-sword.)

We get a couple of choices for modes.

1. Original: The only choice we can play. It shows 2 female characters with breasts on display but claims to be a story about a boy?

2. Refrain: We have no real idea what this means based on the menu. It’s a musical term that means “to repeat” (like the chorus in a song.) I’m not sure how it relates to the game but it looks like you get to play with different characters. This option is not available for play in the demo version.

Next, we get to choose from another set of options.

1. Casual: For enjoying the story. I assume this means you can play the easy mode, maybe to circumvent the possibility of death?

2. Standard: I chose standard, even though I do not know what the difference would be.

 

The demo takes place in a land called Alfheim where our heroines are tasked with rescuing a dragon-powered boy from a castle. Dragons seem to fight for both sides and are a primary theme in this game.

Act 1: Sonia in the hallway with the violin-sword!

 

We start out playing as Sonia, an Astorian knight who fights close range with a sword. She uses quick attacks and has strong defensive stats.

We’re let’s us know we are trying to save someone (I thought she said princess, but I think we’re looking for a boy) and we are taken through some simple tutorials where we battle a homogenous set of knights in a hallway.

The gameplay is somewhat rudimentary in terms of battling, but I don’t mind. It’s complicated enough to be interesting but simple enough to jump right into.

The story and characters seem cheesy, but I feel charmed and find that I am drawn in nonetheless.

 

Act 2: Kirika in the garden with a death song?

 

We switch perspectives via cutscene in the second part of the demo.

Kirika is a ranged fighter and healer. She offers “a gentle death” with her requiem, as played on her harp-bow. The sentiment comes off as weirdly dark for a character modeled after a butterfly.

Sadly, this is about all we get in terms of music references. The instrumental components of the weaponry seem like an afterthought. You’re definitely not going to get the kind of incorporation Zelda: Ocarina of Time gave us with the Ocarina.  

We tutorial with some more knights whose attacks of choice include a funny lazy looking low kick to break up the monotony of swinging their swords at you.

 

Act 4: Yuma has feelings.

 

In the third act, we enter the inner dialogue of Yuma.

At this point we know these ladies are fighting to free Yuma, an insecure maybe mildly depressive emo kid who seems to have multiple personality disorder. The description tells me it’s a dragon that lives within him (and talks shit apparently.)

They can free him from the castle, but can they free him from himself??

Yuma acts conflicted about fighting but this is all clearly irrelevant. He fights with the sword called “Vandelhorn,” which is a two-handed weapon that swings slower than Sonia’s sword but with greater range.

 

The Boss Battle: Batgirl is ready to make it rain.

 

A batgirl is then introduced with her giant fire dragon, which we’re told is “the Empire’s Dracomachina.” Cool.

Sonia recognizes the bat lady as Princess Excella (that’s really her name.) Excella looks like a cute female Sephiroth with bat ears.

I think you get to play as this character in the Refrain version of the game, but for now, we fight her dragon.

Excella waves around her weapon which looks like an umbrella in a sheath but I think is actually a giant clarinet.

Excella looks disturbed when Kirika joins the scene. This pleases me as I’ve decided Kirika is my favorite. 

The boss battle contains animations periodically which keeps it engaging. Excella is a decent villain.

Too bad Yuma has to save the women in the end with the power of his magic choker. Hoping for a Cloud, but he seems like more of a Squall.

Yuma transforms into a dragon and the girls jump on and they ride off into the night. Actually, I’m down for this.

The demo then ends with a cute music video.

 

Final thoughts

 

I like this demo and I am interested in purchasing the game. The plot seems a little cheesy and could be lacking in depth, but I found it surprisingly endearing.

I like that we were introduced to each character one at a time as opposed to starting out with a group of characters and then being made to sift through the menu to learn their abilities or try to set up their skill trees right away. 

I particularly enjoyed switching perspectives throughout the demo. I hope this happens in the full game as well.

My greatest criticism is that the demo didn’t seem to emphasize music much like I hoped it would. As a musician myself, this was definitely a selling point for me. I hope this is rectified in the full version.

Verdict: definitely a playable demo.

 

This entry is part of the “Let’s Demo” Series. Check out for more from this series for noncommittal demo enthusiasts!