Shining Resonance Refrain is not just a story about good triumphing over evil. It is about a young man who has been alone for a long time, afraid to connect with people, taking a chance and forming bonds with those around him. This is not only shown via normal story segments, though. The game uses different systems to show how he is opening up and connecting with others, giving people a way to see how possible relationships are growing as the group goes on their adventure.
The most basic way in which we see Yuma connect with his party members is through the Bond system. As you go through Shining Resonance Refrain, you will collect traits for characters. Some of these are unique to people, like Agnum is the only character who will have the Blazing Pyromaestro title, due to his abilities. However, he shares Boy at Heart with Yuma. Bright n’ Cheerful and Wired are two others that apply to multiple characters. As you participate in events, talk to people one-on-one, come across treasure chests and even have people put on the DLC costumes for the first time, you will get new ways to describe themselves. It encourages you to experiment with different people, since you are never sure which dialogue options or things you can discover unless you take the time to get to know people and explore.
Once you have some traits, things can get really interesting. Shining Resonance Refrain has these impact battles. The people you have with you in your party, their position on the grid and the traits they have can impact the Resonance between characters in battle, allowing for beneficial effects. You can rearrange who goes where on the diagram, creating triangles. The downside is, the game does a terrible job of explaining what each bond does. Let’s use the Bond Diagram I shared above as an example to show what is going on.
Since Yuma has Innocent Boy and Agnum has Boy at Heart, they have a rivalry relationship. It seemed like that made it more likely for them to support each other with physical attacks. Since Rinna has Soothing Girl, she is more supportive of Kirika and Yuma and is likely to heal both of them in a fight. However, because Agnum and Sonia are close friends, due to Boy at Heart and Knight of Astoria, Yuma is jealous and has a negative relationship with Sonia that can prevent them from Resonating and triggering beneficial effects in battle. Doing something like changing Sonia to Dragoneer Caretaker, which makes a supportive relationship between her and Agnum or her and Yuma. Or, changing Yuma to Power to Protect makes the three of them friends who will protect one another.
Connecting multiple people can trigger specific Bonds among them, making them stronger as a party unit. Ideally, you should arrange a party with the most possible Bonds to have the greatest benefit. In the diagram earlier, I have the Good Friend Bond between Agnum and Sonia. Eternal Rival applies to Agnum, Kirika and Yuma. Full Support extends to Kirika, Rinna and Yuma. Sonia and Yuma have Negative Power between them. In this case, the best idea is to have my party be Agnum, Kirika, Rinna and Yuma, because they are all positive relationships that will help with boosting attack and maintaining healing. If I wanted to bring Sonia in, I would have to redo the diagram to boost Resonance between people.
Compared to the Bond Diagram, Shining Resonance Refrain’s dating is extraordinarily easy. As you travel with people, fight alongside them and talk to them in town, you will have opportunities to answer brief questions or take part in conversations. The question part comes when you visit your hub. When you stop by a character’s set location, they may ask you a question as their affection rises. Choosing the right (or wrong) answer gives a visible cue as to how it was received, showing a heart (or dark cloud) effect. Once you have hit certain, not visibly evident, plateaus, you can invite them for a chat either at a campsite or town. If they agree, head to sleep. You will have a night chat with them, where you get to engage in an extended conversation and answer a question that boosts your relationship again. As you increase the relationship, you will eventually get items as gifts from party members in town. This can lead to different character endings, depending on who Yuma gets to know best by the end of the game.
Shining Resonance Refrain attempts to show how Yuma is growing as a person and acclimating to society by offering Bond Diagrams and a dating system. By assigning traits and places on the grid, you can determine what the in-battle relationship is like between characters and how they will Resonate with one another. If you take time to talk to people and spend time with them at night, you can learn about them and build a relationship up enough to get an ending with them. It is a way to encourage people to spend more time with the game and its characters.
Shining Resonance Refrain is available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Published: Jul 12, 2018 12:00 pm