Characters

Max

Swordsman (SDMN) → Hero (HERO)

Max is the main character and the character that you'll be controlling outside of battle. You can name him whatever you want, but the default name is Max. Many people are worried to use him, because if he dies, the Shining Force retreats from battle. But you don't need to worry too much, just don't be reckless and he'll be plenty able to hold his own in battle.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

	Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
	1	N/A	N/A	N/A

Luke

Warrior (WARR) → Gladiator (GLDT)

Luke is the first warrior who will join your party. He's a fairly strong character gaining lots in attack and defense. additionally he tends to be a little better than his warrior counterpart, Gort, as he usually gets a bit more attack and defense. I usually keep him all the way through, after all with exactly two warriors in the game, and two of the best axe in the game, he's an easy choice for the frontline. As with any of the first 5 party members in the game, it is possible to skip getting him by leaving town before talking with the king.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Ken

Knight (KNT) → Paladin (PLDN)

Ken is the first knight to join your party and as such, is invaluable in the first few battles. He's a mixed bag later on though, he'll get really nice attack and tons upon tons of HP, but he fails to get adequate defense for the later game. Usually I suggest dumping him once you get a replacement, as his low defense really hurts near the end of the game. As with any of the first 5 party members in the game, it is possible to skip getting him by leaving town before talking with the king.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Tao

Mage (MAGE) → Wizard (WIZD)

Tao is the first mage you'll get on your team and as such plays a really important role. Because magic ignore defense, she is best used against foes with lots of defense. While fire has the lowest DPS of any of the damage spells, it is the most efficient, causing the most damage per MP. She is one of the most important characters in battle 2-1, given the zombies incredible defense. I usually use her around to mid game, but end up dropping her for ice magic users. As with any of the first 5 party members in the game, it is possible to skip getting her by leaving town before talking with the king.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	4	12	20
8	N/A	N/A	N/A
16	N/A	N/A	N/A
27	N/A	N/A	N/A

Hans

Archer (ACHR) → Sniper (SNIP)

Hans is the first archer you'll get on your team. his ability to attack from a distance is nice, and it's really great late game when the bows let you attack from 3 squares away, but before that, he doesn't have much going for him. His defense is lackluster, as his is HP and attack. The only nice thing about him is, since he is an elf, he can move easily on forest tiles, which otherwise causes a large movement debuff. I suggest dumping him as soon as possible. As with any of the first 5 party members in the game, it is possible to skip getting him by leaving town before talking with the king.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lowe

Healer (HEAL) → Vicar (VICR)

Lowe is Max's best friend and the first healer you'll get on the team. His ability to heal is incredibly useful, even in the first battle, but be careful, he can't take much damage. Also to note is, since he is a healer, he gains XP from using medical herbs and healing seeds on the characters (~10 HP), unlike non-healers who receive a pitiful 1 XP from such usages. As with any of the first 5 party members in the game, it is possible to skip getting him by leaving town before talking with the king.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	7	16	22
4	N/A	N/A	N/A
10	19	N/A	N/A
13	25	N/A	N/A

Gong

Monk (MONK) → Master Monk (MMNK)

Gong is the very first optional character in the game. You can get him by going to the little cabin East of the fort the first battle occurs at. Gong is a monk and is able to both heal and deal out some damage, which means he can keep close to the frontlines, where healing is needed most. While he's really useful early game for this reason, he loses some edge late game, specifically due to his lack of a weapon. Since he is weaponless, late game he just can't compete with the defense on the enemies. Nonetheless, he can be useful as a healer who can take some hits.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	8	16	24
30	N/A	N/A	N/A

Gort

Warrior (WARR) → Gladiator (GLDT)

Gort is another optional character. You can find him in the bar Northeast of the shop in Guardiana; you can talk to him before the first battle, but he won't join until after the second. He is very similar to Luke in that he gets lots of defense and attack throughout the game and is a great frontliner. And because there are multiple of the best axe in the game, he and Luke can both be reasonably used in the late game. I almost always keep him front now till the end, as he is a strong character throughout.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Mae

Knight (KNT) → Paladin (PLDN)

You can first encounter Mae in Guardiana before the first battle, but like Gort she won't join until after Runefaust invades. Seeking to avenge her father's (Varios) death, she join the party, seeking out to defeat Kain. Mae takes a slightly different stats approach than Ken, gaining lots of defense and only modest HP. Because of this, she is invaluable whenever fighting high damage enemies, as she can tank quite a few hits. While she gets all around good stats, she isn't the best choice for high defense spear-thrower, and since there is only one of the best spear in the game, I usually drop her midway through my runs.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Khris

Healer (HEAL) → Vicar (VICR)

You first really encounter Khris when they save you from prision in Alterone. After showing you the secret passage out of your cell, Khris joins the force. Being the third healer you get. Khris doesn't add all too much to the force early on, but more healing is always nice. Later on though, Khris's ability to learn Aura make him incredibly useful, and far superor to Lowe. I usually keep him all the way to the end as one of my primary healers.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	5	16	22
8	N/A	N/A	N/A
12	N/A	N/A	N/A
20	28	N/A	N/A

Anri

Mage (MAGE) → Wizard (WIZD)

Anri is found in the wizarding town of Manarina. She's the daughter of the king back in Guardiana, and as such, is the upcoming queen. She is a ice magic user, which I find to be the best of the three damage magics. Being that she can learn Freeze 4, she can cast one of the most powerful spells in the game. I usually use her to replace Tao, because as I said, Freeze is way more powerful; while it is a little less efficient, it does a lot more total damage, and it is a good balance of these two factors. Anri is a great spell-caster to bring to late game.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	8	N/A	N/A
5	13	16	23
10	N/A	N/A	N/A
19	26	N/A	N/A

Arthur

Knight (KNT) → Paladin (PLDN)

Arthur is a really odd case. He's an optional character who completely sucks when you get him. He has a laughable defense and no stats to write home about. Interesting, if you do level him up, he is the only knight to learn any magic, learning Blaze 1, Freeze 1, and Bolt 1; but he doesn't really get the MP to back it up. While in most casual playthoughs, he is useless, if you are up for grinding and catching him up to everyone else stats wise, he gets really great late game. If you grind him up there, he'll just skyrocket in all his stats late game, making him the best knight if you put in the work. But, as I said, usually it isn't worth it, and he just gets left behind when there is anyone to replace him.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
15	N/A	N/A	N/A
20	N/A	N/A	N/A
25	N/A	N/A	N/A

Balbaroy

Birdman (BDMN) → Sky Warrior (SKYW)

Balbaroy is the first flying character you gain in the game. Though, you get him literally seconds before Amon joins, so he isn't unique for long. Balbaroy is a flying sword-user, and his best weapon is the Sword of Darkness, which isn't available for the end game. He's a little stronger than Amon in terms of damage, and in exchange is a little worse in defense. Of course, as a flier, he also isn't affected by land-effect, meaning he has great mobility, but doesn't get the defense boost. Personally, I don't really find much use from him, unless I'm doing some sort of special, fliers only run.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Amon

Birdman (BDMN) → Sky Warrior (SKYW)

Amon is the second flying character you gain in the game. Joining up literally seconds after Balbaroy joins. Amon is a flying sword-user, and like Balbaroy her best weapon is the Sword of Darkness, which isn't available for the end game, minimizing her usefulness end game. She's has a bit more defense and health than Balbaroy, in exchange for a little less attack. Of course, as a flier, she also isn't affected by land-effect, meaning while she has great mobility, she doesn't get the defense boost, meaning every point of defense really matters. Personally, I don't really find much use from her, unless I'm doing some sort of special, fliers only run.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Diane

Archer (ACHR) → Sniper (SNIP)

Diane joins up in the mountain town as your second archer. She joins to help you bring the men of the town back to the town, after they have all been taken by Runefaust to work in the mines. I prefer her to Hans as far as archers go, usually using her to pretty late game, as I find the 3-distance attack of late game bows incredibly useful. Also, you get her only a battle before one of the many tough-terrain battles of the game, so she gets a chance to shine with her easy forest movement almost immediately.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Zylo

Werewolf (WRWF) → Wolf Baron (WFBN)

Zylo is a wolfman that you rescue from his own insanity. After being poisoned by Runefaust, he is locked in Bustoke's prison cell. After taking back the mines from Runefaust, you are able to cure him using the Lunar Dew. He quicklu will grow to be one of the strongest members on the team, and since he can easily move through forest tiles, he is immediately useful. While I always find him to be almost unbearably weak for a few levels post-promotion, if you push through those, he becomes a powerhouse of damage and defense.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Pelle

Knight (KNT) → Paladin (PLDN)

Pelle is a traitor to Runefaust, turning on them at the beginning of the bridge battle with the Laser Eye, and joining your force after the battle ends (and he climbs back up the mountain). Personally, I don't like using him, as I find he levels out too quickly to be useful, but if you are in need of a knight for only a few battles, Pelle is your guy. He joins better than most of your knights (assumming you aren't powerleveling) and stays like that for a few levels. But within a chapter or two, he can't keep up ,and falls behind. Leaving him, in my mind, as practically useless.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Jogurt

Yogurt (YGRT)

Jogurt is... well he's Jogurt. He's hidden and requires multiple steps to unlock. And given that you have to perform steps starting in chapter 1, if you want him to join, you'd think he'd have some real power behind him. But that's not the case. He's actually a joke character, with his stats stuck forever at a value of 1. He does have a few uses though, such as in speedrunning as bait. And, if you manage to let him land the killing blow on an enemy he gains the Jogurt Ring, a special item, that allows any character to look like Jogurt.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal

Kokichi

Wing Knight (WKNT) → Sky Lord (SKYL)

Kokichi is another unique character, being the only flying spear/lance -user. He's an optional character and can only be obtained if you talk to him in Bustoke after saving him, along with all the men, from the mines. He's an inventor and when you first meet him, he's testing out his flying machine. You'll get to watch him fly off into the distance, not to be heard from until Chapter 4, when he'll join the party. He's pretty unique, he's got that going for him, but due to flying he misses out on the land effect defense boost - meaning he's a bit squishy later game. Given that there is only one of the best spear in the game, I usually pick others over him.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Vankar

Knight (KNT) → Paladin (PLDN)

Yet another Paladin, just to pad your ranks. You can get him after the traveling town of Pao leaves the first time, as he has been left behind for being a poor guard. Which just so happens to reflect how he plays, he's a mediocre centaur at best, and you already have better options then him. I have pretty much never used him, though maybe if I make a run with all the bad, and validally underappreciated characters, then I will take him for a spin.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Guntz

Steam Knight (SKNT) → Steam Baron (SBRN)

Guntz is another optional recurring character. You first meet him in chapter 2, in the town of Rindo, with his boss, testing out his steam power suit. He's got incredible defense, becoming an absolute tank later game - but with his middle tier HP, he's lacking when it comes to tanking magical damage. I really like using based on his defense alone, as it really is incredible - give him a good spear, some healing seeds, and he'll just power on. Now, unfortuneatly, he has less movement then others which can keep him behind a bit, but just give him the Running Pimento or Mobility Ring, and he'll easily stand on the front line.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Domingo

Magic Creature (MGCR)

Domingo is another unique character, and one of my favorites. He is literally a flying magical octopus. He's one of the hidden characters, being very out the way to get. While it's not complicated to get him, he's easy to miss; to get him, grab his egg in Mariana (see guide) and bring it all the way to the travelling town of Pao (the second time) where you can hatch his egg. After causing him to hatch, he'll join the team. Domingo learns freeze magic all the way up the level 4, one of the best level 4 damage magics. And, he gets great defense, which is really special for a mage, as it means he doesn't need to be constantly protected. Also he floats so he gets the terrain effect defense boost while not suffering any movement penalties. While he can't fly over mountains, he is a flaying character is just about every way. A always use on my tema.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	4	13	26
7	N/A	N/A	N/A
17	N/A	N/A	N/A
20	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnest

Knight (KNT) → Paladin (PLDN)

Earnest - another centaur. You meet himas he hunts down Balbazak in Chapter 4, and he helps you get to the boat by opening a path in the fort. While he has some story significance, that's all he's got going for him. He is alright when he joins you, but he is the worse paladin late game, all his stats being pretty abyssmal. Never use him, but like Vankar, surely on a bad characters only run.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lyle

Assault Knight (ASKT) → Stike Knight (SKNT)

Lyle is an odd character. Mixing bow attack range and centaur movement, he's got a unqiue case going for him. If you are trying to get more centaurs he's nice for getting that nice 3 attack range later game - but he's not great compared to Hans and Diane. Both Hans and Diane are elves and can move through forest easily (really important late game) and I personally don't find his centaur plains movement boost to balance this out at all. He's here if you really want a centaur bow-wielder, but he's really just nothing great.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Bleu

Dragon (DRGN) → Great Dragon (GRDR)

Bleu is the last of the Sacred Dragons meant to protect the The Manual Of The Seal. But he is only a baby dragon and is rather scared of this responsibility, making him unwilling to fight. Luckily after Karin, one of his close friends, is attacked by Runefaust he finds his courage and realizes he needs to join your force. In terms of usefulness, when you first get him, he's super weak, which makes sense, he's a baby dragon and doesn't have much experience. But if you rank him up, he becomes really becomes a beast. He gets great attack, great defense (even considering his lack of the land effect defense boost), and great HP. He is by far the strongest flying unit in game. In a casual playthrough you might skip him since he is so late in the game, and is pretty difficult to level up, but if you like grinding and want to bother with the work to rank him up, the game greatly rewards you for it.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Musashi

Samurai (SMR)

Musashi is yet another very hidden character, only joining the team after reading a random sign-post and then joining silently with no indication except for suddenly appearing in headquarters. But man this dude is a beast. He gets some great stats just like Bleu and just wrecks everything late game. His only weakness is his 5 movement, but this can be fixed with a Running Pimento or the Mobility Ring. Frankly, he's an obvious choice for any team. Additionally he's easy to level and comes on easily matching your team members' levels. Just an OP character.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal

Normal

Alef

Mage (MAGE) → Wizard (WIZD)

Alef is another mage, and she is the lightning mage. She is the only character capable of using Bolt 4, which is the most damaging spell in the game. She's a bit of a challenge to level, as she joins the force underleveled and the first battle with her has enemies that can easily one-hit kill her. Additionally given that Bolt 4 is also the least damage per MP efficient spell, I usually don't take her on. That's not to say that she's bad, she's is competing with Domingo for best spellcaster, but in a casual playthough I usually don't bother.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	6	N/A	N/A
3	9	N/A	N/A
12	17	22	30
36	N/A	N/A	N/A

Torasu

Healer (HEAL) → Vicar (VICR)

Torasu joins with Alef and like Alef, he joins extremely underleveled. Some might say that, his ability to learn Aura 4, which acts as a Shower of Cure, makes him a real option, but with his inability to learn Heal 3, his MP pool quickly runs dry from Aura after Aura. I don't usually use him, as I prefer Khris and Gong when it comes to healers, but as a backup, he can be viable if you are ok with grinding to leveling him up. Like Alef, he's a pain to level and his first battle is real tough.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Normal
Promotion

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	7	N/A	N/A
4	N/A	N/A	N/A
12	N/A	N/A	N/A
16	20	24	28

Adam

Robot (RBT) → Cyborg (CYBG)

Adam is a Cyborg created by the Ancients themselves for the sole purpose of helping the hero of light create the Chaos Breaker. He's a nice story-relevant character. As far as useful... well he's like a lot of other great grinded characters. He starts breath-takingly weak, dying laughably easily, and is a pain to level up. But the game really rewards you if you do, as he becomes a true tank. He become capable of deal mega damage and taking a beating as well. He even has a special laser attack that sometimes goes off, dealing magic damage like the Torch Eye's later in the game. If you are interested in grinding, totally worth taking him, but otherwise he just joins too weak to be useful.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal
Promotion

Hanzou

Ninja (NINJ)

Another super hidden character, this time requiring you to search a random bush of flowers in the final chapter of the game. And for such a obscure method of finding him you'd expect him to be really good, but he really is just.. lackluster. It's a combination of being hidden and the last character to join the force, it just feels like he should be a little more powerful. But alas, nope. He does learn some magic spells that can come in use, though they are all rather situational: two of them being sleep and desoul, both low chances of success, another being shield which is only useful against magic attacks. The real special thing about him is that on occassion his attack will one hit kill an enemy for no apparent reason, but since this happens once in a blue moon, it barely matters. Again, he's a little too lackluster, but if you can ignore that, he's not a bad option for the team. He's not too far behind when you get him (assuming you haven't been griding the whole game) and he can catch up pretty fast. I usually leave him behind, I've got better options by the time he joins, but if someone just isn't working out, trying taking him out for a whirl.

	HP	MP	AT	DF
Normal

Normal

Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4
1	N/A	N/A	N/A
4	N/A	N/A	N/A
7	N/A	N/A	N/A
15	N/A	N/A	N/A