<s>
is	O
a	O
first	O
person	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
released	O
in	O
1997	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
action-adventure	O
format	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
Shining	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
,	O
Shining	B-Application
Wisdom	I-Application
,	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
revived	O
older	O
RPG	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
extensive	O
first-person	O
dungeon	O
crawling	O
and	O
turn-based	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gameplay	O
is	O
most	O
similar	O
to	O
Shining	B-Application
in	I-Application
the	I-Application
Darkness	I-Application
;	O
the	O
player	O
explores	O
towns	O
and	O
dungeons	O
in	O
the	O
first-person	O
view	O
,	O
with	O
battles	O
almost	O
exclusively	O
taking	O
place	O
in	O
dungeons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Exploration	O
uses	O
traditional	O
node-based	O
movement	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
continuous	O
,	O
free-form	O
movement	O
used	O
in	O
most	O
first-person	O
games	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
every	O
previous	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Shining	O
series	O
,	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
uses	O
a	O
menu	O
system	O
in	O
which	O
each	O
menu	O
has	O
exactly	O
four	O
options	O
,	O
all	O
represented	O
by	O
icons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
utilizes	O
a	O
"	O
pixie	B-Application
"	O
system	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
befriend	O
pixies	B-Application
that	O
can	O
attack	O
enemies	O
at	O
the	O
opening	O
of	O
an	O
encounter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
five	O
types	O
of	O
pixie	B-Application
:	O
fairy	O
,	O
pixie	B-Application
,	O
succubus	O
,	O
incubus	O
,	O
and	O
leprechaun	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
an	O
enemy	O
appears	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
a	O
few	O
seconds	O
to	O
select	O
the	O
right	O
type	O
of	O
pixie	B-Application
for	O
the	O
direction	O
that	O
the	O
enemy	O
is	O
coming	O
from	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
player	O
selects	O
the	O
right	O
type	O
of	O
pixie	B-Application
,	O
it	O
deals	O
some	O
damage	O
to	O
the	O
enemies	O
and	O
increases	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
gold	O
and	O
experience	O
points	O
earned	O
from	O
the	O
encounter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
10	O
years	O
before	O
Shining	B-Application
Force	I-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
father	O
's	O
death	O
compels	O
Julian	O
to	O
seek	O
revenge	O
against	O
Galm	O
,	O
which	O
sets	O
into	O
motion	O
his	O
involvement	O
in	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
Shining	B-Application
Force	I-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Akane	O
–	O
a	O
kunoichi	B-Application
and	O
sister	O
of	O
Rodi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
story	O
of	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
was	O
designed	O
with	O
a	O
more	O
mature	O
audience	O
in	O
mind	O
than	O
earlier	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Shining	O
series	O
were	O
targeted	O
towards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
Holy	O
Ark	O
on	O
,	O
the	O
story	O
and	O
game	O
were	O
redesigned	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
players	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	O
Saturn	B-Device
owners	O
were	O
generally	O
in	O
their	O
late-teens	O
or	O
early-twenties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
soundtrack	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Motoi	O
Sakuraba	O
,	O
who	O
later	O
wrote	O
the	O
music	O
for	O
Shining	B-Application
Force	I-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
critical	O
reactions	O
to	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
varied	O
widely	O
,	O
nearly	O
every	O
review	O
concluded	O
with	O
a	O
strong	O
recommendation	O
to	O
buy	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rich	O
Leadbetter	O
of	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
best	O
RPG	O
I	O
've	O
played	O
in	O
ages.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Trent	O
Ward	O
,	O
reviewing	O
for	O
GameSpot	O
,	O
summed	O
up	O
that	O
"	O
There	O
's	O
nothing	O
in	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
that	O
RPG	O
fans	O
have	O
n't	O
seen	O
in	O
one	O
form	O
or	O
another	O
before	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
does	O
put	O
them	O
all	O
together	O
nicely.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
wrote	O
"	O
Shining	B-Application
the	I-Application
Holy	I-Application
Arks	I-Application
hypnotic	O
gameplay	O
,	O
supernatural	O
story	O
line	O
,	O
and	O
spellbinding	O
fun	O
will	O
pleasantly	O
entrance	O
you.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
and	O
Crispin	O
Boyer	O
of	O
EGM	O
both	O
praised	O
the	O
pixie	B-Application
system	O
as	O
adding	O
further	O
depth	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
