Sega America has announced that Shining Force Neo, the newest addition to the long running Shining series, will be localized for North America and released during Fall 2005. The story is scheduled to last the player approximately 35 hours with a new challenge being opened to players once the final boss is defeated.

Shining Force Neo, which is scheduled to appear at E3, is an Action RPG that places the player in the role of Max, a young knight-in-training, who has been charged with closing monster portals that have appeared throughout the world, in once peaceful towns. Throughout his journey, he is joined by 11 allies that will help him fight up to 90 enemies on-screen and eventually propel him to the status of a legendary hero.

"Shining Force Neo reinforces our strategy of keeping SEGA's classic intellectual properties fresh and exciting to both new players and long-time fans," said Yosuke Moriya, SEGA of America spokesperson. "PlayStation 2 has become home to many of the current generation's greatest RPGs, and we're pleased to bring the Shining Force series to the platform for the first time."

In Japan, Shining Force Neo has been available since the end of March and is currently scheduled to be localized for Europe for release this fall. RPGamer will disclose more details on the Shining series as they become available.