
Their story will unfold in a world that is shared by humans, demons, and beasts that is constantly devastated by war. Joining the party almost immediately will be the other half of its members, Gadfort, who wants the blade to become the greatest knight in existence, and Maebelle, an elfin archer seeking the blade to save her people. The story focuses mainly on two characters that the player will have the opportunity to control: Toma, a brash sword wielder who dreams of being "King of the World," and Cyrille, a mage of sorts whose reasons for searching for the Shining Force are a well kept mystery. As well as advancing the main character, the player progresses to master a variety of Power Arts to unleash special and magic attacks. In addition, using specific battle tactics of the party will grant it more power and range. The player upgrades characters through experience points and an assortment of items and weapons. The growth, layout, and defense of the fortress is managed completely by the player, thus allowing the Geo-Fortress to evolve to fit the style and tactics of the player. In addition to a traveling store, the player is also able to train party members. The player is able to add more rooms for vendors and shops. Once the fortress reaches the third form, it is capable of travel. By collecting "Rare Material" from the given quests, the player is able to transform the fortress into two other forms. In the beginning, the fortress is very basic and vulnerable.

They also protect and defend the castle in the event of an attack. While adventuring, the party members left behind use the Geo-Fortress as a headquarters. One new feature of EXA is the customizable robot castle Geo-Fortress. Shining Force EXA is the successor to Shining Force NEO and inherited that game's battle and action RPG mechanics.

The game features a variety of weaponry inspired by the medieval era, magic, and a collection of skills that can be improved upon for the main characters. Like Shining Force Neo, the gameplay is in the vein of Diablo or Record of Lodoss War (the latter also by Neverland).

It tells the story of a world divided by a war between humans and demons. Shining Force EXA ( シャイニング・フォース イクサ, Shainingu Fōsu Ikusa) is an action role-playing game developed by Neverland and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2 and mobile phones as a part of the Shining series.
