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Nick
Image-GaidenNick
Vital statistics
Race Human
Class Swordsman -> Hero -> Prince
Gender Male
Faction Cypress resistance(in Gaiden I/Book 1), Cypress army(in Gaiden II/Book 2 and Book 3)
Birthplace Cypress
Relatives Edmond, uncle
Appearances Shining Force Gaiden
Shining Force Gaiden II
Shining Force CD

Nick is the prince of Cypress and eventually its king. He acts as the protagonist of Shining Force Gaiden and Shining Force CD, and is also a major character (though only playable for one battle) in Shining Force Gaiden II.

Background

Prior to Shining Force Gaiden, Nick was the prince and heir to the throne of Cypress. Cypress's ambassador, Woldol, launched a coup, killing the king of Cypress and replacing him with Nick's uncle Edmond in order to spread the power of the god Iom. Nick went into hiding and helped lead a resistance against Woldol. How long he was involved in the resistance within Cypress is not known, but when Woldol antagonized Guardiana by casting a spell over Queen Anri, Nick seized the opportunity by venturing into Guardiana and working with Ruce to organize a force to invade Cypress, ostensibly to save Anri.

Nick successfully led the force into the heart of Cypress, killing Edmond and Woldol and thereby liberating Cypress, as well as saving Anri. However, with his arm turned to stone in the final battle and a threat from Iom still looming, Nick took only two months to organize and restore Cypress before again heading off to war.

A trap set by Iom snares Nick in Algam Fields. It seems, however, that Nick allowed himself to be captured as part of his plan to defeat Iom (see the subsection "Nick's Capture). In any event, [[Hindel] (a traitor to Iom) prevented King Warderer from killing Nick until reinforcements from Cypress arrived. Iom was defeated, but Warderer took Hindel down with him. Perhaps out of guilt over this, Nick risked his life to get Hindel's brother Deanna safely out of Iom.

Some months after the victory over Iom, Nick was officially crowned King of Cypress.

Nick as a swordsman wears a light brown tunic with a blue stripe, brown boots and a red cape. He has blond hair, blue eyes and light skin.

Nick's Capture

At a glance, the ease with which Nick was trapped by the Iom army seems baffling, given that this is the same man who duped a Guardiana force into being his army and repeatedly outwitted the forces of Woldol. However, on closer inspection there is a large body of evidence that being captured was simply part of Nick's plan to defeat Iom and restore his arm:

  1. Gyan, Sarah, Claude, and Randolf all managed to avoid being captured with Nick. This is highly unlikely unless Nick was expecting the trap and made arrangements for his most valuable soldiers and leaders to escape.
  2. The Sword of Hajya was left back in Cypress when Nick left for Iom. The only good reason for leaving behind the one weapon that can defeat Iom is that he knew ahead of time that he would be captured and wanted to keep the sword from falling into Iom's hands.
  3. It is suggested that Nick had contact with Hindel prior to his departure. For instance, Nick says that Gyan knew Hindel was a traitor. The only way that Nick could have known that Gyan knew about Hindel was if he had told him before being captured.
  4. Nick notes to Hindel that his right arm is no longer stone "as you said." It's not clear exactly what restored his arm, but obviously he and Hindel planned for whatever it was, and it is highly probable that the only way of accomplishing it was for Nick to be captured. One possibility is that Nick needed to be presented as a sacrifice to Iom for the curse to leave him.
  5. When discussing Hindel, Nick says to Mayfair "We had to deceive the enemy." Though he is specifically referring to keeping Hindel's treachery a secret, the wording suggests that a larger deception was going on.

Personality

First and foremost, Nick is a strong and kindhearted king for Cypress. He is loved by his people to an extent that few kings are, and has earned the deepest of admiration even from the young Cypress guards, all of which suggests an unrelenting and sincere devotion to his people and his country above all else. To a lesser extent, such admiration may of course be inspired by his bravery in war.

However, Nick's success as a king is not only thanks to heroic traits. He is well-practiced in the art of deception, having first regained Cypress and then defeated Iom by two major deceptions. Moreover, it seems that Gyan was the only person whom he confided in for either of these deceptions. The extent to which he hid his identity from his Guardiana comrades can be seen from his appearance in Shining Force Gaiden: a boyish and cheerful look that does not match his appearance in Books 2-4 of Shining Force CD, and more importantly, does not fit with a youth whose immediate family was recently murdered, is regarded by his uncle as a traitor, and is a hunted man in his own country. Apparently Nick went to some lengths to appear as unlike a regal personage as he possibly could.

It is also possible that Nick's motives were self-interested to an extent. As his final words, Edmond accuses him of killing his own uncle simply to win the throne. Randolf steps forward to reassure Nick at this point, suggesting that Nick felt this accusation had some truth. However, it may be that he simply has a strong sense of guilt. When his Guardiana allies discovered his identity as the prince of Cypress, he stopped speaking even to his friends from Cypress, something with no explanation beyond an onset of guilt.

Nick has a close friendship with his bodyguard/advisor Gyan, and is also on friendly terms with the castle guard Natasha and the servant Yeesha, suggesting that he does not look down on those with lower social status.

Strategy

Nick starts out in Shining Force Gaiden as a Swordsman and is promoted into a Hero. In Shining Force Gaiden II he returns as a playable character of the Prince class. Shining Force CD includes remakes on both games and an additional scenario in which he is again playable as a Prince. How Nick should be used depends on which of these games you are playing.

When playing Gaiden I or its Shining Force CD equivalent, it is essential to keep Nick well-leveled, as the final battle cannot be won without using him. Do not give up on him if he seems to be too weak; when properly leveled, Nick proves to be a well-rounded character with decent stats in every category. His HP and Def are reluctant to increase at first, but after he hits level 5 Swordsman they both take off.

When playing Gaiden II or its Shining Force CD equivalent, generally Nick should be used only for using the Sword of Hajya against Iom. (The one exception is in the USA version of Gaiden II, where the unbreakable Sword of Hajya allows Nick to cast the overpowered Freeze level 3 unlimited times by using it as an item.) Leveling him at this late phase of the game is wasted time.

When playing Book 3 of Shining Force CD, you can use the stats of the highest leveled Nick from the first two scenarios. If possible, transfer from the Book 1 Nick, as he has higher Attack and MP than either the Book 2 Nick or the default stats used when no data is transferred from the first two scenarios, and can be promoted at level 20 for even better stats. To do this, get Nick to level 13 promoted or higher before fighting Woldol, then make sure to not save your game after leveling Nick in Book 2.

Powers & Magic

Nick can cast the following spells. He learns them all at the same level whichever game he is in.

Level 1 - already learned
Level 1 - acquires at Level 16
Level 2 - acquires at Level 20
Level 3 - acquires at Level 25
Level 4 - acquires at Level 30

(Note: Since Nick joins at level 12 promoted in Shining Force Gaiden II and Shining Force CD Book 2, he already knows Bolt levels 1 and 2 at that point.)

Quotes

  • At the castle of Cypress
Nick: "We must succeed... in order to achieve true peace. There is no other way!"
  • In the Shrine of Iom
Nick: "I'd like to thank all of you for saving me. Especially Hindel."
Mayfair: "Perchance, did Gyan know about Hindel?"
Nick: "Of course, he knew. But we had to deceive the enemy."
  • At the castle of Cypress
Nick: (when Natasha asks him for advice on what to do about Deanna leaving Cypress) "Natasha, follow your heart."
  • In Dava's mansion
Dava: "Your father was also a great and gentle king. But you are easily as strong as he, maybe even stronger."

Trivia

See also

  • Gyan, Nick's bodyguard and advisor
  • Mayfair, one of Nick's closest friends

External links

  • External link
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