Grace

Grace
Portrait
Grace
Biography
Race	Kyantol
Relatives	none known
Physical description
Gender	Female
Statistics
Class	Priest -> Cleric -> Bishop
Faction	Aspinian Republic
Media appearances	Shining Force III

Grace (グレイス, Gureisu^?) is a playable kyantol Priest in the game Shining Force III. She plays a prominent part in Scenario 1, being one of the game's main characters, and also appears with Synbios's Force during Scenarios 2 and 3.

Background

A priestess of the El Besem faith and inhabitant of the Aspinian Republic, Grace has served for many years as a guardian and servant of Lord Synbios.

Personality

Grace's general in-game personality is very calm, polite, and kindly. Throughout the game, she displays a generally optimistic and friendly attitude towards her friends and other Force members, often playing the mature and polite ying to Masqurin's cheeky and childish yang. She seems to give many people the benefit of the doubt (with the possible exception of the Bulzome Sect's followers, suggesting she has a zealous or fanatical attitude regarding her faith), and approaches situations with a level of clear-minded logic.

Grace is a pious follower of the El Besem faith, and is dedicated to fighting its enemies, as demonstrated in her attitudes towards the Quonos Vandal and the Bulzome High Priests. In the Balsamo, when she's in the presence of many Bulzome worshippers and the High Priests their collective opposing powers to her own give her great discomfort: "I feel uncomfortable staying in Balsamo, because of all of the Bulzome cult members here. My power as a monk counteracts their powers, but... Owww! My head is numb with pain!"

There are some points during the game that suggest that she has a feisty personality behind her calm exterior that she likes to keep in check. Her original Japanese voice is more emotional than her very calm and quiet English voice (but still maintains the calm, level headed manner she's known for), and even her English voice has signs of stern determination when saying "this is without any remorse" during some attacks. Her comments regarding the Vagabonds (see Quotes) and Synbios's Force being locked out of Aspia Castle suggest that she is sometimes prone to outbursts, but is very good at keeping them under control. Comments regarding certain enemies, such as Bulzome High Priestess Basanda (see Quotes) and the Queen Worm suggest she isn't afraid of being honest about people or things that disgust her, although this may well be limited to particularly extreme instances that she feels truly deserve such ire. Although she seems to be able to keep her cool in a crisis, there are times when the unexpected can make her mind race and worry, such as in the cursed Quonos village.

Strategy

Despite being a healer, Grace has some good general statisitics and can hold her own in her fight, particularly in the early parts of Shining Force III Scenario 1 when she'll be required for physical combat more often.

As you progress further into the game, more dedicated fighters may mean she'll have fewer opportunities for combat (unless she's equipped with a weapon providing an attacking spell - see Powers & Magic) and she'll probably be required more for healing, but be careful not to neglect her - many seem to have fallen into the trap of stereotypically keeping her away from trouble and thus giving her fewer opportunities for growth. So long as she's kept up to par with the rest of the team, she should continue to have stats that can keep her on the frontlines without any worry, although she can become an enemy magnet if left too exposed.

Being a healer, Grace can benefit from "healing experience abuse" - as Heal will give at least 10 experience points per casting regardless of the amount healed. Try to make sure she uses up any excess MP on Heal spells by the end of a battle, and her levels will easily keep up with or even exceed the rest of the Force. Regular use of Grace's healing powers also mean her friendship points with other Force members will increase at a fair pace, and area-effect spells like Aura and Support increase her friendship with all that the spell is cast on, helping her friendship points to skyrocket.

Although Grace has great magic resistance overall, bear in mind that she has a weakness to Dark magic. Be careful around enemies who can summon Tiamat or cast Soul Steal - although her high Luck stat may reduce the risk of being instantly killed, she's still likely to take more damage than most others. Luckily, the Mitra Ankh (available late in Scenario 1) not only provides her with the powerful Light magic summon Thanatos, but it also provides a strong boost to Dark magic defence.

Grace is a good candidate for equipping the rare Princess Circle (available late in Scenario 1) - the MP regeneration helps to maintain her ability to heal, and the Luck boost helps to protect her if she attracts the attention of any Soul Steal casting enemies, who are inclined to target her.

Powers & Magic

Grace's weapon selection includes Ankhs, Rods and Wands. Although she starts the game with a Rod, she is already proficient to Level 1 in Ankhs.

Grace's magic attack strength is primarily in Light and Wind magic, although after promotion she gains a small boost to Lightning magic power.

During the course of Shining Force III, Grace learns all levels of the spells Heal, Antidote (Detox) and Aura. As with other spellcasters in Shining Force III, Grace can be outfitted with a fourth spell depending upon her equipped weapon. Many feel that she benefits from the Power Ankh (available at the start of Chapter 2), as its Tornado spell gives her early opportunities for making magic attacks.

Grace's magic defence is generally very strong, especially in Light magic, but her weakness lies in Dark magic. After promotion this weakness is reduced to 0 (i.e. no extra damage taken or cushioned), but it's still low in comparison to her defence in other magic, notably Wind, Lightning and Light magic which all increase.

Quotes

- "Shi-tsu-rei."

(Japanese version, when making critical hits - in Japanese, this is a polite way of saying "sorry")

- "Forgive me."

(English version, when making critical hits)

- "I... I really envy Masqurin. I wish I had a little bit of her capability to act freely and so casually."

(Scenario 1, Chapter 2 - commenting on Masqurin's cheeky and carefree attitude)

- "Even though it's so dangerous... How can these Vagabonds still travel!? Are they really that.... Never mind."

(Scenario 1, Chapter 3 - commenting on the nomadic Vagabonds' presence in hostile territory)

- "Basanda? Oh, I remember... The one who made Spiriel destroy the statue. It's that terrible woman high priest."

(Scenario 1, Chapter 5 - commenting on Bulzome High Priestess Basanda)

Trivia

Grace's name is based upon the word "grace", and many of its definitions can be applied to her character.

Grace's Japanese voice actress is Makiko Ohmoto, who is probably best known for providing the voice of Kirby.

Although her in-game 3D model has brown hair, it is much more of an auburn shade in her official artwork and most of her in-game sprites and portraits.

Grace's Priest and Cleric outfits are mostly coloured white, blue and purple; her Bishop outfit is mostly coloured white, blue and gold.

See also

• Elbesem (deity)

External links

• Shining Force III Scenario 1 script at Shining Force Central
• Grace on Jumesyn's Shining Force III strategy guide