History Trivia / ShinessTheLightningKingdom

** Ayron's name is only spoken twice in the Maherian version, both times by Chado, the first time, it's pronounced /eʁɔn/ ("eh-ron" with a guttural R), but the second time, it's pronounced /ajɾɔn/ ("eye-ron" with a tapped R). His name's pronunciation was presumably changed at some point during the development, and one of the lines was already recorded and wasn't updated.

** In the English version, Tamara Ryan voices both Chado and Mingane, Creator/CristinaMilizia voices both Poky and Sabba, Kiel Adams voices both Askel and an Adoryan general, and John Doe and Creator/SeanChiplock voice ''[[ManOfAThousandVoices four]]'' characters each: Doe voices Kayenne, Meos, King Ranahel and an Adoryan soldier, and Chiplock voices Ayron, Nashoba, Reize and a Mantarian villager. This results in several instances of TalkingToHimself.

* The game's text is available in French, English, European Spanish and German, but the cutscenes' voices are only available in English, or in Maherian in the PC version with a [[DownloadableContent DLC]]. Voices outside of cutscenes are only available in Maherian, a remnant of the fact that all voices were originally intended to only be in Maherian.
* ''Crossroad'' was only available in French and English, even though the Spanish and German versions also contain the puzzle requiring reading it.

** Only the French version of the tie-in manga ''Crossroad'' was fully archived by the Wayback Machine, most of the English version is missing.

** One of Chado's voice clips, which sometimes plays when he dodges an attack, has a noticeable echo his other clips lack, the mixing engineers presumably forgot to fine-tune that one after it was recorded.

* CreatorKiller: The game's delays left Enigami so indebted that when it was finally released, it failed to make back its budget. The studio went into liquidation within ''three months'' of the game's release, Samir Rebib went back to being a game artist for other studios such as [[VideoGame/MonsterBoyAndTheCursedKingdom Game Atelier]] while Hazem Hawash hasn't scored another game since and [[ReclusiveArtist virtually disappeared]].

** A seventh chapter for ''Crossroad'' was teased but never released, possibly because its story was [[ContinuitySnarl deviating too much]] from the game's: according to previews, Ayron was intended to appear much earlier, find Poky after the Asanao's crash and learn from him that Chado was summoned by Terra, while Kayenne and Rosalya were intended to meet Chado first while fighting Askel and Altania. Géo, ''Crossroad'''s artist, eventually [[https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17869166801797636/ revealed]] the chapter in 2022.

** A seventh chapter for ''Crossroad'' was teased but never released, possibly because its story was [[ContinuitySnarl deviating too much]] from the game's: according to previews, Ayron was intended to appear much earlier, find Poky after the Asanao's crash and learn from him that Chado was summoned by Terra, while Kayenne and Rosalya were intended to meet Chado first while fighting Askel and Altania. Géo, ''Crossroad'''s artist, eventually revealed part of the chapter in 2022.

** The BonusBoss Reize Seatlan was created by the backer Seizui and appeared in [[VideoGame/ValdisStoryAbyssalCity several]] [[VideoGame/ShovelKnight other]] [[VideoGame/RegaliaOfMenAndMonarchs games]] Seizui backed.
** The NPC Rimite and the BonusBoss Rennerd were designed by a backer named Jeff.

* NoDubForYou: The game's text is available in French, English, European Spanish and German, but the cutscenes' voices are only available in English, or in Maherian in the PC version with a [[DownloadableContent DLC]]. Voices outside of cutscenes are only available in Maherian, a remnant of the fact that all voices were originally intended to only be in Maherian.

* ScheduleSlip: The game was announced in 2011 for a 2013 release, which was then pushed back to 2015, then 2016. It was finally released in 2017. This resulted in the final game using outdated graphics, and critics noticed.

** Déborah Lebon and Clément Michard, the creators of the Maherian language, convinced the studio to let them invent a functional language rather than [[{{Simlish}} gibberish]] and went as far as to create several dialects for the different species. Furthermore, the studio wasn't planning to have a Maherian alphabet created (an [[https://scontent-cdg4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/1003069_726531247427191_5455471059207030627_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=I1WJ1TKto6YAX8SnO6E&_nc_oc=AQlI02xU1A5hHPyI6Ov8Nbm7jhA3uobiDnrR0LsQikqNufomT4dVQYO0dIEffLMLTSoFm-qBKJhwpFOP4M87R6aQ&_nc_ht=scontent-cdg4-1.xx&oh=00_AfC2yo8BdhewAOWwaBRdARFYaJvKwUXdYZF24XOvSHffGw&oe=645F994B early version]] of a page from ''Crossroad'' just used meaningless scribbles).

** Déborah Lebon and Clément Michard, the creators of the Maherian language, convinced the studio to let them invent a functional language rather than [[{{Simlish}} gibberish]] and went as far as to create several dialects for the different species. Furthermore, the studio wasn't planning to have a Maherian alphabet created (an [[https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=726531247427191&set=pb.100046315037449.-2207520000. early version]] of a page from ''Crossroad'' just used meaningless scribbles).

* DoingItForTheArt: Samir Rebib started imagining the ''Shiness'' universe in the '90s when he was ''seven'', the game and the manga before it were passion projects he spent more than ''two decades'' of his life trying to get made.

** A seventh chapter for ''Crossroad'' was teased but never released, possibly because its story was [[ContinuitySnarl deviating too much]] from the game's: according to previews, Ayron was intended to appear much earlier, find Poky after the Asanao's crash and learn from him that Chado was summoned by Terra.

** While working on the aforementioned remake, Rebib shared some ideas he had for it, many didn't make it into the game, like an EvilCounterpart of the Shiness known as Shiross or Chado's goal being to see his deceased sister again.

** The Maherian language guide was only given to some backers and was never made public.

** When Samir Rebib started working on the game, his original manga ''The Shiness'' [[CreatorBacklash no longer satisfied him]], so he [[BuryYourArt shut its website down]], he now [[OldShame refuses to republish]] it, as he feels it hasn't aged well. While part of the website was archived by the Wayback Machine, the manga's pages weren't (except [[https://web.archive.org/web/20061201105605/http://the.shiness.free.fr/TheShinessV2/Images/TheShinessTome2/The_Shiness_38.jpg page 38 of volume 2]], of all things) and no backups are known to exist. The first few chapters of the manga were also published in the fanzine ''Fantaizine'', but copies of it are extremely rare nowadays.

* NonSingingVoice: Rosalya is voiced by Sophie Clavaizolle in the Maherian version, but her song "Maherian Dreams" is sung by Marion Chauvel.

* TheOtherMarty: Poky was intended to be voiced by Sophie Asencio, her voice can be heard in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnclkaX1vdI an early trailer]]. She was recast with the famous voice actress Brigitte Lecordier ([[SheAlsoDid mainly known for]] voicing young Goku and Gohan in the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franchise) in 2016.

* NoDubForYou: The game's text in available in French, English, European Spanish and German, but the cutscenes' voices are only available in English, or in Maherian in the PC version with a [[DownloadableContent DLC]]. Voices outside of cutscenes are only available in Maherian, a remnant of the fact that all voices were originally intended to only be in Maherian.

** Hazem Hawash named Creator/NobuoUematsu, Creator/YasunoriMitsuda, Music/JoeHisaishi and Music/YokoKanno as his major influences for the game's sountrack.
** Both Rebib and Hawash named ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm'' as their main inspiration for the game's combat system, as well as many notable [[RolePlayingGame RPGs]] such as ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' and ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' as major influences.

** Early in the game's development, Askel's name was Youra, as seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDbK0tY5Cdc this early trailer]]. This wasn't his first renaming, as his name was Youko in ''The Shiness''[[note]]Samir Rebib changed it because he realized that it was almost identical to the [[GenderBlenderName feminine Japanese name]] Yōko and because it was [[NamesTheSame too similar]] to [[Manga/YuYuHakusho Yōko Kurama]]'s[[/note]]. Quite a few other names underwent similar changes first from the manga to the game then during the game's development, for instance the manga was set on a planet called Orion, which was first renamed Météora for the game, then Mahera for the final version.

** The Maherian language guide was only given to some backers and was never made public due to the language's [[ScrewedByTheLawyers unclear copyright status]].

* LyingCreator: The final game is missing several promised features such as a multiplayer mode, Italian and Portuguese translations, a world changing depending on your choices or a sidequest requiring you to learn some Maherian (though it was arguably for the better in the latter's case, as the Maherian dictionary was only given to some backers, wasn't made public due to its [[ScrewedByTheLawyers uncertain copyright status]] after Enigami went into liquidation and didn't contain the language's complete grammar and lexicon, the rest never left its creators' personal documents). Furthermore, the game never had a DRM-free release on [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]] despite an announcement it would.
* ManualMisprint: A non-game example, the Maherian guide contains some contradictions (for instance, the words for "left" and "right" are mixed up in an example) and its authors forgot to explain what a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(letter)#Phonetic_symbol colon]] is for in the International Phonetic Alphabet[[note]]It indicates that the previous vowel or consonant is long[[/note]], readers not already familiar with the IPA are therefore not told what the difference between numbers such as /ʃajnan/ (156) and /ʃajnːan/ (300) is. It also leaves out many important details about the language's grammar, for example, it states that Maherian distinguishes masculine from feminine but doesn't explain which gender is used for anything without an obvious gender, like inanimate objects.

* ScheduleSlip: The game was announced in 2011 for a 2013 release, which was then pushed back to 2015, then 2016. It was finally released in 2017. This resulted in the final game using an outdated engine, and critics noticed.
* ScrewedByTheLawyers:
** The reason why very little is known about the Maherian language, unlike many conlangs created for popular media: Déborah Lebon and Clément Michard had their creation copyrighted during the game's development, but when Focus Entertainment grabbed the rights to the game after Enigami folded, Lebon and Michard weren't told whether Focus also had the rights to Maherian, and Focus never answered their questions. Not wanting to risk being sued, they never made their documents about the language public.
** Also the reason why there was no SequelInAnotherMedium to finish the story, as Samir Rebib [[GodDoesNotOwnThisWorld lost the rights to the franchise]] for several years.

* StillbornFranchise: The game ends with a SequelHook and was intended to be the first part of an EpisodicGame. Unfortunately, the game's mixed reception and disappointing sales killed the studio, and even though the publisher grabbed the game's rights, they never considered having a sequel made for the aforementioned reasons.

** Maherian was first meant to be pure {{Simlish}} to make dubbing unnecessary, the conlangers Déborah Lebon and Clément Michard eventually convinced the team to let them create a functional {{Conlang}} instead.

** Also the reason why there was no SequelInAnotherMedium to finish the story, as Samir Rebib lost the rights to the franchise for several years.

* StillbornFranchise: The game ends with a SequelHook and was intended to be the first part of an EpisodicGame. Unfortunately, the game's mixed reception and disappointing sales killed the studio, and even though the publisher grabbed the game's rights, they never considered having a sequel made for the aforementioned reasons. Worse, Samir Rebib's losing the rights meant that he was unable to make a SequelInAnotherMedium.

** The combat system was originally turn-based, the designers didn't decide to add the fighting game elements until they saw a gameplay video of ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm''.

** The reason why Mahera exploded, the overexploitation of the shi, was originally going to be explained to Chado by Terra in the opening, and Samir Rebib stated during the game's development that the [[GreenAesop exploitation of nature]] would be one of the plot's main themes. The final game completely lacks that theme and never explains what happened to the planet due to the shortened story.

* ChristmasRushed: Made pretty obvious by the numerous [[GameBreakingBug Game-Breaking Bugs]] and [[LyingCreator missing promised features]] and the fact that the cutscenes in Maherian aren't even included in the game and must be downloaded separately. Worse, this happened despite ''years'' of [[ScheduleSlip Schedule Slips]].

** When Samir Rebib started working on the game, his original manga ''The Shiness'' [[CreatorBacklash no longer satisfied him]], so he shut its website down, he now [[OldShame refuses to republish]] it, as he feels it hasn't aged well. While part of the website was archived by the Wayback Machine, the manga's pages weren't (except [[https://web.archive.org/web/20061201105605/http://the.shiness.free.fr/TheShinessV2/Images/TheShinessTome2/The_Shiness_38.jpg page 38 of volume 2]], of all things) and no backups are known to exist. The first few chapters of the manga were also published in the fanzine ''Fantaizine'', but copies of it are extremely rare nowadays.

** The BonusBoss Reize Seatlan was created by the backer Seizui and appeared in [[ValdisStoryAbyssalCity several]] [[ShovelKnight other]] [[RegaliaOfMenAndMonarchs games]] Seizui backed.