The game was more combat heavy than the previous releases in the series and there was less time spent in exploration mode.

In "exploration mode", where no monsters are currently nearby, characters can take turns in any order, with the same character able to act again and again if desired.

After all such enemies are defeated, the game returns to exploration mode.

Like most games from the series, the three Gaiden games do not possess an exploration mode.

A single-player exploration mode was also available, however this mode had no end goal and was useful only to discover how the various items found in the maze operated.

The exploration mode is not affected by this bug.

Shining Force also possesses an exploration mode that occurs outside of battle.

In exploration mode, the operating principle and control of newly added components influenced by one microcode instruction within a cycle can be evaluated.

The game's "exploration" mode uses a three-dimensional first-person perspective, with a rectangle in the top left of the screen displaying the party's current view; the rest of the screen displays text information about the party and the area.