"As if the Aretha series did not base itself enough on experimenting on new gimmicks, the sixth and final game took a turn in an entirely new direction. Released in 1995, Rejoice: Aretha Oukoku no Kanata (Rejoice: Beyond the Aretha Kingdom) re-branded itself as an action RPG that features real time battles along the likes of Squaresoft’s Secret of Mana. Furthermore, a second player can drop in and play at any time by pushing the “select” button on controller two. This feature is advertised on the game’s box, making Rejoice one of the few two-player action RPGs on the Super Famicom.
The story takes place in the Mahar Kingdom, which lies beyond the Aretha Kingdom, thus the game’s subtitle. After suffering defeat from Materia and her friends twice during the Game Boy trilogy, Howard reprises his villainous role and sets his sites on the Mahar Kingdom. On a side note, one has to wonder which person on the development team thought that Howard would be a good name for an evil villain…
Anyway, Rejoice breaks tradition again with the predecessors by making the protagonist a male. Treno, the leader of a band of hooligans called “Rejoice,” is the exact opposite of the virtuous heroic type. He, along with his three friends, Mikey, Q, and Base, cause mayhem all around their hometown, Ishu. One day, they hear about a goddess statue hidden in a nearby cave from a suspicious wizard named Ben Marxist (the same one from the Game Boy series), who promises to give them the Book of Force, which would grant them powerful magic, in exchange for the statue. Treno, Mikey, Q, and Base steal the statue and return to the village, where they proceed to loot and pillage from the the innocent villagers. Their dialogue is full of crudeness and humor as they gleefully rip off everyone. Karma eventually catches up to them when Ben Marxist gives them the book, unleashing devastating effects. Q turns on them, resulting in Base’s death, then a tsunami threatens to devastate their village. Treno and Mikey try to warn the villagers, but are swept away in the tidal wave. Treno awakens alone where he meets Doll, the magician from every other Aretha game. Together, they start their journey toward Howard’s Castle to set things right." ~Daniel Todd, @hardcore-gaming-101