Developer.....Camelot Software Planning Publisher.....Sega Players.......1 Difficulty.... TOUGH!
The wonder game finally came out in the UK, in July 1998, after eight months of waiting. And it was worth the wait.
The Aspinia republic used to be part of the Destonia Empire, until it revolted and broke away. Now that the Aspinian king has allegedly abducted the Destonian emperor, the war restarts, dispensing with the mobile city of Saraband's extensive efforts to bring both countries to the conference table and work out a solution for peace. But the person who appeared to be the king was, in fact, an imposter from a third party, a bizarre fanatical cult called the Bulzome Sect. As Synbios, a young lord, you must lead an ever-growing band of fighters to get the king to safety and exhonerate him, along with fighting the Empire, the Bulzome monks and even the Republic to succeed.
This is everything it is cracked up to be, and more. The video demo is an example of the best Cinepak video graphics you'll find, with a virtually full-screen display and surprising clarity (sure, the video is in 320x224 resolution, but it seems as if the computer is anti-aliasing the display constantly...). And the game graphics and engine are no slouch, either. Full 360-degrees rotating, zooming 3D landscapes, 3D graphical cut-scene clips where hits are dealt, items are used and spells are cast, 25 fps update, and truck-loads of transparencies. You can even alter the colour, brightness and opacity of the transparent labels. Slow-down does occur sometimes, but you can understand why, what with the waterfall stage and many other notable stages, and the game is pretty swift. There are a few small glitches, but the Saturn is being pushed pretty hard and these do not make the game look any less amazing.
The sound deserves a special mention. Wonderfully atmospheric music, with clear fx and speech, help to create a great atmosphere. The music is chip-generated and instrument choice is spot-on, and allows for varied music, from haunting melodies (Quonus Village) to joyful symphonies (Saraband). Top- notch. Well, I thought so anyway.
The gameplay is pretty hard, too. It's not hard to learn, surprisingly. You just move your character (if you want), press C and select the option you want, then you select the target and bingo! There are FIVE hidden characters, plus four mercs who are helpful, and plenty of hidden items. This is only part one of the trilogy but it can be played in its own right, but scenarios 2 and 3 can benefit from actions that you have performed in the first game, plus extend the game massively. If you took Fiale's ship key, Zero can fly to the Seagate and free Rogan. There's so much scope for expansion. The basic game has over 50 hours of play, and all on one disc. The tactics and sheer scale of the battles is simply awesome, and some battles can last a couple of hours! There are plenty of stats to guide you, and the ability to check up on every enemy and friend in a battle is really welcome.
The game's plot is also excellent. So many twists and turns, betrayals, ill fortune and, well, basically a great story that you'll get plunged into. Not really as engrossing plot-wise as Panzer Dragoon Saga, but the game is much longer and has a similar emotional impact. Remember the bit where Lord Conrad dies? Now that was heartbreaking. Quite comparable to Azel's secret pledge of love to Edge as he left her forever...
The only real problem with Shining Force 3 is the lack of any PAL optimisation, but the whole game has been translated to and reworked for English, and it works a treat. This would be my game of 1998 if it wasn't for Panzer Saga, but they are close in quality, and with all three parts it is the biggest RPG ever. A worthy alternative to PDS, Grandia and FFVII.
Graphics: 93% Audio: 91% Originality: 44% Lastability: 93% (98 with the other parts) Gameplay: 94%
Overall: 94%
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