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The final
instalment in the epic Shining Force III trilogy came
towards the very end of the Saturn's life in the fickle
world of videogames, and cements the machine's place
as one of the true under-rated greats. Scenario III
is incredible.
Scenario III is unique when compared to the other two
scenarios, with an incredible array of brand new characters,
spells and gameplay ideas that manage to lift the game
even higher above the plague of Final Fantasy games.
There are character types and ranks that have never
been seen before, and for Scenario I players the third
disc offers far more by way of innovation and new sights
than Scenario II. You get to control a dragon tamer,
a Unicorn, a lionman and even an awesome dragon. The
best thing about Scenario III is undoubtedly the sheer
imagination put into the design of every character,
town and weapon - it's absolute beauty in video game
format! |
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| Julian wanders around the
republican town of Baersol |
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| The gameplay,
you'll be pleased to know, remains firmly rooted in the
battle-oriented format established by the previous games.
You control Julian, a swordsman from Enrich seeking vengeance
for the brutal murder of his father by everybody's favourite
Vandal, Galm. If you've played the first Scenario, which
you almost undoubtedly have, this should all seem in order.
For those whose Shining history stretches a little further
back, Julian was a young boy in the town of Enrich in
Shining the Holy Ark - and my, hasn't he grown? By his
side is Gracia, the young child of Elbesem whose destiny
is to save the world from the resurrection of Bulzome.
The sheer scale of the plot really hits home in the third
Scenario, as the countless hours spent building up to
the final climactic battle pay their dividends. |
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| The attention to detail in
all the character design is quite good! |
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reason to play Scenario III for Scenario I vets is not
necessarily to see what happens in the end. For the very
last chapter, "Shining Force forever!", you
take control of all three squads and train them separately,
in preparation for the amazing three way battle. When
your characters reach level 20 they can then receive a
blessing and will be promoted to a super-powerful rank,
usually along the lines of "Saint" or "Holy
Knight", or even "Lightbearer". Once again,
Scenario III proves that persistence and patience really
does pay off, and seeing all your characters gain new
portraits and battle animations is a beautiful sight,
in some cases even enough to make grown men weep. |
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| Another close-up, this time
of the axe-wielding Leon |
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As far
as I can see, there are no faults with this game. Whilst
Scenario II was perhaps guilty of playing it safe and
being too similar to the first disc, no such accusations
could be levelled at Scenario III - it introduces more
new spells, characters, levels and ideas than I could
ever have imagined, yet the structure and simple delight
the game brings remains wholly intact.
Shining Force
III deserves an immortal place in gaming's great echelon as not
only a superb trilogy but as three truly life-changing games. Played
individually the stories remain self-contained, and completing each
scenario will take many hours of patient battling and exploring.
Combine the three, however, and the epic plot that sweeps through
the series reveals itself in its entirety, with more amazing twists
and touches than I could ever adequately describe. In short, you
should buy any of these three games without a moment of hesitation,
as each has captured a piece of my heart and imagination in a way
I never dreamt possible. I'm sure they would do the same to you. |
Graphics
- 10. More mind-blowing Summons spells than ever,
and seeing the final promotions for each characters calls
plenty of Kleenex to be handy.
Sounds - 9. Scenario I veterans will be pleased
to know that the cast speaks in their Japanese voices,
so no silly-sounding cries of "Raaaain thunder!"
to be embarrassed by. The music and arrangement remains
top-notch.
Gameplay - 10. Untouchable.
Lastability - 10. As with the other two games,
there is always another reason to play through again,
and to get the best out of it you'll need to play the
other two Scenarios religiously to get every team member,
a mammoth task in itself.
Overall - 10. Well, it was never going to be
anything else, really, was it? All the superlatives
this side of the Great Wall don't do this game justice,
nor the series - BUY THEM ALL NOW!
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| Ratings |
| Gameplay |
10 |
| Graphics |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Lastability |
10 |
| Overall |
10 |
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Welcome
to Shining Force World
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