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SEIKEN DENSETSU 3 Company: Enix Released: October 1995 Genre: Turn-based RPG Graphics: 10.0 Control: 9.0 Sound/Music: 9.5 Storyline: 9.5 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM SEIKEN DENSETSU 3 WORLD MAP

Once again US gamers got the short end of the stick. Instead of getting this game, which is the true sequel to our Secret of Mana, we instead got the American developed rpg "Secret of Evermore". Now don't get me wrong, Secret of Evermore was a good rpg, but Seiken Densetsu 3 is a phenomenal rpg and we missed it the first time around. Thankfully a hard-working group of programmers managed to created an English translation of the game so now rpg players in the US can enjoy this amazing epic of an rpg through the power of a Super Nintendo emulator. And what a game it is. Seiken Densetsu 3 is gorgeous. It takes a lot of its look from Secret of Mana and multiplies it by ten. An amazing amount of detail went into the creation of the areas in this game and the end result is staggering. Even the characters themselves animate with a type of fluidity that you just don't normally see in a 2-D sprite-based game. Some of the bosses in the game are downright huge, something you also don't normally see in many action-style rpgs. For some reason this game reminds me a lot of Chrono Trigger in the way every area in the game seems to have a very distinct look all its' own. You never hardly see the same looking area more than once. It really makes the game's landscapes seem huge. Just a really great looking 16-bit game. As good as the soundtrack was in Secret of Mana, SD3 really steps it up a few notches. Great orchestral sounding music abounds. In fact, a lot of the tunes remind me of marching band music. A lot of percussion is used in some tracks and it makes for some interesting music. There honestly wasn't a music track that I didn't like. I found the boss music to be especially up-tempo and really got you in the mood to do battle. It's safe to say, if you were a fan of the Secret of Mana soundtrack then you're gonna find a lot to like with Seiken Densetsu 3's musical stylings. Terrific. This is really the only area of the game that I could honestly find a reason to complain a little bit. Although I like having the other characters helping me out during battle, I did find that a lot of times they tend to get off-task or even worse, get stuck behind objects on the screen. There's nothing worse than seeing enemies coming at you from all directions only to look over and see Kevin swinging away at a rock formation he's stuck behind. You also have to be careful how often you swing your sword as it has to charge back up after you swing it if you want to have any kind of power on it. Plus if you swing too many times in a row your character gets tired and must rest a moment before being able to swing again. As much as I liked the fighting system in Secret of Mana, I really like this battle system much better as it allows for a little more strategy instead of just hacking away at enemies and bosses. Once again the "menu wheel" makes a return which makes selecting menu options very easy, even in the heat of battle. Overall I was very impressed with the upgrade the Secret of Mana gameplay system got and it adds a lot of strategy to an already very playable game. There's just not many things to dislike about Seiken Densetsu 3. It has outstanding graphics, one seriously enjoyable soundtrack, and enough action-style gameplay to keep you busy for many hours. It's also got a lot of replay value as you can go back after you've beaten the game and choose different characters in order to experience the other two perspectives of the triangle storyline. As I said, other than the slightly annoying problem of your other two characters in-game intelligence, the game itself plays nearly flawlessly and really steps up the gameplay of Secret of Mana to an entirely new level. If you love a good action rpg or you're a fan of the Mana series of rpgs, you're gonna love this one. And a special thanks to those people that took the time to translate this game into English. We sincerely appreciate the hard work.