Tag Archives: adventure

Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 2]

Probably the ‘deepest’ thing about Seiken Densetsu 3 is the magic combat system. Yes, you can hack away with swords and claw away with, erm, claws, but you can also bring up what they call the “Ring Menu” and cast magical spells. And – when you’re fighting against some enemies and bosses – it pays to know how to use magic well. Or you will get the stuffing knocked out of you… It’s all about using ‘buffs’ and ‘de-buffs’ – trying to counter the enemy by watching what he’s doing, and casting magic on your sword to create more damage. The combat system in Seiken Densetsu 3 is definitely more subtle than just ‘hacking away’. It is a fight to the death with devastating opponents in a game of wits, speed and magic knowledge!

Continue reading Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 2]

Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 1]

Considered by many to be a Super Nintendo classic, but having never been released outside of Japan, Seiken Densetsu 3 (1995) has – in the past – been something of an enigma. A must-play game, but not available in English. That was: until an unofficial fan translation came out that changed all that.

Seiken Densetsu 3 is the third game in the Mana series (following Secret of Mana on the SNES (aka Seiken Densetsu 2), and Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy (aka Seiken Densetsu)), and it is one of those games that I had played before (although not for more than a few hours, just to get a taste of it), and had planned to play more of, at some point in future.

Continue reading Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 1]

Seiken Densetsu 3 Week

I recently spent some time playing and grabbing the legendary Super Nintendo game Seiken Densetsu 3 and couldn’t finish until I had completed it.

To say that the experience was “good” would be an understatement…

Seiken Densetsu 3 is a truly brilliant game with a lot to offer games-players who love a challenge. And a good old level-grinder. And a visual treat. In fact, I had so much fun grabbing this game that I have decided to make a series out of the resulting screenshots.

This week I’m going to be publishing grabs of my adventure over the space of five days, showing the game from start to finish. I’ll also be writing about individual aspects of the game in each episode.

Don’t worry about spoilers. My grabs show only a fraction of the available game, played through with just one party. One of the great things about Seiken Densetsu 3 is that you can play with different party configurations and the storyline will change as you go. I’ll explain more about that over the coming week.

Few games deserve five whole days dedicated to them, but Seiken Densetsu 3 is a masterpiece of 2D graphical art, I think, from start to finish. Incredible boss battles; memorable music; brilliant interface; multi-language versions – I’ll look in more detail at these as the week progresses.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Squaresoft‘s Seiken Densetsu 3, by The King of Grabs.

Seiken Densetsu 3 Week
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 1]
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 2]
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 3]
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 4]
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 5]

More: Seiken Densetsu 3 on Wikipedia

 

Seiken Densetsu 3 Bosses 01 - Full Metal Hagger

Seiken Densetsu 3 Bosses 06 - Bill and Ben

Luigi’s Mansion, GameCube

Luigi’s Mansion was first released in 2001 on the Nintendo GameCube, and was a launch title if I remember correctly (meaning: it was available when the GameCube was first released).

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Daikatana, Game Boy Color

Not the infamous Ion Storm first-person failure (also known as John Romero’s Daikatana), but a Japanese, Zelda-style implementation of the Daikatana franchise on the Game Boy Color, first released in 2000.

And it is surprisingly good too!

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Chuckie Egg 2, ZX Spectrum

Chuckie Egg 2 is to Chuckie Egg what Jet Set Willy is to Manic Miner – it’s a platform game adventure with screens that can be re-visited, and routes that can be planned and executed, with some deft mapping and jumping.

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Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Megadrive/Genesis

For my money: THE best game on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis.

Sega‘s very own level-grinding RPG franchise comes to full fruition in this fourth instalment of the Phantasy Star series, first released in 1993.

Continue reading Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Megadrive/Genesis

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, GameCube

Nintendo‘s 2002 release of their tenth Legend of Zelda game (if you count Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages as two games, which I do) was a real leap, in terms of graphical presentation.

Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, GameCube

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, PC

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame was originally released for PC MS-DOS by Broderbund in 1993, but has a had a number of high def Apple-based remakes since.

Like the first Prince of Persia, The Shadow and the Flame is a side-on, Persian-infused action/platform game with sword fighting and fantasy elements.

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Little Big Adventure 2, PC

An excellent sequel to Little Big Adventure, once again developed by Adeline Software International and published by Electronic Arts, this time in 1997.

Little Big Adventure 2 is more detailed, more varied, and more fun than its predecessor, and, technically, it is also something of a leap forward – this second game having fully-rotating 3D exteriors, as well as the usual isometric, pre-rendered backgrounds seen in the first game.

Continue reading Little Big Adventure 2, PC