Vimm's Lair: SNES Reviews - Seiken Densetsu 3

Super Nintendo
Seiken Densetsu 3

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.77
8.54
8.67
8.73
Votes: 82
Reviews: 8


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Reviewer: Naklos Date: Oct 12, 2003
This game is an enjoyable gamne that I recommend all rpg/action rpg fans try. It combines some nice music and fair graphics with cool gameplay.

Graphics: 9
Very good for SNES in comparison to many other games this has nice graophics which are not dodgy and jumpy as with other SNES games. Pixelatted obviously and the charcters and backgrounds look nice with a wide variety of colour mixes.

Sound: 6
Music can be irritating because of it constantly droning on and on so I have turned the volume down at times. Average in all respects and just acceptable by my standards.

Gameplay: 9
Pretty impressive with a must have interactive environment as in all rpgs but the battle system is a let down. It is a bit too restrictive and some of the characters take ages to attack. Class changing is a definite plus and the story is detailed and with some nice twists.

Overall: 8
A nice game with interesting concepts and fun gameplay nice sequel to the secret of mana series with some improvements and some letdowns.

Get this game if it is your type of game but it may dissapoint some of the other gamers.

 

Reviewer: Sleepy Sheepy Date: Sep 18, 2001
My friend knows Japanese and she told me that Seiken Densetsu means "Power Legend"
Now let' see...

Graphics - I have seen this game said to have the best graphics on the SNES but I prefer Final Fantasy 3(US) in the graphic area.The game progresses to night through the passing of time and everything gets darker and other graphic effects as well. For example, the spots on the Myconids glow somewhat in the dark and some flowers change color in the dark. The weapon graphic is fixed for each character which is somewhat boring when you get a better looking weapon. The weapon palette is also fixed as well and that could have been better done. Some of the spell graphics are great, some ....aren't. I give this game a 10 for graphics because the graphics are great and they fit this game very well.

Sound - Very nice, download the MP3s if you can find them. Square can usually be counted on in this department. SNES9xW didn't support the sound fully and the MP3s sound way better. The sound effects are mainly great but others are well, bad. 10 because it is worth playing just for the music sometimes.

Gameplay - This is the best Action RPG out there on the SNES. You take one of 6 characters , each with his or her background and motives and set off on a journey along which you meet the other 5 characters. The quest you take depends on what character you pick as your main character. The other 2 characters you choose will join you at set places in the game and each of the 6 characters have their own equipment, spells, techniques, and attributes. The Meter that builds up to 100% from Secret of Mana is gone but your weapon(s) will flash when you are ready to attack. There is a Power Bar that builds up as you successfully hit enemies and when it fills up, you can use your character's special Technique to do extra damage and maybe attack all enemies as well. By holding L or R you can temporarily take control of one of your partners and then release it to take control of the original character. When you cast a spell, you have to wait for the caster to finish casting the spell before it takes effect unlike Secret of Mana. Some enemies only appear in places at night and some even sleep at night. The 4 Item limit also is gone (Yay). If anyone has played Seiken Densetsu 1 (Final Fantsy Adventure in US, also re-released as Mystic Quest) on Gameboy, then you would recognize the level up system where you pick an attribute to raise. 10, this game is everything Secret of Evermore should have been and so much more.

Overall - This game is very good, and every bit worth the download time. This is the best Action RPG I've seen and I was playing video games before the NES came out in America. This is a must have for any fan of Secret of Mana.

 

Reviewer: Apoc Date: Sep 13, 2001
Graphics: They're alright, very detailed. The spells graphics kinda suck.
But overall I would say they are tied with FF3's.

Sound: I love most of the music, some just plain sucks. But if you like midis you will like the music.

Gameplay: The fighting system is awesome, though casting spells and using items is quite annoying, especially when fighting a boss as most of time you're in these screens casting cure spells and/or using potions/items. The class changing is good but if you could change classes about 4-6 times each getting more powerful would be awesome. NOTE: don't use the Fighter he sucks use the Thief or Grappler(or both by choosing them as your characters)I just started a new game and they rock. Though the Fighter can do some good damage. But overall this game is well put together for it's time, a remake for Playstation or N64 with new features and better graphics and music would be sooooooo awesome I would go out and buy it in a heartbeat no matter the cost.

 

Reviewer: Nosferatu Date: Aug 25, 2001
This game is the biggest deception of the Snes games because:

Graphics: There's a lot of detail here, I must confess, and mostly are more beautyfull than the previous one. But sometimes there's a lot of garbage on the screen and the game is too dark (I'm not talking about the time changes).

Sound: The effects are very good and the musics are darker than the previous one. I really like this music style, changing the ""very happy"" style of the SoM into this ""evil is around"" style. Pretty good.

Gameplay: Sucks. The characters give little jumps around while you run, looking very weird. You must hold the B button all the time, what is idiot (the FF VII and IX curse). But the winner of bullshits is the battle system. The Square team changed the wonderfull free battle style of SoM into something hard, numb, slow, stupid. You get little Exp. Points, even if your enemies are almost impossible. The level progress is really slow, and there's just a few magics.

Overall: The story is good, more dense. The monsters are very well made, moving freely around the scenary (what you can't do). The drawback is the menu (Y button), with a lot of delay.

So, even the game having a more intense storyline and amazing sound and music effects, now I know why this game didn't came to the US. It's just more than a piece of shit and even the weak Secret of Evermore is better.

 

Reviewer: J.P. Date: Aug 16, 2001
Intro:
I love this game. This is right next to legend of Mana(all-time favorite). If you like 2d real-time rpgs then you'll love this.

Graphics:
The graphics are way cool for its time. Sure its not 3d but the sheer beauty of its 2d sprites and drawings are real nice. It would have been better if your character sprites changed with each and every armor/helm/boots. That would really rock.

Sound:
The sounds are pretty good if you like MIDI. I don't really mind sounds. It mainly depends on your speakers/subwoofer. Then it will really rock.

Gameplay:
Real-time battles are fast pase and keep you moving. Casting spells and fighting battles are the main parts of gameplay. Story also adds to this category. Personally I'm a level up freak, so fighting battles are a main part of this score. Your ability to avoid enemies is a really good thing. I just hate fighting random battles.

Overall:
With its 6 character, 2x class changing system, you would have to play this game 12 times. If this doesn't have replay value I would just quit playing games forever.

 

Reviewer: Nowan Fox Date: Jul 27, 2001
Seiken Densetsu 3 is one of my all-time favorite games, best only by Final Fantasy VI (III). You have to keep in mind that when playing this game, the SNES doesn't have the power of the N64, Playstation, Dreamcast, whatever. So the graphics and music isn't the best in the whole world... but its among the top as far as SNES games go. The story is very interesting, and being able to choose who goes in your party is pretty cool. SD3 takes quite a long time to fully complete, as there are three different final villians and final battles. To get the most of the game you have to play through it at least 3 times. But hey, the game is so good its all worth it. :)

 

Reviewer: Zauzer Date: Jun 29, 2001
Story: The story is different depending on which character you picked in the beginning, and it was good, unlike lagoon.
Graphics: Really great for a super nintendo game, especially when compared to something like lagoon(Not Bahamut Lagoon, that game was really good. I'm talking about lagoon)
Sound: The music was good, I liked most of the songs, and they were much better than lagoon.
Gameplay: You can pick the main character out of 6, you can pick two more, there is character transformation, lots of skills, tough enemies. The reason I gave it a 9 was because boss battles are usually VERY long. You can hold a lot of items instead of 4 of each in Secret of Mana.
Overall: One of the greatest games I've played. It beats Secret of Mana by a whole lot. It gets a score of more than twice lagoons.

 

Reviewer: WhoopA Date: Jun 21, 2001
Actually, ""Seiken Densetsu"" means ""Holy Sword Legend"" but we'll let that one slide.

SIX FREAKIN' PLAYABLE CHARACTERS! Who came up with this idea? You choose one character to be the party leader, and two more as backup characters. You see everyone in the game, but only the three you choose at the start of the game actually journey with you. The combinations you can use... it blows the mind completely away!

The music is good, but nothing really memorable. This game is harder than its predecessor, Secret of Mana - which is a very good sign. There's a lot of returning faces - Wisp, Jinn, Salamando, Undine, Gnome, Luna, Shade, Dryad(?) =) Time passes in the game, day turning to night and passing to day again, which is a really nice touch.

Overall, it's well worth the space on your hard drive. Secret of Evermore be damned - get the real sequel!