What's so good about SD3?

[Call Sign: Raven]

I'm not trying to curb anybody's enthusiasm. If you love the game, then you are welcome here! I hear so many good things about it, but when I played it I found it dull. In particular, I disliked a lot of the music. Secret of Mana set a very high standard, there. So, I'm here to see what you guys think, who played Seiken Densetsu 3 in some capacity. Share with me why you enjoyed the game so much. Thanks for your time.

[FibS]

Seiken Densetsu III has three different core stories (with six different intros) for six selectable characters, each of whom can change to any of four ending classes which basically means you may choose from 7,680 (24 * 20 * 16 end classes) different unique parties compared to Secret of Mana's 336 (8 * 7 * 6 weapons). The game will specially recognize if you pick Carlie as your third character, and in only this circumstance will you fight Full-Metal Haggard with 3 characters. The characters you did not pick to join the party will still be part of the story, and there are special interactions for cases like if Lise is in your party and Hawkeye isn't (in which case she nearly kills him because he's with Navarre and Navarre slaughtered her family).

You no longer have to charge the Spirit Bomb to perform weapon techs; instead, you just keep whacking enemies until you have enough Cool Points and press your Tech button.

You can now hold extra items in Storage and restock whenever you're in town.

The graphics are substantially improved from SoM.

Over the course of the story your characters help invent Cannon Travel.

[Queen HawlSera]

I've never played the game, I've heard mixed things

[Sephaël]

My main problem with SD3 is how repetitive the gameplay is since you are stuck with one weapon.
Other than that, mixing team to get various story element (lot of replay value), the musics, the wonder full graphics for it's time, the job system; it was great for a Snes.

It's been years since i played it (last time was around 2001 when i bought a copy for my friend when i was in japan), but there is a day and night cycle no ?

[FibS]

Originally posted by Queen HawlSera:

I've never played the game, I've heard mixed things

SD3 isn't anywhere near as light-hearted as Secret of Mana. Every character has a horrible and unfunny tragedy that drives them into the main story and in general everything takes itself much more seriously.

This is probably the main source of division between the love/hate groups.

Originally posted by Sephaël:

My main problem with SD3 is how repetitive the gameplay is since you are stuck with one weapon.

I never found that an issue, as in Secret of Mana I hate most of the weapons. I just keep Randi on Sword, Primm on Spear, Popoi on Bow anyway, so to me it made no difference.

there is a day and night cycle no ?

I forgot bout that!

In Seiken Densetsu III, Wisp is stronger at day and Shade is stronger at night. The other spirits are stronger based on which weekday it is, except for Mana Holy Day (Saturday) which is neutral.

Also, certain game events require specific times of the day. For instance, there's a town with a black market only open at night. Because this can affect story progression, all(?) Inns allow you wake up either at morning or at nightfall.

[Buffmania]

The combat flows way better in SD3. The class progression choices are fun and impactful which adds a ton of replayability. The story is filled out much better, although not until you've played all the intro/ end dungeon paths to fill in the minor plot holes.

Oh, and it's got the heart-blasting wiggle powers of Angela.

[FibS]

Originally posted by Buffmania:

The combat flows way better in SD3. The class progression choices are fun and impactful which adds a ton of replayability. The story is filled out much better, although not until you've played all the intro/ end dungeon paths to fill in the minor plot holes.

Oh, and it's got the heart-blasting wiggle powers of Angela.

I'm not sure if DeJap was as inaccurate as usual with Angela's "Excuse me Mr. Guard, I need some help changing my clothes..." I can think of no other way to interpret that scene. =/

[FibS]

I didn't explain this very well but it's really the main appeal of the game to me:

In SD3, there are six different characters. These characters "pair up" to share a main antagonist (Duran & Angela, Lise & Hawkeye, Kevin & Carlie). Near the end of the game, all three of their Big Bads compete for control of all the Mana MacGuffins, and your first position character's archnemesis is the one who wins. That determines the final dungeon and the last few final bosses. Most fans consider it a difficulty setting but I don't remember which is Easy/Medium/Hard. I do remember that only Duran & Angela can encounter the Black Rabite, though, which is in their final boss's unique dungeon.

[Ghaleon]

speaking of translation inaccurasies, there were 2 translation efforts remember. One which names a character Riesz, and another naming her Lise.

In any case to answer the op. I loved SoM's music, but honestly I like SD3s even more. SOM has some really great tracks early in the game like in the starting forest and stuff. But I actually didn't care for the general boss music, and some songs were just flat out painful (like the dwarf town).

SD3 music had its own style that was still mana-esque but... well music is subjective who cares. It's still great though.

Combat is also better. In Mana, you did nothing but run around whacking enemies at 100%. You could charge attacks, but doing so made you move like a slug. SD3 allowed you the opportunity to use powered attacks without slowing down thanks to the charge bar thingies.

Choosing what stat to boost during level ups was also nice.

I think the other things were already mentioned. I liked the tone of SD3 more, as well as the character designs.

Oh I guess the world just seemed more fleshed out too. In SD2, half the towns seem to serve no purpose other than provide you with a new shop and inn.

[FibS]

Originally posted by Ghaleon:

speaking of translation inaccurasies, there were 2 translation efforts remember. One which names a character Riesz, and another naming her Lise.

Carlie's actual name is Charlotte, but this didn't fit in the name box so it became Carlie.

Choosing what stat to boost during level ups was also nice.

I forgot about that too!!

Every class has its own stat caps, and the game seems to stop you from raising one stat too far above all the others. So you sorta get control over how the character evolves, but if you level up enough you will have the exact same "maxed out" character. The only way to get gimped is to not class change for many many levels past when you can.

Also, classes that have magic need to raise their stats to certain levels to unlock that magic. In general, buff spells take WIS and debuff / attack spells took INT. Almost every character can get magic from at least two of their classes.

[Ghaleon]

Originally posted by Shadowsetzer:

Originally posted by FibS:

If I remember right, Kevin/Carlie equals Easy, Duran/Angela equels Normal, and Hawk/Lise equals Hard. It's been a long time since I've played, though, and those only affect the final dungeons/bosses.

That was the order that people said yes. But honestly I think that a dubvious claim to begin with. I found Death Jester to actually be one of the most potentially difficult bosses in the final dungeons. But Kevin himself was really freakin' op so having him made the game easy moreso than his route per say IMO. Though I think Lise may have been even more op in a group contribution way (I liked star lancer for her buff alls).

[FibS]

Originally posted by Ghaleon:

I found Death Jester to actually be one of the most potentially difficult bosses in the final dungeons. But Kevin himself was really freakin' op so having him made the game easy moreso than his route per say IMO. Though I think Lise may have been even more op in a group contribution way (I liked star lancer for her buff alls).

Kevin is far and away the most broken single character, depending on his class.

Lise and Hawk are designed to go together if you pick their opposite classes; Star Lancer + Ninja Master is hell on earth. Star Lancer also has my favorite 3rd tech so.

[texasgoldrush]

Originally posted by Shadowsetzer:

Originally posted by FibS:

I didn't explain this very well but it's really the main appeal of the game to me:

In SD3, there are six different characters. These characters "pair up" to share a main antagonist (Duran & Angela, Lise & Hawkeye, Kevin & Carlie). Near the end of the game, all three of their Big Bads compete for control of all the Mana MacGuffins, and your first position character's archnemesis is the one who wins. That determines the final dungeon and the last few final bosses. Most fans consider it a difficulty setting but I don't remember which is Easy/Medium/Hard. I do remember that only Duran & Angela can encounter the Black Rabite, though, which is in their final boss's unique dungeon.

If I remember right, Kevin/Carlie equals Easy, Duran/Angela equels Normal, and Hawk/Lise equals Hard. It's been a long time since I've played, though, and those only affect the final dungeons/bosses.

However in practice, each of the three paths have their hard part.

Angela/Duran get the hardest final dungeon, while Hawk/Lise is the easiest, however Heath in Kevin/Carlie's quest is the hardest final dungeon boss, while Darkshine Knight (Loki) is the hardest first half dunegon boss, which is Duran's advesary.

Kevin/Carlie get by far the hardest fairy rescue quest, the Moon Kingdom is absolutley brutal.

Lise/Hawk gets the most difficult final boss (however their skills can make him easy especially paired), Angela/Duran is in the middle, and Kevin/Carlie's is the easiest.

[texasgoldrush]

Originally posted by FibS:

Originally posted by Ghaleon:

I found Death Jester to actually be one of the most potentially difficult bosses in the final dungeons. But Kevin himself was really freakin' op so having him made the game easy moreso than his route per say IMO. Though I think Lise may have been even more op in a group contribution way (I liked star lancer for her buff alls).

Kevin is far and away the most broken single character, depending on his class.

Lise and Hawk are designed to go together if you pick their opposite classes; Star Lancer + Ninja Master is hell on earth. Star Lancer also has my favorite 3rd tech so.

Carlie's Black Curse is easy mode.

[Etherealtroll]

Originally posted by FibS:

The graphics are substantially improved from SoM.

Uh no? I disagree very strongly with this point.

[Aona]

Ill weigh in my one gripe with SD3. Be prepared to get screwed royally by the game. If you're not careful, and your choice of party is whatever it is, there are sections where the game can one shot you, even if you do a ton of grinding. Admittedly, I'm just a 'little' salty over that.

There are some brutally difficult fights in the game, so if you like challenge, some bosses are very long, and can be difficult if you're not accustomed, or prepared to fight them. Atleast in my experience.