Shining Force III: Premium Disc Review (Sega Saturn, 1998)

Shining Force III: Premium Disc represents Sega at their best. After releasing three separate scenarios for their game they rewarded their fans by releasing a package full of bonus content celebrating the culmination of these three titles. What’s more is they gave this out for free. Provided of course you could send your proofs of purchase for all three versions of Shining Force III. Oh and you had to live in Japan. This is yet another title that never made it overseas. That’s to be expected at this point though considering the West was only given the first of the three scenarios. Still, you have to hand it to Sega for rewarding their fans in such a neat way. Today we’re going to take a look at this bonus disc. I didn’t get it for free, but I can still appreciate the fact that Sega never charged for this one.

Let’s get one thing straight right away. This is not a full fledged game. As I’ve already mentioned (and you can probably tell from its name) this is a bonus disc with extras. It’s not a standalone package either. You really have to be a fan to appreciate this content. While there’s a neat FMV intro (which I believe is all new) you’re immediately served a menu with a variety of options. We’re going to take a look at these one by one.

First up is a model viewer. This is used to look at all of the 3D in-game character models. It’s not really something I’m normally interested in but there’s a surprising amount of content here. You can look at all variations of every single character here. This includes all of their different promotions and styles of weapons equipped. What’s more is that by pressing the action button you can watch their attack animations. Enemy models are also included here. It’s kind of a boring feature but diehard fans will be pleased with it. I did appreciate all of the options and customization however.

Next we have the records. I initially wasn’t sure what this would be. I mean that’s a pretty vague name. This option actually allows you to create a custom save file for scenario 3. Upon starting it you’re asked a series of questions. This includes what you’d like to name the three main characters and then it moves to decisions and outcomes from the first two scenarios. At the end a new save file is generated, and it can be used in scenario 3. This is actually a pretty cool feature. Those who want to play the third scenario, but aren’t concerned with the first two could use this to bypass them but still get the bonuses from save data. Also, if you don’t have any of the Shining Force III scenario discs but want to do the optional battles here you could use this to open them up.

Now is the images option. I liked it more than the model viewer to be honest. This consists entirely of artwork of the cast in the three games. It includes the official art as well as early sketches of them. I love this kind of thing. Right below it is the option for videos. This was also a pleasant surprise. This includes the three introductory FMV sequences for the first three scenarios. Along with that you also have the Japanese commercials for these titles. I got a real kick out of these. The first one featuring Segata Sanshiro (Sega’s fictional superhero spokesman for the Saturn in Japan) beating up people in a nightclub is a real riot. There’s also an interview included here with what I assume is the game’s director. I wouldn’t know though because I don’t speak Japanese.

Not surprising is the fact that a sound test is included here. It contains all of the music from all three scenarios, and has a neat futuristic interface. This is great because Shining Force III has a ton of fantastic music, and the soundtrack itself is huge because it’s basically for three games. You can also listen to the all of the sound effects as well. This includes the character voice samples. If this is your sort of thing then it has basically everything and you’ll be happy with it. It’s not mine so I just stuck to listening to the music.

And finally we have the battles. This is what I was looking forward to most and it did not disappoint. There are eight special battles included here. Some are original while others are based on previous Shining Force games. These are basically remade from the first two games in the series that were originally on the Sega Genesis. This mode reads from your save data from the main scenarios. This means all character levels, promotions, stats, and even the items they were holding are dropped in. What’s more is the fact that you can completely customize your party. You’re given a spread from all three scenarios. Symbios must be in the number one slot, but everyone else is up for grabs.

This feature assumes that you are both already familiar with the game’s mechanics and also that you’ve built up a formidable bank of Shining Force III characters. While the first battle is a cakewalk (even with the save file creation option) everything after that is really going to test your skills. Shining Force III: Premium Disc uses the same gameplay and graphics engine from the third scenario. This means that it’s a turn based strategy RPG with a grid design for movement. The battlefields are a bit small compared to some of the sprawling arenas in the third scenario. While I was initially disappointed I soon came to realize that this helps significantly with the pacing. Because these are fan service fights you don’t want encounters that are going to take forever. It’s nice that you can jump right into the action.

My only complaint, and it’s a minor one, is that there aren’t enough classic battles here. I wish the developers would have focused more on the pivotal moments in Shining Force & Shining Force II. Instead it feels like they kind of chose at random. While duking it out against the Dark Dragon was a real treat other fights like the one against the Mecha Kraken hardly represent my favorite moments from these classics. They had such a wide pool to select from and I just wish they had chosen more from the original game to be honest. I understand that this disc is chock full of extras with a lot of full motion video and redbook audio, but I would have been willing to sacrifice those for a package full of fan service battles. Despite this complaint I’m happy that they included any extra battles at all.

Graphically Shining Force III: Premium Disc is a mixed bag. On one hand the battles use the same engine we had in Scenario 3. It still looks fantastic with great polygonal models, detailed animation, and a good framerate. It really looks above and beyond what the Sega Saturn is capable of when compared to the rest of the library. Unfortunately outside of the battle mode the menu interface is extremely bland. It looks like something you’d see from an old Encarta disc or something. It’s manageable but that doesn’t make it any less ugly. I do love the player on the sound test however. Speaking of sound the music is still as great as it ever was. I absolutely love Shining Force III’s soundtrack, and the fact that all the music is here in one place is a great bonus.