As one of the best known RPG series in the TG/PCE market in the west (which isn't saying much, really), I've been meaning to play thorough the whole series, since I originally beat part 2 sometime back in the mid 90s. I went back and played through part 1 several years ago, and replayed part 2 over the past few months. I won't bother reviewing part 2 as most of those who are into RPGs have played this one as it's one of the few US RPG releases.
When I started on part 3, what immediately jumped out was the how much more polished this one is compared to the prequels. There were just things that are crude and seemed unfinished about the prequels (little things like music looping back every time you talk to some village character, status effects missing in part 2, etc). However, the developers seemed to have really stepped up in their production levels of this one. One can tell a lot more time went into everything.
As with all cosmic fantasies, there's plenty of story involved this one. There's always humor peppered throughout the game, and Nyan, the feline character, provides plenty of comic relief. And unlike some other series, CF doesn't forget its roots, as there's always cameos of characters from the all the prequels (Even as I played through part II recently, I found that Cobra (Yu) and Sayo (Saya) were actually the main protagonists of part I). And we find later in the story how all these characters are connected to each other.
Starting from graphics, You can definitely tell a lot more went into the production of the game. It's a lot anime-y this time around. I mean the prequels were too, but this time, there's also a LOT more cinema scenes - and they're some of the most well done in the PCE library I've come across so far. More effort has also seemed to have gone into voice overs, and the overworld is vibrant & colorful. The enemy characters are also a lot more cartoony this time around whether you like that or not. Telenet added even nice little touches like the characters leaving behind footprints in the snow.
The only thing I really wish they would've put more effort was into the battle background. It's a plain black background, and this really detracts from the feeling of being really immersed in the environment. Some earlier RPGs such as Phantasy Star I had that factor nailed, and it's unfortunate that many RPGs since then still couldn't get this factor right.
The gameplay is also a bit more complex this time around. The prequels were pretty straightfoward - anyone can equip anything, and the battle interface was the standard attack, magic, run, item variety. This time around there are multiple different types of attacks such as standard attack, "force" attack where you do more damage at the expense of being more exposed, quick attack where you're almost guaranteed to get the first hit in, group attack, weapon effect attack, etc... Same goes for parry - there are different modes of all this stuff. Granted, I didn't get to use all this stuff during the whole game, but some of the moves (such as force attack) are definitely necessary to have an easier time in the game. Weapons and armor are now also differentiated between characters and what they can equip. Because of the added complexity, it's a bit more difficult for a non-Japanese speaking gaijin to get into than the prequels, which is compounded by the lack of a complete English faq on this game (as far as I know). There's a partial one that black tiger has put out which covers about 2/3 of the game, and I actually wrote down the last 1/3 as I played through the rest of the game, so perhaps this can help those who are looking to complete the game.
My two gripes about gameplay would be that 1) there are too many misses when you attack. A good 50% of all your attacks will be in vain, and it's not uncommon where you have a single people left, and all four of your characters miss their attack move, forcing another turn - this can get irritating after awhile. 2) Exploring the world can be annoying at times, as a lot of the overworld is in different tiers - that is, it's not as straightforward as going from east to west at times, as you have to maneuver through various tiers to go from one point to another (see 3rd pic bottom). And the map that was included in the game doesn't really help much in this case.
Overall, it's a definite improvement in the series, and it's really too bad that this one didn't make it to the west. It certainly had the fit & finish level to compete against the top-tier RPGs of the era, and I'm pretty sure it would've been a cult classic now (somewhat like CF2) had it been released in English.
This is the first PCE game I played from beginning to end on an emulator (Ootake), and other than a slight video/audio sync issue during the cinema scenes, it played out perfectly, and it even allowed me to capture shots and like these for this review you're reading now. Now, I don't have either part of CF4, so this series will be on hiatus from my playing list while I move onto something else... Perhaps I'll finally start the Tengai Makyou series next...
Just to cap it off, it wouldn't be a CF without
the shower scene, so here is is (complete with a censor bar I put in
), along with a couple more random screen shots.
Collection of my other reviews over the years:
Aurora Quest: Otaku no Seiza in Another WorldAne-sanBabelBakushō Yoshimoto ShinkigekiBlood GearCosmic Fantasy 1Dragon Slayer: Legend of HeroesDragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes IIDowntown Nekketsu MonogatariIga Ninden GaiōKO Seiki: Beast SanjūshiKūsōkagaku Sekai: Gulliver BoyNekketsu Legend BaseballerTengai Makyō: ItōryōdanValis I~IVXak I & IIXak III
Topic: REVIEW: Cosmic Fantasy 3 (Read 538 times)
