Shining Force III

Being a fan of tactical RPGs in the West and knowing about Shining Force III meant years of frustration — because you could officially play only a third of this crowning trilogy of scenarios. Released between 1997 and 1998 and developed by Camelot in cooperation with Sega, the game represents the peak of the celebrated tactical series, and at the same time one of the most painful examples of how the end of the Saturn's life robbed the West of a masterpiece.

What makes Shining Force III unique is its structure: the entire story is told from three different perspectives across three separate scenarios that intertwine and only together form the complete picture of events. You play as different sides of the conflict and gradually assemble the mosaic of what is truly happening in the world — a concept that was remarkably ambitious and narratively bold for its time.

The gameplay itself is deep 3D turn-based tactics in the spirit of the genre's finest traditions: you position units on the battlefield, exploit terrain, character classes and abilities, and steadily develop your heroes across a long campaign. The way the story is woven into the mechanics, along with the care lavished on the characters, makes each of the three scenarios a full-fledged experience in its own right.

The stumbling block came with localization. Only the first scenario (Scenario 1) reached the West, while the remaining two parts never officially came out in English. It was only later that a devoted fan community created an amateur translation, thanks to which it is possible to experience the whole trilogy today — which only underlines how strong a loyalty the game built among genre enthusiasts.

For lovers of tactical RPGs, Shining Force III remains a treasure to this day — not only for its depth and narrative ambition, but also for the story surrounding the game itself, which became a symbol of what the Saturn era lost in the West.

Why play it: For the depth of a tactical RPG and the unique storytelling from three perspectives that makes the trilogy one of the most ambitious titles in the genre.