"My first ever review........and i couldn't have chosen a better game"

I remember the day i got this. It was my 13th birthday and SF3 had just been released. I could never have known that the moment i was gonna put it into my Saturn i was gonna play the best game i've experienced.

Story: 10
Now this is what i want from my RPG's!!!! This for me, is one of the best storylines you can find out there. Not wanting to give anything away i'll just tell you that there are more twists and turns in the plot than a Curly Wurly!!! There's intrigue, powerful religious cults, murder, political backstabbing, huge battles between rival armies and even Generals gone mad!!!!! There'll be points where a perfect plan will go awry due to unforseen events which although may be detrimental in the short term, will actually strengthen and help your team greatly. Even after playing it for as many times as i have you won't tire of the story because it always brings something new!!!!

Gameplay: 9
All i can say is that there is a shedload of it in this game!!! Controls are near perfect, there is no sloppiness in the control (in battle mode or exploration mode). In battle mode, you will find that bar a few tweaks, the system is pure Shining Force. The battle area is turned into a grid and the turn based gameplay means most characters only get one move a round. This is where tactics come into play-do you move the agile Centaur in front of the rest hoping for a quick kill but perhaps leaving him wide open for counter attack? Or do you keep your group together in order to share the exp?? the choice is yours alone but be warned!!! bad tactics can get you whooped in even the first battle!!!

Graphics: 9
What can i say? the graphics for this game blew me away when i saw them and to this very day a certain few still do (Thanatos for instance). The graphics engine is split into 2 parts: Exploration and Battle. The world you explore has your characters as sprites which although may not be visually astounding, perform actions such as nodding their heads and jumping in suprise during conversations. This makes them seem a lot more lively and is a nice little touch. The villages you pass through are fully 3d and you can rotate the camera using the shoulder buttons, this action is mostly essential if you want to find hidden items or to place yourself perfectly if you want to search for entrances to buildings.
The battle graphics are most impressive indeed and i could not believe what Camelot had managed to squeeze out of my trusty Saturn. The host of special attacks and spells are perfectly supported by a swooping camera and when you witness some attacks and spells you'll wonder why your Saturn hasn't exploded through overheating!! Lighting effects are superb perfectly complimenting spells such as Spark. Throughout the game you see a steadily increasing host of graphical loveliness, so much so that Spells like Thanatos and attacks like Judgement will leave you frothing at the mouth.
I would have given them a 10 but i know the graphics are actually improved in the other scenarios!!

Sound: 7
Now i think the music is quite good. It has quite a decent range from cheerful tunes like Railheads to dark/brooding ones like Galms theme. The reason this only gets a 7 is because the voice acting is very dodgy. It can range from exellent (Dantares) to absolutely horrible (Synbios). To be honest i wouldn't blame you if you wanted the voices turned off but i'm quite partial to them for some strange reason.

Lastability: 9
If you don't want to play this game more than once then you're gonna miss out on a lot. There are 5 secret characters!!! and every different character class can equip different styles of weapon which can greatly affect the gameplay and the tactics required in battle.You can have numerous combinations of teams with the change of even one member affecting how you fight!!! There are also many secret weapons (along with their own special attacks!) and hidden things which may affect what happens in the next scenarios.............

Final word:
It's been 3 years since i first played this game and even now i never tire of going for one more play. If you have a Saturn then get this game. If you don't have a Saturn-Get one........

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/01, Updated 11/14/01