Sengoku 3
Sengoku 3[lower-alpha 1] is a 2001 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed by Noise Factory and published by SNK.[1] It is the third and final entry in the Sengoku series.[2][3] In the game, players battle against undead enemy spirits. Though initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade), the title was later released to Neo Geo AES (home), in addition of being re-released through download services for various consoles. It was met with positive reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release.
Sengoku 3 | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Noise Factory |
Publisher(s) | SNK |
Producer(s) | Keiko Iju |
Designer(s) | Masahiro Maeda |
Programmer(s) | Hidenari Mamoto |
Artist(s) | Masafumi Fujii Masahiro Maeda Miyuki Okazaki |
Composer(s) | Toshikazu Tanaka |
Series | Sengoku |
Platform(s) | Arcade |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Beat 'em up, hack and slash |
Mode(s) | |
Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
Gameplay
As with previous Sengoku titles, Sengoku 3 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game where players take control of one of the four initial playable characters with two more characters being unlocked during gameplay across various stages filled with an assortment of undead evil spirits.[3][4][5]
Development and release
Sengoku 3 was developed by Noise Factory and was first released for arcades on July 18, 2001.[3][5][6][7] The soundtrack was composed by Toshikazu Tanaka, who was previously employed at SNK and worked on project such as Fatal Fury: King of Fighters.[8] Tanaka stated in an interview that his biggest challenge when composing for the project was getting the music quality nearly up to levels of other games at the time.[8] Tanaka decided on using streaming playback for the music, as he felt he could not guarantee the high quality he desired with previous methods.[8] The sound driver used was not designed with streaming in mind, proving difficult for Tanaka to do so and he considered modify the sound driver himself but could not make it so due to time schedule.[8] However, Tanaka was able to do the work by himself.[8]
Sengoku 3 was later released for the Neo Geo AES system in October 2001.[6][7] The North American AES release has since become one of the more expensive titles on the platform, with copies fetching over US$2200 on the secondary video game collecting market.[9] In 2013, Sengoku 3 was digitally re-released for the Japanese Wii Virtual Console service, courtesy of D4 Enterprise.[10] Sengoku 3 is included in the Neo Geo 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle, released in 2015.[11] Hamster Corporation re-released Sengoku 3 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in 2018 under their Arcade Archives series.[12]
Reception
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Nintendo Life | (Wii) [13] (Switch) [14] |
Sengoku 3 has been met with positive reception from critics and reviewers alike since its release. Both Kyo and Ben of French magazine HardCore Gamers noted the improved visuals over its predecessors and regarded it to be an "excellent" beat 'em up game.[15][16]
Notes
References
- "Japon: Arcade (SNK/Été) - Sengoku 3". Consoles + (in French). No. 125. M.E.R.7. July–August 2001. p. 18.
- "Dossier: Beat'em Ups — SNK". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 9. Ares Informática. May 2003. p. 57.
- DiRienzo, David (October 11, 2008). "Sengoku 3". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Sengoku 3 user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)
- "Sengoku 3 (Game)". Giant Bomb. CBS Interactive. August 25, 2019. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- "Dossier: Neo Geo Y SNK — Beat'em Up". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 11. Ares Informática. July 2003. p. 55.
- "Title Catalogue - NEOGEO MUSEUM". SNK Playmore. 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Greening, Chris (January 12, 2016). "Toshikazu Tanaka Interview: The King of Fighters". vgmonline.net. Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Reichert, Nick (April 27, 2020). "The Rarest & Most Valuable Neo-Geo Games". Racketboy. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- "戦国伝承2001 - ゲーム情報GAME". SNK Playmore (in Japanese). D4 Enterprise. 9 April 2013. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Moscaritolo, Angela (December 9, 2015). "Don't Miss the NeoGeo 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Moyse, Chris (April 2, 2018). "Scrolling ninja brawler Sengoku 3 returns on PS4, Xbox One and Switch - Cowboy protagonist sadly retired". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Dillard, Corbie (June 15, 2013). "Sengoku 3 Review (Neo Geo) - Third time's the charm". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Frear, Dave (April 23, 2018). "Sengoku 3 Review (Switch eShop / Neo Geo) - Third time's a charm". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Kyo (May 2001). "Arcade - l'arcade à domicile: Sengoku 2001". HardCore Gamers (in French). No. 1. FJM Publications. p. 59.
- Ben (April 2002). "Dossier - SNK: Les autres - SNK n'a pas seulement fait des jeux de baston". HardCore Gamers (in French). No. 6. FJM Publications. p. 11.