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
SeriesSengoku
Platform(s)
Release
  • Arcade
    • WW: 18 July 2001
    Neo Geo AES
    • WW: 25 October 2001
Genre(s)Beat 'em up, hack and slash
Mode(s)
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.

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 on October 25, 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

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]

In 2014, HobbyConsolas identified Sengoku 3 as one of the twenty best games for the Neo Geo AES.[17]

In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their top 25 "Best Beat 'Em Ups of All Time" list.[18]

Notes
  1. Also known as Legacy of the Warring States 2001 (Japanese: 戦国伝承 2001, Hepburn: Sengoku Denshō 2001) in Japan.

References
  1. "Japon: Arcade (SNK/Été) - Sengoku 3". Consoles + (in French). No. 114. M.E.R.7. July–August 2001. p. 18.
  2. "Dossier: Beat'em Ups — SNK". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 9. Ares Informática. May 2003. p. 57.
  3. DiRienzo, David (October 11, 2008). "Sengoku 3". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  4. Sengoku 3 user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)
  5. "Sengoku 3 (Game)". Giant Bomb. CBS Interactive. August 25, 2019. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  6. "Dossier: Neo Geo Y SNK — Beat'em Up". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 11. Ares Informática. July 2003. p. 55.
  7. "Title Catalogue - NEOGEO MUSEUM". SNK Playmore. 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. "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.
  11. Moscaritolo, Angela (December 9, 2015). "Don't Miss the NeoGeo 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Kyo (May 2001). "Arcade - l'arcade à domicile: Sengoku 2001". HardCore Gamers (in French). No. 1. FJM Publications. p. 59.
  16. 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.
  17. Alonso, Álvaro (February 12, 2014). "Reportaje: Los 20 mejores juegos de Neo Geo (AES)". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  18. Banks, George (14 February 2023). "Best Beat 'Em Ups Of All Time". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.