Romancing SaGa 3

Romancing SaGa 3 (ロマンシング サ・ガ3) is a Squaresoft RPG, released in 1995 in Japan (as Romanshingu Sa・Ga 3) for the Super Famicom.

History of the Game
Romancing SaGa 3 is the 6th game in the SaGa series (Third and final in the Romancing SaGa trilogy). The main characteristics of the series are an emphasis on non-linearity and replay value. In the beginning, the player chooses which of the 8 main characters to play as, each with their own storyline and perspective. Not only does the player journey through their selected character's story, but there's also a great deal of side quests they may choose to complete. The only connection between the three Romancing SaGa games is the presence of The Bard, mascot of the entire Romancing trilogy, only playable in this game.

A fan-based English rom translation project for Romancing SaGa 3 was completed in the summer of 2000 by Mana Sword. 

Characters
At the beginning, there are 8 main characters to choose from:


 * Julian, a settler


 * Thomas, a merchant


 * Ellen, a settler


 * Sarah, Ellen's younger sister


 * Harid, a mercenary


 * Mikhail, the Marquis of Loanne


 * Katrina, the royal bodyguard


 * Monica, Mikhail's sister

Side Characters
However, as you explore the world, you wll meet many different individuals who may aid you in combat:


 * Poet, a bard who knows many tales (very similar to the bard from the first 2 Romancing SaGa games)
 * Fullbright, the 23rd generation of the Fullbright family and leader of the Fullbright Firm
 * Muse, the heir to the Claudius family
 * Tatyana Lasaiev, heir to the Lasaiev firm in Librof (she constantly changes her real name to various sweets when recruited multiple times)
 * Nora, current owner of a Workshop in Pidona
 * Wood (also called Ward), a man from the north who does odd jobs
 * Paul, a thief
 * Herman, an old man who seems to harbor a secret
 * Leonid, the vampire earl of Podul who is in possession of the Holy Grail
 * Robin, a masked hero who defends the people of Yamas
 * Fat Robin, an imposter of Robin who also attempts to defend the people of Yamas
 * Undine, a water magician from Moses who is at odds with the fire magician Volcano
 * Tiberius, head priest of the Divine Church
 * Zhi Lin, a girl who lives in the Mung village
 * Yan Fan, a general of Xuan City's army
 * Bai Meiling, an eastern magician
 * Fairy, a fairy who is held captive by a travelling circus
 * Snowman, an animated snowman from a town full of them
 * Boston, a lobsterman who wishes to see the world
 * Zo, an elephantman from an eastern town under the spell of the Devil King
 * Young Boy, a strange boy wearing purple seen in various towns

Other Characters

 * Gwayne, the descendant of Dora, a dragon that once aided the Holy King
 * Nina, a girl who is concerned with the sacrifices at Kidlanto
 * The Professor, a female scientist who makes inventions for the Duke of Zweig
 * Maximus, the leader of the Pidona division of the Divine Church
 * Ludwig, the current commander of Pidona
 * Holy King Family, descendants of the Holy King, they reside in Lance, keeping watch over the temple.
 * Captain, the current mayor of Vanguard
 * Dophore, Leader of the Dophore firm of Yamas which holds a monopoly on some types of items
 * Arakes, the Abyss Lord of Earth
 * Byunei, the Abyss Lord of Wind
 * Forneus, the Abyss Lord of Water
 * Aunas, the Abyss Lord of Fire
 * The Destroyer, the game's final boss

Main Plot
The plot revolves around an event named "The Death Eclipse" which hits the Earth every 300 years. The Star of Death is a star that travels before the sun, occurring a deadly eclipse. Blocking the sun, it then radiates a powerful energy that kills any newborn life on the planet, be it plants, animals, monsters, or humans. However, one day, about 600 years ago, when the Death Eclipse hit the land, a newborn human child survived before the mortal grasp of the star. Gifted with incredible power, this child grew up and became a powerful king, naming himself "The Devil King". He ruled with an iron fist over the land, lavishing terror all over the land and destroying countries that didn't pleased him. With Pidona as its capital, he ruled the world, and eventually even opened the Abyss, freeing the fearsome Devil Lords to serve him. But one day, the Devil King vanished, and the Devil Lords were left without anyone to contain their infinite maliciousness. So they started a rule of destruction and terror over the condemned world. However, 300 years after the last, the Death Eclipse occurred again. And then again, a single child survived and been blessed by the Abysses. However, he didn't grow as a devil this time. Growing up in a desolate land ruled by the Devil Lords, he became a true hero, and supported by many strong allies and legendary artifacts, he became the Holy King and vanquished the terrible Devil Lords, which were brought back to the depth of the Abyss, once again closed. This all started a new age for the world under the peaceful watch of the Holy King. However... Around 15 years, the Death Eclipse occurred at new, and the time when the blessed child will be revealed drew nigh. No one knew yet who it is, and if he will be a King of Salvation... Or a King of Destruction ?

Battle System
Players get to choose what a character will specialize in, and whether or not to strengthen their physical or magic power. If a player constantly has a character attack, then their strength will grow along with their TP (tech points). If a player constantly has a character attack with a specific weapon, then they will learn special attacks that use only that weapon. Special physical attacks use up TP. If a player constantly has a character use magic, then their magic power will grow along with their MP (magic points). If a player constantly has a character attack with a specific element of magic, then their magic power with that element will grow, and magic attacks (obviously) use up MP. Characters that you have more focus on physical attacks have a tendency to get higher maximum HP than characters that you have more focus on magic attacks. Items need to be individually equipped with characters in order to use them in battle. Each character has eight slots in their inventory: four for weapons, shields, and items and four for armor and accessories.

Trivia

 * There is a hack of this game available, with custom music, new dungeons and other locations, and most of the bosses of the other SaGa games.