After the failure of the poor Nastar Warrior or Rastan Saga II, Taito tries to veer the series into a different direction with Rastan III. Gone is the hack-n-slash with minor platforming gameplay, now it has been replaced with Final Fight/Golden Axe-esque beat-em-up action, which was extremely popular in the arcades till the mid-90s.
Rastan Saga III visually is absolutely fantastic. The game has a dual-screen layout with huge, gorgeous sprites in highly detailed screens ranging from forests to a shipwreck. Features quality Team Zuntata music as well, though not as instantly memorable as their output in Darius, Bubble Bobble and Rastan etc.
The game tries to be non-linear by giving players the choice in choosing which stage to tackle first, which adds some surface-level variety, though not sure if it matters much with the ending. Rastan also gets a personality change: in this game he's more Conan-like beyond just the visual likeness; he's more like a mercenary or a gun-for-hire where he chooses to destroy his enemies not to save his "Rastania" or homeland, but to get ALL the loot. He even brings two friends along to aid him in the quest to gain the ultimate treasure.
Don't go expecting a classic. It was not really pushing the brawler genre forward, rather just cashing in on the craze of the time. But if treated like what it is: a short romp through gorgeous fantasy vistas with great music, then there's a good chance of liking it.
Rastan Saga III visually is absolutely fantastic. The game has a dual-screen layout with huge, gorgeous sprites in highly detailed screens ranging from forests to a shipwreck. Features quality Team Zuntata music as well, though not as instantly memorable as their output in Darius, Bubble Bobble and Rastan etc.
The game tries to be non-linear by giving players the choice in choosing which stage to tackle first, which adds some surface-level variety, though not sure if it matters much with the ending. Rastan also gets a personality change: in this game he's more Conan-like beyond just the visual likeness; he's more like a mercenary or a gun-for-hire where he chooses to destroy his enemies not to save his "Rastania" or homeland, but to get ALL the loot. He even brings two friends along to aid him in the quest to gain the ultimate treasure.
Don't go expecting a classic. It was not really pushing the brawler genre forward, rather just cashing in on the craze of the time. But if treated like what it is: a short romp through gorgeous fantasy vistas with great music, then there's a good chance of liking it.