AnzuRed

A disappointing, on-rails steamroll from start to finish. Even ignoring the Pokedex cut, the story is a mess, the game is linear, and there's nowhere near enough content to justify the price being marked up from the 3DS games.

Five (5) cute facts about Merula: 1: Merula a cute. A cute! 2: She is the strongest! 3: I love her! 4: Merula!

The Legend of Dark Witch 3 is in some ways a large step up from previous titles in the series, and a bit of a let down in other areas. Level design has been drastically improved since 2, and boss battles also feel more challenging, especially since you can't just easily cheese them with a weapon they're weak too. The streamlined upgrade system also works better, and prevents players from farming Syega until they reach full upgrades. Even regular enemies present a threat now, unlike in previous games. And Zizou's new outfit is cute, cute! On the downside, however, the customization system from 2 has been massively crippled, meaning Zizou and the second playable character are stuck with nothing but their base moveset, and choice of one magic item with 3 uses per life. While boss powers were admittingly either useless or overpowered previously, the removal of them entirely may cause Zizou's abilities to seem a bit boring by the time you finish your 4th play through while aiming to finish the ingame achievements (your only abilities are Speed, Wing, Linear/Power condensed into "Width", and Lord Attack; while you can still upgrade these to be more powerful, no alternative powers like Dash return). Likewise, the second character's playstyle does not feel significantly different from Zizou's, unlike with Riva and Sola; rather, she feels merely like a gimped Zizou that becomes somewhat of a drag to play by the time you finish her achievements. Additionally, the removal of Blocking seems unnecessary, and the removal of the Syega Shop (and Secret Syega Shop with it) removes a bit of replay value compared to 2, in my opinion. No more cute alternate costumes or overpowered abilities. And finally, though the boss battles are a step up from before, the fact that the game will simply put you back to the start of the fight at full health and with all three items, as opposed to the midstage checkpoint, may make them seem a bit easier at times, especially if you've upgraded stock a few times. Overall, I found myself greatly enjoying the game, and liked it more than its predecessors. However, there are also several notable flaws and questionable design choices. In the end though, Moe-gaman 3 is still more than worth its low price, and will keep the player engaged. I look forward to the next installment in the series!