The delusion may be dark, but the game shines bright!

U.S. Game Front

The Deception Series Does
Not Believe In Good Or Evil.
You Must Decide The Fate Of
Yourself And Everyone Else.

I Could Tell You Who This
Person Is, But That Might Ruin
It For You. It's Pretty Obvious Though.

I Like This Loading Screen. There
Are Also Several Ones Like This.

After the astounding success of "Kagero: Deception II" back in 1998, Tecmo starts to develop ideas for yet another game to add to their Deception series. Unlike the two previous games in the Deception series, Deception III: Dark Delusion did not receive as much fame or recognition. While a few people (such as the ones list in the "Other Info") made mention of Deception III, the news around the game was relatively light. Does this mean that the game wasn't as good as the two past games? Not in the slightest. I think that the most wonderful quality of the whole Deception series is that each game possesses different characteristics that make each of them interesting in their own way and D3:DD is no exception. Each game in the series is significantly different from one another and that's what sequels are supposed to be like.

This time around, the plot revolves around a girl named Reina (I've seen her called Layna too) whose name can be changed to whatever suits you. A long time ago, Reina got lost from her real mother and was all alone...until a nice women named Rosetta found Reina and raised her as her own. Life got better for Reina and for a while, she was happy. She helped out Rosetta and her son, Paul, and they lived quietly at their home as Burganfadans. However, during Reina's 17th birthday, a group of thugs break into Rosetta's home and kidnap the three residents of the home. When Reina wakes up, she is on a ship headed for the Kingdom of Alendar.

You soon meet King Frederick, where Reina witnesses the horrible death of her stepmother and brother. Reina is then thrown in the dungeon and this is how your tale begins. Reina's 17th birthday holds more meaning than she may realize and she is in the center of a plot filled with sadness, cruelty, and greed. The choices that you make can change the fate of your heroine as well as those around her. I admit that I found the story and area names to be pretty cheesy (one such place being called Castle Agony...) this time around, the story is very cliched, and the translation isn't the greatest. Granted, the story in all the games were pretty ordinary in many aspects, but this game kinda laid it on a bit thick. Still, there are some points in the story that are quite interesting.

If you liked the style and atmosphere of Kagero: Deception II, then you are in for a real treat in Tecmo's third installment to the series. The roaring flame of the fireplace...The smoke and steam coming out of the machinery...The crazy contraptions making noise and animating gorgeously...I just can't get enough of the stuff. The environments just possess so much style and the attention to detail is noteworthy. The 3D character models are smoothed out a little more, but it seems that they were able to achieve this by making the characters a bit grainier. The settings and characters of this game remind me more of the earlier 1900's with the old fashioned environments and machinery. I feel this way even more when I look at the intermission screens present within the game.

To some, the change of setting may seem a little boring. I feel that the change is just fine because Tecmo was simply trying to do new things in different settings. The game isn't as much of a horror game as the past games though. Why? The music isn't as dark or chilling. Actually, most of the music doesn't even come close to filling that bit. Instead, you are introduced into some finely composed piano music that is calm and soothing. Other times, you are faced with a suspenseful theme that accompanies you during the "peak" points within the story during battle. I dig some of the music in this game more than I did in K:D2, but I probably only enjoy them as much as I do because they nicely fit with the new setting and change of artistic direction.

The gameplay is more of the same from K:D2. However, I say this in a very good way, not in the way that makes it seem like a cheap attempt to milk the cash cow. The game saw what went right with K:D2 and wanted to keep that. You still can't attack enemies directly, you still are limited to three traps (Ceiling, Wall, and Floor) in a set room, you still can't use the same trap over and over rapidly, you still must time the use of traps and learn how different traps function....blah....blah, blah....BLAH! Simply put, you still do many of the same things you did in the previous game. Thankfully, this still includes all the awesome ideas like using the various properties of the room (such as stairs or water) in your favor and you can still create incredible trap combos.

You can also find yellow crystals scattered around the map too and you can touch them or use a trap to hit them. When they are activated, you can set off special traps that may be in a particular room. These traps add even more fun to the game! There are new features too, such as a training mode to practice using traps in the various maps you've already visited (since you also travel to different areas just like K:D2) as well as an "Expert" mode and "Trap License" mode. The Trap License mode is a training mode for beginners while the Expert mode enables you to attempt difficult "puzzle missions" which requires you to do various tasks. There are 100 different missions in the Expert mode and it can separate the beginners from the pros.

The biggest new addition to the trap system is the use of "Base Circles", "Emblems", "Rings", and "Orbs". In the previous games, you generally had to follow a "Trap Tree". What that means is that if you make "x" and/or "y", you end up with "z". Tecmo changed things in D3:DD though. Base Circles are the trap you wish to alter. For example, you start with the Pendulum trap, and that would serve as the base if you choose to use it. However, with emblems, rings, and orbs, you can turn that ordinary Pendulum trap into a truly fearsome trap. The three aforementioned things alter the properties of a trap when you use them while creating a trap. One such emblem is the fire emblem and if you decide to use that emblem while creating a Mega Rock trap, you can turn it into a Flare Rock! That's not all though. If you add orbs to the Flare Rock, it becomes more powerful. If you add at least three orbs, it even gets new properties! The Flare Rock will now explode upon contact with the enemy if it has at least three orbs! You can apply various effects on traps...even make controllable traps that allow you to move them of your own free will! This new trap creation system opened a huge door of possibilities and it's all so fun to use.

There are a ton of other things such as unlockables and multiple endings for that much needed replayability and D3:DD has the most sophisticated and advanced trap system in the entire series! While I liked K:D2 more for reasons I can't explain, D3:DD is a great game that I feel is a great addition to a great series. You get great visuals, classy sound, and great gameplay that even surpasses the game mechanics of the previous game.

- Written by Vyse the determined -