Growlanser III The dual darkness

Growlanser III The dual darkness is the third non-stop dramatic RPG “Growlanser Series”.

It was produced at the same time as the previous work “Growlanser II The sense of justice” and was released just a few months after the previous work.

Therefore, many of the UI, graphics, sound, and battle system are diverted.

But unlike the previous work, which was closer to the fan disk, it is made as a single RPG, and it can be said that it is a different thing in terms of the basic system it is made of.

Table of Contents

Story

The story takes place 500 years before Growlanser I, the “world of death”, the hometown of mankind that was told in the first work.

The setting of the Growlanser I is the new world where some people moved to escape the destruction, and this work takes place in the world of death before and after the migration plan.

• JP
• JP (M)
• Colletion
• ENG
• ENG (D)

Growlanser III The dual darkness
Developer	Career Soft
Publisher	Atlus
Release	JP: December 6, 2001 (PlayStation 2)
Genre	TRPG
Mode	Single Player
Prequel	-
Sequel	Growlanser

Growlanser III The dual darkness (Moe-Moe Lucky Pack)
Developer	Career Soft
Publisher	Atlus
Release	JP: December 6, 2001 (PlayStation 2)
Genre	TRPG
Mode	Single Player
Prequel	-
Sequel	Growlanser

Growlanser Collection
Developer	Career Soft
Publisher	Atlus
Release	JP: December 18, 2003 (PlayStation & PlayStation 2)
Genre	TRPG
Mode	Single Player
Features	Growlanser I ~ III

Growlanser Generations
Developer	Career Soft
Publisher	Working Designs
Release	NA: December 7, 2004 (PlayStation 2)
Genre	TRPG
Mode	Single Player
Features	Growlanser II ~ III

Growlanser Generations (DELUXE)
Developer	Career Soft
Publisher	Working Designs
Release	NA: December 7, 2004 (PlayStation 2)
Genre	TRPG
Mode	Single Player
Features	Growlanser II ~ III

In this world, the sun has changed and the amount of sunlight falling on the ground has decreased. As a result, crops stopped growing, human population decreases, and even wars between countries for food resources have occurred, and they began to enter the path of destruction.

The hometown of mankind is full of the source of magic, “Growshu,” and humans prospered with magical techniques by being able to use magic freely. On the other hand, the feathered race “Featherian” cannot use magic, so they are developing science and technology.

However, because there was no Growshu in the new world and magic could not be used, Featherian’s science and technology was transmitted to humans. Later, by pulling Growshu from the original world with a device, they will be able to use magic somehow.

Therefore, world of Growlanser I is a world view that is a mixture of science and magic, and there are also humans called “Growshian” who had a channel with this world.

In this world, since Growshu is the existence of the atmosphere itself, so magic can be used naturally, while science and technology are familiar to only a few humans other than Featherians. Therefore, even in the series, there are few science fiction elements, and the style has a strong fantasy color.

The story begins from the Xironia Federation, a land that has not been significantly affected by the incident. It depicts the story of a boy who was the progenitor of Growlanser (the savior of light) told in the first work.

The cause of the war is food shortages due to poor crops. The beginning of the story, the Xironia Federation but has been invaded by the Aggressival Kingdom, which has been hit by a serious food crisis that has caused starvation.

Therefore, in exchange for food, the Xironia Federation will form an alliance with the neighboring Schelfengrif Empire to confront Aggressival. However, the empire is in a state of internal conflict due to the struggle for succession caused by the assassination of the emperor.

Since most of the land of Roland Kingdom has been devastated by long rains, they are proceeding a “space-time fusion project” to move to a new world in cooperation with Featherians. This “space-time fusion project” is an important factor leading to the Growlanser I.

When the Roland people who turned into refugees rushed to the empire territory, empire had no choice but to block the tunnel, resulting in a large number of starvation deaths. It is also painful that a large number of skeletonized corpses are packed in boxes in the tunnel to Roland.

Behind such a war, the existence of those called “spirit messenger” who use spirits to manage the order of the world can be seen. Eventually, the story begins to move around the sprit messengers.

• JP Version
• US Version

Gameplay

The previous work was a simulation-like system in which the elements of map search were abolished, but in this work, it returns to the same RPG system as the first work. However, the various systems are very different from the previous works, and the series also has its own color.

The world map format like a general RPG is adopted instead of the continuity between towns. There will be random encounters on the world map.

Some of the dungeons are random dungeons which structure will change every time the player enters from the entrance, whether it is a cave, an underground passage, or a building.

By returning to RPG, you can feel the uniqueness that “battle is also a part of the scenario” again that wasn’t really felt in the previous work because it was too much SRPG style, and this time also various situations prepared abundantly. You can enjoy various event battles.

The battle system is almost the same as the Growlanser II, but “cooperation magic” has appeared as a new element. There are some magics that can only be activated by the cooperation of 2 characters who use different types of magic. While inheriting the basics of the Growlanser II, the battle system has returned to an RPG style like Growlanser I.

The consumable item has also been revived, making it easier to deal with emergency during battle. Experience points have also returned to being distributed to everyone after the battle, rather than being gained at the time of action. It is no longer necessary to allocate skill points during battle.

Also, in Growlanser I, skill points of characters outside the party were allocated arbitrarily, but this time a considerable amount can be stocked, and it is possible to allocate it at any time. It is no longer possible to save and load during battle like the previous work.

The party returns member selection system again with maximum of 4 members. By importing clear data from Growlanser II, you can make the characters part of the party (completing Victor‘s side quests is required).

Following the previous work, event battles will be evaluated, but the result display this time is flashy. COMPLETE with light overflows, and CLEAR with flowing-like effect, and FAILED with a horror-like and frightening thing.

Back to Silent Protagonist

The main character “Slayn“, is a silent protagonist type similar to “Carmine“. However, this time, the choices have increased significantly compared to the previous works, and of course the player’s intention can be reflected in many situations, and a system that changes the character of the protagonist according to the selected choice has been introduced. It is easier for players to empathize.

For example, if you choose an option to help people, the character of the protagonist will change closer to a good person, and vice versa.

There are also parameters such as gentle, intelligence, playboy, hot-blooded, etc.

As a result, “options that cannot be selected with the current personality” have appeared.

If the protagonist is a good person, you will not be able to select a evil choice.

And if protagonist is an idiot, you will not be able to select accurate answer.

Due to the unique setting in this work, there is also an event where the main character suddenly starts talking, and there is also a unique element such as making a shout in battle.

Revival of Fairy Character

Unlike the previous work, in which the main character is talking protagonist, by returning to the silent protagonist type, the fairy character who will be the spokesperson has revived.

“Rummy” of this game is a loose fluffy character completely different from “Tipi” of “Growlanser I”, and of course she does not kick the protagonist.

Her way of speaking is also fluffy and unique, making her a refreshing agent in a dark world.

Revival of Vacation System

A new vacation system similar to Growlanser I is presented. Although the atmosphere is different from Growlanser I, the protagonist is not given a limited number of days off and no vacation destination, but just enjoy time in Voltone City which is their base.

In the apartment, you can break up the party anytime and visit the room of your friends.

There are many individual events where you can build good relationship with your friends, such as being passed through the room or going out for dinner together.

The fairy will tell the protagonist when the event will happen. Other than that, even if protagonist visits friends’s room, they will say “I can’t leave now” or can’t talk.

The event may change depending on the order of visiting the room, and you can sometimes experience different events in different playthrough.

The reason why there are so many rooms in the apartment is that you can import the previous characters. They don’t have vacation events, but they give a comment when visited.

In addition to the shop, there are item development by Victor, a fortune teller who tells the protagonist’s personality and friends’ affection, and an information department where you can know the world situation and request various surveys exists, and the atmosphere of a “base” is strongly felt.

You can also recruit human resources from other cities to your base, this is similar to the MY CITY system in Growlanser I.

Opening & Ending Theme

Reflecting this dark and sad world view, the theme song is a sad song that is different from the previous two works. The atmosphere of the opening movie is also moist and quiet, which is different from the conventional and next works, and it stands out even in the series.

君のあしたへ”Kimi no Ashita e” (To Your Future)
Vocal: 南央美”Minami Ōmi” / Omi Minami

This time there is only one theme song. There is a difference between the piano arrangement in the OP and the original song in the ED.

In the localized version, they also localized this song.

To Your Tomorrow
Vocal: Kathy Emma

Playthrough