Game Details
| Size | 418 MB |
| Region | Japan |
| Genre | RPG |
| Format | 7z / ISO |
| Year | August 4, 2011 |
| Console | PSP |
Elminage III: Ankoku no Shito to Taiyou no Kyuuden (2011)—translated as Dark Apostle and the Sun Palace—is the final main-line entry for the PSP. Developed by Opera House, it is often seen as the “experimental” sibling in the trilogy, introducing dynamic weather and time systems to the classic grid-based crawl.
The Plot: The Fading Sun
The story moves to a new setting centered around the Sun Palace, a celestial structure that provides light and purification to the world.
-
The Crisis: The Sun Palace’s light has begun to fade, and “Dark Apostles” (servants of the dark) have invaded the holy ground.
-
The Calling: Since the palace is high in the sky, unreachable by normal means, the world begins to fall into literal and spiritual darkness. You lead a party of adventurers tasked with climbing the heights and restoring the sun’s power.
New Features: Beyond the Grid
Elminage III attempted to break the “static” feel of previous entries with several new environmental mechanics:
-
Dynamic Weather & Time: The game introduced a day/night cycle and changing weather (rain, snow, fog). This isn’t just visual; certain monsters only appear at night, and weather can affect your accuracy or the effectiveness of certain elemental spells.
-
Extra Skills: In addition to the “High Master” skills from Elminage II, characters can now learn “Extra Skills.” These allow you to further specialize a character, such as giving a Mage more defensive capabilities or a Fighter the ability to counter-attack more frequently.
-
Full Style Load: The custom portrait system returned in its most advanced form, allowing for better transparency support and higher-quality imports for your party’s faces and full-body “style” shots.
-
Bento System: You can now prepare and carry “Bento” (lunch boxes) into dungeons. These provide various buffs and recovery over time, adding a layer of preparation before long expeditions.
Gameplay & Customization
-
Races & Classes: Retains the 12 races and 16 classes (including the unique Servant, Puppetmaster, and Shaman roles).
-
The Map: The game world is larger, with dungeons that feel more “organic” and less like repetitive corridors, though it still strictly follows the 20×20 grid movement.
-
Contracting: The Summoner’s ability to “Contract” with monsters remains a core mechanic, allowing you to turn late-game bosses into your personal bodyguards.
Short Review: The Mixed Finale
The Good
-
The Customization King: Between Style Load and the new Extra Skills, this is arguably the most “customizable” DRPG on the PSP.
-
Atmosphere: The inclusion of weather and day/night cycles makes the world feel much more alive than the “frozen in time” dungeons of Original and II.
-
Music: Features a high-quality, haunting soundtrack that perfectly captures the “fading world” theme.
The Bad
-
Balance Issues: Critics and fans often note that the game balance in III is a bit wonky compared to the polished II. Certain Extra Skills are game-breakingly powerful, while others are useless.
-
Polishing Issues: The game was released with several minor bugs and UI quirks that were never fully patched on the PSP version.
-
The Wall: Like the rest of the series, the learning curve is a vertical cliff. If you don’t enjoy managing spreadsheets of stats and losing characters to random trap doors, this will be frustrating.
Screenshots
