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Gaming History GH

Magical Drop III [Model NGM-233]

29 Years old SNK Neo-Geo MVS cart. Data East Corp. [Japan]
Magical Drop III [Model NGM-233] screenshot

Magical Drop III © 1997 Data East.

More characters, more gameplay modes, more frantic gameplay, more fun! This is what every videogame sequel should be, and the sequel to one of the best puzzle games for the Neo-Geo MVS is indeed a game not to be missed! Lots of fun for one or two players!

Goodies for Magical Drop III [Model NGM-233]
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TECHNICAL

Runs on the SNK "Neo-Geo MVS" hardware.
Game ID: NGM-233

Players: 2
Control: 8-Way Joystick
Buttons: 3
=> [A] Catch Balloons, [B] Throw Balloons, [C] Shift the balloons a line down

TRIVIA

Magical Drop III was released on February 25, 1997. This is Data East's final arcade video game.

The game now features parodies of all the characters featured in the 22 cards of the major Arcana in a Tarot card deck. These are numbered from 0 to 21 as follows :
00. Fool
01. Magician
02. High Priestess
03. Emperor
04. Empress
05. Hierophant
06. Lovers
07. Chariot
08. Strength
09. Hermit
10. (Wheel of) Fortune
11. Justice
12. Hanged Man
13. Death
14. Temperance
15. Devil
16. Tower
17. Star
18. Moon
19. Sun
20. Judgement
21. World

Note that the only exception to this statement would be Black Pierrot since he does not appear in a Tarot card deck. Black Pierrot is an added bonus character to challenge really good Magical Drop 3 pros!

Note : In puzzle and adventure modes, only 8 characters are available : Fool, High Priestess, Emperor, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Justice and Star.

Default highscore table :
Name Score Reactions Time
1ST D.E 5000 8 06:00
2ND D.E 4500 7 05:30
3RD D.E 4000 6 05:00
4TH D.E 3500 5 04:30
5TH D.E 3000 4 04:00

Soundtrack releases (for limited edition):
Magical Drop III - Pony Canyon / Scitron - PCCBX-00002 - March 21, 1997

UPDATES
The Japanese version of this game features LOTS of stuff unavailable in any other version :

* In Challenge Mode there is a story intro at the beginning explaining the reason behind the Magical Drop competition, an extra animation showing a close-up of the Magical Drop book as it opens, an ending for each character available in the game, a "Hard" difficulty setting, as well as a bonus fortune reading when you beat the Challenge Mode or you lose against the CPU and refuse to continue. All of this is absent in the USA & Europe versions.

* In Challenge Mode, each character has a unique set of quotes before a battle begins, this even applies in the battles against the end bosses Tower & Fortune. In the USA & Europe versions there are only two possible quotes before a fight for all characters :

Quote #1
CPU : Get out of my way!
Player : I'll never lose to you!

Quote #2
CPU : You want to fight?
Player : Now let's see who is better!

* In Adventure mode, each character has its very own story intro as well as its very own ending which is different from the one seen in Challenge mode. Additionally this mode plays like a board game in which you compete against three other characters on the board, and if any of the others get to Empress' castle before your character, you will get a generic bad ending. If you arrive on a tile already occupied by a CPU-controlled character, you will have 2 options :
1) The option on the right : you don't want to trouble and ignore the opponent (sometimes you will have to back off 1 tile)
2) The option on the left : you fight the opponent. If you win, he or she will be eliminated but it would be the same for you if you fail, so be careful!
In the USA and European versions, there is no storyline and the only character on the board is controlled by the player.

* Like in the previous game, each character has his/her own unique voice. The European version features less voice tracks and the USA version features a single voice track for all characters.
TIPS AND TRICKS
* Play as Father Strength : At the character select screen, highlight Strength, hold C and press A or B. This trick does not work nor in puzzle mode nor in adventure mode.

* Play with bonus characters : At the character select screen, highlight any character (Except World, World's number is 21 so she can't be used for this trick) and wait until the timer counts down to the number assigned to that character :
00 - Fool
01 - Magician
02 - High Priestess
03 - Empress
04 - Emperor
05 - Hierophant
06 - Lovers
07 - Chariot
08 - Strength
11 - Justice
13 - Death
15 - Devil
17 - Star
19 - Sun
20 - Judgment
Then push C only three times. Moon, Hanged Man, Hermit, Temperance, Tower and Fortune will appear and will now be selectable. This trick does neither work in puzzle mode nor in adventure mode.

* Secret Stages :
1) Moon (after Level 6) : Finish the sixth stage without exceeding 90 seconds since the beginning.
2) Hanged Man (after Level 6) : Finish the sixth stage exceeding 300 seconds since the beginning.
3) Black Pierrot (after Level 10) : Finish the tenth stage with at least 150000 points.
SERIES
📜
1. Magical Drop (1995, Arcade)
2. Magical Drop Plus 1! (1995, Arcade)
3. Magical Drop II [Model NGM-221] (1996, Arcade)
4. Magical Drop III [Model NGM-233] (1997, Arcade)
5. Magical Drop F - Daibouken Mo Rakujyanai! (1999, PlayStation)
6. Magical Drop V (2012, Arcade)
STAFF
👥
PORTS
CONSOLES

flag SNK Neo-Geo AES (apr.25, 1997) "Magical Drop III [Model NGH-233]"
flag Sega Saturn (june.20, 1997) Magical Drop III - Toretate Zoukangou! [Model T-1313G]
flag Sony PlayStation (oct.30, 1997) Magical Drop III - Yokubari Tokudaigou! [Model SLPM-86051]
flag Sega Saturn (oct.22, 1998) Magical Drop III - Toretate Zoukangou! [Sega Saturn Collection] [Model T-1318G]
flag Sony PlayStation (feb.25, 1999) Magical Drop III + Wonderful! [Model SLPS-01917~8]
SNK Neo-Geo Pocket Color flag (june.24, 1999) Magical Drop Pocket [Model NEOP00480]
flag Sony PlayStation (mar.1, 2001) Magical Drop III + Wonderful! [Model SLPM 86755~6]
flag Nintendo Wii (feb.19, 2010) "Data East Arcade Classics [Model RVL-P-R26E]"
SOURCES
🔗
ROM dump (MAME).
Machine's picture.