The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Like its predecessors, Magical Drop III is a puzzle game where the player takes control of one of several characters named after a tarot card, battling against computer-controlled opponents. Gameplay is similar to Magical Drop (1995) and Magical Drop II (1996), albeit with further additions; the objective is to clear the screen from a stack of constantly advancing colored 'drops' that descend from the top of the playfield. Drops can be picked up and dropped by the player's character, which is placed at the bottom of the screen, and they disappear when three or more of the same color are put together on a single column. Chains are formed either when a single drop caused a chain reaction or when more than one group of drops are cleared in quick succession. Forming chains cause the opponent's stack to descend faster.
One notable gameplay addition is the introduction of a third button, which allows players to add rows to their field at any time. It is also possible to grab normal and special pieces at the same time. Two players can also participate in a competitive versus mode (one may be a computer opponent), featuring attack patterns that sends lines to the opponent in non-even rows that vary by character. An adventure mode called "Magical Journey" is also introduced, which is a board game that challenges players to reach Empress before computer-controlled rivals by participating in minigames. The game is over once a player is defeated when the stack of drops hits the bottom.
Development
Magical Drop III was developed by Data East, which had previously worked on Magical Drop II (1996) for Neo Geo. It was produced by Naomi Susa, with Shungo Katagiri acting as the game's planner. M. H" and "Poconyan", served as the game's programmers.
Hiroshi Hachiya, Hitomi Hashimoto, Itokku Seta, Kumiko Oka, N. Ishizuka, Rie Sakurai, Seigo Nishiwaki, Shōji Takeuchi, Tomoyuki Arakawa, and Yoshinari Kaiho were responsible for the artwork. The soundtrack was scored by Gamadelic members Hiroaki "Maro" Yoshida, Masaaki "Koremasa" Iwasaki, Shinichi "Sin" Yamazaki, and Tatsuya "nmRtk" Kiuchi. The development team recounted the project's creation and history in interviews.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Magical Drop III on their April 1, 1997 issue as being the third most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks. The game garnered favorable reception from critics. Readers of the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine voted to give the game a 9.0414 out of 10 score, ranking among Sega Saturn games at the number 68 spot in a 2000 public poll. According to Famitsu, the Saturn and PlayStation versions sold over 10,392 and 8,286 copies in their first week on the Japanese market respectively.
GamePro's Johnny Ballgame and Major Mike stated "it's just as addictive as Magical Drop II". Saturn Fan's five critics found the game highly addictive, regarding it as the most strategic entry in the series. Player One's Christophe Delpierre and François Daniel commented that "Magical Drop 3 offers a great alternative for Puzzle Bobble fans." AllGame's Kyle Knight labelled it as one of the best puzzle games on Neo Geo, praising the upgraded audiovisual presentation, new characters, addictive gameplay, and responsive controls.
