Valis III

Like its predecessors, Valis III is an action-platform game starring Yuko Asou, wielder of the mystical Valis sword, and is set after the events of Valis II. Together with her two allies, Valna and Cham, Yuko must prevent the Dark World's king, Glames, who is wielding the sword Leethus, from destroying Vecanti and Earth, . The player controls Yuko through two-dimensional levels, battling enemies, jumping from ledge to ledge, and running until the player faces a boss at the end of each level. At certain points in the game, gameplay pauses, and a cinematic cutscene plays regarding the game's storyline.

The main difference between Valis III and previous games in the Valis series is that the player is now in control of multiple characters that can be switched at any time (reminiscent of Zillion (1987) and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse). Each character uses different upgradable weapons (Yuko has a chargeable energy wave, Cham has a whip, and Valna shoots magical blasts from her wand) and spells (of lightning, fire, and ice variety). The characters cannot be switched during boss fights, where the choice of the character also results in a different cutscene. Some stages also force the player to play as a particular character, usually the main heroine Yuko.

King Glames leads denizens of the Dark World to conquer both Vecanti and Earth, seeking a home for his people before the destruction of his planet. Against this common foe, Yuko Asou fights together with Cham and Valna. Furthermore, the mystical Valis sword wielded by Yuko Asou is shown to be capable of more than what Yuko has accomplished with it thus far. During the course of the game, Yuko rescues Cham from kidnapped and Valna from captivity.

Later, they visit the ruler of Vecanti, Nizetti, and unleashes the Valis blade's full potential, which culminates in a climactic battle between the three girls and Glames as well the returning antagonist from the first game, Rogles. Yuko defeats them both, and for her dutiful and unwavering service, she is permitted to step down from being a guardian and become a goddess in Vecanti, leaving Earth behind forever. The Valis sword retires to the heavens, and Vecanti prepares itself for prosperity, while Cham and Valna wave goodbye to Yuko as she departs to take on her new role.

Valis III was developed by Laser Soft, an internal gaming division of Telenet, previously responsible for Valis II (1989). It was created by most of the same staff members who worked on the previous entry, with both Masami Hanari and Fumiyuki Moriyama reprising their roles as director and producer respectively, while animator Osamu Nabeshima returned as one of the game's artists. Because of being released on CD-ROM, the team was able to include animated cutscenes into the game as they had done before with Valis II.

Valis III was first released for the PC Engine CD-ROM² (the Japanese iteration of the TurboGrafx-CD) by Telenet on September 7, 1990. The game was shown off at the 1991 Summer Consumer Electronics Show and originally slated for a January 1992 launch in North America, before being eventually published by NEC in March 1992 for the TurboGrafx-CD. The game was then ported to the Sega Genesis, published by Renovation Game (Reno) in Japan on March 22, 1991. Telenet also released the Genesis version through its subsidiary Renovation Products in North America in June 1991.

Valis III on the TurboGrafx-CD garnered generally favorable reviews from critics, some of which reviewed it as an import title. Readers of PC Engine Fan voted to give the game a 24.02 out of 30 score, ranking at the number 30 spot in a 1992 public poll. According to programmer Masayasu Yamamoto in a 2007 interview, the PC Engine version sold better compared to the Sega Mega Drive release.

Joystick's Jean-Marc Demoly applauded the title's gameplay and audiovisual improvements compared to Valis II. Aktueller Software Markt's Sandra Alter also commended the graphics, sound and gameplay, but criticized its animated cutscenes between stages for their length. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers felt that the TurboGrafx-CD version was superior, but they disliked its overall audio design and low difficulty. TurboPlay's Donn Nauert stated that the game's multiple characters offered enough challenge for players. Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata wrote that "At the time of its release, Valis III was by far the most versatile, fun and best-looking game in the series."