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Arcana Heart 3 (アルカナハート3, Arukana Hāto Surī) is the third entry in the Arcana Heart series. It was originally released for Arcade in Japan on September 20th, 2011. It was then released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Japan on January 10th, 2013, in North America on April 16th, 2013 (only for PS3 digitally), and in Europe on August 16th, 2013.[1]
It has since received three updated re-releases on alternate systems.
Story
It has been two months since the Kantou Incident, the name given to Angelia Avalon’s failed attempt to punch through the walls between dimensions in the Kantou region of Japan.
During the Incident, the Drexler Institute, an organization with ties to demons, began to stir, re-activating various projects in different parts of the world. The Japanese branch of the Drexler Institute was annihilated by the European Celestial Union, but found new life as the Rosenberg Branch of the European Celestial Union.
Soon after the Kantou Incident, large-scale dimensional rifts began to open all across Japan. This sudden uptick in celestial phenomena was seen as exceptionally odd by many, and some even whispered that it could be the result of secret research by the Drexler Institute. The Japanese branch of the Celestial Union was dispatched to investigate the phenomena, and they called on several angels from the National Academy of Metaphysics.
Several angels from the Rosenberg Branch of the Celestial Union were also dispatched, but they were soon intercepted by the Aesir.
Only six days remain until the destruction of Japan...
Gameplay
Gameplay in Arcana Heart 3 has remained the same since earlier games. A new meter was added to the game, called the Force Gauge. When completely filled, the Force Gauge allows the player to perform an Arcana Burst or an Extend Force, a maneuver similar to the Arcana Burst. During Extend Force, your character will be powered up for a short period, boasting increased speed and altered attacks, depending on the Arcana your character is using. Love Max would add Arcana Eclipse, a new move that can only be used once while in Extend Force.
The game also adds a "Simple Mode" which simplifies the control layout into a single button for each major function: one button for normal attacks, one button for special moves, one button for moves involving Arcana, and one button for the game's Homing Dash ability.
Characters
Returning Characters
- Heart Aino - Partinias
- Saki Tsuzura - Bharni
- Kamui Tokinomiya - Anutpada ‡
- Konoha - Moriomoto
- Maori Kasuga - Ohtsuchi
- Mei-Fang - Lang-Gong
- Lilica Felchenrow - Tempestas
- Lieselotte Achenbach - Gier
- Yoriko Yasuzumi - Dieu Mort
- Kira Daidouji - Niptra
- Fiona Mayfield - Oreichalkos ‡†
- Petra Johanna Lagerkvist - Zilrael
- Zenia Valov - Almacia
- Elsa La Conti - Koshmar
- Clarice di Lanza - Sorwat'
- Catherine Kyoubashi - Medein
- Dorothy Albright - Heliogabalus
- Akane Inuwaka - Phenex
- Nazuna Inuwaka - Kayatsuhime
- Angelia Avallone - Mildred
New Characters
Vanilla ver.
Six Stars
- Minori Amanohara - Ichor ‡‡
Six Stars DLC/XTEND
- Pistrix - Paracelsia
- Dark Heart - Love Prison Geist
Boss
† - Boss of Score Attack mode in Vanilla ver. and Gold run of Trail mode in Love Max.
‡ - Boss of Survival Score Attack mode in Love Max.
‡† - Boss of Time Attack mode in Love Max.
‡‡ - Boss of Story Mode in Six Stars.
(*) - Unplayable in the Arcade version of the Vanilla ver. Became playable in the console version and in later revisions.
Updates and Patches
Love Max
The first updated version of the game, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! (アルカナハート3 LOVE MAX!!!!!, Arukana Hāto Surī Love Max!!!!!), was released for Arcade on May 8th, 2014. The game would then be released for PS3 and PS Vita on May 25th, 2014 in Japan, September 23rd, 2014 in North America, and November 20th, 2014 in Europe.[2] The game would also be released worldwide on Steam on September 29th, 2015.[3]
It included rebalanced gameplay, new game modes like Survival Score Attack and Trial Mode, a Training mode in the arcade version, and an After Story mode for the console releases.[4]
Six Stars
The second updated version, Arcana Heart 3 Love Max: Six Stars!!!!!! (アルカナハート3 LOVEMAX: SIXSTARS!!!!!!, Arukana Hāto Surī LoveMax: SixStars!!!!!!), was originally released for Arcade on December 4th, 2014. It included one new character, Minori Amanohara, and her Arcana, Ichor.[5]
Thanks to the support of fans on Kickstarter, Examu began work on a Steam port of Six Stars. The developers set a goal of $100,000 and raised a total of $324,639 from 2,987 backers.[6]
The Steam version of Six Stars released worldwide in December 12th, 2017.
XTEND
The third updated version, Arcana Heart 3 Love Max: Six Stars!!!!!! XTEND (アルカナハート3 LOVE MAX SIX STARS!!!!!! XTEND), was recently announced by Examu. Aside from Pistrix being a new playable character, who was previously promoted as a potential DLC character for Six Stars, nothing is known so far on this version.[7]
Originally, XTEND was slated for a Fall 2019 release[8], but it was delayed to an unknown date due to unexpected bug fixes and lack of staff.[9] Aside from Steam, it's unknown what platforms it will be on.
On February 10th, 2020, due to its impending closure by the end of the month, Examu would pass the development of XTEND to its former subsidiary, Team Arcana, including other development works and product supports which Team Arcana involved.[10]
On February 14th, Team Arcana released an early test version for backers, with Pistrix fully playable.[11]
On August 7th, Team Arcana confirms those who purchased Love Max Six Stars will be upgraded to this update for FREE, while the additional characters for this update, Pistrix and Dark Heart, will be paid DLCs.[12]
Trivia
- This game has the least amount of new characters introduced in the series.
- This is the only game in the series that has had multiple re-releases on both Arcade and on consoles.
- The XTEND update marks the first game not involving Examu.
- In the previous Kickstarter interview, there's a new boss character named Omega. Although a new arc involving her as the main antagonist had been planned, whether she will be included in XTEND as either a playable character or an NPC boss remains unknown.
Trophies
- Main article: Arcana Heart 3/Trophies
Videos
References
- ↑ Arc System Works Bringing Arcana Heart 3 to Consoles - Siliconera
- ↑ Arcana Heart 3 Love Max Coming to PS3 and Vita - Gematsu
- ↑ AH3LM Steam Announcment - Siliconera
- ↑ http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/08/arcana-heart-3-love-max-adds-new-moves-like-the-arcana-eclipse/
- ↑ Arcana Heart 3 Love Max Six Stars Announced - Gematsu
- ↑ AH3LMSS Kickstarter Page
- ↑ https://twitter.com/examu_PR/status/1120947560154161152
- ↑ https://twitter.com/team_arcana/status/1159990612965220352
- ↑ https://twitter.com/team_arcana/status/1208713419295088640
- ↑ https://twitter.com/team_arcana/status/1226872799790170114
- ↑ https://twitter.com/team_arcana/status/1228205597293563904
- ↑ https://twitter.com/team_arcana/status/1291631579782029314?s=21
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