Rance III: The Fall of Leazas

''This page is about the original 1991 release of Rance III. If you're looking for the remake, click here''

"Rance III opening narration."

- Now, one ninja escapes from the falling Leazas Castle. She sets out, to find a certain man...

About
Rance III: The Fall of Leazas is the third installment of Alicesoft's flagship Rance Series. Originally released on October 15, 1991 for PC-9801, X68000 and FM-Towns operating systems, it was later ported to Windows 95 using the company's SYSTEM 35 engine as part of the Alice's Cottage 456 compilation disc on December 12, 1997.

Rance III marks a major turning point in the Rance series in many regards. Whereas its predecessors were small-scale adventure games with limited dungeon exploration that largely isolated the player to a handful of areas, Rance III is a feature-length RPG that spans across several locations and includes much more involved dungeons that, for the first time ever, allow the player to take direct control of the titular protagonist as he traverses through them.

To go along with its more detailed gameplay, Rance III features a much grander plot than either of the games that came before it. Rather than having to resolve an incident within a single city, Rance is tasked with ending a major international conflict, and must travel through two countries and face off against an entire army in order to do so. While the tone is still largely tongue-in-cheek, the stakes are significantly higher and a greater amount of emphasis is placed on telling a dramatic narrative. Several important aspects of the series' setting of The Continent are also introduced in this game, including the stalwart northern nation of Helman, the almighty beings that hold dominion over Monsters known as Dark Lords, and the Dark Sword Chaos, one of the only weapons capable of defeating them.

Along with including return appearances from major characters such as Princess Lia Parapara Leazas and the Four Witches of Kathtom, Rance III is notable for being the formal debut of Kentou Kanami, Lia’s hapless personal Ninja and one of the series’ most iconic characters. While Kanami had made small appearances in both of the previous games, it is here where her name and much of her personality are revealed. Kanami serves as a sort of secondary sidekick to Rance throughout the story alongside his slave and usual companion Sill Plain, accompanying him as a party member from the very beginning and being available to service him sexually whenever the player rests at an inn. In addition, Rick Addison, Patton Helman and the Dark Sword Chaos, the three most prominent male characters in the series after Rance himself, and the sovereign of the Haniwa race the Hanny King all also make their first appearances here.

The game's soundtrack was released under the title Legend of Rance -Kichiku Densetsu-.

On June 5, 2008, Rance III was made freeware as part of Alicesoft's "Distribution Free Declaration" policy and made available on the company's website for free download. On December 25, 2012, it received an English translation by the translating group 2.0 Translations.

On August 6, 2015, an extensive remake of Rance III entitled Rance 03: The Fall of Leazas was released, featuring a completely overhauled gameplay system, modernized graphics, voice acting and an expanded and updated script to make the setting and characters more consistent with the later games of the series. Information pertaining to Rance 03 can be found on its respective page.

Story
For centuries, the nations of Leazas and Helman have had a fierce rivalry, clashing time and time again with no clear victor ever in sight. In the year LP0002, Patton Helman, prince of the Helman Republic, sought to end this eternal conflict once and for all and conquer Leazas in a reckless bid to win his father's approval.

Allying himself with the enigmatic Dark Lord Noce, Patton succeeds in overrunning the Leazas capital city in a single night with the forces of the Helman 3rd Army and a large swarm of monsters, placing the prosperous nation under enemy occupation. His ego swelled by his early victory, Patton orders his troops to begin entering the neighboring territories of the Free Cities Alliance, planning to make his achievement even greater in the process.

Unbeknownst to Patton, Noce possesses an agenda of his own that goes far beyond mere conquest. Deep within the lowest recesses of Leazas Castle, a terrifying power lies dormant. Sealed by the legendary Dark Sword Chaos, Noce intends to unleash this power onto the world, plunging it into an age of unimaginable despair and torment.

Anticipating the intentions of her captors, Princess Lia Parapara Leazas orders her personal ninja Kentou Kanami to flee from Leazas with the royal family's treasured Holy Shield, one of the three items needed to gain entry into the chamber where Chaos resides, and seek out the man that she entrusted with the other two. The fate of her country and the entire Continent hanging in the balance, Lia places all of her faith into this man.

An outrageous man in possession of abilities that go far beyond all others.

A conceited man who thinks only of himself at all times.

A carefree man who always charges blindly forward without ever considering the consequences of his actions.

The man called Rance.

Thus, the curtain rises on this man's greatest adventure yet.

Patches
The updated, freeware English version by 2.0 Translations (which fixes a major glitch) can be downloaded here.