Daikoukai Jidai III: Costa Del Sol
Released in 1996 on PC, this title was the first to depart from the formula and engine of the series. The traditional focus on story was removed in this game, and some character customization is possible, if only purely decorative. There are two player characters from Portugal and Spain. Although the differences between them are mainly mechanical, the role-playing element was greatly reduced.
The theme of exploration is heavily emphasized, as land travel is now possible, and there is a lot more to be explored and discovered overall, compared to the early titles. The game starts in the mid fifteenth century and allows for the player to make historical discoveries such as the New World or a route to India as well as conquer civilizations like the Aztec and Inca Empire. Also, the game experiments with the concept of language in a video game, a feature uncommon in the industry, and necessitating the hiring of translators and teachers. The player can also continue the game by marrying bar-girls and having children, who in turn can continue the seafaring tradition and even take on part of his father's skills and inventory. Perhaps it is due to these dramatic changes that Daikoukai Jidai 3 left players uncomfortable and failed to achieve much popularity even within Japan.
At its initial release, this title caused some controversy for allowing slave trade in the game. The feature is disabled in later updates.
Unlike most games in the series, this game was never released for consoles; it was only released for PC, working under Windows 2000.
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