Shining Force III/Unused Areas

This is a sub-page of Shining Force III.

Unused Areas

This game is chalk full of unused maps and areas, quite a few of which aren't even programmed into the game! Most can be accessed by either enabling debug or using Action Replay code 3602F0B1 00?? (where "??" is one of the below), though some will require some file swapping to function.

Values	Image	Name	Internal Name	Notes
00		Measurement Test	TESMAP	A black void with a textured floor.
01		(Shop Test)		A simple debugging map containing three shops (Item, Accessory, Weapon), a priest, and the tactician menu. Worth noting is the Advice may have had unique dialogue originally, as selecting it produces the line "That can't be taken off.", which seems to be a global line...
23		Unused Battles	BTL197	Broken map. Replacing Z_AS.MPD with BTL12.MPD will get it to a playable state. As-is, based on the fact that beating it simply repeats the battle (or in some cases reset to title), and the file name BTL197, this was likely intended to be used in a demo, but for whatever reason, never got used.
24	320px	On Roof of FSS Train	BTL198	The demo version of Battle #10. The enemy layout is changed to random assortment (For example, it uses the Minotaur, a late game enemy.) and Shiraf is replaced with an Assassin, but aside from that it's similar to final.
25	320px	FSS Suspension Bridge	BTL199	Also known as "Early Dwarf Valley", the second of two demo maps, and it's working and fully translated! Uses a unique map(TURI00.MPD) which is similar in appearance to the one used in Battle 15: Suspension Bridge. Beating the map resets back to the SEGA logo.
49	320px	Balsamo East Plains
4A		Dwarf Valley		Broken. Places you out of bounds.
4B		Dwarf Valley		There is no map or file strictly called "BTL04". It's either BTL104 or BTL04A.
47		Switching Point	T_BTL08B, X5TWN108.BIN	Accessing it through debug just sends you to battle, while using Action Replay codes produce a somewhat broken duplicate of an in-game cutscene. Reads from a different object list than the used version (T_BTL08). What makes it interesting is this and the preceding value are one of the few battle maps whose opening cutscene take up separate slots internally. and the name of the dialogue script both versions read from.
51		Aspinia East Plains		May be a duplicate of BTL19.MPD.
6A	320px	Railhead Indoor 2	HEYA2	Contains an unfinished second floor of the Railhead Bar. The warp for it still exists in-game, but was blocked off from entering. Attempting to enter this area normally spawns you in the loading zone, meaning you're kicked out almost immediately.
70		Train to Valley	TANIDA	Crashes the game, the error message suggests the game is attempting to call an invalid address, suggesting the file was either moved or removed entirely. A map called TANIDA.MPD does exists, but that appears to be the end of the chapter 2 map, and is loaded using a different value.
82		Storich	STRI	This map is much bigger than what you see in-game, but you're blocked off from entering by guards and locked doors. Going out of bounds reveals the train station, which is in a very unfinished state.
97		Dam	DAM	An out of battle version of the map. You can reach the area the Dam is in after the Catacomb fight, but no entrance was ever programmed.
A7	320px	Aboard Sailing Ship	HNSN00	An early version of the Seagate and Executor from Scenario 2. The map appears bugged, a battle background is layered over half the screen, and it has an odd effect of adding Bold to the game's text once entered, making the dialogue appear oversaturated.
A8		Fort	TORI00	Called "魔天要塞" (literally Demon/Heaven Fortress) on the official website. This map is a leftover from very early in development. It can be briefly seen in the Premium Disc, under "Promotional Video".
A9	320px	Inside Fort	TNKA00	The interior map for above. Its name appears to be a mix of TORI and INKA (The Catacombs map).
AA		Picture Above Ground	NASU00	Very similar to the Nazca Ship map from Shining Force II. Palm trees are slightly broken.
AB	320px	Tree	TREE00	Shares similarities to concept art for an "Amity Village", which is otherwise only mentioned in passing. Although it's also possible it is an earlier design for Stump Village.
AC		Wave	SHIO00	Bears a strong resemblance to Scenario 2's Kraken Battle. An alternate translation of the map name, "Shio", would be "Tide".
N/A		FIELD.MPD	N/A	The following five maps have no known way of accessing in game yet, but can be accessed by swapping files. This specific area appears to have been used for debug purposes, as well as a unused battle "99".
N/A		MUBAR.MPD	N/A	A wooden lodge from the promotional video, the walls don't appear to load properly.
N/A	320px	MGMA00.MPD	N/A	Another unused battle map! Uses textures from the Volcano Hole map, parts of the geometry appear to be glitchy, graphics wise.
N/A		SHIP2.MPD	N/A	The filename suggests this was related to the Seagate/Executor maps, but it doesn't appear to load the graphics properly, likely because the map was made with an earlier build of the game in mind. A similar map with a slightly earlier compile time -by a few hours- exists in the files of the Segakore demo, just as unused, but crashes the game if loaded.
N/A	320px	VOID.MPD	N/A	Its name describes it all. This file is technically used as a sort of skybox, but it's worth noting that there is another duplicate file with similar function, named BLACK.MPD.

Values AD and beyond cause a Disc Read Error.

Unused Warps

• 

  This was obviously supposed to lead to the catacombs, in fact...

• 

  The stairs in the catacombs also have a functional warp! Though entering it only takes you back to the Catacomb's battle. Perhaps that battle was originally meant to take place inside the building...

• 

  These should lead out to Flagard and Malorie, respectively, but you never use them.

• 

  The story is set up so that you never return to the city.

• 

  All but the Catacombs entrance take you here. From here the game appears to be bugged. If you return to HQ at this point, the game will simply restart the Chapter 4 intro, and will keep repeating the same cutscenes, preventing you from progressing.

The blocked off stairs in Aspia Castle as well as the closed gates in the town proper all have functional exits! All of the Aspia entrances warp you to the start of the castle's moat. This also seems to cause glitches, the game may end up replaying cutscenes or simply repeat the chapter 4 introduction. The one in the Catacombs simply restarts Battle 27.

Hidden Objects

If you go out of bounds in certain maps you'll notice a ton of objects and sprites hidden away:

Balsamo Indoors 3

Benetram is present in a corner of the map. He has no lines, so trying to talk to him does nothing.

Great Wall

A hidden rock is present at the very end of the level.

Quonos Village

A lone leaf is present outside the map.

Storich

Storich Indoors

Vagabond

In the Second Vagabond map is another Benetram, again talking to him does nothing.

Locked Doors

Saraband imperial district and the Town of Railhead have locked doors that can't be opened at any point in the game, as attempting to do so will tell you that the door is locked. Stranger still, a few of the ones in the Imperial district are blocked by soldiers and later an event trigger that keeps you away from the door. Another thing of note is the message for the locked door in Railhead is one of the very last entries in the script, suggesting the decision was made fairly late into development.

Deleted Maps

Internally the game appears to be missing at least 2 maps related to the train. GD.MPD is the train battle, then it skips straight to GD4.MPD, GD5.MPD and GD6.MPD. Worth noting that GD3.MPD was found in the Segakore demo. Though it's just an outside view of the train, it also includes another train car that is completely missing from the final, with an NPC blocking off the entrance to where it would have been.