When did James Pond 3: Operation Starfish release?

James Pond 3: Operation Starfish was first released on December 31, 1993.

James Pond 3: Operation Starfish

Dec 31, 1993PlatformArcadeAmiga CD32Super Nintendo Entertainment System Sega Mega Drive/GenesisAmigaAmiga AGA

James Pond 3: Operation Starfish — frequently asked questions

What platforms is James Pond 3: Operation Starfish on?: James Pond 3: Operation Starfish was released on Amiga CD32, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Amiga, Amiga AGA, Sega Game Gear, Atari Jaguar.
When did James Pond 3: Operation Starfish release?: James Pond 3: Operation Starfish was first released on December 31, 1993.

About James Pond 3: Operation Starfish

Unlike the first game of the series, that was a mission-based game, and the second one, where your character had unique abilities such as observing the whole level and growing to unlimited height, James Pond 3 is a standard jump and run platform game. Pond can run very quickly (by holding down the A button) through large levels, which often contain steep mountain sides and other tricky areas. Once again, he has to oppose the evil scientist Maybe and his minions.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Amiga CD32, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Amiga, Amiga AGA, Sega Game Gear, Atari Jaguar
Developer: Millennium Interactive
Publisher: U.S. Gold
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Science fiction, Comedy

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

60/100

from 6 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1993	$12	$27	$57	Low

Also released on: Amiga CD32 · Super Nintendo Entertainment System · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · Amiga · Amiga AGA · Sega Game Gear · Atari Jaguar. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$12

Complete

$27

Sealed

$57

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
European (PAL) release	$13	$21	—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a month
Complete: about once a month
Sealed: about 2 times a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $2.20 in Oct 2007, $13.25 five years ago, and $11.66 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2008	$2.48	—
Jan 2009	$2.65	—
Jan 2010	$1.50	—
Jan 2011	$4.90	—
Jan 2012	$3.47	—
Jan 2013	$2.34	—
Jan 2014	$4.06	$10.22
Jan 2015	$5.59	$5.99
Jan 2016	$3.99	$19.99
Jan 2017	$6.05	$11.97
Jan 2018	$7.20	$9.99
Jan 2019	$7.70	$15.49
Jan 2020	$10.52	$19.95
Jan 2021	$10.66	$25
Jan 2022	$13.80	$24
Jan 2023	$15.49	$25
Jan 2024	$12.30	$25
Jan 2025	$10.74	$30
Jan 2026	$10.96	$21
Oct 2026	$11.66	$27

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Barcode
North America	December 1993	014633716658
Europe / PAL	November 1993	—

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1993
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A cheerful platformer with a hundred-plus levels, and priced around the middle.

James Pond 3: Operation Starfish is the third game in the James Pond series, made by Vectordean and published by Electronic Arts on the Genesis. It came out in Europe in November 1993 and North America in December 1993. The title is stylized Operation Starfi5h after Pond's secret service, F.I.5.H, and its working title was Splash Gordon.

Game Players praised the strategy and problem-solving, over 100 levels and hidden passages for incredible replay value. Electronic Games likewise described a fast action game with about a hundred levels and cute graphics.

How the Sega Genesis version differs

Electronic Games described the Genesis game as a fast action game with about one hundred levels and lots of cute graphics.

Also on other platforms

Amiga AGA · Amiga CD32 · Super NES · Game Gear · Atari Jaguar

Amiga AGA. The Amiga version was released only for AGA Amigas (Amiga 1200, Amiga 4000 and CD32); an OCS/ECS version was cancelled because levels were too large for one megabyte of RAM.
Super NES. In 1995 Total! ranked the Super NES version 99th in its Top 100 SNES Games, calling it smooth, big and challenging but repetitive.
Atari Jaguar. An Atari Jaguar version was planned but never released after the sub-contracted programmer and the code disappeared.

Before you buy

Among US carts it sits about at the middle. The European cart usually costs about the same loose and less complete. A complete US copy means the case, cartridge and manual.