When did Valis III release?

Valis III was first released on September 7, 1990.

Valis III

Sep 7, 1990PlatformTurbografx-16/PC Engine CDSega Mega Drive/GenesisTurboGrafx-CDTurboGrafx-16/PC Engine

Valis III — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Valis III on?: Valis III was released on Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, TurboGrafx-CD, TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine.
When did Valis III release?: Valis III was first released on September 7, 1990.

About Valis III

After Yuko has defeated the evil Rogles, peace descended upon Earth and the magical world of Vecanti. But a new threat has arisen: an enigmatic man named Glames from the Dark World, possessor of a sword named Leethus, is planning to conquer both Earth and Vecanti, convinced that there is no other way to save his world from imminent destruction. A young girl from the Dark World named Cham escapes from Glames, and asks Yuko to help her stop him with the aid of her Valis sword. Like its predecessors in the series, Valis III is a side-scrolling platform action game. Unlike the previous installments, the player can control three characters in the game: Yuko, Cham (who uses a whip and fights similarly to Castlevania protagonists), and princess Valna from Vecanti, who is weaker physically, but can cast more powerful magic. Each of the characters can equip different weapons and has access to her own magic spells.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, TurboGrafx-CD, TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
Developer: Shin-Nihon Laser Soft Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Telenet Japan
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Fantasy

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

74/100

from 5 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1991	$39	$85	$152	11 reviews	Low

Also released on: Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · TurboGrafx-CD · TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

$39

Complete

$85

Sealed

$152

few sales

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Japanese release	$33	$81	—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a week
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about once a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

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

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $3.63 in Apr 2009, $43 five years ago, and $39 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2010	$5.09	—
Jan 2011	$5.50	—
Jan 2012	$13.97	—
Jan 2013	$15.99	—
Jan 2014	$13.62	$31
Jan 2015	$16.95	$9.99
Jan 2016	$22	$49
Jan 2017	$32	$67
Jan 2018	$28	$58
Jan 2019	$27	$69
Jan 2020	$30	$71
Jan 2021	$36	$100
Jan 2022	$47	$153
Jan 2023	$48	$119
Jan 2024	$32	$65
Jan 2025	$29	$73
Jan 2026	$25	$68
Oct 2026	$39	$85

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

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Barcode
North America	June 1991	T-49086	720238100807
Japan	22 March 1991	T-49023	—

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: JP+NA
Released: 1991
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 cut-down Genesis version of a TurboGrafx-CD action game that Sega Pro found dull, though the cart sits well above the middle.

Valis III is an action platformer in which schoolgirl Yuko Asou wields the Valis sword against King Glames. It began on the TurboGrafx-CD, and the Genesis conversion lost most of the cinematic cutscenes. It came out in Japan on 22 March 1991 through Renovation Game and in North America in June 1991 through Renovation Products.

Sega Pro reviewed the import and said it looked great but was incredibly boring.

How it was made

Yoshiki Yamauchi and Masayasu Yamamoto co-programmed the Genesis conversion; both had worked on the series before.

What the press said at the time

Electronic Gaming Monthly		8/10, 8/10, 7/10, 8/10
Famitsu		5/10, 6/10, 7/10, 5/10
Games-X		90%
IGN		7.5/10
Joystick		80%
Raze		85%
Tilt		14/20
Console XS		78/100
Mega Drive Advanced Gaming		48%
Sega Power		4/5
Sega Pro		79/100

Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Genesis version.

How the Sega Genesis version differs

A planned European release of the Genesis version by Ubi Soft never happened; the port was never officially released in that region.

Sega Pro's reviewer called the imported Genesis cartridge great looking but incredibly boring, scoring it 63 percent.

Also on other platforms

TurboGrafx-CD · TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx-CD. The TurboGrafx-CD original includes animated cutscenes, similar to those introduced in Valis II.

How the other versions reviewed

TurboGrafx-16	Aktueller Software Markt	8/12
TurboGrafx-16	Electronic Gaming Monthly	8/10, 8/10, 7/10, 8/10
TurboGrafx-16	Famitsu	5/10, 6/10, 7/10, 4/10
TurboGrafx-16	Joystick	94%
TurboGrafx-16	TurboPlay	8/10

These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.

Before you buy

Among US carts it sits well above the middle. The Japanese cart usually costs somewhat less than the US one when loose, and about the same when complete, and its cartridge has a different shape.