The Legend of Heroes III: White Witch

(英雄伝説III 白き魔女), released in North America as The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch, is a role-playing game developed and published by Nihon Falcom for PC-98 in 1994, and the first installment in the Gagharv trilogy. It was licensed to Hudson and GFM for a Sega Saturn and PSone version, respectively. Before the release of, Falcom re-released the game on Windows.

Bandai's remake for PSP remake was released in North America in 2006 as the second title of the Gagharv Trilogy, but chronologically it is the final chapter, taking place 49 years after in the year 992.

Characters

 * Jurio, a young and naïve pilgrim from Ragpick.
 * Christina, a carefree girl who travels with Jurio.
 * Shirla, a beautiful but otherwise unsuccessful thief.
 * Goose, Shirla's partner-in-crime but equally unsuccessful.
 * Lodi, a young swordsman seeking revenge on Galga.
 * Alf, a traveler who in a strange manner.
 * Roule, a cheerful old man who likes gambling at Dice.
 * Morrison, aide to Ambisch's king and an specialised in Kand.
 * Philly, daughter of the Compounder Liz.
 * Huck, Chris' eccentric uncle who is knowledgeable about the White Witch.

Setting
The Legend of Heroes III: White Witch takes place in an era when it was believed there was no world beyond the fissure known as Gagharv and the treacherous mountain range Great Serpent's Backbone. There lived a girl known as the White Witch, travelling as a pilgrim. For her innate precognition she was praised at some times, persecuted at others. She nevertheless continued her journey, leaving prophecies in her wake.

The Legend of Heroes III: White Witch starts in G.992, twenty years after the White Witch vanished. Jurio and Chris, a boy and a girl living in the village of Ragpick, Pholthia, are about to embark on a coming of age journey that is tradition in their village. This journey is like the one the witches once did.

On the day of their departure, a minstrel visits their village. They soon discover the minstrel was actually one of two thieves in disguise, aiming to steal the village's treasured Silver Dagger. On their way out, the thieves run into the eccentric Old Man Lap and lose their loot. Old Man Lap hands the dagger to Jurio, informing him and Chris of its importance for their journey.

After arriving in Nyri, Menarth, Jurio and Chris head to Alde to take the fishing boat Thalassa to Negall Island. En route they catch a glimpse of the supermassive sea monster Galga and learn it recently attacked Negall Island. When they arrive in Tegra, where the Shrine is situated, they find houses mercilessly destroyed.

At the shrine, they offer the Silver Dagger and are presented with images of Galga and a red light. It reminded them of the grim future ahead of them. They consult the sage overseeing the Shrine, but he informs the image is a reflection of the spectator's state of mind and advises them not to take it too seriously.

Completing the second stop of their pilgrimage, they return to Tegra to help to mine the Crimson Flame at Old Man Kevin's request. Once done, they cross the sea back to Citta, Menarth, on the mainland. There they run into a peculiar man with an equally strange manner of speaking, introducing himself as Alf. Chris offers him food to calm down his grumbling stomache, but Alf turns down the offer. After a standoff Alf gives in and accepts the food. In return for the meal, he accompanies the two up to Nelva.

They arrive in a partially destroyed city. One elderly man reminiscences of the White Witch's prophecy and whether this is what she had foretold. Unable to turn a blind eye to the situation, Chris decides to head south and gather information in the neighbouring country of Ambisch. As such, the group travels further south again.

On their way south, Jurio and Chris run into the talented swordsman Lodi. They had already heard about him from his grandfather, Old Man Kevin on Negall Island, and ask him to accompany them if they head in the same direction anyway. After some urging, Lodi agrees to join them.

They arrive in Thuair where they meet Mrs. Genet, who is familiar with the White Witch's prophecies. She informs them the White Witch was called Gueld and passes down what she foretold about Galga. The group realises they can guide Galga using fire and head to King Nordic next.

Alf manages to force himself into an audience with King Nordic. The king supplies the group with supportive measures, such as a great number of torches. During the group's short rest at a local inn, Alf disappears, leaving behind nothing but a ring engraved with the crest of Ambisch.

Jurio and Chris continue their journey to Bolt in Ambisch as planned. When they arrive at the checkpoint to enter Chanom, Old Man Roule forces his way into their party after an argument with the gatekeeper. He joins them until they arrive in Dice, but his Cand abilities suggest he is no ordinary elderly man.

The bait is successful and Galga appears on the shore. Magisa uses magic to cut off its retreat and everyone launches their attack. Lodi throws a Crimson Flame, a flammable ore, into its beak and blasts it open. The parasitic monster that emerged from its beak is defeated and Galga returns to its former self.

The usually mild-mannered Galga becomes harmless as soon as the parasite was defeated, leaving the group to wonder why it attached itself to Galga. With that mystery unsolved, Jurio and Chris leave the injured Lodi in Alf's care as they head to the Shrine of Ignis, southeast of Bolt.

At the Shrine of Ignis, the little pilgrim see an image of stars in space and a mysterious figure. Chris worries something will happen to the person. They leave the shrine and head to Amdera, the capital city of Ambisch. Alf welcomes them with open arms in the royal castle of Amdera. The following day, Chris participates in a cooking contest in the castle. Shirla and Goose infiltrate the royal castle, but fail to steal something. Afterwards, Alf and his confident Morrison join Jurio and Chris on their way to Ordos.

The group makes way for the neighbouring nation of Udor. En route they are surprised to learn that Old Man Lap was once the famed archmage. At the border, they find Goose left behind by Sharla. At Goose's request, they cross the border together.

The group arrives at the Shrine of Syphor,[?] where they are attacked by the Conjurer Kazim. He managed to defeat them once, but with the help of their friends they manage to strike back at him. Right before he dies, Kazim casts a curse on Chris and Goose. Afterwards, Jurio and Chris witness the images of the Magic Mirror and continue their pilgrimage to Ordos.

On the way, Kazim's curse on Chris and Goose is activated. Their health drastically deteriorates. They manage to reach Ordos and are taken to the well-known Doctor Phyllo. He tells Jurio he needs the medicine of Compounder Liz in Phenthe to help Chris and Goose, so Jurio leaves the city on his own.

Jurio runs into Shirla and after calling out to her, he explains the situation. They team up and make it safely to Liz's house. She tells them she needs the horn of the Holy Beast Argres. Liz's daughter Philly joins the group and together they set their sights on the Lost Woods where the beast is said to reside.

Along the way, they pick up another of the White Witch's prophecies, which leads them to the Ashtree, a hidden village that aims to protect the Lost Woods. With the chief's permission, they enter the woods and eventually discover Argres. Turns out it looks exactly like the beast Jurio saw at the Shrine of Syphor.

The antidote lifts the curse and Goose resumes his journey with Shirla. Jurio and Chris head to Shrine of Ordos, where they hear the word 'Raual' coming from the Magic Mirror. This flusters Denken, who fears the Wave of Raual will come to destroy the world.

Jurio believes there is a link between the Wave of Raual and Roudo Castle, so he and Chris head to Pholthia next. Morrison leaves the party in Phenthe, a country on the brink of civil war due to a growing conflict between King Henneton and King Carrack. Jurio seeks audience with both to mediate.

Jurio and friends thwart Belart's plans to take hostage Queen Carly, King Carrack's wife. They were assisted by the Wildcats Gang formed by Shirla and Goose. Philly, who travelled with the party up until this point, stays behind as Jurio crosses the border Ghidona, further closing in on Pholthia.

The people of Ghidona find themselves oppressed by the mercantile plutocrat Urgit and his subordinate Candata. When the bomber known as Desert Panther blows up a corrupt merchant's mansion, the people rejoice. In the town of Baraka, Jurio is mistaken for Desert Panther and Chris is sent to Urgit.

Together with the martial artist Badat, whom he met in prison, Jurio devises a plan to break out of jail. A woman known as Naje[?] assists in their prison break. Stella, the true identity behind both Naje and Desert Panther, lends Jurio her strength and together with Badat they manage to free Chris from Urgit.

It turns out that Urgit and Candata were under control of Revas, an astrologer from Pholthia. Jurio and friends manage to defeat the two in spite of their inhumane power and they regain their senses. Urgit asks Jurio to make the world one where people can do business in good conscience and promises to improve his oppressive regime.

Together with Stella and Badat, the group arrives at the Dirt checkpoint. Instead of crossing into Pholthia they are thrown into jail for having heard military secrets. For some reason, they find Huck in the prison. He shares the final prophecy of the White Witch: expressionless soldiers crossing land borders signifies the destruction of the world. Convinced that this relates to the soldiers that just crossed the border, the group sets out for Dolphes, Pholthia, to seek out former court fencer Durzel, who knew the White Witch personally. As they cross the border, they are separated from Huck and Badat.

In the town of Aroza, Jurio shows the Silver Dagger to Durzel's granddaughter, Joanna. She informs him Durzel wished to return to the Shrine with the dagger and points Jurio to the Dorphes Tower, where Durzel is imprisoned. When they meet him face to face, Durzel tells the group he is going to see Gueld.

The place Durzel leads them to is Gueld's Hill, where her grave is situated. Gueld has been dead for twenty years. Gueld was but a girl when she came from another world following Isabelle, who became the queen consort of Pholthia, and Revas to stop them. It was Revas who killed Gueld two decades ago.

Queen Isabelle is manipulating King Rudolph with magic and uses the armillary sphere's power to draw the Wave of Raual towards her. When they offer the Silver Dagger to the grave, the cane they received from Old Man Lap transforms into Gueld's beautiful staff and the rusted sword they found near the grave changes into the shining sword, Esperanza.

With no time to lose, Jurio and friend depart to destroy the armillary sphere in at the top of Roudo Castle, Queen Isabelle's residence. Jurio is stopped by Revas' subordinates when entering the castle, but with the help of Shirla, Lodi and other friends, he can continue the climb to reach the armillary sphere.

There, Revas explains the reasons for his scheme. His home world is on the verge of destruction and he seeks to save it by forcing the harmful Wave of Raual into this world. Revas emphasises there is no way to save both worlds. Jurio emerges victorious in the battle that follows and destroys the armillary sphere with the Silver Dagger.

When they ask Queen Isabelle what justice lies in guiding destruction to this world, she answers the guilt lies with this world to begin with. She challenges the group to a fight as a last hope to stop the Wave of Raual. The battle ends with her defeat. Before she collapses, she prays that this world can be saved after all.

Even after Queen Isabelle's defeat, the Wave of Raual shows no signs of ceasing. That is when Gueld's spirit manifests from her staff. She spreads her arms, takes in the Wave of Raual and fuses with it, nullifying its effects with virtuous, positive thoughts. As blue returns to the sky, the group realises both this and another world have been saved from the brink of destruction by the White Witch from Tirasweel.

Releases
There are no major differences between the PC-98 version and the Windows version, both developed by Nihon Falcom. The most notable difference is the battle system and music arrangements. In Japan, a number of different versions of both the PC-98 version and Windows version have been sold.

PC-98
The difference between the following versions is the title on the packaging.