Genre: Turn-based Strategy
Developer: Interplay
Publisher: Interplay

This reviewer was a big fan of the original VGA DOS version of Battle Chess back in the day, but never realized this 3DO enhanced version even existed until 2024. To his delight, the game makes full use of the 3DO's "Cel Engine", zooming in and out of the board as gameplay progresses. Fully zoomed in during combat, the characters are mind-bogglingly huge and high resolution, as they comedically engage in their martial exchanges. In addition to the full 3D mode, the 2D board is highly legible, although it's a shame there aren't alternative color schemes or other niceties.

Just like with the graphics, the 3DO sound chip is put through its paces. The entire game is filled with fully-digital music, and the upbeat baroque compositions never get old no matter how long the matches go on. The music even changes dynamically depending on how the conflict is resolving, ala "Phantasy Star III". The sound effects are also completely digital, and are so crystal clear that every blade strike and piece of voice acting seems to pop out of the speakers.

This rendition of Battle Chess has everything anyone could want from a minimally-viable chess title. When a piece is selected, it shows possible moves; it allows manual configuration of the board, for maximum chess puzzle sandbox possibilities; it lets the player save and load matches; it has numerous selectable difficulties, although even at "level 1" the AI never makes overt mistakes, and is very difficult to overcome for new players; but, it allows for "undo" of moves all the way back, and also has a "suggest move" feature.

In some regards, Battle Chess may have seemed like yesterday's news by 1993-- but by the queen is this 3DO version good. It's so good, in fact, that aesthetically it might be the best chess game ever: it's the only version of "Battle Chess Enhanced" which has the zooming-- a feature which adds so much to the experience. It's fun to play, and has great audio. The only knock is that it lacks the myriad features in modern-day chess releases. But if aesthetic qualities are your thing, there is nowhere better to go than this 3DO Battle Chess title.