Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King

Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King (ルパン三世 魔術王の遺産) is a stealth/action video game from Banpresto. It has an original story based on the manga and media franchise Lupin III. The gameplay relies heavily on stealth and the use of various disguises and is displayed from a third-person perspective.

Plot
Arsène Lupin III is out to steal a pair of antique pitchers which will supposedly show the way to the legendary treasure of King Randolph II. The mysterious Theodore Hannewald is planning to display them at an exhibition at his ancestral castle in Goldengasse (a European city heavily inspired by Prague), and hires Inspector Koichi Zenigata of Interpol (ICPO in the Japanese version) to protect the vases due to a thread from Lupin the 3rd. They take off on a train. Also on the train is young Teresa Faust, the owner of the pitchers, who seems to be troubled by something.

Later on after being tricked into getting fake pitchers, Lupin and his partners Daisuke Jigen and Goemon Ishikawa XIII, end up in the city of Goldengasse, which had an old castle where the pitchers are to be shown off to the public. While trying to find a way to sneak into the castle, Lupin ends up making friends with the local black market merchants.

Once inside, Lupin is tricked into looking for fakes, but he manages to hide before being seen. Lupin, knowing that Theodore does not know he knows that the pitchers on display are fake, leaves and attempts another break-in. Jigen and Goemon set out to find information of the whereabouts of the real pitchers. Jigen and Goemon, depending on whose side one plays as in this part of the gang, will run into a group of mercenaries led by a man named Clyde and two partners. It is revealed later that Theodore hired them for personal means. When the player plays as Jigen, the player finds out they used to fight together. Afterwards the gang runs into Fujiko Mine, and old friend.

In the last attempt at stealing the pitchers, Theodore waits for Lupin to show and steal the fake Pitchers filled with people. After not showing up, Theodore assumings Lupin has been defeated, but then as he turns around there are signs in the glass pillars showing the word "fake" and Lupin announces that he has found the location of the real Pitchers. At this point, the game's plot changes abruptly.

After getting help from Teresa, Lupin and the gang discover the real pitchers and find an old part of the new castle that goes underground. Once down in this secret path, stone monsters begin to move and attack them. The gang then gets split up by a ceiling collapse. Lupin finds an old wizard who is hundreds of years old, and reveals that the pitchers are key to finding a book of mystical power and he and they were sealed down there long ago. He gives Lupin special ammo to defeat the stone monsters. At the same time, Goemon and Jigen both run into the mercenaries again.

On Jigen and Goemon's end, they run into and kill the mercenaries, who attempt a last-ditch effort to kill them. They later escape and regroup with Lupin a bit later. Teresa and Fujiko are able to regroup safely.

Soon it is discovered that Theodore had Teresa on the train to use her to get the Book of Magic because he claims he is the rightful heir to the ancient evil wizards from the past. After burning Lupin with his staff and sending him deeper into the castle, Theodore orders his men to capture Teresa. He supposedly finds and torture Fujiko offscreen, resulting in her death. The old wizard informs Lupin of a means to bring back Fujiko with a resserction spell, but the thief leaves to avenge her and save Teresa. After catching up to the evil wizard, the man reveals his plan, to unleash a massive stone soldier called Talos and have it eliminate all those who stand in his way, starting with Lupin and the gang. After the colossal construct is activated, Lupin tosses a special bullet to Jigen, in which the gunslinger uses it to shoot Theodore, mortally wounding the mastermind.

After using the special bullets to defeat the giant, Talos finally shuts down. Theodore barely manages to get to his feet, but is soon crushed under rubble from the killer statue and the damage from the battle weakens the underground ruins, causing the heroes to flee. As they attempt to escape, a fireball destroys the exit. The projectile came from a hideous monster of stone with Theodore’s face and hand sticking out of it. Teresa claims that the wizard cast a spell on himself to before the rubble landed on him, but died before it became complete, fusing his body, staff and the Book with the fallen rubble into the monster now shown. Armed with the last of the wizards bullets on the conjoined monster, Theodore is finally destroyed but then the tunnel collapses from the shockwave and destroys the above castle.

It is then revealed that Zenigata was able to save Teresa at the price of breaking his arm, but Lupin and the gang disappears, with some believing that they were killed in the cave-in. Zenigata, however, believes that Lupin is still out there and says farewell to Teresa to continue the chase.

In the end, Lupin and the gang say goodbye and leave GoldenGasse behind. Teresa learned to let go of her past, and her father, who at the start of the game, was why she worked with Theodore believing he would help her put the pitchers in a museum in his memorial.

Characters
For the most part players are given the role of Lupin. In two other levels, players are given the option of playing as either Jigen or Goemon. Within these levels the paths and results differ only slightly. In one level, the player must play a shoot 'em up style mini-game featuring an SD version of Fujiko.
 * Arsène Lupin III: The Master thief, constantly being pursued by his ICPO nemesis, Inspector Zenigata. In Japanese, Lupin was voiced by Kanichi Kurita, while in English, he was voiced by Tony Oliver.
 * Daisuke Jigen: A master of arms. He carries his Smith & Wesson 45 Magnum wherever he goes. In Japanese, Jigen was voiced by Kiyoshi Kobayashi, while in English, he was voiced by Richard Epcar.
 * Goemon Ishikawa XIII: A descendant of the Ishikawa family, a group of thieves. In Japanese, Goemon was voiced by Makio Inoue, while in English, he was voiced by Lex Lang.
 * Fujiko Mine: A cunning thief and Lupin's love interest. In Japanese, Fujiko was voiced by Eiko Masuyama, while in English, she was voiced by Michelle Ruff.
 * Teresa Faust: A character who is the center of the entire game. In Japanese, Teresa was voiced by Masayo Kurata, while in English, she was voiced by Kari Wahlgren.
 * Theodore Hannewald: A Castle Curator who has a hidden agenda. In Japanese, Theodore was voiced by Naoki Bandō, while in English, he was voiced by Paul St. Peter.
 * Inspector Koichi Zenigata: Chases Lupin wherever he goes. He is determined to capture him. In Japanese, Zenigata was voiced by Gorō Naya, while in English, he was voiced by Dan Lorge.

Music
The game's soundtrack was composed of compositions by Yuji Ohno, who has done most of the music for the anime series. The opening theme for the game was 1979 version of the Lupin the 3rd theme, and the closing theme was a song called "Yakusoku". The soundtrack was released as Lupin the Third: The Legacy of the Magic King Original Soundtrack (ルパン三世 魔術王の遺産) by Vap on December 21, 2002.

Track listing

 * 1) ルパン三世のテーマ'79 Rupan Sansei no Tēma '79/Theme of Lupin the Third '79
 * 2) ゴルデンガッセ#1 列車内～街 Gorudengasse #Wan Ressha nai~gai/Goldengasse #1
 * 3) ゴルデンガッセ#2 Gorudengasse #2/Goldengasse #2
 * 4) ハンネヴァルト城・組曲/北翼・南翼館～大聖堂～旧王宮～博物館 Hannevaruto jō Kumikyoku/Kita Tsubasa Minami Tsubasa kan Daiseidō~Kyūōkyū~Hakubutsukan/Castle Suite: North Wing South Wing Building, Sanctuary, Old Royal Palace, Museum
 * 5) 地下迷宮 Chika Meikyū/Under Ground Labyrinth
 * 6) 青い洞窟 Aoi Dōkutsu/Blue Cave
 * 7) アンダーグラウンド Andā Guraundo/Under Ground
 * 8) 脱出 Dasshutsu/Escape
 * 9) ゲームオーバー Gēmu Ōbā/Game Over
 * 10) バトル!#1 Batoru!# 1/Battle!# 1
 * 11) バトル!#2 Batoru!# 2/Battle!# 2
 * 12) 銭形・ハスダル・不二子 Zenigata Hasudaru Fujiko
 * 13) ヘルデンリートシュロス～バー「カフカ」～作戦の後 Herudenrītoshurosu bā "Kafuka" Sakusen no Nochi/Heldenliedhemp Palms: Bar "Kafka" After a Strategy
 * 14) 絶望 Zetsubō/Despair
 * 15) プレッシャー Puresshā/Pressure
 * 16) それぞれの思い Sorezore no Omoi/Of Each Thought
 * 17) petit不二子 Petit Fujiko
 * 18) 約束 Yakusoku/Promise
 * 19) 約束[インストゥルメンタル] Yakusoku [Insuturumentaru]/Promise [Instrumental]

Reception
The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. It was praised for its spot-on portrayal of the series as well as its graphical and audio design, but was criticized for uneven, clunky gameplay and less-than-stellar enemy AI. Alex Navarro of GameSpot praised the game for its voice acting, soundtrack, and level of faithfulness to the source material, but criticized it for its poor graphics and weak enemy AI. Rice Burner of GamePro said, "Despite the minor gripes about the camera and the game's A.I., Treasure of the Sorcerer King is a good gaming experience and an exhilarating encounter for any fan of Lupin the Third [sic]."

Game Informer listed the game as one of the best video games based on a manga or anime series.