Emerald Mine 3 Professional
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Kingsoft | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Boulder Dash | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 simultaneous | Rating: |
8/10 | |
There exists an Emerald Mine III, an Emerald Mine 3, an Emerald Mine 03 Pro and an Emerald Mine 3 Professional. All of these are collections of levels created by amateurs (using the editor included in Emerald Mine 2). Originally, the levels were sent by players to the publishing company Kingsoft, which compiled and distributed them.
The question is which one is the official version. I was able to examine a photo of the game box and compared the screenshots displayed on the back. Here’s the correct one: “Emerald Mine 3 Professional (1989) (Kingsoft). adf”.
But there’s a problem – it crashes inexplicably at the end of level 6 (even without using quick save). I could have skipped it, but I’m quite keen on playing the way it was intended, creating a profile in my name, only giving access to the first cave, then earning the right to access the next one by completing it. This method doesn’t work well with an unstable copy…
So I switched to a version modified by the No One Inc. group (supposedly improved). The levels seem slightly retouched (at least number 6, where a key has been moved), the graphics have been changed and the high score tables adjusted.
The game is relatively difficult (clearly not meant for beginners) but doesn’t present any significant spike. I found the majority of the levels creative and technical. Special mention to numbers 12, 23, 54, 68, 71 and 80. Conversely, the award for the most tedious goes to level 56 (paradoxically, it’s one of the few where the element of chance is insignificant). By the way, level 3 is an example of intelligent use of the invisible wall. Yes, it’s possible! Finally, honourable mention to numbers 17, 21, 47, 67 and 69 which I loved to hate…
Unlike the previous game, these caves show a real effort in design, and they’ll demand just as much to be completed (the pride of triumphing after fifty or so attempts!). Some levels will make you think (a bit), many of them require using dynamite, which won’t please everyone, and a notable element of chance is involved (in level 41, for example). This last point doesn’t bother me, provided that the cave in question is short, or that the “dice roll” takes place at the beginning.
Verdict? I had a blast for a month! A little ritual was established when coming home from work: four tactical exercises on Chess Tempo, followed by an episode of my series, then one or two (or three) caves of Emeral Mine 3. I would love to share this experience. Perhaps clicking on the fourth image (below) will make your eyes light up like mine did? I maintain that this game deserves the attention of streamers/speedrunners, just like Mario Maker, Trackmania or even Minecraft. Pass the word along if you know any!
As for me, I still have about twenty “sequels” to try, not to mention dozens of derived variations. One thing is certain, I’ll run out of good TV series long before I run out of Emerald Mine variants.
This page was also written shortly before my rediscovery of Rocks ‘n’ Diamonds. Perhaps the ideal solution for attracting the contemporary audience, which I imagine is not very inclined to fiddle with an Amiga emulator…
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