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Bejeweled 3 is a tile match-3 game developed and published by PopCap Games. It is the fifth game in the Bejeweled series following Bejeweled Blitz and succeeds Bejeweled 2 as the latest mainline title in the Bejeweled series. It was released for PC and Mac on December 7, 2010 as part of the 10 Years of Bejeweled celebration, and has been ported to several other consoles afterwards.

Bejeweled 3 introduces several new elements to the mainline series, with some features from previous spin-off titles being integrated to the game, such as being able to match while other games are falling, the replay feature, new special gems, an achievement and ranking system, and more. The game released to positive reception.

Overview[]

Bejeweled 3 Classic Mode Level 10

Classic Mode screenshot

The main gameplay of Bejeweled 3, like previous installments in the series, involves swapping two adjacent gems to form a line of three or more gems of the same color. When this occurs, the gems disappear and new randomly generated gems fall from above, with gems above being affected by gravity, potentially creating a chain reaction. Unlike previous entries, the player can now swap other gems while other gems are still falling. If the player cannot find a match, they can use the Hint button to find a match. Unlike previous entries, there is no penalty for using the Hint button, although there is now a cooldown. Bejeweled 3 features a hand-drawn fantasy theme featuring medieval-like areas and ancient lands, a departure from the series' previously known planetary space theme.

Bejeweled 3 evolves from the traditional Bejeweled gameplay. Being made during the same time as Blitz, Bejeweled 3 allows the player to make moves while gems are falling, and swapping two Hypercubes with each other performs the Annihilator, which destroys every gem on the board. The game also features the Star Gem (a variation of the Lightning Gem from Bejeweled Twist) , which is made by matching gems in a L, T, or + shape, and will destroy all the gems in it's row and column. Returning from Bejeweled Twist is the Supernova Gem, which is made by lining up six gems in a row, and destroys all gems in rows and columns in a 3x3 radius.

Additional game improvements include animated backgrounds, the replay system from Bejeweled Twist, advanced animation transitions, 3D menu areas, and online leaderboard support (for the Steam (friends only), Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions). Bejeweled 3 also features an achievement system in the form of Badges, which are obtained after completing certain objectives.

Game Modes[]

Bejeweled 3 features eight game modes, four of which are available from the start, and four of which are unlocked after reaching certain objectives. Unlike Bejeweled 2, the difficulty for unlocking each game mode has been reduced drastically and the objective for unlocking each game is now displayed directly on the menu.

  • Classic is considered to be the main mode of gameplay, where players must match gems to fill up a progress bar to reach the next level. The game ends when no more moves are possible.
  • Zen is an endless version of Classic Mode, where the player doesn't run out of moves and can play for as long as they want. A new addition includes Zen Options, which can toggle effects that can sooth the player.
  • Lightning is a fast-paced game mode where players collect as many points as they can in 1 minute. Along the way, there are Time Gems which extends the playing time for the next round with an increased multiplier.
  • Quest involves completing 40 different mini-quests to restore ancient relics. The 40 missions are divided into 5 relics of increasing difficulty.
  • Poker is a hidden mode where players have to match gems to form "hands" of cards to gain points. Certain hands will be disallowed from being made with generating skulls as the game progresses. If the player makes a hand that is marked with a skull, the player makes a coin flip and if the skull faces up, the game ends. It is unlocked when reaching level 5 in Classic.
  • Butterflies is a hidden mode where the player has to match as many butterflies flying up as they can before any one gets captured by a spider at the top. It is unlocked when the player reaches level 5 in Zen.
  • Ice Storm is a hidden mode where ice is climbing up the board. Players are thus tasked with crushing columns, the aim is to survive for as long as they can before the ice column hits the top and freeze the board. It is unlocked when the player earns at least 100,000 points in Lightning.
  • Diamond Mine is a hidden mode where the player collects treasure by digging underground. The player gains extra time by clearing the top-most rows. It is unlocked when the player reveals the first relic in Quest.

Development[]

Development of Bejeweled 3 began around 2008, around the time Bejeweled Twist had finished development. Development of the game lasted about 2 years,[1] and was developed alongside Bejeweled Blitz. Following the release of Bejeweled Twist, game designer Jason Kapalka thought Twist strayed a bit too far from the original gameplay and sought to have Bejeweled 3 as a return to the game's classic rules and play. Like Bejeweled 2, Bejeweled 3 was designed to keep the core gameplay while introducing new features to appeal new players and fans of the series.[2]

The game was silently announced through the official Bejeweled series' YouTube channel on October 29, 2010, and was announced by the press on November 1, 2010.[1]

Beta elements[]

For the beta elements and unused content, see List of Bejeweled 3 pre-release and unused content.

Music[]

Bejeweled 3 A Musical Quest

Official cover for the Bejeweled 3 Soundtrack on Bandcamp

This game was composed by Peter Hajba (known by his scene-name Skaven) and Alexander Brandon. This game music exists under the filename Bejeweled3_suite.mo3. Programs like Open ModPlug Tracker (abbreviated as OpenMPT) can open and edit MO3 files, but cannot be saved as MO3 (since MO3 compressor is a standalone software and not included in OpenMPT). The tracks are remastered.

Tracks list[]

  1. Intro
  2. Bejeweled 3 Theme
  3. Classic Mode - Part 1
  4. Classic Mode - Part 2
  5. Classic Mode - Part 3
  6. Classic Mode - Part 4
  7. Lightning
  8. Butterflies
  9. Poker
  10. Ice Storm
  11. Zen - Part 1
  12. Zen - Part 2: Schein Zwei
  13. Zen - Part 3: The Return
  14. Zen - Part 4
  15. Quest Theme
  16. Buried Treasure
  17. Take Your Time
  18. Turn By Turn
  19. Time Bombs
  20. Quest Finale
  21. Gems of Glass (bonus track)
  22. Final Turn
  23. Bejeweled 3 Remix Medley

Gallery[]

See gallery icon
Bejeweled Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Bejeweled 3.

Ports and re-releases[]

Bejeweled 3 has received several ports of the game following it's initial release.

Chinese Re-release[]

On July 27, 2012, a special version of Bejeweled 3 (nicknamed Bejeweled 3 Plus by the community, as the re-release of the game didn't feature a unique name) was released in mainland China. The Chinese edition of Bejeweled 3 features two exclusive game modes: Match Bomb and Time Bomb which involve destroying as many Bomb Gems as they can before their counters reach zero. The Chinese version of Bejeweled 3 also contains several gameplay tweaks.

Browsers[]

Bejeweled 3 was launched for web browsers on the Adobe Flash Player platform in 2011. The Flash variation only featured Classic, and was based off a modified version of the Bejeweled Blitz engine. In 2014, Bejeweled 3 was released on the HTML5 platform under the name "Bejeweled" on the Chrome Web Store with the Classic and Lightning (named Speed) modes, and included better performance that would bring it closer to the PC version of the game. Both web versions are discontinued from the original site and is no longer playable, however other sites and preservation projects continue to host the game.

Consoles[]

On June 11, 2011, ports for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS were announced for release later that year. Bejeweled 3 was released in digital (minus the DS version) and physical format on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS on October 19, 2011. The PlayStation 3 physical version also includes Zuma and Feeding Frenzy 2, and the Xbox 360 physical version also includes Bejeweled Blitz LIVE. Each version had several changes, including the lacks of the Instant Replay feature, the addition of online achievements and leaderboards (Xbox and PlayStation), slight interface changes and an exclusive badge named "Top 40", which replaces the Top Secret badge. The Nintendo DS version features a compressed version of the soundtrack, compressed visuals and animations, dual-screen gameplay, with several elements being displayed on both screens, such as information on the top screen and gameplay on the Touch Screen, and other changes for the Nintendo DS.

The Xbox 360 version of Bejeweled 3 is playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S through the Backwards Compatibility program, as one of the first games to be supported at launch. Like Bejeweled 2, the Xbox 360 version is also included in the EA Play subscription service.

Computers[]

Bejeweled LIVE was released on Windows 8 on May 13, 2013 as a port of Bejeweled 3 for the Microsoft Design System.[3] This version of the game only features 3 modes: Classic, Butterflies and Diamond Mine. Bejeweled LIVE was discontinued from the Microsoft Store in December 2018.

Phones and Tablets[]

Bejeweled 3 was ported over to iOS on December 7, 2011 under the name Bejeweled Classic (formerly titled Bejeweled), which replaces Bejeweled 2 on the App Store. An iPadOS version of the game was released in 2012. Bejeweled Classic features several elements altered from the original PC version, and several exclusive elements. The game was released on Android in December 2014. The game received updates throughout 2011 to 2017, which added several game modes and features.

Bejeweled 3 was ported over to feature phones through the J2ME (Java ME) platform.

Bejeweled LIVE, a variant of Bejeweled 3 that runs on a modified version of the iOS port from Bejeweled 2, was released on October 8, 2010 for the Windows Phone 7.

Bejeweled Live +, a variant of Bejeweled Classic, was released for Windows Phone 8 on February 18, 2013.[4]

Other[]

Bejeweled 3 was released as a direct port of the PC game (found in the late 2000s), with is an optimized version that runs on Android hardware. This version of the game had several changes, including the lack of the video settings in the options menu and its replaced with an graphics quality settings, all musics features a real-time rendered soundtrack due to technical limitations, but some music in certain gamemodes (ex. Classic, Zen,...) are reused from Bejeweled Classic and feature remastered versions, all features are altered from the original, and more.

Trivia[]

  • The appearance of the gems have been reused from Bejeweled Twist (and Bejeweled Blitz), making it the third major game to reuse appearances from a previous title.
    • The game's icon on the desktop version however depicts the blue gem with it's Bejeweled 2 appearance.
  • This is the first and only mainline game to be released to coincide with an anniversary.
  • This game was first teased in 2004 at the end of Bejeweled 2 Puzzle mode. However, development on the game didn't begin until 2008.
  • There are unused encouragement voice lines (INCREDIBLE, ASTONISHING) that can be found in Bejeweled 3D slot machine.
  • The Diamond Mine game mode features several artifacts that are nods to other PopCap titles which include:
    • An artifact that resembles the head of Bjorn, a character from the Peggle series.
    • An artifact that resembles Hans P. Froggendorfer, a character from the Zuma series.
    • An artifact that resembles the blue gem's original sprite in Diamond Mine.
  • If Hardware Acceleration is disabled;
    • The loading circle won't appear (although, the stars will still stay), and is replaced with loading text.
    • The maximum resolution is 800x600.
    • Instead of a wormhole, the transition is replaced with a crystal icosphere transition (the similar transition when the player enters a game mode).
    • Graphical distortions are disabled.
    • The main menu scenery is altered:
      • Several pillar structures appear in a damaged state, along with the two fountain structures that appear below the Options and Records crystals being absent.
      • The button crystals will not shine over the ground.
    • Rotatable backgrounds will be "flat" and slide instead.
    • The in-game backgrounds won't animate.
  • The Gem Cursor's texture is re-used from the Java version of Diamond Mine.
  • In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, the player receives more base points (1.5 times more than the original base) compared to the PC and Nintendo DS versions in every mode, except Poker and Diamond Mine.
  • The game's Zen mode was originally planned to have mantras related to discourage the player to smoke, but was removed to prevent raising the game's ESRB rating.[5]
  • When starting the game on Xbox 360/PlayStation 3, the game will play a short intro: https://youtu.be/oykGMD3SU9M
  • The Bejeweled 3D slot machine uses aspects from this game like the backgrounds, music, sounds and voice.

References[]

External links[]

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