PDA

View Full Version : What was Phantasy Star 3 like?



Bassz
Jan 21, 2009, 02:34 AM
The first Phantasy Star game I ever played, and it was like 9-10 years ago (bootlegged onto a computer).

I forgot what it's like, but who here still plays it?

HUnewearl_Meira
Jan 21, 2009, 05:14 PM
It's really an under-presented game, containing, in my opinion, both the best and worst of the series. It had the best graphics, with the worst animation, some of the best music, with some of the best music, and if the story had been more thoroughly articulated, it could have been one of the most interesting, given that taking different routes through the game shows you how the world goes differently based on your choices. It was rife with multiple NPCs that say the exact same thing, where they could've been divulging different details to flesh out the nature of the game's world.

Simply enough, it was a game with a great deal of potential, that unfortunately didn't live up to what it could have been.

Omega_Weltall
Jan 22, 2009, 01:22 PM
It's really an under-presented game, containing, in my opinion, both the best and worst of the series. It had the best graphics, with the worst animation, some of the best music, with some of the best music, and if the story had been more thoroughly articulated, it could have been one of the most interesting, given that taking different routes through the game shows you how the world goes differently based on your choices. It was rife with multiple NPCs that say the exact same thing, where they could've been divulging different details to flesh out the nature of the game's world.

Simply enough, it was a game with a great deal of potential, that unfortunately didn't live up to what it could have been.

I was going to say the exact same thing. That pretty much sums it up. Shame no one's planning on remaking that one.

HUnewearl_Meira
Jan 22, 2009, 01:37 PM
There was a fan-project remake of the game, a while back, but as far as I know, as with most fan-projects of the sort, it just faded off into obscurity.

Saner
Jan 23, 2009, 04:16 PM
PSIII has a revolutionary generations system and great story, and different branches of
generations and story situations depending on the married couple result of the previous
generation. and its the only PS to have multiple endings. It's also the only classic PS game
to support a party of 5 characters.

and even ifs field music is revolutionary, the overworld theme starts simple with only
1 character, but as people join the party, the theme becomes more and more epic!!!!!!

ya its gameplay faults kind of make it hard to get into, but the character designs make up
for it.

Akaimizu
Jan 26, 2009, 03:20 PM
Yeah. Out of pretty much all the original Phantasy Star games, this one seems to have the most controversy. You'll see people say it's one of the best, and yet find a similar number of people saying it was one of the worst.

As far as I can tell, it must've been the oddball of the series, whether for good or bad (or both at the same time). I would say it is 3 like Halloween 3; but I'd be wrong. Pretty much everybody agrees (like it or not) that Halloween 3 was Halloween if you take out Michael, and put in a lot of drug influence. This one clearly kind of splits the fanbase.

Saffran
Feb 4, 2009, 09:14 AM
Well, considering the fantastic job done on animation in PS2, it was a huge setback to see the animations in PS3, to be honest. That is my main gripe with the game. Other than that, it was a really good game as far as I am concerned.

rayner
Feb 5, 2009, 01:33 PM
I actually enjoyed the game back in the day and I believe it was the most I ever spent on a NEW video-game, it's retail ws $79.99 everywhere I went. I liked the Generations and the endings... I had to get them all :-)

Powder Keg
Feb 24, 2009, 03:27 PM
It's like the red-headed stepchild of the PS Sereis. It seems to have taken a step back from II in many ways, but strangely, I can tolerate it more than II. A big turnoff was just the overall lack of dialogue between characters (same problem with II) But the battles are fast moving, and that's one thing I definitely like about it.

jmanx
Mar 17, 2009, 03:13 AM
Well... guise....

I really Dislike this game.... I didn't like the music, gfx, or battle, HUD. I cant say for story cuz the thing i mention before that made me want to turn it off. If there is a remake I would totally play it lol. I don't think this live up to PS1... But I can't blame it... since Sonic team wasn't there.

Crazyleo
Mar 17, 2009, 09:03 AM
While poking around the net, I have found that there is an editor that will allow you to remake the game. I won't go into details on how to find it here though. (For very obvious reasons)

jmanx
Mar 18, 2009, 06:32 AM
But I will try to play htis one .... maybe.... the generation things sounds interesting...

Mysterious-G
Mar 18, 2009, 04:13 PM
Well, I would agree with the generation shifts to be interesting, however, with exactly that described lack of personality, one character was like the other to me, and it just felt like playing the same story (or generation) over and over again.

jmanx
Mar 19, 2009, 12:48 AM
THIS MUSIC IS TO BOTHER SOME :(

funnymatt
Apr 3, 2009, 02:15 AM
Just get the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on the 360 and you can play 1, 2, 3, and 4, and about 30 other classics. Not bad for a game that retails new for $30.

Akruta
Apr 8, 2009, 08:14 AM
It only took this game 5 minutes to destroy my intrest in it.

Zorafim
Apr 8, 2009, 04:36 PM
You get beat down by a pack of rappies before finding the first town too?

SammaeltheDark
Apr 8, 2009, 06:17 PM
You get beat down by a pack of rappies before finding the first town too?
The game's so slow it probably took 5 minutes just to walk out of town

Mysterious-G
Apr 9, 2009, 03:48 AM
You get beat down by a pack of rappies before finding the first town too?

Chirpers, mind you. :wacko:

Akruta
Apr 9, 2009, 08:10 AM
You get beat down by a pack of rappies before finding the first town too?

No I got bored halfway through the scene in the castle.

Crazyleo
Apr 9, 2009, 10:05 AM
That is one of my dislikes in the game. It was a slow-paced game, and the story wasn't gripping enough for me to play it again. But I did manage to complete it though.

RandomTask
Apr 17, 2009, 06:44 AM
When I first played it way back in the day, I remember turning it on and hearing the music at the title and I'm thinking "this isn't Phantasy Star" then starting in a old school looking fantasy town I was like WTF is going on here. I continued on, found Mieu (a robot thank god) and ended up enjoying the game. All the futuristic sci fi elements are still there, just a totally different style. I do like the game but it doesn't hold up to the others in my mind. About the music, while a few of the tracks are ok, it doesn't have that Phantasy Star feel to it at all and the music in all the other games is far superior to me.

My favorite is the Phantasy Star Generation 2 remake hands down, love it.
Then my order would go:
Phantasy Star 2 original
Phantasy Star 1 original (my first RPG in 1988)
Phantasy Star 4
Phantasy Star Generation 1 remake
Phantasy Star 3

Phantasy Star 3 is a great game however, the other Phantasy Stars are super great.

The Starbird
Apr 21, 2009, 10:16 PM
PSIII has a revolutionary generations system and great story, and different branches of
generations and story situations depending on the married couple result of the previous
generation. and its the only PS to have multiple endings. It's also the only classic PS game
to support a party of 5 characters.



small note, PS4 also supported 5 characters.

either way, Phantasy Star III may seem like an oddball at first, but with a little thinking, it can easily tie up loose ends between PS and PSO (and even PSU). I can try to tie up a few things here. BEWARE that this is a bit lengthy and does contain spoilers, but this is exactly how I tie up the entire series.

[SPOILER-BOX]
In Phantasy Star II, it is learned that Gaira crashes into Palma, destroying it (which is later revealed that the Earthlings made it happen). In Phantasy Star III, the people of New Mota say that it was Dark Force/Falz (though I will call him Dark Force from here on out for sanity reasons) that destroyed Palma. At the end of Aron's quest, the Alisa III enters a black hole and is transported through time and space to EARTH.

This creates two timelines which create a bit of a paradox. If you remember in Phantasy Star, Palma was a monarchy ruled by King Lassic (in the Air Castle) and then (if you chose) by Queen Alis. In Phantasy Star III, all of the towns are a part of some monarchy system which was inherited from the current style of Palma at the time it was destroyed originally by Dark Force. The Alisa III makes it to Earth many years in the past in Aron's quest (which is the quest I believe to be Canon), which at that time Earth is in trouble of destroying their own planet (much like we are). They took the alien technology from the Alisa III and constructed Mother Brain and the spaceship Noah (they also kept Dark Force locked in his Pandora's Box, the place he was fought in both PS2 and PS3). As their planet was about to be destroyed, they flew off only to find Algo with all three planets in tact. They then reveal the Mother Brain to the people of Algo which sparks the rise in Technology in Algo (especially Motavia which is now a green planet like Palma). They then start creating the Biomonsters and the Nei Project (which they decided to name her that based on the word of power that was given to them from the people of the Alisa III), which sparks Rolf (the descendant of Queen Alis) to investigate the matters and infiltrate the earthling ship.

Which brings into question about the existence of the Nei Items. For starters, the Nei Items were NOT named after Nei, but after the Algo word of power. Secondly, how could there possibly be two Nei Swords and Nei Shots? It is believed by myself and others that Lutz fashioned the Nei Sword, Nei Shot, Nei Claw, Nei Bow, Nei Slicer, Nei Slasher (I used to believe that the slicer and the slasher were the same, but the slasher looks more like a boomerang while the Slicer is always held in the hand but sends energy to attack enemies grouped together (as shown in PSO), so I will consider these items different), Nei Helmet, Nei Crown, Nei Shield, Nei Emel, Nei Armor, and Nei Cape (12 in total). The protective equipment was always left on Dezoris while the weapons remained on Palma and then on board the Alisa III, save the Slasher (which is why that was the only ship to survive Dark Force aside from the Neo Palm, but the Neo Palm would have been the last one had the Alisa III been destroyed).

My theory is a bit far fetched but can make sense. When the spaceship Noah came to Algo, Lutz, before going to sleep, was invited along with the government onto the ship to hear the Earthlings and their ideas for Mother Brain. It was there that Lutz found Wren (who was still around, but much like Miun, had been destroyed for the most part after he had snuck on board Noah) and holding the Nei Shot and Nei Sword, two items that he had just created and given to the Palmans to take care of. He took the two items from the dead Wren and locked them both away before going into hibernation and thinking about how that could have happened when he JUST CREATED the items himself (also keep in mind that teleportation spells only work if you have a memory of the place you want to teleport to, so he had to have been on Noah before in order to send Rolf and company there)

So technically, the events of PS3 do happen after the events of PS2 (at least 1000 years afterwards because that's how long it was after the Orakian/Layan war). But because of Aron's time warp, the events of PS2 happened the way we know it. Had that not happened, the events of PS2 would be similar to this:

-Motavia would still be a desert during the events of PS2
-Nei would never have been created, which then halts creations of Rika and future Newmans
-Dark Force would have been the initial target of Rolf and crew instead of the Biosystems Lab
-The Nei Sword and Shot would no longer exist because they would have been lost in space forever

Now, since the Alisa III caused Earthlings to create Noah and rule over Algo, what happened in the battle with Rolf? It is my belief that fueled by the anger that they destroyed Palma, and unleashed Megid quite often to destroy everything on board that ship (which appears to be correct considering that the bloodline of Alis ended with Rolf and the Nei items do not have any place in PS4). Almost lifeless, the spaceship Noah floats in space for 1000 years until crashing onto a distant planet, Ragol. Since more than 1000 years pass, Dark Force (Falz) revives itself and starts to bring calamity upon Ragol, leaving that once prospering planet to its knees. Many years after the events of PSO Episode 1 happen and Dark Force is once again defeated inside the RUINS of the spaceship Noah.

So as you can see, Phantasy Star III actually plays a huge part in the entire series and (at least in theory) if not for the events in that game at the end, the entire world of Phantasy Star would not be the same.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

As for the gameplay itself, it did seem a bit rushed in some aspects but the generational system was great along with some of the music (the overworld, town, castle, Skyhaven, Lachute, and ending themes were all amazing, though the dungeon and battle musics were repetitive an boring). Also the Technique system was something VERY unique and that has NEVER been duplicated in any RPG since (which is a shame because I loved that system). I personally loved Phantasy Star III just because of the rich storyline and endless possibilities as to what goes on next, and while the in-game storyline is tiny compared to the bigger picture [SPOILER-BOX](yeah, so what if Princess Lena was suppose to marry Prince Rhys before Maia showed up)[/SPOILER-BOX] it was still gripping and well worth the money spend in that day.

Crazyleo
Apr 22, 2009, 08:52 AM
While I do agree mostly on your theory of how Dark Faltz got to Ragol. But the one fact that I don't agree with is HOW he revived.

The essence of Dark Faltz needed a biological host in order to manifest itself. Most of this is has been discovered when you go through EP 2.

The Starbird
Apr 22, 2009, 10:20 AM
While I do agree mostly on your theory of how Dark Faltz got to Ragol. But the one fact that I don't agree with is HOW he revived.

The essence of Dark Faltz needed a biological host in order to manifest itself. Most of this is has been discovered when you go through EP 2.

That did slip my mind that he does need a biological host. Try this on for size then:
[SPOILER-BOX]
It's very possible then that after the spaceship Noah crashed on Ragol, people on Ragol went to investigate the crash. One person had contact with the remains of Pandora's Box, thus reviving Dark Falz. Seeing the destructive power of Falz, the people of Ragol tried sealing him up in the ruins with the 3 large pillars in 3 parts of their world. Though successful in sealing it up, the population was eventually wiped out after thousands of years until the Pioneer 2 shows up from Algo.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

Gibdozer
Jul 4, 2009, 05:23 PM
When I first played it way back in the day, I remember turning it on and hearing the music at the title and I'm thinking "this isn't Phantasy Star" then starting in a old school looking fantasy town I was like WTF is going on here. I continued on, found Mieu (a robot thank god) and ended up enjoying the game. All the futuristic sci fi elements are still there, just a totally different style. I do like the game but it doesn't hold up to the others in my mind. About the music, while a few of the tracks are ok, it doesn't have that Phantasy Star feel to it at all and the music in all the other games is far superior to me.

My favorite is the Phantasy Star Generation 2 remake hands down, love it.
Then my order would go:
Phantasy Star 2 original
Phantasy Star 1 original (my first RPG in 1988)
Phantasy Star 4
Phantasy Star Generation 1 remake
Phantasy Star 3

Phantasy Star 3 is a great game however, the other Phantasy Stars are super great.


Agreed, it's not PS III fault that it came out in between PS II and PS IV. It is a really good game, but sitting in the middle of the two best RPGs of the day doesn't help obfuscate its flaws.

Phantasy Star was my first RPG as well, so have a cola and burger on me old-timer.

Project X1o
Jul 13, 2009, 09:57 AM
Probably the worst Phantasy star i've played is Phantasy star C.A.R.D revolution it ruined the Phantasy star RPG kind of thing it is like Youhgio i dont kno how to spell it so TEEHEE

Ryna
Jul 18, 2009, 09:20 AM
Probably the worst Phantasy star i've played is Phantasy star C.A.R.D revolution it ruined the Phantasy star RPG kind of thing it is like Youhgio i dont kno how to spell it so TEEHEE

C.A.R.D. Revolution had about as much of a RPG aspect to it as any other PSO game. I find that once most people get past the "lolz, cards?" stage, they find it to be an enjoyable game.

As for Phantasy Star III, I remember it didn't feel like I was playing a Phantasy Star game during my first playthrough. It certainly had all of the elements of a Phantasy Star game (sci-fi background, familiar enemies, Casts), but it always felt like something was missing.

SammaeltheDark
Jul 21, 2009, 03:05 PM
C.A.R.D. Revolution had about as much of a RPG aspect to it as any other PSO game. I find that once most people get past the "lolz, cards?" stage, they find it to be an enjoyable game.
Not to mention the soundtrack.. drool
I could never get enough Tower of Caelum

JesMaz
Feb 2, 2010, 02:53 PM
oh man, the field music in 3 was so good

This is the best version, along with some cool pics!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr6qm2HtCck

That video is taken from the Phantasy Star Collection on the Sega Saturn

Hatrix
Feb 9, 2010, 01:46 PM
I tryed playing it on a emulator was hoping to complete this too, but did'nt have the commitment as it was pretty difficult (I only completed PS4). I was hoping someone could clarify what the wind up box thing is on the HUD. After a little experimenting I always thought it varied the speed of the battle actions and monster attacks?

Omega_Weltall
Feb 10, 2010, 11:03 AM
no the windup key is that you start battle until you hit a button and it stops next turn. the one with the 1 at the end means you take one turn before it stops again

Mike
Feb 26, 2010, 09:44 AM
I always enjoyed the opening music to PS3. I found a code to put the song in ZZT back when I played around with it and always used it in my games.

Prince Noah
Mar 20, 2010, 04:41 PM
I gave up on PS3 a long time ago. I won't say it's a bad game, but for me, there was no fun factor in it. It was a game I'd play once, or twice, and then I'm done with it. Game Over. No hard feelings to those that like it

Sharkyland
May 30, 2010, 12:03 PM
The only thing I didn't like about PSIII is walking from one section to another. Trying to remember all the dungeons and how to get through them. Got so much better when Wren could turn into a plane.

Good god, Nail is a beast.

TsubasaJ
Oct 7, 2010, 03:59 PM
It wasn't bad. It was actually a pretty short game, if you took each of the generations as mini-rpg arcs. Each new geneation was interesting that it gave you a new plot and new areas to explore. Personally I got all the endings back when I had the cart because I wanted to see how all the NPCs got rearranged each time I married someone. Personally, it was interesting to see happier/more messed up version of different people because of my choices.

Roger Triton
Nov 26, 2010, 02:08 AM
I spent more time with PSIII than with PSIV (only because i restarted PSIII when I didn't like how one of the generations came out).

There is only one word i will use to describe PSIII and that is an [SPOILER-BOX]Abortion[/SPOILER-BOX]

Donbanana
Nov 27, 2010, 01:05 AM
actually I just posted a topic asking about peoples favourite things from this game and aside from the epic music score, this game seems to have pathed the way for titles such as the Saga Frontier games and Agarest. There are probably more.
If you dont know what i mean it's that these games also follow a generational storyline.

Zorafim
Nov 29, 2010, 10:45 AM
It's funny how different the feelings are for this game. It's either love or hate, without much in between. I gave this game a shot ONCE, got lost before reaching the first village, and got killed by a small pack of rappies. Long after that, I watched a Let's Play! on youtube, and can't say I was impressed.
Still, I can understand why people love it. The fact that the game is split up into four different stories is neat, as well as seeing what happens to the world in 60 some years. But grinding through four different variations of old school RPG with minor differences is just too much work for me to put in. This coming from an MMOer!

Roger Triton
Nov 30, 2010, 10:12 PM
I think this guy does the series justice, and he has a part two. Def worth 15 minutes of your time if you are a TRUE fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKy-VHNbhms

Drac_Mazoku
Dec 1, 2010, 08:49 AM
Yeah, I saw that a long time ago. There's only a few video dedicated to the classic saga on youtube, so you quickly see them all unfortunately :(