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System: Sega Genesis | Released: 1991 |
| Developer: Sega | Publisher: Sega |
| Genre: RPG | Players: 1 |
| Game Medium: Cartridge | Reviewer: Mystik |
The third entry in the Phantasy Star series is the least loved by most fans, but reasons differ between fans. An immediate difference from the previous two games is the graphical style and movement, looking smoother but moving slower. The battle system is the same as the first two though this time around, the backgrounds of the battle screen actually adapt to where the battle is being fought, differing from the second game. Commands still work as before, characters all being assigned tasks at the beginning of each round with everyone executing their actions according to their agility and the agility of the enemies. Still a decent system, but this wasn't what people disliked about PS3.
The story of this game is vastly different from the other three, in actuality completely separate from the time stream of the rest, supposedly based either deep into the future, or ages into the past, depending on the ending you receive combined with the player's personal interpretation. The most unique part about it, though, was it's progression, one of the earliest games to have truly different multiple endings that depended on the character you ended the game with. There are three generations of characters: the first is chosen for you, then at the end of his scenario you choose between two women who he marries, which opens up two more possible scenarios for the second generation, at the end of which you choose once again between two women for the character to marry. This results in four completely different play-throughs, all with very different endings, which essentially requires the player to play through the rather slow-progressing game four times to get the whole experience it has to offer. And the problem with that is this game ain't a whole lot easier than the previous entries, making it frustrating to continue just through one ending, never mind all four. The story concepts are pretty decent and gripping, but the patience required to walk slowly everywhere, leveling up at the same slow rate as before and going through still-very-difficult dungeons, is, once again, too tremendous for the average gamer.
Overall, Phantasy Star 3 is understandably the worst game in the series; it suffers from the same problems of difficulties the first two suffered, but it lasts four times as long this time around, and the story development itself is only as well presented as the second game, if not weaker. This game isn't recommended to anyone but those who wish to have played through the entire Phantasy Star series, and for those who choose to endure this game...good luck!
Score: 2/5
