Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [1 of 7]
81A playthrough of Sega's 1991 role-playing game for the Sega Genesis, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom.
This playthrough shows all possible paths through the game, with each character's arc getting its own video. This video shows the intro scenario.
Links to the others:
Generation 2
Rhys+Maya=Ayn • Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [2...
Rhys+Lena=Nial • Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [3...
Generation 3
Ayn+Thea=Sean • Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [4...
Ayn+Sari=Crys • Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [5...
Nial+Laya=Adan • Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [6...
Nial+Alair=Aron • Phantasy Star III (Genesis) Playthrough [7...
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom was met with a warm reception by fans and the media alike when it was released back in 1991. The story, graphics, sound, combat system, and its innovative "generations" system were all regularly cited as high points, and it was given a huge advertising campaign in America in the months following its launch. It seems strange to me that now, all these years later, the prevailing opinion seems to be that it turned somewhat less than stellar. (Sorry. Terrible joke, I know. I couldn't resist.)
Phantasy Star III is the final game in the series' timeline, taking place two millennia after the events of Phantasy Star II and one millennium after the end of Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium ( • Phantasy Star IV (Genesis) Playthrough [1 ... ).
The story opens on the day of a royal wedding. Prince Rhys of Landen is all set to marry Maia, a beautiful girl who has no memory of her life before she was found washed up on a nearby shore a few months earlier. During the ceremony, a dragon swoops in to kidnap Maia. Rhys believes that this is the work of the Layans and announces his intention to wage war on them to save his bride. The king orders him to stand down and has him thrown in the dungeon, but a short while later a girl, Lena, frees him and Rhys sets out. His story serves as the introduction to the larger plot. Once Rhys has found his bride-to-be and learns of the circumstances surrounding her abduction, you are given a choice: will you marry Maia or Lena?
This choice determines the direction that the story will take. Each path features different events, quests, and characters, so it is worth going through both to get the full experience. You'll face a similar choice at the end of the second generation, with each hero having his choice of two brides, meaning that there are a total of four possible end-game scenarios. That's a lot of replay value.
The story takes a different approach than the other three Phantasy Star games, but the connection is there, and it absolutely justifies Phantasy Star III's place in the series. I felt that the game was a big improvement in most respects over Phantasy Star II. The team that had developed the first two games were working on Sonic the Hedgehog at the time, so PS3 had a brand new team assigned to it, and I'd guess this switch is the reason for the shift in the tone. The graphics are a lot softer and more subdued than the hard-edged manga-style art of PS2, lending it the feel of a painting in motion, and the monsters look fantastic, though their animations are limited (especially compared to PS1 and 2's). The music is a bit more of a mixed bag, unfortunately. On the one hand, the title theme is probably my favorite theme of the entire series. On the other, the battle music is... not.
My only real complaint about Phantasy Star III is that it feels like it wasn't finished. Phantasy Star II suffered a similarly short development period and tight ROM size, but PS3 was a much more ambitious effort. The latter half of the third generation is pretty much the same on all four paths, and the farther you get into the game, the more you'll notice how sparsely populated the world becomes. In the late game, you can literally count on one hand the number of NPCs you'll find in any given town. On the plus side, the dungeon design soooo much better - long gone are the insane labyrinths and the overhead pipes of PS2! There is also less need to grind to progress, and the battle system is better streamlined.
Overall, I really enjoyed Phantasy Star III, and I think it tends to be unfairly maligned by a lot of people. It has its warts, but that doesn't make it any less of a Phantasy Star game than the others. I would absolutely recommend it, but if you want to see it at its best, I would suggest playing the earlier games first. It's not required to understand the plot, but you'll appreciate the weight behind some of the scenes better if you're already familiar with the series' overarching story.
I've also done a SNES cover of Phantasy Star III's main theme. If you're interested in taking a listen, you can find it here: • ♫Theme from PHANTASY STAR III, SNES Arrang...
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