Phantasy Star III
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Having not purchased the much-maligned third installment of
the popular Phantasy Star series until long after its
initial release, I wasn't expecting much from the game. As a
big fan of Phantasy Star II, I was rather dismayed to hear
that the third chapter didn't measure up. Some reviewers
were downright brutal when discussing the many flaws of the
game. My expectations for Phantasy Star III were
understandably low.. but perhaps that's why I ended up
enjoying the game.
People expecting a carbon copy of the second episode in the
PS series won't find it here. Phantasy Star III is a radical
departure from what was offered up in the first two games.
The story that's told in this title could have served as the
premise for a completely new series - and there were many
players who didn't appreciate that. Sega tinkered with a
blue chip series and came out with mixed results. Hard-core
fans of the previous two titles were understandably
disappointed.
However, if you give this game's story a chance, you'll
probably discover that it really does shine. The game begins
and ends with tried and true role-playing clichˇs: a
princess is kidnapped and a huge, despicable villain must be
slain. But in between those two points are an incredible
amount of twists and turns, with a plethora of secrets to be
discovered. The game's plot becomes immensely intriguing
once you start making some headway. You'll learn all about a
furious vendetta existing between two races that are blind
to their own commonalties, as well as uncover the bizarre
truth about the world in which you live. Along the way,
there are so many unexpected developments that even the most
experienced RPG fan's head will be spinning.
The most appealing aspect of the entire game is that the
plot progresses over three different generations - making
for three separate adventures. At the conclusion of the
first quest, you are granted the opportunity to choose a
bride for the main hero of the adventure. Your choice will
determine how the next quest will be played, as you will be
then be assuming the role of the child of the couple that
gets married (many years later, of course). Each son has
different goals to meet and different tasks to complete. The
second quest ends in the same way as the first: the choosing
of a bride. As a result, there are four different characters
which you can end up using during the third adventure. There
is often little incentive to play through a role-playing
game more than once (especially when it came to RPGs that
were released before this game), but the many different
characters who you can control and encounter give Phantasy
Star III a high replay value - assuming, of course, that you
enjoy it the first time through.
The problem is that many people don't at all enjoy playing
through Phantasy Star III. Some players become so annoyed or
frustrated with the game that they don't even bother to
complete it. I was almost one of those players; the slow
pace of the game nearly drove me out of my mind for the
first couple of hours that I played it. For some reason,
your characters walk extremely slowly. Whether you're
treading over the expansive world map or trying to make your
way through a winding dungeon, the simple task of walking
can be a very tedious experience. This game could have
benefited from the "dash" button that is so common in
today's RPGs. Eventually I became accustomed to the pace of
the game and it wasn't such a big deal. Many gamers won't be
nearly so tolerant, however.
A related issue is the backtracking that must be done to get
anywhere in this game. You'll spend a great deal of time
going back and forth between places, from town to town and
through dungeon after dungeon. The same old places get
rather boring after a while, and it doesn't help that your
characters are all slowpokes. Eventually you'll discover a
way to warp from one place to another, but that point
doesn't arrive until you're nearing the end of your
adventure.
Compounding this problem of so much walking is the high
enemy encounter rate. You can only walk but a few steps
before the battle screen pops up and interrupts your
journey. Then again, it may seem like those few steps took
an eternity as your characters crawl across the screen. But
these frequent battles become a major problem when you're
trying to explore or find your way out of a dungeon. There
have even been a few instances where I've passed up treasure
chests simply because it would have been too much of a
nuisance to trudge over to the other side of the screen and
get them.
There's no question that the feel of Phantasy Star III takes
some getting used to. However, once you delve deeper into
the quest, you'll probably get used to the aforementioned
problems and come to accept them. The game won't feel so
slow once you're fully concentrating on the missions at
hand. Patience is the key to enjoying this game.
The feel and presentation of the battle system have come
under some scrutiny as well, although this element of the
game wasn't nearly so criticized as was the slow pace of the
adventurers. As a battle commences, still shots of the enemy
characters appear on the screen. Although you can have up to
five members in your party at once, you won't see any of
them during the fight scenes. Phantasy Star III features
traditional, turn-based combat. You can attack, utilize
items, or use techniques (read: magic). Some players found
the options sparse in combat, while others felt that
fighting had a rather clunky feel to it. Personally, I liked
the battle system in PSIII (although it did take some
getting used to). It's nice to be able to press a single
button and then sit back and watch as your party annihilates
the enemy attackers. I also appreciated the fact that
battles were usually over in a matter of mere seconds; even
major combat scenes could typically be dealt with in under a
minute's time. This is quite a contrast to some of the
bosses that must be contended with in today's role-playing
games; it isn't too uncommon to spend upwards of an hour
battling a single bad guy these days.
The high enemy encounter rate combined with the quick,
concise, battle scenes make it incredibly easy for your
characters to accumulate experience points and money. You'll
very rarely have to walk around in a circle for hours on end
leveling up your characters in this game. This is one
example of how many of the bad aspects of Phantasy Star III
are outweighed and often accompanied by positive aspects.
The graphics in Phantasy Star III are fairly typical of what
was contained in most 16-bit role playing games at the time.
The character portraits that pop up in the menu screen are
extremely well done; male characters often look determined
and cunning, while female characters usually combine
toughness with beauty. Enemy characters are well drawn as
well, although the animation that takes place during battle
scenes is a bit rough. Sega included slight movements for
each enemy to represent attack moves. In general, the
smaller enemies do some sort of little dance while the big
guys usually just flick an arm or a leg. Sometimes the
animation doesn't make any sense; for instance, one
particular villain holds a sword in his left hand - yet he
waves his right hand to denote an attack. Sega would have
been better off sticking with the still shots at all times.
What would a Sega Genesis game be without some sort of fancy
scrolling. Besides the clouds that move during battle
scenes, Sega implemented an impressive effect that takes
place in a few of the dungeons. You are given the impression
that the maze you are navigating is raised high above the
ground, as the background moves at a different speed than
the platforms which you are walking on. By the twentieth
time that you have to make your way through such a dungeon,
the effect will certainly lose its luster - but it was still
a nice touch.
While the graphics in Phantasy Star III are pretty good, the
music is a completely different story. Particularly annoying
are the battle theme and the track that plays while you're
journeying through a cave or dungeon (an acquaintance of
mine once remarked that it sounded like someone was "trying
to break a piano" when I entered a dungeon). Not all of the
music is bad, however; there are a few decent moments, such
as when your character enters a castle. Still, you'd be
better off if you didn't play this game at a high volume.
All things considered, it seems like Sega set out to do a
few ambitious things with this title (the different
characters and generations, the character portraits, the
visual effects in the dungeons), but, in the process, they
didn't pay enough attention to the small elements that can
make role-playing games fun (good music, a fun battle
system, user-friendly game play). If you're expecting
another game like the second installment in the series, or
if you're low on patience, this isn't the title for you. But
if you're willing to devote some time and effort to the
game, you may find Phantasy Star III to be one great RPG.
Overall: 7 / 10
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