Genre: RPG Developer: Sega of Japan System: Sega Genesis
0000000Phantasy Star 3 is perhaps
one of the greatest games of all time. Sure, it's not Final Fantasy,
but it has it's own distinct flavor and style. The theme is post
apocolyptic future in space where civilization is in these space ships
that look like a collection of 7 domes organized in a hexogonal
formation. You get between these via temples and caves (only by caves
in the beginning). As the game progresses, you get to use a ship and a
spaceship (The cyborg Wren transforms into these).
0000000I would estimate the game to be
about 70 hours of gameplay, mostly due to the fact that the framerate
is so slow (in one of the emulators I increased it, but that emulator
screwed up the music when I changed to XP recently so I had to stop
using it). If you are an RPG fan, and an experienced one, Phantasy Star
3 is definately one you should play if for no other reason besides it's
a classic, just as someone who reads for a hobby should read all the
famous authors.
0000000Graphics/Sound: The graphics were
done pretty well considering it was one of the first games realised for
the genesis. Some of the tunes in the game are simply really good, and
there's no denying this, and some are just awful and will drive you off
the wall.
0000000Gameplay/Innovation: I have to give
this game some points for innovation because of the fact that it's a
classic, just like I gave Dragon Warrior. I believe this is also the
first game to have a non-linear storyline. Now the only other RPG that
I can think of with a non-linear storyline was Saga Frontier, which did
a totally horrible job. There are 4 completely different pathes you can
take in a binary-tree type structure (as you will see if you ever need
to go to the online walkthrough, which is available if you do a google
search (phantasy star 3 walkthrough), and I suggest you go to this only
when you're really stuck. You'll feel better about yourself if you can
get all the way through the game without using it, but I know I did
(twice). Be warned though, there are many parts of the game where they
simply don't tell you what to do or where to go, and I would say trying
to figure this out was far the most difficult aspect of the game (the
end boss battle was rather simple, and I was thankful for this). So
overall I think when I do the weighted averages it will compare well
with the other games on this site.
~ Adam Henderson
56% Alright for it's time
77% The themes are either really good or really bad.
97% First non-linear RPG.
80% Storyline was alright. Fun game overall. Ending sucked.
30% You won't play it again.