History VideoGame / PhantasyStarIII

The game also has a fan remake called ''Phantasy Star [=III2K=]''. It was made by Lys86, the creator of ''VideoGame/ABlurredLine'', and can be freely downloaded [[http://rpgmaker.net/games/95/ here]].

Generally, this game is considered the weakest of the original tetralogy, largely because its ambitious design somewhat outstripped the capabilities of the hardware and development style of its day; today, with modern storage, larger development teams & management and a good long dev cycle, a multi-generational is possible(in fact, ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki'' is precisely that), but in 1990, with a small team who had a year to work on the game and on a cart with a data weight of less than a megabyte, doing the concept justice proved... difficult. The location shift from the previous two games (which, among other things, left the ending of ''[=PSII=]'' unaddressed) also caused a large deal of discontent. While still remembered as being one of the most ambitious titles of the 16-bit era (and one of the only to attempt a generational shift), ultimately its sibling titles are remembered more fondly.

Generally, this game is considered the weakest of the original tetralogy, largely because its ambitious design somewhat outstripped the capabilities of the hardware and development style of its day; today, with modern storage, larger development teams & management and a good long dev cycle, a multi-generational epic might be possible, but in 1990, with a small team who had a year to work on the game and on a cart with a data weight of less than a megabyte, doing the concept justice proved... difficult. The location shift from the previous two games (which, among other things, left the ending of ''[=PSII=]'' unaddressed) also caused a large deal of discontent. While still remembered as being one of the most ambitious titles of the 16-bit era (and one of the only to attempt a generational shift), ultimately its sibling titles are remembered more fondly.

''PhantasyStarIII: Generations of Doom'' [[FakeOutOpening seems to be a radical departure]] from the first two ''PhantasyStar'' games at first; it doesn't even take place in the Algol system (although for good reason). It begins with the story of Rhys, a young prince of the Orakians, who is preparing to marry Maia, a girl from the rival Layans. When Maia is kidnapped, it sets events in motion that span generations. ''PSIII'' starts off as a classic MedievalEuropeanFantasy, but the appearances of androids and obviously high-tech "caves" quickly clue them in to the fact that things are not as they seem. The game features a unique twist: at the end of Rhys' adventure, he is given a choice of [[LoveTriangle two girls to marry]]. Depending on his choice, the game then ''continues'' through the eyes of the resulting child. This child's own story will then play out, again with a choice of whom to marry. This final child will play out the final act of the story.

Generally, this game is considered the weakest of the original tetralogy, largely because its ambitious design somewhat outstripped the capabilities of the hardware and developers of its day; today, with modern storage and development teams, a multi-generational epic might be possible, but in 1990, with a small team and on a cart with a data weight of less than a megabyte, doing the concept justice proved... difficult. The location shift from the previous two games (which, among other things, left the ending of ''[=PSII=]'' unaddressed) also caused a large deal of discontent. While still remembered as being one of the most ambitious titles of the 16-bit era (and one of the only to attempt a generational shift), ultimately its sibling titles are remembered more fondly.

* OneSteveLimit: An aversion. There are two Layas in the game. One is only referenced in past tense and was the being who eventually headed Layan society; the other is her younger sister who is eventually roused from cryostasis. The Japanese version adds a third, who became Gwyn in the translation.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: You can escape the dungeon at the beginning with an escapipe. You appear before the king, who tells you that ''would'' have been a good idea, except you've [[OffTheRails derailed the plot]] and need to reset the game now.

* BatmanGambit: Apparently everything you did in the first generation was part of a set up by the people of Lashute. They wanted to restart the war, but this was impossible because of the ceasefire imposed by Orakio and Laya. They could have their second-in-commands restart the war, but both had been banished to the Alisa III's satellites, which were beyond the reach of any spaceships they had. Therefore they needed someone to bring them back into position using the satellite control system; so they kidnapped the Princess of Crille and placed her on a beach in Landen; which was a neighbor to Satera, whose royal family held the Moonstone, one of the keys necessary to make the satellite control system operate. Maia, the princess of Cille, was the cousin of Lyle, the prince of Shushoran whose royal family happened to have the Moon Tear, the other key needed to work the satellite control system. Then Lyle kidnapped Maia back and returned her to Cille, which just happened to be separated from Shushoran by a narrow strait which would turn into a land bridge if influenced by the two moons, if they were back in their original positions. Note that Lyle could have, at any time, turned into a dragon and flew the party to Cille, but instead they went with pretty much the most complicated solution of all, which is what the people of Lashute wanted. Wouldn't it have been easier for them to just kidnap Lena and Lyle (or blackmail them) and have them bring the satellites back for them?

* [[spoiler: FeudalFuture]]: In spades, though most people aren't aware of it.

* [[spoiler:GenerationShips: The Alisa III is just one such model that escaped the destruction of Palma. Ayn or Nial discover this for themselves when they take off to Azura or Dahlia, respectively. Another ship, the Neo Palm, still exists as well; they're the only two left of the fleet that first left Palma.]]

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The Tsu and Zan spells have different properties than normal in this game -- Zan targets all enemies within a row (front or back), and Tsu targets enemies within a column (left or right). However, when used on the ''player's'' party, they both target everybody, no exceptions. Only Gra and Foi function like they're supposed to for both sides (targeting all and only one subject, respectively).

* BatmanGambit: Apparently everything you did in the first generation was part of a set up by the people of Lashute. They wanted to restart the war, but this was impossible because of the ceasefire imposed by Orakio and Laya. They could have their second-in-commands restart the war, but both had been banished to the Alissa-III's satellites, which were beyond the reach of any spaceships they had. Therefore they needed someone to bring them back into position using the satellite control system; so they kidnapped the Princess of Crille and placed her on a beach in Landen; which was a neighbor to Satera, whose royal family held the Moonstone, one of the keys necessary to make the satellite control system operate. Maia, the princess of Crille, was the cousin of Lyle, the prince of Shushoran whose royal family happened to have the Moon Tear, the other key needed to work the satellite control system. Then Lyle kidnapped Maia back and returned her to Crille, which just happened to be separated from Shushoran by a narrow strait which would turn into a land bridge if influenced by the two moons, if they were back in their original positions. Note that Lyle could have, at any time, turned into a dragon and flew the party to Crille, but instead they went with pretty much the most complicated solution of all, which is what the people of Lashute wanted. Wouldn't it have been easier for them to just kidnap Lena and Lyle (or blackmail them) and have them bring the satellites back for them?

* DualWielding: It's possible for characters to dual wield [[MacheteMayhem knives]], [[AutomaticCrossbows needlers]], [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang slicers]], [[WolverineClaws claws]], even [[CarryABigStick staves]].

* FunctionalMagic: The "Inherent Gift" type. Only those of Layan descent and cyborgs can use techniques; pureblood Orakians are limited to melee weapons. Naturally, since Megid figures into the plot, you ''will'' end up marrying at least one Layan by the third generation.

* WarriorPrince: All of the male chief protagonists for all of the generations.

* NamesTheSame: There are two Layas in the game. One is only referenced in past tense and was the being who eventually headed Layan society; the other is her younger sister who is eventually roused from cryostasis.

* BatmanGambit: Apparently everything you did in the first generation was part of a set up by the people of Lashute. They wanted to restart the war, but this was impossible because of the ceasefire imposed by Orakio and Laya. They could have their second-in-commands restart the war, but both had been banished to the Alissa-III's satellites, which were beyond the reach of any spaceships they had. Therefore they needed someone to bring them back into position using the satellite control system; so they kidnapped the Princess of Crille and put placed her on a beach in Landen; which was a neighbor to Satera, whose royal family held the Moonstone, one of the keys necessary to make the satellite control system operate. Maia, the princess of Crille, was the cousin of Lyle, the prince of Shushoran whose royal family happened to have the Moon Tear, the other key needed to work the satellite control system. Then Lyle kidnapped Maia back and returned her to Crille, which just happened to be separated from Shushoran by a narrow strait which would turn into a land bridge if influenced by the two moons, if they were back in their original positions. Note that Lyle could have, at any time, turned into a dragon and flew the party to Crille, but instead they went with pretty much the most complicated solution of all, which is what the people of Lashute wanted. Wouldn't it have been easier for them to just kidnap Lena and Lyle (or blackmail them) and have them bring the satellites back for them?

** ThemeNaming: Most of the worlds: Landen, Aquatica, Aridia, and Frigidia refer to their climates, Elysium and Draconia are their map appearance, and Terminus is where the game ends.

Generally, this game is considered the weakest of the original tetraology, largely because its ambitious design somewhat outstripped the capabilities of the hardware and developers of its day; today, with modern storage and development teams, a multi-generational epic might be possible, but in 1990, with a small team and on a cart with a data weight of less than a megabyte, doing the concept justice proved... difficult. The location shift from the previous two games (which, among other things, left the ending of ''[=PSII=]'' unaddressed) also caused a large deal of discontent. While still remembered as being one of the most ambitious titles of the 16-bit era (and one of the only to attempt a generational shift), ultimately its sibling titles are remembered more fondly.

* BadassLonghair: Lyle, Ayn and Sean all wear their hair down in a nice ponytail.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Gwyn fills the [[TheArcher bow user]] role that Laya occupies in the other third-generation storylines, given that Adan and Gwyn's parents are Nial and Laya; she even shares the same sprite with just a slight difference in hair color.

* YouMustBeThisTallToEnter: Caverns connecting the worlds require special gemstones to travel through; some such caverns ''never'' get said gems, necessitating the use of Laya's Pendant to teleport through her temples. Even then, there's occasionally guards standing inside to prevent you from reaching the dais.