History VideoGame / PhantasyStarIII

* FakeLongetivity: The game has ''insane'' amounts of backtracking, forcing the player to revisit most places and go back-and-forth between world maps even within the same generation. Making matters worse is the fact that the option to teleport to and between towns from the previous game is absent, the player doesn't get access to shortcuts until very late in the story, and the GlobalAirship is only obtained near the very end (and it's not so global), so better get ready to cross the same passages and areas on foot multiple times.

* FakeLongetivity: The game has ''insane'' amounts of backtracking, forcing the player to revisit most places and go back-and-forth between world maps even within the same generation. Making matters worse is the fact that the option to teleport to and between towns from the previous game is absent, the player doesn't get access to shortcuts until very late in the story, and the GlobalAirship is only obtained near the very end (and it's not so global), so better get ready to walk the same passages and areas multiple times.

* FakeLongetivity: The game has ''insane'' amounts of backtracking, forcing the player to revisit most places and go back-and-forth between world maps even within the same generation. Making matters worse is the fact that the option to teleport to and between towns from the previous game is absent, and the player doesn't get access to shortcuts until very late in the story, so better get ready to walk the same passages multiple times.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Dark Force]] is mentioned by name early in Generation 1 when Rhys takes a ferry that travels by the shrine where Orakio's sword is kept.

* FakeLongetivity: The game has ''insane'' amounts of backtracking, forcing the player to revisit most places and go back-and-forth between world maps even within the same generation. Making matters worse is the fact that the option to teleport to and between towns from the previous game is absent, and the player doesn't get access to shortcuts until very late in the story, so better get ready to cross the same passages the slow way multiple times.

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: We don't know who Sari's father is. Sari's mother Lena died from heartbreak shortly after having her, but we have no indication that her father was involved in her life, and the game gives no indication of why Sari was in line to inherit Landen as well as Satera. [[AllThereInTheManual The character book]], however, posits that she's the daughter of Rhys' illegitimate older brother (never seen in the game), who met Lena in Riik's dungeons and ended up marrying her and inheriting the throne after his brother renounced his position as Landen's Prince.

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: We don't know who Sari's father is. Sari's mother Lena died from heartbreak shortly after having her, but we have no indication that her father was involved in her life, and the game gives no indication of why Sari was in line to inherit Landen as well as Satera. [[AllThereInTheManual The character book]], however, posits that she's the daughter of Rhys' illegitimate older brother (never seen in the game), who met Lena in Riik's dungeons and ended up marrying her and inheriting the throne after his brother renouncing his position as Landen's Prince.

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: We don't know who Sari's father is. Sari's mother Lena died from heartbreak shortly after having her, but we have no indication that her father was involved in her life, and the game gives no indication of why Sari was in line to inherit Landen as well as Satera.

* UnwinnableByDesign: Do ''not'', under any circumstances, use an Escapipe to escape the castle dungeon at the beginning of the game. [[DevelopersForesight The game will outright tell you that you need to reset now.]] Mercifully, this is right at the beginning of the game. It also counts as UnintentionallyUnwinnable, since the only way to get an Escapipe at this point is by selling all of your starting equipment.

* UnwinnableByDesign: Do ''not'', under any circumstances, use an Escapipe to escape the castle dungeon at the beginning of the game. [[DevelopersForesight The game will outright tell you that you need to reset now.]] Mercifully, this is right at the beginning of the game. It also counts as UnwinnableByInsanity, since the only way to get an Escapipe at this point is by selling all of your starting equipment.

* NotSoDifferent: Both Orakio and Laya made "kill no living thing" a law in their societies; none of their subjects realize this, the fanaticism is so ingrained.

* FantasticRacism: A plot point. Orakians and Layans have been at war for over a thousand years, the former utilizing cyborgs and raw strength to fight, the latter controlling monsters and able to use techniques.

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

** [[spoiler: Alair and Sari both remain single. Thea and Maia are never seen again. Lena marries someone else (producing Sari), and in all likelihood dies in Lune's attacks. Laya returns to stasis if you marry Alair, but later joins the third-generation party (or if you exploit an oversight by giving Laya's Bow to one of the cyborgs before completing the second generation, you don't need to get her at all... meaning she remains in stasis ''forever''). So yes, the one rejected tends to not get much of a HappyEnding.]]

* PlanetOfHats: Or Starship Biome, anyway. Aridia and its single town, Hazatak, is entirely populated by cyborgs except for the shopkeepers, and one assumes that even they would be cyborgs if the shopping interface allowed it.

* CutAndPasteEnvironments:
** The game has over 7 world maps, but nearly all of them use the same graphics with very little variance, even sharing identical landmarks.
** The town themselves also look extremely similar not just in graphics but layouts, and the house indoors use one of a set of a few generic "indoors" maps. The most variance you'll get is a town located in a desert or snow area... that uses the default town graphics with a palette swap in an attempt at approximating the look of sand or snow.
** The passages connecting the world maps all use the same graphics. And unlike previous games in the series, none of them have their own palette.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: The game always uses "cyborg" to refer to any of the machine characters and enemies. All of them are androids; a cyborg is a human augmented with mechanical parts. Even Mieu, the most human-looking one, is completely mechanical.

* GratuitousPrincess: All of the female characters are either princesses, a sister to a goddess, or related to a legendary hero.

* SequelDifficultyDrop: The game is far easier than the previous two titles in the series.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Lyle in Rhys' quest. He temporarily leaves your party to challenge you to a DuelBoss battle at Shusoran castle before you can go on to defeat the King of Cille to complete your mission. Another example is Sari in Ayn's campaign.

* DynamicDifficulty: Depending on who your third-generation protagonist ends up being, gameplay can have a difference of several hours. [[spoiler:To wit, Aron has the shortest campaign, since he starts on Dahlia and with Laya's Pendant and Kara in the party. Adan and Crys both start from Landen, but Crys has a bit more world-trekking to do to fetch Laya and the Pendant. Sean's route makes the game its absolute longest.]]

* InfoDump: New Mota in Frigid1a is an Info Dump ''town'', as the name might suggest; [[spoiler:it's home to several sages who explain how the Alisa III took off from Palma before its destruction]].

* DevelopersForesight: You can escape your prison cell 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.

%%* TimeTravel: [[spoiler:One of the endings.]]

%%* UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn: Adan and Gwyn.

** The background music in battles will also change depending on your status. If you're party is in normal condition against enemies appropriate to your current level, you get the normal battle theme. If you're up against enemies above your current level, if your party is in bad shape, or if you're ambushed, the music is dark and sinister. If you're up against weaker enemies or if you're close to winning, the music is upbeat and cheerful.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: All of the female characters are either princesses, a sister to a goddess, or related to a legendary hero.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Rhys' moving of Dahlia and Azura into their old positions [[spoiler: frees the greatest generals of the Devastation War to resume their fight]]. Also [[spoiler:the third-gen character's removal of Orakio's Sword.]]