SEGA's most underrated JRPG

SEGA's Phantasy Star III on the Mega Drive/Genesis has a bad reputation.
Are you going to believe it?
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#sega #retrogaming #megadrive

[@Goati_]

big phantasy star rants over at twitch.tv/goati_

[@SailorCallie]

PSIII was, in my opinion, never a bad game at all. It was an underrated installment of a franchise that really deserved better.

[@BurstError]

This was my first Phantasy Star experience and I will always have a soft spot for it. thanks for the great vid

[@Goati_]

thanks burst, this was actually the first one we got too in my house! We got Phantasy Star II after, haha.

[@Betsujin]

Amazing game with coolest ideas. Dynamic music system, top tier world building and mystery, hard hitting revelations about human nature, and you can actually choose your main waifu and have kids with her and play as grown up result of your bad decisions, and you can do it twice! (sic!). But with worst cities in series, they all look the same with mostly boring citizens, and nerfed to the ground dungeons and fuck anyone who hates on SEGA's employee who build majestic catacombs of Phanatsy Star II - he was probably the last person in entire corporation who knew language of proper dungeons and delivered so hard people still scream with agony in new millennia if they tasked with goal to remember more than one corridor and two adjacent rooms. Anyway only peasants skip the King of JRPG.

[@Goati_]

yeah the world is actually filled with good-dialogue-and-lore-delivering-NPCs but every room and castle is fully empty lol KING OF RPG

[@DezorianGuy]

PS3 had the potential to be one of the best rpgs ever. But due to the known issues it just isn't.

[@Goati_]

yea it's a bit empty and screwy, but nothing that offensively impedes fun, still a good one. Lots of ambition and not a lot of time

[@analogmoz]

"It waa very good but for the parts which were very mediocre."

[@makeitthrough_]

PS _3_ got da best gaymes

[@marukuanfuni]

@@makeitthrough_ Phew, Im glad that someone here has the tenacity to make a Cultured PS-TrippleBallin reference on the ambiguous "PS3" acronym! BaLLLLLLLLin!

[@DezorianGuy]

@@makeitthrough_ No, PS2 got the best games (including a mediocre PS2 Remaster).

[@stefanswiss3760]

I still can't believe to this day that sega didn't try to capitalize on the licence after seeing every other company making FF remakes, Ys remakes, DQ remakes. The best they did for PSIII whose character didn't have cameos in any other game was to remix a couple of songs for PSOBB (or PSO2 don't remember which one) Fun fact (i don't remember where i read it) dark force face for 3 is based on the face of their supervisor whom the developers didn't like.

[@Goati_]

didn't know that about the dark force face! I do think it's the coolest dark force in the series though, the way it shows up adds to it too. Sega's capitalizing on the IP alright, but the IP now is pso2 new genesis...

[@energyfitness5116]

Nintendo wont remaster Wind Waker. I cant find Tenchu Stealth Assassins beyond my hard copy. Some games should be remade/reissued but arent, sadly.

[@xjax8519]

They made remaster I and II on PS2.

[@oliverfreedomgames]

​@@xjax8519, Why to hell they don't continues making remastering The other 2 games from the franchise, PS II and PS IV, right? 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@xjax8519]

@ I & II first games ! IV not the "legendary" status )))

[@Koyasama]

I recall reading once that the development cycle of Phantasy Star III was badly rushed--compressed into just a few months, I believe. As a result, the incredibly ambitious vision for the game was cut short; the end product was half-baked, and it showed. It's a pity, because that failure of the project seemed to have convinced the developers to give up on innovation for the franchise altogether. PS IV was little more than a souped-up PS II clone, and the PS Universe games were largely indistinguishable from their immediate predecessor, PS Online.

[@Goati_]

yeah I agree that while PSIV is ultrapolished and just about amazing, is "just" a souped up PSII clone. I don't know the dev cycle length but it couldn't have been long, what I do know is that PSII was also rushed and it was 6 months, of which 2 and a half only of actual development (doing all the assets, coding, sound, everything). Rest was planning before and testing after

[@Omicron9999]

Why do the Japanese always get the definitions of 'cyborg' and 'android' mixed up? It's baffling - cyborgs are part human, androids are fully machine, not the other way around.

[@eclisis5080]

where do the japanese get this mixed up, post some examples because it doesn't happen. He got it mixed up just like he called the enemy's muscle flex biceps when it was his pecs, this guy is weird lmao, also cyborg doesn't have to be human just have biological and mechanical parts, an android doesn't have to be machine just have to be an artificial life form, like Cell from DBZ he is an android, but he's biological not mechanical like the androids he absorbed

[@monkibro]

It's not just a Japanese thing, man. Most casuals when it comes to sci-fi easily make this mistake too! (I've read enough reviews of "Alita Battle Angel" that completely failed to understand the movie based on this mix-up)

[@Goati_]

yeah my bad, all they say in the japanese manual is that mieu is an "android" that has emotions, whether these are programmed or not is unknown. Wren is just a "robot" with no emotions. The localization just scraps the manual description and calls them both cyborgs ingame, so it can get confusing lol

[@evilfreak7]

pretty sure the implication is that mieu is a robot that is supposed to resemble a human, while wren is a robot that's supposed to function as purely a machine.

[@ren7a8ero]

This first PS saga is amazing, PSII and PSIII got some tragic developments in chars and ambience, that add so much to the lore. And PSIII was really innovative in the marriages and routes, sadly they couldn't develop everything. But now they can. Forgetting about potencial franchises is a typical Sega move, I don't even feel angry anymore.

[@Goati_]

I don't think you can say that about sega, they rehash a lot of their IPs, have surveys about them, now they're putting that Sonic Movies money towards new games about old IPs if you haven't seen that, plus uhh a comix zone movie, a streets of rage movie and a space channel 5 movie or something can't even please everyone, must just appreciate old game... thanks for leaving a comment

[@TKDBoy1889]

@@Goati_ This gets said about a lot of companies- the forgetting of IP's or letting them collect dust- and I think realistically people should understand that once you have that many series, you cannot keep pumping out titles for all of them without sacrificing quality. Better to have the classics be remembered as greats of the past than get converted into yearly cashcows.

[@Teh_Zig]

all my life I knew it as "the bad one" until I actually sat down and played it for real a few years back, and know I know better.

[@Goati_]

love to hear it

[@lfskyden]

@@Goati_ I did manage to play it back when it was out, and I wouldnt call it a bad game, just a low point, but considering Phantasy Star is one heck of a Good RPG Series, it just means the other games felt better, not that PSIII was bad, many concepts from it were kinda used in Agarest War franchise

[@theKellyG]

I love how you can grind at the beginning of the second generation to get the best buyable weapons really early on. We were OP after saving up for those for our characters, but it also made our playtime insane at the end.

[@Goati_]

something I did once was just killing off everyone but mieu and wren, so they'd get all the exp, be overpowered in generations 2 and 3 and maul everyone on their own haha

[@Galahaddruid]

I love this one. Albeit it's technical limitations, the generation system really got me into it. The first time I played I went full Layan, because I wanted to have strong magic, but I played a second time and did the twins path that seems more like the "real ending". Having multiple paths/endings on that era was already a very amazing feat. It's refreshing seeing someone talk about this game, thank you very much man, I've subscribed to you.

[@Goati_]

the orakian/layan separation and how it played a role in the generation themselves really established some cool lore I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@MysticalMachineGun]

Phantasy Star III with a little better localisation, bit more text and more animations would be a god-tier game. As it stands I enjoyed playing it on the PS2 collection with increased speed as a lot of it is just large, empty maps and battles. Surprised you didn't use Wren versus Wren for the design comparison!

[@Goati_]

true, well acckksshhually originally those wrens have different names (shiren and foren or something), with IV's not being a totally emotionless robot, but it would have driven the point home!

[@ChefNikuman]

Phantasy Star 3 was actually the first game in the series that I played and I loved it, so from my adolescent perspective it was 2 and then 4 that were different when I played those games respectively. I'll continue to defend 3 even though 4 is my favorite. 😂

[@nunyanunya4147]

III was my favorite and first introduction to the series. i replayed it multiple times. i was so obsessed with the children aspect and able to create the ultimate team by breeding with the majik people for 3 generations in a row. 1 had the problem ov being a first person dungeon crawler with limited graffics so you cant tell where you are if you don't map it (and if you do have graph-paper you are only half lost) 2 ... meant you had to play 1 to understand whats going on and I could not get be hind 'one ov my party is named after a god and uses an ax. one is a eternal cyborg death machine... one is a cat...) 4 was pretty advanced for the time. the cutscenes and story where good but too anime for me to enjoy. 3 is my favorite. if only because ov how clean the battle music goes from combat to victory with out skipping a beat or waiting for the change over.

[@Goati_]

I think you might be mixing the characters in from the first game there when talking about 2! I don't think you have to play the first game to understand anything, I played that one last!

[@nunyanunya4147]

@@Goati_ shows you how uneventful the second one is really...

[@YeOldeGamerGrampsofOlde]

What I loved about this game was the descendant mechanic. And one of the endings actually makes it come *FULL CIRCLE* with Phantasy Star 2's.

[@HandOn-c40009]

those cover art are amazing, man I miss those scifi aesthetic

[@Goati_]

I'm a big fan of Hitoshi Yoneda who made those for II and IV, and a lot of other videogame covers too

[@energyfitness5116]

IMO, It looks like those AI remakes when you ask it to 'make PS but in the 1960s/1980s' and it generates a movie.

[@The-Zemus-Zone]

@@Goati_ Meru Purana's cover is legendary.

[@Goati_]

good composition on that one

[@HandOn-c40009]

​​@@energyfitness5116maybe because those Ai remake steal from these art? remember Ai image are combination of image splashed together. if you look at a lot of 80-90 scifi anime cover there is a lot of these kind of aesthetic so the ai goes to these art for "refference", let's not jump the "this look like AI" train because there already too much case of people getting harrased for just sharing their legitimate art.

[@HattoriZero]

1:59 The definitions are reversed. A cyborg is a human or other organic creature with cybernetic parts. An android is a human-like robot. Cyborgs A living organism with mechanical or electronic parts that enhance its physiological functions Cyborgs can be people with artificial organs, prostheses, or implants Cyborgs can have enhanced abilities or restored function Cyborgs are made from organic material and enhanced with biometric components Androids A mechanical or electronic automaton that resembles a human Androids are designed to walk, talk, and perform social interactions Androids are sentient and possess human characteristics

[@Goati_]

yeah I mixed it up, the Japanese manual states that mieu is an "android" with human feelings and whether those are the result of programming is unknown. Wren is an emotionless "robot". The English localization just cuts the descriptions and calls them "Cyborgs"

[@LeonardoJones]

When I played this a few years ago I didn't know much about it, so I didn't have any prior expectations going in. I get that the graphics look weird, and the gameplay loop is very repetitive (it amounts to "go to this place to get this item that unlocks this other place, so you can get this other item that unlocks this other place"), but the concept of playing as different generations of heroes was very interesting, it was pretty cool meeting a character from the previous game, and I was mindblown by the big twist in the story. I understand why a reviewer would knock down points for its presentation, but I still think it's one of those games that, despite all its flaws, should still be experienced at least once.

[@chrism2027]

Nice Video, Fantasy Star 2, 3 and 4 are included on the Megadrive collection and are relatively cheap to get or on Steam for PC.

[@Goati_]

some collections add quality of life functionalities you might like!

[@clintbrew]

Are they still on steam cus I sworn they delisted sega games from all stores like PSN, Xbox etc including phantasy star games good thing I have the mega drive collection physically on switch and Xbox one

[@leandrusi4533]

Guy: * flexes pectorals * 1:24 "although that guy flexes his biceps"

[@Goati_]

my anatomy teacher died horribly

[@ZX-Gear]

Would love to see a return of classic Phantasy Star.

[@rozzalex9870]

My friend had this PSIII but from Japan, where he cousin used to live. I had no idea what Im doing 100% of time, but enjoyed playing in the "dark", there was a kind of "suprise" in every corner. For obvious reason it took 1 year the beat the game totally in japanese, I leveled up my main char for so long that the last boss was basically "nerfed" because I spent too much time killing monster all around while tried to figure it out what the hell I should do. Even though, this game has a special place in my heart. I can still hear the soundtrack changing a little bit every time with some new details or more dense atmosphere. One day I will try it again, in English this time to understand wtf was all that stuff.

[@Goati_]

ahaha yeah man you have to play it in English now

[@rozzalex9870]

@@Goati_ Unfortunatelly I didn't learn sh.t about japanese, but I could figure the menus using the "try and error" till figure it out what that thing did on game....1991, my very first RPG.

[@Somebody374-bv8cd]

Sega announced quite a number of remakes for their old IPs approximately 2 years ago (shinobi, streets of rage, golden axe, crazy taxi jet set raido etc) and are even reviving virtual fighter, but for some reason the phantasy star series barely gets a peep from sega.

[@Goati_]

pso2 still making good money

[@jeremyknowles5897]

This was my first exposure to the Phantasy Star series. This is probably my favorite in the series. I love the generation mechanic.

[@Goati_]

it was my first too! maybe our first jrpg even

[@JannPoo]

Phantasy Star 3 was my second RPG ever played after Shining and the Darkness, so I never had expectations based on previous Phantasy Star titles. I absolutely loved it and to this day I still remember it fondly. Yes it has a lot of problems, but if you can see past them it has such incredible concepts. You made a lot of good points about the story, the music, the character design, I would also add the generation system, that's simply genius and I wish more RPG took that idea and expanded it. It's also mindblowing how you start believing that you are in a world and then you get to another world, but it's a bit puzzling how you can simply reach it while walking, and then you get the revelation. I've also been fascinated by the setting I think it's the most original in the series. Phantasy Star I is basically Star Wars, Phantay Star II is pure Sci-Fi, Phantasy Star III is a fundamentally Medieval setting but with technology.

[@Goati_]

the more "serious" and "medieval" setting is actually what the World of Phantasy Star book described as some of the causes of bad reception to the game. It does fit in with the plot though...

[@IBleedMercuryOfficial]

Damn, the memories. Played the hell outta this, beat it more times than I can count. Hell, maybe it's time to fire up the emulator. Edit: It also had the better art style, didn't like the cartoony anime style of the others. The GRIND in this game is unreal tho, and walking takes for freaking ever. The enemy design shows what's possible when you take design artists and give them psychedelics. Was still an incredibly epic game for its time and it will always be my favorite Genesis title.

[@Goati_]

refreshing to read! maybe it is time to fire up that emulator...

[@stargazerlaurent6780]

I played it in the 90s and honestly the art was something different. Music too. I didn't know it was supposed to suck. I enjoyed it.

[@Goati_]

I don't think it was supposed to suck, but it's a very polarizing game!

[@FranckOA42]

Yeah Phantasy Star 3 had some really good story (but the 2nd one had also a good story), the generation system was very nice and had a really nice big part in uncovering the world background, it had also some great music (even if I always hated the jingle at the start of battles as I felt it was very agressive for my ears and had way to much of that sharp and metallical sound that the megadrive was famous for, I always loved the title screen music with it's smooth crescendo and the richness of the overworld theme with its variations depending on the party composition).

[@monkibro]

Hol' up! Is that a PHYSICAL copy of Phantasy Star III Futabasha?? LET'S GO!!!!!

[@Goati_]

yeaaaaaaah 🤘

[@MrIronJustice]

Super cool game, thanks for sharing! I too love the backstory, and the idea of generations living and passing on their quest to their children multiple times. Also the reveal that this is an actual generation ship, not a real planet, is wild. Someone needs to take this plot and do it better.

[@Goati_]

thanks for commenting! That's pretty much the biggest and coolest plot twist in the entire series, yeah

[@zanychelly]

Sega should take advantage of the current renaissance pf JRPGs, to release remakes of the original series.

[@middle_pickup]

I've been waiting for a single player reboot to the series for years.

[@Goati_]

t-there's... Phantasy Star Idola... ... ...

[@AussieArcade]

Never thought it was underrated, in fact I think its far easier to pick up and play than FS2. Unfortunately people's opinions are formulated on what the internet says and not experience the game for themselves.

[@Goati_]

very true, easiest to pick and play after PSIV

[@mfntonberry]

I watched my brother play 2 when i was a kid. the I went through and played all 4 in my 20's. They were all wonderful. Even 3 was really great.

[@Goati_]

based

[@takkik282]

It was my first JRPG on Megadrive/genesys, and honestly I would not replay it today. After all the JRPG I played, I think it wasn't a good JRPG, but I was lucky it was the first! But the story, the music, the character design... will stay forever in my memory! III as a bigger nostalgia factor than IV. Like Shining Force I is one of my favorite TRPG. Too bad I was too dumb to not experience PSII back in the days.

[@Goati_]

there's always time... lots of ways to enjoy PSII nowadays

[@takkik282]

@@Goati_ Yeah, but not the same as playing it as a kid in the 90's. If I was discovering PSIII today, not sure I would like it like when I was a kid and it was my first JRPG. Not the same experience.

[@randylawrence6077]

I was hooked to this game in high school & I had to complete it 3 times to see every ending. I was so obsessed with getting the expensive weapon in the first generation that had me grinding forever and to give it to Wren to be used in the next generation. Now the opening song is my mobile phone ringtone.

[@Goati_]

ahah recently a viewer has pointed out to me that the song "Mary France" by Jean Jacques Perrey sounds like the opening song, which is just about my favourite opening song.

[@S_Hyde]

Subbed Though I've yet to play the phantasy star games, longer than 10 or so minutes at least, I came across them way before I'd have an idea of what an RPG was. Long, long before it became my favorite genre.

[@Goati_]

go wild and enjoy them in whichever order!

[@cybertruckeralpha]

I had a feeling it was gonna be underrated when I saw the logo alone. Can't wait to play it.

[@thenonexistinghero]

The game has its faults, but also some really cool things.

[@Goati_]

yeah it does its own thing with the logo instead of sticking to the script but damn is it good

[@magnipoptude7319]

I agree, the dynamic music is absolutely amazing. PS3 was a disappointment for me initially, compared to PS2 (battle animations, emotional plot, loss of a major character and Rise or Fall, the most epic battle music ever - how could it live up to its predecessor?), but as I played along, I started to like PS3 more and more, and the different endings all hit different. PS3 is one of my faves to this day - great video!

[@Goati_]

wish you'd get to hear Rise and Fall a couple more times in the second game!

[@Mantelar]

I was excited to try it, but this was back before forums and there was a spot where I couldn’t figure out what to do next. I didn’t have the patience to either figure it out and face my stupidity or confirm it was a known problem.

[@Goati_]

there are 2 spots in the game where you literally have to access an invisible entrance. One is in the desert, by the river, the other is southeast corner of a town... so yeah that's definitely something they should have addressed at least in the localization.

[@Kara_Kay_Eschel]

This game had so much potential. For reasons of either Sonic or time constraints it felt incomplete. Like it had a beginning and an end, but what is in the middle needed a bit more padding.

[@Goati_]

maybe not padding but yeah just more time with that much of a stretched out scope

[@ryangutwein120]

Phantasy Star III is the only game in the series that could potentially tie the storyline to PSO. Only one gigantic spaceship in the franchise that has Dark Force trapped inside, and it's name is the Alisa III !!!!1 .OO OOO .OO

[@Goati_]

ahahah .OO OOO identify yourselves .OO

[@oliverfreedomgames]

É ótimo esse kogo, sim! Quase todo mundo que não gostou na época, foi porque não jogou direito e criticou a estória não ser relacionada com os outros. A conexão com os outros jogos só é estabelecida lá pelo meio do jogo. Ele só não é dos meus Top3 por causa do sistema de batalha...aqueles sprites dos inimigos movendo só um pixel para "atacar" me fazem cair na gargalhada (de nervoso) e não ter a animação dos personagens atacando (coisas que eram mais avançadas, melhores por assim dizer, no anterior PS II) foi tipo um retrocesso. Mas, tirando isso, acho ele muito top! Ah, e os diálogos também, as caixas de diálogos, a fonte ser diferente, o menu em si também, não curti muito, também foi um retrocesso em comparação ao PS II, na humildade opinião. Mas, tirando a execução da ideia, um pedaço da parte técnica, o jogo é um ótimo jogo! A estória ganha de longe, os sprites dos personagens mais bonitos, mais bem trabalhados, a trilha sonora! 👌🏻 Sem contar, que abre precedentes (um dos finais) para as subfranquias 'Online' e 'Universe' (segundo um raciocínio fanfic, rs)... Ou até, cria um paradoxo com o PS II (isso é outro _pensamento fanfiqueiro_)

[@ineptgamer3814]

Phantasy Star 3 on Megadrive and Heimdall on Amiga were the very first RPGs I ever played and I loved them both. I don't understand the hatred PS3 gets as in my opinion the graphics, sound, gameplay etc. are all superior to PS2. This is sure to be an unpopular opinion, but I think 2 is the worst of the set. When you level up on RPGs you're supposed to notice a difference in the strength of your character/s. This is a strong element in 3. Even at max level, all the characters in PS2 feel underwhelming and this drastically effects gameplay & enjoyment. I used to love returning to previous domes in 3 with higher levels and new weapons & armour just to see how I fared with the upgrades. It was too much fun. Obviously, there are several areas near the end of the game that are still a challenge, especially the Terminus Dome and Dark Force's dungeon, but 3 is such an incredible experience that I'd love to play it again now. Before I discovered Datel's Action Replay, I spent 8-10 months outside Cille maxxing out Rhys, Lyle and Lena's levels whilst saving up to buy the Planar weapons and Royal armours, end-game items, that were strangely available to buy at the end of the first generation. Then my niece wiped the game save from the cartridge. 🤣🤣 Last year I played both the PS1 & PS2 remakes english fan translations on Playstation 2 and the first one is great, but 2 suffers from the exact same under-powered problem, meaning the gameplay suffers again. I'd absolutely love to see a Phantasy Star 3 remake and can only imagine what form that would take. Obviously 4 is the best, but in my opinion 3 still has better graphics. The sprites and animation are honestly even superior to 4, crazily and seem to run somehow at 60fps. I thought that I was alone in my adoration of this classic, so thanks for sharing this video...! 👍🏻

[@Goati_]

thanks for commenting! I do love the sprites in this one, the animation just isn't there though

[@AlpacaLipzMeow]

I enjoyed my time with 3. I bought it anyway even after hearing about how "bad' it was because the series was my absolute favorite JRPG at the time. It wasn't as good as PS1 or PS2, but I would be hard pressed to call it "Bad".

[@joaoclodoaudo5385]

I loved this game! I started with it. It had 2 endings, which was awesome to me. I liked PS4 very much too! In fact, I don't like RPGs of any kind, the only that I liked, and have fond memories, are PS3, PS4 and sword of vermillion. Nice vídeo, thank you.

[@Goati_]

glad you enjoyed! There are more than 2 endings, maybe you'll play it again...

[@georgeprapas4995]

PS3 is probably is the black sheep of the series... but YES the music is f ucking awesome!! 🤩🤩

[@Goati_]

black sheeps are pretty cool, horns up

[@higado2]

OH! This game was the first RPG I was exposed to! I was 11 or 12 at the time. Rented from the store, and thought it was so strange how when you walk outside, you become a "giant", and towns become tiny! HAHAHA I had no idea what I was doing, so I didn't get far. I later ended up playing it on one of the first emulators, that wasn't able to display the menu in battle, so all I could do was press "A" repeatedly until the battle was over! HA! I would then heal the party members outside of battle. Believe it or not, I managed to get through almost the entire game without ever seeing the battle menu, and therefore, also without using any techniques! Only once did one boss force me to grind and level up because I kept dying! Hehehe Alas, when I finally reached the end of the game, the final boss proved too difficult to beat with just pressing "A". And then we moved houses, and never got around to grinding enough levels to beat him! .....damn, I should revisit this game now, with an emulator that actually shows the battle menu this time! HEHEHE

[@Goati_]

that's insane, thanks for sharing

[@justsomephguy]

This and 2 was great for me, but PS3 stands out for me because of the generation system they made and mieu & wren being constant companions to connect each generation was awesome.

[@Goati_]

yes, perhaps I haven't talked about the generations much to keep it more spoiler free and surface levels, but I agree with you that the androids just sticking around are maybe the coolest thing about the game in spite of creating character-number relief

[@justsomephguy]

@Goati_ well, Generations of Doom is part of the game title so, not much of a spoiler tehehehe, but yeah, that system is pretty rare (or unique?) and I'd love to play a game that has something similar if I could.

[@DesertRainReads]

This was a groundbreaking game for sure. It deserves so much more love than what it gets, I enjoy it for what it is. Phantasy Star III deserves a full-on remake that fleshes out the plot and overhauls the battle system but keeps the amazing music concept of the overworld theme completely in tact.

[@Goati_]

I think making a remake would be too much more work than 1 and 2, even combined, were on the playstation2 it'd be lovely though yea

[@robd4701]

I played through this for the first time recently and really enjoyed it. There were times where I didn't know where to go but was never totally lost. There are only so many options that make sense. I felt like the game was neither too linear or too vague and directionless. The exploration was the thing I liked best. The characters move at a snails pace and the battles leave something to be desired, but overall I really enjoyed exploring the world they created.

[@Goati_]

I think the characters only move slow if you compare it to the much later sequel! But I agree, the world seems huge but the directions to the player are quite good, except... those 2 instances where you literally have to enter areas with no visible entrance...

[@robd4701]

@@Goati_ The one time I got really lost was when an NPC told me the destination was to the right or the east, and I misread it as being to the east of town, not the east of the walkway we were standing on. Wandered for almost an hour before stumbling accidentally into the dungeon while looking for more clues back in town. I blamed myself for that one as I should have read more carefully.

[@brichan1851]

I always loved Phantasy Star III. I remember it being new and I thought it was a great game. People hated it and I never understood why. I don’t care what people say, it’s a lot of fun!

[@avideogamemaster]

I don't think the dynamic music in battles works well in this game. Most of the time, the "bad" music only plays because the enemies strike first, but as soon as it's your turn, the "good" music plays. It doesn't make sense to me. I love Phantasy Star, but 3 is my least favorite. That said, I still appreciate all the good things in this game. The story is nice, the mid-game "plot twist" is cool, and the option to marry different characters and play with their children is also very fun. The endings are intriguing as well. This game deserves to be "fixed" by fans, with more animations in battles for both enemies and your attacks, and by sorting enemies in areas that make sense instead of randomly grouping them together

[@Goati_]

yeah, the balance of the enemy progression is all over the place

[@st1ka]

I actually hope to make a video on Phantasy Star 3 some day. It's such a unique game, even if all the parts don't quite mesh, imo lol

[@Goati_]

do ping me when you do...

[@tocs777]

PSII will always be my favorite but I def got my moneys worth out of it, sadly I only did 3 out of the 4 endings. Mieu was favorite girl, reminded me so much of Nei.

[@Ostnizdasht206]

PS3 was the only Genesis PS game I owned back in the day. I never understood the hate for the game.

[@Goati_]

I think that when your game (or other thing) is so polarizing, you did very good. Can't please everyone, but those that will like it will REALLY like it.

[@DragunBreath]

This was the first PS game in the series I actually played. Even though it's the black sheep, and for good reason, I really enjoyed it. The multiple paths and 4 endings gave the game a lot of replay value, the first time I had experienced such in an RPG up to that point.

[@Goati_]

I feel the same about every word you typed, I also played this first

[@TheWeebLounge]

PS2 was the GOAT, PS3 was great with a long complicated story, PS4.....actually didn't care much for it. I still have a copy of PS2 with the hint book, lol

[@Goati_]

we didn't have the hint book with our copy somehow! Lucky you!

[@nutherefurlong]

Yeah, when I started playing it I was pretty disappointed, coming off of PS2's slick graphics and compelling story. I think where I started to turn around a bit on 3 was when the nature of the world became apparent to me, I love stuff like that, and what the history of that world meant for what happened before. It's interesting that the later "casts" in the Phantasy Star reboots were inspired by the characters here, too (didn't know there was a difference between android and cyborg, it's been a long time). The animation and battle design did bother me, the two save slots didn't help either. At least the latter isn't really an issue for most people anymore. The dungeon theme is short but one of my favorite game music pieces. Brooding as all hell. And the way the overworld grows as you meet new people is just wonderful. Don't know if I knew that there was a different song if the main character was dead. Not sure if I returned to Miun, I love touches like that. I sort of wish there was more generational layers like that, but I know they didn't have all the time in the world given the history of the production You've got a great collection by the way, I had no idea there was so much stuff :)

[@Goati_]

yeah you have to have that last exchange with Miun. Indeed the plot twists and story/lore bits of this game are very very good, the twists holding their own against II, the lore being superior

[@zenbyo]

The biggest disappointment with this game was the change in animations. PS2 had such cool battle animations that you didn't see back in the 8 bit era. To go back to just weird little twitches and slash animations was a let down. With that said the idea behind generations was really cool and we played it anyway.

[@Goati_]

yeah the additions of backgrounds was pretty weak eyecandy after the stepdown in animations

[@cireza_]

Totally agree on character design (portraits and maps), awesome music and excellent lore and story. I really like this game, and think that a slightly adjusted remaster (even still in MD style) could turn it into something amazing. Fix bugs, show characters in battle, nicer interface, quality of life improvements etc...

[@Goati_]

it's easy to fall to the temptation of wishing for a remake... we gotta be content with game, dreaming of the remake may be a sin...

[@cireza_]

@@Goati_ Well, we did get the two PS Generations on PS2, as well as a great PS1 port on Switch done by M2. As long as M2 are around, things can happen. You never know.

[@Goati_]

I would love that, but I don't think they're gonna commission m2 a remake of the least liked one ;(

[@JayBills3]

I’m one of the rare people who actually enjoys Generations of Doom better than the other titles. It might be because it was the first Phantasy Star game I played (definitely not my first RGP though). Lots of reply value but obviously you had to play 2/3rds of the game to get to something new.

[@Goati_]

yeah and after all progressing into the game isn't a problem... well, until it is...

[@gtrzdaddy]

Why they removed the scrolling background effect in the battle scene found in the Japanese version is beyond me. It makes a big difference.

[@Goati_]

I think it was deemed that the parallax was too fast and disturbing

[@energyfitness5116]

Good vid! And i largely agree. PS3 was not very good, but, i played it a lot. Character design - Music was very good, muted color palette was good IMO, the generational system was interesting , and oddly nowadays i find it fun to speedrun(im not setting any WR dont worry). Plot Twist was decent for its time. The story is good but bare-bones. Combat and animations are simple and somewhat goofy despite looking more western(early game those big rock heads that wiggle their ears at you creeped me out as a kid) - i mess around with the Auto Combat system, think of it as hard mode. Doesnt hold up to Shining Force/FFT-FF7/ PS4 or my main: PSO. But its pure nostalgia candy and isnt painful to revisit. Played it more on GBA than on the Genesis, lol.

[@Goati_]

damn the gba version's field of view and music are something

[@Roge9]

Phantasy Star 2-3 need some good pixel remakes imo. 1 has that fantastic sega ages version (not the ps2 one, the switch one) that improves upon it at least and PSIV still holds up on it's own.

[@Goati_]

yeah the first game's switch port adds a minimap and a bestiary mostly; the ultimate way to play PSII is the mega drive mini 2 version kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH_Cf5uubtWdqJI

[@Roge9]

@@Goati_ oh thanks for the info!

[@AdversaryOne]

I played this game as a kid and loved it. I had such a hard time deciding who to marry each time.

[@Goati_]

one day in your life you will have to make a bride choice and it will come in handy

[@justinfothe2199]

I love this game and changing up the beginning where after you get married the first time and use an Escapipe immediately while inside the castle it changes up the game some to where all the enemies are those little yellow birds and you can fight the boss again at the end of Rhys's generation, and also if starting the game from the very beginning where you only have Rhys and you sell all of his equipment and buy an Escapipe and use it when you get put in jail by your dad, you can permanently lock yourself in the game to where you can't leave the town no matter what. I love the first, third, and fourth Phantasy Star games, with the second Phantasy Star game, for me, being the least favorite of mine.

[@Goati_]

yea the escapipe trick at the beginning is funny since it has exclusive dialogue telling the player to reset. Having explored the game a bit with walk-through-walls codes to prepare for this video, I can say that yeah you just fight 1 chirper/rappy wherever you're not supposed to be at that time in the game

[@andrewdowell6474]

It's my goal to play the Phantasy Star series this year finally.

[@Goati_]

go wild man, play them in whichever order and have fun

[@4u57inc0v3110]

The only real problem with PSIII is the number next to it. This was a side-story, and should have been considered as such. If it had been "Phantasy Star Side Story" or "Phantasy Star: Palm/Palma/Parma Survivors" or something like that, it wouldn't have been nearly as disliked as it was. It was a solid and ambitious game, with multiple endings for replayability. It was also my entry into the series, so I didn't go in with any expectations. It was a good game, and it checked all my boxes.

[@Goati_]

it wouldn't be a side story when it implies huge storyline developments, it's either a phantasy star or it isn't imo... There is a phantasy star side story (gaiden) on the game gear, and a phantasy star Adventure, or houshi no sagashite on the master system-- those are cool sidestory games with light plot and no big storyline developments that affect the entire galactic lore!

[@Kaylakaze]

I think I still have Phantasy Star 3 in it's original box around here somewhere.

[@battlemode]

Was the first game I got on the SEGA Megadrive as a teenager, fantastic game!

[@Goati_]

that's one hell of a first game...

[@kashkat90s44]

I don't care what anyone else says, I think Phantasy Star 3 is great and I enjoyed it way more than Phantasy Star 2.

[@Danbu1988]

I owned that one via the gba collection years ago, but never played it too far. I always remember how I really liked the visuals and music, though. Might give it another shot at some point if I am in a patient mood. The random encouter rates in many rpg's from back than are a little hard to stand, nowadays.

[@Goati_]

It does have a very distinct audiovisual charm! About the encounter rate, the battles' animations and user experience are so quick, and the dungeons so simple, that it balances out better than the first 2 games, pace-wise.

[@Chrozi]

After finishing the first two games I was excited for this, but some of the previews in the magazines didn’t make it look great. I finally played it and was a little disappointed, once I dug into the story I like it better and was satisfied by the ending. Phantasy Star IV though 🤩

[@Goati_]

they are bland yeah, at least they're snappy and way faster than the previous games!

[@steveftoth]

As someone who played them all as a kid I think the visual downgrades to make the game longer and wider were too much. Also the game was not that fun to replay multiple times to see all the possible branches as you pointed out the core gameplay loop of fighting enemies is bland and not interesting enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. The lack of strong characters that span multiple generations except for the robots was a weak point. The big baddie that you defeat at the end is also not fully explained well until near the end. If I were to remake it using genesis tech I would have increased the cart size and possibly also reduced the number of unique enemies so that you could have more complex animations for all creatures as well as add back in better attack animations for all characters. I would have recentered the game around the robots being the Sheppards of the story and have them be the protectors and primary pov for the story. Also put in more plot hints or otherwise integrated the final boss earlier in the plot, adding more foreshadowing. But the way it is, it’s fine. I can’t blame them for trying to make a more epic game that I think at the end of the day was probably limited by budget but I would like to hear the full story of how it was made.

[@ichrius]

One of my favorites in the series! Thanks for the coverage.

[@Goati_]

mine too, thanks for commenting!

[@ichrius]

@@Goati_ Just recently played through it in one sitting. Got sub 16 hours! :)

[@bastardferret869]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone go to bat for this game. Nice.

[@Goati_]

grand slam

[@MaxKnight1010101]

I love Phantasy Star 3. Never in my life have I ever considered it "the bad one" and even went out of my way to find a copy after renting it a few times and deciding I needed it. And this was after I had played 4. The characters, story, and especially the battle system were so intriguing that still play it to this day.

[@Goati_]

that's very refreshing to read! What do you like in particular about the battle system, though? Even I can't say too much of a good thing about it

[@MaxKnight1010101]

@@Goati_ People don't seem to understand that the quadrant system for battles is so much more strategic than most other types out there, at least at the time. You have weapons and techs that hit single targets, rows, and columns, and choosing attacks that hit the most targets at once is generally better than a stronger attack. It's a common mistake in this game that giving the main character a sword is always the best option, but this limits him to only hitting a single target in a single round, and at first that target is the weak front row fodder most of the time. Even a pair of knives that attack twice is better than a Sword for everything but boss fights. What's even better than two knives, though... I'm sure you can guess, but those are Needles. I will forever espouse the absolute value add of using Needles for random combats throughout the game. Not only do they hit an entire column of enemies with each use (potentially five hits per hand), but they do an excellent job of clearing front row fodder and unlike many guides and reports they do get stronger as the user gains levels; they aren't set damage attacks like Wren's guns. Lastly, the techniques in this game are a lot more useful than people realize, but I think most people get scared off from them because of the way they grow in strength and can be redistributed. The damaging techs have every variety of targeting, and as it turns out, the more targets that can be hit, the more types of enemies will resist that tech. This is why Gra isn't a great choice to emphasize; it deals the least damage anyways, and has more enemies resistant to it. Tsu and Zan are generally the best options to maximize in strength, though Foi has the fewest enemies resisting it and does the most damage of them all. Note that there are no weaknesses defined, only resistances. As a final note, there are actually a pretty wide variety of equipment that cast various techs at various levels of strength. Most of the healing ones can even be used outside of battle as well, if you know to use them. Between all of this, you find yourself with one of the best defined battle systems in JRPGs at the time. There's a depth there that no one had ever thought of before, despite the fact that attacks can neither miss or critical. Due to this, I can never look down at this game especially not for the battle system.

[@Goati_]

I'm happy to read how passionate you are about the battle system, though I can't help but think that mostly I just used spells very sparsely with Lyle and the like, and versus bosses, then just stuck to auto-combat instead for most of the game, which isn't what you would want to do in the previous game at all. It helps (or doesn't) that the game is pretty easy and the battles quick to be automated. Thanks for sharing

[@nonanimeprofilepic]

finally someone that gives the game the justice it deserves!

[@SkylerB]

i liked this one over all the others then they made it online and it changed forever.

[@Goati_]

I spent some mad time on pso and pso2, but... yeah

[@justman4891]

I played ps3 a couple years ago on emulator avd the grinding and difficulty level was unreal! A true jrpg. Hard difficulty...random battles every 2 steps...low money gain after battles lol. Non linear gameplay

[@Goati_]

at least the battles are fast!

[@falksi3182]

It's an awesome game, very flawed, but the core elements of it are genius.

[@SpringDryad]

My fave of the old Phantasy Star games ❤

[@Momoka7]

One reason as to why you not see your characters in combat(not even from behind, like PS2 did it) as well as enemy animations is because the cartridge size was really small, for a game where you play through 4 generations of heroes. They should have had 32bit size like PS4 had it.

[@Goati_]

PSIV came out nearly 4 years later (december 1993), you couldn't really have much more than the 8megabits cart PSIII had, which was already an upgrade from the sensational 6megabits cart PSII had just one year prior you coulda fit more work in there but maybe it takes the kind of expertise that had the switch version's phantasy star programmer go crazy trying to figure how to disassemble yuji naka's animation routines (this was in an interview from a few years ago)

[@diegocrusius]

absolute love the futuristic aesthetics

[@Goati_]

it's always a nice characteristic of phantasy star game to have the scifi element mixed into the fantasy one, or, well, usually it's the other way around...

[@DanteCorwyn]

There's a Phantasy Star tabletop RPG coming out, so that might build interest in the games.

[@Goati_]

Not that it matters too much, but I'm still not clear on whether or not that's licensed

[@bianodias2000]

I remember reading in magazines all that marriage stuff and thinking “wow must be awesome like playing a real novel”. I’m from Brazil so by the time 3 got here we already had 4 in stores. Compared to 4 even RPGs from today can be a disappointment.

[@Goati_]

I remember hearing some other crazy thing about brazilian/tectoy releases like getting a game in English while it was already available in portuguese or something. wild

[@bianodias2000]

@@Goati_ What Tectoy actually did, speaking from mind memory, is to release PS2 and PS3 an year or so later than PS4 in English. It was somewhat clever because PS4 was a huge success, and PS1 translated in the Master System was also a success. The thing is that PS2 and 3 are like a generation behind PS4 and that led to some let down.

[@knghtbrd]

I love the entire quadrilogy. Even I have to admit PSII and PSIII are flawed games, and of those I think PSII is actually more flawed than PSIII honestly. Yeah the attack animations in III are ridiculous and the color palette is muted-but those are style choices. Style choices that make sense from the team that did Golden Axe. The more-fantasy-than-sci-fi aspect? Ehh, Einstein said he didn't know what weapons WWIII would be fought with, but WWIV would be fought with sticks and stones. It's totally within reason that warring factions aboard the domeships could've resulted in people losing their history. It's actually happened before with societies in our world's history that had far less to lose. The other complaint I've seen is that the dungeons are too easy. Balance is something that Square and Enix both struggled with as well. What's wrong with PSII? It's only half a game. Fine, Palma has been exploded. Motavia's been further terraformed. Dezoris … is a dungeon, singular, with an oasis in the middle, because the team was so rushed they didn't have time to make a proper Phantasy Star. Things like that happened a lot in the 80s and 90s. Still today honestly, only they bandaid it with DLC. I'm glad to have both games despite the flaws in each. They pave the way for PSIV which is just a great game for its day. PSIV is easily on the list of top 10 JRPGs ever made, and there are a lot of them to choose from.

[@Goati_]

yeah, I think PSIV is just about the best jrpg on cartridge and an easy 10/10, the pacing of it being my favourite aspect. I often criticize how it doesn't do anything new though and just builds on top of its 3 predecessors, which all broke boundaries and did some revolutionary stuff

[@VulpisFoxfire]

Oddly, this was the first of the series I ever played.

[@Goati_]

same for me!

[@bollux78]

I'd say what killed this game was the rim size. It deserved the full 32mbit and had 8.

[@Goati_]

I think it was more of a lack of devtime combined with too large of a scope. 8megabits in 1990 was good, psII had 6megabits in 1989 and it was a huge deal, it sold at a loss probably

[@jaydub7386]

I wish it’d get a remake. All the PS games are great. They have their strengths and weaknesses. Three was fun and had a lot of replay value, it had a great story.

[@Goati_]

I think they didn't remake it because it wasn't worth it: not as wanted and would have required way more work than 1 and 2's remakes

[@jaydub7386]

@ it was epic for the time and remake would be beyond epic.

[@Popclone]

Underrated PS game, I finished it so many times, from what I understand is that it was rushed that's why the battle enemies look unfinished and kind of cheap. This game deserves an upgrade. Its my top games of all time, next to the original PS games. Not including the g ars PS Online junk.

[@caseyhayes4590]

Phantasy Star I and IV are pretty much perfect compared against RPGs of their generation. I ground my way through PSII (like story and the world but didn't like the battles) but never played PSIII because of everything I've always heard. Phantasy Star I (8bit) has actually aged better than most 16 bit RPGs, especially if you play the fan hack that has a few subtle improvements and allows for the incredible FM sound the US didn't get.

[@Goati_]

the YM chip on the master system/mark III was a bit weak, personally I might prefer the PSG soundtrack for that one. But yeah, I and IV are the polished ones.

[@caseyhayes4590]

@@Goati_ you prefer the sound on US cart to FM sound on Japanese system? Or are you talking about something else I don't understand. I played the US cart twice and when I first played the FM soundtrack it was like a new and more awesome game pretty easily. I like the PS1 fm soundtrack more than the vast majority of 16-bit titles including Snes titles.

[@iechromefox]

2:12 R.I.P. Toyo Ozaki :(

[@Goati_]

right, I actually found out she died while editing this :(

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

Having a different team doesn't really matter. It's a space opera game taking place thousands of years after the other games in a vast star system. It only makes sense to have the story told by other people then. Besides, the lead designer S2 worked on Phantasy Star II anyway and they had a meeting with the other devs to make sure they did the right thing with the project.

[@Goati_]

It does matter, especially when it's an established franchise and the third entry takes steps back in production and presentation, mostly the battle animations being fully absent (characters) or consisting of 2 frames (enemies); while the sprites are good and I'm a huge fan of this game, had it been the same team it would have been more successful, it's not like changing people doesn't make a difference just cause they can have a meeting, you're still probably not gonna have yuji naka sleeping on the floor and doing the insane assembly routines to cram all those animations in the game. Hiroto Saeki is the only guy that carried through yeah, poor guy must have felt like crap but he went on to make some successful arcade game after that.

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

@Goati_ I think the problem was the overscope and the fact that the prequels were huge for their time, while the third was 6 Mbit like II. S2 was the only designer so he worked his behind off similar to how Naka did on II. They should have had another designer, another graphics artist, a couple of more months and 8 megs and it would have been as good as the other three games.

[@Goati_]

yeah too much ambition didn't bode well with the crunch time, wish golden axe II had a bigger cart too

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

@@Goati_ True. Many producers were very cheap unfortunately.

[@Taikomo]

Phantasy Star 3 used to be the bad one in the series. But these days we have New Genesis.

[@Goati_]

oof I've tried new genesis for a bit, having played pso2 long ago, and it was, how do you say it... cringe I bet it makes mad money though so can't fault them

[@Riiyan]

That TV you have is amazing.

[@Goati_]

haha thanks! Went to visit a friend in northern Italy years ago, her neighbor was throwing it away.

[@GrumpyCat97]

phantasy star 3 feels unfinished, there's some caves that we can't access it, bug where dead allies can heal them self, most of the houses are empty, it barely has cutscenes

[@Goati_]

it's very rushed yeah, had a bigger ambition and scope than the second game which was also rushed, actual dev time for that one was 2 and a half months lol idk what kinda cutscenes you would expect in 1990 but it does have plenty of dialogue

[@kitanashia]

I always thought III was a good game but it is a side story in the series(which I believe is part of why it didn't do so good) where as IV is a direct sequel to II.

[@Goati_]

I think it's not much about it being a side story, because it isn't, rather than the fact that it *feels* like one. Or, even better, it just feels different, looks more serious. etc. Thanks for ocmmenting!

[@kitanashia]

@@Goati_ III does not take place in the same continuity as PS, PSII and PSIV I guess rather than calling it a side story it would be better to say it isn't the same cannon as the other games in the series. Originally fans thought Phantasy Star Online was the same universe as III but SEGA debunked that rather than rolling with it which I think is a shame. I still think III is a phenomenal game and should sit down and play through it.