Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
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| 'Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom' | |
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| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive/Genesis, Virtual Console, Sega Saturn (Japan only), Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Game Boy Advance |
| Release date | April 21, 1990 (JP) 1991 (NA) 1991 (EU) |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media | 16-megabit Cartridge |
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom is a traditional console role-playing game that was released for the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis in the United States) in 1990. It was also released in three different compilations known as The Phantasy Star Collection for the Sega Saturn and Game Boy Advance, and The Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PSP, and later re-released on April 21, 2008 for the Virtual Console. It is a sequel to the previous game in the series, Phantasy Star II, although the connections to other games in the Phantasy Star series are not immediately obvious at the outset.
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[edit] Plot
The world of Phantasy Star III appears at first to be a traditional medieval-type setting, with kings, knights, castles, and two warring nations. A thousand years prior to the start of the game, the two factions, led by Orakio on one side and Laya on the other, waged bitter and bloody war against each other, until the two leaders met for a parlay and mysteriously vanished. Since that time, the Orakians and Layans have shared an uneasy cohabitation.
As the game begins, you play the part of Rhys, Crown Prince of the Orakian kingdom of Landen, on the day of his wedding to Maia, a mysterious amnesiac girl who washed up on Landen's shore two months ago. During the ceremony, a winged demon — identified as a Layan — suddenly appears and snatches Maia, vowing "Filthy Orakians! Maia shall never be yours!" Rhys is determined to rush off and retrieve his bride, but his father the King feels he's being overly rash, and orders him to "cool off" in the castle dungeon. The game begins when Lena, a girl from Landen who has a crush on Rhys from afar, and actually his betrothed from the neighboring kingdom of Satera, helps the Prince to escape from the dungeon and set off on his quest.
It soon becomes apparent that all is not as it first seems in this world, both as it relates to Layans, and to the world itself. Despite the setting, several anachronisms are in evidence, such as android characters, clearly artificial (and high tech) "caves," and abandoned airfields. The fact there is only a limited amount of terrain to explore in each of the three worlds (later revealed to be seven) is also a clue. Also, when you finally do encounter Layans, they do not at first appear to be demonic or even hostile — they are simply "Technique"-using humans (this being the standard Phantasy Star terminology for what in other console RPGs would be called "magic"). One of them, Prince Lyle of Shusoran, even joins your party as an ally. Ultimately, it is revealed that Maia, the girl you set out to save, is herself Layan — indeed, she is a Princess of a Layan kingdom — and that her "kidnapping" at the game's beginning was viewed by the Layans as a rescue attempt to free their Princess from "hostile" Orakians (who are likely perceived as such because they make up for their lack of magical skill by generally being physically stronger then Layans).
At this point, the player is given a crucial option: Rhys can choose to marry either Maia, despite her Layan heritage, or the Orakian girl Lena. There is no "right" or "wrong" decision here, but it will drastically affect how the game develops, as well as the character of the next part of the game. If the player weds Maia, the resulting offspring (Ayn) will be half-Layan, and be able to use Techniques; if Lena is chosen, the plot will take another track entirely with a different, pure-blooded Orakian son (Nial) as the central character. Eventually, either Ayn or Nial will have their own marriage decisions to make as well, leading to one of four possible third-generation characters for the game's final stages.
Depending on which path the player takes through the game, it is eventually revealed that the world of Phantasy Star III is in fact a "worldship" containing seven inhabitable "domes," each with a different climate to simulate different ecologies on an actual planet. This particular ship, dubbed the Alisa III, was one of several that fled the planet Palma/Palm/Parma just prior to its destruction in Phantasy Star II; the Orakians and Layans are the descendants of the survivors of that cataclysm. The player also learns at this time that Dark Force, the evil entity that was one of the final bosses of the other Phantasy Star games, also exists on the Alisa III and that it was its evil influence that caused the war between the Layans and Orakians; Laya and Orakio were actually allies, who went off to fight Dark Force together, but never returned.
What remains unclear is what exactly occurs, with regards to canon, given the four separate endings. http://www.phantasy-star.net Offers full text of each possible ending.
- Sean's ending is lackluster - the party discovers the Neo Palm (which in other generations, happens earlier) and continues floating through space in search of a new home.
- Crys's ending sees the Alisa III approaching a possible new home...the third planet from the nearest star - a blue world with two moons.
Adan and Aron's ending (coincidentally, both half-layan, half-orakian descendants of Rhys) are the only two which bear any similarity.
- In Adan's timeline, the Alisa III manages to maneuver away from the black hole. The game concludes with Aerone, the town of Alisa III's pilots heading towards the "brightest star up ahead" - intending to settle on the third world from the star...
- While Aron's ending features the Alisa III passing through the black hole after defeating the Dark Force - only to arrive in orbit around a new world. The final text is a hailing message from the London Communication's Center on our Earth to the Alisa III. Wren clearly states they were transported across space and time.
Now things get confusing. PSIII is supposed to happen concurrently, or in the Japanese version, after PSIV - yet by the final battle of PSII Earth has been destroyed by its people - the survivors of which escaped on the dungeon/spaceship Noah where the battle with Dark Force and Motherbrain take place. The earthmen that are revealed after Motherbrain's defeat claim to have destroyed Palma and be Motherbrain's creators. It is possible, however, that the wormhole had brought the Alisa III backward in time, as stated by Wren.
[edit] Characters
[edit] First Generation (Rhys)
Rhys is the hotheaded and reckless prince of the Orakian kingdom of Landen, and your very first character. His quest begins as his mysterious bride, Maia, is kidnapped by a Layan dragon. He is so consumed with rage at the kidnapping that he tries to take the army to start a war with the Layans, who have not been seen in Landen for centuries. His father banishes him to the dungeon until he can get over his fury, which leads to Lena breaking him out, and the beginning of his quest to recover Maia. Rhys fights with swords, knives, or needlers. Due to his full-blooded Orakian heritage, he cannot use techniques. His Japanese name is Kein.
Lyle is the debonair young prince of the Layan kingdom of Shusoran. He is a hero to his people, and well-known for being completely unpredictable. Rhys meets Lyle early in the game, but they only join their forces much later to restore the weather-control system. Lyle, being of Layan ancestry, can use techniques, but his true mastery lies in his use of twin staves. Much later in the game, he reveals his true identity to Ayn: he is a knight capable of transforming into a dragon, and was the one who took Maia away from Rhys.
Lena is the young princess of Satera, an Orakian kingdom across the ocean from Landen. She first appears to help Rhys escape from the dungeon to rescue Maia, but also helps later in the game to restore the sandway to Cille, thanks to her Moon Stone. As a pure-blooded Orakian, she fights with knives and needles, and cannot use techniques. Although text referring to this is not present in the English version, she is Rhys' original fiancee, arranged by their parents before Rhys ever met Maia. Although her true motivations in the game are not known, they are often explored in fanfiction.
Maia is the princess of the Layan kingdom of Cille. Due to an accident, she washes up on the shores of Landen without her memory, and gets taken in by the royal family, where she falls in love with Rhys and eventually becomes engaged to him. She is Lyle's cousin, which is why Lyle kidnapped her, believing the Orakians to be a danger to her. Maia's Japanese name is Marlena.
[edit] Ayn Generation (Rhys marries Maia)
Fifteen-year-old Ayn is meant to be the successor to the throne of Cille, being the son of Rhys and Maia. But as his father sends him with Mieu and Wren to find Satellite, a haven of eternal peace, cyborgs begin to assault their kingdom, and the royal family and the inhabitants flee. Ayn is thus asked to continue on his journey and find the lunar utopia, Azura, to save his family. Ayn inherited from his father (Rhys) his swordfighting ability, and the use of healing and time techniques from his mother (Maia).
Thea is Lyle's daughter and the princess of Shusoran. As the cyborgs attacked the city, they kidnapped and imprisoned her in the dungeon of Lensol. Once Ayn rescues her, she becomes a valuable ally, using twin slicers and several healing and melee techniques. She is one of two candidates for Ayn to wed at the end of the quest — the other being Sari. There is also some debate regarding her fate in Nial's quest, as she gets kidnapped by Siren whether Ayn is born or not. The identity of her mother remains a mystery. (See "Ryan" below.) Her Japanese name is Lann.
Sari is Lena's daughter, and the ruler of Landen and Satera. Just like her mother, she is a pure Orakian, meaning she fights with knives and needlers, cannot use techniques, and is not exactly friendly with Ayn's Layan party at first. Once defeated, she agrees to follow the little group to Azura. Unlike her mother, she is incredibly powerful, arguably the strongest character in all of Phantasy Star III. The identity of her father is a mystery. Her Japanese name is Lynn.
Siren is an ancient, bitter cyborg who once fought alongside Orakio, one thousand years before the events of the game. Laya banished him to the moon of Azura, causing him to absolutely despise all Layans. Commanding a massive army of cyborgs, his goal is the complete extermination of Laya's clan. Although Ayn manages to defeat him, in Crys' timeline, he still manages to take over the controls of the Alisa III and fire its lasers at one of its sister ships, the Neo-Palm. The Neo-Palm fires back, jolting the Alisa III offcourse. Siren also manages to blow up Azura, killing Ayn, Thea, and the survivors of Cille and Shusoran. Siren later travels to Sage Isle, where he tells the third-generation protagonist that all along, he was nursing his hatred of the Layans when he should have tried to stop the real threat to the Alisa III. He then falls over and deactivates, leaving behind his legendary Shot weapon.
[edit] Nial Generation (Rhys marries Lena)
Although the events of both Ayn's and Nial's quests occur in every timeline, they are responded to differently, depending on the intervention of the protagonist. Siren's attacks on the Layan kingdoms still occur in Nial's timeline, although Siren's attacks go uninterrupted in Nial's timeline, resulting in the complete genocide of all Layans in Aquatica dome, including Lyle and Maia. (In fact, Nial never even visits Aquatica dome in his quest; If either of his possible sons visits the dome, they will find Shusoran deserted, and the passage to Cille blocked off entirely.) Nial's quest takes place three years after the events of Ayn's quest.
Eighteen-year old Nial is the full-blooded Orakian son of Rhys and Lena, and is the prince of the kingdoms of Landen and Satera. When unknown monsters invaded the kingdom of Satera, slaying Lena's father, King Rhys sends Nial, along with Wren and Mieu, to investigate. It turns out to be an assault by a Layan general named Lune, who is slaughtering every Orakian in his path. Like his father, he can use swords, knives, and needlers, but cannot use techniques. His Japanese name is Lane.
Ryan is the leader of the defensive line against Lune, despite being a Layan. He originally believes Nial to be an ally of Lune, but after the Layan general shows up to taunt them, he realizes that both Nial and him possess the same goal, and joins Nial's party. Ryan is somewhat of an interesting character in the context of Phantasy Star III, because despite very little elaboration on his backstory, he seems to be more than he appears to be. Many fans point out the inconsistency of a full-blooded Layan despising a Layan general, suggesting that he was wronged by him at some point in the past. Due to the fact that he carries the exact same artifact that Thea carries in Ayn's quest, it is believed by some fans that he was a Dragon Knight, the one who rescues Princess Thea from Siren in the Lensol dungeon, only for her to be kidnapped by Lune, who was desperate for a wife and heir. These theories are affectionately called "The Thea Theories."
Though they share the same name, Laya is the great Laya's younger sister, and the queen of the Kingdom of Mystoke. Nial finds her in a secret compartment dome under Aridia, awakened from one thousand years' worth of cryogenic sleep. She remembers that the last time she ever saw her older sister, she was leaving with a mysterious knight wielding a black sword, and joins Nial in order to find out whatever became of Orakio and her sister. She is an expert technique-user, and wields a legendary bow her older sister once used.
Laya is one of the potential wives for Nial; If he doesn't marry her, she goes back into cryogenic sleep, awakening in the third generation to aid Aron in his quest. If either of Ayn's descendants uncovers her, the same events of Nial's meeting are replayed word-for-word, and Laya joins in the same manner. Laya is sometimes called "Layalyn" by fans, to distinguish her from her older sister. Her Japanese name is Laia.
Lune was Laya's right-hand man. Near the end of the Devastation War, Orakio banished Lune and his sister, Alair, to the red moon Dahlia. Lune cryogenically froze himself and Alair for one thousand years, until Dahlia got close enough in orbit to the Alisa III in order for Lune to return to the ship. After Lyle and Lena used their Moon Stones to alter the orbit of Azura and Dahlia in order to open the passage to the Kingdom of Cille, Lune woke up, and immediately began assembling an army of monsters in order to attain his revenge. He started attacking every Orakian kingdom in sight, starting with Satera. The Kingdom of Divisia retaliated by kidnapping his sister, Alair, which only made him even more furious. Nial eventually rescued his sister in a gesture of goodwill, but Lune still continued his assault. Finally, Nial, Ryan, and Laya infiltrated Dahlia and defeated him in battle. Upon recognizing Layalyn, he immediately stood down and agreed to recall his armies, saying he had no wish to fight them. He then allied with Nial, and gave his blessings for Nial to marry his sister.
Alair is Lune's sister, who woke up with him when Dahlia drifted into orbit. During Lune's assault on the Orakian kingdoms, the kingdom of Divisia managed to capture her and held her in their dungeon as a bargaining chip. Nial managed to break into the dungeon and rescue her, and she immediately left to try and persuade Lune to stop his rampage. After Lune's surrender, she confessed to her brother a wish to marry Nial, and he gave them his approval. Her Japanese name is Luise.
[edit] Sean Generation (Ayn marries Thea)
Sean is the Prince of Azura, living on the moon with his parents Ayn and Thea, until the satellite is believed to be attacked by Siren and collapses. To avenge his parents' deaths, Sean will embark on what is arguably the longest quest in the entire game. Being three-fourths Layan, he is not a very powerful swordsman, but knows extremely potent techniques. According to the book released by Character Designer Toyo Ozaki, Sean is a very callous and broody individual who doesn't talk very much.
Lune's daughter, Kara, is strong-willed and obstinate, and believes her father to be weak. (In Ayn's timeline, Lune entered into a state of extreme depression and apparently ceased his attacks on the Orakian kingdoms on his own.) She borrows her father's legendary slicer in order to join Sean (or Crys) in his quest for vengeance. Despite being a full-blooded Layan, Kara has extremely weak techniques. Her Japanese name is Luna.
[edit] Crys Generation (Ayn marries Sari)
Crys is the son of Ayn and Sari, and the Prince of Landen, Satera, and Azura. Crys lives in Landen until it is known that the spaceship they live in is headed off course, directly into a nearby sun. Crys' task is to find the pilots to put Alisa III back onto its original course. Crys is very strong, due to being three-fourths Orakian, but as a result, he only knows a few Time techniques. His Japanese name is Noin.
[edit] Aron Generation (Nial marries Alair)
Aron is the Prince of Landen, Satera, and Dahlia. He lives in Dahlia with his parents Alair and Nial, and his uncle Lune and his cousin Kara. At the beginning of his quest, the Alisa III comes into contact with the Neo Palm, but an unseen hand takes over the controls of the ship and starts firing at it, destroying it in the process. He leaves the satellite with Kara to investigate the mysterious attack Alisa III suffered. Aron is a well-balanced character, half Orakian, half Layan. He thus is very good with a sword, and knows handy techniques. According to Toyo Ozaki, Aron is very brash and self-confident. His Japanese name is Ruin. During his quest, he is declared to be eighteen years old. He is the only protagonist in the game with a unique walking sprite; the other descendants of Rhys simply have a palette swap of either Rhys' or Lyle's sprites.
Kara, like her counterpart in Ayn's timeline, is the daughter of Lune, but that is where the similarities end. In Nial's timeline, she is a delicate princess who casts healing techniques, completely different from the embittered warrior-maiden seen in Ayn's timeline. However, she can still be somewhat deadly with her slicer. Based on certain aspects of her appearance, several fans believe she may be the child of Lune and Thea. This version of Kara also joins up with Adan, but in that timeline she doesn't join until midway through the quest.
[edit] Adan/Gwyn Generation (Nial marries Laya)
Sixteen-year-old Adan is the son of Laya and Nial, and is the Prince of Landen, Satera, and Mystoke. When earthquakes happen on their kingdom, Adan and his twin sister decide to go and trace the origin of the tremors. He discovers that the entire ship is being directed by an unknown force towards a black hole, and sets out to stop it. Like his counterpart Aron, Adan is equally good with both his sword and his techniques. His Japanese name is Fuin.
Gwyn is Adan's twin sister, the Princess of Landen, Satera, and Mystoke, and follows him from the very beginning of his task. Among her many skills, she can catch glimpses of the future in her dreams. Gwyn had inherited from her mother's healing techniques, and her ability to fight with a bow. Due to her scarce appearance in the game and her minute role of being a replacement character for Laya, she is considered to be the least-developed character in the entire game. Her Japanese name is Laia, named after her mother.
[edit] All Generations
The combat cyborgs Mieu and Wren both join the party during Rhys's quest, and remain in service to all of his descendants. In this manner, they are the only characters that stay in the party for all three generations.
Mieu is a combat cyborg designated for close-quarters fighting, overwhelming her opponents with her lightning-fast reflexes and deadly claws. She waited by a lake for 1,000 years in anticipation of "a descendant of Orakio" to command her. As soon as Rhys finds her, she immediately joins him. Despite being neither Layan nor Orakian, she is capable of using techniques (which is something neither the androids of Phantasy Star IV or Phantasy Star Online were capable of doing.) In the Japanese version, she's an android who was created 580 years ago with forgotten technology. Despite being labeled a "Mieu-type combat cyborg," (or android) there is evidence that she is capable of doing many more domestic tasks. In a doujinshi released by the character designer of Phantasy Star III, Toyo Ozaki, the character Sean claims that Mieu was a surrogate mother to him, and even breast-fed him because his mother, Thea, was sick (none of the other descendants of Rhys knew she had this function.) For some reason, she is also the only character in the game that can use the Grantz technique. The full extent of Mieu's functions is a mystery.
Wren is a cyborg specializing in combat, and managing and analyzing technical systems. He is basically a walking tank, providing the party with firepower support. He is well-known amongst the cyborgs of the city of Hazatak, but he doesn't live there, instead waiting in an Aridian cave in anticipation of Rhys. He joins Rhys in order to help him fix the weather system (and thus thaw out the frozen world of Aquatica), and stays on through all subsequent generations. He also has the ability to, with the aid of peripheral equipment, transform into either an airplane, speeder boat, or submarine large enough for the entire party to ride in. In the Japanese version, he is a robot, and his name is Searren, which helps distinguish him from the similar Forren android from PSIV.
Miun is an ancient, insane Mieu-type cyborg who once fought alongside Orakio, along with Siren. Heavily damaged from an unknown conflict, she now randomly wanders around the desert of Aridia, kept functional only by her desire to see Orakio one more time. Her memories are apparently damaged, but she remembers Orakio's black sword. When one of the third-generation heroes approaches her with Orakio's sword in their possession, her last words are "The black sword! Orakio, you've returned! I'm so glad to meet you again, before I...." In the Japanese version, she's an android, like Mieu.
[edit] Criticism
Phantasy Star III is sometimes considered by fans in the Phantasy Star community to be the weakest of the four cardinal games in the series. Despite some praise given to its unique "generational" gameplay, some feel the game is just too "different" in style from its peers. Some reasons may include:
- Although the game sports four different endings depending on whom one marries at the end of each chapter, the four possible final generations have very little difference between them.
- The animation of the monsters in battle is a step backward from Phantasy Star II. Attack animations usually involve the character sprite flipping quickly from left to right, or performing some extremely small animation such as opening and closing its mouth, wiggling their ears, flicking a finger, etc.
- The ground of the battle screens utilizes impressive parallax scrolling in the Japanese version. For an unknown reason, this effect was removed for every battle except with Lune and Dark Force for the American and European versions.
- There was also disappointment from those who had played Phantasy Star II through to its conclusion that this sequel in no way resolved the perceived "cliffhanger" ending of that game.
[edit] Trivia/Notes
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Supposedly, this game takes place concurrently with Phantasy Star IV, as both games are claimed to occur 1,000 years after the events of Phantasy Star II, though this is never firmly established. In fact, in the Japanese version of the game, the events take place 1,000 years after the events in Phantasy Star IV. This has important consequences in the continuity. First of all, it means that the Devastation War between Laya and Orakio in the US version took place only a little while after leaving Palma. In the Japanese version, it means that Dark Force is still present, despite the sealing away of the Profound Darkness in Phantasy Star IV.
- A crashed worldship similar to the Alisa III is seen on the surface of Motavia in Phantasy Star IV; however, it is not the Alisa III itself, but another one of the evacuation fleet that escaped the destruction of Palma in the second game.
- The Wren android that appears in this game is unrelated to the Wren seen in Phantasy Star IV except by being a similar model. In the Japanese versions, PSIII 's Wren is named Searren, while PSIV 's Wren is named Forren. This is seen in a few places in PSIV; one enemy robot is named Siren386, and Daughter, while being deactivated by Wren, seems to revert to his Japanese name, saying "Fo...rn..."
- A possible plot hole in the series stems from this game, as some have wondered how Dark Force can exist on the Alisa III and in the Algo star system itself (as seen in Phantasy Star IV). It has even been questioned if the other Palman worldships, such as the Neo Palm seen in one of this game's ending sequences, also have Dark Force aboard somehow. There is no official, canonical explanation for this discrepancy; a popular fanon suggestion is that Dark Force is a force of nature more than a single entity, and thus can take multiple forms and be in an indefinite number of places simultaneously. This is indicated in Phantasy Star IV, as Dark Force is present in two separate places simultaneously: on an artificial nuclear satellite and inside a tower on Dezoris (it has, however, also been suggested that Dark Force is not a single thing, but a series of similar fiends.)
- A well-known bug/"fourth wall" gag exists at the outset of the game. Before meeting Maia and setting the wedding sequence in motion, sell Rhys's boots in Landen for an Escapipe. After Rhys is locked in the dungeon, but before Lena arrives, use the Escapipe to return to the Palace. All will be as it was before, complete with Maia being unharmed, but the story will not advance and the player cannot leave the town. Speak to the King and he will say "You used your escapipe! Normally a smart move, but now I'm afraid the game can't be continued. Please press the reset button and try again."
- The Alisa III is named after the heroine of the first Phantasy Star, Alisa Landale.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Phantasy Star Pages — A comprehensive fansite dedicated to all the Phantasy Star games.
- Phantasy Star Curiosities — Curiosities about the games.
- Phantasy Star III (Genesis) at GameFAQs
- The Complete Guide to Phantasy Star III — A fansite about this specific game.
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