"Phantasy Star Online becomes card-based for the third episode… is it really as bad as everyone says?"

I have to admit, I wasn't actually planning on buying this game because of all the bad reviews it had received, but by chance, I happened to win it in a competition. So the first time I placed the disc in the cube, and turned the power on, I wasn't expecting much… but wow, was I wrong. This game is very much underrated, in my opinion. Sure, the whole card turn-based strategy type game doesn't appeal to all people, but I certainly enjoyed it. Anyway, enough of the introduction, let's get to dissecting this game, piece by piece. Oh, and just a note, all my scores are out of 10.

Graphics - 8

Classic Phantasy Star Online graphics, just like Episode I & II. The only flaw with this is that, during the battles, when someone is attacking and using a card that projects the attack a few squares ahead, the attacker just seems to slash the air, and the defender suddenly jerks, and loses HP. After a while you get used to it, but it does seem a little strange. But overall, this game has superb graphics.

Sound/Music – 10

I love the music. It's perfectly suited to this game. Whether you're battling furiously in the depths of a forest, or having a relaxing match on the beach, the music always helps set the scene. There's also a little menu where you can play little tunes on an octave scale, which is pretty cool (Although I never figured out why they didn't include high C…).

Gameplay – 8

I'm not the greatest fan of card games. Yu-gi-oh bores me to an indescribable extent. However, Phantasy Star Online Episode III is very different. The game relies mainly on luck, such as dice-rolls at the start of the turn, which can get quite annoying, especially when you keep rolling 1s and your opponent rolls endless amounts of 6s. Of course, it's not as exciting as the first installment of Phantasy Star Online, but it's still quite enjoyable, if you feel like thinking about what strategy you're going to use before you start hacking and slashing things out of existence. However, if you don't wanna think about it, go back to Episode I & II :P. This game is better in the way that I think it's just as good offline as it is online, whereas, Episode I & II can get pretty lonely without any friends to play with.

Storyline – 7

It's all a little muddled at first, all you know is that there are some good guys “Hunters” and bad guys “Arkz”. You soon learn that they're both searching for something that will revolutionize their C.A.R.D. technology. This then splits into many sub-plots within plots. I found the storyline of Episode I & II more interesting than this, but this review isn't just a comparison against the other PSO episodes, so I'm giving this 7, for it's unique plot. I especially like the way they display the plot, in comic-strip like clips.

Replayability – 7

There's tons of cards to collect, loads of sub-plots to work through. You can rack up hundreds of hours on this game (I haven't… I've been too addicted to Episode I & II). The reason I only gave this section a 7 is because, in certain parts of the game, it can move quite slowly, and I have to admit, it does get boring after a while.

Overall – 9

If you have a lot of time to waste, and like strategic games, I recommend this to you. It can be slightly tedious at the start, but once you start getting your hands on those rares, it's great from then-on. However, if you're not really into those slower-paced games, then this definitely isn't the game for you, stick to Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/04/04