"This is, without a doubt, the best Phantasy Star ever made."

Let me tell you something about this game. There are a LOT of people who have played all the Phantasy Star series, I, II, III, and IV, and a lot of them have said III sucks more than I, and that III is the worst Phantasy Star in the whole series. Well I am going to tell you why everyone feels that way.

There are three reasons... and here they are.

1. The fact is, Phantasy Star III was where medieval type of playing really came in. You played these sudden two new type of people, the Orakions and the Layans. And each of them had their own kingdoms, with their own princes and princesses. This game still had modern things in it, however it was the most medieval out of all the series, mostly in the beginning when you are Orakion Prince Rhys.

2. This game was the hardest to control, and to even know what was going on. The stat system was more advanced, and a little tougher for the smaller gamer's mind to know, compared to Phantasy Star I and II.

3. The artwork was less catoonish, it was just a LITTLE more... well... dark and good to look at.

There could even be more reasons that I do not even know of.

Personally, it could also be that people were just plain not used to having to see the Phantasy Star I type of battle mode, where you only see the attack of your characters instead of you actually SEEING your characters attack your enemies.

My reason why I think it is the greatest out of all the series, and that means for EVERY, and I mean EVERY system ever created in the earth right now, is because...

In Phantasy Star III, there was a little more to the storyline.
The battle system was more clear, and easier to navigate if you can learn it.
The stat system was VERY helpful, which made PS IV a bit of a better game.

Graphics: 68%
Words: Good graphics actually, a little darker and perhaps hard to identify creatures and people, but good design.

Sound: 60%
Words: Pretty good music, and good sound. The weapon strikes was a very nice sound.

Replay: 72%
Words: Although you will not want to play it more than PS IV, I can tell you that you will want to start from the beginning with Rhys or in one of your old saved games with PS III, and keep on playing!

Gameplay: 60%
Words: It was a little tough as first, and the way they moved even was a little different, and the artwork was a little different compared to the I and II.

Story: 50%
Words: Pretty good story, I must admit. Pretty good story, but not that great with all the modernized updates.

Characters: 75%
Words: I LOVED most of the Princes, and a lot of the Princesses. Although some of the modernized characters really threw the % off, otherwise it could have hit a 90%.

Final Words: The greatest of all the series. And you may say to yourself, ''If it is the greatest of all of the series, then why did you only give it a 9?''. Well a 9 is pretty high, and... to say it clear... many of you Phantasy Star fans may not want to hear it. The Phantasy Star series was one of the greatest SERIES ever to be in Gaming... but it was NOT in the top 5.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/01, Updated 07/24/01