"Advocating an under-appreciated game."

Many people absolutely loathe PS3. They just can't stand it. I've seen it in the reviews here, on message boards, on websites, and all over the place. Frankly, it annoys me. The people who wrote such harsh reviews about this game obviously didn't play through the entire thing with an open mind. Phantasy Star III rarely gets the respect it deserves, but it's still my favorite PS game. I'll outline some reasons below.

GRAPHICS: Admittedly, the graphics are quite different from the rest of the Phantasy Star series. PS3 lost the distinctive manga touch and the big cute sprites, but it wasn't a major loss. Some people actually prefer the softer look it carries, and the more elegant character portraits and cut scenes. I'd give it a 7/10.

CONTROL: Some of the menu systems were a bit tedious to work with, and the characters moved quite slowly. But hey! PS2's menu system wasn't all that efficient, either, and only PS4 had those lightning quick sprites. (Look at Chaz go! ^_^) My score: 7/10

SOUND: This is where the real pluses of PS3 begin. Many people consider the music to be a positive thing for Phantasy Star III, and so do I. The themes are quite captivating, and not annoying in the least. They're quite appropriate, too, like when you explore Landen castle for the first time and that background tune feels like ballroom music... ^_^ My score: 9/10

STORY: The plot PS3 had was definitely another plus. PS3 is a game of many questions and few answers, but in this caves, it proves to be a goldmine for all sorts of fans -- authors, artists, theorists, whoever! Unfortunately, as someone said to me once, few Phantasy Star fans are willing to unlock the seemingly unlimited potential PS3 carries. I've written five PS3 fanfics myself, and know of only one other author who has done more. Still...if people would only give this game a chance! My score: 10/10

REPLAY: How can you say that PS3 offers no replay? It uses a unique theme of an adventure spanning three generations, with seven possible main characters and four different endings. Granted, the endings aren't that great, but they're worth going back for. The first generation hero, Rhys, is always the same. His two possible sons' quests are very different, and I can't imagine how anyone could say that PS3 has no replay value whatsoever. My score: 9/10

OVERALL: Like I said, there are some distasteful things about PS3, like the horrid battle system and monster animations and lack of dialogue, but you could get used to them after a while! Just like you can get used to having no battle backgrounds in PS2, or slow-moving sprites in PS1. All I'm saying is that you should give PS3 one more chance before hastily judging it. Let's be fair.

And finally, I'd like to inform you about a project that is currently underway to better PS3, and inject it with the ''distinctive'' Phantasy Star style. A total remake of the game is in progress, with myself as the overseer of the project, and you can learn more at the following URL:

http://www.classicgaming.com/orakio/ps3remake/

If some of the images don't show up, just right click them and choose ''Show Picture'' or hit Refresh/Reload. The pics are all there; they're just unresponsive sometimes.

Anyway, I'm done ranting. If you want to share some thoughts with me or whatever, you can contact me at orakio@icestorm.net.

~ Orakio of the Domes ~

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/16/00, Updated 05/16/00