Format: Cartridge
Genre: RPG
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega

The art content in Phantasy Star III are technically strong-- character portraits are detailed, tilesets are aesthetically pleasing, and the direction all comes together to further the game's mood. On the flip-side however, all of the game's towns and dungeons use the same tilesets, and it seems that corners were cut with regards to implementing details into the game's many areas, details we are used to seeing in other RPGs, such as hanging pictures on the interior walls of shops, or cracked floor tiles in dungeons.

Izuho Takeuchi delivers a soundtrack that is undeniably atmospheric and memorable, although it's also easy to question his judgement when it comes to sample selection; some of the songs seem to be reaching for Star Trek-levels of cheesiness, such as the over-the-top "wedding" song. Sound effects are markedly improved over those found in Phantasy Star II, and they adequately further the game's atmosphere.

It's amazing that some of this title's concepts didn't "stick"; the generational concept is fantastic, although it's sort of wasted on such a long game; how many people replay 40+ hour RPGs? The dynamic battle music really conveys an ebb-and-flow sense to the fights, but the concept was never really used again in a traditional JRPG. The dungeons are certainly not as cleverly laid out as those in Phantasy Star II, but on the other hand they are nicely worked to function in different situations across the different generations.

Phantasy Star III features probably the coolest premise of the four titles-- what was life like onboard the Alisa III? And what might happen if people were onboard a giant ship for so long that they forgot they were even on a ship, and resorted to microcosmic relativism? On the other hand, the game is certainly less relevant to the overarching Phantasy Star chronology than Phantasy Star II was. Taken as a whole, this title is a wonderful RPG, although it does suffer a bit from too-frequent backtracking and same-ish dungeons and towns.