I once imagined buying "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" in 2009 that this Phantasy Star was the only one I was interested in playing. On paper, it sounds the most interesting of the bunch; a branching narrative of generational struggle, 6 years before Fire Emblem would try the same thing in Genealogy of the Holy War. I never got very far, completing most of the first generation in a few drunk nights after my grocery store shift. Still, I think the promise of getting to Phantasy Star III was part of the reason I picked up the Sega Ages release of Phantasy Star.

I loved PS and so, I decided to play through the series. As I get older, my tolerance for grindiness has gone up, and being able to play games like this and Final Fantasy 8 with a speed-up feature makes it a breeze. Pop on some TV! Crack a brew! Phantasy Star was a revelation. It truly felt that if I had access to it (especially with the FM soundtrack) I would have been into totally different shit growing up. Phantasy Star II was good! A step down from the first, perhaps, but sweeping in a way that still feels ahead of its time.

In comparison, Phantasy Star III feels...cheap. The promise of a story told over generations quickly dries up, as it seems the main benefit of this was for the dev team to increase the length of the game without making too many locations or music. And even if there are more characters than Phantasy Star II, I feel like there's maybe 1/3 of the text and dialogue?

It's not all bad. The combat is snappier, and there is at least one standout character in Lyle, the buddy/uncle who can turn into a dragon. He owns. Play the game until he dies then turn it off, that's my review.

I added half a star because the 2 second loop that plays at the start of random battles is hard as hell.