Let's Play Mother 3, Part 3

Duster pushes further into Osohe Castle and gets his ass kicked multiple times before getting his hands on the prize.  Then the Pig Masks show up to cause trouble once again...

Let's Play Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom - Rhys' Quest Part 3

We realign the moons and enter the kingdom of Cille, where we are reunited with Maia at last.  Thus ends Rhys' story... kind of.

Let's Play Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom - Rhys' Quest Part 2

Rhys and Mieu encounter another cyborg (android) companion named Wren and then they set out to fix Aquatica's weather systems.  Then we discover that the ages-old feud between the Orakians and the Layans still thrives to this day...

Let's Play Mother 3, Part 2

Flint sets out to get revenge on his wife's killer as Duster embarks on a journey of his own.

Let's Play Mother 3, Part 1

Every Earthbound fan knows the long road its sequel took.  Watching as development was moved from the SNES to the N64, then to the N64 Disk Drive, then back to the N64 once that thing ended up becoming a massive commercial failure, then cancelled completely after countless delays because of the development team's lack of familiarity with 3D design and the advent of the Gamecube rendering the N64 irrelevant.  After several years, the game's development was revived on the Game Boy Advance as a 2D title before finally being released in 2006.  So all in all it took around twelve years for a proper Earthbound sequel to finally come out... only to be denied a Western release by Nintendo, who were all along unimpressed with mediocre sales and middling reviews of its SNES predecessor in spite of the cult following it had acquired.

Thankfully, a dedicated team of fans were on the case and created not only a complete translation of the ROM, but even a full player's guide in the style of the one packaged with Earthbound.  So while we may never see a proper release of the game in English, we can come pretty damn close with this at least.

As you may expect from such a long and difficult development, Mother 3 has some significant differences from its predecessors, not the least of which are some interesting new features.  Character animations are significantly more intricate this time, with new frames for things like special plot scenes, running and even proper speaking animations during story scenes so you can tell for certain who's saying things.  Combat is still in the same turn-based style with text narration in lieu of full animation, but there is a new mechanic in the form of a small rhythm game for normal attacks - by pressing buttons in time with the background music, you can land additional hits with music notes and cause slightly more damage.

The game features a significantly higher difficulty level overall than its predecessors, as well as a more linear setup with virtually no backtracking or revisiting of previous areas.   It also contains a much darker, higher-stakes plot than the previous two games; however, it doesn't sacrifice its quirky humor or enjoyably bizarre setting to do so, so kudos for that.

Let's Play Phantasy Star III Bonus: Escapipe Easter Egg

Just a nifty little easter egg you can try at the beginning of the game.  The programmers apparently didn't have time to create some kind of programming counter-measure to prevent this happening, so they just rolled with it and turned it into a joke.

Let's Play Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom - Rhys' Quest Part 1

Generally considered to be the black sheep of the franchise, Phantasy Star III is definitely an odd duck in many ways.  For starters, it does not take place in the Algo system at all; in fact, its ties to the previous games are fairly scarce and only made clear in the later hours of the game.  Its gameplay also suffers because of a rushed production schedule that results in uneven difficulty and some underdeveloped new mechanics.  The presentation also takes a hit, with minimal animation compared to its predecessors and music and sound effects that range from bland to downright annoying.

Still, in spite of its flaws and its rough presentation, Phantasy Star III has enough merits to make it worth checking out.  For one thing, it's one of the earliest JRPGs to introduce a generational system.  The story branches off into very different directions at two different points depending on the player's choices, giving a grand total of seven different playable scenarios in the game and four possible endings (though two of them end up being very similar...).  It also has a rather unique setting even among the mixture of fantastic and science fiction elements the franchise became known for, as you will see once we dig into it further.

                Sean
               /
         Ayn
        /     \
Rhys*      Crys
    \
     \         Adan/Gwyn
       \      /
        Nial
              \
               Aron

I intend to play through all seven stories during this playthrough.



A better explanation of the tech system in the game

Let's Play Earthbound, Part 12 (Finale)

We venture to the distant past to do battle with mankind's most fearsome enemy. But can any amount of force overcome a being of pure hatred?

Let's Play Earthbound, Part 11

A tough romp through the Sea of Eden leads to a confrontation with oneself.  Then it's time to return to reality and help some old friends create their ultimate invention...

Let's Play Phantasy Star II, Part 9 (Finale)

We gather up the last two Nei weapons and then it's off to space for the final showdown.  As well as one hell of a plot twist and an unforgettable ending...