Which is better? Phantasy Star II vs III

Phantasy Star II and III are both good RPGs. Both games have great stories, cool settings, and great graphics. You can tell that the games were made by different development teams.

While these games are in the same series, they are quite different. You can tell that there were several improvements made from game to game, and the developers tried some new things. There were some big changes to the setting, graphics, and story.

Neither of these games is bad by any stretch of the means. They each have problems, but the things they do well outweigh their flaws. Let’s take a look at the two games, and I’ll explain which is better and which I would rather play.

Game Descriptions/Overviews

This is an interesting comparison. While these games are in the same series, Phantasy Star III doesn’t continue the story from the second game. It is a spin-off of one plot point from that game. The second game has a lot going for it, but it has some gameplay issues.

Phantasy Star II is a science fiction-themed RPG. In this game, you try to stop a rogue AI that wants to exterminate all life in the Agol system. The big bad guy from the first game comes back, and it takes control of the computer system.

The part of this game that directly leads to the third game is the destruction of the planet Palma. It plays a larger role in the overall story of the series. It is a pretty cool way to set up the game.

Phantasy Star III is a science fantasy game set on a spaceship. It takes place one thousand years after the events of the fourth game, so it is in the far-flung future. The story is told across three generations and has you fighting Dark Force. I’m not sure how it made it onto this spaceship, but it is there.

This is a very interesting set of games to compare. Phantasy Star III is an oddity in the series because it was created by a different development team. Phantasy Star II has a great story, but it also has some less-than-stellar gameplay mechanics. Let’s go over the main differences between them.

Main Differences 

These are turn-based RPGs set in space. One of them has you traveling between planets, and the other is set on a spaceship. In the third game, the population has forgotten that they’re in space. In the second game, people are too lazy to travel in space. The biggest differences between them are in the setting, story, and visuals.

The second game has the player traveling between planets. The dungeons are factories, and things are more technology-based. The third game has more fantasy in it. Technology is rare in the game, as the different regions have a medieval setting, with occasional robots and cyborgs.

The stories for the games are quite different. Phantasy Star II has a plot that has been used in several science fiction stories. With Phantasy Star III, the story is told in three parts, and you fight Dark Force at the end.

Visually, these games are a little different from each other. Phantasy Star II is more colorful than the third game, which has a muted color palette. The comic book cut scenes, which are a staple of the series, look better in the second game. Much of this has to do with the change in development teams and the more muted colors.

Those are the three big things that I can think of. There are other differences, which I’ll cover in the next section. Because these games are in the same series, they aren’t totally different, but they do have several different approaches.

Comparing Core Mechanics (Combat, Story, Visuals, etc)

These two games are fairly close. The combat isn’t all that different, and I’m going to try not to repeat myself on the story and visuals. The setting and some game mechanics are quite different, so that is what I’ll be looking at.

These two games have very different settings. Phantasy Star II has you traveling to other planets, which makes the game feel larger than it is. Phantasy Star III takes place in a spaceship and feels like a smaller game. One leans more into science fiction, and the other has more fantasy elements.

The way you get party members is totally different from each other. With Phantasy Star II, it feel more random as you need to know to go back to the main character’s house. There aren’t quests to get new members, they just show up at your house. The third game sends you on a quest with each of the three chapters, and you find allies along the way.

I’ll cover this in more detail in the next sections. The two development teams didn’t do anything radically different from each other. While there were a number of changes, they didn’t impact the overall gameplay too much.

What Does Phantasy Star II do Better?

There are two things that I can think of that the second game does better. Phantasy Star II has better cutscenes, user interface, and is more challenging. The game’s setting is a little better, and I like how this game feels bigger.

Both games have a similar style to their cutscenes, but Phantasy Star II does them better. The color palette has a lot to do with it, but there is a little more than that. The cutscenes in the third game look off to me.

The user interface on the battle scenes is better in Phantasy Star II. I’m not a fan of only having images as the commands. Phantasy Star II’s is laid out better, and I like that it has words instead of pictures. It makes things less confusing. The commands aren’t tucked away in the corner, like they’re in the third game.

If you’re looking for a challenge, then this is the game for you. The dungeons are more complicated, the last boss is more difficult, and there is a lot of grinding. I don’t think it is excessive, but you do have to do a lot of grinding for levels.

It was a little hard to pick things that were clearly better in the second game. This is one of those cases where it is a personal preference. I like certain things in this game because they’re easier, or I think they look better.

What Does Phantasy Star III do Better?

Phantasy Star III does a few things better than the second game. I like the way the story is told, dungeons are easier, and I like how you get your party members. I’m sure there are other things, and if I think of them, I’ll add them to this section.

The story for this game is told in three parts. With each generation, you choose a new main character and learn more about the spaceship where the story takes place. It is really cool how these people have been in space for so long that everything back in the solar system has become a myth. It is something that I’ve grown to enjoy the more that I play the game.

I don’t like the dungeons in either game, but they’re easier to navigate in Phantasy Star III. The foreground obstructions are gone, you don’t have to memorize the transporters, and they’re much smaller. This felt like an overcorrection from the second game, but there were enough improvements for me to say it is better.

If there is one thing that was greatly improved on it was how you get your party members. In the second game, you had to randomly return to the main character’s house to get a new party member. In the third game, you go on quests to find them. It is much better!

These are a few of the things that I think the third game does better. It is an easier game overall, and the easiest in the series. Let’s go over which game I think is better, and which one I would rather play.

Which is Better Overall and Why? 

This wasn’t as clear-cut as I was hoping for. Each game has some things that I really like, but I think the third game is a little better. While it isn’t as challenging as the second game, I like the changes made to the series. Specifically, I like the dungeons, story, and gameplay more in the third game.

The dungeons in Phantasy Star III are all fairly simple. They aren’t as complicated to navigate, which makes them less frustrating to get through. The foreground obstructions were also removed, which is something that I really appreciated.

 I like the way the third game tells its story. Having it told in three parts and having several endings was ambitious for the time. You didn’t always see this in a console RPG. While it isn’t as good as what you’ll see in modern games, it is very cool for a retro RPG.

Phantasy Star III is an easy RPG, especially when compared to the second game. The hardest part of this game is remembering where things are and how to get to them. The battles aren’t too difficult, and I didn’t find it that hard of the game to get through.

Phantasy Star III has grown on me over the years. When I first played it, I didn’t like it that much. It is one of the games I tried to play while I was in the Navy. It was a strange experience, and a submarine isn’t the best place to play it. I played it about six years ago and had a great time with it. I had more fun playing this game out than I did with the second game.

Which Would I Rather Play?

Just like the last section, this one was very hard. At the end of the day, Phantasy Star III is the game I would go back to play. They’re both fun to play, but the third game is easier, and that is what I prefer.

Nothing is overly difficult in this game. The dungeons are simple, there is less grinding, and the story is fun. It is an ambitious game, and the more I play it, the more I enjoy it.

There isn’t too much that really separates these two games in my mind. Phantasy Star III was the game I had more fun with. There are a lot of great things in the game, and I enjoyed it more than the second game.

Conclusion 

These are both great games. While I like the third game a little more, it doesn’t mean that the second game is bad. Phantasy Star III is a more accessible game for someone new to the series. The story makes more sense if you’ve played the second game, even if it isn’t really a sequel to it.

The more I play these games, the more of an appreciation I have for them. Each game has stuff that you might not expect from a console RPG from this era. Many of these retro RPGs have something in them that I’ve been impressed with. With both of these games, it was the stories they told.

I have one more game in the Phantasy Star series to play. It is my favorite out of the four games, and I’m excited about comparing it to the others. I’m also going to do something with these four games, as there isn’t a fifth game in the series.

If you liked this post, please check out my other posts, such as Phantasy Star I vs Phantasy Star III or Phantasy Star vs Sweet Home.