Dragon Quest III and Phantasy Star III are both good RPGs. Aside from them being turn-based RPGs, there aren’t too many similarities between them. They share some common mechanics that you’ll see in most retro RPGs.
Phantasy Star III is more of a science fantasy game, which does bring it closer to what Dragon Quest III is doing. The way they tell their stories is quite different. When I look at the two series, one of them took the two series in a new direction, while the other was a natural progression of what was already there.
It has been fascinating to see how these two series have evolved from game to game. Playing them in order gave me the impression that Dragon Quest was borrowing things from Phantasy Star, even though I know that isn’t the case. It just felt that way.
Game Descriptions/Overviews
These two games do have a few things in common. They have similar narrative beats, gameplay, and fantasy elements to their gameplay. Let’s look at them individually before we get into the differences between the two games.
Phantasy Star III is a science fantasy RPG where you play as a series of heroes across three generations. The game is set in a spaceship, which is inhabited by refugees from the events of the previous game. It ends with a fight against Dark Force, which is the series’ big bad guy.
Dragon Quest III is a high fantasy RPG. It starts like the other two games in the series, where you have a clear goal of defeating an evil wizard. You play as a descendant of a legendary hero, and you assemble a party from nameless characters. The player has some options on how to customize their party. Once you defeat the big bad guy, a new evil is revealed, and the player learns that this has all been a prequel to the first game.
Those are some brief overviews of the two games. Once you get past the core mechanics of these two games, there are a lot of differences between them. Let’s get into some of them.
Main Differences
There are some major differences between these two games. The story, setting, and gameplay are all very different. Some minor things stood out to me. Let’s go over some of them.
Phantasy Star III tells its story in three parts, and the player has some options on how they want to progress. There are four possible endings in this game, which adds something special to this game. Dragon Quest III has two parts to its story, and it is revealed that this game is a prequel. I do like that you have a secret villain in this game.
The settings are very different. Phantasy Star III takes place on a spaceship that is made up of different sections. Dragon Quest takes place on two worlds; the second isn’t used for long, and it ties the third game to the other two. One is more science fiction, and the other is high fantasy.
Phantasy Star has preset characters that you have to find during the game. There are a few characters that are in each generation, and they help to bridge the gap between them. Dragon Quest III doesn’t really have this. Your main character is more well-known, and the other characters are interchangeable because you create them at the beginning of the game.
There are also some minor differences. Most of them have to do with the combat. Phantasy Star III has you control more characters, and the enemies have little animations. Dragon Quest III is less cinematic in its approach to storytelling when compared to Phantasy Star III.
Those are the differences I can think of. While these games are different, it doesn’t mean that one is terrible. Both of these are good RPGs. Let’s get into which one I would rather play and which is better.
What Does Phantasy Star III do Better?
There are a few things that Phantasy Star III does better than Dragon Quest III. It has a unique way of telling its story, you go on quests to assemble your party, and I like the combat more in this game. Those are the three things I want to talk about, and I might think of some others as I go through this.
Phantasy Star III tells its story over three generations of heroes. This gives the player some control over where the story goes, even if it is limited. It opens the door for multiple playthroughs because it has four endings. I like this way of telling a story, especially for a video game.
I really like it when a game has you go on a quest to find your party members. This feels more rewarding than starting a game with your party already assembled. In a retro game, this lets you get to know some of the characters a little better, especially when the characters aren’t interchangeable characters that you create at the start of the game.
The combat in Phantasy Star III is a little better. Having more party members and more enemies to fight makes things more interesting for me. Enemies also have little attack animations that help to make things better. It is always nice when you can see the attacks and magic spells beyond a simple text crawl.
I like the Phantasy Star series quite a bit. They’re simply different from what you’d see from the other RPGs on the home console. Other science fiction RPGs did get released in the 1990s, but there weren’t too many at the time. There are other things that this game does better, but they are more about personal preferences.
What Does Dragon Quest III do Better?
Dragon Quest III does do a few things better than Phantasy Star III. It does a better job of adding to the story being told across several games, and it does offer some customizable options for your party. Those are the two big things that came to mind. As always, if I think of anything else, I’ll add it in later.
I like the twist that ties this game into the story the developers were telling across their series. It isn’t revealed until the last third of the game, and there weren’t any hints to give it away as far as I can remember. This made it a little more fun for me as I played through the game.
You have more customization options to play how you want in Dragon Quest III. While I don’t like this approach as much, it is fun to experiment with different classes. This sets up some things that would be improved on in later games, and it is fun to see all the possible character classes in this game.
Those are the two things that I can say are better in Dragon Quest III. I’m sure that there are others, or there is something that other people like more about the game. Let’s get into which one is better overall and which one I would rather play.
Which is Better Overall and Why?
Phantasy Star III is the better game in my mind. There isn’t anything wrong with Dragon Quest III; I just had more fun when I was playing Phantasy Star III. I liked the story, gameplay, and the setting more.
The story is better than Dragon Quest III’s. I’m not a big fan of prequels, and I like that Phantasy Star III took a plot point from the previous game and used it as the basis for this story. It was a cool way to tie this game in with the rest of the series.
I enjoy the gameplay in Phantasy Star III more. Some of this goes along with the story because I like how you have some control over how the story plays out. I also like having five party members and having more enemies to fight. The battles felt more complicated in a good way.
Science fiction is more fun for me as a setting. High fantasy is fine, but I feel like the genre is everywhere. This is more of a personal preference. I like the idea of shooting robots more than swinging a sword around. It is also fun to see how the magic system gets worked into the game.
This wasn’t as hard as I initially thought it might be. I like both of these games, but the more I play Phantasy Star III, the more I like it. Dragon Quest III is fine, but it isn’t as good as some of the other games on the home console. What that game does do is improve on what was done in the previous game.
Which Would I Rather Play?
At this point, I would rather go back to play Phantasy Star III. This probably isn’t much of a surprise if you’ve read this far. Both are good RPGs, but one is rather basic, and the other is a bit more unique.
I enjoy this game’s story more than Dragon Quest III’s. The gameplay is better, and I like the setting more. I also haven’t gotten all the endings, so I have more of a reason to play this again. While I wouldn’t mind going back to Dragon Quest III, given the choice between these two, I would choose Phantasy Star III.
At the end of the day, I had more fun with Phantasy Star III. I’m a fan of weird and different games, and this one uniquely tells its story. It does feel like the start of something that could’ve been refined in another game. Unfortunately, this development team didn’t make another Phantasy Star game.
Conclusion
Going back to look at these two games was interesting. Dragon Quest III is a perfectly fine RPG, and I like the false ending in the game. It is really cool that the game ties back into the first by being a prequel. Phantasy Star III was just more fun for me to play.
I liked that it did something different from other RPGs on the home console. The way it tells its story is great, I like the gameplay, and the comic book cut scenes are very good. I didn’t mention graphics until now because I didn’t think it was a fair comparison. Ilike both games’ graphics, but I think Phantasy Star III’s are better.
Knowing what Dragon Quest IV is like, I think it will be a good comparison with Phantasy Star III. At least it will be a closer call than this one. I’ll get to that at some point, but we’re still a way aways from that.
If you liked this post, check out my other vs. posts, such as Phantasy Star III vs Phantasy Star II or Dragon Quest III vs Dragon Quest II.