Phantasy Star III and IV are pretty different games. While they’re in the same series, they weren’t made by the same development team. These games have different settings, graphical styles, and storytelling techniques.
Phantasy Star III is set in the far future. It takes place after the events of the fourth game, which makes things a little odd when you look at the timeline. The story is about some of the people who fled the solar system after one of the planets exploded. It is an oddity in the series because it doesn’t tie into the rest of the story.
Phantasy Star IV puts a bow on the story that the first and second games were telling. There are a lot of callbacks to the other games, and it explains that there are more ships like the one in the third game out there. It is also my favorite game in the series.
I really like both of these games. My opinion of the third game has changed a lot over the years. The first time I played it was after a friend of mine rented it. For some reason, he rented Phantasy Star III and IV during the same weekend. The fourth game is something that I’ve always enjoyed. Let’s get into these games and see what they have to offer.
Game Descriptions/Overviews
These games share a similar premise because they’re in the same series, but there are quite a few differences. Out of all the games in the series, the third is the one that sticks out because it was made by a different team. It has the most differences out of all the games in the series.
Phantasy Star III is a science fantasy game where you play as three generations of heroes. There are some characters that overlap between generations, which is nice to see. This game is set on one of the spaceships from the second game and has the player fighting a version of Dark Force. This is a little odd given the events of the fourth game, but whatever.
Phantasy Star IV is a science fiction game. In it, you play as a hunter who starts out investigating an outbreak of monsters, then fight an evil wizard, and finally fight the source of all evil. You end up traveling between the planets in the solar system as you uncover the origin of this solar system and why things keep going wrong in these games.
These are just general overviews of these games. There is a lot more to each of them that I could bring up here. Both games have great plots, and the gameplay is very good. Let’s get into the main differences between them.
Main Differences
The third and fourth Phantasy Star games have quite a few differences. Their stories, graphics, gameplay, and settings are different. They do have similar bad guys, and the fourth game makes a reference to the third game by talking about the escape ships.
These games are telling different stories. Phantasy Star IV is trying to wrap up a story from the previous games. There are quite a few callbacks, and several things are explained. The third game takes things in a different direction, with the setting being on a spaceship instead of a solar system. The events of the first two games make up an origin myth for the people on this spaceship.
Because these games were made by different teams, they don’t look the same. Phantasy Star IV is bright and colorful, and there are more cutscenes. It is a very good looking game for its time. The third game has a muted color palette, and it uses more in game graphics to tell its story. While there are comic book cutscenes, they aren’t as good as the rest of the series.
The gameplay is a little different. While the core mechanics are mostly the same, the fourth game sticks with the same characters longer. With the third game, you have to swap main characters a few times as you start a new section of the game. There is also more space travel and exploration in the fourth game, and the third game feels a bit smaller because all three sections take place on the spaceship.
This goes along with the settings. The fourth game feels grander because you’re traveling to different planets as well as exploring dungeons. Being on a spaceship makes this story, which spans three generations, feel a bit smaller as you visit the same locations several times.
Those are the biggest things I could think of. I know that there are several more differences, but these are the ones that came to my mind. There are several minor differences that I’ll go over in the next section. Let’s get into the core mechanics.
Comparing Core Mechanics (Combat, Story, Visuals, etc)
Many of the core mechanics of these games are similar. I’ll be going over the combat, story, and visuals. The settings are rather different, and many of these differences are representative of changes in development teams.
Both games use turn based combat. They have a maximum of five party members, and the mechanics are essentially the same. Things shift around a bit as the third game lets you have a little control over how your party changes, and the fourth game has characters come and go as the plot unfolds.
The stories are fairly different. Phantasy Star III has four endings, and the player has control over which ending they get. The fourth game tries to wrap up the stories of the previous games. It has quite a few callbacks to the other games and gives an explanation for most of what took place in the other games.
The visuals are pretty different. This has to do with the change in development teams. Phantasy Star IV is bright and colorful, and uses more comic book cut scenes to tell the story. The third game has muted colors. It just doesn’t look as good as the other games in the series.
The settings are also different. Phantasy Star III takes place on a spaceship. There are several biomes that are connected to a central hub through several tunnels. The fourth game takes place in a solar system and has the player traveling between planets and space stations.
Those are some of the core mechanics in these games. This is where there are many similarities, or minor differences, due to the change in developers. Let’s get into what each game does better than the other.
What Does Phantasy Star IV do Better?
There are several things that this game does better than the third game. It has a better world map, the cutscenes are better, and I like the characters more. If there are any other things that come to mind, I’ll add them in later.
Phantasy Star IV has the better world map. It is easier to navigate, and I like traveling to the different planets and space stations. I didn’t get lost that often in this game as I did in the third. While I like Phantasy Star III’s setting, I really don’t like the way the world is laid out in that game.
This game has better comic book cutscenes. There are more of them, and they look much better because the graphics are brighter. Phantasy Star IV has more variety to its graphics on every screen, and I like how things are bright most of the time, and a little threatening when need be.
Phantasy Star IV has better characters. Because you spend the game with most of the characters, you get to know them more. This helps you get to know them, which isn’t always the case with the third game. That is one of the weaknesses in the way that game tells its story.
These are the things that Phantasy Star IV does better. I’m sure there are others, but these were the ones I could come up with. Let’s get into what the third game does better.
What Does Phantasy Star III do Better?
I can think of a handful of things that Phantasy Star III does better than the fourth game. The way the story is told is better, having four endings in fun, and I like how it tries to do something different. Many of these things are personal preferences. Because there are a lot of similarities, I had to dig deep to come up with something.
The way Phantasy Star III’s story is told is really cool! I like how it takes place across several generations and how you have some control over where the story goes. It is a unique way of telling a story for an RPG back in the early 1990s. I would love to see a remake of this game because the developers wouldn’t be constrained by a cartridge and could better flesh out the characters.
Having four endings is something unique for this game. There weren’t too many RPGs on the home console that did stuff like this, so that was very cool to see. You also have control over which ending you get based on your decisions in the game. This isn’t anything grand like you see in modern games, but it is fun to see it here.
I like that the development team did something different here. They tried to take the Phantasy Star games in a different direction and ended up making a solid game. It is a very good idea that expands on one of the plot points from the second game.
Those are the things that stood out to me. I like that this game is a little different from the other games in the series. It also allows Sega to have more games in the main line series. Even if they don’t appear to want to continue this series as a turn based RPG. Let’s get into which is better and which I would rather play.
Which is Better Overall and Why?
Phantasy Star IV is the better game overall. I like the graphics, story, and characters more than those in the third game. I also have more memories of playing this game with my friends.
The bright and colorful graphics in this game are something I really like. It is something that I enjoyed about the other games in the series, at least the ones that were made by the same team. The first, second, and this game all look excellent. Phantasy Star IV also has the best cut scenes out of all the games in the series.
This story is awesome! It has plenty of callbacks to the other games and tries to explain some of the things that happened. It also abandons a few things that weren’t going to fit into the new story about the solar system acting as a lock for the Profound Darkness. I also like that it explains there were several spaceships that were able to flee the solar system.
While I like how the third game tells its story, the fourth game does a better job of fleshing out its characters. This is helped by having an entire game with them. They also did a good job with handling the main character’s mentor being killed. The cutscenes help with this part of the storytelling quite a bit.
These are the things that make me think Phantasy Star IV is the better game overall. It has a lot of things going for it. One of the biggest things has to be my memories of the game. Playing this with my friends is one of those things that I’ll always remember. Thinking about it makes me smile.
Which Would I Rather Play?
This was very difficult! I’m going with Phantasy Star III here as a consolation prize. It has a lot of great things in it, and I like playing through the game’s story. I like the setting, the story is great, and I like the gameplay quite a bit.
Because this game is on a space station, it stands out from the other games in the series. I can’t think of another console RPG from the late 1980s and early 1990s that does this. It is worked into the story quite well.
The story is very good, and it is told in a unique way. You have control over which of the four endings you get, and your choice can change how the game plays. It acts like a difficulty setting, as things will get a little harder depending on which main character you pick. Being set up like this also gives me more reasons to try the game again.
The gameplay is quite good. This is the easiest game in the series, which is something that I like, especially after playing the second game. Phantasy Star III is more accessible to new players than the first or second games in the series.
Those are the reasons I would like to revisit this game again. This was a little more difficult because I enjoy both of these games. I’m giving it to Phantasy Star III because I think it deserves to be played again. I know that I’ll have fun with it, which is something I know I can say about the fourth game.
Conclusion
As much as my opinion of the third game has changed, I still like the fourth game more. It is simply the game that I’ve had the most fun with, and the one that I have the best memories of. There is something about the third game that makes me want to play it again, though.
Phantasy Star IV is one of those games that I’ll always remember. It is right up there with Tactics Ogre, Ogre Battle, and Chrono Trigger. This is one of the games that made me a fan of RPGs. It is such a fun game, and I always enjoy it when I revisit it.
Phantasy Star III is one of the games that I’ve changed my mind about. It is also a game that I played with my friends, but we had a very different reaction to it. We didn’t connect with it in the same way that we did with the fourth game. I’m glad that I gave it another chance because it is a very good game.
It will be fun to see how other games stack up to Phantasy Star IV. I’m just starting to get into the SNES games, and I know there are a bunch of great matchups with those games. I still have a lot of posts to make in this series before I take a break.
If you liked this post, check out a few of the others in this series. Such as Phantasy Star vs Phantasy Star IV or Phantasy Star II vs Phantasy Star IV.