Phantasy Star III
Shares rank 21 of 33 role-playing games by recommenders
Recommended for its generations system, cyborg characters, and place in the beloved Phantasy Star series; critics find it flawed and wacky, and some suggest skipping it.
Recommended for its generations system, cyborg characters, and place in the beloved Phantasy Star series; critics find it flawed and wacky, and some suggest skipping it.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Generations system praised
“The generations system in III was amazing.”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Phantasy Star IV – 1993 Developer Interviews” “the multi-generation cyborgs were awesome”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Phantasy Star IV – 1993 Developer Interviews” Part of beloved series
“Phantasy Star 1, 2, 3 and 4 played a huge part in the world of games I grew up with”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Phantasy Star IV – 1993 Developer Interviews” “I recommend PSIV->PSII->PSIII”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Phantasy Star IV – 1993 Developer Interviews”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Seen as flawed and weaker
“If I was going to suggest skipping one it would definitely be 3.”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Phantasy Star IV – 1993 Developer Interviews” “too flawed and wacky despite some good ideas”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Phantasy Star IV – 1993 Developer Interviews”
Other role-playing games people recommend
The four most recommended other role-playing games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldur's Gate 3 | 71 | 11 | 87% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | 58 | 10 | 85% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Ultima VII Revisited | 24 | 7 | 77% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Disco Elysium | 23 | 1 | 96% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Phantasy Star IIIThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“My favorite thing about 3 is that the soundtrack has tracks based on the number of characters in your party.”
“The generations system in III was amazing.”
“the multi-generation cyborgs were awesome”
“Phantasy Star 1, 2, 3 and 4 played a huge part in the world of games I grew up with”
“If I was going to suggest skipping one it would definitely be 3.”
“too flawed and wacky despite some good ideas”
“I tried playing the first three Phantasy Star games”
“I recommend PSIV->PSII->PSIII”
“At least they tried something different/interesting with 3.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.