something which she considered a "home-spun" project. The music for Phantasy Star III was composed by Izuho Numata, who had only been at Sega for two years. She later claimed that the project was challenging due to her lack of experience with composing for RPGs. Reception Contemporary Phantasy Star III received positive reviews upon release. Praise was given to Phantasy Star III for its unique "generational" gameplay and characters. Computer Gaming World in 1991 praised the game's graphics and its "plenty of plot twists and turns." The magazine concluded that it was "a rewarding epic tale which should be told on every Genesis system." The game was reviewed that year in Dragon #176 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. They noted that they "didn't like it as much as Phantasy Star II" but still praised Phantasy Star III for being "creative in many ways," including the choices of whom to marry, the different possible endings, and the "longer play life" that this allows. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Phantasy Star III one 7, two 8s, and one 9, with reviewer Martin Alessi stating that the game "blows away the previous games" in the series. The only downside according to MegaTech magazine was that "it costs a massive £50!" Retrospective Retrospectively, it maintains above average ratings, with an overall score of 68% on the aggregate site GameRankings based on retrospective reviews published online in the 2000s. Some critics thought it was just too "different" in style from its peers. Critics cite the only subtle differences between the endings, lower quality battle animations, and the fact that it did not resolve the perceived cliffhanger ending of Phantasy Star II. Mega placed the game at #12 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time list in 1992. Nintendo Power named it the series' "lackluster third installment" in 2009 and noted that series co-creator Rieko Kodama did not work on it. The game's icon-based menu system inspired a similar menu system in 1991's Shining in the Darkness. References 1990 video games Generation ships in fiction Phantasy Star video games Role-playing video games Sega video games Sega Genesis games Video game sequels Virtual Console games Windows games Video games developed in Japan Fiction set around Algol