Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

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Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby Blue Beetle » Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:22 pm

Hello there, people! I'm new here.

This is my first topic. I've always visited the forum, but never logged in. But now I feel the need to share with you something that's been bothering me since I finished PS III, and want your opinions about it.

The one thing that bothers me the most is Lena's real reasons. The question is: does she truly love Rhys, or was she just releasing him so she can be free to marry the ONE she truly wanted?

I'm asking this because it felt kinda silly to release someone from prison just because you love him and let him chase another girl, while you stay behind...

In my point of view, Lena never wanted a marriage with Rhys. Young people are known to be quite rebellious when they reach adolescence, and specially an arranged marriage would be the last thing you would expect from your parents. I do believe that she really didn't liked this, and when Rhys jilted her for Maia, she felt that a burden was thrown away from her shoulders!

(Now this is pure imagination) I believe that she even went to the marriage ceremony to see that she was truly going to be freed from the arranged marriage. When the dragon kidnapped Maia, and probably saw the king put Rhys behind bars, she felt that maybe because of this, her parents would try to make an arranged marriage with her and Rhys again! Not wanting it, she sneaked through Landen's dungeons and released Rhys, so he can chase Maia. At certain point, she must have met Lyle, and probably after some skirmishes, and after explain why she released Rhys, she and Lyle united to do make this happen.

When she joined Rhys party, they had to backtrack to Aridia. If we put ourselves in character's eyes, it must have been one hell long journey, and a long time passed. As time passed by, and she began talk to her new colleagues, specially Rhys, she began to saw Rhys with other eyes, and found that she fell in love with him.

I believe that it makes more sense than the supposed story. What you people think? :)
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby Tryphon » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:23 pm

Blue Beetle wrote:What you people think?


I think you're considering love from the point of view of a 20th - 21st century western person, which is quite different from the one of a 33th century Palman.
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby DarkMyau » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:23 pm

I have been reading Black Swords fantastic fan fictions on this site and I think he/she was on the right track. Lena loved Rhys but didn't want to be with someone who didn't love her.
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby Nommy » Wed May 28, 2014 9:29 pm

Necropost? Meh...

Anyway, you simply cannot overlook the fact that this game was written by Japanese people who have a VERY different view of what constitutes being "in love" with someone. I can't give any examples since I'm not certain of my information, but it does seem as though a person, in Japan, who tries to be someone other than the person they are, for the sake of the one they love, is considered a deep gesture of love.

Personally, I consider that lying to yourself and lying to the person you love. But, that's me. Not a nation of people who come from a society that values conformity.
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby Kalisiin » Sun Aug 03, 2014 12:30 pm

I like Blue Beetle's narrative.

It certainly works from an American perspective, anyway. I know I'd be HORRIFIED at the idea of an arranged marriage arranged by MY PARENTS!!

As an American girl who chose never to get married (I like my freedom too much) I'd be horrified that my parents would make these kinds of life choices for me.

Then again, I've never been one to conform to much of anything, really. I've made nonconformity into an art form in my lifetime...and my favorite song is John Mellencamp's "Authority Song" for that very reason. I spent my entire life fighting authority and questioning authority and refusing to "conform to the norm." Ive spent as lifetime fighting for change and for various causes...even ones that do not directly affect me, personally. But I fought for them, anyway, because I believed the cause was right and just.

Even now...I don't hold a regular job. I don't want to be a common person. I own my own business and I do as I please, when I please. As long as I meet the deadlines imposed by my clients, I am free to do the work when and how I please. I am a rebel, first order. In fact, my clients are about the only authority figures in my life that I allow to exercise any athority over me whatsoever (they sign my checks, so I guess I gotta give a little on this one. after all, I have sorta gotten into the habit of sleeping indoors and having three meals a day.) But I digress....

Now, if you consider the writers were Japanese...which is a much different culture...Blue Beetle's narrative doesn't make a whole lot of sense...on the surface - unless one takes into consideration a thing like "Fiddler On The Roof." What happened there? There was an arranged marriage...and the girl rebelled against this...even though it was not her culture to do so. And in the end, Tevya gave in and allowed the marriage she wanted, and not the arranged marriage he had set up.

So if you consider Lena as being one who rebelled against her own culture...then Blue Beetle's narrative stil makes sense. The only way it does not make sense is if you assume Lena is NOT a rebellious young lady. and, to release the Prince from prison...is a pretty rebellious act - which points to a rebellious nature. Then, too, consider that Lena was Orakian...and Lyle is Layan. It doesn't seem to me, in the PS3 world...that intermixing between Orakians and Layans...is looked upon too kindly.
Last edited by Kalisiin on Sun Aug 03, 2014 5:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby BenoitRen » Sun Aug 03, 2014 4:17 pm

You mean Lena was Thea all along?!

...Whoa. The plot thickens!
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby Kalisiin » Sun Aug 03, 2014 5:02 pm

Oh, crap. I wrote Thea when I meant to write Lena!
Wow, what a dummy. Hee hee...fixed it in my post!

Guess I had Thea on my mind when I was writing it for some reason.

Lena, of course, is First Gen, and Thea is Second Gen.

But one thing does not make sense in the Blue Beetle narrative...it is implied that Lena marries Lyle. But, if so...since Thea is the love child of Lyle and The Princess of Shusoran...how did Lena manage to become the princess of Shusoran?

So...how DOES Lena fit into the game when Rhys doesn't marry her?
Obviously, when Rhys DOES marry her, the result is Nial.

A more interesting thing is Laya.
Laya is Second Gen...IF AND ONLY IF...Rhys marries Lena...and then has Nial...and then if Nial MARRIES Laya, they have Adan, the son, and Gwen, the daughter.
If, on the other hand, Rhys marries Maia...then Laya is made a THIRD Gen character...and will join Aron, Sean or Crys. (Obviously does not join Adan, since she is then Adan's mother)

Point being...it's the same character...the younger sister of the original Laya. BUT...different generations, same character.
So, in Third Gen...Laya is either someone's mom...or is much younger, and in the party....but the same person.

So that is a little weird.
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby etony33 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:28 pm

Sari is not Lyle's daughter. Thea is Lyle's daughter. Lena could not have possibly married Lyle, unless they hastily got divorced and both remarried.
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Re: Phantasy Star III: Lena's real reasons

Postby MrStarbird » Thu Feb 09, 2017 5:52 am

I always saw Lena as a girl who was in love with Rhys but only wanted what was best for him. The idea of their marriage being arranged to unite Landen and Satera didn't appeal to Rhys who found his love when he found Maia on a beach. Lena, I believe had feelings for him but, as we have seen with Lena's weakness in game and her personality, didn't have the guts to tell Rhys how she really felt. Her weakness is further demonstrated with Sari, who much like Warrior Kara, grew tired of her mother's weakness and vowed to become strong because of it. Lena died at a young age in this timeline, having suffered heartache for the rest of her life, and never having seen her true love ever again.

It does beg the question as to why Lyle started this whole series of events in the first place and why he went to Lena. Lyle is practically a gatekeeper in this game (he has the Sapphire, Dragon Tear, and Twin's Ruby which he gives to Thea (who gives to Ryan if you play Nial's quest instead), plus it can be assumed that he is a direct descendant of Laya because he has the Moon Tear, the item that Laya used to seal Siren away on Azura by use of an Orakian Machine in the Control Tower. That being said, wouldn't it make sense that the direct descendant of Orakio have the Moon Stone, the item that Orakio himself used to seal away Lune and Alair on Dahlia (which begs another question as to how without both stones could Lune, Alair, and Siren be sealed using the machine without both stones to activate the machine, meaning that Orakio and Laya must have been together to do so), be in the hands of Rhys if he is the true descendant of Orakio? The fact that Lena has the Moon Stone tells me that she inherited it from her lineage, making her the true descendant of Orakio, not Rhys.

There are a lot of theories about this game that I love discussing because the game is quite rich in lore but also in unexplained but plausible ideas. Lyle's true motives always eluded me, and as the reason why Nial chased after two women a hundred times his age to be his wife. Questions :D
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