Overview

Phantasy Star III was released in 1991 and was somewhat of a departure from the previous games. Following the heroes of three generations, the player was thrown into the remnants of a civil war... and yet where Dark Force resides, champions always emerge. Layans, Orakians, Cyborgs, and monsters battle to the death. And what shocking ending greets the victorious forces...?

First Generation Characters
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Rhys: The young prince of Landen, and a direct descendent of Orakio, he is rash and impatient, wanting to take the royal army to wipe out Laya's clan when his bride-to-be is kidnapped, despite the fact that no-one's -seen- a Layan for a very long time.:) Like all true-blooded Orakians, he relies on his combat skill and hardiness, having no technique ability, but fighting best with a two-handed sword.

Maia: Maia is the princess of the Layan land of Cille. She washes up on the shores of Landen without her memory, and becomes engaged to Rhys.

Mieu: Mieu is a combat-cyborg designed for close quarters fighting, overwhelming her opponents with her lightning-fast reflexes and deadly claws. Left waiting by the side of a lake for many, many long years, she at last comes into service once again when Rhys discovers her. She stays with the royal family for all subsequent generations.

Wren: Wren is a cyborg specializing in combat, and technical systems and analysis. Unlike Mieu, he is a walking heavy-weapons unit, providing the party with firepower support. He is located while searching for someone to fix the weather controls. Later on in the timeline, his transformative abilities become of crucial importance. He stays with the royal family for all subsequent generations.

Lyle: Lyle is the dashing young Layan prince of Shushoran. A hero to his people, he is well-known for being completely unpredictable and spontaneous. A lesser-known fact is that Lyle is also the dragon-knight, and it was in fact Lyle, in his Dragon form, who originally kidnapped Maia from Rhys' wedding. (Rhys, however, never learns of this.) Lyle has some ability in combat techniques, but wields twin staffs with great skill.

Lena: Lena is the princess of Satera, a neighboring kingdom to Landen. First rescuing Rhys from his imprisonment to go find Maia, she later shows up again in Shushoran. Lena is short and fast, wielding a pair of knives with deadly accuracy.

Second Generation Characters
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Nial: The true-blooded Orakian son of Rhys and Lena, consquentially the prince of both Landen and Satera. Sent by his father to investigate the attack on Satera, and accompaynied by Mieu and Wren, he soon learns what was started by his father is not yet over. Like his father, he relies on his hardiness, and his swordsmanship.

Lune: Lune was Laya's right-hand general, and spent 1,000 years in cryogenic hibernation. Now awakened, the Orakian country of Divisia has kidnapped his sister, and he sends the monstrous armies out to both scour the lands for her, and slaughter any and all Orakians they encounter.

Alair: Alair is Lune's sister. Kidnapped by Divisia, Nial sets her free to return to her brother, and hopefully convince him to stop the fighting.

Ryan: Ryan is the renegade Layan responsable for organising the resistance force against Lune. When he first meets Nial, Mieu, and Wren, he believes them to be enemies, but after Lune projects himself in to gloat (thank heavens those blasted Jehova's Witnesses haven't learned that trick yet.:P), decides they are friends and joins them to stop Lune. Ryan is a cool, calm and collected fighter, wielding a pair of staves.

Laya: Underneath Aridia, Nial and company discover a world within a world, where they find Laya awakened from cryogenic hibernation. This is the original Laya's younger sister, however, also named Laya. She remembers the last time she saw her sister, she was leaving with a knight with a black sword, and joins the company to find out the truth of what became of Orakio and her sister.

Ayn: Ayn is the son of Rhys and Maia, and the prince of Cille. Sent out by his father with Mieu and Wren, to find Sattellite, a place said to be one of eternal peace, he soon returns to find his homelands in ruins, and the people seeking refuge in the desert land of Aridia. Unlike his father, Ayn is half-Orakian and half-Layan, so he has some technique power. Like his father, however, he wields a two-handed sword the deadliest.

Siren: Siren is an ancient, bitter cyborg who once fought side-by-side with Orakio. Banished to Azure by Laya, he is now in command of the cyborg armies, and wants to destroy every last trace of Laya's clan. Later after his defeat, he is responsable for firing the lasers of Alisa III at a simular colony ship, causing them to fire back, and jolt Alisa III off-course, and for disintergrating Azure in revenge, killing Ayn, Thea, and the remaining survivers of Cille and Shushoran.

Thea: Thea is Lyle's only daughter and Ayn's childhood friend. Having not inherited her father's abilities as the dragon knight, she instead fights from afar with twin slicers, and supports the party with her techniques.

Sari: Sari is Lena's daughter, and the ruler of Landen during Ayn's generation. Possibly the strongest character in the game, she is IMMENSELY powerful when she joins the party, doing great damage with paired knives.

Third Generation Characters
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No matter how you get here, your final character will always be at least 1/4th Layan. The more Layan blood your character has in him, the less physically strong he will be, but the better technique power he will have.

Aron -- Son of Nial and Alair, 1/2 Layan.

Adan -- Son of Nial and Laya, 1/2 Layan.

Crys -- Son of Ayn and Sari, 1/4th Layan.

Sean -- Son of Ayn and Thea, 3/4th Layan.

Gwen/Laya: The third generation will have someone to wield a bow. If you end up with Adan, she will be Adan's twin sister, Gwen. If not, she will be Laya.

Kara: Kara is the daughter of Lune, and a wielder of Slicers. There are two different versions of her, however. If you are playing Aron or Adan, Kara is a delicate, princess-type girl, weaker physically, but comes with healing techniques. If you are playing Sean or Crys, Kara is a viscious, embittered woman who wants to go fight because she feels her father has grown too weak to. MUCH stronger physically, but lacks healing techniques.

Miun: Miun once fought at Orakio's side, with her companion cyborg, Siren. She now wanders the deserts of Aridia, keeping functional only by her desire to see Orakio one last time, she'd know his black sword anywhere. When your character talks to her with Orakio's sword in his possession, her final wish is granted, and she can die in peace.

Rulakir is Orakio's twin brother. His own family was killed long ago during the wars, and his hatred has kept him alive all this time. Consumed by darkness, you must kill him to free him, and yourself, as he bars your path to the final confrontation.

Dark Force:
Dark Force is the evil from legends. Trapped under the waters of Landen by Orakio's sword, you free him wholly when you recover the sword, and must destroy him to release Alisa III from his terror.

courtesy spectral@cris.com