Download Phantasy Star III General Improvement ROM Hack

+--------------------------+
|                          |
|    Phantasy Star III     |
|                          |
| SEGA Genesis / Megadrive |
|                          |
|   General Improvement    |
|                          |
|       Version 1.1        |
|                          |
|   Release:  10-10-2019   |
|                          |
|          - By -          |
|                          |
|        Fauntleroy        |
|                          |
|  [email protected]   |
|                          |
+--------------------------+

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|                   |
| Table of Contents |
|                   |
+-------------------+

I...........Introduction
II....Setup Instructions
III..............Credits

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+-----------------+
|                 |
| I. Introduction |
|                 |
+-----------------+

Phantasy Star III has problems. Like... lots of problems. It was
one of my favorite games as a kid, but even then, I knew it. I say
this as someone who loves the game. Like, really, really loves it,
and always has.

Some of the problems are technical. Shop contents don't always make
a lot of sense. Who can use what equipment types, while generally
consistent, has a lot of weird exceptions that you would never
figure out without blind trial an error. (Lena can use the Hunting
Helmet? Why?) Technique Distribution is insanely overpowered. Laya
can equip the most powerful emel, but can never use it in practice,
since her weapons are two-handed. And so forth.

And others are more related to the story, lore, and presentation.
Nial and his sons never go to Draconia or Azura. In fact, Nial's
quest, unlike Ayn's, is essentially just an abbreviated version of
the third generation. This all smells like a lack of time and
planning, and not original intent.

So, this patch tries to smooth out some of those issues to create a
more "complete-feeling" or polished experience. An overview of
everything that was changed is below.

GENERAL:
* Technique, item, and enemy names were made more consistent with
  other games in the series.
* There are lots of new items!
* Needler weapons are no longer present.
* Shop and treasure chest contents are generally better.
* Some treasure chests were relocated. This means the only missable
  chests are at the Island Cave and in the dungeon of Cille Castle
  during the First Generation.
    * Landen Dungeon +2 chests
    * Landen-Aridia Tunnel +1 chest
    * Techna Dungeon +2 chests
    * Azura Dungeon -2 chests
    * Aridia-Frigidia Tunnel +1 chest
    * Mystoke Dungeon +1 chest
    * Aerone Dungeon -1 chest
    * Dahlia Dungeon: chests near entrance moved further inside
    * Lashute Dungeon -6 chests (only Dark Force's chest remains)
    * Two secret bonus chests are out there! (they're together)
* No more dummied enemies! Every enemy can be encountered, although
  some remain obscure.
* Battle text was made consistent with that of Phantasy Star IV.

WORLD:
* NO MORE EMPTY HOUSES! Every house has a shop and/or an NPC in it.
* There are lots of new NPCs with lots of new text. Castles and
  towns feel a lot less empty.
* There are more instances where NPC dialogue changes after events.
  Party members will sometimes comment on what was said.
* Most NPCs at the "home base" in the Third Generation say new
  things once the full party is assembled. This means Landen Castle
  for everyone but Aron, who has Dahlia.
* People at Mystoke and Laya's Temple say new things during the
  Adan and Aron quests.
* Adan and Aron now get access to the Aridia-Draconia tunnel, so
  it's possible to get all treasure chests, for completionists.

CHARACTERS:
* Party member starting equipment is generally much better.
* Graphical updates were made to the map sprites for Ayn, Alair,
  Laya, Sean, and the Kara of Ayn's world.
* Some adjustments were made to who uses which Technique groups.
* All of Wren's guns hit an entire row of enemies, except for his
  initial equip.
* The Kara of Ayn's world is much stronger all around.
* Who can use what equipment was made consistent across all
  character types.
    * Knives      = main characters, Lena/Sari, Laya/Gwyn
    * Swords      = main characters
    * Claws       = Mieu
    * Shots       = Wren
    * Staves      = Lyle/Ryan
    * Slashers    = Thea/Kara
    * Bows        = Laya/Gwyn
    * Helmets     = main characters
    * Ribbons     = Mieu
    * Headgear    = Wren
    * Bandanas    = Lyle/Ryan, Thea/Kara
    * Crowns      = Lena/Sari, Laya/Gwyn
    * Mail        = main characters
    * Vests       = Mieu
    * Armor       = Wren
    * Robes       = Lyle/Ryan, Thea/Kara
    * Capes       = Lena/Sari, Laya/Gwyn
    * Shields     = main characters, Lyle/Ryan
    * Emels       = Lena/Sari, Thea/Kara, Laya/Gwyn
    * Barriers    = everyone except for Wren
    * Jewels      = everyone
    * Boots       = everyone
    * Hirza Boots = Mieu, Lena/Sari, Thea/Kara, Laya/Gwyn
    * Shune Boots = Mieu, Lena/Sari, Thea/Kara, Laya/Gwyn
    * Garda Boots = main characters, Wren, Lyle/Ryan
    * Knife Boots = Mieu

Here are a few things you might not love. If not... sorry!

* This patch doesn't prioritize lore from the original Japanese
  version. I honestly don't really care what happened in the
  Japanese version. This is my own expansion of the text and story
  based on my nearly 30 years of familiarity with the English
  language release.
* Character names, item names, Technique names, and menu text are
  IN CAPS because that's how all the other Phantasy Star games did
  it back in the day. All of these things appear properly-cased
  during normal dialogue.
* The button press sound is muted. I don't mind the sound used in
  Phantasy Star II or Phantasy Star IV, but I've always had a
  strong dislike for the one in this game. The fact that it's used
  for, like,  e v e r y t h i n g  doesn't help.

If you love Phantasy Star III and try this hack, then seriously,
please talk to all of the NPCs. There is some really good stuff in
there, I promise.

Nothing pisses me off more than people who skip my NPCs!

+------------------------+
|                        |
| II. Setup Instructions |
|                        |
+------------------------+

You will need the 20191010psiiipatch.ips file as well as an
unaltered copy of the Phantasy Star III Genesis/Megadrive English
language ROM.  Please do not ask me for a copy of the ROM; I will
not provide one.

Recommended ROMs:
* Phantasy Star III - Generations of Doom (UE) [!]
  * Unmodified ROM CRC32:  C6B42B0F
  * Patch Applied CRC32:   B12B1029

The recommended ROM is sometimes labeled as:
* Phantasy Star III - Generations of Doom
* Phantasy Star III - Generations of Doom (USA, Europe)

I recommend using the Lunar IPS utility to apply the patch to the
ROM.  As of this writing, you can download Lunar IPS here:

http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lips/

To apply the patch:

1.) Open Lunar IPS and click the Apply IPS Patch button.

2.) Select the 20191010psiiipatch.ips file.

3.) Select the ROM.

4.) You're all set!  It's that easy!

As far as which emulator to use, I personally like Kega Fusion.

Kega Fusion has its own website:

http://segaretro.org/Kega_Fusion

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+--------------+
|              |
| III. Credits |
|              |
+--------------+

I'm the creator of this hack. All of the ideas, for good or bad,
were my own.

However, I never could've completed the hack without some special
assistance along the way.

First, I have to thank lory1990 for creating the Phantasy Star III
Disassembly document, which makes most changes an absolute breeze.
He's created similar utilities for all of the classic Phantasy Star
games, so check them out! He was also extremely patient and
gracious in answer a million questions I had about implementing my
goofy ideas.

Second, the changes to the sprites were thanks to Peaches, who had
already done all the heavy lifting for her own hack, Phantasy Star
III Bugfix. She was very gracious in allowing me to use elements
from her work in my hack.

Thank you both for making this project possible!