The findings
What we found inside Phantasie III
Each finding tells what a player would have seen, what we noticed, how we tracked it down and what it turned out to be, and ends with how far the proof goes.
- Seen in the 1987 game
- Tested by running the original code
- Read in the code
By where you meet them
- The wilds The Wolf you will never meet
- Making and training heroes Constitution never gives a hero hit points
- The wilds Healing I raises the dead, for free
- Battles Heavy armour makes you easier to hit
- Dungeons A free escape carried into the next fight
- In town One God Bow for the whole party
- In town Selling to adventurer 7
- In town The plus is not for hitting
- After the ending Heroes on the same line lose their bonus
- A long game Heroes do not get worse with age
- Towns The map of Scandor is Scroll IV
- Dungeons Why Nikademus would never suspect you
Manual vs Code
Where the 1987 manual says one thing and the game does another.
- Attributes Constitution never gives a hero hit points
- Mortality: Hit Points and Body Areas Healing I raises the dead, for free
- Appendix III, Forming a Party Heavy armour makes you easier to hit
- Town Menu: Other Options, Trade Items Selling to adventurer 7
- Treasure, Combat Equipment The plus is not for hitting
- Inspect Party Member Heroes do not get worse with age
Bugs
Mistakes that shipped.
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The Wolf you will never meet
A Wolf is in the monster list, but the game puts a Small Dragon in its place, because one number in its record went missing.
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Healing I raises the dead, for free
Cast outside a fight, the cheapest healing spell in the game brings the dead back to life, and costs them nothing.
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Heavy armour makes you easier to hit
Plate Mail makes a fighter easier to hit, and takes nothing off any blow except a breath attack.
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A free escape carried into the next fight
Surprise some monsters on the road and run, and the next fight in a dungeon lets you run away for free as well.
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One God Bow for the whole party
Give your readied God Bow to a friend and you keep shooting with it. Pass it along the party and everyone who can draw it fires the God Bow.
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Heroes on the same line lose their bonus
A hero's bonus to hit comes from standing ahead of the rest of the party, not from his rank alone. Put everyone on the same line and nobody gets it. The ending does exactly that.
Quirks
Odd, but probably meant.
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The plus is not for hitting
A Spear +1 hits exactly as hard as a plain Sword, and costs twenty times as much. The plus buys something else.
Curiosities
Surprising things inside the game.
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Constitution never gives a hero hit points
The manual says Constitution gives a hero more hit points. In the game it gives none, at creation or at any level. It mostly helps him swim.
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Heroes do not get worse with age
The manual says old age wears heroes down, and players remember it happening. The game never looks at a hero's age, except to print it on his sheet.
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The map of Scandor is Scroll IV
Buy Scroll IV in the first armoury and read it, and instead of a page of writing the game shows you a map of the whole land.
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Why Nikademus would never suspect you
Filmon's greeting is the one for a party new to the series; heroes from Phantasie I and II hear a different speech.
Cut content
Planned, but never shipped.
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Selling to adventurer 7
The manual says you can sell an item by trading it to adventurer 7. In the Amiga game, press 7 and nothing happens.
More findings are being written up.