Arguments for Rhys + Lena....

[Nate556]

Hello.
I just completed the 1st generation of Phantasy Star 3. Here are some of my thoughts regarding the choice Maia vs. Lena.

They both have their qualities. Lena is pretty cool, as well as talented and capable of combat and self defense.
Maia is very beautiful and tender, as well as faithful and compassionate.

However, as the prince of... I forget, Rhys has to make a decission.

Maia or Lena. Essentially, Self, or Country.

As a man looking for a bride, Maia would be the obvious choise for the reasons I laid out before. Marrying her would also beging to built a bridge and foster an era of peace between these two nations that have been at war for literally thousands of years.
On the downside however, a marriage to a Layan would throw the Orakian politics into turmoil! It might even cause a civil war, if the Orakians are bent on fighting the war against the Layans.
A marriage to Lena would probably be what is best for the country, since it would unify the various orakian kingdoms and baronies under a single ruler. But this would do nothing to bridge the gap between Layans and Orakians.

Question Points: Would Rhys' marriage to a Layan be viewed by the civil and noble populations as a traitorous act ?
Would the Orakians and Layans both be willing to foster peace under this unification of their leaders, or would squabbles and disputes still rage between these nations ?
Would Maia be asked to spy, or house a spy for the Layan governments ?


So, the question remains, "Should I marry the girl that would benefit my country the most, or marry the girl I really love ?"

Any thoughts ? (I chose Maia, I'm a hopeless romantic)

[Mono]

Considering that Dark Force was the one who threw Layans and Orakians against each other 1000 years before, and that DF's power was starting to grow again at Rhys age, I believe that the rage between the clans would turn Rhys marriage with Maia something unbearable for the orakians. Rhys was lucky, though, as he was very popular in Landen, so at least there he would find some support, or, at least, some tolerance - and that's what happens, it seems, though the text isn´t very clear about that in Ayn's quest.

While the Layan choice would be risky, marrying Lena would be a great advantage for the Landen kings, as they would unify the neighbouring kingdoms of Landen and Satera, gathering on their hands the power over the Landen dome, or most of it. And no factional risks, as it would a welcomed union between Orakians. A safe choice for a young prince.

Most times I chose Maia because I find it pointless to go down all the way to rescue her, just to choose the other girl in the end, and having a lead character who can cast healing techs in the next generation is a great advantage too. But if I was Rhys, I would choose Lena. Let the dragon feast on the Layan's flesh!

[Nate556]

So a marriage between Orakian and Layan would fly in the face of Dark Force ?

[suoturska]

Ayn's quest would seem to hint that the people of Landen saw Rhys' marriage to a layan as a traitorous act. They didn't appear very welcoming of his son at least. As I remember, the townspeople were nowhere to be seen and Sari fought you. The vendors at least sold you stuff, though.

[Zucca]

The more Orakian, the more physically stronger.
The more Layan, the more powerful techniques.

Afaik...

[BenoitRen]

People, please be mindful of your spoilers. *glares at Mono* This is Nate556's first playthrough of PSIII.

Glad that you started this thread, as I had been wanting to start one about the marriage choice for a long time, but kept procrastinating.

Another point of view is Rhys' own. How devoted is he to his people? How hateful is he towards Layans? The Lena choice makes sense if you decide that Rhys wouldn't be able to marry a Layan, even though he fell in love with her when he didn't know who she was.

I read an interesting, related point of view a couple months ago on how the situation before Maia's abduction could be interpreted:

My views on this topic are likely to be unpopular, but I also opted for the Nial/ Adan storyline. The notion of Rhys and Maia being in love never rang true for me. If I recall correctly, Rhys found her washed up on a beach, suffering from amnesia. A couple of months later, they were preparing to tie the knot.

Quoting Ayn Rand, “To say ‘I love you’, one must first be able to say the I.”

With her near-complete amnesia, Maia was in no position to say the ‘I’. Perhaps, with time, she might have regained a sense of self, by acquiring her own tastes, values, and aspirations; but until then, her feelings for Rhys could only have been a combination of physical attraction and appreciation for having rescued her.

As for Rhys, he seems to have become infatuated with a beautiful mystery. His passion might have turned into love as he got to know the flesh-and-blood woman behind the enigma. But Maia would have to develop a sense of identity before that could happen.

Personally, I still prefer to marry Maia.

The vendors at least sold you stuff, though.

They always do. When Rhys infiltrated Shusoran and Cille, they also sold stuff to him.

[Nate556]

Benit, that is a really good point that person made about the amnesia. Ohh, and don't worry about the spoilers. I honestly didn't see anything that ruined the game for me. Spoilers just don't bug me, and I understand that when you're talking about a game that's over 10 years old, it's hard to know what's a spoiler and what isn't. I've made similar mistakes with talking about final fantasy before.

I also would like to point out that Lena is actually with Rhys for quite some time. Traveling and fighting together, sleeping at inns and camps together, even shopping together would have developed at least a friendship between them. One could say that Rhys' eyes were so full of Maia, that he couldn't see Lena there beside him the whole time... I've done that before too. I think I just might go back to my 2nd save point and choose Lena instead of Maia

I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time in this game, it seems like it's the kind you HAVE to re-play through at least 1 more time, possibly twice. It has, what, 4 endings ?

You mentioned how hateful Rhys is towards Layans. At the beginning, he was, especially when they kidnapped Maia. But I can't help but think he wasn't so hateful to them after the whole quest. Teaming up with Lyle and the whole dawning realization of, "I had fallen in love with a Layan, and even made friends with one. Maybe they aren't such monsters ?"

[augmentedfourth]

Lena is pretty cool, as well as talented and capable of combat and self defense.

We must have been playing different games, I found Lena to be mostly dead weight.

I'm in the camp of people who believe Rhys wouldn't travel all that way, fight Maia's father, and say, "You know what? I think I'm gonna marry this girl instead." And if we're going purely on shallowness...yeah, Maia wins all the way. In my mind, Sean's ending is the "real" ending because I think those marriages make the most sense. It always sort of annoyed me that the game makes third generation was easier to beat with one of Lena's grandsons because it seems that Maia's grandchildren would be more likely to exist, if that makes any sense.

[suoturska]

Speaking of those marriage options, aren't Ayn and Thea related? I mean Lyle is supposed to be the king of Cille's nephew, isn't he? So that would make Maia and Lyle cousins. And then we have their children marrying each other... Although I suppose that was pretty common among medieval royalty, anyway.

[Nate556]

Lena is pretty cool, as well as talented and capable of combat and self defense.

We must have been playing different games, I found Lena to be mostly dead weight.

I'm in the camp of people who believe Rhys wouldn't travel all that way, fight Maia's father, and say, "You know what? I think I'm gonna marry this girl instead." And if we're going purely on shallowness...yeah, Maia wins all the way. In my mind, Sean's ending is the "real" ending because I think those marriages make the most sense. It always sort of annoyed me that the game makes third generation was easier to beat with one of Lena's grandsons because it seems that Maia's grandchildren would be more likely to exist, if that makes any sense.

Well, I personally think any rational-thinking individual would have to stop and think at the words, "Abandon your kingdom and marry my daughter, or unite your kingdom and marry Lena."

Rhys was hot-headed, but i don't think he would so quickly abandon his people... unless he was sore at his father for throwing him in the dungeon, even then, he probably wouldn't relish the idea of never seeing home again, or maybe even becoming enemies with home.

[Danny]

Lena is pretty cool, as well as talented and capable of combat and self defense.

We must have been playing different games, I found Lena to be mostly dead weight.

I'm in the camp of people who believe Rhys wouldn't travel all that way, fight Maia's father, and say, "You know what? I think I'm gonna marry this girl instead." And if we're going purely on shallowness...yeah, Maia wins all the way. In my mind, Sean's ending is the "real" ending because I think those marriages make the most sense. It always sort of annoyed me that the game makes third generation was easier to beat with one of Lena's grandsons because it seems that Maia's grandchildren would be more likely to exist, if that makes any sense.

Same here, I also doubt that Rhys would go through all that effort to find Maia then pick to marry Lena. Besides, the Layans and Orkanians become peaceful if Rhys marries Maia. The people in Rysel and Agoe are friendly towards Ayn and are sad about the troubles that the Layans in Shusoran and Cille are facing because of Siran's androids.

As for the best third generation character and ending in my opinion, I would go for Crys. If Ayn marries Sari, the Layans and Orkanians will be even more friendly towards each other. Besides, Crys is the strongest character and with the most Orkanian blood (he also has the best story and ending in my opinion). I don't like Sean very much since he is inbred, has the saddest story and is the weakest character physically (since he has the most Layan blood in him out of all the third generation characters).

[BenoitRen]

Not long ago, on the Phantasy Star III board at GameFAQs, it was found out that Lena has near-identical stats to Rhys. The major difference is that she can't use swords. Of course, the problem is that she joins way too late to be of much use.

Ayn and Thea are second cousins, yes. It isn't so weird for cousins to marry in Japan, actually.

I don't see any of Ayn's possible marriages as making more sense than the other. The only good argument I've heard for Ayn and Thea is that their child ends up as an orphan, like all other Phantasy Star heroes.

[Sange Mahlay]

I think the lack of character development in PSIII puts the player in an odd position at the end of Rhys' quest. We simply don't have enough of a reason for why Rhys would go back with Lena. It would have been nice to see more of their relationship, or perhaps some of Lena's motivations. That way, the marriages wouldn't have been mere functions of the game, but choices made on how you felt concerning the relationships.

Rhys' quest to find Maia, as one-dimensional as it may be, is better understood. We have these odd situations going on between Rhys and Lena, and Lyle and Lena, and we are never told explicitly Lena's side of the story. It's hard to care about her at the end of Generation 1. It's funny though, I think she is given more depth in Ayn's quest than in either Rhys' or Nial's quest, and she doesn't even appear in it!

[Danny]

Ayn and Thea are second cousins, yes. It isn't so weird for cousins to marry in Japan, actually.

It's the same in some other countries as well, but it's not as popular today as it was in the past which is good because inbred children have a higher risk of bearing genetic disorders which can ruined their lives and also be transmited to their offspring as well.

It's funny though, I think she is given more depth in Ayn's quest than in either Rhys' or Nial's quest, and she doesn't even appear in it!

Ah yes, I remember Sari talking about her. If Ayn and Sari had a blonde child (Crys), then it most likely means that when Rhys married Maia, Lena must have married a blond Orkanian man. Too bad there's no hints as to who Lena's husband and Lyle's wife were.

[Nate556]

From my understanding of genetics, and mind you, i'm no geneticist, i just read, a LOT. Now, I'm not defending marriage or relationships between cousins, I do think it's gross and an insult to the whole family.
However, the genes between cousins is different enough as to not have a higher risk for birth defects or genetic diseases. It's not the same as direct relatives, such as brother/sister, or parent/child. In the case of many of the ancient cultures who arranged marriages between cousins to keep the tribe strong. Rather than losing a daughter and her children to another tribe, the whole family/tribe grows bigger and stronger.

Now, back on topic. I chose Nial to marry Laya, notonly because I thought she was cuter, but because I thought it made the most sense. Altair was stillconsidered an enemy by many, and she really did have the reputation of being a badguy from 1000 years ago. Lune didn't help much. I think Laya way the best choice also because she was a direct relative to Laya, and understood that Layans and Orakians could get along... and fall in love.
I can't comment on the lines that descend from chosing Maia, but eventually, i'll go through and play all the different choices. This is indeed a very deep game that's meant to be replayed.