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The Phantasy Star series

Yeah, it really is as good as you've heard. Having played the earlier games, though, makes it all the sweeter imo - it is chock full of well made fanservice for all three of the previous games.

But yeah. I'm not kidding about PSO, though lmao

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I mean, while PS IV is technically (and in many other ways) clearly the best game of the series, I also find it a bit too, uh, "standard", compared to the other games. This doesn't mean it's bad in any way, it's great. But I and II at least are weirder and more unique, imo. Like, II is probably not necessarily a good game, I guess, because of those dungeons. But I enjoy the setting and the story quite a bit, with how dark it is. And the dungeons do add something special. The first has first person dungeons, which are fun to map out (I found it fun, at least), and also feels somewhat unorthodox.

Dunno, maybe these two are more unique? I'm not sure what exactly my argument is, just that IV, for all the great things it does, is missing that uniqueness a bit, I think?
 
Actually, you make a lot of sense, Felix - the whole Phantasy Star series is weird, and IV is probably the least weird. It's great! It rivals the other great 16 bit JRPGs of the era! But you're right in that it's not as weird as Phantasy Star 1, 2, or 3. Getting all your party members showing up at your house in II? Weird. Just... everything about III compared to the rest of the series? Weird. Phantasy Star 1 being so far ahead of its time in so many different ways? Weird! It's a weird series, and it's all the better for it.
 
PSIV is the series game most attuned to a modern-sensibility, streamlined and downright propulsive design language, which makes it stand apart from the other three and at worst, be the only game people attest a particular liking to among the four. That's the strength of the series, really, in that in a relatively short development timespan they put out such diversely flavoured works; where personally I'm the least interested in the fourth game, but you also can't view it nor any of the others as not being a meaningful expression of where the series could go. And the series ending there sure doesn't sting as much when PSIV takes such labours to present itself as a holistic culmination of what came before, almost as if burning out in celebration was more of a priority than settling into a release schedule of constant iteration.
 
Yeah, exactly - they are all very distinct, aren't they? I like them all - even 3, now! - but they are all rather different, despite being JRPGs made in only a couple of years and by, in many cases, the same people.

Ah, classic Sega. How I miss you so.

But yeah. Once I wean myself off of PSO - who knows when that will be - I'm due a replay of 1. I had a great time drawing my own maps of Shining in the Darkness a few years back, so I want to do the same for the original Phantasy Star!
 
Always a joy to see this thread bumped; love a chance to talk about Phantasy Star.

I agree with most of the sentiments above. PSIV is definitely the "best" and most well-loved of the 4, but that's because it is also the least interesting and the least challenging, not just in the sense of literal gameplay challenge but in the sense of, as Peklo says, challenging modern sensibilities. RPGs were a lot more exciting when everything had yet to be codified and people were still willing to take big risks and huge swings. PSIV is definitely the easiest to recommend to someone unfamiliar with the series, but it's also the least interesting to recommend. Far better, IMO, to have them start at the beginning and try to appreciate what makes the series special instead of just dropping in at the end playing yet another great 16-bit JRPG (especially since the Sega Ages release of PS1 is readily available and sands off a lot of the edges of the first game*).

* - I think it's worse off for that sanding, but that's a minority opinion unshared by pretty much anyone who comes to it new in 2026.
 
Oh and also, I bought a Master System, so I'm gonna play Phantasy Star on it's original system when I replay it. It's about time.
 
Hell yeah. I'm not a Collector, so I have almost no physical media, but I still have my SMS and a copy of Phantasy Star in my storeroom, complete with graph paper maps.
 
JBear said:
graph paper maps
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I've got the graph paper but no maps yet - I drew up all of Shining in the Darkness, then folded up the graph papers and put them in the case for future playthroughs. I plan on doing the same with Phantasy Star.

Having almost zero experience with an actual Master System prior to like two weeks ago, it's a pretty handsome little system, isn't it? The way the carts fit in looks great!

EDIT: I sure wish it wasn't so wide, though. Although really, this is an Ikea problem, not a Sega one.

frigginikea.jpg
 
I think M2's Sega Ages release of the original did a great service for the ongoing health of the original games, since despite the game's wide recognition for how good it is from those who've played it, there's still the understanding that you'll either have to consult external maps or draw your own when interacting with it. The auto-mapping tools provided in that version are a great option to get people to approach the rest of the game, and for generally consolidating information about the game in its internal databases and sheets that digital releases of vintage material usually just do not do and thus don't bridge the gap that exists between play experiences that had that information provided through game manuals in their original context.
 
Kazin said:
Having almost zero experience with an actual Master System prior to like two weeks ago, it's a pretty handsome little system, isn't it?
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Torzelbaum said:
I never owned a Master System or knew anyone who did own one but I played demo versions and always really wanted one of them. The black and red design justs seemed so neat and stylish to me. (But I do now find it interesting that the console included that "circuit design" connection explanation diagram on it.)
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It's really interesting how different these four games are. But in a different way than FF, I feel. Couldn't even really argue how. Maybe in tone? II doesn't play that differently from I...except that the dungeons are now top-down and exhausting. I'm not sure.

By the way, I think my favorite, dark detail about II is, that you don't even revive fallen team members. You clone them. As soon as anyone dies, that person is just gone for good. It's wild.

The ending is also great. That game is such a vibe.
 
II also has fantastic music, as well. The VR Spaceship in PSO Episode 2 has a remix of one of my favorite songs from II as well:


(remix bit starts at 1:05)
 
I respect the original deeply, and think it does a lot right. I just don't care much for the combat, and how you don't have control over which enemy you hit. I realize after the fact that this is very OG Wizardry-coded, so it makes sense, but it still has me pining for the setup of Dragon Quest II and onward.
 
Kazin said:
Fully re-obsessed with the Phantasy Star series these past few months. I finally sat down and played through the entirety of Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom for the first time - my route was Rhys -> Ayn -> Sean, mainly because I wanted my main character to be able to use techniques haha. It was the retail North American release.
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The romantic prospects in 3 really do lead you into this cruel little trap.

OK! Do you want to marry the woman you were about to marry when this whole thing started, or this other woman you just met like yesterday?

You have chosen to marry your fiancee. Sensible! Now, would you like to marry this woman who absolutely cannot stand you and actively wants to murder you, or your own cousin?

Meanwhile over on the other side of that first coin, your options are two different younger sisters of commanders from a war that took place 1000 years ago, which in absolutely no way fits in with where the game tries to stick itself on a timeline with the actual trilogy. One of whom ends up in your final party in every branch other than the one where she's having kids.

I guess the morale is, don't marry people with amnesia.
 
I do not understand the timeline of the single player series. Apparently, the English version of III takes place concurrently with IV, but in Japan III is 1,000 years after IV. Which is it? If it's after IV, how is Dark Force on the ship in III? If it's concurrent, what is up with Wren?
 
I believe Wren is two different androids in the same model line if I recall. Like the one in three is Wren Type 386 and the one in four is Wren Type 486.
 
Kazin said:
I do not understand the timeline of the single player series. Apparently, the English version of III takes place concurrently with IV, but in Japan III is 1,000 years after IV. Which is it? If it's after IV, how is Dark Force on the ship in III? If it's concurrent, what is up with Wren?
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I mean, the simple answer is that someone, somehow, was impressed enough by Sword of Vermillion of all things that someone at Sega gave the green light to the people behind that to make a new Phantasy Star with no real input or coordination from the creative leads of the mainline series, and they pretty clearly had their own ideas about this whole ancient technology vs. magic lore plot they presumably already had in mind before being handed that license, and didn't stress too much about how much sense it'd make to try and mash that together with some rough notes on how the last one of those went.

And then the real sequel we eventually got threw it a quick nod by recycling one of the two things it established as enduring android designs (what with both android party members in 3 having had twins out there in that game), but making no effort whatsoever to address 3's big plot holes with the Nei gear and a boss being sealed away on the ship who the party in 2 did not fight until a while after that ship left (beyond upping the ante and making Dark Falz/Phallus/Force just kinda the Saiyan shock troopers to the Profound Darkness' Frieza and letting more than one be out and about and all).
 
What's with Sword of Vermilion being slighted? That's another inventive and interesting Sega RPG of the era. I'd like to know where the link between it and PSIII comes from, anyway, as there's no shared staff between them as far as I know. Some PSIII folks had experience with Golden Axe in the broader fantasy genre, but more pertinently, Hiroto Saeki who co-directed and co-wrote the game was the assistant director on Phantasy Star II if series bonafides are in question. Other series alumni are listed in the special thanks, like Rieko Kodama, Chieko Aoki, Toru Yoshida and Yuji Naka; Kodama for her part worked on it in a consulting capacity.

If you look at other games in the series, Phantasy Star II for one had a notable infusion of new blood into the development team which greatly impacted the game's characteristics; the infamous dungeon design style is in large part the work of an overzealous new hire whose contributions the team didn't have the heart to discard. That's why it irks me a little when PSIII is treated as untrue or inauthentic in the scope of the series when there was a lot of shifting around of talent and the approaches that were attempted from project to project.
 
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That's the first I've heard there's any link at all to Sword of Vermilion, as well. I'd heard about the Golden Axe connection, but not that one. In any case, I've never played Sword of Vermilion, so I'm in the dark here.

I can't get over how early the first three games came out over here, though. We got Phantasy Star II on Genesis before Final Fantasy on NES, and Phantasy Star III before Final Fantasy II/IV. That is wild to me. It's really baffling they don't have more hardcore fans out there, at least on this side of the world, considering how early they were out and how impressive they were for their time.
 
All three of them were absolutely ahead of their time, yes, and I too am, was, and will remain similarly baffled.
 
Extremely so. Even if you want to see all 4 3 endings, it's SUPER breezy.

And bah, that strikethrough didn't work.
 
Yeah, III is not a difficult game at all. Just know that poison does not sap your health - it makes it so poisoned characters cannot be healed, even at an inn. So clear that poison before trying to heal them! Otherwise the challenge is just figuring out where to go.
 
While it's true that PSIV is the most in line with modern JRPG design of the classic series, I think it still stands out as both an especially good game within that design framework and one that was ahead of its time in some ways. It had combo techs before Chrono Trigger! It had auto-run at a time when a lot of RPGs still didn't even let you hold a button to run!
 
Oh, I adore Phantasy Star IV, for the record. I don't think anyone here is knocking it. I do think the earlier games have more merit than they are typically afforded, which I think is what most of us meant.

I started up a new game of Phantasy Star II to follow along with the Hint Book that comes with it. So far, the maps are handy, but the Shure map lies - there is no Shotgun treasure chest in there! Still, you can buy one for relatively cheap in Arima and it's not like I needed a second, so not a big deal. I hope further mistakes aren't common, though...

I also got a copy of Phantasy Star 0 today. I've played it before, but it holds up! I had fun running around as a RAcast using mechguns just like in PSO. It feels and looks like a PS1 version of PSO.
 
This thread has me contemplating playing Phantasy Star II again. I got up to I think the final dungeon before giving up like 20 years ago. I remember not understanding why sometimes multiple rounds would play out in combat with no further inputs (I think it autobattles based on your last commands until you press a button?), so I suspect I didn’t get it. I’ve since had a great time with III, IV, and especially I, so maybe it’s time to try again.
 
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