Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the Phantasy Star series in Japan. The first game was released on December 20th, 1987 for the Sega Master System. The Phantasy Star games introduced players to the Algol solar system, which consists of four planets: Palma (planet of greenery), Motavia (the desert planet), Dezoris (the ice planet), and Rykros (the mysterious planet which appears every one thousand years due to its unique orbit). Please join us as we revisit these places as we reminisce about Phantasy Star!
Phantasy Star Origins
Phantasy Star debuted on the Sega Master System in Japan on December 20th, 1987. It was not localized until 1988 in the west. Regardless, the first Phantasy Star game is regarded—much like Dragon Quest, Ultima, and Final Fantasy—as one of the pioneers of how console RPGs are played. It was praised for using a false 3D perspective for its dungeons (likely to create immersion). Designer Reiko Kodama had intended to do something different with Phantasy Star. She had wanted to create an RPG that starred a female protagonist, an RPG that had 3D dungeons, an RPG with intricate monster animation, and something completely different from the theme and setting of Dragon Quest. Kodama-san used the example of Star Wars in this interview where she said she wanted to make a fusion of Star Wars and a few other themes from Medieval culture, much like it seemed to her that Star Wars had a fusion of western and Japanese cultures.
The game stars Alis Lansdale, who swore revenge against the cruel dictator King Lassic after her brother Nero was murdered by one of Lassic’s robots. As Alis journeys onwards throughout the game, she learns of the struggles that people must endure because of Lassic’s rule and oppression. She allies herself with three others who feel strongly about her cause and sets out to defeat Lassic and liberate Algol from his grasp.
Phantasy Star I was Sega’s first 4 Mb cart, due to its graphical prowess and how much stuff it had. For its time, its battle system and party join system was considered to be rather admirable. Characters had personalities, the dialogue cutscenes were gorgeous, battle backgrounds were immensely pretty, and dungeons were a visual feat. It was one of the first games to feature animated enemies during encounters. And obviously, Alis—next to the likes of Samus Aran of Metroid—was deemed as one of video games’s first female heroines whose push to get the plot rolling was out of a personal mission (in Alis’s case, it is borne out of revenge and becomes something much more than that—akin to the likes of social justice). She is therefore considered to be one of the better-written female protagonists. (This is me being a bit personal here, but this is truly how I feel about her.)
The game stars Alis Lansdale, who swore revenge against the cruel dictator King Lassic after her brother Nero was murdered by one of Lassic’s robots. As Alis journeys onwards throughout the game, she learns of the struggles that people must endure because of Lassic’s rule and oppression. She allies herself with three others who feel strongly about her cause and sets out to defeat Lassic and liberate Algol from his grasp.
Phantasy Star I was Sega’s first 4 Mb cart, due to its graphical prowess and how much stuff it had. For its time, its battle system and party join system was considered to be rather admirable. Characters had personalities, the dialogue cutscenes were gorgeous, battle backgrounds were immensely pretty, and dungeons were a visual feat. It was one of the first games to feature animated enemies during encounters. And obviously, Alis—next to the likes of Samus Aran of Metroid—was deemed as one of video games’s first female heroines whose push to get the plot rolling was out of a personal mission (in Alis’s case, it is borne out of revenge and becomes something much more than that—akin to the likes of social justice). She is therefore considered to be one of the better-written female protagonists. (This is me being a bit personal here, but this is truly how I feel about her.)
Phantasy Star II was released for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in Japan on March 21, 1989. It is the first game to use a 6 Mb cart, thus allowing the game to be bigger than its predecessor. Phantasy Star II’s true innovations were probably its larger environments, its dialogue scenes (especially for important events), and its deep, and rather emotional at times, character-driven narrative. It was truly a game that was ahead of its time—and that’s something you could say about some of the Phantasy Star games in general. It is one of the most influential role-playing games of the late 1980s.
PSII follows a young government agent named Rolf and his companions as they discover why Motavia’s guardian—Mother Brain—has stopped functioning correctly. The game no longer uses a first person view for dungeons, and it now uses a third-person perspective for battles. Each character have different classes and weapons suited for him or her, so having a variable party was key. But PSII is more known for its narrative, characterization, and its ending. Its focus on science fiction with a serious narrative was a bit of a departure considering the norm was restricted to fantasy settings.
PSII follows a young government agent named Rolf and his companions as they discover why Motavia’s guardian—Mother Brain—has stopped functioning correctly. The game no longer uses a first person view for dungeons, and it now uses a third-person perspective for battles. Each character have different classes and weapons suited for him or her, so having a variable party was key. But PSII is more known for its narrative, characterization, and its ending. Its focus on science fiction with a serious narrative was a bit of a departure considering the norm was restricted to fantasy settings.
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom came out for the Sega Genesis on April 21, 1990 in Japan. At first glance, PSIII seems to take place in a medieval fantasy setting, quite a departure from the previous two games in the series. 1000 years prior, two factions warred—one who followed the swordsman Orakio, and the other who followed the sorceress Laya. Both factions are generally at odds with each other. You control Rhys, the Prince of the Orakian kingdom. On his wedding day, his bride was snatched away by a Layan dragon! Throughout his journey, he teams up with various characters who sympathize with his plight. His actions in his time determines the outcome of future generations, so players must keep that in mind.
PSIII brought a few changes to its gameplay: techniques aren’t as important, curiously enough. It also features Auto-Battle. The battle UI now consists of icons rather than lexical items to select. PSIII differentiates itself from the other games in the series by featuring a cross-generational component. There are different times when the player is able to choose who the main character will marry, and this determines how the child will play like (due to the two factions using different abilities) in terms of abilities, and how well the child will use these abilities. The ending may also vary as a result of this. This is partially why PSIII is considered to be somewhat of the black sheep of the series.
PSIII brought a few changes to its gameplay: techniques aren’t as important, curiously enough. It also features Auto-Battle. The battle UI now consists of icons rather than lexical items to select. PSIII differentiates itself from the other games in the series by featuring a cross-generational component. There are different times when the player is able to choose who the main character will marry, and this determines how the child will play like (due to the two factions using different abilities) in terms of abilities, and how well the child will use these abilities. The ending may also vary as a result of this. This is partially why PSIII is considered to be somewhat of the black sheep of the series.
BGM Selection:
The Music of Video Games: Phantasy Star III
The Music of Video Games: Phantasy Star III
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium, the final game in the mainline series, was released in Japan on December 17, 1993. It is viewed as a sequel to Phantasy Star II, and thus there are a few cameos and references to older games in PSIV. The battle system is the most streamlined and arguably the best system in the mainline series. PSIV also gets nods for its narrative presentation, told in manga-style panels with a decent script. The difficulty is also more balanced this time around, letting newcomers to the series have an easier go at it. This is generally regarded as perhaps the best Phantasy Star game in the mainline series, and it is also one of the best Sega Genesis games.
1000 years after Phantasy Star II, the player finds him/herself controlling the bounty hunter Chaz Ashley. Motavia’s ecosystem has changed drastically since the end of Phantasy Star II, and thus bounty hunters are needed even more than before. As Chaz investigates different incidents, he and his companions learn more about the reality of the ecological crisis that the planet faces. Throughout their journey, the characters begin to realize that they must learn from the past in order to save the future.
1000 years after Phantasy Star II, the player finds him/herself controlling the bounty hunter Chaz Ashley. Motavia’s ecosystem has changed drastically since the end of Phantasy Star II, and thus bounty hunters are needed even more than before. As Chaz investigates different incidents, he and his companions learn more about the reality of the ecological crisis that the planet faces. Throughout their journey, the characters begin to realize that they must learn from the past in order to save the future.
The Phantasy Star Collection is not a new game in the series, but as its name suggest, it’s the name of two compilations of the first four Phantasy Star games. One was released for the Sega Saturn on February 4th, 1988 in Japan which had all 4 games (part of the Sega Ages lineup, and it was ported to the PS2 later on), and the other was released in the west for the GBA in 2002-2003, which had the first 3 games. With regards to the Sega Saturn version, you may now select the option of playing the game in katakana or hiragana and selecting difficulty settings, and it comes with commercials, arranged music, and artwork. These are not enhanced ports of the games, but they serve their purpose well.
The PS2 version (Phantasy Star Complete Collection) allows players to all four games in either Japanese or English. Phantasy Star 1’s English translation is… rather special.
The PS2 version (Phantasy Star Complete Collection) allows players to all four games in either Japanese or English. Phantasy Star 1’s English translation is… rather special.
Online Ahead of its Time
Phantasy Star Online was released for the Sega Dreamcast on December 21, 2000. Version 2 was released in 2001. PSO Episode I&II was released for the GameCube and Xbox in 2002. Sonic Team was instructed to develop an online game as Sega’s current president at the time felt that online gaming was going to have a stronger presence on consoles. Because there wasn’t any precursor game prior to PSO on consoles, Sonic Team looked to Diablo for inspiration.
In PSO, the player’s avatar defeats enemies via hacking and slashing. PSO introduced real time combat to a series otherwise known for turn-based combat. The player could choose between three classes: Hunter (close-range melee), Force (mages), or Ranger (ranged combat). Additionally, there were three races in the game for the player to choose: Human, Newman, and CASTs. The player’s class determines some of their stats (ex: is your race physically strong? Are they more adept at magic?). Gender also affects your stats and which abilities you may or may not learn.
There were several modes associated with PSO: Offline, Online, Challenge, Battle, and 1-P. In Offline mode (four difficulty settings), players may fight through different areas to come face to face against a boss (ie: play through the story). They will then be able to proceed to defeat the final boss, Dark Falz (Hard, V. Hard, Ultimate unlocked depending on the difficulty you defeated it at). They may also take on Hunter’s Guild quests, which allow the player to take a look at the game’s backstory and environments, while acquiring experience, weapons and meseta.
PSO, however, is remembered more fondly for its Online mode. Different difficulty modes are accessed depending on which level you’re at. If were playing the PC version (PSO: Blue Burst), the game’s narrative is divided into missions, and once you finish these missions you are able to progress, acquire new weapons, get new techniques, etc. Ally players may join or leave the missions whenever they desired. Communication between players was done by text entry, Word Select, keyboard, or Symbol Chat. Players from all over the world play together in PSO, and thus there was a need for cross-lingual communication regardless of the players’ native languages. Word Select and Symbol Chat were the solutions to this issue. Symbol Chat lets players use symbols in a speech bubble to communicate. Word Select uses phrases to construct sentences which are automatically translated to the language that other players have selected. As someone who values linguistics a lot, I think this is absolutely remarkable.
Like Phantasy Star II, PSO was ahead of its time. Its visuals were excellent, it allows players from all around the world to play and communicate with each other online, and it was done on a console. It defined what a small-scale multiplayer RPG was, and it was the first console game to bring this sort of massively-multiplayer online gameplay to consoles. Other games such as Final Fantasy XI and Monster Hunter would later take note of this and deliver their own spin on it.
In PSO, the player’s avatar defeats enemies via hacking and slashing. PSO introduced real time combat to a series otherwise known for turn-based combat. The player could choose between three classes: Hunter (close-range melee), Force (mages), or Ranger (ranged combat). Additionally, there were three races in the game for the player to choose: Human, Newman, and CASTs. The player’s class determines some of their stats (ex: is your race physically strong? Are they more adept at magic?). Gender also affects your stats and which abilities you may or may not learn.
There were several modes associated with PSO: Offline, Online, Challenge, Battle, and 1-P. In Offline mode (four difficulty settings), players may fight through different areas to come face to face against a boss (ie: play through the story). They will then be able to proceed to defeat the final boss, Dark Falz (Hard, V. Hard, Ultimate unlocked depending on the difficulty you defeated it at). They may also take on Hunter’s Guild quests, which allow the player to take a look at the game’s backstory and environments, while acquiring experience, weapons and meseta.
PSO, however, is remembered more fondly for its Online mode. Different difficulty modes are accessed depending on which level you’re at. If were playing the PC version (PSO: Blue Burst), the game’s narrative is divided into missions, and once you finish these missions you are able to progress, acquire new weapons, get new techniques, etc. Ally players may join or leave the missions whenever they desired. Communication between players was done by text entry, Word Select, keyboard, or Symbol Chat. Players from all over the world play together in PSO, and thus there was a need for cross-lingual communication regardless of the players’ native languages. Word Select and Symbol Chat were the solutions to this issue. Symbol Chat lets players use symbols in a speech bubble to communicate. Word Select uses phrases to construct sentences which are automatically translated to the language that other players have selected. As someone who values linguistics a lot, I think this is absolutely remarkable.
Like Phantasy Star II, PSO was ahead of its time. Its visuals were excellent, it allows players from all around the world to play and communicate with each other online, and it was done on a console. It defined what a small-scale multiplayer RPG was, and it was the first console game to bring this sort of massively-multiplayer online gameplay to consoles. Other games such as Final Fantasy XI and Monster Hunter would later take note of this and deliver their own spin on it.
Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution was released for the GameCube in Japan in 2003. As you’d suspect, it is a card game. Offline, the player may fight against AI-controlled opponents to advance the story. Online, players may battle against each other with customizable settings. Rounds begin with a dice roll which tells the player how many actions in a round may be taken.
Phantasy Star Ø was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on December 25, 2008. It uses some mechanics from PSO and borrows some from PSU (ex: story mode offline). You may create your character in terms of selecting a race which will affect your perspective of the story. And once again, gender plays a role in which attributes are heightened. The three classes return: Hunters, Rangers, and Forces. The online mode consists of three submodes: Free Play (paired up randomly with others), Play with Friends (self-explanatory), and Play Alone.
Phantasy Star Online 2 was released for PC on July 4, 2012 in Japan (and it’s coming to iOS, Android and Vita later on). It is running on a modified Hedgehog Engine (the graphics engine in the HD Sonic games). You may select quests and obtain Client Orders on the ship you’re on. Once again, all three races should be familiar to PSO players, as are the three classes. You may also switch classes for free while you’re in the lobby. I personally think that Keiichan’s Current State of the Japanese Version thread is an excellent resource for everything about PSO2 at present, so feel free to take a look!
The Universe is in Your Hands
The ARPG Phantasy Star Universe was released for the PS2 and PC on August 31, 2006 and the 360 on December 12, 2006 in Japan. It was developed by Sonic Team. It plays similar to the Phantasy Star Online games, and has an online mode and a single-player mode. It takes place in the Gurhal Star System, and each planet has its own unique race. In the SP, the player follows Ethan Waber, who, after being attacked by strange creatures and taking them down with a handgun, is invited to join the GUARDIANS organization. In the expansion pack, PSU: Ambition of the Illuminous, players may become instructors to younger GUARDIANS as they learn more about the Illuminous organization. They are also given access to new Photon Arts, weapons, and new missions.
The NA and PAL PSU servers were shut down on March 31, 2010. The Japanese servers were closed on September 27, 2012. The PSU narrative later continued in Phantasy Star Portable, Phantasy Star Portable 2 and Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity.
The NA and PAL PSU servers were shut down on March 31, 2010. The Japanese servers were closed on September 27, 2012. The PSU narrative later continued in Phantasy Star Portable, Phantasy Star Portable 2 and Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity.
Phantasy Star Portable was released for the PSP on July 31, 2008 in Japan. It takes place a few months after PSU, and follows the player’s GUARDIAN character and a CAST model called Vivienne as they try to bring peace back to the Gurhal Galaxy. You may change classes between missions when you want to, and thus the game feels more versatile. As in PSO, players can add NPC characters to their party whenever they wish to do so.
BGM Selection:
Save the World
Save the World
Phantasy Star Portable 2 came out for PSP on December 3, 2009 in Japan. It takes place 3 years after PSU. Now the Gurhal Galaxy must contend with depleting resources, and thus some Gurhalians migrate throughout space. This time around, your Piston Points aren’t attached to weapons. You may use your character data from Phantasy Star Portable, and your character is now a member of mercenary group called Little Wing.
Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity introduces a new character and a fifth race. It is Japan-only as of now.
Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity introduces a new character and a fifth race. It is Japan-only as of now.
Spinoffs
Phantasy Star II’s narrative was rather impactful and the ending was rather unique for its time, and a portion of the cast assisted in making the narrative as interesting as it was. The Phantasy Star II Text Adventures is a series of 8 text adventure games available to those who used the Sega Meganet for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in Japan (they were also released in compilations for the Sega CD later on). All of the games take place shortly prior to Phantasy Star II, expanding on the characters’ backstories and intentions behind coming to Paseo in PSII. Fan translations of these text adventures exist.
The games essentially played like text adventures (ex: NPC conversations, exploration, interaction, etc. done via text), and the occasional battles were solved by rolling dice to determine damage.
The games essentially played like text adventures (ex: NPC conversations, exploration, interaction, etc. done via text), and the occasional battles were solved by rolling dice to determine damage.
Phantasy Star Adventure was one of two PS games released for the Sega Game Gear in Japan in 1992. It is set between Phantasy Star I and Phantasy Star II and allows players to assume the identity of an Agent who works for the Motavian government who travels to visit his friend Ken Miller on Dezoris. Predictably, Miller is kidnapped and the player must rescue him. In addition, he or she must prevent a deadly machine from being unleashed on the public.
Phantasy Star Adventure is not a traditional role-playing game. It is more like a text adventure with board game features. Dice are used to determine damage in battles, and your movement and dialogue takes place via menus and text.
Phantasy Star Adventure is not a traditional role-playing game. It is more like a text adventure with board game features. Dice are used to determine damage in battles, and your movement and dialogue takes place via menus and text.
BGM Selection:
Title Screen
Title Screen
Phantasy Star Gaiden was released on October 16, 1992 for the Sega Game Gear. This time around, it’s an RPG, much like the SMS and Genesis games before it (except you may only take three members into battle instead of four). It takes place outside of the Algol system and brings players to a new place called Copto—a colony founded by Alis Lansdale after Phantasy Star. An evil being named Kaburon controls the planet, but Alis seals him away in his castle. Even though she sealed him, she sees a vision of Kaburon escaping from his prison. Years later, the game follows the orphan Minima and her friend Alec to find Alec’s father and to defeat Kaburon once and for all.
BGM Selection:
Title Screen
Title Screen
Remakes
Phantasy Star Generation: 1 and Phantasy Star Generation: 2 are part of Sega’s Sega Ages 2500 line. Essentially, what was old was literally new again. The Generation games were enhanced remakes of Phantasy Star I and Phantasy Star II respectively—they featured updated graphics, more dungeons, remixed music, more cutscenes (in the form of anime stills), and an updated battle system which features more enemies onscreen. You now have access to the Atlas, which automaps the dungeon for the player. Characters are also written to have more personality and flavour, and you now have access to the Talk command for conversations.
Because you may import your save from Phantasy Star Generation 1 to the second game, certain events in the second game are changed.
Because you may import your save from Phantasy Star Generation 1 to the second game, certain events in the second game are changed.
Alternate OP
(by Green Scar, Phonomezer and “dark shalla” (apparently I had a role I dunno))
#YOLO
Happy b'day phantasy star
Credits
SEGA, for bringing us the Phantasy Star series.
SonicGAF/SegaGAF for continuing to be awesome and for their support. You guys are the best. <3
BlackJace for generously contributing the thread banner under time constraints.
Professor Beef for contributing the thread title because I am not witty enough.
Phonomezer and Shadow Hog for suggestions and support.
Green Scar for the best OP banner ever.
Aeana for answering administration questions.
RevenantKioku for being a good sport about the thread thing. I’m really sorry.
And you, for reading the OP!
