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[doncale]

The Genesis version came w/ a hintbook w/ maps & walkthroughs for the whole game. I imagine it would be almost unplayable w/o it.

I got about 4 dungeons into the GBA one before I gave up!

Nido Tower 1st Floor

yeah, PSII dungens are a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH :lol

 

[Dave Long]

Wasn't PSIV one of the two games to use that chip that was in the Virtua Racing cartridge? I thought that was the main reason it was more expensive at the time. They put in a special chip to be able to create some of the effects in the game.

Maybe I'm misremembering though. I'm pretty sure something other than Virtua Racing used that SVP chip though.

 

[jarrod]

Wasn't PSIV one of the two games to use that chip that was in the Virtua Racing cartridge? I thought that was the main reason it was more expensive at the time. They put in a special chip to be able to create some of the effects in the game.

Maybe I'm misremembering though. I'm pretty sure something other than Virtua Racing used that SVP chip though.

Nope, VR was the first and last SVP chipped game.

 

[ferricide]

no, although i think it's 32mbit, which is big for a 16 bit cart.

 

[djtiesto]

I remember FFII being $60, SOM being $70, CT being $75, FFIII being $80, Super Mario RPG being $60, and Lufia 2 being $60... Phantasy Star 2 was $70, 3 was $75, and I even saw 4 for $110 at Toys R Us... and yet I still forked over the money... (I bought PS4 used though, eventually...)

 

[Warm Machine]

I paid $130 canadian for a brand new copy of Sword of Vermillian when it was released.

I don't know why, as it didn't have a backup battery, but Strider was similar in cost.

 

[ellusions]

Games in general were expesive as hell during the 16 bit days. The PS games were definitely the most expensives ones I ever bought (got them all used, but even then they were really expensive). Most of the Square games were around $70 dollars as well. And hell, even some non rpgs were that expensive like DKC. Games are so much cheaper these days then they were back then.

I remember reading a Dave Perry (from Shiny Entertainment) interview in Next Generation and he was basically saying how Nintendo cheats. The example he used was that Earthworm Jim 2 saw release on a 16mbit cart for $69.95 while Nintendo themselves released DKC on a 32mbit cart for $59.95 around the same time. The $10 difference made it an easier swallow for most people over EJ2. Apparently this practice placed pressure on Shiny and most other 3rd parties since they not only had to compete with Nintendo's 1st party titles in terms of quality but also in terms of price which, unfortunately, they had little to no control over. Of course this effect is not exclusive to Nintendo as Sega most likely did the same thing.

 

[ToxicAdam]

Nido Tower 1st Floor
http://pscave.com/ps2/ps2d/nido0111.gif[img]


yeah, PSII dungens are a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH :lol[/QUOTE]


Gamers are so coddled now, it is pathetic.


I wanted to break my Wind Waker game because it practically holds your hand through the whole game ... like alot of games nowadays.


::shakes his cane threateningly::

 

[Triumph]

Phantasy Star games cost more because they RULED. Aside from PS III, which was merely good.

 

[TAJ]

>>>I remember reading a Dave Perry (from Shiny Entertainment) interview in Next Generation and he was basically saying how Nintendo cheats. The example he used was that Earthworm Jim 2 saw release on a 16mbit cart for $69.95 while Nintendo themselves released DKC on a 32mbit cart for $59.95 around the same time. The $10 difference made it an easier swallow for most people over EJ2. Apparently this practice placed pressure on Shiny and most other 3rd parties since they not only had to compete with Nintendo's 1st party titles in terms of quality but also in terms of price which, unfortunately, they had little to no control over. Of course this effect is not exclusive to Nintendo as Sega most likely did the same thing.<<<<

Nintendo tried the same shit with N64 (first party $59.99, third-party $69.99) and most recently GBA. (started at $24.99 for first, $29.99 for third, I believe?)

 

[bionic77]

I remember reading a Dave Perry (from Shiny Entertainment) interview in Next Generation and he was basically saying how Nintendo cheats. The example he used was that Earthworm Jim 2 saw release on a 16mbit cart for $69.95 while Nintendo themselves released DKC on a 32mbit cart for $59.95 around the same time. The $10 difference made it an easier swallow for most people over EJ2. Apparently this practice placed pressure on Shiny and most other 3rd parties since they not only had to compete with Nintendo's 1st party titles in terms of quality but also in terms of price which, unfortunately, they had little to no control over. Of course this effect is not exclusive to Nintendo as Sega most likely did the same thing.

It was a long time ago and I may be thinking of another game, but I could have swore my parents got my little sister DKC for 70 dollars.

 

[PC Gaijin]

None of these games were that expensive near me. FFII was $50, Mana was $60, Chrono and FFIII were $70. I don't remember how expensive Mario RPG was, but I know first party games didn't get priced higher just cause they were RPGs.

I have to agree with john tv, where were you people buying your games because if you were paying the prices some of you have quoted you got RAPED. I bought much of my 16-bit software (Turbo, Genesis, and SNES) at release from Wal-Mart and paid nowhere near some of the prices you people are remembering. $80 for LttP? I paid about $60 for it at Wal-Mart when it came out. The most I paid for any cart games was around $70 for stuff like Street Fighter II on SNES in 1992 and 4-megabit Turbografx-16 games in 1989. Turbo games were neatly stratified at first based on how large they were: 2-megabit games were $50, 3-megabit games were $60, and 4-megabit games were $70 (all these prices were list at release in 1989).

Btw, there were 4-megabit games on SMS before Phantasy Star like Afterburner. I remember some of the computer game mags taking Sega to task over the whole "Mega" designation, since it was somewhat misleading in referring to the number of bits instead of bytes, which most people were used to :lol

 

[Unison]

Nintendo tried the same shit with N64 (first party $59.99, third-party $69.99) and most recently GBA. (started at $24.99 for first, $29.99 for third, I believe?)

Sony pulls this too... 1st parties don't have to pay 1st parties licensing fees.

 

[android]

Here's the real reason they cost so much

 

[GDGF]

True story. My mom bought me the original Phantasy Star for the SMS back in '88 (I think), and the cart was so expensive, that I decided to take it back to Toys 'R Us for a refund. I used the money to buy a NES. That is when I became a Nintendo fanboy. You have Sega to blame :lol

 

[Synbios459]

I had no idea how expensive games were back then, but my parents used to buy games for me all the time. I remember one time in particular my mom took me to Target (or Wal-Mart can't remember) and said I could buy any 4 games. I even remember them to! Super Metroid, Super Mario RPG, Donkey Kong Countrey, and I think Super Mario Kart. You bet I was happy

BTW, anyone remember those stands where it had a bunch of little pictures of various games and when you pressed it it would give you a clip of it? That was so awesome! Oh, and that one kiosk like thing where you could switch between like 5 games? They sure did advertise alot better back in the day!

 

[DJPS2]

Wow... all this talk of expensive carts makes me remember buying Virtua Racing for the Genesis for $100.

 

[D-X]

I seem to remember Sonic 3 was quite expensive as well

 

[jarrod]

Nintendo tried the same shit with N64 (first party $59.99, third-party $69.99) and most recently GBA. (started at $24.99 for first, $29.99 for third, I believe?)

Nope, GBA was actually $29.99 1st party and $39.99 3rd party at launch. That changed about 9 months later when software pricing was equalized and royalty fees dropped some. Now all GBA games range from $19.99 to $34.99, depending on budget and ROM size rather than publisher.

The only hardware maker unfairly pricing their games lower these days is Sony on PS2. All their games retail at $39.99, which is $10 less than most 3rd parties' asking price.

 

[AstroLad]

Nido Tower 1st Floor

yeah, PSII dungens are a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH :lol

Haha, yes. I was I think 8 or 9 when PS2 came out. My dad and I I remember would stay up nights playing it, drawing up maps, etc. We had played mostly American RPGs up to that point (D&D Gold Box, Ultima, Wasteland, ah those were the days), but we were both still really impressed by PS2. And damn Pandora was tough to beat. Oh, and yes it cost a shitload.

 

[ToxicAdam]

I still think PS2 was the catalyst for the console RPG explosion in the 16 bit era. I think PS2's success pushed Nintendo into bringing alot of thier RPG's to the states. No real hard facts on that, just my own delusional theory.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

You're right. I think Sonic 3 debuted at 70 bucks.

 

[djtiesto]

I still think PS2 was the catalyst for the console RPG explosion in the 16 bit era. I think PS2's success pushed Nintendo into bringing alot of thier RPG's to the states. No real hard facts on that, just my own delusional theory.

It's interesting how PS1's US release beat out DQ1 and FF1's US release by Nintendo. PS1 I remember was *REALLY* hyped up and talked about by anybody who owned a Master System, and I remember tons of fanart and articles asking for help on it in Gamepro.

 

[PC Gaijin]

I still think PS2 was the catalyst for the console RPG explosion in the 16 bit era. I think PS2's success pushed Nintendo into bringing alot of thier RPG's to the states. No real hard facts on that, just my own delusional theory.

Not really. Nintendo was already pushing RPGs (Dragon Warrior) by the time PS2 came out. I don't think 16-bit really resulted in an "explosion" of RPGs either (in the US at least). There were already a bunch of RPGs released on the NES and the SMS. The first four Dragon Warrior games, all those ports of various PC RPGs that FCI/Pony Canyon did, Final Fantasy, etc. And Sega pushed RPGs very hard on the SMS as that was the one genre where they had managed to beat Nintendo to the punch. I think console RPGs were as "big" during the 8-bit days as they would be during 16-bit (i.e. not really that big). Playstation was the big RPG expansion over here.

 

[Volt]

Haha, yes. I was I think 8 or 9 when PS2 came out. My dad and I I remember would stay up nights playing it, drawing up maps, etc. We had played mostly American RPGs up to that point (D&D Gold Box, Ultima, Wasteland, ah those were the days), but we were both still really impressed by PS2. And damn Pandora was tough to beat. Oh, and yes it cost a shitload.

I remember doing the same stuff with my dad and older brother, especially for the SMS Phantasy Star. We even wrote down the dialogues in a little notebook, so we could look up any hints we might have overlooked. I still remember being 6 or 7 years old, asleep at night and my brother waking me up, telling me he had finally found Noah in that cave on Motavia !

Some of my fondest gaming memories, that's for sure (and yes, they were equally overpriced over here in Belgium !). My dad and me kept finishing these RPGs one by one as they appeared : Miracle Warriors, Ultima 4, PS 1-4, Sword of Vermillion.. It kinda ended when the SNES Square RPGs started coming out, guess my dad didn't like 'em as much as he did those older Sega RPGs

 

[Dsal]

Wow PS4 was 100 bucks in the US? I remember beating myself up for being impatient and ordering the JPN version from Die Hard for 90 bucks (including shipping) thinking it was going to be way cheaper when it came out here. Guess I saved myself 10 bucks

 

[Jotaro]

Do not refrain from expressing your feelings.

WHERE IS PHANTASY STAR 5? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING MMORPGs!

 

[AstroLad]

I remember doing the same stuff with my dad and older brother, especially for the SMS Phantasy Star. We even wrote down the dialogues in a little notebook, so we could look up any hints we might have overlooked. I still remember being 6 or 7 years old, asleep at night and my brother waking me up, telling me he had finally found Noah in that cave on Motavia !

Some of my fondest gaming memories, that's for sure (and yes, they were equally overpriced over here in Belgium !). My dad and me kept finishing these RPGs one by one as they appeared : Miracle Warriors, Ultima 4, PS 1-4, Sword of Vermillion.. It kinda ended when the SNES Square RPGs started coming out, guess my dad didn't like 'em as much as he did those older Sega RPGs

Hahaha, we must have had similar childhoods, except w/ me it was PS2, Ultima 5 & 7, and some other classics. When I have a kid, I'm gonna play shitloads of good RPGs with him, if there are any left.

 

[Drinky Crow]

God, me and my brother mapped and notebooked the hell out of Ultima 4/5 and Phantasy Star 2/3. Good times indeed.

 

[PC Gaijin]

First game I mapped out was a little gem called Alternate Reality for Atari 8-bit computers. It was a pretty unique RPG, completely made up of first-person, fairly smoothly scrolling dungeons (texture-mapped to boot! And this was way back in '86). Hard as hell to navigate around with things like secret doors, traps, one-way doors, and teleporting.

Ultima was the first series where I had to take copious notes, especially with part IV. It's funny, back then I had tremendous attention to detail and could spend hours mapping out a dungeon by hand and writing notes. Nowadays, even with conveniences like auto-mapping and journals that record all the info you need, I often cannot handle games that I know I could have beaten when I was younger (such as Wizardry 8). Either I'm much lazier now, or I just don't have the time I used to have back then.

 

[AstroLad]

The Gold Box Series has to get some love here.

 

[doncale]

Phantasy Star was the first RPG i ever played. naturally i have a biased towards it.

 

[mCACGj]

I think the most I ever paid for a game was 80$(US) for PTO for SNES way back in the day. I think all Koei games were that expensive though.

 

[Cimarron]

" Pandora "

His name was Dark Force buddy... *haughty sniff*

 

[doncale]

Phantasy Star games cost more because they RULED. Aside from PS III, which was merely good.

I Wholeheartedly AWTP

 

[AstroLad]

" Pandora "

His name was Dark Force buddy... *haughty sniff*

I know, but "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! This is Pandora's box! It contains all that is evil, all that you call the dark force! This is a present from our world to all of you! Take it!" Hence why I always used the name Pandora.

 

[Ill Saint]

Too many fond memories of the series... PS III needs more love, though. Fantastic game.

 

[doncale]

yes PSIII was a great game. I loved visiting

Spoiler

Skyhaven to talk to the Council and learn about the Legendary Weapons and Ancient Word of Power, 'Nei' which would transform Legendary Weapons into the Nei Weapons, the only power that could destroy the Dark Force

 

[Loki]

God, me and my brother mapped and notebooked the hell out of Ultima 4/5 and Phantasy Star 2/3. Good times indeed.

What's funny is that I used the hint book that came packaged with the game when I first bought it about 14 years ago (or whatever it was), and after I bat it I always told myself that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to get through the dungeons in the game without some heavy mapping. Amazingly, I replayed the entire game last summer in my spare time without the hint book and didn't find navigating the dungeons to be troublesome at all (then again, I'm a compulsive level-raiser-- my guys were on level 20 by the time I hit the Biosystems Lab ). The only thing I had trouble with was the very last dungeon ("Ikuto", I believe)-- I couldn't find the last Nei weapon for the life of me, and I eventually gave up. Still, much easier than I had anticipated.


One of my favorite games ever-- the battle scene graphics and animation were unmatched in the 16-bit era, imo. If they could've managed to keep that level of detail and animation and add adequate backgrounds (like PS3), it would've been unbelievable.


EDIT: Btw, in Phantasy Star 3, was anyone ever crazy enough to sit around raising money to buy the Planar weapons at the end of the first generation? They're offered right before you decide who to marry, but for steep prices (~65K meseta when each battle is giving you roughly 150 meseta :lol). IIRC, these were the second most powerful set of weapons in the game, and I can't help but think that one would have breezed through the game if they had the patience to sit there and raise the funds to buy them.

And yes, PS3 was quite excellent in its own way, though not as good as 2 imo.


EDIT#2: Anyone else ever have this happen to them in PS3:

You encounter an enemy, and as the enemies are popping up on the screen, before your characters pop up and before you can input any commands, it says something to the effect of "YOU'VE BEEN OWNED" (actually, it's something like, "Chris and party have been defeated", or "Chris and party have lost the will to fight") and it just ends the game for you?

That shit happened to me near the end of a HUGE level- and money-raising fest, and I was about to save the game. Bastards. : /

 

[doncale]

EDIT: Btw, in Phantasy Star 3, was anyone ever crazy enough to sit around raising money to buy the Planar weapons at the end of the first generation? They're offered right before you decide who to marry, but for steep prices (~65K meseta when each battle is giving you roughly 150 meseta ). IIRC, these were the second most powerful set of weapons in the game, and I can't help but think that one would have breezed through the game if they had the patience to sit there and raise the funds to buy them

I actually did :lol

 

[Rocket Punch]

I just got my Phantasy Star Collection that I bought off ebay brand new! The PAL boxart is way better than the NA one. Oh and the instructions come in like 5 different languages. I just tried going into this dungeon and it looks like that boss from Warewarez in GBA :lol

I must admit I've never played a phantasy star game before. I think a lot of it has to do with nostalgia but I wanted to give it a go anyways. I guess I have to play them in order?

 

[Loki]

I actually did :lol

:lol

You're serious? That's insane. Did you find it made things a lot easier in the subsequent generations?


Huzkee, I never played PS1, but PS2 was still one of my top two 16-bit RPG's, so I guess you could start with two if you like. Part 1 was supposedly an amazing game, however, though it'll obviously be more dated.

 

[doncale]

yeah things were so easy in the 2nd generation. man, it was rewarding having those planar weapons so early. i cant remember HOW LONG it took me to save up though :lol :lol

 

[Loki]

Well, you definitely get L33T-points (also known as "geek-points") for that.


I suppose you're also the type who buys two ceramic knives for Rolf before you enter the first dungeon in PS2? Don't feel bad-- I did, too.

 

[doncale]

yeah 2 c. knives for rolf. or maybe the first sword


btw heres a nice map of PSIII

 

[FortNinety]

Wow... all this talk of expensive carts makes me remember buying Virtua Racing for the Genesis for $100.

I do to, and IT WAS WORTH EVERY FUCKING PENNY.

Also, considering how much $100, or even $50 was worth back then (compared to today), I'm especially grateful for the prices we pay today for games.

 

[hooded pitohui]

WHERE IS PHANTASY STAR 5? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING MMORPGs!

Agreed. Just before the Segaton announcement at E3 last year, I mentioned that the only announcement that could possibly excite me was PSV. PSU might still be cool, but a new core Phantasy Star game is long, long overdue.

 

[Loki]

yeah 2 c. knives for rolf. or maybe the first sword

TSC TSC-- you lose L33T points. The first sword isn't available until AFTER you've completed the first two dungeons and can cross that bridge to the third town.