View Full Version : Phantasy Star - 20th Anniversary.
airraid
12-19-2007, 06:54 PM
can't believe it, but it's true, Phantasy Star came out 20 years ago today, in Japan.
December 20th 1987, two days after Final Fantasy, but most of us realize which game was better (Phantasy Star of course)
stolen from GAF
http://www.imagepup.com/up/Ic8g_1198088654_phantasystarfront.jpg
http://www.imagepup.com/up/TQ5O_1198088692_phantasystarback.jpg
Japanese commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og_y-dMod9k
the next year, 1988, Phantasy Star was released in the United States -- it was the first true actual RPG for consoles. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest would not be released on NES until 1990.
diskoboy
12-19-2007, 07:20 PM
I bought it the day it came out, in the US.
Still have it, but it no longer saves. And I drew most of the dungeon maps on my instruction manual.
And to this day, I STILL haven't beaten it.
7th lutz
12-19-2007, 07:45 PM
Phantasy Star was the game I made me get a sms. I played and owned all the genesis Phantasy Star games by 1997. I decided to get a sms as a result.
I beaten the game and that because of Gamefaqs and the Phantasy Star pages. I considered Phantasy Star one of the best 8 bit rpgs. It was very good rpg in the time period it was released. The only problem with the game was the dungeons. The gaphics were great at the time. The rpg commands still hold well today.
Phantasy Star 1 and 2 are difficult games that happen to be great games. Phantasy Star gave something different for rpg gamers at the time. Phantasy Star was one of the first rpgs that was not in a medievil setting.
It is a great and ground breaking rpg.
Phantasy Star 2 and 4 are also great games. I considered Phantasy Star one of the greatest rpg franchises ever.
miaandjohnrule
12-19-2007, 07:54 PM
Happy Birthday to a great game and series. For the record, I haven't beaten it either. IT's a tough one.
The first one is still one of the greatest games in history. Sega messed up tremendously by making the sequals have different casts (Alice rules!). Extremely under-rated. Been playing games for almost 30 years and it's in my top 5.
airraid
12-19-2007, 08:32 PM
I bought it the day it came out, in the US.
Still have it, but it no longer saves. And I drew most of the dungeon maps on my instruction manual.
And to this day, I STILL haven't beaten it.
you've had Phantasy Star since 88 and haven't beaten it? now is the time! those dungeons are a nightmare (and at the end of the last one, there really is a nightmare waiting for you). that thing at the end, caused me bad dreams!
segagamer
12-19-2007, 08:32 PM
I too purchased Phantasy Star at around the time of its release in the US at Toys R Us in 1988. I remember it was priced at $69.99 and I had saved up enough money for it. Went to the store and bought it before picking up my younger brother who was working at the local Gap at the time. It took a long time and with some help from Sega's helpful hints via their toll-free number before I actually finished the game. It was very difficult but also very addictive. I loved the 3D dungeons; too bad they were removed in Phantasy Star 4. I also loved Phantasy Star 2, which had about the same level of difficulty as the SMS game.
BydoEmpire
12-19-2007, 09:51 PM
I've beaten Phantasy Star twice - on the SMS and again on the GBA. I was blown away both times. First because it was stunning to play that on a console in 1987, and then at how well the game held up so many years later. It's one of those games that just made me fall in love with the Master System. Oh, and PSO is in my personal top 5 favorite games of all times. Great series, and Happy 20th!
DigitalSpace
12-19-2007, 09:55 PM
What I'm about to say is going to be more of a celebration of the franchise than the first game itself. Why?
Because out of coincidence, I found Phantasy Star II at a Value Village on Monday.
Policenaut
12-19-2007, 10:01 PM
I catched it two years later, but as of this date it is one of my favorite games of all time. It is a true legend, a must for all SMS gamers.
FantasiaWHT
12-19-2007, 10:21 PM
Put me in the played it, haven't beaten it, category. I love it, but I just haven't gotten back to it in a while. It's gotta have the most difficult beginning ever... You walk outside the first town and there's... 3 or 4 different fights you can run into, and all but 1 of them will kill you. And after that first one, you immediately have to go back in to town, heal, and save. Rinse and repeat until you go up a level or two and can handle the other fights.
The rest of the game wasn't so hard (I stopped at the last dungeon).
*Takes a moment of silence in honor of this great game and in memory of the death of this series long, long ago in 1993*
Tron 2.0
12-19-2007, 10:24 PM
Happy birthday to the phantasy star serise.
Sega did a good job mixing scifi and fantasy into one package.
Still i wish sega would make a good old fasion offline ps again,and give the online part a break afther PSU that was enough shesh.
Cryomancer
12-19-2007, 11:15 PM
PSU is garbage compared to the original game. Even compared to PSO, it's just boring as hell. Given the current Sega's track record, I think I don't want a new one made.
However, I would like the to get around to finishing the PS2 upgrade/ports.
fahlim003
12-20-2007, 01:20 AM
Happy birthday to the phantasy star serise.
Sega did a good job mixing scifi and fantasy into one package.
Still i wish sega would make a good old fasion offline ps again,and give the online part a break afther PSU that was enough shesh.
It's the same sad story with Shining Force. Don't fix what isn't broken I say.
Both PS and SF are overdue for a new true entry to their respective series.
boatofcar
12-20-2007, 01:51 AM
Does the GBA version of PS have watered difficulty like Dawn of Souls?
Blitzwing256
12-20-2007, 02:18 AM
the gba ones are just emulated nothing was added or changed other then some menu features to fit on the gba screen.
airraid
12-20-2007, 03:25 AM
I wished Sega had made a few more Phantasy Star games in the classic tradition.
there were 4 Dragon Warrior/Quest games on the Famicom/NES, and 3 Final Fantasy games.
2 more DW games on Super Famicom and 3 more FF games.
I would've gladly bought up a few Phantasy Star games on SegaCD and Saturn.
with technology somewhat (SegaCD) or significantly (Saturn) beyond the Genesis, just think what the old Phantasy Star team could've achieved.
I got it for Christmas, 1998, and beat in in early 1989, with no internet help or anything (being that there was no www then). Of course, being 16 with no job or girl and plenty of time certainly helped. :)
Wraith Storm
12-20-2007, 06:24 AM
I would've gladly bought up a few Phantasy Star games on SegaCD and Saturn.
with technology somewhat (SegaCD) or significantly (Saturn) beyond the Genesis, just think what the old Phantasy Star team could've achieved.
It makes me drool just to think of that and sad knowing that we will never get to see them.
I have all 4 original Phantasy Star games and love them, although I have only beat part IV. Parts I and II are great but DAMN they are tough. Then there is the ugly duckling that is part III.
I think PSIII has great graphics and a memorable sound track and the whole "generations" idea (especially for back then) was ground breaking. Unfortunately the whole combat/magic/item system seemed broken to me. I can deal with my healing spells having a fail rate... But why in gods name do my healing items have a fail rate? At one point I had like 8 healing potions (mono mates or whatever) and used all of them and only ONE of them worked. Did anyone else have this problem?
Regardless... Looking back, each PS installment broke new ground in video games;
PSI - Believable Sci-Fi setting and ground breaking FP dungeons.
PSII - Expanded in scope and one of the first RPGs to kill off a main character.
PSIII - The entire "Generations" system was remarkable.
PSIV - Introduced the Hunters Guild, Macros, Combination Attacks and then took everything good about the series and solidified it.
PSO - Need I explain why this one was ground breaking?
Geddon_jt
12-20-2007, 06:40 AM
Some of my favorite game memories are of playing Phantasy Star as a 9-year old back in 1988. I remember going to a guy's house and seeing him play it, and I was wowed by the awesome cave designs and the sheer depth of the game. It was really so much better than any RPG the NES had to offer, and the universe was so original, with great characters! Plus who can forget that incredible $69.99 price tag that stuck out like a sore thumb at Toys R US? :)
I remember when I first saw someone playing Phantasy Star 2 in 1989, I probably have never been as awed by a sequel since. Perfectly recaptures the atmosphere of the original game with unbelievable graphics for the time and an INCREDIBLE degree of challenge.
A couple memories of the original...
For those of you who BEAT the game...
do you remember how CHEAP the game was in terms of finding the doorway to the final boss' chamber? IF memory serves I think it was under the governors mansion in Motavia. There was a long dungeon and to find the final battle area, you had to turn to face a wall where you would then see a door to go through. HOWEVER, the door could not be seen if you were just walking with that wall to your side, it would ONLY show up if you turned to face that section of the wall! I thought that was pretty ridiculous considering that was the only point in the game where a door was stuck on a wall like that, rather than at the end of a corridor.
ALSO, I remember getting stuck in the Baya Malay tower toward the end of the game and seriously needed help. So, I called Sega's free 1-800 number tip line and got right through to a Sega rep! I told him my problem and in a couple days, they mailed me (completely free) a huge packet of photocopied of handwritten maps and tips for the game. Quite contrary to the paid help from the likes of Nintendo and Sierra on Line. I've been a Sega fan ever since - THOSE were really the good old days!
Zebbe
12-20-2007, 09:06 AM
But why in gods name do my healing items have a fail rate? At one point I had like 8 healing potions (mono mates or whatever) and used all of them and only ONE of them worked. Did anyone else have this problem?
No, but healing never works if someone is poisoned. Maybe some of your characters needed an antidote?
Great (originial) franchise. I have all four and beaten all of them, the first one only once though. Online and Universe aren't real Phantasy Star games to me. They might as well have been franchises of their own.
NE146
12-20-2007, 09:32 AM
I too bought Phantasy Star around the time of release and it was my first console RPG. The difference was I beat it then and have beaten it multiple times. LOL I still have the very magazine article that made me very interested in the game and go out and buy it (for the price of 99 bucks if I recall correctly). Here it is...
http://www.users.uswest.net/~userid946/EGP-60.jpg
NE146
12-20-2007, 09:40 AM
For those of you who BEAT the game...
do you remember how CHEAP the game was in terms of finding the doorway to the final boss' chamber? IF memory serves I think it was under the governors mansion in Motavia. There was a long dungeon and to find the final battle area, you had to turn to face a wall where you would then see a door to go through. HOWEVER, the door could not be seen if you were just walking with that wall to your side, it would ONLY show up if you turned to face that section of the wall! I thought that was pretty ridiculous considering that was the only point in the game where a door was stuck on a wall like that, rather than at the end of a corridor.
Yes but it was at a time where I would spend hours upon hours (if not days) stuck in a part of a game.. times were different back then LOL So, what do you do when stumped and stuck? You end up doing odd and desperate things that maybe you hadn't tried before.. and that includes walking a step at a time and looking at each wall on your left & right! I'm sure that's how I eventually figured it out :)
That Phantasy Star hint pack sounds cool.. do you still have it or have scans of it?
Graham Mitchell
12-20-2007, 11:04 AM
Just had to comment--I love this game, and I bought it when it was released, and damn I'm old!!
The only PS I've beaten is PS1, and it's a hell of a ride even today. PS4 is the only other game that I feel lives up to the standard set by the original, and that's unfortunately the one I've played the least. I need to get ahold of it somehow.
rbudrick
12-20-2007, 12:51 PM
I thought the beginning of PS1 was hard...the whole leveling up thing. However, I beat it in about a week or two. Those last couple of dungeons were TOUGH!
The scaling effect of the dungeons still amazes me. I have noidea how they were able to pull off such a 3d feature back then that wasn't possible until the "mode 7" effects became available in the 16-bit era.
PS2 was the game I played first, not long after it came out. Besides Zelda, it was probably the first RPG I ever played. PS1 I played probably a few months or a year after PS2. I have some of the most amazing memories of playing PS2 as a teenager. The story just blew my mind and totally captivated me. And that cliffhanger ending! Damn, that got to me. Was this ending ever resolved in the other games?
-Rob
I too bought Phantasy Star around the time of release and it was my first console RPG. The difference was I beat it then and have beaten it multiple times. LOL I still have the very magazine article that made me very interested in the game and go out and buy it (for the price of 99 bucks if I recall correctly). Here it is...
http://www.users.uswest.net/~userid946/EGP-60.jpg
Don't make me cry, Steve Harris... That's when EGM was still good. :(
diskoboy
12-20-2007, 02:45 PM
you've had Phantasy Star since 88 and haven't beaten it? now is the time! those dungeons are a nightmare (and at the end of the last one, there really is a nightmare waiting for you). that thing at the end, caused me bad dreams!
Actually, I had found the Mirror Shield and got lost in a dungeon, before my cartridge battery died. I have several versions of PS1, on several different platforms. I just don't get to play it as often as I'd like. Phantasy Star is one of those games that hold your attention for hours on end, and just refuses to let go....
I'll probably make finally beating PS1 a new years resolution.
And NE146 - PS1 was $70 new. I remember PS2 was $99 because it came with that thick-assed strategy book.
airraid
12-20-2007, 04:39 PM
I remember when I first saw someone playing Phantasy Star 2 in 1989
was it the Japanese version of Phantasy Star II ? it came out in 1989, but wasn't out in the U.S. until early 1990.
FantasiaWHT
12-20-2007, 04:50 PM
I'll probably make finally beating PS1 a new years resolution.
And NE146 - PS1 was $70 new. I remember PS2 was $99 because it came with that thick-assed strategy book.
PS4 was $99 when it first came out too... My Genesis had been gifted to me by my best friend a few years after it came out- and I had PS2 and PS4, and had gotten PS1 to play with the PBC. I couldn't believe any game could be $100, but I saved up enough to buy it release date :) That was an absolutely amazing experience, anticipating a game like that and having it live up to all your expectations.
I actually liked PS3. The generations were awesome, and gave that RPG great replayability. I liked the magic "squares" where you had to sacrifice the strength of one spell to improve others. I thought the towns were pretty ugly, but the story was great, even if it took until the very end to tie it to the series story-arc.
Btw, one of the best ways to experience these games is the Sega Collection on Playstation 2. It has Phantasy Stars 2, 3, and 4.
kainemaxwell
12-20-2007, 05:38 PM
Played some of PS1 long ago and enjoyed it. PS2 is fun, though kinda boring I think, PS3 from what I remember felt broken. PS4...wow..the game can be easy or it can be cheap and I loved the characters, graphics and the music!
Maybe one day I'll restart PS1 on an emulator.
NE146
12-20-2007, 06:45 PM
Don't make me cry, Steve Harris... That's when EGM was still good. :(
Actually that scan is from EGP (Electronic Game Player).. they didn't change their name to EGM yet :)
Geddon_jt
12-20-2007, 09:03 PM
was it the Japanese version of Phantasy Star II ? it came out in 1989, but wasn't out in the U.S. until early 1990.
No, you're probably right. Im sure I first saw it in 1990, I just thought it might be 89 based on the copyright date on the box.
And NE146... I dont have those hints/maps anymore. Tough to hold onto things that you had when you were 9 (Im now 28 :) )... wish I did though!
Actually that scan is from EGP (Electronic Game Player).. they didn't change their name to EGM yet :)
Yeah, I was going to say that, but I couldn't think of the name EGP. :) I have that issue too, somewhere under my bed.
heybtbm
12-21-2007, 11:11 AM
People should really check out Phantasy Star Collection on the GBA. Very underrated title when it was released (still is to some extent). The port of PS1 is spot-on.
NE146
12-21-2007, 12:23 PM
People should really check out Phantasy Star Collection on the GBA. Very underrated title when it was released (still is to some extent). The port of PS1 is spot-on.
Except for the well known bug that makes your game freeze when you save.. that really really blows. It has a couple of other bugs as well that become obvious when you play it.. like when you talk to a creature and the dialog boxes remain when you get back to the overworld map.
Haven't played 'em yet....but have played PSO for the last 6 yrs. Awesome.
guitargary75
12-21-2007, 07:55 PM
One of the greatest RPG's ever.
Volcanon
12-22-2007, 10:53 AM
Here in Japan I bought the Playstation 2 remake of PS2. It's pretty solid.
FantasiaWHT
12-22-2007, 02:30 PM
Here in Japan I bought the Playstation 2 remake of PS2. It's pretty solid.
*cries* I was so excited when those showed up with release dates in the EB Games system. Someday I'll learn Japanese so I can play the remakes.