People who have finished Phantasy Star II

[calgon]

I swear, once I'm done with this, every possible RPG I'll ever play after will be 50x easier by default. If it weren't for the great story, the grind would have killed me by now. Also, if anyone has ever beaten this without the guide or map, I will name my next child after you.

[boatofcar]

The game originally came bundled with the guide, didn't it?

[mills]

Just dont start with generations of doom..........

[Soviet Conscript]

I swear, once I'm done with this, every possible RPG I'll ever play after will be 50x easier by default. If it weren't for the great story, the grind would have killed me by now. Also, if anyone has ever beaten this without the guide or map, I will name my next child after you.

i beat it back before i had the internet so yhea, i beat it without any kind of guide or FAQ. i think there was a guide that came with it but mine was used and guideless

PSII has one of my favorite endings ever. i just thought it was pretty origional for the time and i just loved the concept.

[Volcanon]

I'm well on the way to passing the PS2 remake (basically the same plus better graphics, less menu nightmares, tuned battles and nei can not die if you are willing to spend a rediculous amount of effort).

Generations of Doom wasn't hard, it was just bad. I like how the final dungeon is like five screens large but you have to fight a hundred battles because of the slow walking and high encounter rate.

[norkusa]

I beat it a loooooong time ago when it first came out. I used the map and the EGM guide, so I guess I cheated. Still though, it wasn't easy I had to rent it 3 times in a row from Blockbuster.

[vultar]

Yeah, PSII was in that era where Sega was packaging full blown guide books with the games. I know PSII had one and I pretty sure Sword of Vermillion had one two, but I can't remember any others off the top of my head. I was never sure if the games were designed with the idea of needing a packaged guide or if they just thought we were stupid. Some of the dungeons almost require one though.

Personally, I find PSII pretty managable as far as RPGs go, no where near the learning curve PS had, until you hit the final set of dungeons and the pit maze. It takes every bit of interest I have in finishing it out of me every time as it's just about immpossible, for me at least, to figure out what I'm doing and where I am.

[Graham Mitchell]

Dude, I don't think there's any harm in at least using maps. No human with a normal level of intelligence should be expected to navigate some of those dungeons. With some of those classic games you needed a map. Look at Deadly Towers!!

I've never bothered making my own maps for games--life's too short. I should be enjoying the game not doing homework for it. Some people are into that sort of thing, and that's cool. But I think some of those older adventure and RPG's (especially late 80s and early 90s) were too big and had too wide of a scope for most people to handle without some sort of guidance. Sega knew it too-they released a friggin' strategy guide in it that maps out EVERY DUNGEON. It's not like the Zelda "hint guide" that you had to break the seal on, or the little strategy guide that came at the end of the Final Fantasty II manual. This thing tells you when to stand, when to sit, and when to pee.

Sega never intended for you to finish that game without maps. This is why many games come with built-in automapping these days. Games like Bioshock or Twilight Princess would be impossible without it. You'd spend hours just trying to figure out which door you came into the room from.

[GaijinPunch]

The Japanese release in fact did *not* have the guide book, so a lot of those people likely cleared the game w/ no guide. Something tells me one of the strategy guides had maps though... maybe enough complaining from fans is what prompted them to include it on the US side.

If you want to enjoy the games/story w/o the grind, the new Phantasy Star Complete Collection on the PS2 features:
-All four Phantasy Star games (English and Japanese -- FM sound only for PSI JPN though)
-Difficulty setting (Normal->Easy->Very Easy)
-Phantasy Star Text Adventure
-Phantasy Star Adventure
-Phantasy Star Gaiden
-Commentary in the manual by the original game creators (that are still with Sega)

All for 2500 yen. A steal. I played PSI for about 2.5 hours on very easy last night. I got all 4 characters now and went to the first town through the manhole. I'm playing JPN (FM Sound) version, and the tricky part is that the names of spells and items are all different. That, and I haven't played it in about 15 years.

[Soviet Conscript]

the versions of PSI and II on the complete collection arn't the remakes with enhanced graphics right?

[strassy]

The Japanese release in fact did *not* have the guide book, so a lot of those people likely cleared the game w/ no guide. Something tells me one of the strategy guides had maps though... maybe enough complaining from fans is what prompted them to include it on the US side.

If you want to enjoy the games/story w/o the grind, the new Phantasy Star Complete Collection on the PS2 features:
-All four Phantasy Star games (English and Japanese -- FM sound only for PSI JPN though)
-Difficulty setting (Normal->Easy->Very Easy)
-Phantasy Star Text Adventure
-Phantasy Star Adventure
-Phantasy Star Gaiden
-Commentary in the manual by the original game creators (that are still with Sega)

All for 2500 yen. A steal. I played PSI for about 2.5 hours on very easy last night. I got all 4 characters now and went to the first town through the manhole. I'm playing JPN (FM Sound) version, and the tricky part is that the names of spells and items are all different. That, and I haven't played it in about 15 years.

does the Phantasy Star Collection disc include all of these games in English, even though it is a Japanese disc?

[Graham Mitchell]

The Japanese release in fact did *not* have the guide book, so a lot of those people likely cleared the game w/ no guide. Something tells me one of the strategy guides had maps though... maybe enough complaining from fans is what prompted them to include it on the US side.


That seemed to happen a lot where the U.S. side got maps and walkthroughs while the Japanese side didn't. I know that they did it for the first Legend of Zelda because NOA felt the target demographic for the NES was younger than that for the Famicom in Japan. Probably the same reason in the case of PSII.

[All Things Sega]

I'm well on the way to passing the PS2 remake (basically the same plus better graphics, less menu nightmares, tuned battles and nei can not die if you are willing to spend a rediculous amount of effort).

Generations of Doom wasn't hard, it was just bad. I like how the final dungeon is like five screens large but you have to fight a hundred battles because of the slow walking and high encounter rate.

This was 1st rpg I ever played and got me hooked on them. Stil remember renting this game for a dollar a day and played it for a week until fully beat it. It was painful to watch Nei die so I replayed it and she lived througout the battle. The bitch part was that she survived but after killing the monster she still dies since their related. Anyone ever get her to live through to end of game by way of glitch to face the final boss?

[Adol]

The Japanese release in fact did *not* have the guide book, so a lot of those people likely cleared the game w/ no guide. Something tells me one of the strategy guides had maps though... maybe enough complaining from fans is what prompted them to include it on the US side.

If you want to enjoy the games/story w/o the grind, the new Phantasy Star Complete Collection on the PS2 features:
-All four Phantasy Star games (English and Japanese -- FM sound only for PSI JPN though)
-Difficulty setting (Normal->Easy->Very Easy)
-Phantasy Star Text Adventure
-Phantasy Star Adventure
-Phantasy Star Gaiden
-Commentary in the manual by the original game creators (that are still with Sega)

All for 2500 yen. A steal. I played PSI for about 2.5 hours on very easy last night. I got all 4 characters now and went to the first town through the manhole. I'm playing JPN (FM Sound) version, and the tricky part is that the names of spells and items are all different. That, and I haven't played it in about 15 years.


And the PS2 remake which came out 2 years ago is easy as well,because you can "run" instead of walking,AND from the very moment you land on Dezoris, you can buy that special item (telepipe?) that when used, NOT A SINGLE BATTLE HAPPENS for like 30 sec-1mn.
The thing is the item is quite cheap compared to the price on Megadrive version,and you can stock 20 of them without any problem.
Then you're ready for the big Dezoris dungeons and using them 1 by 1, you can do the complete dungeon,taking all chests,in 5 mn! While on MD it would have took you 4 hours because of the fights.

[Dark_Sol]

And how you gonna beat bosses without leveling up??

[GaijinPunch]

does the Phantasy Star Collection disc include all of these games in English, even though it is a Japanese disc?

Yes, it has the English versions of the games. There's likely some emulation going on, b/c you can't play the English version with FM sound, unfortunately. Within the Japanese version, you toggle between the SMS and the Mark III, the latter giving you FM sound.

The Text Adventure and the Game Gear games (which are Easter Eggs technically -- there's no mention of them in the manual) are Japanese only.

[rbudrick]

I beat PSII in two weeks back when it came out. The game was so awesome that at the time it was almost a religious experience for me, as though I had reached the pinnacle of awesome. I had never experienced anything remotely like that before then and felt I may never again. I beat the GBA version a couple years ago because I wanted to relive the game, but I haven't touched my Playstation 2 version, though I own it.

So does anyone know where I could buy the DX pack with soundtrack for the new PS2 release?

-Rob

[calgon]

I just spent an hour leveling up, I'm about to try again...

[Adol]

And how you gonna beat bosses without leveling up??

I was able to end the game pratically with the leveling up i had to do on Motavia, to beat Neifirst.I needed very few levelling up after that,and anyway if i needed it,i could make it in Dezoris plains,not in dungeons where your life depend of how many enemies you encounter.


By the way,did you know that you can revive Nei on this remake?

God,i loved PS2 so much back in 1990 (ok it came out in 1989,anyway)..my favourite,with PS1!

[Adol]

I beat PSII in two weeks back when it came out. The game was so awesome that at the time it was almost a religious experience for me, as though I had reached the pinnacle of awesome. I had never experienced anything remotely like that before then and felt I may never again. I beat the GBA version a couple years ago because I wanted to relive the game, but I haven't touched my Playstation 2 version, though I own it.

So does anyone know where I could buy the DX pack with soundtrack for the new PS2 release?

-Rob

I bought mine after preordering it at Sega Direct..and it got shipped on release date,4 days before closing then. My last buy there :(

Try Play-Asia probably.Otherwise Yahoo Auctions.

[NE146]

I waited with anticipation for this title to come out and read and re-read the previews (like in Gamepro) LOL. When it was released I was there that morning as soon as Toys R' Us opened to snag it.

It came with the guidebook but I never even looked at it. Anyway my point is, I played and finished PS2 as a matter of course. I don't remember thinking it was hard at all.. just long, which is what I wanted it to be anyway. My primary thought about it was dissapointment that they did away with the 3D mazes which I really loved.

Anyway I don't know if I'd feel the same way about it now though. The first time I beat PS2 was the last and only time. And we were more tolerant of those kinds of things (spending hours levelling, meandering trying to figure stuff out, dealing with the difficulty, etc.) back then I think :p

[Nescollector]

I bought the game when it came out and gave the tip book to a friend and told him to never give it back :) I remember being stuck in one cave / level for about three hours before I gave up for the night. I use to hangout with the guy and had to look through the book every so often, but beat the game on my own for the most part. It's the longest game I've ever played. I estimated about 150 - 175 hours to beat it.