I’ve been playing JRPGs for more than a few minutes now, and one series that I haven’t stopped hearing about is Phantasy Star. The first four games of the series were released on early Sega consoles, and received an outstanding reception. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, often regarded as the best in the series, so I thought I would start here.
So, how does this classic RPG, that is often regarded as the best RPG on the Genesis / Megadrive, hold up today? Is Phantasy Star 4t worth playing?
#phantasystar #JRPG #classicrpg
Come say hi on the Socials!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellfirerpgs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HellFireRPGs
.: Phantasy Star 4 Game details:.
Release Date: Feb, 1995 (US)
Platforms: Genesis / Megadrive, PS4, Switch, Wii, PC (Steam)
Reviewed on: PS4 (Sega Genesis Collection)
Sub-genre: JRPG
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
22 Comments
I'd personally love a remake of the series. 2 and 3 can feel a little dated in their own way. Phantasy Star 1 Sega ages version plays really well in my opinion though.
A remake would indeed be rad. I tried getting into Phantasy Star a few times and just couldn't. Hellfire, thanks for reviewing these older titles, too. Always good to see even the "small stuff".
I've played couple hours of PS2 on Mega Drive Collection, but I start something else,I will give another try.
Great game.
Terranigma, ff 6 and Chrono Trigger are all contestants.
16 bit is amazing 😀
Be interested to see how you would feel about PSII. That one is loved by a lot of people but also a pain in the butt for various reasons.
phantasy star 1 and 2 have remakes for the ps2 era with english fan translations.
As for my story with them, phantasy star 1 on the master system was my first jrpg as it came out in portuguese
(and I didnt know english back them) from there on I played , 2, 4, online and now pso2 (played the original and now enjoying new genesis)
overall its a great series with a very specific scenario of fantasy sci fi that just fits, a shame the newest one(new genesis) is really poor storywise. . .. has a really awesome gameplay tho.
Should you play this? Short answer. Yes. Long answer. Oh hell yeah! Love this game. Easily in the top five JRPGs for me.
I've only played this game of the Phantasy Star series. But i enjoyed thorougly.
It still has one of the hardest hitting themes i've ever heard, and the first instance of what loss is in a videogame.
To everyone who played, you know what this song means(Arranged Version, the best one imho) Dont click if you dont want spoilers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKjs818GURo
Since Square-Enix has a stranglehold on the Star Ocean IP and won't give tri-Ace a proper budget for the games, I wish Sega would contract tri-Ace for making a new single-player Phantasy Star game. They have the pedigree for sci-fi RPGs, and I think they could adapt it to a Phantasy Star game well. Let Atlus focus on their Shin Megami Tensei crap.
That macro setup sounds like an early version of something like the gambit system. They were really thinking ahead.
Better late than never I suppose. I always thought Phantasy Star was incredible ever since the original launched on the SMS, and while the MegaDrive/Genesis had three PS games, the second and fourth are the best, with the fourth being the best overall. Shame that we never got the original version though that was intended to be on the Sega CD.
Sure, today, compared to all of the quality of life improvements that have been made in general with video games since its release it might feel too dated at times, but at the time of its actual release, it was up there with Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.
edit: LOL. I printed a guide for Chrono Cross, but this was a decade ago. Also, a guide is not a "necessity" at all for Phantasy Stat IV. Many people finished it just fine at release without one. 🙂
I only played Phantasy Star series through the 'Phantasy Star' collection on Gameboy Advance. Sadly i think Phantasy Star 4 was missing on that. 🙁
Favorite 16-bit rpg❤
Rune had so much mana you could equip 2 plasma shields once you reached Palma and he would be one of the tankiest in the party.
I mean, of course Earth causes paralysis but doens't do earth damage. Who doesn't know that one? 😛
I couldn't stop laughing at the spell descriptions section of your review. All so true. Great stuff! I also enjoyed this game but had the same gripes you did. Overall a very good game and unique setting not seen in too many jrpgs.
people crying when Aerith dies in FF7,
Phantasy star 4: Hold my beer!
Nice review of my favorite game ever. Nostalgia definitely plays a role in my love here, so I understand the complaints even though I barely register the "flaws" when I play it.
Also, playing PS4 on a PS4: priceless.
Thanks for the review! It is nice to see someone review this game that doesn´t have the nostalgia -element to boost it up and thus maybe give a more objective view on it.
BUT I will say also: Although good points, it seems you are exaggerating some of the flaws. The random encounters in this game are not nearly as bad as in, let´s say Phantasy star 2 or Shining in the darkness… and definitely not as bad as in Sword of Vermillion which is awful. I´d say PS4 did a pretty good job.
Oh and the useless spells? Agree a bit, but just don´t use them lol. And it only takes one or two times to test out what a skill or a spell does. Printing out /googling info about those seems like a waste of time and takes away the exploration fun of it.
That "There´s nothing interesting here" is a totally useless feature which only has flaws, agreed.
The game is most amazing for taking a 4 (well 3) game narrative and decisively concluding it. You NEVER saw that in any other rpg title.
The Online is all fine and good….but this franchise critically needs a rebirth on the Single Player RPG side of things, lets go back to Algo a thousand years later and fight even more absurd subterranean dark force of doom!
Post watch edit: I guess yours is more of a technical critique, but I think mentioning the killer soundtrack of this game would've been relevant :p
Every time someone plays phantasy star 4 an angel gets it's wings
"As a first time player" Well you see alot of of people back in the day read the instruction manual. it has spell descriptions maps etc