I was certainly excited to get around to this one, especially given how much of a cliffhanger Phantasy Star II left me on, with Phantasy Star III choosing not to elaborate on that at all. Unfortunately, I don't think Phantasy Star IV does much to bring me the satisfaction I oh-so desired. Phantasy Star IV is a tough game to talk about because there are aspects of it which I love, but they combine with aspects which infuriate me, and the culmination is something I struggle to really have any strong feelings about on the whole.
The story is probably the biggest success here. I feel the first three games had wildly experimental ways of delivering their tales, which was cool in it's own way, but kept them from feeling complete. I mean, hell, the aforementioned Phantasy Star II ends at the climax of it's plot. Characters, as well, were all pretty standard, without any qualities beyond some basic characteristics. Phantasy Star IV is such a wild improvement here, as everything from the cast cohesion to the presentation within the cutscenes feels far removed from the amateurish feel the prior entries had. The writing is obviously not on par with the standards of today, but this is some bold and layered storytelling for a 1993 Sega Genesis game.
Actually playing through Phantasy Star IV is where the trouble arises. For the most part it's solid, however, the further you get into the game, the more some of the cracks start to show. The encounter rate doesn't feel consistent, which can lead to battles occurring far too frequently. This is especially troubling in some of the later dungeons which are exhaustingly long and complex. The Macro system is helpful for this, but so many of the best abilities have an extremely limited amount of uses without resting, whether that be because of MP cost or an actual number of times you're able to use something. Boss fights probably wouldn't be appropriately balanced if these were made easier to use, but it really takes a lot out of the fun I could have with random battles to be so limited. The Macro system also allows you to set up combo abilities, which is awesome, but not implemented in the best way. Whether or not your inputs trigger the combo attack seems to be random, so they can't really be used strategically, and from what I could tell, there isn't anything in-game to tell you what combos you can actually create. I could have just missed something though?
I think what really dug at me the most was the late-game difficulty spike. Towards the end of the game, you start operating with a party of four after having operated with a party of five for many hours. The game feels like it's still been balanced around having five members, as I was constantly running out of skills and MP to use to get through these battles. Worse was that Rune's HP had not grown with the rest of the party, so he kept getting one-shot until I put two shields on him to help him survive at least one hit (This didn't always prevent a one-shot death still). That the game insisted you operate in this fashion for so long, aside from one dungeon where you get a weak-ass party member who you don't even keep for that dungeon's boss, made me fucking tired. Like, not mad or upset, just exhausted from all the micromanaging I was forced to do. I get this appeal to an extent, but it killed the pacing of an otherwise great experience. The silver lining is that once I did get the option for a fifth character, I could pick Raja, who is overpowered as fuck. Maybe it was all worth it in the end. 3/6
The story is probably the biggest success here. I feel the first three games had wildly experimental ways of delivering their tales, which was cool in it's own way, but kept them from feeling complete. I mean, hell, the aforementioned Phantasy Star II ends at the climax of it's plot. Characters, as well, were all pretty standard, without any qualities beyond some basic characteristics. Phantasy Star IV is such a wild improvement here, as everything from the cast cohesion to the presentation within the cutscenes feels far removed from the amateurish feel the prior entries had. The writing is obviously not on par with the standards of today, but this is some bold and layered storytelling for a 1993 Sega Genesis game.
Actually playing through Phantasy Star IV is where the trouble arises. For the most part it's solid, however, the further you get into the game, the more some of the cracks start to show. The encounter rate doesn't feel consistent, which can lead to battles occurring far too frequently. This is especially troubling in some of the later dungeons which are exhaustingly long and complex. The Macro system is helpful for this, but so many of the best abilities have an extremely limited amount of uses without resting, whether that be because of MP cost or an actual number of times you're able to use something. Boss fights probably wouldn't be appropriately balanced if these were made easier to use, but it really takes a lot out of the fun I could have with random battles to be so limited. The Macro system also allows you to set up combo abilities, which is awesome, but not implemented in the best way. Whether or not your inputs trigger the combo attack seems to be random, so they can't really be used strategically, and from what I could tell, there isn't anything in-game to tell you what combos you can actually create. I could have just missed something though?
I think what really dug at me the most was the late-game difficulty spike. Towards the end of the game, you start operating with a party of four after having operated with a party of five for many hours. The game feels like it's still been balanced around having five members, as I was constantly running out of skills and MP to use to get through these battles. Worse was that Rune's HP had not grown with the rest of the party, so he kept getting one-shot until I put two shields on him to help him survive at least one hit (This didn't always prevent a one-shot death still). That the game insisted you operate in this fashion for so long, aside from one dungeon where you get a weak-ass party member who you don't even keep for that dungeon's boss, made me fucking tired. Like, not mad or upset, just exhausted from all the micromanaging I was forced to do. I get this appeal to an extent, but it killed the pacing of an otherwise great experience. The silver lining is that once I did get the option for a fifth character, I could pick Raja, who is overpowered as fuck. Maybe it was all worth it in the end. 3/6
This definitely the best rpg on the Genesis. The graphics are crisp, excellent character design, the music is great, and the story is interesting. You start as an apprentice hunter who takes a job helping a local scientist. From there, the story opens up into an adventure that spans three planets. All your jrpg tropes are here, so not much in terms of originality but the charm this game exhumes covers that. The characters are so likeable, the challenge is fair, and the world is enthralling. The encounter rate can be overkill but it’s an old rpg, so keep that in mind. The combat system is fun. If you have characters lined up in a certain way and you do certain attacks or magic you’ll create a super attack. All in all, this game is worth your time and is one of my favorites.
This review contains spoilers
Gotta say, I don't get the super-high ratings. I've been reading reviews to try and feel out what others were saying, but the game didn't hit me the same way as it seemed to hit others. It's fun, but not without its issues.
The game really shines in its cutscenes, which feel like a big step up in content versus the usual back-and-forth dialogue boxes the second and third games had.
Otherwise visually, it seemed fine -- I really prefer the aesthetic of PSII over PSIV, but to each their own.
Speaking of, music varied from awful to fine for the most part -- the one standout gem for me being the updated version of a particular dungeon track from the first PS game. I did not like the shop tracks at all and Gryz's town music was obnoxious.
I liked the concept of returning to combat in the vehicles that you use throughout the game, but interface aside, it just felt like fights took longer if you weren't using something like N-Sphere (of which you have a limited number of uses). Restoring HP after each fight is fine, but I'd honestly prefer just walking my way to new areas and fighting the monsters that were significantly harder on the ground (this was especially a thing in Dezolis).
Story-wise, I didn't feel like it was a masterful work -- it was a nice conclusion to what was going on in the previous three games and explained a lot of answers to questions that didn't necessarily have to be asked. That's not a bad thing, just a note that they did a good job with deciding to link the games together (though it does feel like PSIII got only the most passing of nods to it).
Actual combat was mostly fine. PSIV still used the "here are some unusual names with no descriptions" idea with their spells, so experimentation or Google are your friends in that instance. The macro system is nice -- I know it's me looking back to dated design at the time, but I wish the macros could have been edited and not just deleted and replaced each time, but I don't hold that against the game design.
Enemies are a mix of stuff from previous games along with some new enemies. Since I'm a sucker for PSII, seeing old familiar enemies like the Locusta line or the Dezo Owl line were a nice touch for me.
I noticed that people said experience came a lot more easily in this game and I don't know if I agree. It still felt like it took forever to level in some instances and in a game where levels are important, the grind felt real to me in a few spots (looking at you, Air Castle!). I didn't run from any fights, but still found myself needing to grind up a couple of times in a really bad way. Previous games had this issue, but I think that because I enjoyed the soundtracks of previous games more (not counting PSIII), the grind never felt as bad in those.
The biggest crime (to me) is the dungeon design. I liked the labyrinthine layouts of the first three games and I didn't mind using a Hinas to peace-out if things got dicey and Ryuka back to town. Those dungeons got replaced by mostly corridor pathing with branches that usually lead to a dead end just a short way up the wrong path.
The first time you hit Valley Maze, you think it's going to be something tricky to navigate, but it's quite literally "walk into a room, grab a chest or note a dead end, walk back and take the other path." And it's about what...four, five rooms of that and you're through the dungeon?
A lot of dungeons have that feel. The first time you reach Zio's Fort and go digging beneath, there's an impression that things are crazy with lots of paths...but most of those paths are just a dead-end a few further steps off-screen or another dead-end with a chest. Sure, there were way more of those than in Valley Maze, but it doesn't change how simple the dungeon structure is for MOST of the areas.
I think it's a fun game, I think the story's pretty good overall (and Chaz gets a lot of character development, even if others are just largely support units), but I'd say of the main series of four games, it's probably the least entertaining one for me. Definitely worth a playthrough for anyone that's remotely interested, though.
The game really shines in its cutscenes, which feel like a big step up in content versus the usual back-and-forth dialogue boxes the second and third games had.
Otherwise visually, it seemed fine -- I really prefer the aesthetic of PSII over PSIV, but to each their own.
Speaking of, music varied from awful to fine for the most part -- the one standout gem for me being the updated version of a particular dungeon track from the first PS game. I did not like the shop tracks at all and Gryz's town music was obnoxious.
I liked the concept of returning to combat in the vehicles that you use throughout the game, but interface aside, it just felt like fights took longer if you weren't using something like N-Sphere (of which you have a limited number of uses). Restoring HP after each fight is fine, but I'd honestly prefer just walking my way to new areas and fighting the monsters that were significantly harder on the ground (this was especially a thing in Dezolis).
Story-wise, I didn't feel like it was a masterful work -- it was a nice conclusion to what was going on in the previous three games and explained a lot of answers to questions that didn't necessarily have to be asked. That's not a bad thing, just a note that they did a good job with deciding to link the games together (though it does feel like PSIII got only the most passing of nods to it).
Actual combat was mostly fine. PSIV still used the "here are some unusual names with no descriptions" idea with their spells, so experimentation or Google are your friends in that instance. The macro system is nice -- I know it's me looking back to dated design at the time, but I wish the macros could have been edited and not just deleted and replaced each time, but I don't hold that against the game design.
Enemies are a mix of stuff from previous games along with some new enemies. Since I'm a sucker for PSII, seeing old familiar enemies like the Locusta line or the Dezo Owl line were a nice touch for me.
I noticed that people said experience came a lot more easily in this game and I don't know if I agree. It still felt like it took forever to level in some instances and in a game where levels are important, the grind felt real to me in a few spots (looking at you, Air Castle!). I didn't run from any fights, but still found myself needing to grind up a couple of times in a really bad way. Previous games had this issue, but I think that because I enjoyed the soundtracks of previous games more (not counting PSIII), the grind never felt as bad in those.
The biggest crime (to me) is the dungeon design. I liked the labyrinthine layouts of the first three games and I didn't mind using a Hinas to peace-out if things got dicey and Ryuka back to town. Those dungeons got replaced by mostly corridor pathing with branches that usually lead to a dead end just a short way up the wrong path.
The first time you hit Valley Maze, you think it's going to be something tricky to navigate, but it's quite literally "walk into a room, grab a chest or note a dead end, walk back and take the other path." And it's about what...four, five rooms of that and you're through the dungeon?
A lot of dungeons have that feel. The first time you reach Zio's Fort and go digging beneath, there's an impression that things are crazy with lots of paths...but most of those paths are just a dead-end a few further steps off-screen or another dead-end with a chest. Sure, there were way more of those than in Valley Maze, but it doesn't change how simple the dungeon structure is for MOST of the areas.
I think it's a fun game, I think the story's pretty good overall (and Chaz gets a lot of character development, even if others are just largely support units), but I'd say of the main series of four games, it's probably the least entertaining one for me. Definitely worth a playthrough for anyone that's remotely interested, though.
A fun adventure with a cool setting. Everything moved quite fast and went straight to the point which is both it's strength and flaw in that I wish it was just a bit longer and there was a little more interactions between characters. That being said I still enjoyed my time playing it, I loved the macros in this game, why have I not seen more games implement such a great feature I've no idea. Cutscenes were incredible all told in a comic-style way hitting all the points while having very little "character sprites awkwardly stand and stare at each other." It was p tough too until the final boss who was a pushover ngl, I do wish there was break rooms in dungeons so that I could just not use save states whenever I took a break. 7.5/10, will definitely play some more Phantasy Star games.
chaz and rika my favorite heterosexuals
Finally played through the game in Japanese and I really liked it a lot. The writing, especially in the earlier parts, is full of personality, and the plot really moves along extremely quickly.
I still really like the battle system; again, fast and generally easy to operate, with the only really clunky bit (using equipment as items - which turns out to be key to making the game much easier) being largely alleviated by intelligent use of the macro system.
Overall if there's a weakness, it's that in general it's quite short and easy, especially if you know what you're doing. When I first played it in the 90s it was very much my first JRPG and, combined with not having the manual to hand, I ended up mostly grinding my way through any problems. This time around, knowing what does what, it's actually a pretty standard fight and heal type system. Dungeons I remember being massive slogs actually go by extremely smoothly, buffs make boss encounters much more manageable, and good use of some of the equipment as items massively reduces the amount of magic and skills you need to deploy in the field.
In the end though the whole package comes together so well, in spite of the fact it's nearly 30 years old at this point. It's not super long but there's loads of variety. The script's lively, the story is constantly moving forward and the cut-in graphics do such a good job of raising the presentation you could add an intro animation and some CD music and you'd have a damn good Mega CD game. Essential.
I still really like the battle system; again, fast and generally easy to operate, with the only really clunky bit (using equipment as items - which turns out to be key to making the game much easier) being largely alleviated by intelligent use of the macro system.
Overall if there's a weakness, it's that in general it's quite short and easy, especially if you know what you're doing. When I first played it in the 90s it was very much my first JRPG and, combined with not having the manual to hand, I ended up mostly grinding my way through any problems. This time around, knowing what does what, it's actually a pretty standard fight and heal type system. Dungeons I remember being massive slogs actually go by extremely smoothly, buffs make boss encounters much more manageable, and good use of some of the equipment as items massively reduces the amount of magic and skills you need to deploy in the field.
In the end though the whole package comes together so well, in spite of the fact it's nearly 30 years old at this point. It's not super long but there's loads of variety. The script's lively, the story is constantly moving forward and the cut-in graphics do such a good job of raising the presentation you could add an intro animation and some CD music and you'd have a damn good Mega CD game. Essential.
need more sci fi jrpg's.
Rough around the edges, but does enough things well to be worth a play.
This review contains spoilers
Definitely one of the better classic JRPGs I've gone through. PSIV offers the soul, likable cast and sense of adventure you expect from a quality JRPG with its own unique twists. The sci-fi setting, complete with planet hopping, robots and beam weapons sets it apart from the other JRPGs of the time which were largely dominated by medieval fantasy. The aspect of PSIV that I especially appreciate was the cutscene images. Even though they were just showing character expressions or poses as they talked, it can't be stated enough how much more alive it makes the dialogue feel compared to just having the sprites standing around with textboxes and maybe small face portraits. While the plot is standard "save the universe" material, the fact that you travel to several different planets and help people there helps emphasize the scale of the threat and reinforce your sense of importance. The story also manages to have a surprisingly emotional moment or 2 thanks to Alys's unexpected early death scene. The party in PSIV is particularly impressive, partially thanks to the fan re-translation which helped the characters' personalities shine through better. Alys is a charismatic role model, Rune is arrogant but undeniably cool and seeing him warm up to Chazz over the course of the game is a delight, Chazz is a quality example of a coming-of-age character arc, Wren is the stoic but dependable android and Rika is really cute with a great design. The rotating 5th party member slot also does a good job of keeping the party and its interactions fresh, especially with Raja who's extremely endearing. The gameplay is pretty par for the course but the distinctions between human and android characters as well as characters having separate skill and technique systems helps it feel fresh enough. I also like the presentation of the fights in which you see the characters fight from the back. Unfortunately the dungeons can be pretty bland and the encounter rate is too high but that's pretty common for classic JRPGs. The music is nice but repetitive apart from major scenes.
Phantasy Star V when
Released three years after Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium is an impressive leap forward in quality, weaving the best elements of their past games together while accomplishing their narrative zenith. More than just being a glorious conclusion and a tribute to their past games, Phantasy Star IV stood apart as one of the first genuine efforts in developing a character-centric JRPG story, a process that began with Ys several years before. While the characters were derivative and the plot was conventional, their execution and style was monumental. It was ultimately a conscious focus on rendering involved character interactions, dramatic story moments, and for the first time, impactful character development. This release continued the genre's transition from old grind-based JRPGs towards a future defined by character subplots and heavier story moments.
After those weird Phantasy Star 2 and 3, Sega decided to stop fooling around and made this masterpiece.
The first time I played this, I got close to the final boss in just over two days, stopping only to eat and take little naps. It was so addictive and playing it again I can see why. The story and characters were top-notch, and the challenge level was just right. Being able to set macros (shortcuts) was a good touch, and the game had a few hidden combination attacks before Chrono Trigger made it cool. Easily one of the best RPGs on the Genesis and possibly the 16-bit era as a whole.
In my opinion the best game in the Phantasy Star series. It polished all the best aspects of the earlier entries and the presentation (using manga like panels to tell the story, like some kind of early, 16-bit cutscenes) is superb. The story wraps up a lot of what PhS1 started and even though it's not necessary to play previous entries to understand this one, it certainly enhances the exprience and resolution.
The combat system is pure, traditional turn based and your party has a maximum of 5 party members. One thing I love is that you can create macros for each party member, so you can set up a series of combos for each character to use each turn, it's fun.
I'd say the only negative is that the pacing is wonky, the story feels aimless during the latter half, which is a shame.
Still immensely fun JRPG that I highly recommend.
The combat system is pure, traditional turn based and your party has a maximum of 5 party members. One thing I love is that you can create macros for each party member, so you can set up a series of combos for each character to use each turn, it's fun.
I'd say the only negative is that the pacing is wonky, the story feels aimless during the latter half, which is a shame.
Still immensely fun JRPG that I highly recommend.
3/4 SMTDR
This piece of art was responsible for giving birth to my immense love of RPGs and JRPGS.
This game is so fckn good, i love it so, SO much.
This game is so fckn good, i love it so, SO much.
All my homies pick Raja for the final dungeon. Ataraxia is a hell of a drug
I actually played this on a PS2 Genesis classics collection, but whatever.
Pros: Chaz x Rika is a really good ship. Story was really interesting, it evolves from a simple side job to something far grander. All characters are likable too.I liked Chaz and Rune's comic rivalry. Great OST. Nice references to PS1 and PS2.
Cons: Really hard, I had access to save states, and even then I often died. Confusing spell names. It's not easy to ressurect characters in a dungeon.
Pros: Chaz x Rika is a really good ship. Story was really interesting, it evolves from a simple side job to something far grander. All characters are likable too.I liked Chaz and Rune's comic rivalry. Great OST. Nice references to PS1 and PS2.
Cons: Really hard, I had access to save states, and even then I often died. Confusing spell names. It's not easy to ressurect characters in a dungeon.
Full disclosure, my 5 star rating for this is absolutely due to childhood nostalgia and a feels based rating, the game is obviously not without its problems. Though I have played it more than once during my adulthood, and it holds up reasonably well, especially for a Sega JRPG. We had slim pickins on the Genesis back then, and if this genre was your cup of tea, localized Jrpgs were rare. I'm pretty sure I played all three of them that made it to Canada.
PSIV was, for me, more than anything else a formative game. I distinctly remember the art style catching my eye as a child, with its 80s anime "cutscenes" something I had never really seen before. It definitely was the start of me noticing there were styles and genres I liked, and probably kicked off my interest in anime.
The story is pretty standard 80s jrpg fare, with a pretty cool "after the end" post future, buried tech, fantasy kind of setting, which is really helped by the soundtrack popping out of the iconic synthy bweoowwy genesis sound chip. Chaz and the gang are decent enough characters, not terribly complex but not paper thin either. Rune fucks. Canonically.
If the game suffers it's mostly in the localization, with the mega drive/genesis having limited memory space for English translations, hence the characters all having 4 letter names. The spells and abilities have very short or abbreviated names that require trial and error to figure out the functions of, unless you have the manual (which I did not).
The combo abilities are really cool (and predate Chrono Trigger by two years!) and the macro function is a helpful tool to speed up battles and ensure those combo abilities can be executed, but again, it takes some trial and error to figure out how it works if you're a dumb kid without the manual like me.
For the time, for the console, for the genre, Phantasy Star IV is probably the best offering you could find for that classic JRPG experience.
PSIV was, for me, more than anything else a formative game. I distinctly remember the art style catching my eye as a child, with its 80s anime "cutscenes" something I had never really seen before. It definitely was the start of me noticing there were styles and genres I liked, and probably kicked off my interest in anime.
The story is pretty standard 80s jrpg fare, with a pretty cool "after the end" post future, buried tech, fantasy kind of setting, which is really helped by the soundtrack popping out of the iconic synthy bweoowwy genesis sound chip. Chaz and the gang are decent enough characters, not terribly complex but not paper thin either. Rune fucks. Canonically.
If the game suffers it's mostly in the localization, with the mega drive/genesis having limited memory space for English translations, hence the characters all having 4 letter names. The spells and abilities have very short or abbreviated names that require trial and error to figure out the functions of, unless you have the manual (which I did not).
The combo abilities are really cool (and predate Chrono Trigger by two years!) and the macro function is a helpful tool to speed up battles and ensure those combo abilities can be executed, but again, it takes some trial and error to figure out how it works if you're a dumb kid without the manual like me.
For the time, for the console, for the genre, Phantasy Star IV is probably the best offering you could find for that classic JRPG experience.
Recuerdo haberlo jugado cuando era un enano y ya entonces me fascinaba su universo pese a que nos llegó en inglés y no me enteraba de la mitad.
Había una partida guardada en el cartucho cuando lo alquilé, rondaría el nivel 20 y estaba en el planeta helado de Dezolis, y me flipaba que alguien hubiese podido llegar tan lejos...
Hoy puedo decir que yo también llegué a ese punto, y más allá... he conseguido pasármelo y exprimirlo. Y he disfrutado muchísimo esta aventura... cuyo final es precioso.
La historia te atrapa y es dura como pocas, no se andan con tonterías y muestran la crudeza en la que se encuentra el sistema Algo.
La banda sonora, aunque cortita, es genial y está perfectamente implementada con personalidad propia.
Los combates contra jefes son exigentes y requieren habilidad (y algo de leveo en ocasiones).
Si has llegado hasta aquí y te preguntas por qué no le he dado las 5 estrellas:
-El motivo principal es porque no me ha gustado nada que no pongan descripciones de qué hace cada habilidad, tienes que usarlas y sacar tus conclusiones (buena suerte cuando alguna de ellas funciona solo en momentos puntuales, como un revivir).
-Y el ratio de batallas aleatorias es bastante elevado, en ocasiones asfixiante...
Pero bueno, insisto en que es una maldita OBRA MAESTRA y ha subido alto en mi top personal de RPGs.
Había una partida guardada en el cartucho cuando lo alquilé, rondaría el nivel 20 y estaba en el planeta helado de Dezolis, y me flipaba que alguien hubiese podido llegar tan lejos...
Hoy puedo decir que yo también llegué a ese punto, y más allá... he conseguido pasármelo y exprimirlo. Y he disfrutado muchísimo esta aventura... cuyo final es precioso.
La historia te atrapa y es dura como pocas, no se andan con tonterías y muestran la crudeza en la que se encuentra el sistema Algo.
La banda sonora, aunque cortita, es genial y está perfectamente implementada con personalidad propia.
Los combates contra jefes son exigentes y requieren habilidad (y algo de leveo en ocasiones).
Si has llegado hasta aquí y te preguntas por qué no le he dado las 5 estrellas:
-El motivo principal es porque no me ha gustado nada que no pongan descripciones de qué hace cada habilidad, tienes que usarlas y sacar tus conclusiones (buena suerte cuando alguna de ellas funciona solo en momentos puntuales, como un revivir).
-Y el ratio de batallas aleatorias es bastante elevado, en ocasiones asfixiante...
Pero bueno, insisto en que es una maldita OBRA MAESTRA y ha subido alto en mi top personal de RPGs.
Surprised by how much I liked this game even without playing the other 3 in the series. I might have missed a few references but it was easy to pick up what happened in the others. The setting was amazing and I really enjoyed the story for about 80% of it. Combat was decent especially if you don't grind which seems to be a common theme in past jrpgs. Overall it was a nice short jrpg almost 30 years old now.
Not only is this game incredibly impressive for its age but it's also almost entirely aged gracefully since then. If you're looking to play this, use the PS2 Phantasy Star Collection (it's Japanese but lets you play the English version). I loved the fanservice it provided for previous games and even without that it stands pretty well on its own. If you're looking to play this, though, I'd recommend at the very least going through Phantasy Star 1 (SEGA Ages on Switch ideally) and trying to play 2 and 3 if you can, though I don't blame you if those two filter you. 4 plays and is designed leagues better than 2 and 3, so don't worry about it being painful to play.
The combat in this was about as simple as you'd expect an early 90s JRPG to play, but I was pleasantly surprised at the level of depth the game expected out of my thinking when it came to figuring out strategies and macros. I was genuinely impressed that I thought so much about my moves during this game, as I've been used to early DQ or FF wherein I can more or less spam the same 2 strategies against everything. The dungeons were vastly improved from 2 and 3; while I still think I prefer the cute first-person style of the first game, I think this one's designed far more effectively when it came to sheer aesthetics and enjoyability of dungeoncrawling. Further, the worlds were about as on point as the previous games, and I enjoyed the core cast of characters quite a lot. While several of them remained as simple and one-note as those from earlier games, the main two characters who stick from start to finish have a somewhat hands-off yet still effective pair of arcs. Their actions and thoughts make sense, especially given their ages, and I found their struggles compelling.
Unfortunately the game expects you to grind for a hot minute around 4/5 of the way through, so once you unlock a dungeon in the sky, switch to Very Easy for it as it'll quadruple your exp gain and money gain as well as lowering encounter rates (though you still may need to grind a tiny bit). Once that's done, switch to Easy for the rest of the game. If you do that and make sure to run from as few encounters as possible, you should be at approximately the 'right' level for a good amount of challenge from start to finish.
Anyway, it's really hard for me to put into words how perfect of a game series this felt to me. I don't mean to say the games themselves were, but I think the worlds they were trying to convey are exactly the sort of thing I enjoy. At the time of writing I don't know if I entirely prefer this to 1 as both games excel at their own things, but I can at least say this series is very much a bun-over-meat sort of thing (not to say I didn't get enjoyment out of 2 or 3). I'm really glad I decided to throw some cash at the Nintendo eShop to get Phantasy Star 1, cause I don't regret it at all. It's been an awesome journey and I'm glad 4 lived up to the hype.
The combat in this was about as simple as you'd expect an early 90s JRPG to play, but I was pleasantly surprised at the level of depth the game expected out of my thinking when it came to figuring out strategies and macros. I was genuinely impressed that I thought so much about my moves during this game, as I've been used to early DQ or FF wherein I can more or less spam the same 2 strategies against everything. The dungeons were vastly improved from 2 and 3; while I still think I prefer the cute first-person style of the first game, I think this one's designed far more effectively when it came to sheer aesthetics and enjoyability of dungeoncrawling. Further, the worlds were about as on point as the previous games, and I enjoyed the core cast of characters quite a lot. While several of them remained as simple and one-note as those from earlier games, the main two characters who stick from start to finish have a somewhat hands-off yet still effective pair of arcs. Their actions and thoughts make sense, especially given their ages, and I found their struggles compelling.
Unfortunately the game expects you to grind for a hot minute around 4/5 of the way through, so once you unlock a dungeon in the sky, switch to Very Easy for it as it'll quadruple your exp gain and money gain as well as lowering encounter rates (though you still may need to grind a tiny bit). Once that's done, switch to Easy for the rest of the game. If you do that and make sure to run from as few encounters as possible, you should be at approximately the 'right' level for a good amount of challenge from start to finish.
Anyway, it's really hard for me to put into words how perfect of a game series this felt to me. I don't mean to say the games themselves were, but I think the worlds they were trying to convey are exactly the sort of thing I enjoy. At the time of writing I don't know if I entirely prefer this to 1 as both games excel at their own things, but I can at least say this series is very much a bun-over-meat sort of thing (not to say I didn't get enjoyment out of 2 or 3). I'm really glad I decided to throw some cash at the Nintendo eShop to get Phantasy Star 1, cause I don't regret it at all. It's been an awesome journey and I'm glad 4 lived up to the hype.
honestly not as good as i expected, but i may have le nostalgia googles for PSII tho lol
(sonic's ultimate genesis collection 19/40)
this was, shockingly good after playing phantasy star II. far more lenient, far more fun, and most of all just far more captivating. the characters are all memorable and interesting to get to know, and it led to some honestly pretty touching moments, which in II were kind of negated because nobody was really fleshed out enough to get attached to. the games are about the same length i think, but certainly didn't feel like it bc grinding in particular has been toned down a lot in comparison. there are still moments of it, but the macro feature and also just better exp from enemies makes it go a lot smoother now.
overall was very, very pleasantly surprised by this game, and it is truthfully one of the strongest i've come across in the collection so far. i could see it staying that way, but we'll see.
i still have III to do lol. that game looks like dogwater
this was, shockingly good after playing phantasy star II. far more lenient, far more fun, and most of all just far more captivating. the characters are all memorable and interesting to get to know, and it led to some honestly pretty touching moments, which in II were kind of negated because nobody was really fleshed out enough to get attached to. the games are about the same length i think, but certainly didn't feel like it bc grinding in particular has been toned down a lot in comparison. there are still moments of it, but the macro feature and also just better exp from enemies makes it go a lot smoother now.
overall was very, very pleasantly surprised by this game, and it is truthfully one of the strongest i've come across in the collection so far. i could see it staying that way, but we'll see.
i still have III to do lol. that game looks like dogwater
Great RPG! Combat, progression and menus are all perfectly paced out and responsive. The characters are all memorable and always fill out several possible roles in battles. I was a little overwhelmed at first by the high number of spells & their non-descriptive names, but the naming conventions for their uses make more sense with time. You can grind if you want to, but the game's definitely beatable without ever having to, minus 2 specific spots in the games where things briefly spike.
Best game on the Genesis.
Só me faltava esse Phantasy Star para completar a série clássica. Ele é realmente o melhor da série. Gostei do combate bem dinâmico e rápido e acho que o game tinha muitas ideias legais sobre como integrar a estética scifi (ou, melhor, scifi fantasy) ao gênero de jRPG. Mas mesmo sendo o melhor Phantasy Star, não fica entre os melhores jRPGs da época, nem de longe. Final Fantasy e Chrono Trigger limpam o chão com a cara de PS.