Phantasy Star 4 is one of the most well-paced JRPGs I've ever played that can be comfortably beaten in under 15 hours. So how and why did I stretch it to an experience that was over 30 hours long? Hey, let's talk how it really drew me into its world in every way imaginable for the 2nd or 3rd or phantillionth (number of copies it sold) time.
Gameplay:
Phantasy Star 4 seems like standard JRPG affair at first glance. Everybody can use attacks, items, techniques/magic, and defensive positions. However, it builds on the familiar mechanics of the genres in ways that make it accessible to newcomers while also having surprising QOL to veterans such as myself.
I'm just going to say straightup I think the macro system should be in every JRPG. The player is given 8 command prompts to fill out where they can use a combination of inputs for every character in their party with a single click. Want everybody in the party to just attack? Set that to macro A? Want everybody in the party to guard? Macro B! Healing spells in C, status ailments in D, strongest techs in E, combos in F....
Oh that's right, not only are status ailments in this game actually useful (to the point I would have never beaten bosses like the castle owner without barriers or speedup) but there are combination attacks and different types of special moves. Skills can be used so long as the character has a pool of shared TP resources, while techniques can only be used a set number of times without resting. This helps to encourage the player saving their resources for boss fights or truly tough random encounters rather than just mashing their strongest attacks endlessly, especially since TP restores are practically non-existent outside of Ataraxia and the inventory space is limited as is.
The combination attacks are never really brought up in the game sadly but they look quite cool and ones like tri-blaster, blizzard, or grand cross proved to be immensely useful across the game while also looking immensely badass. My favourite is the Black Hole, which has a massive chance to absorb enemies into nothingness (yes, a JRPG where instadeath spells are actually useful, crazy right?) and can be seen here https://youtu.be/gI54FwiI6kQ?t=8
Unfortunately, the combination attacks are rather... clumsy. In a way it's unfair to compare this to Chrono Trigger since CT came out over a year later, but fuck it Sega's a big boy and I feel the comparison is warranted. CT's interface with combination attacks was incredibly intuitive; simple press the combo button and there would be a 100% chance of a combo coming out. In Phantasy Star 4, it is a dice roll if a combination attack comes out or if the characters simply perform their individual attacks. This wouldn't be such a problem, except resources in this game are extremely limited. This creates an almost unfair amount of RNG, but the game is still perfectly manageable even with this in mind so it's not a huge knock. I feel there was greater potential for the combo system, but it's still ultimately a net positive in my eyes.
Exploration is rather one of a kind as well. Every vehicle feels like real thought was put into it. The player can use an ice digger or airship, but they have notable limits; the airship cannot fly above the tallest mountains in the world and both vehicles have unique sets of weapons and sensors that render the battles looking entirely different from within their cockpits. The polish is simply unreal. Just be careful not to fight giant enemies without a vehicle, or suffer the same fate as me here
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129254943530950738/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-08_00-52-59.mp4
Overall the exploration is always fresh, and like all the 16-bit JRPG greats it has several world maps to explore with their own sets of sidequests and memorable dialogue. I also appreciate how characters use their spells in cutscenes (such as GiRes after the Zio battle) since it makes for a dope way to intertwine gameplay with story, which brings me to my next section.
Story:
Phantasy Star 4 may be a grand interstellar war epic, but it's really the little moments that make it. It may just be the earliest JRPG I can think of with party chat, which is of course hilarious when Chaz and Rune get into pissing contests like an old married couple over and over again.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129256255286956113/image.png
The NPC dialogue hardly feels like some by the books "thou shalt visit the town northeast of here!" On the contrary, so many NPCs feel alive. Basically every NPC in the game has new sets of dialogue depending on whether something happens in the world such as an earthquake in the city over in one cutscene. There's even a city that gradually gets rebuilt after the player finds it destroyed. The main characters and NPCs alike also sound very human with their jokes or concerns, with some of the following lines being favourites of mine
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129256817470484531/image.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129257068512157696/56.png
Further, the game tackles some pretty serious issues in surprisingly grounded ways. At one point, a city is closed off, so the NPCs go full "fuck capitalism" mode after the merchants use this to their advantage to raise the prices of essential goods. It's rather stunning to see this handled so competently in a space fantasy game.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129257521761222787/image.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129257521983528970/53.png
Then of course there are the doomerpilled NPCs worrying about climate change, all while the player slowly gets to see the world fade to shit.
But more than the serious issues, it's the tiny touches in the game that make the characters feel humans. Just about every house in the game has items like stoves, bookshelves, and so forth. Not only can the player decorate their house with souvenirs while Chaz gets called out for his tacky taste in furniture, but the description of things like the bookshelves actually change depending on the NPC's house. The NPC who is obsessed with birds has books about animals, the outcast in the village is noted for not cleaning his dishes for days on end, etc. There's even an easter egg where Chaz will attempt to open someone's cabinets without permission and get scolded for it after constantly telling the player it's rude to steal from the houses of other people.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464103903262/21.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464418463785/22.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464720465940/23.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464993087528/24.png
I can't mention the bookshelves without mentioning all the lovely Sega easter eggs too. The game does a pretty great job establishing my boy Chaz the chad as a geek with moments like him having no idea a prostitute is hitting on him, but I think what really sells it is his enthusiasm to stop saving the world for a detour to play Game Gear games. He just like me for real for real.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258980422717561/41.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258979827142787/19.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258980129112094/20.png
When talking about Phantasy Star 4's story, plenty of people have mentioned how it's this solar system spanning story about saving the universe and how shocking several moments are (it's one of the only JRPGs I can think of where a particular death scene feels long and dragged out rather than some fantastical "going out in a blaze of glory" style scene) but for me, again, it's really all the tiny things that just add up. The flames in one village just being ordinary flames instead of religious candle lights to signify which civilizations worship a particular religion... sometimes less dialogue truly is more.
All around, the story is not only a fantastic adventure, but also a comfy simulator for the life of a traveler. And it's one hell of a great tribute to Sega as a whole, especially the older Phantasy Star games. Endless tributes exist in the form of cool flashback scenes, remixed music, Alis' sword being equippable, the cat cave, returning bosses, some expy characters like Rika, etc. But to me the coolest tribute has got to be that if the player slips past the bounds of one village and travels all around the outskirts, they can find a hidden shop with the shortcakes from the first Phantasy Star. Simply epic sauce.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129260815577518190/image.png
Visuals:
The Phantasy Star series has always set itself apart with anime styled cutscenes and extremely expressive characters. 4 is no exception in that regard. Which Chaz reaction image are you today?
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129261758310256790/image.png
Is Phantasy Star 4 sakuga? Discuss!
Be it in dialogue boxes or extended cutscenes, every character in this game is full of various expressions. And this includes the enemies as well. Every attacked is fully animated with characters performing unique animations for casting moves as mentioned earlier, but what I didn't mention was... the Rappy's sick fucking dance moves? Cus that's totally a thing
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129262231029293117/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-13_23-01-14.mp4
Every world looks visually distinct and there's simply a plethora of unique sprites. One world may look snowy while another is earthlike. All sorts of alien species' coexist, with Raja being a favourite character of mine for his unique appearance of being a green alien dude who is also a priest. https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/d/df/Raja_portrait.png/revision/latest?cb=20151204000221
He's also 85 years old, which makes him the oldest playable JRPG character in existence by a solid 60+ years
Obviously it's not quite as visually stunning as something like Tales of Phantasia due to the lack of mode 7 or proper transparency support on the Genesis, but damn does it try its best and honestly it's so well stylized with its anime approach that I can't see it as anything but a visual masterpiece for the system.
Audio:
Hands down, Phantasy Star 4 has one of the best soundtracks in the medium due to its sheer variety of new songs and remixes. I'll never forget how flashbanged I felt by Sega going "what if we put the best remix of Opa-Opa's theme in an optional dancing scene 5 hours into this JRPG?" (Yet another based Sega homage!)
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1048770623805079633/1124870893936578640/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-01_00-47-42.mp4
Shoutout to the sound effects, the random penguin with Ristar's voice stealing my expensive ass food out of nowhere still gets a smile out of me too.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129263979710140437/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-09_05-35-30.mp4
Anyhow, the main thing that sets 4's soundtrack apart to me is its variety. Not one but 2 crazy remixes of the dungeon theme from the first Phantasy Star, 3 unique world map themes, some of the most unconventional boss themes of all time... oh and the drums aren't fucked up in the NA version like with Phantasy Star 2! Just a W all around.
Remember kids, you can't spell slaughter without laughter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao2LP75E7ac
TLDR
Phantasy Star 4 is a game that's well worth anyone's time, be they general JRPG fans or just Sega enthusiasts. Even if one didn't enjoy the first 3 Phantasy Stars, 4 has a level of polish with its NPC dialogue and battle QOL that makes almost any other JRPG pale in comparison. It's not quite simple but not quite complex, it's constantly keeping things fresh, it does things with the genre that are unique to this day, and it's the ultimate JRPG love letter to Sega and the sci-fi genre. Also Chaz is my son and Rune is my boywife. That is all.
Gameplay:
Phantasy Star 4 seems like standard JRPG affair at first glance. Everybody can use attacks, items, techniques/magic, and defensive positions. However, it builds on the familiar mechanics of the genres in ways that make it accessible to newcomers while also having surprising QOL to veterans such as myself.
I'm just going to say straightup I think the macro system should be in every JRPG. The player is given 8 command prompts to fill out where they can use a combination of inputs for every character in their party with a single click. Want everybody in the party to just attack? Set that to macro A? Want everybody in the party to guard? Macro B! Healing spells in C, status ailments in D, strongest techs in E, combos in F....
Oh that's right, not only are status ailments in this game actually useful (to the point I would have never beaten bosses like the castle owner without barriers or speedup) but there are combination attacks and different types of special moves. Skills can be used so long as the character has a pool of shared TP resources, while techniques can only be used a set number of times without resting. This helps to encourage the player saving their resources for boss fights or truly tough random encounters rather than just mashing their strongest attacks endlessly, especially since TP restores are practically non-existent outside of Ataraxia and the inventory space is limited as is.
The combination attacks are never really brought up in the game sadly but they look quite cool and ones like tri-blaster, blizzard, or grand cross proved to be immensely useful across the game while also looking immensely badass. My favourite is the Black Hole, which has a massive chance to absorb enemies into nothingness (yes, a JRPG where instadeath spells are actually useful, crazy right?) and can be seen here https://youtu.be/gI54FwiI6kQ?t=8
Unfortunately, the combination attacks are rather... clumsy. In a way it's unfair to compare this to Chrono Trigger since CT came out over a year later, but fuck it Sega's a big boy and I feel the comparison is warranted. CT's interface with combination attacks was incredibly intuitive; simple press the combo button and there would be a 100% chance of a combo coming out. In Phantasy Star 4, it is a dice roll if a combination attack comes out or if the characters simply perform their individual attacks. This wouldn't be such a problem, except resources in this game are extremely limited. This creates an almost unfair amount of RNG, but the game is still perfectly manageable even with this in mind so it's not a huge knock. I feel there was greater potential for the combo system, but it's still ultimately a net positive in my eyes.
Exploration is rather one of a kind as well. Every vehicle feels like real thought was put into it. The player can use an ice digger or airship, but they have notable limits; the airship cannot fly above the tallest mountains in the world and both vehicles have unique sets of weapons and sensors that render the battles looking entirely different from within their cockpits. The polish is simply unreal. Just be careful not to fight giant enemies without a vehicle, or suffer the same fate as me here
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129254943530950738/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-08_00-52-59.mp4
Overall the exploration is always fresh, and like all the 16-bit JRPG greats it has several world maps to explore with their own sets of sidequests and memorable dialogue. I also appreciate how characters use their spells in cutscenes (such as GiRes after the Zio battle) since it makes for a dope way to intertwine gameplay with story, which brings me to my next section.
Story:
Phantasy Star 4 may be a grand interstellar war epic, but it's really the little moments that make it. It may just be the earliest JRPG I can think of with party chat, which is of course hilarious when Chaz and Rune get into pissing contests like an old married couple over and over again.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129256255286956113/image.png
The NPC dialogue hardly feels like some by the books "thou shalt visit the town northeast of here!" On the contrary, so many NPCs feel alive. Basically every NPC in the game has new sets of dialogue depending on whether something happens in the world such as an earthquake in the city over in one cutscene. There's even a city that gradually gets rebuilt after the player finds it destroyed. The main characters and NPCs alike also sound very human with their jokes or concerns, with some of the following lines being favourites of mine
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129256817470484531/image.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129257068512157696/56.png
Further, the game tackles some pretty serious issues in surprisingly grounded ways. At one point, a city is closed off, so the NPCs go full "fuck capitalism" mode after the merchants use this to their advantage to raise the prices of essential goods. It's rather stunning to see this handled so competently in a space fantasy game.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129257521761222787/image.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129257521983528970/53.png
Then of course there are the doomerpilled NPCs worrying about climate change, all while the player slowly gets to see the world fade to shit.
But more than the serious issues, it's the tiny touches in the game that make the characters feel humans. Just about every house in the game has items like stoves, bookshelves, and so forth. Not only can the player decorate their house with souvenirs while Chaz gets called out for his tacky taste in furniture, but the description of things like the bookshelves actually change depending on the NPC's house. The NPC who is obsessed with birds has books about animals, the outcast in the village is noted for not cleaning his dishes for days on end, etc. There's even an easter egg where Chaz will attempt to open someone's cabinets without permission and get scolded for it after constantly telling the player it's rude to steal from the houses of other people.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464103903262/21.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464418463785/22.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464720465940/23.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258464993087528/24.png
I can't mention the bookshelves without mentioning all the lovely Sega easter eggs too. The game does a pretty great job establishing my boy Chaz the chad as a geek with moments like him having no idea a prostitute is hitting on him, but I think what really sells it is his enthusiasm to stop saving the world for a detour to play Game Gear games. He just like me for real for real.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258980422717561/41.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258979827142787/19.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129258980129112094/20.png
When talking about Phantasy Star 4's story, plenty of people have mentioned how it's this solar system spanning story about saving the universe and how shocking several moments are (it's one of the only JRPGs I can think of where a particular death scene feels long and dragged out rather than some fantastical "going out in a blaze of glory" style scene) but for me, again, it's really all the tiny things that just add up. The flames in one village just being ordinary flames instead of religious candle lights to signify which civilizations worship a particular religion... sometimes less dialogue truly is more.
All around, the story is not only a fantastic adventure, but also a comfy simulator for the life of a traveler. And it's one hell of a great tribute to Sega as a whole, especially the older Phantasy Star games. Endless tributes exist in the form of cool flashback scenes, remixed music, Alis' sword being equippable, the cat cave, returning bosses, some expy characters like Rika, etc. But to me the coolest tribute has got to be that if the player slips past the bounds of one village and travels all around the outskirts, they can find a hidden shop with the shortcakes from the first Phantasy Star. Simply epic sauce.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129260815577518190/image.png
Visuals:
The Phantasy Star series has always set itself apart with anime styled cutscenes and extremely expressive characters. 4 is no exception in that regard. Which Chaz reaction image are you today?
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129261758310256790/image.png
Is Phantasy Star 4 sakuga? Discuss!
Be it in dialogue boxes or extended cutscenes, every character in this game is full of various expressions. And this includes the enemies as well. Every attacked is fully animated with characters performing unique animations for casting moves as mentioned earlier, but what I didn't mention was... the Rappy's sick fucking dance moves? Cus that's totally a thing
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129262231029293117/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-13_23-01-14.mp4
Every world looks visually distinct and there's simply a plethora of unique sprites. One world may look snowy while another is earthlike. All sorts of alien species' coexist, with Raja being a favourite character of mine for his unique appearance of being a green alien dude who is also a priest. https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/d/df/Raja_portrait.png/revision/latest?cb=20151204000221
He's also 85 years old, which makes him the oldest playable JRPG character in existence by a solid 60+ years
Obviously it's not quite as visually stunning as something like Tales of Phantasia due to the lack of mode 7 or proper transparency support on the Genesis, but damn does it try its best and honestly it's so well stylized with its anime approach that I can't see it as anything but a visual masterpiece for the system.
Audio:
Hands down, Phantasy Star 4 has one of the best soundtracks in the medium due to its sheer variety of new songs and remixes. I'll never forget how flashbanged I felt by Sega going "what if we put the best remix of Opa-Opa's theme in an optional dancing scene 5 hours into this JRPG?" (Yet another based Sega homage!)
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1048770623805079633/1124870893936578640/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-01_00-47-42.mp4
Shoutout to the sound effects, the random penguin with Ristar's voice stealing my expensive ass food out of nowhere still gets a smile out of me too.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1094162928644653057/1129263979710140437/Phantasy_Star_IV_USA_patched_Genesis_-_BizHawk_2023-07-09_05-35-30.mp4
Anyhow, the main thing that sets 4's soundtrack apart to me is its variety. Not one but 2 crazy remixes of the dungeon theme from the first Phantasy Star, 3 unique world map themes, some of the most unconventional boss themes of all time... oh and the drums aren't fucked up in the NA version like with Phantasy Star 2! Just a W all around.
Remember kids, you can't spell slaughter without laughter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao2LP75E7ac
TLDR
Phantasy Star 4 is a game that's well worth anyone's time, be they general JRPG fans or just Sega enthusiasts. Even if one didn't enjoy the first 3 Phantasy Stars, 4 has a level of polish with its NPC dialogue and battle QOL that makes almost any other JRPG pale in comparison. It's not quite simple but not quite complex, it's constantly keeping things fresh, it does things with the genre that are unique to this day, and it's the ultimate JRPG love letter to Sega and the sci-fi genre. Also Chaz is my son and Rune is my boywife. That is all.