Launch games for old systems were a funny old thing, weren't they? Before companies had even got to grips with the system, some of the earliest launched games had a lot of stumbles and hiccups thanks to the new tech and very rarely do they come out on top. Nowadays, new console launch titles seem indistinguishable from their last gen fare, but still have to shake the bumfluff to really stand out.
Phantasy Star II is one such game, a near-launch title for the Mega Drive that was one of the first major RPGs for the system, which usually consisted of arcade ports and smaller licensed fare. As a game itself, it's one of the more divisive titles in the franchise, praised for its story and bashed for its gameplay, it holds some division in the Phantasy Star fanbase, but not as much as PS3 for instance.
The story, for as much as I can tell without spoiling, consists of Rolf, a young man working on behalf of the Mota government, who dreams one night of previous game's hero, Alis, defeating Dark Force. He goes on missions with Nei, an android girl, and their growing party to fight against crimes in the Algol system, which consists of floating biomes and societies in space who live of the benevolence of Mother Brain (no relation). From there, they encounter plots to destroy star systems and time travel, culminating in having to destroy the very thing that's keeping them alive so that the people of Algol might save themselves from destruction.
I wish I could delve more into the overall plot, but it's something I don't wish to spoil as it is one of the game's high points. It keeps you guessing with multiple twists and nothing feels like it doesn't make sense, it all bundles together quite nicely, which for an RPG is quite something.
Gameplay is pretty typical RPG fare, you choose between physical and magic attacks to defeat your enemies, you level up and get new gear and party members. It's all simple on the surface but once you peel away the layers, things do fall apart. Firstly, you get party members by returning to your home and having them join your party. Doesn't sound too bad until you realize that the game never tells you when party members show up, making it a guessing game when you have to show and it makes their relevance in the plot meaningless, as out of all the characters, Rolf and Nei are the only ones that get any character.
Secondly, the game is hard. Like, really hard. You have to grind and grind to get anywhere and when the game box provides you a physical guide and map, that's usually a sign that this game is not going to be straightforward. You'll constantly be going in circles if you don't follow the guide as barely anything is pointed out to you, and you move so slowly on the overworld, that it takes an age to get anywhere and battles are frequent too, so you'll be just worn down constantly unless you have items to travel between towns.
Sound also isn't great. The compositions themselves are fine, some songs in particular stand out as great, but the instrumentation is pretty poor. That's hardly the fault of the game, as this was a launch title, so the sound is going to suffer as they weren't exactly used to the new hardware, but it does sound a bit weak given the decent track compositions.
Overall, Phantasy Star 2 feels like a game that came out way too early for it to work properly. The sequel would muddle things up even further, but it's kind of sad when a game has a great story and atmosphere and playing it just feels like a chore. If you're going to play this, seek out a translation of the PlayStation 2 remake and just play that instead, as it fixes a lot of this game's issues. You'll thank me later.
Phantasy Star II is one such game, a near-launch title for the Mega Drive that was one of the first major RPGs for the system, which usually consisted of arcade ports and smaller licensed fare. As a game itself, it's one of the more divisive titles in the franchise, praised for its story and bashed for its gameplay, it holds some division in the Phantasy Star fanbase, but not as much as PS3 for instance.
The story, for as much as I can tell without spoiling, consists of Rolf, a young man working on behalf of the Mota government, who dreams one night of previous game's hero, Alis, defeating Dark Force. He goes on missions with Nei, an android girl, and their growing party to fight against crimes in the Algol system, which consists of floating biomes and societies in space who live of the benevolence of Mother Brain (no relation). From there, they encounter plots to destroy star systems and time travel, culminating in having to destroy the very thing that's keeping them alive so that the people of Algol might save themselves from destruction.
I wish I could delve more into the overall plot, but it's something I don't wish to spoil as it is one of the game's high points. It keeps you guessing with multiple twists and nothing feels like it doesn't make sense, it all bundles together quite nicely, which for an RPG is quite something.
Gameplay is pretty typical RPG fare, you choose between physical and magic attacks to defeat your enemies, you level up and get new gear and party members. It's all simple on the surface but once you peel away the layers, things do fall apart. Firstly, you get party members by returning to your home and having them join your party. Doesn't sound too bad until you realize that the game never tells you when party members show up, making it a guessing game when you have to show and it makes their relevance in the plot meaningless, as out of all the characters, Rolf and Nei are the only ones that get any character.
Secondly, the game is hard. Like, really hard. You have to grind and grind to get anywhere and when the game box provides you a physical guide and map, that's usually a sign that this game is not going to be straightforward. You'll constantly be going in circles if you don't follow the guide as barely anything is pointed out to you, and you move so slowly on the overworld, that it takes an age to get anywhere and battles are frequent too, so you'll be just worn down constantly unless you have items to travel between towns.
Sound also isn't great. The compositions themselves are fine, some songs in particular stand out as great, but the instrumentation is pretty poor. That's hardly the fault of the game, as this was a launch title, so the sound is going to suffer as they weren't exactly used to the new hardware, but it does sound a bit weak given the decent track compositions.
Overall, Phantasy Star 2 feels like a game that came out way too early for it to work properly. The sequel would muddle things up even further, but it's kind of sad when a game has a great story and atmosphere and playing it just feels like a chore. If you're going to play this, seek out a translation of the PlayStation 2 remake and just play that instead, as it fixes a lot of this game's issues. You'll thank me later.