Phantasy Star is a series of role-playing video games created by Sega which started in 1987 on the Sega Master System, where it pioneered a generation of traditional single player RPGs. Each of the games in the series has a science fantasy setting featuring a cross-genre combination of magic and technology.
PS takes place in the Algol Solar System, which consists of four planets - Palma, the world of green; Motavia, the world of desert; Dezolis, the world of ice; and the mysterious Rykros, whose elongated orbit brings it within visible range only once every thousand years. Throughout the series, players get to travel to the all four worlds, and interact with its unique inhabitants. They eventually learn the secrets to the solar system's genesis, which is irrevocably tied to an ancient conflict.
The original Phantasy Star was released for the Sega Master System in Japan on December 20, 1987. It was one of the earliest cartridges to include battery backed RAM for saving game positions. The game featured 3D maze-like dungeons, which players traversed in a first-person mode. Phantasy Star, along with Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, distinguished itself as a pioneer of what came to be defined console role-playing.
The series is noteworthy in that all of its games take place in the same universe, as opposed to many RPG series such as Final Fantasy, wherein successive game settings are unrelated, or, at most, superficially related. Each major Phantasy Star game adds onto the series' overall story, culminating in Phantasy Star IV which ties all of the series' plot elements together into a final, epic conclusion.
Phantasy Star »
Sega
Phantasy Star - the first installment of the series, released for the Sega Master System in Japan on December 20, 1987, and then in the United States in 1988. It introduces players to the worlds, races, and lore of the series. It is considered a trailblazer amongst console role-playing games, both for its advanced graphics technology, and for being one of the first story-driven games released in the United States. The game centered around the adventures of Alis Landale, a young woman from Palma - and one of the genre's first female protagonists. In a quest sparked by revenge but sustained by urgent needs of Algol's citizens, she is joined by a muskcat named Myau, a warrior named Odin, and a wizard called Noah. Together the group is pitted against impossible odds, a tyrant king, and ultimately the very incarnation of evil.
Phantasy Star - Lutz Hack »
Sega
A hack to better tie-in with the rest of the Genesis Phantasy Star series. Nearly every piece of equipment has a different attack or defense value, many cost more, some items have been overhauled, some are only found from battles with boss monsters. The monsters now come at you in large numbers, so be prepared to fight the Hordes to get where you are going. As for Nei
that is for the player to discover!
- Every single piece of equipment has a use! If something costs a great deal of money, it is worth it.
- The restorative spells, (Heal and Cure) and items, (Cola and Burger) are now more potent and require more MP/Meseta to compensate.
- All the guns do more damage.
- Many of the shops have different items for sale.
- The following items are no longer in the game: Wand, Needle Gun, Silver Fang, Ceramic Sword, Iron Shield, Laser Shield, and Light Suit. The items that replace these are FAR better.
- All four of the player characters have been greatly changed to better represent their roles in the party.
- Alis and Myau have new Spells.
- The monsters have all been edited to keep a challenging level of play throughout, including having different combat skills, and nearly all drop more money to buy the new ultimate equipment.
- New graphics for characters and vehicles!
- Some dialogue fixes and renamed Noah to Lutz!
Phantasy Star Gaiden »
Game Gear
Phantasy Star Gaiden, released in 1992 for the Game Gear, was a spin-off of the original Phantasy Star, and takes place on a colony known as Copto, founded by the heroine Alis Landale. In this new setting, Alis was once again called upon to battle evil, now in the form of a being known as Kaburon, which she is able to seal away. The majority of the game then follows the adventures of new characters Minina and Alec some 400 years later until they reunite with Alis, who had been in cryogenic sleep in a vigil against Kaburon's return. After Copto is saved, the game foreshadows to the reemergence of evil back in Algol, setting the stage for Phantasy Star II.
Phantasy Star II - Anne's Adventure »
Genesis
Phantasy Star II - Kind's Adventure »
Genesis
Phantasy Star II - Shilka's Adventure »
Genesis
Phantasy Star II Text Adventures were a series of eight text adventure video games available to users of Sega Meganet, a modem for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan, and later released as part of a compilation on Sega CD. Each of the games takes place shortly before Phantasy Star II, documenting the backgrounds of its characters, and explaining what brings them to the town Paseo where they eventually team up to investigate the pervasive troubles of the Algol Solar System.
Three of the eight games have been translated into English.
Anne' Adventure
Anne Sage has just finished her internship at the hospital in River Town, and has become a full-fledged doctor. Calm, yet strong-willed, she is dedicated in helping everyone who needs her medical aid. Her chapter takes place in the spring of AW 1284, shortly before the events of Phantasy Star II, giving the player some insight into why she became a doctor and decided to specialize in helping victims of Biomonster attacks.
Kind's Adventure
Josh Kind is an 18 year old aspiring engineer who always loved machines, and had become quite knowledgeable in how electrical devices and robots function. He built many small devices, fixed appliances, and even learned to hack computers. However, due to being scatterbrained and clumsy, he would sometimes destroys the things he tried to fix. Eventually, after one particularly disastrous repair job, he gave up trying to be an engineer, deciding instead to put his "talent" for destroying things to good use. Thus did he become a "wrecker", his job being to trash anything electronic. He starts off joining a gang of rebels out to destroy Mother Brain, and eventually ends up teaming up with Rolf in Phantasy Star II towards that very end.
Shilka's Adventure
Shilka Gold, the only child of a wealthy family in Paseo, she belongs to the well-to-do of Motavia. Growing up and wanting for nothing, Shilka became a thief to remedy the monotony of daily life. She enjoys the outside air, the cool night breeze, and hanging around on rooftops, taking up the nickname "Shilka of the Wind". Her adventure takes place in Autumn of AW 1282, about two years before the events that take place in Phantasy Star II, as she plans to steal a valuable painting entitled "Opa-Opa", which is on display in a hotel exhibit.
Phantasy Star Adventure »
Game Gear
Phantasy Star Adventure is a first-person text adventure released in 1992 for the Game Gear, the first game of the series to be released on Sega's portable. Taking place at the same time as Phantasy Star II, it puts the players in the shoes of an agent of Paseo. He receives a letter from friend and scientist Ken Miller, who is studying on the ice planet Dezolis, and invites him to see an important new invention. Once there the player learns that Ken and his device are missing, initiating an investigation.
Phantasy Star 2 »
Genesis
Phantasy Star II: The End of the Lost Age, released in March 1989, marked the series' transition to the Sega Genesis. It benefited from an upgrade in graphics and in the scope of its quest, as it more than twice the size of its predecessor. It tells the story of Rolf, a government agent from the town of Paseo on Motavia. In this new setting, 1,000 years after Phantasy Star, Motavia is no longer a desert world, but has been mostly converted into one lush with vegetation and animal life, thanks to a system-wide computer network known as Mother Brain. But as malfunctions throughout the network result in all sorts of catastrophes from climate change to the appearance of mutant plant and animal life called biomonsters Rolf changes from an agent of the government to a rebel fated to end Mother Brain's reign over the system. He is joined by a colorful cast of characters like Rudo the hunter, Hugh the biologist, and Shir the thief, all of which have their own stakes in the conflict. Beset by monsters on one side and government-deployed robots on the other, Rolf and his allies are eventually pitted against an evil from time uncounted.
Phantasy Star II Retranslated »
Genesis
Sega of America did a very inaccurate translation of the original Japanese game. Items and names were changed, text was both censored and removed, personalities and motivations were changed, and a large amount of additional dialogue they just made up was added. This is an accurate translation of the original Japanese version.
Phantasy Star 3 - Generations of Doom »
Genesis
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, released for the Mega Drive in 1990 and on the Genesis in 1991, was a departure from the norms of the series in that it mostly took place in a medieval fantasy setting, in contrast to the science-fiction settings of previous games. The game revolves around two factions - the Orakians and the Layans - who have been engaged in bitter conflict since their founders disappeared without explanation 1,000 years earlier. Unique to Phantasy Star III was a storyline that spanned three generations, starting with Rhys an Orakian and continuing through two more generations, which ultimately mixes with the Layans. At the end of each generation, the players determine the next main character by choosing which of the women encountered during the adventure he will marry. The conflict between Orakians and Layans continue regardless of these choices, until ultimately it is revealed to be a mere consequence of a much greater struggle. At first glance, Phantasy Star III appears to be completely removed from the series continuity, but by the end establishes a solid connection to its predecessors, as players face off against a familiar enemy.
Phantasy Star 4 - The End of The Millennium »
Genesis
Phantasy Star: At the End of the Millennium, was released in Japan in November of 1993, the United States in December of 1994, and Europe in December of 1995. Building on its predecessors, it added a number of innovative features, such as pre-programmable combat maneuvers called "Macros", combination attacks between two or more characters and manga-style panel illustrations for major cutscenes. It was also the first game in the series to have in-depth character interaction and development.
Taking place 1,000 years after Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star IV returns to the Algol Solar System, which has been in a precipitous decline after an event known as the Great Collapse. The people struggle to survive against an unforgiving climate and a resurgence of biomonsters. Amongst them are Chaz Ashley and his mentor Alys Brangwin, bounty hunters who make a living performing various tasks for clients from protecting citizens from monster attacks to investigating strange events. As seemingly random occurrences all tie back in to the system-wide crisis, Chaz and the allies he meets during his quest must fulfill the series promise of fighting back the reemergence of darkness. But in this, the end of the original series, players will not only face off against the incarnation of evil, but penetrate to its very source, to rescue Algol once and for all from a bleak fate.
Linear Mode
