Greatest Games of All Time: Phantasy Star I - IV

I'd like to start things off with a recurring feature I'm going to call 'Greatest Games of All Time'. In this feature I'm going to profile some of the most excellent console games ever released! Exciting, right? So without any further ado I present to you my very first entry; the venerable Phantasy Star series.

Phantasy Star 1

The original Phantasy Star was a pioneer in the RPG genre. Released in 1988 for the 8-bit Sega Master System, the game follows the exploits of the (female) protagonist Alis as she sets out to avenge the death of her older brother at the hands of the tyrant Lassic. Set in a futuristic fantasy world where magic and technology coexist, the player must guide Alis as she gathers her comrades and makes her way across the three planets of the Algol Star System before the final showdown with Lassic. Hands down one of the best games to be released for the underrated Master System, it holds up surprisingly well even today. Highlights included: a colorful cast of characters (one of whom was a talking cat!), gorgeous 8-bit graphics and music, pseudo 3-D dungeons, a lengthy and challenging quest, and a satisfying story. Fans of the 8-bit era (and RPG fans in particular) should find a way to play this game if they haven't already, for it is a true classic!

Phantasy Star 2

The first sequel appeared two years later and was aptly titled Phantasy Star 2. Although it was released for the 16-bit Sega Genesis system, it came out early in that system's life cycle and thus it shows relatively subtle upgrades in the graphics and music department. This is not meant as an indictment against the designers, but rather a tip of the cap to the folks who worked on the original game. This installment, set 1000 years after the events of the original game, follows the adventures of Rolf, a government agent. He is accompanied in his quest by seven additional player characters. Each of these additional characters has their own unique set of special skills and abilities, and players must swap them in and out of the four member active party as the situation merits. The doctor, for example, has loads of healing spells, the thief can steal valuable goods from the shops, and the hunter can handle heavy guns with ease. The game departs from its predecessor by dropping the faux 3-D dungeons, but more than makes up for it in sheer length (nearly twice the size of the original), an enduring storyline, and, in my humble opinion, the finest soundtrack of the series.

The third game in the series was similar to its predecessors in terms of gameplay, but it showed a radical departure in terms of presentation. Rather than taking place in a hybrid sci-fi/fantasy world, the setting for this installment had more of a traditional medieval vibe. Diligent play revealed a connection to the series' overall story arc, but it is not set in the Algol System and in many ways it feels a lot less like a Phantasy Star game than any other in the series. Though it may be the black sheep of the family, PS 3 featured an interesting mechanic that allowed the story to span several 'generations'. About a third of the way through the game, the player is asked to choose whom the protagonist will marry. After choosing, the journey continues on with the player now taking control of the son of the original hero, his stats, skills, and appearance being affected by the player's choice of bride. This mechanic crops up one again toward the end of the game, making the character that confronts the final boss the grandson of the original hero. Cool, right?

Phantasy Star 3

At last we have Phantasy Star 4, the final (as of this writing) numbered game to appear in the series. Turning up on American shores in 1995, this game truly brought all of the best features of the series together for one last victory lap. Returning once again to the Algol System and the series' futuristic sci-fi/fantasy roots, the story plays out in richer detail thanks to the newly introduced cutscenes.

References to the earlier games abound in every aspect of this fan favorite, but the game continues to innovate by adding side quests and combo attacks. This installment does an incredible job of capping off not only an amazing series, but the 16-bit era as well.

It should be noted that there have been other, more recent console games to bear the Phantasy Star name. Phantasy Star Online, released for the Sega Saturn in 2000, was one of the first console MMORPGs and was itself given several sequels across multiple platforms. Fine games they may be, they differ from the original series in many key ways. The storyline of the Online series has little to do with the original, for example, and combat is more action oriented as opposed to turn based.

Finally, I'd like to give you some context and recommendations should you decide to give one (or two, or three) of these games a try. The first thing to know is that they are relatively easy to come by. All four games are available through Wii Virtual Console as well as on 'Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection' available for PS3 and XBOX360. Parts 2, 3, and 4 are available on 'Sega Genesis Collection' for PSP. If you are a fan of 8-bit gaming, you really owe it to yourself to play the original Phantasy Star. It's really quite good. If you were only going to play one of the games from the 16-bit era, I'd have to suggest you go with the fourth game for its overall quality and polish, though the second game is quite a jewel of its era. The third game in the series is solid as RPGs go, but its loose connection to the larger series makes it ultimately skipable. Also keep in mind that all of these games are grindfests. Each one is a good-old-fashioned-random-battle-turn-based-money-hoarding-level-gaining-old-school-RPG, thank you very much! The genre has evolved quite a bit since the 16-bit era and these games do show their age in regard to some of the design elements and gameplay mechanics. Still, for fans of the old school aesthetic, and RPG fans in particular, the Phantasy Star series is one for the ages.