As a young lad who spent as much time as he could in arcades - hell, I'd even take a greasy pizza place if it had two or three decent cabinets in it - I was always drawn to the music of Sega games. Shinobi, After Burner, Space Harrier; these games not only had iconic visuals and gameplay, their soundtracks were evocative and memorable as well.
Out Run was never one of my favorite Sega titles because I was (and still am) terrible at it, but I did rather enjoy its soundtrack. I was fascinated by the fact that you could choose the background music by "changing the radio station" at the beginning of the game, and I distinctly remember standing back and silently judging the folks who didn't pick my preferred track, "Passing Breeze".
The smoothed out Latin jazz vibe just fits so well with the visual motif of the game, and the quality of the arrangement was remarkable for the era.
In researching this song, I came to find out that its composer, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, also played keyboards in Sega's official in-house band, S.S.T. Band, which was active during the late 80's/early 90's. S.S.T Band specialized in creating full-band versions of songs from classic Sega games and THEY WERE AWESOME! Seriously, I can't believe that I'm just finding out about these guys. You MUST hear their ultra-funky version of "Passing Breeze".
I also came upon this short documentary about Kawaguchi and fellow Sega musical heavyweight Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Shenmue) produced by the folks at Red Bull Music. There's an interview with Kawaguchi around the 5-minute mark where he gives some insight into his inspiration for the Out Run soundtrack. Apparently, the sound design team for that game travelled from Japan to Florida so that they could drive around and feel the vibe of the area. In an amusing twist, Kawaguchi didn't accompany the group himself, instead using photos and relying on the impressions of his team to help him set the tone. Have a look..
The Sega Master System; though it never stood much chance of crawling out from under the colossal shadow cast by the NES, there were a number of classic games released for Sega's 8-bit console. Among my favorites was this game: Zillion. Combining elements from games such as Impossible Mission and Metroid, Zillion was an intriguing mix of action, platforming, and puzzle aspects.
Players start out by taking control of JJ, one of the game's three playable characters. JJ's job is to infiltrate and destroy an enemy base while freeing his comrades Apple and Champ. In each room of the base, JJ and his friends must avoid traps and battle enemy soldiers while using their laser pistols to destroy containers and search for pieces of a password that will allow them to access the next room. Fans of Impossible Mission will take note of this obvious nod to that classic game. As players progress through the labyrinthine corridors of the enemy stronghold, JJ and his compatriots come across bonuses that increase the power of their laser pistols, boost their speed, and increase their maximum health. As the characters become more powerful, players gain access to deeper levels of the enemy base until at last they reach a showdown with its guardian and trigger the self-destruct sequence.
For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game was the sense of character growth that accompanied the collection of the various power-ups. In a manner similar to Metroid, players collect items that give their characters physical bonuses and increase the power of their weapons. Each time one grabs a 'level up' icon they slightly boost the speed, jumping ability, and maximum health of that particular character. In contrast to Nintendo's classic, there is far less backtracking through previously visited areas since the power-up icons are instead distributed evenly throughout the base. In this way, the character growth in Zillion is more of a steady and gradual climb, and it takes on more of an RPG-like feel. Another strong point is the challenge. Not insanely difficult, but still no walk in the park, Zillion is the kind of game that rewards careful observant players, and punishes those who try to power through, guns ablaze. Other highlights for me included the (admittedly repetitive, yet still awesome) music, and the anime inspired visuals.
This game has yet to be re-released via Virtual Console or any other means, but you can try it free by clicking here.
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.
