The original Phantasy Star series is one that I’ve been meaning to get around to playing for years. With my default platform being the SNES back during the console war days, my Phantasy Star options were pretty limited. Sure, we could have borrowed a Genesis console from a friend; but none of my friends that owned a Genesis were into or allowed to play RPG’s at the time, so that option was out the window. Could I have rented the game and console? Yes, but we all know how long these games can take to finish and on such a limited budget; extended rentals could get expensive.
As the years have gone by, I’ve slowly acquired the majority of the Phantasy Star games on the Genesis and was just waiting for a good opportunity to play one of them. Which one though? Do I start with 2, 3 or 4? Every single person I talked to said that if I had to choose a Phantasy Star game to start with to go with 4. So, during some time off during the holiday season I popped in the 4th game in the series and my dive into a Genesis RPG began.
The story starts out with a two person team of monster hunters tasked with cleaning up a research facility, but this quickly escalates to a larger plot where many lives are at stake and eventually the entire universe. This is all presented with terrific music, simplistic menu navigation and manga like cut scenes that help the player get more into the universe. As much as I love Final Fantasy 3/6, Phantasy Star IV really fires on all cylinders with developing and presenting its plot. Could you imagine if they would of made this available for the Sega CD with actual animated cut scenes and voice overs? Redbook Audio mixes of the soundtrack?! That would have been quite a presentation.
The game has plenty to offer in terms of exploration. I never visited a town or dungeon that looked like it was copy and paste job from the last one. Just when you think you’ve seen everything there is to see, you find yourself on another planet with its own set of towns and dungeons. One of my favorite features in the game is the ability to “talk” to your characters in the party. Doing so will not only allow you to see your characters personalities come out, but will explain the current direction you need to take to advance the game. That feature alone is nice for players who may not have an opportunity to play the game through on a regular basis.
After a few very long nights that went into the early AM each time, I managed to finish the game and I can say I fell in love with it as much as I did when I finished Final Fantasy 3/6 on the SNES. The game has certainly moved into one of my favorites on the platform. Now, I’m left with the dilemma on what game in the series I should play next. 2? 3? I will give myself some time before I make the commitment to it, but I’m looking forward to visiting the universe of Phantasy Star again. If only I could go back in time and convince one of my friends to give these games a try back in the day! Just so I could play them of course.