OK well this is a semi awkward topic for this forum I think since 99.9% of the topics are either GAMING NEWS or HELP ME ON THIS GAME.

The Phantasy Star series is (for those who don't know) a series widely popular traditional JRPGs made by Sega AM7. Before this Phantasy Star Online crap this series was awesome and captivated people for quite some time.

Phantasy Star's 1&2 are pretty decent, 3 sucks (avoid it at all costs), and 4 is definitely the best in the series. It was 1993 in Japan when #4 came out, but it wouldn't be until 1995 (even tho the title says 1994, it is wrong) when the game gets released on American and European shores.

The great thing is you really don't need to play any of the other games to "get it". They aren't sequels or whatever to each other PER SE, but take place in the same universe.

so why should I play this game?
It's probably the best RPG on the Sega Genesis for one, and two because while it's a jRPG it has a pretty decent story (a bit cliche in places but well done), with an absolutely funky ending section. It uses a neato battle system that would mark it as the first RPG to have a macro system (you set up something for each character to do, and can choose these in battle). The battle system is kinda alright. You have a party of 5, select all your actions, and all the actions are done based on stats. Pretty basic stuff.

It would also be the first RPG to incorporate the idea of combination techniques (as far as I know) a full 2 years before Chrono Trigger. There are 14 of these combination techniques which you use by having 2 characters use Magic & Abilities at the same time. Using a Foi (fire) spell in combination with a Whirlwind will produce a Fire Vortex, etc.

Cutscenes are almost manga style which is kind of cool, and PS4 also marks the first time deep character interaction was added to the series. Space/planetary travel and such play a pretty important role in the game, as well as using vehicles (which you can fight with, and they are very different than fighting with characters).

So what is the story??
(copied from Wikipedia)
Phantasy Star: The End of the Millennium, which takes place in the year AW 2284 (1,000 years after the events of Phantasy Star II), is the final part of the series canon. It is the story of Chaz Ashley, a young bounty hunter, who along with his friends and allies, is unwittingly catapulted into the role of savior of the Algo solar system. The computer network which has worked to sustain Algo has gone into disarray, leading to a series of catastrophes throughout the system. An investigation of the problem leads Chaz and his allies into a confrontation with the dark wizard Zio, whose aim seems to be nothing less than total annihilation. Defeating Zio proves to only be the beginning, and amidst great tragedy and struggle, Chaz and the others must eventually fight against an evil from time uncounted to restore peace to Algo once and for all.


The graphics are decent for their time: but aren't nothing special by any means.

Only bringing this up because I suddenly got the urge to play it again, it's a pretty good game that I'd recommend to anybody who likes a good RPG. It's easily emulated now too, so.

Wonderin' if there's any Phantasy Star/Phantasy Star 4 fans here.

You know, I've never played a single Phantasy Star game. I guess I could say that it's because I just never owned a Genesis, but that's a pretty lame excuse when you consider the fact that I'm a raging Shining Force 2 fanatic.

I need to give this series a whirl.

yeah dude it is pretty good. PS1 and PS2 are pretty much just GENERIC and don't innovate or anything at all. It's just the basic battle system, the story, thats it. They are pretty average games. PS3 is just complete shit. PS4 is basically the only one I'd really recommend to anyone tho, since it's really really good. You should download it for Gens buy it.

also this game was like 70-80$ when it came out, no joke.

man i remember this game it was my first rpg and i dont remember how the story went at all, regardless i was psyched to rent this and play it every chance i got. i also remember not knowing what any of the magic was except foi.

I've tried this a few times but never got too far in since it's rather heavy on the grind side (or I just was bad at it) so I usually got bored of grinding when I got to Zio's Castle.

Hahaha PSIII. Yeah, I remember playing that P.o.S. back in the day.

IV was pretty awesome, and I loved the music. II was my other favorite. If 1 wasnt so goddamn hard I would like it more, but it was basically just grinding for 10 hours.

I've tried this a few times but never got too far in since it's rather heavy on the grind side (or I just was bad at it) so I usually got bored of grinding when I got to Zio's Castle.

it's actually pretty easy if you know what you are doing. When you get Rune abuse his Gra (iirc) spell, and when you get high enough level the first two basic combinations are Foi + Zan and Foi + Wat + Thu or whatever the hell the thunder spell is. Both of these if you land them will kill every enemy in 1-2 turns up to the second act. Combat up to Zio's Castle is really easy, you just have to figure stuff out.

The game doesn't really take off til past Zio's Castle anyways.

This game was pretty good from what I remember, and I think I got pretty far without having to grind a lot.

from what I remember I got to Garuberk Tower, and couldn't beat the boss, and retreating to level up was too dangerous (didn't have any escapipes), so I gave up.

I've tried this a few times but never got too far in since it's rather heavy on the grind side (or I just was bad at it) so I usually got bored of grinding when I got to Zio's Castle.

Oh man, do NOT play Phantasy Star 3 then. That game was just....ridiculous.

Phantasy Star 4 was my favorite game on the Genesis. I probably enjoyed it more than most of the JRPGs on the SNES, it's definitely the best in the series. Phantasy Star has really been horrible these days, the only good thing I can remember are the two remakes of Phantasy Star 1 and 2 for the Playstation 2. They were only released in Japan though, so I'm pretty mad about that. They also didn't remake Phantasy Star 4, which probably would have done pretty well IMO.
I would say the second half of the game is the best part. The beginning is kinda slow at first, but once you're able to visit the different planets, things really get interesting.

Didn't they release all of the Phantasy star games in Sega Classics Collection and again on the Gameboy Advance or am I dreaming?

This is one of the few games that really captured the atmosphere of those classic anime shows, mostly thanks to the wonderful comicbook-like cutscenes.
The game itself does feel too RPG Makerish however - the towns and the dungeons are rather uninspired, the maps are rather bland, and even the way the characters walk reminds me of some games from the previous (NES) generation. On the other hand PS4 sports really awesome epic boss fights, which totally make up for the mediocre exploration part. Also, many of the monster and boss designs were (and maybe even still are) simply unparalleled. Bonus points for it being a sci-fi jRPG, which was rather unheard of at the time (at least in the US).
I consider it to be one of the best oldschool jRPGs I've played, even though I had to cheat to get through it (grinding wore me off quickly). The atmosphere, the music and the characters fortunately kept me playing till the very end.

@marcus: All except the gba didnt get IV

Ya the gameboy didn't get IV, lol.

Oh man, do NOT play Phantasy Star 3 then. That game was just....ridiculous.

Phantasy Star 4 was my favorite game on the Genesis. I probably enjoyed it more than most of the JRPGs on the SNES, it's definitely the best in the series. Phantasy Star has really been horrible these days, the only good thing I can remember are the two remakes of Phantasy Star 1 and 2 for the Playstation 2. They were only released in Japan though, so I'm pretty mad about that. They also didn't remake Phantasy Star 4, which probably would have done pretty well IMO.
I would say the second half of the game is the best part. The beginning is kinda slow at first, but once you're able to visit the different planets, things really get interesting.

Sega is releasing a PS collection for ps3 or something no word if they're changing anythin' or not tho. ;(

If I want to start playing this right now, what do you recommend I play first? 1, 2 or 4? Are they interconnected or like FF?

Naw like I said in the OP, they aren't interconnected. They all take place in the same universe but they are years apart (PS4 is 1,000 yrs after PS2) and explain what you would need to know anyways.

basically just recommend PS4. PS1 is average but grindy as shit, PS2 is average but less grindy, PS3 doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned, and PS4 is good so go get that 1.

hell yeah man phantasy star iv was a fucking blast.  I remember this game really blew me away when I saw that it had so much artwork even though it was just a sega genesis game.

I never finished but I saw a friend fight the last boss if that counts for anything.  If I could get this to work on my psp (emulator I got won't play it something about it being copyrighted i can't remember why actually) I would probably play through the whole thing.

I love PS4. It's actually one of the only RPGs I actually find enjoyment playing (another example would be Final Fantasy 6)

I say get it on the Genesis collection on Playstation 2. It's cheap and has a whole bunch of games.

HOLY SHIT! The emulation on the PSP is fucking INCREDIBLE! It... it is almost as if this game was MADE for the PSP :O Fucking ace man, gonna play!

BTW, Is it just me, or do the characters look very similar to the ones from the old Macros anime series!?

I get a Tenchi vibe myself.

Yeah, I liked this game a lot as a kid! I can't remember what exactly I liked about it (or what it's even about) because I haven't played it in a million years, but I downloaded the soundtrack a couple months ago (I remember liking it so much when I was about 10 that I tried to record it on a tape - and I still have it) and I realized that just about every video game song I have ever made is pretty much a replica of a Phantasy Star 4 song. Kind of sucks! But yeah, it has very good video game music and the cutscenes are neat. I wish I remembered more!

Edit: Oh man, so I just searched Phantasy Star 4 on youtube and found a video of the hunter guild sandworm quest. I think this was my favorite part of the game. I remember rushing through the game to get to this because it was such a hard battle, but when you finished it all of your guys would go up like 4 or 5 levels. It was awesome to just sit there for a minute scrolling through LEVEL UP text boxes.