Was Phantasy Star II your favorite game in the series? If so, tell us why! If not tell us which one is and why you like it! Also spread the word and celebrate this great game’s anniversary!
2 was awesome but 3 is still my favorite one despite not being as popular or liked it seems. I just really loved the generations system and wish I knew other games that did something similar.
That is the best thing about 3! I don’t really know of any others that do that but I wish there were. By the way you are a he very first view on this video so thanks!!
Yea totally! That was amazing. It still is but to think that the little Dreamcast has that kind of power was crazy. And it auto translated or something too? I forget how that worked. Thanks for watching! You’re one of the first 100! 💫
I beat this game with my older brother over the summer of 1990, just before he moved away forever to join the navy. To say I have nostalgia for this incredible game is an understatement. No other game means to me what this games means
@@benisrood forever in the sense that we no longer lived close to each other. We’ve hardly seen each other or spoken over the least 30 years. We live different lives across the country from each other and our family has long since drifted apart.
I still have my original copy of Phantasy Star II which was a birthday present from my parents when I was 9 years old. Still one of my favorite JRPG's of all time.
Nice!!! It must have been great fun! Wasn’t it great Sega boxes were plastic as well? At least for a while. All my Sega games were mint because of that. Thanks for watching 💫
Phantasy Star 2 was my first JRPG, and my first RPG at all. My parents got it for me when it first came out, kind of randomly as "ah, let's get the kid whatever". As an artist and writer today, I can honestly say that it outright inspired and still does inspire me today, even though I went on to play other JRPGs and games, the rest of the Phantasy Star series and Phantasy Star Online games including PSO2. It spurred my love for science fiction. Without it I might have never gotten into Star Trek, Asimov and other authors, or began to pen my very first little stories. The dark themes of the game and its turns, as opposed to the more happy-clappy everything-is-going-to-be-okay works I could not relate to, felt so much more relatable and human, and all the more hopeful for it all in the small pockets of brightness dotted within it. And although the character had a small tiny role in this game compared to others, Lutz/Noah in particular was one of my favorites just for the backstory. I went on to play Phantasy Star 3 and 4, then 1 where it all began. I'm so happy to see the spark that set off my entire creative life and set me down my path as a sci-fi lover and creator getting some love and appreciation. Thank you so much for this.
It's actually the game that brought the attention of RPG concept, soon as online connect was accessible, the play style became a VR render way aside from CtF & DM 3D shooter-up type. Eventually evolved into MMORPG trilogy.
The fact that all main character profile pics stich together to form a uniform background is super cool, and the person who noticed it first is awesome!
Even though our ex-friends/crushes betrayed us after Highschool, miraculous works of art such as Phantasy Star 2 will never forsake us for all eternality. Thank you for the memories Sega!
Since 2010: I've played Phantasy Star II, III, and IV every spring and summer. Something about these games (mainly PSII's warm color pallete) reminds me of Summer for some reason.
I’m like that too. Staying up late and the summer air at night recaptures the feeling I think. Thanks for watching and have fun on this years play through 💫
This is “The One” that hooked me on gaming. I haven’t stopped playing since the first time my Dad handed me the controller and had Rolf cast FOI on an enemy and watched him fade away. That’s got a lasting impact on a 9 year old kid.
Thank you very much for all your work on this great video! I play RPGs for over 30 years now and this video is an awesome tribute to this milestone of a videogame.
Thanks for this video, man. :) My older brother played this game a lot when we were growing up, and I would watch him. Nei became my first ever crush, and I had no idea what a crush was. When I finally got to play through and finish it myself...hoo boy. I can honestly say that Phantasy Star II is one of my favorite works of science fiction of all time. It has all the hallmarks of good sci-fi: a vision of both the best and worst of human potential. A dying world that taunts you with its cheerful facade. Kickass music. And most importantly: a hopeful message. Even if you lose your family, your freedom, your home, and your life, it is _still_ worth it to fight for justice and peace. ^_^
Phantasy Star III was so underrated. I love the aspect of it seemingly being completely unrelated to Phantasy Star II at first. My mind was blown as a kid with the big reveal.
Yeah me too. I was thinking about that. Why can’t they just say part of the ending of 2 in the opening of 3? But it is a role playing game and all the characters didn’t know they were on a spaceship. So the player and character having that revelation at once makes for a better game. Even though it hurts the game because I’m a 1991 magazine article you can’t really fit that all in. Thanks for watching one day one! 💫
Yeah i think Phantasy Star III was great but i can remember being disappointed with the battle animation changes. I think the thought of having multiple generations was a really cool idea at the time.
If not for terrible battle system, tech system, hilarious "monsters" and battle music it will be much-much better. But despite all that related to battle system it was great entry in the series, with interesting narrative, atmosphere and mechanics.
I agree 4 benefits from a huge cart size and years of programmers understanding the hardware but 2 is 2! It’s special to anyone who was a Genesis early adopter
@@GTV-Japan I never played it on Genesis, myself. As a SEGA fanboy raised in a Nintendo family, I never even owned a SEGA console until the Dreamcast. After falling in love with Phantasy Star Online (on GameCube, not Dreamcast), I purchased the Phantasy Star Collection on Game Boy Advance the second I learned of its existence. At this time, I didn't even know there was a fourth entry in the series. I found the first game to be a little hard to progress in, but the cutscenes and 3D dungeons were way ahead of their time, and the monster designs and backgrounds during battle are still beautiful today. I especially liked that it had a female protagonist, especially since her brother Nero probably would have been the main character in a more "traditional" RPG setting. I never beat it, but with the adjustments made in the SEGA Ages version on Nintendo Switch, I expect to rectify that. Phantasy Star II is where it really clicked for me. Everything about the game, from the setting, character designs, and music, to its story and gameplay mechanics... it all made sense to me and was gripping for as far as I made it, at the time. I'm probably going to play it first when I get the Genesis Collection on Switch, and then straight to IV, if I can help it. I honestly can't wait to reexperience it. Side note, I tend to name the male hero of PS games after Nero, starting with Eusis/Rolf. It's gotten to the point that it's weird for me to hear either name associated with that character. Phantasy Star III was a letdown, for me. I felt the music was a big step down from its predecessors, and I really didn't like that the environments were so plain and medieval. I like the idea behind the story continuing with successive generations, but my young imagination before starting the game predicted that the generational difference would be massive, like that your actions as Rhys in the more classic fantasy era would somehow affect a more futuristic age in a later part of the game. I never finished this one, either. Feel free to use that last paragraph for your next video in this series. Or the whole comment. Whichever you'd prefer.
Mitsuraga sure I will! I love open unfiltered discussion and hearing reasonable negative opinion. I won’t spoil it if you never finished PS3 but I will say it’s worth getting to the end. It does tie up loose ends from ps2 and makes it feel like a true member of the phantasy star family
God I'm so glad I found your channel. PSII was so atmospheric. I loved the tragic part at the beginning where Darum accidentally kills his daughter Teim. It really set a dark tone that carried on through the game. Being 10 years old that and the death of Nei made me confront feelings I'd never had games throw at me before.
Thanks! I made one for PS1 and next April there will be one for PS3 too. If you have time check out all the other videos. I out as much heart into all of them, and comment on what you like so we can have a conversation about it. Thanks for watching
Honestly, that REALLY sucks that they had to do away with the 3D dungeons for Phantasy Star 2, as that would have made the game even better imo, as I absolutely LOVED the 3D dungeon design in the first game.
This game deserves the Sega Ages treatment, imagine having more quality of life improvement and probably even adding back a background to the fights and first person dungeons
@Umbreon25100 Ah yeah the PS2 japanese exclusive game, but I'm talking about remastering the original Megadrive game without having to remake the entire game like the PS Generation 1&2. I dunno if it's possible but bringing back the battle backgrounds, having a PSIV-like command system (and macros if possible) and many tweaks like the character being able to run
Awesome to see such a big video about this game! This was the first Phantasy Star I ever played, and while it was way after launch (~2000 on a Sega Smash Pack disc for PC), I still have really fond memories of it. It's the reason I'm a fan of the series today.
That’s great to hear. I always wonder about different comps and who buys them and for what reasons. The DC smash pack was great even though I had all the games. I hope Sega never dies! Thanks for watching as always 💫
:O Lol thank you so much for reading my comment in your previous PS video :D Of course I watched this one, from start to finish! 48 minutes of joy. Keep up with the stellar work, you got a big fan already here :P!
It's a testament to the quality of this video that I actually thought this was something that aired on English language Japanese tv (with the commercials and all) till one of the comments called that out. Nice stuff!
In Brazil in the earlyl 90s very few of us could afford buying cartridges... so there was a booming business of gaming rentals. I played Final Fantasy II probably in probably a week. I remember being stuck in the labyrinths, of trying to draw maps and failing, of getting help from a friend with better visual memory. And the complete shock of the ending. I only played a bit of PS1 recently, in the generations version, in an amulator, and only a bit of PS4 also in an emulator years ago, but PS2 and PS3 I played and finished at around the time they came out. I love both almost equally, but somehow PS2 is the one I end up remembering more. I really loved the futuristic, utopian society standing at the brink of ruin. The futuristic housing interiors in the units portraits. I've been playing Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis this days, and it's amazing to think how many years have gone by.
Possibly my favorite JRPG of all time. Twas a dark tale, and very advanced for 1989. First time a main character, the strongest in your group, dies. Fascinating game with very fascinating music.
this is one I've been looking for for the Genesis for a while now. I might have to go through eBay. Watching this made me really want to have the original even though I have the PS2 Genesis collection version.
The PlayStation 2 collection is pretty buggy. Best bet is Sega ages vol 32 or just the original cart. N’At Thanks for watching on day one! Much appreciated 💫
Currently playing Phantasy Star 2 for the first time ever on my Tablet as I travel. I played PS4 a lot when younger but never had the courage to try the "older ones", they were too intimidating. But now, thanks to Sega FOREVER I can play them on the go and FINALLY go over the entire series! 2 is archaic, but still incredible! ... maybe I'm saying this because I was spoiled by PS4.... Will Soon tackle Phantasy Star 3.... Just need to find the path to dark force on noah (still grinding to get MEGID)! GREAT VIDEO!!!!!
Sega forever is pretty cool!some people don’t like it but anything that brings in money keeps Sega open! Thanks for watching the video I hope I could provide perspective as to how huge the game was then even though compared to all the 90s rpgs it is a bit outdated 💫
I bought this used after buying Phantasy Star 3 new when it came out, because of the references to 2 got me curious. The thing that really made 2 stick in my mind was the humanity aspect. The death of Nei blew my mind. Mainly because we came to rely on Nei when grinding and leveling up, because Nei was developing faster than the other three. Nei became like a reliable clean-up character. When the others were out of commission deep in some dungeon, she would still be battling and manage to get the whole party back. You learn to bond to a character like that. After Nei's death, you literally have to adjust to her not being the 2nd character, physically and emotionally. That's the enduring legacy--how touched everyone was by Nei's death. It certainly was a first for me in an RPG!
Thanks for such a great comment! I think everyone feels the same as you. I think Nei is a great lesson in humanity and it’s faults in many areas but also in optimism they put into her. Even though back then characters were pretty limited. Thanks for watching 💫
Very, very well said. 13 year old me was certainly not aware that I was building a relationship with these characters and coming to care about them until Nei was gone. Somehow, it was a personal loss, and that it had such a drastic impact on the remaining characters only made that loss more “real”, if you will, and caused me to care about them more.
I remember being gifted this game by my uncle when he brought me to buy some games for his recently bought sega genesis all the way back in 1991.....he bought a sangokushi strategy game and gifted me this. It was the Japan version but comes with the guide book. I just started to learn Japanese then and the names of the characters were confusing. Nonetheless it was everything you had mentioned. Forever an important part of my memory. Thanks for doing this.....I spent the morning watching this and it took my mind off to happier times.
I really love your videos and hearing your voice! These are so informative and historical! I’ve played Phantasy Star games but I need more motivation from fans and help to get deeply into the series. Also I always thought the protagonist Rolf/Eusis looked like Marth of Fire Emblem.
This was a great vid, love the indepth analysis and honest review of PS2. One of the greatest games made for sure. Glad there are many out there that have enjoyed this game too.
17:35 This is how you know they put their hearts in the development of this timeless classic! I also have the Sega AGES Phantasy Star 2 for PS2 and Pantasy Star Collection for Saturn but I can't understand what they're saying in Japanese!
Techniques, the ones not a condensed version of English terms, are that of German terms, often mistranslated from German to Japanese to English. Like Saner, which increases your speed, is a mistranslation of Schnell, which is German for "faster". Schnell to Sh-an-el/r to Sa-ne-r. This also s true of many defense items.
I was not able to get into and complete Phantasy Star II. I tried multiple times but could not. Growing up I was more Nintendo than Sega so I missed out of a lot the first time around. About seven or eight years ago I wanted to jump in and check out the Phantasy Start series. I did some research on RUclips and found The Happy Console Gamer. Not only does The Happy Console Gamer speak very highly of the series but claimed Phantasy Star was his favourite of all time. This inspired me to play the original in all it's glory. I had to use all my wits and graph paper to make it through the original but it was well worth it. After I failed to stay focused on the second game, I skipped the third and completed the fourth which is nothing short of a masterpiece. I will be giving this one another chance as your video is so inspiring I want to experience this whole game for myself. Thank you very much! P.S. I still have yet to prove that The Happy Console Gamer is actually J-Roc from The Trailer Park Boys, but this meaningless inside joke is still going almost a decade later. It's a secret to everybody.
Yea I don’t know what that means but HCG is a cool guy we even made a video together for his channel and I was making this video and he told me he was really excited to see it. I actually found some home movie footage of the day we got phantasy star 2! My brother especially was very excited. 4 is the best hands down but man did you get your moneys worth for a game back then ! 💫
This was a great game, like the first one it was ahead of its time. I remember putting so many hours into this game just levelling up, maybe about 20 hours early in the game just doing that. Then getting to that battle where (Spoiler Alert) Nei dies, I was shattered, I couldn’t believe that Sega had done that, it was brilliant coz you kept thinking who else in this game could die. Awesome video mate, it brought back so many memories
Wait what? Nei dies!?! Ahh no why did you tell me?? Haha just kidding I read the guide book before I got there. Glad you enjoyed it. PS3 will be coming next year!
I remember first seeing this game Christmas of 1990. I didn't have a Genesis, so I got a copy of Mega Man 3, but my friend got PS2. Having already cut my teeth on Dragon Warrior, and never even laid eyes on a Master System, I instantly fell in love with it. To this day, after playing hundreds of RPGs of all types, it remains one of my favorites.
I’ve never played through any of the games but plan to. I have PS1 on Switch and PS3 on Genesis. Thanks for the inside scoop on the big bad from 1 returning in 2 so I won’t be confused going into 2.
I played 2, 3, and 4 when they came out and I just assumed the 'default' background was to give it the more sci-fi feeling. Phantasy Star 2 was my favorite of the series hands down! As a 9 year old, it impressed me that a main character (Nei) could die. In 98-99 I learned how to hex-edit and when emulation became possible around that time, I came back to Phantasy Star 2 and put the color cards into Rolf's inventory. This allowed me to bypass Climatrol and Nei's death. Nei even held up decently in Dezo and Noah! PS2 gets my vote for favorite game of all time (not just Phantasy Star) because the storyline held such a strong grip on me that I felt compelled to reprogram it once I was old enough (and capable enough) to do so! Thanks again for the amazing videos!
How did I not discover your channel until now?? Phantasy star is legit one of my most favorite series ever and this video does great justice in presenting that awesomeness. You earned my sub sir. Cant wait to binge on your ps3 and ps retrospective videos after finishing this one.
Thanks!! I hear that often and I understand that but would a channel get a million subscribers on the first day? Ha that would be funny! But anyway check out all the videos you’d like and comment. I always write back and engage j conversation. Also someday I will do the video on phantasy star 4 and let’s hope it can become the greatest video of all time to pay tribute to the game. Thanks for watching 💫
Hey no problem. The commercial breaks kind of evolved from what I was doing early on and thought it would be funny to do and the response was huge so they’ve been in there ever since. For ps2 and 3 it was so fun making the fake commercial which a few people thought was real!
Indeed this was the first PS game I played, I played it on the Smash Pack before getting it for the Genesis and i still play it every now i then, cant wait for the review of 3 and 4.
Well haven't made it far in the game yet, thanks to me getting the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection for my PS3 I finally got to play part 3 for the first time, the main reason I got the game was because I so Phantasy Star as an unlockable game, hopefully i'll be further in before your review.
Oh yea forgot about that! The best version though is PS collection for PlayStation 2 if you can find it. You can get 4x exp and really avoid level grinding
24:20 Just an FYI for people thinking about playing the original PS2 today. The PC version of this collection is probably your best option, because it natively supports ROM hacks via Steam Workshop. The old-school grind in PS2 is absolutely crushing, so using a mod that boosts gold/XP drops, while lowering the encounter rate, makes it vastly more playable.
I was a NES fan growing up. I connected with Phantasy Star series after watching HCBailey's playthrough years ago and thank goodness he played it while I and many watched him. Now I am watching the Phantasy Start Online II anime and I'm hooked. Thanks for the video, it opened me up how complex this series is.
I’ve been a Phantasy Star fan ever since a friend from school let me borrow the Gamecube version of Phantasy Star Online back in the day, but I hadn’t ever beaten the originals until recently. I actually just tonight as I’m writing this beat Phantasy Star 2 for the first time and I absolutely adore it, definitely one of my favorite Sega Genesis games and I can’t wait to see where 3 and 4 fall for me
Time to comment on a video I watched ages ago! I beat Phantasy Star 2 last year. I loved the story, graphics, and music, especially the story (SO GOOD!). That being said, all the grinding did start to wear me out after a while. I also used a ton of save states (even with that, the game took me 4 months to beat!). Overall, I'd say PS2 is at the bottom of my list of the best PS games but it's still a really good game that deserves to be remembered.
The grinding and the complex dungeon layout without a minimap like they did for the Nintendo Switch release of PS1 or the guide book that came out with PS2 makes PS2 very difficult. Sega should do the same treatment to PS2 which essentially doubles/triples the experience gained on the Switch version. Playing now, I agree with you, but back then when it was a first for a major character death, the largest game on console, ambiguous ending etc. It was a first for many things such that the impact on the player was much more profound. Playing today you can relate to other games like The Last Of Us where similar themes are common.
The Mother Brain was MORE than a "Super Computer" but several ALLUSIONS in the original Japanese version show her to be an A.I. and many aspects of Ps II's world (akin to the A.I. super computer in the cyber punk science fiction novel Neuromancer), and some in-world aspects reflect a very CYBER PUNK aesthetic, from how characters are have a CLONE made of them when one dies, Data Memory makes copies of your characters' memories/their consciousness, Biologically engineered animals the "Bio Monsters", Nei and Nei First are a HYBRID of Human and Bio Monster DNA. Techniques are not "Magic", disregard what the badly worded manual says. The Techs are more than likely PSIONIC+technological based abilities via augments that activate as characters get stronger, possibly via special implants they could get as part of their respective occupations. In battles, the cold dark backgrounds with a grind for the ground evoke a cyber-tech vibe like those seen in the digital world of Tron. My own headcannon is that each battle takes place in a pocket dimension that your party gets pulled into by the group of Bio Monsters and you can only exit the pocket dimension by killing the Bio Monsters. (this is what is seems like especially for those of us that watched the anime Fight! Iczer One)
I always thought that the "techniques" were the same magic wielded in PS, but the language had evolved so that only the kind of special magic wielded by Lutz and the Dark Forces that aren't part of the combat spell list are considered to be "magic". That would explain why the robot characters can't cast techniques.
A very informative video about the history behind Phantasy Star II. I played the game when it first came out & it doesn't get easier with each replay. Thanks for the video. I still have a crush on Nei. 💗
Wonderful work you've done here. I still regularly listen to the PS2 soundtrack when I'm repairing drones and the Luke Jansen remixes breathe new life into an already phenomenal soundtrack.
I abolutely love this! This was ( as you said) my first RPG game. How much you cared for the characters, the mystery, the story. We were kids, there were no worldly problems. Only having to save the Algo star system...
I've always been mind blow how 2 is the one that gets the most love in the series. I tried all four a few years back, and remember thinking on 2 specifically "wow, this pacing is slow." meanwhile 4 was instantly digestible. I'm sure alot of it was "you had to have been there" for its time.
This is exactly how I feel! 4 came a bit too late and not everyone had it. In the comments here manybsaidn2 is their fav because they played it first and the most Thanks for watching 💫
Remember it was released in 1989. the same year as NES FF1. First sci-fi RPG I could remember. More dark mature story. Dual scrolling dungeons. Just amazing graphics at the time. awesome soundtrack. Just looked like the future back then.
7:40 I think "Res" was a nod at "restoration" or "restore" instead of "rest" "Rever" might be something like "reviver" shortened. It wasn't mentioned but "sak" was shortened form of "sacrifice", as the caster would sacrifice his/her life to heal the rest of the party. 34:04 Just noticed how much Anna looks like Taylor Swift. Or maybe, Taylor Swift looks like Anna, since I'm pretty sure this game is older than she is! 35:24 Amazing how the English version was censored. It's funny now to realize that Ustvestia was subtly hinted at being gay. Probably wouldn't have been well-received at that time in the USA. 43:10 The "SP" stands for "single player" here, due to Sega moving towards multiplayer in Phantasy Star Online in later years, never to return to new SP titles in the franchise since.
Yeah, the Ustvestia situation reminds me of Ash getting taken out of Streets of Rage 3. I saw that Phantasy Star Online got an anime, too. I wish they'd make anime of the old school Phantasy Star games. They had much better storylines and PSIV is practically a manga anyway.
Excellent video. Thank you for creating this. PSII holds a very special place in my heart. I was 13 when it released and I have strong memories of hanging out with friends as we talked about solving the levels and puzzles. I went on to play PSIII as soon as it came out because of my love of PSII. 20 years later I bought an old Genesis to recreate a library of classic games and of course made sure to get copies of PSII and PSIII.
Awesome coverage of a game that was a part of my childhood and beyond! I LOVED the entire Phantasy Star series but PS2 was my favorite and it inspired my writing and art. I was such a fan of the first and had such a love of the series that I skipped school on release days to get them early and then had... *ahem* 'Phantasy Star Fever' so I naturally was 'sick' and had to stay home. I even brought the guide with me for study hall. I mean, I WAS studying so they can't fault me for that! (Besdies, Pac-Man Fever was real! But that's a story for another day...) The thing that affected me the most was Nei's death and PERMA-death. I spent countless hours trying to figure out a way to revive her or grinded endless levels with Nei until she was around Level 55... I was able to defeat NeiFirst with Nei but it still doesn't matter. It skips the heart-breaking one with her crying out and just goes to the death screen. I know a lot of people bring up FF7's Aerith.. which was heart-breaking too.. you never forget your first. I never quite understood why she couldn't be brought back to life but thanks to a Japanese friend of mine who also played PS2, apparently when you go to the clone lab afterwards, you are told her bioololgical cells broke down and deteriorated to the point where she couldn't be re-created and that matches up with all the biomonsters vanishing after the Climatrol section. Regardless, it hit me like a brick and if I was sick with Phantasy Star Fever for a day, I may or may not have called in sick for an additional day with grief over Nei's loss. I guess I hadn't realized how far such a simple thing as a game like that can get into your head (and heart) but that certainly was proof enough. It affected me quite a bit but I decided if a game could do that to me.. then I wanted to start working with games and especially writing books that could connect with people on such a deep level. I would go on to write my 1st successful book being inspired and based on many things from Phantasy Star 2. I have seen the Phantasy Star Generations re-make (with a way to bring Nei back this time) but sadly I don't know how to get the game other than to buy it from overseas or use an emulator but my Japanese isn't that good and I don't know much about emulators anymore or how they work. Still, I would love to get the English version of the re-dux but don't know how. Anyone here have ideas or know of a way? To recapture a part of my childhood like thatt would be worth so much... Anyhow, again this was not just a good review but including the music, art, commericials, etc. really made it seem "episodic" and I mean that in the nicest way. That scene at 21:58... Alis Landale followed by Nei AND Rika?? All my heroine video game digital crushes at once?? Pure Gold!! Anyway, I could go on forever about PS2. Its story was by far the deepest and most emotional while thought provoking as well. And with that cliff-hanger ending, I had to make sure I got PS3 the very day it came out like I did with PS2. For some reason, the electronics and game stores had a shortage and it would end up being delayed by a week. I called around and finally found a store that would reserve a copy for me. 4 hours away. I had just gotten my license. Did I skip and travel 4 hours just to get PS3 a week before the rest of my town had it?? Well, if you've actually read all of this and know of me based on that... what do you think? ;) Great video again! Great music! Great added content! (Subscribed) Cheers!!
Thanks for your comment I needed some time to set aside and reply the right way. First of all do you know the exact release date of Ps3? I’m about to make the video for that and would love to pin it down to the day as to when it was sold. Also if you want to leave a comment about your ps3 memory I’ll put it in the video. As for Nei I’ve read all the explanations but for me pre internet I was always under the impression that since Rolf exposed what was going on with the bio monsters and were made fujitives the clone lab refused to bring her back because she was not human but somehow before then they lied about it of the lab looked the other way. There is an English phantasy Star gen 2 patch for ps2. So look it up. I’m sorry I don’t know it off hand! Thanks so much for your comment and hope to talk again soon! 💫
@@GTV-Japan Thanks so much for a personal reply and so soon! Let me check into the PS3 issue as I may even have the recepit with the box/book that I can send a photo... if I can find it. And I would love for you to feature my comment. As for the different versions of of why Nei was not brought back, I'm just going off what my friend told me was on his system. He never lied to me and it made sense. I figure there is a realistic explanation and a in-game explanation I figure. Realistcally, if you kept Nei alive, she should stay alive. But (going from my friend's interpretation) NeiFirst was her sister and killing her meant Nei's structure would break down no matter what. Even a pre-saved clone from the lab couldn't save her. I guess that makes sense. Realistic answer? Gamers wanted you to experience permadeath. Period. I think PS2 is the first electronic game I know of that had it. They thought the explanation was enough and didn't attempt more detail. Probably didn't think people probably would try to level Nei up to 55 or call in sick to school or anything silly like that!! =p Little did they know the power of getting attached to characters in games and anime.
Yea bottom line is permadeath. Also they buried her so to bring her back you’d have to dig her up. It does make sense that if Nei first dies so does Nei. Unfortunately we lived in an era of spotty translations and lack of memory space to really get these things made clearly understood. If you play some Sega ages switch games it looks like Nei or Rika appears in the opening too , which took me a while to catch
I am honestly quite amazed that I found such an amazing series of retrospective videos on your channel, so far. I am looking forward to seeing how far you go into the PS series besides working on PS3+4. Though I started with Phantasy Star Portables 1+2 while my younger brother and friends were more into PSO2 back then by "traditional" means of course. Though this series has always interested me. One character I just can't get out of my mind is my favorite antagonist Helga from PSP1 though honestly knowing that how PSO2 has officially come out to the west and fans are clearly still in love with the series I would to see Sega throwing Alisa Landale in smash bros someday. That or Helga but it would more possible to have Alisa as the PS rep for good old Sega.
I've never played much of PS2 but it managed to imprint itself onto me before even Final Fantasy, thanks to 'the spoiler' being mentioned in a game magazine. It struck me deeply at that young age. I really should play it in full now that I have it on the sega collection. #neiisimmortal
Just started doing my first playthrough of this game 2 days ago using the Android App. Phantasy Star IV will ALWAYS have a special place in my life. I must say, PS2 is incredibly difficult in comparison.
I was a kid when I saw my brother beat Phantasy Star 2. I actually cried at the ending after he explained to me that they died fighting the Earthmen. Lol, great game, only beaten out by my favorite being Phantasy Star 4.
That was certainly my interpretation back then. All those final quotes are like Braveheart moments - 'Freeeeeedommmmmmmmm', knowing that they were going to charge in to die! In many retro reviews, it was made clear that the number of Earth men exceeded the population of the folk found in each town. Hard to see how they could have survived, although I heard that the Japanese version of the game implied better that they won.
My earliest memories of RPGs are of PS1and PS2. The images of the sprites brought excitement to my 5 year old self. What I really loved about PS2 over other RPGs at the time was being able to see the heroes on the battle-screen and actually watching them interact with the enemies, PS2 was ahead of its time with those animations. Although it was a shame there were no environments in the battles. Even the hero sprites of the great Final Fantasy 6 weren’t nearly as cool as PS2s which came out 5 years after PS2. Also PS2 had Nei!!!
Oh dude, you ain't kiddin' about Phantasy Star killing the competition. It was LIGHTYEARS ahead of it's time when it came out. If only I had known about it's existence as a kid, I would have been absolutely blown away had I gotten a chance to play it as a youngster! Oh how I wish I even knew the SMS existed back then! I even had a Game Gear and still had no idea that they were basically the same thing, or even that the SMS existed! Had never seen it mentioned anywhere or in any magazine, and never saw it or any games for it being sold in any store I ever went to. Such wasted potential if you ask me, as the SMS is a great system with lots of great games!
Man what a talent you've got there 👏👏 I am a huge fan of JRPGs , and a true videogame veteran of all FF and DQ games!But growing up , i had the chance to try Phantasy Star 2 in one of the many sega compilation games (that you also mentioned in your video) but I never liked it!Having watched your retrospective I can say with sincerity that i will give it a chance in the near future 😉 Please don't stop making all these retrospectives about our favourite JRPGs , you are the GOAT 😍
While I think 4 is the best overall game and has aged the best, 2 is the one I have the best memories of. I got it spring of 1990 right when it came out in US. By the time 4 was released I hadn't even played my Genesis much for years, let alone been excited to buy a new game for it. PSII's strengths are - best music: pretty much every track is memorable and likeable. Even though I haven't played it in 5+ years I can still remember them instantly. Can't say the same for 4, though it had good music too. - best dungeons: tough and long but not so mazelike that you were absolutely forced to draw your own maps like PSI. They weren't something you walked into an cleared the first time there sight unseen. They took repeated trips until you knew the optimal route. Ikuto (the pitfall one) being the exception; way too annoying. - great aesthetic: probably the most high-tech and sci-fi of the series. The look screams late 80's anime. Cons: - A bit too much grinding. I like the slower pace of older RPGs, but I'll admit PSII is overboard. - Poor character balance in the end. This is nothing new for old games, where the concept didn't really seem to exist, but towards the end of the game Rolf and Rudo are pretty much manditory, and everyone else takes a back seat. Anna's double slicers are good mid-game where battles are often lots of low defense enemies, but in the end it's more often 1 or 2 super high def ones. Anyone not Rolf or Rudo is best off using double shield/emel's and using storm gear (or other spell effect items) or techs in battle. PS4 is miles better in this regard.
I agree about the character balance. Nothing is worse than leveling up Kain and Shir near the end. I thought the movement was too slow on screen, but the story and music are the best! thanks for watching!
Gaijillionaire also the serious lack of bosses should be mentioned too. I can’t understand why most people hardly ever bring up this issue. The game comes off as unfinished because of that.
I always loved this game! I really don’t think it gets enough love. People were mad that the 3D dungeons were gone, but it was still very difficult and I had lots of fun working them out. I really liked the music, and story. I just thought it had too many characters..I didn’t like the robots, but they were gone decently quick. I did feel kind of sad when nei died, so that shows how great this game really is. Thanks a lot for making this video, I had to save it aside so I wouldn’t get spoilers, but anyways, thanks.
Oh please wait until you finish then if you haven’t but I agree with you though I was happy that the dungeons were 2d. 3D looked cool but was so difficult. Nei dying wasn’t a shocker because duh!! We all read the hint book and learned about it because we were all bored kids and had nothing else to do! 💫
Had to check this out after you did the one on Phantasy Star 3. Phantasy Star 2 is my favorite, sure it didn't start out that way since I started with 3 first.
I translated the Famitsu review on 16:58. I sped thru it and typed as i read it so it might be too literal and not perfect but here goes: 7: The parallax scrolling is nice, it really brings out the feel of the dungeons. The game balance has improved over the previous entry, and it just smells like a killer app all around. It's just that the maps are too large - it's great that it's a bigger game with more memory, but making the map larger to increase the difficulty is a little questionable to me. 7: An RPG with a jaw dropping 6 megabits of memory. If someone gave me 6 megabits I wonder what I would spend it on. But I can't buy a Ferrari Testarossa with 6 megs can't I...darn. The graphics are pretty, the map is huge. The scrolling dungeon roof is moody. No doubt a AAA title. 8: Like in the previous entry, I was in awe of the spectacular graphics, but this being a Megadrive title, it's way more spectacular. The enemy animations are so real it's scary. The story is deeper than the last entry too. But the dungeons being too difficult is a stickler. 6: The dungeons are so much larger than the previous title, it'd just make you go "Wahhh". Rather than getting pummeled to death by the enemies, you'd probably just die from the sheer size of the map. The "real" roof of the dungeons are just in the way, and the mapping is just not friendly. I had high expectations but was a bit let down.
Dang! It was so small!!!! Thanks for that!! Unfortunately I don’t have a big scan but if you want any files from this I can send them or show where I got them. 💫
@@GTV-Japan No problem! Looking at it up close with a 32" monitor helps :) Yeah I'd love to know where you found the scans of Beep, Megadrive Fan or Famitsu!
The beep an md fan come from Segaretro.org they have almost every issue. Incomplete mag scans are also found at retoge-mag.hatenablog.com You might need to register to access. I only have a MacBook so I don’t know how it looks on a big screen but good thing I output in 4K even if the game is 240!
It's also my first ever RPG. First PS2 I got was the Japanese version. I didn't know the story but I fell in love with RPG gameplay. The battles, the leveling up, the dungeons etc. A few years later I got the English version, read the dialogue and learned the story better. It was like loving the game for the first time again. Tied with Final Fantasy 7 for being my favorite RPG. Over the years I got many of the re-releases of this game on different platforms, Saturn, Dreamcast, GBA, Playstation 2. Steam. Actually playing the fan-translated version of PS Generation 2 on my Steam Deck right now.
What a great video! Brought back great memories. Phantasy Star II seems to get a lot of hate and I understand why. However, for me, getting this game back in 1990 and playing it for hundreds of hours with the included hint book made this one my favorite of the series. Made me appreciate grind-heavy RPGs to this day. And that music is unforgettable. I still get chills from the intro to the game.
I think that if it was a game you had when it was new the nostalgia plus having no other options maybe to play something else help create the opinion of the game. I can see how a newcomer looks at this game and says pass. But yea I’m with you. At the time it was huge and awesome. I loved it 💫
2 years later and I'm watching this impressive retrospective again. If they gave PSII the "Sega Ages" treatment on the Switch by adding in-game maps like they did for the original Phantasy Star, it would elevate the game so much.
I just started playing phantasy star when it came on the switch and I'm in love with the themes of the games, I just started PS3 on the Sega Genesis collection on the switch and after the ending of two I needed to know what happened
2 is not everyone's favorite if it is they are crazy. 4 was BY FAR the best. Superior story, battles, characters. It was everything you could ever dream of playing a turn based phantasy star even got to play as alien races. 2 was nice but 4 outshines it in every way possible
My favorite game on the Genesis. But OMG, the grinding. Leveling up characters took so long. The payoff for leveling up was small, except for the power leveling. The fact that your hit points weren’t in the thousands and end-game enemies did a lot of damage kept me on my toes. Oh, the robots, OMG, the robots. I was thankful for Rudo and Kain. The bosses, very few, were but memorable. I remember in my first play-through that my TP and healing items were depleted, making the boss fight heart pounding. I didn’t have the hint book because I got it used, so I took lots of notes and drew a lots of maps. Fun fact: I didn’t know Nei was a permanent death, so I maxed out her level to 30, thinking that was going to make the difference. Years later, I’d talk about this game in therapy and how it put me into a depression. Thanks Sega.
Was Phantasy Star II your favorite game in the series? If so, tell us why! If not tell us which one is and why you like it! Also spread the word and celebrate this great game’s anniversary!
2 was awesome but 3 is still my favorite one despite not being as popular or liked it seems. I just really loved the generations system and wish I knew other games that did something similar.
That is the best thing about 3! I don’t really know of any others that do that but I wish there were. By the way you are a he very first view on this video so thanks!!
Phantasy Star Online simply because playing with people from all around the world was a unique experience in 2000
Yea totally! That was amazing. It still is but to think that the little Dreamcast has that kind of power was crazy. And it auto translated or something too? I forget how that worked. Thanks for watching! You’re one of the first 100! 💫
This comment is going in the next video! It’s awesome thanks for sharing and for watching! 💫
I beat this game with my older brother over the summer of 1990, just before he moved away forever to join the navy. To say I have nostalgia for this incredible game is an understatement. No other game means to me what this games means
That’s nice to hear
Forever? You never saw your brother again?
@@benisrood forever in the sense that we no longer lived close to each other. We’ve hardly seen each other or spoken over the least 30 years. We live different lives across the country from each other and our family has long since drifted apart.
I would say move away forever too, unless he moved back in with yo mama! And a fine upstanding grown-ass man would never do that!
Imagine being an A-team making the biggest JRPG of its time in 6 months and *not* ruining everything.
Truly masterful
We're lucky to get a buggy game after waiting 6 years these days
Typical Sega
These games had zero Diversity, weren't at all Inclusive, and didn't even squeeze out a single drop of Equity.
That's how they're so good.
@KopperNeoman I think you’re using too much 21st century Newspeak. So it’s hard to understand! But I think I got ya! 👍
I still have my original copy of Phantasy Star II which was a birthday present from my parents when I was 9 years old. Still one of my favorite JRPG's of all time.
Nice!!! It must have been great fun! Wasn’t it great Sega boxes were plastic as well? At least for a while. All my Sega games were mint because of that. Thanks for watching 💫
Phantasy Star 2 was my first JRPG, and my first RPG at all. My parents got it for me when it first came out, kind of randomly as "ah, let's get the kid whatever". As an artist and writer today, I can honestly say that it outright inspired and still does inspire me today, even though I went on to play other JRPGs and games, the rest of the Phantasy Star series and Phantasy Star Online games including PSO2. It spurred my love for science fiction. Without it I might have never gotten into Star Trek, Asimov and other authors, or began to pen my very first little stories. The dark themes of the game and its turns, as opposed to the more happy-clappy everything-is-going-to-be-okay works I could not relate to, felt so much more relatable and human, and all the more hopeful for it all in the small pockets of brightness dotted within it. And although the character had a small tiny role in this game compared to others, Lutz/Noah in particular was one of my favorites just for the backstory. I went on to play Phantasy Star 3 and 4, then 1 where it all began. I'm so happy to see the spark that set off my entire creative life and set me down my path as a sci-fi lover and creator getting some love and appreciation. Thank you so much for this.
Thanks for a great comment! I love hearing stories like this💫
Well said! Your story hits me in the feels in many of the same ways.
Thanks! I also did a video on ps3 if you have time for that, even if it’s not your fav you might find it interesting
@@GTV-Japan 100% checking that out! PS3 is a wonderful game imo, and I'm always happy to see others who've played it as well :D
Awesome! I have played it a lot
The game that started my love of JRPGs.
You and countless others
Sparked my imagination well above Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior.
It's actually the game that brought the attention of RPG concept, soon as online connect was accessible, the play style became a VR render way aside from CtF & DM 3D shooter-up type. Eventually evolved into MMORPG trilogy.
The fact that all main character profile pics stich together to form a uniform background is super cool, and the person who noticed it first is awesome!
Thanks! If you look at a certain page in the hint book you can kind of see it but they don’t say it
This videos are so well made. I dig all the authentic commercials from the time and other bits of history.
The GTV difference!
Great video loved it!!
Even though our ex-friends/crushes betrayed us after Highschool, miraculous works of art such as Phantasy Star 2 will never forsake us for all eternality. Thank you for the memories Sega!
That’s very true! Some even betrayed us before graduation
That sounds awfully specific. Are you okay?
Truer words were never spoken.
Since 2010: I've played Phantasy Star II, III, and IV every spring and summer. Something about these games (mainly PSII's warm color pallete) reminds me of Summer for some reason.
I’m like that too. Staying up late and the summer air at night recaptures the feeling I think. Thanks for watching and have fun on this years play through 💫
What a lovely idea. Maybe it was from playing these games during Summer vacation from school as a child. I will look into this.
It’s like a full documentary! Wow! Great work!
Thanks Donny! 💫
This is “The One” that hooked me on gaming. I haven’t stopped playing since the first time my Dad handed me the controller and had Rolf cast FOI on an enemy and watched him fade away. That’s got a lasting impact on a 9 year old kid.
That’s awesome!!! Thanks for sharing your story! 💫
You make some awesome videos dude. Love the old ads between segments
Thanks Matt! Hope to see you come back again
Thank you very much for all your work on this great video! I play RPGs for over 30 years now and this video is an awesome tribute to this milestone of a videogame.
Thanks! Get ready for phantasy Star 3 next month
As a huge Sega fan, I've played every Phantasy Star game, beginning to end. Even the spinoffs. My favorites are 2 and 4
That’s great thanks for sharing! What spinoff games did you enjoy?
@@GTV-Japan I mostly enjoyed the Phantasy Star Online series.
That’s cool but I don’t think of that as a spin-off due it’s impact and legacy. Still a great game!
@@GTV-Japan New Genesis....
Two and four are the best.
Thanks for this video, man. :)
My older brother played this game a lot when we were growing up, and I would watch him. Nei became my first ever crush, and I had no idea what a crush was.
When I finally got to play through and finish it myself...hoo boy.
I can honestly say that Phantasy Star II is one of my favorite works of science fiction of all time.
It has all the hallmarks of good sci-fi: a vision of both the best and worst of human potential. A dying world that taunts you with its cheerful facade. Kickass music. And most importantly: a hopeful message. Even if you lose your family, your freedom, your home, and your life, it is _still_ worth it to fight for justice and peace. ^_^
That’s awesome. It’s one my my favorites too of course. Thanks for watching and I’ll be making a ps3 and ps4 video later on
Thanks for these vids! I love how well you've recreated the history of a nostalgic time period for so many of us.
Now on to the Phantasy Star 3 vid :)
Thanks! And there will be a PS4 video someday 💫
Phantasy Star III was so underrated. I love the aspect of it seemingly being completely unrelated to Phantasy Star II at first. My mind was blown as a kid with the big reveal.
Yeah me too. I was thinking about that. Why can’t they just say part of the ending of 2 in the opening of 3? But it is a role playing game and all the characters didn’t know they were on a spaceship. So the player and character having that revelation at once makes for a better game. Even though it hurts the game because I’m a 1991 magazine article you can’t really fit that all in. Thanks for watching one day one! 💫
Yeah i think Phantasy Star III was great but i can remember being disappointed with the battle animation changes. I think the thought of having multiple generations was a really cool idea at the time.
If not for terrible battle system, tech system, hilarious "monsters" and battle music it will be much-much better. But despite all that related to battle system it was great entry in the series, with interesting narrative, atmosphere and mechanics.
Phantasy Star 3's ost, and especially it's main theme, is beautiful. Also, I love the character portraits in the status/menu screen.
Phantasy Star IV is my favorite game in the series.
It’s mine too but I love them all. Thanks for watching 💫
It's inarguably the best, but II is still so special to me.
I agree 4 benefits from a huge cart size and years of programmers understanding the hardware but 2 is 2! It’s special to anyone who was a Genesis early adopter
@@GTV-Japan I never played it on Genesis, myself. As a SEGA fanboy raised in a Nintendo family, I never even owned a SEGA console until the Dreamcast.
After falling in love with Phantasy Star Online (on GameCube, not Dreamcast), I purchased the Phantasy Star Collection on Game Boy Advance the second I learned of its existence. At this time, I didn't even know there was a fourth entry in the series.
I found the first game to be a little hard to progress in, but the cutscenes and 3D dungeons were way ahead of their time, and the monster designs and backgrounds during battle are still beautiful today. I especially liked that it had a female protagonist, especially since her brother Nero probably would have been the main character in a more "traditional" RPG setting. I never beat it, but with the adjustments made in the SEGA Ages version on Nintendo Switch, I expect to rectify that.
Phantasy Star II is where it really clicked for me. Everything about the game, from the setting, character designs, and music, to its story and gameplay mechanics... it all made sense to me and was gripping for as far as I made it, at the time. I'm probably going to play it first when I get the Genesis Collection on Switch, and then straight to IV, if I can help it. I honestly can't wait to reexperience it. Side note, I tend to name the male hero of PS games after Nero, starting with Eusis/Rolf. It's gotten to the point that it's weird for me to hear either name associated with that character.
Phantasy Star III was a letdown, for me. I felt the music was a big step down from its predecessors, and I really didn't like that the environments were so plain and medieval. I like the idea behind the story continuing with successive generations, but my young imagination before starting the game predicted that the generational difference would be massive, like that your actions as Rhys in the more classic fantasy era would somehow affect a more futuristic age in a later part of the game. I never finished this one, either.
Feel free to use that last paragraph for your next video in this series. Or the whole comment. Whichever you'd prefer.
Mitsuraga sure I will! I love open unfiltered discussion and hearing reasonable negative opinion. I won’t spoil it if you never finished PS3 but I will say it’s worth getting to the end. It does tie up loose ends from ps2 and makes it feel like a true member of the phantasy star family
Awesome video, as always. You truly deserve more subscribers!
Thanks I wish! I wish more that RUclips would tell the subscribers I already have when a new video is out! 🤣
I played these when they released, and replayed II, III, IV on my phone last summer while locked down.
Still hold up as a very enjoyable series!
Same here and I usually go thru them every year too Thanks for watching 💫
Fantastic review!
I loved the Master System release with FM sound.
Thanks for watching!
God I'm so glad I found your channel. PSII was so atmospheric. I loved the tragic part at the beginning where Darum accidentally kills his daughter Teim. It really set a dark tone that carried on through the game. Being 10 years old that and the death of Nei made me confront feelings I'd never had games throw at me before.
Hey I’m glad you found it too! Yea there was a lot of permadeath which was shocking then! It was a pretty dark game.
I learned to read at age 3 in '90 thanks to the Master System and Phantasy Star.
That’s awesome! I learned to read from Atari manuals myself. Thanks for watching 💫
Man I can't wait for 2020 and 2023. I love these Phantasy Star videos so much and I don't even play the games!
I am serious there will be a video for these. PS3 is already written
@@GTV-Japan Seriously can't wait!
I LOVE this game. It's awesome to see someone put this much effort in memorializing this fantastic game.
I subscribed! Again, great video, sir!
Thanks! I made one for PS1 and next April there will be one for PS3 too. If you have time check out all the other videos. I out as much heart into all of them, and comment on what you like so we can have a conversation about it. Thanks for watching
Honestly, that REALLY sucks that they had to do away with the 3D dungeons for Phantasy Star 2, as that would have made the game even better imo, as I absolutely LOVED the 3D dungeon design in the first game.
A fitting video to watch and listen while i program a labyrinth solver. Great video as always.
Hey thanks! Good to see you again too
These videos are of great quality and are a very enjoyable watch. Thank you for the entertainment, keep up the great work. Your channel is awesome!
Thanks so much for the kind words! I’ll keep them in mind as I make more videos 💫
This game deserves the Sega Ages treatment, imagine having more quality of life improvement and probably even adding back a background to the fights and first person dungeons
@Umbreon25100 Ah yeah the PS2 japanese exclusive game, but I'm talking about remastering the original Megadrive game without having to remake the entire game like the PS Generation 1&2.
I dunno if it's possible but bringing back the battle backgrounds, having a PSIV-like command system (and macros if possible) and many tweaks like the character being able to run
Thank you for such an awesome video. I freaking loved it.
You’re welcome 💫
Awesome to see such a big video about this game! This was the first Phantasy Star I ever played, and while it was way after launch (~2000 on a Sega Smash Pack disc for PC), I still have really fond memories of it. It's the reason I'm a fan of the series today.
That’s great to hear. I always wonder about different comps and who buys them and for what reasons. The DC smash pack was great even though I had all the games. I hope Sega never dies! Thanks for watching as always 💫
:O Lol thank you so much for reading my comment in your previous PS video :D Of course I watched this one, from start to finish! 48 minutes of joy. Keep up with the stellar work, you got a big fan already here :P!
Thanks for watching all the way to the end! I was up till 2 am most nights last week finishing this so I’m glad I got it done on time just for this! 💫
Phantasy Star 2, is my #1 best RPG game of all time! ...the ending change my life! It will always will be the most shocking RPG ending of all time!
Ya it was great! I wonder for years if they all died or what. Thanks for watching!
Truly
It's a testament to the quality of this video that I actually thought this was something that aired on English language Japanese tv (with the commercials and all) till one of the comments called that out. Nice stuff!
😂! Yep I appreciate the compliment! Thanks for watching 💫
This may be one of my favorite RUclips videos of all time.
I truly appreciate that! I spent many nights up late making it and I’m glad you can enjoy it years later 💫
In hindsight: *yes.*
I say open a one-time Kickstarter for an _epic_ PS4 retrospective.
I can’t ask for money. I must summon the drive to do it. Then it’s for all the better.
Thank you so much
I was waiting for this video
I am trying to finish the first game then the others as for fututre!
Great video as always
Thanks kid! Let me know how it goes!
In Brazil in the earlyl 90s very few of us could afford buying cartridges... so there was a booming business of gaming rentals. I played Final Fantasy II probably in probably a week. I remember being stuck in the labyrinths, of trying to draw maps and failing, of getting help from a friend with better visual memory. And the complete shock of the ending. I only played a bit of PS1 recently, in the generations version, in an amulator, and only a bit of PS4 also in an emulator years ago, but PS2 and PS3 I played and finished at around the time they came out. I love both almost equally, but somehow PS2 is the one I end up remembering more. I really loved the futuristic, utopian society standing at the brink of ruin. The futuristic housing interiors in the units portraits. I've been playing Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis this days, and it's amazing to think how many years have gone by.
I feel you. Even in the USA if it weren’t for rentals a lot of games wouldn’t get played. Thanks for sharing your memories!!💫
Possibly my favorite JRPG of all time. Twas a dark tale, and very advanced for 1989.
First time a main character, the strongest in your group, dies. Fascinating game with very fascinating music.
Neo had a lot more screen time than Josef from FF2 that’s for sure
Loved, loved the video and soundtrack.
Thanks. PS3 in April!!
@@GTV-Japan Counting the days!
this is one I've been looking for for the Genesis for a while now. I might have to go through eBay. Watching this made me really want to have the original even though I have the PS2 Genesis collection version.
The PlayStation 2 collection is pretty buggy. Best bet is Sega ages vol 32 or just the original cart. N’At Thanks for watching on day one! Much appreciated 💫
Currently playing Phantasy Star 2 for the first time ever on my Tablet as I travel. I played PS4 a lot when younger but never had the courage to try the "older ones", they were too intimidating. But now, thanks to Sega FOREVER I can play them on the go and FINALLY go over the entire series! 2 is archaic, but still incredible!
... maybe I'm saying this because I was spoiled by PS4....
Will Soon tackle Phantasy Star 3.... Just need to find the path to dark force on noah (still grinding to get MEGID)!
GREAT VIDEO!!!!!
Sega forever is pretty cool!some people don’t like it but anything that brings in money keeps Sega open! Thanks for watching the video I hope I could provide perspective as to how huge the game was then even though compared to all the 90s rpgs it is a bit outdated 💫
I bought this used after buying Phantasy Star 3 new when it came out, because of the references to 2 got me curious.
The thing that really made 2 stick in my mind was the humanity aspect. The death of Nei blew my mind. Mainly because we came to rely on Nei when grinding and leveling up, because Nei was developing faster than the other three.
Nei became like a reliable clean-up character. When the others were out of commission deep in some dungeon, she would still be battling and manage to get the whole party back. You learn to bond to a character like that.
After Nei's death, you literally have to adjust to her not being the 2nd character, physically and emotionally. That's the enduring legacy--how touched everyone was by Nei's death. It certainly was a first for me in an RPG!
Thanks for such a great comment! I think everyone feels the same as you. I think Nei is a great lesson in humanity and it’s faults in many areas but also in optimism they put into her. Even though back then characters were pretty limited. Thanks for watching 💫
Very, very well said.
13 year old me was certainly not aware that I was building a relationship with these characters and coming to care about them until Nei was gone. Somehow, it was a personal loss, and that it had such a drastic impact on the remaining characters only made that loss more “real”, if you will, and caused me to care about them more.
I remember being gifted this game by my uncle when he brought me to buy some games for his recently bought sega genesis all the way back in 1991.....he bought a sangokushi strategy game and gifted me this. It was the Japan version but comes with the guide book. I just started to learn Japanese then and the names of the characters were confusing. Nonetheless it was everything you had mentioned. Forever an important part of my memory. Thanks for doing this.....I spent the morning watching this and it took my mind off to happier times.
That’s great to hear! I think more than a few of us gained interest in Japanese from these games. Thanks for watching and take care! 🌟
I really love your videos and hearing your voice! These are so informative and historical! I’ve played Phantasy Star games but I need more motivation from fans and help to get deeply into the series. Also I always thought the protagonist Rolf/Eusis looked like Marth of Fire Emblem.
Thanks so much Brandon! I never saw that before but there is a resemblance! If you get back into Phantasy Star again let me know 💫
This was a great vid, love the indepth analysis and honest review of PS2. One of the greatest games made for sure. Glad there are many out there that have enjoyed this game too.
17:35 This is how you know they put their hearts in the development of this timeless classic!
I also have the Sega AGES Phantasy Star 2 for PS2 and Pantasy Star Collection for Saturn but I can't understand what they're saying in Japanese!
Well that’s all right! I’m sure you can get thru it by now. The PlayStation 2 versions are great. So much easier 💫
@@GTV-Japan
Since I own the actual physical copy I think it's legal to download the translated version of both Phantasy Star AGES games, right?...😁
Oh yea it is. Even if you don’t, I won’t call the cops
Techniques, the ones not a condensed version of English terms, are that of German terms, often mistranslated from German to Japanese to English. Like Saner, which increases your speed, is a mistranslation of Schnell, which is German for "faster". Schnell to Sh-an-el/r to Sa-ne-r. This also s true of many defense items.
Really?? That’s interesting! Thanks for filling me in
One of my all time favorite games.
It was sooooo good
One of the greatest games ever made
It sure was 💫
I was not able to get into and complete Phantasy Star II. I tried multiple times but could not. Growing up I was more Nintendo than Sega so I missed out of a lot the first time around.
About seven or eight years ago I wanted to jump in and check out the Phantasy Start series. I did some research on RUclips and found The Happy Console Gamer. Not only does The Happy Console Gamer speak very highly of the series but claimed Phantasy Star was his favourite of all time. This inspired me to play the original in all it's glory.
I had to use all my wits and graph paper to make it through the original but it was well worth it. After I failed to stay focused on the second game, I skipped the third and completed the fourth which is nothing short of a masterpiece. I will be giving this one another chance as your video is so inspiring I want to experience this whole game for myself. Thank you very much!
P.S. I still have yet to prove that The Happy Console Gamer is actually J-Roc from The Trailer Park Boys, but this meaningless inside joke is still going almost a decade later. It's a secret to everybody.
Yea I don’t know what that means but HCG is a cool guy we even made a video together for his channel and I was making this video and he told me he was really excited to see it. I actually found some home movie footage of the day we got phantasy star 2! My brother especially was very excited. 4 is the best hands down but man did you get your moneys worth for a game back then ! 💫
@@GTV-Japan I had a very difficult time trying to convince people and my parents those games were worth the price. Hence why it never happened. lol
Ha! Well a lot weren’t but yea 16 bit was the worst for game prices that’s for sure
This was a great game, like the first one it was ahead of its time. I remember putting so many hours into this game just levelling up, maybe about 20 hours early in the game just doing that. Then getting to that battle where (Spoiler Alert) Nei dies, I was shattered, I couldn’t believe that Sega had done that, it was brilliant coz you kept thinking who else in this game could die. Awesome video mate, it brought back so many memories
Wait what? Nei dies!?! Ahh no why did you tell me?? Haha just kidding I read the guide book before I got there. Glad you enjoyed it. PS3 will be coming next year!
I remember first seeing this game Christmas of 1990. I didn't have a Genesis, so I got a copy of Mega Man 3, but my friend got PS2. Having already cut my teeth on Dragon Warrior, and never even laid eyes on a Master System, I instantly fell in love with it. To this day, after playing hundreds of RPGs of all types, it remains one of my favorites.
Thanks for sharing that story! Did you play 1,3 and 4?
Eventually, yeah. Now I've played pretty much every game in the entire PS series. Can't wait for PSO 2 to finally get released over here.
I’m happy for everyone there but here it’s a nonstory. But it will be fun and certainly worth the wait
I’ve never played through any of the games but plan to. I have PS1 on Switch and PS3 on Genesis. Thanks for the inside scoop on the big bad from 1 returning in 2 so I won’t be confused going into 2.
The dark force returns every 1000 years so be careful! 💫
I played 2, 3, and 4 when they came out and I just assumed the 'default' background was to give it the more sci-fi feeling. Phantasy Star 2 was my favorite of the series hands down! As a 9 year old, it impressed me that a main character (Nei) could die. In 98-99 I learned how to hex-edit and when emulation became possible around that time, I came back to Phantasy Star 2 and put the color cards into Rolf's inventory. This allowed me to bypass Climatrol and Nei's death. Nei even held up decently in Dezo and Noah! PS2 gets my vote for favorite game of all time (not just Phantasy Star) because the storyline held such a strong grip on me that I felt compelled to reprogram it once I was old enough (and capable enough) to do so! Thanks again for the amazing videos!
Wow that’s awesome I’d love to see her till the end of the game
How did I not discover your channel until now?? Phantasy star is legit one of my most favorite series ever and this video does great justice in presenting that awesomeness. You earned my sub sir. Cant wait to binge on your ps3 and ps retrospective videos after finishing this one.
Thanks!! I hear that often and I understand that but would a channel get a million subscribers on the first day? Ha that would be funny! But anyway check out all the videos you’d like and comment. I always write back and engage j conversation. Also someday I will do the video on phantasy star 4 and let’s hope it can become the greatest video of all time to pay tribute to the game. Thanks for watching 💫
@@GTV-Japan thanks! Loving how you made commercials and the be right back after these messages transitions. Great touch!!
Hey no problem. The commercial breaks kind of evolved from what I was doing early on and thought it would be funny to do and the response was huge so they’ve been in there ever since. For ps2 and 3 it was so fun making the fake commercial which a few people thought was real!
Good call on the autobattle feature which can be cancelled w button press. I’ve always thought the macro system in psiv is great.
someone FINALLY noticed! thanks!
the intro narration with the PS2 music, something about that felt magical!
Indeed this was the first PS game I played, I played it on the Smash Pack before getting it for the Genesis and i still play it every now i then, cant wait for the review of 3 and 4.
Great! If you have any thoughts about ps3 wrote them and I’ll try to put it in the next video
Well haven't made it far in the game yet, thanks to me getting the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection for my PS3 I finally got to play part 3 for the first time, the main reason I got the game was because I so Phantasy Star as an unlockable game, hopefully i'll be further in before your review.
Oh yea forgot about that! The best version though is PS collection for PlayStation 2 if you can find it. You can get 4x exp and really avoid level grinding
Ok i'll try to find it since I still do have my PlayStation 2.
24:20 Just an FYI for people thinking about playing the original PS2 today. The PC version of this collection is probably your best option, because it natively supports ROM hacks via Steam Workshop. The old-school grind in PS2 is absolutely crushing, so using a mod that boosts gold/XP drops, while lowering the encounter rate, makes it vastly more playable.
My Mac only heart breaks.
I was a NES fan growing up.
I connected with Phantasy Star series after watching HCBailey's playthrough years ago and thank goodness he played it while I and many watched him.
Now I am watching the Phantasy Start Online II anime and I'm hooked. Thanks for the video, it opened me up how complex this series is.
Thanks for watching and ps3 is right around the corner!
I’ve been a Phantasy Star fan ever since a friend from school let me borrow the Gamecube version of Phantasy Star Online back in the day, but I hadn’t ever beaten the originals until recently. I actually just tonight as I’m writing this beat Phantasy Star 2 for the first time and I absolutely adore it, definitely one of my favorite Sega Genesis games and I can’t wait to see where 3 and 4 fall for me
Great to hear!! 💫
Time to comment on a video I watched ages ago!
I beat Phantasy Star 2 last year. I loved the story, graphics, and music, especially the story (SO GOOD!). That being said, all the grinding did start to wear me out after a while. I also used a ton of save states (even with that, the game took me 4 months to beat!). Overall, I'd say PS2 is at the bottom of my list of the best PS games but it's still a really good game that deserves to be remembered.
Thanks for taking time to come back and comment! I agree the story is amazing. It could have been a novel on its own
The grinding and the complex dungeon layout without a minimap like they did for the Nintendo Switch release of PS1 or the guide book that came out with PS2 makes PS2 very difficult. Sega should do the same treatment to PS2 which essentially doubles/triples the experience gained on the Switch version. Playing now, I agree with you, but back then when it was a first for a major character death, the largest game on console, ambiguous ending etc. It was a first for many things such that the impact on the player was much more profound. Playing today you can relate to other games like The Last Of Us where similar themes are common.
the "genesis does" commercial break killed me, bravo!
Loved this video, well done!
Thanks!!
This is the game that made me a fan of phantasy star
I think for most people as well. Thanks for watching 💫
The Mother Brain was MORE than a "Super Computer" but several ALLUSIONS in the original Japanese version show her to be an A.I. and many aspects of Ps II's world (akin to the A.I. super computer in the cyber punk science fiction novel Neuromancer),
and some in-world aspects reflect a very CYBER PUNK aesthetic, from how characters are have a CLONE made of them when one dies, Data Memory makes copies of your characters' memories/their consciousness, Biologically engineered animals the "Bio Monsters", Nei and Nei First are a HYBRID of Human and Bio Monster DNA. Techniques are not "Magic", disregard what the badly worded manual says. The Techs are more than likely PSIONIC+technological based abilities via augments that activate as characters get stronger, possibly via special implants they could get as part of their respective occupations.
In battles, the cold dark backgrounds with a grind for the ground evoke a cyber-tech vibe like those seen in the digital world of Tron. My own headcannon is that each battle takes place in a pocket dimension that your party gets pulled into by the group of Bio Monsters and you can only exit the pocket dimension by killing the Bio Monsters. (this is what is seems like especially for those of us that watched the anime Fight! Iczer One)
I always thought that the "techniques" were the same magic wielded in PS, but the language had evolved so that only the kind of special magic wielded by Lutz and the Dark Forces that aren't part of the combat spell list are considered to be "magic". That would explain why the robot characters can't cast techniques.
A very informative video about the history behind Phantasy Star II. I played the game when it first came out & it doesn't get easier with each replay.
Thanks for the video. I still have a crush on Nei. 💗
I think me all did. They really knew how to engineer her if ya know what I mean!
Please dont make us wait till 2023 😭😭😭
I tell you what. I’ll make 3 and 4 together and I’ll share it with you but not release it publicly for 3 years
What I want more than anything is a new large budget Phantasy Star game (not Phantasy Star online) that is worthy of the legacy
Echo that!! Sega must listen!!
Wonderful work you've done here. I still regularly listen to the PS2 soundtrack when I'm repairing drones and the Luke Jansen remixes breathe new life into an already phenomenal soundtrack.
I love the work he did! It’s great!
I abolutely love this! This was ( as you said) my first RPG game. How much you cared for the characters, the mystery, the story. We were kids, there were no worldly problems. Only having to save the Algo star system...
And that’s nothing a rag tag group of kids can’t do! Thanks for watching 💫
My first RPG ever, I learned English to play this game ❤️
That’s awesome!
I've always been mind blow how 2 is the one that gets the most love in the series.
I tried all four a few years back, and remember thinking on 2 specifically "wow, this pacing is slow."
meanwhile 4 was instantly digestible.
I'm sure alot of it was "you had to have been there" for its time.
This is exactly how I feel! 4 came a bit too late and not everyone had it. In the comments here manybsaidn2 is their fav because they played it first and the most Thanks for watching 💫
Remember it was released in 1989. the same year as NES FF1. First sci-fi RPG I could remember. More dark mature story. Dual scrolling dungeons. Just amazing graphics at the time. awesome soundtrack. Just looked like the future back then.
7:40 I think "Res" was a nod at "restoration" or "restore" instead of "rest"
"Rever" might be something like "reviver" shortened. It wasn't mentioned but "sak" was shortened form of "sacrifice", as the caster would sacrifice his/her life to heal the rest of the party.
34:04 Just noticed how much Anna looks like Taylor Swift. Or maybe, Taylor Swift looks like Anna, since I'm pretty sure this game is older than she is!
35:24 Amazing how the English version was censored. It's funny now to realize that Ustvestia was subtly hinted at being gay. Probably wouldn't have been well-received at that time in the USA.
43:10 The "SP" stands for "single player" here, due to Sega moving towards multiplayer in Phantasy Star Online in later years, never to return to new SP titles in the franchise since.
Sorry this comment got caught in the filter so I’m late to reply. But thanks for filling me in with that info. Much appreciated 💫
Yeah, the Ustvestia situation reminds me of Ash getting taken out of Streets of Rage 3.
I saw that Phantasy Star Online got an anime, too. I wish they'd make anime of the old school Phantasy Star games. They had much better storylines and PSIV is practically a manga anyway.
Given how quickly things have turned since such things were becoming more acceptable, it makes one think that maybe it wasn't so bad back then.
Excellent video. Thank you for creating this. PSII holds a very special place in my heart. I was 13 when it released and I have strong memories of hanging out with friends as we talked about solving the levels and puzzles. I went on to play PSIII as soon as it came out because of my love of PSII. 20 years later I bought an old Genesis to recreate a library of classic games and of course made sure to get copies of PSII and PSIII.
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing your memories and story! 💫
Awesome coverage of a game that was a part of my childhood and beyond! I LOVED the entire Phantasy Star series but PS2 was my favorite and it inspired my writing and art. I was such a fan of the first and had such a love of the series that I skipped school on release days to get them early and then had... *ahem* 'Phantasy Star Fever' so I naturally was 'sick' and had to stay home. I even brought the guide with me for study hall. I mean, I WAS studying so they can't fault me for that!
(Besdies, Pac-Man Fever was real! But that's a story for another day...)
The thing that affected me the most was Nei's death and PERMA-death. I spent countless hours trying to figure out a way to revive her or grinded endless levels with Nei until she was around Level 55... I was able to defeat NeiFirst with Nei but it still doesn't matter. It skips the heart-breaking one with her crying out and just goes to the death screen. I know a lot of people bring up FF7's Aerith.. which was heart-breaking too.. you never forget your first. I never quite understood why she couldn't be brought back to life but thanks to a Japanese friend of mine who also played PS2, apparently when you go to the clone lab afterwards, you are told her bioololgical cells broke down and deteriorated to the point where she couldn't be re-created and that matches up with all the biomonsters vanishing after the Climatrol section.
Regardless, it hit me like a brick and if I was sick with Phantasy Star Fever for a day, I may or may not have called in sick for an additional day with grief over Nei's loss. I guess I hadn't realized how far such a simple thing as a game like that can get into your head (and heart) but that certainly was proof enough. It affected me quite a bit but I decided if a game could do that to me.. then I wanted to start working with games and especially writing books that could connect with people on such a deep level. I would go on to write my 1st successful book being inspired and based on many things from Phantasy Star 2.
I have seen the Phantasy Star Generations re-make (with a way to bring Nei back this time) but sadly I don't know how to get the game other than to buy it from overseas or use an emulator but my Japanese isn't that good and I don't know much about emulators anymore or how they work. Still, I would love to get the English version of the re-dux but don't know how. Anyone here have ideas or know of a way? To recapture a part of my childhood like thatt would be worth so much...
Anyhow, again this was not just a good review but including the music, art, commericials, etc. really made it seem "episodic" and I mean that in the nicest way. That scene at 21:58... Alis Landale followed by Nei AND Rika?? All my heroine video game digital crushes at once?? Pure Gold!!
Anyway, I could go on forever about PS2. Its story was by far the deepest and most emotional while thought provoking as well. And with that cliff-hanger ending, I had to make sure I got PS3 the very day it came out like I did with PS2. For some reason, the electronics and game stores had a shortage and it would end up being delayed by a week. I called around and finally found a store that would reserve a copy for me. 4 hours away. I had just gotten my license. Did I skip and travel 4 hours just to get PS3 a week before the rest of my town had it??
Well, if you've actually read all of this and know of me based on that... what do you think? ;)
Great video again! Great music! Great added content! (Subscribed) Cheers!!
Thanks for your comment I needed some time to set aside and reply the right way. First of all do you know the exact release date of Ps3? I’m about to make the video for that and would love to pin it down to the day as to when it was sold. Also if you want to leave a comment about your ps3 memory I’ll put it in the video. As for Nei I’ve read all the explanations but for me pre internet I was always under the impression that since Rolf exposed what was going on with the bio monsters and were made fujitives the clone lab refused to bring her back because she was not human but somehow before then they lied about it of the lab looked the other way. There is an English phantasy Star gen 2 patch for ps2. So look it up. I’m sorry I don’t know it off hand! Thanks so much for your comment and hope to talk again soon! 💫
@@GTV-Japan Thanks so much for a personal reply and so soon! Let me check into the PS3 issue as I may even have the recepit with the box/book that I can send a photo... if I can find it. And I would love for you to feature my comment. As for the different versions of of why Nei was not brought back, I'm just going off what my friend told me was on his system. He never lied to me and it made sense.
I figure there is a realistic explanation and a in-game explanation I figure. Realistcally, if you kept Nei alive, she should stay alive. But (going from my friend's interpretation) NeiFirst was her sister and killing her meant Nei's structure would break down no matter what. Even a pre-saved clone from the lab couldn't save her. I guess that makes sense.
Realistic answer? Gamers wanted you to experience permadeath. Period. I think PS2 is the first electronic game I know of that had it. They thought the explanation was enough and didn't attempt more detail. Probably didn't think people probably would try to level Nei up to 55 or call in sick to school or anything silly like that!! =p Little did they know the power of getting attached to characters in games and anime.
Yea bottom line is permadeath. Also they buried her so to bring her back you’d have to dig her up. It does make sense that if Nei first dies so does Nei. Unfortunately we lived in an era of spotty translations and lack of memory space to really get these things made clearly understood. If you play some Sega ages switch games it looks like Nei or Rika appears in the opening too , which took me a while to catch
I am honestly quite amazed that I found such an amazing series of retrospective videos on your channel, so far. I am looking forward to seeing how far you go into the PS series besides working on PS3+4. Though I started with Phantasy Star Portables 1+2 while my younger brother and friends were more into PSO2 back then by "traditional" means of course. Though this series has always interested me. One character I just can't get out of my mind is my favorite antagonist Helga from PSP1 though honestly knowing that how PSO2 has officially come out to the west and fans are clearly still in love with the series I would to see Sega throwing Alisa Landale in smash bros someday. That or Helga but it would more possible to have Alisa as the PS rep for good old Sega.
Thanks I’m glad you like it. I plan one a year and maybe after 3 cover Gaiden and then online after that. Thanks for watching 💫
Glad I found your channel.. now I’m binge watching!
Great thanks! Comment on whatever you like, I always read and reply
I've never played much of PS2 but it managed to imprint itself onto me before even Final Fantasy, thanks to 'the spoiler' being mentioned in a game magazine. It struck me deeply at that young age. I really should play it in full now that I have it on the sega collection. #neiisimmortal
I say go for it!!
Just started doing my first playthrough of this game 2 days ago using the Android App. Phantasy Star IV will ALWAYS have a special place in my life. I must say, PS2 is incredibly difficult in comparison.
Me too I love love 4. I love them all but 4 is my favorite. Certainly they fixed the few things wrong with 2 for the finale. Thanks for watching 💫
Phantasy Star 2 Is my favorite game in the series.
I haven’t counted closely but ps2 leads the comments in people’s favorite with 4 close behind
@@GTV-Japan Oh yes. 4 is also my second favorite game in the series
I was a kid when I saw my brother beat Phantasy Star 2. I actually cried at the ending after he explained to me that they died fighting the Earthmen. Lol, great game, only beaten out by my favorite being Phantasy Star 4.
Did they die? No one knows! I wonder what the people saw in the final days?
That was certainly my interpretation back then. All those final quotes are like Braveheart moments - 'Freeeeeedommmmmmmmm', knowing that they were going to charge in to die! In many retro reviews, it was made clear that the number of Earth men exceeded the population of the folk found in each town. Hard to see how they could have survived, although I heard that the Japanese version of the game implied better that they won.
My earliest memories of RPGs are of PS1and PS2. The images of the sprites brought excitement to my 5 year old self. What I really loved about PS2 over other RPGs at the time was being able to see the heroes on the battle-screen and actually watching them interact with the enemies, PS2 was ahead of its time with those animations. Although it was a shame there were no environments in the battles. Even the hero sprites of the great Final Fantasy 6 weren’t nearly as cool as PS2s which came out 5 years after PS2. Also PS2 had Nei!!!
I agree FF gets all the credit but ps paved the way
Nice video! Good use of the music too 😉
Thanks for letting me use it!
@@GTV-Japan your welcome dude 👍
When you do a remix of ps4 let me know 😎
@@GTV-Japan Haha, will do! ;p
Oh dude, you ain't kiddin' about Phantasy Star killing the competition. It was LIGHTYEARS ahead of it's time when it came out. If only I had known about it's existence as a kid, I would have been absolutely blown away had I gotten a chance to play it as a youngster! Oh how I wish I even knew the SMS existed back then! I even had a Game Gear and still had no idea that they were basically the same thing, or even that the SMS existed! Had never seen it mentioned anywhere or in any magazine, and never saw it or any games for it being sold in any store I ever went to. Such wasted potential if you ask me, as the SMS is a great system with lots of great games!
Awwwwww yeah! Phantasy Star!
I'm still waiting on an HD remake for the switch.
I’m sure it’s coming. Sega sent out surveys asking about it and they seem to want as many games out. Let’s hope so 🤞
Man what a talent you've got there 👏👏 I am a huge fan of JRPGs , and a true videogame veteran of all FF and DQ games!But growing up , i had the chance to try Phantasy Star 2 in one of the many sega compilation games (that you also mentioned in your video) but I never liked it!Having watched your retrospective I can say with sincerity that i will give it a chance in the near future 😉 Please don't stop making all these retrospectives about our favourite JRPGs , you are the GOAT 😍
Thanks I’m glad you liked it! I have no plan to stop. I just finished final fantasy 4 video last week and will keep at it in the future. 💫
@@GTV-Japan yeah i finished watching your FF IV retrospective yesterday and it was a masterpiece 👏👏
Thanks! I love rpgs but like to keep the channel varied. I do plan at least 3 like this for next year though
@@GTV-Japan i look forward to watching all of them 😁😁
Great!
While I think 4 is the best overall game and has aged the best, 2 is the one I have the best memories of. I got it spring of 1990 right when it came out in US. By the time 4 was released I hadn't even played my Genesis much for years, let alone been excited to buy a new game for it.
PSII's strengths are
- best music: pretty much every track is memorable and likeable. Even though I haven't played it in 5+ years I can still remember them instantly. Can't say the same for 4, though it had good music too.
- best dungeons: tough and long but not so mazelike that you were absolutely forced to draw your own maps like PSI. They weren't something you walked into an cleared the first time there sight unseen. They took repeated trips until you knew the optimal route. Ikuto (the pitfall one) being the exception; way too annoying.
- great aesthetic: probably the most high-tech and sci-fi of the series. The look screams late 80's anime.
Cons:
- A bit too much grinding. I like the slower pace of older RPGs, but I'll admit PSII is overboard.
- Poor character balance in the end. This is nothing new for old games, where the concept didn't really seem to exist, but towards the end of the game Rolf and Rudo are pretty much manditory, and everyone else takes a back seat. Anna's double slicers are good mid-game where battles are often lots of low defense enemies, but in the end it's more often 1 or 2 super high def ones. Anyone not Rolf or Rudo is best off using double shield/emel's and using storm gear (or other spell effect items) or techs in battle. PS4 is miles better in this regard.
I agree about the character balance. Nothing is worse than leveling up Kain and Shir near the end. I thought the movement was too slow on screen, but the story and music are the best! thanks for watching!
Gaijillionaire also the serious lack of bosses should be mentioned too. I can’t understand why most people hardly ever bring up this issue. The game comes off as unfinished because of that.
I never thought of that
Gaijillionaire you’re welcome. 😉
I always loved this game! I really don’t think it gets enough love. People were mad that the 3D dungeons were gone, but it was still very difficult and I had lots of fun working them out. I really liked the music, and story. I just thought it had too many characters..I didn’t like the robots, but they were gone decently quick. I did feel kind of sad when nei died, so that shows how great this game really is. Thanks a lot for making this video, I had to save it aside so I wouldn’t get spoilers, but anyways, thanks.
Oh please wait until you finish then if you haven’t but I agree with you though I was happy that the dungeons were 2d. 3D looked cool but was so difficult. Nei dying wasn’t a shocker because duh!! We all read the hint book and learned about it because we were all bored kids and had nothing else to do! 💫
30:10 that is why I am here
Thanks for the informations
Had to check this out after you did the one on Phantasy Star 3. Phantasy Star 2 is my favorite, sure it didn't start out that way since I started with 3 first.
Great! I’m glad you stuck around 💫
I translated the Famitsu review on 16:58. I sped thru it and typed as i read it so it might be too literal and not perfect but here goes:
7:
The parallax scrolling is nice, it really brings out the feel of the dungeons. The game balance has improved over the previous entry, and it just smells like a killer app all around. It's just that the maps are too large - it's great that it's a bigger game with more memory, but making the map larger to increase the difficulty is a little questionable to me.
7:
An RPG with a jaw dropping 6 megabits of memory. If someone gave me 6 megabits I wonder what I would spend it on. But I can't buy a Ferrari Testarossa with 6 megs can't I...darn. The graphics are pretty, the map is huge. The scrolling dungeon roof is moody. No doubt a AAA title.
8:
Like in the previous entry, I was in awe of the spectacular graphics, but this being a Megadrive title, it's way more spectacular. The enemy animations are so real it's scary. The story is deeper than the last entry too. But the dungeons being too difficult is a stickler.
6:
The dungeons are so much larger than the previous title, it'd just make you go "Wahhh". Rather than getting pummeled to death by the enemies, you'd probably just die from the sheer size of the map. The "real" roof of the dungeons are just in the way, and the mapping is just not friendly. I had high expectations but was a bit let down.
Dang! It was so small!!!! Thanks for that!! Unfortunately I don’t have a big scan but if you want any files from this I can send them or show where I got them. 💫
@@GTV-Japan No problem! Looking at it up close with a 32" monitor helps :) Yeah I'd love to know where you found the scans of Beep, Megadrive Fan or Famitsu!
The beep an md fan come from
Segaretro.org they have almost every issue. Incomplete mag scans are also found at retoge-mag.hatenablog.com You might need to register to access. I only have a MacBook so I don’t know how it looks on a big screen but good thing I output in 4K even if the game is 240!
I guess Famitsu weren't taken in by the game as others were.
They were very stubborn on giving anything high praise in them days.
It's also my first ever RPG. First PS2 I got was the Japanese version. I didn't know the story but I fell in love with RPG gameplay. The battles, the leveling up, the dungeons etc. A few years later I got the English version, read the dialogue and learned the story better. It was like loving the game for the first time again. Tied with Final Fantasy 7 for being my favorite RPG. Over the years I got many of the re-releases of this game on different platforms, Saturn, Dreamcast, GBA, Playstation 2. Steam.
Actually playing the fan-translated version of PS Generation 2 on my Steam Deck right now.
What a great video! Brought back great memories. Phantasy Star II seems to get a lot of hate and I understand why. However, for me, getting this game back in 1990 and playing it for hundreds of hours with the included hint book made this one my favorite of the series. Made me appreciate grind-heavy RPGs to this day.
And that music is unforgettable. I still get chills from the intro to the game.
I think that if it was a game you had when it was new the nostalgia plus having no other options maybe to play something else help create the opinion of the game. I can see how a newcomer looks at this game and says pass. But yea I’m with you. At the time it was huge and awesome. I loved it 💫
2 years later and I'm watching this impressive retrospective again. If they gave PSII the "Sega Ages" treatment on the Switch by adding in-game maps like they did for the original Phantasy Star, it would elevate the game so much.
I would love a full ps Sega ages. Do t stop Sega!! I
Very well done! I played back in 1990 and loved it so much! Currently playing it again on my Raspberry pi4 and oh the memories!
✌🏼😎👍🏼
Awesome! I got it in 91 but the memories will last forever 💫
I just started playing phantasy star when it came on the switch and I'm in love with the themes of the games, I just started PS3 on the Sega Genesis collection on the switch and after the ending of two I needed to know what happened
Great! I hope you enjoy it! Please come back when you finish with your opinion
2 is not everyone's favorite if it is they are crazy. 4 was BY FAR the best. Superior story, battles, characters. It was everything you could ever dream of playing a turn based phantasy star even got to play as alien races. 2 was nice but 4 outshines it in every way possible
Hey I’m with ya! But it’s what many people have told me. To me 4 is the best
My favorite game on the Genesis. But OMG, the grinding. Leveling up characters took so long. The payoff for leveling up was small, except for the power leveling. The fact that your hit points weren’t in the thousands and end-game enemies did a lot of damage kept me on my toes. Oh, the robots, OMG, the robots. I was thankful for Rudo and Kain. The bosses, very few, were but memorable. I remember in my first play-through that my TP and healing items were depleted, making the boss fight heart pounding. I didn’t have the hint book because I got it used, so I took lots of notes and drew a lots of maps. Fun fact: I didn’t know Nei was a permanent death, so I maxed out her level to 30, thinking that was going to make the difference. Years later, I’d talk about this game in therapy and how it put me into a depression. Thanks Sega.