Phantasy Star was the RPG entry point for a LOT of people in Brazil because it was the only JRPG translated to Brazilian Portuguese back in the 90s. Tec Toy translated Phantasy Star 1, 2 and 3 back in the day.
Yeah. When I was a kid and had only a Master System, Phantasy Star was my main addiction. I didn't even knew what a RPG was, the game felt very alien to me. But I was amazed at it's graphics and scope. And more importantly, it was the first game where I cared about the story (since it was the first game I've played in Portuguese). I still consider it an amazing game, even if it aged quite a lot.
Phantasy Star 1 means so much to me! It’s one of the things that my older brother and I bonded over: he would give me directions through the mazes (Those dungeons are absolutely incredible!) and I was the main controller man. We’ve each played it a combined 20-25 times easily. Made our own maps of every dungeon on graph paper, every town, every shop, the items’ prices and stats. Few people know what the Hobbes “I’d like to eat a Nut of Laerma.” means 🙂. That was our first Rpg, and we played several others (Working Designs SegaCD, Ps2 & 4). But it all started with Alis, and neither of us will ever forget a single second!
So good that somebody remembers what a good rememberance I love this game so much for money reasons I have never played the other two. Now thanks to Switch I can get it back :D
Phantasy Star 1 was the first RPG I ever played on a home console and it was on my friends Sega Master System. When he showed it to me, I wasn't blown away and all I could think about was playing Double Dragon which was what I was obsessed about in the arcades at the time. Later in my childhood, I signed up for a subscription for Nintendo Power which conveniently came with a free NES game pac (Dragon Warrior). I honestly didn't care what it was... it was a new game, and it was mine... and hey, it came with a hint guide! I ended up loving the game and that is what made me revisit Phantasy Star. At that time, I had already finished Final Fantasy and moved on to Genesis. I bought a power based converter for it and purchased Phantasy Star from that same friend for $7. That game had me so sucked in that I barely played any Genesis games until after I beat it... then moved onto Phantasy Star 2 and Sword of Vermilion. Phantasy Star 2 stuck with me... even till today. That game, while as grindy as they come... inspired me to draw, and want to make games myself (as a kid). The story was just so personal to me and how it ended changed how I looked at games in general. I'm grateful you payed homage to one of the most underrated RPG series today, you did it justice!
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free!
stinky pinky 3 sounded so good... especially if what you craved was the RPG that never ended. It sounded like 3 RPGs in one. I think 3 deserves an overhaul. Great concept, pitiful execution.
Yes! It's mine as well. I just love it, even more than final fantasy III/VI! I just finished it once again some time ago in my Sega Mega Drive mini. Wish they could release a new game for the series... the one we current have is pure garbage :|
It's not my favorite because it loses key things that makes the "Algo" games feel like Phantasy Star....but it grew on me more over time and I do really like the game as a side story. The opening song is one of my favorites.
If I had to guess, It would be the battle animations/graphics that would be making people hate it. Looking past that, Phantasy Star 3 is a really good game for what it is cause of the story, the characters, and the soundtrack.
@@michelvienneau661 Yes, good point. I remember being a little disappointed at the battles which felt like a step back from 2. Also the magic system was a bit odd and the offensive techniques felt less useful.
I wouldn't say I liked it when I first bought it on release. However, as I got older, I grew to appreciate how different it was. I would say the characters, story, and music are top-tier. One thing I liked was the androids stayed with you the whole way through and the technique shop was a nice touch.
Phantasy Star IV is still one of my favorite games of all time, I adore everything about it. The story, the music, the characters, the combat, the cutscenes. It really is a top-class JRPG experience that gets unfairly overlooked by people who think only the SNES could do that kind of game. My sister and I played through all four games on the PS2 Complete Collection a number of years ago; she hadn't played them since they originally came out, and I had only played II and IV. While it was a lot of fun, we ultimately decided that IV is the only one that really still holds up today. The speed and difficulty adjustments really laid bare how empty and rushed of a game Phantasy Star III in particular is, even if I do still love the hilarious enemy sprites.
@@lostn65 It's far less grindy than the previous games. You might have to build up a few levels here and there before tackling a boss or particular side missions, but it's generally a very streamlined game for 1993.
Good post. The only thing that prevents PSIV from achieving the status of "perfect game" for me is that it is a bit on the easy side. Other than that I find every single other element of the game masterful. Truly an incredible jrpg. And I've played all the big SNES rpgs as they came out in NA
The PC Genesis collection gives you unencrypted ROMs of 2-4, meaning you can load them into your own emulators on any system, load them on an Everdrive for real hardware, and use all those nice difficulty/translation hacks that exist. You don't even have to extract them anymore, they make a folder in the Steam installation. Nice to see a legal way to get your own ROM files beyond dumping a cart.
Just because it's unencrypted and laying just in game folder, doesn't mean it's legal to use game content in any other way than SEGA intended to (On PC, running emulation likely).
Great job! You guys really know your stuff! One thing I love about Phantasy Star is that it's one of the very few RPG series on consoles from that era where the plot of the games are connected to as many as four entries. In the Final Fantasy series for example, the games are completely separated with only reoccuring themes and gameplay. But Phantasy Star ties the whole series together with locations, characters and events.
This is hands-down the best Phantasy Star series retrospective I've ever seen. I didn't play this series until 2006 but I'm still nostalgic for it. Thanks for putting so much effort into this video, it's very much appreciated!
If you want an absolute love letter to the original games on original hardware, look up GTV Japan's 30th anniversary retrospectives. Along with this channel for how to go back to replay these classics today, it's one of my favorite channels for the vibes of yesterday.
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free!
I finally plunged and bought a sealed copy of Phantasy Star Collection for the Saturn. Since I can read Japanese, I wanted to experience the games as they were originally written (especially character names and plot details). I just beat Phantasy Star in essentially two sittings and loved it! I started with the series with PSO on Dreamcast. I have no complaints. I LOVE the Saturn compilation.
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free!
@@MrTechnoSqueek Tbh in my Opinion PSO had a interesting Concept and a strong start, but when PSU and PSO2 came along. That's when the Sub series started to lose it's way. Only silver lining about them is at least the core gameplay systems are still good. (At least for Portable 2 when it comes to PSU.)
My first RPG was Phantasy Star III when I was like 6 or 7. I fell in love with it. After beating it several times (and it was a problem because it turned out my console could not save the game, whereas my friend’s console could) I switched to PS2 and it was amazing. I was the happiest person. And how happy I was playing PSO on GameCube to find out that the ost to the game is composed using lots of original tracks from the first games. Episode 4 has some remakes from PSIII. Nostalgia is such a thing :)
You’re one of the best gaming channels! I love the editing in your videos, super awesome! I’ll be taking tips for my own channel haha, loved this video!
I woke up and saw phantasy star on my feed and I cried. I can still hear the PSII home music in my head. We were so obsessed with this we made our own tabletop. And later I nearly gained 100lbs playing PSO.
@@ryecatcher25 PS1 and 2 we literally played day and night, in shifts, with the books and the maps. During PS2 all of us would be in the room all the time, awake or asleep just to make sure we wouldn't miss developments. I think every kid in the neighborhood came over for the last few hours of 2. I also think we all bought it and replied it individually later. Sadly that didn't happen with PS3, the next time it did was ChronoTrigger. Oddly, that group of friends and I can remember beating PS1, but more so we all still talk about PS2. I moved away before 4 came out. I really wish I would have had that experience with them as a group. Every day I played 4 I thought about that time we beat 2. Sigh. poor 3...
Ah, Phantasy Star. I remember looking for an RPG for the Master System back in 2003, found PS1, & was instantly hooked. Phantasy Star is one of my favorite RPG series! 2 is amazing, but tough. 3 I have yet to play, but I will eventually. 4... Man, if Sonic 3 was Sonic Team's magnum opus, 4 is also up there! It's really too bad that Sega never finished the remake for 4! Gotta give Generation 1 another playthrough & Generation 2 a try! My main way of playing the series now is the Complete Collection for PS2. I also enjoyed the Text Adventures & Game Gear games, should probably give those another roll.
Loved this video! My introduction to the Phantasy Star franchise was Phantasy Star Online for the Gamecube and I still play it! I play it on private servers and I also play PSO2. I always knew that Phantasy Star started as a turn based rpg but never really felt compelled to go back to them. After watching this video definitely want to play now!
19:27 Europe got a second version of the Power Base called the Master System Converter II which works with the Sega Mega Drive Model 2. It doesn't support the card games, but it's worth it if you own the Model 2.
Great video as always. I really hope Sega releases Sega Ages version of the other 3 games for the Switch. I plowed through Phantasy Star I on the Switch in a single day, which was a great day.
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free! All 4 titles, that way...
@@lukasperuzovic1429 Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free! All 4 fitles, that way...
If you guys get one of the emulators, to get, and play, the games for free just google search "Phantasy star downloadable roms," pick a site, download for free, then open the file with the emulator... enjoy guys!
When my friend first showed me PS1 on the SMS (which he borrowed from his cousin) when it came out I was blown away by the fact that you walked around with people following you as your party grew. Mind Blown!
Thanks for covering one of my favorite series! I've been a huge fan of Phantasy Star ever since PSO on Dreamcast and have sought them all out since then. Also really thankful for mentioning the Retranslation Patches and Hacks. I can't wait to revisit them with those upgrades. Beautiful work gentlemen!
My intro to the Phantasy Star series was Phantasy Star 2. My brother had gotten my mom to buy it for him during a trip the flea market. I thought the cover art stunk but, I was happily surprised when I started playing the game and I have been a fan of the series ever since. Needless to say, when I finally got to chance to Phantasy Star part 1 I was blown away.
Been meaning to get around to these. I played most of 1 and 4 on emulator years ago (4 on a motorola flipout with a genesis emulator, hoo wee that was something), but never finished either; what I played of them I enjoyed. As a long time PSO and RPG fan it makes sense that I should get through this series, but that will happen eventually™. Awesome video as always boys. Loved the two Phantasy Star videos from before and this one is perfectly complimentary.
I’ve played PS3 through all generations twice. That eerie music and feeling you are out on it alone. Still one of my best RPG experiences ever. PS4 just knocks all the previous away. Amazing!
I have much nostalgia for Phantasy Star, as it's the first real RPG my buddy and I played when we were kids. So many sleepovers spend grinding levels and trying to figure out puzzles. We even had to call 1-800-USA-Sega to find the final boss! PS3 had the weirdest, most random enemies I've ever seen in a game lol.
played phantasy star on sms back in the day, with my brother and friends. We didnt know a word in english back then, but thankfull Tec Toy had us covered. I am forever thankful. Boy what a game
Oh that is a video I am going to LOVE! It is getting late where I live so i will keep for tomorrow. But meanwhile I am going to sleep and dream about my youth playing Phantasy Star on my Master System without the FM sound.. little did I know then!
Phantasy Star II is my first RPG, and I replay it every couple of years, both on the various portable emulators & original Mega Drive, so I'm really, really hoping for a Sega Ages version.
The first game that introduced me to the series was Phantasy star online on the Dreamcast. I'm going back and playing the first four Phantasy star games and I'm glad I've picked them up!
Love the original Phantasy Star series, and I've been waiting for this for a long time now, and even with all of the hype I've built up waiting, it didn't disappoint one bit, I really appreciate all of the hard work, that you guys put into these awesome informative videos, and am looking forward to seeing your next big series overview/best way to play.
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! 😍😍😍 Currently playing the Android version of Phantasy star 2-3-4. Pretty basic, but very good, and the picture quality is very good! ...........where is Phantasy star 5 already?!?
Shmupulations has an interview with the creators of PSII in which they mention the dungeons were created by a new hire who was a bit overzealous. By the time they realized how complicated the dungeons were, they didn’t have production time to fix them.
37:09 Call me mad, but listening Phantasy Star IV music at 50Hz is a really good experience and you should try it out! By the way, still waiting for Coury's PSIV and PSIII review as he did with PS1 and PSII. Thank you guys for this absolutely amazing video. It is really well done and with a lot of care.
You know I'm torn; On the one hand it is uncharacteristically cool for a videogame series to just say "This is it. This is the end." and move on. On the other hand, well, Sega owns Atlus now and I can't think of of a better japanese RPG developer out there to literally have access to the Phantasy Star IP should they want it. A new Atlus made Phantasy Star could be amazing.
I own ps2 and ps3 on the mega drive, never finished either and was planning on hunting down the other two, this has made me consider getting a switch with the mind set the others might get the same treatment. The music on those games have never left my head and I'll often hum ps2 whenever someone talks about music from childhood..
I'VE NEVER HEARD OF PHANTASY STAR BUT I'M DEFINITELY ADDING IT TO MY LIST OF GAMES TO CONQUER NOW ON MY CHANNEL! WOOHOO! THANK YOU My Life In Gaming!!!
Thank you so much for this Documentary of Phantasy Star the game that solidify my childhood! This is the most thorough and complete informative documentary!
Gotta love M2 man, kings of retro preservation (and evolution) and one of the only studios that you can truly tell respect and love the source material as much as the people they're marketing it to.
Phantasy Star IV is probably my favourite JRPG of the 16 bit Era... Totally unique for the time period and doesn't shy away from important characters death.
Oh boy thank god I was born in 1984.... man now I’m old enough to see how people react to classics and hit heavy by Nostalgia, makes me proud and passionate to live and breath as a young middle aged man. Call me crazy but I don’t care! The start of this video shoot electricity. Through out my body hardly have any hair on my neck and can feel it standing up it’s goosebumps on steroids. And the intro song Principle by Matthew Mccheskey created makes it feel like it was made for “My Life In Gaming” hopefully the intro song is never changed it’s perfect, watching you guys hard at work piecing things together and using the song as the glue that sticks it together, the way I let my mind process the music and past video games is like peacefully dying and moving up higher and higher into at heaven. The aura towards the end, and the song is over, eyes opened and can name everything I saw there, like the Sega Dreamcast and the Sega Saturn talking to each other Dreamcast shows how and what are VMU’s explaining to the Saturn. While the Sega 32X and Sega CD sitting in a formed circle listening and excitement. The Sega Dreamcast shows and display the internet and online games to the Japanese Sega Mega Drive 33k dialup modem . The X-Band and Sega Channel (a subscription service for 50 games a month service from ‘94 to ‘98) And they devices are proud and ecstatic knowing borrowed and utilisation practices that wouldn’t go to waste!
I absolutely love Phantasy Star. There is no other game that brings me back to my childhood quite like the original PS. Then, PSO brings me back to a special time in my life as an adult.
Very timely episode, and I loved it. I just finished PS1 on the Switch -- great way to revisit the game. Now I'm enjoying PS2 on the Genesis hardware and it's harder than I remember it being, for instance my party wiped 30 seconds before completing Shure, and I had to do the whole thing over again. I still love it though.
I played the original Phantasy Star for the first time last year and loved it. Mapped the dungeons as I went and tried noting what important things townspeople said. When I saw the 3D dungeons it reminded me so much of Shining in the Darkness that I had to get Phantasy Star. I recently picked up and started the mark 3 version so I could play with FM sound.
Wow, kind of coincidentally timing for this video to drop now, as I just started playing Phantasy Star on my PS vita two days ago. These games are something I always saw on store shelves growing up, but somehow ignored. Nintendo switch version auto mapping has me jealous.
Phantasy Star 1, my all time favorate game.... Got it the day it was released in the US...must have played though it 10-15 times now... and last with the retranslation version (thanks for that! ), What a game, what a series... EDIT: Found the Japanese SegaAges version for the PS2...with English translation... started playing a week ago, very interesting view on it, I will have to finish it again :)
Perfect timing as I just finished up the first game the other day through the Sega Ages release. I'll probably go through the other games sometime via the Sega Genesis Classics collection, but the PS2 Phantasy Star collection does look pretty tempting.
Whoever designed the dungeons in that game needs to be shot. You have to go all the way up to the top floor (but can't reach the exit), then make your way back down in order to find the correct path to go back up again.
The Phantasy star games in general were pioneers of the JRPG! When you compare the Phantasy Star games to the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest that released in similar years Phantasy Stars stack up well and introduce a lot of firsts in JRPGs that even influenced later FF and DQ titles. Also the mix of Fantasy and Sci-fi has not been done better in any other game I've ever played.
@@Footender I did read the whole comment. My reaction was to "Also the mix of Fantasy and Sci-fi has not been done better in any other game I've ever played."
I've always wanted to get into this series. Hell I own most of them. I discovered these games about 10 years ago and have yet to finish any of them and I'm just finding harder the older I get to invest time into long RPGs like these.
The easiest way to play Phantasy Star 1-4 is on Sonics Ultimate Genesis Collection on Ps3 and xbox360. You can buy it for around $8 and it has tons of other great games on the collection.
Got mine for 4 through Walmart's online store. It's a good value, but the lack of Sonic 3 and Knuckles is disappointing. That was one reason I bought the Genesis and Megadrive collection on Steam. The advantage of that is you can legally run the roms through an emulator like Kega Fusion. Or stick them on an SD card, and play them on a Flashback console, like the Atgames Legends Flashback (No idea what emulator they use for Genesis games, but it seems very good.)
Another amazing video! I have a PVM and an everdrive in my game room, but I find myself finally playing my way through the Phantasy Stars thanks to the Switch and Genesis Classics versions. I really love the fast forward/rewind features. Yes I know they're cheating... but I'm old w/ family and job and it just makes them more accessible. Wish I had the time and nerve to play them through on my PVM, but the Switch versions are doing nicely. Plus I can play them on the couch while my wife watches TV. :)
This is so much fun, i just hours ago wanted to play the original 4 Phantasy Star gamaes, and got them into my 3DS to play on the go, hahahaha, the best chapter ever!
Great video as always. My introduction to this series was actually Phantasy Star III which my brother had. Loved that game, especially the different generations of heroes you could play as.
My introduction to the series was Phantasy Star Online. It came out right after I graduated high school & I played it non-stop for hours on end. Really great memories! I even had the Dreamcast keyboard.
Thanks so much for this. I had NO idea the PS3 collection had ALL 4 main PS games on it. I just ordered it on Amazon and can't wait to hopefully, FINALLY beat PS1! It's the only one I never got a chance to beat.
Awesome video! Phantasy Star is great! I'm glad Sega is trying to revamp classic games like this, but I do wish they would make a new Phantasy Star RPG.
Holy crap that Vintage mode is amazing. Like, not even kidding, my Trinitron looks a lot like that. Mine is less bloomed, shaper, and has different curvature, but the scanlines and slight colour alignment issue that really made me think: “Holy crap, that’s my TV!” I’m honestly amazed at how accurate that is.
I remember owning these over the years on my original Master System and Genesis. Always was impressed with the series, but never got into them long enough to play through and finish any of them. Final Fantasy pulled me away. 😁 Really should sit down and play all of these sometime.
Sega Smash Pack on PC is how I first played Phantasy Star 2. I hand copied parts of the gamefaqs in a notebook to get through the dungeons. I still have it. Might grab the Saturn version for those bonuses.
I almost got the Phantasy Star Collection on GBA recently and am glad I didn't. Now I have to save up and get the M2 port on switch. M2 never fails to impress me on how much love they pour in their ports
Phantasy Star was the RPG entry point for a LOT of people in Brazil because it was the only JRPG translated to Brazilian Portuguese back in the 90s. Tec Toy translated Phantasy Star 1, 2 and 3 back in the day.
Yeah.
When I was a kid and had only a Master System, Phantasy Star was my main addiction. I didn't even knew what a RPG was, the game felt very alien to me. But I was amazed at it's graphics and scope. And more importantly, it was the first game where I cared about the story (since it was the first game I've played in Portuguese).
I still consider it an amazing game, even if it aged quite a lot.
Very interesting.
Phantasy Star 1 means so much to me! It’s one of the things that my older brother and I bonded over: he would give me directions through the mazes (Those dungeons are absolutely incredible!) and I was the main controller man. We’ve each played it a combined 20-25 times easily. Made our own maps of every dungeon on graph paper, every town, every shop, the items’ prices and stats. Few people know what the Hobbes “I’d like to eat a Nut of Laerma.” means 🙂. That was our first Rpg, and we played several others (Working Designs SegaCD, Ps2 & 4). But it all started with Alis, and neither of us will ever forget a single second!
So good that somebody remembers what a good rememberance I love this game so much for money reasons I have never played the other two. Now thanks to Switch I can get it back :D
SonicNights No idea! When they localized PSIII in Brazil, the Mega Drive was already long dead in the rest of the world. It probably wasn’t worth it.
I want Try's "Whoo boy!" sound as a ringtone.
Phantasy Star 1 was the first RPG I ever played on a home console and it was on my friends Sega Master System. When he showed it to me, I wasn't blown away and all I could think about was playing Double Dragon which was what I was obsessed about in the arcades at the time. Later in my childhood, I signed up for a subscription for Nintendo Power which conveniently came with a free NES game pac (Dragon Warrior). I honestly didn't care what it was... it was a new game, and it was mine... and hey, it came with a hint guide! I ended up loving the game and that is what made me revisit Phantasy Star. At that time, I had already finished Final Fantasy and moved on to Genesis. I bought a power based converter for it and purchased Phantasy Star from that same friend for $7. That game had me so sucked in that I barely played any Genesis games until after I beat it... then moved onto Phantasy Star 2 and Sword of Vermilion. Phantasy Star 2 stuck with me... even till today. That game, while as grindy as they come... inspired me to draw, and want to make games myself (as a kid). The story was just so personal to me and how it ended changed how I looked at games in general. I'm grateful you payed homage to one of the most underrated RPG series today, you did it justice!
Monsterbass Yeah, it’s hard to go back to the 8bit era of RPGs unless you already have an affinity for it.
Great story, my dude. I love old gaming stories. I have plenty myself lol. Do you still draw or have you dove into game development?
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free!
Gabe Payne I didn’t and I don’t draw so much these days unless it’s with my 6yo son. I did get into the IT profession.
stinky pinky 3 sounded so good... especially if what you craved was the RPG that never ended. It sounded like 3 RPGs in one. I think 3 deserves an overhaul. Great concept, pitiful execution.
Phantasy Star IV is one of my favorite 16-bit RPGs. Glad to see it getting some love!
Hey
Yes! It's mine as well. I just love it, even more than final fantasy III/VI! I just finished it once again some time ago in my Sega Mega Drive mini. Wish they could release a new game for the series... the one we current have is pure garbage :|
Never heard of this series will need to give it a go one time!
Its no dragon Fantasy or whatever those nerd games are called
Was about to comment something like "The HappyConsoleGamer should try this series sooner or later..." =)
I believed this comment until I saw the user name lol.
idk...I dont think its for you....
Or.........you can must emulate it! Lol!
;-)
I love the way the intro theme plays softly in the background while you explain , then it kicks in full blast.
Phantasy Star II was life changing. Everyone who enjoys JRPGs needs to take the time to play that epicness.
Fantastic video, MLIG!
Phatasy star 3 is bar far my favorite game in the franchise. Love the music and the artwork so much. Makes me sad so many people dislike it.
My fave too.
It's not my favorite because it loses key things that makes the "Algo" games feel like Phantasy Star....but it grew on me more over time and I do really like the game as a side story. The opening song is one of my favorites.
If I had to guess, It would be the battle animations/graphics that would be making people hate it. Looking past that, Phantasy Star 3 is a really good game for what it is cause of the story, the characters, and the soundtrack.
@@michelvienneau661 Yes, good point. I remember being a little disappointed at the battles which felt like a step back from 2. Also the magic system was a bit odd and the offensive techniques felt less useful.
I wouldn't say I liked it when I first bought it on release. However, as I got older, I grew to appreciate how different it was. I would say the characters, story, and music are top-tier. One thing I liked was the androids stayed with you the whole way through and the technique shop was a nice touch.
Phantasy Star IV is still one of my favorite games of all time, I adore everything about it. The story, the music, the characters, the combat, the cutscenes. It really is a top-class JRPG experience that gets unfairly overlooked by people who think only the SNES could do that kind of game.
My sister and I played through all four games on the PS2 Complete Collection a number of years ago; she hadn't played them since they originally came out, and I had only played II and IV. While it was a lot of fun, we ultimately decided that IV is the only one that really still holds up today. The speed and difficulty adjustments really laid bare how empty and rushed of a game Phantasy Star III in particular is, even if I do still love the hilarious enemy sprites.
How grindy is PSIV? I beat PSI and am playing PSII now and it is extremely grindy.
@@lostn65 It's far less grindy than the previous games. You might have to build up a few levels here and there before tackling a boss or particular side missions, but it's generally a very streamlined game for 1993.
Good post. The only thing that prevents PSIV from achieving the status of "perfect game" for me is that it is a bit on the easy side. Other than that I find every single other element of the game masterful. Truly an incredible jrpg. And I've played all the big SNES rpgs as they came out in NA
The PC Genesis collection gives you unencrypted ROMs of 2-4, meaning you can load them into your own emulators on any system, load them on an Everdrive for real hardware, and use all those nice difficulty/translation hacks that exist. You don't even have to extract them anymore, they make a folder in the Steam installation.
Nice to see a legal way to get your own ROM files beyond dumping a cart.
Just because it's unencrypted and laying just in game folder, doesn't mean it's legal to use game content in any other way than SEGA intended to (On PC, running emulation likely).
I've been waiting for something like this from y'all for so long.
Aye, agreed.
Great job! You guys really know your stuff!
One thing I love about Phantasy Star is that it's one of the very few RPG series on consoles from that era where the plot of the games are connected to as many as four entries. In the Final Fantasy series for example, the games are completely separated with only reoccuring themes and gameplay. But Phantasy Star ties the whole series together with locations, characters and events.
I truly hope you all continue making these "Best way to play" episodes. I've never seen this much effort in these types of comparison vids.
Just bought the Switch version because of this video! Thank you for shinning a light on Phantasy Star 💫
Phantasy Star was mega expensive for that 4 mega power! $75 at the time.
I don't doubt it. Phantasy Star IV was over $100 when it hit stores. Fortunately for me, it was easy to rent at Blockbuster.
Lon.TV ah yes. The nonuniform game pricing due to memory cost. Such a relic of gaming's past
Also the only game on master system that deserves it. Worth each penny.
True due to the cost of memory 4 megabit cartridge wasn’t common back then
This is hands-down the best Phantasy Star series retrospective I've ever seen. I didn't play this series until 2006 but I'm still nostalgic for it. Thanks for putting so much effort into this video, it's very much appreciated!
If you want an absolute love letter to the original games on original hardware, look up GTV Japan's 30th anniversary retrospectives. Along with this channel for how to go back to replay these classics today, it's one of my favorite channels for the vibes of yesterday.
I really need to invest some more time into this series. I've only played the first one and loved it. Awesome overview of it, Coury!
My first RPG. In Brazil Phantasy Star is popular in the 90'
Fellipe Anselmo Gemio
Ah yes, where tusks and claws were confused for boomerangs.
@@Real_The_Goof In defense... they really look like boomerangs in the cover.
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free!
@@godchi1dvonsteuben770 Because it's not piracy. It's the oficial original game released on a switch cartridge to put on your shelves.
@@godchi1dvonsteuben770 So that you can support the developers so that they can make more games?!!??!
I finally plunged and bought a sealed copy of Phantasy Star Collection for the Saturn. Since I can read Japanese, I wanted to experience the games as they were originally written (especially character names and plot details). I just beat Phantasy Star in essentially two sittings and loved it! I started with the series with PSO on Dreamcast. I have no complaints. I LOVE the Saturn compilation.
I am so glad you guys made this episode I love Phantasy Star and PSO
I agree with half of your comment.
@@rodmunch69 im guessing you dont care for pso
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free!
@@MrTechnoSqueek Tbh in my Opinion PSO had a interesting Concept and a strong start, but when PSU and PSO2 came along. That's when the Sub series started to lose it's way. Only silver lining about them is at least the core gameplay systems are still good. (At least for Portable 2 when it comes to PSU.)
My first RPG was Phantasy Star III when I was like 6 or 7. I fell in love with it.
After beating it several times (and it was a problem because it turned out my console could not save the game, whereas my friend’s console could) I switched to PS2 and it was amazing. I was the happiest person.
And how happy I was playing PSO on GameCube to find out that the ost to the game is composed using lots of original tracks from the first games.
Episode 4 has some remakes from PSIII.
Nostalgia is such a thing :)
Thank you for this video, it is the ultimate documentary about the Phantasy Star series versions with so many detailed comparisons, great job!
Possibly the best video on the Phantasy Star saga on RUclips. great job guy's.
You’re one of the best gaming channels! I love the editing in your videos, super awesome! I’ll be taking tips for my own channel haha, loved this video!
I woke up and saw phantasy star on my feed and I cried. I can still hear the PSII home music in my head. We were so obsessed with this we made our own tabletop. And later I nearly gained 100lbs playing PSO.
People who weren't around dont understand how phantasy star blew then doors off the rpg genre
@@ryecatcher25 PS1 and 2 we literally played day and night, in shifts, with the books and the maps. During PS2 all of us would be in the room all the time, awake or asleep just to make sure we wouldn't miss developments.
I think every kid in the neighborhood came over for the last few hours of 2. I also think we all bought it and replied it individually later.
Sadly that didn't happen with PS3, the next time it did was ChronoTrigger. Oddly, that group of friends and I can remember beating PS1, but more so we all still talk about PS2. I moved away before 4 came out. I really wish I would have had that experience with them as a group. Every day I played 4 I thought about that time we beat 2. Sigh. poor 3...
Ah, Phantasy Star. I remember looking for an RPG for the Master System back in 2003, found PS1, & was instantly hooked. Phantasy Star is one of my favorite RPG series! 2 is amazing, but tough. 3 I have yet to play, but I will eventually. 4... Man, if Sonic 3 was Sonic Team's magnum opus, 4 is also up there! It's really too bad that Sega never finished the remake for 4! Gotta give Generation 1 another playthrough & Generation 2 a try! My main way of playing the series now is the Complete Collection for PS2.
I also enjoyed the Text Adventures & Game Gear games, should probably give those another roll.
Loved this video! My introduction to the Phantasy Star franchise was Phantasy Star Online for the Gamecube and I still play it! I play it on private servers and I also play PSO2. I always knew that Phantasy Star started as a turn based rpg but never really felt compelled to go back to them. After watching this video definitely want to play now!
19:27 Europe got a second version of the Power Base called the Master System Converter II which works with the Sega Mega Drive Model 2. It doesn't support the card games, but it's worth it if you own the Model 2.
Great video as always. I really hope Sega releases Sega Ages version of the other 3 games for the Switch. I plowed through Phantasy Star I on the Switch in a single day, which was a great day.
Same here
Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free! All 4 titles, that way...
@@lukasperuzovic1429 Why would I pay to play them on switch, when I can play them for free on any Android device, with the "Super MD" or "Classic Boy" Megadrive/Genesis emulators, from the Google Playstore? Coupled with an "iPega PG-9083S" clip on blutooth controller, you end up with a more versatile device than the Nintendo Switch, for LESS money, and all the games are free! All 4 fitles, that way...
If you guys get one of the emulators, to get, and play, the games for free just google search "Phantasy star downloadable roms," pick a site, download for free, then open the file with the emulator... enjoy guys!
Godchi1d Von Steuben You emulator cheapasses are the bane of video games. Please crawl back into your shitty emulation cave and never come out.
When my friend first showed me PS1 on the SMS (which he borrowed from his cousin) when it came out I was blown away by the fact that you walked around with people following you as your party grew. Mind Blown!
Thanks for covering one of my favorite series! I've been a huge fan of Phantasy Star ever since PSO on Dreamcast and have sought them all out since then. Also really thankful for mentioning the Retranslation Patches and Hacks. I can't wait to revisit them with those upgrades. Beautiful work gentlemen!
My intro to the Phantasy Star series was Phantasy Star 2. My brother had gotten my mom to buy it for him during a trip the flea market. I thought the cover art stunk but, I was happily surprised when I started playing the game and I have been a fan of the series ever since. Needless to say, when I finally got to chance to Phantasy Star part 1 I was blown away.
Once upon a time, Phantasy Star was one of the Big 3 along with DQ and FF, and I believe it was the first of the three released in the US.
@Coomer Eternal Bro, Dragon Quest is still awesome.
@Don't Talk Zoomer Why is that "too bad?"
Been meaning to get around to these. I played most of 1 and 4 on emulator years ago (4 on a motorola flipout with a genesis emulator, hoo wee that was something), but never finished either; what I played of them I enjoyed. As a long time PSO and RPG fan it makes sense that I should get through this series, but that will happen eventually™.
Awesome video as always boys. Loved the two Phantasy Star videos from before and this one is perfectly complimentary.
I’ve played PS3 through all generations twice. That eerie music and feeling you are out on it alone. Still one of my best RPG experiences ever. PS4 just knocks all the previous away. Amazing!
I have much nostalgia for Phantasy Star, as it's the first real RPG my buddy and I played when we were kids. So many sleepovers spend grinding levels and trying to figure out puzzles. We even had to call 1-800-USA-Sega to find the final boss!
PS3 had the weirdest, most random enemies I've ever seen in a game lol.
Phantasy Star on the Master System was my First RPG, soooo many memories came back, thanks.
played phantasy star on sms back in the day, with my brother and friends.
We didnt know a word in english back then, but thankfull Tec Toy had us covered. I am forever thankful.
Boy what a game
Oh that is a video I am going to LOVE! It is getting late where I live so i will keep for tomorrow. But meanwhile I am going to sleep and dream about my youth playing Phantasy Star on my Master System without the FM sound.. little did I know then!
I like this video so much! Thank you Coury & Try for being so awesome.
Phantasy Star II is my first RPG, and I replay it every couple of years, both on the various portable emulators & original Mega Drive, so I'm really, really hoping for a Sega Ages version.
The first game that introduced me to the series was Phantasy star online on the Dreamcast. I'm going back and playing the first four Phantasy star games and I'm glad I've picked them up!
Love the original Phantasy Star series, and I've been waiting for this for a long time now, and even with all of the hype I've built up waiting, it didn't disappoint one bit, I really appreciate all of the hard work, that you guys put into these awesome informative videos, and am looking forward to seeing your next big series overview/best way to play.
*Production of these videos is phenomenal! Wish you guys uploaded more about everything gaming related!*
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! 😍😍😍
Currently playing the Android version of Phantasy star 2-3-4. Pretty basic, but very good, and the picture quality is very good!
...........where is Phantasy star 5 already?!?
Sega Ages on the Switch has an auto mapping system? I can finally not be stuck in a dungeon for hours! lol
Wow! I am genuinely in awe with how well you put this video together. Really, amazing!
Shmupulations has an interview with the creators of PSII in which they mention the dungeons were created by a new hire who was a bit overzealous. By the time they realized how complicated the dungeons were, they didn’t have production time to fix them.
37:09 Call me mad, but listening Phantasy Star IV music at 50Hz is a really good experience and you should try it out! By the way, still waiting for Coury's PSIV and PSIII review as he did with PS1 and PSII.
Thank you guys for this absolutely amazing video. It is really well done and with a lot of care.
New MLiG means no sleep for me. :)
You know I'm torn; On the one hand it is uncharacteristically cool for a videogame series to just say "This is it. This is the end." and move on.
On the other hand, well, Sega owns Atlus now and I can't think of of a better japanese RPG developer out there to literally have access to the Phantasy Star IP should they want it.
A new Atlus made Phantasy Star could be amazing.
It's been two years since this comment, but I'm waiting for longer for a Phantasy Star V. And will be waiting far more it seems...
@@caleb257 Yes, If another one was anounced, I would probably be more worried than hyped...
i know you're all about video quality, but damn your videos are eye candy
I own ps2 and ps3 on the mega drive, never finished either and was planning on hunting down the other two, this has made me consider getting a switch with the mind set the others might get the same treatment. The music on those games have never left my head and I'll often hum ps2 whenever someone talks about music from childhood..
I'VE NEVER HEARD OF PHANTASY STAR BUT I'M DEFINITELY ADDING IT TO MY LIST OF GAMES TO CONQUER NOW ON MY CHANNEL! WOOHOO! THANK YOU My Life In Gaming!!!
I'm definitely going to need to try this as well!
I think I'm going to be getting this as well!
DITTO!
Phantasy me up cap'n!
Where do you find Phantasy Star?
Thank you so much for this Documentary of Phantasy Star the game that solidify my childhood! This is the most thorough and complete informative documentary!
This is such a thorough, detailed, and delightful analysis of one of my favorite game series. Great video guys!
Thanks for providing such a detailed retrospective into a game series loved by so many!
Gotta love M2 man, kings of retro preservation (and evolution) and one of the only studios that you can truly tell respect and love the source material as much as the people they're marketing it to.
They're the only reason I'm interested in the Genesis Mini. If it were anyone other than M2 working on it, it would be a hard pass for me.
*A T G a m e s*
They make their Genesis consoles rushed and cheap, not to mention that the CEO is toxic
Phantasy Star IV is probably my favourite JRPG of the 16 bit Era... Totally unique for the time period and doesn't shy away from important characters death.
As always your production quality and overall content is insanely good.
Oh boy thank god I was born in 1984.... man now I’m old enough to see how people react to classics and hit heavy by Nostalgia, makes me proud and passionate to live and breath as a young middle aged man. Call me crazy but I don’t care! The start of this video shoot electricity. Through out my body hardly have any hair on my neck and can feel it standing up it’s goosebumps on steroids. And the intro song Principle by Matthew Mccheskey created makes it feel like it was made for “My Life In Gaming” hopefully the intro song is never changed it’s perfect, watching you guys hard at work piecing things together and using the song as the glue that sticks it together, the way I let my mind process the music and past video games is like peacefully dying and moving up higher and higher into at heaven. The aura towards the end, and the song is over, eyes opened and can name everything I saw there, like the Sega Dreamcast and the Sega Saturn talking to each other Dreamcast shows how and what are VMU’s explaining to the Saturn. While the Sega 32X and Sega CD sitting in a formed circle listening and excitement. The Sega Dreamcast shows and display the internet and online games to the Japanese Sega Mega Drive 33k dialup modem . The X-Band and Sega Channel (a subscription service for 50 games a month service from ‘94 to ‘98)
And they devices are proud and ecstatic knowing borrowed and utilisation practices that wouldn’t go to waste!
I absolutely love Phantasy Star. There is no other game that brings me back to my childhood quite like the original PS. Then, PSO brings me back to a special time in my life as an adult.
When i saw this video in my notification i was going crazy, i love these videos.
Stop millienialing
@@Jbayz there, i fixed it.
Mlig does such great work with details on multiple versions.
Very timely episode, and I loved it. I just finished PS1 on the Switch -- great way to revisit the game. Now I'm enjoying PS2 on the Genesis hardware and it's harder than I remember it being, for instance my party wiped 30 seconds before completing Shure, and I had to do the whole thing over again. I still love it though.
always been interested in this series, thanks for this amazing video!!
I played the original Phantasy Star for the first time last year and loved it. Mapped the dungeons as I went and tried noting what important things townspeople said.
When I saw the 3D dungeons it reminded me so much of Shining in the Darkness that I had to get Phantasy Star.
I recently picked up and started the mark 3 version so I could play with FM sound.
Wow, kind of coincidentally timing for this video to drop now, as I just started playing Phantasy Star on my PS vita two days ago. These games are something I always saw on store shelves growing up, but somehow ignored. Nintendo switch version auto mapping has me jealous.
Phantasy Star IV holds a place in my top 3 games of all time. It's one of my "Desert Island" games. I replay it every year or two.
Your video was so informative it made me want to try phantasy star so I bought the sega ages version you guys rock
Phantasy Star 1, my all time favorate game.... Got it the day it was released in the US...must have played though it 10-15 times now... and last with the retranslation version (thanks for that! ), What a game, what a series... EDIT: Found the Japanese SegaAges version for the PS2...with English translation... started playing a week ago, very interesting view on it, I will have to finish it again :)
This is in-depth and frighteningly so! Thank you for all the time and effort spent in compiling this info!
You guys make the best videos! Thanks for all your hard work. I hope we see at least one PS game on the Genesis Mini.
Perfect timing as I just finished up the first game the other day through the Sega Ages release. I'll probably go through the other games sometime via the Sega Genesis Classics collection, but the PS2 Phantasy Star collection does look pretty tempting.
Never played phantasy star but thinking about picking it up. Good informative video.
Whoever designed the dungeons in that game needs to be shot. You have to go all the way up to the top floor (but can't reach the exit), then make your way back down in order to find the correct path to go back up again.
The Phantasy star games in general were pioneers of the JRPG! When you compare the Phantasy Star games to the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest that released in similar years Phantasy Stars stack up well and introduce a lot of firsts in JRPGs that even influenced later FF and DQ titles. Also the mix of Fantasy and Sci-fi has not been done better in any other game I've ever played.
Then you haven't played many much better games :)
Like FF 6 to 8, many games for PC and the first game that pops in my mind is Arcane.
@@SquallSf I don’t think you really read my comment
@@Footender I did read the whole comment. My reaction was to "Also the mix of Fantasy and Sci-fi has not been done better in any other game I've ever played."
Thank you for this! It's like every time I ask myself what the best way to do X in gaming, you guys make a video on it!
I literally just traded for the SMS version, can't wait to see your thoughts!
MLIG expertly reviews these ports. I'm always impressed.
I've always wanted to get into this series. Hell I own most of them. I discovered these games about 10 years ago and have yet to finish any of them and I'm just finding harder the older I get to invest time into long RPGs like these.
Excellent video - extremely well done!
The easiest way to play Phantasy Star 1-4 is on Sonics Ultimate Genesis Collection on Ps3 and xbox360. You can buy it for around $8 and it has tons of other great games on the collection.
Got mine for 4 through Walmart's online store.
It's a good value, but the lack of Sonic 3 and Knuckles is disappointing. That was one reason I bought the Genesis and Megadrive collection on Steam.
The advantage of that is you can legally run the roms through an emulator like Kega Fusion. Or stick them on an SD card, and play them on a Flashback console, like the Atgames Legends Flashback (No idea what emulator they use for Genesis games, but it seems very good.)
Another amazing video! I have a PVM and an everdrive in my game room, but I find myself finally playing my way through the Phantasy Stars thanks to the Switch and Genesis Classics versions. I really love the fast forward/rewind features. Yes I know they're cheating... but I'm old w/ family and job and it just makes them more accessible.
Wish I had the time and nerve to play them through on my PVM, but the Switch versions are doing nicely. Plus I can play them on the couch while my wife watches TV. :)
This is so much fun, i just hours ago wanted to play the original 4 Phantasy Star gamaes, and got them into my 3DS to play on the go, hahahaha, the best chapter ever!
Great video as always. My introduction to this series was actually Phantasy Star III which my brother had. Loved that game, especially the different generations of heroes you could play as.
My introduction to the series was Phantasy Star Online. It came out right after I graduated high school & I played it non-stop for hours on end. Really great memories! I even had the Dreamcast keyboard.
Just bought a sealed, BRAND NEW copy of Phantasy Star Complete Collection for JP PS2 off eBay for $100! So looking forward to this! Long live M2!
Thanks so much for this. I had NO idea the PS3 collection had ALL 4 main PS games on it. I just ordered it on Amazon and can't wait to hopefully, FINALLY beat PS1! It's the only one I never got a chance to beat.
Bought PSI on Switch immediately after watching this video. Thanks MLiG!
Sega should do pixel remaster of the original four games like SquareEnix did with the first six Final Fantasy games.
Awesome video! Phantasy Star is great! I'm glad Sega is trying to revamp classic games like this, but I do wish they would make a new Phantasy Star RPG.
Holy crap that Vintage mode is amazing. Like, not even kidding, my Trinitron looks a lot like that. Mine is less bloomed, shaper, and has different curvature, but the scanlines and slight colour alignment issue that really made me think: “Holy crap, that’s my TV!”
I’m honestly amazed at how accurate that is.
Amazing content about Phantasy Star series! I will buy it too Switch via Sega Ages!
I remember owning these over the years on my original Master System and Genesis. Always was impressed with the series, but never got into them long enough to play through and finish any of them. Final Fantasy pulled me away. 😁
Really should sit down and play all of these sometime.
Sega Smash Pack on PC is how I first played Phantasy Star 2. I hand copied parts of the gamefaqs in a notebook to get through the dungeons. I still have it. Might grab the Saturn version for those bonuses.
I remember getting phantasy star 1 and I was blown away I still have it along with pt 2,3 and 4 some
amazing experiences
I hate that I had to rewind d at 29 13 to hear the phantasy star 4 chest opened g but I love how you timed it with the dreamcast opening!
One of my favorite series of all time. Truly ahead of its time.
That intro was pretty good. I just found your channel, definitely subscribing.
I almost got the Phantasy Star Collection on GBA recently and am glad I didn't. Now I have to save up and get the M2 port on switch. M2 never fails to impress me on how much love they pour in their ports