Phantasy Star Series

Excerpt from Genesis Game Guide by The Scribe

NAME:             Phantasy Star series (4 titles)
AUTHOR/VENDOR:    Sega
RELEASED:         various
TYPE:             RPG
LANGUAGE:         English, Japanese, and Portuguese

PREMISE:          A multigenerational saga that mixes together elements of
                  the sci-fi, fantasy, strategy, and RPG genres.  The
                  underlying thread that unites the series is that of an
                  ancient evil which arises in various forms to threaten
                  the peaceful existence of the inhabitants of the Algo
                  star system.  Time and again it is defeated, only to rise
                  again in an even more threatening form with each new age,
                  until a climatic confrontation is forced in the fourth
                  and final installment.

IMPRESSIONS:      This is for Sega Genesis/MegaDrive fans what the Final
                  Fantasy series is for the various Nintendo platforms.
                  It is an ABSOLUTE MUST if you an RPG fan.  The third game
                  in the series doesn't quite fit, as it deals with a side
                  story, but the fourth and final installment was such
                  a huge success that it inspired its own anime TV series
                  in Japan.  Its continued popularity can be judged in part
                  by the demand for the rare G/MD cart of the first game.
                  Don't just take my word for it - play the series and see
                  for yourself!

VARIATIONS:       Phantasy Star (aka Phantasy Star MD, PSMD - initally
                    released for the SMS in 1988, rereleased 1993 in a
                    special anniversary edition for the MegaDrive limited
                    to just 1000 copies - it is the rarest known commercial
                    G/MD cart in existence with a current street value of
                    around US$200 - nevertheless, it's an exact copy of the
                    Japanese SMS game, folks)
                  Phantasy Star 2 (1989, the direct sequel to the first
                    game - according to Chochobo's RPG Ranch, it has the
                    best ending of any game in the series and can hold its
                    own against PS4 - there also seems to have been a
                    a variation or derivative with modem support released
                    in Japan that was documented in Mega Play issue #2)
                  Phantasy Star 3 - Generations of Doom (1991, released in
                    Japan under the title Tokino Seishousha - deals with
                    a side story in the saga, as three generations of
                    characters interact, marry, and breed to raise a new
                    crowd to do the same - four different endings based on
                    how the game is played)
                  Phantasy Star 4 - The End of the Millenium (1993, also
                    released in the United States under the title The Final
                    Terror - takes all of the previous games, even PS3 to
                    some extent, and ties them together into one grand
                    finale)

                  I would also like to note that the entire series is
                  available on one big multigame CD in Japanese for the
                  Sega Saturn - provided you can still find it - and there
                  is an active campaign underway to get Sega to port this
                  collection to IBM PC platforms.  There are also at least
                  a dozen or so Game Gear "side story" games, which were
                  eventually collected and released on two separate discs
                  in the Game no Can series for the Mega CD in Japan.

                  According to Steve Snake, Sega did consider porting
                  one or more of the "regular" Phantasy Star games to the
                  Sega CD, but nothing ever came of it.

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