This is GTV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time for another awesome video!
In December 2017, a well known Role Playing Game series had its 30th anniversary... no,
not that one! Well ok that one too, but there is another. That series is Phantasy Star.
SEGA's alternative to Final Fantasy gave Square Soft a run for its money way back when,
and while it exists in a different form these days, its still going strong. So get your
self a Dimate, and hey why not go big? Get a Trimate, and celebrate. Because Phantasy
Star is 30!
OPEN
In the first half of the 1980s RPGs were not the most popular genre of games in Japan.
If anything, space shooters were preferred at this time. Back then, very few were RPGs
available, almost all for PCs and made in America.
After the release of Dragon Quest by Enix in 1986, Japan was quickly turned on to the
genre, and a gold rush to create the next RPG hit was on. Many of these games came to
the Family Computer and MSX. But around this time SEGA has released hardware that outperform
both. Sega had released the SG-1000 to compete with Nintendo's Family Computer in 1983.
It was quickly replaced and upgraded in the form of the SG-1000 II, in 1984 and then the
Mark 3 in 1985. One final upgrade came in 1987, When the existing
Mark 3 was included with an FM sound card, giving the machine the best audio available
at the time. The all in one package was called The Master System.
Sega had hardware superior to Nintendo, and also planned to deliver superior games for
it as well. One game planned to highlight the Master System would be a massive RPG that
aimed to differentiate itself from Dragon Quest, and outdo it in every possible way.
The team would include Rieko Kodama, and Yuji Naka. Both well known by SEGA fans for their
hand in dozens of games for the Master System and Mega Drive such as Alex Kidd and later
Sonic the Hedgehog. Chieko Aoki would create the world of Phantasy Star as she had submitted
her draft of the storyline of the game which was then given approval for production. Aoki
was so dedicated to the story idea she had been working on, that a majority of the dialog
used the game had been already written before work on the game had already began!
Instead of one world, there would be three. Each with its own geography, climate, history
and culture. Instead of one hero, there would be four. Medieval themes were replaced with
a high tech Science Fiction world, complete with space travel. Swords and shields would
still exist, but be complimented with guns and light sabers. Non-playable characters
would have a larger role than just giving hints and info and became integral to the
quest. Phantasy Star would also take advantage of the FM Sound Chip in the Master System,
with Tokuhiko Uwabo, known simply as BO, providing background themes that would match the tone
of each area in the game. Lastly, Phantasy Star would feature scrolling 3-D maze-like
dungeons that helped set the game apart from other RPGs of the time and elevate it to a
higher level. Yuji Naka was responsible for creating these dungeons. Something that until
you saw it, seemed impossible to do in the 8-bit days.
If you know the story of Phantasy Star well, you'll know that names, dates and certain
spellings differ between regions and each game. For simplicities sake, we will use the
proper in game naming conventions codified in the Japanese releases, with anglicized
pronunciations.
The story of Phantasy Star would take place in the Algol star system, far away in the
Andromeda Galaxy, centuries into the future. Three planets orbit the star Algol, The first
planet, Palma, is a temperate world, populated with intelligent humans who have mastered
technology and space travel. The Second planet, Motavia, is a desert planet with no natural
rainfall, inhabited natively by creatures who are short, furry and have beaks. The third
planet Dezolis was a frozen wasteland populated by pockets of intelligent and sometimes, dishonest
creatures who are tall with green skin.
In the year 342 After Waizz, A young Palmanian girl named Alisa Landale came home to find
her brother Nero being accused by police officers of attemping to overthrow La Shiec, the leader
of Algol, and paying the ultimate price. Alisa then vows to avenge her brother and begins
her quest. Along the way she befriends a cat named Myau and meets a friend of her brother
named Tyrone. Finally an Esper named Lutz joins them. The four traverse all the planets,
Palma, Motavia and Dezolis, meeting interesting people and a few robots as well, all while
unlocking the secrets of who La Shiec actually is and saving Algol from the ultimate evil,
an all powerful demon known as The Dark Force.
Phantasy Star would be released on December 20th, 1987. Just two days after it's main
competitor, Final Fantasy. It received high praise for its graphical detail, advanced
sound and amazing 3-d dungeons. In 1988 Phantasy Star would come to America, and Europe, though
with a few changes. The FM Sound would be removed. While the music was still great,
there is a noticeable difference in quality without the enhancement.
The other changes come in the form of the localization, where character names were changed
or shortened to fit the contains fo the game that were already set. The Japanese Phantasy
Star allowed a space for four Japanese characters for each name, meaning there are only four
English letters available for each name. Alisa became Alis. Tyrone became Odin and Lutz became
Noah. Other non-playable characters change with La Shiec becoming Lassic and The Dark
Force becoming Dark Falz. In 1988 these changes didn't really matter, but when comparing
sequels and different translations, it gets a little confusing.
Though the market share for the Master System in Japan and America was very small, the game
sold well for the market share that it had. And has gone on to be remembered as THE BEST
Sega Master System game that was ever made. In 1993 it was re-issued on the Mega Drive,
in Japan. the only Master System game to receive this treatment.
In 1988, work on Phantasy Star 2 began, originally planned for the Master System. However, with
the newer, 16-bit Mega Drive being readied for release, development was moved there.
Further more, the team, comprised of many from the first game, had only six months to
finish the game.
The move forced the game to go through some changes. The biggest one being that the 3d
dungeons were gone, replaced with the standard top-down viewpoint. Had Phantasy Star 2 been
done on the Master System, carrying the same code to the new game would have been easy.
But with new hardware to learn and a shorter timeframe than usual, it just couldn't be
done, so the traditional RPG dungeon is a part of Phantasy Star 2. The ability to save
anywhere was also removed. It was done in part to keep the player from saving in a situation
where they'll never be able to escape, and having to start over from the beginning, a
common complaint SEGA received after Phantasy Star 1 was released.
With the power of 16-bit hardware, the on screen graphics were brighter and more colorful.
Multiple planes of scrolling were added for depth. The music was more varied, and layered.
And the overall campaign in the game would be much longer.
The story of Phantasy Star 2 would take place almost 1000 years after the original game.
In the time between the first and second games, The planet Motavia had become terraformed,
due to a supercomputer called Mother Brain. A large migration from Palma to Motavia had
transpired as well as expanded colonies on Dezolis for mining purposes. With Mother Brain
controlling the ecology of Motavia and the necessities of day to day life, the people
began to become complacent, forgot their history and legends of Alisa Landale from centuries
ago were forgotten.
A Young boy named Eusis, known in English as Rolf, is a descendant of Alisa. At age
10, he is orphaned in a spaceship crash. He grows up to become a government Agent in Paseo,
the capital city of Motavia. A few months before the start of the game's events, Eusis
befriends Nei, a half human, half biomonster. In the year 1284 After Waizz, Eusis is ordered
to investigate outbreaks of biomonsters on Motavia. His investigation leads him to befriend
others who were on their own missions involving the biomonsters, and Mother Brain. The quest
leads Eusis and his new allies to discover the forgotten past of Algol and again battle
The Dark Force.
Phantasy Star: The End of the Golden Age was released in March 21, 1989 in Japan on a 6
Megabit cartridge and was the first RPG for the Mega Drive. It would be translated into
English and brought to the US in March 1990 and Europe in November 1990 simply as Phantasy
Star 2.
The English version would come with a massive guidebook, covering all of the dungeons, playable
characters and useable items. With the home RPG genre still not yet mainstream, this was
a vital aide to help those who may not have been accustomed to large dungeons or level
grinding.
By 1990, repeated installments of RPGs were starting to become the norm. 1990 saw the
release of the 4th Dragon Quest, and the 3rd Final Fantasy, in Japan. Phantasy Star would
soon join these as the game series 3rd installment, was planned for release in 1990. While there
was no doubt that, after the success of the first two games that a third would follow,
staff changes and other projects taking precedence would affect the development of Phantasy Star
3.
Knowing that the Nintendo Super Famicom was on the horizon and would steal a large share
of the emerging 16-bit market, SEGA started development of a game that would be a "Mario
Killer." Yuji Naka, and Rieko Kodama who were an integral part of the first two Phantasy
Star games were put on the project; a game that later came to be known as Sonic The Hedgehog.
Most of 1990 and 1991 was spent making Sonic the best possible game it could be, to combat
the upcoming Super Mario World, and it was! But It left Phantasy Star 3 with a new team,
and with a new team came a new direction.
Hirodono Saiki, known as S2 in the credits was the only member from the Phantasy Star
2 development team to work on Phantasy Star 3. His role in the second game was minor but
for the third, he was put fully in charge. The staff that would join him on this game
would mostly come from the team who had developed Golden Axe. None of the team members, except
for S2 had any experience with the Phantasy Star series.
The game looks, sounds and plays very differently from the first two. To compare Phantasy Star
2 and 3 visually, the graphics in 2 have a sharper look to them. A strong anime style
with sharp outlines and single shades of a different colors were used. Three uses more
colors on screen at once, but the look is softer with varying shades of a few colors
blending together. Comparing the graphics of Phantasy Star 3 and Golden Axe, which was
produced by the same team, you can see a lot of similarities in the use of color and shading.
The story and locations would also be different from the first two Phantasy Stars. Gone is
the Algol system and its planets. Palmanians, Moravians and Dezorians are replaced with
the Layans and Orakians. The world that they live in is medieval, rather than futuristic.
Phantasy Star 3 had a unique feature of adding a layer of audio to the game's overworld
music based on how many playable characters were in the party.
In addition that battle system was simplified by using pictograms, and the over all battle
speed was made much faster.
The gameplay tries to do something unique in having branching paths and multiple endings.
The playable characters span three generations. Depending on which path you choose by deciding
whom to marry at different stages of the game, the future characters will have different
appearances, name and abilities. Keeping the Layan bloodline pure will lead to the "true"
ending.
The story of Phantasy Star 3 takes places 2000 years after the ending of Phantasy Star
2. A mass evacuation of Palmanians was executed before the Planet Palma was destroyed. Hundreds
of domed ships sailed through space looking for a new home. 1000 years later, The Dark
Force had followed them and destroyed the ships until only 2 remained: The Alisa III
and The Neo Palma. Laya and Orakio had been able to contain the Dark Force, but now 1000
years later, The Dark Force has escaped and must be defeated before he destroys the last
remaining traces of Palma.
Released On April 21, 1990 in Japan as Phantasy Star: The Successors of Time and Phantasy
Star III: Generations of Doom in the West in 1991, on a then-standard 8 Megabit cartridge.
The game was not well received by fans for its diversion from the setting and history
of the first two games. While the it does come full circle and ties the series together
at the very end, you have to play through a game that is very unlike the rest of the
Phantasy Star series to learn that.
We're only three games in but the story continues. When we come back, spin-off, side
stories, remakes and the explosive finale that is Phantasy Star IV!
Break
By the end of 1991 SEGA was on the verge of overtaking Nintendo as the market leader in
home games. Many fans of Phantasy Star wondered if there wold even be a next installment after
the disappointment of Generations of Doom. Much of 1992 and would fall silent as Sonic,
Ecco, Shining Force, Streets of Rage and other extremely solid titles would lead the way.
The first news of Phantasy Star 4 started coming from gaming magazines near the end
of 1992. With claims that that original team would return as would the Algol Star System,
and that it would be the last Phantasy Star game in the series. The game was planned originally
for the Sega CD and would feature full animated cutscenes and bring back the full 3D dungeons
of the first game, with the working title Phantasy Star 4: The Return of Alis.
By 1993 things changed and the game would be on a cartridge, not a CD. The animated
cutscenes would be replaced with comic panels. Alis would return in the game but as an unrelated
character, and only in the English version. In Japan she was called Laila. But what stayed
intact was a back to basics game with story about the Algol Star System with the look
and feel of the first two games. Rumors of the game being the end of the series, were
also true.
The entire team from game's past would not join in, but, Rieko Kodama, who helped developed
the first two Phantasy star games was put in charge of the next, and last, installment.
The events at the end of Phantasy Star 2 would come to be known as "The Great Collapse"
and the people of Motavia have started to emerge from a Dark Age. A bounty hunter named
Laila has taken on an apprentice named Rudy, known. In English as Alys and Chaz. On a routine
investigation the two learn the coverup of biomonster development on Motavia. Soon after
they learn about Zio, the leader of a mysterious cult that has recently formed. Along the way,
others join their quest including cyborgs, and a native Motavian and Dezorian. The history
from the time of The Great Collapse is learned through the comic styled cutscenes as is the
return, once again, of The Dark Force.
Phantasy Star: The End of The Millennium was released in Japan on December 17, 1993, on
a 24 Megabit cart, one of the largest ever made for the Mega Drive. At the time there
were no plans for a Western release.
RPGs had grown in popularity but were still not mainstream in the West by this point.
It had also been a few years since Generations of Doom, which was not well received. By 1993
the average memory size of a game cartridge had jumped to 16 and sometimes 24 Megabits,
which increased costs. The time and effort to localize games and bring them to the West
was often seen as a big risk as most RPGs would cost over $60 and sell fewer units than
other games that were easier to localize. Often many localizations were cancelled before
release, or not bothered with at all.
American gaming publications were able to present screenshots of the the finished, released
game, but could not confirm when or if the game would ever leave Japan. Die Hard Game
Fan even encouraged a letter writing campaign to SEGA of America, begging them to give the
game a chance.
In late 1994 word had come that SEGA would indeed be bringing the game to the West! In
February 1995 Phantasy Star IV: The End of The Millennium was released in the US for
$99. Alongside Virtual Racing, it was the most expensive SEGA cartridge ever. The game
would also make it to Europe in December 1995. Luckily for gamers and very rare for a game
series of any genre back then, the entire series was released in all three major regions.
And with that the classic Phantasy Star series had come to a close, but it was far from the
end. Many more Phantasy Star games are out there
Three side games released during the 1990s. Phantasy Star Gaiden was released for the
Game Gear in Japan only in 1992. The game follows the events of Phantasy Star 1 and
takes the story in an unexpected direction as the game takes places on a world that was
colonized by Alisa after she decided to leave the Algol Star System.
Phantasy Star Adventure was another Game Gear game, also released in 1992 and also only
in Japan. Its a simple puzzle-adventure game that precedes Phantasy Star 2 by about 15
years where a government Agent from Paseo must investigate the disappearance of a scientist
on Dezolis.
Phantasy Star 2 Text adventure was a game released for the MegaNet, online service in
Japan. The game features 8 separate text based quests about each of the characters of Phantasy
Star 2 prior to meeting up in the game.
In 2000, SEGA announced Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast. Featuring fully playable
online campaigns, Phantasy Star Online would reboot the series, erasing all ties to the
previous games and embracing an action RPG battle style on a new world, Ragol. The game
would go on to be reissued on GameCube, XBOX and PC in various forms, with a proper sequel,
Phantasy Star Online 2 seeing release in 2012.
In the space between the first and second games in the Online series, SEGA released
Phantasy Star Universe for the Playstation 2, XBOX 360 and PC in 2006, with the spinoff
Phantasy Star Portable series for the PSP. This series of games were made in the same
style as Online.
There was a third series of action RPGs in the form of Phantasy Star Zero for the Nintendo
DS. The game took elements of the Online and Universe series and made an original game
with on and offline features for gamers on the go.
While the Phantasy Star Online series and its follow ups were an interesting and well
executed series of games, long time fans of the original series have had chanced to catch
up with the series on newer hardware through the years.
Phantasy Star Collection, released for the Sega Saturn, only in Japan in 1998, featured
all 4 original games on one disc. A second Phantasy Star Collection was released for
the Game Boy Advance in 2002, which contained Phantasy Stars 1, 2 and 3, but not four, despite
the title screen borrowing a scene from Phantasy Star 4. The original set of games also appeared
on various Genesis and Mega Drive collections over the years.
The most exciting news came in 2003 when SEGA announced the SEGA AGES 2500 series which
would give older SEGA games modern makeovers. Three of the four original Phantasy Star games
would be reissued as Phantasy Star: Generation 1, 2 and 4. The games had updated graphics
with multiple cutscenes and and a reworked soundtrack. The game's story was also expanded
with non playable characters having much more in game text and relying more on interaction
with them to progress through the game.
Generation 1 was the first volume of SEGA AGES, released in 2003. Generation 2 was volume
17 and saw release in 2005. Generation 4 was unfortunately cancelled. The Final SEGA AGES
Release was vol 32 in 2008 and that game was Phantasy Star: Complete Collection, which
featured all four games, as well as the three side games from the 90s. These 3 SEGA AGES
volumes were re-released on PS3, but the games never left Japan. English fan translations
of Generation 1 and 2 have been created after years of effort by the most diehard fans.
You'd think we're finished, but there's still more to go! Monomates are real, actual
living people who inspired characters, and lots of other crazy stuff is yet to come!
When we come back, the secrets of Phantasy
Star are revealed!
Break
What would a classic game series be without hidden secrets and lore to go along with it?
In Phantasy Star, there's no shortage of neat little references and jokes that might
have passed you by.
The name of the series "Phantasy Star" was inspired by a Japanese pop song! In 1987
pop idol Noriko Sakai, released a single called "Beachside Fantasy." This song became
a favorite of Yuji Naka, who worked the word into the title. The PH spelling was done to
differentiate itself from other Fantasies out there.
In the series, the characters who are the protectors of Algol and have special powers
are called Espers. It sounds like a mystical word that could appear in any RPG. Esper appears
in Japanese dictionaries as an English loanword, but this word does not appear in the English
dictionary at all. Kind of strange, but very simply an Esper is someone who can use ESP.
and ESP-er, if you will.
In Phantasy Star 1 there are some quirky real-world references and in jokes.
You can't visit the Governor of Motavia until you bring him a cake, which is found
in a far off cave in Palma. This makes light of the Japanese societal custom of bringing
a gift when visiting someones house, as well as the popularity of shortcake in Japan.
Miki is a character from the town of Sopia. Miki breaks the fourth wall by asking, "Do
you like Sega games?" and has different responses if the player selects yes or no. You had better
say yes! Miki is an in-game representation of Miki
Morimoto, an Assistant Coordinator for the game. She is listed as "Gamer Miki" in the
game credits.
In the Japanese Phantasy Star 1, another character Choko Oneesan is also in the game. she was
the voice of the SEGA Joy Joy Telephone hotline in Japan.
In the English Phantasy Star 1 you can heal yourself by consuming burgers and cola. In
later games this was changed to monomate, dimate and trimate. The mate suffix comes
from the items original Japanese name in the first game. The item we knew as the a was
called Pelori Mate. Which is pun off of the real world snack Calorie Mate. With PERO being
the Japanese word for licking. Cola in Japan was called Ruoginin also a play on words referring
to Arginine, an ingredient found in Japanese Energy Drinks.
In Phantasy Star 2 to learn the technique Musik, you need to be trained by Ustvestia.
While any character can be trained, even ones who can never have technique points, he offers
a lower price for his service to male characters, charging only 2000 mesetas, where as females
must pay 5000 mesetas. In the English version, Ustvestia says male characters "look smart"
While in Japanese he says they "look cute"
The design of Rudo, full name Rudolf Steiner was based off of actor Rudger Hauer. His name
in the Japanese version is Rudger Steiner.
In Phantasy Star 3, theres a bug in the beginning of the game, that the programmers were apparently
aware of. At the very start of the game, before you go an meet Maia at the wedding ceremony.
You can sell your equipment at the shop and buy and escapipe. Once Maia gets kidnapped
and Rhys gets imprisoned, you can use the escapipe to escape from the dungeon. Once
doing this, the story is unable to progress and you can't leave town. The King says to
you: "You have used your escapipe! Normally a smart move, but now I'm afraid the game
can't be continued. Please press RESET and try again."
In Phantasy Star 4 there are nods to other SEGA franchises. In Saya's collection of children's
books: there are the titles
The Golden Axe Volume 3..." A Day with Ecco."
And Run, Hedgehog, Run!..."
In Aiedo town there's a dance performance set to the song Pao-Pao. The stage theme from
Fantasy Zone.
There's also a Game Gear you can find in the town of Nalya.
Phantasy Star IV was rated in America as Kids to Adults" but despite this some things
slipped by the ESRB. At the hunters guild there is an escort who takes an interest in
Chaz. In another scene Gryz says "Bam you Zio!" So either the ESRB didn't notice
it, or that's fine for all ages. And speaking of Zio, he was designed after Nine Inch Nails
singer, Trent Reznor.
Lastly, we come to the Algol Star System, the backdrop for the series, which is actually
a real star formation in outer space. Located in the Constellation Perseus, Algol can be
seen clearly in the night sky. It appears that someone at SEGA REALLY knew their stuff
when choosing Algol. As there are some eerie coincidences that
cant be ignored.
Algol is a three-star system, consisting of Beta Persei Aa1, Aa2, and Ab. The two main
stars orbit each other, while the third star orbits them. Three Stars! Just like the three
planets in the game.
In several ancient cultures, Algol shares the same mythology. Algol is known as the
"Spectre's Head" in Latin and "Demon Star" In English. Algol was associated with
war, violence and death in Egyptian, Greek, Chinese and Arabic cultures.
Algol is 92.8 light years from Earth. Perhaps there really is a Dark Force out there hovering
over the Algol Star System, and if that's true, then someday a signal from there may
reach us, telling us of their legends. But for SEGA fans, it already has.
I hope you've enjoyed this look back at the Phantasy star series, and if you're
like me, you still hold out hope that someday, someway, somehow, there will be a Phantasy
Star 5
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