Phantasy Star Series

[Stevens]

Was I the only one beaten into the fetal position by the Xe a Thouls?

[GaijinPunch]

Finished Phantasy Star 1 Retranslation! Played through it on my Mega Drive, and aside from my LandMaster turning into a second FlowMover near the end of the game for some reason, it was pretty damn solid!

PS2 is up next. Never played more than an hour into it before, so this should be interesting.

How do you play the retranslation on the MD? One of those funky cartridge thingies?

[Heavy Viper]

How do you play the retranslation on the MD? One of those funky cartridge thingies?

I used my Mega Everdrive, yeah. Pretty sure I can't say any more given forum policy. I do have an actual copy of PS1, though, so that has to count for something! :S

Speaking of actual copies, I've started on Phantasy Star II! I'm up to Nido Tower, and I've been wiped twice already by those blasters on the third floor. I can already tell this is going to be far more brutal.

[BrianC]

I'm actually thinking of getting a SMS flash cart to play translations like PS1 so I can play the better English translation with FM (and I have both US and JP version on cart, as well as a JP SMS), but I'm not sure if there are enough unique games available. I got a 2600 flash cart for hacks and homebrews since there are a lot freely available, but I use it for official games too, mainly because I like having all the games in one place. I still plan to get carts for ones I don't have, but most of the official games I'm interested in, I have on cart.

FM is an odd duck. Some games sound much better like Phantasy Star, Fantasy Zone II, and Maze Hunter 3D, but others like Penguin Land don't sound all that great in FM. It seems games with really good PSG often have poor FM and vice versa. It also seems, from what I heard, that Govellius and Aleste use the same FM as the MSX2 versions (though the games themselves have a lot of differences).

[Obiwanshinobi]

I feel a softmodded Wii is the ultimate SDTV machine to play all things MD/Genny/SMS/GG. Although to get the most out of CD-ROM games you might need a compatible USB hard disk, that's an otherwise useful device on its own.

[GaijinPunch]

How do you play the retranslation on the MD? One of those funky cartridge thingies?

I used my Mega Everdrive, yeah. Pretty sure I can't say any more given forum policy. I do have an actual copy of PS1, though, so that has to count for something! :S

Speaking of actual copies, I've started on Phantasy Star II! I'm up to Nido Tower, and I've been wiped twice already by those blasters on the third floor. I can already tell this is going to be far more brutal.

I don't remember PSIII being too particularly brutal, but I've not played it since I was a kid though, either.

Cool to know on the Everdrive. I remember something about those. Not had an MD hooked up in ages, although if I played the original PS I'd probably want the retranslation. From what I remember, the entire text is written in katakana in the original, which is particularly brutal to read. Looks weird.

[Blinge]

Speaking of actual copies, I've started on Phantasy Star II! I'm up to Nido Tower, and I've been wiped twice already by those blasters on the third floor. I can already tell this is going to be far more brutal.

Ah man yeah the Blasters suck. Especially if they surprise attack you. They effectively force you to walk around the 3rd floor at full health at all times.

As for me, I've found various towns on Dezo, got myself tooled up again and am about to go looking for some crevice .

[Obiwanshinobi]

Continuing the PSO derailment, are the Shinig Soul games really anything alike? I found 1 terribly disappointing, but I might have approached it with the wrong mindset.

[BryanM]

Shining Soul 2 is a slightly improved Shining Soul 1.

Honestly that franchise has been a pile of goat cheese since the developers left. We have to play Mario Golf on the 3DS for all of our Shining Force needs; a strange world we live in indeed.

[Blinge]

My party's looking killer atm. Kain and Amy both have storm gears, and Kain has two laconia maces to club out that damage. I might've switched Amy out for Anna for further damage now I've got GiRes items but chose to stick with Amy as she has the defense buff, SaShu. Also it'd involve training Anna up from level 1 so fuck that. Also now Amy can revive people she's a keeper, followed Xyga's advice and gave her two shields.

Real spoilers. Avert thine eyes, thou Heavy Viper.

Spoiler

I found the Esper mansion and met ol' Lutz. Well 'ee looks a lot like that Noah feller from the first game eh? Is it in fact the same guy, just given a different name due to translation issues or summat?
So he's anti Mother Brain, that's cool. I mean I get that Mother Brain's probably the central antagonist or that it's been corrupted somehow. However, I don't remember a point in the story that the characters actually boarded the 'fuck Mother Brain' train. Oh well, maybe they're just rolling with it, as will I.

Gave invisible dungeon Menobe a proper looting. Very nearly got wiped out on the top floor aswell, those shadows are real bastards.
What the hell are Nei items?! arghgh I hope this will be revealed, I mean.. If i wanted to wear a suit made of Nei it'd have been easier to get hold of that when she was dead in front of the party...

[GaijinPunch]

He was Lutz in PS1 in Japan... they just cocked the name up. Huge blunder.
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95% ... A.E7.89.A9

Then also from J-Wiki

ルツ
コールドスリープで約千年前から眠りについていた。物語の後半の進路を導く重要人物。前作ファンタシースターで、主人公のアリサの仲間として戦った超能力者。

This looks cool...
http://kong.blog2.fc2.com/blog-entry-459.html

[Blinge]

Finished the game. Damn son..

Spoiler

First of all, perhaps taking Kain to Dezoris wasn't the best option. After the spaceport and world exploration is done there's hardly any robots for the rest of the game. If I played again I'd have to take Anna with me, just a pain in the ass to level her up I guess. With a storm gear she could pull her weight against any robots that appear. Although using Kain to spam NaGaj on the last bosses probably worked wonders, if only I could see how much damage it was doing! ¬_¬

Guaron and Naval were simple enough to navigate. Ikuto?.. fucking hell. I'd have struggled to draw that, I had a similar problem when trying to manually map PSI: not knowing which pitfall comes out where etc, having to erase and re-draw lines etc. So even using a map I spent quite a while fumbling around there to get the Nei items. I do wish those dungeons were named in game, a minor gripe.

Put stuff I couldn't use like the Nei slasher in storage in Paseo, went back to see Lutz. Not acceptable, had to go back to paseo to get the useless nei items and all the way back to Lutz again. -_-

I actually navigated Noah the satellite without any assistance, just slogged my way through, making heavy use of the GiRes [heal] items so my TP wasn't depleted much. The GiRes items are kinda "I win" items really huh? Thanks for pointing them out, Xyga =]
I doubt I would've figured out their use if playing unguided. Although I think I saw one hint that they have a use in game? Can't remember. The Snow Crown was really damn useful for the last 5 dungeons, Rolf was holding it so he could cast the magic def. buff at the beginning of every difficult battle, and i'm surprised on how many enemies it seemed to work on.

Why the Nei items and the Noah satellite are called thus is still a mystery to me.

Due to my abuse of GiRes items and sporadic map usage I ended up slightly under leveled. Rolf hadn't learnt Megido [hueg damage] by the time I reached Dark Force. Wish I knew why Dark Force was just chilling with Mother Brain but w/e.
Nearly lost that battle, his 'evil' status ailment is brutal. Rudo shitting his pants, Amy stealing items, Kain unable to use techs. It took bloody ages for Nei sword to cure us of that status, and amy got cursed instantly afterwards. Only managed to cast Sashu [defense buff] after the fight was 90% done!
I couldn't be bothered to farm items either, So I had precisely 0 Moon Dew [revive] and only 2 Star Mists [full heal all]. Spent a long time spamming Trimate [heal item]at any given opportunity.

I had to go back and heal, even went and bought more Trimates before going after Mother Brain.
Again I was on the verge of death for pretty much all the Mother brain fight.

As for the ending, I thought it was really cool. Fucking grim, like the rest of the game. One of the few times I actually kinda enjoyed a cliffhanger end.

To anyone that read any of this, cheers!
I probably won't start III for a while, I will play it despite how bad it's supposed to be. Pretty stoked to play IV, whenever that is. I guessss I could manually map that one as I play as a concession to a one Mr. Mischief Maker..

[Mischief Maker]

Pretty stoked to play IV, whenever that is. I guessss I could manually map that one as I play as a concession to a one Mr. Mischief Maker..

You don't need to. The dungeons in PS4 are as piss-simple as every Final Fantasy from 2 onward. PS2 was really a one-of-a-kind game. Congrats on beating it!

[Blinge]

You don't need to. The dungeons in PS4 are as piss-simple as every Final Fantasy from 2 onward. PS2 was really a one-of-a-kind game. Congrats on beating it!

Oh alright, cheers. Though I've played FF4/5/6 and don't remember all their dungeons being piss simple. Weren't the towers in 4 quite labyrinthine?

This Speedrun appears to ruin that one of a kind game..

Also only just twigged that Rudo is probably a reference to this guy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner

[Mischief Maker]

You don't need to. The dungeons in PS4 are as piss-simple as every Final Fantasy from 2 onward. PS2 was really a one-of-a-kind game. Congrats on beating it!

Oh alright, cheers. Though I've played FF4/5/6 and don't remember all their dungeons being piss simple. Weren't the towers in 4 quite labyrinthine?

I'm using the American release numbering system.

[Xyga]

Finished the game. Damn son..

'Grats !

You'll like IV of course but it's a stroll in comparison. Still a nice joy ride.

[GaijinPunch]

While I loved II, the grid during the battles just didn't do it for me. It felt lazy. While the game was fun as shit, the original is still the best. Congrats on beating it.

[Heavy Viper]

At least you can fight more than one type of enemy at a time in the second game. :B

[GaijinPunch]

At least you can fight more than one type of enemy at a time in the second game. :B

That did add a pretty cool dynamic.

[MX7]

Been wanting to contribute to this thread for a while, but alas I've had nothing to contribute. Was tempted to play through PS2 but I've finished it 1.8 times so I've decided to give PS1 a go instead as I've never got more than a couple of hours in to it. New translation obviously. Just swiped a load of graph paper from work and I'm going to start mapping ASAP.

I think Phantasy Star as a series contains the perfect combination of fully realised setting, stand out, somewhat atypical arcade style soundtrack and stupidly hard dungeon crawling. PS4 may step outside the mold a little, but it absolutely perfects the glossy, late 16-bit era RPG. Guff like Final Fantasy 6 seems so utterly dull and pointless compared to it.

[Blinge]

Guff like Final Fantasy 6 seems so utterly dull and pointless compared to it.

...

how much of 6 have you played? Did you mean PSIV specifically ?

[MX7]

I've played it twice, once as a kid and once as an adult. Didn't care for it much either time. Spend half of the game waiting for the story to get interesting before it ends and you're left stranded in this utterly uncompelling world. OPINIONS

Some nice setpieces though.

[Blinge]

You're entitled to such opinions but you wield them like a sledgehammer.

What is so compelling about PSII then? An absolute dearth of narrative compared to FF6, a tiny tidbit of story to go on before you're thrown into another 4 dungeons that are essentially the same setting. Just battles and battles forever. Nitpick but the music was at times a little off; the Mota overworld and town themes didn't fit the tone of the game, way too happy! I liked the game enough to finish it of course, but I do prefer to have a few more carrots dangling in front of me.

It's a shame that you find the World of Ruin in ff6 uncompelling, if I've understood you correctly. Getting to grips with that new world and its non-linearity, tracking down your former companions, catching up with their stories and what they've been doing in the interim... I really enjoyed that part of the game. Different strokes though.

It's probably unfair of me to compare those two games. PSII's contemporaries are more FF1-3 I guess, maybe 4. It stomps those.

[Squire Grooktook]

^^^ Agreed, FF6 is amazing.

[BryanM]

What is so compelling about PSII then? An absolute dearth of narrative compared to FF6, a tiny tidbit of story to go on before you're thrown into another 4 dungeons that are essentially the same setting.

You've asked a question and gave the correct answer in the next sentence.

Phantasy Star was geared more toward the olde-timey Wizardy/Might+Magic/Dungeon Master/Etrian Odyssey type genre. Even in fluffy #4, you can get wiped out by a random encounter in a few turns in the early game. FF pretty much has never been like that - by FF3 on the NES you basically have infinite resources and the game is really just going from one set piece to the next.

FF3 is also where things got particularly weird with the battle system. Phantom beasts were added as spells. The first class that can use them, they have a luck based mechanic. A chance to do an offensive or defense effect when you cast one. The upgraded summon classes, they're just superior Black Magic spells. By FF4, they're nothing more than strictly better Black Magic. And from a mechanical perspective the only differences between the two are cosmetic.

"See, this game isn't about play, it's about how it makes you feel. The problem is, I have no feelings."

[Mischief Maker]

And it's worth saying that setting is more important to videogames than story.

[Squire Grooktook]

And it's worth saying that setting is more important to videogames than story.

Not really, it depends on the type of game and personal taste.

I personally disagree for most games.

[Blinge]

Phantasy Star was geared more toward the olde-timey Wizardy/Might+Magic/Dungeon Master/Etrian Odyssey type genre. Even in fluffy #4, you can get wiped out by a random encounter in a few turns in the early game.

I get that, i'll keep it in mind.

by FF3 on the NES you basically have infinite resources and the game is really just going from one set piece to the next.

Hmm.. see there I disagree. Both series essentially have infinite resources on a larger scale because if you run out of health/items in PS there's nothing stopping you healing for a tiny fee, then battling again directly outside a town to raise money. On a smaller scale PSII has infinite use items that heal 60HP during a battle, FF has no equivalent to that. Hell in FF you can't save anywhere you want, it's either world map or save points too in the SNES games. The Visiphone in PSII allows saving at any point and you can get it less than halfway into the game, admittedly it is hidden.

PS is clearly more hardcore but I'm just pointing out there's less of a gulf than one would assume.

Also bosses. I appreciate having more bosses to break up the monotony of the battles.

[BryanM]

Yeah, jRPGs are really good at removing all difficultly from themselves at the mid-late game. Pretty much by the time you get a 100% chance revive spell that also fills up your life tank, and/or by the time you get a Heal Party ability.

It's kind of a Kid Icarus kind of difficultly curve; things getting much easier as you progress. It's supposed to be a reward mechanism that makes you feel like your work is paying off; I think they tend to go a little too far with it though.

[MX7]

You're entitled to such opinions but you wield them like a sledgehammer.

What is so compelling about PSII then? An absolute dearth of narrative compared to FF6, a tiny tidbit of story to go on before you're thrown into another 4 dungeons that are essentially the same setting. Just battles and battles forever. Nitpick but the music was at times a little off; the Mota overworld and town themes didn't fit the tone of the game, way too happy! I liked the game enough to finish it of course, but I do prefer to have a few more carrots dangling in front of me.

It's a shame that you find the World of Ruin in ff6 uncompelling, if I've understood you correctly. Getting to grips with that new world and its non-linearity, tracking down your former companions, catching up with their stories and what they've been doing in the interim... I really enjoyed that part of the game. Different strokes though.

It's probably unfair of me to compare those two games. PSII's contemporaries are more FF1-3 I guess, maybe 4. It stomps those.

Sorry if I'm coming across like a git, I assure you I'm not trying to slag off anyone's favourite game! Ironically I'm not a fan of forums for discussion, more posting information. It would be awesome to discuss this further face to face at the next London meet I can haul myself to, as there's nothing I like more than ranting on about games...

Yeah I wouldn't want to directly compare PS2 and FF6. It's not as extreme as comparing Wizardry to Kingdom Hearts but it's along the same lines. They both occupy their own subgenre quite comfortably. I only bought up FF6 because I feel it's outclassed in almost every possibly way by PS4. FF6 has that wonderfully somber opening with the powered exoskeletons and Tina is such a potentially compelling protagonist, but then the game launches in to a grand pseudo-portmanteau structure and I personally found it hard to latch on to any of the large ensemble. I think it was the time that fucking octopus jumped out in the middle of the opera house that I realised I didn't care much for it. Too many tonal changes without a developed exposition to back it up. I get the appeal of the world of ruin, but the narrative for me was already fragmented to an unsatisfactory level. Again, different strokes. I found Fallout 3 unplayable for similar reasons, much to the chagrin of seemingly everyone in the world ever, urgh. I'd be interested to hear what you think of PS4, as for me it's Sega beating Square at their own game.

By the way, PS2's somewhat contrapuntal soundtrack is one of the many reasons I love that game so much. That incessant, four to the floor sound is much more reminiscent of contemporary arcade games, which really was indicative of Sega's quirky ideology.