Phantasy Star 1 Review

[Robot2600]

http://8bitcity.blogspot.com/2011/06/phantasy-star-review.html

 

I just beat the last boss in Phantasy Star after spending the last 3 days playing the game. You can read all about the detail in the blog post. Good review?

 

Anyway, I loved the game. It's really one of the best RPgs I've ever played, and I've played almost all of the major ones.

[chrisbid]

where did those screenshots come from? that isnt the dialogue in the original US master system release.

[Robot2600]

I'm not sure where I got the screenshots, probably just searching "Phantasy Star screenshots" in google images and those were non-fuzzy non-watermarked, so I took them. I didn't even notice the dialouge! So the version I'm playing on the Wii is a re-translation? Do multiple, official, copies of the cart exists with different translations?

[chrisbid]

i doubt any major changes are made for virtual console releases. those shots are probably from a fan retranslation.

[Robot2600]

I'd be willing to play a fan translation in the future. In fact, I'll probably do that for my next playthrough in a few months/years.

Edited June 4, 2011 by Robot2600

[Classic Pac]

Interesting enough I owned a SMS copy of the original Phantasy Star for years. But it wasn't until I got the Phantasy Star Collection for my GBA recently. That I finally played the game all the way through. No wonder the game gets so much praise, I found it excellent in spots, and the mazes are quite tricky at times. But over all I give it 10/10 Thankfully I had a good walkthrough from gamefaqs, and I took the time to level up a lot, which made the bosses some what easy.

[YAGRS]

Spellcaster may be the first game that got me into RPGs (though it's more of an action game with RPG elements), but Phantasy Star was the game that got me to love them. The graphics in this game (at least, the monster graphics—not so much the overhead map) were astounding for the time. I played through this again a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I should set aside some time to play through the whole series again.

 

There is a fan translation of the game on Romhacking.net. This translation aligns the name of characters with later games (e.g., I believe Noah is Lutz in the translation) and may correct some translation errors (I can't remember if this was a big problem in the first game). One benefit is that it allows for FM sound, if your system is equipped for it. I bought a board from a user on SMS Power that allows me to use FM sound, so it will be cool to have the improved music.

[+pboland]

http://8bitcity.blogspot.com/2011/06/phantasy-star-review.html

 

I just beat the last boss in Phantasy Star after spending the last 3 days playing the game. You can read all about the detail in the blog post. Good review?

 

Anyway, I loved the game. It's really one of the best RPgs I've ever played, and I've played almost all of the major ones.

Only 3 days????

 

I'm guessing you used a walk through. Okay maybe I'm showing my age but, back in 1988 there were no walk throughs (at least when it first came out). I agree it is one of the best RPG's for a console system, but I'm sorry (again showing my age), using a walk through is not playing the game. There isn't much challenge (or point) to a game if you are just going step by step from a tutorial. Don't get me wrong, I like walk throughts (and tutorials), but normally I would only use them if I could not figure it out myself.

 

Back in the day it would have taken more like a month or longer to beat this game. I remember getting all the way through the game without a walk through (they just didn't have one out yet at the time) and it took me about a month and a half. Of course I wasn't playing the game constantly for several hours a day. I guess if you were to play the game as a three day marathon, I guess it could be done in three days. I just don't see that happening (not without a tutorial or walk through of some kind).

[lisalover1]

Great review. I have tried many times to get into Phantasy Star. Whenever I pop it into my Master System, the title screen music invites me into a world of adventure and wonder, and I feel like I can take on the universe! Then I get killed by an owlbear in two hits. That is usually where I stop. Seriously, how do you beat those things?

[Robot2600]

Thanks for the feedback! Owl Bears take a little leveling, but once you buy the good gear around town they aren't too bad.

 

I didn't use a walkthrough all the time, but I did use maps for the dungeons. I still got lost in the mazes haha, but this made the game much easier. Other than that, I keep a notebook handy and write down NPC stuff. Oh yea, I did use a walkthrough for 1 part on the ice world I was simply stumped and so I watched a guy get the the dungeon. Another time I was stumped but really I was just supposed to walk to X location or something stupid.