Phantasy Star
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the first Phantasy Star game. For the overall series, see Phantasy Star series.
| Phantasy Star | |
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| Developer(s) | AM-8 (Sonic Team) |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Rieko Kodama (Phoenix Rie) |
| Release date(s) |  1988 December 20, 1987 1988 |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Platform(s) | Sega Master System Sega Mega Drive (Japan Only) |
| Media | 4-megabit Cartridge |
Phantasy Star (ファンタシースター Fantashī Sutā?) is the first part of Sega's famous Console role-playing game series of the same name. The game was first released for the Sega Master System in Japan on December 20, 1987. In Japan only, it was re-released for the Sega Mega Drive in a limited-edition cartridge. Later, it was released in two compilations for the Sega Saturn and Game Boy Advance under the name of Phantasy Star Collection. Each compilation is different from the other. The game featured maze-like 3D-like dungeons, which the characters could traverse in real-time from a first-person perspective.
The story is about Alis, a girl who sees Nero, her brother, killed and sets out to avenge him. The action begins in a futuristic city complex in a three-planet solar system called Algol. After travelling some underground mazes, the characters get to travel to the other planets in their adventure. There is the option to talk with monsters the characters encounter -- sometimes they are friendly and just leave.
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[edit] Technical Notes and Cost
In the United States, Phantasy Star sold for $69.99. This made it the most expensive video game being sold at the time. When the Sega Master System received a price drop in the form of the Master System II hardware, the game was only $10 less than the console itself. The game used four megabits (512KB) of ROM, which was sixteen times as much as many early (32KB) Master System games. In addition, five games could be saved with a battery backed up RAM chip. The game was relatively large at the time it was released.
It is also worth noting that the Japanese release took advantage of the FM sound capabilities provided by the Yamaha YM2413 chip found only in the Sega Mark III (the Japanese Sega Master System), however as the American hardware lacked this chip the North American release features only the PSG soundtrack, and for some reason all of the Phantasy Star compilations to date lack the FM sound stream as well despite emulation being capable of supporting it.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Alisa Landeel (Alis Landale)
The player starts out as Alisa, a 15 year old girl who witnesses the death of her brother at the hands of La Shiec's vicious Robotcops. With his dying breath, Nero told Alisa about a man named Odin who could help her in her quest. Alisa takes on her brother's mission to defeat La Shiec (Lassic) and avenge him, first setting out to find Odin. Alisa uses swords as her weapon of choice, can equip light armor and shields, and uses some weak offensive and curative magic.
[edit] Myau
Alisa's first companion is Myau, an intelligent, talking, cat-like creature called a Musk cat. Alisa meets him in a pet store on Motavia where the owner is trying to sell the Musk Cat for an exorbitant amount of money, but instead trades him in exchange for a valuable Laconian pot from Alisa. Myau is on a mission to save his friend Odin, who has been turned to stone by Medusa. He has the medicine to cure Odin, but cannot open the bottle, for he has no fingers, and so requests Alisa's help to save him. Myau uses claws as weapons, can use stronger curative magic than Alisa, and can disarm traps in dungeons.
[edit] Tylon (Odin)
Tylon ("Odin" in the American adaptation) is the stereotypical muscle man of the group. He can wield many weapons that Alisa cannot, but is unable to use any magic. Once he is saved by Alisa and Myau, he joins the party. In addition to heavy armor, shields, axes and swords, Odin can use guns, which inflict a set amount of damage, and never miss, regardless of the enemy's speed or defensive power. However, Odin is statwise the weakest character in the game. Nonetheless, his ability to use guns ensures that the party always damages their foes.
[edit] Lutz (Noah)
Lutz (Renamed "Noah" in the English translation, but corrected to "Lutz" for the later installments) is the final character to join the party. A powerful Esper, he is the apprentice of Tajim and has the ability to use a great variety of spells, however his arrogance causes him to ignore Alisa's request to join the group and it is only after the Governor of Motavia gives her a letter to present to Lutz that he will join you. From a physical and combat point of view, Lutz seems to be the exact opposite of Odin: a frail magic user who is poor at physical combat. But he turns out to be the best character statwise in the game including his physical stats.
[edit] Major enemies
[edit] Reipard La Shiec (King Lassic)
King La Shiec (King Lassic in the English adaptation) is the villain of the game. Once a benevolent ruler of Algol, Lassic has become twisted by a demonic force that he now serves. Under his rule, taxes have risen and monsters roam freely on the planets. Life has become miserable for the citizens of Algol, but La Shiec's ruthless Robotcops kill anyone who opposes him.
[edit] Dark Force (Dark Falz)
Dark Force (sometimes romanized as "Dark Phallus" [1]) is the demon found to be the source of La Shiec's corruption. He was summoned by Lassic (La Shiec) and has possessed both the corrupted Lassic/La Shiec and the good natured Governor of Motavia who had aided Alisa in her quest. He is the final boss players will encounter in the game.
[edit] Remake
In 2003, Phantasy Star received an enhanced makeover and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan under the title of ファンタシースター generation:1 (Phantasy Star Generation 1). The remake remains largely faithful to the original game, with it still being rendered in 2D but with a smooth, colorful quality. Also, the characters now talk to each other, bringing out their personality and flavor to the player. The second and fourth installments in the series were to receive the same treatment and to be released to the North American market as a single collection. After Sega shelved work on the Phantasy Star IV remake though, the North American release of the trilogy was cancelled. It was the first game to be released under the Sega Ages line-up.
[edit] Trivia
- Electronic Gaming Monthly placed Phantasy Star at number 26 in their article "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time".
- Phantasy Star is also noted for helping the start of female characters to play bigger parts in games with Alisa being the main protagonist.
- Phantasy Star was translated to Portuguese by Tec Toy. That, along with a strong advertising campaign, made this game a huge success in Brazil.
[edit] External links
- Home of Classic RPGs - Game information not only about Phantasy Star
- Phantasy Star at MobyGames
| Phantasy Star series by Sega |
|---|
| Phantasy Star | Phantasy Star II | Phantasy Star III | Phantasy Star IV |
| Phantasy Star Online series |
| Phantasy Star Online | Phantasy Star Online ver.2 | Episode I & II | Episode III | Episode I & II Plus | Blue Burst | Episode IV |
| Spinoffs and related games |
| Phantasy Star Universe Anne's Adventure | Huey's Adventure | Kind's Adventure | Shilka's Adventure | Phantasy Star Adventure | Phantasy Star Gaiden | Generation 1 | Generation 2 |
| Collections |
| Phantasy Star Collection |
