The complete Phantasy Star saga

Saving the best for last

Everything about Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millenium was bigger and better than its predecessors. It had the best graphics, the best story, more character interaction, a long main quest with lots of side missions, and unlike its immediate predecessor, fit into the Phantasy Star universe without a hitch. While it didn’t have a game mechanic like the generations system, it did introduce plenty of new ideas to the series that help to make this the top release of the bunch. Sega may have also used it as a way for fans to forget about three, as the name of it in Japan was Phantasy Star: The End of the Millenium; in North America, that was what was seen on the main menu as well, with IV appearing on the box alone.

The first of these innovations are the combo attacks. This was a few years before Chrono Trigger as well, so Sega and Phantasy Star were well ahead of the party on this one. By combining certain techniques or magic spells–say, Rune casts Hewn, a wind spell, while Chaz casts Foi, a fire spell–then you get more powerful combination attacks. Experimenting with these is a lot of fun, and you can accidentally discover plenty of combinations that will be of use to you. Two words: Grand. Cross. Learn it, use it.

Combining elements together helped to make battling easier and more exciting than in previous PS titles.

These combos were not limited to two characters either, as you could chain together some impressive attacks once you knew what needed to be cast. As long as the two or more characters were all attacking in a row, without another of your characters or an enemy’s attack interrupting, then your combo would work. In order to ensure the success of these combos, you could also set Macros, which were pre-programmed rounds of combat. While the default Macro is for everyone to attack, you can make your own with any abilities or attacks available to you, and also change the order of the characters so that speed is not a factor. Putting a slow character first means that the enemies will probably attack first, but you also are assured of successfully blasting them away with a massive combo. It adds a new layer of depth and strategy to a fast-paced and difficult battle system, which makes it even more rewarding than in the past. You can also perform these almost immediately–the picture above takes place within the first hour of the title.

Manga panel cutscenes were new to the series, and did a great job of making the story more exciting.

The other major change is to the story presentation. Much more attention was paid to story than in the three previous outings–while the original was a pioneer in story-driven RPGs, the series had been eclipsed by Final Fantasy in the narrative department by the early 90s thanks to Final Fantasy IV (or II outside of Japan). Phantasy Star IV helped to change that, as it was very character driven with loads of interaction–including chatter you could bring about from the main menu, much like in the Tales series–tons of NPCs to talk to, many with their own distinct personalities and histories, and a new, manga panel styled cutscenes. While some things that occur in this title may seem cliche now–teenage boy gets a chance to save the galaxy, doesn’t want to be a hero, etc.–they were wonderfully done at the time, and have actually held up very well over time thanks to this. Nostalgia helps, of course, but even if you aren’t familiar with it, there’s plenty to love about this game. If you had to choose one, then this is it, as it is tops in gameplay, presentation and story. Phantasy Star IV is one of my favorite 2D RPGs ever, up there with titles like Final Fantasy IV and VI, Earthbound, and Chrono Trigger. It’s the definitive Phantasy Star from its era, and is the main reason so many fans want to see another numbered Phantasy Star release so badly.

The release of these four titles on Virtual Console is not the first time these games have been made available–they are scattered across the past two generations on one compilation or another, either as a main game or as an unlockable, and there are even remakes of the first two out in Japan. Their success spawned the Phantasy Star Online series, which has appeared on the Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox, Windows, PSP and soon the DS. This MMO-like series is very similar in a lot of thematic ways, but in many fan’s minds is not a replacement for the original series. Hopefully, if these ports, remakes and re-releases sell well enough, Sega will get together and decide that a numbered Phantasy Star is something they want to get behind. While the loose ends may be tied up, there’s always room for a prequel, right?