/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.1309004]

So /vr/, where is the best place to start if you want to get into the Phantasy Star series?

[Anonymous No.1309008]

Well if I was a purist I would start with the pic you posted. Though save yourself some hassle and start at 4.

[Anonymous No.1309138]

Play them in order. Use FAQs for the dungeons in the first two to save yourself grief/rage.

[Anonymous No.1309167]

>>1309004
agree with previous poster, start with PS4 for a gentle intro to the series. never play 3 it sucked. PS2 is as hard as Satan's granite balls!

[Anonymous No.1309173]

>>1309004
The PS2 port of Phantasy Star got fan translated recently.

http://www.pscave.com/psg1/

[Anonymous No.1309182]

Can Phantasy Star Online be played offline?

[Anonymous No.1309185]

>>1309182
Yes.

[Anonymous No.1309213]

>>1309008
>>1309167
Pretty much these two if you aren't as... Well... Hardcore, but if you're really adept at old brutal dungeon crawlers, then go ahead and take them in order.

[Anonymous No.1309228]

The first one and use dungeon maps

[Legion of Anon No.1309349]

Understand some things before you start, OP:

1 will be antiquated. You MUST(emphasis to the Nth power) not go more than two steps outside of your hometown until you hit lvl 4(?)...after that, you're okay to explore. At which point, you will need to have a good memory, a good map, or good map-making skills to get through the dungeons.
2 is a grind-fest. It also requires a bit of mapping skills. Don't sell items unless you're sure they do nothing.
3 is a black sheep; as in, a total departure from the rest of the series. Don't listen to the haters, but be aware that it will be a curveball and form your own opinion. The generation system is a plus, but the technique/magic system and the battle system are jokes. My recommendation? At least give it a shot...to the end of the first generation if you can.
4 is the crown jewel. There's really nothing bad to say about it, although it is a bit short if you stick ONLY to the story missions, and even if you do the sidequests it doesn't extend the playability that much. Also, don't grind up to lvl 99(I mean it).
PSO is fun to try...if you can find a reliable private server, go log on. It gets repetitive fast though, just as a warning.

That's all I got to say about that. Have fun whatever you do!

[Anonymous No.1309375]

PS1 isn't as hard as people make it out to be. There are some definite "where the hell do I go now" moments that make you want to just walk away.

That being said, you will feel like you have beaten something extremely hard. The last dungeon run is one tough mother.

PS2 takes a while to get rolling. There are a lot of pointless characters and you will grind your ass off. This is the game that totally changed the whole series.

PS3 is a fun game that will totally screw with you if you are just coming out of a play through of the other two. It is worth your time.

PS4 is perhaps one of the finest RPGs of all time. Its a shame that this series stopped with this one.

[Anonymous No.1309379]

All of them except PS3.
PS4 is much more enjoyable if you are able to understand all the references to previous games.

[Anonymous No.1309381]

>>1309004

The retranslation of the master system game. Stay away from the original english release. It's censored and not as accurate as the retranslation.

[Anonymous No.1309412]

PS1 and 2 are worth your time because they will challenge you and make you feel like you accomplished something once you beat them. PS3 and 4 however are so easy that most of the spells and techniques that you get are not necessary except for some boss fights; regular attacks will kill everything else. So if you like mindlessly pushing a button for several hours, then you might enjoy, otherwise avoid.

[Anonymous No.1310263]

I say play them in order.
I say play Phantasy Star 1 for the PS2 (there's a fan translation). It fixes the balance issue in the beginning and sells items so you don't have to keep mapping things out yourself. While I enjoy mapping this out on my own I understand not everyone will like that.

Phantasy Star 2 has a PS2 fan translation as well but I never played it. The Genesis version is still fun and I highly enjoyed it.

Phantasy Star 3 Is a massive departure from 1 and 2. I don't hate it like most Phantasy Star fans but I understand their annoyance with it. I say play it but just don't looking for a sequel to Phantasy Star.

Phantasy Star 4 is one of the best ending to series I have ever played. The game really feel like they took everything wonderful from 1 and 2 and enhanced it to the fullest.

[Anonymous No.1310323]

>>1309004
Phantasy Star 1 is excellent. I tried really hard to give a shit about PSII and couldn't. Start with 1.

[Anonymous No.1310557]

>>1309138
>Use FAQs for the dungeons
No. Way to make the player underleveled because they skipped all the exploration. Way to force the player to grind to proceed because they've been skipping so many fights. That's bad advice and you should feel bad for giving it.

[Anonymous No.1310581]

>>1310263
The PS2 version of Phantasy Star 2 also has a much, much faster walking speed and eight-direction movement, we're talking faster than Phantasy Star 4.

[Anonymous No.1310759]

Why does Sega let this one sit? Makes no sense at all.

[Legion of Anon No.1310789]

>>1310759

1) They're not letting it sit...not really, anyway. Phantasy Star Online 2 is a thing, but from what I gather, there are some issues with bringing it anywhere outside of Japan(I haven't been following the particulars too much).
2)The executives and commanders in charge of this IP are massive cocks. They had to know that there would be massive profit in releasing the remakes of Phantasy Star 1 and 2. Phans all over would have sunk to new levels of depravity for a well done remake of 3, if it had been bothered with(4 is iffy...dunno if it should be touched). But SoJ basically told Westerners to fuck themselves, which is why I thank God every day that emulation exists.
3)As much as I hate to say it, the series did pretty definitively end. The boss of Dark Force, the Profound Darkness, has pretty much been annihilated. While more could be extrapolated, I guess people felt that was a good place to truly end the saga.

Any or all 3 of those could be true. Pick 1 or more.

[Anonymous No.1310838]

>>1309182
There is an offline story.

[Anonymous No.1310839]

>>1309349
Extending on what he said about grinding to level 99. If you do this, your stats will actually go down a ton.

[Anonymous No.1310846]

>>1309004
I say play them in order up until III and IV. Then it sort of branches off, because chronologically III and IV take place at the same time.

Play IV to really understand I and II. Play III for something completely different from what you know and love about Phantasy Star. Not a bad game but not really a good one either.

Also II is hard as fuck and weapons/armor are really expensive so you better grind like hell if you wanna win.

[Anonymous No.1310863]

>>1310846
2 isn't hard as fuck at all. The dungeons are just absurdly long and the difficulty drops once you get the items that can cast Gires in battle. The only hard fight is the first boss.

[Anonymous No.1311165]

>>1310863
On the contrary, I get to the biolab and I'm about as beefed up as I'm gonna get at that point in the game, so I get near the end of the place and out of nowhere a I run into a blaster and before I have a chance to escape or fight the fucker wipes my entire party out in one hit.

[Anonymous No.1311245]

Fuck the world. I love Phantasy Star 3. I would say 4 is the best, but 3 is awesome. Everybody shits on it because it differs from the formula. I honestly think most people pass it up then shit on it, because others have. Give this game a chance it's awesome. Stop trying to be a gamer snob purist and get some Generations of Doom.

[Anonymous No.1311250]

>>1311245
I'm with you, bro. PS3 was good stuff.

[Anonymous No.1311252]

>>1311250
I would put 3 above 1 and 2 easily. I don't know where the ps3 hate is from. Everyone I know who has played it, loved it.

[Anonymous No.1311297]

Phantasy Star is awkward because for plot reasons you really should play in release order but in terms of gameplay they become more accessible as they go on, which makes 4 the easiest to get into for modern RPG players.

It depends on what you're willing to put up with honestly.

[Anonymous No.1311303]

>>1311245
Three had good concepts it's just very obvious the game didn't have as much development time as they would have liked. It feels pretty unpolished which is why I think it gets the bad rep.

[Anonymous No.1311306]

I actually think PSO had one of the best plotlines, and the best way to deliver that plot, out of the whole franchise. It's very "do it yourself" plot that you explore through gameplay instead of feeding it to you via cutscenes. That said I can understand that not all fans of the classic series enjoy the action oriented gameplay, though I personally do.

[Anonymous No.1311315]

>>1311165
Yeah, Blasters are OP as fuck for some reason, that's just bad luck.

[Anonymous No.1311365]

I swear I've responded to this thread before. I should just copy and paste a response to these...

PS 1 if you want to start from the beginning. The game is a confusing first person dungeon crawler, but it has great graphics for an 8 bit game, and if you emulate the Mark III version, amazing sound as well.

PS 4 if you want to start from the most polished and accessible entry. Its fairly easy, but not final fantasy easy. Its a top notch game in every category.

All the games are related, but since they take place 1,000 years apart (except 3, which takes place at the same time as 4), you don't miss anything really by playing them in any order.

2 is a dungeon crawler in the vein of 1, but way more insane with the mazes. Fortunately, its overhead view. In my opinion the second best after 4.

3 introduces many innovations, but is unfortunately a rushed, unfinished mess. Also the fact that its a side story gives it even less of a reason to play. Its playable, at least. I beat it and didn't feel that I'd totally wasted my time, it has its moments.

[Anonymous No.1311393]

the ps3 lovers are having a bit of fun with us methinks. the game was so shit I had to make a decision, play ps3 or tickle men's balls... I've been a jolly 'ball tickler' ever since.

[Anonymous No.1311516]

If PS3 is so shit, how come there's so many awesome PS3 fanart, artwork and doujins out there?
I think there's more for PS3 than 1/2/4 put together.

[Anonymous No.1311631]

>>1311516
what's fanart got to do with it? I wasn't so traumatised by phantasy star 3 that I had to tickle men's balls, but it certainly isn't in the same league as 2 and 4.

[Anonymous No.1311634]

>>1311516
Because the 2 or 3 fanartists who draw it like the background story and waifu romancing? "More fanart" doesn't exactly mean lots of it.

[Legion of Anon No.1311637]

>>1311631

What's your choice of trauma have to do with it either?

Besides, I can't speak for the other anons, but all I said was make your own decision on it. It's a black sheep, no question about it...if you go in expecting more straight Phantasy Star action, you're gonna be disappointed. People were warned that it's VERY different, but that it should be judged on its own merits. You made your decision, now let them make theirs.

[Anonymous No.1311643]

Phantasy Star 3 is pretty bad by Phantasy Star standards, but its an exaggeration to say that its simply a horrible game. If you grab any random SFC rpg, that's about how good Phantasy Star 3 is. 6-7/10 material.