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/vr/ - Retro Games

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1678163 No.1678163 [Reply] [Original]

Which Phantasy Star was your favorite ?

>> No.1678169
File: 6 KB, 240x232, _-Phantasy-Star-Online-Dreamcast-_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1678169

Pic related

>> No.1678230

>>1678169
Ok, which Phantasy Star was your favorite, excepted PSO ?

>> No.1678235 [DELETED] 
File: 37 KB, 736x552, pissed.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1678235

>>1678230

>> No.1679341

Phantasy star 4 is my fav because it feels comfy

>> No.1679357

Phantasy Star III.
It's the only one I've played.

>> No.1679373

>>1679357
You poor thing.

>> No.1679420

>>1678163
IV
It had great music too.

>> No.1679435

>>1678163
I know they used Stallone's face for Rolf, but who's Nei?

>> No.1679451
File: 8 KB, 320x119, darkforce1.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1679451

>>1678163
IV for sure. loved those Dark Force fights, love the music, loved how they tied the series together, love the multiple overworlds, the movesets, the macros, the combos, the fucking land rover and ice digger!

What a game.

>> No.1679468
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1679468

>>1678163
The first one. I liked the 70s sci-fi style it had and the first person mazes were neat, even if they were a pain in the ass. The colors and animations in battle are still very impressive and leagues better than what NES was putting out at the same time. PS1 almost felt like a SNES game sometimes.

>> No.1679470

>>1679435
Susan Sarandon.

>> No.1679480

PSU

>> No.1679506

I've never played any

>> No.1679517

>>1679506
this
where's a good starting place

>> No.1679547

>>1679517
Well that's tough to say. If you played 1 and 2 first then you would actually understand what's going on in IV. Otherwise you will just be confused.
>Who's Alis?
>Who's Noah?
>There used to be a 3rd planet???

However IV is easy to pick up and would be a good start for anyone who doesn't want their first Phantasy Star to be long, difficult, and grindy or feel dated.

Phantasy Star III is not a good starting point because it was by a diff dev team with diff ideas. So it really shied away from the rest of the series.

It's basically set on a giant world ship that escaped the explosion of Palma and 1000 years later everyone seems to have forgotten they were on a space ship, and a way was waged, holy hell. Anyways it takes place in a midieval/scifi phantasy setting and almost shares no relation to any of the other games beyond the Palma incident, Wren, and some item/weapon names.

It should also be noted that III happens concurrently with IV. So it makes the chronology placement that much more confusing.

>> No.1679552

>>1679517
1-4 are all related so start at the start I guess. PS1 is more like early Dragon Quest, and PS2 is a game with colossal mazes that turns a lot of people off. Most people say 4 is the best, but if you start with the best it's all downhill after that, plus you won't recognize the references.

>> No.1679587

>>1679547
>long, difficult, and grindy

That doesn't apply to any Phantasy Star title.

>> No.1679824

>>1678169
Mah nigga! PSO is crack in vidya form. Still play EP 1&2 on GC once in a while.

As for the main series, I have a hard time picking a favorite between 2 and 4.

PS4 is a way more fluid experience that allows for a mother-lode of game-play improvements such as missions, way more boss encounters and cinematics, those awesome battle macros, and so forth. But PS2 is comfy as all fuck with a better overall soundtrack, and it is way more challenging, too.

When I beat PS2 for the first time, I was like, "FUCK YEAH!" But playing PS4 was like babby's 1st RPG by comparison. It was still hella fun, but not ever difficult to figure anything out.

PS 1 and 3 were fun games, but ultimately pretty flawed. The first I couldn't even beat due to Baya Malay being a shit show, but I definitely enjoyed the hell out of it up to that point, before I just lost interest. And PS3 was fucking PS3; it's the black sheep of the series. You want to love it, but it's just so (endearingly) bad.

>> No.1679838

>>1679480
This guy has better taste than anyone on /vr/

>> No.1680058

Dude, just get PS4 and work your way down from that to 1, 2, and 3 if you need to. They're all completely different games that appeal to different types of RPG players, PS4 is a near flawless game and rivals FF6, CT, FF7, etc.

>> No.1680059

>>1679587
Not any classic PS title, but it does describe PSO rather well. Difficulty may be subjective but nobody is gonna argue that the original PSO isn't all grind all the time.

>> No.1680094

>>1680059
I am. PSO is possibly one of the least grindy online RPGs there is. Skill will take you very far in that game.

>> No.1680109

>>1680094
No, that's not quite what I meant. I wasn't saying that it's "grindy" in that you have to grind to proceed but rather that the gameplay consists of primarily grinding, whether it be for experience or rare items.

>> No.1680176

>>1680109
Ah, well, it's more like the focus of the game is hunting things. There's always challenge mode though. Otherwise I suppose agree.

>> No.1680703

>>1680094
Don't you need a minimum level to unlock higher difficulties?

>> No.1680746

Phantasy Star 4 is my favorite game. Although I played 2 first.

>> No.1680916

>>1678163
2 for the characters i also loved 1

>> No.1681403

Are there any PSO's still online?

>> No.1681549

>>1681403
Yep.

>> No.1681760

>>1680703

The level ceiling is low.

Getting to level 80 for the Ultimate difficulty in PSO is not difficult at all.

>> No.1682241

PS4 is the only JRPG I ever played through until the very end. I usually lose interest in them by about the 40 hour mark.

I'd say the game starts to drag once the Ancient Darkness villain is revealed to be the "true villain," I felt like the story stopped being interested and started to feel way too generic at that point. It was like they were afraid their game was too short for a JRPG so where the story was going to end, they invented a generic new villain for a final act. I had to force myself to finish it at that point.

Up until then, however, it was fucking god tier. I really liked the comic panel animations too, it brought characters/events to life in ways that other 16-bit JRPGs didn't. I think I liked that better than the long cinematics of later JRPGs, since I feel that pulls me out of the game and it's like I'm watching an anime rather than being the anime. The short comic panel animations were perfect.

I lost interest in PS1 because I got bored of grinding. Maybe I just suck at JRPGs (I probably do), but I remember feeling like that one required a lot of grind. It wasn't a forgiving game.

PS2 had a really neat setting but I think I got bored grinding in that one too. Or maybe I was just burned out of Phantasy Star by then, since i played the 4th one first and then tried the first before skipping to the second.

I never tried the third one, but I've heard it had a unique "play through different generations of characters" premise that was probably overly ambitious for the time and didn't really work out. People either think it's terrible or uniquely interesting.

>> No.1682272

>>1678163
That cover art, needs a movie based on it.
it's begging for it.

>> No.1682652

>>1682272
It's basically a Star Wars poster.

>> No.1683026

>>1679480
>>1679838
samefag

>> No.1683084

>>1680059
Even if you do grind, half the shit on VH/Ult will kill you and the other half is already in the process of killing you. Defense means fuck-all in that game and a few enemy formations are rigged to stunlock you if you think you can just tank everything, and one particular enemy can rip your entire healthbar down if you don't get knocked down by its attack.

>> No.1683085

I'm still unsure about the one I should play.

>> No.1683110

Sega should release Phantasy Star II AGES 2000 edition on steam.

>> No.1683115

>>1683085

Phantasy Star 4 is the best of the classic series. It's easily up there with Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, and Earth Bound as "best JRPGs of the 16-bit era." It's definitely the best JRPG on the Genesis/Mega Drive. I would start with PS4 and maybe go back to play the others if you really love it and are interested.

Phantasy Star Online is a console MMO that I never played, so I can't tell you if it's worth your time or not. I'm not even sure if the servers are still up.

>> No.1684318

Phantasy Star 2.

Also:
>Phantasy Star 3
No such game exists.

>> No.1684456

>>1678163
MEGA MEMORY

>> No.1684719

>>1683115
A buddy of mine had a gamecube with PSO that had all the episodes or whatever the fuck and we had a total of 4 bros to play with split screen, fuck yeah.

The game is FUCKING SLOW. You move at a fucking snails pace but the grinding of your MAG unit by feeding it items was fun, the weapon types were kind of cool until they started recycling them. Not too terrible randomized loot, a variety of starting 'classes' which dictate your abilities/weapon set.

Too bad it only seemed like there were 4 bosses?

>> No.1684726

>>1684719
oh, and PS4 was my favorite. I just beat Dark Force and Ice Diggin' my way round. Rune is OP

>> No.1685854

This may be a dumb question, but how does Phantasy Star Online's story relate to the games that came before it? I love PSO to bits but have never played the earlier titles and I gotta be honest, PSO has a really hard to follow storyline. I've beat the game (all episodes) and I still have no idea what happened at all.

As far as I understand, red ring rico is the principal's daughter, she gets lost, you search for her the whole game, lel oops she's ded. Am I in the ballpark here or no?

also, do any of you play pso on the schtack private server? I get in moods where I play it for like a month every few months, it's a ton of fun though.

>> No.1685889

>>1685854
PSO can be seen as a gaiden gaiden. Whereas PSIII was itself a gaiden as it occurred concurrently with PSIV but was otherwise some wholly unrelated side story, PSO is a gaiden of a gaiden because it is a side story of PSIII which itself is a side story of PSIV, get it? A gaiden gaiden.
Both PSIII and PSIV are direct sequels to the events of PSII. At PSII's end, a planet 'splodes. Many people of that planet board worldships or shuttles. Some of the worldships and shuttles landed on nearby planets in the same star sytem. Other worldships drifted away from the star system altogether. PSIV takes place in the same star system as PSI and PSII but a millenium after the events of PSII. PSIII takes place aboard one of the worldships that left the star system, also a millenium after the events of PSII.

PSO's games are a side story sequel to PSIII. One of the worldships from PSII, likely one other than the Alisa III or Neo Palm (Alisa III is the worldship on which 99% of the events of PSIII occur and Neo Palm is a second worldship that is mention in one of PSIII's endings), landed on a planet far outside the Algo system, the star system in which the entirety of PSI, PSII and PSIV occur. The first PSO's events occur another millenium after the events of PSIII/PSIV. Rather than use the star dates provided in-game, lets say that PSI occurs in year O. PSII occurs in year 1000 and PSIII/PSIV in year 2000. PSO occurs, then, in year 3000 after one of the ships from PSII, one identical to the setting of PSIII, lands on a planet outside of the star system of PSI/PSII/PSIV. Makes sense?

>> No.1686228

Recently played the PS series, 1 through 4. I liked 1 and 2 the best. 3 didn't seem like a PS game at all. 4 was fun to play at first, then went to that over-the-top japanese style rpg that i don't really care for.

>> No.1686673

>>1686228
I think I will go with Phantasy Star 2 then.
Thanks.

>> No.1686752

>>1685889
uhhh yeah I think so. That's a little convoluted but I get the gist. I guess I'll just need to play all the first games, but I don't think I will unless I run across a master system any time soon. I'd like to just start from the first game.

>> No.1686792

>>1686752
3 id really not worth it. Try it if you want but nothing happens in it.

>> No.1687801

>>1685854
>how does Phantasy Star Online's story relate to the games that came before it?
It does not. The PSO staff confirms that it is not in classic PS continuity and that they have no interest in adding to that story. Straight from the horses' anus.

Guys like this chap >>1685889 like to grasp at straws to pretend things can fit into a single timeline, but it's just being silly.

For the record PSU and PSO2 are seperate continuities as well.

>> No.1690021

How do you feel about Phantasy Star Zero ?

>> No.1690029
File: 201 KB, 1200x774, phantasy-star-us.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1690029

When a used game shop near my apartment was closing down, I bought a Power Base Converter and Phantasy Star 1 for my Genesis.

I haven't really gotten all that far in it, but I just can't understand how anybody would know where to go in the game without a guide, or how they'd be expeted to know how that you're expected to power level for a long time in the beginning.

>> No.1691023

>>1690029

The game originally came with big maps for all the dungeons. With maps as reference (even if you look them up online), the first-person maps are actually fun to navigate, if only because of the novel concept of actually reading a real map and matching it up with your in-game movements.

As far as having to power level, I didn't know I had to do that and it made the game very difficult since I don't generally like grinding. That's ultimately why I stopped playing it, because grinding the same battles over and over again is so boring to me and the number one reason why I think most JRPG gamers are either children with nothing better to do or autists.

IIRC, Phantasy Star 2 required some power leveling too, which is a shame because I loved the setting. I wonder if there's a hack for it that gives all your characters instant level-ups so that I can just ignore power leveling all together?

Phantasy Star 4 was the only one I finished because you don't have to power level, but the second half of the game is a generic "an ancient evil has awakened" story that really feels like it was just tacked on to make the game typical JRPG length. It would have been a short (but god-tier) JRPG otherwise.

>> No.1691028

>>1691023
You don't have to grind in 1 or 2 either.

>> No.1692152

>>1691028
Grinding in PS is pointless anyway because your level cap is fucking 30! Shit, you're going to hit that no matter what you do by the time you enter Baya Malay.

Any grinding in PS2 is unecessary because even if you have played the game before, you're going to get lost at some point unless you have maps in front of you. And while back-tracking to find the correct path or that item you missed, you gonna gain, fool.

Ha, just realized how redundant this post is.
>posts anyway!

>> No.1692153

>>1678163

4 by a ridiculous margin, this is a pointless question because PS is a rare series where one title is just objectively far, far better than the rest.

Maybe you could argue that 1 was more impressive because it worked with limited hardware, but 4 kicks 2 in the nuts on every single front and 3 is just a disaster area.

>> No.1692182

>>1691023

> the second half of the game is a generic "an ancient evil has awakened" story that really feels like it was just tacked on to make the game typical JRPG length. It would have been a short (but god-tier) JRPG otherwise.

This is what happens when attention spans are destroyed.

>> No.1692241

Phantasy Star 3 had the best music.

>> No.1692275

Everything about Phantasy Star II puts me off--the segmented overworld, ugly dungeons, broken scrolling, fucked up menus, and terrible cutscenes. I don't get how people can recommend it over the original.

>> No.1692827

>>1692182

What do you mean? I understand that the Evil Darkness, or whatever it was called, story arc at the end of the game ties Phantasy Star 4 with the first three games or something like that... but I never finished those so maybe I'm missing out on what made it "epic" or whatever.

To me, everything after discovering that the big black space cloud of evil was the REAL villain ALL ALONG was lame and I finished the game just to finish the game. IIRC, there's even one or two parts where you actually defeat the evil cloud but it says "ha, that wasn't my final form" and then retreats and you spend another few maps/dungeons looking to fight the fucker again. It's like you're Sonic chasing around Robotnick, and all the while there's hardly any plot development. Whereas earlier in the game, you were solving mysteries and meeting new characters, it felt like an adventure instead of just a sequence of levels.

That's how I remember it, anyway. It's been a very long time since I've played it.

>> No.1692845

>>1692827
Not that poster, but you fight manifestations of the profound darkness throughout the game. Maybe someone might remember better than I do (even though I played the game through less than six months ago, I've a shit memory for this sort of thing): what point in the story does the PSIV party first fight a manifestation of the profound darkness?
Other than Zio, I mean. Kuran, right? The satellite?

>> No.1693138

>>1692845

Yep. You first fight the physical form on Kuran, then one on Dezolis, then on Motavia, then you CAN fight 'proto-forms' in the final area(Edge of Abyss, I believe it was called?).

>>1692827

I can't say I don't understand what you mean, but damned if it doesn't rustle my jimmies. Yes, probably the fact that you didn't finish the other games was a large part of 4's finale feeling less epic to you. Dark Force constantly coming around every 1000 years, for those who bothered to do anything with the lore, probably made some people wonder why? You get to Phantasy Star 4, and find out that you have to fight Dark Force 3 times...and then find out why? I mean, a seal against evil on THAT scale? Pretty big deal back in the day(how often did any story use one that big?). Also, your memory is faulty, I must say: every 'mass evil' you defeat dies right there...there is no 'Ha, fuck you, I'mma leave now to power up and kick your ass later!" instance.

>> No.1693147

The first two are the only games in the series that are worth playing because they're challenging. With 3 and 4 you don't need to use techniques or strategy, just push the button to win. About as fun as picking up hairs from your carpet with a pair of tweazers.

>> No.1693156

Who else really wants a good remake of PS4?

>> No.1693185

>>1693138

It's very well laid out, and explained to the player throughout the so-called 'tacked on' portion of the game that our dim compatriot spoke of.

That's why I implied he has no attention span. You'd have to be an idiot not to notice that Sega was pounding you over the head with the big thick hammer of obviousness.

I played PS4 a little bit before I played PSO, but I never got further than picking up Rune. PSO was my first real introduction to the Phantasy Star universe. I didn't play PS, PS2, or PS3 at any real length before completing PS4. But it's fairly obvious that the the game is tying up all the loose ends, and coming full circle back to the first game, and was the finale of all finales.

That guy is just a derp.

>> No.1693202

>>1693156

I'd rather someone remake PS1, PS2 and PS3 in the vein of PS4.

A straight up remake using modern graphics would suck.

But PS4's engine would be p-cool.

Hell, I'd be fine with just PS2 being re-done using the PS4 engine/assets. PS2's battle system is fucking clunky.

>> No.1693343

Modern remakes is for the bunghole of uranus!

>> No.1693369

>>1679517
Start with 1, then 2, skip 3, then 4.

When you play 2, do it on an emulator with about 2x speed.

Also, 2 was made to be done with a hintbook -- the game came with one and the levels are virtually impossible to get through without it. You'll have to go through the maps and trace your routes or spend hours upon hours of trial and error. So don't feel bad when you have to use maps off gamefaqs.

>> No.1693430

>>1693369

>Skip 3

You are not a gentleman, nor are you a scholar. To add to this, sir, you are not my nigger.

>> No.1693567

>>1693430
Three is unfucking playable without using an emulator at like 3x speed.

>> No.1693649

>>1693567
Three is unfucking playable
Ftfy.
Ps fag. Sega fag. Love that shit. Ps3 just sucks.

>> No.1693687

>>1692827
The reoccuring boss you fight is Dark Force, the final boss of PS1, 3 and sort of a co-headlining final boss in 2. The true big bad is the Profound Darkness. It's that there is something bigger and badder than Dark Force that is the twist. That's what you missed, I guess.

I think it's a nice change from both the old big bad stays in his castle trope and the then new yet now overused "human-esque" reoccuring villains that FF games use. (Golbeze, Exdeath, etc)

>> No.1693776

>>1693687

I looked up a plot synopsis since it had been so long since I played it, and I think it's the part where "Profound Darkness" is introduced that I got tired of the game.

Dark Force was the implied true villain since the defeat of the first boss, the wizard dude who was turning people to stone. I just remember there being a certain point late in the game where it seems like you've defeated the true final villain, and then there's another even truer final villain that lives on some weird green planet with crystal castles or something. There was some point where it feels like the story is basically over except this one final fight, and everything leading up to it is just filler because there aren't any more characters or important story scenes.

I also played the game around the time Playstation 2 was established as the most popular console with a shitload of games but before Playstation 3 released, so that should give you a time frame of how late I got around to playing Phantasy Star 4. It's entirely possible all the playstation 1, 2 JRPG's I played before Phantasy Star 4 ruined some of Profound Darkness' novelty for me.

>> No.1694076

>>1681403
i know the PSP version is.

>> No.1694182

>>1690021
>online already dead
th-thanks!