Anyone still got their old Sega Pro mags lying around?

One of the best things about growing up in the UK when I did (I was born in 1980) was the brilliant magazines we had at the time. Every generation seemed to have its own gem, and even some of the single-format publications were remarkably unbiased, as well as being very well-written and researched. Sega Pro, Official Sega Saturn Magazine, Edge, gamesTM... All of these were/are fully trustworthy, and well worth the cover price!

Sega Pro had some weird quirks. Their contents page used artwork from upcoming or current games, which were then cut into the letters that made the word 'contents.' Bizarrely, in the issue they reviewed Shining Force 1, one of the images used on the contents page was official character artwork from Shining Force II.

However, I digress! The reason for me posting this topic is before the official announcement of Phantasy Star IV, they ran an article on an upcoming Megadrive PS title, accompanied by several screens of said game. Having been a massive fan of the series since PS1, I was understandably quite excited by this, and fully analysed each of the grainy images. To my suprise, the pictures seemed to show the cast from PS1 in MD-quality graphics, almost identical to those we'd come to see later in PS IV. As I remember, they were mainly in-battle shots, and the one that really sticks in my mind was a church-like setting, with what looked like stained-glass windows in the background, so nothing that was then re-used in PSIV.

Also, if I recall correctly, the character names were in English, and I believe they were a mix of the original Japanese names and the localised versions from PSIV. I'm sure the party was Alys, Lutz, Tyrone and Myau. I was wondering if anyone had this article to hand, and if so, they wouldn't mind scanning and posting it? After all, more than anything, it's a really nice piece of PS history!

I've not heard of this article before, but now I really want to see it too! Alas, I'm unfamiliar with Sega Pro since I'm from the US. I would love to see the article you're describing though, because it sounds like a very unique piece of PS history.

There was a teaser of a possible MegaDrive PS game in a US magazine called Mega Play. There were no battle screen shots, however, just characters on the world map. It may not be the same game you saw in Sega Pro, but you can see a picture in in an older thread discussing the Mega Play teaser.

In America we had a magazine called Sega Visions, which I do have many old copies, I don't remember seeing an article like the one you described, but I'll rummage through and see what I can find.

I used to have a subscription to Sega Visions as well. No idea if they were the same mag or not though.

A quick search of the web turned this up though, I assume this is what you were talking about it.

That actually clears up a lot! That is definitely the same fonts and layouts that Sega Pro used, so I'm inclined to say it almost certainly is the article I'm thinking of!

Bearing in mind I was only 13 when the article was published, it's understandable where my confusion came from, but now I've read it again, let me explain:

In 1994, when the article was originally published, the Master System was all-but dead, so a high profile release like "PS II" was unthinkable, especially if it was a brand new story focusing on the the team from the first game. My 13-year old brain must've made the jump that it wasn't a new MS title in the works, but a Megadrive remake of the original, instead! Another thing to note: I had no knowledge of the existence of PS IV at this point, so seeing MD-quality graphics only added fuel to this, especially considering Rune's (intentional) resemblance to Lutz! In fact, the first I knew of PS IV was when I saw it on my local game shop's shelf! Having read it, I seem to remember thinking that the line about the cartridge size was a mistranslation and they actually meant a 24mb MD cart. Coincidentally, this is exactly what PS IV ended up with!

With hindsight, I think Sega Pro were mixing up the rumours of the abandoned Mega CD Return of Alis with poorly-translated Japanese press releases regarding PS IV, which had actually been released in Japan by that point.

Thanks for clearing that up, guys!

In return, I'd like to clear up a little mystery for you all! The prototype PS V, unfortunately, isn't Phantasy Star-related at all. Take a look at the following screen shots of Sorcerer's Kingdom, a little-known MD/Genesis action-RPG, taking particular note of the graphics used for the trees in the second screen and the character sprite in the third screen:

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That's good to know that one mystery is solved!
Sorcerer's Kingdom looks interesting, I might have to check that one out later on.

Nice topic, interesting to see all the different magazines in different countries : I didn't know all the magazinbes you're speaking about but it's SO interesting to discover it know !
In france, we had a magazine named Mega Force (and many other ones ^^).
And thanks again for the "Sorcere's Kingdom" link

I think I have one with Phantasy Star 1 in it. It came with cards to collect, I may still have those somewhere. I know there was Odin, Myau, and Alis, but I think I am missing some of the cards. I will try to dig them out and scan them.

Oh that would be so cool ! And Welcome here ! But I think we'll meet again in the introduction thread !:)

From Sega Visions 1st issue
If any one has the other I want them!!