Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Many characters in the series, like Rika and Hahn, have a lot of options for how they can equip weapons and shields. Hahn can use two knives or one knife and a shield. Chaz can do the same or use a sword that fills up both slots. A lot of people like to give Rune two shields so he can concentrate on magic damage.

When you're using one of these characters, how do you equip them? Do you prefer the two weapon approach, weapon/shield, a single bigger weapon? Do you use two shields for anyone other than Rune?

Chaz, I usually have a sword equipped. Rika is usually wielding two claws, Hahn....sometimes one sometimes the other depending on my mood. Alys and Kyra both use two slashers, and Rune and Raja get two shields equipped.

Anyone else notice that only the game's three 'tanks', if you will, HAVE to wield two-handed weapons?

Shorty is always equipped with a sword ( I don't there's any fan out there who lets him wield two knives, seeing as the swords grant him additional defense, unless you want to torture him a bit... ), Rune, two shields as well ( he has the best defense in the game with that option), Alys and Kyra are always dual-slicer action, Rika, with two claws, Wren, I normally equip him with vulcans for the tougher areas, then swap to his big guns for the boss fights.

Btw, have any if you tried to beat the Profound Darkness without Elsydeon? I managed it. Rather easy, if you ask me. Not that PS4 is a tough game to beat, anyway.

Lyla2284 wrote: Btw, have any if you tried to beat the Profound Darkness without Elsydeon? I managed it.

Does beating PD on a solo run with Demi count?

Lyla2284 wrote:Rather easy, if you ask me. Not that PS4 is a tough game to beat, anyway.

That's actually my biggest complaint with PSIV is that it's TOO easy playing it normally. I rarely get that feeling that I just might get my butt kicked while playing through it normally. However, the hell and purgatory mode mods go too far in the opposite direction.

given a choice its either 2 or 0 for me. Rune and Raja get shields.

in PSII: Amy, Kain, Hugh, and Shir get shields/emels.

in PSIII: it doesnt matter since you can just Gires everyone constantly

Swords: Rolf, (Rhys, Ayn, Sean), and Chaz always get a greatsword to use as soon as possible. Always. There are no exceptions.

Claws: Nei, Mieu, and Rika dual-wield claws as soon as I can afford to buy two. In Nei and Mieu's case, they can't use anything else in their hands, and in Rika's case, it seems really dumb to me to cripple her attacks.

Guns: Rudo always gets either a rifle or a cannon. If I could actually remember how many times each gun fired in PSII, I'd be happy. =p (Wren III and Wren IV don't count because guns are all they CAN use anyway.)

Boomerangs: Anna, Kara, and Kyra always dual-wield boomerangs. Again, this isn't up for debate. Those things do some serious damage! (Fun fact: In PSGen1, Lutz gets boomerangs as a weapon choice!)

Staves: Amy gets two Fire Staves to use as soon as I can find them/get Shir to steal some. Mostly because they're her best weapon, and she's the only one who can actually use the damn things. If this were PSGen2, feel free to replace "Fire Staves" with "Freezing Staves" or "Windblade Canes." Rune and Raja, on the other hand, get two shields to use instead because they have really crappy defense. (Staves are two-handed in PSIV, unlike PSII and PSIII.)

Daggers: Shir always gets two daggers, despite the Laconia Dagger's massive bugginess. (This is why God invented Laser Knives! XD) Hahn, surprisingly, gets two daggers as well- at least, until he rejoins the party with the Mahlay equipment. Then again, if you're using Hahn to physically attack, you're not using Hahn right. =p

Maces: Kain gets two Laconia Maces, in the rare event he's not using a gun. Very surprisingly, Hugh gets one.

Shields: As I said before, Rune and Raja get two as soon as they're affordable, and Hahn only gets two- the Leather Shield he starts PSIV with (which gets sold for a Hunting Knife) and the Mahlay Shield he rejoins the party with (which he keeps.) Hugh gets just one shield- he's not exactly much of an attacker, even with a Laconia Mace. Everybody else's hands are full of weapony goodness.

I dunno. For PSII I actually gave Rudo a pair of knives in the beginning since his gun was unreliable at times. The other characters, I never stuck shields on them and went all-out on attack. But it's been awhile since I've played the game, so sometime here I'll have to do another run of it.

PSIII, same deal. Never used shields and always stuck a sword on Rhys rather than a pair of knives... though I liked using needles on my last playthrough. :3

For PSIV though, like many others here, I'd toss two shields onto both Raja and Rune. However, I'd also give Kyra two shields and swap between two shields and slashers for her, depending on the area. For bosses, Kyra definitely got two shields.

EDIT: I also gave Hahn a pair of shields. Forgot about that.

TSUNAMI!!!! *pounces* Where have u been? *cries*

Anyways.. In PSIII, early game I give Rhys 2 knives until I get Wren because most enemies like to jump in clusters and Rhys hitting only 1 enemy just doesnt cut it.. Even Mieu one shotting 2 enemies kinda doesnt help when theres like 8 on the field. After I get Wren I usually place swords on Rhys and usually stick with them throughout all the generations.

Kaloes wrote:TSUNAMI!!!! *pounces* Where have u been? *cries*

Hey there~ I'll be on MSN, or if I don't catch you there I can send you a PM.

(sorry for off-topicness!) >>

But, um. I should do a run on PSIV with Chaz using knives, just to see how that goes, even if they seem unreliable.

Look out! This topic just came back from the clone labs.

Anyway, let's see...

Rolf: I know that the ceramic knives and laser knives are always better choices until the laser sword is available, but I still had him carry just a sword. Mostly because the knives are expensive, and I'm impatient. Rolf never needed shields. He can't use a sword with a shield, anyway, and his late-game defense is really high (I think the highest of all the characters) without a shield.

Nei: Two claws (bars), of course.

Rudo: I always got him the shotgun as soon as possible (the bow gun is just a total joke), but lately I've discovered that at the very beginning daggers are a cheaper and fine option for him. Plus, he just looks so darn into wielding those daggers. I love his melée sprite! (Even if he's suddenly wearing a gray uniform.) As soon as I can afford the laser cannon, he never uses knives again. I think that if you try to equip Rudo with a shield, you should get a personal message from him like, "I am my own shield," or "I'd rather use that hand to shoot things."

Amy: One thing you should know about how I play my characters is that I hate shields, even if they're more practical. Poor Amy dies a billion times when she first joins the party because I refuse to put emels on her. She gets equipped with two fire staves as soon as I can get Shir to steal them. Until that time she uses two ceramic knives, then replaced by acid shots. The two pistols actually do a fair amount of damage (especially to flying creatures and large mecha), but the staves have a higher defense. Her late-game defense is pretty decent if she's wearing the nei crown and nei cape.

Hugh: He also dies. A lot. He uses acid shots until I can get him laconian maces. He's the only character I feel really needs a shield, because he was screwed out of good late-game armor (I've been playing this on the Wii lately, and he can't equip anything better than the ceramic chest. I can't remember if this is the case with my Genesis cartridge or if it's a Wii emulator bug). I'll break my rule and give him the nei shield (otherwise I wouldn't even use it). He also gets one of the two storm gears.

Anna: There's really no excuse for her to wield anything other than two slashers. That's what I always equip her with. No emels.

Kain: I equip him with a laser shot through the dams, then he gets laconian maces once the party gets to Dezolis. I feel like he should have been able to at least equip one of the two pulse guns. No shields for Kain.

Shir: Two laser knives and holder of storm gear and other items. While she'd be my most likely candidate for using emels, I've never equipped her with any.

Hm, I just realized I've never equipped the nei emel.