Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

When Phantasy Star IV was released, it was common for game manuals to provide a short introduction for each of the main characters players would encounter during the course of an adventure. This look at Rika was included with just such an introduction. As one of the main characters, she was featured on half a page and in more detail than the less permanent members of the party. This art was also provided to gaming magazines that were promoting the title with previews and reviews.

For an unknown reason, this image was mirrored in the Phantasy Star Complete Collection galleries. For display here, it has been flipped to match the orientation used in the manual and game graphics.

I like the symbol she has on the chest. It seams to be telling that Newmen have some connection with Espers (or Lutz) - at least initially - but, through the times, that link was forgotten.



While the first ones look like a star (algol) surrounded by three balls (planets), the last ones look like a feminine version of it (an uterus with a heart above and two drops under it -- Rika's drops are inverted). And I never noticed the symbol used by the current Espers (e.g. Kyra) are slightly different from the one Lutz/Rune uses.

Anyway, all of them (newmen and espers) have that Algolian-Star Symbol on the chest. Was Lutz behind the creation of a superhuman to defeat Dark Force, like he did with all those super "nei" weapons? All we know is that "nei" is a word of their power.

Bumping up this former Image Of The Day!

Rika!

Fal/Rika the great !