Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

The Hidapipe of Phantasy Star II is a rare item for this series of video games. This device, based on the musical instrument known as an ocarina, plays a tune that drives away monsters to prevent battles. The shape of the body seems to be based more on a flute than a traditional ocarina in this illustration. Items that forestall enemy encounters like this are common in many RPG series, but the Phantasy Star game series excludes them in most installments. That is a shame, in one aspect. The tune played on the Hidapipe is the Palma exploration music in Phantasy Star, which would have been a nice thing to hear again in later games.

Maybe the secret behind its "power" is that this kind of flutes sound so terrible that monsters can't stand and have to run away.

Heh, maybe! I always like to think of these types of items as working something like a dog whistle. I imagine them producing a sound that people can't hear, but that monsters can. And then it's so horrible that the monsters try to get away as quick as they can.

In the first Phantasy Star, the soothing Flute (in the japanese version and simply flute in the US and European versions), the first version of the Hidapipe, was found in a small village, at the end of a road (I don't want to spoil it more !!^^) and here you can buy it in any item shop : that is the great difference !
About the horrible sound, I've thought many times about it and that is a possibility !

myau56 wrote:In the first Phantasy Star, the soothing Flute (in the japanese version and simply flute in the US and European versions), the first version of the Hidapipe, was found in a small village, at the end of a road (I don't want to spoil it more !!^^) and here you can buy it in any item shop : that is the great difference !
About the horrible sound, I've thought many times about it and that is a possibility ! ;)

That's true. Sooth Flute had the magic Surt (スルト / "Exit" in US) enabling us to escape from dungeon. Sooth Flute also existed in PSGaiden, but was mistranslated by fans into "Escapipe" (I say it is a mistranslation because while "Escapipes" are similar, they have Hinas techniques and "techniques" do not exist in Gaiden, only Magic).

In PSGaiden there was also a magic called Rutashie (ルタシエ) that prevented enemy encounters and that's exactly the same function the Ocarina of Stealth (Shinobi's Ocarina/Hidapipe in US) has. I don't know if there's an exact equivalent technique in PS2, but it should because every discarded item has its corresponding technique power.

The Shinparo technique (Shinb in US) is the nearest thing I remember, because it is supposed to scare monsters away. It seems that Shinb have some bugs so maybe outside battle it would be intended to prevent monster encounters...? Or maybe it was another technique, I don't know/remember. On the other hand "Stealth" is not the same as scare the monsters, so the technique is not revealed. I still think it is a technique and not a magic because only Espers would be able to create these Hidapipes. In the end -in terms of practical results- Shinparo is the same as the Magic "Rakusuta" ("Bye" in US) -in a inverse way-, but instead of the heroes, the monsters are the ones who run away.

NEWSBLADE : Thanks again ! Each time you are posting, I learn a lot of new things about my favourite serie of video games of all times : Phantasy Star ! And that is so great

Bumping up this former image of the day!

The Hidapipe!

A beautiful pipe ! And more : can be very handy to have !