Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

I know this is going to sound crazy, but just hear me out.

Has anyone noticed the symbols on the robed PS enemies (xe-a-thouls, fiends, etc.)? It seems to be pretty similar, even across the different games. I'm sorry I don't have a good picture of it, but you can kind of make it out on these game sprites from PSII:

http://www.pscave.com/ps2/enemies/wizard.shtml

Now take a look at the kabbalastic symbol for Algol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Algol ... 531%29.svg

If you rotate the Algol symbol 90 degrees clockwise, doesn't it look a lot like the symbol on the front of the fiends' robes?

Of note: Algol is a behenian star, and during the middle ages it was said to have magical properties. One could draw the star's power through certain rituals, etc. Here's the wiki entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behenian_fixed_stars

The fiends and thouls/lars/etc. from PS are the strongest non-boss enemy (aside from Prophallus). They have some scary magical abilities, too. What if their symbol is a way to draw magical powers from Algol?

This piece of art has a better look at the symbol: Fiend Sketch. It'll let you see detail that the tiny sprites in the games don't display.

It actually looks a fair bit different from that Algol symbol to me. I think it's more of a stylized Dark Force face. Maybe that Algol symbol appears somewhere else in the games, though.

Oh, I see. You're right. Hmm...

It looks a lot different in the game. I guess they're limited to such tiny sprites in the game that it displays quite differently than it does in their design concepts.

Actually.. if you take a look at NM-2011 and Nm-1153 and Nei-First from PS.. you'll see... Something interesting.

Nm-1153 (NEI) and Rika have the same symbol almost that the Thouls do.

Nei-First and Nm-2011 have a different symbol. It's the same symbol RUNE wears on his necklace.

I'll show those images along with a enhanced one of the fiend symbol..

I've arranged them in a image file for you to see.

Since Rule wears the same symbol NM-2011 has and Nei-First, that is the symbol of Algo. Fixed star and 3 points. It's also the same symbol in PSO almost.

Now the fiends have a different symbol. It's the same symbol seen in PSO episode 3 at Ravum Aeded Sacrum and Dark Falz territory.



As for the symbol on Rune's neck..

http://www.camineet.net/camineet/ps4images/rune6.gif

Rune does the work of the Great Light...

Thank you for collecting those, Rick. I think the numan symbol is officially (or unofficially) considered the "good" symbol, or the Esper symbol, or maybe the symbol of the Algo system. I use it in my PSII writing as the symbol of Algo: It was once used by the Espers to unite the worlds of Algo (the three dots I consider the planets minus Rykros, because Rykros wasn't mentioned until PSIV), but by the days of PSII, it's become the "brand" of the government. It's on everything from military uniforms to the Biosystems Lab to canned peaches. That's just my creative interpretation of its usage in PSII, though. It goes along with the totalitarian government, I think.

It's also used in this forum, next to the thread topics. I like watching them spin.

The fiend symbol looks similar but has some notable differences. They've kept the design consistent, even in PSIII. It looks somewhat like a taurus symbol, or a stylized Dark Force head, like Thoul mentioned. Do you think it might be the symbol of "darkness?"

Too bad they never explained these symbols.

Can you share the symbol from PSO? I don't know much about PSO.

I think the fiend symbol is the symbol of the Profound Darkness.

The Great Light had her symbol, the PD has hers.

Now why do Rika and Nei (nm-2011) have the evil symbol yet NeiFirst and Nm-2011 have the good one?

Remember, the victor is always good and writes history.. the PD lost, sealed away and is evil. What if it was just a marital dispute? xd

Rika's symbol has more in common with Rune's than the Fiend's. It's just styled a little differently. Instead of having three circles and three perfectly straight points, the circles are a heart and two curvy things and the top points curve inward. It doesn't have two attached circles like the Fiend symbol. It's just Rune's with curvy bits.

I think the symbol worn by Rune was likely adopted by the Algo government at some point - or at least the branch that was responsible for the development of Nei and Neifirst. For some unknown reason, it was abandoned in the new network managed by Wren, but then the Espers use it as well. Kyra also wears that symbol. You can see it on her gold collar, below. The same kind of collar is worn by some of the other Espers in PSIV, so those probably have it also.

Yeah, my first thought is it looked similar to the symbol on the gates of the Layan castles in PSIII. It wasn't until about the 100th time I played PSIII that I noticed the Layan and Orakian castles had different logos.

Speaking of Orakian castles, I have noticed something in PS: Deluxe Edition that makes me wonder. The Motavians have a symbol added to their robes that looks a lot like the Orakian castles' symbol. The center points on all four sides are longer, so it looks a little more like a star than the Orakian symbol, but there's a definite and strong resemblance.

Well Orakians weild robots, Layans weird monsters.. Dark Force uses monsters..

Mother Brain used robots. Palmans used Robots. Robotcops anyone?

Actually the LAYAN castles use the same symbol on the chest of the fiends.

http://ps3.huguesjohnson.com/maps/Aquat ... n-Town.gif

So I assume that since the Layans summon and use monsters, they could be considered the people of Dark Force?

It brings about the parallel to in the compendium where a civilzation of spirit life forms fought to the death. So we have Layans (PD side) and Orakians (GL side)