Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

There's no option to run in the battle menu. Is this intentional? If so I don't care for it a bit to have to carry around escapers by the dozens.

There is this option: just press 'Esc' on the first menu. I think it's not as intuitive as it could be, but it saves one key press every turn battle that you don't run. I'm open for suggestions for improving this.

THANK YOU! That should help. I already had to retry because I died in some fights in Eppi Forest where I couldn't run away.

I noticed some small bugs. In towns, like Parolit, when I walk up a narrow street and there's a civilian there, sometimes I can't walk back down again, even though the civilian takes up only one of the two squares. It almost seems as if the civilian is too fat for me to pass. I can make a screenshot later should I encounter it again.

Also, increasing/decreasing FPS seems a bit bugged. It seems to work when you increase slightly, but if I increase too much, I can't decrease the FPS again and need to exit and restart the client.

I'm leveling up for the Saccubus and it turns out the Diamond Armour is no longer sold in Paseo. Instead we have the Zirconium Armour for 3000 and a Titanium Armour for 1000 in Scion.

OK, here are some impressions. I put them in spoilertags, so don't read if you don't want spoilers as I started with Odin.

First of all this version has some new names, quite some enemies are renamed, Alis and Odin have their Japanesefied name (Alisa and Tylon) and probably Noah too but I'm not that far yet. The shops are also renamed. We now have Tool Shops and Pharmacies and Colas and Burgers are placed with Mono/Dimate.

The menu has a PSIV feel and the overworld moving is faster. I think characters are moderately more powerful, especially MP wise. Each character now has their own inventory and you can equip weapons immediately when you buy them. You can load and save from the menu. Some items are now "quest items" which means they don't clog up your inventory, like the roadpass, passport and compass. Downside is that you can't use the compass. So I'd like a fix for that. Whenever I get lost in dungeons I use it to get my bearings on the map. An added benefit is that you don't longer need to use keys. Once you have the keys doors open automatically on a button click, big improvement!

You can also change the order of you party, let meat shield Odin walk in front to take more blows statistically speaking but I don't know if it will make a difference. In the old PSI it didn't matter as you couldn't change the party order.

When you start out with Odin you begin in Scion equipped with an Iron Axe and Iron Armour and a decent amount of hitpoints. It makes the start a bit easier than with Alis. In the towns you get some different dialogue. Visiting Alis' home has an Alis sprite who says her brother works at the spaceport, nice touch!

In Scion there's no secret sold but instead the compass, explaining how Odin got a compass (although you wonder if they only had one). With the compass you can go to Eppi forest. The guy who gives you the clue for the dungeon key instead gives you Myau, offering an explanation of how the two have met. Myau comes unequipped. Once you go into Medusa's cave the game will pick up the regular Odin. Odin wanders around a bit, then notices a hissing and wonders if Medusa is there. Going to the spot where Medusa should be (the spot where you normally find the petrified Odin) does nothing, first you need to go where the compass is usually found. Odin will remark that the compass makes a strange noise and he puts it there to lure Medusa (although to me it would make more sense if the game said he hides it there as not to alert Medusa to his presence). It offers an explanation why Odin had hidden the compass although I think the reason why (read last sentence) is a bit strange. Going to Medusa has you stoned right away. Myau escapes and the game says quite some while passes until Myau returns with Alis. From there game picks on. Alis comes equipped with a Titanium Sword and Light Suit and Myau with Spiky Fur. You can play the game as normal from this point.

RAFAEL : Thanks again for your work ! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to try the game but I'll try it this week end ! My brother will be here and it'll then be easier to try as he is a computer technician ! (Not sure this name is really correct but ! ).
And thanks about putting the real names of our beloved characters !

FOGELTJE : After all your descriptions (bit I HAVEN'T READ the spoilers texts !) I'm eager to try it as soon as possible ! Lot of interestings adds and features here

Fogeltje: Thank you very much for thoroughly reviewing the game, at least the beginning. It's very important for me.

Most of the things that are renamed are from the script retranslation work done by SMS power team. Players can still choose the script from Sega America, but I wouldn't suggest that.

About your compass complaint, I agree with you. This and other quest items that have a functional utility can't be used. I think the compass direction is easy to implement (pressing 'Enter' on a dungeon), so I'm going to work on that.

There are also some smaller nuisances, like the music re-starting after battles, but this is more of a VGM Player restriction, that I expect to deal in the future.

Thanks again for playing, and I hope you can go on and spot the other features and/or differences.

Myau56: I also expect you to play the game and see your opinions. Thanks!

Regards,
Rafael, the Esper

About the music, I noticed the overworld doesn't loop. I was letting the game run because I took a short break to fold laundry on my bed and noticed the music eventually stopped.

Implementing the compass with ENTER sounds like a great idea!

I have one quick question. I noticed the "Talk" function in the main menu when playing. But it's always greyed out. Does it have a purpose?

I also tested out the PS Arena. What a fun idea! You start out with basic Alis, fight an enemy and get rewards. Then Myau joins you and fights get tougher as you progress. Even Habsy will you. After each fight you can pick one extra reward: extra XP, a revive for all members, a cure (healing) for all members (won't work on dead ones), a weapon, armour or shield. Items seem to be handed out in an order, mostly Alis gets something first (if I do Armour they all received something in turn except Noah, probably because he only has two mantles). Odin doesn't appear to be using guns in this one, Hapbsy does. There's one thing I noticed. When I run away from fights (using Alis' QuickDash magic) I still get the extra reward (picking XP or whatever). Is that supposed to be?

Hello, Fogeltje. There are three issues with the current VGM Player: (a) does not loop; (b) can't start playing from a specific position; (c) can't play VGMs with FM chip. After I released the game, a guy said that he could try to help with this, so I hope this could be fixed.

I have most of the text for the "Talk" function, but the logic is a little difficult at times, because the game is not 100% linear. This would require more time of development, so I kept the option there disabled just to remember me (and others) that's a planned feature.

If you run at PS Arena, you don't gain the XP + Mst from the monsters, just the reward at the end. This implies that your final score would be less impressive.

It seems a bit cowardly in my eyes to receive any rewards at all for running. There is a final score? Or does this just go on forever? I got bored after a while and let my party get killed off.