How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby Lucas » Fri Jul 9, '10, 12:52 am

It was great reading all your memories guys and here’s mine it’s quite long just to warn you:

I actually knew about Phantasy Star long, long, long before I even played a game in the series. Back when I first started getting in video games in like 1996, I used to always play my Dad’s Sega Master System but he only had games like Alex Kidd and Sonic for it no RPGs. But on the back of the Master System box was a screenshot of Phantasy Star it had the Crawler in it (that brown desert worm). I didn’t really know what kind of game it was because at the time the screen shot only showed a large worm and some text. Anyways that’s when I first knew of Phantasy Star.

Next my Aunty got herself a Sega Megadrive in the same year because they were pretty much dying out in Australia by then. The console came with a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and inside the case was a large poster of sonic but on the back of the poster was a list of games available for the Megadrive. In the list was both Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star III (PSIV wasn’t there surprisingly :? ). I immediately recognised the name because of the first game being advertised on my Dad’s Master System box. But there was no screenshots for either of the games instead there was only artwork that you see on the cases of the games. So I still never really knew what kind of game Phantasy Star was but I did discover by looking at the artwork of Phantasy Star 2 on the poster it had to be a type of science fiction game (I was kinda right).

Then I never really heard much of Phantasy Star again for a while. Well not until 1999 when my Dad was showing me some of his old video game pamphlets. They were dated back around 1992 so they were quite old considering at that time the Nintendo 64 was the big thing in Australia. Anyway on the very last page of one of the pamphlets was Phantasy Star II for the Megadrive it stood out for two reasons this time. One: The name of the game yet again (I’ve seen that before). Two: The outstanding price tag it had with it $124.95. :yikes: It was the most expensive item in the whole pamphlet. That’s how much that game cost back in 1992 in Australia brand new. My Dad then told me he remembered seeing the first Phantasy Star game around for the Sega Master System when he was buying games back in the late 80’s. But it wasn’t a game he would have enjoyed so I assume that’s why he never bought it.

Okay its now 2002 I’m well aware of the classic series but I still haven’t played a Phantasy Star game yet, but I’m about to get reminded of the series yet again. It was also around this time I started getting into anime and I picked up a video game magazine and in the mag they had a retro review section and guess what game was reviewed. Phantasy Star II it had full screenshots and everything and it was at this time I finally found out Phantasy Star was a Sci-Fi RPG. I had the Sci-Fi part right a long time ago. The final result for the game was a 9 out of 10. At the time the only RPGs I had ever played were Zelda games and they are more like adventure games than traditional RPGs, so I still had never really played an RPG let alone a Phantasy Star game. It really interested me from this point onward especially after seeing a screenshot of Nei, those ears and big red eyes. It was about here that I felt I needed to play this game. (I still own this magazine by the way)

Okay it’s still 2002 and one of my friends had a Sega Megadrive emulator on his computer and was playing Sonic. I was curious as to how he got the game onto his computer I immediately recognised it as a Megadrive game. He said that you can download the games. I didn’t know much about downloading stuff at that point and we only had a Windows 98 crappy computer back then too. Anyway I went home and figured it out and by the end of that day I had an emulator and the ROM version of Phantasy Star II to play. I quite liked it but it took a while for me to realise I needed to level my characters up to survive, but because it was on a computer I never really got stuck into it all that much. I still preferred playing games on the consoles. From then on though I did start to love the series. My next PS game I picked up about a year later was the original Phantasy Star game complete from a Games Exchange store for about $20.00 I then played it on my Dad’s old Master System. Then it was the year 2007 I picked up my Sega MegaDrive collection for my PS2 complete with PSII, III and IV the rest speaks for itself. :wink:
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby XXXG-00W0 WING-0 » Fri Jul 9, '10, 1:14 am

My introduction is not that dramatic, actually.

Back when I was playing NES games, especially Ninja Gaiden II, a cousin was selling his old Master System in a box. My dad bought it, and hooked it up on the TV. The games we initially found in the box were Double Dragon, AstroWarrior with Hang On in a single cartridge, Rocky, Golvellius, Captain Silver and just that. What we didn't know, is that UNDER the bag, my cousin had accidentally placed another cart.

My brothers and I played lots of Double Dragon, Rocky (damn Drago), etc.

Time passed and that metallic box with the foam on the bottom and a cloth bag was forgotten. We didn't buy any Master System games, since they didn't sell them here, so that's all we had. I found the box two years later, and removed the bag. "Huh? A Sega cart?" I took it inside, and connected the Master System. The thing still worked, and then I started playing Phantasy Star. Time passed, and I got the rest of the games when we got a Genesis. Then, in 97, a thief broke in...
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby XXXG-00W0 WING-0 » Fri Jul 9, '10, 1:22 am

Sorry for the chain of posts. The PS3 sucks as a web browser.

The son of a submariner (guess where that is from) got away with our box of carts, NES, SNES, Genesis and a Game Boy that wasn't ours. More time passed, and we bought a Saturn, a Dreamcast, then a PS1, my brothers got an XBox for themselves alone, I got a PS2 for myself, but then I found an old Genesis in a used store. I bought it and walked around the market, finding a few games for it. Sonic 2, Wonder Boy in Monster World, but walking further down the corridor, I noticed there were three games I had either heard of or played. Valis 3, a personal favorite I rented twice, Shinobi 3, which I always wanted to play and Phantasy Star 2. I bought them with the little money I still had, walked back home (10 kilometers, by the way). Suffice to say I didn't sleep that night.

Many years later I bought the Phantasy Star Complete Collection and enjoyed my old games in both English and Japanese. Recently, I also bought the Genesis Ultimate Collection...
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby XXXG-00W0 WING-0 » Fri Jul 9, '10, 1:36 am

I know, third one in a row, the PS3's browser doesn't let me write long posts.

So I found the Genesis collection for the PS3. I already could play the Phantasy Star games, yes, but the inclusion of so many more games made me jump in joy. I recovered every single game I had on the Genesis that day, with many more classics to enjoy.

The Phantasy Star games haven't been away from my videogame life, actually. I played them thanks to emulation as well, during the time I had no Genesis. It's one small franchise (in terms of installments) that has never grown boring for me. That said, I have enjoyed the newer Phantasy Stars as well.
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby xrick » Fri Jul 9, '10, 11:19 am

I'm making an update on my story...

I checked with my brother today, and he said he completed PS1 and went around half of PS2 before stopping for god-knows-why... honestly, I don't remember a thing of this xD
Gathering people interested in voicing their wish of seeing the PSTrilogy completed, namely PS4Remake done, and localised outside Japan, check here please: Phantasy Star Generation Trilogy Misc Stuff
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby Rune_Walsh » Fri Jul 9, '10, 11:46 am

Great stories, everyone. ;)

Well, I was a kid when I encountered Phantasy Star I in a game shop, and my family bought it for me. It became a childhood obsession; for instance, some friends and I made tree houses and named them after the Algo planets (don't ask!). I also had a journal I'd write in about the game progress.

I used to rent PSIII from Blockbuster when I was a teen, and I finished the game from all angles. I was crazy about it and was also obsessed with it, but PSIV truly brought that magic back that I felt while playing PS I. The only game in the series I've never finished to this day is PSII. While it is my least favorite, it's a great game, but dude, it's tough. Nonetheless, I own all the games in their classic format and still play them on my ol' Genesis (I have an adapter for PS I).
Last edited by Rune_Walsh on Fri Jul 9, '10, 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby Silver_Surfer1 » Fri Jul 9, '10, 10:58 pm

Enjoyed reading everyone's PS stories above, etc. My own story is not as sensational, but here goes. I first became aware of Phantasy Star game(s) years ago from a friend who was a die-hard fan of the PS game series. It took me awhile but eventually, I got on the PS bandwagon too. I still haven't played and beaten all the PS games yet, but I'm having a lot of fun working on that when I have the time. :)
Good Friday ~ March 29, 2024


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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby PSP » Sat Jul 10, '10, 2:58 pm

I had been playing ShadowRun for the Genesis back in 1993 or so and became stuck for a good year trying to find the "living scale of a feathered serpent." Well, I had been renting other games at Blockbuster and one day tried Phantasy Star IV. I got hooked very quickly. I rented that game every weekend for about a year, beat it and got everyone maxed out (and yes, encountered the Level 99 glitch)...and then asked for it for Christmas of 1995. My parents were completely confused as to why I'd want the game, having played it so much and beaten it, but got it nonetheless.

Later on, in 1997, I got PSII and PSIII and beat them both also. Then I got a Power Base Converter and PSI in 1998 and beat that. I never got into PSO, so I didn't really do much else with the series aside from replaying it once in awhile until the Sega Ages 2500 remakes were announced. I modded my PS2 for those, got them both as soon as they were released, beat them and documented them online with pictures and so on.

Now, I've got a decent collection with all the games, the compilations from Japan, the remakes, the Compendium and World of PS books, but...eh, the glory days are gone. Sad but true.
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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby H-Man » Sun Jul 11, '10, 12:36 am

I first became aware of PSI when I had a Master System and one of the posters had a list of games with a screen shot and there was the one for Phantasy Star that had the worm-like creature from it. A couple of years later, there was an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly that had a partial walk-through of Phantasy Star II. Not too long after that, my brother borrowed Phantasy Star III from a friend and, although I didn't actually play it, I did accompany him through the game (we did Rhys -> Nial -> Aron). I did play it a little on my own account when a friend rented it afterward, but we only made it to the second generaton before he had to return it.

My brother later bought Phantasy Star IV, which I had a lot more active role in playing. When he beat it, I went back and played it with my best friend Jacob. This time around, however, we did all of the extra quests (like the Silver Soldier or whatever), and thus were a lot more prepared for the final battle.

I've since been a PS fan, although it's only now that I'm making friends with fellow fans.
*H-Man as Chaz, looks at Rika, aka Paula* Chaz-Man- "Hey, I've been wandering around Motavia for quite a while with you now. It says in that weird blue box up there that one more battle with a sandworm and we can level up to husband and wife!"

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Re: How did you meet with Phantasy Star?

Postby Xander » Sun Jul 11, '10, 5:35 pm

Well H-Man, it's not like you go online one day and decide to look for a fan community. I've always found that any time I've joined a forum it's usually because I happened to stumble upon it while looking for something else.

I'd recommend having another go at PS III at some point and finish the other generations. While they do end with the same fight, the endings are unique and while you have to do the same tasks in the final generation, with the exception of finding Laya, the amount of ground work you have to do varies.
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