I thought I'd try to analyse the Phantasy Star series again, all 4 games, without offending anyone's preferences.
Well last time i wrote about this I summed up what a lot of people like me would feel about the PStar series. That the series didn't really start until the 4th game, where it became an interactive comic book that played itself. Call it laziness if you want, but it is true that all the PStar game had an element of making a choice then sitting and watching your choice play out.
The first 3 games can be grouped together I feel, because they all have a focus on detailed exploration of landscapes and dungeons and managing characters statistics and equipment. Those parts are the meat of each of the games, so if you don't like that you're not likely to enjoy the games much.
The good graphics and music in each game arn't likely to be a sole basis for playing the games.
No doubt about it, PStars 1,2 & 3 were hard work to play. Besides the music and graphics which ranged from good to excellent in all 3 games, what made me want to plough on through them? Wanting to complete the games out of respect toward PStar 4 is a good reason, but I think all three games have a kind of potential and potency about them. Though they are hard work and the hard work is not always rewarded with a detailed and fulfilling storyline, there is something subtle in each game that encourages me to keep progressing. In PStar 1-3 and I think in many role-playing games, computer-based or paper-based, you have to make your own rewards and reasons for playing the games. For example you have to take the characters in the games more seriously than they appear and take pride when you manage them well in battle and when you acquire more money and possesions. Otherwise the games are very routine, monotonous, cold and calculating. But I think PStars 1-3 do have some incentives for that are built into the games rather than one you have to come up with yourself. The graphics and music of course and the more subtle elements. For example I always liked how PStar 1 had 3 planets, one forest, one desert and one ice. That idea encompassed the whole game. In PStar 2 I liked the interaction with the Commander on Mota who was trying to make sense of what was going on in Algo and I liked the whole scientific feel that the game had, with Dark Force only playing a small part. In PStar 3 one of the main incentives in the game, I think, was the process of discovering more and more spheres in the giant spaceship that is your world and also learning to use the airports, wharfs and teleport-temples to get around the spheres quicker.
One thing I would love to do, or see someone else do, is put all the games in a blender and come up with something that pleased everybody. Vast dungeons and landscapes to explore and hundreds of statistic to keep track of, but for every one, a good bit of story to ease the burden for those who struggle with such things.