Look, we've all played the games by now and if we haven't we're probably aware of their stories if we're hanging out at a Phantasy Star fan site. So I'm not going to bother with the spoiler tags. They really disrupt the readability of these threads for me. So... if you're just some random lurker who stumbled on this site and has remained spoiler-free for the past 2.5 decades:
THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS POST.I'll spare everyone my whole story, since I know I've posted it a few times here. Instead, I'll answer the main questions.
"What was your first experience with Phantasy Star?"
Phantasy Star II, at some point in the spring of 1990.
"Which game did you start with?"
See previous answer. I honestly hadn't heard of Phantasy Star at all until the day I came home from school and my mom was playing PS2 on the Genesis (a rare sight; she didn't like video games).
"What was the most emotional moment for you?"
That would be the moment I beat PS2. That was an amazing ending. I was pretty mad at the time (hey, I was 11), but looking back, it was the perfect ending to all the hours I put into the game.
"What do you think about Phantasy Star 3?"
Great concept, terrible production. I had fun with it, but it was quite the letdown from PS2.
"Where were you when Nei died?"
Still living in Oklahoma, I think.
"Where were you when Alys died?"
Virginia, late 1990s.
"Were you stricken with grief or were you filled with a thirst for vengence?"
When Alys died or when Nei died? Or both? I'd say I was a bit confused by Nei's death. I mean, up until that time there weren't a lot of console games that just up and killed off one of the main characters halfway through the game, so I was taken aback, kind of panicky ("but I NEED her abilities!!") and in all seriousness, I was absolutely sure Lutz was going to revive her when the party arrived at Esper Mansion. "Denial" would be a good word to describe my reaction over Nei's death.
As for Alys, well, fool me once, yadda yadda. Unfortunately, I saw her death coming from several leagues away, so it didn't affect me much. Sad, definitely. I can't say I was filled with grief or anger, except I was very annoyed at losing my only slicer-user. I will say this: I think PS4's story was a lot more interesting and nuanced up until Alys kicked the bucket. After her death, the story just slipped into a long string of hero tropes. As short as the game is, there's a certain point, I think it's around the time Rune is revealed to be the new Lutz, that I really have to push myself to finish the game. It's just really not that interesting for me after that. It is much more interesting while Alys remains in the party.