Phantasy Star IV's Removed Monsters

During the development of Phantasy Star IV for release outside of Japan, the game went through many changes. One of these alterations was the removal of a certain pair of enemies that appear late in the game. While both enemies still exist in the game's code, they were disabled from appearing in battles. They can be seen by playing the Japan version of Phantasy Star IV and early English prototypes.

These two enemies are called "Acacia" and "Shadmirage" in the English game's code. The reason for their removal from random encounters is not entirely clear, but many believe it was a case of censoring the game's content, similar to the Blood Axe. When released in North America, the game was given a ratings of "Kids to Adult; Ages 6+." The design of the two enemies resembles a nude woman and might have required the game to have a higher rating.

Acacia appears in the Cavern of the Sacred Sword, the area holding Elysdeon below Esper Mansion. Like the other enemy that appears here, Phantom, Acacia is an extremely weak monster who reflects the cavern's status as a gathering place of good spirits. They possess only one basic attack with which they can damage the heroes. One strike from Chaz can easily finish this enemy in any battle.

Chaz takes on two Acacia at once.

Shadmirage, which is likely shortened from Shadow Mirage due to name length restrictions, is a color variation of the Acacia. They appear only in the late areas of the Edge, the game's final dungeon. Much stronger than their light aligned cousins, these creatures are servants of evil like others in this area. Shadow Mirages have two special attacks. Shadowbind, which is shared with the third Dark Force and Chaos Sorcerers, reduces the hero party's agility. The unique Star Dust attack, shown below, is a powerful energy attack that blasts the entire party of heroes.

Star Dust is the Shadow Mirage's ultimate attack.

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