Phantasy Star Compendium

The Phantasy Star: Official Production Compendium is a book collecting artwork, character profiles, game development details, merchandise photographs, and a general history of the classic Phantasy Star series. Published by Sega of Japan in 1995, this book is generally regarded as one of the rarest and most valuable pieces of Phantasy Star merchandise.

In addition to the standard information one might expect, the Compendium also contains unique information that reveals details of the history of the series and characters not found in the games themselves. Where did techniques come from? Is magic inherited? Who started the Devastation War? What does AW stand for? These are examples of questions held by many Phantasy Star fans and answered only in this book.

Unfortunately, the Compendium is very hard to get, as it is long out of print. It's possible that some online shops might be able to special order the book. For those wanting to attempt this, the ISBN number of the Compendium is 4-89052-782-6. The Compendium also occasionally appears on eBay, but you can expect it to carry a hefty price tag there.

I have scanned a few pages from the Compendium and made them available below as a preview for those interested in the book.

• Front of Wrap, Back of Wrap
  A small "wrap" (for lack of a better word) surrounds the dustjacket of the book. The wrap is removable, and is approximately 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches tall.
• Front of Dustjacket, Back of Dustjacket
  The dustjacket is removable, and contains no inside writing. The front has artwork of several characters, with Nei being the most prominent. The only picture on the back is Rika/Fal.
• Front of Cover, Back of Cover
  The cover of the actual book; pretty plain.
• Page 1
  The introductory page features the box front artwork from the MegaDrive releases of the four main Phantasy Star games.
• Page 2
  The book's Table of Contents.
• Page 3
  The introductory page of the "Phantasy Star World Guide." The artwork featured comes from the rear of the Japanese boxes of Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star IV, and the front of the MegaDrive Phantasy Star I release.
• Page 4
  It's that same Phantasy Star I box art again, but much larger this time. This page also contains information about Phantasy Star I's story and the Phantasy Star I cart, such as release date, price, and memory size.
• Page 5
  Information about the characters of Phantasy Star I and their adventure. There are also some scenes from the game.
• Page 6
  The villains from the end of Phantasy Star I, and information about the MegaDrive re-release of the game.
• Page 7
  The introduction to the Phantasy Star II section. The artwork presented comes from the MegaDrive Phantasy Star II box. The release date, price, and memory size are also stated.
• Page 8
  An introduction to the start of Phantasy Star II's story.
• Orakio and Laya
  Sepia toned artwork from the bottom of page 15 shows the legends on the battlefield.
• Fiend Sketch
  This is one of several monster sketches featured on page 50.