Phantasy Star (video game)
Phantasy Star | |
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Phantasy Star[a] is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Sega and released for the Master System in 1987. One of the earliest Japanese RPGs for consoles, Phantasy Star tells the story of Alis on her journey to defeat the evil ruler of her star system, King Lassic, after her brother dies at his hands. She traverses between planets, gathering a party of fighters and collecting the items she needs to avenge her brother's death and return peace to the star system. The gameplay features traditional Japanese RPG elements including random encounters and experience points. All the characters have predefined personalities and abilities, a unique element compared to the customizable characters of other RPGs of the era.
Sega launched the development of Phantasy Star so their Master System could compete with the burgeoning popularity of console RPGs, particularly
The game was released for the Master System two days after Final Fantasy arrived for the competing Famicom. It was praised for its grand sense of adventure due to its advanced visual effects and deep gameplay. The battery backup system drew praise but also contributed to the game's notably high retail price which made it difficult for some critics to recommend. The game was re-released on several platforms in the following years, including a series of Phantasy Star compilations. In 2003, a remake titled Phantasy Star Generation 1[b] was released for the PlayStation 2.
Phantasy Star is considered a landmark RPG for its use of predetermined characters and a
Gameplay
Phantasy Star is a traditional
When encountering enemies, all party members enter into battle.[5] Battles are handled using a menu system which allows the player to fight or attempt to talk and negotiate with an enemy.[4][8][9] When an enemy is defeated, party members gain experience points and are rewarded with a treasure chest that may contain money or a booby trap.[5] As the characters gain experience points, they increase in level, gaining access to new magic spells and raising their offensive and defensive statistics.[6]
Plot
Phantasy Star is set in the Algol star system which consists of three planets: the lush and green Palma, the arid and barren Motavia, and the icy and desolate Dezoris. Algol is ruled by King Lassic, who while originally benevolent, becomes a cruel, sociopathic tyrant. After a string of harsh political changes, small pockets of rebellion emerge but are mostly ineffective against Lassic's iron rule. One such rebel named Nero is killed by Lassic's forces, and his sister Alis swears revenge. Alis builds a party of adventurers including a warrior named Odin,[c] a wizard named Noah,[d] and a catlike creature named Myau. Together, they embark on an adventure spanning the three planets, meeting with townspeople, battling enemies, and finding special items that will help in the fight against Lassic. Eventually, the party engages and defeats Lassic, after which an ethereal voice tells them to return to Motavia. There, they encounter a more evil force, Dark Falz, and after destroying him, finally return peace to the Algol system.
Development
Background
The team consisted of around ten people.
Production
The team wanted Phantasy Star to be different from other RPGs. They took many new approaches to the design of the game and its art to provide a unique experience.
Another unique addition to Phantasy Star was the 3D dungeons.[12][17] They became a central concept in the game's early planning stages,[11][12] in part because the Famicom was incapable of handling them.[13] The team drew inspiration from Western dungeon crawling RPGs like Wizardry and wanted to add animated navigation to help the player know their location and orientation more easily.[10] Naka had experimented with creating dungeons inspired by these RPGs. Typically these scenes were rendered in small boxes, so Naka was motivated to engineer a full-screen dungeon that could be used for an action game or an RPG.[11] Originally the artists were drawing full 2D backgrounds using a 3D perspective, but the number of frames necessary to achieve the animated effect used too much space on the cartridge.[12] Naka solved this by programming true wireframe 3D dungeons.[12] The artists then used a program by Naka to superimpose their art on top of the wireframes.[12][13] They also saved three-quarters of the memory they would normally need by making each quadrant of the screen identical.[10] The new dungeons scrolled faster than expected and needed to be slowed down.[12][13]
The female heroine, Alis, was a sharp contrast compared with the typical male protagonists of other RPGs.[12][17] Kodama had designed female characters before but never one in a strong and prominent role. This was an uncommon portrayal when games at the time usually had a damsel in distress.[18] Kodama went through about a dozen designs until she achieved a strong but feminine character, one with whom female gamers could empathize.[14][18] Noah was also designed by Kodama, as a mysterious and intelligent character.[14] In the original draft, Noah was an androgynous character and would become male or female depending on how the player progressed. Eventually, it was decided the character would be male.[12][13] Ohshima designed Odin because Kodama did not enjoy drawing muscular men.[12][16] Kodama envisioned the visual contrast between Noah and Odin as comparable to that between Raistlin Majere and Caramon Majere in the Dragonlance book series.[14] Ohshima was also responsible for a third of the monster designs, at most.[16] The lead monster designer enjoyed classic fantasy monsters such as golems and Medusa, so these types of characters appeared in the final game.[12] Myau was designed by Takako Kawaguchi.[12]
At four
Composer Uwabo noted that the game was developed during the Japanese economic bubble, which fueled his enthusiasm which he believes is reflected in the music.[20] The game was compatible with the Master System FM synthesis expansion unit which housed a Yamaha YM2413 chip that added nine more mono channels to the console's programmable sound generator (PSG), the SN76489. The expansion gave the soundtrack a wider range and heavier bass. The unit was not released outside Japan.[18]
Release
Phantasy Star was first released in Japan for the Master System on December 20, 1987, two days after Final Fantasy was released for the Famicom.
A series of Phantasy Star compilations were released for the Sega Saturn, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2.[11] The Saturn version was released in 1998. It includes both hiragana and katakana alphabets, an improvement from the original which had only katakana due to limited memory.[24] The 2008 PlayStation 2 version is based on the Saturn version and has additional features.[24] The Game Boy Advance compilation was a straight emulation and was the only compilation released outside Japan.[11][25] Phantasy Star also appeared in emulated form on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3,[11] and on the Wii via the Virtual Console in 2009.[11][26] In 2018, a port developed by M2 was released through the Sega Ages label for the Nintendo Switch.[24][27][15] This version includes enhancements such as options to make the game easier and faster, guides for items, spells, and monsters, the FM soundtrack, hiragana support, and a dungeon auto-mapping feature.[24][28] Naka's tricky programming efficiencies to save memory in the original proved difficult for the programmers handling the port.[15][24]
Phantasy Star was
Reception
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Console XS | 95%[31] |
S: The Sega Magazine | 94%[5] |
Sega Power | [32] |
Sega Pro | 96%[33] |
Zzap! | 92%[34] |
Publication | Award |
---|---|
Electronic Gaming Monthly (Player's Choice Awards) | Best Graphics (1988)[35] |
Phantasy Star was well received.
The game was commended for its strategy, puzzles, and challenge.[5][7] VideoGames & Computer Entertainment and S: The Sega Magazine praised the game for being easy to play and not relying on quick action reflexes.[6][5] Critics liked the variety of monsters and the combat system.[38][36] Computer Gaming World wrote that "not since Dungeon Master had such a good and explicit graphic combat system been seen".[36] Computer Entertainer felt the game's large scope and deep gameplay was more typically seen in computer games than on consoles.[38] This large scope made critics thankful for the cart's battery back-up, an unusual hardware feature at the time.[6][38][33] The save battery and complex gameplay led some critics to compare Phantasy Star to The Legend of Zelda (1986).[7][8][37]
Critics praised the game for its presentation, building a grand sense of adventure and atmosphere.[7][6][5][33] VideoGames & Computer Entertainment commended the mix of science fiction and fantasy elements, and felt it had a grander scale than other RPGs.[6] Electronic Game Player wrote that the atmosphere was "simply breathtaking by current video game standards".[7] The graphics were enjoyed by many reviewers, especially for their vivid colors and animation;[7][6][34] the monster animations, in particular, received considerable positive attention.[6][5][8] Many reviewers enjoyed the dungeons, thinking the lighting and perspective effects made for a realistic presentation.[6][5][38] Electronic Game Player called Phantasy Star a "visual tour-de-force" and "so technologically superior in graphics, that the Nintendo titles pale by comparison".[7] Zzap! called it a technical achievement considering the Master System's hardware limitations.[34] It was awarded Best Graphics for 1988 by Electronic Gaming Monthly's Player's Choice Awards.[35]
The game was difficult to recommend for some because of its high price.[8][38] Computer Entertainer found the purchase difficult to justify as it was the highest price they had ever seen for a game on any cartridge-based system or disk-based computer.[38] Computer and Video Games felt they could only recommend it for hardcore RPG fans for this reason.[8] VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, however, called it "such a remarkable video game that it may justify its existence as the most expensive cartridge on the shelf."[6]
Retrospective reviews
Phantasy Star was reviewed again for its re-releases. Most critics continued to hold the graphics in high regard.
Legacy
Phantasy Star is considered a landmark RPG; it has been called "revolutionary",
In 1996
The game introduced many elements that later became staples of the RPG genre.
Phantasy Star launched the careers of its staff.
Notes
- ^ Japanese: ファンタシースター, Hepburn: Fantashī Sutā
- ^ Japanese: ファンタシースター generation:1
- ^ Odin is named Tyrone in the Japanese version
- ^ Noah is named Lutz in the Japanese version and later English games
- ^ Phantasy Star was the second game following After Burner to use a 4M cartridge.[11] The other two games where it was used later were SpellCaster and R-Type.[19]
References
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- ^ Phantasy Star 1st Series Complete Album liner notes. Wave Master. 2008. (Translation Archived December 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine)
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- Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 47.
- ^ a b "100 Best Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. p. 120. Note: Contrary to the title, the intro to the article explicitly states that the list covers console video games only, meaning PC games and arcade games were not eligible.
- ^ Bell, Lowell (February 25, 2023). "Best JRPGs Of All Time". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
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External links
- Phantasy Star at MobyGames
- Phantasy Star at IMDb