Happy 20th Birthday Phantasy Star!

By Spencer . December 20, 2007 . 11:38am

Twenty years ago Phantasy Star was born. Sega differentiated the series from archetypical console RPGs by switching to a futuristic setting and having a female lead. Neither sounds revolutionary now, but in the damsel in distress NES days the latter was quite progressive. After a great fourth installment on the Genesis, Phantasy Star faded away until it was designed as an online game for the Dreamcast. Sega has had some success with Phantasy Star Online, but the series is far from its apex. There isn't really much fanfare about Phantasy Star turning twenty and Phantasy Star Universe's PSP port is barely getting attention.

Perhaps, Sega should revert back to the good old days of Phantasy Star Offline. Fill the void of sci-fi RPG epics with a tale of combat cyborgs, Dark Force and broken marriages. Do you think this will happen before the series 25^th birthday? Better question, would you buy a new Phantasy Star game in the vein of the original ones?

TAGS: Phantasy Star, Sega

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Vagiel

I would buy it in an instant!

Nick Doerr

I would not hesitate to buy an offline Phantasy Star. I couldn't tell you how many stories I've come up with via RPG Maker 2000 and 2003 that continues the mythos of Algol. With the strange dissonance in time Phantasy Star 3 had -- Dark Force shouldn't have been there -- who's to say that's so uncommon? Rykros can't always be depended on to keep the Profound Darkness plugged up. After Parm... Palma... whatever was blown up, there's an almost infinite number of stories to tell.

Please Sega. Do it. =)

LoganX1187

I would buy an offline Phantasy Star the second it hit shelves. The original Phantasy Star was my very first RPG. This was well before the days of hint books or gamefaqs, so my firends and I spent ages playing Phantasy Star trying to figure out what to do next. Being huddled around the TV in my buddy's basement trying to figure out how to get that bloody hovercraft while a blizzard raged outside is one of my fondest gaming memories. I bought a Genesis solely because they were releasing Phantasy Star II, and I bought PS III and IV on launch day (and PS IV was like $90+ dollars at launch!!!)

I love Phantasy Star, but I've never been impressed with the overly simplistic hack and slash gameplay of the PSO and PSU games. I was totally excited for the Phantasy Star Generations games that Conspiracy Games was supposed to translate and bring out over here in the States, but of course that project got canceled. It's sad that the last good Phantasy Star game that was a true RPG (versus the PSO/PSU school of gameplay) was released in 1995. Just like Streets of Rage, Sega has forsaken this series. Of course, when I look at what they've done to Sonic or ltry to play that horrid 3D remake of Golden Axe on the Sega Classics Collection for PS2, I hate to admit that maybe this isn't such a bad thing. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I long for the Sega of of my youth...

Mr.Pervert

I admit I only played the originals and their 2D offspring a bit(i was a NES/SNES guy) they seemed good.
But i thought PSO was ok-ish but PSU was terrible for me....hated it....
I would'nt mind a PSO but based on the first installments for the DS....

ikiryou

I'm playing through Phantasy Star Universe's story mode at the moment. It feels like a more civilized - and much easier - form of Monster Hunter. I guess I actually prefer the hack n' slash combat.

Reluctantly Human

Eff yes I'd buy one! In fact, I've bought every Phantasy Star since the originals in the hopes that they might be as good as the first ones. I still defend my choosing the Phantasy Star series as the better 'roleplaying game series' to my boyfriend who is a solid Final Fantasy fan. At the time, I just liked being able to play a female who was actually a female (Dragon Warrior 3 was... confusing on the matter), and a story that got told through multiple games (not that I completely hated Final Fantasy's approach). The newer games have not been 'bad', but they are essentially Diablo with brighter graphics.

fidgetwidget

I would certainly buy a new PS Offline game. Thats the reason I picked up PSU was in the hopes that its offline game was going to be fun.
I would likely buy any PS themed game at this point, as I fell in love with the concept in PSII, and have always hoped for a return to true essence of the early games. PSIV is still my favorite 16bit RPG, and I would love to see what an evolution of that kind of game could look like.

Bring it to the DS or PSP, and keep it turn based with the ability to 'combine' skills and techniques into more powerful attacks. Maybe make it a TRPG? Something, Anything, so long as its true to the core of the series.

That said, I am still looking forward to the PSU on the PSP.