 |
System: Sega Genesis | Released: 1994 |
| Developer: Sega | Publisher: Sega |
| Genre: RPG | Players: 1 |
| Game Medium: 24 Mbit Cartridge | Reviewer: Mystik |
Ah, the true shining moment of the most popular RPG series belonging to Sega. Any fan of Phantasy Star will tell you of the difficulties present in the first three games, and how they wish there was more story to offer, more advances in the game play, better presentation of the story and dialogue.
Phantasy Star 4 is the answer to these pleading fan's wishes. Even today, Phantasy Star 4 is one of the best RPGs in the genre for multiple reasons. The game play is predominantly the same as before, though this time around you can have five characters in your party. Aside from the normal assign-your-characters-their-move-at-the-beginning-of-each-round, you can set up a list of Macros, which specify what character does what and when, which opens the opportunity for setting up combos, another new feature in this edition, and are great for strategies against hard bosses. Easily the most advanced and fun system of the series. Otherwise, walking around is the same as before, though the characters move MUCH faster. Everything is executed quickly and precisely, whether you're opening menus or saving, everything is smooth and simple. Also available is more detailed info on each character when looking them up in the menu, plus the ability to Talk if you're not sure where you are in the game, or what you need to do next (which is especially great if you come back after not playing for a while and you're not sure where you left off).
Thankfully, Phantasy Star gives the player an excellent storyline to follow. It starts off rather simple, but intriguing, a "what's going on with that really cool looking what's-his-name?", and things keep unfolding and opening up, eventually showing the player an incredibly deep, epic tale, tying the previous games together in an amazingly effective way. All this is done with a finally-good dialogue system, and a very decent translation helps. Another nice factor shows it's face in many important scenes, where windows will open depicting the characters in anime style, which merely makes the experience more involved and enjoyable. Not only is Phantasy Star 4 the best as far as story and character development, plot depth, and presentation in the series, it's also one of the best in the genre. Sure to please.
Any gamer who suffered through the insane difficulty of the previous games would approach another one with hesitancy and worry, and no one would blame them. But as they would progress through this game, they'd realize: "Hey...this isn't so bad! Leveling up doesn't take all that long, and it's not that hard anyway! But it's not too easy, there's still some challenge to keep me on my toes." Finally, Sega gives us a balance of difficulty and good rate of progression. There will be a few times where you'll have to back off a really hard boss and level up for maybe even a few hours, but it feels properly done, unlike the ridiculous amount of time you'd have to spend in the other games. As a result of this, players finally feel they can spend time participating in some of the side quests available to the player, which the players will discover is time well-spent, by the way.
Overall, Phantasy Star 4 is a gem. It's been crafted and polished to a shimmering symbol of beauty and value. Take this analogy as literally as possible. If you are a fan of RPGs and you do not already own Phantasy Star 4 somehow, fix this immediately! You WON'T regret it.
Score: 4/5
