Other Phantasy Star games on PC that I should try?

[Schorl]

I've heard plenty of great things about the Phantasy Star games, since the series exist for over 3 decades.
And I know that Phantasy Star 2, 3, 4, the first PS Online and PS Universe are on PC.
Should I check them out?

[AN BIFFED ELF!!!!]

If any old Phantasy game is a must, End of the Millenium is the least aggravating boring one. It's a buck

https://store.steampowered.com/app/211205/Phantasy_Star_IV_The_End_of_the_Millennium/

[mimizukari]

i heard III is the one you avoid at all costs, and I, II and IV are all good, but only IV kind of holds up today? They're all pretty dated, they didn't age like nethack or those kinds of games.

[Black Captain]

1 and 2 are amazing and I think 2 definitely holds up. I couldn't get into 3 and I needed a break from the series when I tried 4.


The psp games (PStar Portable) were fire!

[AN BIFFED ELF!!!!]

1 has a recent QOL patch out there FWIW (and PS1's not on Steam because it's a Master System game and SEGA doesn't want to make some SEGA Master System Classics thing because that'd probably be 2 games. Phantasy Star, and ALF)

[Redblaze27]

Kurumi Tokisaki님이 먼저 게시:

i heard III is the one you avoid at all costs, and I, II and IV are all good, but only IV kind of holds up today? They're all pretty dated, they didn't age like nethack or those kinds of games.

Phantasy Star IV has basic quality of life stuff that makes the experience substantially better (namely being able to talk to NPCs without opening a menu to find a command).

[Schorl]

So, I did try the Ephinea server for Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, but I didn't find anyone online (region EU). Played a bit of the singleplayer. It was alright, but I found it kind of archaic in terms of animations and camera use.
I'm gonna try to play the Portable and Universe titles, if I manage to find a way to play Universe and Ambition Of The Illuminus offline, since the Clementine server is still work in progress.
As for the turn based games, Phantasy Star 2 and 4 are on my wishlist and I'm gonna buy them ASAP.

As for my opinion on PSO2, I'm having a really good time playing this game so far.

[ShinGitS]

Kurumi Tokisaki님이 먼저 게시:

i heard III is the one you avoid at all costs, and I, II and IV are all good, but only IV kind of holds up today? They're all pretty dated, they didn't age like nethack or those kinds of games.

They all hold up. PS3 feels the most outside the box in terms of all of the PS RPGs. Due to the generational style of play: You get to marry and have offspring that are slightly different.

All 3 games lead into the 4th one. PS4 is a culumination of all the PS games from the original. PS1 is very well done, remember the other big JRPGs for its time was the original Final Fantasy and Dragonquest.

You are dealing with games made at that time. Are they dated? yes. Are they enjoyable? Really depends on you. With regards to "PS3 is avoid at all cost", no its just not as beloved as the other entries in the series. It is still worth while to play.

[mimizukari]

ShinGitS님이 먼저 게시:

Kurumi Tokisaki님이 먼저 게시:

i heard III is the one you avoid at all costs, and I, II and IV are all good, but only IV kind of holds up today? They're all pretty dated, they didn't age like nethack or those kinds of games.

They all hold up. PS3 feels the most outside the box in terms of all of the PS RPGs. Due to the generational style of play: You get to marry and have offspring that are slightly different.

All 3 games lead into the 4th one. PS4 is a culumination of all the PS games from the original. PS1 is very well done, remember the other big JRPGs for its time was the original Final Fantasy and Dragonquest.

You are dealing with games made at that time. Are they dated? yes. Are they enjoyable? Really depends on you. With regards to "PS3 is avoid at all cost", no its just not as beloved as the other entries in the series. It is still worth while to play.

Guess it depends who you ask. A lot of people I know say original PS games don't hold up, and I tend to agree. Something like Rogue/Nethack holds up after 30-40 years, but not so much the original PS games.

[ShinGitS]

It is very much eye of the beholder. Opinions are opinions. Video games, in my eyes especially those from the earliest days of video games, are a time capsule into that period of time. People can complain about back then the stories were blah, menus blah etc. It does no detract from the fact at its time, it was groundbreaking. I remember using up a dozen sheets of grid paper mapping out the dungeons of PS. Going "well damn" at the twist ending of PS2. Mapping out family lineages for PS3. Seeing how it all came together in PS4. I see the foundation that was built.

this isnt rose tinted glasses talking. There are many issues that i see. namely QoL issues. To say they dont hold up. Its an opinion. It is a valid one. However, I disagree with it. That's all that needs to be said.

[AN BIFFED ELF!!!!]

JamesGki님이 먼저 게시:

I'm gonna try to play the Portable and Universe titles, if I manage to find a way to play Universe and Age Of The Illuminus offline, since the Clementine server is still work in progress.

There's single player in them, though Universe has no customization and forces you to play a dorky hunter dude and the grind in the PS2 games is awful.

[Schorl]

AN BIFFED ELF!!!!님이 먼저 게시:

JamesGki님이 먼저 게시:

I'm gonna try to play the Portable and Universe titles, if I manage to find a way to play Universe and Age Of The Illuminus offline, since the Clementine server is still work in progress.

There's single player in them, though Universe has no customization and forces you to play a dorky hunter dude and the grind in the PS2 games is awful.

So, jumping to Ambition Of Illuminus would be a better idea?

[Redblaze27]

JamesGki님이 먼저 게시:

AN BIFFED ELF!!!!님이 먼저 게시:

There's single player in them, though Universe has no customization and forces you to play a dorky hunter dude and the grind in the PS2 games is awful.

So, jumping to Ambition Of Illuminus would be a better idea?

No, because its a follow-up/
You just play a custom character instead of Ethan Weber.

[Schorl]

Second update on getting into Phantasy Star games on PC: I finally bought Phantasy Star IV and it's really good so far. It's the first turned based JRPG I ever play and it seems to be a really good starting point in my opinion, despite the presence of grindy combat scenarios.

[mimizukari]

JamesGki님이 먼저 게시:

Second update on getting into Phantasy Star games on PC: I finally bought Phantasy Star IV and it's really good so far. It's the first turned based JRPG I ever play and it seems to be a really good starting point in my opinion, despite the presence of grindy combat scenarios.

for a starting point I probably would've gone with Persona 4 Golden or Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy games(FFX/X-2 is still great)

[Schorl]

Kurumi Tokisaki님이 먼저 게시:

JamesGki님이 먼저 게시:

Second update on getting into Phantasy Star games on PC: I finally bought Phantasy Star IV and it's really good so far. It's the first turned based JRPG I ever play and it seems to be a really good starting point in my opinion, despite the presence of grindy combat scenarios.

for a starting point I probably would've gone with Persona 4 Golden or Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy games(FFX/X-2 is still great)

Oh I'd love to get P4G. As for Final Fantasy, hard to tell, because I'd like to get either the FF 3&4 or the FF 7&8 bundle. I'm also interested in Chrono Trigger and Secret Of Mana.