Birth of Phantasy - A Phantasy Star Retrospective Gaming Documentary (From Classic to NGS)

[@Zeomantic]

Thank you guys so much! If this video is what brought you here, let me extend my warmest welcome to you! If you enjoyed this, then consider subscribing! If you REALLY like it, consider becoming a channel member! In case you missed it in the description, here's where else you can find me! Twitter: twitter.com/zeomantic Twitch: twitch.tv/zeomantic Discord: discord.gg/5Hcsphb Merch: store.streamelements.com/zeomantic

[@Homedogx5x]

What a fantastic tribute to Phantasy Star! The best part of Phantasy Star is that everyone’s experiences are different, but we all end up at the same crossroads. Whether it be Central City or Pioneer 2, everyone has a story to tell and that itself is beautiful. Wonderful video!

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MaxAbramson3]

If only modern RPGs could offer the same level and choice and emotional storytelling.

[@temjin44]

You wouldn't believe how much this game and Sega provided such enjoyment in my life. RIP Kodamasan. Contributed to so many of my childhood games. Still shocked to this day. Still learning about this game as well.

[@milkbucket5647]

Great job Zeo! This was a wonderful look into the history of Phantasy Star. As always, I loved the choice of b-roll and music, and the use of the games' commercials for transitions. Phantasy Star is a real gem of a franchise, happy to see its accomplishments shown off. Despite the bumpiness on the road lately, I'm really excited to see where this series takes us next.

[@Zeomantic]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Korone6E]

Another phantastic retrospective, Zeo! I can't get enough of these. I really appreciate learning about the lore of the originals.

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@alliumluna6888]

That dial-up sound with the fade in of the PSO title music gave me goosebumps. That game holds a very special place in my heart.

[@Zeomantic]

It does the same for me as well

[@stefanswiss3760]

Those videos are always appreciated, I love to see people who started on later entries rediscover the past game thanks to people like you or by sheer luck. It usually gets a positive response and that is why I am still not giving up on the idea of a remaster (octopath traveller style maybe) of previous episodes or a phanta V following PSIV.

[@Zeomantic]

The fans always seem to do a better job at building brand awareness than the companies themselves do.

[@stefanswiss3760]

@@Zeomantic crazy to think Square enix exploited their IPs and character in at least 10 different games and type of games : fighting, music, adventure, RPG, remakes etc and sega didn't include phantasy star character (even as cameo) in sega all star racing or other games (apart from the PS2 remakes and the mobile game that isn't much more than an official flash game...) I think sega wouldn't be against if an external studio came with a passion product (like dotemu did with Street of rage) but they won't do much by themselves

[@VanitysEmptiness]

I had been looking forward to this one! This was a fantastic trip back along the years of Phantasy Star as a whole. Thank you for putting this all together to give many insight into the history of this wonderful series. Phantasy Star is truly something special so I am still holding out onto hope that things improve going forward.

[@Zeomantic]

Thanks for watching! I had a lot of fun making it!

[@willsiegmond6796]

Truly one of the best videos to date! Proud to be a fan of Zeomantic!

[@Zeomantic]

Awww thank you!

[@TheRyupichu]

Amazing work on this piece, at parts of the video id almost shed a tear due to how much i have been on this pso road. Had started around the psu era around 2006 by coming to my cousins house after school and while i didnt play much of psu, the iconic sound effects kept me up. It was until 2012 when i was aware of pso2 was that i just needed to have this game but it wouldnt be easy because of my laptop at the time, took me 3 years for me to offically get in and by 2016 i was able to get a new laptop and played pso2. And with pso2 i was hooked, played every single day, made new friends that i still talk to too this day(obvious with the current state of ngs). With pso2 it lead me to play the older games which i enjoy and believe they still hold up to this day without the official support of sega. Had it not been for PSO2 idunno where my life would be now with the memories and friendships formed to this day, hell 2 years ago i was able to meet up with a group of my pso2 friends irl and we had fond memories of it. As much as im critical about pso2 ngs let alone the entire series now, they have formed me how i am and had created memories i dont think i can get anywhere else. Thank you Zeo for this documentry and thank you Sega for making one of the best series in gaming history.

[@Zeomantic]

Awww glad you liked it! This was probably one of my favorite projects behind the 10th-anniversary PSO2 video.

[@cika3leches]

Was looking forward to this video! Thanks man!!

[@Zeomantic]

Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@iamrappy8791]

Great video, glad I finally got some time off to watch it in whole, here's to hoping NGS brings you much lore to do more videos on :)

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you liked it! Here's hoping that's the case.

[@NiNjahCheeto]

Dude excellent video! You really have a knack for these kind of videos I love it. I remember seeing phantasy star games as a kid wanting to play them but neve got to, and growing up I did always kind of feel like they was cheap knocks offs of final fantasy as well. Then with pso I was against a game with no end and paying a monthly fee to play it, so I never touched it either. But man once xbox 360 put that psu demo out and a close friend talked me into trying it .... I was never the same again, I put over 200 hours on that demo and at the end of the month they wiped the chr data. 1 week later I bought the main game and a guardians license sub. phantasy star became my all time favorite number 1 game. I've made countless friendships (one of which is you

[@Zeomantic]

Thank you for the kind words! I've made lots of friends over the years thanks to these games, and you are certainly in that pantheon. I'm glad I came back to PSO2 when I started streaming. I would see you in game all the time before that but we never once spoke to each other. I'm glad that changed thanks to streaming. Glad you liked it!

[@htwevinq]

That was amazing video! Can't imagine how long it took to produce almost 40 minutes of goodness.

[@Zeomantic]

I started this project during the first part of January since there wasn't much going on with NGS.

[@corwinnius]

My first Phantasy Star Experience was with the PSP games. I had just learned how to soft mod the PSP at 15, so of course I modded my 3 cousins' PSPs along with mine. Along with Gods Eater Burst, Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2 seemed like the most interesting multiplayer games to us. We didn't have the bandwidth to download full games, so one of us bought the UMDs used and we all copied them to our memory cards.(This was after they stopped selling new PSP stuff at retail stores) We played both the games to completion entirely co-op. We didn't do a single story mission without everyone present. We'd all but one turn down our volumes during cutscenes so we wouldn't have 4 slightly off time sources of audio. Good times. Solid core memory for me.

[@Zeomantic]

That's a fun memory! The PSP really was a pirate's paradise!

[@corwinnius]

@@Zeomantic Yaaar indeed! We tried to get into Universe on the 360, but we didn't like it nearly as much because the story was single player only. I've been going back in the franchise's history lately to experience it all for myself. I love the concept of a sci-fi with a fantasy aesthetic. The book series Dragonriders of Pern is like that too.

[@Tquintv]

Outstanding, my friend. Outstanding.

[@Zeomantic]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@MrHumbuck]

Thanks for making this video, I'd heard of Phantasy Star but hadn't really any idea of what it was until I watched this. I'm not sure they're my kind of games, but I appreciate the detailed overview, it'd have been hard to get my head around the series without this

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@silo1991]

Amazing video , i didnt knew phantasy star came years before final fantasy to west. That explains why Brazil its the biggest fan country in latin america.

[@Zeomantic]

Sega had a pretty firm grip on that market over there thanks to TecToy.

[@bigcuppofjoe2691]

This is awesome! Thank you. Would kill for them to bring PSO back. 🥺

[@Cathy5614]

This is outrageous! Never censor a man calling his homies "Cute"! Dynamic music is really cool! I love that Phantasy Star 3 experimented with something that to this day is still a novelty in many games. I think its a bit of a missed opportunity you didn't mention that some Characters from Episode 5 were named after Phantasy Star characters (Alis and Lutz specifically) and originally each kingdom was meant to have it's own callback to older games but the backlash to EP5 caused them to course correct and scale down the Story. Cool video tho! It's always interesting to me how despite FF and DQ being the big JRPG juggernauts its usually the lesser known games that are ahead of their time and bring revolutionary features that'd become staples decades later. I'm still waiting for a JRPG to top Grandia's combat system for example (Grandia III specifically). Tales of Phantasia having some minimalistic voice acting on a 16mb cartridge absolutely blew my mind. In that regard PSO2NGS is the online game with the best character identity for your playable character. Even PSO had a great character customization for its time. And i don't think any online game has ever topped the PSO2 sorcery of having a action combat with mostly 0 lag. Playing on servers from a different continent shouldn't be this seamless but it is!

[@Zeomantic]

Oh shit that completely flew under my radar and I made a video about ep5 Alis a couple years ago! I wasn't even thinking of that when I wrote this!

[@arthurwulfrun]

Cool video! +1 sub. Been on a Phantasy Star nostalgia trip recently PSO 1, 2 and 3 were my entry to the series played PhS4 later. Loved them all!

[@Zeomantic]

Hell yeah! Glad you enjoyed it

[@popixel]

I thank you for posting such a great video

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you liked it!

[@classicgamingchicken]

If you don't trimate, you're gonna diamate.

[@Zeomantic]

I totally read that in a faux Australian accent, and it brought a smile to my face.

[@classicgamingchicken]

@@Zeomantic My work here is done.

[@MrTomemac]

Late for this but my first PS game was PSO and I was addicted. years later I ended up living and working in Japan and I played the PSP PS games up to Infinity. Really liked that one.

[@EQOAnostalgia]

I never played these back in the day despite being a Genesis fanboy. I didn't really get into RPG's until FFVII, which is odd since one of the first games i ever played was Dragon Quest 1, or Dragon Warrior here in the West. I was like 4 and didn't really do much of anything but wander around and die but to my 4 year old mind it was incredible, and i was having a blast lol! But i digress, PSO was my first introduction to the series, and i got into that super late on Xbox months before the servers went down 😖 Amazing game, glad the private servers are a thing, just got back into both PSO and PSU, haven't touched either since they shut down, and i played PSU on PS2 which = a much faster shut down time. I remember not liking PSU compared to PSO, but looking back now i don't feel the same way. PSU is a solid online RPG, with a lot of great systems that PSO lacked. I guess the changes to mags and overall aesthetic just turned me off. Nostalgia fixed that issue i guess. Having a blast with the Clementine server. Thanks for this, i didn't know the series history despite having 1-4 on my Streets of Rage multicade, i really need to play those lol. God bless!

[@Zeomantic]

The fourth game is definitely the most polished one of the classic tetralogy.

[@andrewwood2556]

Great video! The original PS series is my favorite RPG series. I wish we'd get a classically inspired PS5.

[@juanchiapa2882]

Phantasy Star IV has been my favorite ❤❤

[@Zeomantic]

That seems to be the case with a lot of folks

[@masonwilcox7055]

Unpopular opinion: Phantasy Star II is the best in the series. Just love the story, and the music in the game.

[@Zeomantic]

Those are certainly its strong points. Too bad the "Generation 2" remake never got localized.

[@SpoonyBard88]

The game would be really great if you could control it like a video game. The way you have to dial in commands is so awkward it kills the experience for me.

[@Sizyphe]

My first console was the Sega Master System and I'm sad that I never play a Phantasy Star game before NGS ^^ But i like this one and I try to learn more of his lore. Thanks for your video 👍

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you liked it! You can play the older ones thanks to several Sega Genesis compilations or through emulation. PSO and PSU both have private servers keeping both games alive. Thanks for watching!

[@kumaSOevl]

Loved phantasy star 4 growing up

[@golvellius6855]

This is why I came here for 32:51 Good video

[@Zeomantic]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

[@JuntosXlaLibertadMileyBuIIrich]

I love how in that ad for PSIV the guy portraying Chaz is like over 30 when he is 16 ingame lmao

[@Zeomantic]

Yeah they did make some rather interesting casting choices. Thanks for watching!

[@JuntosXlaLibertadMileyBuIIrich]

@@Zeomantic thanks to you for this video, it was an awesome homage to such an amazing franchise!

[@Zeomantic]

@liberalterraplanistaantivacuna Glad you enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun putting it together for you all.

[@jgkitarel]

I think you would be pleased to know that PSO2:NGS has had, and continues to develop, several quality of life improvements since the launch of Version 2. Keeping the original PSO2 as part of the setup to download initially was a wise move, as Base PSO2 was a fully developed game, but the size became unwieldy enough that the base game is relegated to a DLC when it got ported to the PS4. I see the decision as the wiser move going forward, even if it is one that I don't entirely like (not that it really bothers me since I have both Base and NGS). Still NGS has been growing and finding itself since the update to Version 2 half a year ago, though it still has some ways to go. Base PSO2 is a tough act to follow or exceed, after all. And I have fond memories of the original tetralogy (had the original tetralogy when it was released as a whole on the Game Boy Advance) and PSU. An excellent tribute to Phantasy Star, showing how the series has been Phantastic and a trend setter. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy may have codified the JRPG in Western minds, and are excellent series in their own rights. But before them, was Phantasy Star blazing the trail and pushing hardware limits and boundaries.

[@Zeomantic]

Oh I'm still active as hell on NGS. Things were kinda dicey around time time I wrote the script for this thing at the start of this year. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching, and happy new year!

[@Gentou76]

If I remember correctly Phantasy Star IV came out around the same time Chrono Trigger did.

[@Zeomantic]

In Japan, yeah. Chrono Trigger didn't come overseas until that Summer.

[@metallicsnake.]

Back on the ps3 my older brother got the sonic ultimate collection and I remember we had to unlock Phantasy Star you need to beat the first boss with two players in Sonic 2. Then we had a hell of a time beating all the games

[@Real_The_Goof]

It was actually Final Fantasy that convinced SEGA to make Phantasy Star. SEGA didn't have the support Nintendo had, and thus didn't have Final Fantasy.. so Phantasy Star was born.

[@Zeomantic]

Both games were in development around the same time though I'm not sure which one started first and whether or not there was any communication between members of both teams. Those companies tended to keep that stuff close to the breast.

[@zanderwhitcroft]

If you ever need me, Mylin Masaiki. Thats my ARKs name.

[@HHog]

Phantasy Star 2 actually did get a "Save Anywhere" function, though it wouldn't be available until midway into the game, by the time you gain Shir as a party member, who'd be able to steal a Visiphone - an item that lets you contact Data Memory via your inventory.

[@Zeomantic]

Yes this is true as mentioned in a previous comment. I just didn't feel like it was worth mentioning.

[@HMNNO]

I played PS1,2 and part of 3. They were solid RPGs and I enjoyed them to an extent but didn't feel they were as good as other RPGs I played at the time so didn't become a huge fan of PS. PSO1 had such an impact on my gaming and social interaction so that's when I started being a huge fan. While the PS series wasn't my favorite series, PSO was and it's great you made this documentary on it on the PSO series origins.

[@Zeomantic]

That sounds an awful lot like my experience with it but number 3 was actually my first. Thanks for watching! :)

[@CYI3ERPUNK]

fucking legendary ; the trendsetter

[@tru3sk1ll]

Phantasy star 2 was such a foundational game for me, and I loved many RPGs to come including World of Warcraft, it was always shocking to me the similarities of every RPG after this - , many concepts invented or refined here lasted for decades Keys - small key, key tube, needed to open chests and advance in the game wow - same thing, even a keyring slot nei looks like blood elf telepipe/escapipe = hearthstone data bank = innkeeper extra party members, = strength, like unlocking 2h, shoulders, headgear in wow, str grows as the game progresses itemization = extremely important, weapon proficiencies in both! backpack/item = same in both BANK!!! can store items in paseo at control tower, same as capital cities Fast travel between cities, portals vs gryphons and bats better gear in better towns, as the game progresses, currencies, unlockables = more strength TP vs. mana!!! can't regen mana in field, have to do it in town, makes fight mgmt much more difficult, and gear/defense that much more important Poison affect/antidote = bandages, can't use in combat, will slowly drain health self replicating ooze/slimes!!!! don't kill them fast enough they replicate!!! sound familiar! can't believe the OHX mob drains all your mana, all of it in one shot! can't regen mana in PS2

[@drag0nchampi0n]

When can we get a remaster of Episodes 1-3?

[@Zeomantic]

Who knows? Love the name BTW!

[@drag0nchampi0n]

@@Zeomantic thanks. Coolest villain in DBZ.

[@helio1055]

You can still save anywhere in Phantasy Star II

[@Zeomantic]

Technically yes but that's only with a certain item that you have to steal.

[@Real_The_Goof]

My history with Phantasy Star is simple.. my aunt bought me a SEGA Master system, a friend had one, he had Phantasy Star.. we played it together.. my first ever RPG.. eventually i was hooked on SEGA then on out and Phantasy Star.. sadly not into the online games.. they abandoned the original series characters and places

[@nimaiiikun]

wish they made Phantasy Star 5

[@Zeomantic]

Yeah that would have been cool. I think they were planning on doing that for the Saturn but those plans fell through.

[@ozymandias1758]

10:25 COPE😂😂 was this the first instance of this word being used to Troll players? Always wondered why this word appeared when i was playing this zone in Sonic 1😮

[@Zeomantic]

I have no idea. Might have been coincidental, but then again the Japanese did love their Engrish. I had no idea that sign was there in the background after all these years! Great catch!

[@whitewolf3051]

Would love to see more Phantasy Star games come to the Switch, maybe original (Game Cube version) Phantasy Star Online. Heck, give us western Switch owners a way to play Phantasy Star Online 2, preferably *not* by cloud gaming. A physical copy of PSO2 *if* possible even.

[@Zeomantic]

Yeah that would be pretty rad.

[@whitewolf3051]

@@Zeomantic Glad someone agrees, now *if* only those at Sega also agrees.

[@Alysinwowland]

PS1 was the first RPG I ever played! Sega needs to give the original 4 games better remakes.

[@Zeomantic]

Big facts!

[@opa-age]

Some inaccurate info in this video, but still appreciate your work.

[@Zeomantic]

I dug up what I could from multiple sources. Well can't bat 1000 all the time. Glad you enjoyed it otherwise.

[@Real_The_Goof]

I thought her name was Alis, not Alease?

[@Zeomantic]

That's how the English dub of PSO2 pronounced it.

[@JediMB]

I didn't play the original Phantasy Star until the re-release on GBA, and didn't finish it until I got it again on the Switch, but having played through the first two games now... I have to say I dislike most of the changes made from the original to the sequel. Especially the combat mechanics and the choice of lead protagonist, although the ability to recruit a bunch of different party members was appreciated.

[@Zeomantic]

Maybe if they had more than a paltry 6 months and didn't pivot to the Genesis they could have kept more of what they wanted in the game.

[@Calvansbagoftricks]

I'd rather have a burger and cola. Monomate and DImate don't sound as tasty.

[@Zeomantic]

Right there with you.

[@MageJiro]

I tried to get into pso2ngs on many different occasions as I loved pso on gamecube. I just can't get into it

[@Zeomantic]

Fair enough. Certainly not for everyone. Thanks for watching

[@andrewreviewsgamesandstuff]

After all this time I do not understand why sega don't have atlus make phantasy star 5 or at least remake the first 4 .

[@Zeomantic]

That's a cool idea! Maybe get Shoji Meguro to do the music.

[@kyoya941]

why did you skip over portable and portable 2??

[@Zeomantic]

I did mention them as spinoffs of PSU.

[@rokmare]

Did you just skip the Phantasy star portable games

[@Zeomantic]

I did mention the portables as spin-offs of Universe, which is essentially what they were.

[@SorarikoMotone]

@@Zeomantic thats fair, but i would suggest still getting deeper into them if you didnt (first time on this channel, apologies), because they actually continue or add up to psu storyline very well (and not only it, apparently, in pspo2i, unlike pso2's side games, most of which got retconned). also fun fact from pso2ngs community - apparently pspo2i was a way for sega to test mechanics for pso2, according to people who actually were beta-testing it. So these little gems are very important to the series history, or at least one of them.

[@Shiirow]

phantasy star died after the fourth game and everything after is just a lifeless husk using its name.

[@Zeomantic]

If not for post-tetralogy PS, this video, hell even this channel, I may not even exist. Thanks for watching!

[@BaneMcDeath]

Is Alisa wearing pants or is she a little too free spirit. Flesh colored spanx maybe?

[@Zeomantic]

I'm going to say those are pants. They're darker in official artwork.

[@Resvrgam]

Everything after Phantasy Star IV has been an ugly departure from the series and pretty much destroyed it. They should have used a different brand for these games because they bare absolutely ZERO resemblance to the original Master System/Mega-Drive games. PSO (and its contemporaries) look like cheap, lazily made knock-offs and pale in comparison to the art direction of its competitors. Even that awful Anime series felt like a cheap knock-off of Sword Art Online. The races make zero sense in the context of Phantasy Star as well: they added elves! Those “Nu-Men” are just badly rendered cutesy elves more at home in a traditional fantasy series. Nei (and Riku) were flukes - failed biological weapon experiments. They weren’t a race of people. They should have separated the Palmans (normal hair colours, non-magical people) from the Espers (blue/white/green haired, slight-framed magical folk). This was achieved well enough in PSIII with the Orakians & Layans, respectively. The story in the Algol star system was amazing! Hell, the story of PSII reads like a classic dystopian sci-fi masterpiece! It’s tragic ending and warnings about AI/allowing a technocracy seemed to have fallen on deaf ears though. I would have loved to have seen a classic return to form for another generation taking up arms against The Profound Darkness across the two remaining planets of Algol (and its various satellites).

[@Zeomantic]

Oh, you're one of those people. Meh, fair enough. To each their own.

[@SorarikoMotone]

newmans werent a race, tho. they're subspecies of humans. in other words - they are also experiments, that in games became their own thing only because of their ability to wield photons better than humans. experiments sometimes go bad, and sometimes go good. in og games - they went terrible. in other games - humans succeeded in their goals.

[@Resvrgam]

@@SorarikoMotone There weren't any NuMans in the OG quartet of games. Nei (and NeiFirst if you believe they were separate people or not) and later Rika were not a race of beings capable of reproduction. They were BioMonsters fused with Palman DNA and were flukes. There was already an offshoot of the Palman race in the OG Phantasy Star called "Espers" (or ESPers). These people were gifted with magic use and superior intellect (and had odd hair colours). It's not known if Espers were born from Palmans or that both Palmans and Espers were just ethnically different people. What is known is that Aliser, Myau, Tyrone & Lutz fought them while battling their way to LaShiec (in the form of Sorcerers, Wizards, etc.). In fact, some have speculated that the Espers were the first to fall to the Earthmen's cult that forged LaShiec's armour (possessing him with the Essence of Dark Force) -- as per the Japanese manual & later Manga. Phantasy Online RetConned a whole bunch of stuff and basically created a fantasy elf race for the Asian markets that prefer playing these kinds of "pretty" elf-eared characters in RPGs. In a way, these Numans merged and replaced the Espers and Biomonster hybrids of the original games.