Phantasy Star 2 Is One Of The Greatest Works Of Science Fiction: A Retrospective Review

This is an updated version of the PS2 retrospective combining both parts of my Retrospective/Review for Phantasy Star II on the Sega Genesis into one video. This is one of my favorite JRPGs of the 16 bit era and a huge influence on me as a writer. Big thanks to Chris Lough for editing the original Tor.com article on which the transcript is based! Also, there are story SPOILERS in the video review! (Thanks also to Donutswordsman for the suggestion to combine the videos).

[@reboot3332]

That ending blew me away as a kid. I replayed it a dozen times to see if it really happened or if I missed something.

[@rockerteen8300]

Phantasy star 2 was so ahead of its time, the music was incredible and fit the game perfectly as well, if what I understand is true it was composed by a man nicknamed Bo, and the musician that teaches you the music skill was a way to showcase his work and pay tribute to his contribution.

[@Dr4wfox]

I have an odd love for Phantasy Star 2. I am Brazilian, and grew up with a gaming magazine previewing the Japanese launch of Phantasy Star IV. I found incredible, that there was a game that I could do things like I had seen in cartoons, like exploring towns and finding weapons. Then I found Phantasy Star 2 to rent, and better yet, it was in Portuguese-BR, a godsend to a kid like I was. I couldn't go very far, as the game keep erasing the save, but I knew that that was my favorite genre from there on. I still have the magazine, and all Phantasy Star cartridges.

[@mattmaddogwheaton4724]

Xenogears is still my favorite thing ever, but if it weren't for games like Phantasy Star, we honest wouldn't get Xenogears which would totally break my heart, big time.

[@TieryasXu]

I love Xenogears as well!

[@PabstOban]

Phantasy Star 2 is also my favorite RPG. This game blew my 13yo mind… the death of Nei wrecked me and the ending taught me such a valuable lesson that still stays with me.

[@cyanyde6724]

I was so upset when Phantasy Star switched to the PSO era. Nothing came close to Phantasy Star 2 and 4 for me.

[@mmpsp693]

One of the saddest games ever. So many tragic events.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

That's one of the reasons it's one of the greatly written games ever. Tragedy is the only important genre in literature and overall, it's what life and death is.

[@RyutaaKuzunoha]

Are you sure about that? I laughed my ass off when the first cutscene included someone blowing himself up. It's also one of the most labyrinthic game ever. Playing it with no guide and no emulator features was a real pain.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

@@RyutaaKuzunoha You are a fool, goodbye.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

​@@RyutaaKuzunoha Someone blowing himself up and for a good reason. Imagine it was real person or your son or father. "How funny". You damn ***.

[@HereticHydra]

@@RyutaaKuzunoha What's so funny about a guy killing himself after he realized that he just killed his daughter? Unlike most games from that era, it wasn't implied that he killed her. It showed her bleeding to death.

[@edfmed1080]

Honestly, while i didn't get the same feeling you did about PSII, i have to say, i admire your enthusiams and i agree with many things you say.

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you!

[@Mingodough]

Phantasy star 2 is the game that keeps ringing in my head. I played it first when I was starting to go to college that I would soon hate, on the sega genesis collection on switch. While I didn’t like my college life leading me to eventually drop out, I was playing phantasy star 1-4 for the first time during that time. Phantasy star 2 had so much atmosphere in its world it was more than enough to take me out of whatever I was going through and to this day sticks in my head constantly having me question certain things in life and society.

[@truejavier]

Great video! I always loved the ending to this game as it's one of the few endings where it ends on a high note. In that last shot with Rolf you know he was about to pull some ultimate attack. It's so awesome that you got to meet the director of this game!

[@gastervooodoooo]

It's hard to say, but Rieko Kadama passed away in 2022...

[@stefanswiss3760]

I do enjoy the uncompromising ending. No last minute solution to save everybody, but they fight anyway because it is the only thing that will give a future albeit dim one to the Motavians palmanians. It is like death note, the author had in mind to end the serie at the end of L. That would have been bold and probably would have end the serie at the highest point, at its climax

[@cid_xexyz]

I replay this every year or two. Hands down my favorite JRPG. There are so many good points you touched on as to why people that actually make it all the way through, love this game. 6:05 you can actually defeat NeiFirst with Nei. Getting her to max level is actually pretty easy if you play it on one of the Sega collections with a x2 speed option. You get a slightly different cutscene as well. Nei still dies as she is one half of the whole.

[@TieryasXu]

That's super cool to know. I still need to play the Sega Collections version!

[@chron151]

Did you ever do the Rolf\Eusis-only playthrough? Super grindy but once you get Megid at level 35 you can basically breeze through it as long as you know where everything is located.

[@TieryasXu]

@@chron151 That sounds like a fun challenge!

[@user-eb7zd7sp8c]

@@TieryasXu megadrive mini 2 version has a unique version that has been tweaked by M2, I think it is the best way nowadays to play PSII as there is a new mode you can play with faster walking speed but also fights are faster due to the triple flashes being removed and a couple of other things.

[@maddumass]

​@@chron151Eusis? Rolf is forced to adventure with Nei but it can't be her so who is the Eusis?

[@00Boogie]

I think one part of the story which really made Phantasy Star II ahead of its time was the player couldn't preserve the utopian civilization. The best that could be done was prevent total extinction and one day rebuild.

[@oodo2908]

Oh, did you know that Algol is a real star system? It's one eye of the Medusa in the Perseus constellation. It has at least two suns and maybe a third. In all astrology it's considered the most cursed star. In the West, head of Medusa. In the Middle East, head of the ghoul. In the East, star of corpses. Not sure if you knew all of that already, but thought I'd leave a comment, just in case.

[@TieryasXu]

Very cool!

[@oodo2908]

@@TieryasXu Yes! You don't happen to understand Japanese, do you? Why so many Spanish words? 'Mota' means 'speck'. 'Paseo' means the noun 'walk'. 'Palma' means 'palm'. 'Arima' means 'very close'. 'Nido' means 'nest'. There's a lot of Spanish words, in the English translation at least.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

Yes this was done deliberately by game creators. Also it's programming language.

[@oodo2908]

@@TrueNeutralEvGenius Interesting, they also referred to the programming language. Sounds much cooler than FORTRAN, hahaha! Any idea about the Spanish words? Like 'Paseo' is a great name for a city. It actually makes sense, doesn't seem random.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

​@@oodo2908 I remember I've read a lot about it, including all that, I've researched the creation and development of this game thoroughly for years and decades, wanted to make my own huge review, collected materials, that it was deliberate choice as well for some reasons, but can't remind myself what exactly it was at the moment, now I mean. (Sorry for my not perfect english, it's not my native, learned it by myself over the decades). I'm not in my best condition atm, maybe I'll write you later, especially if I'll find the materials, maybe I'll send the links to materials which I'll upload. Till next possible times. All the best.

[@saturnexplorers]

Unfortunately I didn't get to play the series when I was young. But I played it a few years back on the Saturn collection and was really impressed by how ambitious they were. A shame Sega ceased development of the classic JRPG single player main line series.

[@HashiriyaZ]

I love Phantasy Star 2! The story, the style, and the synth soundtrack was a great combination. I still have my original copy, with Hint book, and map. Your review was excellent. So much nostalgia!

[@Johnamekin]

In an interview going to more than 10 years ago, series co-creator Rieko Kodama said she had a vision for Phantasy Star V which would pit the heroes in the role of the darkness fighting against the light. One thing I very very much liked about the PS games was that even though both sides are portrayed as absolute, there are hints that one needs the other to really make the universe thrive. Its not a unique concept but for an early video game narrative it was quite a fresh take. Sadly she passed away recently and we might never see a PS:V.

[@0x44_]

Great review! I've always loved how 80s and 90s JRPGs merged Sci-Fi and high fantasy, and always wanted to go through these games, but am currently about halfway into part 1 still.

[@kevincoughlin3455]

This is a great video! And it really brings me back to the first time I played it. Honestly, the first of JRPG I ever played and the one that made me fall in love with the genre.

[@TieryasXu]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@DerekVasconi]

I love your reviews man. I was excited to see you release this one, as PS2 is one of my all time favs from my childhood. I remember endlessly battling Darkforce and not being able to beat it. And Nei's tragic death... wow! You can see where, um, Aerith's death had been conceived, or perhaps inspired by, with Nei's unbelievable perma-death. Like you, I was shocked that such a thing could actually happen in a game. I also really loved your simple but beautiful Ultima: Exodus review. That game is the very first RPG I ever played on my NES system... I got the game a few days after getting the NES for my 11th birthday. So many great memories are attached to that brutal slog of a game. Thank you for your reviews! I would love to see a review on Dragonquest 3 if you played it, or any of the Dragonquest games next!

[@TieryasXu]

Thanks so much! I love the Dragon Quest games (am eagerly awaiting the HD remake of DQ3) and will try to do one in the near future. But still got to finish this Phantasy Star 3 review

[@Kalamari24]

Phantsay Star and Ultima? Yeah you've earned my sub

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you!

[@jayrobitaille2402]

This is one of those games I have had since I was a kid and got stuck, but went back and completed as an adult. The best parts of this game are dungeon design and story. This game is a great cautionary tale about government running everything, up there with Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 because Mother Brain could easily be a stand-in for government.

[@civrev]

So dope that you have the hint book. I regret that I didn't hang on to it!

[@RPGFort]

Great synopsis. While PSIV is my overall favourite in the series, PSII's story and setting is just... some of the best sci-fi ever done in any medium.

[@Unquestionable]

My favorite of the series for a multitude of reasons. I love the others as well but this hit such an interesting blend of concepts and mechanics. That it came out at the dawn of the 16 bit generation and used that to it's fullest (given the time period of course) when it came to the graphics, sounds, and story telling. Still a lot of it was rooted very firmly in the standard almost obscure and needlessly difficult style of game play at the time. And that ending will stick with me forever for both the mystery and beauty of it.

[@TBoneTony]

I was able to play all 4 single player Phantasy Star games on Sonic and Sega Genesis/Mega Collection on PS3/XBox 360 generation of consoles. So I am thankful to have been able to get into the series at the right time. Save States are much needed especially with the original Master System Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star 2 on Genesis/Mega Drive. The Save System was always important to get right even on original hardware when they faced limitations.

[@JoeyZeedASMR]

Beautiful video! And a beautiful game. Very overlooked these days due to being one of the older PS titles and an early genesis title, but it's aged like a fine wine imo

[@nostartia]

Phantasy Star II was my first rpg. Played it shorty after I got a Sega Genesis and Sonic, coming from the NES and not having played anything like it before. It totally blew my mind. Really enjoyed your review, felt the same in many ways. Many people hate this game, and I get it, but I feel lucky to be able to have so much love for it despite all its flaws.

[@TieryasXu]

Agreed, coming after the NES, it was truly mind blowing.

[@toyoda701]

I used to hum Phantasy Star 1 and 2 music, some of the best ever in a game IMO.

[@falksi3182]

Fantastic vid. People really don't get just how amazing this game is/was. And they especially don't get how incredible it is in context with the 3rd entry too. I think you may have missed the significance of the 3rd game's entry though.

[@maddumass]

With only seeing just your title, I concur, good sir and gave a like.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

Is it a reupload? What changed, Peter? P.S. I guess you combined 2 parts into 1? Or something else was changed? Btw, still I think it's the greatest review on this masterpiece of a game ever made in realization and practiсe, not just in theory.

[@TieryasXu]

Yep! You got it. Someone suggested adding a version with both parts in them for ease of viewing. I also put in a bunch of minor fixes that I noticed and added a few minor scenes at the end of section 1. and thanks so much for that BTW. Very kind of you!

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

​@@TieryasXu I see, thanks! I still have those parts locally, they are that great, so I saved them on my HDs and back uped. I always wanted to make a huge review and thought about it for years and years, wrote some text, but after finding your review I thought you did such a great job that I stopped doing it, even though the wish is somehow still there, I have some to add. If you maybe remember my comments on those older videos (though my other channel was deleted). It was so obsessive, if you know what I mean. Especially with all that perfectionism and sublimation. Okay, rant is over. Anyway, all the best.

[@Androsynth75]

Yeah it’s incredibly memorable for when it came out. The fact that it’s so well remembered in spite of being absolutely RIDICULOUSLY and unfairly hard to the point of being actively not fun, shows just how good the story was for the time. Everyone remembers Aerith dying in FF VII, but Nei was the gut punch of my childhood. And it only got more bleak from there. It’s a shame the mechanics make it such a barrier to enjoyment nowadays. PS IV is far more playable and has a great story as well.

[@TieryasXu]

Yeah, Phantasy Star II was the first 16 bit era game I played and after only NES games, PS2 blew my mind. I think I had a similar feeling when I went from 16 bit to 32 bit with the PS1 and FF7 as that was my first PS1 game. Agreed, PSIV is more playable and has an amazing story, but PS2 will always have a special place!

[@Honest_Grifter]

An "Hd-2D" style remake of phantasy star 1-4 would be an absolute day one purchase from me, like "QUICK, TAKE MY MONEY!", lol. This series was my childhood... I had a notebook with hand drawn maps of all the dungeons I had explored. Great memories

[@HereticHydra]

They already sorta did that with the Sega Ages Phantasy Star games on the PS2. I own the Phantasy Star remake. The sprites are good, but overall the remakes were low budget crap & destroyed the dark & somber atmosphere of the original Master system game. With Rieko Kodama gone, the only way I see a good Phantasy Star remake being made is if hardcore fans did it, like with Sonic Mania & Streets of Rage 4. Modern Sega is always going to devote their classic (Non-Sonic) games to low budget hell.

[@stefanswiss3760]

​@@HereticHydraI agree with you, The blade runner/ late 80's anime atmosphere was completely forgotten in the generation 2 remake. I don't think I'd trust sega studio to recapture this dramatic tone as their writing now is plagued with exposition and over explaining. Seeing PSU and PSO2 they want to explain the main characters' feeling and do not really flesh out their world and that's something that I can't enjoy. I can't get attached to characters if they don't seem to inhabit their world

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

To this day, I constantly listen to the *brilliant* score of Phantasy Star 2. Granted, Luke's medley version is what I'm enjoying, but it's just about the most "spiritual successor" as one could get. Sure, the game was FAR too heavy on "everything looks the same" mazes and rushed story text, but for the year of its release, PhSt2 was phenomenal in so many ways, it NEARLY stands tall against PhSt4, which was obviously far better developed and had much more technology available to realize its full potential.

[@Sephiroth144]

HUH- literally just saw the OR PSII reviews you did 6/7 years back this week, and then this drops...

[@DezorianGuy]

Love the art style, setting, music, story. It just lacks character interaction, but that's somewhat a given for that time it got released. This one's always staying in my heart not just for nostalgia reasons. Thanks for covering this gem and keeping the memory alive. Also, didn't PSIV (that holy cave) mention something about the fate of the heroes of PSII?

[@TieryasXu]

thanks DezorianGuy!

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, I played this back in the day and really enjoyed it. And it has one of my all-time favorite Genesis OSTs. But in hindsight, I don't know how I had the patience to drag myself through it. The difficulty is just absurd - especially the later dungeons with their ridiculous layouts. I can't recommend it to anyone today unless they have incredible stamina for this sort of thing. I'd kill to get a real proper remake of this, which fleshes out the story while toning down the difficulty and dungeon design somewhat. (Ie, more extensive changes than in the "Gen 2" PS2 version.)

[@liquidsnake23]

Wait, I just watched a video on a game series I adore without thought, and find out it’s from the author of the usj trilogy? Oooooooo the goosebumps right now.

[@TieryasXu]

Thanks so much for watching! Obviously the Phantasy Star games were a huge inspiration for the books!

[@stefanswiss3760]

The choices they made for the story are so strong : clone lab, destroying palm, almost destroying dezolis, condemning motavia's people to an apocalypse. We can't help but being shooked by it. I love the world and i am not a fan of today's style of writing were they often over explain the world and the protagonist feeling. I think that this era was a sweet time as they might have made a less interesting story had they had all the rom space they wanted... (Looking at PSU, the dialogues were insufferable)

[@actionvestadventure]

Took me month to beat this game when i got it back in the day. My copy didn't come with the advertised hint book and there was no internet. Took a break at one point out of frustration then started making hand drawn maps to even get anywhere in those dang Dezo towers. Despite all that, i still like the game and i still need to sit down with the Generations 2 remake.

[@TieryasXu]

When I first played it, I borrowed it from a friend and also didn't have the hint book or internet. It took me forever to get through those Dezo towers too ha ha.

[@Insane-Howl-Cowl]

Beautiful review. Thank you!

[@TieryasXu]

thank you!

[@oodo2908]

We Phantasy Star lovers are a small bunch. You have to love details, world building, and style to the core. The translation is so bad. The RNG gets aggravating. The mazes require conscious memorization. The companions (except for Nei) don't have any in game story. There's really a lot of negatives to the game. But WE DON'T CARE! Hahaha! I imagine many of PS lovers also love the Mad Max series. It has that same attention to detail and world building that is left to be noticed. There's no exposition.

[@user-eb7zd7sp8c]

I agree with you but I think the games were very impactful and the core of the fan are still very dedicated to this day (I don't think many serie have that after so many years). I am sure that if the serie had been sold on a console with a bigger market share in Japan, we would still play solo phantasy star sequel to this day as ultimately it was Japan that was essential to the development and continuation of an RPG and the SMS and megadrive weren't as big as the consoles of nintendo

[@HereticHydra]

Your comparison to Mad Max is quite apt. In the original Mad Max trilogy, you gradually saw the world decay. It's a similar case with Phantasy Star were it started with a utopia ruled by a Tyrant in PS1 to an even more futuristic utopia governed by a computer ai, then after the aftermath of PS2, you see the exodus of PS3 and then in PS4 you saw people living in a complete wasteland due to the events of PS2. PS basically starts as Star Wars then ends as Mad Max 2.

[@HereticHydra]

@@user-eb7zd7sp8c Yeah it's a weird reality we live in. Phantasy Star was easily the 3rd most impactful Jrpg during its era but now in days it seems like that role has been replaced with Shin Megami Tensei & Persona. Ironically that's the reason why I moved from PS to SMT. They both have that sci fi horror theme that I loved from the original PS series.

[@oodo2908]

@@HereticHydra You know what, I just started a PS1 game after more than 20 years. I'd forgotten Paseo was in a desert. I just remembered Paseo was green in part 2. So your comment wouldn't have made sense to me last week! Your absolutely right. PS1 is like modern Australia. PS2 like Australia 2050. PS3 and IV are like Mad Max 2 - 5. Interestingly enough, women can be capable warriors in the Mad Max universe as well. And Max Miller doesn't over do them, making them crazy sexy. They're always pretty women like in Phantasy Star but not over the top like other fantasy settings. Are we doing a film to video game study? Hahahaha! Wow! I only watched Mad Max 5 the other week. And damn, it was awesome. The wasteland was fully fleshed out. We could understand how the wasteland economy worked. It showed how there was still and abundance of full-lifers with high octane blood until the events of Mad Max 4. In Mad Max 3 we see that there are very few half-lifers and if I remember right they were just kids. And of course in Mad Max 2 with Gibson, there are no half-lifers yet. The continuity of the Mad Max series is really damn incredible. You'd think it must come from books, but it didn't. Just look at the variety of villains! In part 2, fresh after the guzzoline wars, it's a giant bisexual homo-erotic gang. Which is in development in the modern world. In part 3 with more order and cities established people have returned to sexual normalcy. In part 4 and there isn't any sexuality cause most people are half-lifers. The villains dedicate themselves to Valhalla instead of procreation. Damn dude, I could write a paper on this, hahaha!

[@oodo2908]

@@user-eb7zd7sp8c You might be right. Nintendo was just too good at dirty business. They only offered awful contracts to 3rd party game companies to restrict them from working with anyone else. I imagine there was all kinds of dirty play. Would have been nice if the Phantasy Star scene got as big as the Final Fantasy scene. But I think you're right about system popularity. I think it really comes down to Nintendo's yakuza style of business limiting Sega.

[@TBoneTony]

Agreed that Phantasy Star 2 was a iconic game for character permanent-deaths, however due to the long grind of early game most wouldn't have pushed themselves that far. Phantasy Star 4 also had a tragic death of a main party member. So did Dragon Quest 5 and Final Fantasy 5 for those who had access to imported Japanese RPGs. So there have been many iconic character deaths before FF7, but considering the popularity of JRPGs exploded when FF7 released that would explain why Aerith had such an impact when she died.

[@Neozio]

Ahhh!! This series is where I got my username from way way back in the 1990's. This wonderful piece of software & damn Im getting chills listening to the wonderful music. Man I was hurt when NeiFirst was killed by Nei sacrifice & she was so powerful. GET THE STRATEGY GUIDE

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

>26.06.2018 TrueNeutral EvGenius Brilliant continuation. Bravo. The things I would partially disagree on are about anarcho-primitivists of Dezo and the final battle with Mother Brain. The utopia was a lie and illusion, like it is in the real world, while in fact it was and is and will be a dystopia. Chaos? There is nothing bad or wrong in chaos. Chaos is a true "order" of the Universe. Entropy remains. TieryasXu Thank you and good points! =)

[@Relugus]

It's very Aldous Huxley.

[@gastervooodoooo]

20:59 It's hard to say, but Rieko Kodama passed away in 2022... Before this happened I hope that team returned and make real Phantasy Star continuation...

[@TieryasXu]

I was very saddened by the news when I heard it. I wrote a tribute to her and all her work at IGN Japan and am still saddened to think about it...

[@jonothanthrace1530]

The character art in PS2 was amazing, and I'm still sad that they "updated" it for the Playstation 2 port.

[@AdamTheGameBoy]

I felt like this story lied below the surface, but the game really needs a remake to be fun and make sense.

[@actionvestadventure]

There is the Sega Ages Phantasy Star Generation 2 remake. I've yet to play though it all, but i does expand on the story.

[@HereticHydra]

@@actionvestadventure The remakes aren't any good. The only thing I like about it are the sprite work & the combat animations. The writing & music completely ruins the somber tone of the originals. The new writing just feels like fan fiction. With PS2 it's even worse because you can actually revive Nei but then has zero dialogue after she's reincarnated.

[@cliftonrobinson2043]

I honor Nei death by playing the Song: Lost not Found by Kalax and wish Phantasy Star Online New Genesis would honor her with this song as well I will always miss you NEI! 😭

[@evlinalw325]

Great vid!

[@x3nowildfir393]

Well said, a lot of people don’t look at this game as having a great story, they look at it for having the challenging dungeons and the grind heavy gameplay. This was the first RPG/JRPG I had ever played when I was 14/15 years old. When I hear the music especially the intro I can shut my eyes and remember going through it that first time, complete with Nei’s death and the challenge of grinding for a new area. This is one game I wish they would remake and not something that looks like it was made in RPG maker on the PS2.

[@TrueNeutralEvGenius]

You should look both and all ways thoroughly though. Seems like you don't understand. Remakes are always worse. And are not needed at all. I wish they would never remake of this flawed absolute masterpiece.

[@x3nowildfir393]

@@TrueNeutralEvGenius Good point, I have been wanting a good true Phantasy Star game for so long, not a remake like FF VII remake, keep it true to the original. Not a one on one remake either but not have a lot of filler like other remakes have. Also no Online stuff, I think that was okay as it's own game but the name Phantasy star shouldn't have been in the name. All 3 or 4 Phantasy Star stories in one, I for one thought the generations idea of Phantasy star 3 Generations of Doom is a good idea if implanted right and remakes of games can be just like movies, although rare with a lot of love it could be better than the original. It doesn't diminish the value and the love of the original, it can give a new generation the same feel that we had the first time we played it. Every so often I still play all of the original Phantasy Star games, yes even 3 with all its flaws. Phantasy Star series is in my top 5 RPG game series.

[@fantom0369]

The biggest thing that made me angry is finding out much much later well after I completed this that there is a way to revive Nei. You can have Shir steal Moon Dew and Star Mist as soon as you find her(this might take quite a few tries). That makes Nei's revival during the fight possible. Note: This works on the Original Mega Drive/ Genesis version of the game. I cannot say if it works on any of the remakes.

[@THEGREATMAX]

Monomates aren't a "techy" food. They're Caloriemate energybars lol

[@rushdawg-vg5ce]

Great video! This game is a 10/10 in most areas except for gameplay sadly. I can't think of another 16t-bit JRPG that could benefit more from a remake.

[@jakehughes5155]

Get a Nintendo switch plastic game protector thing for the hint book! It fits really well.

[@TieryasXu]

thanks for the suggestion! Will do!

[@ReinMixTape]

I've only gotten so far into it (near end of first planet story content), but I've enjoyed it so far. like PS on the Master System, it is a tad grindy, but I'll get to the end eventually. It definitely has a much darker story vibe from what I've seen compared to the original on the MS. I still need to find a copy of the tip/guide book too, as I only have box/game/manual/map.

[@wtfsamusidk7574]

I love mother brain

[@wpeniche]

To be fair to Ultima, it had Star fighters and you would travel to other planets 😅

[@alexrichard2447]

If you enjoyed Phantasy Star II's story, and I can only agree, let me recommend you the text-based adventures prequels to each character that were fortunately fantranslated. They are short but there's added depth there and I think you would enjoy that

[@TieryasXu]

Have been wanting to check those out. Thanks!

[@user-eb7zd7sp8c]

I would say some are well written and add something (Nei is one of them, I also like Kain and Hugh and Shir) some have a writing that makes no sense but I was happy when I completed every text adventure

[@neosildrake]

My first RPG video game. I have a very nostalgic liking for it. Very grindy and I was so happy then I finally got the visophone. It came right at the moment where I really needed it, because the backtracking, after teleporting to save in a town, would have become near unbearable. I know there is a remake, but that sadly never saw port to EU. PSIII was such a downer. It felt empty and unfinished and the combat and tech system was awfull. Luckily PSIV gave us that finale we wanted and needed. The macro system for combat was genious and the skill/tech combos were nice and gave battles a bit extra, making things less monotone. Imo, I would be happy if they would remake the whole series 1 to 4. Modern graphics, maybe voice acting, story extension, side quests and making the various endings make sense within each other. Especially 3 is such a missed opportunity.

[@japanimationman4442]

I have a deep love for this game, flaws and all. I am very curious where you got the info that Nei means ancient. I've thought about why it gets used for both her name and the equipment, and then gets used again in PS3. I would love to know more.

[@Mr3Machine]

Great stuff, new sub here!

[@JohnZyski]

Great video.

[@gochadc]

TO AVOID SPOILERS SKIP THE FOLLOWING PARTS OF THE VIDEO: From 4:08 skip to 7:05 From 10:05 skip to 20:27 This review itself is mostly the story of the game narrated with mayor spoilers. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want to play this game to get to experience the story by yourself then avoid the video or at least skip the parts mentioned.

[@TieryasXu]

Thanks for pointing these out! (and sorry for the spoilers!) Most of my videos are dives into game stories I like so I should definitely more prominently mention spoiler alerts.

[@Chris-dy9gw]

4 is also a solid title

[@luisvazquez5041]

I was always a Phantasy star kid, I remember when people were saying that ff7 was so bold and tragic for killing Aerith, I was like, man Ps2 already did that, plus they killed off an entire planet!!!

[@gilnelson3217]

You can kill neifirst with nei. The result of the fight doesn't change.

[@phillipmitchell2254]

Hell yeah new to me channel

[@masamune..]

It is an amazing game

[@JediMB]

Nei can solo Neifirst if she's strong enough (and/or you have enough heals). With that out of the way, personally I prefer the original Phantasy Star over the 2nd game. I might have liked 2 more if Nei was the protagonist instead of Rolf, but I'd still have to contend with the battle system and the dungeon design.

[@TieryasXu]

Do you have any tips on solo'ing Neifirst? I really tried hard to beat her but couldn't.

[@JediMB]

@@TieryasXu Nothing beyond the obvious: make her strong enough (level + gear) that she can tank a few hits before she needs to heal herself, a supply of trimates or whatever it was, and I guess your fingers crossed for good battle RNG. I googled to see if anyone else had done it and there's at least one video up on KZbin.

[@japanimationman4442]

@@TieryasXu If you want to up your chances, save scum her level ups. Stat gains in PS2 are partially random, so you can groom the characters into higher stats than normal. It's tedious, so you might want to only focus on what I call the power levels. Every character has a level multiple that they get super high stat bonuses on. I think Nei's is level 8 (and then 16, 24, 32, 40, 48) but it's been a while; you should check a guide to be sure. It's super cool to pull it off, and you get an alternate cutscene to go with it, though nothing in the overall story changes.

[@Maken-X]

God bless the Clone Lab Grandma.

[@roguerifter9724]

II is easily my least favorite of the core series. The dungeons sucked, it didn't have III's replay value. plus I preferred the story and most of the Characters from both I and IV.

[@espelhodasconstelacoes]

Awesome work man, God bless ya and Jesus loves ya! :D

[@deathscythe9158]

I hate how Sega never revisited Phantasy Star like this ever again. Instead they permanently turned the series into an MMO. It’s ok to do that, but also continue the mainline story driven games. Phantasy Star 5 will never come.

[@TieryasXu]

I def enjoyed the MMOs, but PS5 would be amazing. At the same time, 4 had such a perfect ending, I'm curious where they would take it!

[@deathscythe9158]

@@TieryasXu I enjoyed PS4 so much. It was truly an amazing RPG.

[@AbyssalManta]

Eh... I went through that era when I was a child/teen, and I have to say. The videogame plots back then couldn't survive the mildest scrutiny. It was all a muddled mess, and anything one sees in them - in my mind - is a bit of the "Face on Mars" phenomenon. I even wrote a summary of Phantasy Star's 2 plot some years ago, though I was a lot less charitable than you: Phantasy Star 2's plot in a nutshell: You are tasked with investigating why never before seen, aggressive lifeforms have started showing up everywhere in Mota. Your commander suspects Mother Brain, the AI overseeing everything in Mota, is involved. Blocking your way is a petty criminal with a short sword, which you, being a top government agent with ample backup, promptly and effortlessly apprehend... yeah, no. You go through hours of dungeons to find his daughter, and then, in one of gaming history's most baffling moments, watch as she rushes forward without removing her veil or telling her father who she is, only to get stabbed for failing to comply with his demands. After a bunch of unimportant fluff, you discover that Mother Brain, in its supreme wisdom and keen attunement to mankind's most profound desires, successfully created Catgirls... which some people promptly tried to murder (WTF????). One of the two prototypes escaped to Climatrol with a DNA databank and started syphoning energy away from Climate Control to make monsters. And then Rolf, realizing this creature is but 2 years old, and justifiedly scared and resentful, talks her down, resets Climatrol and becomes the father figure poor Neifirst never had. Congress then passes ordinances for better security on all infra-structure in Mota, as well as GMO rights. Yeah, just kidding! Nei - the second prototype Catgirl, in your party - fights Neifirst one on one while everyone cheers from the sidelines because... I dunno, they're mesmerized by the literal catfight? And then, even though Nei and Neifirst have completely separate bodies, with their own independent organs, Nei dies when Neifirst dies. Oh, and the moment Neifirst is off the consoles, Climatrol - which has been working without issue under the altered parameters for two years now - starts exploding. You have to wonder how Neifirst ever slept or took toilet breaks. You are now a wanted criminal, because nobody bought your story and they think you sabotaged Climatrol. And I'm tempted to believe you're an unreliable narrator and you actually did. Anyway, the clone labs who have brought Nei back a hundred times now, even as far as yesterday, now won't do it anymore. Because reasons. But who cares, you're a wanted criminal with very little to lose, and you have a Biology Expert in your party, so you just clock granny and have Hugh operate the machinery... yeah, no. In any case, if there's anything that could be established from this debacle, it's that Mother Brain is completely blameless. The monsters were created by the prototype catgirl. ...And so, upon reading your report, your commander decides that Mother Brain must die. Yeah, no agenda here, folks. So you spend several more days dungeoning while fighting the robot police (Now they have an entire army to keep security in these previously automated and abandoned buildings!), trying to clean your own mess, and eventually you're captured and... Palm explodes? Did they hurl a moon at it or something? I thought it was an orbital station... anyway, you finally meet this extremist cult hidden in the wilderness in Dezolis. They even have a charismatic and unfailing leader who lives in a cryo chamber and only wakes up every year or something. They also have it in for Mother Brain. And so, he instructs you to go fetch these weapons of legend, forgotten for millennia in decrepit buildings, invisible and inaccessible without an ancient artifact. They're called... *dramatic fanfare* the Nei Weapons. You fetch them all and the leader teleports you aboard some space station or ship, where you are to sabotage Mother Brain. You do, and then meet a bunch of Earthlings aboard the vessel. They explain that they left their homeworld, that technology is bad and nature is good, mmmkay? And when they stumbled on Algo, they decided that they wanted the system for themselves. So, their plan to conquer it was to ignore the most verdant, most fertile, most Earth-like planet, to build extensive terraforming infrastructure on Mota, along with Mother Brain, and... *dramatic fanfare* to just let the natives enjoy the utopia for... I don't know, decades? Centuries? While they chilled aboard their vessel. Even though I'm certain the natives would be more than glad and grateful to let them settle and coexist on the planet with them. And then one day they just wake up in a foul mood and decide to destroy the most useful planet in the system. That they want for themselves. I have to admit, I'm awed by the ingenuity of this script. This was Silent Hill 2 decades before Silent Hill 2. Unable to deal with his guilt and regret, the terrorist Rolf created this "Phantasy" in his head, this gloriously incoherent mess of a narrative in which he's the hero and everyone he murdered, directly and indirectly, is wrong and evil. Anyone who is paying any attention immediately realizes things couldn't have happened the way he's telling the story, and that's the brilliance of it. 10/10

[@opa-age]

I think Phantasy Star 2 spoiled me, I have not been able to really enjoy any JRPG since I played it, nothing else had a story as interesting or original, everything else is just the typical save-the-princess-and-fulfill-your-destiny-save-the-world crap.

[@flaviobertholdo8371]

I disagree. The first Phantasy Star is way ahead of its time and deserve to be praised more than Phantasy Star II. PSII is not a great game either, with many flaws and people mostly reminds about Nei terrible fate, althought that is not the main event for the serie... PSIII everyone knows is the worst game, while PS IV is another masterpiece, together with the first Phantasy Star. PS IV is what PSII should be.

[@TieryasXu]

I loved I and IV. IV is definitely a much better game overall and is much better balanced in terms of the need to grind. At the same time, II just will always have a special place in heart, esp as it was one of the first 16 bit games I played. I'll cover 3 at some point as I always loved the concept of the game (multigenerational battle against evil!)

[@analogmoz]

VI>II>I>III

[@flaviobertholdo8371]

@@analogmoz PS/PSIV > PSII > PSIII