Phantasy Star IV Retrospective Review

[@amyziegfeld6422]

Hi! I don't usually comment on KZbin videos, but I wanted to thank you for making this and your other Phantasy Star videos. I watched your PSII videos when you made them last year, and they inspired me to play PSII and the other Phantasy Star games on my Switch. In 2019, I went from someone who had played through zero Phantasy Stars to someone who has played through all of them, and I have your videos to thank for that! :-)

[@TieryasXu]

Hi Amy! Thanks for commenting and watching. Oh, I'm so happy you played the other Phantasy Star games and hope you enjoyed them! Cheers!

[@amyziegfeld6422]

@@TieryasXu I did! Mostly! I mean, I really enjoyed the AGES version of I, and II and IV were amazing. III... I could respect some of the ideas they put into it, and obviously making a game with branching paths multiplies the workload, so I can understand why it turned out unpolished. Still, it lacked the flavor and world-building that the other games in the series had, and really had the feeling of something rushed out the door. But overall, the experience of playing all the PS games was incredibly positive!

[@amyziegfeld6422]

@@TieryasXu I think what I liked best about IV was how satisfying it was? All the time I was playing the series, but particularly while I was playing IV, I kept asking myself "Why did Sega stop making these games? They're so well-made, and with such a unique setting." But when I got to the end I found myself feeling they made the right (or, at least, an understandable) call: IV just wraps everything up in such a satisfying way, revealing the origins of Dark Falz and all the recurring troubles of the Algol system, then having you confront and defeat their root cause. I feel like there's something to be said for telling a complete story, then stopping. (But, on the other hand, if Sega announced a relaunch of the classic Phantasy Star set in the Algol system, I definitely would be buying it day 1!)

[@TieryasXu]

@@amyziegfeld6422 Nice! And I hear you on 3. I'll go back and do a review of it one day. Thanks again! cheers =p

[@lightdrgn20]

I think we can all agree that the ost is one of the beat part of the game.

[@TieryasXu]

def love the ost!

[@neosildrake]

My mother loved the one in the Motavian village, the one that sounded like dogs barking.^^

[@ShaimingLong]

@@neosildrake Why not surprise her with a link to it? It's called Tonoe de Pon.

[@neosildrake]

@@ShaimingLong Unfortunately my mother died 2016.

[@ShaimingLong]

@@neosildrake I'm really sorry to hear that. At the least, you have the name if you want to listen to it to reminisce.

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

K. I'm only a couple hours into my first play through, but this game has been criminally underrated. Maybe I just wasn't expecting much, but so far I'm damn impressed.

[@etherealessence]

Start to finish its one of the best JRPGs of all time with one of the best OSTs on the Genesis

[@justusbowman]

Great video. You really love these old games, and it shows. I was worried you'd disappeared off the face of the Earth, but I see your Twitter is active. Thanks for your content. :)

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you so much and I also appreciate your concern! I've been busy working on a few big projects that I hope to be able to share soon. Cheers

[@NomadicDave2032]

I loved/love this game, I still mourn Alys to this day the story is incredible.

[@jacques4703]

After all the despair and destruction endured by Algonians, finally there was peace.

[@Trepidity]

I love your take on these games Peter. Don't stop.

[@evlinalw325]

Well said! Def in my upper echelon of favorite rpgs along with Chrono Trigger, Shining Force 1&2, FF: Tactics, Lunar 2 & Grandia 2!

[@TieryasXu]

all classics!

[@evlinalw325]

@@TieryasXu yeah I was lucky growing up when I did. Born in 82 so I got the best of the 80s and all the 90s when glory like this came out! Really fantastic video! Thank you so much and very cool of you to respond thanks for that too!

[@explosivehotdogs]

After having gone through II and III in earlier years I will never forget that feeling from the first sound of Field Motavia the day IV was released stateside. And the Dungeon Arrange 2 at Air Castle - they really nailed it which took the visual atmosphere to another level. Myself and my best childhood friend would do marathon night shifts jacked up on cheap coffee to get through it all.. when we finally got to Rykros it was so worth it. Thanks for this trip down memory lane !

[@newdgamer4118]

Love it! PS4 is my favorite game of all time. It was just a random rental from a mom 'n pop rental store, but it blew my kiddy socks off and after renting it 5 or 6 more times we finally bought it. I didn't even quite understand how to play RPGs, so it wasn't until 20ish hours in (and very little story progress, not that I minded,) that I found out the equipment I had been buying had to be equipped. Lol Phantasy Star is the only thing I've ever cared enough about to deep dive into fan fix communities. Fyi, there is still a phantasy star web ring, I checked earlier this year, a lot of links are broken but not all. I desperately wish Sega wouldn't exclusively focus on PSO. I know they'll probably never make another RPG due to costs, but even from a merch perspective they ignore the original series and that is just sad.

[@stefanswiss3760]

I feel the same. It is one thing I lobbied for strongly : keep PSO but have a solo RPG in the original serie's world. Also like you, I was hoping for merch or cameo of those games in other franchises and I am sad Sega never exploited that. Having been in Japan to Sega HQ and Sega attraction parc JOYPOLIS, I was sure I'd find merch for Shinobi, Alex kid,Segata Sanshiro, Phantasy Star and other... Believe me or not it was already hard to find Sonic merch (the only licence in JOYPOLIS, and not much choice...)

[@newdgamer4118]

@@stefanswiss3760 yeah 😒 I went to Joypolis in 2014 and had the same disappointment, I picked up a Sonic chocolates tin and Sonic wallet (Im not THAT big of a Sonic fan but I wanted something retro). There really isn't a ton of original PS merch, though there is a Phantasy Star anniversary mag from the 2010's that covers the whole Genesis/Megadrive series, its all in Japanese but it is still really nice.

[@stefanswiss3760]

@@newdgamer4118 I've only seen one merch on internet : a Nei figurine with a rather "meh" design. You can see her in this video from a guy who also made a qualitative video m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmelqXmIepZ5osk I am sure Sega is missing a good market by not making goodies.

[@Drew_McTygue]

This game is fantastic. The story is amazing and game made the player experience an expansive world that seemed endless. Thanks for making these retrospectives, i enjoyed reminiscing

[@Chad_Thundercock]

So... We're not talking about what happened to Alys?

[@THEeltfreak]

OMG this one is too short! A Wonderful perspective! You got me, I'm subscribed. I'd love to have a more detailed review... plot twists, character development, relations with PS prequels... You'd make these reviews better than movies.

[@l0stndamned]

Cool video. Ever noticed that Zio's outfit is very similar to that of one of the Earthling sprites on PS2

[@TieryasXu]

very interesting observation! Thanks!

[@chrisman2100]

Great retrospective! It’s a shame that PSIV was the final game in this style of RPG for the series.

[@TieryasXu]

thank you and yeah, would have loved more like it. At the same, IV was a perfect way to go out!

[@StardustCarbunkle]

Great video! One thing. When you say "Chaz a young bounty hunter being guided by the more experienced hunter Alis Landale." Alys in 4 is not Alis Landale. Her localized name is Alys Brangwin (JP name Lyra Brangwin). Anyways, always appreciate more people making vids about Phantasy Star!

[@faristhewanderer6571]

yea i was also confused alot too, localization team changed alot of stuff that got lost in translation

[@TieryasXu]

Good catch! I'm updating this in my updated review!

[@ViktarTheBarbarian]

I'm so glad the RPG vids are back! Fantastic vid!

[@TieryasXu]

thank you!

[@RunplaysinHD]

Check out the full story of Phantasy Star IV under 4 hours without random encounters on my channel in the Genesis playlist

[@rolflandale2565]

All the trilogy had anomolly of potential RL paradox truth of humanity and space, but ingame play style & rerun graphics art had compromise at P☆3 (play) & P☆4 (rendering to minc as P☆1 on graphics generation.) The best part for P☆4 was DRAMA.

[@Mingodough]

Woah I didn't know you wrote the article, I knew that the level of passion was brought by you, but never looked at who wrote it. Phantasy star forever man.

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you! And cool Mega Man 3 remix!

[@Mingodough]

@@TieryasXu Woah, thanks! It means a lot since you got me into phantasy star. Your retrospective on the second game is amazing. Keep up the good work!

[@davidkrammes396]

They need to make a phantasy star v!

[@MidnightBlackandVictoria]

Its a damn shame that Phantasy Star took such a wildly new direction. Just thinking of what would have been, if they had kept to the classic formula and gameplay but with modern technology? Such a missed opportunity.

[@raflaa3]

Hey, man! I'm from Brazil and i'd like to say that your fellings about the saga Phantasy Star it's the same as mine!!! I watched your video about PS2 and, despite i never concluded the game (i really tried, but the dungeons kkkkk ) i really love to watch every video regarding PS. You're videos are awesome!

[@RyanBlazeheart]

The brown haired girl of this game is unrelated to the Landale bloodline. Chaz is the true successor. Her name is Alys not Alis/Alisa.

[@patrickmcathey7081]

Sure little bit of grinding while showing a very early game boss while using END game tech's....... we all used NAZAN on that dragon right?

[@leebarbarossa3631]

Her name is Alys bragwin is landale is from ps1

[@leebarbarossa3631]

Alis landale

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you! Will update this in my updated retrospective.

[@RaineyDaysStudio]

Old video I know man, but your narrative style is great. Nothing puts me to sleep faster than the latest trend of these sad mopey boys solemnly talking about nostalgic games with fake tears in their eyes. Give me some excitement! Thanks again.

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you!

[@christopherchilton1955]

Great retrospective! Phantasy Star is my favorite classic series. And, because of your love for it, which is rare, I just bought United States of Japan on Audible. Plan to listen to it whenever I can!

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you so much! I hope you liked it (sorry I'm late in responding)

[@faristhewanderer6571]

thank you for reviewing this game and the impact and style it had!

[@Lwilibert]

I HATE how i don´t know what each spell does by name or description. i really hate it to the point where I`m consering dropping it on my first ever playthrough. I also hate the amount of spoilers and story details, wouldn`t even call it a review, its just a revisit.

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

Great job on PS2 & 4. Subscribed!

[@Clandestinemonkey]

his mentor is not Alis Landale...

[@rockblaze477]

Without having a Genesis, what is the best way to play this game?

[@forren2955]

You can purchase it on steam for like $1 or download the phantasy star classic collection on mobile which contains Phantasy star 2-4

[@rockblaze477]

@@forren2955 Thank you very much!

[@marcelmoreau2733]

The grapes and most sadly underrated game of its generation and possibly of all time. Actually deserved to have a continuing series of this story not the mess that the Fantasy Star online universe has become especially since it's not available in North America

[@mmpsp693]

Lovely video, 4 is a classic!

[@TieryasXu]

Thank you!

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

I have kind of a weird question. I was hoping to buy the original players guide, the lowest price I saw from google was $450.00, and others were over $1000. Normally I'd assume it was a typo or attempt to draw attention to the listing, but it was multiple sites and looked genuine. Anyway it's driving me crazy, are they really that valuable, or am I missing something? Also, great vid. I Just started PS4, first one from the series I've ever played. Only been an hour and I'm shocked at what the Genesis could do.

[@TieryasXu]

I've never seen the player's guide so I'm sorry I can't be of more help there. But thanks for watching the video!

[@martinhowells6848]

You might want to check out phantasy star cave on Facebook

[@wesleyg4386]

Ended well with 4.

[@PhiloGant]

Alis Landale? She’s dead.

[@melvinhoward7308]

Still making videos?

[@TieryasXu]

sometimes but have been focused on my new book release =p

[@melvinhoward7308]

TieryasXu oh sweet, where can i find it once it’s finished?

[@melvinhoward7308]

TieryasXu oh. Its already out! Ill get it right away

[@TieryasXu]

@@melvinhoward7308 oh thank you! I hope you enjoy it!

[@SanzoMune]

I love the game so much though I do wish youd have avoided spoiling Alys's death for people who may have stumbled onto the review because of how impactful it was.

[@maelstromexceptions5984]

If you carefully investigate the actual storyline of all 4, you will see PS3 was the final and not 4, those of you who don't believe me, might want to really do very hard investigation into this.

[@stefanswiss3760]

Depending on the version PSIII is taking place at the same time PSIV does or 1000 years later You can check www.pscave.com/other/timeline.shtml Also having a consistent universe for PSI II IV and maybe III is kind of a miracle considering they were only given 6 months to make PSII and they were also rushed for the III. I mean here that they didn't have time to think everything through (like in dragon quest). I believe the only time they did was for the IV ep and it shows.

[@DragoonsCrackedOutAccount]

Hi! Thanks for reviewing this game, I usually don’t see people reviewing games like phantasy star and it’s kinda sad, but I have a question, How do you feel about Phantasy Star III? Personally I hated it, and this (Phantasy Star IV) one was my favorite

[@wesleyg4386]

Most say the same.

[@TieryasXu]

Thanks so much! Sorry for the late response. Just did a retrospective on it with my thoughts! (took me long enough, ha ha)

[@perfectblue8443]

My favorite of the 4 games

[@etherealessence]

Easily one of the best JRPGs of all time. And I'm not just saying that cuz it was the first one I really played, not at all. Nope. Completely objective >.>

[@neosildrake]

Yep, love this game. The Phantasy Star Series is right next to the Shining Force series for SegaMD/Genesis in my favorite games to these systems. ... .. . I am a bit miffed that PSIII is kind of crappy in coparision. The multi generations endings is nice, but the whole game feels rushed and unfinished for anything after first generation Rhys, with Ayns and Seans path probably being the best fleshed out, yet they still feel so underwhealming and unfinished in their execution, from characters to towns to npcs. Not to mention the, imo, bad tech system. In general I found tech, except for heal and party support techs in PSIII very much useless.