Phantasy Star - Sega's Definitive 8-bit JRPG / MY LIFE IN GAMING

[@Gladson]

Phantasy Star is one of my favorite games and indeed very important. I live in Brazil, back then we could only play games in english since boxarts were the only part translated when the games were released here. For most of the games it wasn't a problem, but for RPGs (with a lot of text) it was very difficult for kids who usually don't know english yet. The brazilian Sega representative, however, did an incredible and amazing job by releasing a fully translated to portuguese version. Wow, that was something never seen before, in-game text translated to our language. Thanks to that, kids could fully enjoy and understand the game, and I bet that it was the main reason a lot of people here started to like RPGs. This game was very important for brazilian players in general. I still have my complete translated copy here, will never sell it.

[@zulium]

I just turned 35 and as a life long JRPG lover, the Phatasy Star series was one I never really got into as I grew up with Nintendo systems then Playstation. I just played and completed the first game in the series and oh man this game was so damn good. It still holds up so well to this day. The story telling, graphics, gameplay and dungeons are all so well done, I couldn't believe this game came out just 1 year after Final Fantasy 1. Loved it to bits and I can't wait to dive into PSII and the rest of the games!

[@HappyConsoleGamer]

I gotta play this game one day!

[@smoothness69]

It's available on the Nintendo Switch!

[@mauricesavaari]

Amazing classic. Star Wars meets FinalFantasy RPG adventure. This game is so nostalgic for video games years when their was absolutely nothing like it. Thanks to you and many others, this game continues to be remembered and honored for its contribution it made to gaming and to many of our lives..

[@pferreira1983]

Hey Nerdrotic! 😁

[@mbertolijr]

@@smoothness69 I’m playing through it right now on the Switch and it’s great!

[@carlkamuti]

🤣🤣

[@jbfulgencio]

My first time with Phantasy Star was when I rented an English copy of it (I didn't knew English at the time). It was the weirdest game I have ever played. I died all the time and I didn't knew why. But it was somehow different from other games. It felt like a big challenge. When I heard that tectoy (Sega representative in Brazil) was about to release that game in Portuguese, it felt like finally I would understand it. On the release day, I didnt went to the school. I went to the store to buy the game. It didn't arrived. Then, I waited for about six hours until it arrived to the store. I bought it and started playing. I didn't went to school on the next day either. I explained to my mother and she understood (I was a good student, so she was not so upset about missing those days). I lunched in front of the TV and I only stopped when I had to sleep. I did weird drawings into the paper that represented the maps for the difficult tunnels and towers. Everything was so clear to me now. After 4 long days and nights, I defeated Darkfals. It was not a game anymore, it was a close to real adventure. And I had overcome it. It was one of the happiest days of my life for sure. It is, by far, the most important game of my life. It changed the way I saw video games and the way I saw technology itself.

[@cwoanthony]

I had the exact same experience, only I had to start from scratch 3 times! The first was just as you experienced. I played it for a day, but because I was not progressing fluidly, I put it away. Then, months later, I took it out of the drawer and tried again. I got hooked, only this time I fell into a trap which landed me in a looping dungeon on Dezoris after I was already 70% through the game. Because I had stretched my resources thin (no magic and no escape pipe) and I had just the one save, I was stuck, confirmed by Sega's 1-800 number I actually had to start over! Eventually on the third try, I beat the game and have loved it ever since....

[@Walkeranz]

Playing the flute escapes from a dungeon, it casts exit.

[@cwoanthony]

Terminusest only I didn’t have it at the time. This was a non-linear game to some extent. No internet or detailed maps decades later. It really happened and pissed me off because that style of ‘play till you have to leave the dungeon ‘ worked. In phantasy star, even with minimal health and no magic, you could still make it back to town and avoid enemies by taking 1 step at a time; up until the multiple traps on dezoris. I read years later there were other ways to ‘break’ the game but I don’t recall my particular experience being mentioned.

[@20yearoldscotch]

That was the best review I have ever seen on this game. I was almost exactly my experience to the tee!!

[@mylifeingaming]

Retro Sega [Coury] Amazing when we can connect and relate to people in this way, right? A hugely influential game, not only on the genre as a whole, but on those people who played it.

[@retromegabitsegadude]

My first experience with Phantasy Star was when it was new. I was at a friends house the day he got it and we played for hours swapping the joystick back and forth taking turns grinding for XP. I asked my Mom to get it for me and I must have seemed pretty frantic because she did. I never gave that game a rest until I was got stuck trying to find the end boss. Then after what felt like months later someone told me about a secret door. I searched not really believe and then I found that son of a bee!! Phantasy Star is definitely my most important game.

[@mylifeingaming]

Retro Megabit [Coury] Loved this! Its amazing how similar our experiences were. Though obviously you saw the brilliance of it much quicker than I did. That last door was crazy - such a awful move by the developers. You'd never even know how to find it it wasn't for help. I can't even imagine finding it on your own. Would that even be possible? I wasn't able to without help from a hint packet I got from 1-800-USA-SEGA.

[@retromegabitsegadude]

***** I use to use the magic 'chat' all the time. It didn't feel very useful but I remember thinking that it must be there for a reason. And of course I often heard the Motavian Farmers saying something about hidden doors. This clue was too subtle for me. I did not know you had to turn and face a wall to see if there was a hidden door there. I was surprised to hear you did not like the Sega Ages 2500 remake of PS1. Your comment about it feeling a bit like a flash game was fair but I still really enjoyed the game. I got stuck too many times because I didn't speak to the correct NPC at the right time but aside from that I loved everything. The original Phantasy Star is still a very fun game and I really enjoyed your video. I'm looking forward to your take on Part 2!

[@darkwillow57]

I had the same issue with trying to find the final boss. You are right that the mechanic of having to turn towards the wall was really unfair and out of place. It would be one thing if you had to face the wall to find doors earlier in the game. I didn't even know it was a thing you could do. Every other door in the game was just straight ahead. And there's no real rhyme or reason it clue to the where that spot is. So like most people I called the Sega help line. The first and only time I've ever done that for a video game.

[@mikeclarke3990]

Definitely the game that made me a rpg lover, still play it to this day and the grinding never gets boring.

[@WallyTheLegend]

Just gotta say once again, I love the new intro! So catchy and memorable. I thought this came together really nicely and it was cool to see you explore a game that is so important to you. I know you've definitely given me ideas for when I decide to tackle something like this myself! And thanks again for having me on the show! Just glad I could help out in some way haha

[@MichaelBtheGameGenie]

This was excellent man and i am not just saying that because of my cameo....I am so pumped to go home and finally play Phantasy Star now....I have never really got into it before...grew up a NES kid and didn't get into RPGs until the PS era...anyways that is besides the point, this was seriously another great watch

[@mylifeingaming]

Thanks for the kind words and being a part of it! PS1 is a great game, head and shoulders above the earlier 8-bit RPGs for sure. It's a historic game along with Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Very much worth playing.

[@VZed]

Just as good as the first time i saw it. Great video and thanks for having me on!

[@rpgheaven]

Great Stuff, Guys, and well produced too. I also grew up with the Master System here over in Europe and still have my original Phantasy Star-copy, including a special german instrucktion booklet.

[@mylifeingaming]

Greg's RPG HeaveN [Coury] Thanks! I love my master system so much, and especially my original copy of Phantasy Star. Its in rough-ish shape, because I spent so much time poring over the manual - taking it to school with me and everything. Such a special game.

[@lorllc]

Awesome I was the 200th like! But your video made so much sense to me... I had no idea what an RPG was... Phantasy Star was so ahead of it's time and so different... You had to discover so much by yourself or with friends. IT WAS INSANELY expensive, I never owned my own cart... but I rented it SO many times that I guess I could have owned it... Groundbreaking game. Great Video

[@l.j.nguyen2586]

What a great video! That was amazing! I enjoyed it so much!

[@mauricesavaari]

Amazing classic. Star Wars meets FinalFantasy RPG adventure. This game is so nostalgic for video games years when their was absolutely nothing like it. Thanks to you and many others, this game continues to be remembered and honored for its contribution it made to gaming and to many of our lives..

[@skins4thewin]

By the way, the Japanese Re-Translation patch v2.0 by SMSPOWER is freaking AMAZING! The options it gives you at the title screen totally update the game for modern times & it's simply THE way to play the game now! I wish I could get a repro cart of this version to be honest!

[@zackschilling4376]

We had a Kay Bee at the local mall, and I clearly remember the games hanging up behind the counter, in fact whenever I see that classic white grid design of the Master System cases that is exactly what I think of. Now that mall is no longer standing but I ll always have the memories of that Kay Bee , and there was even an Aladdins Castle arcade 2 doors down there, RIP Woodmar Mall.

[@heather2844]

I know how you feel, all of it! RIP East Towne Mall

[@ChaseFace]

This has absolutely inspired me to play Phantasy Star on my 360. I also got discouraged from the first town, but now I wanna play it to the end. :)

[@vincentdummer4063]

Thanks for the video. It's my all time favorite videogame too. It was so good in every aspect. I am french and I have learned english while playing this game when I was a kid (the french/english dictionary always nearby). That was so much more motivating than learning it at school :-) Other masterpiece JRPGs like Grandia or Eternal Sonata still have a special place in my heart too.

[@TheShibbybear]

Phantasy Star holds a special place in my memories also as I too experienced the game in a similar fashion to yourself, Coury. I would rent Master System games each weekend from my local video store and this particular weekend, I rented Phantasy Star. It was my first contact with an RPG of any kind and although it was completely different from what I knew of games, I persevered long enough to discover a game which still resonates with me almost 30 years later!

[@marcmcshane]

when i was about 11 or so, friday and saturday nights were spent at my friend bill's house playing this, dragon warrior, final fantasy, and ultima avatar... obviously, they made a lasting impression on me. good vid!

[@ugoewulonu4936]

I stated playing this game on a Master System emulator last week and am loving it! I don’t know why but I can’t put it down and I just want to keep playing it. I can’t imagine how it must have seemed back in the 80’s. Thanks for the video.

[@silentfanatic]

It was really cool to hear about your experiences with this game. That sensation of sharing game tips and rumors with friends feels all but extinct these days, what with 24/7 exhaustive coverage of nearly every release that comes down the pike.

[@jacobynoctis4825]

Your introduction to this video really made me think. What is the most important video game to me? If i had to say it would have to be two of them both that would change my view on games in different ways. 1) Phantasy Star II- Such a large part of my childhood was spent playing this game on my sega genesis. It was so special because it really showed me gaves could tell you stories and have characters you could grow with, even level up to be the strongest. The game even taught me to read and as a child i had made maps by hand so i could get through dungeons. I just recently bought a genesis and Phantasy Star II and it is amazing how well this game holds up 2) Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 was by far a game that came to be at the right time and place in my life. I had moved when i started high school to a new city and i really struggled making friends. But Persona 3 filled a gap during this time in my life... it was like the video game was made for me.

[@RPGtourguide]

Great video! I missed out on the Phantasy Star series for the most part growing up. I don't think I got my first taste until the Online games. I have since gone back, thanks to games like the Sonic Genesis Collection, and played the earlier titles. It is a shame that this series doesn't get more attention.

[@KrunchyTheClown78]

I just started playing this game for the first time, and it is simply incredible!

[@dgmsstuff]

This game is amazing. I eventually played through it many times after my childhood. It's on my Top 5 for sure.

[@dreadlordnitsuga2]

Thank you for sharing this. The most important game in my life, the one that changed my thoughts on videogames, the one that turned me into a more than a casual player, was definitely Pokemon Red.

[@broznar1019]

Dragon Warrior. got it in a pack in game with nintendo power before I could even read. Played with my dad, helped me make sense of all the text, been Hooked on JRPG's ever since

[@danielnicholson6174]

Great video Coury I must have been around the same age when I picked this up here in Australia for $100 I didn't know anything about the game just liked the screen shots on the back cover, oh boy what a great choice it turned out to be!

[@RedRoninIX]

The most important game to me was A Link to the Past, and I didn't even play it until much later as a teenager. I watched my older brother play it. Even so, sharing his gaming experiences as a spectator was like following your idol throughout their career. It made me fall in love with video games.

[@ImportGamingFTW]

Another fantastic video! Great points, editing, and effects--thank you for all the effort you put in it. I was introduced to Phantasy Star with the fourth installment, so that one in particular is important to me in the series, but I certainly was impressed with the original, especially given the context of its release. I played the PS2 remake, and while it can't hold a candle to the original, I didn't think it was too bad. Plus, it was marketed as a budget game, so I didn't have very high expectations going in. I think for myself, Final Fantasy III/VI for the SNES is probably my most important game, since it was the first time I got that "butterflies in the stomach" feeling while playing a game, and I realized the power games could have in story telling and creating an experience that could surpass even the best of cinema.

[@mylifeingaming]

Thank you for the kind words - I have so much love for the series. I always see people say "Give us Phantasy Star V!" But the series ended so perfectly with IV, that I'm not sure if its for the best. I understand that the 2500 line was a budge, but it's disappointing that after all that time, they give the series a budget remake. I think I should have definitely kept my expectations in check, but I couldn't help it! Thanks again!

[@ImportGamingFTW]

***** I have to agree, the series ended just the way I would have wanted it to. Given the current gaming market, I would be more cautious than excited if I heard a true sequel was in the works...I'd hate for it to become something tailored for mobile gaming, where it seems the money is at. Actually, I see now where you're coming from with the disappointment of the remake, being a budget title and all...I'd be quite annoyed if my favorite RPG, Suikoden, was given the same treatment.

[@Rubaiin]

Love that first clip in the introbeing Lunar the Silver Star. :3

[@mylifeingaming]

Thanks so much! Lunar gets quite a bit more love in my Popful Mail video. A huge game for me.

[@streetfame83]

I loved lunar. it was the only Rpg i liked better then Final fantasy 3

[@Rubaiin]

***** I will have to watch that soon then :)

[@Rubaiin]

streetfame83 Yeah the Lunar games are fantastic! Well, save for Dragon Song. Magic School was worlds better, it's a shame that wasn't released in the US :/

[@ChesuMori]

Oh man, I feel exactly the same way about Phantasy Star.... and the music. In the first five minutes of turning it on, you can hear the title theme, the story intro theme, Camineet's theme, the dungeon theme (in the storage cellar north-east of Alis's house), and the battle theme just outside of town. In my opinion, these are five of the all-time greatest pieces of video game music. I've always been a Nintendo fan, but as a kid, Phantasy Star was easily my favorite game, and is why I love RPGs today. Watching this kinda makes me feel like popping Phantasy Star Collection into my GBA...

[@mylifeingaming]

Glad the video could have that kind of effect! Time to give the series a replay, right!?

[@bezerker99]

I never had a Sega Master System growing up. I was one of the Nintendo Entertainment System kids. But I always loved RPGs and wanted to play Phantasy Star. Last week I bought off the Nintendo Switch eShop the Sega ages Phantasy Star and I am in nostalgic heaven right now. This game is amazing and is blowing my mind all these years later. I enjoyed this video and your perspective on it. Great game!

[@gbarrancos1]

Similar story here, but on a different country (Brazil) I was 7 at the time and pretty much used to action/platform games. One day i bumped on Phantasy Star at a video rental shop near my house and brought it home for the weekend. Ended up the same way you did. Dying on almost every battle and barely leaving the Camineet-Scion-Parolit area. The mechanics of the whole thing was so overwhelming to the point i completely failed on figuring out on how to proceed. Worst, that dungeon music creeped me out and i would have nightmares of being continuously slain by Fishmen at the coast. Never rented it again, got a SNES a bit later and stayed away from anything that resembled a RPG for years. Never overcame the frustration of being incapable of moving forward on this game up until i managed to make SMS emulators work on my PC when i was 13. Gave it another try, moved forward like you did. Loved every bit of the game and suddenly my grudge with Video game RPGs became a passion, opening a whole world of gaming options beyond action games.

[@lylepup222]

Nice vid, I remember putting the game down after first playing it, only to see my older brother playing it days later. Made me pick it back up (since anything he was doing I wanted to do), and video games were never the same for me since then. Final Fantasy soon came after.

[@mylifeingaming]

Thank you! Sounds like we had a similar experience. Glad to hear that Phantasy Star was a "gateway" RPG for others. Really great game.

[@SageOwl]

I'd say Secret of Mana is both my most favorite and most important game. It is the one game that shines out the brightest in my memories from childhood and the one that I can always go back to and enjoy. It is truly a flawed experience due to it's extremely rough development cycle, but the experience you get out of it, especially if you play it multiplayer, is one of a kind. It made me adore the RPG genre, especially the action RPG subgenre. It is truly amazing, and it sucks that, much like Phantasy Star, the company behind it just simply doesn't care about it anymore. The only other game that comes to mind for being important is Xenogears. That game really REALLY opened my mind up to just how complex and deep storytelling in video games could be. Everything I had played up to that point, even Final Fantasy VII, did not even come anywhere close to the insane amount of intricacies that Xenogears' story had. So much was put into that game, and yet, much like Secret of Mana, it is an overall flawed experience. I remember being probably 11 or 12 when I first played through it and I read every single line of text in that game. Granted I didn't quite understand a quarter of it (and would only understand about half now), I still absolutely loved it as it spoke directly to the intellectual side of me. It sucks that the game ran out of money and that the vision Tetsuya Takahashi had for it never came to be, but at least we got the game in some kind of finished form, unlike the original product that was to be Secret of Mana. An honorable mention would also be Chrono Trigger, of course. That game is RPG perfection personified and an experience that I completely adore every time I play it. Nothing can replace those two games for me; their importance is eternal.

[@Zanforce]

at 5:44 where do you get that version of the Maze 3 from generations the Music you used?

[@Xodyak]

After watching your video, what Phantasy Star was to you was what Final Fantasy was for me, almost exactly. I'm currently collecting for the SMS, and would love to add PS (it's pretty much mandatory, and I wish I had gotten it sooner before SMS prices surprisingly went up). Great video.

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

The answer to both questions is Link's Awakening. DX is my favorite game but the original was the most important to me. It was the first RPG I fell in love with and the first time I felt like I was on an adventure. Since then I've been in love with Zelda and the biggest reason I play games is to embark on epic adventures.

[@ShinobiWan1]

This is similar to my experience with Phantasy Star, and games in general. Thank you for sharing, excellent video!

[@skins4thewin]

For me, the game that melded my gaming life undoubtedly has to be the original Dragon Warrior. It was my very first RPG I played as a kid and it absolutely blew my mind. I had never played anything else like it and was hopelessly addicted to it's gameplay style. Funny then that due to a broke ass kid not being able to afford the other Dragon Warriors or other SNES RPG's, I actually didn't play another RPG til Chrono Trigger came out and holy hell, that game blew my mind in ways I can't even describe. The game to my ears at the time was like listening to a live orchestra, it was simply amazing! I had never experienced a game with such a level of detail up until that time. So I would say both of those games remain as the two most important games of my life. That being said, there is one other game that absolutely blew my mind, but not in the way you'd expect, and that game is Phantasy Star. I actually didn't even know the Master System existed as a kid! Had no idea. I didn't learn of it's existence until much later in life, and that is when I finally first experienced Phantasy Star. It became apparent immediately that I had missed out on something truly special, and after playing it there was no doubt in my mind that if I had experienced this as a kid, it would have absolutely taken the top spot as not only the most important game of my life, but my favorite game of all time. I honestly wish I had played it right after playing Dragon Warrior, as it would have prepared me for the game and would have totally outdone it at the same time. The fact that it blew me away in this manner at such a later time in life after I had experienced so many other games is a true testament to what it is and what I had missed all those years ago. I would say that it is by far the best 8 Bit RPG ever conceived. As far as I am concerned it is absolute perfection for what an old school RPG should be.

[@Haeresiarchonte]

Wow. We just had the exact same experience of this game! I'd never played a RPG before, heck, I didn't even knew what it was... SMS was young, NES too, RPG's were a japanese thing, and not released in my country, so it was a first. I had no idea what it was but I was intrigued. And yeah, when the game started, I didn't knew what I was supposed to do. Add to that, that, at the time, I wasn't able to properly understand english. I hated this game, I tried to sell it, but wasn't able to, luckily. So I went back to it. Death by death I began to understood the principles of the game, the importance of speaking to people, getting clues, and trying to act accordingly to the clues given. Contrarily to you, I wasn't a kid when I played the game for the first time, I was already 19. Noone other than me played the game. There was no hotline to call. The french video game press was in its early beginnings and I had to wait for years to finally find a guide to Phantasy Star. At the time, I think I had finished it once already. I also bought a dictionary and took english lessons. And this experience, after some years, became one of the most defining game experience of my life. Since then, I've been hooked on RPG's. But the Phantasy Star tetralogy still is my favorite RPG series to this day. And each year, as a pilgrimage, I complete Phantasy Star, first of its name. I will not say that there wasn't one or two years I skipped the ritual, and it began some years after I bought the game too, but I can certainly say I've finished it more than 20 times. And I'm still in love with it. Because it contains such HUGE chunks of raw nostalgia.

[@pedroalmeida7153]

I love this episode. I also was blown away back then!!! That’s way I love RPG the most.

[@ricardoediza2690]

RIP Reiko Kodama, the true hero of the series

[@BDreGaming]

The original Legend of Zelda gold cartridge on NES was definitely my most important game. I didn't even need to think about it for more than a second. The combination of the open world exploration and the amazing booklet with those incredible illustrations. I was literally thinking about the game every waking moment

[@Danielpakuts]

Same here, best game I played in the 80s on SMS. We all played it and the sequels. Awesome storyline, cool characters.

[@clockworkrazor]

The game that turned me into a gamer for life is the Legend of Zelda on NES. It was my first RPG game and I remember how it felt like a grand Adventure. I still love the Zelda music and classic 8-bit graphics. BTW Phantasy Star 2 is my favorite of that series.

[@milesgreb3537]

Zelda isn't an RPG game mate, it is the definitive action adventure game.

[@dudinacas]

I only played and completed this game a couple of months ago, on the Switch. Its AGES mode is by far the best 8-bit RPG I've played so far, its aged surprisingly well and I loved exploring the overworlds and dungeons.

[@MrMooCow199]

At least you managed to find and kill DarkFalz. My brother and neighbor never figured out the secret doors when you turn to the side. We played for years...YEARS!!! until we were maximum level...and never finished the game. It wasn't until many years later when we dug up the old cartridge and continued our save spot that I decided to call the GamePro hotline who told us how to find him.

[@mariano170395]

Great video! For me Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube would be my most important game, I remember finishing it for the first time about 10 years ago, it was such an amazing experience for me. I apologize for my bad english.

[@opa-age]

This brought me to tears. Great job.

[@stevefulkerson4995]

I'm a little late on this video. I never had a mastersystem but I remember being super underwhelmed by the graphics of Dragon Warrior. But then I realized it was video game D&D and I was hooked. Good times.

[@RedArremer]

I still have my copy as well, although the answer to the question of most important for me was Legend of Zelda. Up to the point I first saw Zelda, I had only played older Atari consoles. Being able to explore and bomb holes in dungeon walls just absolutely blew my mind. I became a gaming fanatic ever since then, and I was always the first in my town to get the latest new system no matter what company released it. For Phantasy Star, I didn't get into the series until part II came out for the Genesis. I loved it so much that I bought the first game to play through. I can say looking back that it's hard for me to decide which I liked better. Part II was obviously newer with better graphics, but at the same time, I kind of felt the story was more engaging in the first one.

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

Answer 1: Star Control 2. Answer 2: I don’t know. If could either be Star Control 2 again, KSP, or maybe even Minecraft.

[@kirin347]

Dragon Warrior. The game that led me into rpg games, fantasy books, and AD&D.

[@skins4thewin]

I swear, I wish I could go back & tell my younger self about this game, as this would undoubtedly be my favorite game of all time had I played this as a kid! Instead I was left with the Dragon Warrior series, great in it's own right but pales in comparison to this! My entire life the OG Dragon Warrior had been my favorite game, but this... This game absolutely blows anything the DW games did on the NES straight out of the water! I only discovered this game maybe 6 or 7 years ago and absolutely fell in love with it, and I can't even imagine what my reaction would have been had I been able to play this back then...

[@ZeroTradeinValueProductions]

Killer video , just the spark I needed to start playing this game again,The sonic ultimate genesis collection is amazing in having all 4 Phantasy star's in it,.

[@CoffeePotato]

Favorite and most important are the same to me. Tactics Ogre on the PSP. It was my second game in the series, and at first, I haaated it for being different from the first one. Then for the weird balance. Over time, and over a decade of challenge runs later.... It's easily responsible for making me better at understanding ai and layered defense systems, as well as figuring out weird ways to constantly pull off the seemingly impossible. There's so, so, so much to that incredible game.

[@Cephichan]

I still haven't really played much of the older Phantasy Stars, PSO has always been my main love in the series, and you reminded me that one of the music tracks you used in this video was also used in PSO ep2 :3 Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst Soundtrack - VR Spaceship Part 2

[@ikagura]

This is on the Switch now

[@Epsilonsama]

I remember buying this on the cheap like almost 20 years ago when I started collecting for the SMS. I never played any of the Phantasy Star games so I had no prior experience with them. I was expecting something akin to Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy on the NES but instead was blown away by the graphics, the story presentation by cutscenes and the dungeons good lord the dungeons that was something incredible. I pretty much stop playing other games until I beat this one. Overall probably one of the best JRPGs of the 8bit era.

[@hattrickjmr]

I just watched this video for the first time. My friend and I had a very similar experience. Read all about the game and heard how awesome it was. Then, we see the first city and get our butts kicked over and over. We lost all faith. Then we read in Sega’s SMS magazine that you could get the pass you needed by asking 3 times! Then the game opened up and we were absolutely sold. My friend’s older brother could not crack the secret and declared the game unplayable. We blew his minds when we were FLYING on a starship to Motiva!

[@scoobtube5746]

Great video. We had almost the exact same experience playing Phantasy Star, right down to getting stuck at the 'Secrets' dialogue option in Scion and needing to call 1-800-USA-SEGA to get out of jams (I must've dialed that number a thousand times just to listen to recorded descriptions of upcoming releases, LOL). I was 14 at the time and it was 1989. The Sega Master System up to that point had been a huge disappointment. The games on the NES were simply better and more plentiful. Then I played Phantasy Star, and it blew every NES game I had ever played out of the water. It was really mind-blowing at the time. In the end, from start to finish, I recall it took me two weeks to beat, and that was playing every day for hours at a time. I also remember spending one entire evening - probably four or five hours - grinding against Werebats so I could buy both Alis and Odin their own sets of Diamond Armor very early in the game. The game became far less challenging after that. LOL.

[@Feelin_DanDy]

This is how I was with my first RPG, FFVII. Hated it at first because I didn't understand how to play RPG's. But then, I learned, and RPG's became my favorite genre.

[@ClydeLeeM]

So well crafted, that was really good.

[@mylifeingaming]

Thanks for the kind words. Doing this video after so many years was definitely a labor of love. Look for additional videos on the sequels coming soon!

[@RememberTheAGES]

For me, the most important game is a split between two. Breath of Fire IV is the very first video game I've ever purchased for myself and I had no idea what I was getting myself into with such a terrific game and Xenogears was just the opposite. I played the demo of Xenogears for months on end, enamored with everything it had to offer. What makes a game important to me is one I can never see myself departing with. These two are those games. Also want to say I really enjoyed your video. Very informative combined with some really cool effects made the video stand out. I am going to learn from this for my own videos.

[@mylifeingaming]

Thanks for the kind words. I definitely enjoyed your Alex Kidd video! That's another hugely influential game for me as a kid.

[@KenzGamesCollection]

Same here mate Phantasy Star is the most important game for me, it’s such an amazing game to play & now at its 30th anniversary it’s on the Nintendo Switch and I’m loving replaying this game again with new features. I also did a video on KZbin looking back at this game

[@IanRomanick]

After playing all the NES RPGs and a bit of Ultima IV on Apples at school, I saved money from my summer job to buy a Master System exclusively to play Phantasy Star. Totally worth it. The system is long gone, but I still have that game... with my notes scribbled in the margins of the manual. 😁

[@TheCoolDave]

OK, I was a kid of the 80's... back on those days, I MADE sure I had a NES and a SMS. I used them both as much as each other. I knew going into Phantasy Star what it was about, as I was a Ultima fan before. It's still in my 5 favorite games of all time and a very important one for me as well. I'm actually playing it right now, well the re-translation as you suggested in another video. Thanks for this, one of the greatest games of all time. As for the tip line, if you called them and talked to a person and said you were really stuck, they would MAIL you a cheat sheet... I have a bunch of them, including Phantasy Star

[@iechromefox]

The same happened to me but with Phantasy Star IV. End of Millennium is the most important game to me, but it took time to grew on me. I totally agree what you said about the remakes. They simply don't do justice to those titles; the artwork in Gen2 is simply horrendous.

[@mylifeingaming]

I have Gen2 as well, but haven't really played it beyond watching the intro (I got Gen 1 and 2 at the same time). I wish these remakes kept the 80's style artwork

[@skins4thewin]

Oh dude... My mind IMMEDIATELY goes to the original Dragon Warrior. That game came to mind instantly, and there isn't even a close 2nd. It is unequivocally THE most important game of my entire gaming life, bar none. It is THE game that made me fall in love with RPG's and had me playing them far more than any other genre for my entire lifespan. I am 38 now, and it's not even a question. HOWEVER!!! ... I did discover Phantasy Star about 6 or 7 years ago, and it absolutely blew my mind as if I had just been discovering RPG's for the first time. I absolutely know without question that if I had even known about this game as a kid, or even knew that the Master System even existed, that Phantasy Star would be my answer today. I can't even BEGIN to imagine what my reaction would have been had I been able to play this absolute masterpiece right after completing the first Dragon Warrior! I would have been like "Dragon what?"

[@ShadowArtist]

great video, fully agree with you on the Sega Ages remake. how about that obnoxious horn sound whenever you enter or exit a shop or house in the game?

[@RJinthematrix]

4:39 world of palma music playing in the background, one of the greatest from the system

[@skins4thewin]

Lol this was pretty much the exact same experience I had with my first RPG as a 5 year old kid, aka the original Dragon Warrior. I couldn't even figure out how to get out of the king's chamber at first, and I laughed the game off saying "This is dumb!" & walked away from the game. Picked it back up several months later, figured out how to get out of the chamber & the rest as they say, was history. I fell so freaking head over heels for the game that I can't even begin to describe it. I became absolutely OBSESSED with the game! I learned every single inch of it over many years, and played through it literally hundreds of times. I've been playing RPG's almost religiously ever since.

[@cireza_]

Fantastic game and major entry in the series. People tend to see what was lost from the first game, and focus on it, while so much was actually gained. Even if the 3D dungeons were impressive, they were extremely limited in terms of level-design. My favorite entry, followed by Phantasy Star IV.

[@lilcash17]

I bought Phantasy Star the day it was released on the Nintendo Switch based off of this video. I gotta say this is a solid game. Great playthrough... Thanks for the recommendation.

[@CStove]

Great video!! Youre good at editing. I subbed!

[@kzbxvz]

Let's get a classic rpg game as this from 1987/88 a big hug I first played it in 1990 and a new dimension in video game playing was suddenly born.

[@Zedekar9000]

Same thing happened to me with Phantasy Star Universe, I read about it in a magazine and I was fascinated by the screenshots, and when I bought it and tried it, I didn't know what shit to do, it had a tutorial and all, but I never played any kind of rpg at that time, so I left after I passed the first mission, cuz the game progressing felt kinda slow and I was a bit dizzy with so much tutorials, shops, room, palettes, equip, etc I was a bit dissapointed. But some months later, I tried it again (maybe after I learn about rpgs with FFXII) and this time I enjoyed it, knowing what an rpg is, and how huge this games are, I was fascinated by the amounts of weapons, photon arts, character stat combinations, monsters, map ranks, etc. The story may not be the best of all times, but it still got me going until the end, the replayability is infinite though, I keep playing it nowadays.

[@drunkensailor112]

For me it was shenmue. That game changed evetything. I finally understood that perfection is in the details. This accounts for everything in life.

[@tiagocosmos]

for me it's Final Fantasy V. it was the first jrpg i ever played and it changed how i thought about games. I really like playing for story, so jrpgs are my favorite genre because of the focus on story.

[@cheappyv5156]

08:31 what's this music FROM?? It's MAJESTIC!!

[@Haxiel]

I just finished the Nintendo Switch Sega Ages Phantasy Star last night (I dared myself to beat a 30 yr old JRPG and I did it. Wow!). Although my experience of the game is completely different to yours, I can understand what it meant to you (in my case and for different reasons, it was Metal Gear Solid). I'm inspired by your passion for this game.

[@janbonne]

I never played the game but wow that music is super nostalgic

[@skins4thewin]

LOL I had a similar experience with my first RPG ever, Dragon Warrior. I was VERY young when I first played it, maybe 5 or 6 at most. Me and some friends sat around a small color screen at my babysitters, trying to figure out what the heck this game was and how to even get out of the first room. After about 5 minutes of frustration, we all exclaimed "This game sucks!" and turned the game off. I eventually came back to it a couple years later on my own and was able to figure out how to get out of that first room with the King, and holy hell was I not prepared for what followed. What followed completely molded my entire gaming life from then on out. The game was like a drug for my mind, with every level up and weapon upgrade being like a dose of Percocet injected straight into my little kid brain. I literally got a high every time I would progress in the game in this way. This is the moment I became addicted to RPG's.

[@1sodom1]

Ну вот, наконец то нормальный обзор Phantasy Star. Спасибо чувак за твои воспоминания.

[@sideswipe1261]

Dude, I had as close to the identical experience the first time I played Phantasy Star! 1. Confusion! Where the sand worms from the commercial? 2. “Alis gained a level” - but everything looked the same! I got thwamped by Scorpions, even Sworm! Heading to thick grass was instant death! Even quicker if I made it to the Northern shore and fought (lost fast) to a Fishman! 3. I wanted to quit. This wasn’t my neighbor’s Mario or Contra! What am I doing? 4. I called SEGA. They had a *free* game tip line. I told the gal “I don’t know what I’m doing!” She said “No problem- I’m going to speed mail you a complete guide! (Minus dungeon maps, which was honestly the best omission ever made!). My brother and I have played it through at least 14-15 times each; half together using graph paper to map every step in dungeons! We made our own “Yellow Folder” (it’s what we call it) with every city, town, shop, item, price attack/defense value, best places to level-up! That game made us BOND! And once we got the hang of it, as I said, we played through so many times it’s triple-stamped in our brains! I hold our “Yellow Folder” for now; containing every hand-to-graph map and the rest. I was 9, he 11. We’re in our 40’s now and still ask “you still have the folder?” And reply “of course!”. It’s sacred! I’d rather have my car stolen! Best Game Ever!

[@sideswipe1261]

I’m soon ordering a custom black shirt that says: “Alis has died. Alis’ Hope cannot defeat the power of Lassic.”

[@sideswipe1261]

From screen shots! Blocky letters, the white rounded boarders and all! Also going to get a custom White Dragon and Darfalz shirts, pixel perfect. Yes, the most important game of my life!

[@sideswipe1261]

Maybe revisit your first video to show a bit more monsters attacking; ghouls/zombies with their faces pseudo dripping to the floor and being pulled back up! Dragon fire attacks! Amundsen! The real Robot Cop! Lassic! Who else freaked out when they first faced the Succubus? You CANNOT beat him! The horror! Until you wake up… I’d honestly pay for a collection of shirts with my favorite monsters! For me, and for the 1 of 1,000 people that go “Whoah! Dude! Killer shirt!” (It’s why my main hoodie is red with the Fullmetal Alchemist symbols in black. Few “get it”, but the ones that do go nuts with compliments and stories about that show (not “Brotherhood”- skip that. Watch the ORIGINAL!). Great video! It’s 6AM, I’m staring at my Master System, thinking of hooking it up for MORE Phantasy Star….

[@sowhodecidedthat3924]

I was the same but with Phantasy Star 2. But for me, the journey was longer as that game was much bigger. Also, the emotional rollercoaster of a main character loss midway through and ambiguous ending implying betrayal kept the game in my mind all the time constantly revisiting magazines, retro magazines and the internet for what happened afterwards and whether it was possible to stop a main character loss in the fight?

[@BrunoidGames]

Phantasy Star is my favorite game of all time, it's just perfect.

[@fordxbgtfalcon]

Without a doubt my all time favorite game. I also bought it a kaybee toys for $80. I was 16 at the time.

[@skins4thewin]

By the way, where is that Phantasy Star map shown in the video from? I simply MUST have that for my wall!

[@skins4thewin]

@fwiffocd1 I've looked & can't find anything like it on the web. I really wish MLIG would respond with where they got that from! It's amazing!

[@luckyrockmore2796]

The fine folks at the Sega tip line were kind enough to mail me a strategy guide consisting of typed out instructions and copies of hand drawn maps! Good times!

[@doctorwhounwokening7569]

Phantasy Star 1 is this way for me as well. It may even be near my favorite of all time. I play through it at least once a year.

[@sandwichsteen]

Love this video! We started out by borrowing phantasy star from a friend who I abused by taking it over for three weeks… then I bought my own and wouldn’t let my brother touch it for 6 weeks.

[@allenyates3469]

Dragon Warrior had such a massive impact on me that it's hard to express in a simple KZbin comment.

[@businessandpoliticsinswede3138]

This game is as great or greater a love affair for me than Zelda 1 and 2. It's seriously fantastic. The music is fantastic, the graphics, the story, just about everything!

[@BleachCowboy2016]

holy shit, I remember calling the sega tip line for this game also, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a 1 800 number! I got in trouble because the charges showed up on my parents' phone bill!

[@tbb033]

it was definitely an 800 number in the US, I called it to find the last boss of this very game!