How do I get into Phantasy Star? How are the battle systems?

The best Genesis one is Phantasy Star IV, Phantasy Star II is also great. You can get them on Steam I believe

If you don't like turn based try one of the many Phantasy Star Online based games

Phantasy Star IV is excellent and is on Steam for pretty cheap. You can even rip the rom with a tool to play it in a better emulator.

Best way to play these games is the Japan-only PS2 collection.
You can buy it on the Japanese PS store and play it on PS3. The games are in english.
1, 2 and 4 are exceptional but some aspects of them have aged poorly. They are notoriously slow and grindy. The collection allows you to tweak the experience gains as well as speed up the games. Play them in order and don't be afraid to use maps, that's how they're meant to be played. If 1 and 2 are too archaic for you, then just jump into 4. But you should give them a try.
3 is a weird spin-off made by a different team.

For me, 1 > 2 > 4 >>> 3

You can also try the original PSO on PC with Blue Burst. It's great but the lack of camera controls is a bit frustrating.
Phantasy Star Portable 2 on PSP is my favorite of the online games.

I could never get into the normal Phantasy Star games, I will eventually go back to do that. But I did love Phantasy Star Online, and Phantasy Star Universe. PSO 2 was something I've always wanted to come out in NA, but unfortunately I don't think that is going to happen.

I like 2 slightly better than 4 but it could be nostalgia. You can't go wrong with either one, 2 has a bit of a slower start and I think a higher overall difficulty.

**rereading your OP I would go with 4 as it has a bit more "what I am doing is right" feeling to it.

I can't comment on emulators.

I really miss back when I first played Phantasy Star II and had that lovely hint book it came with. That game blew me away and it was not easy in any way.

I never played the first and didn't enjoy III at all. For me it's II and then IV, the latter being very, very good as well. That's how I've told friends to play them over the years.

PSO Ep.I&II or Blue Burst is one of my favorite games of all time.

PSO Ep.III is an excellent strategy RPG


Phantasy Star Universe is honestly not worth buying anymore since you cannot play online and the storymode was pretty ass.

PSO2 is a neat little action game, but is the worst game in the series

I'd say start with 4 as it aged better in comparison to the other games. 1 is pretty old but I think it's playable once you kinda understand what the game wants out of you. 2... requires a lot of patience, and 3 is very different the rest of the series but is worth looking into after you dip your feet into the series.

My suggestion? I dunno how well it emulates if it's your only option, but Phantasy Star Complete Collection is probably the best way to go about playing those games as they do help with the grinding and the slog parts. It's a Japanese-only release and it is on JP PSN for PS3, but they do contain the English versions of those games.

Don't be afraid to save state or look up a guide either.

I've been playing 4 recently and can vouch that it is awesome. Like the height of 16 bit rpgs era its one of the greats to me.

I've played Phantasy Star Prtabke 2 on PSP and I'm not far into it but it's fun.

I REALLY want to play Blue Burst but it's not in English :/ I feel robbed on that one so want to play it so bad!!

PS 2 is old school and HARD but great. 3 is weird and the weakest of the 4 on Genesis but you should at least try it sometime.

There is a PS game on Nintendo DS i think but I never played it.

Stay away from Universe it sucks.

Battles: 4 is turn based with an addictive combo system where certain skills played in order make a new skill. Portable is action/rpg and is fairly deep and fun.

TL;DR - Play 4 and Portsble 2. Be mad and sad that we don't have Blue Burst :(

Cameron122 said:

The best Genesis one is Phantasy Star IV, Phantasy Star II is also great. You can get them on Steam I believe

If you don't like turn based try one of the many Phantasy Star Online based games

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First post nails it, Numero IV is really good! the earlier ones can be hard to get into.

Phantasy Star IV is IMO the best one, also the most accesible and similar to FF and such.

It's a sequel of 2 yeah but a pretty distant one and can be played alone.

PSO is pretty fun although the combat is a bit dated, it was kinda revolutionary in his era, and the level design and atmosphere is pretty amazing. PSO2 has better combat but worse level design and it's kind of an embarassment to look unless you're really into otaku stuff.

Mudo said:

I've been playing 4 recently and can vouch that it is awesome. Like the height of 16 bit rpgs era its one of the greats to me.

I've played Phantasy Star Prtabke 2 on PSP and I'm not far into it but it's fun.

I REALLY want to play Blue Burst but it's not in English :/ I feel robbed on that one so want to play it so bad!!

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Blue Burst is totally in english though. It had official english servers.

Mudo said:

TL;DR - Play 4 and Portsble 2. Be mad and sad that we don't have Blue Burst :(

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We had Blue Burst in English. The English release was my introduction to PSO, so I definitely remember.

There's a good private server called Ephinea that offers some nice QOL improvements, while keeping the core of PSO intact:
https://ephinea.pioneer2.net/

Cisce said:

We had Blue Burst in English. The English release was my introduction to PSO, so I definitely remember.

There's a good private server called Ephinea that offers some nice QOL improvements, while keeping the core of PSO intact:
https://ephinea.pioneer2.net/

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This reminds me, I used to play on Schtserv a long time back, are they still a good place to play, kinda wanna go back and see if my chars are still there.

Kadin said:

This reminds me, I used to play on Schtserv a long time back, are they still a good place to play, kinda wanna go back and see if my chars are still there.

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afaik they rebooted everything years ago, it's a shame too, as I have some fond memories of the server from over a decade ago.

I still have a photo of when I played TTF with SCHTHACK and Pobega back in 2006 (I was Ultima):

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Cisce said:

afaik they rebooted everything years ago, it's a shame too, as I have some fond memories of the server from over a decade ago.

I still have a photo of when I played TTF with SCHTHACK and Pobega over a decade ago (I was Ultima):

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I was just on the new site and yeah that's sad. I'm reading the forum post about when the site was reopened back in January of 2016? Sigh. Curious to see if Crono and some of the others are still around.

Ah well, from what I can tell there's only 11 players right now playing on the servers, so maybe I need to check out the one you linked with a fresh start.

Kadin said:

I was just on the new site and yeah that's sad. I'm reading the forum post about when the site was reopened back in January of 2016? Sigh. Curious to see if Crono and some of the others are still around.

Ah well, from what I can tell there's only 11 players right now playing on the servers, so maybe I need to check out the one you linked with a fresh start.

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From what I can tell, the Ultima server is more popular but I'm more of a fan of what Sodaboy is doing with Ephinea than what Ultima staff are doing. I feel that Ephinea is closer to the original PSOBB experience, with some nice QOL improvements.

On an unrelated note: I always kinda find it funny that my generic name on PSO (named after the game series) became the name of a server.

PSOBB even had a PC demo if I remember correctly.

Mudo said:

I've been playing 4 recently and can vouch that it is awesome. Like the height of 16 bit rpgs era its one of the greats to me.

I've played Phantasy Star Prtabke 2 on PSP and I'm not far into it but it's fun.

I REALLY want to play Blue Burst but it's not in English :/ I feel robbed on that one so want to play it so bad!!

PS 2 is old school and HARD but great. 3 is weird and the weakest of the 4 on Genesis but you should at least try it sometime.

There is a PS game on Nintendo DS i think but I never played it.

Stay away from Universe it sucks.

Battles: 4 is turn based with an addictive combo system where certain skills played in order make a new skill. Portable is action/rpg and is fairly deep and fun.

TL;DR - Play 4 and Portsble 2. Be mad and sad that we don't have Blue Burst :(

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Loved PSO on Dreamcast but never got into the original PS 1-4
PSO Episode 3 Card Revolution was different but not that great...actually used...wait for it...cards!
PSO Universe I couln't getinto in single player....seemed like a slog
The Phantasy Star for the DS is Phantasy Star Zero, which is actually good and you can play on the 2DS and 3DS.

Evil Calvin said:

Loved PSO on Dreamcast but never got into the original PS 1-4
PSO Episode 3 Card Revolution was different but not that great...actually used...wait for it...cards!
PSO Universe I couln't getinto in single player....seemed like a slog
The Phantasy Star for the DS is Phantasy Star Zero, which is actually good and you can play on the 2DS and 3DS.

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Ah that's the one thank you. I've always wanted to play this I'll have to try and find a used copy

O M G I did not know Blue Burst has been translated into English and had a server to play on. I am looking into this TONIGHT wow!!! Is the game great amI gonna love it? I'm so shocked and excited wow

Mudo said:

O M G I did not know Blue Burst has been translated into English and had a server to play on. I am looking into this TONIGHT wow!!! Is the game great amI gonna love it? I'm so shocked and excited wow

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I think so. PSO atmosphere is amazing.

The Master System and Genesis games are very precious to me. I hope you enjoy discovering them!

This December is the 30th anniversary of Phantasy Star I's Japanese release, I hope we get an anniversary thread.

Phantasy Star 4 can seriously give FF6 a run for it's money (I rank ps4 higher)
Phantasy Star 3 had some interesting ideas with it's generations system but presentation was boring.
Heard really good stuff about Phantasy Star 2, but have yet to play

Wish we could have a proper Phantasy star 5 instead of the online ones.

Cisce said:

afaik they rebooted everything years ago, it's a shame too, as I have some fond memories of the server from over a decade ago.

I still have a photo of when I played TTF with SCHTHACK and Pobega back in 2006 (I was Ultima):

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SCHTHACK and its mods absolutely butchered the game. Destroyed all the quests and their rewards. The game was basically farm/TTF only.

Ultima is a great server though. All the quests and whatnot are kept intact, hilariously OP weapons are kept managable.

To appreciate the unique sci-fi.X.fantasy setting you need to play at least ps 1 and read about the plot of 2 and play 4. PS4 is a genuinely great game. PS1 is as well, but only if you enjoy looking at historical heritage game design.

Chocobo115 said:

Phantasy Star 4 can seriously give FF6 a run for it's money (I rank ps4 higher)

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Agreed.

Wish we could have a proper Phantasy star 5 instead of the online ones.

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This too. Cosmic Star Heroine is the next best thing, at least.

Yeah, I played Phantasy Star 4 so late (360) and I was surprised how good it was. Like, game keeps getting better and better and never stops till the end.

just play PS4

unpopular opinion alert but the rest have aged poorly, or are at least a horrible starting point in 2017. if you dig PS4 then go nuts on whatever you want to play next (preferably PS2)

Gundam said:

I think I want to get into Phantasy Star. It seems pretty neat, but I've never played any of the games. I'm also very picky with my RPGs, specifically when it comes to combat. I abhor Lost Odyssey and Pokemon's battle system, specifically, but I dig stuff like KOTOR and basically any tactical RPGs. I can dig Paper Mario and The Stick of Truth, but I find that so many turn based RPG battle systems lack any sort of feedback of "Yes, what you're doing is right, and you know it because it feels right", but I'm willing to bite the bullet and try again.

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I love the Phantasy Star franchise, but based on your preferences, I'm not sure you'll like it. PS1 through PSIV are all turn-based RPG's. The best way to play them are probably through Steam or the Sega Genesis Collection on the PS3/360. All 4 games are available on the collection, but PS1 is an unlockable.

PSIV - This one has probably aged the best and is the best of the original franchise. It's a classic turn-based 16-bit RPG like the classic 16-bit Final Fantasy games but with a Sci-Fi setting.

PSII - This is probably my second favorite Phantasy Star and my first PS I played. The music is astounding and it did one of FFVII's scenes years before FFVII. It is hard as balls though, requires a lot of grinding and the dungeons are super confusing if you don't have a map. It's also turn-based.

PSIII - Many people consider this the black sheep of the Phantasy Star franchise, but I enjoyed it despite it's fault. It ditches the sci-fi setting for a fantasy setting and has an interesting marriage mechanic and generations mechanic that involves multiple protagonists and their wives/children and multiple branching paths/endings. Again it's turn based though.

PS1 - This is considered a classic and one of the earliest console RPGS. It's arguably the best looking 8-bit game. It's also hard as balls and requires a lot of grinding. Dungeons are also different in this in that they are all first-person dungeons, the old school ones people used to map using graph paper. There are maps available online.

So all four are great, but they are definitely of their time. Meaning they are hard and grind heavy. Maps and walkthroughs are all available online though if you want to try them.

PS4 is wonderful, but the battle system will require some outside reading. There are a lot of in-universe terms and some nuances like combo attacks that will seem pretty foreign.

PS2 and 1 are ok, but they're pretty archaic in comparison. 2's slow as fuck and the dungeons are ridiculous.

PSO is game of the century and people are still playing it. PSU is comedy, but I'd recommend it if you can get it cheap.

Bumping this since today's the 30th anniversary of the series.

GillianSeed79 said:

PS1 - This is considered a classic and one of the earliest console RPGS. It's arguably the best looking 8-bit game. It's also hard as balls and requires a lot of grinding. Dungeons are also different in this in that they are all first-person dungeons, the old school ones people used to map using graph paper. There are maps available online.

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The worst part of PS1's grinding is at the beginning. After that I think it has less than most old RPGs.

NeoZeedeater said:

Bumping this since today's the 30th anniversary of the series.

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30th anniversary? Damn, that makes me feel old. Phantasy Star is the reason I got a Power Base Converter for my Genesis back in the day. I really enjoyed all four of the original PS games (yes even 3) and had a blast playing PSO on the Dreamcast.

Phantasy Star IV is the best. It's a lot more modernized than the previous games since it cuts back on heavy grinding and dungeons are much more bearable. The grinding aspects and dungeons pretty much requiring a map of some sort make PS 1-3 hard to go back to nowadays.

I'm someone who is very critical of JRPGs and finds them mostly boring, especially purely turn-based ones, but I absolutely *adore* Phantasy Star IV, and think it's one of the best JRPGs of the 90s generation. I think it has a very engaging story and characters, and the universe is great. So is the music, which is some of the best the Mega Drive has to offer.
I disagree with the poster saying that the combat system needs outward reading, I thought it was very intuitive, and the spell names are no more confusing then "Firaga" and what have you in the later FF games. The only thing that the game fails to communicate are combo attacks and how to set them up, which is something you can beat the game without (albeit difficult!), but otherwise everything was pretty self-explanatory. The strongest point of the game is the macro mechanic which allows you to set up the actions of each of your characters so you can just use the macro instead of the unnecessary menuing to tell each character to attack or what have you.

Phantasy Star IV seems like the true classic in the series. I only played it a bit, but I liked what I saw and want to beat it someday.

I actually enjoyed the Xbox 360 game quite a bit. Nothing great, but enjoyable. I also enjoyed the PSP game for some time.

Never played the MMOs.

I picked up the PS3 Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, but I guess I need to avoid this? I heard the GBA version is one of the worst. How are they on the Wii? I could always hook up my Wii U as well.

So I guess the best way is to make a Japanese PSN account and download the PS2 classic? Why can't Sega just put this on the NA store since it's already in English?

Didn't know these were on Steam. Thanks thread creator and posters. Gonna nab PS IV soon and give it a whirl.

PS3 is... weird. It doesn't fall into the other games of the (main?) series, and it tries a few different things to a varying degree of success. It's also generation based, just as a heads up if you want to tackle it.
It's not bad, but I would argue that out of the whole series, it has aged the worst, simply because it falls flat on its face in various aspects.

Ephinea is the current best PSOBB server, if you want something close to vanilla but with many QOL improvements along with perks like holiday events. It's very well supported and has a great community.

Phantasy Star Universe PS2/ 360

Good singleplayer adventure, the battle system is not turn based and can be challenging at times. The best thing is the story of Ethan Waber though.

Play PS2 and then PS4. Those are the best in the series.

As many have said, 4 is the best and also most accessible. It's easy to get into and holds up well.

If you love it: 2 is very good but the grinding to level up and especially to outfit your party is intense. I ADORE the original, which is also a grindfest by modern standards but oh-so charming - if you are able to still appreciate 8-bit retro games, I would recommend that one after 4.

3 is more of a curiosity.

The best way to play these games is to buy the Phantasy Star Sega Ages collection on Playstation Network using a PS3 and play them that way. You'd have to buy the collection through the japanese shop, but it's the definitive ports of the game. They let you, for example, speed up the battles, decrease battle rate, change walking speed, change gold drop rate, etc. in each game individually to rebalance and remove grinding.

The collection includes the english translation of each of the games, too.

EDIT: Worth noting there are mods on the Steam Workshop for PS2 and PS4 that do similar things.

My only experience with PS was with PSO. I loved the hell out of PSO growing up and it continues to stab at me that there has been no love for the series and how the sequel never came here. Loved the idea of timing your attacks and now trying to spam while also making sure to pay attention to what's going on around you so that you don't get hit. Never really bothered with Humans or Newmans or spell casting and stayed with Casts.

Definitely would play the game again if the option was available.

Don't fuck around; play IV.

PSIV is one of my favorite RPGs (and games) of all time. If you play one, play that.

As much as I liked 4 I bounced off 2 pretty fast. And that was back when I had more patience for RPGs.

mas8705 said:

My only experience with PS was with PSO. I loved the hell out of PSO growing up and it continues to stab at me that there has been no love for the series and how the sequel never came here. Loved the idea of timing your attacks and now trying to spam while also making sure to pay attention to what's going on around you so that you don't get hit. Never really bothered with Humans or Newmans or spell casting and stayed with Casts.

Definitely would play the game again if the option was available.

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It is! https://ephinea.pioneer2.net

Reviving this thread to see if there's a way to play the original PS without digging out my PS3. There's no mobile version?

I wanted to play PS1 before purchasing the Genesis Collection and playing 2-4, but will I just have to give up on this? Don't really want to do emulation. Just can't believe it's not available on Vita or 3DS or Mobile.