I think it was
a Saturday morning when my mom dropped me at my friends place for the
day. At a point in my life when the only electronics in the household
were a television and old 1970s stereo, I was enthralled with the Sega
Master System my friend showed me and fell in love when he took out Road
Rash and dropped in Phantasy Star, by far the strangest game I had seen
up to that point. So, you can imagine the pleasure and open nostalgia I
have sitting down and playing through Phantasy Star Collection,
the re-release of the first three Phantasy Star games as one collection
on the GBA.
What drew me to the game in the first place was the not-so-complete
removal of the fantasy element -- this was no hack-n-slash D&D style
game; it is set in the future where bio-engineering is the in-thing,
there are three planets to explore, and everything feels sci-fi meets
anime-fantasy. It still retains that hack-n-slash feel, but in a sci-fi
way, with robots, etc., but there should be one thing noted and that
Phantasy Star was the prototype for the genre on the console.
The first in
the series will remind you of where the RPG came from. Youll see some
familiar things very much still prevalent in the genre, namely the
experience points system, the battle-system still resembles current
titles (even though they try to change it, it often boils down to the
same turn-based-battle-system), exploration of the world-map, something
weve recently lost, and the buying of more armor and weapons to get you
through the game. One thing that surprised me on my replay of the
original is that the game is still hard. At the beginning you pretty
much start out butt-naked as far as skills and weapons are concerned, so
youre forced to wander the few towns you find, collect a smidgeon of
information and explore the world-map gaining a sufficient level of
experience before youre ready to explore your first dungeon.
Probably my least favorite out of the collection is the second. For
some reason, this installment never really turned me on. I mean, yeah, I
played it because it was a Phantasy Star game, but the only amazing
thing about it was it seemed like an extension of the first, adding in
only a marginal amount of items, maybe completing the wish-list from the
first game. Granted, its much longer and a little better graphically,
but it really doesnt hold any water with me.
Out of all
three games, my favorite has to be the third, which takes you through
multiple generations of characters. Phantasy Star III: Generations of
Doom spans multiple worlds like its predecessors and adds in more
characters thatll join and leave your party. The battle system is still
turn-based, where at each point you assign a particular task to the
character to perform, i.e. magic, item, battle, or run. PSIIIs
exploration isnt as immersed in the dungeon crawl as the previous
games.
One complaint I have is wheres Phantasy Star IV? I mean, I remember
playing all of the first three, but I truly forgot about the fourth in
the series, which I never had a chance to play, yet which is considered
by many to have been one of the best RPGs for the Genesis.
All the games
here are your classic explore, find some items, battle some bosses type
of games, but if youre into the nostalgia or looking for a historical
perspective on the RPG, then I would recommend this cart; however, if
youre looking for something new, then the Phantasy Star Collection
wont hold up against more recent carts like Golden Sun on the GBA. The
graphics graduate from 8-bit to 16-bit and were impressive for the day,
but seem lacking now.
On a cost-to-play ratio, the Phantasy Star Collection comes through,
offering well over a hundred hours of game time. It also serves as a
reminder of where the RPG genre has come from and, really, how much the
RPG still resembles its roots. Ill never forget my first character I
saw on that television back in 1987, Noah, and thinking to myself, man
what a cheesy name.