RPGFan

WWW RPGFan
Games
News
Reviews
Previews
Pictures
Release Dates
Interaction
Fan Art
Message Boards
Music
Soundtracks
Other
Editorials
Features
Staff
Contact Us

Donate to RPGFan

Phantasy Star IV

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega
Reviewer: Jeremy Moore Released: 1994
Gameplay: 90% Control: N/A
Graphics: 99% Sound/Music: 81%
Story: 70% Overall: 85%


End of the Millenium.... sounded kind of final didn't it? Easily the best looking of the series just the most limited story.. although it answers tons of questions about the series. My least favorite of the 4 but still a darn good RPG.

The Graphics
Strong well done graphics beautifully colored and detailed, with nice animation in all aspects of the game. Colorful lands, towns and enemies made PS4 very easy on the eyes. Still PS1's graphics are more moody and did more with the technology available. Graphics-99%

Music
The music was lively and upbeat but seemed a little out of place at certain times in the game. The sound effects were however excellent and fit well into all the situations. Music-81%

Story
Wow.... very good at times.. and yet so weak at other times. It answered so many questions about the PS series almost all the "what happened when" questions were answered. The story was kind of weak however.... very early in the game you realize your fighting for the entire star system. It doesn't build up with smaller discovering events beforehand. The story's a mixed bag and you'd need to play it to see if you'll like it. It begins with the young hunter Chaz Ashley a descendent of Alis Landale (heroine of PS1) and his mentor Alys Brangwyn a accomplished hunter. You'll meet many character's who'll join you including Rune Walsh a descendent of Noah of PS1. The Ending is the least appealing of the series yet is still good. just not the wow factor of the others. Story-70%

Gameplay
PS4's gameplay was excellent with quick menus and a very well done combat system. The spell combos were awesome and gave you a lot of work to do to find them all. The nicest thing was the characters walked with more speed and that was less frustrating than the slow moving other titles. Gameplay 90%

Wrap up
While not my cup of tea, PS4 is a great RPG and you'll probably love it..I like how it tied up those loose ends however. Overall-84%

Quick synopsis...
OK well the timeline in phantasy star is a little confusing so heres a rundown...
PS1- Alis and Crew start it all
PS2-1000 years later Rolf and friends fight for Algo
PS3-1000 years after PS2 Rhys begins the adventure to defeat the piece of Dark Force that escaped Palma with them on the city ship. but 1000 years earlier the legends had Orakio and Laya fighting the Dark Force so a piece of the dark force was fighting there with them while the events of PS2 were ending. (confused yet?... good :)
PS4-1000 years after PS2 and during prince Rhys's journey in PS3... Chaz Ashley was in the Algo star system battling the other piece of the dark force.

Well there it is in a nut shell... hope this helps...

After writing the synopsis... the nostalgia builds... PS4 final score...85% (gave it one more point for Nostalgia) :)

Jeremy
Moore

Very nice graphics for a Genesis game and surprisingly colorful.

Tons of static anime pics are used to give it a more epic feel in the dialogue sequences.







© 1999-2007 RPGFan - Legal - Privacy Policy - Advertising Info