Web site:
Category: Games
Sub-Category: RPG
Platform: Sega Mega System/Mega Drive/Saturn, Nintendo Game Boy Advance/Switch, PlayStation 2
License: Proprietary
Interface: GUI
Wikipedia: Phantasy Star
First release: December 20, 1987
Phantasy Star (Japanese: ファンタシースター, Fantashī Sutā) – on the Sega Master System was one of the first role-playing games to be released for a game console in Western countries (e.g. in the USA and many European countries).
At the end of the 1980s, Sega competed with Square (Final Fantasy). Phantasy Star 1 offered graphics that were outstanding for the time.
Phantasy Star I to IV were released on the Master System successor Sega Mega Drive, and a very successful “MMORPG” spin-off called Phantasy Star Online was released for the Dreamcast game console in 2001. In 2006, another online title in the Phantasy Star series was released: Phantasy Star Universe.
In contrast to many other role-playing game series, Phantasy Star has a story arc spanning several parts, also known as the “Phantasy Star Trilogy”, which consists of parts 1, 2 and 4. Each part tells the story of the Algol solar system, its planets and inhabitants, 1000 years apart.
Phantasy Star IV was actually supposed to be the third part, but due to extensive changes to the game mechanics during development, development was delayed to such an extent that a separate team from Sega developed Phantasy Star III. This is also very different from the previous parts and has only a slight connection to Phantasy Star II. Nevertheless, Phantasy Star III – Generations of Doom is an indirect precursor to Phantasy Star Online.
