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Topic: Do I need to play Phantasy Star 1 inorder to play Phantasy Star 4?

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Socar

I just beated 2 and I'm starting 3. So I wonder if the series needs to be played in an order like would I need to play the first game?

Problem is if I need to play the first game, I don't have a 360 or a PS3 or heck even a Dreamcast and Saturn to play the first. If I get the GBA one (which is too expensive!) chances are that the batteries will die out.

Guess I'm a sucker to not play the first one instead.....

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CanisWolfred

No. You'll miss some tiny references, but that's it.

"Do I need to play any long-running RPG series that spans multiple hardware in order starting from the first game?"
^ the answer to this is always no.

Edited on by CanisWolfred

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Wolfrun?

Eel

I don't think there's much continuity in the stories, besides the fact that one takes place after the other.

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CaviarMeths

CanisWolfred wrote:

"Do I need to play any long-running RPG series that spans multiple hardware in order starting from the first game?"
^ the answer to this is always no.

...I'm trying to think of exceptions to this and I really can't. I don't think there are any. There's Resident Evil, but that's not an RPG series. And it's sort of retroactively been fixed. 6 canon games are on Gamecube and the last 4 are on Steam.

Edit: Forgot that everything except Zero is on PS3, and Zero is coming in 2016.

Edited on by CaviarMeths

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CanisWolfred

Kindom Hearts is really the only exception, assuming "2003" can be considered old-school...and that one is a prime example of why every other one decided not to follow a continuous story.

Also, Suikoden technically takes place in order, but much like Phantasy Star, there's not much that really connects them that's important to know beforehand...

Edited on by CanisWolfred

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KingMike

Too expensive? The GBA cart is like $7 on amazon, but whatever.
However the GBA version likes to eat saves regardless. I lost a save at least twice. When it says "NOW SAVING DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR GBA", do not push buttons on the GBA. Do not even look at the GBA. Do not think about the GBA.
It's also on Wii VC (and so I assume Wii U in Wii Mode). I don't recall if it was released on PS2 in any of the many Sega compilations (except the JP-only Sega Ages).

KingMike

Socar

@KingMike: Yeah I guess the Wii U might be the only option...but since SEGA has ported this in several formats, you think that they could easily port this on Steam but they don't.....oh well.

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Socar

So I guess there's no other way besides praying to SEGA to port it to Steam for me......ghee, what a great way to disappoint your consumers SEGA.

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CanisWolfred

Artwark wrote:

So I guess there's no other way besides praying to SEGA to port it to Steam for me......ghee, what a great way to disappoint your consumers SEGA.

Or you could buy it off of any of the multitude of collections the Phantasy Star series is available on. Or you could buy it on VC. You don't have to buy the first game, you can skip straight to the 4th. Even the first isn't even worth playing unless you really like 8-bit RPGs like Dragon Quest and NES Final Fantasy and can put up with a ton of grinding, drawing your own maps, no story to give context to your actions, obscure stuff that would've stumped most pre-internet kids but now just feels trivial in the age of internet walkthroughs....if you don't want to put in the effort required to obtain it (which really isn't much at all, provided you have the available funds), then I can't really see why you'd want to put in that kind of effort just to play a game. I only enjoy it in a "take that, game! I'll still enjoy you, even though you clearly are doing everything in your power to stop me!" kinda way...

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CanisWolfred

CanisWolfred wrote:

Even the first isn't even worth playing unless you really like 8-bit RPGs like Dragon Quest and NES Final Fantasy and can put up with a ton of grinding, drawing your own maps, no story to give context to your actions, obscure stuff that would've stumped most pre-internet kids but now just feels trivial in the age of internet walkthroughs....if you don't want to put in the effort required to obtain it (which really isn't much at all, provided you have the available funds), then I can't really see why you'd want to put in that kind of effort just to play a game. I only enjoy it in a "take that, game! I'll still enjoy you, even though you clearly are doing everything in your power to stop me!" kinda way...

You know what? Screw it, that's dumb. If you honestly think you'd enjoy Phantasy Star 1, or at least know you enjoy certain games that others might consider a test of their patience, go for it. I still don't recommend avoiding the series just because you can't polay the first game - Phantasy Star 2-4 are actually big departures from the foundation the first game set, so it's not like it wouldn't be a fresh experience if you went back to it someday. Phantasy Star IV is much easier to get ahold of (it's on Steam), and I do highly recommend it if you enjoy old-school RPGs with impressive graphical achievements for its time, and a wealth of charm, exploration, and solid combat that makes the somewhat high encounter rate a little easier to sit through.

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RegalSin

Phantasy Star 1 = blah blah leader goes mad in search for power. Much art and story is borrowed from other fantasy/adult etc series of the time.

Phantasy Star 2 = the universe is at peace and monsters are being produced by the factories. Oh and that girl from the original game is sorta cloned with two halves. You already finished the game so you know more.

Phantasy Star 3 = Once again from the previous game. The monsters claim this woman as there leader. During this time people have returned to rural ways. I went all the way to the final level of this game. My computer was taken away from by an government raid.

Phantasy Star 4 = The heroine of the original game is once again reincarnated however she is not the champion. Basically the game is an prodigy of the original game, which completes the story. Think of this game as an Phantasy Star Excess.

Burning Rangers = Phantasy Star V. Fire physic creatures have appeared across the world leaving an trail. It is up to the burning RANGERS to stop the problem. This game is basically the building blocks of PSO. Which is why everything looks more the same. It was suppose to be online on the Saturn but was never.

Panzer Dragon 1 + 2 + RPG = Phantasy Star V. Basically an empire seeks an ancient power from it's former glorious days. This power is the Dragon. Light Dragon against Dark Dragon. You get the whole entire story. I say this is Phantasy Star as there are rumors of this game being the missing half of Burning Rangers. Reason why this was probably turned into an shooter. PDRPG also have many references to pop-culture as it was an early translated game alongside Lunar. This also draws back to the original PS game references.

Phantasy Star Online 1 + 2 Basically the same group of people from PS4 have migrated from there home system as it is dying ( meaning a bigger problem exist ). They come to this new world without knowing of an evil presence. In this case Red Ring Rico was abducted ( as with Burning Rangers ). We never get to see her again but we do know she is the niece/daughter of the leader in PSO part 1.

The second game was more or less the same thing. However instead of Rico an famous and powerful general was infected and slowly transformed into the champion of Falze where he sleeps dormant.

I never fully played BB as my computer at the time ( 500Mhz ) could not display anything but the text messages.

PS Universe ( the PS2 game ) is basically PSO but everything changed around and revamped with an completely different story line. Same with the 360 game. It is not really worth it as the games do not offer original content. But more or less more PSO group play.

I haven't really checked out card battle, because I was not really an fan of that but I heard it have great graphics and stuff.

The new PStar game is downloadable and translated in English is free. However you have to buy the cool gear. SEGA recently does not want people to download the free Japanese translated version but play there translated version. Same game.

That should answer questions. In my opinion, the entire story is basically this. Man created technology, machines, artificial intelligence, and still man ( Lassic ) wanted immortality which brought them to biotechnology. During that search Lassic basically summoned/created something. Overtime this life-form would be created again and again, surviving in various forms.

I just do not get what Dark falze is. That is why you want to play the original game. Because you want to know the full story. All I know is that Dark Falze rises again and again and again. The heroine was also artificially manufactured again and again and again. That is why there is always an girl character that is important in the game series, unless the series takes place in the same world but different circumstances.

Phantasy Star story is also the ground story for Shining series, Golden Sun, and Tales of Phantasia, including Star Ocean. Only other game before this was the Wizardry and................."Dragon Slayer" series.

Phantasy Star alongside Final Fantasy did two things.
1. They commercialized RPG games for the normal non-RPG person. The person that reads "Heavy Metal" magazine and Watches "Fantasy Adventure movies" which was popular at the time of release. That person could enjoy this.
2. It gave in dept storyline that could be understood by an person who does not play DAD type games. Before that the only person who understood RPG stuff was people who watched or played Ero/exploitative type games/animations/comic.

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nacho_chicken

CanisWolfred wrote:

No. You'll miss some tiny references, but that's it.

"Do I need to play any long-running RPG series that spans multiple hardware in order starting from the first game?"
^ the answer to this is always no.

The mainline Phantasy Star series (I - IV) spans two consoles, and almost exactly 6 years. That's not long-running at all. Etrian Odyssey has it beat, and that debuted on the DS. As for the console gap, Phantasy Star II came out within 3 months of the Mega Drive's release. This means PSII came out barely a year after PSI. PSII was one of those games caught in-between console generations, and as such wasn't much better graphically or musically compared to the Japanese version of PSI. Anyone that can put up with Phantasy Star II's dirty laundry - the most confusing 16-bit-RPG dungeons I've witnessed (Uzo Island and Ikuto especially), nonsensical story progression conditions (HOW ON EARTH WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT NEAR-EMPTY HALF OF OPUTA EVEN EXISTED), and Dragon Quest levels of grindiness (up until Climatrol is basically just grinding to beat dungeons) - can more than deal with anything PSI throws at you.

The games have a ton of references to each other. You'll miss out on a lot if you skip around. There's even one playable character from the first game that's in both II and IV. If there was any Phantasy Star you could skip and miss practically nothing, I'd say III.

I feel like PSI aged better than PSII. The maps were much less confusing, and I thought the story was put together better. PSIII is a totally different game, and it's very love-it-or-hate-it. I personally don't like it, so I won't say anything about it. PSIV is a masterpiece 16-bit RPG. You should definitely play it.

Edited on by nacho_chicken

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CanisWolfred

Phantasy Star Online (1 & 2 + all episodes), Phantasy Star Universe, and Phantasy Star Zero are all part of the same franchises, therefore it still counts. Either way, I never finished Phantasy Star 1, yet I never missed a beat in Phantasy Star II, III, or IV... (I meant franchises before, not series. I hate writing because I always screw up the most important parts without realizing it. F*** my F***ing life F*** and then it always comes back and bites me in the f***ing *** like this I can't stand it seriously why do I even bother posting anymore? I'm probably screwing this post up in a million places so of course this post doesn't matter either **** **** *** ****)

Edited on by CanisWolfred

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nacho_chicken

CanisWolfred wrote:

Phantasy Star Online (1 & 2 + all episodes), Phantasy Star Universe, and Phantasy Star Zero are all part of the same franchises, therefore it still counts. Either way, I never finished Phantasy Star 1, yet I never missed a beat in Phantasy Star II, III, or IV...

Phantasy Star is a bit of an odd case. Whereas the games in the original series constantly refer to each other, the games in the newer series are spin-offs and only share the franchise name, some nomenclature, and the sci-fi setting. There's not really anything I can compare it to. You were right in that you don't need to play PSI to play the rest of the series, but you definitely miss out on a LOT of references and subtext otherwise. You don't need to play EarthBound before you play MOTHER 3 either.

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