Phantasy Star Collection on the GBA or the SMS/Genesis Originals:
I'm a fan of SNES RPGs for the most part, and especially the Final Fantasy series, but I have been wanting to play something Sega for quite a while now. What better way than not on a Sega system? Hahaha, maybe anyways. I have been playing a lot on the DS lately and really enjoying it, so I figured that the GBA remakes might be a decent option. Has anybody played PS Collection and the originals? Any thoughts on any differences? I'll eventually have to play IV on the Genny, but the rest are open game. I asked a similar question about Tales of Phantasia a while back and I was glad I did since it steered me toward playing on the SNES.
It's this series, or I finally start down the road of Dragon Warrior... I suppose I could try something 32-bit too; it has been a while.
It's this series, or I finally start down the road of Dragon Warrior... I suppose I could try something 32-bit too; it has been a while.
Comments
I played Phantasy star games, but not the Phantasy collection but heard it was ok.such a shame it dosent have 4. 1 is hard and not for everyone.Not a bad game but you have to draw out the dungeon or find a map online. Lots of grinding if.i remember. 2 was good solid rpg. l 3 is a huge turd, while 4 is among the top of the best 16 bit rpgs IMO. That being said i like dragon Quest better and probably biased since grew up on it and didnt play Phantasy star years later.
Gamewise, I played through PS IV on the Gen because it was rated as one of the best games of the console, and I was sorely disappointed. It is a 5/10 game, terribad, I want my hours back.
Anyway, do play it just to have played it, but I found it hugely overrated.
Originally posted by: erac
Wikipedia says the ports are identical, so play whatever.
Gamewise, I played through PS IV on the Gen because it was rated as one of the best games of the console, and I was sorely disappointed. It is a 5/10 game, terribad, I want my hours back.
Anyway, do play it just to have played it, but I found it hugely overrated.
Wikipedia is full of lies, that is why I ask on here! Minute sound differences, small gameplay differeces, bare them forth! If you are shooting for the best gameplay experience; it better be the best! Otherwise I would just read the cliffnotes and not spend forty hours grinding levels .
*Your thoughts about PSIV are much appreciated!
Originally posted by: Red
Have you considered Phantasy Star Complete Collection for PlayStation 2? It's a Japanese import, but you can play the English language versions on it. I haven't played it, but I hear you can adjust the difficulty levels and walking speeds so that they're less tedious.
Nah, I've had PSC GBA on the shelf for a decade (took forever to find), and I can play the originals on the SMS or Genny, so the more original the better. The DS simply allows for the convenience of laying down, which is a nice break for my back these a' days.
Thanks for the suggestions though Red. I am still reflecting on your S&R thoughts (and still have a pristine manual, well, my own anyways, set aside for you whenever you want it).
*FYI: I just completed FF2 GBA without running once! Nice and slow for me, though when I tried playing Golden Sun earlier today I had to dash; now THAT was tedious!
Another option, if you find part II a bit tough, is to buy the Xbox 360 port. It's fairly cheap last I checked, and it's backward compatible with the Xbox One. The gameplay is more or less the same, but it allows you to save the game at any time, as opposed to only in towns. While it kills the challenge of the game, in all honesty it's a bit of a grind anyway. Just something to consider if you're into that sort of thing.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, I think the Genesis Collection disc on the PS2 had all four Phantasy Star games. I'm not 100% sure of that, but I do remember seeing at least one of them on it. Or it might have been the Xbox 360/PS3 Genesis Collection. Regardless, they're both great compilations and should be checked out
As for the Sega Genesis compilation on PS3 and 360 that Wiz referenced, it includes PS 2,3 and 4 right out of the gate. The first game is included, but it must be unlocked. I don't recall how off the top of my head, but surely you could find the info online. That compilation disc is an incredible value by the way, tons of amazing games.
The PS Collection on the GBA is an excellent value, and there are no major issues with the porting. I remember that the sound can be a little wonky here and there compared to the originals, but it's no big deal. There is a crashing issue however. I can't remember if it happens in 2 or 3, but the first game crashes randomly throughout. It's easy to cirumvent by just saving frequently so you won't lose much when it happens. I remember others also talking about the crashing issue, so it wasn't just me. Anyway, considering how much all of those games cost nowadays, and the convenience of having all 3 on one portable cartridge, the gba collection is your best bet. But just bear the crashing issue in mind when playing.
As for the Sega Genesis compilation on PS3 and 360 that Wiz referenced, it includes PS 2,3 and 4 right out of the gate. The first game is included, but it must be unlocked. I don't recall how off the top of my head, but surely you could find the info online. That compilation disc is an incredible value by the way, tons of amazing games.
It actually tells you in-game how to do it. It wasn't anything really tough either...been a while, but I think it was something like beating a level of Sonic 2 in co-op mode, which is easy enough to do alone with two controllers.
Anyway, I've never had the crashing issue with PSC that you reference...I can't say it doesn't happen, but maybe it's just a bad luck thing? It sounds like the whole No Mercy losing it's save thing, where not every cart has the issue, but a lot of them do? In both cases, I got my copies when they came out, and I've never had the problems people have with them, so yeah, maybe it was just bad luck on your part? Or good luck on mine? Still, frequent saving is definitely a good idea with all three games even without that crashing issue...nothing worse than losing a ton of progress because you were too lazy to save the game for an hour
Another option, if you find part II a bit tough, is to buy the Xbox 360 port. It's fairly cheap last I checked, and it's backward compatible with the Xbox One. The gameplay is more or less the same, but it allows you to save the game at any time, as opposed to only in towns. While it kills the challenge of the game, in all honesty it's a bit of a grind anyway. Just something to consider if you're into that sort of thing.
That's right. Only part II works on Xbox One.
Another minor XBLA difference from other versions, is the ability to play in Japanese. Set the system language before starting a new save.