Phantasy Star II

"Rolf may have nightmares, but this game is a dream."

If they taught RPGs in schools, this game would be required "playing." Much like the best literature out there, it's long, it's deep, and you'll probably want to stop at some point because you don't know WTF is going on.

Of course, that also means it's extremely rewarding if you finish it.

I've played many RPGs in my time, but PSII has been a very unique experience for me. This was my first seriously difficult RPG, and I came in fresh off of games like Phantasy Star IV, Chrono Trigger, and various Final Fantasies. It was a crash course in old-school RPGing, if you will.

So yeah... I got to the first dungeon... the first friggin' dungeon... and got my butt handed to me. WOW. Not only is it larger than some RPGs' final dungeons, the enemies are truly no joke. And they weren't even wet farts compared to the infamous Blasters in the next two dungeons. Holy crap.

Yeah, if there is anyone reading this who has not played this game, it's not a walk in the park by any means. To this day, many RPGers consider it to be one of the hardest games ever made. But, dang it, once you start, you won't wanna stop until you've seen this game's utterly mind-blowing finale.

I'm not gonna spout about how great the graphics were for the time, and it was a 16 MB cart, and blah, blah, blah. Because truthfully, this game has flaws. Like the aforementioned Blasters which can ambush and kill you before you can even have a shot at a save anywhere option. Or the absurdly high encounter rate when using the Jet Scooter. Or how clunky the battle menus are. Or how after the third dungeon, the game starts to get more and more vague about where you need to go next; and by the time you get to Dezolis, you'll either spend weeks trying to figure everything out, or consult a FAQ... all just because there's absolutely nothing in the game itself, not even NPCs, to hint at it.

But despite all this, it's still very hard to stop playing. The Algol star system is truly a wondrous place to explore. And it's filled with powerful monsters and complex mazes that will always, ALWAYS, compel you to see how much further you can push yourself. Constantly, you'll find yourself thinking "I'll check around just one more corner! There's gotta be treasure there!" or "I'll keep going just until the next party member levels up!" Again. And again.

And the story. It's just... well, you'll find yourself thinking "They did this back in 1989?!" To be fair, there's not much dialogue or character interaction, so if that's you're thing, you'll probably be disappointed. I myself was a bit disappointed in this... at first. But if you're patient, and play ball with the game, it WILL reward you. This is not your typical RPG story about saving the princess, sunshine, flowers, and the power of love and humanity. The world you're about to enter is filled with [I]real[/I] problems, and despite the older age of the game, nothing, NOTHING, is sugar coated. Words just can't describe the utter cruelty that you'll discover once you dig below the surface and start putting all the pieces together.

Anyone who loves RPGs owes it to themselves to play this game. There's already little excuse not to, as this game is currently available as part of the GBA Phantasy Star Collection, and if that's not your cup of tea, the Genesis cart is still easy to track down, and there's even versions available for the Sega Dreamcast and PC via Sega Smash Packs. But soon, you'll even be able to play this classic on the PS2, as it'll be part of the Sega Genesis collection.

All in all, I'd give this game a very solid 8/10. "What? All that for an 8/10?" You say? Yes well, I simply can't overlook some of the serious flaws this game has objectively. More than likely, you WILL need a guide, if only to figure out WTF to do next in one or two places. But this game is more than the sum of it's parts, and as such, a numerical score can't really reflect how I feel about the game. Even with the flaws, it's a true classic that to this day I still enjoy playing.

Final score 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/06