Phantasy Star Collection

"Does not stand the test of time"

The late 80s saw the ignition of 3 classic RPG series, two of which appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy and soon became the most popular RPG franchises both in Japan and the western world, while the third game was released on the Sega Master System as Phantasy Star and became a modest success as well thanks to some innovations like the 3D perspective in dungeons and an attempt at creating an interesting storyline unlike the cheap pseudo plots in the first Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. In any case, Phantasy Star was successful enough for Sega to create three sequels, all of which appeared on the Sega Mega Drive. And after almost an entire decade, Sega decided to release Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom on a single cartridge for Nintendo´s Game Boy Advance, and the question is of course whether these three games still hold up well in the new millennium.

To get one thing straight right at the beginning, it is necessary to say that all three Phantasy Star titles in this collection are as basic as it gets in terms of RPG gameplay. Especially part 1 could be considered to be the epitome of an 80s RPG (except for the story), reducing the game to visiting towns and shops, talking to townspeople, exploring dungeons, walking over the world map and most importantly, fighting monsters...hundreds of monsters. That´s what makes Phantasy Star nearly unplayable today: the random encounter ratio is laughable, and it feels like you´re running into a battle every 10 seconds, and that completely kills the flow of the game. Even worse, the game is extremely difficult and even unfair nowadays, seeing that you start at level 1 and have to train several hours before you can get started without being afraid of monsters killing you in one blow. The dungeons design might have been rather unique back then, seeing that they are being presented from a 3D perspective, but unfortunately, it is nearly impossible not to loose track in them. And it´s even worse in part 2, where the dungeons are HUGE and confusing mazes, and you will understand quickly why the game has been released together with a strategy guide and maps for each dungeon. Without them, you´re virtually lost in the confusing and complex dungeons, and even the first one is a chore to play through. And since the Game Boy Advance package is being released without maps for the dungeons, it´s nearly impossible to get through them without a walkthrough in the internet. Gameplay-wise, nothing has changed at all, except for the dungeons being in 2D again, but the difficulty level is almost as high. Phantasy Star III is probably the worst of the bunch. Basically, ir plays a lot like the first two, featuring the same problems such as high difficulty, tons of random encounters and confusing dungeons, but while at least the battle system has been okay in the first two, it´s completely botched up here, no-thanks to the unbelievably confusing signs for "attack", "magic" and so on. However, it is an interesting concept that you can play not only as the hero, but can continue his quest with his descendants, which sounds pretty neat, but does not work due to the flawed basic gameplay. I am sorry to say this, but all three games are simply a chore to play today and do not stand the test of time.

And of course, neither do the visuals. Since this package features direct ports of the Phantasy Star games, they have not been changed in any way, and the same goes for the visuals. Phantasy Star I still features the same old school 8-Bit bitmap visuals as it did in the 80s, and while the 3D dungeons seem rather impressive for their age and the drawn stills during some cutscenes are nicely done, the lack of details and colors is quite annoying today, and the game is not really nice to look at. However, as a Master System game, it looks nice. But Phantasy Star II really does not show that it has originally been released on the technically superior Genesis. The colors are ugly and the battle backgrounds are laughable - cause there are none to speak of. The character sprites are at least decent, and the locations are quite okay, and the anime stills look neatly on the GBA screen, but still, it really shows its age, just as Phantasy Star III that is just as ugly to look at these days and even worse, completely lacks charm in terms of character design whatsoever. So visually, these games are outdated to say the least.

Aurally, I have to admit that at least Phantasy Star II is nice to listen to. None of the tracks really is outstanding in my opinion, but it´s decently done, and the sound quality is quite good. However, the sound effects are utterly horrible, especially those of your characters or the enemies attacking. Phantasy Star I is more difficult to judge because it is a Master System game, and therefore it features 8-Bit music and sounds, but they are poison for my ears, having the same horrible sound quality as a lot of games of the 8-Bit generation. I really turned the volume down while playing part 1...but part 3 is simply ridiculous in that regard. If you should ever hear the battle music, then I really feel for you...honestly, I have no idea what Sega was thinking while composing this dissonant mess that is an insult to the ears, and most of the other pieces have a rather low quality as well.

Phantasy Star Collection proves that all three games featured in this package do not stand the test of time, that they are not timeless classics, with Phantasy Star III being the black sheep of an already mediocre collection. The biggest crime, however, is the total lack of any new features or improvements, as all 3 games have been directly ported, and it simply does not work in view of their age. Beginners will hate these games with a passion due to their ridiculous difficulty level that will even annoy experts with a preposterous random encounter ratio. I can hardly recommend this game to anyone, since fans of the series most likely have these games already, hence they hardly need this package. Only collectors should take a look due to its rather low price.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/06