The old PS titles

[Sgt_Shligger]

Well, I have a SNES emulator and I am a tad bored. I've read plenty of lines and references to the old PS games and I was wondering whether I should get them for myself.

Are they worth it? Is there anything I'll want to get with them? Any specific ones to try out? Do you need to play them in order?

[DizzyDi]

SNES = Wrong system.

[HUnewearl_Meira]

By all means, play them. I suggest playing them in order. Go out and get Phantasy Star Collection for the GBA for the first three, and the Genesis Collection on the PS2 for the fourth. They're absolutely worth it.

For the record, until further notice, there should be no talk about emulating them. It can be done, and provided that you choose the right emulators, it works very well, but at this point, any discussing any detail about emulating the games is against forum rules. If you really want to emulate the games, then you'll have to choose another site to research the subject.

[isahn80]

Ok, strictly speaking ROMs are illegal and whatnot, but for some reason a couple for each version of the classic Phantasy Star games (and other offshoots not available in the U.S. like the text adventures and GG titles) have been made available if you know where to look (ehh... I better not link it just in case, even though the site says they're legal re-translations or sum shit).

But yeah, as Meira said, it's best to start at PSI and work your way up. Although by today's standards all of the games are laughably primitive, the first one ages the worst IMO so if you don't have the patience for it, just go with PS2, 3 and 4. Although since I know you fairly well, Shligger, I'd suggest you just play 4 >.>




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: isahn80 on 2007-03-02 00:08 ]</font>

[Nai_Calus]

I don't think PSI has aged that badly, but then again, I still consider Duck Hunt to be a fabulous shooting game and my top three favourite RPGs are all on 16-bit consoles. XD

Which reminds me to go get FFVI Advance and find my GBA. Or just save up for a DS since my GBA is the original design. >_>

[Ninja_Gun]

ive only played episode 1 and 2 so i cant help you

[HUnewearl_Meira]

This isn't about Episode I&II, Ninja_Gun. This is about the original series that started with Phantasy Star on the Sega Master System, and continued on the Genesis with Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom and Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium. It's a big difference from Phantasy Star Online.

[DurakkenX]

the only problem i have with ps1 is the fact that you are far too weak ^.^ and you have to go back to the city after every battle or die ^.^

[OnnaWren]

IMO, PSI and II were created at a difficulty that few would dare to develop a game at in this day and age...

[HUnewearl_Meira]

I have to agree with that, OnnaWren; not PSI as much as PSII, though. I played PSI after I played PSII, and it was a relative cakewalk. Phantasy Star III was a lot of work, too.

<_<

Final Fantasy VII was the first non-Phantasy Star RPG that I played, and I was shocked at how quickly your characters gained levels. I didn't really feel like I'd earned them. Phantasy Star II, on the other hand, you had to work for your levels, like, seriously, full time, eight hours a day, five days a week, just do be able to finish the game in a timely manner.

The last few generations of games... You can generally beat them on your first run through without ever dieing. Maybe we're just better now than we used to be, but cheese and rice.

[DezoPenguin]

I don't think we're just better. ^_-

Now, I do admit that there's one think I definitely prefer about the newer games: the lack of difficulty early in games. PSI, PSII, PSIII all had one thing in common--you had to spend an hour or so walking around leveling up outside the first couple of towns gaining a few levels but more importantly scoring enough cash to replace the craptacular equipment you start the game with ("Here, Rolf, you're a key government agent on a vital mission to solve the deepest mysteries of the Algo System...and here's an ordinary hunting knife to fight with. Good luck!"). Nor was that anything new--all my old C64 games (Ultima III-V, Bard's Tale I-III, Phantasie I-III, Legend of Blacksilver, Legacy of the Ancients) did exactly the same thing.

Personally, I figure the beginning of the game is the time where the player gets "hooked" by the game, and in an RPG half the fun is the story you're playing through. That, I think, is one of the things that made Final Fantasy VII such a hit--the opening mission does a good job of combining in-battle action, a bit of (exceedingly) basic exploration, tutorials for the game system, and plunges you into the story (Xenosaga III tries for something similar, but the giant "no-action" drag after the excellent tutorial mission and animations kills the pacing and it's not until you're 5-6 hours in that the game hits its stride, by which time I bet a lot of casual players have checked out).

What I'd like to see is an RPG in which the level of challenge genuinely increases throughout the game, so that the final dungeon actually does threaten your characters in battle and requires some brainwork (or at least some patience) on the players' part, but also so that it "stages up" steadily so that you don't get Final Fantasy VIII (where Ultimecia's castle at the end is about the size of any six other dungeons anywhere in the game put together...and six times as boring, too). PSII, for example, was a bitter grind early on, and got steadily easier throughout (PSI, on the other hand, inevitably left me finishing every dungeon out of magic points...which pretty much makes it the best-balanced game around).

Come to think of it, here's another suggestion: With character equipment, there's usually two models. Either (a) you get all the money you need to upgrade characters every time new upgrades are available, or (b) you don't and therefore the player inevitably goes on money runs to buy what he/she needs. Why not instead control the money system (or for that matter the how-you-get-equipment system) so that the player can choose to upgrade about half of the party's equipment at every stage? That way you could gave character A get new equipment, then next time character B, then next time back to A...or if you preferred, always make sure A gets the best available while character C is always two or three upgrades behind. But make it so the player can't just grind through specific areas over and over again to max out the cash reserves (say, by awarding X amount of cash for specific story objectives instead of having random fights drop money), so until they get to the end to do the inevitable subquests for the PCs uberweapons and armor they'll never have a maxed-out party and instead have to make judgment calls based on their personal play tastes?

[Nai_Calus]

Yes, but then the completionists will whine and cry.

On that note, my GBA has gone missing, with my Phantasy Star Collection cartridge inside. I am very sad, since I just bought a DS Lite and it'd be nice to be able to play PSI and be able to see it. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif (My old GBA was the original model, heh.) If I can't find it I'll have to hunt down another copy somewhere, somehow... Bought it used two or three years back and that was the only copy I've seen in a store, heh. eBayin' time?

[DezoPenguin]

On 2007-03-28 04:04, Ian-KunX wrote:
Yes, but then the completionists will whine and cry.



I'd consider that a happy bonus. Completionism is excessively annoying. Particularly when the game gives actual rewards for completionism (e.g. "collect all the snap cards and unlock a bonus extra dungeon" from Shadow Hearts: FTNW) which is some weird-ass kind of metacompletionism.

Good luck finding a new copy of PSCollection, though.

[PrinceBrightstar]

I think gamefly has a copy.

[OnnaWren]

Ian-Kun, is there a Hollywood Video with a Game Crazy in it in your area? They do special orders, and last I knew you could pick up a copy of GBA PS Collection for $4.99 (that's how much I got my last copy for, anyway)... O_O