camineet
Jan 9, 2009, 12:46 AM
Although I liked Phantasy Star IV The End of the Millennium quite a lot, I could not help but to be disappointed in it, knowing that there had been a completely different Phantasy Star IV for Sega CD subtitled "The Return of Alis" in planning during 1991-1992. It would've been possible to make it far larger with better animation and it was obviously going to have full motion cutscene anime scenes. There are no screenshots on the net and no solid details other than the story centered around an intergalactic slave trade, Alis Landale and Dark Force.
Phantasystarwiki.com (link broken)
Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis
Perhaps one of the least-known titles in the Phantasy Star franchise - Phantasy Star IV never saw a commercial release. Developed within Sonic Team shortly after the release of Phantasy Star III - Phantasy Star IV was to be the magnum opus of the Phantasy Star series for it's time. A game so large, that the only medium which could justifiably hold it was the Sega CD (though a stripped down Genesis version was also planned). It originally weighed in at over 240MB, much of which was fully digitalized music and FMV cutscenes. Though it also sported game maps 20 times the size of previous games and highly detailed 3D dungeon sequences similar to the first game.
Unfortunately, due to sagging sales of the Sega CD and numerous delays in the project - Phantasy Star IV was eventually scrapped and production resources were transfered to Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium.
Had Phantasy Star IV been allowed to finish development, it would have followed the events of Phantasy Star III and the continuing struggle against Dark Force. It's a fairly safe bet that at some point, Alis Landale would have made a return as well. Though part of the game still lives on through Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium. For example, the anime cutscenes which some consider to be the birth cries of modern FMV cutscenes, were inspired by the actual FMV cutscenes of it's unreleased companion.
GamePro - July 1992
http://i40.tinypic.com/13yqd1e.jpg
IGN
http://cheats.ign.com/objects/816/816198.html
Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis
Also known as: Phantasy Star 4: The Return of Alis
Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis
Published by: SEGA
Developed by: Sonic Team
Release Date: Cancelled
Genre: RPG
The planned fourth game in the Phantasy Star universe never released in this form.
The planned fourth game in the Phantasy Star universe (not necessarily the same as Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium -- the game went through numerous changes in production), this title was originally planned for Sega Genesis and the new Sega CD, and was rumored to follow the story immediately after Phantasy Star III and the further terrors of the Dark Force. The game was designed to feature audio and video on the CD, with a game world 20 times that of previous entries, and ambitious upgrades in the 3D dungeon technology. It was unfortunately never released in this particular form, either on Genesis or Sega CD.
Genre: RPG
Exclusively on Sega CD
Release Date: Unreleased
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasy_Star_IV
Sega CD version
Phantasy Star IV was originally designed for the Sega CD system, and would have been vastly different from its final incarnation. This unreleased version was called Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis.[2] Features like 3-D dungeons (such as those featured in the first Phantasy Star), full motion video cutscenes, voice acting, and much more were planned. Unfortunately, poor sales and lack of support for the Sega CD platform caused a change of plans midway through development. Most of these features were scrapped from the final design, the intended voice cast declined, and the end result was a Sega Genesis cartridge game that bore little resemblance to the original plans for the CD-ROM version which would have been at least 240 megabit.
SegaBase
http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php?page=SegaBase+Sega+CD
In terms of software, the biggest news by far was with the Phantasy Star RPG series - the closest thing Sega had to Square's Final Fantasy franchise - with two Mega CD titles announced as being in development. The more notable of the two was the all-new title The Return of Alis, which was to take place immediately after the events depicted in Phantasy Star 3 and tell the story of the fight against a revival of the intergalactic slave trade. This new installment in the saga would be 20 times the size of the earlier game and would incorporate both audio and anime clips.
Sega cancelled the planned Sega CD release of Phantasy Star 4, opting instead for a cartridge-based Genesis game that bore little resemblance to its original Sega CD concept.
Phantasystarwiki.com (link broken)
Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis
Perhaps one of the least-known titles in the Phantasy Star franchise - Phantasy Star IV never saw a commercial release. Developed within Sonic Team shortly after the release of Phantasy Star III - Phantasy Star IV was to be the magnum opus of the Phantasy Star series for it's time. A game so large, that the only medium which could justifiably hold it was the Sega CD (though a stripped down Genesis version was also planned). It originally weighed in at over 240MB, much of which was fully digitalized music and FMV cutscenes. Though it also sported game maps 20 times the size of previous games and highly detailed 3D dungeon sequences similar to the first game.
Unfortunately, due to sagging sales of the Sega CD and numerous delays in the project - Phantasy Star IV was eventually scrapped and production resources were transfered to Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium.
Had Phantasy Star IV been allowed to finish development, it would have followed the events of Phantasy Star III and the continuing struggle against Dark Force. It's a fairly safe bet that at some point, Alis Landale would have made a return as well. Though part of the game still lives on through Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium. For example, the anime cutscenes which some consider to be the birth cries of modern FMV cutscenes, were inspired by the actual FMV cutscenes of it's unreleased companion.
GamePro - July 1992
http://i40.tinypic.com/13yqd1e.jpg
IGN
http://cheats.ign.com/objects/816/816198.html
Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis
Also known as: Phantasy Star 4: The Return of Alis
Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis
Published by: SEGA
Developed by: Sonic Team
Release Date: Cancelled
Genre: RPG
The planned fourth game in the Phantasy Star universe never released in this form.
The planned fourth game in the Phantasy Star universe (not necessarily the same as Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium -- the game went through numerous changes in production), this title was originally planned for Sega Genesis and the new Sega CD, and was rumored to follow the story immediately after Phantasy Star III and the further terrors of the Dark Force. The game was designed to feature audio and video on the CD, with a game world 20 times that of previous entries, and ambitious upgrades in the 3D dungeon technology. It was unfortunately never released in this particular form, either on Genesis or Sega CD.
Genre: RPG
Exclusively on Sega CD
Release Date: Unreleased
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasy_Star_IV
Sega CD version
Phantasy Star IV was originally designed for the Sega CD system, and would have been vastly different from its final incarnation. This unreleased version was called Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis.[2] Features like 3-D dungeons (such as those featured in the first Phantasy Star), full motion video cutscenes, voice acting, and much more were planned. Unfortunately, poor sales and lack of support for the Sega CD platform caused a change of plans midway through development. Most of these features were scrapped from the final design, the intended voice cast declined, and the end result was a Sega Genesis cartridge game that bore little resemblance to the original plans for the CD-ROM version which would have been at least 240 megabit.
SegaBase
http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php?page=SegaBase+Sega+CD
In terms of software, the biggest news by far was with the Phantasy Star RPG series - the closest thing Sega had to Square's Final Fantasy franchise - with two Mega CD titles announced as being in development. The more notable of the two was the all-new title The Return of Alis, which was to take place immediately after the events depicted in Phantasy Star 3 and tell the story of the fight against a revival of the intergalactic slave trade. This new installment in the saga would be 20 times the size of the earlier game and would incorporate both audio and anime clips.
Sega cancelled the planned Sega CD release of Phantasy Star 4, opting instead for a cartridge-based Genesis game that bore little resemblance to its original Sega CD concept.