Phantasy Star IV

aka: PSIV, Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni, Phantasy Star: The End of the Millennium
Moby ID: 6584
Genesis Specs
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Description official descriptions

The Algol star system is in troubled times. Many thousands of years ago, it was a peaceful world. Three planets surrounded the Algol star and were in perfect harmony: Palma, a lush green planet, where its citizens devoted their lives to arts and the sciences; Motavia, a desert planet, inhabited by humans and native Motavians; and the enigmatic Dezolis, a harsh ice planet, where the citizens were just as unknown as the planet itself. Unfortunately, the harmony and balance was not to last. Palma had exploded, and with it, ninety per cent of Algol's population died. Motavia had fallen into horrible conditions from the explosion, turning almost into a total wasteland. The Darkness spread its hand over the land.

A thousand years have passed. Motavia has healed somewhat, and life is beginning to return to the way it once was many years ago. The Hunter's Guild on Motavia helps to keep things steady. But a dark evil once thought to be long dead is beginning to stir once again, and the young hunter, Chaz, is about to begin his ultimate adventure - which starts with one simple routine assignment...

Phantasy Star IV is a Japanese-style role-playing game with top-down world map exploration, random enemy encounters, and turn-based combat. The gameplay of the fourth entry in the series is similar to that of the second installment, sharing notable features such as the ability to equip two weapons at once, most of the "techniques" (equivalent to magic spells in comparable games), etc. The dungeons are noticeably less maze-like than in Phantasy Star II. Player-controlled party may include up to five active combatants.

As before, leveling up and technique-learning is automatic, save for android characters, whose abilities are found in treasure chests in the dungeons. Androids also cannot be healed by conventional means and use their own item sets. Beside regular attacks and techs, characters also possess unique attacks that have limited uses and can be replenished after the character rests. Characters can also execute combination attacks, merging two or more techs or special attacks. The player may opt to assign macro command sets for the party instead of inputting commands manually.

There are a few segments in the game with vehicle combat, which mostly follows the same turn-based formula as the regular battles. Side quests are present in form of hunter assignments for Chaz and his friends. A "party talk" feature is available, displaying conversations between player-controlled characters. The game uses manga-style comic book panels as cutscenes.

Spellings

  • ファンタシースター ~千年紀の終りに~ - Japanese spelling
  • 梦幻之星4 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Genesis version)

66 People (39 developers, 27 thanks) · View all

Original Story
Script
Sound Director
Battle System Planning
Battle Programming
Assistant Battle Programming
Monster Graphic Design
Battle Background Design
System Planning
System Programming
Assistant System Programming
Field Graphic Design
Character Design
Mechanic Design
Map Design
Object Design
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 22 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 92 ratings with 4 reviews)

Best in the series! Instant classic!

The Good
Since the original Phantasy Star for the Master System, this is the only game in the Phantasy Star series that's gotten the formula completely right; and they really did get it right - this is probably the best rpg the Genesis ever had.

First some context: The original Phantasy Star was well-balanced, filled with creative touches, really innovative for its time. I mean, it had an involved plotline across three planets, several vehicles, great characters, even the fake-3D dungeons were pulled off in a way that's still really fun and not cheesy. ::remembers drawing the maps of each dungeon - my god, has it been that long::

 Then Phantasy Star II came out: the graphics were kind of weak (especially considering that it was written for *better* hardware than the original), and the interface was kind of clunky, but there was some good art and design, and the storyline was solid, maintaining the combined magic/technology-based setting of the original. The music was alright, too.

 The only game in the series developed without the aid of Yuji Naka and Rieko Kodama - Phantasy Star III came out with the promise of being BIG. Three generations of heroes - and at the end of each generation you decided which of two people you wanted to marry, thusly determining who your offspring and next playable character would be. In all, that meant 1+2+4=7 different character/quests. That's the good part - the bad part is that there weren't enough save slots to cover all this distance. Ouch. The random encounters were irritating and bland, and a lot of the new enemy designs (which had been such a solid aspect of the first two games) were either uninspired or just plain bizarre; too many enemies seemed determined to inflict mortal damage on you by flicking their wrists or wiggling their ears (I wish I were joking). The storyline hardly touched on the rest of the series at all. Some people have played this game without prior exposure to the other Phantasy Stars and enjoyed it - but coming into it with the expectations of someone familiar with the first two games the disconnect is a real disappointment.

 And so we come to Phantasy Star IV, the last game to be made with the traditional top-down rpg approach. The original creators' influence is back on this one. Great graphics, great soundtrack, great story - you're planet-hopping again, just like in the first game, but with far more places to go - planets, asteroids, satellites, a floating castle... Lots of references to the prior games, particularly

the original (although even the characters from PSIII make a quick appearance in one vision-scene). At no place does it bog down - some dungeons and bosses are difficult, but just enough to make things interesting. There are lots and lots of side-quests: your original job within the game is as a bounty-hunter/all-purpose problem solver, and the Hunter's Guild provides several money-making quests nonessential to the main storyline - not to mention all the abandoned facilities strewn across the planets where you can discover interesting weapons/devices and things that relate to the previous games. The characters are all solid. The cutscenes are done in a comic/manga style with overlapping frames and are well drawn. All the vehicles that were so handy and fun to drive around in the first game are back - and this time you can fight in them, using their advanced weaponry to absolutely vaporize some monsters. The best creatures from the first and second games are back: sandworms from PSI, robots from PSII - they even brought back the "baby chick" monster from PSIII that was kind of boring and stupid and made it the focus of a fun quest! Random encounters - the achilles heel of so many rpgs, are handled with a smooth combat system, and the combination of this system, cool weapon animations, cool combination attacks, and good enemy designs make it one of the game's seemingly endless strong points.

Long story short - this was made by people whose love for the best parts of the series is obvious and they crammed every good thing they could into this overflowing game cartridge!!! Get it!!! Get it now!!!

The Bad
There's nothing not to like about this game - this is where they got it perfect.

The Bottom Line
The best of the Phantasy Star games!

Genesis · by George Henry (2) · 2004

This is the one game I don't believe I'll ever get bored with i.e best game ever

The Good
I first played this in 1997 and have replayed it so many times, somehow never managing to become over-familiar with it. Whenever I play it, I seem to understand better why I like it so much and sometimes notice little flaws that perhaps could be tweaked. Over time, I've learned to appreciate how much work went into it, I believe that the team was trying to give the players a really epic story experience, unlike previous Phantasy Star games where you're kind of given a skeletal story and forced to flesh it out in your mind and create the gaming experience yourself. I think the difficulty level is just about right, I was almost a complete rookie in turn-based combat when I first played it and being such a long game, it gives you the first few battles at little cost, slowly challenging you more and more. I've gotten better and better at the game and don't sweat the battles like I used to, but they can still be pretty edge of your seat, after all, your success is still quite dependent on luck i.e which party member the computer targets, with which attack. The game has mostly done away with "grinding", which is a huge help in my book. So long as you don't evade too many battles, comb all the dungeons for armour upgrades and make the most of your techniques and skills, you should be able to afford armour upgrades from shops and beat bosses i.e you shouldn't find yourself utterly crushed by a boss, leading you to go about in circles, leveling up.

I think there is a lot to take from the game's story. Overall it's meant to bring an end to the series, explaining the origins of "Dark Force" from the previous games and presenting a "make or break" situation for Algo. One large theme running through the game is "science and legend". Though most of the party members are magic wielders, their logical attitudes suggest that their magic is some advanced form of science. Your party thinks logically to determine the root of a problem, but is willing to put faith in superstitious ideas e.g planet Dezolis is plagued by bad snow storms, logic says they're caused by a fault in the planet's weather control system, but there's also this idea among the Dezolisians that this mysterious, "evil" tower, is the source of the problem. There is a sort of climactic point in the game where one of the characters rebels against blindly trusting ancient stories and legends, which leads to a scene where he sort of discovers his purpose, what he believes in, his reason for fighting etc. I think the game's story has a lot in it and one can keep gaining from it, from replaying the game and experiencing it again.

The Bad
I think there's some attempt at presenting men and women as equal, though ultimately I think the male characters Chaz and Rune dominate a little. I think the team deserves credit for female characters like Alys and Rika, neither of whom I would call female stereotypes, two of the most interesting female characters I've come across. But though Rika has her moments, the game gets to a point where it seems to be mainly about Chaz and Rune and their difficult friendship. I think the game could be better if they'd found a way to mix Rika in with Chaz and Rune a bit more. As for Wren, I suppose his inclusion in the main plot is quite respectable considering he's a cyborg, albeit a relatively human one. There is some rather undisguised ill treatment of Raja though, not necessarily because he's a green-skinned Dezolisian, but because he's elderly i.e they call him an "old fart", resent having to "drag him around" and call him their "strange, travelling companion" even though he's clearly equal in terms of usefulness in battle.

The Bottom Line
I'd recommend it to anyone, even those who hate RPGs. The game is kind to players new to RPG, I was lucky enough to play this game before most other RPGs. It's worth any hardship to experience the story, which is of course told in a comic strip form, some very nice artwork. On top of all this, some excellent music by Izuho Takeuchi and Masaki Nakagaki.

Genesis · by Andrew Fisher (697) · 2018

Proving that Final Fantasy Is Not The King RPGS

The Good
Phantasy Star IV, was always one of my favorite games. Yet my original review for it kinda sucked. Furthermore I noticed a certain review for the game has been changed for the worse. Who changes their views seemingly at the drop of a hat?

After many delays PSIV was finally released in 1994. It was hailed as the “finale” of the Phantasy Star series. The game also cost an unbelievable $100! Was the hefty price tag worth it? Hell yes!

In Phantasy Star IV, we return to the Algol Solar System. 1000 years have passed, since Rolf and company destroyed the Mother Brain. This necessary event sent the Algol system into a decline. Now things are finally returning to normal. Yet an ancient terror lurks in the darkness, soon it will be reborn and unleash its terrible vengeance on the worlds of Algol!

This is were you come in. Players are thrust into the role of Chaz Ashley. An apprentice hunter, learning from the best Alys Brangwin, famed across Motavia, for her skill dispatching deadly bio-monsters. A routine mission to dispatch some of the creatures leads Chaz on a quest that will bring him face to face with Dark Force in all it’s dark glory.

This may not sound terribly original today, but keep in mind that Phantasy Star introduced the now common “dark god” hell bent on death and destruction. Furthermore the Phantasy Star series has always managed to pull this type of plot of effectively. And the story is well-presented and easy to follow, and enjoy, and in the end is that not what RPGS are designed to do? The plot never seems trite unlike in certain Final Fantasy games.

The game has plot twists, and many villlains including the enigmatic Zio and the return of Lashiec. And the boss fights are huge and great fun.

My opponent claims that there are is no conflict. Yet I remember a very interesting scene, in which the main character questions his role, and makes the point that if he blindly follows the will of the Great Light how is he any different that Zio or Lashiec. If that is not conflict what is?

There is also a tragic event in the game. Which my opponent claims is the same as the tragic event in Phantasy Star II. Yet they could not be MORE different

Along the way Chaz will meet eight others that will join in his quest. All the characters are unique and have different backgrounds. Sega even took the trouble to make each character has a unique way of speaking. While saying the same thing they all say it a different way. For example if you examine and area and there is nothing to see Wren will say"There are no anomolies ahead." While Rika will say, "This is boring!" It is this kind of attention to detail that always made the Phantasy Star series miles better than the overrated Final Fantasy series.(Admit it fanboys there are only like 2 good Final Fantasy games. And 2 out of 12 is a terrible track record.)

Battle monsters and explore towns and dungeons as the story gradually unfolds with manga-style cut scenes. That are just as cool today as they were ten years ago. My opponent claims that there is little originality in this game yet, if it were not for these ground breaking cutscenes, the modern RPG would not be the same...interesting.

The battles are most reminiscent of PSII. With much improved visuals. As with all the visuals. Five instead of four party members in your party is also a welcome addition. During battles the usual choices are available, weapons, techniques (Magic is PSIV) and running from battle. As well as new skills. Skills work like techniques except, they cost no TP, instead each one can be used a certain amount of times. For fighter types like Chaz skills will play a more crucial role in defeating “boss” monsters.

Battle speed is much better than in previous installments. And in RPGS in general. The battles are never drawn out, as the sometimes were in PSII and PSIII. And almost always are in Final Fantasy. You even increase or decrease the speed.

Techniques and skills can even be combined to create more powerful combo attacks.(For example Rayblade + Astral= Paladin Blow a very power and very cool looking attack. Some are very hard to discover and will take quite a bit of experimenting particularly the 'Destruction' combo. These are among some of the most powerful and awesome to watch executed. So finding them will be well worth your time. My opponent claims that there are only spells and standard attacks. And does not mention the original skills like Crosscut. Most likely to strengthen his argument that the game is unoriginal. (Yet he defends FFV which is a step back for the series. With it's non-existent plot and bland characters. And simply moronic class system.)

The music in PSIV is excellent. Up to par and usually better than any other RPGS of all time. What makes it so good is how unique it is. There are no pretentious “classical” themes. The music tends to be much more techno inspired. Some of the tunes in particular stand out. “Ooze” the song played when fighting the end boss, is quite possibly the greatest song ever composed for a video game. The music does not lack variety. Both the composers from PS1&2 as well as from PS3 lend their talents for this one. Their different styles lend to a well-rounded soundtrack.

The graphics in Phantasy Star IV are easily the best in the series. The sprites are more well formed than the atypical short and stocky types found in most 2D RPGS. In battle the characters come to life in huge over the shoulder sprites. They charge the enemy and attack, unlike Final Fantasy. And the monsters are large and animated. Nowadays this is common place but remember that the "great" Final Fantasy series did not animate the monsters untill FF7...so suck it fanboys.

There are many little details in this game that Final Fantasy games lack. The towns are chock full of details, from seeing ducks swimming in a pond, to townspeople sweeping up, etc.

Every dungeon is unique. One has you use pedestals to open up new levels. While another you may need a special item to progress. Many are very difficult as well such as Lashiec's castle.

The setting is also quite different. Sure, it is the same worlds, but the tone is different. In Phantasy Star II, most people enjoy there "perfect" world, that on a deeper level is far from perfect. Where as in Phantasy Star IV the world has just recovered from a near collapse, and is much more crude.

And while Phantasy Star II had a great cast, PSIV eclipses it, as the cast is more varied. In PSII only one party member is NOT human. While in PSIV, there are Androids, Motavians, and Dezolians.

Phantasy Star also helped inspire some of my other favorite RPGS like Arc the Lad, Star Ocean, and the Lunar series.



The Bad
There is NOTHING bad in PSIV. It amazes me that Sega could fit this game on a cartridge. And still have such a good game. Then again it was going to be Sega CD game. It was to be and even bigger game, as many features had to be removed to fit it on to a cart.

It would have been interesting to see what the Sega CD version would have been like.

The Bottom Line
Phantasy Star IV, wraps the series quite nicely. It is the biggest game of the series, with a 24-meg cart! Not only is it best RPG the Genesis, it is one of the, if not the best RPG all time. I have played this game like 20 times over the years and still play it to this day and still enjoy it every time.

The Super Nes may have had MORE RPGS but the Genesis have a few that really shine. Hell this game really shows how inferior Final Fantasy is. Just as Landstalker shows how inferior The Legend Of Zelda is.

Genesis · by MasterMegid (723) · 2007

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

Character name differences

Almost all the names of your party members in the game were changed in the English translation. Some changes were probably necessary, since there was a four-letter limit for names written in Latin letters, while the Japanese could write longer names with their kana (syllabic letters). Other changes are seemingly without any reason.

Here are the names in Japanese and English versions, respectively:

Japanese: Rudy, Fal, Lyla, Pyke, Thray, Forren, Freyna, Shess.

English: Chaz, Rika, Alys, Gryz, Rune, Wren, Demi, Kyra.

Cut content

Many items did not make the final cut in Phantasy Star IV: the Blood Axe, a weapon for Gryz; a map similar to that of Phantasy Star III's "monitor"; a technique that when used was to fully restore your party, like healing at an inn (called "Resta" if memory serves correctly), as well as the return of the Skure Spaceport and the Nei Dungeons from Phantasy Star II.

These appeared in a beta version of the game and can be accessed via a ROM. But the Skure and Nei Dungeons cannot be entered.

Development

  • Phantasy Star IV was at one point going to be a Sega CD title, but about midway through development, Sega promptly cancelled the Sega CD version and stuffed it onto the Sega Genesis instead. This was probably done because of the low sales figures for the Sega CD.
  • Phantasy Star IV like the original Phantasy Star, was going to have 1st person dungeons, and battles. This was later dropped, in favor of the more common, 3rd person perspective.

Manual error

In the English Phantasy Star IV manual, it is written that there are 15 combination attacks, when there are actually only 14.

References

  • There are books on the bookshelf in Saya's house that reference Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, and Golden Axe.
  • There are cameos from previous Phantasy Star characters. Alis, and Myau appear and speak to you, while the rest of the cast of Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star II also make a non-verbal appearance.

Information also contributed by אולג 小奥 , MasterMegid, and Tiago Jacques

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Related Sites +

  • OC ReMix Game Profile
    Fan remixes of music from Phantasy Star IV.
  • Phantasy Star Wiki
    A comprehensive database that covers the characters, locations, items and games in the Phantasy Star series.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 6584
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Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Satoshi Kunsai.

Wii added by Picard. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. Windows added by Sciere. Macintosh, Linux added by Foxhack.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Guy Chapman, Sciere, Alaka, j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】, —-, Thomas Thompson.

Game added June 6, 2002. Last modified February 4, 2024.