I was raised on Sega, but not in an RPG household. As a child, I was reared on shooters and racing games starting from the Master System. It wasn't until my pre-teens that I got to find that RPG's were my niche- at least for a period of time. I had a friend who was into them as well, and we both fed each other's love for the genre. I loved that golden era. However, I missed out on the original Phantasy Star. If I had any exposure to it, it was not any I can remember. In fact it's only years later, today, that I'm getting into the first games. What I came to find is that it's one of those games that had a deep story from the beginning. After my teenage phase of Breath of Fire, Final Fantasy, and other legendary RPG's, I eventually got a Sega Dreamcast when in Highschool. I'm proud to say I still have my Dreamcast, although almost none of my original library. I had Grandia 2 as one of my loves for that system, which I may review later, but I also purchased Phantasy Star Online: Part 1 and 2. They came together as a double disc set, and at first, I got the impression that it was a game that was to be played solely online. I was prepared for that, as at the time, online was accessible to me and I had the set up to do it in my basement. Then, I started to play episode 1, and enjoyed the dialogue and cool missions. Episode 1 was very short from what I remember, and I though Episode 2 was only online. When I put it in, I was treated to a continued story and a lush world that unfolded. The story got even better, and the journey was much longer. At this point, I became captivated by it all. That's when I truly started to fall in love with that kind of dungeon grinder/customize RPG, After that game, I would specifically hunt those kind of games down. It just felt so Japanese, and such a treat to have a game like that over here. I had alot of imports during those years, including Shenmue 2. I had no idea of the gems I let slip through my idiotic fingers at times. The last boss in Phantasy Star Episode 2 was Dark Falz. He is the reason I never forget that game. I remember having my customized android character all geared up, and wondering if I could beat the game. I started to hate the mechanics of the game. They were worse then. You couldn't roll or do anything, even block if I remember correctly. I spent hours beating Dark Falz. I almost broke my whole system that day. But after it was over, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the ending. The music in Phantasy Star is one of the things that will blow you away the most, and it emphasizes how important music is to an experience.
Then, a couple of years later, I got Phantasy Star Universe for the Xbox. When the game opened up, I was surprised at the different look, and the focus on the presentation this time around. It looked like the story was more of the focus this time around. You had a nice character and good voice acting to go along with a surprisingly long and involved story. I still remember being blown away by the cutscenes and the graphics. I don't remember the game being legendarily hard. It was very good though, because at that time, with so many RPG's on the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube not really having long playthroughs, it surprised me how long Phantasy Star Universe was, and how much time they took developing the story. It was a great experience and when I got the Playstation Portable continuation, I was confident in it being great as well. It was. The first game was very entertaining, and took right over from the Xbox as if it didn't skip a beat. I did notice a bit lacking as far as customization, and gameplay. I don't recall alot of super cutscenes. I loved the game overall, and then got part 2 for Download on the PSN. When the game started up, I was immediately awestruck by how the presentation jumped in detail. The ability to customize as well as the story and everything else took a huge step up from even the Xbox game. That is a very serious statement. It is that good of a game. I noticed the new mechanics that allowed evasion and blocking, as well as intricate usage of weapons and abilities, including special moves that could be learned. The combat was so refreshing and action-packed. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the older games in the series.
I enjoyed going off on the side quests and talking to the NPC's in the game because there was always something new to see, and the game treats side-quests like they matter. I put over 60 hours into the game before facing the last boss. He was quite epic. He was very hard. He wasn't as hard as the great Troika from "The Red Star." But then again, not many are as hard as that fool. He's part of an elite club who you deserve a T-shirt for beating. PSP2's last boss was however, very hard. Make no mistake, he can have you break something. In fact, that game had some moments where I flared up on violent rage. I also beat Killzone Liberation, and both games took me there. The only thing about Killzone is that it's ends so abruptly that the rage can't fester. Anyway, in the end, the music was amazing. The game gives you these simulated game discs that let you play the music in your room. But unfortunately, they don't give you copies of some of the best songs. During the credits, the music that played was absolutely epic. It was like Kingdom Hearts, in that it played out an entire song arrangement with backing vocals. I really liked it. The ending was great, and the game continues afterward. There is so much to do in that game. It sucks that it hasn't carried over to the Vita's library. I"m currently trying to transition all of my stuff to the Vita.
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