Classic Moments: Phantasy Star

» PLATFORM: MASTER SYSTEM » RELEASED: 1987 » DEVELOPER: SEGA

The best experiences from Sega’s RPG hit

You’d been after a good adventure for a while and Phantasy Star’s 3D dungeons looked tempting, but even by the standards of Sega cartridges, this one was expensive – a wince-inducing £40. The guy in the shop convinced you it was great, so you took the risk. Thankfully, he wasn’t wrong. You’ve been utterly engrossed in the game for hours, and you’ve only just gained the ability to travel across the galaxy at will, so it feels like there’s plenty more to come.

Having gone back to Motavia to continue exploring, you find yourself deep in a cave – pretty routine stuff, up until you encounter a gigantic blue dragon. A red one utterly slaughtered you earlier, and this one’s fiery breath is massively damaging. But with Myau’s healing skills, Odin’s brute strength and Noah’s magical assistance, it feels like you almost have half a chance against this formidable foe. Eventually, it’s clear that Alis is too resilient to fall here, and she deals the killing blow. Victory feels so sweet! But the reward just leaves you with a new question – what’s this Amber Eye for?

BIO

As Dragon Quest rose to fame on the Famicom, Sega decided that it needed an RPG for Mark III players. Many of the Alex Kidd In Miracle World staff were tasked with creating it, including director Kotaro Hayashida, artist Rieko Kodama and composer Tokuhiko Uwabo. Programmer Yuji Naka had made his name with difficult arcade conversions, and managed to implement impressive full-screen 3D dungeons. With sci-fi influences to set it apart from its high fantasy contemporaries, Phantasy Star was a success, and became one of the first Japanese RPGS to reach English-speaking audiences. Many sequels followed, and the series continues today.