On this day in 1987, SEGA released a science-fiction/fantasy role-playing game by the name of Phantasy Star for their Master System console in Japan. It was later localized in English and Spanish, ported to numerous systems, and spawned three direct sequels and several spin-off titles. Hugely successful and highly innovative for its time, Phantasy Star helped to lay the groundwork for the role-playing game genre alongside it’s contemporary, Final Fantasy, with both titles being released within days of each other. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important video games of all time, and has consistently been listed as one of the very best games of its kind.
SEGA is celebrating the series’ 25th anniversary with the release of the Phantasy Star Complete Collection, which is now available on the Japanese PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 for the price of ¥800 (approximately $10 USD). Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, and Phantasy Star IV are all fully translated and playable in English, so these titles should not be overlooked by English speakers.
Originally released for the PlayStation 2 as part of the SEGA AGES series, the collection includes the following titles:
–Phantasy Star (Master System)
–Phantasy Star II (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star II Text Adventures (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star Adventure (Game Gear)
–Phantasy Star Gaiden (Game Gear)
Phantasy Star II Text Adventures is a compilation of eight visual novels, each centered around one of the main characters from Phantasy Star II and was first available through the SEGA Meganet modem accessory for the Genesis/Mega Drive console, while the eight stories — made available in two separate compilations — were later ported to the console’s SEGA CD/Mega CD add-on. Phantasy Star Adventure and Phantasy Star Gaiden were both released for the SEGA Game Gear in 1992, just months apart each other. Adventure was the first Phantasy Star title to be released for SEGA’s handled and features a different gameplay style than other titles in the series, being a first-person text-based adventure game that takes place during the events of Phantasy Star II. Gaiden, on the other hand, is a traditional role-playing game in the style of Phantasy Star I, which Gaiden is an indirect sequel to. It’s worth noting, however, that according to series continuity both Adventure and Gaiden are considered non-canon.
Compared to last year, SEGA’s showing at Tokyo Game Show (TGS for short) was hugely gimped by lack of multiplatform titles, something the publisher is greatly known for. A general shift in focus towards touch-based platforms is apparent with not just SEGA, but the entirety of the event across all publishers.
That said, SEGA has still revealed and demonstrated several titles, although as always it is unclear how many of these will receive English language releases.
After the break we have compiled a list of every title involving SEGA at the event.
Development has concluded for a English language translation project of Phantasy Star Generation 1 on PlayStation 2. A dedicated fan under the screen name of Kyence has detailed the process through the Phantasy Star Cave forums. The site itself has gone on to featured the download and informs potential players how to properly run the game, but encourages those interested to purchase the official version. Furthermore, Kyence has expressed interest in translating the sequel Phantasy Star Generation 2, although it was noted that the process would be much more challenging.
Only available in Japan, Phantasy Star Generation 1 is a remake of the first game in the iconic Phantasy Star franchise, which originally was available on the SEGA Master System in 1987. This remake was the first release in the SEGA AGES 2500 budget line of games for the PlayStation 2. The initial few of which were considered of poor quality and have received mixed reactions by the fans of the original titles. SEGA commented on their intentions on releasing Phantasy Star Generation 1, the remake of Phantasy Star II titled Phantasy Star Generation 2 and potential remakes of later games in the series for English language regions, but the project was canceled before significant progress commenced and the remakes of Phantasy Star III and IV were sadly never developed.
Included after the break is footage Kyence made during development of the translation.
An English language version of Phantasy Star Online 2 has been revealed for North American and European regions. A role playing game where players create their own characters to complete missions and search throughout the galaxy, the title reflects the online-focused design where friends or complete strangers are able to do all of this together if they so choose. Similarly to SEGA’s own Spiral Knights, Phantasy Star Online 2 will be completely free to download and require no subscription service to access the game.
A sequel to the influential original which originally released in 2000 on the Dreamcast and spawned the more action-oriented gameplay the series is now known for, Phantasy Star Online 2 will launch sometime early in 2013 on the PC. In Japan, the game will also be available on iOS and Android mobile devices, as well as the PlayStation Vita handheld, but no mentions of these were discussed in the announcement, or if the game will even receive the optional retail release Japan has. The announcement trailer has been included after the break.
A number of Genesis/Mega Drive titles have recently been released on Steam, including Wonder Boy in Monster World, Vectorman 2, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage 3, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Golden Axe III, Dynamite Headdy, and Beyond Oasis. All of these games can be bought individually or as part of a collection.
Additionally, ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron was released on Steam back in March, bringing the total of Genesis/Mega Drive ports on Steam to 51.
Last week, news from SEGA of America broke that saw numerous members of staff fired, games canceled and a general downsizing of the entire branch of SEGA of America. Initially, rumors ran rampant and confused a large amount of fans across the globe, the worst of which was that the entire United States branch of SEGA had completely shut down, which of course is not the case.
Immediate reconstruction has taken place going into their new fiscal year. They expect a net loss of ¥7.1 billion ($86.4 million) as part of the reform and news of this dropped their entire company’s stock 4%. However, the day after their stock rose 5% and is showing signs of continual growth.
After the break I discuss the potential cancellations, their effects, observe the negatives and positives of the change and attempt to discover if SEGA truly is in trouble or if the downsizing is the start of a brilliant strategy. The rest of the post should be taken as speculation from a dedicated fan of the company and game industry as a whole and not as a financial advisor.
Out of respect of those whom lost their jobs, any subjects around them will not be mentioned at all.
Phantasy Star Online 2, the next release in the action-focused multiplayer role playing series (opposed to it’s turn based, single player roots) was today revealed to be receiving a release on Sony’s newly launched PlayStation Vita platform, along with the formally announced PC version. In a video shown as part of Sony’s PlayStation Vita ‘Game Heaven’ event producer Satoshi ‘Dragon’ Sakai also confirmed that those with the Vita game will be able to join PC players on the same servers and will be able to use their account across both platforms.
There has yet to be an English-language version announcement.
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom is the classic 1990 role playing game for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. Considered the ‘Black Sheep’ of the series by many a fan, Generations of Doom differs greatly from previous and future titles in the franchise in it’s supposed medieval-fantasy setting instead of the series’ standard science fiction and also with how the story progresses based on whom the player chooses to marry. This eventually leads to an entirely new cast based on the player’s children and then eventually their childrens’ children.
This time we will focus on the song from the introductory sequence. Above is the arranged edition made along with a number of franchise favorites, after the break I have included the original, among many remixes and fan variations.
Due out originally for Japanese PCs late this year, Phantasy Star Online 2 has been delayed to be released sometime next year due to some mixed reactions and a large deal of requests with alpha testers and from demonstrations at Tokyo Game Show 2011. Additionally, a second alpha testing process is being considered for sometime early next year.
Late last year, Square-Enix released their online title Final Fantasy XIV to unanimously negative critical, commercial reactions, even from many fans. They have since apologized for it’s quality and plan to largely rebuild the game’s play mechanics. Considering this, the delay of Phantasy Star Online 2 may have been a very good thing, although this will mean that the title is released 2 years after the intended 10th anniversary of the original Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast. At this time, no English language release is being discussed.
After the break is the extensive list of some requests that early players made.
SEGA had the largest lineup or show floor of any publisher at Tokyo Game Show 2011. As such, they have received the most amount of people view their titles and had the longest press and fan events. They also had an extensive library of games by Electronic Arts that they demonstrated as they will be distributing a large amount of their games in Japan in the upcoming years.
We have collected info from hundreds of previews, interviews and presentations then summed it all up in a simple read after the break.
The SEGA Source 