Systems > Genesis > P > Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium > User Review
Sign up for a free user account and you can leave feedback for this review or even submit a game review of your own!
Review by sgreenwell
Date unavailable
Unfortunately, Phantasy Star 4 never got the credit it deserved for two reasons. First, Sega did not do a good job of pushing the game. Sega has NEVER been known for any role playing games, until the releasal of Phatasy Star Online for the Dreamcast. When people thought of role playing games, the Super Nintendo immediately popped into mind. Outside of the three Phantasy Star games, the Genesis has two or three recognizable role playing games to the casual gamer, maximum.
Secondly, because of the large staff and expensive extra chips included inside, Phantasy Star 4 costs eighty dollars at it's release. Most games go down in price at they're out longer; not the case with Phantasy Star 4. Quite simply, there was a small but devoted demand for the game, one which did not require Sega to produce more copies. Instead, retailers took advantage, and jacked up the price, exploiting gamers. In some stores, a copy of Phantasy Star 4 could go for as much as $150, and even today the price is still $60 at a minimum, more likely near $80, due to the scarcity of the game. It is one of the rarest games, in scale with the Dragon Warrior games of Nintendo lore.
In Phantasy Star 4, you play the role of Chaz, a young hunter and mercenary. Along with your fellow adventurer Alys, you go to investigate a disturbance at an academy. The ensuing drama will throw you into a plot so big, that money and monster hunting become much smaller concerns...
The story of Phantasy Star 4 is one of the strongest ever seen before the releasal of next generation consoles. The game easily spans over forty hours, all of it chock full of story and insight into ALL of the characters, a very welcome change. Phantasy Star 4 arguably contains the greatest single console story ever, on the scale of Final Fantasy 7 and Chrono Trigger.
The gameplay is extremely well put together. Each character has distinct strengths and weaknesses, and more intelligence than usual is needed to balance your party. A maximum of six characters can fight in one battle, which is still a record for a strictly console role playing game. You can even program macros for the game, which execute whatever commands you program for them.
The game is not especially easy; novice gamers will find it almost impossible. However, for the hardcore gamer, Phantasy Star 4 provides an excellent challenge. It's not frustratingly cheap or anything, it's just legitimately hard. You can't hack and slash your way through each and every enemy. The dungeons are no pushover either; they're deep, winding chasms, with pitfalls all about, inhabited by tough enemies. The boss characters are not especially strong, but after roaming through a dungeon looking for them, they can be difficult to take down.
If there is one problem with the gameplay, it is with the naming of items, spells, and other usable commodities. Quite simply, whoever created the name for the spells is an idiot. What exactly would you except a spell named Foi to do? Or how about Ramza? When you first get new magic, it's a guessing game as to what it does. It feels like they only translated half the game, leaving all the equipment names in Japanese to save a couple months. Maybe it's attempting to impart some knowledge on me, but I'm a stupid American, and I want my spells to have simple names like Freeze, Fire, Bolt, or something like that, not Foi.
Graphically, Phantasy Star 4 is a pleasure to behold. When talking to people, your characters are represented by bright, beautiful potraits, which also show facial expressions. It's an outstanding system, and it's mind-boggling that other games have not stolen it. Despite not having full motion video, cutscences are present, and also done well with still pictures of the events. It features the greatest presentation values in a console role playing game.
Musically, Phantasy Star 4 is a bit above average. There's a few memorable themes, such as the overworld map theme, and the dungeon theme. However, it is all midi, nothing orchestrated. They're catchy, but not great. Luckily, the music does not get in the way of enjoying the game though. You can easily play the game with the sound muted if it bugs you too much.
Overall, Phantasy Star 4 is an outstanding role playing game, even if it is for the Sega Genesis. Is it worth the over sixty bucks it commands? I'd say yes, it really is that good. If you're a role playing enthusiast, you can't do any better than Phantasy Star 4.
Rating: 10/10
|
|
|
Most recent video game reviews written by sgreenwell
Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (Super Nintendo) [June 30, 2006]
Gradius III (Super Nintendo) [September 03, 2005]
.hack Part 4: Quarantine (PlayStation 2) [June 08, 2005]
Ultimate Basketball (NES) [April 29, 2005]
Final Fantasy X-2 (PlayStation 2) [March 18, 2005]
|
You can click the tabs on the above bar to choose whether you wish to read comments from visitors who have posted on Facebook, or from registered site users who have left feedback on the forums. Please leave a comment of your own if you have anything to say!
|
|
|
Follow Us |
Advertise exclusively for 1 month... only $1000!
Recent Forum Discussions
+ Alpha Olympics 2012
+ Where's SkyWard Sword's review ? And please bring back the rating feature.
+ Game Progress 2/10
+ JoeTheDestroyer's Tales of Phantasia review
+ holdthephone's Final Fantasy XIII-2 review
+ JoeTheDestroyer's Area 51 review
+ zippdementia's Mega Jump review
+ [News] Schafer has pitched Psychonauts 2, Minecraft dev says 'let's make it happen'
+ playstation vita, yo.
+ RotW January 29 - February 04 2012
+ Games to be added to the database...
+ The Final Fantasy XIII-2 thread
Staff Game Reviews
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |
| SoulCalibur V |
| The Simpsons Arcade Game |
| Quarrel |
| Star Ocean: The Last Hope |
| Pushmo |
Site Staff
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |
Featured Reviews [+]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rayman Origins |
| Othello |
| Scarface: The World is Yours |
| The Last Express |
| Golden Axe II |
| Assassin's Creed: Revelations |
Exclusive User Reviews [+]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tales of Phantasia |
| Mega Jump |
| White Knight Chronicles |
| Dragon Wars |
| F-Zero GX |
| Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door |
Info |
Help |
Privacy Policy |
Contact |
Advertise
© 1998-2012 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.
