The Guardians of Algo.

*Spoiler Warning*

After the events of Phantasy Star II the planet Palma had been destroyed, Mother Brain has been disabled and 90% of Algo system's Population has died. 1000 Years have passed since those events.  The story begins with the Hunter Chaz Ashley and his mentor Alys Brangwin.  They receive a call about a bio-monster outbreak in Academy town Piata, and are asked to investigate.  But what starts out as a simple call to exterminate monsters turns into an epic adventure that will span 3 planets, 2 space stations, and beyond.  And along the journey, you meet interesting characters like Rune Walsh, the mysterious Wizard, Rika, the completed Bio-Human, and Wren the Android just to name a few.  Many people will be met, but also much evil lurks as you set on a journey to rid the Algo galaxy of evil in the final installment of the classic Phantasy Star series.

This game was released in 1994 and it was the last game of the original Phantasy Star series (pre-Phantasy Star Online). The creators aimed to end the series with a bang, and the exceeded in every aspect of bringing the classic series to a close.  The story alone combines elements of the previous Phantasy Star titles and give it an awesome experience.  The characters have their own personalities that shine throughout the game.  While not as developed as other RPGs, you still have a chance to appreciate and know them from beginning to end.  Veterans of the Phantasy Star universe will also notice references to the older games of the series.  

                                                                      
                                                                                           An Old Friend

The game play simply rocks. The game is like most RPGs, which means going to and from towns, into dungeons, fighting some enemies, gain levels, beat a boss, and progress the plot.  Also, there are extra quests that you can go on call Hunters Guild Quests.  These are usually short, but they can be rewarding in terms of money and sometimes items.  The controls are simple and battle is easy to navigate through.  In battle, you can choose basic attack, technique (Phantasy Star's magic), items, and defense just like in practically every game.  There is also a ‘Skills’ option which can be used both in and out of battle.  Basically, skills allows you to do special attacks that normally wouldn't be used as a technique.  They do not take away from your Technique points, but they are only allowed to be used a select amount of times until you stay at an Inn.  Also, during battle, select techniques and skills will allow for a combination attack that will do more damage or kill off all screen enemies.  Another useful feature are macros.  Basically, you can pre-set what you want each character to do in the menu.  Then you can select it in battle and your party will automatically perform that.  This is very useful in boss fights, and is necessary to do certain combination attacks.          

                                                         
           One of many combination attacks.

The Presentation of the game has taken a major change from the past Phantasy Star games.  The story is told out in an anime style fashion showing story-board pictures during key scenes of the game.  And the in game graphics really shine well, especially when you watch the combination attacks (One of my favorites is Black Hole).  The music has a lot of catchy tunes and even its emotional numbers.  Although the music matched the mood, I wish there would have been more music during the key scenes that dealt with the mood.  For example, during a scene in the beginning where Alys is talking with one of the characters, the music stays the same, even when there is some comical elements.  I think it kind of kills the effect if you ask me.  


 

     Anime Style cut scenes progress the story..

While I'd love to call this game flawless, I did find just one problem; Cursor Jumping.  Granted, its just a small issue, but it can effect the game, especially when you want your character to do a skill/technique and the cursor chooses defend.  Not good, especially if your characters are almost dead and the enemy does an attack that kills everyone.  With that aside I can say that Phantasy Star IV is a treat for both Phantasy Star and RPG fans.  If you like RPGs, don’t look this one over.  You could be passing one of the greatest RPGs of all time.  

9/10

 

Translation Note:
You might notice that Wren has many similarities to PSIII's Wren (in appearance and name).  In the Japanese version of PSIII, Wren is called Shiren and in the Japanese version of PSIV, Wren is called Fuoren.  So, no, they're not the same character.  Just a something that was Lost in Translation.