In computer games, Phantasy Star (Japanese: ファンタシースター) is the most famous role-playing game series for Sega consoles, and has many incarnations including an online version. Contrary to most other RPGs, it has a futuristic/fantasy setting where the player battles monsters using a variety of guns in addition to the usual staple of melee weapons and magic that are found in similiar games.

Game history

The first Phantasy Star was for the Sega Master System, or SMS. It was first released in Japan on December 20, 1987, and was one of the first cartridges to include battery backed RAM for saving game positions. The game featured an amazing (at the time) set of 3D like dungeons which were like mazes, which you traversed in real time in a first person mode. The story is about Alis, a girl who sees Nero, her brother, killed and sets out to avenge him. The action begins in a futuristic city complex in a three-planet solar system called Algol. After travelling some underground mazes, you get to travel to the other planets and follow your adventure. There is the option to talk with monsters you encounter --sometimes they are friendly and just leave.

The Phantasy Star series is noteworthy in that all of the games take place in the same fictional universe, as opposed to many RPG series such as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, where each successive game takes place in an entirely different alternate universe than the previous one did. Each major Phantasy Star game adds a bit more to the series' overall story, culminating in Phantasy Star IV which ties all of the series' plot elements together into a final, epic conclusion.

The Phantasy Star series have been released on the Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis, Dreamcast, GBA, GameCube, Xbox and PC. These include:

• Phantasy Star (Sega Master System, 1987/Sega Mega Drive, 1992)
• Phantasy Star II (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, PC (RealArcade) 1989)
• Phantasy Star: Anne's Adventure (Sega Meganet modem, 1991)
• Phantasy Star: Huey's Adventure (Sega Meganet modem, 1991)
• Phantasy Star: Kind's Adventure (Sega Meganet modem, 1991)
• Phantasy Star: Shilka's Adventure (Sega Meganet modem, 1991)
• Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (Mega Drive/Genesis, 1991)
• Phantasy Star Adventure (Japanese Game Gear, 1992)
• Phantasy Star Gaiden (Japanese Game Gear, 1992)
• Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium (Mega Drive/Genesis, 1994)
• Phantasy Star Collection (Japanese Sega Saturn, 1998)
• Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast, PC, 2001)
• Phantasy Star Online ver.2 (Dreamcast, 2002)
• Phantasy Star Collection (Game Boy Advance, 2002)
• Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II (GameCube, Xbox, 2002)
• Phantasy Star Generation 1 (PlayStation 2, 2003 Japan, soon in North America)
• Phantasy Star Online: Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution (Nintendo GameCube only), 2004)
• Phantasy Star Universe (Announced at 2004 E³)

Phantasy Star Generation 1 is an enhanced remake of the original Phantasy Star.

A Taiwanese pirate of Phantasy Star IV called Wai Xing Zhan Shi (Wai Hsing Chan Shih) was made for the Famicom. The pirate is incomplete and has many bugs.

Fictional universe

Algol star system

The setting of the computer game series. It has four planets - Palma, Motavia, Dezolis, Rykros - as well as many orbital space stations. The planet names are sometimes spelled differently from game to game.

Palma/Parma

Palma is a green planet, and apparently the original homeworld of Algol's human species. The planet is destroyed in Phantasy Star II when the prison satellite Gaira crashes into it. The planet is ruled by the evil emperor Lassic/Lashiec in the first game, and its government sends enforcer robots after your party in the second game shortly before it is destroyed.

Motavia/Mota

Motavia is a desert planet inhabited by owl-like intelligent humanoids with blue feathers (see Gryz ) and also some refugees from Palma and some students. In Phantasy Star II, the planet is green and water is abundant thanks to the Mother Brain and the Climatrol Center , but it returns to its former desiccated state in the fourth game.

Dezoris/Dezolis/Dezo

Dezolis is an ice planet populated by green-skinned intelligent humanoids and Musk Cats who are small yellow talking cats. In Phantasy Star IV, these cats guard the Silver Tusk , a weapon for Fal/Rika . In Phantasy Star II, the Dezolisians are not able to communicate with you unless you are wearing special headgear. This is the Mogic Cap, but beware; the natives will lie to you and charge you double in shops if you wear the similarly-named Magic Cap.

Rykros

Rykros is an artificially-created planet on an extremely elongated orbit, like that of a comet. It is shielded from detection by ordinary means and can only be located by the legendary Aero Prism . It contains "Le Roof ", an incredibly advanced informational entity worshipped as a god by the students. Rykros and Le Roof hold the secrets to the ultimate purpose and fate of the Algol solar system.