A shame that a game this good came out on a doomed system.
Phantasy Star has typical 8-bit Master System graphics. The overhead portion of the game doesn’t exactly stand out; it’s the battle portion that demands noting. The enemies are quite detailed for the platform and there is a wide variety of them. The small cut scenes that appear occasionally are also done nicely. When traversing dungeons, the perspective goes into a first person view, which was unique at the time. Sound wise, Phantasy Star can hold its own compared to other RPG’s at the time. There really aren’t any memorable tunes that you will be humming years later, but it does its job. Game play is typically RPG style. You wander around and have random encounters to gain experience and money. If you are familiar with the RPG formula, then you will be right at home with Phantasy Star. The game is quite big and has three different worlds you have to explore. Most RPGs at the time usually consisted of one large world, but Phantasy Star had three unique worlds. There were some occasional spots where I got stuck and didn’t know what I had to do, but for the most part, it is pretty straightforward. Getting lost in the dungeons does happen often and I had to make my own maps at the time.
Since Phantasy Star came out for the defunct Master System, most people haven’t ever played it. Anyone who is a true fan of the Genesis games would need to pick this one up so the series makes sense. For an RPG that came out when RPG’s were in there infancy, Phantasy Star is one that helped pave the way for games like Final Fantasy.