Phantasy Star

n/a

NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J BR NTSC-K
Phantasy Star
System(s): Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (JP, EU) Sega of America (US) Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Sega Corporation
Developer: Sega R&D 2 M2
Distributor: Tonka (US, early printings), Tec Toy (BR) Samsung (KR)
Peripherals supported: FM Sound Unit
Genre: RPG, Adventure Role-Playing
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: 日本語 English Português 한국어
Release Date RRP Code JP 1987-12-20 ¥6,0006,000 G-1341 US 1988-11 $69.9969.99 9500 EU 1988 9500 DE 19xx UK 1988-11 £39.9539.95 9500 BR 1991-09 BR (Blue) 199x 029010 KR 1990-12 GB4014KS JP 1994-04-02 ¥4,8004,800 G-4534 JP ▼ 2009-04-21 600pts600 US ▼ 2009-08-31 500pts500 EU ▼ 2009-08-14 500pts500 AU ▼ 2009-08 600pts600

Phantasy Star (ファンタシースター) is a Sega Master System role-playing game developed by Sega R&D 2 and published by Sega. First released in Japan in December 1987, the game is the first in the long-running Phantasy Star series, and was released to critical and commercial success. It is regarded as a landmark RPG as well as one of the greatest Master System games. It is notable for its "science fantasy" setting, which blends medieval fantasy and science fiction, and for being an early example of a game with a female protagonist.

Story

Introduction

The game is set in the Algol star system, which consists of three planets: the lush and green Palma, the arid and barren Motavia, and the icy and desolate Dezoris. Algol is ruled by King Lassic, who, while originally benevolent, becomes a cruel tyrant. After a string of harsh political changes, small pockets of rebellion emerge but are mostly ineffective against Lassic's iron rule. One such rebel named Nero is killed by Lassic's forces, and his sister Alis swears revenge.

Gameplay

Town and character status

Overworld

Dungeon

Space travel

Phantasy Star is a role-playing game. The player controls the main character Alis on her journey to defeat the evil ruler of her star system, King Lassic, after her brother dies at his hands. As the game progresses, other characters are recruited to her party: a talking cat-like creature named Myau, a warrior named Odin, and a wizard named Noah. Each character has different strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. The party has a shared inventory of items and equipment.

The game uses a top-down perspective when the player is traversing the overworld but switches to a first-person view when exploring dungeons or engaged in battle. When exploring the overworld, the player can venture into a town to buy items and weapons in meseta, the game's currency, or talk to townspeople. Later in the game, the party acquires vehicles to help navigate tricky terrain in the overworld. Outside the towns, monsters may randomly engage the player in battle. The player can enter dungeons and caves from the overworld. Dungeons use a simulated 3D perspective. They are long and labyrinthine and require the player to map most of them on paper (or to use a guide or other resource). Many dungeons are dark and require the player to use an item to illuminate them. Dungeons include random encounters with monsters as well as unique encounters against boss characters. Dungeons can also contain treasure chests and NPCs, including vendors.

When encountering enemies, all party members enter into battle. Battles are handled using a menu system. Each character in the party gets a turn and can be ordered to attack, use magic, use an item, or try to escape the encounter. The player can also attempt to talk to an enemy to avoid a battle. Battles can involve multiple foes of the same type, but only one is shown; the player cannot choose a particular enemy to target. Enemies attack and sometimes use magic spells. Allies and enemies both have a chance to miss with their attacks. Characters and enemies are defeated when they run out of hit points. When the enemies are defeated, party members gain experience points and are rewarded with a treasure chest that usually contains meseta or an item. Some treasure chests contain booby traps that damage the party, so the player can choose not to open the chest.

As the characters gain experience points, they increase in level (up to a maximum level of 30), gaining access to new magic spells and raising their offensive and defensive statistics:

• Max HP: The maximum number of hit points for the character, which is the amount of damage that the character can sustain from enemy attacks before dying.
• Max MP: The maximum number of magic points for the character, which can be spent to use magic abilities.
• Attack: Increases the damage done by attacks. This statistic can be increased by weapons.
• Defense: Reduces the damage taken from enemy attacks. This statistic can be increased by armor.

If Alis is defeated in battle, the game ends; other party members can be revived at a church in town. Characters can be healed using spells, consumable items, or hospitals (for a fee). Some towns contain houses where the party can replenish their hit points and magic points for free.

The story spans the three worlds of the Algol system. Alis and her party can travel between the planets of Palma, Motavia, and Dezoris at spaceports after acquiring a Passport.

When out of battle, the player can invoke a menu with to view the status of any character, manage items, or save the game at any point.

Characters

	Alis (アリサ)
	The main character. Her brother is killed by Lassic, and she vows revenge. She is a strong fighter and learns several utility spells, though her pool of magic points is relatively limited. Spell Level Acquired HEAL Level 4 BYE Level 5 CHAT Level 6 FIRE Level 12 ROPE Level 14 FLY Level 16
	Myau (ミャウ)
	A "musk cat," an unusual creature resembling a cat and a companion to Odin. Alis finds Myau in Motavia, and he joins to find Odin. He transforms into another form after consuming a Laerma nut. He learns a number of defensive spells. Spell Level Acquired CURE Level 6 TERR Level 9 WALL Level 12 TRAP Level 15 EXIT Level 17 HELP Level 20
	Odin (タイロン)
	Odin is a legendary fighter who was turned to stone by Medusa. Alis finds Odin in Palma, and he joins after Myau restores him. He has a powerful attack but does not learn any magic.
	Noah (ルツ)
	Noah is an esper wizard. Alis finds Noah in Motavia, and he joins to help stop King Lassic. He learns a number of offensive spells. Spell Level Acquired CURE Level 1 FIRE Level 1 EXIT Level 6 TELE Level 8 WIND Level 12 PROT Level 14 OPEN Level 17 THUN Level 18 RISE Level 20

Town

Towns contain numerous buildings that Alis and the party can enter to talk with NPCs or purchase items, equipment, or services.

	House
	Houses contain NPCs, who provide information. Suelo's house in Camineet provides healing for free.
	Shop
	There are three types of shops: the First Food Shops, which sell healing items; Second-Hand Shops, which sell other consumable items; and Armorers, which sell weapons and armor. The player can also sell items at Second-Hand Shops for half of their purchase price.
	Hospital
	Party members can have their hit points and magic points restored for a fee at a hospital.
	Church
	Fallen allies can be resurrected in a church for a donation in meseta.
	Dungeon
	Enters a dungeon located within the town.
	Exit
	Leaves the town and returns to the overworld.

Items

Food shop

Second-hand shop

Consumable

Item	Cost (in meseta)	Description
Cola	10	Restores 10 hit points to a character.
Burger	40	Restores 40 hit points to a character.
Flash	20	Illuminates a dark dungeon. Lasts until the dungeon is exited.
Escape	10	Allows the party to run from a battle.
Transer	48	Teleports the party back to the last visited church. Can only be used out of battle.
Magic Hat	20	Allows the party to run from a battle. Talks to certain enemies, including enemies who do not respond to the TALK command. Equivalent to the CHAT spell.
Sphere	30	Talks to certain enemies, including enemies who do not respond to the CHAT spell or TALK command. Equivalent to the TELE spell.

Reusable

Item	Cost (in meseta)	Description
Road Pass	200	Used to pass guards to access the moving platforms.
Passport	100	Used to travel to other planets at a spaceport.
Dungeon Key	—	Unlocks doors in dungeons.
Compass	—	Shows the direction that the characters are facing. Useful for navigating dungeons. Also necessary to enter Eppi Forest.
Magic Lamp	1,400	Illuminates dark dungeons.
Flute	—	Teleports the party to the entrance of the current dungeon.
Gas Shield	1,000	Protects against poison gas.
Landrover	5,200	Vehicle that travels quickly over flat terrain. Also crosses over Antlion nests on Motavia.
Hovercraft	5,200	Vehicle that travels over water or lava.
Ice Digger	12,000	Vehicle that breaks through ice on Dezoris.

Equipment

Armorer

Weapons

Swords, wands, and fangs do a high amount of damage to a single enemy each turn. Guns hit every enemy once per turn for less damage. The amount of damage done by swords, wands, and fangs varies randomly, but guns consistently do the same damage.

Weapon	Cost (in meseta)	Shop	Attack	Equippable by
Woodcane	25	Albion	3	Noah
Short Sword	30	Paseo	4	Alis, Odin, Noah
Iron Axe	64	Eppi	10	Odin
Iron Fang	—	—	10	Myau
Wand	1,200	Skure	10	Alis, Odin, Noah
Iron Sword	75	Parolit	12	Alis, Odin
Needle Gun	400	Eppi	18	Odin
Titanium Sword	380	Parolit	21	Alis, Odin
Heat Gun	1,540	Uzo	30	Odin
Silver Fang	1,620	Loar	30	Myau
Ceramic Sword	1,120	Parolit	31	Alis, Odin
Light Saber	2,980	Uazo	46	Alis, Odin
Laser Gun	4,120	Skure	50	Odin
Laconian Sword	—	—	60	Alis
Laconian Axe	—	—	80	Odin

Armor

Armor	Cost (in meseta)	Shop	Defense	Equippable by
Leather Armor	28	Scion	5	Alis, Odin
White Mantle	78	Loar	5	Noah
Light Suit	290	Scion	15	Alis, Odin
Iron Armor	84	Abion	20	Odin
Thick Fur	630	Paseo	30	Myau
Zircon Armor	1,1000	Scion	30	Alis, Odin
Frad Mantle	—	—	40	Noah
Diamond Armor	15,000	Paseo	60	Alis, Odin
Laconian Armor	—	—	80	Odin

Shields

Armor	Cost (in meseta)	Shop	Defense	Equippable by
Leather Shield	30	Camineet	3	Alis, Odin
Bronze Shield	310	Eppi	8	Odin
Iron Shield	520	Camineet	15	Alis, Odin
Ceramic Shield	1,400	Camineet	23	Alis, Odin
Laser Shield	4,800	Abion	30	Alis, Odin, Noah
Gloves	3,300	Skure	40	Myau
Mirror Shield	—	—	40	Odin
Laconian Shield	—	—	05	Alis, Odin

Spells

Spell	MP cost	Description	Learned by
BYE	2	Escapes a battle. Can only be cast in battle.	Alis
CHAT	2	Talks to certain enemies, including enemies who do not respond to the TALK command. Can only be cast in battle.	Alis
CURE	6	Restores 80 hit points to a character. Can only be cast in battle by Myau and only out of battle by Noah.	Myau, Noah
EXIT	4	Teleports the party out of a dungeon. Can only be cast in a dungeon.	Myau, Noah
FIRE	4	Shoots fireballs at two random enemies. Can only be cast in battle.	Alis, Noah
FLY	8	Teleports the party to the last visited church. Can only be cast out of battle.	Alis
HEAL	2	Restores 20 hit points to a character. Can be cast at any time.	Alis
HELP	10	Increases the attack power of a character. Can only be cast in battle.	Myau
OPEN	4	Opens magically sealed doors. Can only be cast out of battle.	Noah
PROT	10	Creates a magical barrier that protects the party against physical attacks. Can only be cast in battle.	Noah
RISE	12	Revives a fallen ally. Can be cast at any time.	Noah
ROPE	4	Binds an enemy, preventing it from acting. Can only be cast in battle.	Alis
TELE	4	Talks to certain enemies, including enemies who do not respond to the CHAT spell or TALK command. Can only be cast in battle.	Noah
TERR	2	Frightens and weakens enemies. Can only be cast in battle.	Myau
THUN	16	Summons lightning to strike every enemy. Can only be cast in battle.	Noah
TRAP	3	Inspects the area in front of the party, including treasure chests, for traps and disables any that it finds. Can only be cast out of battle.	Myau
WALL	10	Creates a magical barrier that protects the party against physical attacks. Can only be cast in battle.	Myau
WIND	12	Conjures cyclones that damage three random enemies. Can only be cast in battle.	Noah

History

Development

“	I think the success of Phantasy Star lies in the fact that the development staff was given the freedom to make the game we wanted, without restrictions or control. I wanted to create something that the Famicom wouldn't have been able to do, so I wanted the dungeons to be in 3D. When I think back on the story now, there were a lot of ridiculous things in it, but we were able to do it how we wanted, had fun while we were doing it, and the result was a good game. After all, if you're having fun, you can give it your all even when things gets tough.	„
— Kotaro Hayashida

The game was conceptualized to compete with other RPGs that were becoming popular among Japanese developers, including the Dragon Quest series on the Famicom. Employees at Sega R&D2 were asked for ideas for a new RPG, and Chieko Aoki submitted a story outline that would become Phantasy Star. A development team was formed by lead designer Kotaro Hayashida and lead programmer Yuji Naka. Naka would later produce Phantasy Star Online. The game features the work of lead artist Rieko Kodama, who had previously worked with Hayashida on Alex Kidd in Miracle World and who drew the majority of the artwork in the game. Kodama would go on to direct or produce the RPGs Phantasy Star IV, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Skies of Arcadia. It is also the first game that Naoto Ohshima worked on. Naka, Kodama, and Ohshima would notably work together again on Phantasy Star II and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Dungeon

“	Regarding the 3D, we would get an image of the dungeon in our head and draw them out on paper, but there were little details that bugged us and it wasn't getting across to the programmers as we had envisioned it. Yuji Naka learned of this and, on his own, made a wireframe 3D imaging program expressly for us. That program was also the start of Shibata learning to draw 3D graphics. That was what was amazing about Yuji: he would never just say "that can't be done" to a planning or design idea. He thought about our wishes seriously and would always figure out some ingenuous way to make our ideas possible. He was very considerate of the designer's vision, in other words.	„
— Kotaro Hayashida

The game uses a 4 Mbit cartridge, a large size for the time. The only other Master System games to use such a large ROM chip are After Burner, SpellCaster, and R-Type. The game also uses a battery backup, which made its retail price higher than most other games of its time.

Legacy

In 1994, Sega released a version for the Sega Mega Drive, Phantasy Star Fukkokuban (ファンタシースター 復刻版). This version is merely the Master System version on a Mega Drive cartridge PCB with the appropriate connector pin to signal Master System mode changed accordingly (which is how passthrough devices like the Power Base Converter work.) The situation behind this release is unknown, but it is generally believed that it was a contest giveaway.

The game has been re-released many times. It was included in Sega Ages Phantasy Star Collection for the Sega Saturn in 1998. This version of the game includes both hiragana and katakana alphabets, an improvement from the original, which had only katakana due to memory constraints. It was released as part of Phantasy Star Collection for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. This version modifies the game slightly to fit the Game Boy Advance's screen aspect ratio and fixes some errors in the English translation. It was released as part of Phantasy Star Complete Collection for the PlayStation 2 in 2008, with some minor enhancements such as the ability to speed up the walking speed. It is available as an unlockable in Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2009. It was made available on the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2009. More recently, it was ported to the Nintendo Switch by M2 as Sega Ages Phantasy Star in 2018. This version of the game includes enhancements such as options to make the game easier and faster, guides for items, spells, and monsters, the FM soundtrack, hiragana support, and a dungeon auto-mapping feature.

The game was remade as Phantasy Star Generation: 1 for the PlayStation 2. This version has new graphics, real-time 3D dungeons, new music, more cutscenes with extended dialogue, and overhauled gameplay mechanics, including an updated battle system.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Phantasy Star	Phantasy Star
English (US)	Phantasy Star	Phantasy Star
Japanese	ファンタシースター	Phantasy Star
Portuguese (Brazil)	Phantasy Star	Phantasy Star
Korean	환타지스타	Phantasy Star

Production credits

Main article: Phantasy Star/Production credits.

Hints

• 

  US hints

Magazine articles

Main article: Phantasy Star/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

File:PhantasyStar SMS JP TVAdvert 1.mp4

JP TV advert

File:PhantasyStar SMS JP TVAdvert 1.mp4

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #bg89: "1989 Buyer's Guide" (1989-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #1: "May 1989" (1989-0x-xx)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #2: "July/August 1989" (1989-04-22)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #3: "September/October 1989" (1989-0x-xx)

Print advert in Pixel (GR) #66: "Máios 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in Ação Games (BR) #6: "Outubro 1991" (199x-10-xx)
also published in:

• Supergame (BR) #4: "Novembro 1991" (1999-11-xx)

Artwork

• 
• 
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Physical scans

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 89 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 75 Console XS (UK) PAL 95 Computer & Video Games (UK) 75 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 70 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 75 Power Play (DE) PAL 83 S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 94 Sega Power (UK) PAL 100 Sega Power (UK) 90 Sega Pro (UK) 96 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 94 Tilt (FR) 75 Zzap! (IT) 92

	86
Based on 14 reviews

Phantasy Star

Master System, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, US
Cover
Cart

Master System, US (Tonka)
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU
Cover

Master System, EU (Sega®)
Cover
Cart

Master System, EU ("No Limits")
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU (no barcode)
Cover

Master System, DE

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, BR (re-release)
Cover
Cart File:PhantasyStarAlt-SMS-BR-Manual.pdf Manual

Master System, KR
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 70 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 65 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 74

	70
Based on 3 reviews

Phantasy Star

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual Mega-Soft Information Vol. 2

Technical information

Main article: Phantasy Star/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 75971bef MD5 1b69716f9f4053e1533f654c091ae410 SHA-1 fd8dad6acb6fa75dc8e9bbaea2a7e9fd486fc2dd	512kB		Cartridge (BR)	8kB backup
?	CRC32 e4a65e79 MD5 5ba9114edea5deb5282fd9ad7d4b2d62 SHA-1 257ca76ebcd54c75a414ca7ce968fa59ea42f150	512kB		Cartridge (EU/US)	8kB backup
?	CRC32 00bef1d7 MD5 1110938df80f4e44c8213d7f85cfb5e6 SHA-1 07fcf297be4f4c9d92cd3f119a7ac48467e06838	512kB		Cartridge (EU/US)	8kB backup
?	CRC32 6605d36a MD5 dfebc48dfe8165202b7f002d8bac477b SHA-1 c9a40ddd217c58dddcd6b5c0fe66c3a50d3e68e4	512kB		Cartridge (JP)	8kB backup
?	CRC32 747e83b5 MD5 f853b7ddca63864735c03001c9ac477b SHA-1 52b2aa52a1c96e15869498a8e42b074705070007	512kB		Cartridge (KR)	8kB backup

External links

• Phantasy Star section at Phantasy Star Cave
• Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Master System
• Nintendo catalogue pages: US, AU