Phantasy Star Series Reviews

Below are scans of magazine reviews and one preview covering the first four games in the Phantasy Star series. However, most of the coverage is of parts two and three as I've only got one review for the first game and one for the fourth. It's a significant series for Sega and the early days of Japanese role playing games (JRPG), specifically the first one that features a female protagonist. Phantasy Star is often overshadowed by similar games from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) series that appeared on the more popular Nintendo consoles.

Personally, I've only completed Phantasy Star II which I did a couple times in the early '90s. On the Master System I never had Phantasy Star because it released around the same time as Miracle Warriors, another Sega RPG that I got instead. While I also own Phantasy Star III on the Genesis, I never completed it and the fourth game released during my college days when I wasn't spending much time or money on video games. There were a couple of Game Gear Phantasy Star games too but those only released in Japan and one was not a RPG like the others: Phantasy Star Gaiden and Phantasy Star Adventure. After Phantasy Star IV Sega moved away from the single-player only format to Phantasy Star Online during the Dreamcast era.

Some of the reviews had to be edited to fit on one image. Video Games & Computer Entertainment's reviews can sometimes be split between multiple pages and with Electronic Gaming Monthly I like to line up the "Review Crew" next to the review (otherwise it only appears at the start of the magazine's review section). I'm also adding a video on the YouTube channel this week that looks at the Phantasy Star II package and the opening as well as the ending of the game. 

Phantasy Star

Phantasy Star II

Phantasy Star III

Phantasy Star IV