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GREAT!!!!!

The character art in PS2 was amazing, and I'm still sad that they "updated" it for the Playstation 2 port.

In an interview going to more than 10 years ago, series co-creator Rieko Kodama said she had a vision for Phantasy Star V which would pit the heroes in the role of the darkness fighting against the light. One thing I very very much liked about the PS games was that even though both sides are portrayed as absolute, there are hints that one needs the other to really make the universe thrive. Its not a unique concept but for an early video game narrative it was quite a fresh take. Sadly she passed away recently and we might never see a PS:V.

Fantastic vid. People really don't get just how amazing this game is/was. And they especially don't get how incredible it is in context with the 3rd entry too. I think you may have missed the significance of the 3rd game's entry though.

I love Phantasy Star 2! The story, the style, and the synth soundtrack was a great combination. I still have my original copy, with Hint book, and map. Your review was excellent. So much nostalgia!

Great video! This game is a 10/10 in most areas except for gameplay sadly. I can't think of another 16t-bit JRPG that could benefit more from a remake.

To be fair to Ultima, it had Star fighters and you would travel to other planets 😅

It is an amazing game

The biggest thing that made me angry is finding out much much later well after I completed this that there is a way to revive Nei. You can have Shir steal Moon Dew and Star Mist as soon as you find her(this might take quite a few tries). That makes Nei's revival during the fight possible. Note: This works on the Original Mega Drive/ Genesis version of the game. I cannot say if it works on any of the remakes.

You can kill neifirst with nei. The result of the fight doesn't change.

I've only gotten so far into it (near end of first planet story content), but I've enjoyed it so far. like PS on the Master System, it is a tad grindy, but I'll get to the end eventually. It definitely has a much darker story vibe from what I've seen compared to the original on the MS. I still need to find a copy of the tip/guide book too, as I only have box/game/manual/map.

So dope that you have the hint book. I regret that I didn't hang on to it!

Wait, I just watched a video on a game series I adore without thought, and find out it’s from the author of the usj trilogy? Oooooooo the goosebumps right now.

Great review! I've always loved how 80s and 90s JRPGs merged Sci-Fi and high fantasy, and always wanted to go through these games, but am currently about halfway into part 1 still.

I was always a Phantasy star kid, I remember when people were saying that ff7 was so bold and tragic for killing Aerith, I was like, man Ps2 already did that, plus they killed off an entire planet!!!

Great synopsis. While PSIV is my overall favourite in the series, PSII's story and setting is just... some of the best sci-fi ever done in any medium.

Great video.

4 is also a solid title

Ahhh!! This series is where I got my username from way way back in the 1990's. This wonderful piece of software & damn Im getting chills listening to the wonderful music. Man I was hurt when NeiFirst was killed by Nei sacrifice & she was so powerful. GET THE STRATEGY GUIDE

I was able to play all 4 single player Phantasy Star games on Sonic and Sega Genesis/Mega Collection on PS3/XBox 360 generation of consoles. So I am thankful to have been able to get into the series at the right time. Save States are much needed especially with the original Master System Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star 2 on Genesis/Mega Drive. The Save System was always important to get right even on original hardware when they faced limitations.

Agreed that Phantasy Star 2 was a iconic game for character permanent-deaths, however due to the long grind of early game most wouldn't have pushed themselves that far. Phantasy Star 4 also had a tragic death of a main party member. So did Dragon Quest 5 and Final Fantasy 5 for those who had access to imported Japanese RPGs. So there have been many iconic character deaths before FF7, but considering the popularity of JRPGs exploded when FF7 released that would explain why Aerith had such an impact when she died.

Phantasy star 2 was so ahead of its time, the music was incredible and fit the game perfectly as well, if what I understand is true it was composed by a man nicknamed Bo, and the musician that teaches you the music skill was a way to showcase his work and pay tribute to his contribution.

That ending blew me away as a kid. I replayed it a dozen times to see if it really happened or if I missed something.

I think one part of the story which really made Phantasy Star II ahead of its time was the player couldn't preserve the utopian civilization. The best that could be done was prevent total extinction and one day rebuild.

If you're still unsure of what happened to the PS2 protagonists after that final battle with the corrupt humans of Earth, there are some light novel books officially written by the writers who participated in the game and which feature illustrations by the original PS2 (and PS3) character designer. Unfortunately the books are only in Japanese, and I'm surprised that in this era where translations are easier due to AI no one has done a translation. "Phantasy Star 2 Futabasha Game Book" There are three books that have more details about the story on PS1, PS2 and PS3, the latter unfortunately only tells one of the 4 timelines that are created depending on who you marry, but I believe they tell the canonical timeline that the writers recognize as the official one. Coming back with PS2 and its novel book, there is an epilogue clarifying everything, giving us an illustration by the designer that makes us happy and sad at the same time, but I think that if they had included that ending it would have made more than one person shed a tear: Where Rolfd sees an image of Alice (the protagonist of PS1) and Nie accompanies her smiling, Rolfd says goodbye to them for the last time promising that he would rebuild Algol. Maybe it's my imagination but that illustrated image makes me understand that Nei is a human mutation with Myau genes or maybe a kind of incarnation of Alice's partner and he came back for her. You can search for the book "Phantasy Star 2 Futabasha Game Book" in any search engine and it will give you results.

I have a deep love for this game, flaws and all. I am very curious where you got the info that Nei means ancient. I've thought about why it gets used for both her name and the equipment, and then gets used again in PS3. I would love to know more.

Beautiful video! And a beautiful game. Very overlooked these days due to being one of the older PS titles and an early genesis title, but it's aged like a fine wine imo

TO AVOID SPOILERS SKIP THE FOLLOWING PARTS OF THE VIDEO: From 4:08 skip to 7:05 From 10:05 skip to 20:27 This review itself is mostly the story of the game narrated with mayor spoilers. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want to play this game to get to experience the story by yourself then avoid the video or at least skip the parts mentioned.

I hate how Sega never revisited Phantasy Star like this ever again. Instead they permanently turned the series into an MMO. It’s ok to do that, but also continue the mainline story driven games. Phantasy Star 5 will never come.

Hell yeah new to me channel

Eh... I went through that era when I was a child/teen, and I have to say. The videogame plots back then couldn't survive the mildest scrutiny. It was all a muddled mess, and anything one sees in them - in my mind - is a bit of the "Face on Mars" phenomenon. I even wrote a summary of Phantasy Star's 2 plot some years ago, though I was a lot less charitable than you: Phantasy Star 2's plot in a nutshell: You are tasked with investigating why never before seen, aggressive lifeforms have started showing up everywhere in Mota. Your commander suspects Mother Brain, the AI overseeing everything in Mota, is involved. Blocking your way is a petty criminal with a short sword, which you, being a top government agent with ample backup, promptly and effortlessly apprehend... yeah, no. You go through hours of dungeons to find his daughter, and then, in one of gaming history's most baffling moments, watch as she rushes forward without removing her veil or telling her father who she is, only to get stabbed for failing to comply with his demands. After a bunch of unimportant fluff, you discover that Mother Brain, in its supreme wisdom and keen attunement to mankind's most profound desires, successfully created Catgirls... which some people promptly tried to murder (WTF????). One of the two prototypes escaped to Climatrol with a DNA databank and started syphoning energy away from Climate Control to make monsters. And then Rolf, realizing this creature is but 2 years old, and justifiedly scared and resentful, talks her down, resets Climatrol and becomes the father figure poor Neifirst never had. Congress then passes ordinances for better security on all infra-structure in Mota, as well as GMO rights. Yeah, just kidding! Nei - the second prototype Catgirl, in your party - fights Neifirst one on one while everyone cheers from the sidelines because... I dunno, they're mesmerized by the literal catfight? And then, even though Nei and Neifirst have completely separate bodies, with their own independent organs, Nei dies when Neifirst dies. Oh, and the moment Neifirst is off the consoles, Climatrol - which has been working without issue under the altered parameters for two years now - starts exploding. You have to wonder how Neifirst ever slept or took toilet breaks. You are now a wanted criminal, because nobody bought your story and they think you sabotaged Climatrol. And I'm tempted to believe you're an unreliable narrator and you actually did. Anyway, the clone labs who have brought Nei back a hundred times now, even as far as yesterday, now won't do it anymore. Because reasons. But who cares, you're a wanted criminal with very little to lose, and you have a Biology Expert in your party, so you just clock granny and have Hugh operate the machinery... yeah, no. In any case, if there's anything that could be established from this debacle, it's that Mother Brain is completely blameless. The monsters were created by the prototype catgirl. ...And so, upon reading your report, your commander decides that Mother Brain must die. Yeah, no agenda here, folks. So you spend several more days dungeoning while fighting the robot police (Now they have an entire army to keep security in these previously automated and abandoned buildings!), trying to clean your own mess, and eventually you're captured and... Palm explodes? Did they hurl a moon at it or something? I thought it was an orbital station... anyway, you finally meet this extremist cult hidden in the wilderness in Dezolis. They even have a charismatic and unfailing leader who lives in a cryo chamber and only wakes up every year or something. They also have it in for Mother Brain. And so, he instructs you to go fetch these weapons of legend, forgotten for millennia in decrepit buildings, invisible and inaccessible without an ancient artifact. They're called... *dramatic fanfare* the Nei Weapons. You fetch them all and the leader teleports you aboard some space station or ship, where you are to sabotage Mother Brain. You do, and then meet a bunch of Earthlings aboard the vessel. They explain that they left their homeworld, that technology is bad and nature is good, mmmkay? And when they stumbled on Algo, they decided that they wanted the system for themselves. So, their plan to conquer it was to ignore the most verdant, most fertile, most Earth-like planet, to build extensive terraforming infrastructure on Mota, along with Mother Brain, and... *dramatic fanfare* to just let the natives enjoy the utopia for... I don't know, decades? Centuries? While they chilled aboard their vessel. Even though I'm certain the natives would be more than glad and grateful to let them settle and coexist on the planet with them. And then one day they just wake up in a foul mood and decide to destroy the most useful planet in the system. That they want for themselves. I have to admit, I'm awed by the ingenuity of this script. This was Silent Hill 2 decades before Silent Hill 2. Unable to deal with his guilt and regret, the terrorist Rolf created this "Phantasy" in his head, this gloriously incoherent mess of a narrative in which he's the hero and everyone he murdered, directly and indirectly, is wrong and evil. Anyone who is paying any attention immediately realizes things couldn't have happened the way he's telling the story, and that's the brilliance of it. 10/10

I think Phantasy Star 2 spoiled me, I have not been able to really enjoy any JRPG since I played it, nothing else had a story as interesting or original, everything else is just the typical save-the-princess-and-fulfill-your-destiny-save-the-world crap.

Beautiful review. Thank you!

With only seeing just your title, I concur, good sir and gave a like.

Great stuff, new sub here!

I disagree. The first Phantasy Star is way ahead of its time and deserve to be praised more than Phantasy Star II. PSII is not a great game either, with many flaws and people mostly reminds about Nei terrible fate, althought that is not the main event for the serie... PSIII everyone knows is the worst game, while PS IV is another masterpiece, together with the first Phantasy Star. PS IV is what PSII should be.

Nei can solo Neifirst if she's strong enough (and/or you have enough heals). With that out of the way, personally I prefer the original Phantasy Star over the 2nd game. I might have liked 2 more if Nei was the protagonist instead of Rolf, but I'd still have to contend with the battle system and the dungeon design.

I honor Nei death by playing the Song: Lost not Found by Kalax and wish Phantasy Star Online New Genesis would honor her with this song as well I will always miss you NEI! 😭

Nice review

This is one of those games I have had since I was a kid and got stuck, but went back and completed as an adult. The best parts of this game are dungeon design and story. This game is a great cautionary tale about government running everything, up there with Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 because Mother Brain could easily be a stand-in for government.

Yeah it’s incredibly memorable for when it came out. The fact that it’s so well remembered in spite of being absolutely RIDICULOUSLY and unfairly hard to the point of being actively not fun, shows just how good the story was for the time. Everyone remembers Aerith dying in FF VII, but Nei was the gut punch of my childhood. And it only got more bleak from there. It’s a shame the mechanics make it such a barrier to enjoyment nowadays. PS IV is far more playable and has a great story as well.

Awesome work man, God bless ya and Jesus loves ya! :D

Get a Nintendo switch plastic game protector thing for the hint book! It fits really well.

If you enjoyed Phantasy Star II's story, and I can only agree, let me recommend you the text-based adventures prequels to each character that were fortunately fantranslated. They are short but there's added depth there and I think you would enjoy that

Phantasy Star II was my first rpg. Played it shorty after I got a Sega Genesis and Sonic, coming from the NES and not having played anything like it before. It totally blew my mind. Really enjoyed your review, felt the same in many ways. Many people hate this game, and I get it, but I feel lucky to be able to have so much love for it despite all its flaws.

Yeah, I played this back in the day and really enjoyed it. And it has one of my all-time favorite Genesis OSTs. But in hindsight, I don't know how I had the patience to drag myself through it. The difficulty is just absurd - especially the later dungeons with their ridiculous layouts. I can't recommend it to anyone today unless they have incredible stamina for this sort of thing. I'd kill to get a real proper remake of this, which fleshes out the story while toning down the difficulty and dungeon design somewhat. (Ie, more extensive changes than in the "Gen 2" PS2 version.)

My first RPG video game. I have a very nostalgic liking for it. Very grindy and I was so happy then I finally got the visophone. It came right at the moment where I really needed it, because the backtracking, after teleporting to save in a town, would have become near unbearable. I know there is a remake, but that sadly never saw port to EU. PSIII was such a downer. It felt empty and unfinished and the combat and tech system was awfull. Luckily PSIV gave us that finale we wanted and needed. The macro system for combat was genious and the skill/tech combos were nice and gave battles a bit extra, making things less monotone. Imo, I would be happy if they would remake the whole series 1 to 4. Modern graphics, maybe voice acting, story extension, side quests and making the various endings make sense within each other. Especially 3 is such a missed opportunity.

I love mother brain

I hated that little kid asking why bad things happen because if you go in that grassy spot between the little bush and the water on his right he walks behind you and stands in your way so you have to reset the game. He makes a bad thing happen lol.