Phantasy Star IV

"16-bit veterans like to think of Sega’s acclaimed Phantasy Star series as Sega’s answer to the Final Fantasy series during gaming’s Silver Era. It was simple: If you owned a Super NES, you loved Final Fantasy. If you were a Genesis person, you bragged about how good Phantasy Star was. Recent plays certain games in the respective series, however, showed something. Final Fantasy has managed to withstand the test of time, a test which is known for being especially cruel to video games. Final Fantasy gives you a great playing experience no matter what game, no matter what year. Phantasy Star IV may have ruled Role-Player’s Realm when Nintendo and Sega were bitter rivals, but today it’s likely to be remembered as just a really good 16-bit game. It’s still capable of hanging with the big dogs, but it will no longer be admitted to the VIP lounge where Final Fantasy is discussing philosophy with Lunar and Chrono Trigger."

"Musically, the game was light years beyond what I had heard from the RPGs I had been exposed to prior to this game. As I have played through many other RPGs now, and have heard various types of compositions, Phantasy Star IV's score is not the greatest, but it is certainly great. The techno beats from 'Behind The Circuit' and the sad-mood-inspiring theme 'Her Last Breath' forever stuck in my head, and I'm glad as they all are truly something special."

Of course, there's still the question: will there ever be a sequel? The box exclaims that Phantasy Star IV is "The Explosive Finale!!", which is both good and bad news. Sega never made any PS game for the Saturn, just a Sega Ages disc with all four games on the same disc. But if this is the last true PS game, at least it went out with a bang. Because Phantasy Star IV is, quite simply, one of the best 16-bit RPGs out there... right up in my book along with the Lunar and Final Fantasy games. Everyone owes it to themselves to own a copy of this game, certainly one of Sega's best.