March Retro Community Playthrough - Phantasy Star

[singlebanana]

Wow, I didn't realize that about the music. That's really neat.  The NPCs do give good information in this game and really help drive it. I also noticed  the animations and think it really adds a  nice touch to the game. I've started keeping a small notebook and pen in my game room so that I can write down things I notice while playing. I suggest everyone do this so that we can  a good discussion after the playthrough is over.

I also want to mention that the beginning of the game can be a little frustrating for those who may of not played it before. If you get stuck, please, PLEASE, send one of us a PM for help or look at a walkthrough. We want everyone to enjoy their experience this month and don't want anyone to put the game down in frustration. Try to keep up if you can, since getting behind in a 30 hour game can be tough to make up. Enjoy!

[MaterialHandlerMike]

This is my first time EVER with this game, and so far it's reputation hasn't let me down. At first, the difficulty seemed very high, but I got over that and spent a good chunk of time playing. It definitely has a lot of appeal and is very good for an 8-bit/SMS RPG. I am going to try and keep up as I have been struggling to finish with the last few Community Playthroughs. 

[Addicted]

Since the game allows for four saves I would highly recommend that you use:

One save for your main game
One save before you enter a dungeon,cave etc
One save for the start of each floor. That way if you get turned around/lost you can reset to the start of the floor

I also highly recommend

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Picking up an extra wand as it can be used as an item for 100% escape rate.

Does anyone know what max level is for this game?

Nevermind. Max Level is 30.

Grinding levels before I

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Go after the crystal

[MaterialHandlerMike]

After playing for almost 3 hours yesterday, I am:

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about to enter the cave north of Scion

[techwizard]

lots of great points/info Jerry! i agree this game was pretty revolutionary for the time.

[ericeskapade]

i took my first 90 minutes in the game last friday- had a look at the menues, the villages and some little fights on the over-world-map. now I am unsure what to do exactly:

the task at the beginning, is to find that ODIN somewhere and for that you have to interview all that people standing around to get clues? right???

[Addicted]

@ericeskapade: By talking with the townsfolk you should find out that:

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Odin left for the cave to the south of the starting town to fight Medusa.

Here's some art:

[img width=700 height=560]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZlonkQd-4Q/UQtNPNSDtiI/AAAAAAAABb8/NzOjLkfnwYU/s1600/VMPHS3.png[/img]

[img width=520 height=473]http://e-shuushuu.net/images/2010-10-27-338467.jpeg[/img]

[img width=700 height=495]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3y1rxayuQ1rtpi34o1_1280.jpg[/img]

[singlebanana]

i took my first 90 minutes in the game last friday- had a look at the menues, the villages and some little fights on the over-world-map. now I am unsure what to do exactly:

the task at the beginning, is to find that ODIN somewhere and for that you have to interview all that people standing around to get clues? right???

Try this as well, since I think this may be where you are stuck.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Before entering Medusa's cave to the south, you need to have your second party member who is found on another planet. If you do have this party member, you need to go to the town to the east of the start and bug the salesman until he sells you the "SECRET" (just keep trying to buy it) after he sells it to you, check your inventory to see what the "secret" is. That should give you a good idea about what to do next.

[Disposed Hero]

I made it up to checkpoint 1 over the weekend.  I've never really played a Phantasy Star game before, so I pretty much went into this one blind.  The game felt impossibly hard at first, with me barely being able to make it through a single battle without dying.  However, I persevered, and after leveling up, earning money, and buying better equipment, I was tearing through the enemies. 

I have had to resort to a walkthrough once or twice to figure out where to go next.  And even with graph paper I still tend to get a little lost in the dungeons.  I wonder if there is any software out there now that would be good for mapping out these dungeons....

Anyway, I'm really enjoying this one so far, much more so than I thought I would 

[JerryGreenwood]

I have a very small tip and I'm not sure it has any validity, but in my long history of playing this game I've found the following to be true. The spoiler won't spoil the game in any way, it'll just save a little frustration.

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I find that it's very hard to run away from Wing Eye's, Owl Bear's, and Golden Lens's (the enemies that are eye balls with wings). They often come in large packs and their attacks are a little slow and monotonous. Even at a high level, I'll just fight them rather than trying to run away. Again, there is no proof of this, but I've played this game a ton and those particular enemies stick out in my head. The Green, Red, and Blue Slimes (guess which planet has which) might be hard to run away from too.

[singlebanana]

I extend a hearty gauntlet applause to those of you who are braving Phantasy Star without a walkthrough or the use of dungeon maps. I'll be the first to admit that while I am not using a walkthrough, I have been using dungeon maps for this game. Being a full time employee, husband, and dad really limits my free time and I'm trying despirately to avoid the frustration of a dungeon crawler and using graph paper. Were I younger, I would concede to that "punishment" as I did in days of yore, but alas, the sands of time and this commitment will not allow it to be so. The main purpose of these playthroughs is to enjoy the games as a group and discuss them, so for those of you looking for good dungeon maps, here they be:

http://shrines.rpgclassic...om/sms/ps1/dungeons.shtml

[JerryGreenwood]

The game felt impossibly hard at first, with me barely being able to make it through a single battle without dying.  However, I persevered, and after leveling up, earning money, and buying better equipment, I was tearing through the enemies. 

I have had to resort to a walkthrough once or twice to figure out where to go next.  And even with graph paper I still tend to get a little lost in the dungeons.  I wonder if there is any software out there now that would be good for mapping out these dungeons....

Anyway, I'm really enjoying this one so far, much more so than I thought I would 

Yes, the beginning of the game is very hard. I grind in the 3 block area right outside the city wall and heal at Suelo's house after nearly every fight. On level 1 encountering a Scorpion will probably result in death.

Please ask us where to go next. We'll lead you in the right direction rather than blurting it out where to go like a walkthrough does. It'll be more satisfying. As for the maps, it is difficult. As a kid, I didn't draw maps because I couldn't grasp the concept that each step would equal one block on grid paper. As a result, later dungeons took me forever to figure out but I got a lot of EXP and it saved me from grinding later on.

To help map making less tedious, I don't do it block by block, step by step. If I walk down a long hall, I just draw a long line as an estimate. If I make a right turn and walk 4 places and run into a staircase, I'll just draw a short line and my staircase symbol. As long as you are halfway decent at estimating, this method should work. It's sloppier and less accurate, but much faster.

Glad you're enjoying it!

[JerryGreenwood]

Were I younger, I would concede to that "punishment".

Punishment? I imagine that's what Heaven is like!

I don't have kids yet, so I have much more time to mess around in a cave. I understand work and family must come first, but I wish you had the chance to get completely frustrated tooling around the same corridor for hours, then finally seeing a doorway and as you approach it, you get such joy because you know you finally found your way.

I have a HUGE warning to people using online maps. DO NOT use a map near the very end of the game. It will definitely spoil something. It's hard for me to explain when you should stop using the maps because my explaination will spoil it. I guess, when you think you're near the end, stop using them. Or better yet, try exploring dungeons without a map at first until you get disoriented.

[singlebanana]

I tried exploring for quite some time in one of the dungeons before going to the maps. To my amusement??, when I looked at the map and noticed how simple it was, I almost slapped myself. I have no orientation when it comes to things like this, but ironically, you can put me in some complex mall or overwhelming parking lot and I always come out on top. It's the damnedest thing!

Good to know about the end. Thanks.

[Addicted]

I found that using the

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compass

helped me get my bearings in the dungeons.