As one of the greatest exclusive SMS games, Phantasy Star was an RPG that topped any other game in the genre that was from the 8-bit generation. Phantasy Star was also the first console RPG to be released in the United States since Nintendo had not seen fit to import either Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy for the NES at that time.

Phantasy Star was jam-packed into a full 4MB cartridge and was superior to both games in terms of both graphics and sound. It delivered fully detailed on-screen displays and character graphics (as opposed to the tile-like graphics of Nintendo’s offerings) and made full use of the Master System’s PCM synthesis chip to deliver one of the best FM-based audio experiences ever heard in an “old-school” 8-bit RPG.

Originally developed a showpiece, Yuji Naka’s Phantasy Star was also one of the last titles ever made by Sega for its 8-bit console. It went on to became one of the most popular games Sega ever released and quickly attracted a worldwide following. A science-fiction RPG with decidedly fantasy elements as well, it told the story of a young woman named Alis and her quest for justice against an age-old evil threatening her world.

It was superior to both of them in terms of graphics and sound, delivering fully detailed on-screen displays and character graphics (as opposed to the tile-like graphics of Nintendo’s offerings) and making full use of the Mark III’s PCM synthesis chip to deliver one of the best FM-based audio experiences ever heard in an “old-school” 8-bit RPG. It is also worth mentioning that Phantasy Star was the first RPG to use first-person perspective (during the dungeon-crawling sequences). As a true landmark in RPGs, Phantasy Star is definately worth a try.