Phantasy Star Adventure (english translation) Review by: janus - 3/10
PINO (Phantasy Star in name only)Phantasy Star Adventure is the only other “official” Game Gear spinoff of the masterful Genesis series. The other, Phantasy Star Gaiden, tried to tell a story that happened between Phantasy Star I and II in order to keep coherence in the universe. PS A made no such effort, making the game a failure.
Graphics: 1/10
The game works like a pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons: you have a limited choice of where you can move (and explore). But unlike the Dungeons and Dragons game on the Genesis, the graphics are completely static – minus the flashing during battles. They consist of mere frames of the place where you are and the details are minimal – and always the same when you come back. The only “movement” you see are the dice you roll for the very few battles you encounter – and even those encounters don’t look like battles. There are a few exchanges of hits but it merely consists of flashes. Plus you don’t even earn experience; the only way you can hit harder is by getting a stronger weapon or using *other* objects. In other words, Pong for the Atari 2600 had more visual action.
Also, characters are mere pallet swaps from previous games. You will Chaz’ and Rolf’s phenotype with different hair color or a beard. You will also meet Shir and other characters.
The only positive point I can see is that, at least, PS A was faithful to the Phantasy Star Universe by making Dezolis and snowy planet. You can also see Dezolisians as they should look like, but the planet seems to have more Parmians for some reason. And their clothes look like 1950s science-fiction with the weird helmets no other PS game features.
Music: 1/10
I would give this one a zero if I could. The main track you hear through the game is absolutely annoying and repetitive. And it doesn’t even sound Phantasy-Star like, unlike Gaiden. The battle music is slightly more upbeat, but since the game doesn’t focus on that you won’t hear it much. There is also a very low-tone track when you are in trouble, but it’s more background noise than anything. It’s similar to the “final battle”; it has a little more drums in order to make it more dramatic.
Sound effects, on their side, are even more limited and even more annoying. Whatever weapon is used to attack produces the same sound, and the bleeps and boops from the selection menu you’re always confronted to get annoying. And those dice rolling are unbearable; they sound like they are made of cement.
Addictiveness: 1/10
Addiction to this game? There is none. There is absolutely no connection with the main Phantasy Star Trilogy – it’s even worse than Phantasy Star III in that regard. The only element you will find in Dezolis, and even then it’s a complete travesty. Carsonville, really? What kind of Earth name is that? You spend like five seconds in Paseo since you directly fly to Dezolis for the remainder of the game.
Also, considering the Apocalypse following the destruction of the Mother Brain around AW 1000, space flights seem to still be a thing in AW 1268.
Finally, there isn’t even the slightest attempt to make the game fit within the universe. Phantasy Star III at least showed the origin of Dark Force, whereas Gaiden showed what happened to Alis after she destroyed Lassic and Dark Falz.
Story: 5/10
You play an agent (like Rolf) in Paseo on Motavia (how has the agency survived the Apocalypse?) One day you receive a letter from a friend in Carsonville, Dezolis, who brags about inventing something extraordinary. Naturally, you fly to go see your friend and his invention: a machine that enhances human strength. But after exploring around, he gets captured! What happened to him? Are ill-intentioned people behind the kidnapping?
While completely detached from the Phantasy Star universe, at least Adventure was able to create a semi original story. It keeps futuristic elements like space travel, instant teleportation and even robots and machines.
Depth: 1/10
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t go very far. If I include the time it took me to figure out where the hell I’m supposed to go, the game took me a mere two hours to finish – the video itself is only 41 minutes.
Since it’s a D & D style game, there are a very limited number of place where you can go. If you can’t access a place, backtrack and look attentively around you to see if you missed an object.
Difficulty: 3/10
The game is as shallow as it is easy.
As I said above, the battles don’t give you any experience; they are determined by a roll of a dice (or more if your weapon is stronger). Getting money is easier than it looks; just be insistent in front of people and look everywhere so you can get the laser gun. And if you get the sonic gun, you will be able to paralyze those pesky robot guards.
The main difficulty stems from trying to jump the electrical fence to try and free your friend. You truly need to keep track of where you’re going and where you have gone in order to figure out this puzzle – hell the game even leave you clues as to what to do in order to progress.
In short, don’t waste your time on Phantasy Star Adventure. It’s a complete travesty of the masterpiece that was the original Master System and Sega Genesis trilogy that uses a few Phantasy Star names in order to lure players. Don’t fall for it; instead give Phantasy Star Gaiden a try. At least the creators made an effort to fit the game in the story line.
Graphics
1 Sound
1 Addictive
1 Depth
1 Story
5 Difficulty
3