https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDYlnt-nGac

The Phantasy Star Collection (I and II) are, according to RPG Fan, albums released in very limited quantities in 1993 and can’t be bought anywhere nowadays. However if you could get your hands on the soundtracks of Phantasy Star I, II and III you wouldn’t be missing much.

Indeed the first disk is simply each track from those three games played for about one loop. It’s nice if you didn’t get them, but otherwise you would be wasting you money. Plus, since the music only plays for one loop you might find that it’s short.

The only real object of interest in the second disk, which contains remixes of some tracks for the three games. Most of them were grouped together in mixes, and the result is at best decent.

In fact, I can only say that there are two good tracks for the entirety of the collection. First there is Searren Type 386, a remix of Wren’s transformation from Phantasy Star III. It’s played wonderfully on the electric guitar with a tempo that is actually pretty close to the original. Even the loop extension is integrated fairly well with its guitar solo. The other good track is Her Last Breath (Alys’ death) from Phantasy Star IV. It’s played with a slow, sad acoustic guitar that translated the feelings of sorrow MUCH better than the bells in the original track. Towards the end it even sounds like a rock ballad, which was a nice improvement.

There are a few others that, while not stellar, are enjoyable. Dungeon Medley: Phantasy Star I starts with the final dungeon played on the piano. It sounds very haunting and much better that the original, although the electric guitar kind of spoils the “final dungeon” feeling improved by the piano. The ordinary dungeon theme (I call them “blue dungeons”) is also played on the electric guitar but also with what I consider cheap synth. Plus the tempo is too quick compared to the original one, which was able to create a mysterious ambiance. Fortunately, Tower Dungeon (I call them “red dungeons”) was able to overcome the cheapness of the synth by making the track sound kind of joyful! It will immediately remind you of Phantasy Star Arrange I (inside the bio-plant). The tempo is just right and, despite not sounding very “dungeon-y” will make you want to rewind it.

Dream starts with haunting piano arrangements, much like the Dungeon Medley from PSI, which is perfect to reflect Rolf’s constant nightmares. The synth in the background, although cheap, adds to the haunting ambiance.

Main Theme/New Journey: Phantasy Star III is the introduction. What relief it is to hear piano instead of those annoying bells! The tempo is even slower, which makes it more magical. Too bad that the second part was spoiled by the same cheap synth that spoiled the other tracks. The Field was even more heavily synthesized, and the tempo was slower which made it anti epic. Even adding a little piano didn’t help. The drums in the second loop helped recreate the overworld theme with five teammates, though. But the third loop gets lost into more synthesized effects. Castle was quite faithful to the original track, and the synthesized trumpet actually sounded bearable. The waltz beat sounds better with real drums.

Most other tracks, however, completely spoiled the original. Fight (Phantasy Star I) was overdone with too much drum and an electric kazoo in the background. Plus the tempo is too upbeat and the electric guitar “improvisation” spoils the original theme. Ending was horrible, with the main track sounding like a cheesy romantic song of the 80s coupled with cheap synth effects from that same era you could sometimes hear in cartoons.

Field Medley: Phantasy Star II has the same cheap synth problems. The Motavia overworld theme has become too upbeat, the electric guitar is out of place and, although the original one didn’t sound very epic at least it sounded good. The second loop even has tambourine; what the hell?! The Dezolis overworld theme started well with nice drums and bass, but then the core of the theme is played with peacock flute. It would have been appropriate had it been, say, an exotic planet with “primitive” locals, but that’s not the case. And Ending sounds nothing like the original track; plus it doesn’t have the sadness the original one carried. And what the hell does acoustic guitar do in this theme?

Start anew also comes with more cheap synth and drums from the 80s that will make you want to skip it right away. Staff Roll spoils the intro theme with synthesized brass and more cheap synth that will make you want to pull your ears off.

As for the Phantasy IV remixed (Collection 2), they are probably the worst remixes I’ve heard in my entire life. End of the Millennium sounds like conga in the background and it’s nowhere as epic as the original with its slower tempo. Algo Star System is the town theme (?) on Motavia, and it sounds nothing like the original, again with the accumulation of cheap synth and a slower tempo. Village, on the other hand, doesn’t sound as annoying with its acoustic guitar, violin and flute. It sounds very welcoming. Behind the Circuit and Organic Beat sound absolutely terrible with “real” bass and cheaper synth effect than what the Genesis gave.  OB is especially terrible, as it seems to be more 80s than from outer space. Temple Ngangbius tries to make Christian music out of a space cult that used bells. In other words it completely spoils the original track by changing its confession in the intro. The core of the loop is slightly better, although staccato violins are a strange addition. Fight is equally terrible: the main battle theme is too slow and piano isn’t appropriate for a techno theme; cheap synth and bass does no justice to the boss theme; the Dark Force battle theme wasn’t meant to sound like early 90s dance music with slow piano, and neither was Laughter. And Abyss also sounds like cheap 90s dance music, losing its final boss feel completely.

In short, avoid this album like the pest. It has some of the worst remixes of video game music ever produced. If you want cheap 80s or 90s music, go listen to the original stuff. You would be better off downloading the only two good tracks of the album: Searren Type 386 (with excellent electric guitar) and Her Last Breath (with sad, acoustic guitar).