Phantasy Star (SMS, 1987)(Retranslation v2.3 hack)
Graphics-9 Sound-8.5 Control-7 Challenge-6.5 Story-7
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5/6.5* Fun-6 Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
*w/ dungeon maps and halved encounters
+
Good dialogue for the time
Impressive visuals (animated enemies in battle, pseudo-3D dungeons with smooth movement animations (tile-based movement), large and detailed sprites when in FP view - nice closeups when talking to NPCs which also show the surrounding area, nice cutscenes) and fairly impressive music (FM and PSG)
Introduces each party character with a cutscene and there are a few during the game portraying important events as well
Can teleport back to the last visited church and out of battle (pretty cheap consumable items - can also buy a permanent wand for the latter use in the late game (fairly useful in the final dungeons), can even teleport to another planet's church; would've been better if you could pick which visited church to teleport to though and if every town had one) - Dragon Quest 1-2
Interplanetary travel
Fast resting
Some interesting storytelling techniques (nightmare vision of the main villain around mid-game)
Some decent humour (have to bring a cake as a gift for the governor in Motavia, bought in a remote dungeon on Palma)
Some decent dungeon gimmicks (pitfalls leading to the floor below and false walls - however it's a matter of trial & error to find/avoid them, damage tiles at one point in the overworld - boiling tar/lava (Dragon Quest))
Some decent puzzles (finding Hapsby sub quest)
Some decent boss fights (Lutz's duel with his teacher, final boss)
Some NPC encounters within dungeons (a few explorers, prisoners; weird how some hang out in one room of a dungeon full of monsters though and how there are a couple of shopkeepers in dungeons)
Choose whether or not to become queen before the ending - doesn't affect the cutscene though
Three vehicles (icedigger lets you break some walls on Dezoris, landrover lets you cross antlion holes, hovercraft lets you travel on water; these make you move faster on the overworld which helps reduce the encounter rate a bit)
Can talk to monsters/enemies but it's rarely useful (can use it on "farmers" on Motavia and sometimes they'll give fairly useful hints). There are also some items that let you do this with more enemies
Some interesting spells for the time (one "attack all" spell and some that hit multiple enemies, physical and magic barrier, revive)
Added in v2.3 Translation Hack:
Can choose to equip new gear while in the shop menu
Options: 2x walking speed, 2-4x exp and money gains (I played with 2x of each to speed things up a bit), text speed options, faster transitions option, halved encounter rate option, font and hair color options
The above options can also be changed at any point - just save the game, reset and change them
Less limited item inventory? (24 items)
Music test
Bug fixes (?)
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (can only explore medusa's cave and three towns at first (can enter some other dungeons but not get far into them - this does let you fight werebats in northeast Palma pretty early), can explore the Naharu cave dungeon in northern Motavia before you're supposed to with enough grinding - difficulty gating (however you'll have to backtrack here again for Noah after getting the letter), optional Scion cave dungeon on Palma, can go fight Dr. Mad in NW Palma before going to Triada prison - can also go to Medusa's tower at this point but it's quite hard (you're supposed to here much later after you find the mirror shield), can go to Dezoris before Uzo on Motavia but it's also pretty tough once you start facing dragons and mammoths, Lutz/Noah needs to be level 17 to gain the Open spell needed to go to baya malay tower (where you get the crystal needed to fight Lashiec, and the miracle key for magic doors but it's optional) - can't finish this dungeon and go to the finale until you have the nuts, optional Forgotten Tower dungeon (western Palma)+Morgue dungeon and Dezoris/ice cavern on Dezoris but you find the best weapon for Alis in the first and the best armor and shield for Odin/Alis in the second and third)
Some backtracking to previous planets or locations with new items or vehicles to progress
Save anywhere outside of battle (seven nameable slots)
Can only sell items at tool shops
Odd how you meet blue devil bat/wing eye enemies north of the beginning town area, which are easier than the red ones in the forest of that area
Can get an item that permanently lights up dark dungeons but it's pretty expensive
Basic dynamic difficulty balancing (the more party members you have, the more monsters you'll face in each battle)
Facing 2 enemies doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be hit 2 times each turn
One dungeon key can be used to unlock several dungeons (similarly the miracle key can be used on all magical doors) - while convenient it makes all doors past the first of each type within a dungeon pointless
No boss in the Medusa's cave dungeon
No revival items - one spell but it's gained in the late game and Lutz dies pretty easily unless you grind in the late game
Difficulty spike at the red dragon boss in the Naharu cave however it is skippable
Characters gain spells automatically at certain levels
Can't teleport out of dungeons until the mid-late game using the magic flute found in Gothic (after getting to Uzo first), however Lutz learns a spell for it fairly early (Myau also learns it at level 17). Teleports you to the entrance you last used to enter a dungeon
Chests (a reward for every battle won) are sometimes trapped and you can't avoid these until Myau gains a spell for it at level 15 - would've been nice if this spell was automatically used instead
Can't see who's gonna go next in a turn
Optional landrover/landmaster vehicle (move across giant antlion holes) since the hovercraft exists
Vehicles are carried in the inventory and can be activated at will on the overworld
The crystal mainly seems to help Alis vs Lashiec
-
Some tedious elements (no dungeon maps - there is a compass at least but you have to use it manually via the menu every time you want to check your direction, slow beginning (have to heal after pretty much every battle at first and can only survive against the weakest enemy type+pretty expensive items and gear so you'll want to grind for a while to at least level 5 starting out), frequent encounters+sometimes you'll face another enemy encounter after taking just one step since the last one - the frequency could've been more even but the halved encounter frequency option in this hack does help, having to use keys via the menu as well as use them repeately on locked doors, mostly crappy chest contents on Palma and Motavia (exaggerated if you increase gold gains using the hack options), some dead ends in dungeons, no MP restoratives, all new party members start at level 1, dungeons and towns aren't named when entering them - could've at least been added if you had learned about them from someone, some backtracking if you didn't do everything in the right order, some grinding for the icedigger, somewhat overly limited inventory considering quest items and vehicles also take up a slot - can't sell or drop the landmaster, having to backtrack to Lashiec if you were underleveld - one long and kind of confusing dungeon followed by a boring one+have to redo the transformation scene which is a bit anticlimactic)
Some interface/control issues (can't see spell costs in the menu, no item stacking, no item sorting, can't choose which monster to attack - tends to lead to wasting some damage output on a very weak monster, no memory cursor during battle, the game takes you back to the main pause menu after every time you use an item, dated shop interface (can't examine/ask about items there or in the main menu (same for spells which sometimes have odd names - troop=teleport back to last church), no journal/message log feature, can't see how many of an item you already have, can't see if a piece of gear is better than what you currently have or the stats of said gear), characters can only use healing items on themselves during battle - can use healing spells on others, the last floor of the last dungeon - spotting the door on your right)
Some trial & error (a few early monsters can attack twice in a row, asking for the "secret thing" in the port town has to be done three times for the guy to sell it to you - same thing with Dr. Luveno in the Triada prison, finding the false wall in Naharu cave, unnecessary to buy diamond armor for Odin/Tylon, can't tell breakable and non-breakable ice apart on Dezoris)
Some scripting oddities (have to be told about the dungeon key in the camineet warehouse (first dungeon) by someone in Eppi to be able to find it, have to be told by Odin about the compass to be able to find it, have to learn about the manhole at camineet space station to use it, have to be told about the flute in Uzo to find it in Gothic and the hovercraft in Casba (also have to say that you've heard about it there) to find it on Palma) and plot oddities (why is Lutz/Noah training in a 1x1 dungeon room? - and how can he be level 1 if he's in that dungeon?, the air palace inhabitants don't react to Lashiec's death)
Can't see your own characters during battle
Pretty much no character development after the intro
Can't see placed chests in dungeons until you're in front of them
NPCs just stand in one place
Pointless hospital in the southwest part of Camineet since you can just rest in the northeast for free and there aren't permanent status effects
Shallow combat (no battle formations, no mixed enemy groups, no defend command)
Gets repetitive after a while even if you boost exp and gold rewards a lot+lower the encounter rate
Translation and Telepathy spells wastes a turn by canceling the other characters' actions during that turn
Pretty generic and shallow story beyond the ending and a few other scenes (it would've also made sense for Alis or someone else mentioning her brother at some point)
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5/6.5* Fun-6 Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
*w/ dungeon maps and halved encounters
+
Good dialogue for the time
Impressive visuals (animated enemies in battle, pseudo-3D dungeons with smooth movement animations (tile-based movement), large and detailed sprites when in FP view - nice closeups when talking to NPCs which also show the surrounding area, nice cutscenes) and fairly impressive music (FM and PSG)
Introduces each party character with a cutscene and there are a few during the game portraying important events as well
Can teleport back to the last visited church and out of battle (pretty cheap consumable items - can also buy a permanent wand for the latter use in the late game (fairly useful in the final dungeons), can even teleport to another planet's church; would've been better if you could pick which visited church to teleport to though and if every town had one) - Dragon Quest 1-2
Interplanetary travel
Fast resting
Some interesting storytelling techniques (nightmare vision of the main villain around mid-game)
Some decent humour (have to bring a cake as a gift for the governor in Motavia, bought in a remote dungeon on Palma)
Some decent dungeon gimmicks (pitfalls leading to the floor below and false walls - however it's a matter of trial & error to find/avoid them, damage tiles at one point in the overworld - boiling tar/lava (Dragon Quest))
Some decent puzzles (finding Hapsby sub quest)
Some decent boss fights (Lutz's duel with his teacher, final boss)
Some NPC encounters within dungeons (a few explorers, prisoners; weird how some hang out in one room of a dungeon full of monsters though and how there are a couple of shopkeepers in dungeons)
Choose whether or not to become queen before the ending - doesn't affect the cutscene though
Three vehicles (icedigger lets you break some walls on Dezoris, landrover lets you cross antlion holes, hovercraft lets you travel on water; these make you move faster on the overworld which helps reduce the encounter rate a bit)
Can talk to monsters/enemies but it's rarely useful (can use it on "farmers" on Motavia and sometimes they'll give fairly useful hints). There are also some items that let you do this with more enemies
Some interesting spells for the time (one "attack all" spell and some that hit multiple enemies, physical and magic barrier, revive)
Added in v2.3 Translation Hack:
Can choose to equip new gear while in the shop menu
Options: 2x walking speed, 2-4x exp and money gains (I played with 2x of each to speed things up a bit), text speed options, faster transitions option, halved encounter rate option, font and hair color options
The above options can also be changed at any point - just save the game, reset and change them
Less limited item inventory? (24 items)
Music test
Bug fixes (?)
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (can only explore medusa's cave and three towns at first (can enter some other dungeons but not get far into them - this does let you fight werebats in northeast Palma pretty early), can explore the Naharu cave dungeon in northern Motavia before you're supposed to with enough grinding - difficulty gating (however you'll have to backtrack here again for Noah after getting the letter), optional Scion cave dungeon on Palma, can go fight Dr. Mad in NW Palma before going to Triada prison - can also go to Medusa's tower at this point but it's quite hard (you're supposed to here much later after you find the mirror shield), can go to Dezoris before Uzo on Motavia but it's also pretty tough once you start facing dragons and mammoths, Lutz/Noah needs to be level 17 to gain the Open spell needed to go to baya malay tower (where you get the crystal needed to fight Lashiec, and the miracle key for magic doors but it's optional) - can't finish this dungeon and go to the finale until you have the nuts, optional Forgotten Tower dungeon (western Palma)+Morgue dungeon and Dezoris/ice cavern on Dezoris but you find the best weapon for Alis in the first and the best armor and shield for Odin/Alis in the second and third)
Some backtracking to previous planets or locations with new items or vehicles to progress
Save anywhere outside of battle (seven nameable slots)
Can only sell items at tool shops
Odd how you meet blue devil bat/wing eye enemies north of the beginning town area, which are easier than the red ones in the forest of that area
Can get an item that permanently lights up dark dungeons but it's pretty expensive
Basic dynamic difficulty balancing (the more party members you have, the more monsters you'll face in each battle)
Facing 2 enemies doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be hit 2 times each turn
One dungeon key can be used to unlock several dungeons (similarly the miracle key can be used on all magical doors) - while convenient it makes all doors past the first of each type within a dungeon pointless
No boss in the Medusa's cave dungeon
No revival items - one spell but it's gained in the late game and Lutz dies pretty easily unless you grind in the late game
Difficulty spike at the red dragon boss in the Naharu cave however it is skippable
Characters gain spells automatically at certain levels
Can't teleport out of dungeons until the mid-late game using the magic flute found in Gothic (after getting to Uzo first), however Lutz learns a spell for it fairly early (Myau also learns it at level 17). Teleports you to the entrance you last used to enter a dungeon
Chests (a reward for every battle won) are sometimes trapped and you can't avoid these until Myau gains a spell for it at level 15 - would've been nice if this spell was automatically used instead
Can't see who's gonna go next in a turn
Optional landrover/landmaster vehicle (move across giant antlion holes) since the hovercraft exists
Vehicles are carried in the inventory and can be activated at will on the overworld
The crystal mainly seems to help Alis vs Lashiec
-
Some tedious elements (no dungeon maps - there is a compass at least but you have to use it manually via the menu every time you want to check your direction, slow beginning (have to heal after pretty much every battle at first and can only survive against the weakest enemy type+pretty expensive items and gear so you'll want to grind for a while to at least level 5 starting out), frequent encounters+sometimes you'll face another enemy encounter after taking just one step since the last one - the frequency could've been more even but the halved encounter frequency option in this hack does help, having to use keys via the menu as well as use them repeately on locked doors, mostly crappy chest contents on Palma and Motavia (exaggerated if you increase gold gains using the hack options), some dead ends in dungeons, no MP restoratives, all new party members start at level 1, dungeons and towns aren't named when entering them - could've at least been added if you had learned about them from someone, some backtracking if you didn't do everything in the right order, some grinding for the icedigger, somewhat overly limited inventory considering quest items and vehicles also take up a slot - can't sell or drop the landmaster, having to backtrack to Lashiec if you were underleveld - one long and kind of confusing dungeon followed by a boring one+have to redo the transformation scene which is a bit anticlimactic)
Some interface/control issues (can't see spell costs in the menu, no item stacking, no item sorting, can't choose which monster to attack - tends to lead to wasting some damage output on a very weak monster, no memory cursor during battle, the game takes you back to the main pause menu after every time you use an item, dated shop interface (can't examine/ask about items there or in the main menu (same for spells which sometimes have odd names - troop=teleport back to last church), no journal/message log feature, can't see how many of an item you already have, can't see if a piece of gear is better than what you currently have or the stats of said gear), characters can only use healing items on themselves during battle - can use healing spells on others, the last floor of the last dungeon - spotting the door on your right)
Some trial & error (a few early monsters can attack twice in a row, asking for the "secret thing" in the port town has to be done three times for the guy to sell it to you - same thing with Dr. Luveno in the Triada prison, finding the false wall in Naharu cave, unnecessary to buy diamond armor for Odin/Tylon, can't tell breakable and non-breakable ice apart on Dezoris)
Some scripting oddities (have to be told about the dungeon key in the camineet warehouse (first dungeon) by someone in Eppi to be able to find it, have to be told by Odin about the compass to be able to find it, have to learn about the manhole at camineet space station to use it, have to be told about the flute in Uzo to find it in Gothic and the hovercraft in Casba (also have to say that you've heard about it there) to find it on Palma) and plot oddities (why is Lutz/Noah training in a 1x1 dungeon room? - and how can he be level 1 if he's in that dungeon?, the air palace inhabitants don't react to Lashiec's death)
Can't see your own characters during battle
Pretty much no character development after the intro
Can't see placed chests in dungeons until you're in front of them
NPCs just stand in one place
Pointless hospital in the southwest part of Camineet since you can just rest in the northeast for free and there aren't permanent status effects
Shallow combat (no battle formations, no mixed enemy groups, no defend command)
Gets repetitive after a while even if you boost exp and gold rewards a lot+lower the encounter rate
Translation and Telepathy spells wastes a turn by canceling the other characters' actions during that turn
Pretty generic and shallow story beyond the ending and a few other scenes (it would've also made sense for Alis or someone else mentioning her brother at some point)