Phantasy Star

Original series

• Phantasy Star was the first installment of the series, released for the Master System in Japan on December 20, 1987, and then in the United States and Europe in 1988. It introduced players to the planets, races, and lore of the series. The game follows the adventures of Alis Landale, a young woman from Palma. After Alis's brother Nero is killed by the formerly benevolent government of King Lassic, Alis embarks upon a quest for revenge. She is joined in her rebellion by a muskcat named Myau, a warrior named Odin, and a wizard named Noah. Together, the group defeats Lassic, but discover that he was only being controlled by the malevolent entity Darkfalz. Alis and her companions defeat Darkfalz and restore peace to Algol. It is then revealed that Alis was the lost princess to Algol's monarchy, and is given the option to accept her birthright.
• Phantasy Star II, released in March 1989, marked the series' transition to the Sega Genesis. It benefited from an upgrade in graphics and in the scope of its quest, as it's more than twice the size of its predecessor. It tells the story of Rolf, a government agent from the town of Paseo on Motavia. In this new setting, 1,000 years after Phantasy Star, Motavia is no longer a desert world, but has been mostly converted into one lush with vegetation and animal life, thanks to a system-wide computer network known as Mother Brain. However, malfunctions throughout the network are resulting in all sorts of catastrophes, from climate change to the appearance of mutant plant and animal life called biomonsters. Rolf changes from an agent of the government to a rebel fated to end Mother Brain's reign over the system. He is joined by a colorful cast of characters, all of whom have their own stakes in the conflict. Beset by the biomonsters at first and government-deployed robots afterward, Rolf and his allies eventually must fight both Dark Force, the enemy from 1,000 years ago, and the Mother Brain.
• Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, released for the Mega Drive in 1990 and on the Genesis in 1991, was a departure from the previous games in that the different worlds were no longer the different planets of the Algol system. The game revolves around two feuding factions, the Orakians and the Layans, who have been engaged in bitter conflict since their founders disappeared 1,000 years earlier; the factions assume their founders were bitter enemies who fought each other. Unique to Phantasy Star III was a storyline that spanned three generations, starting with Rhys, an Orakian, and continues through two more generations, with the player controlling Rhys's son and grandchildren. At the end of each generation, the player determines the next main character by choosing which of the women encountered during the adventure the characters will marry. Rhys and his children eventually discover the true nature of the world and the conflict - that the seven 'worlds' were actually subsections of the colony ship Alisa III sent into deep space after the destruction of Palm. Somehow Dark Force was able to accompany the fleeing colonists and work to turn them against each other; Rhys' grandchild or grandchildren defeat Dark Force to restore peace to Alisa III.
• Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium was released for the Mega Drive in Japan in November 1993, in the United States in February 1995, and in Europe in December 1995. Building on its predecessors, it added a number of new features, such as pre-programmable combat maneuvers called "Macros", combination attacks between two or more characters and manga-style panel illustrations for major cutscenes. It was also the first game in the series to have in-depth character interaction and development. Taking place 1,000 years after Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star IV returns to the Algol Solar System, which has been in a precipitous decline after the destruction of Mother Brain, an event known as the Great Collapse. The people struggle to survive against an unforgiving climate and a resurgence of biomonsters. Among them are Chaz Ashley and his mentor Alys Brangwin, hunters who make a living performing various tasks for clients: from protecting citizens from monster attacks to investigating strange events. As seemingly random occurrences all tie back into the system-wide crisis, Chaz and the allies he meets during his quest must fulfill the series promise of fighting back the re-emergence of darkness. However, in this, the end of the original series, players will not only face off against the incarnation of evil, but also rescue Algol once and for all from a bleak fate.

  Compilations and remakes of the original series

• Phantasy Star Collection is a compilation of the four games from the original series, released in 1998 only in Japan on the Sega Saturn, as part of the Sega Ages series. It also includes full motion videos of the original television commercials for the games and 215 pieces of official art. A Game Boy Advance version, produced by Digital Eclipse, was released for international audiences in 2002. This version omits Phantasy Star IV, the full motion videos, and the art gallery. Three of the four games were released again on the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Genesis Collection, and all four appeared on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. This compilation includes special features such as behind-the-scenes information, and the ability to save the game anywhere.
• Phantasy Star #Release| is an enhanced remake of Phantasy Star, released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, as Volume 1 of the Sega Ages series. It features newly designed graphics, arranged versions of music from the original game soundtrack, and fleshed out dialogue which results in both character development and a richer story.
• Phantasy Star II#Remake| was released in 2005, also for the PlayStation 2, and is an enhanced remake of Phantasy Star II, and is volume 17 of the Sega Ages series. It mirrors the events of the original game while adding character development and fleshing out the story in more detail. It features enhanced graphics, a revised combat system, and a re-arranged soundtrack.
• Phantasy Star Complete Collection was released in 2008, only in Japan for the PlayStation 2 and in 2012 as a download for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network. It's volume 32 of the Sega Ages 2500 series. It contained the original Master System game, as well as the three games published for the Mega Drive, and the text adventures published through Sega Meganet. Note that the collection consists of the original games, not the enhanced versions mentioned above.

  Spin-offs to the original series

• Hoshi wo Sagashite..., released in 1988 for the Mark III/Master System, is a Japan-exclusive adventure game set within the same universe as Phantasy Star. It references planets from Phantasy Star, such as Motavia and Palma.
• , released in 1992 for the Game Gear, is a spin-off of the original Phantasy Star and takes place on a colony known as Copto, founded by the heroine Alis Landale. In this new setting, Alis is once again called upon to battle evil, now in the form of a being known as Kaburon, which she is able to seal away. The majority of the game then follows the adventures of new characters, Minina and Alec, some 400 years later until they reunite with Alis, who had been in cryogenic sleep in a vigil against Kaburon's return. After Copto is saved, the game foreshadows the reemergence of evil back in Algol in Phantasy Star II.
• Phantasy Star Adventure is a first-person puzzle adventure game released in 1992 for the Game Gear prior to Phantasy Star Gaiden. Taking place at the same time as Phantasy Star II, it puts the players in the shoes of an agent of Paseo. He receives a letter from friend and scientist, Ken Miller, who is studying on the ice planet Dezolis and invites him to see an important new invention. Once there, the player learns that Ken and his device are missing, initiating an investigation.
• Phantasy Star II Text Adventures were a series of eight text adventure video games available to users of Sega Meganet, a modem for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan, and later released as part of a compilation on Sega CD. Each of the games takes place shortly before Phantasy Star II, documenting the backgrounds of its characters, and explaining what brings them to the town Paseo where they eventually team up to investigate the pervasive troubles of the Algol Solar System.