2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Let me know what you think about my reviews.
User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 8th, 2022, 9:39 am

Here's a new RPG review! This one from Matchstick! Let us know what you think.
We went back and forth on this one a lot.
I think it turned out fine.

mbd36
Posts: 559
Joined: April 18th, 2015, 10:32 am

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby mbd36 » December 8th, 2022, 12:35 pm

This is an actually challenging RPG involving large complicated mazes and grinding, unlike other popular JRPGs that are more about the story. For those who love a challenge it might be worth checking out.

I would often rent PS2 as a kid, but I never beat it.

Luigi & Peach
Posts: 343
Joined: August 19th, 2015, 9:30 pm

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby Luigi & Peach » December 8th, 2022, 6:36 pm

This was my favorite RPG as a kid. I spent countless hours grinding away in middle school to level up and acquire the best weapons & gear. I loved using the guide to map and solve the dungeons as well. Sadly, I never got past the 2nd last boss (which was apparently more challenging than the final boss).

User avatar
BlasteroidAli
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 7:50 pm

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby BlasteroidAli » December 9th, 2022, 10:31 am

this is a very controversial opinion. It is a great game. A plus for me. At the time it came out, it blew my mind. That was how good it was. I was amazing how playable it was. Also, the story was top notch. Looking it at 30 years later it may seem to not be so but at the time it was cutting edge. For me this review is as daft as they ones for Mass Effect.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 9th, 2022, 4:55 pm

This review is in danger of breaking Facebook. 35 likes and counting!!

https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Vid ... 512916899/

User avatar
Matchstick
Posts: 977
Joined: October 26th, 2017, 6:45 am

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby Matchstick » December 9th, 2022, 8:08 pm

Nice to know the review's getting some buzz! Can't help you if it breaks your Facebook page, though :P

The challenge really is this game's defining feature - for better or worse. It certainly isn't for everybody, but it is the kind of game that seems like it's left an impression on anyone who's every played it. Forgettable, it is not.

Like others, I loved it as a kid, as well! My neighbors got a Sega Genesis for Christmas of '91, and I first played PSII at their house, as they would rent it often. In those days, it was much harder to buy a game, as you were at the mercy of whatever inventory the neighborhood stores wanted to carry. We called around to every toy / department store in town looking for a copy to buy, but had to settle on renting it again and again.

I got my own copy years later - in fact, it was the very first thing I ever bought on eBay. I'm glad I was able to get the hint book and maps with my copy, and couldn't believe we got as far as we did without them back when we would rent the game. I've played through and beaten it many times since then, and try to use a different party with each playthrough. ProTip: level up the thief, and have her steal everything she can get her hands on.

I actually get the itch to play it around this time each year, given that it was Winter when I first tried it, and the late-game takes place on an ice world. There's also a melancholy theme and undertone that runs through the game's plot, which lends itself well to the Winter months. The timing of the review is definitely a result of this.

I really appreciate all the feedback, guys - especially hearing about your memories and experiences with this one. Whether we feel the same about the game or not, it's always nice to meet a few more "Phans."

User avatar
ActRaiser
Posts: 1544
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby ActRaiser » December 9th, 2022, 10:03 pm

Nice review man. Reading the personal experiences about a game are often the best parts of reviews. They are the short story form of entertainment and approachability that bring the game to life and put their impact to each of us front and center. Kudos to a well written review.

User avatar
BlasteroidAli
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 7:50 pm

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby BlasteroidAli » December 10th, 2022, 6:11 am

BlasteroidAli wrote:this is a very controversial opinion. It is a great game. A plus for me. At the time it came out, it blew my mind. That was how good it was. I was amazing how playable it was. Also, the story was top notch. Looking it at 30 years later it may seem to not be so but at the time it was cutting edge. For me this review is as daft as they ones for Mass Effect.


This is me being a bit sarky. I think that everyone has a right to an opinion. It has been a while since I played it but remember it with fondness.

strat
Posts: 212
Joined: May 14th, 2015, 1:12 am

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby strat » December 10th, 2022, 10:11 pm

Phantasy Star II often made best-of-all-time lists in the late 90's (especially from EGM) but I always thought its flaws outweighed the good points. The dungeon crawling is painfully tedious and there's so many, plus you can't travel between planets without going through that spaceport over and over. I beat the game twice on a used copy, once with a file already at the end and getting all the way there on my own, and will probably never play through it again.

ThePixelatedGenocide
Posts: 1232
Joined: April 29th, 2015, 9:06 pm

Re: 2022/12/8: Sega Genesis: Phantasy Star II (Guest Review)

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » December 11th, 2022, 9:50 am

I was pleasantly surprised that the review was so kind.

There's so much of the game that feels rushed, gutted, and then artificially padded to cover the wound - it was originally intended to be a Master System title, before they had to start over on Genesis, and somehow finish the largest cartridge game ever made at the time, in just half a year.

But still...in the context of its release? When Final Fantasy was shipped with numerous nonfunctioning features (INT, elemental weapon damage, LOCK, and LOK2...etc), and the Dragon Quest series was a difficult sell due to graphics that were primitive on release?

This was briefly the queen of the JRPG genre. Even if you didn't own it, you knew about it. Some of the visuals still hold up. And that ending is still a twist of the knife, all these years later.

It's the perfect metaphor for the development team's fight to do something this ambitious, despite the odds against them. Then again, so is the bug that allows the party to evade enemy special attacks far more often than they're supposed to...

No, it's not aged well. You can't really call it a classic, still. But it's a miracle it's even in the conversation, long after better games were forgotten.

It earned that C+ the hard way.


Return to “Review Feedback”