Reviews for Phantasy Star Collection

Phantasy Star Collection

Strengths: 3 Phantasy Star games on one cart and Phantasy Star on the go.

Weakness: Graphics look dated.

Phantasy Star Collection is a collection of 3 Phantasy Star RPGs for Gameboy Advance. You get Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, and Phantasy Star III all in one cart. The fact alone that Phantasy Star for Sega Master System used to sell on ebay for over $100 before this game came out tells you how much of a bargain you are getting. This is one of the best RPG series during the 8-bit/16-bit era and was pretty much Sega's only defense against Final Fantasy series. The only game here that isn't so great is Phantasy Star III and that's because it doesn't really fit into the timeline of the others. You really can't go wrong in buying this set.

Give the game 3 stars if you don't like dated graphics or give the game 5 stars if you like RPGs or are new to the series and can see past the graphics.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Phnatasy Star Collection

Strengths: Value, Classic gameplay

Weakness: Dated visuals sound and gameplay

Phantasy Star Collection for the GBA is a throw back to the days of the Sega Master system, a system that saw little success but had many classic games, it also includes the two Sega Genesis sequels. In their day these games were classic amongst Sega gamers, featuring deep story and what was great rpg game play. So, have the years been kind to these classics?
Graphically these games look very dated. There is much repetition in visuals and it does get old. The three games are fairly similar in visuals despite the hardware changes they underwent. Styles do progress, and Sega definitely had a futuristic sword and sorcery vibe going. In their day, the games looked great, but this edition really should have featured updated graphics. Audio fares similarly, it sounds tinny and repetitive, although there are some excellent musical pieces.
The games themselves fall into what is now RPG standard operation: wander around, find towns, talk to people, random battle, level up. PS manages to alter the game with some interesting first person views, but other than that the action is pretty standard. The stories are also stereotypical, but they do add flair to the formula and when released these games were pioneers, now not so much, but they are still fun.
The Phantasy Star Collection is a good value, three throwback games that have plenty of play. But everything about them is dated, visuals, audio, and play. Those that have an interest in some classic and pioneering games that have shaped the current rpg world may want to take a look.

0% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Phantasy Star Collection

Strengths: Good story

Weakness: Graphics haven't aged well

Phantasy Star was a precursor to the Final Fantasy era of RPGs. As such, it's great for what it is. All three have solid stories, less than stellar graphics (somewhat below the quality of the original Final Fantasy for NES), but all led directly to the rebirth of a genre. For that, it's worth a few dollars to see where it all started.

Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Phantasy Star Collection

Testseek.com has collected 1 expert review for Phantasy Star Collection and the rating is 86 of 100. Click below and use Testseek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

Read Full Review

Phantasy Star Collection

Reviewing ports of old games is always problematic; do you review on how faithful they are to the originals, or how well they hold up for today's gamers? Having never played these three titles myself when they were originally released, I'm forced to review Phantasy Star Collection for the Game Boy Advance primarily on the latter which, considering the majority of the people who will be purchasing...

Read Full Review

Phantasy Star Collection

Before the RPG market became big, there were two really popular RPG series, and each had a very faithful following. Sega had Phantasy Star series, and Nintendo had the Final Fantasy series. Ever since the Game Boy Advance was released, it has been a perfect system to port older games from the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo to. Recently THQ in cooperation with Sega released the Phantasy Star...

Read Full Review

Phantasy Star Collection

The Phantasy Star series didn't achieve the acclaim it deserved until the release of Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast. Longtime fans know that the quality of the games in the series is as good, in a very different way, from anything Square ever offered. The lack of gamers with a Sega Master System doomed the initial title to hardcore-only obscurity, and the Genesis' main audience's lack of...

Read Full Review