Cheap Phantasy Star Collection (Video Games) (Game Boy Advance) Price

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Customer Reviews of Phantasy Star Collection

Good but not perfect
I bought this collection for Phantasy Star I, in my opinion the best game of this series (and also the hardest to obtain since I don't have a Sega Master System). I personally think I got my money's worth. These games are faithful recreations of the original Sega Master System and Sega Genesis games, but with a few changes, both related to saving. The first is that there are less save slots. Phantasy Star I originally allowed you to have FIVE saved games, not three. This change is understandible.

One thing I do not like, however, is that PS1 also features an annoying bug that causes the game to crash sometimes when you save the game. It's random, and the only real way to beat the bug is to save often and thus minimize the damage done. Fortunately this bug does not corrupt your earlier saves and is really a very minor issue, unless you foolishly go for hours without saving your game. This bug appears to not exist in the other two games.

Oh, and I disagree with the guy who said these games are meant to be played with maps. While it's true that the originals came with them, I've played the games just fine without them, and indeed find them more fun that way. Do NOT download maps for these games. You'll probably be too busy travelling to use them anyway.

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Some classics never get old...
You want Phantasy Star you got it. Three of the original games are here on one cartridge (Only PS IV is absent, presumably to be released as a stand alone game). Many of you may have played Phantasy Star Online, but not the original games that these worlds are based upon. Those in your 30's or late 20's need not read further...they are here, pick this cart up! For those not in the know, Phantasy Star was Sega's answer to the RPG, and it was great. Released way back when the Master System went head to head with the Juggernaut that was Nintendo's NES, Phantasy Star pushed the 8 bit realm to it's limits. With 3D dungeons, sharp graphics, and a great story, it was one of the 8 bit era's greatest games...too bad few got to play it, as most people were playing Zelda and Dragon Warrior on their NES. The conversion seems terrific, and it holds up quite well in the modern world of RPG's, with graphics the only major obstacle. The quest itself is as addicting and involving as ever...where else can you fight through dungeons to get some shortcake?

Phantasy Star II was the 16 Bit sequel that is regarded by many as the best in the series (Some will argue PS IV holds that honor), and it is here as well. While the Final Fantasy Games received the spotlight on the SNES, you cannot go wrong here...a solid story and great battles will have you glued.

Phantasy Star III: An epic quest, which will span across 3 generations of your characters...with 4 different possible endings to boot!! Mind you that this is the 3rd RPG on your single GBA cartridge...and it's not too shabby either. Viewed weaker than the 2nd and 4th installment, I personally liked III, as it was one of the most interesting RPG's I played at the time. It still holds up for me, and I can get past the graphics not being in 3D or having super flashy lens flaring magic. I really liked the music in III, and the GBA version sounds very similar here. While not orchestrated like Final fantasy III (VI) on the SNES, PS III had tunes, which stood out in my mind a lot. I still remember them to this day.

All 3 games on one cartridge...games that you would have a hard time finding individually (especially a Master System PS) is having your cake and eating it too...I hope Phantasy Star IV is next.

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Great for nostalgia, but compared to today's games ....
I couldn't echo the direct praise of many others even though I did grow up on these games. The simple fact is that unless you played these games on the Genesis you just aren't going to appreciate the GBA remakes.

The "problem" with this remake is that no improvements were made to any of the games. They are faithful and EXACT representations of their Genesis counterparts. Now, I grew up on these games back in the early 90's and I loved them, so of course I loved the nostaglic appeal PS Collection had.

But if I were talking to a new gamer ... someone who hadn't played the originals, then there's no way I would be able to recommend this compared to the titles avaliable today. By today's standards, these are really boring dungeon crawlers ... no side quests, no item custimzation, drab and now-cliched storylines ... it lacks the punch some of the current games have.

These games were from a much different gaming era, and they show it. Without any kind of improvement, they just can't hold their own with some of today's titles. I can only recommend this product to people who played at least one of the originals, know what is coming and are looking for nostalic appeal, because that's really their one and only draw.