Sega Genesis is one of the handful of consoles I never owned. I've mainly owned Nintendo consoles up until Playstation, and only had a Game Gear otherwise for whatever reason. My first Sega console I actually owned is the Dreamcast, and grew up with the 3D style Sonic games. Besides playing Sonic 2 in a game store, and borrowing the console with a handful of platformers for a bit, my experiene with Genesis is limited. I got a more extensive taste of the platform when the Genesis collection on PS2 came out... then later bought the 360 version of it for additional games and achivements. This especially holds true on the Genesis RPG front. There are two particular series that is talked about amongst fans, and perhaps are the only well established Genesis RPGs. They're Shining Force and Phantasy Star games. With Phantasy Star, I kept hearing about IV in high regard so I gave that a shot.
Natrually, since I have a horrible tendency to not finish the vast majority of my games, Phantasy Star IV was another I played partially, but never got far in, despite liking it. Recently, I decided to give it another playthrough and manage to finally complete it. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and yet, I can't put my finger why I don't find it all that amazing though. It's definitely solid at all points with one fault being a lack of explination for skills, and subjectively thinking the music kind of stunk at the beginning. The cast is also cool, particularly Alys and Rune, and I always like the feature of party chat. It's all very sound, and can dig roaming through space to save the solar system from a cosmic entity, but it did not seem to really grip me all that together. I kept being lazy at mid-point and got hooked a little more once I can decimate enemies with superior party members. And for that build out for the ultimate evil, the game felt pretty rushed when the last few dungeons are much smaller after undergoing two epic, complex ones. It's still a fun game for sure, and probably would've been more midnblown if I was fueled by nostalgia.
There are still elements in Phantasy Star IV I find the most impressive and innovative. First is the unique visual style in combat, and effective use of storytelling through the great comic book cut scenes. Having numerous macros to select a set of actions the party does during a turn, and in the order of your choosing is also quite ingenious. I find the gaming industry a field where everyone copies/ripoffs one another for better and worse. It's a shame no one ever bothered to make their own version of these mechanics. I certainly would've liked more comic book cutscenes and macros in my JRPGs.
PS: You've got to love those old covers huh?
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