Let's Play Phantasy Star, Part 2

Dungeon diving in search of the Iron Fang (a pretty sweet weapon for Myau) and a tasty bit of shortcake.  Then we venture a bit further into Motavia to recruit our final party member, the mighty Esper Noah.

Let's Play Mother (Earthbound Beginnings), Part 3

We scavenge everything of value in Sweet's Factory and Duncan's Factory, clear the railroad tracks and head for the town of Snowman in search of Ana.  Then it's time for - you guessed it - more grinding!



Ana's pretty awesome though, honestly.  Learns nearly every Psi power in the game, gains a ton of Psi points and levels up at a quite frankly insane rate.  The only downside is her relatively low HP and attack power.

Let's Play Phantasy Star, Part 1

The crown jewel of the Sega Master System and still a pretty damn solid RPG to this day.

A collaborative effort between Yuji Naka (best known as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog) and Rieko Kodama (known for her work on several other well-known Sega franchises such as Shinobi, Fantasy Zone and Alex Kidd), Phantasy Star was actually a relatively innovative title for its time.  It became well-known for its colorful environments and animated characters, as well as incorporating science fiction elements into a genre which, at the time, was largely dominated by high fantasy titles like Dragon Quest, Wizardry and Might and Magic.  It even went on to have three pretty damn good sequels, but we'll get to those in due time.  For now, let's check out the origins of Sega's classic franchise.



Plot synopsis from the manual:


The time: Space Century 342. The place: the three planet Algol solar system located deep in the Andromeda galaxy.
Under the democratic rule of King Lassic, life was good as he provided everything his people could want. Space Travel had been discovered 200 years before and deep space shuttles had allowed colonization of Motavia and Dezoris, the other worlds of the Algol Star System.
But slowly, over time, things began to change. It started with a new religion which was rumored to have come from another galaxy. The dark priests of this religion, never seen by any mortal, promised immortality to all who joined. You would live forever!
King Lassic was getting old. The idea of living forever appealed to him so he became the first to join. Then, he... changed. It started with the threatening suit of armor the priests made him. The armor looked evil and corrupt, and that's how Lassic began to rule his people. Outrageous taxes became a burden on everyone. Business on all three planets shut down and entire towns fell into decay. There was no way for the people to make any money.
As time passed and the people suffered, horrible creatures and monsters began to stalk all three worlds. When the dead came back to life, the people feared the worst and guessed the truth. Trough black magic, Lassic had become an evil tyrant.
But where there is evil there is always good. Brave individuals began to rally in secret against Lassic. But his Robotcops were ruthless in hunting out these defenders of the people. One was Nero, a spaceport worker in Camineet, the central town on Palma. Long ago, his father had disappeared trying to learn Lassic's evil secrets. Now, the Robotcops had crushed Nero as well. Before he died, he passed on his short sword and his quest to his sister, Alis. He also told her to find a brave fighter named Odin.
Alis raised the sword to the sky and vowed that Nero's death would not go unavenged!

(The Japanese version's story differs slightly in that Lassic sought out the evil cult himself, making him a bit more of a sinister character in that version.  The "evil cult" itself is never really elaborated on until the later games.)

Let's Play Phantasy Star, Part 0 (Introduction)

Yep, I'm so demented that I'm not only immediately following up my previous LP with another one, I'm following it up with an LP of an entire series.  My second-favorite JRPG series, in fact: the legendary Phantasy Star tetralogy.  (I may also possibly play its handful of spinoffs once I'm done with the main series).

Why is it my second favorite, surpassing even beloved classics like the Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei and (to a much lesser extent) SaGa franchises?  Two reasons.  One, it remained consistently good throughout whereas most series were pretty hit and miss.  Two, it was an outstanding and under-appreciated trendsetter.

No really, it brought things to the genre that other franchises would take years or even over a decade to catch up to.  Enemies with full attacking animations were a thing in Phantasy Star 1 on the Master System, but wouldn't be seen in Final Fantasy, SMT or Dragon Quest until the PS1 era (or in Dragon Quest's case, the PS2 era).  Phantasy Star 2 had a surprisingly grim, cyberpunk-inspired setting long before Final Fantasy even dared attempt it (and subsequently run it into the ground) and was among the first RPGs to kill off a prominent party member - a cliche now, sure, but at the time it was new and genuinely shocking to see.  It also recognized the repetitious nature of random battles  (a problem many RPG franchises still suffer from) and put in a couple of gameplay mechanics to expedite them a bit. Phantasy Star III, while flawed in design and having little connection to the rest of the series, still had some interesting merits of its own, with multiple story paths and a surprisingly large cast of characters as well as a pretty unique setting.

Finally, there was Phantasy Star IV.  A game still regarded one of the most well-crafted JRPGs of all time, and with good reason.  For one, it took storytelling in games to a new level with its expressive manga panel styled cutscenes, which were a pretty inventive way of adding some character and emotion to the plot despite the limited technicals of the system (FMV, while it existed before this game, wouldn't become the norm until the next era of consoles).  It also introduced two pretty innovative combat mechanics, namely "macros" and "combination attacks".  Macros basically enabling you to set up a series of combat turns in advance so you don't have to spend several seconds inputting each character's moves for each and every single combat.  Combos tie into that by letting you combine several characters' moves into one uber-attack that does massive damage.  Combining tornados with fire attacks to create massive columns of flame, holy energy blasts with sword slashes, missiles with lightning, all sorts of fun stuff.  Sure, games like Chrono Trigger and Breath of Fire IV would later improve upon the system, but for its time it was a pretty novel mechanic.

Do I even need to mention that the soundtrack fucking rocks?  It's easily some of the best and most memorable music of the era in spite of the Genesis' notoriously tinny sound chip.  Proof that it's not the power of the hardware, but how you use it that truly matters.

If you want to check the series out yourself, you have a few options.  The first is of course to pick up a Genesis and Master System (or Power Base Converter) and track them all down the traditional way.   Sega has since also re-released the games on several formats.  All four games are on the Wii Virtual Console and "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" compilation for the PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms.  The Game Boy Advance also has a compilation entitled "Phantasy Star Collection" that contains the first three games (albeit with a rather irritating save bug in the first game), and the PS2 and PSP both have a compilation entitled "Sega Genesis Collection" that contains 2, 3 and 4.  Importers can also pick up the "Sega Ages 2500 Volume 32: Phantasy Star Complete Collection", which not only contains Japanese and English versions of all four games, but all of the spinoff games as well - the Japan-exclusive Game Gear titles and all of the Sega CD text adventure games as well.  Of course, the latter games are only available in their native language.

That said, fan translations do exist for all of the aforementioned Japan-only titles.

Let's Play System Shock 2 Bonus: Quick Kill on SHODAN

Not the absolute quickest way to defeat SHODAN, but there's a certain charm in taking down a universe-threatening menace in one single hit.

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Let's Play System Shock 2, Part 9 (Finale)

Wherein we slay a colossal space-worm, then face a not-so-shocking plot twist, then move on to the rather off-puttingly simplistic final battle.


A quick rundown of all the PSI powers and how they factored into my play style (or failed to).

Starting Upgrades

Like I said, the Psycho-Reflective Screen power is complete junk.  15% damage resistance isn't nearly enough to make a significant difference, especially on Hard and Impossible.  That's why when I did my little restart I went with Psychogenic Cyber-Affinity instead.

The +2 Psi boost is doubtlessly the best of the second year choices.  Endurance doesn't make much difference at all on Hard mode (a whole 3 HP!) and Research is available for free once you get the respective implant (which is on the very same floor as the only item in the game you NEED to research to proceed...).  Might as well get all the mileage you can out of your powers if you're playing OSA, right?

I haven't changed my stance on the third year choice, though - Psychogenic Agility is the only one worth picking there.  Electron Tampering and Reflex Dampening are both completely worthless.

Tier 1

Kinetic Redirection - I didn't take it, but honestly, looking at all of the numerous items that are out of reach by any means other than this spell, it's not too bad if you take it as one of your starting freebies.  Not as good as Psychogenic Agility or Psychogenic Cyber-Affinity, certainly, but not a bad choice.

Psychogenic Agility - A power I really should have used more.  Extra speed to avoid attacks and falling damage is a good thing.

Psychogenic Cyber-Affinity - One of the most useful powers in the game, no doubt.  Lets you hack with the best of them up until the endgame (and with 2 Cyber and a Tech implant, it's just enough to sneak through the final battle too).

Projected Cryokinesis - Sad to say if you're going for a pure Psi approach, this is the only power that does any damage to machines.  As I took a bit from all of the three branches, though, this was mainly just reserved for when I was desperately low on ammo.

Tier 2

Adrenaline Overproduction - A good power to have in a pinch, as it adds a massive punch to your melee attacks.  Hell, pair that up with a Psi weapon, the Smasher OS upgrade and a decent Psi score and you can one-shot Rumblers.  I didn't end up using it all that much, though.

Cerebro-Stimulated Regeneration - Used it too many times to even count.  10-12 HP for 2 Psi points is a great tradeoff, especially given that it heals instantaneously while hypos, medkits and worm chunks take a few seconds.  Easily one of the best powers in the game.

Localized Pyrokinesis - I didn't use this one, but it can prove to be fun on lower difficulties.  Cast this spell, cast Invisibility, then watch everything around you die.  Unfortunately the damage it deals isn't significant enough to be worth it on Hard and Impossible.

Tier 3

Molecular Duplication - This one can be a lifesaver when you're running low on ammo.  Just be careful not to run out of Nanites like I did...

Electron Cascade - Hands down, a must-have for a Psi user.  Keeps your implants and (more importantly) your powered armor charged.  Even moreso if you choose to pursue the Energy Weapons tree...

Projected Pyrokinesis - A very powerful ability to have against biological targets, where it can even take out Rumblers with only three or four shots.  Worthless against robots though.

Psionic Hypogenesis - I think I only ever used this once or twice to sneak past a Rumbler.  Honestly, I'd say go for Invisibility instead - one casting of that will enable you to bypass multiple enemies instead of just one, so it's far more efficient points-wise.

Tier 4

Photonic Redirection - Well, you saw firsthand how handy this was in the last two entries.  Lets you skip out entirely on some battles that would otherwise be downright grueling - multiple turrets, several security drones, a large group of Reavers and Rumblers, the four-spider trap on Deck 4... all neatly bypassed.  Better yet, not having to destroy enemies means fewer surprise attacks from randomly spawned ones later on.

Electron Suppression - I didn't take this one, but it sounds significantly more useful for a pure Psi user than Psionic Hypogenesis.  Not only does it stun a robot for several seconds, but damaging them will not cause them to snap out of it and attack you.  You're still probably better off avoiding them entirely with Photonic Regeneration, but in the rare instances where you need to destroy mechanical enemies (like the Cyborg Assassins on deck 4), this could come in handy.

Molecular Transmutation - Another one I didn't take (largely because the Recycler does its job quite well), but apparently you can get quite a few more Nanites out of this power with a high Psi stat.  Recycling stuff like grenades, prisms and worm beakers yields much higher payouts with this power.  Might be worth looking into if you're not going to take the Hack skill...

Cerebro-Energetic Extension - Another one I didn't end up using a whole lot.  Still, pair it up with Adrenaline Overproduction and you can carve through Rumblers like they're nothing.

Remote Circuitry Manipulation - This is basically the Psi equivalent of the Hack skill, only using half of your Psi stat as your Cyber and Psi points instead of Nanites.  Not that good, but it does have some interesting uses as it operates at range.  Like hacking Turrets while out of their range...

Tier 5

Advanced Cerebro-Stimulated Regeneration - Not a very good upgrade from the Tier 2 version.  You can generally top of your health and save yourself a point by casting the tier 2 version twice....

Soma Transference - This one's a real killer, as we saw.  Instantaneously drains a chunk of HP from any non-robotic target and adds it to yours.  Unlike other attacks, it can also pass through Metacreative barriers (including the one surrounding the brain of the Many), so you can just put up a barrier in front of a Rumbler or a Reaver and drain it to death while it desperately tries to get to you.

Metacreative Barrier - For when you want to shut out distractions while doing some precarious task, like hacking a console, healing yourself or dividing up large groups of enemies; especially handy for the last two battles.  Also goes well with Soma Transference, as stated.

Psycho-Reflective Aura - Another one I didn't end up using much.  It may just be the mentality by which I approach this game, though - with all the powers you have at your disposal, it's easier to just avoid damage completely...

Let's Play System Shock 2, Part 8

Misadventures on the Rickenbacker.  Black eggs!  Turrets!  Spiders!  Rampant abuse of the Invisibility psi!  SHODAN's most harebrained scheme yet.



Oh, and I bought a point of Strength and one more power from the Psi upgrade unit off-camera.

This will come in handy during the next entry.

Tune in next time for the finale, it's a doozy.

Let's Play Mother (Earthbound Beginnings), Part 2

Ninten ventures to the magical land of Oz Magicant, which proves to be an exceptionally good place to level up and get loaded for war.  Then it's off to Merrysville, where we meet our first ally.

Let's Play System Shock 2, Part 7

Scripted events become a thing of silliness, we encounter our old friends the Hybrids who we haven't seen in some time, and loads of stuff gets blown to pieces.

Oh, and we've cracked Tier 5 psionics, which will prove quite entertaining for our next entry.

Let's Play Mother (Earthbound Beginnings), Part 1

Celebrating my favorite JRPG franchise of all time by playing through the whole trilogy.  We start off with the first game in the series, Mother.  Or as it would have been known in the US, Earthbound.



Despite being fully translated into English and even promoted in game magazines, the game was never released.  Partly due to low sales of similar RPGs on the system and partly due to being scheduled for launch after the debut of the SNES, Nintendo ultimately deemed the game "unprofitable" and scrapped it, deciding to focus on marketing the sequel instead.

However, many years later, the ROM hacking group Neo Demiforce dumped a copy of the unreleased prototype owned by a private collector, and thus for the first time an American audience got to experience this unreleased gem.  To avoid confusion with the SNES game of the same name, they made a slight modification to the title screen, giving it the unofficial name "Earthbound Zero".  To date, the game has still never been officially released outside of Japan, but at least now we can enjoy ROMs and reproduction carts of this classic.

Interestingly, the US prototype was later reused for the Japanese compilation cartridge "Mother 1 + 2" for the Game Boy Advance; they simply retranslated the text back into Japanese.  This is evidenced by the presence of the censored graphics, changed dungeon designs and extended ending seen in the US version.

The game has also been released on the Wii U Virtual Console under the title "Earthbound Beginnings".  Pick it up there!

Sources:

Spotlight: Earthbound
Japanese to English: Mother Differences

Let's Play System Shock 2, Part 6

I spend an inordinately long time looking for the elusive E-painting with the last portion of the code we need, only to realize it's in the very first room you enter upon entering the Recreation Deck.  Silly me.

Also, we finally break into Tier 4 psionic powers, which gives us Invisibility and Protoss psi-blades of doom.  Unfortunately the rest of the powers on that tier are kinda cack, but that's just more reason to look forward to Tier 5!



Ah yes, and I also went on a little adventure off-camera to unlock the armory on the Med-Sci deck. Turns out there's a log on Deck 4 that you have to find, hidden behind a chair in the lower section behind Bulkhead 23 (not far beyond the charger and the replicator where we bought the Reycler).

Then you go back down to Deck 2, input the code and find...

...An assault rifle, an EMP rifle, a stasis field generator, combat armor, two batteries, three frag grenades and some standard pistol ammo.  Not that great unless you somehow missed the assault rifle on Deck 3, but at least I found a couple hidden Cyber Module caches along the way that I missed before (both of them in the starting area to Deck 6, ironically enough.   One was in the trash can near the upgrade units and one was hidden behind the long crate just before the bulkhead).

Let's Play System Shock 2, Part 5

Wherein I lose a psi-amp, we get bushwhacked by spiders, jump-scared by midwives, eaten by flies, blown up by robots and play a little basketball to wind down from it all.  Oh, and we finally break into tier 3 Psi powers, which almost single-handedly justifies taking the OSA career path.

Sadly, there is no way to take up our mysterious e-mailer on his offer.