Tag: phantasy star

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IX: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

dezorisHaving finished off the ice planet of Dezoris, I head back to Palma, buy some Diamond Armor and make sure everyone is ready to go. I buy lots of Burgers for healing, as well. Maybe I should have stopped at White Castle and gotten a suitcase. My party heads to the Gate of Baya Malay, which is the worst and least scary name of a dungeon ever. It actually sounds like one of those resorts that you always hear about but have no idea where it is. Like the Lesser Antilles or something. Sidenote: the Lesser Antilles makes me think of Wedge Antilles having a younger brother who parks spaceships for a living. But that isn’t possible, because Wedge only had a sister and she was older than him before his parents were killed in a tragic fuel depot accident. Yes, I am the biggest Star Wars nerd ever.

So I enter the Gate and all that build up for a long ass maze with no enemies. Which normally would be a relief but now just fills me with a great sense of foreboding. Then again, it might be that Burger King I had for dinner. Oh, there is a Robot Cop who stops me and demands to see my passport, which I show him, but he attacks me anyway. Robot Cop, dead or alive, you are coming with me! Actually, just dead and I left his smoking, sparking carcass behind. I exit and enter another cave and then a tower. Could this be it? Alas, no, at the top is a guy who asks me some questions and then gives me a Crystal which allows me to open any sealed doors without using my magic OPEN spell. This is a great thing, as it will save me MP in the end. I warp back to town, heal up and start again.

I use the Crystal to enter the tower, which is 25 stories! And from what I understand, it’s not a straight climb, but a maze of going up and then back down and all kinds of hell. Once again, thanks to my readers for picking this game. There is a special hell reserved for you. After many enemies (the random encounter rate is off the charts here. Once again: Special Hell.) and many false turns, I make it to the 24th floor when BAM! A trap sends me back to the very beginning. But what’s that? I am a hardcore, dyed in the wool RPG veteran and this ain’t my first rodeo so I saved when I got to that floor? Instant reset and reload and we are back on track. I would like to thank me for being awesome. No power in the ‘verse can stop me!

myau3I make it to the top and I use the AERO Prism, which makes the sky change colors and a floating castle appear in the clouds. I picked a hell of day to quit sniffing glue! My party tells me to feed that Laerma Nut to Myua. So give my magic nut to the pussy cat. That’s hot. Myau becomes enveloped in flames and emits a blinding light. I wonder if Dr. Mad still wants a piece of this pussy cat now? Myau grows wings! Awesome, this better equal more damage or something in battle. Myau flies us to the floating castle thingy, but we are attacked in mid-air by a Gold Dragon. That’s a color I don’t have on my notched belt of dead dragons, so we quickly whip his gold ass into a stupor and land on the castle. We enter and it’s a new dungeon. Oh, joy. Wait, Lassic is waiting inside for me! We quickly killed him, but it was just a Fake Lassic, a Shadow. Boo! We continue on and there he is, the real deal.

Hello. My name is Alis Something-or-other. You killed my brother. Prepare to die. In a new twist, Lassic can use his magic to attack my entire party at one time, which causes all manner of havoc for me. One by one, the party falls, leaving only Alis left, which is poetic justice because she delivers the deathblow! Holy crap! I did it! A message appears telling me that Nero, Alis’ brother, is satisfied in heaven. Which is kind of interesting that we are getting telegrams from the afterlife, but whatever, I mean, the cat grew wings! The party says we should hurry to the Governor of Motavia. Soun—What?? Oh. Oooohhh. Oh. Here’s a hint: when you beat what you think is the final boss, but the game tells you to travel somewhere else, that means it wasn’t the final boss. I can totally tell that Square Enix loved this game when they first played it.

So we head back to the esteemed home of the Motavians, but first, I stop to restock and heal up. Like I said, this isn’t my first time doing this. After arriving, the Governor is not there and I fall through a trap! After traveling down a loooong tunnel, he is waiting for me. But he is not the Governor, he is Dark Falz. Seriously? Dark Falz? Who is Dark Falz, you ask? Well, he is the embodiment of all evil and also the very first Super Secret Bad Guy You Didn’t Know Existed But Was Really Behind The Whole Thing From The Start. Or, his shorter name, SSBGYDKEBWRBTHTFTS. His name is totally pronounceable, but it does require a lot of saliva.

darkf1In an evil turn of events, there is no HP counter for Dark Falz, which means I have no idea how my attacks are doing, so I just use the strongest stuff I have that has been working the whole game. And prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. Alis attacks and heals when needed, Myau does the same, Noah just attacks with his Wind spell and Odin just attacks. Oh, and Noah also dies. Not good. After several turns of this my team is getting weak, but BOOM! Odin kills Dark Falz! I BEAT IT! The real Governor appears, telling me I saved the Universe. All in a day’s work, my friend. In a shocking bit exposition, we learn that Alis’ father was once king and Alis now becomes Queen! How utterly trite. The sky clears and peace is returned. Pictures of the cast are shown and I am told that though the evil has faded, our names will live forever.

So that’s it. It’s over. Honestly, I really liked this game. In 1988, it must have been amazing to play, but it’s still pretty awesome even today. To summarize it succinctly: Game beat. Asses kicked. Names taken. Time for a beer and a much deserved rest. If you guys liked this, I will do another one sometime, but only after a brief hiatus. Thanks for reading!

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VIII: Going, Going, Gorgon

town_drasgowI’m back! Let’s get to it! Using my newfound hovercraft, I can now traverse water. So I do. Millions of people flock to my, thinking me a new, high-tech version of Jesus. Ok, I made that part up. While roaming around, I come across an island, Drasgow. A guy there tells me a whole heap of stuff, like there was a giant rock floating through the sky and there is a magic sword on a forgotten island. Well, it can’t be THAT forgotten, can it?

In the town, I buy a GAS SHIELD, which should come in handy if Myau ever gets worms. Or to get pass that area covered by poison gas back on Motavia. Oh, I can’t wait to see the Motavians! Hey, this place kinda looks like that movie The Mist. You know, the one with the Punisher? In the middle of the mist there is a town, Sopia. The townsfolk are trapped there and they tell me Lassic is the cause of the gas. Maybe he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. For a small donation (bastard) the town elder tells me of the MIRROR SHIELD, hidden on a small island in the middle of a lake. With this shield, I should be able to beat Medusa! Sweet. Oh and some guy asked me if I enjoy Sega games. *Boom* Fourth wall shattered. Along with the English language.

The shield is found, just where the elder said it would be. Off to Gothic to kick some Gorgon ass! I enter Medusa’s cave and boy is it easy to get lost and dead, what with all the dragons, stalkers and marauders hanging out down here. How do they all survive? Do they live here or is this some sort of job for them? Does Daddy Dragon come home from a hard day of guarding Medusa, Baby Dragon greeting him at the door and Mommy Dragon putting some nice charred dwarf flesh on the table for dinner? Just wondering.

After all this, Medusa turns out to be a pushover. I whipped her behind so hard that Baby Dragon felt it! Sweet! My prize is a Laconian Axe, which I gladly give to Odin. Oh, remember that island everyone forgot about? Turns out it’s about a 5 second trip via hovercraft from Scion, which is the second town you visit in this game! Does this whole universe suffer from Alzheimer’s or something or just really bad eyesight? Do they not have boats? Do they just stare at the water and sigh in a resigned fashion? Anyhoo, on that island is a tower. In that tower is a red dragon. In that red dragon is my foot, which I stuck deep in its fat red ass. My Dragon Hating Vendetta continues! And for my troubles (and lost shoe) I get a Laconian Sword, which Alis promptly equips. One more planet to explore, Dezoris, the ice planet!

dezorisDezeoris has tons of mountains and ice that block most of my attempts to travel around here, which frankly sucks. In the first town, Skure, I find another Laconian Pot! For such a rare thing, these sure are plentiful. Kind of like Beanie Babies. Ooh, this has potential: there is a morgue here where the dead have risen. Zombies! Clearly, Sega was ahead of the trend in gaming. After traversing a series of small caves, I arrive at the morgue where I find a ton of zombies. THIS IS MY BOOM STICK! For some reason that I totally can’t even answer, there is a set of Laconian Armor hidden in a treasure chest in the morgue. Maybe it was in the chest where they place the personal possessions of the dead, but if that were true, why I am not fighting naked zombies?

Exiting the morgue, I find a city where they sell something called the Ice Digger. I wonder if I can use that to dig through all this ice blocking my way? Answer: hells yes! Using this, I find a cave in the middle of all the ice and a Titan, waiting to do battle with someone stupid enough to wander inside. Well, I happen to be just the right amount of stupid. Defeating the Titan gives me an AERO PRISM KEY. Yay? What the hell is this thing for? Unlocking Rainbow Road or something?

Further exploring leads me to a tower, in which waits a Dezorian. He has a sacred fire and will give me some of it on a torch for the Amber Eye. That seems like a pretty specific request. Did he really just sit there hoping some fool would stumble across his tower and climb all the way to the top with an item that can only be gained from killing a FREAKING DRAGON??? What is wrong with this universe? Anyhoo, he gives me the Eclipse Torch and I use it on solitary tree nearby. Which gives me a Laerma Nut, which apparently can only be stored in a Laconian Pot. Thank Jebus I have one handy. The Laerma Nut, if you will recall, was mentioned earlier as something that can transform a cat. Using it now does nothing on Myau, but I am sure it will come in handy later.

Well, I am ready to finally tackle the last dungeon and beat this sucker. Tune in next time for Part IX: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VII: Rock the Casba Dragon

ps_preso3Picking up where we last left off, I head to Bortevo and use the Polymeteral to uncover Hapsby, who agrees to fly the space ship for me. What? You mean, no giant quest to find Hapsby’s nephew, Wall-E? He doesn’t need a new set of circuits or anything like that? This game must be getting tired or something. I head back to Dr. Luveno who gives me my ship! I will call it Squishy and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy.

Hapsby gives me a choice of 3 places to go, one of them being the very town we are standing in, which seems kind of sad that such an advanced invention has no sense of being, but hey, least that means he is not about to become Skynet or something. I choose Uzo, which is on the desert planet of Motavia. I heard there were Motavians there or something. Once I arrive, someone tells me that Casba is a town to the south and there is a dragon who has an Amber Eye there. In its head! I am going to carve that sucker out, I tell you. I find a good armor for Noah and his frail ass needs all the help he can, so I buy that.

Some guy in town asks if I need a soothing flute? Once again…how does this crap come up? He reveals that he buried one in the outskirts of Gothic, but it’s a secret. Pal, nothing is a secret in this game, ok? Someone also tells me that the Land Rover can get past Ant Lions. Wonder if that was a secret, too? Holy crap! The store here has light sabers! I’ll take a dozen please! Or maybe just one for Odin and one for Alis. Geez, the locals won’t shut up! There is an awesome shield in a village surrounded by mist, but there is poison gas in the sea to the west, so I will need protection. TROJAN MAN! Oh guess what they have for sell here? A land rover! Time to do donuts over all those Ant Lions blocking my way! But first…

Inside the Casba cave, I descend deeper and deeper until I come up on the foul beast: a black dragon. Ok, time out. Is this considered a hate crime if I kill a black dragon? Earlier, I killed a red one, so I think it’s pretty clear I don’t discriminate against dragons based on color. In fact, I think it’s obvious that I hate all dragons I come across. Killing said dragon earns me one shiny Amber Eye.

antlionUsing my trusty new land rover, I drive over the Ant Lions for a few hours (it seems) and then head back to Gothic and retrieve that secret flute. Kinda shocked I was able to get there first since that chucklehead was blabbing his little secret to anyone with a set of working ears. Guess what else? Someone here tells me of a hovercraft that is hidden in the forest at the edge of town. I got vehicles coming out of my ass! I feel like GI Joe now. I have a spaceship, a hovercraft for travesing the sea and a land rover. I think I am set.

Well that is enough for now. Later this week, I will have another post and trust me, we are getting near the end. I hope to have this done in 10 parts total, with maybe one more post summing up my feelings about the game.  Check back later for Part VIII: Going, going, Gorgon!

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad

ps_mad3Crazy old Dr. Luveno decides he wants me to fetch his assistant. Fine, makes sense that this batshit inventor would not be able to function without a handler. Hell, Paula Abdul has a whole team of them and she can’t even judge a talent contest. This quest turns out to be pretty easy as the assistant is hiding in the underground passage in the middle of town. 30 seconds later, I have him back safe and sound with Dr. Nutsy. Oh, but Luveno needs funding to build the spaceship, which will set me back about 1200 mesetas. Not a bad bargain when you think about it, but money is scarce in this game. Since I literally have no choice at all, I pay up.

But I’ve been had! I can’t fly the damn thing without Hapsby, the Laconion Robot Pilot! Is there no obstacle this game won’t throw my way? I think I figured out who made this the thing: the DMV. Only thing is that the load times are pretty short, so maybe it wasn’t them. Have to think on that one. Anyhoo, I head up to Bortevo, the town where I heard the robot is laying around somewhere. I literally have to walk through lava to get there. Whatever crazy stuff Lassic (the bad guy, remember?) is up to doesn’t involve cleaning up after a volcanic eruption.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part V: One Small Step For Man, One Giant Pain In The Ass For Anthony

noahAfter that horrific dream interlude, we head off to some cave where Noah is allegedly training and not building an ark of any kind. By the way: Worst. Random. Encounter. Rate. Ever. For reals, a battle ends, I scratch my nose and I get attacked again. You won’t believe what happened when I had to go pee. I have the console off right now and I think I can hear the battle music starting up!

So after navigating another cave where every single wall looks exactly the same (intelligent design?) I stumble upon, Noah, the blue-haired delight who tells me that he is just too busy training to help me save the universe! Training for what? What the hell could possibly be more important than this? Is there a 5K coming up? Are there intergalatic olympic games? Is Michael Phelps still around and if so, does he smoke Laconion Pot?

But what’s this? I have a letter from the Governor of Motavia? (He is a Motavian, BTW) and that’s all Noah needs to pull a Luke Skywalker circa Empire Strikes Back and quit his training and help us out. I guess if I had let Noah finish his training he would have started at a higher level than level 1, but somehow, I doubt it. Noah suggests we go to Gothic Forest and find Dr. Luveno. He fails to mention why we should find this guy or what the dress code is at Gothic Forest. I’m guessing black is encouraged.

We get to the forest and find the town of Gothic. The people here are surprisngly upbeat! I am warned to stay away from the tower nearby due to the magical beast that lives there. Little do these people know that telling me such a thing only ensures I will pay it a visit. Turns out that Dr. Luveno had a lab here and then he went bonkers and is now locked up in Triada Prison to the south. Prison Break!

A short walk later and we enter the prison and I release all the prisoners I can find. Some are pretty helpful, including one who informs me that the aforementioned tower is the lair of Medusa! Odin wets himself upon hearing this. There is even a giant tarantula who tells me of a substance called POLYMETERAL that dissolves anything except for Laconia. Interesting. Another guys tells me of a robot named Hapsby who was built to pilot a spaceship, but was abandoned in the town of Bortevo somewhere. Hapsby is also made out of Laconia. I’m sure this will come in handy later.

drluvenoDr. Wily! I mean, Dr. Luveno! Guess what! He refuses to help! Guess we should all go home. But I have come so far! So I ask again. No sale. One more time and as always in video games, the third time usually does it. Dr. Luveno agrees and asks for me to meet in him back in Gothic where he will help me, but only if I help him first. Typical. No word still on the Gothic dress code, but he is wearing white, so I think we are in the clear.

Find out later this week what sordid task Dr. Luveno has planned for me and what the hell else I have to do to get the freaking spaceship built in Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IV: To Rescue A Stoner

phantasy_starI take Myau out for a few battles, test his mettle and such. He promptly dies. Thank heaven for nine lives, right? Back to town, revive him and try again. FASTER, PUSSYCAT KILL, KILL! Thankfully, Myau manages to stay alive long enough to gain a few levels, enough that I am reasonably confident that he will also stay alive long enough to rescue Odin from Medusa’s Cave. So we head back to Palma and enter Medusa’s Cave, my first full-fledged dungeon!
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IV: To Rescue A Stoner

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part III: A Whole New World

wtfA new fantastic point of view…no one to tell us no! Or where to go! Or say we’re only dreaming…sorry. Aladdin was a big hit when I was a kid. So I arrive on Motavia. One small step for man, one giant leap for Alis who is clearly desperate to escape the humdrum tropical world of Palma. Motavia is a desert planet, but you wouldn’t know it from the spaceport. Looks like every other area I have visited so far. The townsfolk are friendly and the Clone Troopers stay out of my way thanks to PASSPORT and PASS. I sip my newly poured cold Pepsi (sponsor?) with satisfaction at my newfound bad-assery.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part III: A Whole New World

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part II: Owl Bears Make Me Cry

ss-Phantasy_Star-04-640Grinding. Grinding never changes.

Ok, well I have finally had a taste of what combat is like in Phantasy Star and it’s kind of like going to Epcot Center and trying all the different sodas from around the world. China has their head on straight, but the Italians clearly have dead taste buds. And don’t even get me started on Israel. The battles in Phantasy Star take place from a first person POV and consists of ATTACK, MAGIC and ITEM. Oh, and RUN. RUN rocks. Love RUN. You don’t get to select which enemy to target, which can get really amusing sometimes. By amusing, of course I mean frustrating and by sometimes, of course I mean all the time.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part II: Owl Bears Make Me Cry

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part I: A Tentative First Step

dd432dc903be08ecd861213ec510493f-Phantasy_StarCaptain’s Log Stardate 456335.45

The ruthless bastards loyal readers of GamerSushi have made their voices heard and chosen a game for me to blog about. Sadly, their voices are that of demons from the 6th Circle of Hell, for they have chosen Phantasy Star. In order to properly blog about this game, I have traveled back in time to 1988.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part I: A Tentative First Step

GamerSushi Game Blog! You Pick The Game!

100042You guys know about my horribly long gaming backlog. I have made progress and setbacks, as I have beaten several games, but bought two, as well. Soul Caliber IV was ten bucks, what was I supposed to do?? So I thought I would blog about whatever game I play next from my collection, not what I get from Gamefly or anything.

So I came up with a list of 5 games. You guys get to pick. What follows is a brief description of each game. It is RPG heavy because my sarcastic manner is better suited to writing about these types of games. I mean, how can I make Devil May Cry half as interesting as Final Fantasy? Even I am not that talented. And if you disagree and think I am, tough. I still ain’t playing Devil May Cry again.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (New) – This RPG is unique in that you start off as a boy with his dad on an adventure and eventually you grow into a man, choose 1 of 3 women to marry (sorry, Big Love fans) and have kids of your own and go on adventures with them, as well. So it follows 1 man’s life through 3 generations, which is really cool. Plus, you can recruit up to 70 monsters into your party and use them in battle.

Phantasy Star (New) – Originally released on the Sega Master system way back in the day, it’s a tough, old-school, kick-your-ass-and-make-you-like-it RPG. If you want me to go totally batshit during this blog, pick this game. Seriously, I am scared of this game and what it may do to me.

Suikoden (New) – Ah, a PS1 RPG I missed out on. I hear this one is pretty easy and short, too, about 15 or so hours to complete it. You play a soldier who recruits an army of 108 members, known as the Stars of Destiny and do battle with an evil…wait for it…EMPIRE! Sounds and looks like fun, though.

Breath of Fire II (New) – I only rented this back in the SNES days, but it is a steller RPG and it always intrigued me to because you can merge certain party members into one to create a new member. Got a wolfman and a fish? Make a wolf-fish! How cool is that? Other than that, it is a standard RPG, but a fun one from what I hear.

Final Fantasy III (New) – Remade for the DS, this game was previously unreleased in the U.S. and I know why: it’s freaking hard. No saving in caves or dungeons, only on the world map. Tough enemies, lots of grinding, but a fun job system (not as much fun as FF V’s, though) make this an old school RPG worth playing.

So there you have it. The 5 who were chosen. Now it’s up to you guys to pick which one I play. Keep in mind, I will be writing about the game for you guys, so pick something you want to read about.

UPDATE: I have edited the post per Eddy’s suggestion that I only do a new game (new to me). So since no one had voted for an old game yet, this works out. VOTE NOW!