Phantasy Star I vs. II, Which is Better?

The first two Phantasy Star games are very good, and saw the developers make a few changes to the gameplay. The stories are different, and the setting is the same for the most part. The games take place 1,000 years apart, so I can understand some significant changes to the solar system in which the series takes place.

There aren’t too many differences between these two games. Phantasy Star II has more in it because it is a bigger game, and aside from that, I can only see a few differences. Both games are very good, but I think the second game is more user friendly than the first game.

The more I look at the other games in this series, the more I enjoy them. I always liked the fourth game, and I have more memories of playing that game than most RPGs I’ve played. The first and the second games in the series are great, but I think one is much better than the other.

Game Descriptions/Overviews

Both of these games are turn based science fiction RPGs. Because we’re dealing with a series here, there are going to be a lot of similarities. Sega wanted to build on what they had previously done and continue the story from the first game. This means there isn’t a lot that separates these games.

Phantasy Star is a space fairing adventure where you travel across a solar system while trying to defeat the evil King Lassic. There is another enemy that is revealed as controlling Lassic. It is primarily a science fiction game, but there are some elements of Greek mythology in the game as well.

Phantasy Star II is purely a science fiction game where you revisit the solar system from the first game. One thousand years have passed, and now a computer called Mother Brain is controlling the solar system. It becomes corrupted and tries to kill off all the people who call these planets home.

If you play these games in order, you’ll notice some discrepancies with spelling. The names of the planets are different, the bad guy’s name changes, and even the name of the solar system changes. It feels like something that would happen over the course of a thousand years as languages slowly change. It is a nice touch, which I’m not sure was intentional.

That is a general description of both games. There are a lot of similarities, which is to be expected since this series is trying to tell one grand story. Let’s go over some of the major differences between these two games.

Main Differences 

I didn’t see too many major differences between these games. There were a number of minor changes and a few that were major departures from game to game. The dungeons, setting, and number of playable characters are the changes I want to focus on.

The biggest change from the first to the second game is the dungeons. They shifted from first person perspective to a standard overhead view. This was a welcome change for me. As cool as the first person perspective would’ve been back in the day, it doesn’t translate to something fun.

To go along with this are the graphics on the battle screens. The enemy sprites are smaller in Phantasy Star II, but there are more of them on the screen, and the character attack animations are better. In the first game, the battle screens were bright and colorful, and in the second game, you’re fighting on a grid in some unknown location. I think this is a downgrade from the first game.

There have been some changes to the setting from the first game to the second. Some of this can be explained away with the passage of time in the games world, but it is still a big change from game to game. Greek Mythology was removed in the second game. It was the only real fantasy element in the first Phantasy Star, and with the shift to a more technological plot of a rogue computer, it wouldn’t have fit in as well.

Phantasy Star II has more playable characters than the first game. With the first Phantasy Star, you get the four main characters, and that is it. In the second game, you have eight playable characters to choose from and must assemble a party of four. The quest for your party members was also removed from the game, and while I’m sad to see it go, I understand why this change was necessary.

There are a few more twists to the story in Phantasy Star II. Since it is a bigger game in terms of the cartridge size, the developers could do more with the game. The story for the second game is a bit longer, and the way it is told is more elaborate.

Those are the major differences I noticed in the game. There are a few smaller ones that I didn’t want to dwell on while I was writing this. Let’s go over what I think each game does better than the other.

What Does Phantasy Star do Better?

There isn’t too much that I think was done better in the first game. The only things that I can think of are the battle screens, enemy sprites, and the quest at the beginning to find your party members. The rest of the game is as good or only slightly worse than the second game.

The combat screens in the first game are bright and colorful. In the second game, they’re simply on a black and blue grid, which is rather lame. The enemies are also much bigger in the first game, which is the result of having fewer sprites on the screen. Both games have little animations for the enemies, which is great.

I like the way the first game sends you on a quest to find your party members. The second game doesn’t do this because there are more characters. It feels random when you get new characters in the second game, because you have to return to the main character’s house to get new characters. I say this feels random because you’re not prompted to do this in the game as far as I can remember.

I can’t think of anything else at this point. Sega built on what they did with the first game and refined much of the gameplay. While the first game had its strengths, I believe the second game builds upon them.

What Does Phantasy Star II do Better?

Phantasy Star II does just about everything better than the previous game. There are a few things that I enjoy more in the first game, but those are personal preferences and not really based on anything. Phantasy Star II has better dungeons, story, and graphics. Some of this is due to the move to the Sega Genesis, but I still think it is worth mentioning.

I like having an overhead view in dungeons. It makes things easier when you’re trying to navigate them, and I like the layout of most of the dungeons. This also lets the developers make the dungeons look better than having them be monochromatic brick hallways.

The story in Phantasy Star II has a message in it, and like other science fiction stories, it warns the player about the impact of turning things over to a machine. Mother Brain is like all of the other central computers that eventually decide that humanity is the problem and needs to be destroyed. While the story is still a generic science fiction story, it has a very good message that is worthy of analysis.

Author’s Note: I find it funny that as I’m writing this, I have Grammarly giving me awful suggestions on how to “improve” my writing. It is a little funny.

The graphics are overall better than those of the previous game. Character and enemy sprites are more detailed, and there are more cinematic scenes in the game. This is one of the games that looks like it belongs on a more powerful console.

There are probably some other things I could mention here, but I’ll keep this short. I like both of these games, but one stands out as the clear winner. Let’s get into which I think is better and which I would rather play.

Which is Better Overall and Why? 

Phantasy Star II is better overall. It has fewer archaic game design elements, the dungeons are better, and I like the story more. The other parts of the game are either the same or aren’t significantly better than the first game.

I really like the story in this game. There are also some subplots that are rather enjoyable. Phantasy Star II takes a familiar science fiction plot of technology turning on humanity, and tells it in a way that is a lot of fun. I also like that each character has their own motivations for joining your party, but I wish those had been explored more. There’s a particularly good moment in the game where one of your characters can sacrifice their life to save you, but if you play it right, you can win the fight.

The gameplay isn’t all that different from the first game, but there are more options to customize your experience because of the additional playable characters. This is something I’ve always liked about video games. While you do have to level them up once they join you, that is something that I’ve never minded doing as I find grinding for levels to be relaxing.

The switch from a first person view in the dungeons to an overhead view was a welcome change. It was something that I didn’t like in the first game, even if I thought it looked impressive. I prefer the overhead view in my RPGs.

Phantasy Star II is the more complete RPG. The story is great, the characters are good, and I like the gameplay. It is also the one I would rather play.  

Which Would I Rather Play?

I’m not sure what else I can say here. I had more fun playing the second game than I did with the first. A few minor changes made the second game easy to play.

Getting rid of some of the more archaic gameplay mechanics helped this game out a lot. I like not having to open a menu to talk to someone or do other actions. That stuff is minimized in this game, which makes it a better user experience.

There isn’t much else I can say about this. I’m trying to pick from two great games, and I think the second one did a lot to make things better. The developers built upon what worked in the first game, greatly improving some aspects.

Conclusion 

The Phantasy Star series is my favorite retro RPG series. I like all of the games, even the weird third entry in the series. The fourth will always be my favorite, but I’ve found a new appreciation for the first and the second games in the series.

I remember playing both the first and the second games on the GBA collection, and not really liking either of them. I had played the second game before that, but I never really got into it. A few years ago, I played all four of the games for my YouTube channel, and I ended up liking all of them more than I previously had.

I think the second game is better than the first. The more times I play the game, the more I enjoy it. Although it isn’t as good as the fourth game, it remains one of the best RPGs on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and one of the best retro RPGs I’ve played.

If you liked this post, please check out some of the other posts in this series, such as Phantasy Star vs Dragon Quest II or Dragon Quest I vs Dragon Quest II.