Phantasy Star II and IV have a lot of similarities, aside from the setting and gameplay. Their plots are very close to being the same. When I went back to play these games recently, I was a little surprised by the way each game starts and how the story unfolds.
The second game was something different in terms of what other console RPGs were doing at the time. It tried to get some messages into it and tells a fun science fiction story. This can be a frustrating game at times, but it isn’t unbeatable.
Phantasy Star IV ties up many of the loose ends from the other games. It acts as the final chapter in a story that has been told across thousands of years. Sadly, it is the final entry in the main line series, even though it sets up some possibilities for future games.
My opinion of one of these games has shifted a bit as I’ve gone back to play these games. It is similar to how I’ve changed my mind about Final Fantasy in some ways. I do like both of these games, but one is much easier to get into and has fewer strange moments that don’t work all that well in retrospect.
Game Descriptions/Overviews
Because these games are in the same series, they have a similar setting. There were some changes between the second and fourth, like one of the planets exploding. The two stories have some similarities as well. When I looked at the gameplay, that is where I saw most of the differences.
Phantasy Star II is a science fiction game where the player controls a hunter who works for the government. At first, you investigate the appearance of monsters, and then you have to fight against a corrupted AI. There is a large cast of playable characters for you to use, which is always something fun, as it lets you customize your experience a bit.
Phantasy Star IV is a science fiction game where the player controls two hunters who are working for the Hunters’ Guild. It starts out with you investigating an outbreak of monsters, which leads you to the ruins of a computer system that controls the planet’s climate. From there, you fight an evil wizard, and eventually Dark Force from the previous three games. Then, you learn about the reason this solar system exists and fight the Profound Darkness.
There is a little more to both of these games. I didn’t want to get into everything here because I want to try to keep this brief. Let’s get into the main differences and some of the core mechanics for these games.
Main Differences
There are some pretty big differences between these games. While they do share a very similar setting, the stories, gameplay, and difficulty are all different. Some of the differences are because of improvements to console RPGs over the years, and others are more style choices.
Phantasy Star II has a more generic plot when it comes to science fiction. It deals with a corrupted AI that labels humans as an invasive species and tries to eradicate them. Phantasy Star IV sticks closer to there being a mystery about the solar system, having a secret planet, and a struggle against the source of all evil. It also cleans up several plot points that don’t make much sense in the overarching narrative that Sega was telling in these games.
There are a bunch of differences in the gameplay. Phantasy Star II has a party of four characters, and Phantasy Star IV has a party of five. New playable characters just appear at the main character’s house in the second game, and they just come and go in the fourth game. The foreground obstructions and teleporters are gone from the dungeons in the fourth game.
Phantasy Star IV is a much easier game to get into and to play. There is less grinding, and the bosses are easier to beat. Phantasy Star II can feel like a chore to get through, especially if you haven’t played an RPG from the late 1980s before or in a long time. It can be difficult to the point of making you want to quit.
The menu system from the second game isn’t in the fourth. It is an archaic game mechanic that I’ve never liked in some of these older games. They were fine when the games were released, but it was quickly replaced by something much better. Not every game fixed it, but quite a few did.
Those are the bigger things that I noticed when I looked at these games. I know that there are more, but I just want to focus on a few of them. In the next section, I’ll go over a few more as I get into the core mechanics of the games.
Comparing Core Mechanics (Combat, Story, Visuals, etc)
These games have several core mechanics in common because they’re both turn based RPGs, and are part of the same series. Their combat, story, and visuals are very similar. The differences show a gradual change similar to how the Dragon Quest series made small changes from game to game.
Both games use turn based combat, but Phantasy Star IV has a party of five characters. The second game uses a party of four, and they have more defined combat roles. They use the same magic and technique systems, and keep similar names for the spells. Aside from the party members, the combat systems and enemy types aren’t too different.
The dungeons are a little different. Phantasy Star II’s are a little more confusing with the use of teleporters instead of stairs, and there are a lot of foreground obstructions. The fourth game’s dungeons are less complex, but do get harder as the game goes on, which is what you should expect.
These stories start out similarly. They both begin with the player investigating an outbreak of monsters, and then getting swept up in a much larger problem that threatens the solar system. This is where things diverge as the fourth game brings in parts of the previous games, and ends with a confrontation with the creature that controls Dark Force.
The graphics in these games aren’t all that different. You can tell that Sega was able to get the most out of the Genesis at this point when you look at the fourth game. Both games are bright and colorful, and they use comic book cutscenes. Phantasy Star IV has more cutscenes than the second game does.
There are a few other differences between these games. The ones I went over here were a little general and rather minor. I could keep going and list all of the differences, but I want to keep this brief. Let’s get into what each game does better than the other.
What Does Phantasy Star IV do Better?
There are a lot of things that Phantasy Star IV does better than the second game. I like the characters, dungeons, and the story more. There are probably a lot of other things, and if I think of them, then I’ll add them in later.
I enjoy having five characters in a party instead of just four or three. It makes the combat a little more strategic, and I like having to manage that many people. You also get to know the characters better than in the second game.
The characters in this game are better because you get to know them. Instead of a character randomly showing up at your house, you meet them, get their motivations, and learn more about them through some cut scenes. It works better from a narrative standpoint, and it makes the game more fun to play.
The dungeons in Phantasy Star IV are significantly better. There are no foreground obstructions, and the teleporters are removed. This makes things easier when you’re trying to navigate the dungeons, and they also look much better.
I like that this story brings more of the other games into it. Because this is the last game in the series, it tries to tie up most of the loose ends from the other games. It also does a great job of ignoring what didn’t work from those stories.
These are some of the big things that I think are better in Phantasy Star IV. Much of this is personal preference, which feels like something I shouldn’t have to add in, but I know that I do. Both games have some great things in them. Let’s see what Phantasy Star II does better.
What Does Phantasy Star II do Better?
There really isn’t too much to say here. While I like the game, I was really reaching for some of the things that this game does better. I do like the main character a little better, and how this game ties into the first more. It feels like I’m really reaching for things to say for this section.
The main character in this game feels more like a character who is ready to deal with the crap that is thrown at him. While the fourth game sets up a mentor-mentee relationship well, I like how the second game does it.
One thing that I really like is how the main character has visions of what took place in the first game. This is a little better than the history lesson that the characters from the fourth game receive. Both are fine, but I like what the second game does a little more.
Those are really it. This is rather hard because of how good the fourth game is. It improves on many of the great things from the other games, so finding something that the second game does better is a little challenging.
Which is Better Overall and Why?
The fourth game is the better one overall. It has better gameplay, story, and I like the characters more. I also have more memories of playing this game with my friends. Both of these are great games; I just happen to like the fourth game a lot more.
I’m not totally sure why, but I love it when games give the player a larger party of playable characters. Phantasy Star IV has you control five playable characters, which makes the battles more strategic. You also have a lot of characters to choose from.
This game has a better story. The second game ends on a cliffhanger, which was quickly abandoned when the other two games in the series were released. The fourth game comes in and cleans up everything. I love that there are several callbacks to the other games in the series and that it expands on the lore of the game’s setting. It even explains that there are other escape craft that made it out of the solar system aside from the one in the third game.
The characters in this game are more fleshed out. In the second game, you only get to know two or three of the main characters. With the fourth game, most of the characters have more of a backstory, they feel like friends, and you learn more about them as the game goes on.
Phantasy Star IV is the first game I played in the series. I played it with my friends quite a bit, and it became one of the games that we gathered together to play. It is one of the more memorable games that we played back in the day. It stuck with me enough to seek this game out when I started collecting games.
These are the reasons I think this is the better game. It is simply easier to play when I compare it to the other games in the series. Phantasy Star IV is one of my favorite games of all time, and I love just about everything about it. Let’s get into which I would rather play.
Which Would I Rather Play?
This was an easy choice to make. Phantasy Star IV is the one I would rather play. While I like both of them, I have way more fun when I revisit the fourth game in the series. You don’t need to know what happened in the other games to enjoy this one at all.
The game has the best graphics, gameplay, and story out of all the games. It isn’t as difficult as the second game is, and it is easier to get into. There are more comic book cutscenes in this game, and they’re the best in the series.
I still remember playing this game with my friends back in the mid 1990s. It was one of the first RPGs that I remember playing, and it was much better than the other ones I played at that point. I only had one friend who owned an SNES at the time, so I didn’t know about all the RPGs on that console.
Those are the big reasons why this is the game I would rather play. Many of the other reasons why I would choose this game have already been covered. In an effort not to repeat myself too much, I tried to keep this short.
Conclusion
This is one of those times that I feel like I was bashing a video game. There wasn’t too much that the second game did better than the fourth game. Neither of these is a bad game; I simply enjoy one of them way more than the other.
Phantasy Star II is a game that I like, but it has some big problems. Many of them are annoying, but not game breaking. It does have a good story, decent characters, and challenging gameplay.
Phantasy Star IV is one of my favorite video games. It has an excellent story, great graphics, and wonderful gameplay. My memories of playing the game with my friends pretty much outweigh anything else. I really enjoy this game.
It will be fun to see how games outside of the Phantasy Star series measure up to the fourth game. There are some great and unique games for me to compare with this one. I know that I’m not going to run into something that is significantly better than this game for a long while.
If you like this post, check out the others in this series. Such as Phantasy Star vs Phantasy Star IV and Final Fantasy II vs Dragon Quest.