Phantasy Star IV (Mega Drive)

Sound Test
This game has very nice songs, and Sega presented us with a sound test. However, to access the sound test, you must finish the game at least once. After that, all you have to do is go to the screen where you choose to begin, continue or erase a previously saved game.
Now press button B on the joystick and you have the sound test.
Molcum before it’s time
This curiosity was pointed by Alessandro Mathera. At the very beginning of the game, usually the group visits the Birth Valley in the city of Zema to find professor Holt turned into stone.
However, instead going to the Birth Valley, the group can go to Molcum.
Surprise! The city still isn’t destroyed!
However it’s not possible to enter and have Rune in the group before it’s time because the entrance is blocked.
This catch is also used in PS 3 with the old man that doesn’t let Rhys leave the castle before getting married, or the guards that block the way in caves and temples.
Outside Piata before it’s time
This other curiosity was pointed by Bob’s, and it follows the same principle of the previous curiosity. As you know, after a while in the game, Chaz learns technique Ryuka, which brings the group back to a town that was already visited.
After using Ryuka, the group is transported to the selected town. But you’re still outside.
Very well… At the beginning of the game you can’t leave Piata without defeating the Igglanova in the basement.
But you can go into the basement and keep fighting the enemies until Chaz has learned technique Ryuka.
Which means that you can use Ryuka now and you’ll be teleported to the outsides of Piata, right?
And indeed you show up at the outside!
But your joy ends soon. You can’t even take a step because the group is immediately transported back into Piata, and the guards insist that you can’t leave.
Rune meets Chaz
When the group arrives at destroyed Molcum, they meet Rune in the middle of the ruins. After a few jokes, Chaz tell Rune to stop calling him Shorty.
Rune remembers that his name is Chaz. “Chaz, that’s what you said your name was, right?” he asks. But if you pay attention to the conversation from the beginning, no one ever mentioned Chaz’ name. How can Rune recall it? Some magic trick?
Techniques for Androids
During the game, the techniques used by androids Demi and Wren aren’t earned as they raise their levels, instead you find the parts that make them work inside the mazes.
Everytime you find one of those techniques, Demi or Wren talk about those special parts designed for androids. According to what the androids say, you could imagine that those techniques could be used by both Demi and Wren.
But that doesn’t happen. During the game, when you find those techniques, you’re either controlling Demi or Wren. Controlling Demi, if you visit the Plate System, you find the Phononmezer. However, if you don’t pick this technique up, and visit the place later, controlling Wren, he doesn’t pick up the technique for him. In fact, Chaz takes a look at the chest, and so does Rika, but they say that they don’t know what’s that, and that’s it.
Attacking Zio with Alys
Fan Felipe Lessa thought of a curiosity: is there a way to defeat Zio still with Alys in the group? What would happen? Using Game Genie codes, I placed a Psycho-Wand in the items.
At the beginning of the fight, you can make Alys use the Psycho-Wand. It seems to work, and you get the message that Zio’s been “neutralized”.
Nevertheless, it’s impossible to hit Zio. Contrary to what happens on Phantasy Star 2 when you defeat Neifirst with Nei still alive, on this case it’s not possible to defeat Zio before Dark Force casting its Black Wave.
Defeating Re-Faze
As you know, the group can visit the Anger Tower on Rykros after you get the Elsydeon sword. In the tower, Chaz alone finds an illusion of Alys.
When the fight ends, Re-Faze appears, talking about the Megido technique and asking if Chaz wants to learn it. Usually, the player should answer no, or else you’d go into a fight that’s impossible to win.
Impossible? What if someone used the ROM and an emulator, and edited the saved game file, to raise Chaz HP?
The game won’t accept HP higher than 2047 points, which already sounds a lot. But Re-Faze must have an enormous energy because I needed to change Chaz HP back to 2047 a lot of times so I could get to the end of the battle. And all you get is 1 meseta and 1 experience point…
Re-Faze disappears.
And Chaz didn’t learn the Megido.
“The Return of Alis” the Phantasy Star IV that never happened
During the pre-production of Phantasy Star IV, some ideas ended up not appearing in the final version of the game. One of those is the title which would be “Phantasy Star: The Return of Alis” and it would have been developed for the Mega-CD.
Despite FMV, dubbing and many more things being planned, (probably) due to the low sales of the Mega-CD, the original project was abandoned and a lot of things were left. And we ended up with a cartridge game with not so much in common with the original planning. Among the differences with the final version, there would be an opening sequence with a flashback from the previous three games. It's a shame that not even this opening survived in the final version.
The story, that would have happened right after the events of Phantasy Star III, had an intergalactic slave trade as a theme.
However, what really made the fans sad was the plan of using 3D mazes much like the ones in Phantasy Star I. Since the great variety of mazes required by Phantasy Star IV would require a lot of cartridge memory, the idea ended up being abandoned (despite the fact that in the Phantasy Star Compendium they point out that the 3D mazes would be boring).
Even considering that some direct relation to Alis Landale (heroine of Phantasy Star - Master System) were uncertain since the first ideas for the game (what in fact didn't happen) and the name of the game was created only for nostalgic purposes, the only certainty was the appearence of Dark Force.
Some of the artwork was already showing that many things were decided like, for example, the characters appearences. And funny enough, those images gave the idea that they would be Nei (ネイ) from Phantasy Star II and Wren/Shirren/Searren Type 386 from Phantasy Star III. And the image of Rune Walsh/Thray Walsh (スレイ・ウォルシュ) seems to have the same style of the main characters from Phantasy Star III (Would Chaz be another Alis' descendent?).
Other artwork was showing similarities with the final art used in the “The End of the Millenium” version of Phantasy Star. Like, for example, this space that looks like an image when LeRoof reveals the secret behind the genesis of Algol…
…and this other example can be seen in the opening sequence of the final version of Phantasy Star IV where we can see a ruined planet on the background. Take notice that the planet is exactly the same as the one of the concept art and the only important difference (besides the rocks) is the absence of Chaz in the final version.
Curiously enough, during the golden age of video game magazines, a supposed gameplay image surfaced while advertising it as a new Phantasy Star…
…however it was discovered (thanks to someone under the nickname Oath) that it was only a picture from another game called Sorcerer's Kingdom developed by Treco Corporation and released in 1992 (the trees are identical).
Quotations?
There are a few things on PS 4 that resembles other games. Could they be only coincidence, or quotations for only a few to notice, or plain copy? You decide! The first thing that attracts one’s attention is similarities with the game Ys for Master System.
In Ys cave there was also that lake at the bottom, with the chests around.
At Zio’s Fortress (and also inside Nurvus), the group needs to cross a bridge that leads to another part of the tower.
The same thing happens on Ys. At a certain moment, you need to cross a bridge that leads to another part of the tower.
All that walking on the ground and the rooftops, which happens in Lashiec’s castle, were also present on Ys’ games.
That also happened on Ys 2 and Ys 4.
But there’s also a scandalous similarity with the game Shining Force for Genesis. In Phantasy Star 4, Le Roof teaches you all about the Great Light and the Profound Darkness, how the Great Light banished the Profound Darkness to another dimension and created Algol as a seal, Dark Force coming back every 1000 years, etc.
Well, right at the opening of Shining Force, you get to know the story of the Light that fought against Darkness.
Winner, the Light banished Darkness to another dimension. Hey, that sounds familiar!
But the dark lord would return… Guess after how many years? 1000 years!
With time, people forgot about it, the same way that the descendants of the Great Light forgot about their mission.
Maps without walls
This mysterious curiosity was sent by Adenildo Filho. Close to the end of the game, Chaz enters the Sacred Sword Cave alone to get the Elsydeon sword.
There seems to be a small flaw right at the beginning of the cave’s map. The programmers must have forgotten to put a solid block here, so you can pass through the wall to the left.
You can take a walk around the map. Even if you stand still facing a wall, but pressing the directional button, an enemy will soon appear.
In fact, the enemy that appears in this cave leaves 1000 experience points. But those points don’t go to Chaz only. They go to all characters, even those who are not part of the group! That’s a nice way to raise levels…
Another similar curiosity was sent in by Gipper. It happens when you’re in Reshel (In Dezoris).
You can walk through one of the houses.
Sidney Eley found another place that isn’t solid in the cave to the Soldier’s Temple, close to the entrance.
You even get to walk on the air and see the water below.
Sega on Algol
There are references to Sega in two games of the series. In Phantasy Star 4, at Nalya town, Chaz finds a Game Gear inside a closet.
At Krup, inside Hahn’s fiancé school, you also find three children’s picture book with suggestive titles: “The Golden Axe volume 3”, “A Day with Ecco” and “Run, Hedgehog, Run!”
Hacking
Hacking through the game, some people found out that a few items don’t appear during the game, but they can be put there by hacking the saved game. For example, this item Nothing. It’s actually a map of the planet you’re in.
The item shows only the maps of Motavia and Dezoris. Some people say that this item was never supposed to be on the game, it was used only by the programmers, that’s why there are noises in Dezoris’ map. Others say that the item was going to be on the game, but the authors thought it’d make the game too easy.
Express to Dezoris and Rykros
Yoz, our phan on duty, showed this curiosity, that seems to bee some kind of bug or some leftover from the programming times. It’s about transportation spots to other planets. The transportation spots are at the university, upstairs. You may use them at any time on the game. Funny things happen if you use them at the beginning of the game.
To see this curiosity, however, you must activate the Game Genie code to walk through walls. Cross the wall at this place, and the transportation spot to Dezoris is right beside it.
You arrive at a place close to Ryuon. If you use this transportation spot right at the beginning of the game, you’ll see the dialog between various characters about the snowstorm, even if Chaz is alone.
If you use the transportation spot further on the game, it’s just like you simply took the spaceship there.
At the university, a little above the transportation spot to Dezoris is another transportation spot, this time to Rykros. Funny thing is that this spot leaves you at the middle of a mountain.
You can go to the Silence Temple and listen to LeRoof.
Right above you is the door that takes to the ship. You can “go back” to Kuran.
From Kuran, check this out, you can go back to an invisible spaceport on Motavia. If you activate this curiosity right on the beginning of the game, however…
…it happens the known situation that you can’t leave Piata, yet.
Versão para Nintendinho
Wait a second, it can only be a joke! Phantasy Star 4 on NES? In a certain way, it is sort of a joke. It’s not an official game. It’s a chinese pirate version for NES.
There are various names for the game (Xing He Zhan Shi, Xing Ji Zheng Ba, Xing Zhan Qing Yuan), each one adding a piece of the game to the previous version.
It seems that the game isn’t complete yet. I played Xing Zhan Qing Yuan until Tonoe and I couldn’t get out of the town anymore.
Despite the simple graphics, the game is impressive because it has the cut scenes and the same variousness of enemies. Weapons also have their own icon on the items list. On the other hand, mazes are much more simple (sometimes you can see the whole maze on screen) and the songs are totally different.