Trivia / Phantasy Star I

• Bad Export for You: Downplayed. In addition to the "Blind Idiot" Translation typical of its time, like all unmodded non-Japanese Master System consoles, the enhanced FM synthesis chip was removed, leaving the original soundtrack unheard in favor of the PSG version. ^note While in many games, the FM track is present but Dummied Out, the localization removed the FM track from the game entirely. This is why the Virtual Console version is PSG only while other FM Sound enabled games allowed you to use the FM track on the overseas Wii version. Thanks to the Fan Translation and modern emulators, it's possible for English-speaking to experience a vastly superior translation, as well as the FM audio, as the option to swap between the soundtracks was modded into the game. The FM audio would be added into the Switch version.
• Fan Translation:
  • Versions in several languages exist, from Spanish, to Russian, to French, and many more. Of particular interest is the English version which re-translates the script, providing a far more accurate translation and reinstating the original Japanese names (the original name changes were due to the game's 4-letter limitation for character names, and the programming resources not being available for expanding the names during the original translation's production) via hacking.
  • Its Video Game Remake, Phantasy Star: Generation 1 has also been translated into several languages, including English.
  • The Game Book Alisa's Adventure was fully translated in 2020.
• Follow the Leader:
  • Actively averted where possible, as the developers wanted to make Phantasy Star stand out from other RPGs at the time. The protagonists of all other RPGs were men, so Phantasy Star would have a female protagonist. The other RPGs were all Swords and Sorcery tales, so Phantasy Star would have science-fiction trappings (and in so doing, help popularize Science Fantasy). Other RPGs maintained an overhead POV for dungeons, so Phantasy Star would have first-person dungeons.
  • Played somewhat straight in America. Before Phantasy Star JRPGs weren't being brought over because American game publishers thought American children either didn't have the patience or weren't smart enough to play them. When this game was very successful (with a higher price tag, no less), publishers changed their mind. If it weren't for the success of this game, Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy might never have been brought to the States.
• Schedule Slip: SEGA AGES Phantasy Star was due to be released by October 2018, but had to be pushed back to November 2018. The delay is largely attributed to Yuji Naka and the additional features added to the Updated Re-release, as Yuji Naka's original code was incredibly complex and adding new features on top of it forced the game to be delayed.
• What Could Have Been: There were originally suppose to be four planets in the game but it was reduced to three due to memory limitations. The concept of a fourth planet would later appear in Phantasy Star IV.