apparent. No one in the world doubted that Nintendo had a stranglehold over the console video game market. Sega also knew that the minimum number of Master System games certainly was not helping their sales. Consequently, Sega had to concentrate on their advantage in the market, technology, and use that to create amazing games. Phantasy Star was one of these amazing games. The designers knew that the game had to be great for it to sell, so they made an absolutely amazing game – arguably the best looking 8-bit game ever made. As Naka and Kodama set forth to begin designing the second Phantasy Star game, they again found themselves in a very similar situation. At the time Phantasy Star II was released, Sega had yet to gaingame.

Phantasy Star IV was also rushed into production; however, Sega was quite conscious about the mistakes not to make. This final Phantasy Star for the Genesis was released as Sega began to transition development over to the Saturn. Partially needed to save face for the series, partially needed as one last great RPG for the Genesis, Phantasy Star IV production was created more in line with the first two in the series. Sega knew that sales for this game would not be guaranteed because of its predecessor. Phantasy Star III may have been more of a deterrent than anything else for those deciding whether or not to purchase Phantasy Star IV. Consequently, Sega brought Kodama and Naka together to create this fourth Phantasy Star. Though Sega did express