tunnel exploration drew the most attention, and to this day are still very good. The detail is great, and the smoothness of the scrolling is extremely impressive. This quality probably could not have been achieved on the NES due to its inferior capabilities. In addition to these advances, combat animations were also added during the battle scenes. Visible attacks against enemies provided a tangible differentiation between the Phantasy Star and board game RPGs.

While Phantasy Star may have been designed on the cutting edge of technology, it was the storyline that truly captured the hearts of those who played the game. Rieko Kodama wonderfully blended science fiction and myth to create an adcventure that has withstood the test of the ages. Only within the past year was Phantasy Starinducted into the Gamespy.com Hall of Fame.

One of the most striking differences between this game and other RPGs is the gender of the lead character. Alis Landale, the leader of the group, sets out in this game to defeat the evil Lassic after Lassic kills her brother. The only game at the time (and for quite a while longer) with a female lead character was Nintendo’s Metroid. Contrary to today’s average “lead female character,” Alis is not scantily clad, or in any way a sex symbol. She is simply a strong woman on a mission to avenge her brother’s death.

In order to fulfill her mission, Alis is aided by high tech science fiction. At her and her parties disposal over the course of the game there is a