Alis also piques interest in the story of the game. The closing shot of Alis holding her sword high triumphantly also includes two words under her: “4M” and “FM sound”. This shot carries with it the ultimate message of the commercial- Phantasy Star is a high quality game. In a time of cartridges measured in kilobits, Phantasy Star was a 4 Mega bit game. That of course translates to better graphics, and a longer story with less repetition in characters, enemies, and terrain. FM sound again emphasizes the quality of the sound in the game. Clearly Sega realized that the only angle to attack the market successfully was with technology. It is not a stretch to assume that the game designers, like the rest of the company, knewthe first commercial, emphasis is placed equally between the intriguing story and the graphical quality of the game.

Sega influenced role-playing game design with its Phantasy Star series. Attention to graphics in a role-playing game had never been as important before Phantasy Star I and II. The graphics immersed the player in the game, and the storylines were some of the best ever written. In the original Phantasy Star there was also a wonderful mix of myth and science fiction like never before seen in a role-playing game. All these qualities made this series one to remember, and one to emulate.

Not only do some of the Phantasy Star games clearly represent innovations in the role playing game genre, but the success and quality of the series also shows the