Your first PS4 playthrough?

[KurtmanJP]

The very first time you played Phantasy Star 4, what was it like for you? I first played it when I was about 6 years old. I didn't have any trouble until I got to the Bio Plant where I got massacred by Neowhistle and Sensorbits. I also struggled with Shadowsabers and Rippers in Zio's Fort. When I was at school, my mom completed the Ladea Tower and Nervus (Yes, my mom loved playing PS4 as well) so I didn't experience Gy-Laguiah first time around (For some reason, I kept picturing Gy-Laguiah as a psychopathic bald guy in white overalls until I found out he was a fire-breathing crab-dragon monster after playing the Ladea Tower for myself. This was back when I couldn't find monster pics on the internet). I was really excited when I first got to Dezolis I remember and I pretty much played the rest of the game without much trouble (I started leveling up a lot).

[augmentedfourth]

The only thing I vividly remember is how miraculous it was that I beat Dark Force II the first time around. I struggled to get through the Garuberk Tower, and when I saw DF, I walked too far and didn't get a chance to heal first (not that it would have mattered, as I think Rika only had about 16 TPs). That was a battle.

[Cherok]

The production quality of the game blew me away. I was playing PS3 at the time, and after returning IV after playing it non-stop, going back to the monotony of slow-walking and sparse storytelling made me want to barf.

I remember being incredibly excited my first time playing when my party made it to the Palman ship wreckage just after the Zema bridge was rebuild.

The fact that Sega was tying together the plot of different games in the series set a standard in me for me in storytelling. I always wondered why Square never thought multi-game timeline continuity as being worthwhile to incorporate into the Final Fantasy series.

[ThugsRook]

i loved all of the Phantasy Stars my first time thru them (when they first came out)

replay value is a totally different story tho
(the linear vs non-linear thing)

[Nate556]

I always wondered why Square never thought multi-game timeline continuity as being worthwhile to incorporate into the Final Fantasy series.

I know! Even games that are supposed to be set in the same world, like FF12 and FFT, have absolutely nothing to do with eachother.

[Mono]

PSIV was the third game I played (PSI, PSIII, PSIV and PSII, in that order). It was REALLY impressing, overall, specially because I had just played PSIII weeks before, so everything was a big improvement.

Aside from great music, graphics, story (I was not spoiled, unlike when I played PSII), and gameplay, one thing that let me down was the dificulty. I never had in any moment to grind for level, like the other games (which made me respect PSII more than any other RPG I've ever played). It's a kind of game that doesn't punish you (and I like to be punished!). It was practically a straight forward run towards the end. I even missed most guild missions, because I just couldn't bother and thought they would make no difference. The story was holding it up for me till the end.

[Semix]

Ah my first and favourite (by far) PS game. In london on a day trip, there was a game. Sega Mega Drive collection was on special offer. Got it.
Then after playing sonic i was searching other games ive never heard of. Found PSIV, o.O. AWSOME! And caz i was a newbie i didnt use techniques till i got to zio. Didnt know what to do properly. Then i played the otheres, got bored quickly. But i suppose thats a modern gamer for ya, pick up n play, screw waiting and confusion. lawlz. Anyway there you go. I loved it and played it non-stop for a while. Gooooood times (8 months ago)

[Dark Force]

First game I ever played nonstop. (Other than pokemon, ha.) Quite addictive.
In fact, I even shoved all the stuff off the vanity table in my room and moved a tv on it just so I could keep playing it. At first the dungeons overwhelmed me because I was really bad at finding my way in games. I tried drawing maps on graph paper, but then I eventually got good at remembering routes in my mind. PSIV was the first to really teach me that skill, and I still use it for rpgs!

[BenoitRen]

Reposting lost posts from first page:

I was in fourth grade. It was my first RPG. kickstarted a lifelong love for the genre.

Alys was my first video game crush Had a thing for strong, independent badass women since.

Funny thing is, it wasn't till years later that I actually finished the game. My parent's wouldn't buy it for me, and eventually it fall to the back shelf, only to be rediscovered when I was in college. After a conversation about great old-school gaming, I mentioned PSIV as being one of my favorite games ever, and decided to download the ROM and actually play the thing all the way through.

All those years ago, I never could make it past Juza. Boy was I in for some surprises...

On the subject of storyline continuity through games in a series, I wouldn't be surprised if the "slow-to-adapt-in-storytelling-conventions" *phew* games industry followed suit alongside what HBO TV dramas have been doing for the last 10 years.

Half Life embodied episodic gaming with the additional episodes available, and that's a serious start.

RPGs need a kickstart that equates to more than additional zippers and belts on hip-hop teenage characters.
For the love of god, we want STORY!

My first playthrough wasn't that eventful. I started and finished it in more than a month. I loved it and still keep the first rom I downloaded of it, since some bastard broke into my house and stole my console alongside most of my cartridges.

I was also six when I first played it, and the first one in my family to finish it. This was with both my sisters sharing a file and my dad playing at the same time.

We got the game at the same time as we got Shining Force II. Both were awesome games, but I liked this one more.

My first experience with PS4 was less than five years ago, so, I don't really have the same sort of tales to tell. I downloaded a rom and enjoyed it, much to my surprise after a lifetime of only knowing PS3. Still, it wasn't until I visited BW0 for the first time that I ever made any real progress in the game. I enjoyed it, but found more fun in the fandom than in the game itself.

That is, until I LP'd the game, at which point not only did I learn how to play it properly, I also developed a whole new appreciation for the cast. Despite their ability to fit nicely into cliche'd roles, they were still lively and memorable, and I'll always appreciate that, especially in a genre where all too often characters are just vehicles for stuff to happen and only speak when huge cutscenes are at hand.

I saw my brothers play PSII when I was a child and I was already impressed with the animations during the fights.
At 8 y/o, when I saw a friend of mine playing PSIV in japanese I was so flabbergastered with the technics and overall by the introduction theme of the game!!
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my brothers coming back with the game in english a couple of weeks later.
I loved to customise the macros and try to kill the sandworms (leveling up insanely)
That's the reason why I didn't enjoyed Kira a lot as she was really too weak in comparison with my team and I didn't see Raja as being as useful as he really is.
I also remember using my autofire paddle going to Kuran and level up with the Robots that keep on calling other floatmine... (putting a chair on my autofire, blocking the pad on its right and going away for 10 or 20 minutes).
As a kid, I was really proud to play this game and to find ways to be stronger with either a big challenge (worms) or with no difficulty at all.

I have two 'first times'.

I was 26 (last year) when I first played PSIV. I am a huge fan of the series but was scared to play it because I knew it there would be no more new, old school PS experiences for me. Kind of like saving a bottle of Champagne for a special occasion. Honestly, I didn't like it at first. I played for an hour or two and got bored. I neglected it and played other games.

About 3 months ago I had time for it and started it again and I loved it. I got really far but my file got erased so I still have not finished it yet.

It's strange how I didn't like it at first. Probably since most fans think it's the best one, I was disappointed when I played and I found it inferior to PSI and PSII. I over-hyped it in my head. How could any game be better than my two favorite games of all time?

I played the game when it first came out, I was probably about 11.

I hated Rune.

I was somewhat sad when Alys passed away. But I began to really like Rika, as she was there for Chaz to cheer him up.

I grew to like Rune as the game progressed, especially after we found out he was the embodiment of the legendary hero. By the end of the game, when everyone was leaving, I was almost ready to cry when Chaz was left alone and Rune said he was leaving too.

Then Rika leapt out of the Landale, and all was well. I never understood why the others couldn't schedule reunions. It's not like the Landale was going to run out of fuel... or maybe it was, oh well.

At some point, Rune became my favorite character. His attitude, power, and basically the way he stood out from the rest of the cast really appeal to me. The fact that you could almost turn him into a one-man army after you defeat Zio helped, too.

[BenoitRen]

Reposting lost posts from the second page:

I first played PSIV on an emulator in 2001,when I was 13.I was just scrolling through the diffrent games offered on the emulator(I had the Genesis 552 Collection on my PC, ),and was caught by this somewhat intersting scene of Alys and Chaz in their house and read the blurb that accompanied the game.It sounded intersting,so I decided to have a go,bearing in mind that this was to be my first ever RPG game,and have grown to love the genre ever since.

I was immediately taken with Alys(and I don't mean it in that way, ),and from that moment on,she became my favourite character.Even back then I took no notice of Chaz really,he just didn't strike me as being as interesting as Al.So I played,and I played...until...


Waaaaaaaa!
That bastard Zio struck Alys down with that Black Energy Wave.Everything else was a blur from then onwards.The only thing I can really remember was returnung to Krup...and watching that heart-wrenching death sequence.After Alys died,I had to switch off the emulator to get a grip on myself.
The only thing that really kept we going was Rune,my favourite character after Alys,and to beat the hell out of Zio.(Hey,I was 13,ok.)I remember I was shaking with rage when I first encountered him in Nurvus.

Can't really remember much after that,it was a blur,and I felt strangely empty without Alys in my party.I don't know if was the same for the other fans,but the game...just didn't feel right without that slicer-totin' babe at your side.

Anyway,PSIV was also the reason I got into drawing anime and such.The game really changed my life.And now,8 years later,I'm finally doing a retelling of this Sega gem.

It was in 2003 when I was at 5th grade, I've got a notebook as a present (PI MMX, pretty old thing ) And only game that was running withoub lags was Genesis EMU, I already was a big PS fan since 2000, so I found a rom of PSIV on my friends PC, that how it started, the game took all of me for 2 days But in the end I was dissapointed, because game is too short and easy, but I still like it

I bought PSIV accidentaly from local video store. It was on a pile with other "deprecated" games. I think I paid about 7 euros for it (it was still the time before Euro, so actually we had Markka as currency).
And I remember it was before I was 18. So it must have been pre 2000. It was sometime around when Sega published Dreamcast.
After I bought it about 3-4 weeks and I played it trough.