Phantasy Star IV

A millennium ago, an age of technicity and machination reigned, before it all came crashing down. Now the star of Algol rises upon a new day of promise and peril, as Hunters Alys Brangwin and Shay Ashleigh, of the desert planet Motavia, seek the cause of a deadly scourge of “bio-monsters” that plague the many lands. Their quest soon becomes an interstellar crusade to vanquish an ancient evil as it draws the entire system from the brink of its darkest hour to the oblivion of its ultimate demise...

Sega's Phantasy Star IV emerged at a time when Japanese role-playing games were fast coming into their own. Sweeping narratives and evolving parties of memorable characters melded with strategic battling and exploration to form a distinct and immersive brand of interactive fiction. Phantasy Star IV exuded these essential qualities with a measure of refinement and a blossoming artistic conscience that players old and new alike continue to enjoy.

Grand Cross, with its ambitiously reworked script and enhanced programming, takes aim at fully realizing the potential of this Sega classic. Apt characterization and contextual writing are the heart and soul of any narrative-rich role-playing game, but without the complement of more expressive and nuanced event scripting, such an effort, no matter how carefully crafted, runs a risk of compromising pacing and undermining the abstract charms inherent to games of this graphical fidelity and pedigree.

Grand Cross hones its superior storycraft and finely-tuned presentation to heighten immersion while honoring the spirit of the original. It is as much a new way to play as it is a tribute to one of the greatest sagas in all of gaming.