Phantasy Star’s Main Designer Talks About What Went Into The Making Of The Game

Phantasy Star is getting the updated rerelease treatment with the upcoming Sega Ages version, and Sega Ages lead producer Rieko KodamaPhantasy Star is getting the updated rerelease treatment with the upcoming Sega Ages version, and Sega Ages lead producer Rieko KodamaPhantasy Star is getting the updated rerelease treatment with the upcoming Sega Ages version, and Sega Ages lead producer Rieko Kodama, who also was the main designer of Phantasy Star, talked about her memories of making the game in the latest issue of Nintendo Dream.

Here are the highlights:

• Back then, Kodama was in charge of designing Alisa, Lutz, and other characters, the city, as well as level design, the title logo, and more. This was Kodama’s first time drawing a female protagonist, and while she thinks Alisa’s design is kind of childish nowadays, she remembers putting every ounce of effort into the character designs.
• Back then, there was a certain famous RPG was really popular, and the Phantasy Star dev team, consisting of around 10 people, decided they wanted to make an RPG that would match and even surpass that RPG, by adding in elements that hadn’t been seen in console RPGs up to that point. For Kodama, it was her first time working on an RPG world, so she really enjoyed working on the game.
• In terms of the new additions to the Sega Ages version, it seems Yuji Naka’s code from back then is giving M2 quite a bit of trouble in implementing the features. They include a bestiary, weapon/armor/item lists, and automapping.
• To players who have never played Phantasy Star, Kodama says that she hopes that they can feel the passion and effort that was put into making this RPG the best of its generation, even if there still are some unpolished elements.

Sega Ages Phantasy Star is set to come out on Nintendo Switch in September.It originally appeared on the Sega Master system worldwide. You can also find it in the Phantasy Star Collection, which was released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation 2 in Japan and on the Game Boy Advance worldwide.