Nintendo Wii Fanboy

People who bought Phantasy Star II upon its original Genesis release knew what they were getting into immediately upon opening the box. This Phantasy Star II Hint Book was the first warning that the game was brutally hard (well, that and the Phantasy Star name, which was equally foreboding for Master System gamers). The 110-page Hint Book, clad in ALARM YELLOW (actually kind of a subdued yellow) was players' official notice that Phantasy Star II was the kind of game that you needed a hint book for.

We didn't have GameFAQs back then -- if a dungeon was complicated, we usually got lost; if a boss was challenging, we usually died. Sega's thoughtful inclusion of a hint book provided a nice alternative to assured failure: possible success -- with a side of failure.

We've excerpted the hint book for your perusal. Check it out if you just downloaded the Virtual Console version of Phantasy Star II and want help getting started, or if you'd just like to see the state-of-the-art in strategy guides circa 1990. If that's not enough (and it isn't), check Phantasy-Star.net for more transcribed information from the book!

This time, we put the extra zeds in parentheses, just to see if you were paying attention. You are? Excellent! Then we know you're listening when we remind you that today is the very last day to enter the inaugural edition of Virtually Free, the new biweekly chance for you to pick up free Virtual Console games. Not sure what we're talking about? Then go check out the original post, and maybe leave a comment while you're there. You don't want to miss out on your chance for Phantasy Star II and StarTropics, do you?

My dad bought Phantasy Star II when it came out, and played it relentlessly. It wasn't until later that I picked up RPGs myself, but I loved watching and listening as he played along, consulting hintbooks and helping to draw maps. I especially loved listening to Phantasy Star II, whose MIDI music fit the brightly-colored sci-fi look of the game. When I saw this particular trick in a magazine, I was pretty excited about being able to help my dad do the impossible in the game. He had already passed the relevant section, as it turned out, so I never got to see it work. This little trick doesn't seem like such a big deal now, but it was a major glitch in 1990.

Even though Phantasy Star II is totally old, and thus seemingly fair game for spoilers, be warned that this VC Advantage is entirely concerned with the major spoiler of Phantasy Star II. If you don't want the story to be ruined, don't read this. If you're all about gameplay only, or if this is the second time through for you, then come on in!

After a run of three weeks with only one title, this Friday sees two Sega properties up for the taking on the PAL Virtual Console. The first, 2D fighter Eternal Champions, should only concern the most ardent supporters of the company.

Indeed, if our bastardization of "VC Friday" tells you anything, it's that this is the week of Phantasy Star II. Sega's RPG is rightfully a huge favorite amongst the Fanboy staff, and it should be high on your list as well. For 800 Wii points, on a machine with no notable RPGs to call its own, it's a pretty damn essential addition to your Virtual Console library.

• Eternal Champions -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points
• Phantasy Star II -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points

Sometimes, we can't help but compare the Japanese Virtual Console releases to the American ones. In some cases, they're about equal in quantity (which, lately, means low). Not this week. In the U.S. we got one game. Japan? Four. And one of them is Phantasy Star II. We desperately wish that we could say this marks a return to 2007-level release density, but we really can't predict that. Next Monday and Tuesday could roll around and drop one game on us again. Let's just try to be optimistic!

Anyway, Phantasy Star II is really awesome. It's a beautiful futuristic RPG that is totally worth eight bucks (if you don't have a PS2). It makes us sad that Sega isn't really doing much in the way of RPGs these days.

We certainly wouldn't mind seeing Super R-Type, either.

It'll be a good month for Sega, who is releasing the excellent Phantasy Star II and the currently Japan-exclusive Monster World IV, which is basically Wonder Boy VI. Hey, neat, more Wonder Boy (we're not being sarcastic.) As for Phantasy Star II, like many other Genesis games, we'd be a lot more excited about buying it for eight bucks if the Sega Genesis Collection didn't exist.

People who are way into Turbografx-16 strategy games will be pleased to see Neo Nectaris, the TurboDuo sequel to the classic strategy game, and a Japanese exclusive. Maybe it won't be for much longer, either.

Conspicuously absent are the two initial MSX games, EGGY and Aleste, which were listed as releasing in 2007 for all of 2007. In fact, Nintendo's VC web site still has them coming out in 2007. We shouldn't be surprised that they won't hit in January, but we thought it was worth noting that they have officially missed their release year.

The full game list is after the break!