I thought that this game was great, as you can see by my ratings. It is the fourth installment in the Phantasy Star series, so I had some expectations. I think that this game is the best out of the four, and the most fun to play. My review might make the game a little better than most people think it is, but Phantasy star IV is one of my favorite games, if not my favorite.

It starts you out as Chaz Ashley, a 16-year-old former punk and hooligan. He met up with Alys Bragwyn, a world famous hunter, warriors who kill monsters in a recent craze. She took him under her wing and trained him well. The first mission of the game is to go to The Academy in a town called Piata to exterminate some monsters in the basement. You go there and defeat the monsters when you come across a larger boss monster called an Igglanova. Once defeated, you run into a very complex, but mesmerizing and interesting story that develops all of the characters' personalities very well.

The graphics in this game were excellent for Genesis. The battle screen was very impressive with a view of the back of the five fighting characters and the enemy above (or in front of) them. There were a large variety of monsters and enemies, so fighting never got boring. The backgrounds and areas were very well put together and looked very nice, so just walking around never got boring.

The music was nothing less than amazing. I LOVED it. Even though there is no soundtrack, once you beat the game, there is a "Music Test" option on the starting menu where you can hear all of the songs in the game. It's hard to find me not humming one of them…

The story was very good and interesting, but it was a little unoriginal. You know, with a young boy, who discovers a great power, or a legendary weapon, finding a strange group of people to help him along the way. Not that that's bad or anything, just that a game like this would be expected to be a little different. But the story has lots of great twists and turns, without losing a central meaning. But with space travel, lots of big bosses, a big chirping bird named "Rocky" to fight, and a character dying, there is just as much sadness and suspense that a Genesis game can fit.

The Game play was also very good. The menu system was easy to understand and nicely set up and easy to use. There is an extra advantage to being hunters too, you can get jobs. If you go to the Hunter's Guild, you can sign up for a variety of jobs including killing overpopulated sandworms, finding a lost dog, and curing a sick boy. You get a huge amount of money for some of these too.

Overall, Phantasy Star IV is a great game. All of the elements described above come together very nicely to produce a great game that is pretty long, with good characters, and great Gameplay. I suggest that you go to a used game store or on ebay to get this game right away if you are a big RPG fan.