Play Phantasy Star (Japan) [En by SMS Power v1.02] Online

You crawl through first-person dungeons with graph paper, hunting a tyrant as Alis—those turn-based fights somehow feel snappy for an 8-bit grind. The pixel art’s aged better than your patience when you get lost in those maze-like corridors.

Genre: Role-Playing

Released: 1987

File size: 512 bytes

Game Overview

Phantasy Star on the Master System was way ahead of its time—this thing had first-person dungeons and a sci-fi story when most RPGs were still stuck in medieval fantasy. You play as Alis, out for revenge after her brother gets killed by this tyrannical ruler, and the pixel art still holds up surprisingly well for an 8-bit game.

The dungeons are brutal in that old-school way where you’ll get lost without graph paper, but there’s something satisfying about mapping them out. And the turn-based battles? Weirdly fast-paced compared to other RPGs from that era. Just don’t expect the grinding to be forgiving—this isn’t one of those games where you can coast through without thinking.

Fun fact: The cartridge actually had a battery save, which was pretty rare back then. Still holds up if you can handle the retro jank.