Part 32: BONUS UPDATE 2: SUPER FINAL BONUS
SUPER FINAL BONUS UPDATE
This is going to be VERY disappointing for most of ya.
Basically, the bonus is this video here:
COMBINATION ATTACKS (Gamevee Viddler)
The song I've used is an official SEGA remix of the PS1 dungeon themes. For the most part, SEGA's remixes of the PS series are fucking terrible. And, unfortunately, I have Windows Movie Maker. It's not terrible, per se, but it's transitions and titles leave a LOT to be desired. Also, I somehow botched the Holocaust clip, so it's shorter than the rest and is missing the initial Macro shot. I slipped in a quick subtitle, but it's probably hard to see and goes by way too fast.
And, damn it, I forgot to add in the clip at the end where Demi struggles to follow everyone with her short little legs! But...as lazy as this is, it's not a loss because you all should be playing this game, and should see first hand how our little robotic munchkin jogs behind our party.
Also, in case anyone is curious, here's a little behind-the-scenes breakdown:
Every update, I take an average of 200-300 screenshots. I've been screenshotting all the text, as well, so it's almost been like a script transcription project as well. Unfortunately, the program I'm using only takes BMP screenshots, or some other format I've never heard of. So, I whack them into Irfanview and mass convert them to .jpg with a smaller resolution since the emulator also only has three size choices: Tiny, too big for screenshots, and goddamn huge.
There's also the videos, but, eh. I just refight or replay whatever scene I just screenshotted and record it. That's why the screenshots differ from the videos; they're seperate fights.
All in all, it seems like this process took about 5-6 hours per update, which is far too long and clearly indicates that I was doing something wrong.
Anyway, this entire LP took nearly 8000 images to complete. I'm rounding up, and should probably be rounding down, but goddamn, I took a lot of screenshots. Thank god for Joy2key, or else I'd have to had shift-backspace'd 8000 times. There was also 13 character faces, and 57 talking head faces. The random pictures that popped up on occasion are included in the screenshot total.
In the end, while it was annoying, time consuming, and often draining, this is the most fun I've had in a while. I've learned an awful lot about the Phantasy Star series, and can now effectively abuse this particular game like nobody's business. I've gained a whole new appreciation for Gryz, Hahn, and Kyra as well.
Once again, I have to thank all of you, especially those who contributed information, images, and videos. I may have run out of steam without your help, and the curse may have had a fifth victim.
Now, this particular game marks the end of one of my favorite series of RPGs. Sonic Team attempted to revive the series with PSO and PSU, but these games are so far removed from the classic PS series that you'd have no idea they were supposed to be the a part of it were it not for the nomenclature. It feels like SEGA has all but forgotten about the classic series, with PSZero and PSP being based on the online titles, and their refusal to translate the Generations remakes, or even make one for 4. Many fans of PSO and PSU aren't even aware that there IS a classic series. PSO vets like to claim they're oldschool because they've been playing Phantasy Star since "The DC days." This is a terrible shame, really.
However, we're lucky. We've experienced the classics. And, in my opinion, there's no better way to end this series than with PS4. It may be easier and more linear than the previous titles, but nearly every other aspect of it is superior, and many of these aspects still hold up even today.
Beside, if SEGA were to try and make a PS5, we all know they'd fuck it up.
Thank you for joining myself, Thuryl, and PaletteSwappedNinja (assuming he gets to update #2 anytime soon) on our journey through the classic Phantasy Star series. We can always remember that, at one point in time, SEGA was a competent developer that could write a decent cast and story.