Phantasy Star IV General Improvement

Original game : Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium

Platform : GEN

Author : Fauntleroy

Release date : 28 March 2023

Category : Improvement

Patch version : 1.1

Modifications : T, P

Downloads : 2206

ROM Information

Database match: Phantasy Star IV (USA)
Database: No-Intro: Genesis (v. 20210226-213851)
File/ROM SHA-1: BC7FF6D6A8408F38562BC610F24645CAD6C42629
File/ROM CRC32: FE236442

Hack description

The purpose of this hack is to enhance the already excellent gameplay experience of Phantasy Star IV. This was primarily achieved through refinement of the script and the elimination of numerous bugs. Other enhancements include the introduction of new items, the inclusion of two dummied enemies and one lost technique, making the naming conventions more consistent with earlier games in the series, tweaks to stats and abilities, and more.

We're currently on version 1.1, the second release of this hack. 1.1 corrects a few minor bugs and makes small changes to the presentation. The primary content is largely unchanged from 1.0.

This hack was built from the ground up using the Phantasy Star IV Disassembly document by lory1990, available on this site. Please see the readme for complete details, and thank you to everyone who tries the hack!

Note: The difficulty level in this hack has not been increased in any way over the vanilla game. I'm adding this note in response to a review where the user appeared to be under the impression that the difficulty in the hack had been increased, leading to a bad user experience.

Contributions

Contributor	Type of contribution	Description
Fauntleroy	Original Work	Creator
lory1990	Hacking	ASM Support

Reviews

Good Ideas but Frustrating	AceRimmer	2023-05-30	Version 1.1
EDIT: I do recommend this mod- w/ one caveat. I was getting crushed by frequent Crit hits, so I manually edited enemy dexterity, dropping most by 10%, so crits still happen but are more rare- like they should be. It was a great time afterwards. ORIGINAL: Firstly, there's been some good changes here. Having to manage resources and actually use items to be successful. Some unique changes to monster AI and abilities. Be smart about when casting magic and using skills as MP requirements are about doubled. It keeps relatively standard meseta and XP levels, except tougher fights get better rewards. Also, boss fights feel like legit bosses. Love it! Now why I don't recommend: even w/ best current equipment and higher than average levels, it's not unusual to have someone KO'd in one turn- even when defending. Enemies seem to have much higher crit levels, so you get hit twice at full HP and you're dead. Chaz got killed 4 straight times trying the Zio Tower. Resurrection remains limited to Moon/Sol Dew and Rever which is later game (and HIGH MP), so it can be slogging early on or just gotta grind. Too bad, some cool stuff here.

A great way to re-experience PSIV	Gavin the Demon	2020-10-20	Version 1.0
PSIV is a great game that I've always enjoyed, and I'm glad that there are people still refining it through these hacks. This hack in particular was a great way to play the game. Other than the bugfixes, the reworked script was very nice, and gave a nice new flavour to the game, so if you like PSIV, I recommend you try this hack, it's seriously a great refinement.

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