Not putting profound darkness in s-tier is crazy. The lead up to actually getting there traveling through the psychedelic labyrinth, [repetitively getting your ass kicked and] battling through each form thinking its the final final boss only to see the fiery angel [they did this before FF VI's boss battle with kefka btw], along with the boss battle music, makes this encounter incredibly memorable.
Thank you for making this video, I'm a huge fan of Phantasy Star IV and I found it very enjoyable. Something about Lashiec and the Air Castle is that the Air Castle is also the dungeon where you fight Lashiec in the first Phantasy Star and the dungeon layout in Phantasy Star IV is largely the same as it is in the original game because this was done deliberately as a tribute. It looks somewhat ruined in Phantasy Star IV because the castle was originally located on the planet Parma, which was destroyed in the time between Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star II. Though it might frustrate you even more in the first game because the dungeon is in a 1st-person perspective. I hope this doesn't venture too far into spoiler territory, but while Lashiec is a main antagonist in Phantasy Star and you do fight him near the end of the game, he is actually more of a Zio-like character who is a puppet of the true enemy, who is the final boss. Phantasy Star IV itself reveals who that final boss is during the scenes involving Alis Landale and you can probably guess who it is if you know the main antagonist from any other Phantasy Star game. Lashiec looked undead in the first game as well, and the reason is that he was supposed to be corrupted by the evil power flowing through him and the character was inspired by Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. I have a bit of a different opinion about the Profound Darkness because it technically makes an appearance in each main Phantasy Star game as Dark Force, which is merely a manifestation of it that incarnates outside of the dimension in which it has been trapped. So it isn't a new enemy that is a surprise at the end, it is just Dark Force in its highest and purest form. The Algo solar system itself is a seal that traps the Profound Darkness in another dimension and a part of it manifests as Dark Force during times where there are small gaps in the seal. The gaps allow a small portion of it to escape and it then attempts to destroy Algo to release the Profound Darkness from its prison.
The sandworm you fight as part of the guild quest was definitely scaled down compared to the random encounters in the desert near Monsen and Termi. (which could be explained by the ranch worm being relatively young) The random encounters (or the ones that appear if you let an infantworm retreat and summon mommy) not only have a melee attack that can one-shot a character outfitted with Dezoris-gear, but they also have a skill called Earthquake where they bury beneath the earth and cause a tremor that will kill most of your party unless your levels, equipment and buffs are top-notch. That skill would be a guaranteed total party kill in the early parts of the game, which is why the ranch sandworm doesn't use it and only sticks to a stronger-than-average physical attack. The two Rykross bosses actually have a trick to them. De-vars tests your strength (your physicals) and his Disrupt Arm is a counter when magic is used on him. (you're meant to deduce this from the cutscene where he rocket punches those dark wizards casting spells on him) The reason he kept spamming Disrupt Arm was likely because of Rune. Sa-Lews is a test of your courage (i.e your magic) and his Legion (and possibly Tandle) spells were counters to physicals. (with a pre-boss cutscene kind of indicating that) The problem with both bosses, of course, was that your party was strong enough to heal through their counter, which meant you were never actually required to figure out their trick and you could just brute-force them down.
As I was editing the video a voice in my head went, this sandworm doesn't actually have earthquake, so what you're saying is wrong...and another voice went...we're not re-editing this damn it! I never actually knew that about the two Rykros bosses, that's interesting, like you say, I've always brute forced them down.
Was just about to comment about the guild quest sandworm; you beat me to it! He's a pushover, unlike the wild sandworms which are no joke. They are great leveling material if you know how to survive the earlier fights at lower levels (luck, mostly).
I never knew about this mechanic. Phantastic! After decades I keep learning new things about this game. Last one was that I could decorate my house with the stuff from the Perma(?) store.
The first time I fought Lashiec, I thought he was a bit of a joke because he never used Anothergate and spent half his turns trying to possess Wren. Future encounters proved the threat was real.
Good choice placing ZIO in S tier. When I first played this game he was very intimidating and after that first encounter with Alys I hated him wanted him dead. Maybe the best boss of any rpg.
I am starting to think I am the only living fan of PSIV to put together that Air Castle isn't actually that hard if you make proper use of Kyra. Her 20+ charges of Medice should be your goto healing solution for the entire dungeon and that should be more than enough to get you through with most of your resources topped up for the boss. 99% of peoples' problems with this game could be solved by understanding the skill economy and actually using their skill charges.
I feel the same damn way wallsofjerich0 feels about Zio. Not only a legendary but he could change the perception of what beginner/advanced RPGers feel about their at the time top enemy. He may not be the best, or the strongest but even when he's gone there's a permanent mark on us from him. I've even heard of players who cried during Alys being lost, and then screaming happily in ecstasy when Zio is defeated; I know because I'm one of them.
Heck yeah Zio is still one of my favorite villains in games. He owned the early stage of the game and ingrained himself in my experience memory. And yeah Kuran Dark Force really tricked me into thinking he was the last boss. Best design too. I remember Mr. Wet Blue Toilet Paper down there. Biggest disappointment.
That would have been epic and in line with fighting Lashiec again from PSI. I wonder if they planned on it but had to cut it due to memory constraints. Maybe the character design for Daughter was reworked into the final form of the Profound Darkness.
Something I would say regarding the sand worm and it's impact on the story... Agreed, it's a sidequest and doesn't have much if anything to do with the plot. But what it does do, in my opinion, more than any other Hunter mission in the game is quickly and clearly communicate to the player just WHY hunters are needed in this land.
Ok, I love this so much, and I'm only on the Sand Worm. I used to try to beat it as soon as possible, and refused to grind to beat it. Rika at level 1 being the solo survivor was the dream scenario. I have such great memories of finally winning, thanks for the trip down memory lane! I also loved trying to beat the REAL sand worms at the earliest possible opportunity, something I've always wondered if anyone else ever enjoyed doing.
@@wallsofjerich0He's probably only an A tier for me because the the Phantasy Star was the first JRPG I played in the early 90s. I've got my nostalgia goggles on!
This reminds me of FF9. Some old FF1 stuff reappears in that game and I love every second of it. My friend who does have the nostalgia for it, just thinks it's fine..
Then I recommend to go play the older games too. An be it just to appreciate Phantasy 4 even more. Especially the Air Castle, Lashiec and Dark Force 2&3. The sheer existence of multiple Dark Forces at a time was actually a big deal when I ran into them on my first playthrough. PS4 and the series need more love. So... cool video!
My mom used to play Phantasy Star IV and had this crazy theory that if everyone held out a WOODCARVIN while fighting the Sand Worm, it would immobilize the worm and prevent them from attacking you.
Zio is amazing I couldn't stop playing until I beat him for what he has done . And the boss music is amazing. Dark force 1 and sandworm are amazing as well. These are top RPG bosses from 16 bit era
What about Anger Tower? Alys and Re-Faze? It's kinda a side story and boss fights, yes, but they are important to main plot, because Re-Faze knows about Elsydion and whole Alys story and Chaz feelings about all this. Re-Faze is unbeatable, but his phrase about "modifying body with anger and feelings" is fascinating. And Chaz is simply can't do it, that's why he is completely different to Zio i.e. So, he isn't able to overcome Re-Faze. Mid A-tier in my opinion. And fight with Alys is exceptional, emotionally hard for Chaz and player in particular. This is another scene of overcoming your grief and mourn to complete your duty of defender of Algo system. And this is test of not just courage or strength, like in Strength and Courage temple, but test of morale, mentality and, well, self identification. A proof of words, that Chaz said near Silence tower and in Esper mansion, where he obtained Elsydion. So, this fight is heavenly lore-based, important for plot and Chaz character development (because before this fight you could feel, that he is main character and fight with Alys is proof of that, so you know it now). But encounter with Alys is very easy, so high B-tier.
Sorry, for the late reply. I probably overthought this when I was making the list. I went back and forth on the do I add that fight or not, do I add optional bosses or not...would it even be considered a boss since it's not much of a fight... the same would apply to the Choas Sorcerer too ultimately I didn't and sort of regret it. B tier is probably we're I would have put it. very easy fight, but extremely emotional with a great reward. also your English is great. I'm always in awe of people who can speak multiple languages.
Also fun fact, the Sand Worm in Miles is NOT the same enemy as the normal enemy sand worms. It doesn’t use “earthshake” or whatever they called it, which was an attack that the fusion-produced or naturally found sand worms beyond the quicksand use. I remember it pretty much one shotting my entire team until I came back to Motavia!
I agree with everything save Profound Darkness and Dark Force 2. I get it, some of your judgement goes into the story impact, but DF2 is pretty damned dangerous. I might be influenced too much by Pstar4 Hell mode though.... The discovery of what PD was kinda mind blowing, so I don't know why you didn't put it in legendary tier. It could very well open up the series to direct sequels rather than PSO titles. I mean, who the hell were these people? Why did they fight? Where are they now? Telling you man.... that's some deep shit!
I really need to make time to play PS1, 2 and 3...I've tried a couple times but never got to far. I'm sure it would make Dark Force especially the Profound Darkness hit home to me more.
I never knew about Alys' death. I was shocked!! But Aeris' death was already spoiled even though I cried for Aeris because I see Aeris as a romantic partner than Alys as a long distant sister.
@@wallsofjerich0 Alys was quite literally the polar opposite of what Rey Palpawalker is: A flawed, but well-respected female leader. Never exaggerated in strength/skill, but who is a role model for not just all genders, but all species and races. I got Goosebumps at the end of the game during the "challenge".
Just for myself, I would put Lashiec and Re-Faze in S-tier alongside Zio. They're all difficult to reach without significant planning (if not strategy), they're all tough to beat once you reach them (Re-Faze is literally unbeatable, you have to stop and think about it) and they all elicit an emotional response from the player.
I really can't believe this was overshadowed by FFIII/6. I think the same reason I can't bring myself to longplay FFVI is the same reason I love FF8 and not FF9. I just can't get into the chibi style. PSIV has full sized characters on map and battle, as well as full scale cutscenes. My favorite part of the whole game was when Rune blasted the path open for you with magic, and you really understood what it was like to be a novice/apprentice. By that point, Alys had been pulling her weight, but this dickhead was just next level. At endgame, you had effectively stepped into her shoes, and realize why the two stood toe to toe. The scaling in this game was just phenomenal, and makes it better than any role playing game today, or back then.
My favorite RPG. I was a teenager when this came out and played it a billion times. Still play once in a while. Also: You forgot the Re-Faze megid boss.
He mentioned that boss early in the video by saying it is hard to consider Re-Faze a boss as you can get past him without doing anything. The one I'm surprised didn't make the list is **** who you fight to get the Elsydeon. It's ominous to be just one person (Chaz) walking through a weird cave with monsters that actually hit hard and only hit your one person. To top that off, you get to the end of this and see a certain someone only to find you have to defeat them. My child self couldn't reconcile what I was being forced to do and as such that was a 45 minute tear jerking fight for me. Each replay that fight still gives me pause.
I rank most on the d but a few on c. . . unfortunately this game is a walk through the park and although PS4 is one of my favorite games, there's no difficulty at all playing it. I wish they had difficulty settings.
Not putting profound darkness in s-tier is crazy. The lead up to actually getting there traveling through the psychedelic labyrinth, [repetitively getting your ass kicked and] battling through each form thinking its the final final boss only to see the fiery angel [they did this before FF VI's boss battle with kefka btw], along with the boss battle music, makes this encounter incredibly memorable.
Right, that's SS tier
But for emotional impact Zio wins hands down.
Thank you for making this video, I'm a huge fan of Phantasy Star IV and I found it very enjoyable.
Something about Lashiec and the Air Castle is that the Air Castle is also the dungeon where you fight Lashiec in the first Phantasy Star and the dungeon layout in Phantasy Star IV is largely the same as it is in the original game because this was done deliberately as a tribute. It looks somewhat ruined in Phantasy Star IV because the castle was originally located on the planet Parma, which was destroyed in the time between Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star II. Though it might frustrate you even more in the first game because the dungeon is in a 1st-person perspective.
I hope this doesn't venture too far into spoiler territory, but while Lashiec is a main antagonist in Phantasy Star and you do fight him near the end of the game, he is actually more of a Zio-like character who is a puppet of the true enemy, who is the final boss. Phantasy Star IV itself reveals who that final boss is during the scenes involving Alis Landale and you can probably guess who it is if you know the main antagonist from any other Phantasy Star game. Lashiec looked undead in the first game as well, and the reason is that he was supposed to be corrupted by the evil power flowing through him and the character was inspired by Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.
I have a bit of a different opinion about the Profound Darkness because it technically makes an appearance in each main Phantasy Star game as Dark Force, which is merely a manifestation of it that incarnates outside of the dimension in which it has been trapped. So it isn't a new enemy that is a surprise at the end, it is just Dark Force in its highest and purest form. The Algo solar system itself is a seal that traps the Profound Darkness in another dimension and a part of it manifests as Dark Force during times where there are small gaps in the seal. The gaps allow a small portion of it to escape and it then attempts to destroy Algo to release the Profound Darkness from its prison.
The sandworm you fight as part of the guild quest was definitely scaled down compared to the random encounters in the desert near Monsen and Termi. (which could be explained by the ranch worm being relatively young) The random encounters (or the ones that appear if you let an infantworm retreat and summon mommy) not only have a melee attack that can one-shot a character outfitted with Dezoris-gear, but they also have a skill called Earthquake where they bury beneath the earth and cause a tremor that will kill most of your party unless your levels, equipment and buffs are top-notch. That skill would be a guaranteed total party kill in the early parts of the game, which is why the ranch sandworm doesn't use it and only sticks to a stronger-than-average physical attack.
The two Rykross bosses actually have a trick to them. De-vars tests your strength (your physicals) and his Disrupt Arm is a counter when magic is used on him. (you're meant to deduce this from the cutscene where he rocket punches those dark wizards casting spells on him) The reason he kept spamming Disrupt Arm was likely because of Rune. Sa-Lews is a test of your courage (i.e your magic) and his Legion (and possibly Tandle) spells were counters to physicals. (with a pre-boss cutscene kind of indicating that) The problem with both bosses, of course, was that your party was strong enough to heal through their counter, which meant you were never actually required to figure out their trick and you could just brute-force them down.
As I was editing the video a voice in my head went, this sandworm doesn't actually have earthquake, so what you're saying is wrong...and another voice went...we're not re-editing this damn it!
I never actually knew that about the two Rykros bosses, that's interesting, like you say, I've always brute forced them down.
Was just about to comment about the guild quest sandworm; you beat me to it! He's a pushover, unlike the wild sandworms which are no joke. They are great leveling material if you know how to survive the earlier fights at lower levels (luck, mostly).
I never knew about this mechanic. Phantastic! After decades I keep learning new things about this game. Last one was that I could decorate my house with the stuff from the Perma(?) store.
oh my 26 yrs and many replays later - im just learning about your the bosses in Rykros now. Wow thank you.
The first time I fought Lashiec, I thought he was a bit of a joke because he never used Anothergate and spent half his turns trying to possess Wren.
Future encounters proved the threat was real.
Good choice placing ZIO in S tier. When I first played this game he was very intimidating and after that first encounter with Alys I hated him wanted him dead. Maybe the best boss of any rpg.
Everything about Zio is perfect.
Dark Falz reappears on the corridor before the last fight as regular creature, it is really helpful to max up your level since he gives a lot of XP.
I am starting to think I am the only living fan of PSIV to put together that Air Castle isn't actually that hard if you make proper use of Kyra. Her 20+ charges of Medice should be your goto healing solution for the entire dungeon and that should be more than enough to get you through with most of your resources topped up for the boss. 99% of peoples' problems with this game could be solved by understanding the skill economy and actually using their skill charges.
don't judge me but Air Castle is one of my favorite places in all of PSIV
Others have pointed this out, but if the trees are on this list then it really ought to include Re-Faze.
I feel the same damn way wallsofjerich0 feels about Zio. Not only a legendary but he could change the perception of what beginner/advanced RPGers feel about their at the time top enemy. He may not be the best, or the strongest but even when he's gone there's a permanent mark on us from him. I've even heard of players who cried during Alys being lost, and then screaming happily in ecstasy when Zio is defeated; I know because I'm one of them.
Heck yeah Zio is still one of my favorite villains in games. He owned the early stage of the game and ingrained himself in my experience memory.
And yeah Kuran Dark Force really tricked me into thinking he was the last boss. Best design too.
I remember Mr. Wet Blue Toilet Paper down there. Biggest disappointment.
Daughter not being a repeat of the Mother Brain fight was such a lost opportunity....
That would have been epic and in line with fighting Lashiec again from PSI. I wonder if they planned on it but had to cut it due to memory constraints. Maybe the character design for Daughter was reworked into the final form of the Profound Darkness.
@@madhatter8508 True
Dark force two was also spreading the black energy wave killing people and turning corpses into zombies.
Something I would say regarding the sand worm and it's impact on the story...
Agreed, it's a sidequest and doesn't have much if anything to do with the plot.
But what it does do, in my opinion, more than any other Hunter mission in the game is quickly and clearly communicate to the player just WHY hunters are needed in this land.
Ok, I love this so much, and I'm only on the Sand Worm. I used to try to beat it as soon as possible, and refused to grind to beat it. Rika at level 1 being the solo survivor was the dream scenario. I have such great memories of finally winning, thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I also loved trying to beat the REAL sand worms at the earliest possible opportunity, something I've always wondered if anyone else ever enjoyed doing.
Lashiec would be a solid A tier for me, if only for the great battle music! Great video:-)
Lashiec would probably be higher if I every played the original game, but I am a fraud.
@@wallsofjerich0He's probably only an A tier for me because the the Phantasy Star was the first JRPG I played in the early 90s. I've got my nostalgia goggles on!
I know you hate the castle but it is an exact mirror of the original
This reminds me of FF9. Some old FF1 stuff reappears in that game and I love every second of it. My friend who does have the nostalgia for it, just thinks it's fine..
Then I recommend to go play the older games too. An be it just to appreciate Phantasy 4 even more.
Especially the Air Castle, Lashiec and Dark Force 2&3.
The sheer existence of multiple Dark Forces at a time was actually a big deal when I ran into them on my first playthrough.
PS4 and the series need more love. So... cool video!
My mom used to play Phantasy Star IV and had this crazy theory that if everyone held out a WOODCARVIN while fighting the Sand Worm, it would immobilize the worm and prevent them from attacking you.
I really miss all the crazy game theories that used to exist before the internet confirmed things...
All the theories to resurrect Alys...
You're lucky that you've got a gamer mom. Nobody in my family is a gamer except me unfortunately.
MAN ZIO IS THE BEST BOSSFIGHT
Zio is amazing I couldn't stop playing until I beat him for what he has done . And the boss music is amazing. Dark force 1 and sandworm are amazing as well. These are top RPG bosses from 16 bit era
What about Anger Tower? Alys and Re-Faze? It's kinda a side story and boss fights, yes, but they are important to main plot, because Re-Faze knows about Elsydion and whole Alys story and Chaz feelings about all this.
Re-Faze is unbeatable, but his phrase about "modifying body with anger and feelings" is fascinating. And Chaz is simply can't do it, that's why he is completely different to Zio i.e. So, he isn't able to overcome Re-Faze. Mid A-tier in my opinion.
And fight with Alys is exceptional, emotionally hard for Chaz and player in particular. This is another scene of overcoming your grief and mourn to complete your duty of defender of Algo system. And this is test of not just courage or strength, like in Strength and Courage temple, but test of morale, mentality and, well, self identification. A proof of words, that Chaz said near Silence tower and in Esper mansion, where he obtained Elsydion. So, this fight is heavenly lore-based, important for plot and Chaz character development (because before this fight you could feel, that he is main character and fight with Alys is proof of that, so you know it now). But encounter with Alys is very easy, so high B-tier.
And sorry for my en, I am not native speaker :P
Sorry, for the late reply.
I probably overthought this when I was making the list. I went back and forth on the do I add that fight or not, do I add optional bosses or not...would it even be considered a boss since it's not much of a fight... the same would apply to the Choas Sorcerer too
ultimately I didn't and sort of regret it. B tier is probably we're I would have put it. very easy fight, but extremely emotional with a great reward.
also your English is great. I'm always in awe of people who can speak multiple languages.
Also fun fact, the Sand Worm in Miles is NOT the same enemy as the normal enemy sand worms. It doesn’t use “earthshake” or whatever they called it, which was an attack that the fusion-produced or naturally found sand worms beyond the quicksand use. I remember it pretty much one shotting my entire team until I came back to Motavia!
I agree with everything save Profound Darkness and Dark Force 2. I get it, some of your judgement goes into the story impact, but DF2 is pretty damned dangerous. I might be influenced too much by Pstar4 Hell mode though....
The discovery of what PD was kinda mind blowing, so I don't know why you didn't put it in legendary tier. It could very well open up the series to direct sequels rather than PSO titles. I mean, who the hell were these people? Why did they fight? Where are they now? Telling you man.... that's some deep shit!
I really need to make time to play PS1, 2 and 3...I've tried a couple times but never got to far.
I'm sure it would make Dark Force especially the Profound Darkness hit home to me more.
I gave far more of a shit about Alys dying than I did Aeris.
You and me both. I have no idea if I had Aerith's death spoiled for me at the time but it didn't hit me hard. Alys death had literal tears.
I never knew about Alys' death. I was shocked!! But Aeris' death was already spoiled even though I cried for Aeris because I see Aeris as a romantic partner than Alys as a long distant sister.
@@wallsofjerich0 Alys was quite literally the polar opposite of what Rey Palpawalker is: A flawed, but well-respected female leader. Never exaggerated in strength/skill, but who is a role model for not just all genders, but all species and races. I got Goosebumps at the end of the game during the "challenge".
Defeating the Sandworm took me over an half hour. I repeat. OVER HALF AN HOUR!!! It deserves to be an S Tier at least!! C'mon!! 🔥🔥
I can't think of a fight I enjoy more than the sandworm fight
This is the niche content I needed; thanks
Just for myself, I would put Lashiec and Re-Faze in S-tier alongside Zio. They're all difficult to reach without significant planning (if not strategy), they're all tough to beat once you reach them (Re-Faze is literally unbeatable, you have to stop and think about it) and they all elicit an emotional response from the player.
I really can't believe this was overshadowed by FFIII/6. I think the same reason I can't bring myself to longplay FFVI is the same reason I love FF8 and not FF9. I just can't get into the chibi style.
PSIV has full sized characters on map and battle, as well as full scale cutscenes.
My favorite part of the whole game was when Rune blasted the path open for you with magic, and you really understood what it was like to be a novice/apprentice.
By that point, Alys had been pulling her weight, but this dickhead was just next level.
At endgame, you had effectively stepped into her shoes, and realize why the two stood toe to toe.
The scaling in this game was just phenomenal, and makes it better than any role playing game today, or back then.
My favorite RPG. I was a teenager when this came out and played it a billion times. Still play once in a while.
Also: You forgot the Re-Faze megid boss.
He mentioned that boss early in the video by saying it is hard to consider Re-Faze a boss as you can get past him without doing anything.
The one I'm surprised didn't make the list is **** who you fight to get the Elsydeon. It's ominous to be just one person (Chaz) walking through a weird cave with monsters that actually hit hard and only hit your one person. To top that off, you get to the end of this and see a certain someone only to find you have to defeat them. My child self couldn't reconcile what I was being forced to do and as such that was a 45 minute tear jerking fight for me. Each replay that fight still gives me pause.
Perfect list!
Stuck in the air castle right now. I need to level up
I rank most on the d but a few on c. . . unfortunately this game is a walk through the park and although PS4 is one of my favorite games, there's no difficulty at all playing it. I wish they had difficulty settings.
My favorite video game.
It's criminally underrated.
The air castle in PS4 is NOTHING compared to the dungeons in PS2
The hunter mission Sandworm is actually downgraded from the real ones
You forgot two bosses...
I like Dark Force 3
Zio was a lot of people's Sephiroth... And Alys is better than Aerith.
To bad zio could be on u team
Horrible tier list