AtariCrypt | Atari ST Gaming: Phantasie

I came, I saw, I ~~conqu~~...

Well, no, I didn’t actually beat it - but it’s been an engrossing slog over the past few months. I hope you've been following my ventures here and on Twitter (oops, X) over the past few months? Well, hundreds, if not thousands, of monsters met a bloody end, and I can’t thank the lads over at Into The Vertical Blank enough for their teaser that got me hooked in the first place. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every second of this olde classic.

Phantasie helped lay down the groundwork for party-based RPGs where you get to build your own custom team from scratch, then head out into the wilds of Gelnor to battle many different types of creatures. It might look a bit plain now, but the GEM interface works superbly (yeah, I’m shocked too) with an uncluttered layout and nicely drawn fantasy world featuring more monsters than you can shake a stick at... or a sword!!

I feel like Phantasie is pretty much timeless. It's a classic with all the main aspects of any RPG, but it’s fantastic fun without much difficulty to begin playing. What I immediately got from playing this was...

Storyline - You're up against the evil sorcerer Nikademus, who's causing all sorts of grief. However, the plot is hidden somewhere amidst the fighting and isn't really integrated into the adventure.
Create your own party system – Roll up six custom characters, cleverly mixing their classes from races like humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, and even mighty trolls. What a mix!
Open world adventuring – Travel across the vast continent of Gelnor, exploring towns, dungeons, and wilderness areas. It's a bit sparse, but riddled with dangerous monsters and treasure.
Turn-based combat - Strategic party battles; think before stabbing something too strong.
Dungeon crawling with traps and puzzles – No mapping is necessary, though you’ll quickly realise you still need to remember to make reliable notes. Get that pen & paper out!
Progression and loot galore - Level up your party, learn new spells, and gather better gear.

Explore everywhere; this builds experience points and offers many treasures.

Life-Sucking-Fun

Phantasie 1 is everything that I expected from a turn-based adventure and more. It keeps everything simple without the complexity of a modern RPG. From the start, it plays as an action-adventure and remains so. The above points are relevant, but for me, Phantasie mainly focuses on three gameplay aspects...

Levelling up your party, of course. Grind like mad, collect loot, and beef up your stats until you're an unstoppable force. And that's what you will become, because out in the wild, the difficulty doesn't exactly ramp up. It just throws in stronger-looking enemies that often turn out to be more bark than bite. A strong team that spent time grinding will have no problems.
See how far your party can walk before being jumped by random monsters. You walk, you fight, you walk, you fight, it's all about conflict, and I love it! Well, who doesn't enjoy a fisticuff?
Collecting the elusive runes from within each dungeon. Love these parts the most, but some of the puzzles are about as clear as a glass of Porter - aggravated by conflicts purposely positioned on certain tiles with no way to avoid them. Also, I found myself locked out of some rooms without a clue. Only if you properly looted the previous dungeon will you possess the right items/knowledge.

Yeah, Phantasie's strength lies in the ability to immediately begin without the need to study the backstory, seek out people, gather information, etc. You're here to grind, earn cash, level up your team, and hack, slash, and fling magic at anything that looks at you funny. Everything revolves around fighting, looting rewards to gain strength, and fighting some more. Erm, you will battle all kinds of weird creatures, a lot!

However, while the exploration and action are genuinely engrossing, the storyline fails to unfold without the lore, character interaction, and secrets. Magical spells are just what you’ve seen before many times, and there's limited room for a progressive experience. A few extra grumbles stood out: remembering it’s the first game, the interface lacks refinement, scroll usage is clunky, and there’s no journal – meaning you’ll need pen and paper like it’s 1986 (which I suppose it is!). Item management? Forget it. You simply can’t equip what you find until you’re back in town, so don’t get too excited about that shiny new sword you just picked up.

My ideal party always seems to lean towards melee! With that in mind, consider running with these guys...

Fighter (Troll or Dwarf) – Hit like a truck and soak up damage like a sponge.
Fighter (Minotaur) – Brutal strength, smashes through anything.
Ranger (Half-Elf) – Solid melee, doubles as a backup healer too.
Monk (Human or Gnome) – Punches hard, helpful with spells.
Priest (Human) – Your main healer; one is enough when there are few spellcasters.
Thief (Halfling) – Absolutely essential for traps/locks, and quick with the blade!

Oh yeah, dragons appear, and we're ready with cunning, magic, and a bloody sword!

CryptO'pinion

This game has kept me hooked since February, and that’s saying something as I often get distracted and move to something else far too easily. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking a straightforward fantasy RPG centred on action and exploration. It’s easy to get into, and refreshingly simple. Sure, parts of it have aged like warm milk, but the core gameplay holds up surprisingly well today. It's a whole lotta fun!

Phantasie earns itself a bloodthirsty 80%, so dust off your +2 axe and hit those dungeons like it’s 1986.

For reference, here are the previous Phantasie articles I posted, and a little bit more...
Day One - Almost 4 decades too late, I discovered Phantasie I.
Day Two - The basics are covered in and around the town of Pelnor.
Day Three - It's why people boot up this game - let's fight!!
Day Four - Expanding on Day Three with a dollop of magical information.
Day Five - My progress report before this gripping conclusion.
Twitter/X - I posted many silly screenshots as I played Phantasie I.
Into The Vertical Blank's channel - always worth checking out!!
Lastly, but most certainly not least, my sincere gratitude and greetings to John Heritage for being a true ST knight and twice supporter of my Phantasie quest! :-)