Phantasy Star!

I've not played many Phantasy Star games which were not of the Online variety, and I started just yesterday on the very first of these Phantasy Star games. This is the kind of game which is strangely frustrating, but I want to keep playing anyway. I think I got to level 6 around 5 times before I finally realized that I can save anywhere. And what's with Owl Bears!? They have the potential to be the very first enemy you encounter, and they kill you in one hit! They have 18 HP, and you can only do 1 damage to them! :mad2: And they don't look like Owls OR bears... :grumble: But I leveled up enough to kick their asses, so I'm okay. :)

Anyway, what do you guys think of the Phantasy Star series?

Phantasy Star is probably my all time favourite RPG series. Even ahead of Final Fantasy. I'm fond of all the games, but Phantasy Star II and IV are seriously some of the best games I've ever played. I'd say they are on par with FFVI in terms of story telling. And they also sport some pretty awesome soundtracks.

Ill admit though, compared to the 2D Final Fantasy games, they do look and feel pretty dated. I'm guessing thats what turns people off, because Phantasy Star certainly doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

How many of the PS games have that cool first-person dungeon crawling? It's probably my favorite aspect of the one I'm playing now.