Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis

[GigaDrive]

Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis for MegaCD-SegaCD with tons of animation and a smaller version on a 12-meg cartridge for Megadrive-Genesis. unreleased. scrapped. killed. canceled. <sigh>


from GamePro magazine July 1992, page 75
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/761/picture0015qm.jpg


from SegaBase
http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/SegaBase-SegaCD.html


In terms of software, the biggest news by far was with the Phantasy Star RPG series - the closest thing Sega had to Square's Final Fantasy franchise - with two Mega CD titles announced as being in development. The more notable of the two was the all-new title The Return of Alis, which was to take place immediately after the events depicted in Phantasy Star 3 and tell the story of the fight against a revival of the intergalactic slave trade. This new installment in the saga would be 20 times the size of the earlier game and would incorporate both audio and anime clips.


Sega cancelled the planned Sega CD release of Phantasy Star 4, opting instead for a cartridge-based Genesis game that bore little resemblance to its original Sega CD concept.

the Phantasy Star IV - The End of the Millenium that came out was a very different PSIV from the one originally planned -- and while it was much better than PSIII, I was somewhat disappointed in it -- knowing about Sega's more ambitious unreleased Return of Alis on CD-ROM.

I would rather play a finished Return of Alis on SegaCD than Phantasy Star Universe on PS2/PC.


edit: I have more now. this goes back roughly another year before the GamePro report about Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis.

this picture is from Mega Play magazine (Sendai Publications, EGM guys) from the May-June 1991 issue:

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/3101/phantasystar6pn.jpg
http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/8535/mayjune91046fp.jpg

notice that (IMO) the graphics seem to be MUCH nicer than those of Phantasy Star: The End of The Millenium (PSIV)

could this be a picture of Phantasy Star IV: The Return of Alis on Megadrive or MegaCD ?

[GaijinPunch]

At www.phantasy-star.net, you can see some beta pics of the dungeons of Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium. They were going to be 3D, a la the first PS.

[GigaDrive]

At www.phantasy-star.net, you can see some beta pics of the dungeons of Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium. They were going to be 3D, a la the first PS.


yep. I've seen them. as far as I know, those 1st-person dungeons were going to be included in PSIV End of the Millenium - I don't think those were from PSIV Return of Alis, as no screens have ever been released of it. not sure if it even got far into development..

[kingofthelobster]

What a shame that this game never saw the light of day. There is no such thing as too much Phantasy Star, having another classic would've been fantastic. I wonder how far they got into the devlopment of this before the plug was pulled on it.

[PrOfUnD Darkness]

Damn, if all those games mentioned on the article were released to the MEGA CD, maybe the history could be different?

Star Trek, Young Indiana Jones, Fantasia, Phantasy Star 4, Shinobi II, Captain Commando, Rad Mobile, Power Drift, Galaxy Force II, Super Monaco GP, Afterburner II, Turbo Outrun, Thunderforce IV, Super Gaiares, Rise of the Dragon, Chopper Command.

Or maybe not? A lot of re-releases.



PD

[Yakumo]

Power Drift was originally going to be a Mega Drive game and was even listed in the back of some Mega Drive game instruction books as coming soon but as you know it never did then headed over to the Mega CD then finally got a release on the Saturn and then Dreamcast.

Yakumo

[TheRedEye]

Bringing Alis back from the dead like 2,000 years after the fact sounds pretty lame to me, I'm glad this didn't happen.

[abionic]

Bringing Alis back from the dead like 2,000 years after the fact sounds pretty lame to me, I'm glad this didn't happen.

esper coffin?

[AntiPasta]

I find it rather strange that the article is so lauding of the Mega CD's sales in Japan... they weren't really good now were they?

[GaijinPunch]

I find it rather strange that the article is so lauding of the Mega CD's sales in Japan... they weren't really good now were they?

They were awful.

[sayin999]

actually at this time i belive most of these mentioned titles were either being considered or speculated, as for captian commando, it was a prototype gen cart, then got moved to sega/mega cd however i got a feeling that canceled port is what the playstion is based considering how the option are set up and such.

[GaijinPunch]

I'm no expert on the game, but wouldn't you imagine it was built around the arcade version, considering it's a damn good port of it?

[kingofthelobster]

Bringing Alis back from the dead like 2,000 years after the fact sounds pretty lame to me, I'm glad this didn't happen.

Yeah, it might not flow with the story so well, but regardless, it would have been another Phantasy Star and I'm sure they could have made it work somehow.

[sayin999]

I'm no expert on the game, but wouldn't you imagine it was built around the arcade version, considering it's a damn good port of it?

Im not saying it wasnt, what im saying is the presentation of the game was probably similar to what they were going to do for mega cd, but still a damn good port i must agree, but it shockes me capcom didnt publish it.

[Rabid Peanut-Butter]

Whaaaa? Galaxy Force II for Sega CD??? I would have bought that in a heart-beat. Well, at least it came out on Saturn and Mega Drive anyway.

[tonyvortex]

im still burning over the fact the announced friday the 13th sega cd game never had a chance.

[sayin999]

youve got to be shitting me, after the awful, but strangley in alot of nes owners libary(yeah my brother had it too) game they were going to do one for sega cd, when was this gonna happen, still im shocked they havent tried making one for current gen, after all it be a good survival game in 3d. As well the akira game for sega cd was very quitely canceled, might have been due to all the conroversy due to the hearings at the time.

[tonyvortex]

youve got to be shitting me, after the awful, but strangley in alot of nes owners libary(yeah my brother had it too) game they were going to do one for sega cd, when was this gonna happen, still im shocked they havent tried making one for current gen, after all it be a good survival game in 3d. As well the akira game for sega cd was very quitely canceled, might have been due to all the conroversy due to the hearings at the time.

back when sega cd seemed to have some promise i remember an issue of EGM had a write up full of mega cds that could make their way overseas.there was mention that a friday the 13th game was in the works based on whichever one was out then,i think that was jason goes to hell.im sure just like the twin peaks NES game not much was actuelly started.

[_skitzo_]

Well before I quit, which was month ago Phantasy Star Online Blue burst was a fine collection of everythig PSO.
Apprently from what lazy sega say's they wanted to bring all the pso's into one. Alot of levels which i have never seen before are in the game. It was a good MMO and ifyour are a PS fan worth checking out.

Few people have said that coming in the next few months they are going to add some lost level's or something like that

[GigaDrive]

The guys over at Sega-16.com used the pic I took of the GamePro article, for one of their features

http://www.sega-16.com/Feature-%20Sega%20Analysis.htm

The roots of the franchise's transformation go back as far as 1993, when the Sega CD was a shiny new toy for people to spend their holiday wads on. It was announced that the next sequel would take place right after Phantasy Star III, and would feature the return of Alis Landale, who comes back to take on an interstellar slave trade. It was supposed to have been 20 times larger than part three and was to include a full CD soundtrack and anime cut scenes. It was eventually canned, along with several other desperately wanted ports (check out the 1992 news clip to the left and weep). The cartridge version of Phantasy Star IV prominently featured the blurb The Explosive Finale! on it's cover, as though Sega were telling fans to cease their collective whining. It appeared that the series was all but done for.

[mairsil]

"It appeared that the series was all but done for."

And it has been ever since they decided to give most of the original PS fans the finger and shift the series online.

[_skitzo_]

Ya like i stated before PSOBB online might have all the crap you missed. Dont worry sega still teases you, only put in about 10 percent of Esp4/Esp5 and now working on PSU -_-
hence why I quit the stupid thing wasent worth the money monthly to keep doing forest/runis runs daily

[GigaDrive]

my OP has been updated.