PS4 Was the best of the series. It was also the easiest and least hardcore. Up until the first time you fight [STRIKE]recurring enemy in all games even online[/STRIKE] Dark Force/Dark Falz/Dark Phallus, you can easily get by without grinding levels. It had the Ninja Gaiden(NES)-style anime cutscenes that brought a lot of life to the story and it had the best looking graphics of any game on the Genesis/Mega Drive. The Soundtrack was overall very well done as well. I loved the game, and I am saddened that it, much like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, FF2, Dragon Warrior 1-4, Destiny of an Emperor and many others were stolen from me in my teen years…
PS3 was very difficult. It DID have a very different story with 4 different endings (I think, or was it 8 different endings?) because the story went through 3 generations. The difficulty curve of the game was on-par with the other two games but you could really feel the difference. The animations in battle were not as well-done as PS2 and the art-style of the overhead views was more similar to 7th Saga with your characters being somewhat wide-bodied rather than the tall-thin characters of the other games. The game’s story fluctuates greatly depending on the people you hook your main character up with. The game takes place at the exact same time as PS4 as they are both 1000 years after PS2. Dark Force follows the survivors in PS3 that took to space when Palmaris blew up after the PS2 team destroyed Mother Brain (Hm… you also have the flee the planet after killing Mother Brain in Metroid too… don’t you?) and also staying behind in the Algo system. It’s more of a prevailant, Chtulu-like entity that lurks ever in the background of everything than a creature that can truly be destroyed. Also, there is a little easter egg at the begining where you can sell your shoes to buy a Telepipe, if you use it while you’re imprisoned the king will break the fourth wall and ask you to reset the game.
PS2 is the logical successor to PS1. It takes place 1000 years after PS1 and you see the final battle of the first game in the opening cutscene of the game. This game is VERY hard as it takes a LOT of grinding to get to where you can survive against later enemies. Just having the best equipment isn’t enough. This game was the one that cemented the series departure from first-person dungeons to overhead views. The planets Motavia and Dezoris have been terraformed into more habitable worlds by the computer Mother Brain. Suddenly, the creatures created by Mother brain grow more aggressive, rather than docile, and the worlds seem to experience more natural disasters and weather oddities. The main character who appearantly is a descendant of the hero from the first game, but you don’t really get his last name pointed out until later, or if at all… I haven’t beaten this game in so long and his partner Nei (a Numan, [no not THAT Numan](http://agora.rpgclassics.com/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=29305
The RPGClassics Agora - Reply to Topic"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60og9gwKh1o) but a sub-race of human created for mysterious purposes) try to determine what is causing the abnormalities. This game was different from the others in that you could go to our house and pick up/drop off any spare party members you wanted to.
PS1 is the game that started it all. You are Alis, your brother has been killed by a Tyranical leader and asks you to avenge him. Yes, the premise is simple, but it sets the tone for the entire series to follow. You are joined by an Arnold Schwartzeneggar lookalike that is great with big weapons, a talking cat from outer space and a wise sage whom is semi-immortal. Most of these chracters make returns in later games. This game was also, like the other two to follow, very difficult and placed a large emphasis on the grind. This game is more like a traditional CRPG when it game to dungeon crawling, as it placed everything in the first person perspective much like Wizardry and Might and Magic.
The overall theme of the series as a whole is the eternal struggle between good and evil.
I’d have to say from best to worst the games go: 4, 2, 1, 3. But they’re all good if you can get past the grind.
I never beat a Phantasy Star as I first played them (1 & 2) when I was out of the grinding mindset