It is no secret that major changes were made to the background, plot, and dialogueue of Phantasy Star while it was being translated from Japanese to English. It is also known that some changes, such as having the main character of Phantasy Star IV be named "Chaz" and not "Rudy," were done on purpose and were completely unnecessary. Why this was done we may never know, but the result is that the two versions of Phantasy Star are as different as they are alike.

The following is our attempt to document every known difference between the Japanese and English Phantasy Star titles. Some, like the above-mentioned name changes, are minor and make no real alteration to the games' plots. Some, like the origin of Algo, are incredibly major and are the changes most responsible for the two separate continuities we call The Two Phantasy Stars.

(Note: PSOPC stands for The Phantasy Star Official Production Compendium, a book published in Japan by Soft Bank and translated into English by Rebecca Capowski. All quotes attributed to the PSOPC come from Rebecca's translation.)

Phantasy Star I

Date: Japanese PSI takes place in AW 342. English PSI takes place in Space Century 342.

This change seems minor at first, but when PSII's date is taken into consideration, the change becomes more profound. Japanese PSII's date is AW 1284, which means 942 years have passed since Japanese PSI. However, according to English PSII's opening narration, "over 1000 years have passed" since English PSI. While the change from "AW 342" to "Space Century 342" was obviously deliberate, we doubt that the change from a 942 year gap to a 1000 year gap was, as well. However, though unintentional, this is still a major difference which alone places the Japanese and English Phantasy Star series on different continuity timelines.

On a related note, regarding the AW calendar, in Japanese Phantasy Star, AW stands for "After Waizz," referring to Waizz Landeel, Alis's ancestor and the first to establish a fiefdom on Palma, some 342 years before Japanese PSI. However, the fact that Waizz Landeel is never mentioned in any English Phantasy Star game, along with the fact that the AW calendar does not debut in English Phantasy Star until PSII, raises the possibility that the origin of the AW calendar may be yet another difference between the two Phantasy Stars.


Lassic's Corruption: The PSOPC refers to the following events as having taken place a year before Japanese PSI: "La Shiec learns the secret of the Algol Solar System's genesis. Forming a space-time gate, he comes into contact with the sealed-away spirit-life form. As a result, he summons the projected body of the Profound Darkness, Dark Force, and becomes its loyal servant. That same year, a reign of terror begins."

This is much, much different than the explanation given for English PSI in English PSI's instruction booklet: "It started with a new religion which was rumored to have come from another galaxy. The dark priests of this religion, never seen by any mortal, promised immortality to all who joined. ... The idea of living forever appealed to him [Lassic] so he became the first to join. Then, he... changed. It started with the threatening suit of armor the priests made for him. The armor looked evil and corrupt, and that's how Lassic began to rule his people."

In other words, in Japanese PSI, the force that corrupts Lassic is something that he seeks out; in English PSI, the corrupting force seeks him out. This change is major because this implies that in English PSI there are other forces at work behind-the-scenes in Algo with a plan to corrupt Lassic, while no such implication exists in Japanese PSI.


Alis's fate: In Japan only, Sega released two Phantasy Star titles for the Game Gear, Phantasy Star Adventure and Phantasy Star Gaiden. It is noteable to mention that Phantasy Star Gaiden even featured the return of Alis Landale, and the introduction of her daughter! However, as these games were never released in America, they are not necessarily a part of the English canon (and their canonity in the Japanese Phantasy Star universe is also questionable).


Character Names: In order to accomodate English PSI's four character name arrays, certain Japanese names like Alicer and Tylon had to be changed to short, four-letters-or-less names like Alis and Odin. However, in Japanese PSI, the character known in the English version as Noah was named Lutz. Obviously, "Lutz" would have fit into a four character array, so this change must be considered deliberate. This name change would also contribute to a