In English for the Playstation 2
From reading the forums on the Phantasy Star Cave it seems to me that playing the English translated Phantasy Star Generation 1 with the Playstation 2 emulator PCSX2 is a good option for a lot of people. For myself when I first tried PCSX2 it worked but there were graphical issues. These issues I experienced were not show stoppers but the game world looked like a puzzle made up of squares that weren’t quite touching; giving it a disconnected grid look. The PCSX2 emulator is a bit complex and before I was willing to mess with (aka learn) it, I wanted to see if I could get the translated game to run on my modded Playstation 2 instead.
The good news is all the work is already done. From the Phantasy Star Cave downloads take your pick of the Lutz or Noah edition of the translated game. The only difference between the two is that in one the Esper (Wizard) character is call Lutz like the original Japanese version and in the other version the Esper is called Noah like in the original English version.
Write your version of choice to a CD and you’re ready to play it in your modded Playstation 2!
And to be fair you should already own an original copy of the Japanese Sega Ages 2500 Phantasy Star Generation 1.
*Your Playstation 2 does have to be modded in order to play a game that is on writable media (a blank CD).
For myself I made my own ISO image of Phantasy Star Generation 1 from my own Japanese original disc (I made this ISO image with ImgBurn). Once I had my ISO image of the game I download Delta Patcher lite and the Noah English edition patch. Patching my ISO of the Japanese game with the English changes was very easy to do. Below is a screen shot of what it looked like.
The next step was to write this now patched ISO image to a CD using ImgBurn. I used a Verbatim CD and wrote it as slow as my writer would allow; which was 16x (I also set ImgBurn to verify the disc). The game is just over 68 MB so in just a few short moments the burn was done.
I inserted the patched and burned game into my modded Playstation 2 and I was honestly surprised when it actually worked.
My Burned English PSG1 for PS2
Check it out… it actually works 😀
Live on my PS2 – Intro
Live on my PS2 – Town
Live on my PS2 – Fly
Oh no, we’re not done yet. Check this out. It looks like more fans have started on translating the Japanese Sega Ages 2500 Phantasy Star Generation 2 into English as well 😀
Screen shot from PCSX2 Emulator
I skimmed over a lot of the fine details about creating an English PSG1 on CD so if you have any questions feel free to leave a message here or send me an email. I’m happy to help if I can.
And don’t forget that everything you need is here Phantasy Star Cave PSG1.
Retro Megabit 
Hmm… Now I need to find a debug PS2. It will take a bit of work, but it’s not impossible at all.
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Once you do find one all that is left is to write the image to a CD and you’ll be playing!
Would it be easier to find a modded PS2 then a developer PS2?
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For me, it’s easier to stay as legal as possible here, so a debug PS2 will be my system of choice – they’re not too hard to find. And btw… you’re not “MEAN” to non-Windows users at all (I hope that was a gag post) Hmmm. on the other hand, you might want to do something about the Linux-only crowd about to beat down your door with torches and pitchforks ;^P
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Yes, it definitely was a gag post 🙂 Jon is actually all sunshine and rainbows.
And I’m very sure there’s nothing I can do that a Linux user can’t do better and faster! They were probably playing the Japanese release before 2003.
And I don’t think having a modded PS2 is illegal. If you’re not copying games then you haven’t stolen anything. Without my modded PS2 I wouldn’t have been able to play my Japanese PSG1 (even though playing it in Japanese wasn’t much of a success). I think imports are a very legit reason to mod a system. I imagine some people might disagree but that’s OK. Each to their own. Right?
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Oh, I’ve nothing against modded systems – I just deal with a few people above my pay grade who don’t particularly care about them, so I’m doing a bit of dancing around that every so often. That was a good gag post, btw. There are actually people who post stuff like that (not knowing that they don’t need to worry). Most of the games I grab from my current indie RPG hunt can run on a refigerator anyway, bo I guess it could work on a Mac or Linus system too (hee hee)…
Did you see that PSIII remake post I did a while back? The game has some flaws, but I liked how Lys rewrote the script, added puzzles and made some parts more interesting:
http://fanboydestroy.com/2012/08/13/phantasy-star-iii2k/
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Your post is of zero use to those of us who run Macs… in fact it was down right MEAN! Please try to be more accomodating in your future blogs.
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Fear not Mac user! The CD image (ISO) you’ll find on the Phantasy Star Cave is very universal. I believe that any piece of software that can write an ISO will do the job well. But to play it safe use a good quality CD and write the disc as slow as you can.
And unfortunately there is no Mac Playstation 2 so you’ll have to find a SONY Playstation 2. Make sure it’s modded! And have fun!
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Woo and hoo! I got this up and running today and yeah, I’m super happy. The translation has its ups and downs (some of the names are silly and the guy missed the point of one joke when he rewrote the character as a bit of a dope), but overall, I’m pleased
I’m also mad that Sega has ignored this gem as far as getting it localized when they had the chance. Still, I’d LOVE to see them do a Phantasy Star Ultimate Collection in two or three parts, maybe even funding it through Kickstarter just to see how many fans want in on this much nostalgia.
Part One would be all the PS games from the SMS, Game Gear and Genesis plus the Sega Ages games, maybe polished up a little for HD resolution TV’s.
Part Two would be the Phantasy Star Online games from the Dreamcast (although I’d say the Game Cube version was the most complete in terms of content), all the online download missions, PSO Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution.
I’d imagine the number of people who want to play online will be pretty small compared to more current games (meaning it would be foolish for Sega to get back into supporting the games with servers), but there are a few fan sites that run private servers. THatand there could be a downoad code for a PSO 2 trial or something as a bonus.
Part Three would be Phantasy Star Universe and its expansion, Phantasy Star Portable I & II and Phantasy Star Zero (I’d love to see it redone in HD and with better controls, as the DS version was a bit clunky in terms of camera movement).
Bonuses would be an on disc or downloadable art gallery or physical art book (as there’s some magnificent art from the series), a soundtrack and maybe some fan content, as there’s way too many people out there who love this series.
Yeah, it’s all crazy talk, but hey – that’s one project I’d get rolling if I were running Sega for a year.
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Hey! Glad to hear it. Does this mean you ended up getting that developer Playstation 2?
I’m really enjoying this translation. I’m well into the game now. Just got my Laconian Sword and I’m off looking for Medusa 😀
The only thing I don’t like about this remake is that if you don’t speak to the right people enough times you could get really stuck. I feel that quest items and “bosses” should always be in the world and you shouldn’t have find a particular person and chat them up enough times to open up these quests. I also feel like there shouldn’t be so many keys. The game does feel more linear because of this. Something that the original did not feel like at all.
But like I said I’m still loving it. Being able to play this game is a dream come true. I’ve waited sooooo long!!
What do you think of it? I’m thinking you played the original back in the day as well.
Even though Phantasy Star Online didn’t feel like a Phantasy Star game to me I still really enjoyed it. I only ever got the Virus Boss but I loved it all the way. Getting new gear and evolving your mag was really well done and the game looked gorgeous.
I would like to give it another go sometime. I still have my save game so maybe it’s up next after PSG1.
I didn’t really like Phantasy Star Universe. It felt too silly most of the time. I’m going to blame that on those three dudes. Anyone who’s played the game will know who I’m talking about.
Let me know what you think of the PSG1 remake if you end up putting some time into it 🙂
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Hey- I’m not too far behind you, as I have Lutz, zipped on over to meet the Doc and am doing a bit of grinding just to rake in extra Meseta. You do have to talk to people multiple times when you meet them to get info and talk to some of them again after you complete some quests, but yeah, it’s possible to get stuck for a little bit if you forget who said what. A journal would have been helpful, but I find myself smiling as I’m playing as the game does a lot right that works even today.
The game is definitely more linear and you gain levels much quicker than in the SMS version, so it seems as if was made to be completed much faster than the original. Overall, Sega did a decent job for a budget game, that’s for sure.
I fired up the original again a few weeks back (well, the GBA version on Phantasy Star Collection) and I got stuck because it was an old save and i forgot where I needed to go (oops!). Then I restarted from the beginning and remembered stuff, but it’s definitely a LOT harder than the remake.
PSU was definitely an oddball game I had to force myself to like. That said, it could have been better. I wish PSO 2 had an offline mode, but nope, it’s a F2P MMO only (a big mistake, in my opinion, as all it’s doing is making people forget where the series came from)… Eh, it’ll most likely be a hit, but I do wish Sega would pay more attention to all of its fans and not just the online crowd.
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Hey u are epic u managed to get it to work on ur ps2 how do i do this i have a PS2 lots of plain disks and have the roms already downloaded so how do i get this to work on my ps2 Please please please message me at 10rafiqe@gmail.com.I think u are EPIC!!!!!!!
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Hi Eesa Rafiq
The hardest part about getting this to work is having a modded Playstation 2.
Modding mean to modify your Playstation 2 to play PS2 games that are copies.
Some people want to be able to backup their game disc and use the copies instead of their originals. Or to be able to play games from different regions. And some people want to download or buy copies which would be much cheaper than originals.
In the example we’re talking about the use of a modified Playstation 2 is very legitimate and an excellent example of good usages for modding. *Keep in mind to be completely legitimate you should own an original copy of the Japanese Phantasy Star Generation 1.
I got my Playstion 2 modified back when the PS2 was current. Modified means my PS2 was opened and a chip was soldered onto the PS2 motherboard. This chip allows my PS2 to load games that are copied onto CDs or DVDs. I don’t know if it will be easy or hard to find someone to do this for you now that the PS2 is so old. When I had mine done I think it cost me $40.
If you can solder yourself you may be able to do it for much less. I did a quick search and it looks like people are still selling these chips:
http://www.modsupplier.com/catalog/ps2-mod-chips-c-25_27.html
Or maybe it would be easier to buy a PS2 that is already modified.
Does this help? Let me know if you’d like anymore details.
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thank you finally some help
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hello ok ill try to get the chip bue cant i use an emulator by removing the bios from my ps2 how do i remove the bios thats my question and how do i use psx2 emulator is do this instead do u know??
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thanks thesegadude but plz message at 10rafiqe@gmail.com and ive followed this page with the follow button
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already modified 1 how and which mod chip do i buy i have a slim black ps2
and i also have a second old slim black ps2 which is brocken how can i extract the bios files to run iso’s on psx2 emulator
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Hey thesegadude u messaged me about master system roms but u should know that the best 1 is phantasy star 1 and you can run this rom with the K fusion emulator i saved the game every time alis leveled up ‘level 7 Alis Landale and at important parts of the game the rom is easy to fibnd and download so is the emulator just google them bro but if there is any way to send u the rom i will.to load the rom using emulator click file then load master system rom then browse the emulator can load all master system roms it is also capable of running the following other typer of roms send u detail at 10rafiqe@gmail.com
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Hi Eesa,
Yes, I have emulators before. Emulation works pretty well but I do prefer to play Phantasy Star 1 on my Sega Master System at my TV. Because I have the original hardware it is very easy for me to do.
I am glad to hear you’re enjoying Phantasy Star! 🙂
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mate phantasy star is the best game ive ever played its better than god of war and sonic a bit.
anyway is it possible to mod a ps3 to play PSGeneration1 plz find out for me and message me at 10rafiqe@gmail.com thankyou
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Hmmm – maybe you should tell these folks to use the Internet to find this otherwise easily obtained info out or else you’ll be known as the ModdingDude instead in some circles… =^P
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huh i dont understand plz explain
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I’m having some trouble. When I burned this to a CD and tested it on my modded PS2 it worked, but when a few days later the console isn’t reading the disc. When it loads, nothing happens.
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What I meant to say is that when I go to Browser, it says: “the disc could not be read”, even though I burned the iso (with Imgburn) without any problems.
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If that disc you burned did work at one point then I think you did burn it correctly. It’s possible that your Playstation 2 laser is no longer strong enough to read burned discs (or maybe just this CD).
What brand name disc did you use? Try again but this time use the brand name Verbatim and burn the CD at the slowest possible write speed that your DVD/CD writer supports. A very high quality Disc and a slow write speed are important.
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It’s not the laser, that works like a charm. It could be the CD though, I’ll go with another brand. No, I didn’t use a Verbatim disc and yes I burned it at the slowest speed possible.
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It sounds like you’re on the right track. I hope it works for you in the end!
Technically the PS2 is not meant to play burned media so I really do think it’s worth trying out a very high quality brand CD. Stick with it! This game is really worth the effort!
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