Phantasy Star is a series of Japanese Role-Playing games created by SEGA. Originally released in 1987 in Japan, this series is notable for its unique combination of science fiction, mythology, and medieval fantasy. The series follows the epic saga of citizens living within the Algol system fighting for their lives every 1,000 years against an avatar of The Profound Darkness known as Dark Falz.
There are four distinct games within the series; The first entry and series namesake, aptly titled Phantasy Star, was originally released on the Sega Master System in 1987 and later ported to the Sega Mega Drive. Phantasy Star is a classic Japanese Role-Playing video game in which the player guides the female protagonist, Alis Landale, and her companions on their journey to overthrow the evil King Lassic. It is well known for its unique first person 3D dungeons and is often credited with helping to introduce this genre of RPGs to the Western world. Two years later, Phantasy Star garnered a sequel titled Phantasy Star II for the Sega Genesis. Unlike its predecessor, Phantasy Star II features the standard top-down perspective in both the overworld and within its dungeons. A new team of developers were brought in for the next main entry, titled Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom. Taking a departure from its predecessors, this title features a story that appears to be self-contained until the reveal in the plot later in the story. Finally, senior developers from past entries in the series were brought back to develop and release the critically acclaimed Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium for the Sega Genesis in 1993.
In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City there is a magazine laying on a table in Vercetti's room. On the cover is a blatant screenshot from the original Phantasy Star. Pictured is Palma's Spaceport connected to Camineet.
In Spiral Knights, a game published by Sega, there is a mission called Rise or Fall, an obvious nod to the main battle theme of Phantasy Star II.
In the same game, there is a Recon Knight named Parma, another nod to Phantasy Star II.
Once more from Spiral Knights. There is a character named Hahn who, similar to Hahn Mahlay from Phantasy Star IV, is a scholar. Besides similar job proficiencies, the two are vastly different in all other aspects which could mean that this reference is a coincidence.
Noire, a character from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, wields a weapon called Elysdeon. Its in-game description says, "This sword is rumored to have come from a distant planet, key to fending off some legendary evil." Although misspelled, the weapon and description are both obvious references to Phantasy Star IV's Elsydeon.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that the Elysdeon weapon was made by L&L, also known as Landale and Landeel. This references three different games in the Phantasy Star franchise: the original Phantasy Star, with Landale coming from Alis Landale's name, Phantasy Star IV, with Landale being the name of Tyler's ship, and Phantasy Star Universe, as Landeel is the name of Alfort Tylor's ship.
Adventure Time references the classic series as a whole in the episode "Flute Spell." Jake the Dog plays a video game called Age of Grinders, a fantasy game with a combat system similar to Phantasy Star II and IV.
In Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, players are able to collect stickers by successfully completing certain in-game achievements. One sticker, called Star Phantasy, references the Phantasy Star franchise in general.
Pastel Memories features a reference to the Phantasy Star II combat system in episode 7, "Can Fighters Make Lots of Money?" In the episode, the heroes face the challenges of many old-school video game mechanics as they attempt to grind levels. Upon entering combat, the scene changes to the familiar blue grid with black background. The combat hud even has the same layout as Phantasy Star II, with the blinking red navigation button and tactical options.
Tiny Rogues is a challenging rogue-lite bullet hell game that takes inspiration from many classic arcade and console video games. One of the mastery perks that can be used to enhance a run is called RISE OR FALL, which is a possible reference to Phantasy Star II's battle theme of the same name, Rise or Fall.