{"id":1517,"date":"2020-08-17T17:04:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T22:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dianarebollar.com\/ps\/?page_id=1517"},"modified":"2025-01-03T18:56:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:56:30","slug":"afterword","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/yumpoplala.com\/phantasystar\/translations\/futabasha1\/afterword\/","title":{"rendered":"8. Afterword"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A word from the author<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Writing the protagonist Alisa’s character was a bit of a struggle for me. The thing is, I had been writing a comedy called Momotarou Dentetsu<\/a> <\/em>when I was offered this job. I almost ended up writing the story like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMiss Alisa, you beat ed the enemy! Woohoo, you got 50 meseta! Ha-ha!\u201d said Tyrone.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

But in the end, I found myself writing Alisa as a bit of a stubborn tomboy, who still manages to be cute in her own way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the struggle was real. I would get all mixed up because I was actually working on Momotarou Dentetsu<\/em> while I was working on this. So I guess Phantasy Star<\/em> is about 90% serious with about 10% comedy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start with, Phantasy Star<\/em> is based on a video game by Sega. It\u2019s a world filled with robots, laser guns and spaceships which blends those sci-fi elements in with dragons, swords & sorcery\u2014it\u2019s quite a fun RPG. The underground labyrinths are animated, and I was particularly impressed by the story\u2019s ending. The fusion of sci-fi and heroic magical fantasy is just my type of thing. I love creating these kinds of novels, so I just had to take the chance when it came up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know of several stories like this that mix science and magic together in the same way. For example, there’s Empire of the East<\/a><\/em> by American author Fred Saberhagen, which is about a world where magic has been revived in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The main character rides around in a mystical war tank called ‘Elephant’. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s the story Operation Chaos<\/a><\/em> by Poul Anderson which features flying broomsticks equipped with jet engines and passenger cabins.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another inspiration would be What Good is a Glass Dagger?<\/a><\/em>  from Larry Niven\u2019s Warlock<\/em> series The Magic Goes Away<\/a><\/em>; the author here successfully built a scientific world of magical elements, sword & sorcery. Niven\u2019s influence on video games is quite prolific\u2014maybe you have even heard of his Warlock<\/em> series before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image of \u201cChaos\u201d which appears in Alisa\u2019s Adventure<\/em> here was taken from the Eternal Champion<\/a><\/em> series (especially the Erekos\u00eb series and Elric series).  You can read these books from middle school or high school on up, so please make sure to check them out sometime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyhow, the epic Phantasy Star<\/em> will be coming out with a sequel this spring for the Sega Megadrive (Genesis). This time the graphics are improved, apparently your allies appear on screen with you during battle sequences with battle animation, etc. The story has also been powered up, I\u2019m really looking forward to it. (But I still haven\u2019t gotten a Megadrive for myself yet, though\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I would like to thank the artist, Kunio \u201cKuny Noone\u201d Aoki, for his beautiful illustrations of Alisa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See you again next time when the sequel comes out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u203b Mitsutaka \u014cde
<\/strong>-Born in 1961 in Furano City, Hokkaido, Japan
-Blood type B, annnd a Scorpio~<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2190 7: Action Chart<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

TABLE OF CONTENTS: <\/strong>
\ud83d\udcd61: Prologue<\/a> \ud83d\udcdc2. Instructions<\/a> \ud83e\uddd93: Characters<\/a> \ud83c\udf0c4: The World of Phantasy Star<\/a> \ud83c\udfb25: The Game<\/a> \ud83d\udcd86: Epilogue<\/a> \ud83d\udccb7: Action Chart<\/a> \u270d\ufe0f8: Afterword<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Author’s recommended works:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a>
‘Empire of the East’ by Fred Saberhagen<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
‘The Eternal Champion’ by Michael Moorcock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a>
‘Operation Chaos’ by Poul Anderson<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
‘Elric: Song of the Baclk Sword’ by Michael Moorcock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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‘The Magic Goes Away’ by Larry Niven<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

See also:<\/p>\n\n\n\n