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I still haven't beaten this game. I was playing the SMS version with a converter on my Game Gear using the rechargeable battery pack, but the pack is old and wasn't holding a charge too well. I eventually gave up thinking I'd get another pack at some point, but still haven't.

Just to clarify, all versions of Phantasy Star as far as I know will let you save anywhere. It's dangerous, tho, of course. I always made sure to use a different save space for inside of dungeons. Up to the point I got to I played without maps (since I was playing on the bus, which also meant I got lots of grinding in as I wandered around them half lost).

I really need to get another battery pack... I just got a Magic Knight Rayearth Japanese GG system, but sadly it doesn't use a US battery pack.

So, I'm kinda late for the discussion (almost a year late!) but I just wanted to say that it was a great choice for TG. It was one of those games that I was always curious about and last week, while browsing the TG archive, when I saw the article I finally decided to give it a try. Just beat it today and it was awesome.

Although j-rpg's are not my favourite genre, and this one in particular has some very annoying stuff (necessary grinding, confusing dungeons), with a bit of pacience and some help (maps were an absolute necessity) I managed to enjoy the ride. I can see why it was such a big deal when it came out, because even today the world and characters have a unique charm to them and overall it was a great experince.