I couldn't finish the game (I'm sure I will one day on a boring nothing week). Going from PS IV to this was a massive mistake on my part. This is incredibly aged, but still it deserves props for its influential concepts.
I played this back in 2003 when Phantasy Star Collection came out for GBA. I remember only being able to beat it by using the pause trick to avoid random encounters (repeatedly pulling up and closing the menu while walking, thus cancelling out random battles). Otherwise, I recall it being a brutally hard game and remember the second-last boss being harder than the actual final boss.
If there's any game in the series that needs the Sega Ages treatment, it's this one.
If there's any game in the series that needs the Sega Ages treatment, it's this one.