Download Phantasy Star IV - Level 99 & Megid Bug Fix ROM Hack

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                  PHANTASY STAR IV: THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM
                            LEVEL 99 & MEGID BUGFIX
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by Sixfortyfive
version 1.0
June 17, 2009

This is a romhack for the Sega Genesis game Phantasy Star IV: The End of the
Millennium. It is free to distribute without prior expressed consent.

All versions of the original retail release of Phantasy Star IV had one
particularly nasty bug: when you leveled your party to 99 (the maximum),
character stats would be applied incorrectly. Many stats were reduced or
swapped between characters, and several attack skills could be wiped from your
characters' memory. Furthermore, the Japanese version had another bug: when
Chaz (Rudy) learns Megid, it replaces Nazan. This romhack is a simple patch
that fixes both of these bugs.

NOTE: Seth's stats and skillset still suffer from the level 99 bug. However,
considering the minor role in which he plays in the game, this should not be of
much concern. Leveling Seth to 99 does not affect any other characters.

List of files included:

 - ps4patch_jp.ips (patch for Japanese ROM)
 - ps4patch_usa.ips (patch for American ROM)
 - ps4patch.txt (this document)

To use this patch, you must have a copy of the original ROM (BIN format only,
not SMD), the Lunar IPS program (or some other comparable patching program),
the patch itself, and an emulator or some other means to play it. There are two
separate patch files: one for use on Japanese ROMs, and another for American
ROMs. Use the Lunar IPS program to apply the appropriate patch, then start it
up.

The patches included in this package were created by analyzing a similar patch
that is included with the Wii Virtual Console release of Phantasy Star IV. The
VC version of PSIV includes the original, unaltered ROM in addition to a small
patch file named patch.zlib. When playing Phantasy Star IV on the Virtual
Console, the Wii appears to load the original ROM, then load patch.zlib and use
the information contained within it to alter and patch the ROM. In addition to
the two bugfixes, the VC patch also makes some modifications to various
graphical effects, presumably to reduce the frequency of rapid bright flashes
that carry the risk of seizures. These graphical modifications are not included
in this romhack.

Special thanks to xellos677 for being obsessive enough to powerlevel in the VC
release to discover that this fix even existed.