+-------------------------+
|                         |
|     Phantasy Star IV    |
|                         |
| - General Improvement - |
|                         |
|       Version 1.1       |
|                         |
|  Release:  03-28-2023   |
|                         |
|         - By -          |
|                         |
|       Fauntleroy        |
|                         |
+-------------------------+

Phantasy Star IV was one of the first console RPGs with truly modern presentation: excellent characterization, a crystal clear translation, and a customizable interface. If you've ever played the game, you know that it doesn't need a lot of help to make it palatable to modern audiences. Even so, there's always room for a little general improvement.

GAMEPLAY:
* There are lots of new items.
* The two dummied-out enemies have been restored.
* Minor adjustments were made to treasure chests, shops, item prices and stats, technique TP costs, etc.
* There's one new technique: NER. This technique is learned by Alys and Rika before they learn SANER.
* The BROSE technique now works on machines and non-living enemies only, as in Phantasy Star II.
* All skills max out at 10 charges.
* Seth's skill charges now increase as he levels up.
* The successs rate of status ailments, debuffs, and instant-kill abilities were slightly increased.
* There are more triggers for combination attacks. For example, Triblaster = Any FOI or FLAELI + Any WAT + Any TSU or TANDLE.
* A few changes were made to who can use which skills and techniques.
  * Chaz can no longer use BROSE, making it unique to Gryz.
  * Gryz can cast CORROSION at high levels.
  * Demi can use FLARE, as Wren does.
  * Kyra can use SHIFT.
* There were also a few changes to who can use which equipment.
  * Only Rune can equip the Psy-Wand.
  * Humanoids can equip all shields. Androids still can't equip any.
  * Demi can use Wren's strongest gun and is equipped with one when she returns.

PRESENTATION:
* The script was completely rewritten. The original translation was great but I took the opportunity to:
  * Iron out some awkward phrasings
  * Clarify points of ambiguity
  * Enhance characterization through dialogue
  * Increase lore references to other games in the series
* Consistent naming conventions are used across all of my Phantasy Star hacks.
  * Algo rather than Algol
  * Palman rather than Parmanian
  * Dezorian rather than Dezolisian
  * Alis rather than Alisa
  * Lutz rather than Noah
  * Lassic rather than Lashiec
  * Luveno rather than Lubetz
  * Altiplano rather than Alplatin
  * Gaila rather than Gaira
  * Alsulin rather than Alshline
  * Laerma rather than Laeruma
  * And probably more that I'm forgetting
* Many items, enemies, abilities, etc. had their names changed to make them more consistent with other games in the series.
* Most of the Hunters Guild missions have different titles.
* Text always runs to the end of the text box now.
* The awesome music used for Seed's lab now plays on Zelan as well.

BUG FIXES:
* Generally, you can no longer accidentally skip an option when pressing the confirm button while scrolling through a menu.
* Shield elements are no longer applied to weapons when both a shield and a weapon are equipped.
* The infamous "Level 99 glitch" no longer occurs.
* Escapipes and Telepies are no longer used up if you accidentally select them in battle.
* Townspeople with scripted movements can no longer cause crashes.
* Various minor behind-the-scenes adjustments.

+--------------------+
|                    |
| Setup Instructions |
|                    |
+--------------------+

You'll need the 20230328psivpatch.ips file and an unaltered copy of the Phantasy Star IV Genesis/Megadrive English language ROM.http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lips/

Dump Name  Phantasy Star IV (USA)
           Phantasy Star IV (4) [!]
           Phantasy_Star_-_The_End_of_the_Millenium_(U)_[!]
Filesize   3.00 MB
CRC32      FE236442
MD5        84CBD0FF47F3C8E9D21D2C2FC39185FA
SHA-1      BC7FF6D6A8408F38562BC610F24645CAD6C42629

After the patch is applied:
CRC32      10DF7747
MD5        5DBF69715595D2355CB4657EABA5617E
SHA-1      60A3E6CD05731D382CBC7FABAFFAB7876A045890

Please do not ask me for ROMs; I will not provide one.

I recommend using the Lunar IPS utility to apply the patch to the ROM.  As of this writing, you can download Lunar IPS here:
http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lips/

To apply the patch:
1.) Open Lunar IPS and click the Apply IPS Patch button.
2.) Select the 20230328psivpatch.ips file.
3.) Select the ROM.
4.) You're all set!  It's that easy!

As far as which emulator to use, I personally like Kega Fusion. Kega Fusion has its own website:
http://segaretro.org/Kega_Fusion