SPOTLIGHT

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS STORY SPOILERS FOR PHANTASY STAR IV!!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

                                Todays Spotlight is on:

Rune Walsh

 Rune is one of the playable characters in Phantasy Star IV,  he is an extremely powerful wizard and the 5th generation of Lutz (a character from Phantasy Star I).  He becomes a very valuable member of your team and also picks on the main character,  Chaz Ashley.  He can sometimes come off cold to others,  but he generally means well.  

 
 When he is in your party (especially early in the game),  Rune uses some of the most devastating moves of anyone in your party.  The first time he joins you (which is brief), he pretty much annihilates every enemy you encounter.  His major weaknesses are that he doesn't have much defense or hit points, so keeping him alive is crucial to winning many of the later battles.  He's also present for majority of the crazy boss battles (two in particular in the Air Castle).

  His past is mostly left up to interpretation,  when you first meet him.  He already is acquainted with the hunter Alys Brangwin, although their relationship is never fully revealed (especially due to her eventual death).  He is respected by many different elders in parts of the Algol Solar System.  It is also later revealed that Rune is the 5th reincarnation of Lutz,  one of the playable characters from the original Phantasy Star.  Basically, all of Lutz's memories and powers are passed from successor to successor.  This has been done over a period of 1000 years.  Now,  one would think this would make them quite old,  Lutz and his successors use Cryogenic Sleep in order to extend their lives.  This also makes Rune one of the only Magic users left in the Solar System and also puts into question how old he actually is (this is never revealed as well).

  On the planet Dezolis lies the Esper Mansion.  This was established by the original Lutz as a place for the Espers to reside and also for them to protect and preserve his memories.  As Rune is the current Lutz,  the Espers hold him in high regard (those who know about it).   Of course,  him being such an old being also comes with enemies.  One of the original villains in Phantasy Star I,  Lashiec, is revived by the Dark Force (supreme evil in the galaxy), in which he steals a relic in order to lure Rune (Lutz) and his party to his castle so he can destroy him (this is where the Air Castle comes into play,  one of my favorite dungeons in all the RPGs I've played,  mainly for being such a huge area and REALLY tough).  

 Rune Walsh is one of those characters that is not only deeply ingrained into the universe,  but also brings life to the game itself.  This is one reason why I have enjoyed Phantasy Star IV so much and consider it one of my favorite games.  Really,  they could make this entire game into an anime (it pretty much is),  given the banter between characters. Especially between Chaz and Rune,  they provide alot of comic relief to the game and great character development.  

   Thanks everyone for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!  If you haven't already played Phantasy Star IV, this article only discusses a small part of it and you owe it to yourself if your looking for a really good old school JRPG.