The "Dezo Flip" Theory
Have you ever compared Dezoris world maps from Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, and Phantasy Star IV? If so, you know that Dezorian geography changed very little over the course of the thousand years that seperated the second and fourth games of the series.
However, when either map is compared to a map from Phantasy Star I, it is hard to believe that the maps are even of the same planet. Although many of the same locations are present, they all seem to be in different places in relation to one another.
Here is a textual representation of a standard Phantasy Star I Dezoris map.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ GUARON ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ CORONA ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ TOWN ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ SKURE ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ALTIPLANO ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
However, since the actual game map "worldwraps" (meaning that you can go east to get west and vice versa), a more accurate depiction would be the one below.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ GUARON ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ CORONA ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ CORONA ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ TOWN ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ TOWN ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ SKURE ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ SKURE ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ALTIPLANO ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since a map with duplicate locations such as this one has can be difficult to read, the key to translating PS1 Dezorian geography to PS2/PS4 Dezorian geography lies in deleting the "correct" duplicates. Different editing than what was given above might result in a map like the one below.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ GUARON ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ CORONA ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ TOWN ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ SKURE ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ALTIPLANO ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now, if this map is turned on its side so that north is facing east, the result is a map where the locations are arrayed thusly.
................................................ .......................................GUARON... ................................................ ................................................ ..ALTIPLANO..................................... ................................................ .........SKURE.......TOWN.......CORONA.......... ................................................
This arrangement bears a remarkable similarity to the placement of these locations in Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV. The Dezoris maps of both of those games look a great deal like the one below. Note that some of the names of the locations do change between PS1 and PS2/PS4: Altiplano to Alplatin, Corona to Gumbious, and the Town, according to this theory, would have to be Ryuon. This is supported by the fact that the Dezorian town shown in Phantasy Star I is divided into eastern and western halves, and so is Ryuon in Phantasy Star II.
................................................ ................................................ ..........................GUARON................ ................................................ ..ALTIPLANO..................................... ..............SKURE............................. ......................TOWN.......CORONA......... ................................................
But how did Dezoris do this "flip" which resulted in the planet's poles moving so drastically?
In the Phantasy Star I instruction booklet, it is said that the order of the planets in relation to Algo is Motavia, Palma, Dezoris. However, in Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV, it is said that the order is Palma, Motavia, Dezoris. How did the planets become so switched around?
In the Japanese Phantasy Star, there was a Great Disaster in the AW 800s. The Great Disaster occurred when the heavenly bodies of the Algo system were aligned in such a way that the gravity between them was affected in a strange and unexplained manner. This caused Palma and Motavia to actually switch orbits.
Doesn't it follow that such a major calamity would also have a profound effect upon Dezoris? Saying that Dezoris was titled (in a manner similar to planet Uranus) by this same disaster is a plausible way of explaining how the "Dezo Flip" may have occurred.
You may be asking yourself, "But can't we simply say that Dezo's apparent flip is simply due to a change in 'camera angle,' or something like that?" The answer, as it turns out, is a resounding "No!"
In PS1, one of the residents of Ryuon says, "Ze Corona Tower stands on ze far side of ze mountain to ze north of zis village."
Now, if no flip actually occured, that would mean that, in PS4, Raja's Temple would be southeast-east of Ryuon. However, in PS4, a Dezorian in Ryuon says, "In the temple to the south, there's a highly virtuous and wonderful priest named Raja." South? What happened to southeast-east?
Additionally, another Dezorian in PS4 Ryuon says, "There are many Parmanian towns in Dezolis and the town of Tyler to the northwest is one of them." Northwest? But if all we are dealing with here is a change in camera angle, Tyler should be southwest-west!
My point is that, unless all of the Dezorians are giving completely wrong directions, Dezo did flip. And one cannot simply say that PS2/PS4 Ryuon changed position relative to Tyler and Raja's Temple, because as the above exercise with the map proves, Ryuon is in the same position it occupied in PS1, approximately if not exactly.