Phantasy Star Online 2

Kendrik

Kendrik

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So, it took me until the day before yesterday to realize that PSO2 has been live in Japan for quite some time. Since the game is both free to download and free to play, I've since started the download and created my SEGA ID. Once the game gets all patched up and everything (been distracted by getting a toon from creation to cap in three days in DCUO), I'll be giving it a good go. I'll report back here as I do. :D

I'm super excited. PSO was my gaming obsession for quite a while. I bought my first PSP just so I could import Phantasy Star Portable. I adore Phantasy Star. So good.

And, if I recall correctly, I'm not the only Phantasy Star lover around here. Once the game gets its North American release, I hope it catches on with ToJ. In fact, when the time comes (pending other outside factors like work/seminary), I'd even be in full support of a Phantasy Star series chapter. :D


Looks like Japanese is about to win out over Mandarin for which East Asia language I give priority to learning. Such is the power of Phantasy Star.
 
So, I've put a little time into the game now. Uhm, I don't think I could be any more excited about the NA launch of the game if I tried.

The new additions I was most skeptical about, the jump button (related comic) and third-person shooting mode, have actually proven to be really, really cool. Jumping allows for finding hidden item boxes and stuff, but it also gives new tactical abilities. Battle from the air? Check. Jump to the top of a rock formation and shoot back down at enemies from a more defensible position? Yus.

And being able to switch between the more-traditional lock-on action approach to combat to the new third-person free-targeting system on the fly is pretty solid. The third-person aiming system makes it easy to keep enemies at a distance while still doing damage. If I'm not mistaken, this also gives you a higher chance of getting criticals with headshots (though this is still an RPG, so even a perfectly placed reticle doesn't guarantee a headshot). The trade-off is that you have no lock-on option, so it's easier to miss if you don't aim with constant precision.

Those things aside, I dare say the game feels closer to Phantasy Star Universe than the previous Phantasy Star Online versions. This isn't a bad thing, though. Better menu systems. More customization. Quickbars. Martial skills and magic-like techniques alike are present and can be combined for great justi... effectiveness. An actual narrative. Ability to change classes. The list goes on.

But the things that made PSO great are still in full effect. Great setting and visual direction. Loot grinds. Boss battles. Teamwork. More loot.

Ahhhhh. I'm thrilled. I don't see it becoming the next big MMO, not in the West anyway. Having more in common with Torchlight than WoW, the game is much, much more to my liking than others, but I still think it'll end up more niche than mainstream in our WoW-clone saturated market.

Oh. And I haven't had any complaints yet about the free to download, free to play model. You only get one character slot as a totally free player, so that's a setback for altoholics (crazier is that you don't buy character slots... but additional characters from what I can tell; in other words, you can't scrap a toon and put a new one in its place without paying for the new one... ouch). Doesn't look like there's any item locking or otherwise "pay to win" stuff, though. Real-money goes toward access to having your own in-game apartment, shop, expanding your storage, and various reset options. I'm withholding judgment on the real-money stuff until the game actually releases here and its store is all set up and finalized.

One more thing! Game plays great on a pad. You have to use the d-pad to access the quickbar options, but that's not really been a big deal for me (then again, I'm not playing spell-caster; then again round two, I think casting is tethered to your equipped weaponry rather than being direct access, so it may not be that big of a deal anyway.. at least, that's what it looks like and how I think PSU played). Then again, mouse control for playing in third-person is nice, too.

Anyway! Game is supposedly set for "early 2013" in North America. Be ready for it! :D
 
Free-to-play, eh?

If it's not pay-to-win, I'd like to see PSO2 pick up steam among ToJ members after its North America release. :)
 
When it hits in the US, I'll definitely be sure to give it a go. I put a lot of time into the original on the Dreamcast.
 
Official word is that the game's western release has been delayed (though not canceled; we'll see if it ever gets out of delayed status). /sadface.jpg

Having already had a PSO2 account from when I followed Kotaku's guide on the matter, I've recently patched the game and started playing again.

I still really like it. I'm even more hopeful of a western release (even if such hopes seem to regularly diminish in their justification) than before, but the Japanese version is playable. I'd just like to understand the lore and have items with names that don't leave me guessing their meaning.

There are third-party groups who have worked to translate the game through client-side file modification, but I won't link to them at the moment since I'm unsure of whether or not that would be against any forum rules. For those wary of such things, there are visual translation guides that help make sense of menus and the like too.

Since PSO2 is a dungeon crawler at heart (I still find "Diablo in space" an apt enough comparison), it's enjoyable even without translation aids. Still, I would very much like to see an officially supported translation sooner than later.

Show us some love, Sega. :D

Of course, Asiasoft (>.>) is reported to be making the game available in English for SE Asia. So, that may prove to have some merit if Sega doesn't bring the western release back into the light any time soon.
 
So! I just posted to YouTube a pair of English-patched PSO2 videos.

The first demonstrates the earliest meeting with the mysterious character named Xion. Strictly speaking, this could contain spoilers. However, as this is one of the first things you do in the game, and it raises more questions than answers, it will probably do more to spark interest than spoil the fun if anything.

The second demonstrates the first post-tutorial gameplay mission, Subdue the Za Oodan! This video demonstrates some of the mechanics of gameplay, including the freedom to switch between action-RPG with lock-on form or free-aiming third-person shooter form, as a Ranger class. After the brief mission, I returned to the main ship to give a brief glimpse at its aesthetic and hop around through the menus.

Check 'em out. Get hype.
 
Technically, it hasn't been canceled. Kotaku has an official comment from Sega that the game is still officially in delayed status for North America. The game's been up and running in Japan, and making a profit last I heard, for over a year now. In fact, Episode 2 is being released in just over a week. And we're approach half a year past their original projected launch date of early 2013 for the NA release. Things don't look especially good, and I'd worry that it'd come off as too late if it takes significantly longer.

Still, I'll hold on to hope for a NA release since I know many people who would want to play it but aren't interested in playing the Japanese build. However, big on PSO as I am, I'm still putting time into the Japanese version in case they don't hook us up. haha

What would be especially awesome, though I'm not holding my breath for this, is if they simply built an English client that operated off of all the same server protocols and stuff. Best of both worlds (since the Japanese servers are getting constant love from Sega and have a huge following of dedicated players already). :D
 
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Thanks for the info Kendrik. If I knew for sure that a NA version wasn't going to happen I'd go ahead and download the Japanese version. I'd just hate to put time into it only to find out a US version is on it's way.
 
Theoretically, since the game has been acknowledged as still in development (at least, I think that's a fair inference to make from "delayed"), there should be a better chance of the game coming out here than not. Buuuuut... game industry. :p Still, I totally hear you on not wanting to invest in the Japanese version if that's gonna be meaningless in a future NA version. :D
 
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