You remember Phantasy Star Online, right? Sure you do. One of the first truly online games, especially on a console, PSO was an integral part of the evolution of online gaming, forever cementing the Dreamcast as a console ahead of its time. What’s more, the game was addictive and fun as hell, as later generations would find out on the Gamecube and PC. Then Phantasy Star Universe came out, and while the single-player severely lacked in certain areas, the multiplayer was passable, when it wasn’t hacked to hell and back. Still, it lacked a certain… PSOness. All the while, PSU felt as though it were taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back, trying to push out drastic changes, some of which just didn’t need to be changed.
So when Phantasy Star Online 2 was announced and promised a return to many of the classic formulas, you can imagine there was much rejoicing. As for myself, I learned a valuable lesson that day: always bring a spare pair of pants to the office.
Recently, the first Closed Beta for PSO2 was completed, and much gameplay footage now exists. If you have ever been a PSO fan, you MUST watch the footage being released by fighting game expert Maximilian, who recently has begun to branch out into other areas of gaming with his informative, honest and unbiased series of Youtube videos. Here is the first, with links to the rest following:
Ep. 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQNtUCYWIf4 (Learning the Basics)
Ep. 3 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmGJIqa5-po (Quests & Friends)
Ep. 4 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvVobj4GAVc (The Ye Olde Days) [sic]
Ep. 5 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8SBhU1pyrY (Leveling Up)
Ep. 6 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_icDTxBcJs (Community Bond)
Ep. 7 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eSJ4t8UJk4 (GODLIKE)
Ep. 8 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgaGUTrYJCo (Red Box Madness)
Some of the later videos have issues with blacking out mid-video, but Max is working on a solution for these, and regardless, the content that is present is a digital orgasm to any PSO fan the likes of which even William Gibson could not have foreseen.
Some highlights:
- Photon Arts are back, but your resource pool for using them recharges much faster.
- The droprate and equipment system is much closer to PSO than PSU. Some of the new weapons will be retained, but Mags are back!
- Characters can jump, switch between weapon modes, and combo into different Photon Arts. The result makes the game feel much more like an online party-based brawler.
- The music is just as INCREDIBLE as the original PSO.
- Certain quests will open up into “multi-party areas”, allowing more than just the standard team of 4 to work together to take down bosses.
It has been announced that PSO2 will be free-to-play, and like other F2P models, it will offer buffs and boosts for real-world cash. Sega says that their reason for going F2P is because they believe this game changes the way the gaming public will view games, and they wish to get that message out to as many people as possible. From what I’ve seen, I believe them.
PSO2Blog believes, citing hints dropped by the publishers at a recent fan meet, that the just-completed Closed Beta will not be the only Closed Beta, and that an Open Beta is impending in the next month or so. Of course, this is Japan only, but many Americans have been able to play with the help of an English patch.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is due out this summer for PC in Japan, with iOS and Android coming this winter, and a Vita version following in 2013. No word yet on when a US is due, but given the extreme excitement over its impending arrival, it’s really only a matter of time.
Squee.
