Phantasy Star Online 2: Phantasy Star Online 2

My old FO lives again :3

Before I played phantasy star online 2, I was a bit nervous. I have been waiting for this day since the official Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst servers went down; although I was playing on schthack's private server for a few years after that. Actually, yesterday, I was about to re-download the client for that private server (and you can too at the schthack website here.) Then, I thought to myself, "I wonder if there's any news on PSO2" yet, I threw my search into duckduckgo and to my surprise, the game has been out since July in japan! My heart nearly stopped, and for a while I was happier than I've been in many, many years. I'm still in a tremendously good mood. And I'm NEVER in that good of a mood.

I doubt these guys are EVER in a good mood.

Even still, I began registering and installing it (you can find a guide to that in my previous post) with an air of caution, due to my experience with Phantasy Star Universe. Now, in retrospect, phantasy star universe isn't a bad game. But it's not what I expected. In my mind THAT was supposed to be PSO2, and I got something similar, but way too different. (My hunters license on that game didn't last long.) So, I was stubborn, heartbroken even, until just over a year ago I heard the announcement for PSO2. The trailer looked like, PSO, it sounded like PSO, felt like PSO. But was it really PSO?

You can't expect me to NOT give my character maximum breasts.

I can now confirm with certainty that, yes, THIS is the game I, and many many others, have been waiting for. It takes everything that was good about Phantasy Star Online, and makes it better. The areas that are redundant have been removed. It still has that classic feel, but in a modern gaming experience. It is a true evolution, a great sequel, and my quality of life has increased tenfold in a matter of hours.

This guy is probably too baller for his own good.

Downloading the installer took a while, considering you're downloading 8 gigs of japan, and then you have to download patches. I was a bit worried that my ping would be so high that the game would be almost unplayable, but when I actually got in game, lag was virtually non-existant. Sega's game servers are really high quality. Blizzard! You could learn something from these guys, your Diablo III servers are STILL questionable.

I don't understand what you're saying so I'm just going to stand here and look pretty.

Once I was in game, and figuring out all the menus which are in pure japanese, I managed to make a nice character. One of the things I liked most about Phantasy Star Online was it's character creator, something many mmo's still cannot top. But the character creater in Phantasy Star Online 2 thoroughly improves upon that concept. Characters are now more complex, more customizable, all around just stunning.

Circular glasses bring attention to other spherical appendages.

Upon entering the game you're met with a cutscene that I really didn't understand, considering the language barrier, and I still do not understand much of the story, although I'm given hints here and there from my previous PSO experience. That being said, once the tutorial came around, I could understand what it was trying to tell me right away due to a very intuitive system of play, and thorough visual feedback when you do something right. You can get started without knowing the language, and without having ever played the original, using the hints and clues it leaves you.

Let's party!

Your Newman partner here I found looks silly, sounds whinny and is cowardly. I don't really like him, at all. Maybe once I play the N.A. version I can sympathize with him more when I understand why he's so jumpy. You run into many other NPC's along your journey, though, some totally bad-@55, some cool, reserved, or humorous. The only character I really have a problem connecting with so far is that damn Newman.

Who's this lady? :U

Now, moving on. PSO2 is Free to Play, with a real money store that you can buy items or perks in. Typically, this pay model bothers me because it tends to give an unfair advantage. However, I did find that the game was entirely playable without purchasing anything. However, many functions are lost if you don't pay, such as having a room, creating more characters or moving them onto other ships. But, if you think about it, hunters licenses used to be 10-15 dollars a month, and as such if you are willing to spend about that per month your getting way more out of the game than you would have in the original. So, honestly, I think it's a fair trade-off. That being said, I won't be purchasing anything until I'm playing on North American servers, when I can... understand what I'm buying :p

Ain't nothin' but a G thang.

After leveling a couple times (and recreating my character on a ship that's more populated with English speakers, ship 2, block 20) I essentially just fooled around in the lobby. After all, the lobby is the end game in PSO :p That logs my experiences for today! Enjoy the rest of the gallery!