Phantasy Star 0

I've been putting off this purchase for awhile since sega has repeatedly shown it's inability to properly manage their Phantasy star... whatevers. But I did some reading over at pso world about it. And could not fight the urge to get it. In short, is it worth it? Yes it is.The story:The setting pretty good although the execution pretty standard. You'll find yourself chuckling to yourself but you won't find the story all that riveting. Characters take standard roles. No plot twists you won't see coming. Basically the world is recovering from a massive society collapse. Survivors of the human race don't know what happened, casts memory banks have been completely wiped out, and newmans are no where to be found and presumed extinct.You can go down different story paths based on what race you choose. However withen the first 2 missions the storyline set on the same path essentially. Not all the scenes and texts are exactly the same but the overall story remains the same. There's nothing substantial in term of difference of story based on race. The overall feel of the story the same but you do converse more with the person of your own particular race should you choose them. So if you feel like you want greater background on a particular character you like then pick that race.The game play:A almost complete return to Phantasy star online game play and set up. However it does not complete exclude things from Phantasy star universe. The pallete returns, technics and melee orientated photon arts no longer excluded from each other. Photon arts are now perform by holding down the attack button until you get the indication it's ready to be performed.The range of spells are reduced down to just basics and and Ra's. However, like photon arts if you want to perform a "ra" version of a spell you must hold down the spell until indicated. This is great for offensive spells, Unfortunately, they also added this effect to the support spells. Meaning if you now want to hit party members in an area of effect with let's say resta or shifta you have to charge it. This is especially frustrating when trying to keep a party alive as a force.They added a quick dodge button. Which is helpful for it's adventure style game play. Veteren's may find this button useless during evading regular enemy fray, being use to having to manually keep your character at the sweet to spot to attack without worrying about counter. However almost all the bosses make this button feel like a necessity. Which makes me wonder why they didn't attach it to X. instead it takes a spot on your precious palette. Which is made especially fustraiting since there is no longer a quick menu. To quickly cast spells not in your palette like in PSO, or quickly change weapons like in both psu and pso, or quickly use a meds like in both previous games.They also made the curious choice of making it so melee hit's from a force weapon damage is calculated by your magic stat + the magic stat on the weapon. Essentially turning melee hits from mage weapons into non elemental attacks. This leaves mages with the curious choice, especially earlier in the game, of wasting their PP using techs that only do about 10-20 damage more then their melee hits which cost nothing. Later in the game techs take greater effects though.Those of you who have yet to play a phantasy star game after PSO may be wondering what the game play is like. Well it's more adventure like in feeling. The rpg comes in this whole stat business, levels etc. It could be compared to fable but the game play is feels more towards the rpg side then the adventure side. While there are up to 8 areas to explore. They aren't these massive areas demanding exploration of every corner. There short maps that have several different set ups meant to be done several times. Although admit the pace of the leveling and rare hunting is a lot quicker then it's fathers.Is it balanced?Phantasy star has always suffered from a lack of balancing. It was forgivable in the original PSO. But in PSU it was broken to a severe point. Forces always took a severe drop in damage potential at higher levels. However I am happy to say that everything seems mostly balanced.In job classes that is, some people seem to have trouble grasping the idea of utility weapons. Every job class has it's particular prophecy although since there are now 6 hunters to balance out they take a little on the chin.Each race has it's own particular bonus. Like in pso Casts can regenerate hp over time, Newm can regenerate PP over time, and humans can use more materials. Materials being these items that you can use in any combination to enhance each and every stat in the game. It's a way to make the characters more.. customized.Anyways it's closest to this series ever been to being balanced. And I applaud the game for it.*Side note*Mags make a triumphant return with added detail of introducing personality types that effect what they do under certain conditions. Like healing when low on hp or a defense boost etc.Character creator?There is a character creator system although limited. You can now choose from 14 job classes. Including 6 hunters(All races and genders) 4 rangers(Humans and cast both genders) and 4 forces(Humans and newm both genders), You can choose from:5 different outfit colors4 Different faces3 skin colorsAnd your mag color(No matter who gave you the mag or what mag you find this color choice will always be reflected in your equipped mag)What about online or multi-mode?Online is for free and just requires your ds to be able to get online. You can connect to friends using friend codes or just pick to be randomly places with others. There is no lobby where you can chat in large groups.Multi-mode requires everyone present to have their own copy of the game along with a ds.Is there a difference?Every area(Besides maybe eternal tower[Only could access it offline so far]) and every drop can be found in either mode. Despite what the hand book says there is no real difference in quests. They just lack npcs giving your background. And the rewards of course are different.The major difference is the difficulty. Although both modes share the same titles of normal hard and super hard. Like pso, enemies in multi/online mode will be higher level and will have much more enemies per room. Additionally there will be more traps, and surprisingly a lot more boxes. This is specifically useful to those who wish to collect photon drops, materials, and grinders. Which mainly come from boxes.Otherwise these modes are strictly just so you can experience them with friends or with other people. I like to note though. In the game I played with a friend, when we picked up items it did not disappear on the others screen. Meaning when items drops everyone gets 1 of those items. No more ninja grabbing. OH! This is also a good time to mention the fact that items no longer drop from monsters. Instead they come from a chest that pops once all enemies are killed.People hoping that online mode would provide neat quests like endless nightmare(A quest that had no boss but a final room with an extreme amount of regular enemies to kill) or towards the future(A brief tour of all areas coupled with their respective bosses. Fantastic for exp and boss rare hunting). Or just creative quests like "Labyrinthine Trial" will be out of luck.All and all it's a great game. Fantastic for people who want just a light game to play through casually or something to go on a hardcore binge with portability. I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants to try out an mmo like game without the commitment.

This was my first entry into the Phantasy Star Series. And while I liked it, there are problems that keep it from being a good PSO spinoff. I've recently played PSO on the Gamecube and believe me, Sega skimmed back on several details.1. Combat is slower.2. 3 characters per slot.3. Incredibly long dungeons (granted, PSO also had these).4. Horrendously useless allies5. Childish art design (A cowboy? Really?)6. Limited customization features (though understandable given the limited memory on DS games)7. Takes no real advantage of the touch screen aside from maps and pointless speech bubbles8. Gameplay becomes tedious by the 5th dungeon area.9. Little to no replay value aside from trying to level up.10. bland storyline and characters.11. Grinding is severe. If you DO NOT like grinding for levels, you will hate this game.On the other hand, it's a decent action/rpg for the DS that will provide Nintendo fans something they've been missing out on during the Wii Era, while Sony and Microsoft managed to get the other Phantasy Star games.However, if you want better gameplay overall, you'll have to invest in other platforms, or pick up PSO from the gamecube if you own a Wii made before 2010.

Years ago, there was a game called Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2. That was the game I bought a GameCube for. The game that made me fall in love with gaming... And now it's back, in all of it's handheld glory.The game's story mode, which centers around completing quests to solve the mystery behind the "Great Blank", a great war that destroyed the civilization of Earth 200 years ago. The story itself isn't too bad. Multiplayer has the more or less the same kind of quests: start quest, go to field, clear the monsters, kill the boss. It pretty much the same good ol' runs in PSO with an added objective. There are plenty of quests to keep you busy, but doing the same areas over and over again might make some people bored, I know I didn't.The old classes are back, with two new ones: HUmarl and HUnewm. Although there are not so many customization options, there's a lot of gameplay to be had with all three class/races.Combat is pretty much the same, save for an added "evade" action. You basically hit the corresponding button (A by default) to attack, and link attacks consecutively up to three times. There are a variety of weapons, so you can choose the one that fits your style.Techs are more simpler than before, there is only one tech to learn for each type (one for resta, one for foie, one for grants, etc.), you can cast them normally, or charge them to do a powerful version. I miss the old rafoie...One thing I absolutely LOVE: MAGs! I've missed those cyber companions, and I know you have too. You can now feed them every item in the game: weapons, armor, you name it! They have plenty of evolutions, photon blasts, and lotsa love to be given.The controls are a little clunky at first, but you'll get used to them; You'd assign the three buttons (Y, B, and A) commands, and three more for the R button (R+Y, R+B, R+A); they're pretty much the same as PSO. Touch screen is not used to control the character and such, it displays the stats, map, aand... The chat feature. Similar to PictoChat, you can spend some spare time making emotes and show off your pixel skills online; endless fun. There's much fun and creativity to be had there.Graphics are pretty good for a DS game, although I was a bit disappointed, since I've seen better on the handheld. Character models are cute, weapon models are detailed, and the background is a little blurry. Cute anime character portraits, it you're into that.Music is reminiscent of PSO, the tempo changes once you encounter hostiles. The music is nice and ear-catching, but can be bland at times... The sound effects are a little... Retro. Ai was a little surprised when I heard the foie and monster cries, but it does the job nevertheless.Great online multiplayer, cute graphics, captivating music, ALL PSO. This is a must get for the DS, especially if you're a fan of PSO. You won't be disappointed.Presentation: 5/5Graphics: 4/5Sound: 4/5Gameplay: 5/5Total: 5/5

I bought this purely as a collector's item and as such it has remained (and will remain) in the cellophane wrap.Product was in factory new condition, did not look repackaged or anything, perfect as a display piece.Cannot comment on the quality of the game itself as I (obviously) haven't played it.

This is a good game. It's good because it's familiar with different characteristics. Like the proper anime stuff and everything. It's fun and really hard to find at a local game shop.

If you loved Phantasy Star Online, you'll enjoy this game as well. It is essentially a scaled-down version of PSO (which is what you would expect for it being on a handheld instead of a console), with fewer quests and fewer rare items to collect (which are also easier to obtain, as there aren't any ridiculous drop rates like there are in PSO). Personally, I find this to be a welcomed change of pace, as it makes collecting all of the rare items a feasible task (and the game even tracks your progress in this endeavor). All in all, PS0 for the DS stands as a solid entry in the franchise and plays like a scaled-down version of PSO.

Wasn’t clear in purchase details it didn’t come with the DS case - in fact using the DS box cover as first image is rather misleading even if details indicated no case with purchase.

I like this game. Plays like GameCube versions. It's fun.