Phantasy Star Universe finally out

[SteveW]

I picked up Phantasy Star Universe for the PS2 today. I'm a huge fan of the Dreamcast/GameCube versions of Phantasy Star Online, so i've been looking forward to a new PSO style game that was more single-player oriented. I've just started playing it, and some of my first impressions aren't all that great.......

 

If you love loading screens, you'll practically orgasm over this game. There's all sorts of loading screens. You'll exit a loading screen, walk down a hallway about 50 feet, and get another load screen. The cut scenes tend to shift between prerendered footage and game engine generated scenes, even though the moment doesn't really call for a real time rendered scene. It's all hard to get used to. And if you like cameras that just will not keep up with you, prepare to love this game. I find myself adjusting the camera angle constantly. PSO had a bit of a camera problem, but it was nothing compared to this one. I need to figure out how to adjust it in options, so I won't have to keep pushing L1 every few seconds.

 

Anyone else have some first impressions of the game?

[2600Lives]

Hmmm, well, it sounds like PSU isn't everything it's cracked up to be, then. This Tuesday, I'm getting Guitar Hero 2 and another game, and it was a toss up between PSU and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. I think that MUA will be gracing my PS2 instead of PSU.

[Hyper_Eye]

I wonder if these problems are any better in the X360 version. I imagine the loading times are.

[ninjarabbit]

Sega's been pretty meh for the most part since going strictly 3rd party

[SteveW]

Well, after playing it 'til 1am, I've got a little more to say about it. The gameplay is pretty good, although the lock-on isn't as good as in PSO. Which in some cases is a good thing. In PSO, you'd be trying to whack some monsters, and you'd keep locking onto some crates in the background for no reason. They fixed that by not getting a lock on crates anymore, you have to smash them open by standing next to them, swinging, and hoping you're facing it at the right angle to hit it. And I still haven't gotten used to the camera adjustment yet. With PSO, the camera would swing around fairly quick, but in PSU, it's instantaneous. It can be a little disorienting to figure out where the hell you're trying to look.

 

When you play single player mode (Story Mode), you don't get to choose what class of player you are and customize it, you're forced to play a stereotype hot headed teenager. That's a bit of a disappointment to me, since one of the things I loved about PSO was creating new characters in different classes to try out their different attributes. You control your character, Ethan, as he hangs around with his little sister and gets pulled into helping people out when their space station is attacked. The kid gets trapped behind boulders (Boulders? On a space station?) and he ends up rescuing a bunch of people, which starts him out on a career as a Guardian. You go to several locations with lots of loading screens in between. You finally get to go down to a planet and get into real combat with a couple of characters you can bring into your party to get them to fight along side you, which is pretty good.

 

All in all, the gameplay is good enough for me to ignore all the loading screens. I still haven't figured out why I can't use my strong attack all the time, instead of having to rely on my regular attack. I think my head's still stuck in the mindset of PSO, and I'm not adapting well enough to the differences between them. A few more days and I should be used to PSU's gameplay changes.

[BydoEmpire]

I played single player for a couple of hours, then dived into online. One week and 30 hours later, here are my impressions.

 

SteveW is right about the lock-on - it's not there, and it's a little hard to adjust after having played a TON of PSO. But imho it just makes you pay attention and be a little more careful using ranged technics. The other big thing missing is the three button timing-based combos. I thought that would be a deal-breaker for me. But what they have instead is just as good - it plays a lot like a simplified God of War. Fast, essentially two-button fluid action combat that lets you change targets quickly. You're given a "weapon palette" of about 8 slots. Each weapon has a normal attack and a "photon art" such as a Freeze Hit for a gun weapon, or a spinning combo for a sword. Technic (spell)-based weapons such as staves and wands cannot be used for melee, but can have any two spells assigned. So my force carries four wands - usually a heal spell and a different attack spell. Switching between weapons and one-use items is very fast, so you actually have more variety than PSO. There is also a strafe move, which helps balance out the lack of auto-lock. The combat has REALLY grown on me the more i've played it.

 

My biggest gripe is the lack of missions, and the lack of random dungeons. That's what really hooked me on PSO. But in Universe, you get three areas (a fourth planet is currently locked), each with about three quests. So you're going to be playing the exact same dungeons over and over and over again. That said, the areas themselves are pretty big, I still get lost, and even after 30 hours I'm still seeing new stuff. Since all the quests are simply "kill all the monsters" the lack of randomness is tolerable, but I hope Sega starts adding new quests soon.

 

A positive new feature of PSU is that you can change your class (Hunter, Force, Ranger) at any time! Higher levels of the classes give you extra abilities. That's a nice way to keep things interesting. You level up your character by killing monsters (or just damaging them if you're in a group), but you level up your class via "mission points" you get after finishing missions. This gives a lot of incentive to get an S-ranking by doing it quickly, killing all the enemies and not dying.

 

You've got a lot to do online besides hack up monsters. You can set up your own shop, for instance, and make money selling items to other players. You've got a mag-replacement called a Partner Machine to level up (it's initially stuck in your room, but after levelling it up you can take it with you on missions). You've got your own room to decorate with hard-on trophies. You can synthesize new items from a billion different materials you'll find on your quests.

 

Some people have complained about the item synthesis. I agree, it's much less intuitive and accessible than PSO. But it does offer an awful lot of variety, and finding rare synth components is kind of cool. I think I'd still rather just *find* cool weapons and items, but after playing a little while, and actually finding enough components to be able to create items, the "synthing" system is kind of fun. It has you hunting for rare ingredients, some can only be found on certain planets. Note that you will still occasionally find weapons, and you will get lots of monomates and other consumable items in crate along the way, just like PSO. But the frequency of finding weapons and armor is WAY less. I've found 3-4 weapons dropped in games the entire time I've played.

 

I think it's a nice looking game for ps2. There is some slowdown here and there, and it's kind of jaggy, but I love the art style. To me, good art is good art regardless of technology, and PSU has... style. The music is likewise excellent. Though not quite up to PSO's high level, it evokes the same feel. The sound effects, however, are a little repetetive (especially the character voices).

 

Again, I haven't played much single player, but after a few chapters I've read you unlock Extra mode, which lets you create a character PSO-style and basically play the online game in an offline mode, with all quests, planets, and weapons available. If you get sick of paying the $10 per month, but want to keep playing, this is for you. You cannot, however, transfer your characters between online & offline modes (to prevent cheating I suppose).

 

I'm playing on PS2, and I really didn't notice the load screens. They're frequent, but pretty short. Loading into a mission is 5-10 seconds. Perhaps the single-player load times are longer, but I didn't notice them in the 2-3 hours of that mode I played.

 

The game does suffer from a lack of content. There's an awful lot locked, which sucks, since I just spent $50 on the disc and the content is there. I don't mind paying $10/month for a little while to play online and get new quests an items, but at least give me what I've already payed for. But this can't detract from what is, at its core, a very fun game. And in the end that's what counts.

After a solid (30 hour) week's worth of play, I give the game a B+.

 

[Edit] - I clarified, added, and reworded a few things.

Edited November 7, 2006 by BydoEmpire

[SteveW]

I'm just wondering if there's going to be an update for non-online gamers, like Sega did with 'PSO Plus' type releases on the Dreamcast and GameCube. I really don't want to go online just to get some extras, especially since the PS2 doesn't have a hard drive and you can't store big amounts of data like new levels and stuff on a measly little 8Mb memory card. Maybe any upgrades and new expansions are only going to be released for Xbox LIVE for the 360.

 

To be honest, I don't care for the gameplay changes from PSO to PSU. The graphics are nice, of course, and it's pretty nice to have a group with you to back you up in a fight, even though their AI is pretty iffy, but the combat isn't as engaging as in PSO. There's far too much dialogue, and the levels are not all that interesting. True, I've only been to Parum so far, but still, they could be a bit less samey.

 

PSO had a kind of likability that I miss in PSU. Universe's gameplay is a bit too generic for my tastes. I hope it gets a little better soon.

[BydoEmpire]

PSO had a kind of likability that I miss in PSU.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I enjoy the game, but it's no PSO. I get the feeling Sega's trying to handle this like an MMO on a console, when it's not an MMO, and not being an MMO was part of PSO's appeal.

[Tempest]

I want to pick this up, but at the moment I have both FF XII and Guitar Hero II keeping me busy so I don't have time for a 3rd game.

 

Tempest

[Gabriel]

I was initially attracted to this because of the slick neon graphics. But, I'm already alternating between Lineage II and City of Heroes, so there isn't room in there for another MMORPG.

 

It's also described as an action RPG, which isn't something I'd care for.

 

Still. The light-weapons look cool.

[SteveW]

I was initially attracted to this because of the slick neon graphics.

The thing is, the game's graphics are more detailed in PSU than on the Dreamcast, but I find the colors to be subdued compared to PSO. The colors on PSO were more vibrant to me. Just something odd i've noticed lately.

 

Edit: I just recently unlocked the "Extra Mode", which lets me create my own character from scratch and play him in free missions. I've been having a lot of fun with this one tonight. I've made a nice CAST, got me some big-ass weapons, and I've recruited some of the other AI players to fight alongside me. The only drawback I've found is that certain missions can only be unlocked when I reach levels 5, 10, and so on. So I might have to play the same level three or four times just to level up and unlock the next one. Other than that, I'm really liking the "Extra Mode" setting. No cut-scenes or having to go shopping with Ethan's little sister. Nice.

Edited November 10, 2006 by SteveW

[ATFSquirrel]

Okay, when I first started reading this thread I was seeing that you weren't liking the game, and I was confused as to why. I have it for Xbox 360 and I don't really have a problem with the 10 second loading screens here and there, the camera's turning speed, the lock on, or the item pick-up rarity. I have picked up plenty of swords. twin brands, arm slots etc., and I don't really mind having to do the same few missions over and over again to lvl, its better than just sitting in one area with a party and pulling a monster to kill at a time (FFXI which i also have for Xbox 360, and enjoy). I have yet to really hit the synthesising stuff yet, because I am trying to get my char up to par with his level of eqpt. for his level. I am finally getting to B class weapons and I am level 24... thats not good.

Anyways, I love the race trait factor too, e.g. at level 20 beasts can buy a beast badge in the make over shop and choose a high attack, high defense, high evasion, etc. Beast mode which then they can use after a certain amount of thrashing of creatures, or the SUV thing for Casts (same concept but its a REALLY big gun). I am currently playing a Beast Warrior and I have touched Ranger, I have been hearing something to come of advanced classes through getting two diff classes to a certain level.

Also the weapon system is good too, it took some getting use too, from playing the PSO series (timing the button pressing for the full combo) but I like the photon art ability for each weapon, so each type of weapon has a diff "phonton art" move, eg. single saber has "rising strike" and a sword has some spinning thingy (I don't use the big swords, i like the single weapons so i can use a handgun. sorry), or the dagger with the "shika-tengau" or whatever... lol... sorry but the point is each type of weapon weither its single or duel, big or small, they all have their own photon art that is unique to that type. (hint- it is benificial to have more than one type of a weapon, i carry 6 single swords one for each element and so i have plenty of TP for the Rising Strike, and i can do etra damage for using the opposite element of that creature i am fighting).

In closing, I love this game and I would give it a 5 out of 5 or in PSU terms a rank S. The mic system is on point and so is the party building aspect. And being able to find player shops that sell items for half the price of the store makes it easier on the folks that can't seem to get enough cash for that one weapon or armor.

Thanks.

Edited November 28, 2006 by ATFSquirrel

[SteveW]

I've finished the single-player story mode, and now I don't have a whole lot to do. I don't really feel compelled to play anymore, since there aren't any other missions to go on. I replayed a bunch of high level free missions, and got bored. With PSO, I could keep playing forever, but these missions aren't nearly as long or interesting. I guess they want players to go online and play after that, which I have no intention of doing.

 

I do like the special attacks for weapons, I just wish that the long sword would get a few more attack disks available as you go up in levels. I prefer the long swords so I can hit multiple enemies, and the Tornado Strike special attack is kinda weak at first. It gets pretty strong by the end, though. I managed to tear Dark Faluz (or whatever they named him in this game) to pieces with the Tornado Strike. And when you're in the SEED Hive, if you wander off the beaten path you can find a level A long sword tucked away, and it'll really do some damage.

 

The single player mode was fun, but I don't really want to play it anymore. There's no longevity to it, no replay value. I've fooled around with it, and now I don't have any desire to go back again. That's a lot different than Phantasy Star Online, which compelled me to play the same missions over and over just to level up and get to the next difficulty mode. PSU just seems kind of shallow in comparison.

[ATFSquirrel]

Edit- everything...

 

Okay, I personly didn't give the Stroy Mode a try, because I know how to play the game, and I was tired of being told okay now press X to switch to the Goggles and look at this, now switch back and attack, or Y does this, so use it at certain times. Okay I kow this, can we get on with the Game Play PLEASE! I just wasn't patient enough, it seemed to be well made but I just wasn't going to go through another hour long tutourial on how to attack in the Third Chapter.

 

I have been playing online and I have noticed a lot of Caps... like for instance my photon art for my Sabers is 20- and it is maxed/caped... I see chars at lvl 50- nothing more, because thats the cap. Or, you fight your way through two missions do a boss battle, then you have to return to city to start over again, its obvious there "will" be more mission but i would like them soon. Or seeing the 4th world PTT spaceport Locked... Some of these things are aggrivating, but tolerable for a certain time.

 

Also, Playing online is rewarding when you play with friends you know, so your not just really quite, but having conversations about what is going on at your shop (work center, my party is normally Air Force ppl or their wives/husbands, or friends from H2) with the ocasional "So-and-So Heal!", or "Heal Me Please!". So I like playing with friends, so i really don't get into other parties with people i have no affiliation with outside of PSU. Unless i run into them in their room when i am looking for cheap items, or randomly choosing rooms to see if the owner is there to ask if they can make specific items. And then getting discounts because instead of making them go buy the ingrediant, I ask which one(s) they need and go get them for them (I get exp, money, and a discount... its +'s across the board!).

 

Another thing I am liking is being able to change from Hunter to Ranger and back again, according to the type of mission or Boss. E.g. Parum- Da Reagan Hunter, NeuDaiz or Moatoob the flying guy that i hate (don't konw name off the top of my head but he looks like a huge ugly gargoyle thingy) Ranger so don't have to get close to him while he is in the air to hit him. Or the Big Machine guy thing on Neudaiz- back to Hunter... so yeah, being able to change class according to the mision boss helps out a lot. Yes it costs money, but in the end it helps.

 

I just can't wait for the updates to start coming so I can explore more and fight new creatures with new weapons and maybe even get more than one photon art for each weapon and being able to use them both at the same time, like a force with spells on his rod/staff/wand.

 

Oh, and if you do play online my Name is Squirrel, I am now a level 27 Beast. GT is ATF Squirrel for the 360 ppl.

 

I still give the game Rank S.

Edited November 30, 2006 by ATFSquirrel

[ATFSquirrel]

Edit- revesion.

 

With the First update came only two new missons after the De Ragan mission, that is all...

 

However there is another Update on the 8th, this is the mother load update. It is going to increase the level cap to 60, weapon caps to 30, 75 new spells for force, a plethera of new weapons, 7 new jobs, eg. Forte hunter (rank 10 hunter), huntech (rank 10 hunter, rank 5 force), rangtech (rank 10 ranger, 5 force) pageaon* or something... (rank 5 in force, hunter, and ranger), and 2 others, new outfits, and other things too, go to pso-world.com for the complete list.

 

I can't wait for this update, I have played for a week and now i am just shy of 40 at 39 and rank 10 hunter, i plan on going force next so i can switch between forte hunter and , basically the Humar from PSO, huntecher.

 

Aslo i have learned of the ups and downs to being cast or beast... yeah sure they get an amazing technique beast= beast mode, and cast = SUV; however, they can only use certain A class and even less or no S class weapons, while Humans and Newmans can. I am a beast, and i can't really use any S calss and barely any A class that blows... So after i get this char ready for the update, i am starting another char, a newman so i can use all weapons... not sure about it though, i might say F it, and go with one char, because i am still able to use the strongest Axe in teh game so i might not have to start that second char. But i probably will anyways, just so i can have the joy of using A and S class weapons.

Edited December 7, 2006 by ATFSquirrel

[BydoEmpire]

I keep meaning to go back and try out the new areas, but I haven't touched PSU since the Wii came out. I'll probably give the new missions a run this weekend. I did one quick Moatoob mission the morning the update came out, and it was pretty cool.

[ATFSquirrel]

the new areas are pretty nice, except for one of the new creatures on them, they use a spell, megid, it has a certain % chance to kill instantly (one hit KO) its very annoying... and then theres also these things called mazura's i believe and they are like the anti hunter/ranger creature, they are a swarm of like 5 bees, and they are SO hard for hunters and rangers (maybe) to hit, but forces don't have any trouble dropping them, ty to all forces that play with me during this portion!

Edited December 8, 2006 by ATFSquirrel

[moycon]

I've never been a fan of this series, that is to say I've never played even one in the series....yet.

anyways. If I was a fan, I'd be excited by this news:

 

December 8, 2006 - Beginning today, Sega plans to offer weekly updates through the holidays for Phantasy Star Universe. The first update is now available and contains an impressive list of additions. The update, which is free to all subscribers, adds seven new Guardian classes, a plethora of new weapons and even holiday decorations. Hunters can also track down special Christmas Rappies in the mission quests. Sounds like there's a war on Christmas Rappies. Go get 'em, tiger!

 

If you've been playing so much PSU that your character has hit the level cap, fear not. Today, that cap is increased to 60 with Photon abilities and Technics now capable of reaching level 30. You'll need the higher levels as ten new S Rank quests are being opened up.

 

Those who enjoy playing alone can tackle the first in a new series of offline Guardian missions. The first mission, The Masked Girl, is available from the Guardian HQ following download of the content update. Though this is an offline mission, you still need a subscription to complete the download.

[ATFSquirrel]

I have played through the weekend and received the update. The new classes are combonations of the three original, hunter, ranger, and force, they are put each way, hunter+ranger=something, and ranger+hunter=the opposite, for those of you who like guns more, but also love close combate there is the ranger/hunter combo, and for those of you who like close combat more than ranged there is the hunter/ranger combo, same goes for all classes except one, it is a colonation of all three classes, you can use all three sets of weapons. So there is a very good variety of classes out there now.

 

There also was an item update along with this, that consists of A class weapons (90k each...), new techniques for them (10k each...), new room decors, and room setups, and a wider variety of traps. They also made season/holliday appropriate items/enimies, e.g. the Rappy Noel, rare drop = a christmas tree. Personally I can't wait for the Rappy O' Lantern, lol, I love Halloween. There was also new clothes out too, a few for each place and some places recieved some inventory from other planets, i did not see an updated area for hairstyles though . There were new SUV's, but not Beast Forms, come on plzzzzzz, i want more diversity for the beast not just; attack, defensive, evasion, or speed... lets get something going here plz .

 

I have not noticed any S class missions, except for one, i believe its on the Gardian Colony (linear line). I heard however of new missions all over the place, but never found any. There is supposedly a new dragon besides De Ragan, it is a similar name, but he has two heads fire and ice (like in the Story Mode). I have yet to fight him, or find a way to get to that mission.

 

I was hopping for some affordable items, like some C/B rank axes, claws, twin swords, gernade launchers, etc. but no, there were only Rank A.. so for those of us who had just bought all new items for are lvl 40 char, now have to save 100k just for a new weapon and skill... all rank A's cost at least 90k and the new weapon skills are 10k... i am sorry i didn't buy the game when it first came out, grinded my char to 50 and had a month to save 1.5 mil! I am sorry i could only reach lvl 43 in 2 weeks okay, i am sorry i didn't have time to make 1.5 mil after i just bought new everthing so i could run in parties at my lvl, but i had to. Normally before you get invited they check your status, weapons, and armor... if you have C rank stuff at lvl 40 your not gonna make it, so i bought the best i could at the time (not the BEST), just what i could afford. So i would like to see some new weapons at lower classes for the ppl that are just starting out. That is all i have goodbye.

[MCHufnagel]

Those who enjoy playing alone can tackle the first in a new series of offline Guardian missions. The first mission, The Masked Girl, is available from the Guardian HQ following download of the content update. Though this is an offline mission, you still need a subscription to complete the download.

If they are offering new offline missions; then I'll just wait to see if they come up with a Plus edition, like they did with PSO 1&2.

[ATFSquirrel]

Okay its been a bit since i last posted, so there are a lot of new S missons out there, and there is another big update coming out on the 12th of Jan, more cloths, S rank weapons, higher level cap, and more S rank missions and others as well, there is more to the update and maybe less in certain areas, who knows with Sega. They have added a new section for Missions as well, they are in the Gaurdians HQ on the 5th floor, they are more or less like offline missions, but online, these only reason i do them is for the diff drops, like the Kabara product boards and items. They are well put together missions, but you need to take some Star Atomizers with you, cuz your team doesn't heal them selves just like offline >, thats the only thing i don't like, its harder for non-techer classes, cuz we don't have Resta capabilties. Other than that not much, but it is updated every thursday.