Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II

Written by Charlie Sinhaseni on 12/7/2002 for GC  

Quite a few years ago SEGA made an RPG named Phantasy Star for their Genesis console. I can’t remember much about it but I do remember something about a hot chick with horns and something about an epic storyline. The game was apparently successful enough to spawn a few sequels that by my recollection, were actually quite good. A decade or so passed until SEGA finally decided to resurrect their seemingly defunct series and thus Phantasy Star appeared on the Dreamcast. There was a twist though, the game would be far more epic than the previous entries, so epic that it could only be contained in the online realm. Interestingly enough the game was successful despite the unpopularity of the Dreamcast console and thus a sequel was born. A year or so has passed and the game has found a home a next generation console. Now that it’s actually on a system that sells, the world will be able to discover what so many people already know, that Phantasy Star Online is in fact one of the most impressive and addictive titles to hit the scene in quite some time.

Forget everything you know about the Dreamcast endeavor because those days of instability and shakiness are long gone. Let’s say this as bluntly as possible, Phantasy Star Online is more addictive than crack. If you thought EverCrack was addicting then you obviously haven’t played Phantasy Crack Online. Your sessions will usually start out as “hey let’s just play for a while to kill some time” and will evolve into “dammit, I need to level up just one more time! I’m so close!” Six hours later and you’ll be wondering to yourself exactly where your day went.

Much of the game remains unchanged with the main change coming in the controller layout. You still have three primary buttons, two attacks and the communication button. Communicating is quite difficult as there has yet to be a keyboard released for the GC (if you remember the Dreamcast had a couple), this means that you have to input each and every single character manually. It’s kind of annoying, I’ve heard that the Japanese have a keyboard but I’m not certain if it’ll work on American systems.

As stated you have the two attacks, one is a quick attack while the other is a more focused attack. When you begin you select your character class (which basically boils down to easy, medium and hard difficulty). The easy class features warriors proficient in close quarters, medium has rangers that fire projectiles while the hardest features wizards. Obviously beginners shouldn’t jump into the game with the third class as they will have their proverbial asses handed to them.
In order to play you’ll have to obtain a hunter’s license from either the in-game browser or by going to Sega.com/PSO_GCN. The current charge is $8.95/month with the first month of play for free (Note that you will need a credit card to sign up, sorry kids). You’ll also have to purchase either the broadband adaptor or dial-up adaptor from any local retailer. It’s only about $15 but it’s pretty costly considering that this is the only game that currently supports it at the moment.

After signing up you’ll be able to venture off in to the game world. Online play is where it’s at as it successfully mimics the Dreamcast game, except there are far more people online. I noticed that the network code was far more stabilized and thus, the game was much more fun.

Since this includes Episodes I and II, it’s like getting double the action. The single-player mode still exists but new to this game is a single-console multi-player mode. Up to four players can go at it on one system but the end result isn’t as entertaining as the online aspect.

This is basically a direct port so the visuals are really starting to show their age. Enemies popping up from thin air, sparsely decorated landscapes and washed-out textures are the order of the day here. However, they’re not too detracting and they still hold up quite well for a game that is a few years old. Although the game supports progressive scan, I wouldn’t use it as a showpiece.

The sounds are still the same, the music still remains and all of the lines of text are read as opposed to being spoken. It would have been nice had they managed to include a headset communicator of some sorts, it would have expanded the experience immensely.

If you’re on the fence when it comes to purchasing this game consider your dedication to it. It’s not the type of game where you can just play it in small sessions, it’s very addictive and will drawn you in for hours at a time. The commitment is even larger when you realize that you have to pay a monthly fee just to keep your character active, couple in the purchase of the online adaptor and you have some pretty hefty costs. However, if online RPGs are your bag than this should be a no-brainer. There are plenty of players online and plenty of new updates from the game’s developers. It’s an excellent title that will please vets and newcomers alike.