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"A Gamer" is a fool

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 34 / 44
Date: December 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The x-box version only has one possible edge over the GC version, and that will be the space of the disk. Other then that, the games will be at a dead heat. Graphicly, the systems can match. Dont let the numbers fool you, the Gamecubes gekko is a different type of CPU, which benchmarks equal or even higher then the X-boxes. As for the broadband, thats an achiles heel. The Gamecube can use it as well as the traditional 56k modem, but if you dont have a broadband connection, your x-box modem is useless.

Dont even get me started on the controllers, just... dont. The x-box controller will never be superior to any other controller in anything besides possibly wieght, size, and shamelessly large logo

Why? WHY? It is soo good!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 31
Date: June 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I first played PSO way back when in the golden days of the Dreamcast. I was hooked after 2 minutes of play! Here I am, some 500 hours and Version 2 later (hey, I DO have a social life, but PSO almost claimed it) and I find myself ignoring it just because I know if I pick up the controller, even for a minute, I can say farewell to the rest of my day! With a wide range of equipment and various special abilities as well as extremely rare items and treats for the virtual pet like Mag, treasure hunting in RPGs has never been so exciting! This game is long, challenging, easy to play, and addictive. All of these are what RPG makers strive to acheive, and Sonic Team has finally done it! The game is nearly flawless, and with gorgeous graphics that were so good it took a year for me to find something comparable, how can anyone possibly go wrong with any Phantasy Star Online version for any system! Oh, did I mention players can join up with other players online to fight harder battles and test their skills using a wide variety of specialized multiplayer challenges like Deathmatch and Soccer? This is a MUST HAVE for RPG fans and anyone with a Dreamcast, Gamecube or XBox! I bought a new system just so I could have the next version! Buy it. Period.

Great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: March 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When the Dreamcast first hit the shelves, many of us stared longingly for several moments at that phone jack on the back of the system. It took time, but that little port has finally seen action via the Web browser, "Chu Chu Rocket," "Quake 3," "Starlancer," and Visual Concepts' 2001 sports titles. The capstone to Sega's initial online multiplayer lineup, however, is a little SonicTeam gem called "Phantasy Star Online."

Although it incorporates many elements from the "Phantasy Star" series, "PSO" is a side story at best. The events in the game take place approximately 1,000 years after the end of "Phantasy Star 2." Seven years ago, the interstellar transport ship Pioneer 1 landed on the planet of Ragol to begin colonization. Pioneer 2 arrives to bring more colonists to the settlement, but as communication is established between Pioneer 2 and the planet's surface, a huge explosion rocks Ragol. The Central Dome of the colony is ground zero. Taking the role of an adventurer from Pioneer 2, your job is to figure out what happened on Ragol that fateful day. This premise is simply an excuse for "PSO" to exist; you don't get much more narrative than that.

Luckily, the lack of story doesn't detract from the fun of the game. Much as in "Diablo," Gameplay consists of heading into mazelike environments, clearing areas of numerous monsters, snatching up any items they may drop, and selling said items for cash back in town. As you gain experience from kills, you become stronger, progress further, and find better weapons and armor. Eventually, you can defeat the boss of the area and move on to the next area.

"PSO" differs from "Diablo" in that the game is fully 3D, with the perspective being third-person over-the-shoulder. The basic gameplay is solid, outside of some occasional camera troubles, although the battle system is a bit simplistic. Fighting boils down to "point and shoot." Strategy comes into play only when attackers swarm over your character in the higher difficulty levels. Because of this, the game can become repetitive, particularly when a character is powerful enough to make it through an area, but not quite strong enough to take on the area boss. Leveling up is tedious, but can be made relatively painless if you have online teammates with whom you enjoy playing.

You create characters by choosing one of nine character types, and then customizing the appearance of your selection to suit your taste. A variety of heads, faces, colors, and outfits are available for each type, and a proportion editor lets you use a sliding scale to change the height and weight as you please. Characters can be used exclusively online, exclusively off-line, or in a combination of both.

Of course, the heart of the game is the online multiplay, and "PSO" excels in this area. When you log on, you find yourself in a lobby area, which serves as both a chat lounge and a gateway to the actual game. From the lobby you can link up with up to three other players and jump into a quest. "PSO" uses an innovative Symbol Chat system that lets you communicate with player-designed face icons. You can also construct chat sentences from preset phrase menus. Any phrase you chose from a preset menu will automatically be translated for the other players. Japanese players will see your message in Japanese; French players will see it in French. In practice, most communication is done through old-fashioned typing, but Sega's bold attempt to break down language barriers is worthy of note.

Lag is almost non-existent. Where it does crop up, the game hides it exceedingly well. The most prominent display of lag is a delay in picking up an item or a teammate slashing at thin air but still hitting an enemy. This does not affect gameplay, and not once was lag anything more than an occasionally amusing quirk throughout the 60 or so hours I spent online with "PSO."

Indeed, the online play is so smooth that sometimes it doesn't feel like the game is being played online. The environments you hack, blast, and cast your way through are packed with gorgeous detail. The Forest where you begin the quest is one of the most visually stunning pieces of work on a console to date. Animation is excellent, and the Forest's dragon boss gives the impression of a truly fearsome creature. Yet somehow SonicTeam managed to make all of this run buttery smooth for four players on 56-Kbps modems.

Sound is less stellar than are graphics. While the music is excellent, incorporating some of the old "Phantasy Star" themes into new compositions, sound effects tend to fall flat. Granted, there can only be so much variety in sword slashes and bullet hits, but more distinct sounds would have been nice. Additionally, a number of monster sounds are taken from existing Dreamcast sound libraries. They're fine sounds for monsters to make, but it did seem a bit odd to hear the Poison Lilies laugh at me with the voice of the first boss from "House of the Dead 2."

If you are looking for an online RPG in the same vein as "Ultima Online" or "EverQuest," or if you are a "Phantasy Star" fan expecting an in-depth continuation of the classic RPG saga, then you will be sorely disappointed. "PSO" is not massively multiplayer, and the story is scant, handed out in tiny parcels in the form of a breadcrumb trail of data storage devices. Sharp-eyed "Phantasy Star" veterans will spot a number of connections and references to the previous games, though.

None of the aforementioned shortcomings ruin the game by any means. "PSO" is an attempt to move console gaming further into the realm of online play, and it has succeeded in what it was designed to do. In the process, SonicTeam created an undeniably addictive game in the great tradition of multiplayer dungeon crawling. "Gauntlet" and "Diablo" fans will feel right at home, and anyone who has a craving for hacking up Locustas with a few friends will undoubtedly find a few dozen hours of enjoyment in "Phantasy Star Online." This title is a solid gaming experience, a tremendous technical feat that overcomes the limitations of a dial-up connection, and a welcome return to a Sega franchise that has been gathering dust for far too long.

Yet another reason to buy a GameCube

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: December 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Hunting down Game Cube's only online title may be a chore that some people may not be interested in, while hunting down the broadband adapter is even worse... thankfully I found both, and had a credit card handy that day, and boy am I glad I did.
I was a fan of he Dreamcast original, and so when Episode 1&2 was announced for GameCube I was very happy. Regardless of what anybody has said about graphical enhancements in the past I cannot stress enough that there has been drastic enhancements to the graphics, to the camera, and best of all to the controller sensitivity, defending you character is so much easier because the game is a lot more responsive than its previous incarnations.
There are more character types to choose from, new strengths, new weaknesses, a few new monsters, etc, and it is plenty fun on its own without going online.
Sega also included the option for four-player action offline, which is also a blast.
There is one complaint I have for this game, and only one, the lack of a keyboard, or headset for communication. Despite the addition of hotkeys, conversation online is a big pain because typing through the control pad is too slow, and by the time I finish my sentence my comrades have already left the lobby. Nintendo needs to release a keyboard for the GameCube, even if it's only for PSO.
Be aware that this game is not out of print, its just that demand is extremely high, and during the next few months it may be difficult to find, but not impossible. Some websites are reporting that the product is discontinued, but this is not the case. The game is a lot of fun, and if you don't mind doing a little hunting for it it's well worth the price of admission. Hopefully this means Nintendo will get its act together with online games and start getting serious about an online plan.

Surprisingly addictive.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 25
Date: November 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Phantasy Star Online is one of the most addictive games I have ever played. Not only is PSO well planned and thought out, but it offers more modes of play than the original Dreamcast release.

I was very pleased to find that there are now four modes of play with PSO. There is Single player, Multiplayer Co-op, Multiplayer Challenge, and Multiplayer Online.

In single player, you can take jobs and progress through an actual story. The story is set after an apocalyptic event. You are a hunter, who travels to the planet's surface on missions. As your missions progress, you learn more about what happened to the planet. As time progresses, you become stronger, and can learn more skills. Single player mode offers the most interaction with Non-Player Characters (NPCs).

There are only slight differences between the multiplayer modes. Multiplayer Online and Multiplayer Co-op are the exact same. You go out and fight on the planet's surface, for no other reason, than to gain levels. This may not seem like much, but you have to play multiplayer to gain access to some items. Different character classes gain different items during standard play. For instance, a FOMARL (Male/Human/Force) will gain access to an Ice Saber +3, but must trade the saber with a HUMAR for a Draw Cane +1. You may also exchange money in Multiplayer modes(Except Challenge).

Challenge mode varies from the other Multiplayer modes. Challenge allows you to fight other players (online or offline) for the heck of it. You can even wager items or money in the events.

Game play takes some getting used to, but it is not difficult to learn. Movement is performed with the left analog stick. This is not the problem. The problem comes in planning ahead. In battle, you only have 6 actions that can be accessed quickly. You set these up in the customization menu. You can set attacks, items, or techniques in these slots. Often times, you'll find yourself fighting a slew of enemies, each weak to a different element, so you will equip yourself with all 3 elemental attacks. Yet, when you have more useful techniques, like raising your attack power, you quickly find yourself in need of a quick fix. PSO has no pause feature, so as soon as you hit start, you need to make sure you are moving around, while using the right analog stick to navigate through menus. This can be cumbersome for those who are not accustomed to the Mouse and Keyboard play method or have trouble multitasking. The trouble with being in the menu screen, is that you can not realign your sight. You must rely on your ability to maneuver blindly. Once you are out of the menu screen, you can use the L trigger to realign your field of vision.

I can not say I was completely impressed with the PSO's environments. They seem a little lacking. Forests are just open fields surrounded by trees. This fails to provide an accurate feeling of actually being hunted or hunting the beasts that roam the land. The creature roster is rather impressive and imaginative. Designs range from small chicken like animals to huge ogres and worse. Sonic Team really had their work cut out for them.

Character growth is presented rather well in PSO. Instead of just leveling every time you kill something, like in Final Fantasy and most other RPGs, it takes hours before you even start to grow. The downside of this is that it takes forever to learn new techniques (which is necessary if you play as a Force user). The upside is that the game remains fun and does not become too easy too quickly. Not only does your character grow, but you also have a creature that travels with you called a MAG. MAGs can be equipped. Once equipped, a MAG will increase your stats. You need to feed them items every so often. Feeding your MAG regularly will cause it to gain levels. The more levels it gains, the stronger of an ally it will be. Feeding MAGs can be anything from recovery items to revival items. MAGs also allow your character to perform overdrive attacks. The manner in which you raise your MAG, determines what overdrives your MAG will have.

PSO has an excellent character creation system. First you choose what type you want your character to be (Hunter, Ranger or Force). Then you choose the gender and species. Once this is done, you can begin to design your character. Your character is customizable in the following areas: face, hair, skin tone, outfit, and proportion. Proportioning means that you select how tall/short and skinny/fat your character will be. Androids are the only let down. With Androids, you can only choose from a few preset body and head combinations. Androids also can not use techniques, which comes as a disadvantage. But they do get interesting weapons, such as chainsaws and reapers.

PSO wasn't entirely a great game. I was disappointed that you could not go on quests in multiplayer modes. It was also a draw back that characters are hard to level. For beginners to the RPG world, this can be very frustrating.

Overall, I found PSO to be a great game. It did not require an entire Memory Card like most Game Cube games. Despite the minor problems with this title, I would give it a 9.9. I highly recommend this to other Game Cube owners. Online or Offline, this is a must own.

Finally a good RPG!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 30
Date: December 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Nintendo needed some more RPGs ever since Squaresoft went to Playstation. I like RPGs and I now have to rely on Game Boy Advance and Zelda games. If you love RPGs too and/or have a Dreamcast. I reccommend this game. It is non-stop action and is the first online game for Nintendo. The only thing different compared to the Dreamcast version might be the graphics and controls. They will be a little better on the Gamecube. Don't listen to some people who say the Xbox version is better. The controls are harder to master and the controller itself is big and clunky. (It itself is almost the size of a Gamecube). And the graphics would be so close you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

PSO Highlights

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: October 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Most people tell you about how great this game is and never tell you what it really is about. You are a hunter who fights and destroys monsters bosses and such. You pick from 3 classes in which 4 different character are inlike this:

Hunter
1. Hunewearl
2. Humar
3. Hucast
4. Hucaseal

Ranger
1. Racaseal
2. Ramarl
3. Racast
4. Ramar

Force
1. Fonewm
2. Fomarl
3. Fonewearl
4. Fomar

The different classes you chose from vary as the hunters are close combat users, the rangers are gun weilders, and the Forces are the magic users. When you select the class and character you want you go into even more depth of what your character does and looks like. You get to select your name, Hair color, Hair Style, Outfit, Height, and Weight. This makes each character different and even more cooler. This game can be played online and offline by yourself or with 3 other buddies. Go and buy it and use all your free time into having fun and you may even see me online.

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 And 2:the best game ever!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Some of you may remember the Phantasy Star games on Sega Genisis as a great series of RPG well heads up cause Phantasy Star is back but now it's completly different but don't worry change is a good thing.

Gameplay: 10/10
One of the coolest things about this game is the character creation you can pick out of 3 races Humans Newmans and Androids and from 3 character styles you can literally have you and 20 people online as the same class and with all the apperence options no one will look identical.

Hunters:Who are swordsmen/ women by nature and can use every sort of sword sabers partisans daggers katanas sicles double sided swords (Darth Maul style) even use two swords at once but can also handle guns handguns mechguns but their strength and selection is limited and some technquies (magc spells aka techs) but the strength of these spells are limited to levels 15 or 20 when the ultimate level is 30.

Rangers:These are your marksmen/ women they can use every kind of gun handguns mechguns shotguns bazookas rifles imaginable and some swords sabers and a few double sided swords but their strength and selection is limited and techs but their strength of these spells are also limited to either level 15 or 20

Forces:Forces are wizards they excel in using techs and can really tear up when they get their techs stronger they can get them all the way to the max tech level of 30 they use canes and staffs wands spellbooks and other wizard equipment but they can also use a few guns handguns and certain rifles and swords sabers and double sided swords but are very weak in this area so your much better off going off wizard style.

So between all these occupations and races there are 12 classes all of which are unique and have advantages and disadvantages over each other such as having more defence or attacking power than another class also techs max level is affected by the class you choose

Androids are robots basicly they can't use techs at all but can see traps and set them to help them take on their enemies also because they are robotical they have a big strengh advantage

Humans are well humans (yes even in this futuristic world we humans still exsist) who are hunters or rangers they can only get the techs to level 15 but have highter defence and have better evasion rates

Newmans are genetically enhanced humans who are a combo of a Force and Humter anyway they are hunters and or forces can get the techs to level 20 unless they are a force then they have the potiental to get the techs to 30 and do big damage

Now after you have choosen your class you get to create their look from scratch hair style skin color height weight face paint job (if an android) everything!

Now on to the overall gameplay it is intense online you can interact with thousands of people all over the world and go into the world of Ragol and explore,chat,and fight! The fighting is great you find yourself fighting hundreds of different enemies and you along with some buds will have the time of your life fighting off the hoardes of evil the gameplay style is action rpg like Guantlet or Baldurs Gate only a lot more intense there are 4 different difficulties Normal Hard Very Hard and Ultimate you can find thousands of items and play through both Episode 1 (formally version 1 and 2 on Dreamcast) and 2 (a completly new adventure with amped difficulty) and play dozens of online quests some are your run of the mill monster elimination quests and fetch quests but some are really cool making a movie particapating with the enemy monsters in festival along with special holiday specific that Sonic Team the creators of Phantasy Star download on the servers depending on the time of year also there are some quests online that add a lot to the story and a upcoming one that tells plot info to the upcoming sequel Phantasy Star Online Episode 3 and level to the ultmate level of 200 also you can play 3 different modes Normal,Challange, and Battle

Challenge:You play through the games levels with a preselected level and equipment and try to survive

Battle:Should you get tired of the first 2 modes you can challenge your freinds to a battle and fight them to your hearts content.

If you don't feel like or are unable to get online there is always the offline mode which have a bunch of quests and a great story also the offline mode has multiplayer options so you and your freinds can enjoy the game in the same room.

Story 10/10
The story is great and involving and has several side quests
It begins when the people of a planet called Coral discover that there planet will soon be destroyed so they send probes into space to find a hostpitable planet they found one called Ragol they then built a giant spaceship called Pioneer 1 and got a few thousand people to get the planet ready and sent it off Pioneer 2 made it to Ragol with everyone that remained on Coral aboard but just as it opens communication with Pioneer 1 a huge explsion shakes the planet and contact with Pioneer 1 is lost thats where you come in you are to investigate the planet and find out what happened.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics in this game are amazing the detail given to your character is great and every indvidual level is beatiful espcially in Episode 2 waterfalls lava pits all come together to make a great game environment.

Length: 10/10
This game is huge you'll spend hundreds of hours chating leveling and fighting it is truly one of the most expansive games out there

Replay Value: 10/10
Simply put you'll be putting in this in for years to come

Bottom Line: 10/10
With hundreds of monsters 12 character classes 4 difficulties 3 Ocupations 2 Episodes equals 1 perfect game
Phantsy Star Online Epsiode 1 And 2 is comparable to the best RPGs out there and second to none

the essential gamecube online game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: June 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

finally nintendo has got its online functions up and running and what a game to launch it
phantasy star online episode 1&2... this game is a non stop rpg people from all over the world play day in and day out its that addictive. u take the role of either a FOmar HUcaseal RAmar
and a whol host of other characters with there own strengths and weakneeses this game is a new direction from the previus incarnations of the game on the dreamcast and i must say if you are a fan this is a must if youre a newbie to online games then this will b a early learning cerve for you
well done nintendo and well done sega

PHANTASY STAR OFF-LINE BUGS

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: November 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I had this game in hand at 10:00 A.M. on October 30th, and immediately gathered two friends to play "off-line" with. There aren't too many off-line reviews as of now, so let this be one of the first.
We played through all of Ep. 1 and part of Ep. 2 within two days. First, there are graphical errors during every level, particularly the forest area. For example, the scenery will completely disappear if you aren't close enough (as will your companions) and so you have no idea where your pals are unless you look at a map. That's a small problem. My biggest complaint is the fact that there is NO way to save your game to the best of my knowledge. So, when someone wants to quit or has to leave the game for whateveer reason, everyone has to quit and lose the game. We're tired of having to play through every level eighty-thousand times just to get to a new place. Well, this may sound like a bad review, but don't get me wrong. I've been waiting for this game for ages, being a PSO Dreamcast vetran, and I still say that it was well worth the wait. It's the best multiplayer game, off-line or on-line and always will be in my opnion. So, if you're trying to decide whether to purchase it or not, I say go ahead and buy it, because whether you intend to go on-line or off-line, you'll be addicted for ages to come.

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