Latest News and Updates

According to the official website, the Japanese release date for Phantasy Star Universe (PC & PS2) has been changed from March 30, 2006 to just "2006." The statement on the website says that the game is being delayed so more time can be spent polishing the game and improving the stability of the online network. Sonic Team apologizes for the delay and understands the frustration of the fans.

Credit goes to EspioKaos for spotting this news. You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

The official Phantasy Star Universe site was updated on Friday with new information about Partner Machinery and the "My Room" feature. In the "My Room" section, we learn there will be a dressing room, shared bank, decorations, and video phone. Also, it gives us some additional information about Partner Machinery. This information includes details about Item Synthesis and Partner Machinery Evolution. Scroll down to read more about each of these topics. Also, you can click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the images.


Raising Your Partner Machinery:


By giving your Partner Machinery weapons and items, it will transform into various forms. As your Partner Machinery transforms, it will be able to create better and more useful items. The items it produces can also change depending on how it was raised. Once the Partner Machinery has transformed into its humanoid form, it will present you with its partner card. You will now be able to summon your Partner Machinery and take it with you into battle.

Item Synthesis:


As you progress through Story Mode, you will eventually receive a "synthesis kit." This will allow your Partner Machinery to combine and create new items for you. The items your Partner Machinery is best at making will change as it evolves. However, it is possible for item synthesis to fail, which may give undesirable results. Also, you will be able to use item synthesis in Network Mode. You will need to do some experimentation since there will be a few minute differences.

Video Phone:


In your room, you will be able to find an information and intelligence terminal called the "Photon Wave Communications Device." It is more commonly referred to as a "video phone." In Story Mode, you can use the video phone to read mail from the Guardians and receive information on free missions. For Network Mode, it is used to transport other players' rooms, search for shops, and invite others to your room.

Dressing Room:


You will be able to change your character's clothes by either visiting the clothing shop within the cities or the dressing area within your own room. Only the clothes that you've purchased in shops will be available in your dressing room. You can change your character's clothing in all modes of gameplay. However, you will have to complete a certain portion of the story before you have access to this feature in Story Mode.

Decorating Your Room:


When you first get your room, it will look fairly generic. However, you will soon be able to customize your room by placing various items around it. In Story Mode, Ethan's room only has three item spaces. The room you have in Network Mode will have more spaces available. Additionaly, if you possess a "reform ticket" in Network Mode, you'll be able to change the design of your room.

Shared Bank:


In Phantasy Star Universe, you can have up to four different characters on a single online account. Each character will receive their own room and Partner Machinery. In your room, there is something called a "linked storage box" which allows different characters from the same account to share and exchange items that are deposited into it.

Credit goes to lostinseganet for finding the article, VioletSkye for the images, and EspioKaos for the translations. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

It appears that Play-Asia.com is offering the Sega Direct Exclusive Deluxe bundle on their website for $109. This bundle will include the following: Phantasy Star Universe (PS2 version), a T-Shirt, an artwork book, a soundtrack CD, and a Pete phonestrap. Previously this bundle was only available to people living in Japan. Even though the price may seem to be rather high, this is probably your best chance to get the bundle's extras. Credit goes to Nash for spotting this pre-order.

Ancient writes, "In the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the Quarter Man (rumor) section of the magazine is quoted as saying:

Roughly 250 hours - that's how much time The Q has logged on all the different versions of Phantasy Star Online. So yeah, you could say that I'm a tad bit excited for this summer's full-fledged sequel, Phantasy Star Universe. And now it seems that PS2 owners won't be the only ones losing their social life to this off-and-online role-playing game, as PSU will also arrive on the Xbox 360. Oh, one more thing: If you start playing the game on Sony's console, you will be able to transfer your online character - thanks to all stats and items being saved on Sega's servers - to the Xbox 360 version (which will hit a few months after the PS2 installment).

True, the Q is devoted to rumors and deep inside scoops. But I cant remember the last time he was wrong about things. I suppose you could hold off the celebratory parades untill Sega officially announces it, but I think the chances are looking very favorable now."

Gametrailers.com has posted a new 11 minute high-quality trailer for Phantasy Star Universe. PSO-World.com is mirroring it for your convienence. You can download it here (88.8 MB MOV). In this video, we see three segments. These segments contain many previously never-before-seen scenes. The first segement shows several scenes while the game's opening music plays. After that is a "World of" segment. This section gives a decent overview of the Graal Star System. The final segment is named "Character Of." It shows several scenes related to the offline Story Mode. If you are trying to avoid offline Story spoilers, you may want to avoid downloading this video. However, the spoilers are not too excessive. Overall, this is an excellent trailers and is definitely worth watching if you are thinking of buying Phantasy Star Universe.

Credit goes to Nash for spotting this trailer. You can discuss this trailer in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Earlier today, it was announced that the North American/European Blue Burst servers are currently being updated with two new quests. The first one is an Episode I female-only quest - probably related to Valentine's Day. The other quest is Dream Messenger. You'll be able to play it by selecting it from the Event section at the Hunters Guild. Gallon's Shop is also being updated for the Valentine's Day Event. Speaking of Valentines Day, the lobbies have been updated too! The lobby decorations will remain up until February 14. However, the quests will continue until February 23. Finally, the server software is being updated to fix a number of issues. These include blocks crashing due to illegal parameters, quest bugs, and client termination issues. ClumsyOrchid noted that some connection issues may arise as the reslt of the server update.

Gamefront.de posted new information about the "My Room" feature in Phantasy Star Universe. Since the article was in German, Rena-ko was kind enough to provide the following translation:

"Famitsu released further information about the RPG PSU in their latest issue. The article focuses on "My Room." Every online-gamer has an own room, in which s/he can invite up to six friends. The room is only accessible online and is customizable. Planned designs include 'Christmas', 'Halloween' and 'Soccer Stadium'. In a seperate dressing room one can change clothes. One can deposit items in a little depot, compareable to the bank in PSO, which all players have access to."

Based on this information, we learn that your room in Online Mode will be customizable. There is also a mention of having a player bank. It is unknown whether you will be able to share it with other characters or people you invite into your room.

You can expect to read more about these "My Room" features when the Famitsu scans are released. Credit goes to LoveJuice for letting us know about this article. Visit our Phantasy Star Universe forum to discuss this news.

In today's official site update, 10 new images were added to the screenshots portion of the website. These screenshots show what online life will be like in the lobby. As shown in previous updates, each lobby will be a multi-tiered structure capable of holding up to 100 people. You'll be also be able to buy supplies and weapons. We get a better idea of what the structure of the lobby will be liked based on these screenshots. To view the screenshots, scroll down. Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the images.


Screenshots:






In these screenshots, we see two themed lobbies set on the Guardian Colony and Moatoob. Also, we see a wide variety of user-created characters talking and shopping. Another prominent feature of these screenshots is the use of Cut-In-Chat. We see Sonic (the blue-haired Human) expressing a wide range emotions. Also, it seems that multiple Cut-In-Chat windows can be on screen at the same time. The final two screenshots show two groups utilizing the "My Room" feature. In one of the images, you can see a flower pot. Perhaps this is a decoration that you can buy? The other screenshot features a group enjoying a conversation while a Partner Machinery looks on.

Credit goes to lostinseganet for spotting this update. Nash, Kano-Okami, and VioletSkye provided the images. If you would like to see screenshots from previous site updates, be sure to visit our Screenshot Gallery. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Famitsu.com put an a new article today related to Extra Mode. While most of the material in the article has been covered in previous updates, we do learn one important new detail. You will not be able to use your Extra Mode character online. Your Online and Extra Mode characters will be seperate. This announcement should not come as a major surprise since we already knew that Online Mode characters will be saved on the server. It appears Sonic Team created this mode to cater to people that may not have access to Online Gameplay. Also, this will help make Online Mode more secure since you will not be able to alter your character offline and go online (like Blue Burst). Credit goes to EspioKaos for translating the article. You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.