PDA

View Full Version : Review Thread



deso123
Dec 25, 2008, 10:18 PM
Write a review for PS0 if you have it and are currently playing it. Rate it a 1 out of 10 and don't go easy on it because it's a handheld. Rate it on playability and fun not just because it's a handheld game that isn't complete garbage or something of the sort. Try to base it off a wide audience not just a 'special' audience that you may fall under that would make this game extraordinarily good. Go! :O

Epically Leet
Dec 26, 2008, 04:16 AM
I don't get it. ''Try to base it off a wide audience not just a 'special' audience that you may fall under that would make this game extraordinarily good''? Wait, what?

deso123
Dec 26, 2008, 04:46 AM
You know like those people over at the PSP area right after the demo came out they were all like omg it's like psu but also like pso cause they took out all the things that sucked but then when i played it i was like wait a minute it still sucks they lied to me!

Epically Leet
Dec 26, 2008, 04:54 AM
Lol

Opinionated. All reviews are. So you won't get far if they aren't going to be so. There's no such thing as facts when it comes to *good* games. Well made, sure, good? No, strictly a matter of taste.

Yeah yeah. The game is awesome, anyways.

Segya
Dec 26, 2008, 08:04 AM
I miss mindless mobs following you blindly.
And switching weapons/using stuff that's not on the pallet takes forever.
Besides that it is pretty PSOish and I like it.

darkante
Dec 26, 2008, 08:29 AM
Itīs pretty much PSO handheld with more variety.
The music isnīt as interesting, but still not bad.

A faster palette switching would be appricatied, iīm thinking of whoever wants to use a force spell casting type would like that.
I havenīt actually tried using forces yet in this, so it might be more forgiving.

Also, whoever made that 100 floor dungeon must been drunk.
It takes almost all day upon completition, and you canīt in any way turn off the game during that quest.
Because then you forfeit all the progress there.


Sorry if i went a little off topic last lines, but i feelt it had to be said.
All in all, i gladly give this game a 9/10.

I love PSO and PSU, and this game as well...gotta be pretty damned hard to squeeze everything in there unto the DS.

deso123
Dec 26, 2008, 10:41 AM
I think I'm gonna buy this. So far it seems to offer a lot even when compared to PSO. I mean 8 levels? Wow. Telepipes, Shots, MAGs, etc. The onl thing I don't like is the theme of the game. It's not as futuristic but I think I can live with that. Sometimes change is good I guess. Sega just won 50 bucks again. boop boop.

DemonMike
Dec 26, 2008, 04:37 PM
I give it an 8.

Gameplay wise its amazing, plenty to do, same addictive elements that made PSO so great, but a few knacks with the controls. Although its unfair to blame this on PSZ, the lack of buttons kinda hampered my experience. The fact I cant do a quick select of weapons whilst moving just makes me remember how well PSO was, although they did the best they could for this, the fact there was no shortcut for Techs makes things harder, although you could say that makes the game a bit more strategic. Nevertheless, I miss it.

The music was quite average, theres a few annoying tunes, but the rest is average bordering good. Best tune so far is clearly part 2 of the last area (cant recall the name). The inclusion of some PSO sound effects felt great too.

And finally, online. I love it, played it a little but not too much, too busy offline grinding. But I do feel Sega concentrating on the lowest possible age rating ruined a little bit of it. Although they couldnt have a fully fledged interactive lobby like PSO, they could of made it into little chat rooms. I'm pretty sure they would of gotten away with communication between strangers if they upped the age rating and put a warning on the box, but ofcourse, its CERO rating is A, making this unallowed.

So yeah, 8 out of 10, maybe it should of been 9 out of 10..oh I'l just leave it as 8, already voted!

Zarode
Dec 26, 2008, 04:42 PM
It's good, not the best, but certainly has it's charm. 8/10


CBA to write a real review. Also, inb4DSsucksPSPbetterboy

the_importer_
Dec 26, 2008, 11:31 PM
Bad rating system, I have a better one:

-Above all RPGs
-Above PSO
-Below PSO
-Above PSU
-Below PSU
-Below all RPGs

DeathMachine
Dec 27, 2008, 12:36 AM
Shouldn't "Below all RPGs" come before "Above PSU"? :D

Immovable One
Dec 27, 2008, 12:49 AM
I consider this the PSO sequel we should've had but didn't (PSU blech!).

We get the return of changing BGM (with the addition of the new rare monster bgm), the addition of the dodge roll and the requirement to charge to perform photon arts (which makes them more of a tactical move rather than PSU's mindless spamming), the return of individually unique bosses that are more than just huge mobs with lots of hp, and surprisingly a story mode that's actually interesting.

My only complaints are the few options for character customizations. Plus it's still missing the classic Phantasy Star outfits I'm always dreaming they include in these games (I just wanna look like Wren, Lyla, or Rika for the love of god!)


And the interface is..... well it's almost perfect, but I think the top screen could've used some of its space for things like information of what's being targetted so that the bottom screen coud've more buttons for like.... extra hotkeys. It might not bother most of you, but I'm an interface design student so I kinda learned to make these things disturb me XD

Another thing that impressed me are the NPC AIs. They actually fight monsters in the distance, heal members with half their total HP, and chain their Photon Blast! Add to that the ability to assign tactics that affect their behavior. Why didn't you do this before!?

Overall, bravo!
We got a winner here Sega!
Now makes us Phantasy Star V!

Oh yeah, I'll give it a 9 out of 10 because of those few nitpicks.

the_importer_
Dec 27, 2008, 08:34 AM
Shouldn't "Below all RPGs" come before "Above PSU"? :D

My bad :P

Risingsun
Dec 27, 2008, 11:56 AM
I have a question. The only really similar games to this on the DS are the FF Crystal Chronicles games. You know both are loot focused 3-D multiplayer games with great graphics on the DS. So for those who played Ring of Fates, is it better than RoF? and do you think PS0 will be better than the upcoming crystal chronicles game Echoes of Time, why now also has an online mode?

Akaimizu
Dec 27, 2008, 01:13 PM
Well, considering that I liked Phantasy Star Online's combat better than I liked Ring of Fates, I'm already feeling this is better. It moves and controls better, plus you have the mag feeding back (though it seems to eat around 5 items at a time instead of the old 3).

I don't know. Somehow Ring of Fates didn't rub me the right way. Some of its combat seemed a bit cludgy in comparison to its Gamecube prequel, where it did well in others. I also felt it was a little strange to use abilities holding the R-trigger, while your character stands there while you try to use the stylus. For me, I think it's not a good idea to force a player to quickly switch between using two thumbs and using the stylus, in an action game. The style should be used for maybe puzzles, only, or where there is a break in the action (or the gameplay changes to a style only the stylus would be used for a while).

Back to PS(Mortal Kombat Fatality code)ø. The areas loaded at one time, are smaller. You do go between areas a lot in the game. However, it seems to eliminate the idea of jumping down 1 level to another. So while you do go between areas, it sort of affords a nice aspect of seeming like your level is one big sprawling area separated by gates (part due to art design and making openings look like they go somewhere). Though the levels are somewhat randomized, they do a pretty decent job of keeping each area look unique, making it much easier to remember where you've been. However, the size of one area can easily be large enough to put ranged weapons to good use. The overhead map functions quite well, and does a pretty good job of showing where everything is. Even though the draw distance is pretty close to the max distance of your view of the room. (For those familiar with PSO. Here's an example in PS Online where it wasn't. For instance, when you beat the first Dragon Boss in Forest and you had to run all around that cave to find the boss boxes that never drew in until you got close to them.) You have less of that here. However, big drop boxes that often appear when you defeat the enemies in an area, are shown on your map, when they come up.

So far, I can say it's an ambitious DS title that does feel like a followup on the PSO formula. The old Grinders are back the way they were. Simply use it, select the weapon, and boom it's +1. If you have stacks of that grinder, you can keep pressing the button on the weapon to use more of them. I'll say it's easily an 8/10 for the effort, so far. However, that's not my final answer. :)

parabolee
Dec 29, 2008, 09:24 AM
I gave it a 9. The only thing stopping it from being a ten is the flaws in the online play. It's too hard top get a game with friends (no method of communication outside a game), and too light on communication options when playing with strangers (the ability to stay in a group after a quest would be nice too).

There are a few other very minor flaws so far, but for the most part it is a serious contender for best game ever :-D

Hopefully they make improvements to the online for the English language release.

Risingsun
Dec 29, 2008, 04:03 PM
I gave it a 9. The only thing stopping it from being a ten is the flaws in the online play. It's too hard top get a game with friends (no method of communication outside a game), and too light on communication options when playing with strangers (the ability to stay in a group after a quest would be nice too).

There are a few other very minor flaws so far, but for the most part it is a serious contender for best game ever :-D

Hopefully they make improvements to the online for the English language release.
Call me crazy but it seems like a lot of people we expecting too much from the online portion for this DS game. I mean when you look at it from the perspective of a PSO fan, im sure its missing some key things that are sure to be disapointing. But if you look at it from the perspective of a DS owner, Im blown away by all that its doing. I can't think of many DS games that have done online better than PS0 has, (maybe mario kart). So i think its a bit lacking has a game in the online phantasy star games, but ridiculously full featured for a DS game.

parabolee
Dec 29, 2008, 04:42 PM
Call me crazy but it seems like a lot of people we expecting too much from the online portion for this DS game. I mean when you look at it from the perspective of a PSO fan, im sure its missing some key things that are sure to be disapointing. But if you look at it from the perspective of a DS owner, Im blown away by all that its doing. I can't think of many DS games that have done online better than PS0 has, (maybe mario kart). So i think its a big lacking has a game in the online phantasy star games, but ridiculously full featured for a DS game.

I hear you, and I would agree, but the amount of work that would have gone into what is missing compared to how much better it would have been...

For a DS game, the online is amazing. But the inability to communicate fully with strangers or a simple method to message online friends (especially since we can see that they are online), is such a HUGE "oh my god, so close" thing that is disappointments.

I guess I foolishly presumed that when we were told we were going to able to play with strangers that meant including the awesome pictochat functions.

However so far PS0 is my favourite handheld game of all time. Not surprising since PSO is my favourite game of all time.

Aeternus
Dec 29, 2008, 04:56 PM
I gave it a 9. The only thing stopping it from being a ten is the flaws in the online play. It's too hard top get a game with friends (no method of communication outside a game), and too light on communication options when playing with strangers (the ability to stay in a group after a quest would be nice too).

There are a few other very minor flaws so far, but for the most part it is a serious contender for best game ever :-D

Hopefully they make improvements to the online for the English language release.

Definitely NOT going to be any changes for the english version besides being in english of coarse. Best thing we can hope for is a 2nd DS version that streamlines what has been mentioned. I have yet to try online mode yet as I have been too busy leveling and playing through story mode, but I am disappointing to hear that you can't send messages to friends when they are online [as well as continue with your party after a quest, that one puzzles me] but being a ds game with limited server infrastructure holding the game together, I see how it would be a hard hurdle for developers. All things considering, there simply isn't another handheld game that completes with it's features for this sort of game, so i'm really hoping there will be another version eventually.

Shiroyu
Dec 29, 2008, 05:00 PM
The no-chatting-with-strangers thing is 100% Nintendo's fault; it's not Sega's fault it's not in the game, but if they were able to, they definitely could have. Hell, we should be lucky with what we have. As far as I know, this is really the ONLY game on the DS that allows such a thing.

Reviews should not take down a point because it doesn't allow "real" communication with strangers, because that's essentially the standard for games on Nintendo consoles now. If anything, they should raise a point because it offers at least some form of communication. <_<

Akaimizu
Dec 29, 2008, 05:07 PM
Agreed. Nintendo goes a long way to avoid any kind of possible derogatory comments from strangers on their systems. You have to use friend codes for any form of free communication. Since people will also pictochat offensive material, it's pretty normal that they would do such a thing. Lock strangers to only pre-programmed text. At least it's functional.

XoAmaterasuoX
Dec 30, 2008, 08:02 PM
My rating for PSZ is simply this. 10/10. This game is everything the next PSO sequal should have been(take a hike, PSU.)

The good:

The combat system is Awesome, and I love the targeting assist. If you don't know what I mean by that.. play a force.

The dodge roll is such a great and needed new tweak and is almost essential for survivng bosses.

Weapons! Lots of variety and Lots of fu**ing sweet PA's! I love it.

New levels. New(harder, more challenging) bosses, smarter enemies. This game is really PSO with the best aspects of PSU combined so well.. i think it caught mot of us off guard.

This game has brought the fans what they want: New content, with that same PSO Grind the shizaam out of it, Hunt down rare weapons feel that made PSO what it is. There is almost no complaints...

The not-so-good.

Customization of characters is a little on the skimpy side, but still, I like it a lot.

The not having a quick accessible way to cast and or change spells and pallette options was a minor let down, and sometimes it can result in death... but like i said.. its minor.

The God Damn Eternal tower and its Repetitiveness! ( Although the end was worth it!)

The online play with random people and all you can do is use preset chat words.... fail.

Basically.. this game needs a console port. Second look is a 9.5 But really.. it deserves a ten, that's what I voted.. and I'm sticking too it.
This is PSO Veteran from Day 1 HUNTER X, signing off after this review.. back to Grinding!!!

uo0v
Dec 30, 2008, 11:51 PM
Basically.. this game needs a console port. Second look is a 9.5 But really.. it deserves a ten, that's what I voted.. and I'm sticking too it.
This is PSO Veteran from Day 1 HUNTER X, signing off after this review.. back to Grinding!!!

I'd love to see a console port of psz happen, a TV Adapter for the DS would be awesome too.

I also voted a ten, this is a must have for anyone with a ds.

Moniker
Dec 31, 2008, 02:05 AM
I'm a staff writer on Friendcodes, so I should have a game review up there pretty soon. At least as soon as they officially announce its release in other regions.

jmanx
Jan 1, 2009, 05:32 AM
It has the mixtures of Different PS online series:
80% PSO
15% Originally being PS0
5% Being PSU

The lvls are all flat, but has more scenery in some cases. I give the game a 9/10 due to the flatness and not giving the select button a better use to bring up a quick tech / item menu used on the touch screen. But the great thing I really saw here is how much effort they put into the gameplay which is very nice.\

Now what I have seen here playing the game in Japanese, although I can't read, it seems that they integrated your character with the story very well, way better on how PSO did it. One reason I will be looking forward to the English release.

And I will state that this is truly the best Nintendo Wifi Game made out of all Nintendo games going from DS to wii.

Reason Why:
You can host or join friend games

You can join Your friend's game with other random people in it and still communicate with them and on top of that you can register them random people in you FC list INGAME so no need to log out and add each other FC.(It seems sonicteam found a gray area in Nintendo WFC rules.)

It alerts you when someone logs on or host if you are fighting, in the lobby, and can check whos on in guild. The best part is that they made it possible for you to go in the lobby which is similar playing story but your able to get alerts if someone is hosting and yet lvl at the same time, that was very smart. (sadly I don't know why it doesn't alert you on the wifi menu or if someone is trying to join while your hosting, that would have been nice.)

The random join is the best I've seen so far, cuz you can at least say things to people, no matter how gay it is. But who plays that anyways, I only played it once.(anyways the verdict is..... random sux dont play it like in all WFC games)

Now lets move to the best epic part about wifi. The picto chating. Very fun indeed, never get tired of it. Picto chating online with pso = win, but this is coming from a artist point of view, which in some cases other people wouldn't like it that much.

You have quite amount of quest on the list to choose which all of them requires some team work at times, some may be similar to TTF because a Boss come up after like the first 3 rooms. Yet another reason to look forward the English release.

The game's wifi will make you think, Huh wats a FC again? Once you start playing its just.... Well unlike any NIN WFC game out there. Due to it being so unrestricted.

I have about 55 FC btw which is why I have a great time ;D

The weapons are really great.
I haven't yet seen a shotgun yet but from what I've seen the GUNslashes are basically it. It's like a Saber/Needler. You have to go in strafe mode to use the gun portion of it. If your close to the enemy you can have the 3 bullets hit.

Mechguns no 9 hit combo no more but 6 hit. They are very fun to use though due to the PAs resembling Matrix. And there is one that actually goes in slow motion.
You saber are still same ol but even more fun to use.

I have yet tried out daggers due to me being a RAmar atm.
Rifles and Handguns are the same but more to em.

Game Rating: 9/10

mizukage
Jan 2, 2009, 07:00 PM
Confusing question!

Phantasy Star Zero is not PSO.

PSO = 7/10
Phantasy Star Zero = 9/10

deso123
Jan 2, 2009, 07:06 PM
00000000000000000000 not oooooooooooooooooooooooo