about Ambition of the Illuminus

[Shinji-kun]

I played the original Phantasy Star Universe and thought it was a great game However, i felt like some things were undone; a diamond (or maybe sapphire) in the rough if you will. I recently beat the story mode for Ambition of the Illuminus and was a bit disappointed truth be told. I don't know if it's just me...but I kinda think Sega and Sonic Team kinda dropped a ball somewhere along the way when they were making it. For instance, there were only 2 scenes where there was voice acting and the rest was text. Now I know there are some reasons why game makers would do that, especially when you can pick the main character's name or customize them. But games like Persona 4 and Final Fantasy X came up with creative ways around it... I'd rant a lil bit more, but personally, I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on this matter :P

[Xefi]

I don't really think the story was that bad or maybe i just dont really
care much of the story, but it would have been much better if only the
scenes can be SKIP when you start over a new character.

[Ellea]

It may be the fact that there is so much online content that has been, and is left to be unlocked off the disc that there may not be enough room for cg/voiced cutscenes.

[ChibiBecca]

i've only played AOTI, so it was a bit of a surprise to watch clips of the origional PSU on youtube and see voice acting and motion capture acting from the characters, not just the lobby actions and text bubbles that i'm used to.

i know they had to save room, and perhaps save money by not re-hiring the actors for further story scenes.. but it does feel like we're missing out on a bit of extra polish and interest in the story mode.

[Shinji-kun]

Ok, because I am unable to sleep at this time, I feel like ranting a lil more and making a few comments on posts.


I don't really think the story was that bad or maybe i just dont really
care much of the story, but it would have been much better if only the
scenes can be SKIP when you start over a new character.

I actually thought the story was pretty good, and yes, it would be nice if you could skip the text scenes.


It may be the fact that there is so much online content that has been, and is left to be unlocked off the disc that there may not be enough room for cg/voiced cutscenes.

While this could be true, I personally think that is not the best reason to have degradation in quality in a sequel, and that's something you should avoid in my book. If you look at PSU, it was rather well done graphically (I personally wouldn't have minded cell shading, but that's just me).


i've only played AOTI, so it was a bit of a surprise to watch clips of the origional PSU on youtube and see voice acting and motion capture acting from the characters, not just the lobby actions and text bubbles that i'm used to.

i know they had to save room, and perhaps save money by not re-hiring the actors for further story scenes.. but it does feel like we're missing out on a bit of extra polish and interest in the story mode.

I have actually haven't played PSU online yet, so I'm not quite sure of the lobby actions, but yeah...voice acting and motion capture made PSU quite a good game in my book (Cell shading would have made it a gem :P). On other things, saving room I can kind of understand with all the new content and stuff such as new parts/clothes and new hairstyles, but I seriously don't think that they wouldn't rehire voice actors to just save money. I mean, if you look at the intro sequences, they at least had voiced parts for Karen, Lord Rutsu, and Laia (I think Leo as well, but I wasn't really paying much attention). As for missing out on extra polish...yes, we missed out on A LOT of polish in story mode.

The reason I say these things about this game is simply because I believe I have been spoiled by a single Gaming company...ATLUS, and their series (and spinoffs of this series) Shin Megami Tensei. This series alone has spawned some of the best rpg's I have played, such as Persona, Digital Devil Saga, Devil Summoner, and Devil Survivor. Though a bit of warning to those who would play these games that haven't before...they can make you weep easily...just try youtubing Meganada...Now then, before I go off on a tangent on ATLUS games, let me get back on track. Illuminus, leaves much to be desired, and the ending is very open ended. If Sonic Team makes a sequel (and they most likely will), I'd just like to say this, "With this sequel, don't do what you did with Ambition of the Illuminus. Go back to what you did with the original Phantasy Star Universe. Put in voice acting! I don't care if you have to avoid saying the main character's name, other game companies have done it before. Second, do motion capturing again. I think it made the game look rather grand. Lastly, if we make our own character, we want them to be the star, not someone else." Now I know I've bad mouthed this game quite a bit, but I'd like to state one last time that I don't hate it...I just think it could have been MUCH better.

[Ruru]

just a little note to your rant.

ambition of the illuminus isn't a finished story in offline mode. you'd have to play online mode just to see the ending, which we still dont have outside of japan.

[Shinji-kun]

Wait...really? Damn...they need to release the next part of the story then...cause I'd actually start playing online to know what happens next...mainly cause I hate open ends >.<

[Ruru]

We have, i think, 2 more chapters left online until the end of the story.

So, it's getting there. Offline mode only goes up until the end of episode 2 which is a BIG cliffhanger. Episode 3 finishes the story but it's only available online, and from the looks of it ST isn't going to be releasing another expansion disc any time soon, so offline episode 3 probably won't ever happen.

[Gibdozer]

I never even pictured this game cell-shaded Shinji, but now that you mention it that might have been pretty slick. I wonder if they ever experimented with it in development?

As for the lack of voice acting I don't miss it in the least, I guess I'm just very old school and used to reading in games.

[str898mustang]

Never played story mode, never cared about the story.