PDA

View Full Version : Here's the one thing that PSO2 has to nail to interest me, and (probably) you.



Niered
Nov 19, 2010, 12:01 AM
I'm not writing this game off based on Sonic Teams past failures, be they many, and I'm not here to start that argument either, I'm posting for the first time outside of the "Off Topic" forum just to point out one thing that I think is incredibly important.

While the rest of you are discussing balance, character customization, mag inclusion, item synthesis, and etc, and while all of those things ARE very important, they are not, to me at least, the most important aspect of giving PSO a proper sequel. The lack of proper implementation of those systems is also not the biggest thing that drove me away from PSU, or PSP, or that makes me so disinterested in PSP2.

The single, greatest thing in PSO, the one thing that so few games, and even less JRPG's get right?

Mood and Setting.

It took me a long time to actually realize that that was what turned me off to PSU after trying to convince myself I liked it for two years. Sure, PSU has a LOT of problems, and so do its offshoots, but the fact is, its combat is nearly so clunky as PSO's, and it has a lot of cool ideas (Job systems for instance).

So why was it that I couldn't enjoy PSU? Why was it, that even Phantasy Star Zero, a game that was a barely updated version of the original PSO, was so much more fun (discounting the comparatively small amount of replay value) than PSU, when I readily stated its many age-related problems?

The answer finally hit me eventually, its all about the mood, and setting of the original game.

Now, lets get one thing straight, PSO had a barebones story, that much is true. There was some hidden depth in the sidequests, and I actually really liked that system (for those that have played it, Demon's Souls pulls the same thing) because it appeals to people like myself, that are interested in the crafted universe, and to people that only play games for the game part.

But their was one part of that story that every player of PSO, no matter how well learned they were on the backstory of the game, came away with.

You are a lone Hunter (possibly with 3 friends), and you are investigating a hostile alien planet where a mysterious incident occurred that wiped out thousands of colonists in a single fell swoop. Investigate.

Now lets compare that to what the player is made aware of in a short amount of playtime in PSU:

You are one of a large group of glorified bounty hunters that are (generally) sent into situations too small for the military to bother with. You will be policing 3 planets with active civilizations, being bombarded by an alien lifeform that can be easily eradicated with simple tools.

Which of those basic plot's interest you more? The one where you are all alone, investigating a mysterious incident, or the one where you're really just another soldier in an effort to contain a simple alien outbreak, that was thwarted already by a lone human male with virtually no combat training?

I think it's pretty obvious. I am much more motivated in the scenario that pits me against unknown odds in a hostile environment than I am in the latter.

But that's really not the only part of setting a mood or personality to your game, theres a lot more to it than that obviously. I think next on our list is a big one.

Music.

How many of you still listen to PSO's soundtrack? I wish I could say I was lying, but truth be told, I'm listening to a playlist on grooveshark of Ep.1-4 right now, as I type this. Strong, ambient tracks that sunk you into the world you were in, but didn't bore you, because they changed to fit the situation. Probably everyone that's played PSO can recognize an area on tune alone. It's really some great stuff.

By comparison, lets take PSU's soundtrack. I preordered PSU at a Gamestop, which gave me a soundtrack CD when I picked it up. I threw that CD away a month or two later, I don't think I even ripped the music to my PC. It was completely forgettable. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard (that title goes to PSU's theme song) but it wasn't interesting, or compelling really either.

I even know of a large group of people that switched the sound files on there PC version of PSU to play PSO's music! These were folks that played PSU long after I did, and genuinely liked it, but they still admitted to PSO having a much stronger soundtrack.

I can name a lot of the PSO BGM by title off the top of my head, but I couldn't give you the name of a single track in PSU.

Art and Design.

This one right here is the most important in my mind. Admittedly, I'm a bit biased, being a working illustrator (in game art nonetheless) but I think it's the one everybody can appreciate.

I'll give some screenshot examples:

http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ps/pso/screens/pso014.jpg

http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ps/pso/screens/pso001.jpg

Now those are two screenshots of the same area, good ol' Forest 1 and 2. But lets see the variety there, we've got one, that takes place during midday, taking you through a babbling stream and some small valley area's, and upon entering Forest 2, we now have a rainy, darker area with swamps that eventually breaks way into the outer edges of the dome.

Thats just the forest, the very first area you play in when you boot up the game. Now lets compare and contrast that too Linear Line, the very first area in PSU:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e349/skyepic/Guide%20pictures/psu20070329_120211_054.jpg

That's....it. Really, I could post more pics, but it would waste both our time, even if you go into the later missions of that area, its still the same generic, large spaces that really don't have any personality. Nothing unique about them. In fact, the most interesting rooms in the game are oftentimes the lobbies that break up missions, and theres no point to exploring them, and you arent fighting in them. They're glorified rest stops.

And thats not just the case for the first area of either game. Which is more compelling, the Ruins of PSO, or the Hive of PSU? In Ruins, we have several unique room types, and we get these massive views of the outside of this alien spaceship. In Hive, we get the same vaginal walls and ceilings for the entirety of the area. Meat curtains as far as the eye can see.

Now you can argue that PSO had less areas, and therefore more detail can be put into them. I have one simple response: Thats not an excuse. Quality over quantity, by far. I would rather play Mines a hundred times over than play one more run of ANY of the badly reskinned "Relics" sites in PSU. You know how I know that to be true? I still play PSO's Mines from time to time! But since giving up on PSU 2 years ago, I havent even felt a single need to touch any of the bland areas of PSU.

Another thing that fits into this category of art and design, is character design. I noticed the thread in which a lot of people are arguing over character customization and wether it should be more PSO or PSU based, honestly, I think the more customization, the better, but the fact is, the characters in PSO, looked like people that would do the job they were assigned to do. They looked like tough, almost western designed characters (with the exception of the FOnewm and FOnewhearl) that put a solid footing in the fantasy-sci-fi design of PSO. They had anime influences, sure, but they were utilitarian first and foremost.

PSU's character designs look decidedly more cliche anime, in fact, I could see virtually everyone of them fitting right in with the majority of the futuristic anime out there, and that is bad. I don't play games to see the same thing I saw last week on TV, I play games like PSO to be, and excuse the corniness of this, transported to a different place.

That's what PSO2 has to get right.

Mike
Nov 19, 2010, 12:21 AM
None of the above. They're all nice things to have but what are you going to be doing in the end? Grinding for weapons. And the best thing to have when grinding for weapons is good company. In other words, community. And multi-region servers.

Niered
Nov 19, 2010, 12:26 AM
None of the above. Their all nice things to have but what are you going to be doing in the end? Grinding for weapons. And the best thing to have when grinding for weapons is good company. In other words, community. And multi-region servers.

I had no problem playing PSO, grinding through areas that were actually interesting and engaging, with stellar music, in a setting that depicted a certain amount of urgency.

I could not stomach grinding in PSU, through bland, uninspired terrain, BGM I turned off after hearing the tracks for the 3rd time, and in a plot that made me feel unnecessary on the whole.

They could make PSO2 a tactical-turnbased RPG, and as long as it got those things right I would still play it. Hell, they did, PSOep3, and that had more personality than PSU and its expansion combined.

"En"
Nov 19, 2010, 12:55 AM
@Plot: PSO may not have been very frontal about the plot, but it interested me far more than the cliche story that was told throughout PSU. Call me crazy, but to this day, PSO Episode 3 has been damn near the top of my list of "favourite game plots." In spite of how much effort you needed to put in to figure out who these characters were, any why you should care, Episode 3 was well worth it. Episodes 1 and 2 didn't focus nearly as much on plot, but wherever you went looking for it, you'd find amazing results, and would anticipate the next secret you'd uncover. When I learned just how much of a monster Dr.Osto truly was, I found myself spending less time in games online, and more time delving deep into the plot buried underneath PSO's skin. I felt Episode 4 to be a bit anticlimactic, though it did serve to tie up loose ends. Episode 4 still did a better job in catching my interest, but that's also because PSO had a lot more interest to work with. In PSU, the way the plot unfolded was fine. The methods they used to reveal the plot were fine. The plot just wasn't interesting enough.

@Music: PSO's music was, as you put it, very memorable. And now that you mention it, I may finally know why PSU's music felt so off for me. I loved a fair number of PSU's tracks, such as Rozenom Line Milate 04 (Parum Train music) and Galenigare Mine (Moatoob Mines music). But, part of what made PSO's music so great was that, like you said, the music fitted the mood. There were separate tracks for dangerous and calm situations. And both tracks to each area were very fitting for where they played.

I'll use Abysmal Ball as a general example. Abysmal Ball was the track title for the music that played in the Seabed of Episode 2. Abysmal Ball Intermission for out of combat, and Abysmal Ball Banquet for combat. Intermission was slow-paced, piano music accompanied with a few nifty echoing sound effects, vocals, and the occasional rumbling of hulls. And let's not forget the occasional demented laugh from the final boss, Olga Flow, who patiently awaited our arrival, so that he could finally be put to death. This track was mysterious in the most beautiful way imaginable, and every time I listened to it, it screamed to me, "You're wandering the desolent, flooded halls of a laboratory on the ocean bed." I'd look around... and that's exactly what I would see.

Banquet took this soothing music and threw it into a techno grind, with rat-a-tats and bass beats replacing the soft piano music. The tone stayed the same, and it still struck me as a, "You're all alone in a horrible place," but this time, it also said, "There's a massive, dark beast lurking the halls ahead of you." I can't even begin to comprehend a way to sum up my feelings for this, other than to simply say, it remains one of my favourite songs, not just in videogames, but in any music in general. I only wish more "final level" areas in videogames had a track as inspiring as Abysmal Ball Banquet.

@Area Design: PSO's areas were downright beautiful. After running the same 11 areas over and over, they would, of course, get stale, but not nearly as stale as what PSU presented us. PSU took a variety of uninspiring areas, and copy/pasted them repeately, and that really took from the overall beauty of the game. I've retained very few fond memories of PSU in an actual area, because it tends to blend together.

I really do hope they try a little harder with area design in PSO2. I can only imagine what it would be like to have Mortis Fons or Unguis Lapis brought to life, but I can settle for "new" areas to explore, as long as they remain reminescent of the old PSO areas.

@Character Design: To be honest, I love a wide variety of customization in games, which is why I was so drawn to the character creation system in PSU, but looking back, PSU also ruined part of it, in a way. Other than the classic PSO outfits, and one or two "Army" suits, I don't recall Humans, Newmans, or Beasts getting anything remotely close to armour in PSU. Characters were transformed from foot infantry to average joes. Don't get me wrong, I do like having that level of selection, but the only people that could really take combat seriously in regards to their wardrobe were the Tech-users and the Casts. If I was going down to an alien planet to fight some horrible moles, oversized insects, and whatever metaphor you want to use for those goddamn Deldepths, I wouldn't do it wearing a hoodie. Line Shields were their excuse to these casual clothes, which makes enough sense for them to get away with, but... rrgh!

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want more clothing options that say that I'm about to run into the thick of combat. Seriously, when PSU first came out, and I saw my clothing options, I actually missed the HUmar model.

Kent
Nov 19, 2010, 02:31 AM
None of the above. Their all nice things to have but what are you going to be doing in the end? Grinding for weapons. And the best thing to have when grinding for weapons is good company. In other words, community. And multi-region servers.
Community serves to improve anything though. Realistically, all of these attributes are secondary-at-best to making PSO2 the best game it can be.

Gameplay is above all else when it comes to designing games. If the game itself is not fun to play, with fully-realized mechanics, well-balanced character interaction and creative and interesting content in which to play, it begs the question of whether what you're wanting is actually a game at all and not simply The Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palace_(computer_program)).

Not to mention, you can't really design community into a game - you can only provide them tools to help form a community around said game. If the game is good enough, and word gets out of it, its own community will form (but I'm sure you knew that already).

Mike
Nov 19, 2010, 07:17 AM
I had no problem playing PSO, grinding through areas that were actually interesting and engaging, with stellar music, in a setting that depicted a certain amount of urgency.
You'll have to inform me what sense of urgency there is runing areas over and over again to find a rare drop. A great sense of urgency was never what I felt in PSO. Nor would I say the music was stellar. It was good but the field music got old after listening to it X^X amount of times save for the openings/endings and a few boss tunes. I do the same thing now that I did when I played PSO: I turn off the music and listen to something else. The fellow in charge of music for PSO is the same who was in charge of music for PSU, PSP2, and PSP2i actually. I wasn't able to meet him but he seems like an interesting guy from the PSP2 and PSP2i promotions.


If the game is good enough, and word gets out of it, its own community will form (but I'm sure you knew that already).
Whaat? Community websites based on certain series of games? I had no idea those existed! :p

Lunariancrystal
Nov 19, 2010, 09:03 AM
I agree with many of your points. Specifically, I like how you pointed out the musical element of PSO as well as the art style. I always felt like I was at a rave party playing PSO. Lots of bright colors in open zones; It's great! I guess PSU had bright colors and a somewhat good art style

I hated the hell out of PSU, probably one of the worst MRPGS I have ever played in my life. I can't understand why any of the people on this forum would dare play that game in comparison to PSO. I'd even go as far as to say the same for PSP1 and PSP2. They are ports of PSU with PSO elements. Same generic looking crappy, shitty maps.

The big driver in PSO for many people was the rares. PSU had a terrible rare system with all rares being synthesis. Really retarded.

I still think the best way to make PSO2 as good and hopefully better than PSO1 would be to make the game almost exactly the same in every way: Same artist with better rendering, same musical composer, same rare/drop system, and Layered levels like PSO1: Forest >> Caves >> Mines >> Ruins. They should include about 50 more+ levels though... Like "Ice cap" or something.

Idk... Just my 2 cents. Dont add or change too much b/c thats what happened with PSU and it sucked.





Bring back mags etc.

Wayu
Nov 19, 2010, 10:57 AM
Gonna make this short and simple.

Wants:
PSO music.
PSO-level creativity in areas and enemies
PSU character creation + movement (dodging, movement speed)

Also, SEGA better not be afraid to spend immense amounts of hours creating this game. Take a look at Final Fantasy XIII and XIII Versus - the former was in production for years and years (5 or 6?). The latter isn't out yet, but has been in production for 11 god damned years. And just look at how amazing that new trailer is!

-Wayu

Jinketsu
Nov 19, 2010, 12:26 PM
I agree with everything you've pointed out so far. I definiltely love being that 'one guy that saves the day' rather than that 'person who's helping a joint effort' in my stories. I mean, if I'm playing a lead role of a grand story, I want my part to be the most massive.

It's why FFXI sucked me in for 7 or 8 years so far. Haha.

But one thing I'm worried about, if this is to satisfy our need to be pulled in...
Pioneer 2 landed on Ragol at the end of Episode 3. Episode 4 had us investigating some meteor crash or something (I haven't played through Ep4 honestly... though I'm slowly working towards it!). Since this is a direct sequel of the PSO storyline, wouldn't that mean We'll be joining the forces of the HUNTER's guild, which shold - by now - be considered to be joining one of those joint effort groups?

I dunno. Maybe SEGA will surprise us, but I'm not expecting a similar scenario for PSO2 that we got in PSO.

Drawers
Nov 20, 2010, 03:43 PM
None of the above. They're all nice things to have but what are you going to be doing in the end? Grinding for weapons. And the best thing to have when grinding for weapons is good company. In other words, community. And multi-region servers.

This is your argument? Then just play PSU, plain and simple. :| We don't want PSU, nobody does except you.

Minidoomer
Nov 20, 2010, 04:31 PM
I just want to be able to play with my friends in a mission that isn't White Beast...that dragon has been killed at least 5 or 6 thousand times by me...

Something I noticed when I use to play PSU, was how late at night with my group of buddies we would all get really bored, and start falling asleep. Something is really wrong when you run S2 difficulty and the game basically just runs by itself.

My friend busted out his gamecube and we tackled BB. WOW. That shit kept me engaged. Comparing PSU to PSO is like comparing a wet hamburger dropped on the ground to a freshly made Burger King Whopper with all the toppings and a side of fries to go. also with chicken fries. And coke.

I don't know how they're gonna do it, but all I know, is that for PSO2 I want that same level of engagement. I don't want to be falling asleep at the controller, I want to actually have to pay attention and strategize with my team in order to survive. I think PSP2 was a good stepping stone and a valuable learning experience for Sega. Hopefully they will take all that they've learned and implemented and use that on PSO2.

As far as the aesthetics go...I like wearing a bath robe while I kill things...It's a sick fantasy of mine.

Dongra
Nov 20, 2010, 05:29 PM
This is your argument? Then just play PSU, plain and simple. :| We don't want PSU, nobody does except you.
You don't like PSU, we get it. You can't really speak for all of us though. PSU actually did do some things right such as character customization and a better combat system. A lot of weapon types were absolutely worthless in PSO because of a poor animation, and the combo system back then was far more clunky than PSU's was. Naturally, PSU was going to have more in depth customization over PSO considering how old PSO was at the time, though I admit I am not a fan of the art style of PSU. Photon Arts can easily replace PSO's Extra Attack as long as they are handled the way they are in PSP2 since PSU's PA's were overpowered and spammed far too much. Meseta actually had a purpose in PSU, and it had a more stable economy, though it was still a bit of a mess thanks to cheaters, than PSO did. Overall, I prefer PSO to PSU, I actually still play PSO, but if they can combine the good elements of both games for PSO2 then we should see a great game in the future.

MAXrobo
Nov 20, 2010, 07:35 PM
I greatly enjoyed both PSO and PSU. though i never had the chance to play PSO online, iv played the offline a great deal and still do to this day. and the biggest draw to PSO over PSU was the darker art style. the art and acctualy the whole game of PSU was just really generic. there was no real purpuse for most of the stuff to be there, and it didnt feel like a coherent universe.

PSO on the other hand all flowed together very well. whether you where topside in forest or exploring underground mines it all felt like it flowed together. even after they added ep4 they still mantained the darker feel of ep1&2.

really my biggest hope is that they bring back the darker atmosphere. if they can do that or at least get close ill be happy.

Kent
Nov 21, 2010, 05:14 AM
You don't like PSU, we get it. You can't really speak for all of us though. PSU actually did do some things right such as character customization and a better combat system.
It's worth noting that while PSU did attempt to advance these aspects over PSO, any successes they may have had in those areas are met with just as many, and oftentimes more, things they've done critically-wrong in those same areas.

Adriano
Nov 21, 2010, 09:54 AM
Speaking for myself.
I don't think the mood nor setting of PSO can ever be recreated, sadly,
Reason being is, it was the first online game of any kind that I had played, not to mention I was relatively new to gaming at that time aswell.

The small things would really mean alot to me then, for instance, I loved the sound of recieving a Private Mail, and the feeling I'd get opening it just wondering who it was that messaged me.

Yet even now when I try to play PSO steadily, I'm not capable of doing that.
It just doesn't warrant the same reaction that it used to. Albeit maybe if I played the Offline console versions I'd get a big wiff of nostalgia.. until then, I'll just live with the reasoning that something is different.
I'm different.
Maybe we are asking for the wrong thing. To have a new game that gives the same emotion as PSO. Where is the growth in that?

Admittedly even I think PSU was a step in the wrong direction, but atleast they tried to give it a completely seperate atmosphere ..... in the beginning atleast.

I agree with Niered in that one Major draw in favor of PSO was that you could really feel alone, it was a very lonely and tragic yet romantic and optimistic setting sometimes, which i couldn't get enough of back then. Even with the feeling of being alone, I didn't really mind to play alone because the atmosphere really catered to that, in that you really were hailed as a vigilant hero by the pioneer-folk and you had Rico's entire chronicle laid out for you to read in the stages.

I think they've done enough PSO fanservice by now however, and it just sucks all of the creative energy from a game when the only thing that's being updated is shinier versions of old content...which don't even give the same feeling as they did once before.
Hopefully this time it's a stand-alone game that won't need nods in PSO's direction.


I hope they know what they're doing, I know I wouldn't.

Drawers
Nov 21, 2010, 04:24 PM
You don't like PSU, we get it. You can't really speak for all of us though. PSU actually did do some things right such as character customization and a better combat system. A lot of weapon types were absolutely worthless in PSO because of a poor animation, and the combo system back then was far more clunky than PSU's was. Naturally, PSU was going to have more in depth customization over PSO considering how old PSO was at the time, though I admit I am not a fan of the art style of PSU. Photon Arts can easily replace PSO's Extra Attack as long as they are handled the way they are in PSP2 since PSU's PA's were overpowered and spammed far too much. Meseta actually had a purpose in PSU, and it had a more stable economy, though it was still a bit of a mess thanks to cheaters, than PSO did. Overall, I prefer PSO to PSU, I actually still play PSO, but if they can combine the good elements of both games for PSO2 then we should see a great game in the future.

I'm not trying to prove anything by saying how much I dislike PSU, I'm just expressing how I feel about it. You have a good argument, and I do have some good memories of PSU but it never felt like I was getting anything done. I never got the stuff I wanted, the kicking feature gave too many dicks too much power (a majority vote kicking system is so much better for this type of game), and SoA was never consistent with their updates.

Yes the meseta flow was amazing and player shops were also well done but 50% of that is because of the community and the My Room feature could've had so much more simple common sense details, and PMs sucked. Mags were the ish, and they get replaced with some stupid RCSM bs...?

PSO is just so much more amazing and detailed in it's own simple but detailed way, without being super dull and complicated like PSU. PSU's battle system is bland and unexciting, while PSO was clunky, it was still fun and epic. I can't exactly explain how much more amazing PSO's battle system is in comparison to PSU's from my angle but that's how I feel. My bias is not based on me trying to start an argument, but because of PSO's genuine and raw creativity and the hardwork put into it.

Dongra
Nov 21, 2010, 04:54 PM
It's worth noting that while PSU did attempt to advance these aspects over PSO, any successes they may have had in those areas are met with just as many, and oftentimes more, things they've done critically-wrong in those same areas.
Mind elaborating?


My bias is not based on me trying to start an argument, but because of PSO's genuine and raw creativity and the hardwork put into it.
Well I guess I understand that. It seemed more like you were expressing your hate for PSU rather than your praise for PSO since you made the same reply in roughly five threads. I'm just saying that even though PSU lacked the same charm that PSO had, it still had several improvements that shouldn't be looked over when considering how PSO2 should be built. Of course this is all just hoping and wishing, and for all we know PSO2 could be an entirely different game from PSU and PSO.

Kent
Nov 21, 2010, 08:34 PM
Mind elaborating?
Well, let's look at combat.

Combat is less stiff, there's a wider variety of weapons (overall) and there are more weapons that are functionally-different from each other.

However, the game was designed so that the most effective way of dealing with combat is to burn as many Photon Points as you can by using Skills/Techniques as often as you can. All but one of the Skills available for (almost) any given melee weapon type is either wildly-inefficient in damage output, has some untility purpose (such as knocking enemies back) that serves to greatly detriment its usefulness, or it is just too unwieldy to actually use in combat effectively.

Techniques have been homogenized to the point of having very little tactical difference between simply matching the technique's element to the enemy - it requires no further positional considerations because just about everything is effectively the same between elements. That, and there's the whole "you equip techniques to weapons" trash, which is such a game-breakingly terrible implementation that it single-handedly made hybrid characters unplayable.

In this case, as with many others, the benefits granted by the new systems are greatly outweighed by how badly they managed to screw up the rest of it.

RemiusTA
Nov 21, 2010, 09:11 PM
None of the above. They're all nice things to have but what are you going to be doing in the end? Grinding for weapons. And the best thing to have when grinding for weapons is good company. In other words, community. And multi-region servers.

Fail. If you're one who just loves wasting their freaking life on an artless E-peen percent-chance based grindfest, then sure maybe.

Waki Miko Syamemaru!
Nov 21, 2010, 09:17 PM
I hope that in PSO2, I won't have to deal with teenaged heroes. I know in Japan it's all big and junk but goddamn, seriously? A 14-year old can weild a weapon better than a 26-year vet? Anyways, here is my 2-cents what should be in PSO2: Online with a Vengeance.


Music: Get some variety. Viva variety. Throw some jazz in there. I'm talking REAL jazz. Not techno, not synth, no fakey jazz. Bring in some saxaphones, some bass, and tear that mofo up. I wanna look out into the city background, lightly luminated by the setting sun, and listen to a soft jazz tune. Hell maybe while running through a sakura forest have a catchy japanese-esque melody play then suddenly flow into it's arranged version as I fight a trio of Goboomas. What I'm tryin to say is, even though PSO's music got bland after a while, it had the right feel. PSU made me wonder who face-rolled on the sound board.

Combat: PSP2/PSP2i I will admit improved upon combat. However I would like to see an option on traps that allowed you set it's detonation. Choosing between Timed, Manual, and Proximity. Also an option to "kick" said traps towards far away enemies would be nice.

Minigames: There needs to be them. Not side quests. Not just casino. But actual mini games. The soccer lobby was nice but hardly ever used. I say we have Phantasy Star themed arcade games or hell, take a clue from No More Heroes 2 and have little 8-bit style minigames.

lostinseganet
Nov 22, 2010, 06:02 AM
Gotta want gotta need! Same servers for jpn EU and USA. I can't STAND the way jpn has been treated compared to us. I could stand it if it was the same treatment but nooo it is not. I pay money noo excuses.

Chimeria
Nov 22, 2010, 03:14 PM
This is a great topic. I've seen many "I hate PSU, PSO was superior" threads but the points you brought up pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Like the OP, I reserved the game and got the bonus soundtrack and was pissed off with what I heard too. Music was one of PSO's strong points. I loved how when before a fight or when there were no enemies around, the music was calm. The jungle BGM is still one of my favorite BGMs from a videogame. And I was happy to hear it in PSP2. I don't know why ST got lazy and didn't do the music like that in PSU.

Also the story was garbage in PSU. I have never seen such a cast of unlikeable characters. I did not once feel sad or bad for any other them and
at all like I did in PSO. And whats worse was that the side characters in PSO (Ash, Kireek, Donoph, Rico, Flowen, Alicia Baz, Matha Graves) You
get a small dosage of them only in the missions but their situations were very dark...and heartbreaking. I feel like in a game like this there shouldn't be much of a main story and that it should be kept simple but mysterious like PSO was. The only background you really had came from the capsules you find outside of missions and the briefings from Principal Tyrell. Episode 2 was more cinematic but never once was I bored and wanted to skip the talking parts like I do in PSU.

A couple things I will give PSU over PSO is smoother gameplay though. I was playing PSO with my sister a couple days ago and it is kind of slow. The targeting system kinda sucks too. I also like how much customization PSP2 gives you. You can literally make your own classes pretty much. I've always been a sucker for changing my character's appearance too and PSU gives you many options for that as well. But once again, ST got lazy and didn't add many individual clothing and parts to the game so you'll see many Judgement Coats, Ethan Coats, Illuminus Coats, etc online unfortunately.

PSP2 did correct alot of PSU's mistakes though. The biggest things for me are the chain system so people don't overuse their PA's, the fact that higher level technic, skills and bullets have to be bought or found adds more fun of treasure hunting to the game (something that PSU had removed) and the whole weapon/armor hunting aspect. I think that was what we all loved about PSO...staying up all night looking for that REAL agito...XD

Hopefully PSU becomes more like PSP2 (Its seriously alot like a faster version of PSO to me) I don't even play the console version anymore. And hopefully PSO doesn't borrow too much from PSU. I already heard there was going to be PA's. I want the old Palette system back as well and the ability to use techs without a technic weapon. That pisses me off to no end!

Drawers
Nov 22, 2010, 03:41 PM
I hope that in PSO2, I won't have to deal with teenaged heroes. I know in Japan it's all big and junk but goddamn, seriously? A 14-year old can weild a weapon better than a 26-year vet? Anyways, here is my 2-cents what should be in PSO2: Online with a Vengeance.


Music: Get some variety. Viva variety. Throw some jazz in there. I'm talking REAL jazz. Not techno, not synth, no fakey jazz. Bring in some saxaphones, some bass, and tear that mofo up. I wanna look out into the city background, lightly luminated by the setting sun, and listen to a soft jazz tune. Hell maybe while running through a sakura forest have a catchy japanese-esque melody play then suddenly flow into it's arranged version as I fight a trio of Goboomas. What I'm tryin to say is, even though PSO's music got bland after a while, it had the right feel. PSU made me wonder who face-rolled on the sound board.

Combat: PSP2/PSP2i I will admit improved upon combat. However I would like to see an option on traps that allowed you set it's detonation. Choosing between Timed, Manual, and Proximity. Also an option to "kick" said traps towards far away enemies would be nice.

Minigames: There needs to be them. Not side quests. Not just casino. But actual mini games. The soccer lobby was nice but hardly ever used. I say we have Phantasy Star themed arcade games or hell, take a clue from No More Heroes 2 and have little 8-bit style minigames.

If it's MvC2 quality Jazz then maybe, but if not, imo hell no! I'd say keep it traditional but fresh and new. PSO had the perfect music for it's theme, we just need that but new and no remixes, the music of every episode is just right on, you can't perfect it anymore. I just hope they don't bring back a bunch of stuff from PSO in a desperate attempt to attract vets, and actually give us something new and refreshing.

Idk about the kicking traps thing, sounds unecessary to me. o-0 Besides that, only CAST should be allowed to set traps, because they have no soul/spirit energy or whatever to cast techniques, and they need an emergency thingy for those close calls since they can't just cast resta to save theirselves.

I 100% agree on minigames, and I mean Mario Party 2, like actually fun minigames and ST used to be good at stuff like that.

Telepipes. Nothing more to say about this subject, just please, bring them back.

BIG OLAF
Nov 22, 2010, 04:00 PM
I'll be happy with PSO2 if I get:

PSO's music style
PSO's atmosphere
PSU's character customization (yes, that means the clothes)
PSU's (I should say PSP2's) combat, including Photon Arts, etc. (the game would be shit w/o them)

MAXrobo
Nov 22, 2010, 04:23 PM
I'll be happy with PSO2 if I get:

PSO's music style
PSO's atmosphere
PSU's character customization (yes, that means the clothes)
PSU's (I should say PSP2's) combat, including Photon Arts, etc. (the game would be shit w/o them)

I agree, except i think the PAs in PSP2 are still to spammy. they need to ether cut the speed PP regenerates almost in half, or just give you less PP.
also dont make guns have ammo and just make the charge shots cost PP.

Allison_W
Nov 22, 2010, 07:09 PM
[ . . . ] Besides that, only CAST should be allowed to set traps, because they have no soul/spirit energy [ . . . ]

If you're going to nitpick, I can nitpick, too: no one has a soul or spirit energy, because they don't exist.

That said, I should distinguish between the old concepts of souls and spirits, here. Souls are a primitive explanation for consciousness before things like the brain were understood. Spirit, however, actually descends from the Latin word spiritus, which meant breath, and is a primitive attempt to explain the difference between life and unlife before things like heart attacks and strokes were understood: one minute someone's alive and the next minute they're dead and no one can tell why! Their "vital principle," or breath, just up and left them.

Thus, it's more plausible to say that androids don't have spirits (a primitive attempt to explain biological life, which androids are not) than to say that they don't have souls (a primitive attempt to explain consciousness, which free-willed androids could actually be assumed to have), if you actually buy that sapient biological things have anything of the sort to begin with. From there, you only need decide whether techniques are powered by the woo-woo of the body or the woo-woo of the mind. If the former, androids probably don't have them. If the latter, then sure, why the hell not.

Dragwind
Nov 22, 2010, 07:18 PM
I'm primarily hoping for the dark, mysterious, and depressing atmosphere of PSO, with a mix of the upbeat pace of Ep.3, and various elements of the PSU series mixed in (primarily gameplay).

ColonD
Nov 22, 2010, 07:29 PM
I can only pray, dream, and hope that Sega knows this.

Also, incidentally, I hope that the person who did the artwork for the cover and character portraits of PSO is used again, or at least modeled after.

Dragwind
Nov 22, 2010, 07:36 PM
I can only pray, dream, and hope that Sega knows this.

Also, incidentally, I hope that the person who did the artwork for the cover and character portraits of PSO is used again, or at least modeled after.

I sure hope they keep that same art style as well, perhaps modernize it a bit. If they don't, I think it's easy to say it wouldn't feel like PSO.

Chimeria
Nov 22, 2010, 08:05 PM
Besides that, only CAST should be allowed to set traps, because they have no soul/spirit energy or whatever to cast techniques

I kinda did like that fact that CAST had immunity to poison and were the only ones who could use traps and see them. It mad alot more sense and kinda of made it cool to be the CAST of the group. I mean, people would have trap visions but in the situation that they forgot, a CAST could destroy them before they do any damage. And even though magic isn't as useful or as easy as it was in PSU as it was in PSO, I do think that CASTs shouldn't be able to use it. Besides the stats, it sort of gives a reason to choose one race over another.

Anon_Fire
Nov 22, 2010, 08:06 PM
CASTs should be immune to Poison, Stun, Burn, and Silence

Chimeria
Nov 22, 2010, 08:09 PM
CASTs should be immune to Poison, Stun, Burn, and Silence

Poison, stun and silence yes burn wouldn't make any sense. It'd kinda be a balancing issue. They could still get shorted too though after being hit by a lightning attack. It was the same as stun pretty much.

Rashiid
Nov 22, 2010, 08:32 PM
I'll be happy with PSO2 if I get:

PSO's music style
PSO's atmosphere
PSU's character customization (yes, that means the clothes)
PSU's (I should say PSP2's) combat, including Photon Arts, etc. (the game would be shit w/o them)

That's all I want. Well, I don't care much for the atmosphere since I don't pay attention to it and I usually blast my iTunes while playing video games so the music is whatever.

MAXrobo
Nov 22, 2010, 09:01 PM
i dont think casts should get techs because it makes the races more different. i didnt like in PSU that the races were basicly the same except for minor stat changes. also i agree that cast should be immune to poison and stun, i dont see why they should be immune from burn. and if casts cant use techs theres no reason to silence them, and if they can then i thinik they should get silenced as well.

Rashiid
Nov 22, 2010, 09:13 PM
Races basically the same? The stat differences were sort of catastrophic o____________o;
Sure Casts can have techs, but they sure as hell sucked as Forces compared to any other race (few rebels out there with Cast Techers. Never will understand what they're trying to prove but okay!

Lunariancrystal
Nov 22, 2010, 09:19 PM
CASTS should never be allowed to cast magic.

MAXrobo
Nov 22, 2010, 09:20 PM
i was a cast wartecher most the time and i could usually out damage human techers my level.

Rashiid
Nov 22, 2010, 09:31 PM
With spells? I fail to believe that unless you had gear far superior to the said human. Of course this was 2 years ago. I have no idea if they made races more similar in stats now.

MAXrobo
Nov 22, 2010, 09:35 PM
i stoped playing back when the lv cap was 120 (not sure how long ago that was, 2-3 years i think) and yes with spells.

Waki Miko Syamemaru!
Nov 23, 2010, 12:17 AM
I would like a dance segment like from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I want my futuristic hunter to pop some funky fresh moves to some phat beats...yo...

Silverheart
Nov 23, 2010, 02:14 AM
I agree with a good majority of the things that needed to be brought back from PSO, but I gotta throw out some defense for PSU here just cause I like both the games.

First off the dark mood and music should be brought back from most definitely. Second, they should bring back the PSU(PSPo2) style of fighting but change how you get photon arts. For example, remove PP completely and instead you do so many attacks that build up an energy bar or something and eventually you can release a PA. That would pretty much cut out PA spam and bring back the functionality of gun weapons.

TP should be brought back as well as the magic restrictions, cause lets face it some races are just better suited to do it. Wands and Rods should be tech boosters/weapons like in PSO. Tech Mags were useless I'll agree, but I never really cared for the MAGs in PSO either due to the long animations, and low damage, plus on the GC they made your second row completely unavailable til you used it.

As for the lone hero thing, I disagree there. In most RPGs you very rarely have one character that saves everything by themself. I think PSU was trying to make the community feel like they were a part of something that collectively saved the world, since it was technically an MMOARPG with the lack of a good offline mode and all. (Yes it did have one, just not linked to the online mode in any way, shape or form.)

I think the whole teenaged hero thing was kinda a throwback to our first little no namer in PSO, Ash, who eventually fought Kireek in the ruins after getting stronger, got his butt kicked again, yadda yadda yadda. Ethan reminds me of him, they just give him waaaaayy to much praise in PSU.

The biggest thing I'd like to see come back with PSO2 is Dark Falz. He is the reason for everything in PSO and in the original series. Somehow PSU completely forgot about him and totally killed the main story. (That De Rol Le wannabe called Dark Falz in PSU can die in a fire.) I'd really love to see them mix it up, some dark and meaningful story missions linked to DF, while having a few just because missions for running/leveling/etc with minor story, or hell even sidestories involved with them.

Sorry for the wall of text. Just some opinions from a fan of both PSO and PSU.

Kent
Nov 23, 2010, 06:32 AM
Second, they should bring back the PSU(PSPo2) style of fighting but change how you get photon arts. For example, remove PP completely and instead you do so many attacks that build up an energy bar or something and eventually you can release a PA. That would pretty much cut out PA spam and bring back the functionality of gun weapons.
You know, I kind of think that PP should exist, but only for guns. When you have a firing system like PSU (or basically any game with guns that wasn't the original PSO), the amount of shooting you can do is only limited by two things: How fast the weapon fires, and how much ammo you/it can hold (in the magazine and in reserve, respectively). For this reason, it might be a good thing for balance reasons, for guns to have a limitation on how long they can continually fire.

I would say probably the fairest way to do this would be to impose two stats on ranged weapons: PP (an energy pool, if you will) and regeneration rate. PP is obviously how much energy the weapon has for its shots (which, for the sake of normalization, 1 PP could easily equal 1 shot), and regeneration rate is how many PP it recharges per second when the player stops firing for a specified amount of time (after a delay of probably one half to one second after their last shot - including when they have another weapon equipped, allowing players to easily cycle weapons). Instating things like recoil/stability and variable accuracy could, alongside this, make using guns a much more tactical affair than what it was in PSO or PSU.

Wands and Rods should be tech boosters/weapons like in PSO. Tech Mags were useless I'll agree, but I never really cared for the MAGs in PSO either due to the long animations, and low damage, plus on the GC they made your second row completely unavailable til you used it.
I think the way that they instated Force weapons' differences in PSO (as of GameCube/Xbox versions) was an interesting take on the notion of these weapons.

Canes boosted your evasion, Rods boosted your defense, and Wands boosted your MST. Effectively, this made two of the weapons very defensive in nature, which... What's wrong with having defensive weaponry? It adds to the dynamic, and certainly provides opportunity for having more unique functionality for them.

For example, they could make it so that Canes cause enemies to have a longer flinch than normal after being hit (or in the case of some Ultimate-mode enemies, have a much higher chance of causing normal flinching), and Rods could have the effect of pushing back enemies on normal hits, and pushing them back farther on heavy hits. Wands, of course, could easily serve as almost purely technique-damage boosters, whereas Scythes (as mentioned earlier in the topic), could be more of a hybrid weapon, designed for both area-affecting melee attacks and a technique damage boost (though, significantly less than that of a Wand). It'd be particularly interesting if this same benefit were given to Slicers, giving both a melee and ranged hybrid-casting weapon type (though, Slicers would still fall under the category of Hunter weapons).

I'm a fan of making weapons into things that have functional differences, like in PSO, and I think those kinds of things really added to the intended dynamic of the game, even if the stat bonuses of Force weapons in PSO wasn't really very much, in the first place.

As for MAGs... Yes, the implementation of Photon Blasts in PSO wasn't the greatest - basically, Golla was more-or-less a waste of a PB slot, everyone wanted to have Mylla/Youlla due to the potential for level 50 Shifta/Deband if it's used at the end of a PB combo, and Pilla was easily the best of all of them. I think the worst part is how it overrode your secondary action palette though, which really calls for a different implementation if they carry the idea into this game.

since it was technically an MMOARPG
It's not an MMO. Six players at once isn't massive. PSU cannot be considered massively-multiplayer by simple virtue of the fact that only six people can actually "play" together at once - outside of dicking around in chat rooms with 3D graphics. PSU's only forms of real gameplay and advancement take place within wholly-instanced areas. Contrast real MMOs, where instances are the exception rather than the rule - the vast majority of gameplay will take place in areas inhabitable by a "massive' number of players, with typically only small sections of the game taking place within instances. By separating the game into "lobbies" and "gameplay areas" as they did in PSU, they effectively made the game's real classification as to whether or not its multiplayer can be considered "massive" hinge on how many players can inhabit the same gameplay area at the same time.

...But let's keep this topic on PSO2.

r00tabaga
Nov 23, 2010, 01:08 PM
Mags, teleports, section ID's, SPECIAL WEAPONS! Ahhhhhhhh...
Yes, Casts should return to PSO casts. No magic. Auto heal. No poison. Traps, etc.
No, to PSU clothing. PSO armor people.
Yes, to PA's (if done right).
Faster sword attacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PSO2 should be good regardless. I think they're gonna nail it. :)

Seira7
Nov 23, 2010, 04:11 PM
If I was going down to an alien planet to fight some horrible moles, oversized insects, and whatever metaphor you want to use for those goddamn Deldepths, I wouldn't do it wearing a hoodie.

LOL, Yes, I really could do without hoodies and bikinis in PSO2.

I agree with a lot of that the OP said, but I also agree with the other poster that they cannot recreate what PSO was for many - their first online game. The first time I ever chatted with people online, the first time I ever partied with people online - this coupled with the fact the theme was you were a lone hunter venturing out into the world - quite awesome feeling :p

But I have also been impressed with PS0 and psp2, so I have hope the creators of PSO2 know what we want. You have to have an epic, detailed world with a compelling atmosphere, music and story (however simple) in a dungeon grinder/orpg. I don't mind grinding if its a place I want to revisit again and again and the quests are fun. I miss the vignette like quests of PSO, like Seek my Master, where I almost shed a tear for Shino. thats right -ALMOST- *sniff*

Rei-San
Nov 23, 2010, 05:52 PM
1. Mags, teleports, section ID's, SPECIAL WEAPONS! Ahhhhhhhh...
2. Yes, Casts should return to PSO casts. No magic. Auto heal. No poison. Traps, etc.
3. No, to PSU clothing. PSO armor people.
4.Yes, to PA's (if done right).
5.Faster sword attacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6.PSO2 should be good regardless. I think they're gonna nail it. :)


1. Yes, bring back the trill of PSO.

2. Yes. Each race should be different outside stats.

3. No. No. NO. NO! NOO! NOOOOOOO!!!! I love PSU's clothes. We expressed our individuality in epic ways! I hated that we all looked the same save for pallete swaps. I hope that they give us random clothes to choose from. And give throwback armor as a bonus.

4. Yes. A fine mix of PAs and "Extra Attack" should be in. Or more like weapon exclusive PAs that made each rare item function differently. I want the Lavis series to fire lasers again in a way that only the Lavis series can.

5. I guess, they never felt that slow to me but I guess they could be as fast as PSO's. Maybe cause the Sword is just a crowd-control weapon instead of a brute force weapon like the axe, Which was ungodly slow.

6. Of coarse. :wacko: When a new PS game comes out, we as fans are happy to see something new, but overtime as we play the game that thrill goes away and we start seeing general flaws in the game, or find that is missing something. PSO2 is going to be the same way, I just hope that that feeling of estacy stays a little bit longer with us than the rest of the series. :)

AlexCraig
Nov 23, 2010, 05:58 PM
Regarding PSU clothing, I do think it should be in there. HOWEVER, the option for more PSO-like clothing/armor should be available for those who want it. And enough color and style variations for both.

Personally, I'd rather wear something akin to the HUmar clothing in PSO when trying to save the world, rather than something I can find at a local department store. But that is just me.

Kent
Nov 23, 2010, 09:40 PM
About the clothing: PSU's clothing design was overall pretty terrible. It just looked like it was the result of an overworked character designer, stressing out on creating new ideas for clothes. It was just plain bad.

PSO's original character costumes though? They were actually designed well. They didn't look like they were horrible amalgamations of strained effort and wanting to look like a tasteless fashionista. Perhaps most importantly, they also fit within the game's design and setting.

That's not to say that people shouldn't be able to mix-and-match their costume pieces and shouldn't have a variety, it's just that the design of the clothing articles themselves should fit more with the game's setting - which should never, ever be light-hearted and prissy like PSU.

BIG OLAF
Nov 23, 2010, 10:32 PM
Regarding PSU clothing, I do think it should be in there. HOWEVER, the option for more PSO-like clothing/armor should be available for those who want it. And enough color and style variations for both.

I agree to this, actually. I didn't really think PSU's clothes were "prissy" (some of them were, yes, but far from all. Mostly some of the girl clothes that were actually meant for lolitas). I liked most of them.

But, yes, I think they should have a mix-n-match of clothes. PSU-style clothing, and weird, "professional" style PSO clothing (I was never partial to the PSO clothes).

I just don't want "fixed" clothing like in PSO. It was a touch boring after a while, looking just like every other HUcast, save for coloration and -maybe- headpiece. I want to look at least somewhat unique.

Allison_W
Nov 23, 2010, 10:38 PM
I'd like PSO-styled clothing with PSU-level or better flexibility, in the sense of having more options to choose from and being able to mix and match parts. Though I will be pissed if the Preschool Sluts collection returns as the primary women's fashion label.

pikachief
Nov 23, 2010, 10:45 PM
I loved PSU when it first started off, the challenge of the enemies and bosses, how missions didn't take 5 min to complete and having rare awesome weapons like nicely grinded A ranks or an S rank or 2 on your pallet.

All I really want on PSO2 is some offline multiplayer. Thats all i want from it. (That and as long as I can re-create my female beast ;) lol )

No matter what they do to it im sure i'll love it either way tho =^.^=

EDIT: Oh I almost forgot my favorite! CLOTHESSSSS!!!! <3 being able to change into so many different outfits so easily making my character so fresh every time :P

AlexCraig
Nov 23, 2010, 11:29 PM
the design of the clothing articles themselves should fit more with the game's setting

This is exactly my thought. The clothing needs to fit the game. As a PSO fan, I would like to see PSO-like clothing in the game. Not the actual attire itself, but clothing that somewhat resembles the clothing in PSO, yet fits with the game's atmosphere, and has the customizability of that of PSU.

BIG OLAF
Nov 24, 2010, 12:55 AM
LOL, Yes, I really could do without hoodies and bikinis in PSO2.

Guarantee that Sega doesn't see it that way. Just a heads up.


Though I will be pissed if the Preschool Sluts collection returns as the primary women's fashion label.

Prepare to be pissed, then. We all know by now where their (Sega's) minds are when it comes to female clothing. Like I've said before, I enjoy skimpy/naughty outfits every now and then, but having a vast majority of women's clothing look that way is just unneeded. We'll just have to cope, I suppose.

Roger Triton
Nov 28, 2010, 07:40 AM
Niered, did you realize that some of the details you pointed out in PSU that make it great, while in other cases details that make it mediocre, are often applied to any other game? Consider that a compliment. And just like me, you hope that by making these statements that someone at Sega will see it and of course make the next great console RPG that everyone will want to play.

I remember discovering a little gem of an RPG called .hack// about 5 years ago. I've never been into 31337 hacker thing, so when I heard of this game before I was like 'meeeeh who would want to play that?' I forget how I was introduced to it, but once I played that thing for about 5 minutes I was hooked. I was like 'holy s**t this thing reminds me of Shadowrun (my super fav SNES game next to FF6), a game that could give the Matrix a run for its money as far as cyberpunk goes. A bit of playing the OFFline, yet almost online Rpg .hack// took many hours from more important things (LOL) but they were indeed good times. I never finished .hack// or .hack//G.U. for that matter, but I enjoyed playing them.

This is one of those threads that give people inspiration to do something. So I suggest any of you that have grand ideas for PSO2, write a letter to Sega about it. Don't just have wishful thinking, but actually DO something about it. Trust me, they can use the feedback in so many good ways. I wrote a letter when I think I was about 15 to Sega about an idea I had for an RPG. They responded with a short, but sweet letter. It motivated me to work on stories. Positive inspiration is always a good thing.

I have the address to Sega below, in the spoiler. Feel free to write them, and put on the outside of the letter something like c/o Phantasy Star Online 2 division. That will route it to the correct person.

[SPOILER-BOX]Address CORPORATE OFFICE:
SEGA Corporate
1-2-12 Haneda
Ohta-ku
Tokyo 144-8531
Japan

US OFFICE:
SEGA of America, Inc.
350 Rhode Island Street
Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103
USA

EUROPEAN OFFICE:
SEGA Europe Ltd.
27 Great West Road
Brentford
Middlesex
TW8 9BW
United Kingdom

**Be sure to check with WhitePages.com before sending a letter off. Their offices could have a separate mailbox/ letter drop![/SPOILER-BOX]

paracelsus
Nov 28, 2010, 11:16 AM
PSO2 shouldn't be re-inventing this game world, but adding onto what has already been established in PSO, and it's spin-offs.

Getting into character customization for the main body I believe the WWE Wrestling games have the right idea, the amount of detail you can do with their creator is near infinite. For the clothing on the Created characters I'd say there should be two main concurrent dress set-ups.
In play/Battle attire which will have a more PSO Armored and/or Military look and style.
Lobby/Community rooms attire which will have a Formal and/or Casual look and style.

In style one your getting down to business, while in style two your relaxing with friends and allies. I also think the clothing art should also be of a dark mood/nature, but have vividly displayed colors like much of PSO's areas (Mines 2).

When going for the look of the game I think we should go with the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series's "Dark Deco" Style(nearly Black on Black) and using the 1939 Worlds Fair, and some traditional Film Noir with the heavy Sci-Fi aspects of the game world. 1939 Worlds Fair had slogans like "Dawn of a New Day", and "The World of Tomorrow", which as a squeal should have that feel.

[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6QbNKmw_8Y]1992 Batman: The Animated Series Pt1[/url][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbHka_Y6kLw[/spoiler-box]

As for music, I've been a PSO soundtrack fan since the beginning. The only memorable music in PSU for me was the Theme at the beginning of each chapter, and that is only because it irritated me so. Music should have synergy with the environment it's placed in and complement the world as a whole. Final Fantasy games understand this idea, though I'm not sure how many know the songs by name.

combat will always be a hard subject to discuss since this is a combat based game getting it more times right then wrong will be challenging.

First off I believe we should go back to the PSO palette structure, but that's because even console systems all have full key-pad/board add-on's, and with voice chat options any key can be assigned an action. PSO also had an easy to use quick menu that gave you full range of your inventory while in combat.

Secondly, I didn't really mind PSO's auto lock-on but with all the button/keys available we could easly set the lock-on to have a toggle on/off, and allowing another set of buttons/keys to allow scrolling through possible targets, like the Kingdom Hearts series.

Thirdly, Maqs should return with the same functions they served in PSO but with much more Mag look/styles, and Photon Blast options. Also faster photon blast animations like a lot of older Final Fantasy summons, and a different button used to access it's own unique action palette.

Fourthly, Photon Arts could easily replace a weapons Extra Attack, but not come standard. Weapons could have Art slot(s) which Arts can be equipped to like units. These Arts could draw off a special Photon Pool, 'PP' for short attached to each weapon. Also weapons could be upgradable through multiple different types of grinders. Instead of having a Power increase grinder you could have a PP increase grinder.

Fifthly, Art's and Technique's could work on a level system, mostly like PSO's tech disks or PSU's Experience system. Also Technique's should be unique from each other, and be drawn from a character centralized Tech Pool, 'TP' for short like in PSO. Maybe have a 'Form' tree which allows you to pick and assign different looks/effects of a tech. Like GiFoie can have the PSO effect, and a more powerful Single straight shot like PSO's Foie as options in it's tree.

Sixth, Cast's could have the ability to generate their traps from themselves, drawing a cost from their own Trap pool, 'TP' also for short. Traps could also increase in level like an Art and a Tech, though a traps stats could be very dependent on it's level with MST providing a minor bonus/boost. Thus Allowing a Force Cast to be a Trap Master sort of speak. Both Tech and Trap pools would be synonymous with each other, and refilled by fluids, or a similar item.

Item Distribution should go along the lines of PSO's Section ID's but instead of having them be generated by character name, players could choose an ID and have that ID choice play a role in a characters history, and story. Also instead of having exclusive rare drops each ID could get a different version of a rare like what happened with Flowen's Sword, and the ID Cards.

Races should have more than stats as differentiating outlooks. Changing Casts back to PSO style would give them their own play style Niche, as well as them taking well to ranged roles, and as we all know Humans are the pitch hitter for any class. while Newmen tend to take easy to the magical roles, and Beasts would take well to physical roles.

Kion
Nov 28, 2010, 11:37 PM
It hit my head on the wall of text coming it.

The main thing I'd like to see improved in PSO2 is:
Story: mostly that characters need to learn to shut the fuck up!. PS-zero, PSU, PSP, PSP2 are all painful to go through the story mode. I have never paid attention to the story once because the presentation is horrible. It's like ST is saying here's a STORY MISSION, you must do the STORY MISSION until you can do something fun. The long cut scenes of pointless dialog are abysmal. I just can't take it.

PSO was great because you didn't have to play "story mode". You played through the game, explored and could open up more if you talked to the principal. You went on quests where you uncovered more of what happened on Rygol and inferred what happened yourself. It was more involving. PSU and on put you in the center like a poorly written cliche' anime. The genuine lack of creativity makes it feels like my eyes are going to bleed while playing.

Checkmate
Nov 30, 2010, 12:05 AM
I remember discovering a little gem of an RPG called .hack// about 5 years ago. I've never been into 31337 hacker thing, so when I heard of this game before I was like 'meeeeh who would want to play that?' I forget how I was introduced to it, but once I played that thing for about 5 minutes I was hooked.

I played .hack as well.. watched the anime. Enjoyed the concept of it. The main theme that held me onto it was the "you aren't alone" theme of it. Community. Ingame BBS aka Forums. Building relations.

Same thing for PSO that drew me into it. Instead of SEGA creating PSO Part 2... I'd rather see PSO2... not some FFX-2, continuation, expansion of that Phantasy Star build/client.

One thing I hope SEGA never does with PSO2: Invoke voice acting to any of the Main Characters

Voice acting can almost INSTANTLY be a deal breaker. Sure you can turn sound off and other methods to sidestep it, but ehh.. Now voice acting on (mini)bosses could be a great idea. Also play into the "running storyline", I guess it's called, where you enter an area, and you have to act out a scene (save a char, defend a checkpoint, etc) and you advance (or learn more about) the storyline that way. Lots of people now-a-days don't even read quest logs anymore because WALL-O-TXT, fast clicking, not moving fast enough game play.

Then again, maybe these are the same people who prefer picture books or cards that talk to you instead of just reading the print. Idunno.

I definately have to agree with MOOD AND SETTINGS tho. When Episode 2 came out and I first saw Temple... WOW A Sunset!! WOW! Water and stuff in the background! And the music matched the futuristic feel of the zone, flawlessly. It set the pace. It took you there. I loved moving the camera around. Hell, I had to in some parts of temple to see what was smacking me. Spaceship zone was awesome. It had a weird spaceship feel to it. Loved it. Grinded it. Rappy Rappy Rappy.

NoiseHERO
Dec 1, 2010, 11:43 PM
I truly wonder how so many people like this series but hate the anime artstyle...even though it's had that since day 1 aparently pso tricked a lot of people, but it's always been there.

I can understand not wanting shotas and loli's everywhere but.. I don't really like the idea of phantasy star with call of duty looking characters. e_e

PSU had a perfect balance of all that crap IMO, just that it was made for the ps2 and just like pso in a sense looked crappy. With todays graphics we can have comic book, manga, lol-shota, serious realistic artstyles all in the same game. :\

Phantasystar fanboys are all too picky anyway, especially since a third of em are nostalgia addicted, another third probably hate anything japanese, and the rest are all "weaboo."

•Col•
Dec 2, 2010, 12:06 AM
PSO2 shouldn't be re-inventing this game world, but adding onto what has already been established in PSO, and it's spin-offs.

Getting into character customization for the main body I believe the WWE Wrestling games have the right idea, the amount of detail you can do with their creator is near infinite. For the clothing on the Created characters I'd say there should be two main concurrent dress set-ups.
In play/Battle attire which will have a more PSO Armored and/or Military look and style.
Lobby/Community rooms attire which will have a Formal and/or Casual look and style.

In style one your getting down to business, while in style two your relaxing with friends and allies. I also think the clothing art should also be of a dark mood/nature, but have vividly displayed colors like much of PSO's areas (Mines 2).

YESYESYESYEYSEYESEYESYESYES

I love the idea of having different types of clothing for Battles and another for Lobbies.

I was thinking about clothing earlier today, and I didn't know what I would even want... On one hand, the attire in PSO definitely gave a different feeling from PSU..... But on the other, I REALLY liked PSU's clothings system, because it helped to make your character look even more unique than everyone elses'. I really wish Sega would implement this idea to PSO2....

.....Although, I doubt they will...... :-(

paracelsus
Dec 2, 2010, 08:14 AM
I plan to rewrite my post as a letter to Sega, I doubt I'll get even a generic "thank you" letter, but at least I'll feel better knowing I gave them something to possibly think about.

Who knows Colaya we might get lucky, hmm?

r00tabaga
Dec 2, 2010, 10:12 AM
YESYESYESYEYSEYESEYESYESYES

I love the idea of having different types of clothing for Battles and another for Lobbies.

I was thinking about clothing earlier today, and I didn't know what I would even want... On one hand, the attire in PSO definitely gave a different feeling from PSU..... But on the other, I REALLY liked PSU's clothings system, because it helped to make your character look even more unique than everyone elses'. I really wish Sega would implement this idea to PSO2....

.....Although, I doubt they will...... :-(

I think that is a great idea! I'm just mad that in 10 years I haven't thought of that. :(

Kion
Dec 2, 2010, 09:15 PM
I plan to rewrite my post as a letter to Sega, I doubt I'll get even a generic "thank you" letter, but at least I'll feel better knowing I gave them something to possibly think about.


I doubt it would do any good. SOA probably doesn't have any say in anything. If you goto the Japanese PSO2 site (http://phantasystar.sega.jp/psportal/pso2/) at the bottom there is a button that says: ”開発チームに応援メッセジーを送ろう!” (Send a letter of encouragement to the developers). If there are some points we can agree upon as a community I think it would be worth writing a letter and then translating it into Japanese.

•Col•
Dec 2, 2010, 09:32 PM
I doubt it would do any good. SOA probably doesn't have any say in anything. If you goto the Japanese PSO2 site (http://phantasystar.sega.jp/psportal/pso2/) at the bottom there is a button that says: ”開発チームに応援メッセジーを送ろう!” (Send a letter of encouragement to the developers). If there are some points we can agree upon as a community I think it would be worth writing a letter and then translating it into Japanese.

^This would definitely be your best shot.

I suggest you find someone to translate it to Japanese for you, lol. Shouldn't be too hard to find someone on this site willing to do it......

Here's a little article describing what you have to do:
http://www.segabits.com/?p=5454

MAXrobo
Dec 2, 2010, 09:40 PM
maybe we could start a seprate thread on what we sould put in the letter. and just title the letter "from PSOW"

now that i think of it maybe we should have 2 or 3 because there is NO WAY we will all agree to one thing.

Kion
Dec 3, 2010, 02:55 AM
maybe we could start a seprate thread on what we sould put in the letter. and just title the letter "from PSOW"

now that i think of it maybe we should have 2 or 3 because there is NO WAY we will all agree to one thing.

I concur with this. I think a single letter from the community would carry a lot more weight than a single person. Also the button says, "send a letter of encouragement", so you'd need to put a positive spin on it. No one responds well to direct criticism.

Also a short list of points that everyone can agree upon and not a long list of tiny nit-pickings.

As for the points, I think something a long the lines of
1) Mood an atmosphere - I think a lot of people are looking to see some Metroid Prime style dungeon crawling atmosphere in the next game. Involving exploration instead of tiny little missions.

2) Cut the shit with the generic anime style - Anime is fine, but give the game it's own sense artistically.

3) No "story missions" - The game should be involving. There should be any story missions where everything is spelled out for you in long painfully boring, unskipable dialog scenes. We'd like to see the return of a PSO indirect style of story telling.

paracelsus
Dec 3, 2010, 04:58 AM
That sounds fine with me. I'll still work on mine which should lend to me having good idea's and thoughts for both letters.

Also Colaya thanks for the link. I think there was a SoJ Address posted by Xellitoss in a spoiler on page 6.

Wayu
Dec 3, 2010, 05:00 AM
There's definitely going to be a clash of PSU vs. PSO. Before this happens, remember: don't flame.

Please.

-Wayu

paracelsus
Dec 3, 2010, 06:43 AM
That's one of the reasons I'm going to play PSU before I really get into my letter. I don't want to come off as completely nostalgic about PSO. I have seen some nice idea's in PSU. I liked Tech experiance, because when playing a Force in PSO if you didn't have high level disks you couldn't really progress.

Skye-Fox713
Dec 3, 2010, 04:40 PM
I'm gonna agree with the OP on Mood and Setting, Music and Art and Design. Though whatever source that Sega uses as long as its cohesive with the environments your in, like the OP said Sega did a excellent job doing that in PSO but not so much in PSU, as long as they can match the cohesion that they had in PSO in PSO2. It could be some hip-hop music playing in the background for all I care, as long as it's cohesive, fits the environment and is seamless with the environment to fit the mood it will already be that much better of a game than PSU was.

You can admit in comparison of PSO to PSU, PSU was a bit lacking in Mood and Setting, and Music where PSO nailed it in both of those areas. Though the Art and Design was good, they could have probably gone with some different set piece for some of the levels.

For example per say the linear line on the guardians station they could have added windows looking out into space with a view of the planets, a set piece where you would go on a stopped train as your clearing out the area, and made the areas randomly generated like they did with the areas of PSO. Or on the transport train on Parum if they had low lieing windows on the train so that you could see the environment outside that you were zooming across and have it show the train going through caves, vast plains, cliffs and beach side views of the vast oceans and to give a sense of how dangerously fast the train was going.

Admittedly in PSO the forest 1&2 had maybe 3 variations that you could memorize, but when it came to the Caves, Mines, and Ruins I would never know the layout of the areas but there were the "Half way" rooms that I did have memorized and those rooms in them selves were at the time very breathtaking no matter how many times I've seen them. Like the power generator room in Ruins 2 the shier depth of that room made me think how big is this fking ship that's burred under the surface of this planet.

Well thecknicaly the areas of PSO weren't randomly generated, but they had enough variants to each unique area that it would feel like a fresh experience each time you jumped in the game.

In a sense PSU gave you a semmi tunnle vision as to the areas you were in, now I will admit some of the outdoor environments in PSU did show some of the landscape. In PSO they showed off the landscape every moment and second they could from the forest always showing the central dome in your view to the ruins showing several windows of the exterior of the spaceship you were in to the Seabed laboratory constantly showing the rocky sea floor and sea life through the hallways and several of the rooms. And the Music to each of those areas fit it perfectly and adjusted to in and out of combat.

I can remember in PSO ruins 3 I would always read Red Ring Rico's last message before I entered the last room right before the boss fight, and those 2 rooms were very iconic and very memorable.

But I do have to admit the Ancient's ruins of PSU did do a fairly good job of showing the vastness of them.

paracelsus
Dec 4, 2010, 02:02 PM
I've been playing PSU on my PS2 and I've currently just finished the RELICS mission. I've got my synthesis kit and about to get onto another story mission. I'm finding myself liking the control style of the game a lot more then I first did, and I guess it's because I've gotten quite older since then.

I'm a Lv11 character, a Lv1 Ranger, and I'm currently using these weapons
an ungrounded 16% Ice Brand with Lv16 Rising Strike & an ungrounded Powergun with Lv19 Frozen Hit
an ungrounded Staff with Lv5 Barta and Lv3 Resta & an ungrounded Powergun with Lv4 Plasma Hit
an ungrounded Saber with Lv16 Rising Strike & an ungrounded Handgun with Lv1 Burning Hit
an ungrounded Sword with Lv1 Tornado Break

I have noticed I do tend to rely on my Photon Arts a little too much, but I love freezing my opponents with my Ice Powergun.

Corey Blue
Dec 4, 2010, 04:48 PM
I concur with this. I think a single letter from the community would carry a lot more weight than a single person. Also the button says, "send a letter of encouragement", so you'd need to put a positive spin on it. No one responds well to direct criticism.

Also a short list of points that everyone can agree upon and not a long list of tiny nit-pickings.

As for the points, I think something a long the lines of
1) Mood an atmosphere - I think a lot of people are looking to see some Metroid Prime style dungeon crawling atmosphere in the next game. Involving exploration instead of tiny little missions.

2) Cut the shit with the generic anime style - Anime is fine, but give the game it's own sense artistically.

3) No "story missions" - The game should be involving. There should be any story missions where everything is spelled out for you in long painfully boring, unskipable dialog scenes. We'd like to see the return of a PSO indirect style of story telling.
This.:-D

Benzu
Dec 28, 2010, 08:17 PM
I concur with this. I think a single letter from the community would carry a lot more weight than a single person. Also the button says, "send a letter of encouragement", so you'd need to put a positive spin on it. No one responds well to direct criticism.

Also a short list of points that everyone can agree upon and not a long list of tiny nit-pickings.

As for the points, I think something a long the lines of
1) Mood an atmosphere - I think a lot of people are looking to see some Metroid Prime style dungeon crawling atmosphere in the next game. Involving exploration instead of tiny little missions.

2) Cut the shit with the generic anime style - Anime is fine, but give the game it's own sense artistically.

3) No "story missions" - The game should be involving. There should be any story missions where everything is spelled out for you in long painfully boring, unskipable dialog scenes. We'd like to see the return of a PSO indirect style of story telling.

Yes Yes YES. Gameplay is important, and is handled. I absolutely HATED ammo for PSU from the ranged combo system in PSO. Return things to normal please, as was done in PS0. And keep the dodge roll from PS0, it adds a new layer of skill, I think little tweaks like this are in order but with the same classic gameplay.

Mood is my biggest impression with games. And music makes up the half of it, the other half with design. PSO had both. PSU, ehh.

As for story? I like the indirect storytelling style, but I'd like it a little less crypted. As a matter of facts, I think "story missions" could exist. Just take the holograms from free roam, put them into their own special missions, and it's now your goal to find all the holograms. When you find one? A full CGI cutscene of dialogue, battle, etc. No talking between characters, just reviewing the traces left behind, but in style.

CHOX
Dec 30, 2010, 12:18 AM
I really can't add too much to this discussion because many of you have hit the nail on the head. However, I cannot begin to stress just how big of a game breaker the implication of PP was to me. My main in PSO was always a Ranger, and I felt like I was forced to give up the way I played the game thanks to PP.

Kion
Dec 30, 2010, 03:12 AM
PP wasn't bad in PSU. Basically add it did was add the needless task of carrying photon chargers with you. For PSP2 it is kind of a deal breaker having PP be a character stat. I started playing that game as a ranger but got quickly pissed off as PP runs out FAST and then you have to stand around waiting for for it to recharge. (Disclaimer, I quit on the spot, so i don't know if it improves with level)

Wayu
Dec 30, 2010, 03:14 AM
If you hit an enemy with a normal melee attack, you get a blob of PP back. 3 swings on 2 enemies with a double saber can replenish more than enough PP for a CAST ranger.

-Wayu

Kimil Adrayne
Dec 31, 2010, 02:17 AM
I almost completely agree with the OP on this one.

1) Epic music the fits the mood (Episode 3's soundtrack actually has my hooked right now)

2) The environment has to be interesting and unique. In the PSU bastardizations of Forest through Ruins, I felt very sad at parts of them. Where was the water falls in Ruins? the second, destroyed, level of the mines? It was lacking for me.

3) A dark mood. PSU tried to have a dark story line at times but failed compared to PSO. The vast numbers of civilian death in PSU meant nothing to me.

4) For clothing, PSU had it right in the number of clothes but failed it variety (pre-AotI Cast clothes anyone?). I do think that clothes should fit the mood though. For clothing I'd make a compromise: Allow slots for clothes in certain situations.
* Mission Clothes, your battle-worthy stuff here (
* Formal Wear, if needed
* Bathing suits, though I'd preffer if we didn't have this again.
* Event clothes, maybe costume stuff as they have been doing with Evangelion and etc.
Have leaders of parties chose what they'd allow too.

I fully expect PSO2's clothing designs to fail me though. PSP2's was actually memorable... That again I could stand for.

Akaimizu
Dec 31, 2010, 10:55 AM
PSO's dark mood wasn't badly played out. It worked pretty well. PSU was kind of lighter and throughout the whole thing, made a few turns for the dark.

One thing SEGA got better, but perhaps not as well as some would like to, is the online play. Sure, PSO had decent online play, but PSU suffered a lot less of the truly detrimental issues that plagued PSO's play. Needless to say, I played a lot more online with people in PSU than I ever did in PSO due to hackers ruining the online game for me. In PSO, things very quickly relegated to locked parties with only a few friends within the first 2 years of play. No thanks to griefers who just love to do anything they can to completely ruin other folk's characters that they put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into. So playing with randoms quickly went to taking a big risk that you'd lose your character or best weapons for it.

You couldn't just play. You had to take all kind of precautions to protect yourself. I think PSU's combat and everything felt a lot less clunky. PSU's character movement, in general, was an improvement. What PSO had at the time, though, was great movement compared to competition of the time. The amount of real-time multiplayer hack&slash combat options were extremely low. PSO was pretty much the sole proprietor of such things.

But when you compare PSO to PSU, PSO characters move like they have lead weights in their shoes. Though the targetting system proved to work well with PSO's movement setup. Forcing your character to move slowly as a start also helped pinpoint aiming more.

The story is a bit subjective. Different strokes for different folks. Not everybody likes the *you are alone* dark kind of feel of PSO, or Demon Souls. It's pretty much the same reason why there's enough people who tend to favor JRPGs over WRPGs. To a degree, PSO and Demon Souls took more pages from the Western RPG, in both feel and setup. (To some degree, perhaps channeling a little Wizardry influence for story-telling).

The soundtrack is a toughy. PSO was actually rather light on orchestral, but weighted more on unusual electronica sounds to set the mood. I think it's those electronica sounds, more than anything, that makes people love the PSO soundtrack. It's precisely the difference maker. More stuff in it sounds kind of...well...alien. With various almost Sonar-sounding keyboard patches, that echo in the background. Various searing strong electronic instruments that phase in and out.

PSU, on the other hand, is actually more orchestral with a lot more stuff being played by live instrumentalists. In a normal setting, people would associate that as being more Epic because it relates more to a movie score. Instrument-wise, that is. However, in the midst of doing that, it brings the soundtrack to more *familiar* territory. Perhaps, in a way, it loses a bit of that *otherworldly feel* in the process.

PSO did that, but very sparingly. Once you got past part of the intro, the live-orchestra stuff kind of disappears.

Believe me, I've been paying extreme attention to stuff like this as I've been composing and performing pieces in the realm of Phantasy Star mythos. Currently working on a big project for one. So, in a way, it's been a bit of a pet project of mine to discern what goes behind various Phantasy Star piece structures whether it is in the online series, or the original series. I've had to put some serious thought as to how to balance the influences between each piece I write. How do I incorporate partial big orchestral pieces and yet do it sparingly enough so that I can quickly throw people into an electronic dream. The bad part is, is that I'm also influenced by setting.

If I do pieces for something way early in the PS story arc. (Like doing events that lead up to the tech used in Phantasy Star) Then I may have to lay more towards movie score without too much electronica influence. There's a tight balance there, because I just can't make something full blown PSO for events that happen so many years earlier. It may appease one crowd, to a degree, but there will be a mismatch. As a composer myself, my biggest responsibility is that things fit.

Kenbog
Dec 31, 2010, 10:55 AM
PSO2 should have everything other PS games had to offer.

- The music should be again remixed versions of older PS games like in pso and some songs of psu.
[spoiler-box]like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOIKck5Rdpc [/spoiler-box]
- Character customization should be like PSU: the character creator is superior then any other RPG. Everyone looked unique, that was awesome.

- The style should be like PSU or like the art of PSO maybe a little more mature, the newest PS games are getting more and more the style of children cartoon animes... PLEASE no more kiddy heroes :(
[spoiler-box]http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6636/265h.jpg (http://img687.imageshack.us/i/265h.jpg/)http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6729/firefox2009111513462115.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/i/firefox2009111513462115.jpg/)
What HUmar looks the best for you? I think most ppl here chose the same thing [/spoiler-box]
-Some unique things, like an ever changing map, monsters that need all different tactics... I really hope they don't make fighting boring and to repetitive.

Anyway w/e they do Ill play it non stop anyway :3
But if it have everything I said I would have allot of fun :D

Akaimizu
Dec 31, 2010, 11:17 AM
I agree Ken. Especially on that Map thing. I would love if they would take *yet another influence* from Nethack/Rogue-likes. In which there was more of a inner-level randomization thing. Yes, certain specific event missions and mini-story missions may have the same layout. That way people will still have a choice of fixed maps to specifically master.

But one thing I started to see with late development of Rogue-likes is inner-level scenarios. Stuff in which part of the random level creation had a choice of a slew of mini-missions complete with special map sections that not only housed potential nice treasures but entire well-built locations within them.

To the player, it would almost be equivalent of discovering some ancient ruins in there, for them to explore, see some altered monsters you might not have seen before. But it's usually hiding a good chance at some specialty rare treasures. Yes, we've had rare maps which really equalled *rare spawns*. We have basically 4 different rare dungeons when someone is awarded the rare dungeon. But what this is, is something they can make a bunch of, which puts a kink in something within a regular dungeon. Almost like how we've seen in PSP2/PSZ for Cake shops and Pizza shops, and the like. Except you get branched to some rare inner-mission locale that's like half a mission in itself.

Kevin PSO
Jan 1, 2011, 09:05 PM
I agree completely with the OP. Phantasy Star Online had a distinct feel to it, and that's what made it special when compared to the newer PS games. It was dark, and atmospheric. The futuristic setting was more dystopian than utopian. I would even classify it as Cyberpunk. The whole situation in the game felt almost hopeless, and that you as a lone hero were the only one that could discover the secrets of Ragol. I'd like to see that style return in PSO2.

Reksanden
Jan 1, 2011, 10:31 PM
I wouldlove to see everything the OP mentioned return, maybe even going back to Ragol alone, rather than multiple planets.

Chaobo99
Jan 1, 2011, 10:40 PM
I wouldlove to see everything the OP mentioned return, maybe even going back to Ragol alone, rather than multiple planets.

They should make PSO2 wider, more expansive. Ragol would indeed be great as part of the storyline should be the possible re-colonization of it, but i'm sure Pioneer 2(or 3) came across some habitable planets along the way that "require further investigation". Pioneer 2 returned from a voyage only to return to Pioneer 1(full of life at the time) as it's being destroyed by Falz. Kind of wondering what Pioneer 2 encountered while it was away.

CHOX
Jan 5, 2011, 04:04 PM
I think the biggest draw to me about PSO was that it was my very first online game, that and tackling Frosts 1 through Ruins 3 or VR Temple through Seabead 2 actually followed a story, albeit a lose one. I was playing PSP2 the other day and realized that there it literally no story outside of story mode. Missions are just missions.

I think we've all enjoyed this series but the main purpose has always been grinding and searching for that special weapon, but following a lose story, especially one as dark and tragic as the one in PSO seems a little rewarding. It's engaging, even if you've played it thousands of times.

Now, outside of that I haven't really found anyone to play with through three stints of PSU, the Japanese version of PSP2 and now the American version of PSP2, and I think a lot of that may have to do with the lack of a consistent sequence of levels for us to run through. When I did find friends in PSU and ran through White Dragon 10 times in a row I knew I was down with PSU.