How would you rate each level out of 10?

[Sebastian & PSO]

Out of 10 would rate each map in PSO2 so far? For me it would be:

Forrest - 9/10

The scenery is pretty sweet, the music doesn't become tiresome and it has a lot of elements from PSO-GC Forrest. The enemies are also the most fun for me to take down, I probably do the most runs through this map.

Caves - 5/10

For me the caves become boring fast. The only thing I really like about this map is the amount of emergency codes and the fact that multiparties can PSE burst easier than other maps. The traps, fire spurs and falling rocks can get a bit frustrating though.

Desert 7/10

I don't mind the desert. I think it could of done with some different scenery in area 2 and 3 because it's all pretty much the same. Bland actually. Couldn't SEGA have added an oasis area where players can run into the actual water which goes a bit deeper? Now that would of been cool.

Tunnels 9/10

The enemies are the biggest let down for this level. I like the open spaces, music and atmosphere but the main enemies are sort of boring. I wish the Sino Beats or whatever they call them were bigger and faster as well and used stealth. The boss is my favorite of all levels.

Tundra 8/10

One of the prettiest level's as well. I remember being so excited to unlock it, it was like a breath of fresh air after the previous maps. The mammoths can become a bit annoying though but the Banther bosses make up for it. I love how they implemented the enemies hiding in the snow piles.

F.Contitnent 6/10

I feel like this is the most unpopular map. There's hardly much multipartying at this level and it's kind of small and restricted. It does look great at first glance but then becomes boring fast.

Ruins 3/10

My absolute least favorite level. Such a let down, I hate the whole design of it. I was expecting so much with this level, it doesn't even go deeper or really delve into a scary experience. The enemies are annoying, none of them are exciting. The boss for me is kind of meh. SEGA should have made this map a lot bigger and maybe added an inside area for area 2 with some bigger rooms.

City 2/10

Nothing special. It's only fun because it's an emergency quest. I don't like the idea that the enemies have taken over a burning city, I prefer the idea of us invading their own natural habitats. The city reminds me of some cheap sims game, there's hardly any textures going on (and yes I do play with the highest graphic settings) and the music is so generic and terrible. The enemies are also just exports from other levels with Ragnae again being over used as the boss.

Darker Den ??/10

Have yet to be abducted so I can't really judge this one. From what Iv'e seen though and player experience it looks great.


Future levels I'm hoping SEGA gives us Seabeds, SpaceShip and Beach.

[Soultrigger]

I've been spoiled by games like Metroid Prime where they take atmosphere very seriously. With that said, I consider everything besides Darker Den to be completely generic looking (5 and below). Lilipa maps would be good if they actually took architecture seriously, but otherwise they're just stale.

I understand that ARKS is essentially colonizing on uninhabited planets or something, but that's really no excuse to use the most cliched natural settings in existence without adding some kind of creative, artistic touch.

I really wish SEGA started introducing some indoors map like VR or something. It would really take away the cheap, instance feel, at least for me.

[Zyrusticae]

TBH, I'd give every level a 6/10. They are distinctly below-par in terms of appearance, which I find rather galling considering the intro cinematics (both PC and Vita) show that their artists can create some pretty compelling visuals for the environments... they just don't, because lol minimum specs.

Some good-looking levels alone would dramatically improve the replay value of the game, at least IMO. As it is, the character art is great and then the environments are like a blast from the past - seriously, they're barely half a step above the original Dreamcast PSO's environment art! Bleh!

There's so many great examples out there already, too... look at Dark Souls, Aion, TERA (ESPECIALLY TERA, prettiest MMORPG ever made), even Guild Wars 2 all have better environment visuals than PSO2 and they're fully open-world! There's just no excuse, man.

As far as gameplay goes, that's something endemic to the entire game as a whole and that's not really something I take into account when it comes to the levels themselves. At least the music tends to be nice (though not as atmospheric as the original PSO's).

(It should be noted that I'd have a lot less to complain about if Gameguard weren't such a bitch and let me use SweetFX with the game...)

[The Walrus]

Totally should've brought back the art style from the first game.


Anywoo Tundra, Floating Continent and Urban are the only cool looking areas IMO. Though I might just be jaded after having played the hell out of the first 3 areas and mines is just Desert 1.1 so fuck it :I

Ruins is alright tier.

Can't say anything about the Den since I can't get abducted ;.;

[MetalDude]

Nothing near what any of PSO EPII (or EPI Mines and Ruins) had in terms of design, especially where VR Spaceship and Seabed are concerned.

[Gama]

Forest-9
Caves-7
Desert-8
Tundra-7
Skyland-6
Mines-7
Ruins-8

[gravityvx]

All average besides forest, city & ruins (floating continent I'd say is below average), which they at least put effort into making look nice. But it's the ruins, I was kinda hoping it didn't look nice but "scary" & uninviting. Needs more cool landmarks in the areas that mark a certain point in the stage that you reach no matter what map is randomly generated, like that spot in caves 2 in pso, you know the one. They could also stop with the floating island feel with most of the areas, really kills it for me.

[NoiseHERO]

Forest 1: 7
Forest 2: 5

Caves 1&2: 3

Desert1&2: 4
Desert (sandstorm) : 8

Tundra 1: 7
Tundra 2: 2

Skyland 1: 8
Skyland 2: 7

Mines(first few missions): 9
Mines free/conveyor belt: 7
Mines during cool blue electric effect: 9

Ruins: 6
Ruins night: 9



All of them minus 1 for being repetative floating blobs in virtual space with the same chunks placed on a grid just rotated.

All of them minus another 1 for not having any missions with memorable linear paths.

[Xaeris]

Forest - 7. It looks nice enough. Easy on the eyes. There's nothing particularly interesting about the stage itself though. The weather effects are pretty normal and the river only appears in Dagan Extermination and Subdue Fang Banther, which is lame.

Volcano - 3. It's possible that it's inheriting some of the ire I held for Caves back in the day. At least there aren't any Ob Lillies. The lighting's pretty dim for the most part, the weather effects are fairly meh and the music is sleep inducing. The lava surges add some interest though.

Desert - 6. **** sandstorms. They nail my framerate right in the ass. Aside from that, it's perfectly fine. It's a little eerie, seeing a desert overtake what must have been an impressive looking manmade complex now abandoned.

Tundra - 10. Love it. The aurora that sometimes appears is awesome and I like the clean white landscape. Music's good. Not awesome, but it does what it needs to do.

Tunnels - 7. The conveyor belts add a fun element to the stage, and the music is decent. Also, I like that most of it is a series of tight hallways as opposed to the open areas most of the other areas are comprised of. It makes fighting a lot more interesting when I have less room to maneuver.

Floating Islands - 8. The zone itself is neat; floating islands in the sky, what's not to like? Shame they opted to fill it to the brim with reskins, but I can't hold that against the stage itself.

Ruins - 6. It's okay. The pillars that can buff either you or the enemy are a neat element, but other than that, it's kinda plain. The scenery is pretty enough.

City - 10. I never got a very good look into Pioneer 2 back in PSO. This stage lets me take a good look at the inside of an Arks ship and get a lot of insight into their society and habitat. Plus, the music is nifty.

[UnLucky]

Forest: 7/10
I hate how the ring traps cancel your button presses. You hold forward and you stop moving, even with it still held down. Switch to a diagonal and it only counts one direction. Also stops charging PAs/techs. You can just jump out of them, but they're the most annoying trap for me by far. Also way too many rare drops from birds quests for my tastes.

Caves: 8/10
I enjoy purposefully walking into the fire pillars to get launched and bounce off all the walls despite their low damage. I rarely do it unintentionally, and I'm almost always trying to set my allies on fire. I swear it builds your PB gauge faster, it's a gift of love, why won't you accept my burning passion?! So silly how you can just jump into the lava without taking any damage at all and traverse entire fire lakes unharmed.

Desert: 6/10
I never really noticed how Darker heavy the maps were until now. Half of the encounters are reused enemies. Lame.

Tundra: 4/10
Forest frosted over. Lame. And the jump pads here also cancel your input, annoying me every time I take one.

Mines: 5/10
Desert again, but with less sand but about as much bland. Lame.

Floaters: 4/10
Reskinned caves without fire. Lame.

Ruins: 3/10
Reused assets the map. What new enemy types do you fight here? A black Rockbear that mocks all Hunters? A Blastoise that spins around? Not like any of it's at all challenging with a group, though I hate taking on the black dudes with the huge balls by myself. Uhm...

[MetalDude]

Blastoise? I kept thinking Bowser.

[The Walrus]

I was just thinking fuckin sweet ass turtle

[UnLucky]

oh yeah and the Krahbs that just turtle all day. that sure is fun. I got attacked by one once and was genuinely surprised. "Woah, this thing DOES stuff? Did I miss the patch notes?"

[gigawuts]

who the fuck sees a turtle with artillery cannons in its back and thinks

"that's definitely not blastoise, gotta be bowser"

[MetalDude]

Fire Breath, body slam, whirling fortress.

[darkante]

Tundra: 8/10
I´ve always liked snow landscapes in games, this one is a pretty sight as well.
Also, like mammoth riding.

Forest: 8/10
As overused forest areas are in general, i love how this one looks and feels.
I miss boomas though, so cuddly.

F.Continent: 7/10
It´s a refreshing change to see, not much in terms of combat though.

Caves: 7/10
I like the lava flow and the dragon enemies. Also, the small details with the bones on the wall.

Mines: 7/10
Not much for mines (PSO1 being an exception), but i like the enemies and the conveyor belts.

Ruins: 7/10
It´s a interesting mystical place with the little i got to play, i give the crab enemies and Blastoise a good rating. :)

Desert: 6/10
I don´t like deserts much at all. It has a decent design, but i´m not a fan.

City: 5/10
Boring sight..and swarms of darkers..no ty got enough of that.

Darkers Den: ?/10
Can´t say..haven´t touched this game for a while.

[blace]

Forest: 6/10 Why are we always in those little crevices anyway?

Caves: 4/10 Wall based codes every other block.

Desert: 7/10 Floating chunks of sandstone, but at least you can see things around you.

Mines: 6/10 Gigantic underground facility with abandoned weaponry, what else?

Tundra: 6/10 Bland and boring. Why are we still running around in the crevices?

Floating Continent: 8/10 Interesting look, but trying to find the gate to the next area is confusing.

Ruins: 7/10 Run from area 1 and the next area is located inside a small building leading into the tower. Nope, you're still outside.

City: 9/10 Offers what kind of life style is going on from the ruined areas aside from our very limited shop and lobby areas.

[CJ Johnny]

Forest >10

Caves > -10 Yes, -10. Road Blocks to check Drinking and Gaming

Desert > 8

Tundra > 9

Floating Continent >1. Road Drop to check If you are Aliens.

Under Ground Mines >2. Nothing but Darkness.

Ruins > 10

[Sebastian & PSO]

Wow seems like players are pretty unimpressed by level designs, SEGA really needs to lift it's game, especially with the 'more players then ever expected amount' that means more money which should improve their design.

I agree with almost everyone's ratings, the level designs are re-used maps with changed skins and textures. Enemies are re-used way too much (fuck the whole 'darker' enemies, they are so boring and lame and child-like)

It's time for SEGA to start putting some real design thought process into this and make a level with far better graphics, design and length, with COMPLETELY new enemies and one that actually requires some skill, not just running through and blasting every mob that appears. How about teleporters, switches, doors that don't unlock unless you take down a certain enemy, traps that don't disable your movement keys smarter enemies that take learning a special pattern to take them down. Also some evil AI's would be nice. I know there's the 'clones' but encountering them randomly doesn't work for the casual player on here.

And I agree about the traps and launch pads in tundra, utterly annoying that there's a two second delay for keys until the trap has risen from the ground of your character has stood still for one whole second after landing. NO. if they are aiming this game on a hit and run then it needs to be smoother.

[Syklo]

It's time for SEGA to start putting some real design thought process into this and make a level with far better graphics, design and length, with COMPLETELY new enemies and one that actually requires some skill, not just running through and blasting every mob that appears. How about teleporters, switches, doors that don't unlock unless you take down a certain enemy, traps that don't disable your movement keys smarter enemies that take learning a special pattern to take them down. Also some evil AI's would be nice. I know there's the 'clones' but encountering them randomly doesn't work for the casual player on here.

And I agree about the traps and launch pads in tundra, utterly annoying that there's a two second delay for keys until the trap has risen from the ground of your character has stood still for one whole second after landing. NO. if they are aiming this game on a hit and run then it needs to be smoother.

Teleporters: Check
Switches: Check
Doors that don't unlock unless enemies are taken down i.e. Code:Elimination: Check.
Traps that aren't binding (Bombs): Check.
Increasingly smarter enemies? They sneaked that in by like a 2% degree.

That 2-second thing is just latency: it isn't even 1 second on my end.
Other than that, this satisfies me.
Everything but caves and desert i rate 8+.
Caves:5.
Probably just environment style.
Desert:2.
Looks ugly, Dislike the music, annoying magnetic storms.

Would love to see a new planet with a new species though. Something like GOLEMS! (No don't reuse rockbear and kind yede)

[SallySalSal]

Forest - 8 - Basic, yet detailed.
Caves - 3 - Ugh.
Desert - 7 - The sandstorm is pretty cool~
Tundra - 7 - I like snow ;-;
Mines - 8 - Pretty intricate :o
Floating - 5 - Boring.
Ruins - 5 - Expected a lot more.........................
City - 8 - I like urban environments ;-;

[ShinMaruku]

Vote most at 6-7 because it's bullshit to go from one zone to the other. if it were like say PSO probably would be better.

[UnLucky]

That 2-second thing is just latency: it isn't even 1 second on my end.

It's about a second for me, but if I'm in a rush and I'm like trying to poll my input until I can actually move by cycling through left/up/right (not even that fast) it will force me into a DOUBLE TAP DODGE and now I'm super pissed off for two reasons

But since "disabling" double tap by mapping my WASD to a virtual gamepad via vJoy, the game controls much more reasonably. For the traps, jump pads, area changes, and TA count down, I can just hold W and tap D regularly to be able to move almost immediately once I regain control without EVER doing a dodge accidentally.

[Syklo]

But since "disabling" double tap by mapping my WASD to a virtual gamepad via vJoy, the game controls much more reasonably. For the traps, jump pads, area changes, and TA count down, I can just hold W and tap D regularly to be able to move almost immediately once I regain control without EVER doing a dodge accidentally.

For area changes, you know you can just press auto-run while loading the area and you'll start running right off the bat. (Specifically when you see the area name header pop-up, not before-hand).
Everything else I just get used to timing it, 0.04s means nothing to me.

[Grifs Astoni]

Forest - 8/10
Caves - 4/10
Desert - 7/10
Tunnels - 8/10
Tundra - 9/10
FC - 3/10
Ruins - 5/10
City - 5/10
Darkers' Den - 9/10

Darkers' Den had the most variety for me, while FC just looked bland imo lol. It did have the potential though, seeing how it looked like. Too bad.

[Cyron Tanryoku]

Forest - 1
Volcano - 1
Desert - 1
Tundra - 1
Tunnels - 1
F. Cont - 2
Ruins - 2
Den - 10

Den spoiled me

[Shirai]

Dumb rating for forest/tundra most likely blah

Forest - 9/10
The environment is very pretty to me, I always thought it was the better looking of most of the maps. The lighting is nice too, and it gives me the PSO1 feel of forest.

Caves- 4/10
Has always been the most dull in every Phantasy Star game. Just...boring...lol

Desert- 6/10
Surely reminds me of Crater from PSO:BB. It could be much more interesting though. I love the transition from day to night. Those shooting stars. <3

Tundra- 9/10
SNOW.

Tunnels- 3/10
Just an underground version of Desert and it's....dull.

Floating C.- 5/10
It's pretty...not much to it though. The enemies are okay...

Ruins- 7/10
It's pretty when the map consists of mostly the Arc things. Love the lighting, and the enemies are fine too. But there's something about it...

City- 4/10
It's nice to see an actual city in the game, but...yeah.

Darker Den- 10/10
It feels so out of place out of the rest of the maps in the game. It's a cool and enjoyable map, the game should have more maps like it.

[Macman]

Forest: 9/10 Caught the original feel impeccably. Just needs enemies to be a bit tougher on higher difficulties

Volcano: 7/10 Love the enemy designs, the music fits the atmosphere, but the map layout is irritating to navigate.

Desert: 5/10 Dull, uninspired, way too many darkers for an area they were hyping up to be about mechs.

Tundra: 7/10 Decent atmosphere, music's a little jarring at first listen. Jump pads are fun but a little annoying (having to repress W or autowalk every time you use one)

Tunnels: 7/10 Music feels messy, terrible pop-in. Fixes the whole problem Desert had with having an actual volume of machines to fight, though. Holds my favorite boss in the game currently.

Skylands: 4/10 It's one thing to reskin normal enemies, but reskinning a mini-boss, too? The two original mooks in the area are my two most hated enemies both in gameplay mechanics, and in design. Quartz is a buggy mess that constantly hits you twice with one charge, insta-killing you.

Ruins: 8/10 Music's great, original enemies in the area can be challenging. Most of the "challenge" comes from getting blindsided by the metric ton of fish that spawn everywhere, though. Bosses are not much fun, either.

City: 9/10 Did a very good job with the whole "under attack" scenery. Music matches the urgent pace of a rescue mission while remaining relatively upbeat.

Darker Den: 0/10 I can't rate what I can't experience. RNG-locked content is the dumbest thing in this game.

[Syklo]

Quartz is a buggy mess that constantly hits you twice with one charge, insta-killing you.


Really?
That NEVER Happens to me.
probably lag?

[Syklo]

Frog Forest - 4

Volcano Valley/Lava Reef - 1, being super generous here, "EVERYTHING!" (*slamming hands on desk and sobbing optional*) gets on my nerves here.

Sandopolis - 3 for most of it, 6 for Zone 3 area 2.

Ice Cap - 3

Machine Labyrinth - 5, cuz some parts of it remind me of Midgar. ヽ(‘ー`)ノ

Planet Wisp - 3

Marble Garden - 5

Crisis City - 7

Black Comet - 9


As for QD Charge hitting twice, it only happens to me when I'm playing on my max height Caseal. All my other chars only get hit once by it.
I love the sonic references.

(Except idk black comet)

[gigawuts]

Am I the only one that finds the city bland?

Serious question.

edit: No I should have read more of the thread before asking.

But yeah.

Forest, desert, skylands: 6-8, depending on layout (Some puzzle pieces are less neat than others, but can be neat to look at and play in if they layout isn't repetitive)
Caves: 1, blech
Ruins: 7-8 (layout again, it can range from just a mess to an interesting level)
Mines & den: 8 (Interesting premise, and being created by an actual intelligence offers some depth to the game even if you know it's actually a random layout)
City: 3-5 (layout hurf, but also fairly boring and silly since it's low scale - there are buildings smaller than my bedroom for christ's sake)

Honestly, what parts you get has a massive influence on how interesting a map is. Some parts are just neater to look at, but if I get 7 of the same dead end part and 12 of the same junction it's just not going to be very fun to play in for me.

[ShinMaruku]

City is fine it's only in fucked up multiparty areas. Volcano can eat a dick though. Terrible lay out and that collect items thing get's on the nerves and the bosses spawning in terrible areas... Nah they should remake it.