My first impressions of Ep4 are quite positive

[lunamaniac]

I just felt like making my own topic about this because I felt like starting a discussion coming from a different direction than the currently very dominant angle that "The new content looks terrible".

Firstly, the controversial Earth planet was a genuine surprise for me as well.

Predictably Japan is where we'll be spending out time here, but that's neither a good nor a bad thing.

This Japan however is a dystopia. The undead are roaming the streets, and weird people from space are running around with greatswords strapped to their backs.

The map itself seems like it's going to be pretty hectic with new environmental hazards like traffic accidents! Frankly, I love anything that breaks up monotony so having to keep an eye out for cars and dodging at the last minute - even being sent flying - is genuinely something I can see myself enjoying. Way better than that annoying as hell lightning. Designwise - it's pretty unexceptional. Despite being set in 2028 nothing looks too sci fi or even very out of place. But that's where the enemies come in.

The enemies themselves are pretty unique - and thematically make sense. They're phantom enemies, so dinosaurs, zombies, and possessed vehicles are all fair game. Their designs are actually kind of neat and a little disturbing. Gameplaywise they were all showing off interesting mechanics. They clash with the setting while being immediately recognizable to the player.

The boss especially looks amazing! I seriously can't wait to fight that!

I actually quite liked the look of the new chase emergency trial. The coin collecting is odd, and it looks a lot like sonic, but the emphasis on movement rather than on fighting enemies seems like a good way to add an element of spontaneity to quests and diversify gameplay. Again, in a less annoying way than stupid red lighting emergency trials.

As for the story associated with the area... It looks weird. The story does seem separate to the rest of PSO2's storyline though from what I can tell. I think that most likely it was introduced to entertain players who were brought in by the upcoming anime adaptation which has similar content. Especially as players will be given the option to start on eps 1-3 or 4 when they start the game. I imagine the ep4 option will be described to appeal to that audience. In the end it may or may not be entertaining, but I do not necessarily think we should expect more of this type of storytelling in the future.

It may well just be a response to the influx of new players they expect coming from the anime adaptation. But only time will tell.

The other controversial addition is the "Summoner" class.

Frankly, I think some people just don't "get" this game's aesthetic. You hear weird statements about how it goes against this game's "grimy" or "tough" feel. It never had any of those things -

What you consistently have is a disconcerting disconnect between cute graphics and a rather dark setting (when you think about it or play the story). PSO2, and the other phantasy star games I've played going right back the mega drive, have all had this to some extent. You should always expect cutesy things, and just because light hearted seeming content is added doesn't mean the storyline and all new content will suddenly be targeted towards gross otaku or children. To be fair, PSO2 has been taking this further than any of the other games to my knowledge.

It's nothing we haven't seen before aesthetics wise, and I don't think it will stand out too much. In terms of gameplay, it's deeper than I expected. I can see myself getting a lot of fun out of the class and may even have it subbed for a very long time if that turns out to be viable.

Another general reaction to a lot of this new content is "wat". People just expressing dislike because stuff is unexpected or strange. Fair enough.

I saw some rather displeased comments about the Hello Kitty collab. I have a female friend who finds that sort of thing cute. In a lot of ways this game isn't friendly towards female players, and is definitely more targeted towards a male audience. While there are male fans as well, I see collabs like these as targeted mainly towards the female section of their playerbase. So I think it's a good thing we're getting it, as it makes it clear that the game isn't supposed to be some boy's only club where every female character is just a man's waifu.

There are a lot of other great additions that don't seem to be being met with such cynicism, such as the new customization. But there's not a lot of need I feel to go over that, since it's pretty straightforwardly a nice addition.

All of this is opinion, but I felt like I had a lot to say. Thanks for reading. There's still hope (maybe)!

[ZerotakerZX]

And we are not, ahahahaha

[NoiseHERO]

Hey don't get all preachy now, it's probably only like 5-10 people freaking out. But yeah... nothings changed, It's been shitty anime since month 6 did the denial only just now break for some people? Ight am done spammin'.

[Poyonche]

Mines are positive too, except that story thing related to the anime that I find stinky.

[wefwq]

I welcome the storage and character slot addition.
free stuff are always welcomed haha

[FireswordRus]

Mines are positive too

[lunamaniac]

Hey don't get all preachy now, it's probably only like 5-10 people freaking out. But yeah... nothings changed, It's been shitty anime since month 6 did the denial only just now break for some people? Ight am done spammin'.

Ahh, sorry if it came off as preachy. I was just trying to outline some good points in my eyes, or at least a more optimistic viewpoint than what I was seeing. I did get a bit snarky when I started talking about the aesthetic though, reading it again...

I don't think it's necessarily bad though, I guess some people got something different out of it - and for them this latest update disappoints. But if possible I still think it's worth tying to appreciate it for what it is, this is a good game and I'd feel bad to see people dump it. (Although that will obviously happen anyway, I know I'm just one idiot)


Mines are positive too, except that story thing related to the anime that I find stinky.

It was a bit blatant, yeah.

[Xion14Blade]

I had a pretty good impression of everything... well maybe except the planet earth bit. Just a bit puzzled how SEGA is gonna explain everything. The enemies and map look really cool though. Not to mention the map's gonna be a great place for screenshots

[Cyber Meteor]

Well, sure that PSO2 Anime inclusion into the game was really unexpected, but how is it tied to PSO2 game's story or related to breaking the cycle of Profound Darkness is still unknown. Also, Pso2 Anime didn't look like it had any reason to be here, now it has one lol. However, that new area and those new ennemies looks great to me, i was hoping for a real Sci-fi city though, but this "2028 Tokyo" will still be better than that urban area for me :-P. Also if the music of the area is the one in the trailer it'll be even better :-D.

[lunamaniac]

Also if the music of the area is the one in the trailer it'll be even better :-D.

That's definitely something I would like. I hope the train boss has good music at least, since I cannot put into words how much I'm loving that encounter from the trailer alone!

[Shadowstarkirby]

I just love the enemies, my second favorite thing to the character customization revamp, they're all so very unique and zany like they're straight out of Parasite Eve, excited to fight them.

...then promptly grind them to dust with 13*s. :wacko:

[RX-93]

Just gonna say this: Harkotan was way less fitting in the PSO2 universe then the upcoming Earth area.

[Vatallus]

I'm not really thrilled about the whole Earth thing. Ignoring that aspect I am interested in the new enemies and possible gameplay. As long as those things don't tank I think it will be just fine. If I recall this isn't actually the first time Earth came up in a Phantasy Star game. Some reason I keep recalling one of the Phantasy Star 3 endings mentioning Earth.

[seilent]

Just gonna say this: Harkotan was way less fitting in the PSO2 universe then the upcoming Earth area.

this
5char

[CoWorker]

the map is meh, but i like the phantom mobs alot.... im only dissapointed that we cant we cant suplex the train....

[Gwyndolin]

I agree, I really enjoyed Parasite Eve and that is exactly what I thought of when I saw the trailer. I'm open minded about where it goes and frankly haven't cared too much about the direction the story of the game goes because this isn't a game I'm exactly playing for its story.

I was, however, disappointed that there was no detailed talent tree revealed for summoner or any of the planned skill additions for the existing classes. Though its possible the other skill changes for other classes may not go live with Episode 4 release, there doesn't seem to be any sense in withholding the summoner tree a month out from release.

[jooozek]

some people play with only 1 character model shown so their immersion isn't broken by rocket tits lolis in wet towels :wacko:

[Kichi]

the way I've been describing my feelings the past 30 minutes:

"I can't tell whether I'm watching some amazing fireworks, or a 1000-car-pileup in the progress of exploding, I'm just gonna hope it's fireworks until I can figure out for sure."

I honestly have hope that this can go well, but also find it a really baffling decision at the same time. But confusion =/= bad, just really too unsure to make a decision either way until I play it some, so I'm gonna hope it's good till then.

[Arialle]

Just gonna say this: Harkotan was way less fitting in the PSO2 universe then the upcoming Earth area.

i have to agree with this...following the so called Floating Facility that had nothing but stones n waters.

Magatsu was its saving grace

[Zarixx]

Really hoping that with all the Episode 4 Areas, they do what they did with Kuron and give them XH Difficulty as well. SH is just way too boring lol.

I, for one, am excited for what Episode 4 has to offer.

[Punisher106]

I'm not really thrilled about the whole Earth thing. Ignoring that aspect I am interested in the new enemies and possible gameplay. As long as those things don't tank I think it will be just fine. If I recall this isn't actually the first time Earth came up in a Phantasy Star game. Some reason I keep recalling one of the Phantasy Star 3 endings mentioning Earth.

*COUGHS HARD*

Phantasy Star Zero took place on an "Earth", which turned out to be Coral. Who knows? Maybe this could be some sort of Coral?

[Xaelouse]

I'm actually really liking Summoner and how highly detailed it is, cutesy stuff be damned (and could change anyway).
I just fear it'd be one of those classes that takes large amounts of effort put into it but is mediocre at the end of the day. Then again, I enjoy playing what I find fun.

[Vatallus]

*COUGHS HARD*

Phantasy Star Zero took place on an "Earth", which turned out to be Coral. Who knows? Maybe this could be some sort of Coral?

My bad I never played PSZ. ^^;

[ZER0 DX]

PSO took place due to an Exodus from Coral, PSZ took place on Earth and it's Moon, which used to be called Coral before the 'Great Blank.' Phantasy Star 3 had an ending where the worldship gets dragged into a wormhole and ends up at Earth. Phantasy Star 2's ending had an encounter with Earthmen that dropped a satellite onto Palma blowing up the entire planet and fully breaking the tri-planetary seal on Dark Falz/Profound Darkness. PSO Ruins on Ragol happens to be a gigantic spaceship, maybe one from PS3? Phantasy Star 4 mentions not all of the worldships successfully evacuated.

Could be all of those games are incredibly loosely connected and this is just another step towards PSO2 connecting with those, but Earth is not an uncommon thing with Phantasy Star at all. Actually come to think of it the only series where Earth isn't mentioned is in the Universe games.

Also I'm running on no sleep so I didn't bother to organize or fact check anything, this is just rambling based off my memory of playing those games many many many years ago.

[Rupikachu]

*COUGHS HARD*

Phantasy Star Zero took place on an "Earth", which turned out to be Coral. Who knows? Maybe this could be some sort of Coral?

If it was coral i would be ok with it. But the Tokyo thing pretty much kills the chance of that happening.

Imo.

Good/Goodish

- Storage fix.
- Salon and customization
- New class (the pets are too cutesy tho., gimme a tiny anga).
- New codes (ok it feels too much sonic the hedgehog), but it gives some variety.
- Enemies. They seem different to what we've been dealing with.
- Matter board revamp.

Bad

- Earth: Killing PS lore with high school animu drama.
- Enemies. By themselves they're fine. But they don't make sense together. You're fighting a zombie, then a dinosaur then a Steamroller then a Train megazord? Just no.
- Mapping quality. Kuron was way more beautiful than that. It reminds me Sonic DX.
- Setting: Zombies, Tanks Throwing nukes. But everything is new and shiny. Also, it's Tokyo, where's the people? Did they die of old age on that 13 year span?.
- Tier 6 graphics/PS4 being "delayed".

Things that worry me:

- The separate ep1-3 ep4 thing + Bridge thing. Different lobbies? Are they going to separate people?

In the long term is more of the same, personally i would have preferred new game modes even on the same maps dunno, pvp, ctf, a non cmode mpa oriented TA, something related with AIS, or even a non eq TD in another planet?

Also, what did happen with the Dark falzes and PD? ( I mean viel hunar appears on the field now so they're not gone, just defeated right?).

[wefwq]

- Tier 6 graphics/PS4 being "delayed".
Doesn't PS4 version never being planned to release on the same day as EP4 launch in the first place though?

[Cyber Meteor]

Tier 6 graphics were never planned to release with EP4 but with PS4 version release which they never gave a date for in first place




Things that worry me:

- The separate ep1-3 ep4 thing + Bridge thing. Different lobbies? Are they going to separate people?

No, they aren't making a new lobby, but just giving a new area to the lobby

[arkeido]

- The separate ep1-3 ep4 thing + Bridge thing. Different lobbies? Are they going to separate people?

Most likely either:
-we can't access matterboard on ep4
-new teleporter to bridge that can only seen by people who access ep4 (they can do this to NPC, why not teleporter)
-just the first time selection to jump right into ep4 like when ep3 released.

[Z-0]

If it was coral i would be ok with it. But the Tokyo thing pretty much kills the chance of that happening.
Not quite.

Pioneer 1 launches in 3076, whereas Pioneer 2 launches in 3083. The story of Phantasy Star Zero takes place around... 3090-3100+ or so. Phantasy Star Zero will look radically different from a highly advanced Earth/Coral because the planet was completely wiped out by Trinity by then.

However, PSO2's Earth takes place in 2028? (Forgot the exact date) So it being more similar to real-life's Earth than Coral makes more sense.

[Sizustar]

Not quite.

Pioneer 1 launches in 3076, whereas Pioneer 2 launches in 3083. The story of Phantasy Star Zero takes place around... 3090-3100+ or so. Phantasy Star Zero will look radically different from a highly advanced Earth/Coral because the planet was completely wiped out by Trinity by then.

However, PSO2's Earth takes place in 2028? (Forgot the exact date) So it being more similar to real-life's Earth than Coral makes more sense.

PSO2 anime - 2027
PSO2 Episode 4 - 2028

[seilent]

No i'm not complaining, i just love that there's so many references in EP4 ~

[SPOILER-BOX]http://i.imgur.com/Cx9YzGS.png[/SPOILER-BOX]

[SPOILER-BOX]http://i.imgur.com/4JDnboI.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

Mines are positive too, except that story thing related to the anime that I find stinky.

Hey spoil the anime and new story arch for me so I don't have to research it myself.

[dot_Hacker]

How can you be in quit mode when you have megaman battle network's navi customizer coming to your pet? Am I the only one drooling over this?

[wefwq]

Hey spoil the anime and new story arch for me so I don't have to research it myself.
The anime not even aired yet.
The thing we know it'll have average highschool trope and CAST being cool.

[seilent]

How can you be in quit mode when you have megaman battle network's navi customizer coming to your pet? Am I the only one drooling over this?

u're not alone ~

[ArcaneTechs]

How can you be in quit mode when you have megaman battle network's navi customizer coming to your pet? Am I the only one drooling over this?
im beginning to wonder if people would call it something different if Ricardo didnt use MMBN as the closest example, not that this is a problem

[Chris_Chocobo]

I liked what i saw about episode 4. Planet Earth was a suprise but not the first time we saw that planet on the series. Remember the Earthmen from PS2, one of the endings of PS3 or even PSZ (im still not sure if Coral is our Earth).

I hope we see on our planet some kind of Mother Brain-boss at some point. Or another zones apart from Japan.

[rokkuman]

Mines are positive too, except that story thing related to the anime that I find stinky.
The story was not confirmed to be linked with PSO2: The animation, however it's rather suspicious that Episode 4's earth will picture at 2028 while the anime's year is 2027... Well, let's wait and see! :3

[LonelyGaruga]

im beginning to wonder if people would call it something different if Ricardo didnt use MMBN as the closest example, not that this is a problem

's what I would call it, but I grew up with MMBN big time so there's bias there. But what can be said, the MMBN series was among the GBA's best (discounting 4 ofc). Bit of a shame that the pets won't have superb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Af1VID13rU) music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0KskcVLCgY) to accompany customizing them, though. I'm a big fan of PSO2's regular lobby music but it almost never plays because of all the seasonal stuff, would have been nice to have it or a remix play while customizing the pet.

Though it's not like any of the really cool stuff that the customizing in the MMBN games permitted can work in PSO2 anyway, so idk how the feature will turn out here beyond basic stat boosts.

[ArcaneTechs]

's what I would call it, but I grew up with MMBN big time so there's bias there. But what can be said, the MMBN series was among the GBA's best (discounting 4 ofc). Bit of a shame that the pets won't have superb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Af1VID13rU) music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0KskcVLCgY) to accompany customizing them, though. I'm a big fan of PSO2's regular lobby music but it almost never plays because of all the seasonal stuff, would have been nice to have it or a remix play while customizing the pet.

Though it's not like any of the really cool stuff that the customizing in the MMBN games permitted can work in PSO2 anyway, so idk how the feature will turn out here beyond basic stat boosts.
Ya real shame, I enjoyed MMBN a bunch back then, shame Element Style class wouldnt be implemented or you know hrm Soul Unison abilities for the different bosses we have.

[SilkaN]

I wanted to say goodbye to this game when my premium expires (around the time EP4 launches), but now I have to keep playing because TANKS, ROLFCOPTERS, ZOMBIES,TRAINS AND DINOSAURS!!!!!! IT'S LIKE THE BEST COLLAB EVER!!!
I wanna see this madness in all its glory!

Damn you, Sega. Damn you for overthrowing my plans with tanks and dinosaurs.
If it only had space nazis now, I would be completely satisfied.

[SPOILER-BOX]http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/ultra/images/a/a7/Dino-Tank_running.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120804105856[/SPOILER-BOX]

[CoWorker]

*OK intensifies*

http://1pun.ch/img/okay.gif

[HeyItsTHK]

Don't let the door hit ya where the big man split ya.

[dr apocalipsis]

All in for a Godzilla collab for a maga-esque EQ at tokio.

[kiakan]

I feel that we don't know enough about the story yet. And what they showed us is not indicative of the entire episode's plot. Episode 3's announcement revealed Harukotan and such, and led us to believe the entire story would be focused on it. While a lot of it was, there was still things about Vopar, the various Falz, Profound Darkness, etc. I think story wise, it's a bit too early to know. The general idea might be to appeal to new players who watch the anime, but I can't imagine they'd abandon the story they've already built up.

[seilent]

who knows that we might getting something like compound tech but summoner ver...
cybeast mode !