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View Full Version : January 27th: Happy Birthday, EPISODE4!



Tymek
Jan 27, 2017, 04:03 PM
Today is January 27th, 2017. Which means that is has now been 1(one) year since EPISODE4 of PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 launched.

Happy 1st anniversary, EPISODE4!

Share your best or worst EPISODE4 moments here. Or let us all know what you thought of it.

isCasted
Jan 27, 2017, 04:22 PM
I'd rather wait until April 20th to celebrate, because that's when they introduced actually good and gamechanging stuff. The start was really weak.

Tho... I got enough meseta from converting Excubes and selling Synthesizers to silly Summoners to make two 5s unit sets, so I guess that's something good.

morkie
Jan 27, 2017, 06:43 PM
the upcoming broadcast is a gift

SteveCZ
Jan 27, 2017, 06:53 PM
Good reminder.

Bait: EPISODE 4 IS DA BEZTTTTTTTT (that it makes some people leave with public messages we may not care much... or some does)

ArcaneTechs
Jan 27, 2017, 07:21 PM
I don't hate Ep4 but the sooner it's over the better, just want a new class and race so it gives me something to do in this game (becoming one of those now great)

red1228
Jan 27, 2017, 07:52 PM
I liked the Quality of Life adjustments we [finally] got.
Tokyo and Las Vegas feel completely out of place & jarring to me. I could not care less about the High School Anime bullshit either. Music for these areas / quests is nice though.

The concept of Summoner is interesting, but I dislike the actual pets we got (should have been existing Phantasy Star creatures, not Pokemon / NeoPet rejects).
Also, fuck egg drops for non-Summoners. I know we all get that feeling of "Hate it when I get a super rare drop for a class I don't play", but horey shet do I find far too many 13* eggs.

Kondibon
Jan 27, 2017, 08:36 PM
(should have been existing Phantasy Star creatures, not Pokemon / NeoPet rejects).I literally can't think of any creatures in the game that would work, and that wouldn't really fit with how they're supposed to work in-universe anyway. If anything they should look more like Photon Beasts.

red1228
Jan 27, 2017, 08:51 PM
I literally can't think of any creatures in the game that would work, and that wouldn't really fit with how they're supposed to work in-universe anyway. If anything they should look more like Photon Beasts.
I was thinking along the lines of Oodans, Degalias, Rappies (and not just that item code one that nobody has)...

I won't pretend to know how Summoners are supposed to be in-universe, since I've pretty much been cutscene skipping Story mode for over a year now (either due to Sega pumping out Story updates faster than the English Translation team can keep up or said Translation Team having stopped TRYING to keep up in favor of translating other more important features of the game). Just my opinion & probably a moot one at that, since I dropped Summoner as soon as I got it to 75 for the Class Bonus.

Mini Photon Blast Beasts would have been neat.

Kondibon
Jan 27, 2017, 09:57 PM
I was thinking along the lines of Oodans, Degalias, Rappies (and not just that item code one that nobody has)...I would legitimately hate that, but I guess there's no reason to argue about opinions.

Evangelion X.XX
Jan 28, 2017, 12:11 AM
I would love to summon an effin' Chrome Dragon or Quartz Dragon onto the field for a limited time (after having obtained one through something like Code Capture).

Edit: and then after having summon them, the MPA can't see sh*t, cause Chrome/Quartz is obstructing the view of the boss/enemies.

loafhero
Jan 28, 2017, 01:16 AM
Summoner pet designs are too far off into the cute & cuddly spectrum and not close enough to the cool and badass spectrum. A balance should have been made but its too late.

The new soundtrack is nice but I still preferred the soundtrack from EP1 to 3 as it sounds more emotional to me.

The many gameplay and technical improvements in EP4 has been the only genuinely good thing to me for EP4.

TehCubey
Jan 28, 2017, 05:14 AM
Ep 4 was a fun ride. Plot-wise it was probably the best episode (first half of ep 3 was better, but ep 3 overall? I don't think so), it introduced interesting characters and cut the chaff, and gave the player character the role in the plot you deserve. There was a lot of quality of life and balance improvements, and newly added content was mostly alright.

On the other hand, story quests were with a few exceptions ridiculously short and the game focused even more on EQs and collection files, with content that doesn't contribute to either being generally ignored.

PSO2 is not the best game or even the best MMO I've played, but it keeps being enjoyable enough that I don't drop it and even if it seems to stumble drunkenly at times, it generally takes steps in the right direction.

@people complaining about summons: I think you forgot what kind of a game you're playing.

loafhero
Jan 28, 2017, 05:51 AM
Ep 4 was a fun ride. Plot-wise it was probably the best episode (first half of ep 3 was better, but ep 3 overall? I don't think so), it introduced interesting characters and cut the chaff, and gave the player character the role in the plot you deserve.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIlL0T2yTss

TehCubey
Jan 28, 2017, 05:55 AM
Still butthurt the plot won't let you beat Phaleg?

ZerotakerZX
Jan 28, 2017, 05:59 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIlL0T2yTssMaybe guy just a more of a SOA fan or something? The only real reason why we hate the plot is because its really not phantasy starish.

TehCubey
Jan 28, 2017, 06:04 AM
I've no knowledge of prior Phantasy Star games, nor do I care if a plot is "phantasy star-ish" or not. I judge each episode's plot by its own merits, and compare it with plots of other PSO2 episodes and nothing more.

And let's face it, while it's nothing special and far from flawless, ep 4 still stands way above the others story-wise. If you think otherwise you're either delusional or nostalgic and need a refresher.

arokidaaron
Jan 28, 2017, 06:06 AM
lmfao people making fun of other people just because they have a diff opinion.

Meteor Weapon
Jan 28, 2017, 07:05 AM
EP4 concept wise is great, presentation wise it was terrible.

loafhero
Jan 28, 2017, 07:55 AM
Still butthurt the plot won't let you beat Phaleg?

On the contrary, its actually nice that there is at least one villain in the story that actually feels threatening :-P


Maybe guy just a more of a SOA fan or something? The only real reason why we hate the plot is because its really not phantasy starish.

No, its because its just bad. Like really bad. So bad, it makes EP1 look good.

Why its so bad?


[SPOILER-BOX]
Bland characters that are so forgettable, that by the time this Story finally ends, I wouldn't be able to describe any of them by their personality traits (of which they have none). Instead, I'd be describing them as such; Hitsugi as the less hotter and boring version of Azanami, Kohri as the more annoying version of Katori you wished Lisa shot to death by "accident", Enga as a less likable Zeno, and whatever the hell Aru was supposed to be.


Ineffectual villains who are so incompetent that they do more harm to themselves and their own home turf than any kind of harm to the good guys (of which there is none). Seriously, their only kill count so far have been their own group members!


The lack of any actual stakes. No matter what happens on Earth, NONE of it bears any consequence on Oracle. The latest chapter even admits that the current problem occurring has NO relation to ARKS at all!


Seemingly tension-worthy moments that gets badly underscored by either the characters moronic reactions (i.e. Hitsugi instantly assuming Enga died from Bethor's bombing without bothering to check for a body, or Aru and Hitsugi being WAY too calm and okay about Aru getting stabbed and absorbed) or treating dark scenes like it was a bad prank/joke (i.e. Hitsugi and Kohri shrugging off Kohri's evil phase like it was a funny moment).


Ass pulls like Player's darker purifying powers conveniently allowing Hitsugi to cut through someone's Aether without harming them or how Kohri's turn to the good side felt like they pressed the reset button on her character to make it seem like the entire evil Kohri phase never even happened (thus, Kohri never really undergoing any kind of meaningful character development)


Stupid amount of awkward exposition dumping.


Pointless perverted scenes.


Kohri... just Kohri.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

Dileth
Jan 28, 2017, 10:07 AM
On the contrary, its actually nice that there is at least one villain in the story that actually feels threatening :-P



No, its because its just bad. Like really bad. So bad, it makes EP1 look good.

Why its so bad?


[SPOILER-BOX]
Bland characters that are so forgettable, that by the time this Story finally ends, I wouldn't be able to describe any of them by their personality traits (of which they have none). Instead, I'd be describing them as such; Hitsugi as the less hotter and boring version of Azanami, Kohri as the more annoying version of Katori you wished Lisa shot to death by "accident", Enga as a less likable Zeno, and whatever the hell Aru was supposed to be.


Ineffectual villains who are so incompetent that they do more harm to themselves and their own home turf than any kind of harm to the good guys (of which there is none). Seriously, their only kill count so far have been their own group members!


The lack of any actual stakes. No matter what happens on Earth, NONE of it bears any consequence on Oracle. The latest chapter even admits that the current problem occurring has NO relation to ARKS at all!


Seemingly tension-worthy moments that gets badly underscored by either the characters moronic reactions (i.e. Hitsugi instantly assuming Enga died from Bethor's bombing without bothering to check for a body, or Aru and Hitsugi being WAY too calm and okay about Aru getting stabbed and absorbed) or treating dark scenes like it was a bad prank/joke (i.e. Hitsugi and Kohri shrugging off Kohri's evil phase like it was a funny moment).


Ass pulls like Player's darker purifying powers conveniently allowing Hitsugi to cut through someone's Aether without harming them or how Kohri's turn to the good side felt like they pressed the reset button on her character to make it seem like the entire evil Kohri phase never even happened (thus, Kohri never really undergoing any kind of meaningful character development)


Stupid amount of awkward exposition dumping.


Pointless perverted scenes.


Kohri... just Kohri.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

Basically. Mother Cluster had been full of dumb-nuts, the protagonists are really fucking stupid as well, Aru's Shota Falz outfit is just "WTF", and Ardem is too cliche to be a good villain. I do like the design of the Phantoms, but they have no place being in the Phantasy Star universe.

lostinseganet
Jan 29, 2017, 06:31 AM
I literally can't think of any creatures in the game that would work, and that wouldn't really fit with how they're supposed to work in-universe anyway. If anything they should look more like Photon Beasts.mags flat out mags. instead of pokemon it should have been like digimon. We should have been able to merge with them, in glorious photon blasts of power

Kondibon
Jan 29, 2017, 09:11 AM
mags flat out mags. instead of pokemon it should have been like digimon. We should have been able to merge with them, in glorious photon blasts of powerI mean, Mags would be fine too, but every one else was clearly talking about random mobs.

But I don't want another needlessly complicated system. I like how simple the pets are compared to crap like affixing. 3:

silo1991
Jan 29, 2017, 09:52 AM
like i said in another post , in terms of gameplay ep4 its good , but in artistic terms it was awful ( except for UQ amduscia) i mean the phantom are the most loose enemies i saw in my life, they dont give me the creative vibe which other enemy groups felt ( except mother and train ghidorah ) , the necessity for recycle the darkers for rescue them was desperate move , i mean most of them are just reskins there is no difference of how to kill them or what you should watch out and also i dont have hopes for the next EQ either , i mean 2 raid bosses who didn't hype me in a season that's bad really bad (you guys know already my opinion with yamato)

and im glad of the renewal of PD and mother EQ it was a relief for the sloth/crap artistic direction the game took .
well for mother EQ the only thing i didnt liked was the 2nd phase it is tedious until the part of the cubes

Dileth
Jan 29, 2017, 12:53 PM
like i said in another post , in terms of gameplay ep4 its good , but in artistic terms it was awful ( except for UQ amduscia) i mean the phantom are the most loose enemies i saw in my life, they dont give me the creative vibe which other enemy groups felt ( except mother and train ghidorah ) , the necessity for recycle the darkers for rescue them was desperate move , i mean most of them are just reskins there is no difference of how to kill them or what you should watch out and also i dont have hopes for the next EQ either , i mean 2 raid bosses who didn't hype me in a season that's bad really bad (you guys know already my opinion with yamato)

and im glad of the renewal of PD and mother EQ it was a relief for the sloth/crap artistic direction the game took .
well for mother EQ the only thing i didnt liked was the 2nd phase it is tedious until the part of the cubes

Pretty much.... Except I don't like ESC-A Falz Mother. I simply found her bullshit, and the Rideroid segment can go suck Satan's dick for all I care.

Altiea
Jan 29, 2017, 03:56 PM
I did like the attempt at making cutscenes into less "push O and watch people talk". The sequence at the end of 4-7 was probably the most visually impressive story cutscene they've ever pulled off that wasn't pre-rendered.

Also, they finally introduced good field music. Prior to EP4, no one really cared for field music.

isCasted
Jan 29, 2017, 04:31 PM
Prior to EP4, no one really cared for field music.

Speak for yourself. I find a lot of earlier tracks better than EP4 stuff. Not saying that it's bad, but it's far from the best this game has to offer.

Altiea
Jan 29, 2017, 05:04 PM
Speak for yourself. I find a lot of earlier tracks better than EP4 stuff. Not saying that it's bad, but it's far from the best this game has to offer.

I mean, relatively speaking. I don't think many of the field tracks from EP1~2 stood out that much. EP3 had pretty good field tracks, though. I really like Double's Inner Universe.

I'm biased towards vocal music, though.

MightyHarken
Jan 29, 2017, 07:42 PM
Ep 4 brought good game mechanics and that's it, that said, ep 4 could have had a good story and interesting maps and still deliver these good mechanics. What esle can I say. The game feels so stupidly out of place that it doesn´t even feel like a phantasy star game anymore.

Kondibon
Jan 29, 2017, 10:41 PM
Prior to EP4, no one really cared for field music.What? There's a bunch of pre EP4 free field music I LOVE. Especially Coast, and Quarry.

I feel like Episode 4 has actually had the most divisive music due to it having lyrics.

Altiea
Jan 29, 2017, 11:37 PM
Maybe I worded that wrong, sorry. I personally didn't think a number of field themes had much impact compared to some of the bigger stuff, like EQ music and whatnot. I'm probably just not too much of the type that pays mind to the field music.

Zysets
Jan 30, 2017, 01:01 AM
The game feels so stupidly out of place that it doesn´t even feel like a phantasy star game anymore.

I disagree, up until Ardem's stabby stab Episode 4 was basically just a "remixed" Phantasy Star II. There were tons of similar plot points and events, and even more references in the music, names, and design. I really liked Ep4 in that regard.

Tymek
Jan 30, 2017, 03:45 PM
I've no knowledge of prior Phantasy Star games, nor do I care if a plot is "phantasy star-ish" or not. I judge each episode's plot by its own merits, and compare it with plots of other PSO2 episodes and nothing more.

And let's face it, while it's nothing special and far from flawless, ep 4 still stands way above the others story-wise. If you think otherwise you're either delusional or nostalgic and need a refresher.

I am OP and I say you're either baiting, or just being rude. You stop that.

ZerotakerZX
Jan 30, 2017, 03:52 PM
I disagree, up until Ardem's stabby stab Episode 4 was basically just a "remixed" Phantasy Star II. There were tons of similar plot points and events, and even more references in the music, names, and design. I really liked Ep4 in that regard.oh, can you tell me more? Im really intersted

Zysets
Jan 30, 2017, 05:19 PM
oh, can you tell me more? Im really intersted

I think the big reference for sure is Mother and Falz. In Phantasy Star II, Mother Brain controls the environment on planet Mota, and things seem to be amiss because the environment is wacky and monsters are much more aggressive. Towards the end of the game, when you finally encounter her, it turns out she's been possessed by Dark Falz (who is trying to resurrect PD, though we don't know that until PSIV), causing her to go nuts, you beat her and Falz, then it turns out Mother was a creation of Earthlings who destroyed their own planet (not specified how) and were using Mother to prep Planet Mota (and possible all of the Algol System) for colonization.

In Ep4, Mother plays a guiding role for Earth, promoting technological advancements and such with Aether. Once her plan to get revenge on the Photoners really starts, she absorbs Aru, but eventually gets possessed by his "Falz", causing her to lose control. We can assume this "Falz" is an agent sent by PD to release it from the timeloop it's currently in, similar to how the Falz that possesses Mother Brain was just a tool PD was using. After we beat Mother/ESC-A Falz, we find out Ardem wanted this all along, and was hoping to use mother to push his plans forward, like the Earthlings in PSII were doing with Mother Brain.

Mother is basically PSO2's Mother Brain, but instead of a super computer, it's a clone of the Akashic Record, which is arguably just a naturally occurring super computer.

And I'm sure everyone is aware of this, but Mother's Boss theme in story board as well as Phase 2 of the EQ, is a remix of the boss theme from Phantasy Star II, "Death Place" ("Place of Death" in the Japanese release of PSII)

I figure Sega wanted to make another story with PSII as the base, like how EP1-3 pulled a lot of details from PSIV regarding what the Falz are, as well as PD.

ZerotakerZX
Jan 30, 2017, 05:25 PM
I think the big reference for sure is Mother and Falz. In Phantasy Star II, Mother Brain controls the environment on planet Mota, and things seem to be amiss because the environment is wacky and monsters are much more aggressive. Towards the end of the game, when you finally encounter her, it turns out she's been possessed by Dark Falz (who is trying to resurrect PD, though we don't know that until PSIV), causing her to go nuts, you beat her and Falz, then it turns out Mother was a creation of Earthlings who destroyed their own planet (not specified how) and were using Mother to prep Planet Mota (and possible all of the Algol System) for colonization.

In Ep4, Mother plays a guiding role for Earth, promoting technological advancements and such with Aether. Once her plan to get revenge on the Photoners really starts, she absorbs Aru, but eventually gets possessed by his "Falz", causing her to lose control. We can assume this "Falz" is an agent sent by PD to release it from the timeloop it's currently in, similar to how the Falz that possesses Mother Brain was just a tool PD was using. After we beat Mother/ESC-A Falz, we find out Ardem wanted this all along, and was hoping to use mother to push his plans forward, like the Earthlings in PSII were doing with Mother Brain.

Mother is basically PSO2's Mother Brain, but instead of a super computer, it's a clone of the Akashic Record, which is arguably just a naturally occurring super computer.

And I'm sure everyone is aware of this, but Mother's Boss theme in story board as well as Phase 2 of the EQ, is a remix of the boss theme from Phantasy Star II, "Death Place" ("Place of Death" in the Japanese release of PSII)

pretty shrewdly, many of those things never occured to me in my mind. I'm understanding of EP4 is a bit hazy of course, until story patch gonna be made of course, but still. The only thing I've really noticed is the music theme, but its to awesome to forget.

Zysets
Jan 30, 2017, 06:15 PM
I also like to think of Hitsugi and Kohri as the world's most disappointing Rolf and Nei.

Hitsugi and Kohri are close friends, but Kohri ends up fighting Hitsugi. Fortunately it works out in the end and both survive.

Rolf and Nei are close friends (basically family), but Nei turns out to be a clone of "Nei First" who fights the heroes, but unfortunately both Nei die. (Unless you're playing the PS2 remake of PSII, which has the possibility of keeping the Nei that's part of the party alive.)

I guess that one could be a stretch but eh.

ZerotakerZX
Jan 31, 2017, 12:27 AM
I also like to think of Hitsugi and Kohri as the world's most disappointing Rolf and Nei.

Hitsugi and Kohri are close friends, but Kohri ends up fighting Hitsugi. Fortunately it works out in the end and both survive.

Rolf and Nei are close friends (basically family), but Nei turns out to be a clone of "Nei First" who fights the heroes, but unfortunately both Nei die. (Unless you're playing the PS2 remake of PSII, which has the possibility of keeping the Nei that's part of the party alive.)

I guess that one could be a stretch but eh.

And I hope they are lesbians, which is also a stretch.

Kondibon
Jan 31, 2017, 12:36 AM
I guess that one could be a stretch but eh.I feel like any of the comparisons to PSII stop at mother. While she was a more direct reference than some of the others, It's not like Episode 3 was some sort of retelling of PSIV just because PD was the final boss.


And I hope they are lesbians, which is also a stretch.
Sometimes I wonder if you're even a real person...

ZerotakerZX
Jan 31, 2017, 01:11 AM
Sometimes I wonder if you're even a real person...Does it affect anything?

Zysets
Jan 31, 2017, 01:36 AM
I feel like any of the comparisons to PSII stop at mother. While she was a more direct reference than some of the others, It's not like Episode 3 was some sort of retelling of PSIV just because PD was the final boss.

That was kind of my point with saying it was a stretch. It's probably my absolute love of the classic series forcing itself where it doesn't belong.

Meteor Weapon
Jan 31, 2017, 01:57 AM
The similarities are there, but PSO2's story in building up the need to get there is godly lacking i don't feel like there's any adventure in it. I mean...PSO2's world building is just awful in general to begin with. Naberius is similar to Earth in nature and had a goddamn sea and they still needed another planet for an ocean-esque area. I bet we barely explore 10% of Naberius, or just using the excuse there's nothing interesting in Naberius. I'm guessing the random generated field just kills the world building factor of a planet.

Zysets
Jan 31, 2017, 02:02 AM
The similarities are there, but PSO2's story in building up the need to get there is godly lacking i don't feel like there's any adventure in it. I mean...PSO2's world building is just awful in general to begin with. Naberius is similar to Earth in nature and had a goddamn sea and they still needed another planet for an ocean-esque area. I bet we barely explore 10% of Naberius, or just using the excuse there's nothing interesting in Naberius. I'm guessing the random generated field just kills the world building factor of a planet.

Not even, they can easily have randomly generated maps, but different designs and areas for each part of the planet. I guess Wopar made a bit of sense plotwise as being an artificial planet made by Luther, being all watery like Xion, but whatever. Still ridiculous.

I thought previous PS games were much more engaging in Setting, both PSO and PSU did better jobs making me care about the world we were playing in. (Excluding classic series in this since I guess MMO and RPG handle things differently.)

Tymek
Feb 18, 2017, 10:22 PM
I thought previous PS games were much more engaging in Setting, both PSO and PSU did better jobs making me care about the world we were playing in.

Agreed. PSO2 doesn't seem to care about the world.

wefwq
Feb 24, 2017, 11:25 AM
EP4 good yet?