Phantasy Star Zero Reviews

[Risingsun]

From 1up:
- Phantasy Star Zero (8/8/9/8, 33 points): Sega's DS RPG fared quite a bit better in the review rankings, though a lot of that may've been because of less-inflated expectations. Like the Monster Hunter series (the game that PS0 will compete with the most in terms of mindshare), "leveling requires a sizable amount of time...the game's conceived and balanced under the idea that you'll spending a lot of time on it, searching for rare items and so on." Not so different from the rest of PSO, then. As always, "the game's simple to control and the battles are high-tempo," and although "it feels like the volume is a little on the low side," multiplayer is where "the game's real value shines...it really feels like an online game in the palm of your hand."

[DeathMachine]

Just what I was wanting to read. I'm slightly concerned about this concensus of "Low Volume." It must be notable if more than one site said it. I would believe they tried it with and without phones. Just hope it doesn't detract from the experience. I know that the BGM really did it for me in CCA, Mines, Ruins, etc. Other than that, it sounds like good news.

[Nowhere]

I can't imagine a "low volume" issue getting past QA without a good reason. Since the DS has rather weak speakers, I take this to suggest that they've put more dynamic range into the sound than usual.

If it is because of increased dynamic range, I'm surprised they'd bother. The DS's speakers are already far too wimpy to deliver the full dynamic range it's capable of rendering. Just about every game already sounds like it has twice as much depth to the sound when headphones are used. Maybe they're expecting people to put the phones on though.

[Kent]

The fact that Famitsu actually scored Phantasy Star Universe higher than this doesn't bode well, but then again, I don't generally read Famitsu reviews... And numbered scores are pretty abject in nature.

[Tummai]

I took it as the same thing, however the reviewers only got so far in the game. I hate people who review a game that they've barely played, its not a true review its just basically just saying if the beginning is catchy or not.

Don't be too hard on them . The game companies give early releases to the magazines for a reason. They hope to make a good first impression and get some initial high scores to increase the buzz right before release. So really, they (Sega) are specifically asking them (Famitsu) for a shallow face-value review.

[furrypaws]

Erm...what does each number represent? I'm assuming that one is gameplay, one is music/sound, one is graphics, and one is replayability? Someone please elaborate. >_<

[Percival]

Erm...what does each number represent? I'm assuming that one is gameplay, one is music/sound, one is graphics, and one is replayability? Someone please elaborate. >_<

Allow me to quote wikipedia on this topic: "Video games are graded in Famitsū by a panel of four video game reviewers. Each reviewer gives a score from one to ten (ten being best). The scores of the four reviewers are then added up with a possible score of forty."

Basically, 3 of the Famitsu reviewers gave it an 8 out of 10, while a fourth reviewer liked it even more and gave it a 9 out of 10.

[furrypaws]

Oooooh, ok. I see what they're getting at. Thanks. ^_^