Article: A Brand New Batch of PSO2 Screens!

[EspioKaos]

A brand new set of screenshots from Phantasy Star Online 2 has been released in this week's official Japanese newsletter! (Check the link for a full translation.) Let's waste no more time and take a gander! Be sure to click on the screenshots to view larger versions.

A HUnewearl shows off a new weapon category.

The frighteningly huge Rockbear!

It's a group effort!

That's not all, however! The newsletter also revealed that a PSO2 media briefing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26, complete with a live broadcast on the Japanese video-sharing site Niconico Douga! Look forward to new videos, screens and information!

Join in the discussion (and speculation) of these new screens in Angelo's thread at the forum. And stay tuned for more information to come from next week's media briefing!

[kyle19]

very cool cant wait to play

[ProSnipor]

This looks great! Can't wait to get my hands on this game!

[Mizumi323]

And here I was thinking of being a ranger...
Looks great!
Also, is it just me or are there more than 6 people fighting at the same time there?

[Home Dog]

On the bottom picture, it looks like there are 7 people in that party! 3 of them have blue names. Could that mean you can have 6 players and NPCs or could those NPCs be enemies?

[Norco]

I count 8 people fighting that huge thing.

[M3rror]

The Blue names are players and the white names are NPCs. It's more than likely apart of that random in-game mission crap or w/e it was where something abrupt happens.
EDIT: Couple of things I noticed.
1) Enemies no longer have element types. If my rusty noob japanese serves me right, they brought back the attribute system. Which is somewhat good and bad. The new item synthesis is what worries me next.
2) Enemy Levels return. This is good I guess, but it worries me that the game will be mission based like PSU because of the enemy lv range in the mission description. The only point in enemy levels was to tell you if you were good enough to play that mission, won't do you much good when you go down to the New Forest and see an enemy's level then leave since there was no mission counter to go down to Forest 1 in PSO.
3) I'm assuming item boxes return judging by the return of the Meseta box in the first pic. Would be nice instead of PSP2's item boxes.
4) Monomates and Monofluids are color coded now. Green I think is mate and blue is fluid (Not sure just guessing)
5) Obvious RAcaseal in 3rd picture. lol and Sinow Beat RAcast
6) Redesigned compass/mini-map that doesn't take up a large portion of the screen
7) New weapons I'm assuming are whip-like fashioned.

[M3rror]

Proof as to how those are NPCs as white: At the end of the RAmar's name is Bernie. However, Shino is at the end of the RAcaseal's name. So this could mean like I stated above where it's just the cut-in mission and they tag along. EDIT: The RAmar is floating. More proof SEGA is not changing much in the ole texture/model department.

[MaggotSai]

I'm looking forward to this game more and more with each new image.

[Ezodagrom]

In the mail where the pictures came from it is said that there won't be PSO NPCs in PSO2 and players are using PSO NPCs names in the screens.
Translation from that part of the mail by EspioKaos:
"Ah, in today's screens, player names are taken from PSO NPCs. Those same NPCs don't actually appear in this game, however."