PSO story

[loafhero]

EP1: Not all too good for the most part as our characters are just observers but it does end on a sweet note.

EP2: Trims out the fat of EP1 and gets straight to the point. Has a more proper villain (Luther) and finally does something with the Matoi plot but I feel like it blew its load a little too soon.

Don't believe what TehCubey said about how irrelevant our character was here. Quna's turn, Zeno's survival, Matoi's recovery and getting back the Clarissa, Ulc's survival, Xion and Xiao's plan, drawing all of Luther's antagonism, draining Loser of all his power, and saving Sara, were all made possible because the Player has much more agency this time.

EP3: The best of the 3 but still pretty flawed. Its 2 major story arcs don't tie together in a coherent way. Best voice acting performance by Xiao and Kotoshiro here.

EP4: A so bad, its good kind of thing. Used to be that a lot people had problems with the premise. Nowadays, its the execution of it story and characters that are seen as its biggest problem rather than the ideas. It does feature the best Quna song to me at the end.

EP5: Gets to the action much faster than EP4 but its also too rushed, making it hard to feel invested in the conflict as no time is given to let anything sink in. Its not yet over but I can certainly say I can tolerate it more than EP4.

[blkbox11]

For the OP: it depends on what kind of tone you like. EP4 is meant as an introduction point for mostly Japanese players who are new to the franchise and generally has a lighter tone than EP1 to 3. If you want a proper sci-fi feel with a heavier tone, then you will find EP1 to 3 very good, like most of the people here.

I don't mind much the Earth being a setting, it's how they presented it with common anime cliches all over the place which kinda ticked everyone I guess(tho I guess only most foreigner players feel that way).

The part about foreign players is correct. While it's true that Hitsugi herself didn't end up topping popularity polls, Mother did, just like Luther. And, there were few (if any) complaints from the JP side of the playerbase on twitter. Normally, if something ticked off the Japanese players to the same extent as on PSO-W, we'd know. Just look at the balance situation in EP5, which went from mild to really bad on their social media.

On the other hand, 'common anime cliches' being bad is not quite right, I feel. People like to blame cliches (and 'tropes') for something being bad. But, when they are executed well and presented straight up in media generally viewed as good, most people don't realize they are there nor pay them any mind. That being said, even I think EP4's execution of those cliches was far from the best, but it's not like PSO-W's favorite villain, Luther, was a good cliched smug anime villain either. While he's not THE WORST (that title goes to Re;Creators' Altair), the manner in which he operated reminds me of one of the most well-known bad cliched smug anime villains: Bleach's Sousuke Aizen.

[Dark Mits]

My 0,02€:

The story in PSO2 is generally average to below average. Multiple reasons, all subjective, but:
- the dialogue in many cases is too long, almost Golden Sun long. The exception where I enjoyed the extra dialogue before the action was in Ep2Ch5 when you fight the class leaders + Fourier.
- characters are childish. Not even acting like teenagers, outright childish. Very few exceptions like Regius, Maria, Zeno, Afin, the first 3 class leaders and Saga, maybe a few more. You have characters like Xiera enlisted as your superiors/guiders when she acts like a 6yo (and no, the fact that she was "born" 2 years ago according to the story is not an excuse, you simply appoint someone who is mature for that position).
- We have a lot of interesting side characters who could have their plot and stories extended, but instead we get new characters entirely, who are then also left with part of their stories unresolved, only to get even more new characters etc.
- Episode 4 is not bad because it has tropes and cliches, it is bad because of scenes like the one in the bathroom, and because too much is focused on the teenage problems of Hitsugi and co. instead of the actual plot. It is bad because it's supposed to be happening on Earth, yet somehow teenagers are more suitable to tackle the oncoming threat than experienced people in their 30s-60s who also have Photon/Ether sensitivity (or whatever that interesting cutscene explained)? And what exactly is the deal with Aru? Did we really need another 6yo to be important and a catalyst in our plot?
It does have some positive merits, for example Aratron, and the incorporation of Theia hypothesis on the origin of Mother.
- Episode 5 story isn't bad imo. It's text heavy but it does fit the theme, because nearly 99% of all dialogue is done in non-combat situations, and not when you have your weapon unsheathed and pointing at your enemy. And with the exception of Xiera, everyone is acting in a mature and character-fitting way.

A lot of the hate for Episode 4 is also because of gameplay reasons. Sega basically (further) arcad-ified the game by removing ARKS Quests for Las Vegas, Las Vegas has 2 map variations and Tokyo about 4 or 5, and there is no such thing as exploring the map to find the exit to the boss; you just hope it appears before you fill the point quota and then have to requeue for it; and if RNG hates you you can be requeueing for over 1 hour and not get the enemy you want.

Episode 5 gets a lot of hate, because it has only introduced 1 box of new playable content, and this box isn't even randomized, it's outright static every single time. The equivalent would be to say that one whole new Episode would bring only Harkotan Time Attack for its whole duration as playable new content.

[kurokyosuke]

"Let's talk for about 5 minutes in front of this dragon that wants to kill us!"
*dragon waits for conversation to end before attacking*

[loafhero]

"Let's talk for about 5 minutes in front of this dragon that wants to kill us!"
*dragon waits for conversation to end before attacking*

Common anime trope.

[ZerotakerZX]

Common anime trope.

anime tropes are bad and should be avoided even in anime.

[kurokyosuke]

Common anime trope.

I can't recall any moment in EPs 1 through 3 where it was as obvious as the one in EP 5, though.

[Kondibon]

I can't recall any moment in EPs 1 through 3 where it was as obvious as the one in EP 5, though.

I would say Hunar, but the Zeno questions it, and Hunar explicitly tells you he wants to actually fight, not just hit you while you're distracted.

[Dragwind]

I personally liked 1-3. I can't vouch for 4 as I skipped it pretty much entirely. 5 so far seems all right to me.

[FantasyHeaven]

The story should not be touched with a ten foot ladder. The japs agree, don't bother them about it.