Phantasy Star Universe, also referred to as 'PSU', is a new, full length adventure in the Phantasy Star series. PSU is said to provide a full-featured offline RPG experience, with an estimated 40+ hours of gameplay. In addition, it will have a massive online game mode as well, allowing players to team up with friends and adventure throughout PSU's three major planets. Scheduled to release sometime in the Winter of 2006 for PC and PS2 in the US, and in February of 2006 in Japan, it is sure to be a completely new and fun experience. From the SEGA.com PSU Webpage:

The long awaited new title in the beloved Phantasy Star series is on its way! Phantasy Star Universe delivers a rich, ever evolving world and will provide hours of entertainment to both online and offline RPG enthusiasts. Single-player fans will embark on an offline quest as Ethan Waber, a 17-year old cadet intent on saving his sister from an invasion of mysterious life forces called THE SEED. While online players will create their own characters from a range of races, and then set off to explore all three planets in the Grarl solar system. Fans will travel with a squad of other adventurers, enter urban sprawls teeming with hundreds of other players, and build their avatars into powerful warriors.

  • Three enormous planets to explore. A gigantic overworld and more than 20 enormous dungeons are featured.
  • All-new enemies to fight. Along with a brand-new roster of standard opponents, there are more than 15 major bosses to challenge.
  • Player-controlled vehicles. Players no longer need to travel everywhere by foot, adding a new dimension to exploration.
  • The best online Phantasy Star experience to date. Features a game world that will evolve with new content over the course of several years.





You can view more screenshots of PSU in our Screenshots section. You can also watch a video from E3 here as well.
Character Classes :
Humans:
The humans are the most common race among the planets. Their stats are said to be somewhat like that of a HUmar in PSO, pretty much all average.

Casts:
These are 'robots' that were created by humans long ago. Unfortunatley, they developed their own thoughts and demanded equal rights. This was hard to do, so the casts eventually wanted to control the human race. They have higher DEF and ATK power, so they could be compared to some casts already in PSO. They do differ from PSO in that they now have mental strength. Yes, MST, but it is very low.

Newmans:
Born of the human's attempt to create a super human, they have low ATK and moderate DEF, but excell in MST. Comparable to PSO's FO class.

Beasts: PSU's new class that we've yet to see. They were altered to work for humans to mine in conditions that Humans couldn't survive in. They have high ATK and moderate DEX. Their MST is under average.

General Information:
The world is being overtaken by Casts, which were originally developed and created by humans. Eventually, they went out of their master's control and the casts were working on controling the human society. PSU seems to follow PSO's style. It's been said that everything is incredibly detailed, right down to the pixel. Swaying bushes, moving clouds.

The name of the solar system you will be in is called the 'Gurhal Solar System'. It will feature 3 planets within, all which you will eventually visit on your quest. The three planets are not very content with eachother, 100 years ago, the system ended the war that had been going on, and had a treaty that meant peace among the planets.

As for the story, in the beginning, a ceremony is going on for the 100th anniversary of the end of their war. (the treaty described above). Ethan was at the ceremony with his sister, Lumia during this event. As seen in the video, a fleet of Guardian ships are destroyed by several meteors just outside of the planet. During this, everything around Eathan suddenly catches fire, as SEED, an alien life form has declaired war on them. Lumia is stranded in the rubble, this is where you must come in and save her.

As how it compares to PSO, it seems to be the same form of gameplay, but more freedom. You still need to level up, fight bosses, and play with other characters, but you'll be playing real time with many other players. The lobbies are said to be massive, and able to hold many people within. PSU will also feature server side saving, and the game will be patchable if need be. There will be regular content updates along with events. SEGA has commented that they will support PSU for many years after it's release. Also, mags are apparently being replaced by another form of it, and not much is known otherwise.

The online element of PSU will be completely different than that of the single player adventure, plus it will get it's own updates (most likely in the form of quests and other content). Expect to see similar events that PSO offers, such as celebrations for holidays.

PSU will be offered on two platforms, PC and Playstation 2.
Awards:
Phantasy Star Universe isn't even out, but it has received several awards from it's showing at E3:


IGN has given Phantasy Star Universe the "Best PS2 RPG at E3" award.


1up.com has given Phantasy Star Universe the "Best RPG Game at E3" Runner Up award.


G4's Xplay gave Phantasy Star Universe the "Best Multi Platform Game at E3" award.
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