Latest News and Updates

In today's official site update, several new character screenshots were added to the site. These screenshots come from the game's story event cut-scenes. As such, they contain spoilers, but there are no stunning revelations in them. EspioKaos has provided translations for the text in these screenshots. You can click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the images.

Clumsyorchid has confirmed on the psobb.com forum that several major changes are planned for Episode 4. The drop rates for rare items and technique resistances will be lowered. This means that you'll have more opportunities to find rare weapons and techniques will actually do noticeable damage now. Also, the statistics for enemies in Episode 4 have been rebalanced and the rate at which enemies drop items (the drop-anything rate) will vary depending on the difficulty. It is expected that these changes will be made available very soon. Beyond that, several Episode 4 quests are currently being tested and will be uploaded as soon as they are ready.

The system requirements for the PC version of Phantasy Star Universe have been revised. According to Sega's webpage, you will need the Japanese edition of Windows 2000 with SP4 or Windows XP with SP2. Also, as seen on Takao Miyoshi's blog, your computer will have to be connected to the Internet at all times, even if you just want to play the offline story mode. This is a security feature that will make it harder to cheat in the game.

If you are planning on importing the game, you will want to keep these new requirements in mind. It is unknown whether you will be able to play Phantasy Star Universe on an English version of Windows. It maybe more of a suggestion than a requirement. However, there is always the chance that the game will not even install unless you have the Japanese version of Windows.

Credit goes to EspioKaos for confirming the Internet connection information. You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

New information and pictures were posted on Friday's official site update about Neudaiz and Moatoob. The new content is related to the cities and environments you will encounter while playing through the game. EspioKaos was kind enough to provide translations. You can read them and see the screenshots by scrolling down.


Ohtoku City -- Neudaiz:





This is the capital of Neudaiz. The tremendous Mt. Ohtoku which floats in the center of the city is where the Communion of Graal's headquarters is located. This mountain is also a very popular tourist attraction. Known as the city of scholars, Ohtoku City is filled with various businesses, college research facilities, and other educational facilities.

Mizuraki Preserve -- Neudaiz:



This is one of the forest zones of Neudaiz. The administration designated Mizuraki and the flora within as a protected area.

Dagora City -- Moatoob:





Dagora is a town where many hoodlums have settled. As a result of this, the overall tone and attitude of the populous is fairly wild and aggressive. Within the city, you'll find a number of places such as pubs where Rogues tend to congregate, as well as the weapons manufacturer Tenora Works, part of the Angra Group which produces high-end products.

Gallenigalé Canyon -- Moatoob:



This is an abandoned mining area. At one time Gallenigalé was being mined for a very unique type of mineral which it was abundant in, however the area is now nothing more than an abandoned mine with many tunnels and shafts running throughout it.

Credit goes to LoveJuice for spotting this update and providing the pictures. You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

As some of you may have noticed, we had a few 'problems' this morning with the site. Due to some server issues, some forum data was lost, causing the message boards to disappear for a little while. While everything is up and running again (to the best of our knowledge), we did have to revert to last night's backup of the site. Anything done after approximately midnight (PST) last night has probably been lost, including account updates, registrations, forum posts, comments, private messages, etc.. Luckily, we're only talking about a window of approximately 8 hours, so any data loss is very minimal. Sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused! Everything should be back to normal and working fine now. If anyone comes across any remaining issues, please let us know so we can get them fixed. Thanks!

The official Phantasy Star Universe website was updated on Friday with new information and pictures about the Guardians' Colony and Parum. This information includes details about the cities and facilities at both of these locations. Thanks to EspioKaos, you can read translations for location descriptions by scrolling down. Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the images. Also, you can see two potential spoiler screenshots by clicking on the Read More link at the bottom of the article.


Clyez City -- Guardians' Colony:





Clyez City is the city at the heart of the Guardians Colony which serves as the headquarters for the Guardians. Several other similar types of cities exist about the Colony.

Linear Line -- Guardians' Colony:



The Linear Line is an above-ground means of transportation that runs continuously throughout the Guardians Colony. It is not tied just to the Guardians Colony, however, as there is one ship that serves as a portable means of transportation to other colonies as well as internal sections of massive warships.

Holtes City -- Parum:





Holtes City is the economic center of Parum. The city's main focus is on major facilities. In the eastern district is the Parum Branch of the Guardians. The western district is home to the G.R.M. Corporation, Allied Military Force HQ, and a shopping mall. In the central district of the city, you'll find things such as the PPT shuttle and the Alliance conference building, among other such places.

Raphon Plains -- Parum:




This is the plains areas of Parum. There are a large number of beautiful places like this about the planet. Almost all of these places, however, were at one time destroyed, and have since been restored to their original state by artifical means.

Credit goes to LoveJuice for spotting this update and providing images. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Spoiler Screenshots:


These screenshots seem to depict a SEED take-over of the Guardians' Colony.

The official site was updated yesterday with new information about how a SEED plant grows, spreads, and the kind of damage it can cause. Also, we get to see two new weapons, the "Photon Reflector" and "Photon Eraser." These weapons were designed to help remove the SEED infestation. You can scroll down to read more about SEED and these new weapons.


The Corrosive Methods of Seed:


When the kernels of Seed fall to the ground, they rapidly grow root-like treestumps. They then settle on to the ground, covering it. Furthermore, flower-like things bloom from these kernels. These blooms emit corrosive cells like pollen. These cells have no effect on the bodies of higher-level lifeforms like humans. The SEED core that is attached to the ground develops a special barrier called a Blume (means flower in German).

How to Eliminate a SEED Infestation:


Regular weapons have no effect whatsoever on Blume. Firepower at the level of the A.M.F. is required to be able to destroy a SEED infestation. Accordingly, the Guardians developed special tools called the "Photon Eraser" and "Photon Reflector." However, even these weapons cannot directly attack the Blume. Instead, by exposing a SEED's stem (essentially its roots), these weapons can make the Blume wither. A special attack can then be launched against the real form of the SEED core. Items such as goggles can be used to discover things like stems and Photon Spots that would normally be invisible to the naked eye.

Background:
becomes

The enigmatic life-form known as "SEED" suddenly started flying into the Graal solar system one day. The SEED infestation spread out along the outskirts of the site where they landed. Their flowers started to grow tree stumps and scattering corrosion-causing pollen. The calamity caused by SEED is not only harming the soil of where it landed, but is also causing primitive life-forms to become ferocious.

Credit goes to lostinseganet for spotting the update, Kano-Okami and VioletSkye for the images, and Tycho for the translations. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

According to the official website, the Japanese version of Blue Burst will be updated with several new quests on February 28th. These quests include White Day, Prinicpal's Gift, and an Even More Dangerous Deal with Black Paper. Additionally, Episode 4 will have its drop chart modified. The droprates for items will be lowered and the higher the difficulty you play on, the better the stats on the weapon will be. These changes will remain in effect until March 14th. In a welcome permanent change for Forces, the techique resistances for Episode 4 enemies will be lowed. Finally, Sonic Team is going to be sponsoring a Battle Mode tournament. You can read more about the new Black Paper quest and Battle Mode Tournament below.

An Even More Dangerous Deal with Black Paper:


This is the sequel to the infamous "Deal with Black Paper" quest. It is a timed single-player quest set in Subterranean Desert where only Episode 4 items will drop. It is expected that this quest will be extremely challenging. One of the items you will be able to earn is the previously unreleased Solferino.


Solferino

Battle Mode Tournament:
A Battle Mode tournament using Battle Rule #4 will be held for Human, Newman, and Android characters. The winner will have a screenshot taken of him/her and it will appear on the official site. Also, it appears the winner will receive a prize. The tournament will be held on Ship 8, Block 10. You have until March 13th to register for the event. Here is the Battle Mode schedule:

• March 25 - Preliminary Human Tournament
• March 26 - Preliminary Newman Tournament
• April 1 - Preliminary Android Tournament
• April 8 - Semifinal
• April 9 - Final

Game Masters will be holding special "Free Battle" events where beginners can try out Battle Mode.

Credit goes to Saffran and Dhylec for bringing us this news. If you have any questions about these quests or events, you can post in our Quest or Battle Mode forums.

The US/EU Blue Burst servers are currently going through a brief maintenance phase so two new quests can be uploaded. These two new quests include Principal's Gift and White Day. If you were able acquire a Valentine's Day Chocalate, you'll be able to get a Magic Rock "Heart Key" by playing through the White Day Event. Also, you will be able to make a Flower Bouquet weapon by playing Principal's Gift and Towards the Future. The lobbies will be updated for the White Day Event on the 28th and run through March 14th. If you need help finding a partner for these quests, you can post in our Player Matchup forum.

White Day and Principal's Gift are also confirmed for Gamecube Episode I&II from February 28th to March 21st