Phantasy Star Online

"Truly a Phantasy and truly a Star online!"

If there's one RPG that can rival Final Fantasy.. it would be Phantasy Star Online. A RPG created by Sega, it existed from the Master System to the Genesis and now.. Dreamcast.

Now, how DOES it fare since it's for Dreamcast? Well first, it's NOT single player.. but multiplayer online also! This opens up new ideals for communications and friendships. But this also opens some negative feelings like hatred and revenge.

Why is that? Well.. read and be amazed.

-GAMEPLAY/STORYLINE- [07]
OK, storyline is simple.. Pioneer 1 get blown up and you must find out why. Simple storyline, not much to be amazed about. Gameplay is repetitive (like Diablo 1 and 2). Kill monsters, level up, buy/sell weapons, powerup, kill boss, repeat. Nothing else is new. BUT as you try harder levels (especially online), teamwork and communication IS required to survive! This is where all the gameplay is aimed at. Meeting new players, teamworking with them on hard levels, this is what makes the game so FUN! Customization for characters and the ability to go to 3 different difficulty keeps the gameplay challenging and fun! Last, there is a high chance you will NOT encounter any lag at all... while playing PSO! I was surprised since I always get lag of somewhat playing Diablo 2.. but this is something I must praised SEGA for! Thank you for the zero lag!

-CONTROLS- [08]
I love the controls setting.. of course there can be some ''fixing''. The chat button ''Y'' could've been optional for battles (that could've been 2 more extra attack/usage button in battles!) Sometimes, the controls doesn't respond which happens rarely (or when there's a slowdown).

-GRAPHICS- [10]
BEAUTIFUL from spells, the character customizations to areas! I know Sega can make it more beautiful.. but then.. we'll experience major lag due to loads of data for the ram to memorize eh?

-MUSIC/SFX- [09]
Although the music are beautiful.. they ARE repetitive. The music places the mood accurately no matter where you are. The sound effects may not be ''high tech'' but it's acceptable and ear-pleasing.

-REPLAY- [09]
Although the game lacks replayability due to lack of level and bosses (4 levels with 2-3 sub-sections in each and a boss for each level) why is the replay so high? First off, is the fact that players and perfection. They want the best weapons, armor, etc.. and it's very hard to get all of those. Second, multiplayer allows you to play with other players all over the world! Last, the difficulties makes it that much harder which can challenge even 4 players in the same game!

-THE FINAL GRADE- 09 {HIGHLY RECOMMEND}
I love this game! High rate of zero lag, lots of friends can be made, lots of weapons, lots of challenges and teamwork is the reason why I play this game. If you're going to buy this game, play it online as much as you can.. since this is where the real enjoyment comes in! Of course, you MUST beat the game in ''offline mode'' at least once so you can experience the ending (you don't get to see it in online)! This game is a MUST BUY for all Dreamcast users. IF you don't, then it's a loss that may haunt you one day (believe me, I rarely say stuff like that). Now, what we need is an expansion pack or Phantasy Star Online 2 coming out VERY soon for the Dreamcast!

Overall Summery [+/-]
+ customizable characters
+ online/offline mode!
+ teamwork playing
+ high chance of zero lag!
+ downloadable quests
- thieves (you drop gold and your equipped weapon when you die)
- risk of losing character (due to game crash, power outage, etc).
- short game (4 levels, 2-3 subarea per level, 4 bosses only)

Master LL- wants more SWORDS!

Grade Scale (01-10):
01- Avoid like plague
05- Average
10- Perfect

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/01, Updated 02/09/01