Phantasy Star Online

"Sega RPG's are one of the best, but could this game be an exception? [OFFLINE]"

[THE FOLLOWING REVIEW HAS BEEN MADE FOR OFFLINE MODE]
The Phantasy Star Saga continues in an totally different start, yet still using the same magical locations as previously. The storyline is written for a first person view (i.e. you are the main character not a already designed character). This is the first online RPG for any console and it's the best RPG masterpiece since Final Fantasy VII in my opinion.

The Plot for Phantasy Star Online is completely different, a plot rarely used in RPG games. You ship Pionner has finally reached a new home world, but in its attempt to make contact with Pioneer 1 (who has already made camp in the new world) the contact mysteriously disappears. Is there any survivors? What happened down there? What is this new world like? It's up to you to find out.

The concept of this RPG is much like Legend of Mana. You have to find jobs at the hunters guild (correct me if I'm wrong), you basically go down to the surface of the new planet and help them do the required task. This is a rarely seen concept which look weird to me at first (as I was used to the story-base RPG like the Final Fantasy series) but as the game progressed it seems more addictive and amazing.

The Controls of this game is a problem in some ways, it's not so bad, but the problem come in aiming for your targets in a battle field, it does take a while to clear an area since enemies keep spawning. But other then that the controls are quiet comfortable.

The sound is amazing, thanks to the power of the Dreamcast, the enviornments are large, which requires very little loading time (the game loads all the time even during gameplay), as you go into another room, the main music fades and we hear another music. The sound of footsteps and the crates being broken is also amazing. A great job by Sega, if only they entered speech.

The Graphics is a masterpiece, the environments are large (and I mean large!), I have not seen a glitch in the graphics ever in this game. I was amazed by the graphics from the very moment of gameplay. Well done Sega!

Overall...
This game is amazing! One of the most satisfying RPG since Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX, Chrono Cross and Zelda 64 oh! Not to mention Grandia 2. It's close to Perfect, This game adn Shenmue should keep me busy until Final Fantasy X is released!

Concept/Gameplay- 10
Very original and addictive, nothing else to say about that!
Sound/Music-10
Amazing music and the technique of blending in the music.
Controls- 8
Very easy to use, but aiming may be a problem.
Graphics- 10
A stunning graphical masterpiece, highly detailed.
Overall- 10/10
Dreamcast's saving grace, good that Sega will be releasing Version 2 on Dreamcast and Gamecube. I hope that Phantasy Star Online games keeps on appearing on the Dreamcast.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/24/01, Updated 05/24/01