Phantasy Star Universe

"PSU, to play, or not to play."

Alright, I was really enthusiastic about this game's release, even more so when it actually came out. I, personally, don't regret getting my hands on it. Although, there are many, many downsides to it. I'll go over each of them in this review. First off, the graphics.

Graphics:
Alright, this game isn't the smoothest thing out there, and in a few cutscenes and at times when running around, you'll see the ground look like it's twitching, but it's much better looking than the other Phantasy Star games. The monsters are a step up from the others in the series, and the characters look better as well. But, with all the glory, there is always something bad. While the creatures seem to have somewhat smooth movements, the characters in cutscenes could go from one pose, immediately to another. Out of cutscenes, it's somewhat smooth. The cutscenes themselves do a major jump from beautiful, smooth looks, to stiff as a board people whose mouths don't even move. Honestly, the graphics disappointed me, but at the same time impressed me.

Offline gameplay:
While it can get boring if you play it for hours on end, and the constant cutscenes and loading screens will get on your nerves, it's fun in limited amounts. Those of you straight out of PSO, you'll notice a HUGE difference. There's no warp into planets, no traveling through dungeons randomly, and you have to work up to getting to do random missions. The fighting is completely different as well. You'll basically spend the greater portion of the chapters figuring the minor facts of things, like why you don't level up as fast or why that odd little roboball can talk. Honestly, if you're looking for something to waste time with, yes, this is great, but if you're looking for a serious thing to play for hours on end, no. Go back to PSO if you want that.

Monsters:
Alright, as I said before, there's a huge difference. No Boomas, no Hildebears, no Lillies. None of that. No. The monsters in this are all either creatures or CASTs that have gone nuts either due to SEED attacks, or because they just hate you. The monsters now operate on a Level system, you'll notice every now and then they'll level up and have small changes to them, and a HUGE jump in the EXP earned from them.

Fighting:
It's interesting, you can now dual-wield weapons, or buy Twin weapons and save some cash. The interesting part, is that you can equip your weapons with abilities special to them. While you cannot choose to be a Ranger, Force, or Hunter immediately in Offline Mode, you do later. The major difference, is that certain class-only weapons, such as Knives and Daggers are now open to other classes.

Overall:
If you're coming out of PSO, it'll take some getting used to and it may be boring at first, but when you get into it, it can get fun. This is definitely NOT something you'll probably spend hours on end playing. If you're just getting into the Phantasy Star games, I definitely suggest this, it's such a great experience if you're just getting into the games. It could have used a few of the older enemies, and Sega altered it a bit too much in terms of Offline play, but it's most definitely recommended to people new to the series.

To play, or not to play:
I'd say... Play it. At least once, just to give it a shot. Rent it, see if you like it, if so, buy it. If not, oh well, maybe Sega'll do better next time.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/06