We had given you some clips of the newest Phantasy Star game for the Nintendo DS, but now you get to see it in action. I am very impressed with the anime cutscenes and the battle sequences on the DS. Looks to be a whole new game with some elements mixed in from different games, but I think I have killed that dragon a few thousand times now through all the different games. As long as the online component stays it will be a win all around and they port it over to the US, if not it will be importing time again.
During an interview with Satoshi Sakai the producer of Phantasy Star Universe and also the new Phantasy Star Zero he discussed some of the details behind the new Nintendo DS RPG. This looks like another title I will be importing over to play on the go. This one will be in a new world but will be modeled after Phantasy Star Online (PSO) and will give you the opportunity to play online.
The ability to draw and chat online will lead to some interesting illustrations I can imagine, you just took my super rare dagger you get “C======3”. I am all about nostalgia so bring on some classic PSO action for me to enjoy along with my Phantasy Star Portable for my PSP.
· Phantasy Star Zero is a completely new title set in a brand new world.
· Zero’s gameplay mechanics will be based heavily around PSO’s. But despite this, the developers hope that the unique style will attract more fans to the series, even those who have never touched a previous Phantasy Star title.
· The Nintendo DS was selected as the platform for this title to help broaden the age range of players.
· Zero was selected as part of the title to invoke thoughts of a new beginning for the series.
· You will be able to play with people you’ve never met over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. No details were given on if or how Friend Codes will be used, however.
· PS0 will not support voice chat or vibration functions.
· PSO’s word select system is a possibility, but has not been confirmed.
· PSO’s symbol chat will not return for this game. It is being replaced by visual chat, allowing users to draw their own pictures using the stylus.
· Many common item and technique names will return from PSO.
· The developers hope that, despite this game taking place in a completely new world, it will still bring out feelings of nostalgia and other fond memories.
Phantasy Star Portable is a Japanese game that can be played on any US PSP, since they are region free, and is a great pickup for any fan of the series. It picks up in the same style and gameplay as Phantasy Star Universe for the Xbox 360 and was recently one of the top games purchased in Japan.
Graphically, the PSP version of Phantasy Star is pound for pound equivalent to its Xbox 360 brother. Monsters look very good and behave the same way as the console version and boards are almost exact ports of the console maps. The sound in the game is classic Japanese style with Japanese voices yelling and speaking. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand a word they said, but it didn’t impact my playing one bit.
Nostars brought us some of his thoughts on Phantasy Star Portable so I thought we would share them with everyone. Thanks bud!
First, the basic controls are very similar to those of the prior Phantasy Star online titles.
D-Pad – Controls Camera/toggles through menus
Analog Stick – Moves character/Aims weapon in first person mode
X – Switch weapons/cancel in menus
Square – Main Attack
Triangle – Secondary Attack
Circle – Interact/pick-up/accept in menus
Left Bumper – Centers Camera/Strafe if held
Right Bumper – Alternate commands/weapons
Select – Switches to first person mode, handy for using the rifle.
Start – Brings up menus
Graphically, I am impressed. They were able to retain the artform of prior Phantasy Star titles, while translating it well to the PSP’s graphical capabilities. The beasts are different from the prior games, so that’s a plus. The bosses do bare a striking resemblance to creatures from the previous games, as do the lesser beasts and bots, which to me is ok, since I’ve been removed from Phantasy Star for a while. Read More »
I just got my imported version of Phantasy Star Portable for the PSP from Japan. (Special thanks to my bro for hooking that up) The game is completely in Japanese and so far has no option to convert to English in any way so you either have to find a Japanese friend or tough it out. Luckily the game itself is very easy to follow and if you played enough Phantasy Star Universe like I did you will be able to pick out the symbols on screen and figure out what is what.
The game itself runs smoothly and pretty much is a scaled down version of Phantasy Star Universe for your PSP. Many of the same items, mobs and planets make another appearance in this version and one huge difference is the rate at which you gain experience, which is much faster in the PSP version. I played for about an hour in order to figure out the layout to create a character and navigate around the menus (agian these are all in Japanese) and managed to get my character to level 10 fairly easily. Read More »
Have you been playing Neo Geo games on the Virtual Console and trying not to throw your Wii remote or classic controller? Do you want some old school Neo Geo controls? Look no further, as Play Asia is selling one for $59.90.
Yeah, it’s pretty steep for a controller, but if you’re hardcore into Neo Geo, it’s a drop in the bucket. Personally, I’ll be passing on this one, but I know there’s a few of you out there that are all over this like a fat kid on a cupcake.
We're like Spaceballs... we're making Loot Ninja everything. Coming soon we'll have hats, shirts, hoodies, possibly banana hammocks if one Editor has his way...
Check out the shirt prototypes here and the hats here
