Product description Includes game disc, manual and original case. Disc may have a few small scratches but none that affect the games playability. All classic game store games are fully tested before being added to our inventory. .com Phantasy Star Online continues in the tradition of the popular series and is the first worldwide, online role-playing game for a console. The story revolves around the Pioneer Project, a plan conceived in response to the imminent destruction of the home worlds. Seven years prior, Pioneer 1 was sent to establish a colony on Planet Ragol, which included construction of the Central Dome. As Pioneer 2 is about to arrive with the main wave of refugees, a gigantic explosion shakes the entire planet, cutting off all communication with the members of Pioneer 1. Players from around the world must now unite via SegaNet to unravel the mystery.In order to form parties, the game's People Finder option allows players to locate each other on giant servers. Once inside the Virtual Lobby, players can choose up to three other team members. Language barriers between players are broken down by a communication system featuring a universal icon system, preset phrases, and keyword translations. Players can create their own character by modifying their physical appearance and personality traits. Real-time combat features many of the original weapons and enemies from previous Phantasy Star games. Gamers can play completely online, completely offline, or a combination of the two. P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review The arrival of one of the most anticipated titles of the past few years seems to be something akin to a gaming epiphany, so to speak. Amid rumor, bad news and confusion, Sega's strange week in the videogame industry spotlight reveals nothing except that this is one company that knows games and gamers, even if everything else is up in the air. What game are we talking about? Phantasy Star Online, of course. With its ambitious goal of taking console gamers to places that only PC players had been previously (online), developer Sonic Team has gloriously succeeded in full 3D -- with vibrant, colorful textures to boot. Taking an obvious page from the premier dungeon-crawling, multiplayer antics of Blizzard's Diablo series, Phantasy Star Online, in fact, more refines a formula than redefines a genre. While countless previews have hit the web and print magazines outlining its general mechanics and gameplay, for the uninitiated, PSO is a role-playing game that can either be played online or offline. At the outset, you'll choose one character from nine different choices, then customize their costumes, hair, etc. to suit your liking. Class WarsThe different characters all hail from three different "classes:" Rangers, Forces and Hunters. Each class has its weaknesses and strengths that range from power to weaponry. Forces are magic users with a good ability to gain TP (the term for the usual Magic Points in most RPGs), but are slower to gain hit points with every successive level. Rangers, on the other hand, can be equipped with the heavy artillery and pack much more power than the spell casters. Hunters have a slightly balanced compromise between the other two classes, and can be used for hand-to-hand combat as well as magic. The balance between the different classes gives players a good choice to suit their preferred fighting style. Though there's definitely room for complexity and variety in character selection that hasn't been fully explored in PSO, the bases are adequately covered. There's just enough disparity in gameplay and strategy between the types to keep you wondering what exactly it would be like to play as a Ranger if you've been using a Force all along. Alien ResurrectionFor those who've read every story about PSO since its announcement, the concern for fans has been whether or not the game remains true to its Phantasy StarAlgol System roots. The answer is mixed, to say the least. Because of its online functions, the chances for a strong, coherent storyline are strained. Because of the number of players and the non-linear structure that is the focus of online gaming, the difference between PSO and, say, Skies of Arcadia is a rather large gap filled with plenty of monster-killing and the odd offhand reference to PS series staples like Dark Falz and Monomates. At the start, your character is chosen as a hunter to chase down the cause of a giant explosion on Ragol, a planet that your civilization is hoping to inhabit. An earlier crew that had previously been inhabiting the surface of Ragol has now strangely vanished, along with all communication from your ship to theirs. A cool premise, but the actual thread of story within the game is almost pushed off to the side in favor of actual gameplay. Phantastic VoyagePrepare for an overload the minute you plunge into an online room filled with PSO-obsessed folk speaking every language (including the long-lost international tongue of "smut") and eager to level up their characters just like you. Navigation and signing up for game is amazingly easy for first-timers, but you'll have to contend with some strangely delayed character rendering and the annoying habit of speech "bubbles" clogging up your screen if there are tons of people in the lobby. Once you enter a game with as many as three other characters, the fun really begins. The structure of the game is this: Clear a dungeon and gain access to the next one. The more characters you have in your party, the more monsters will inhabit each room of every dungeon. Therefore, the more people in your party, the better chance you have of scoring large amounts of experience points in order to level up your character (which is the basis of any good online RPG). Having more players in your party can also be a brilliant way to swap items and take down big, bad bosses more easily. There's always someone to revive you if you die, as well.But there's a downside to every group experience, virtual or physical. The distribution of items gained from killing monsters, boss fights or treasure chests are always a source of tension in a low-level group of explorers. Grabbing items to sell or equip sometimes boils down to who gets to them the fastest, but this is also part of the strategy in PSO.So, what does the offline game mean in any of this? Answer: a few different things. Your offline game is played alone, with you going solo against the exact same monsters in the exact same dungeons as online. But, once you clear a dungeon in the offline game (you'll start the offline game on Normal difficulty), you'll be able to bypass it in an online game of the same difficulty level if you are the leader. Therefore, if you clear the Forest on Normal offline, when you sign on and start a Normal online game, you'll automatically be given access to the next dungeon, the Caves. Also, besides the fun hijinks of online, the real point of PSO is to beef up your character enough to take on all three difficulty levels of the offline quests (Normal, Hard and Very Hard) to receive the game's "real" ending. Not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. But the camaraderie of the online quests is plenty good enough to keep gamers enthralled for the long run, if simply for the "Diablo factor" of wanting to get your character to the next level or to find that ridiculously rare item. Plus, you get to dish dirt with all your friends online in different ways. Chat BoomSonic Team has done a commendable job giving gamers all sorts of ways to communicate with one another, be it simple mail, guild cards or universal "translators." While the universal bit doesn't work as smoothly as we'd hoped (it makes gamers scroll through a clumsy network of preset phrases), the effort is definitely there and makes asking someone who doesn't speak English "Where are you from?" easier than breaking out a foreign-language dictionary. Players are also able to swap Guild Cards, which work like ICQ numbers or business cards. Once you have someone's Guild Card, you can seek them out online, no matter which server they're gaming on. As creepy as it might sound, if you use discretion in who you hand your card to, the feature is a blessing if the server is crowded and you can't seem to find your friend no matter how hard you look. There's also the inclusion of "simple mail," which allows you to send limited email to a friend online, granted you have their Guild Card on you. The entire chat and communication system in PSO is geared to make each player's online life much, much easier, and even enhances the entire experience. Kudos to Sonic Team. The Minus PointsThough Sega has pulled off the unthinkable feat of placing a high-quality online RPG on Dreamcast, the project doesn't come off without a few hitches. Yes, PSO does have a lot of slowdown that occurs during big brawls in rooms with loads of beasties and players running around. Yes, there is lag that will really confuse players who see their friends appearing and reappearing at odd locations on the screen. Yes, there are instances of hard crashes and soft crashes that will boot you off the server so you'll have reconnect. Yes, broadband compatibility is officially "unsupported" by Sega. Yes, the game could use more diversity in its dungeon designs and more brain-work in its overly simplistic "step on this switch and have a friend step on the other" puzzles. And finally, yes, this is a dungeon crawler with the emphasis on killing things rather than exploring themes of love, death and loyalty alongside a salty lead character who has more angst and anguish than a typical Final Fantasyhero. BUT (and it's a big "but") this is a game that's so expertly constructed in its pick up 'n' play controls, mechanics, simple but well-plotted systems and painfully gorgeous graphics (Sonic Team clearly gets something out of the DC that loads of other third parties can't seem to figure out) that it's best to keep your opinions to yourself until you've kicked much alien butt online. Then, make up your mind whether you want to trash the game (probably not) or keep playing so you can test out that Dragon Slayer sword and get your character to level 62. For most gamers, the answer is the latter. With a high addiction factor and groundbreaking console design, this isn't a game that any DC owner should pass up. And it stands as a testament, flaws and all, that Sega, no matter what it decides to do in the future or how it's gonna do it, is delivering the content that will dictate what most gamers will see on other systems for years to come. The Bottom Line: Brilliant. -- DailyRadar Review See more
J**L
NOT AN RPG BUT STILL THE BEST GAME EVER
The servers on this game are CONSTATNLY busy with new and interesting people to meet, they constatnly are uploading more and more quests to play, some belive that there are only 3, well the fact is that you have to play them to ULOCK MORE!!!and there are 4 stages with 3 parts to each, its a most EXCELLENT game, not an RPG though, but its not called PHANTASY STAR ROLE PLAYING, its PHANTASY STAR ONLINE which means it had a universe like an online playable game! AND IT IS GREAT! take it from a guy who'se played more than 300 hours +... this game will HOOK YOU, YOU WILL LOVE IT!!! I don't care what game type you like, but honestly, if you don't have an internet connection, this game is not for you, The bosses range from easy to hard but the entire game is like a learning experience, as you leevl up the difficulties get equally harder and you as you go along learn of new weapons and SLOWLY progress through the game, its very progressive, and once your at the top, thers STILL More to do, and with an upcomming sequel and a new Version, YOu willl see nothing but (i know this is imporper english) MORE BETTER STUFF! lol, sorry I just really recomend it, you also get customized chat symbgols and theres a GUILD CARD system that lets you keep track of all your freinds and you can do searches for them to find out EXACTLY where they are! DONT TRUST ANY OTHER PSO REVIEWS! this is one from an EXPERTED PLAYEROh and the classes are wondefully ballanced too! ^_^ JUST GET IT! GET IT NOW!!! NOW NOW NOW!!!THIS IS THE GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!
M**S
A Classic!!
I'm just gonna say straight out, GET THIS GAME!!! This game is the holy grail of games, and in my opinion, the equal to the early Final Fantasy's. You can be three types of classes with three different character choices, I can't think of the character choices off the top of my head, but I know the classes. you can be a Hunter, Ranger, or Force (basically, Warrior, Gunner, or Mage). the game is kinda like a Sci-Fi environment. For example the forest, you'll fight beasts like Boomas, Hildabears, etc. Also not to mention you can get rare items.There's so much I can say about this game, but my recommendation would be to get the game. And this game is appropriate for younger kids since this game no longer has online. If it were online I would say otherwise.OVERALL:5/5
T**R
Don't buy this if you're planning to actually play it.
Now, I've played the later iterations of Phantasy Star, and I loved them. So I bought this to go with my shiny new Dreamcast, thinking I'd like this one as well. And I'm sure I would have...if it worked at all.Let me be the one to tell you, fellow shopper, because no one told me: to play this, you need a Dreamcast modem, which is quite frankly impossible to find anymore, a constant wired connection to a Sega server, and a special serial code, both of which do not exist anymore unless you want to go the hacking route and use cracked codes and private servers, one of which I'm fairly sure is still illegal and the other of which is time-consuming and requires lots of programming knowledge. In short, you can boot it up, and you can look at it, but there is nothing short of hacking that will allow you to play this. Do not buy, this is a collector piece ONLY, because it has ceased to be functional.
M**Y
Love this game !!!
I enjoyed the game there’s nothing like playing phantasy star online on the Dreamcast it was an amazing experience for me
N**N
Review
Great game, great price.It arrived the day it said it would.The disc is in great condition.The case is flawless.It game with the access code and everything.A game recommended to anyone looking for a great pioneer of online gaming, or just good offline gameplay.
S**A
Love this game so much
Came with both the game disc and the trial disc. Love this game so much, never had a chance to play the Dreamcast version. The serial code and password work.
T**N
awesome seller!
Game runs perfect! Game case, manual was exactly as described. Such a great seller!
A**R
Simply Phantastic
Since buying the Dreamcast, it had never been played as much as my PC did until ''Sonic Team'' announced the production of a sequel to one or thee most popular Role Playing Games ever to hit the Sega system. Phantasy Star first was born and released on the Sega Master System, it's ability to use a three dimensional scenery as dungeons was astonishing for a 8 Bit System. Phantasy Star 2 was then released for the Sega Genesis (Megadrive) and was even better with it's addictive game play and graphics made it a huge hit for everyone. Phantasy Star 3 & 4 was repeated game play of the second of the series. Sonic Team has revived the saga and has released the long awaited and most anticipated game...Phantasy Star Online (PSO).Meanwhile the game was being produced, I never paid much attention into enquiring what the game was like, graphics and game play wise so when I purchased the game, it wasn't what I was expecting. However once I played it, it definitely took a lot of shirt pulling to stop me playing the game (as well as the money it was costing me when playing online).Graphics: Sets the game to a stereotypical futuristic movie with all the hovering ships in the background makes the game absolutely great to play and even just to sit and view each element that moves. Every element in the game is all 3D rendered which puts the systems graphics card into good use, the character you are able to create can be unique in ever perspective as a wide array of clothing, race and hairstyles are at your disposal. Despite such amazing graphics, expectations of the game's frame rate to slow down is not common thus giving the gamer freedom to play the game at constant smoothGame play: PSO is played in a third person view (Like Diablo on the PC) which is what surprised me the most about the game. Not like it's predecessors of issuing commands to your characters to cast magic or attack, you control your characters movement and his/her ability to strike or cast a spell on your foe which is also aided by a automated targeting system aiding the user to pick his foe off. A numerous amount of spells (Techniques as they are called in the game) are collected throughout the game. User is able to set his controls as shortcuts for different spells/items/attacks. Lots of functions are there, it's a matter of setting it the way the user feels most comfortable.Lasting AppealThe lasting appeal really does depend on two factors;RPG Addictiveness: If you are addicted to the game then you will play through the game in all difficulties like you are suppose to but in some cases, defeating the boss and completing the game is the end for some gamers but it would be a waste of £40 if you stopped their and didn't play all the way through.Online Capability: This is the most important factor to the lasting appeal of the game. The Online side to PSO is merely and extension to the game which doesn't sound like much but believe me...it is!! The online community lets you communicate with other players all around the world and to also team up with 3 other players. Whilst playing with others, more enemies and more experience points are there for the taking. Playing with others increases the gamers life span for the game, though you are just doing a repetitive job online it is still a fun experience *Applause To Sonic Team for making it possible*.Side Quest: This will also refer to the online capabilities of the game. Using the online features of the game, you are able to download quests. Doing this gives you an extra level to play through and a more challenging one not experienced on the features present within the game. With creators of quests, the game may become more challenging.Rare Searching: Personally, I'm a hypocrite. Reason being is that I asked the question ''Why would I want to go searching for rare items?'' but I find myself now doing so. I spent much of my free time looking for rare items/weapons that I sometimes look at the clock to find it's well past my bedtime. Giving you a sense of satisfaction of finding a rare makes you a proud gamer. Rare Items are what they are....RARE. Some items that are under that title are time consummating to find e.g. you can spend 100 hours playing the game and still not find it whereas some are more fortunate to find it than others.Cons; Keyboard: You will find yourself unable to become as able as other players in the game especially in online gaming due to not possessing a keyboard. The keyboard is a needed peripheral to the game in order to communicate. Although identical to a standard PC keyboard it has a different port which I feel is a way to make people go out and buy more Dreamcast accessories.Memory Card: Most people have already got a memory card but the game is so good, you may want to create a second character to play with. Unfortunatly, the game will not allow you to save a second character onto the same memory card. A 1 megabyte memory card contains approximatly 255 pages (Page is it's unit of data). A saved game along with a main file takes up 40 pages of data but it won't allow you to save a second game and many find this frustrating and they go out and pay for another memory card.Conclusion The game is very addictive. Possibly the best game for the Dreamcast as you will not find that you'll have spent more time on another RPG than you will on this one. So far, I'm into my 238th Hour of the game.....yes that's how addictive it is. You will be satisfied with the purchase of this game guarenteed. If you do not have a Dreamcast, buy one (second hand if your on a budget) and get Phantasy Star Online...trust me, you will not be the only one. Many people I know have done so and they don't regret it for a second.I'd have gave the game a 5 out of 5 except the only part that brings the point down is the cons section...mainly the memory card section and the Keyboard, though you are bound to buy more games which need these peripherals anyway so it's no big loss unless you only plan on buying a selected amount of titles for the console.
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