by pitohui » Sat Jan 3, '09, 5:26 pm
It is so awesomely close to PSO. It's really redeeming for Sonic Team, what with the trainwreck that was PSU. I really think they're trying to get back to their roots. Honestly, it's exactly what you'd expect if they shrank PSO down to fit on the DS. It's amazingly refreshing.
For example, the gameplay is nearly identical. Weapons, combo timing, everything. Even the item boxes mimic PSO, right down to the red-box rares. I cannot overemphasize how close PSØ is to PSO. Granted, the game is a bit graphically limited by the DS. I fully admit that the PSP's Phantasy Star Portable looks absolutely amazing compared to PSØ. The difference is that PSØ is based on the nigh-infallible PSO, while Phantasy Star Portable is based on the abortion we call PSU. But I may be biased. I picked up a used copy of PSU for ¥980 and feel that I was ripped off, so that should tell you how I feel.
Really, I feel like a gushing fanboy restating it so many times, but PSØ is the next PSO if ever there would be one. It's a bit shrunken down, the visuals are a bit jagged, but the spirit is there. And the spirit is what's important!
I'm not such a big anime fan myself (I'm not really into the art style of PSØ at all) but I have to admit that the anime cut scenes in the game are pretty rad.
The one gripe I would have is with the weapon types. There's too many of them! With most of the weapons in PSO being photon iterations of the classic melee arsenal, coming across a medieval cutlass or handaxe was totally *. And hunting for rares like the Photon Claw or Double Saber is what kept me hooked so many years. But all of these are available right from the start in PSØ. I've found one rare so far (the Twinkle Star staff) but my HUcast can't equip it, so I'm not sure how it differs from the PSO version if at all. I'm sure the game has its own * rares, but it's kind of hard to top the curved double saber I'm using right now. And yes, they are still near-broken six-hit murder machines. The one I've found has a 49% Machine affinity and is presently mowing down autonomous enemies with a cold and ripping efficiency.