After getting a chance to talk to Yuji Naka, the creator of Phantasy Star Online, at the San Francisco PSO Multi-City Online play event for a few quick questions, we managed to confirm a few things for the US release of Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II.

• Most all cheats present in previous versions of PSO (which includes the recent Japanese release of the GC version), including the infamous item duplication bug, have been addressed for the US release

• Mini downloadable GBA games, such as NiGHTS and Puyo Puyo will be available through PSO, and will likely be given out as rewards for completing online quests.

• It was mentioned during the presentation that the NiGHTS mission would probably go live sometime in December.

• Naka himself commented to us that new games might be added in the future as prizes for completing online quests if the PSO community takes to the idea.

• Finally, Yuji Naka quelched all rumors of e-Reader connectivity features (such as cards unlocking new and/or rare items) as no connectivity "hooks" for the e-Reader are present in the game.

Last updated: 10/25/2001 by Zosha Arushan

Well it's been some time since we've updated the ol' PSO preview. So let's get to it.

Well as you know, some more bits of info came about since the TGS showing. There's not only two new characters, but three: RAmarl has been added to the roster. She'll probably have similar characteristics to that of the RAmar : decent HP and the ability to learn some techniques. The concept sketches show a very military-looking design. Heh, there was even a Jill Valentine clone. Here's one of the concept sketches of RAmarl:

As for the new levels, only one area was shown. It appeared to be a jungle or swamp area, complete with all new enemies, items and of course: a new boss. The demo had the three new characters running about with a HUmar. The animations appeared new and everything was running smoothly. The backgrounds in the new areas in particular are very pretty and show what Sonic Team is able to do on GC hardware.

Last updated: 08/24/2001 by Zosha Arushan

Well Spaceworld is upon us but as of yet there's been no official new information on the game. Big deal, we'll update anyway.

As you might recall from this recent news item there will be two new classes included in the GC edition of the game.Take a look at Sonic Team's bastardly little teaser pic:

If you take a close look the image on the left looks rather similar to the conceptual art of a FOmar -- A male Human of the Force class, as seen here:

The second image is much easier to place it's a HUcaseal -- Female Hunter Android.

It should be noted that these classes along with several more were to be included in the original release of PSO, but unfortunately due to time constraints had to be cut from the character roster.

Among the other tidbits we have for you is this interesting bit of news. Reported earlier in the month it appears that Sega is not really sure if the GC counterpart will in fact interact with the older versions.

Dengeki GBA: What about the possibility of inter-console online play?

Takezaki: We've announced plans to offer online play between consoles for upcoming games such as Hot Springs 2, which will be available for the PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, and PC. In regard to extending that program to the GameCube, it's something we're interested in. It's up to the hardware manufacturer though, in this case Nintendo. We're not sure whether inter-console online play is part of their online strategy. They may decide to have a closed network structure.

Considering that two entirely new classes have been added to the game it shouldn't come as a large surprise that this might happen.

Finally we come to the venerable PETERMAINCO. To borrow (read: blindly steal) from ourselves yet again the object of PGC obsession sheds a bit of light upon the GC's online plans, and specifically mentions PSOver2.

When Planet GameCube privately asked afterwards about a certain connectivity issue, namely Phantasy Star Online's Internet issues, Main surprised us. He stated that Nintendo is behind any company that wishes to connect their products to the Internet, regardless of whether or not Nintendo themselves are going full bore into the niche market themselves. In this regard, Nintendo would be willing to back such efforts by 3rd parties by providing them with the capability, via Dial up or broadband adapter, to connect to their own networks with Gamecube.

Essentially what this means is that if Sega and Sonic Team, with Phantasy Star Online, wish to bring their product online, Nintendo will provide the hardware for their software in an OEM package. So even if the Nintendo network and accompanied adapters are not officially out on the market, the modem will still be available through buying PSO for a package price. Main expects that PSO will therefore release sooner than the Nintendo network, possibly around the new year, earlier than everyone currently expected.

Perhaps Nintendo and Sonic Team will bundle the game with the modem/broadband adapter. While it might seem a tad odd, it would probably be the best bet. Now all we need to hear is about subscription fees for a Hunter's License. As of now, the DC version sports the US dollar equivalent of 6$/3 months of gameplay while the US version is said to be 15$/3 months.

Hopefully in the next few days we'll hear some more.

Last updated: 06/22/2001

It's been a long time since we last had a good look at the Phantasy Star Universe. It now seems like aeons since I first got to play PSIV. Needless to say, I had been looking forward to the game that would put one of my favourite series online. Of course worries floated in the back of my mind: how would Sonic Team maintain the feel of the PS Universe while taking away the turn based elements as well as essentially blanking out the heroes.

Thankfully Sonic Team remained true to their roots and Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast not only proved to me that online gaming can be incredibly fun, it would also endear the old games to a new legion of fans. Of course there were problems: cheating came to an all time high, the now infamous FSOD and BSOD, ("Frozen Screen of Death" and "Black Screen of Death" comparatively,) as well as illegal items that could possibly trigger one of the SODs.

Originally, Sonic Team was against the idea of bringing an Expansion Disk to the game, but seeing the rampant cheating along with those horrible bugs that could corrupt one's character or delete items, they decided to release a stopgap until the "real" Phantasy Star Online II game was released. PSO Version 2 was the result: essentially the same game with major bug fixes, but with a few more tweaks: some new enemies, new "rare weapons" as well as the ability to get to level 200. Other perks include your name in gold as well as a couple new costume selections. One thing that will really please fans of the original is the added IDs that someone can have. Now your HUnewearl might have a SKYLY primary ID but also have a secondary REDRIA. As any PSO veteran will tell you that's a killer combination. It's kind of like Pokémon Gold and Silver's added third "type".

Well to speak of game mechanics and plot, I suppose I can go by what I played at E3 along with my own personal experience with the original.

Hunter's Log:

It's been seven long years since the Pioneer 1 left our homeland, where our planet was in the process of tearing itself to pieces. The Pioneer Project had been created to save our people and to find ourselves a new planet to inhabit. The world of Ragol had seemed the perfect place: plenty of resources, friendly wildlife and no geological disasters. The people of the Pioneer 1, who had landed on the planet, confirmed this for us.

Finally, after two years in space, the Pioneer 2 has entered the orbit of Ragol! Firm land once more will be beneath our feet!

However, as soon as we tried to open a communication's link with our friends and relatives from Pioneer 1, who had created a colony in preparation of our arrival…. Something terrible happened. A huge explosion rocked the surface of Ragol, and all ties with the colony had been cut off. There was no activity, no communication, no nothing.

I along with three other Hunters' Guild member have been sent to the surface to try and find out what happened, and if possible to rescue the survivors. Among the missing is the Principal's daughter: Red Ring Rico, an adventuress extraordinaire. Hopefully she's still around somewhere… She was probably the most knowledgeable about the planet's surface and creatures. Now to just wait until the transporter is usable again…

We're on the surface of Ragol now. What happened here? There's no sign of people anywhere. The Central Dome is like a mausoleum, except with no bodies. As soon as we landed, the creatures, which the Pioneer 1 had assured us were friendly, attacked us. Fortunately, we were more than ready for them.

What happened here….?

Gameplay:

It's rather simple really. You press Start to get to your menu screen and then choose "Customize". There you can set buttons to control specific moves. For instance you can have your main Action button (A on the GC's controller) do your normal weapon attack. B might be for Resta (the healing spell,) and X would be your Foie (Basic Fire spell.) Y is used for speech and will bring up the software keyboard, for those of you unlucky enough to not have a keyboard. If you hit the R trigger you get your secondary Action Menu.

When you attack an enemy, be careful to time your blows well. If you do, you'll get a combo attack. The maximum amount of hits you can land on an enemy in a go is three.

As you should know there are three main types of characters: Hungers, Rangers and Forces. While all three groups are collectively referred to as "hunters", each have very different characteristics.

Hunters are your close combat champions. They can use just about any weapon (other than some guns) and pack a heavy punch in battle. While they can learn some Techs (magic) they're nowhere as powerful as Forces in this regard. You'll want a Hunter in your party if only just to attract the enemy away from your Rangers or Forces.

Rangers like to sit away from the main action and be a sniper, picking off the enemy from a distance. Extremely high accuracy is their trademark. While they can't use heavy weaponry as Hunters can, nor can they use powerful Techs like Forces, Rangers are probably one of the best classes to play as. Just make sure a party member is able to use Resta. Your HP isn't too high!

Forces, like Rangers stay out of melee battles. Instead they will hit your foes from away with their many powerful Techs. Rafoie on a group of goons will quickly fell them. With good reason. If you've got a Force on your side you can expect easy battling. Unfortunately, Forces can't equip the best armour and often have very low HP.

In conclusion I wish to add that while it might not seem that much fun on paper, taking three of your friends on an online quest is probably one of the best things to come around to console gaming. With Guild Cards as well as the Language program, you can play with people all over the world easily and without hassle. Good job Sonic Team! Here's hoping that Phantasy Star Online II Hits the GC!