Grand_OoF
12-04-2009, 10:33 PM
Grand_Oof Presents: A NintendoFanboy19 review:
Phantasy Star 0
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/210911380.jpg
It's like WoW! ...Except the service is free, and it's portable so you can actually stop to eat and get sunlight and stuff!
So...I've never played a Phantasy Star game before.
Nope.
Not ever.
Now to be fair, this wasn't entirely by choice. I was very excited for Phantasy Star Online, but I (sadly) lacked a Dreamcast, and when the series was brought over to the Gamecube, I lacked the funds to pay for a game that required a monthly fee. So sad to say I missed the boat.
But this is 2009! The internet is everywhere now! It's in our coffee shops and our McDonalds and our home game consoles and even on our portable games.
So, after the mixed reception of Phantasy Star Universe, Sega, clearly undetered, went back to the game's roots and released the series' second portable counterpart Phantasy Star 0 for the Nintendo DS.
And you know what? It's pretty rockin'.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/3833870090_99dc3b7b45_o.jpg
"There it is!"
"...What, behind the rabbit?"
"It IS the rabbit!"
Now, not having played PSO, I don't have anything to compare the game to, but according to all the reviews from Phantasy Star fans I've heard, it's truly a return to form. The game's multiplayer is top-notch of course, but that makes sense given the fact that that has been the primary selling point since the first online Phantasy Star, and the same holds true here. Gamers can get online (for free!) through Nintendo's WiFi connection and get together with your friends or random players online. Both have their disadvantages and advantages. When playing with strangers, you don't need to deal with the hassel of Friend Codes, but you can't use the game's Picture Chat system (essentially Picto Chat for in the game, using the DS touch pad) and you can only do one mission at a time. Meanwhile, playing with your friends allows you to keep playing and you can use Picture Chat, but again, Friend Codes. Ultimately, it's more fun to play with friends for a variety of reasons, but both modes are fun.
The game's controls are really tight, and there's actually a decent amount of strategy involved with the game's fighting system. Since the game is essentially an action RPG, I was a bit surprised by this. Not that the game would have been terrible had it been another button masher like Kingdom Hearts, but the fact that it does have strategy helps a lot. How does it have strategy you ask? Well, you can't just keep smashing the A button and hope for results. In order to pull off a proper combo and rank up more damage, you need to time your attacks properly. Additionally, the many different types of weapons you can wield require different timing to use properly (guns are different from swords, for example) and getting the timing down for each one is an important skill to master. It's also really fun and satisfying.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/phantasystar0.jpg
See what happens when you don't feed your pet dragons? They get cranky and slaughter you. That'll teach you to be more responsible.
The gameplay is pretty standard, but really, really addictive. Essentially, you'll start off in the hub town and from there agree to take a mission. Once you've been teleported to the right location, you'll start making your way through screen after screen, slaughtering the wild life stupid enough to try to mess with you. Once you've cleared a screen, a treasure chest appears to reward you and your party with cash and items. This repeats until you get to a boss fight, after which you've basically cleared the mission. A bit repetitive? Sure. But what MMORPG isn't?
The only real complaints I have with the gameplay are very minor. The first of which is that pausing the game doesn't really STOP the game, meaning when you're navigating your item menu, if you haven't slaughtered all the enemies on screen, you're still open for an attack. Grant you, you can set items to your "Pallette" for instant access, but since you can only put six actions on your Pallette (three of which should be attack, heavy attack and dodge), your options are somewhat limited. The other annoyance is menu navigation. When trying to talk to Heiae, I'd often have to stop, pull up the chat menu, stop to write or draw what I needed to say, then close the menu when I was all done so I could see the map again. It wasn't a huge hinderance, but it did bother me a little.
Now, you may be saying to yourself "This sounds fine and all, but I don't HAVE a Wi-Fi connection/friends." You're in luck! The game also offers two single player experiences. For those of you with Wi-Fi but no social skills, you can play online by yourself.
...I admit I don't see the point of that, but hey, whatever.
For everyone else, there's also a single player story mode. Now amittingly, it's easy to be skeptical about this since, as with most games with a focus on Multi-player (Halo 3, Smash Bros Brawl, any fighting game) the single player experience and/or its story is pretty much an after thought most of the time. To be fair, the story of Phantasy Star 0 isn't exactly breaking new ground. In fact, it's kinda cliched. Ancient evils, races at war, civilization almost wiped out and in the process of rebuilding, amnesia yadda yadda yadda. All that being said however, the story, while familiar, is still really well done, and does a remarkable job of not only being interesting, but having you be invested in it and the characters that populate it. Not only that, the story changes depending on what your character's race is (there are three races, humans, CASTs (robots) and Newmans (elves)), which means you can go back and play the game over again from a new race and get a different experience.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/pstarzed.jpg
Oh yeah. TOTALLY not jail bait.
Graphically speaking, the game is pretty good. It moves at a smooth frame rate, and it looks awfully nice, with a surprising amount of detail in the characters and backgrounds. There are also anime scenes provided by GONZO animation spread throughout the single player mode that look fantastic. The 3D isn't the best I've seen on the DS, but it is also by no means bad. It's just that from a distance, some of the details look a little washed out and some characters seem a tad jagged. Even so, it's still very well done graphically.
The sound is great too. The aforemention anime scenes often have full voice acting (though it's usually just a line or two), as do the in game characters (though that's usually just grunts). Additionally, the music sounds great too. The orchestrated opening theme and the J-Pop closing theme sound great, and the in game music sounds really good too, though it isn't quite up to snuff with other games on the DS. That isn't to say it's bad. Quite the opposite in fact, and if it were on a system more powerful then the DS, it would probably be beautiful. However, hardware restrictions have taken their toll, and the game, while wonderful to listen to, doesn't have the same quality of some games, like The World Ends With You or Elite Beat Agents.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/ggn_sega_gamex_phantasy_star_0.jpg
"Oh sunnuva...WHO PUT BIRD SEED IN MY POCKETS?!"
So what's the final verdict readers? The game is awesome. It's a great RPG and with the exception of a few minior details, it's a top notch game. It looks good, it sounds good, it's addictively fun and you can play with your friends or by yourself and still have a blast. If this sounds like your cup of tea, I highly recommend you DS owners give it a shot (please do...I need other people to recruit into my party). It's a great time to be had by all, and is ALMOST perfect.
+ Great multi-player and free wi-fi
+ A suprisingly deep single player mode
+ Really good presentation, nice graphics and music
+ Not just your everyday button masher RPG...actually requires strategy and thought!
- Although still really well done, he music and graphics aren't perfect
- The menu interface is somewhat counter intuitive
- The pause menu doesn't pause. When you're playing online I can understand...but when you're on your own? C'mon Sega.
NintendoFanboy19 awards Phantasy Star 0 an B+.
Special Award: The "THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE!" Award
An MMORPG on the DS? Impossible you say? HA! HA! Lookit that developers! Sega has released a polished, high quality RPG and lookit that, the online service is free. So all you guys who say it can't be done or are hesitant to release a game that pushes the DS conceptually or is a straight sequel...it can be done, and it can be done RIGHT.
For further proof, see Dragon Quest IX.
Phantasy Star 0
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/210911380.jpg
It's like WoW! ...Except the service is free, and it's portable so you can actually stop to eat and get sunlight and stuff!
So...I've never played a Phantasy Star game before.
Nope.
Not ever.
Now to be fair, this wasn't entirely by choice. I was very excited for Phantasy Star Online, but I (sadly) lacked a Dreamcast, and when the series was brought over to the Gamecube, I lacked the funds to pay for a game that required a monthly fee. So sad to say I missed the boat.
But this is 2009! The internet is everywhere now! It's in our coffee shops and our McDonalds and our home game consoles and even on our portable games.
So, after the mixed reception of Phantasy Star Universe, Sega, clearly undetered, went back to the game's roots and released the series' second portable counterpart Phantasy Star 0 for the Nintendo DS.
And you know what? It's pretty rockin'.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/3833870090_99dc3b7b45_o.jpg
"There it is!"
"...What, behind the rabbit?"
"It IS the rabbit!"
Now, not having played PSO, I don't have anything to compare the game to, but according to all the reviews from Phantasy Star fans I've heard, it's truly a return to form. The game's multiplayer is top-notch of course, but that makes sense given the fact that that has been the primary selling point since the first online Phantasy Star, and the same holds true here. Gamers can get online (for free!) through Nintendo's WiFi connection and get together with your friends or random players online. Both have their disadvantages and advantages. When playing with strangers, you don't need to deal with the hassel of Friend Codes, but you can't use the game's Picture Chat system (essentially Picto Chat for in the game, using the DS touch pad) and you can only do one mission at a time. Meanwhile, playing with your friends allows you to keep playing and you can use Picture Chat, but again, Friend Codes. Ultimately, it's more fun to play with friends for a variety of reasons, but both modes are fun.
The game's controls are really tight, and there's actually a decent amount of strategy involved with the game's fighting system. Since the game is essentially an action RPG, I was a bit surprised by this. Not that the game would have been terrible had it been another button masher like Kingdom Hearts, but the fact that it does have strategy helps a lot. How does it have strategy you ask? Well, you can't just keep smashing the A button and hope for results. In order to pull off a proper combo and rank up more damage, you need to time your attacks properly. Additionally, the many different types of weapons you can wield require different timing to use properly (guns are different from swords, for example) and getting the timing down for each one is an important skill to master. It's also really fun and satisfying.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/phantasystar0.jpg
See what happens when you don't feed your pet dragons? They get cranky and slaughter you. That'll teach you to be more responsible.
The gameplay is pretty standard, but really, really addictive. Essentially, you'll start off in the hub town and from there agree to take a mission. Once you've been teleported to the right location, you'll start making your way through screen after screen, slaughtering the wild life stupid enough to try to mess with you. Once you've cleared a screen, a treasure chest appears to reward you and your party with cash and items. This repeats until you get to a boss fight, after which you've basically cleared the mission. A bit repetitive? Sure. But what MMORPG isn't?
The only real complaints I have with the gameplay are very minor. The first of which is that pausing the game doesn't really STOP the game, meaning when you're navigating your item menu, if you haven't slaughtered all the enemies on screen, you're still open for an attack. Grant you, you can set items to your "Pallette" for instant access, but since you can only put six actions on your Pallette (three of which should be attack, heavy attack and dodge), your options are somewhat limited. The other annoyance is menu navigation. When trying to talk to Heiae, I'd often have to stop, pull up the chat menu, stop to write or draw what I needed to say, then close the menu when I was all done so I could see the map again. It wasn't a huge hinderance, but it did bother me a little.
Now, you may be saying to yourself "This sounds fine and all, but I don't HAVE a Wi-Fi connection/friends." You're in luck! The game also offers two single player experiences. For those of you with Wi-Fi but no social skills, you can play online by yourself.
...I admit I don't see the point of that, but hey, whatever.
For everyone else, there's also a single player story mode. Now amittingly, it's easy to be skeptical about this since, as with most games with a focus on Multi-player (Halo 3, Smash Bros Brawl, any fighting game) the single player experience and/or its story is pretty much an after thought most of the time. To be fair, the story of Phantasy Star 0 isn't exactly breaking new ground. In fact, it's kinda cliched. Ancient evils, races at war, civilization almost wiped out and in the process of rebuilding, amnesia yadda yadda yadda. All that being said however, the story, while familiar, is still really well done, and does a remarkable job of not only being interesting, but having you be invested in it and the characters that populate it. Not only that, the story changes depending on what your character's race is (there are three races, humans, CASTs (robots) and Newmans (elves)), which means you can go back and play the game over again from a new race and get a different experience.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/pstarzed.jpg
Oh yeah. TOTALLY not jail bait.
Graphically speaking, the game is pretty good. It moves at a smooth frame rate, and it looks awfully nice, with a surprising amount of detail in the characters and backgrounds. There are also anime scenes provided by GONZO animation spread throughout the single player mode that look fantastic. The 3D isn't the best I've seen on the DS, but it is also by no means bad. It's just that from a distance, some of the details look a little washed out and some characters seem a tad jagged. Even so, it's still very well done graphically.
The sound is great too. The aforemention anime scenes often have full voice acting (though it's usually just a line or two), as do the in game characters (though that's usually just grunts). Additionally, the music sounds great too. The orchestrated opening theme and the J-Pop closing theme sound great, and the in game music sounds really good too, though it isn't quite up to snuff with other games on the DS. That isn't to say it's bad. Quite the opposite in fact, and if it were on a system more powerful then the DS, it would probably be beautiful. However, hardware restrictions have taken their toll, and the game, while wonderful to listen to, doesn't have the same quality of some games, like The World Ends With You or Elite Beat Agents.
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp332/NintendoFB19/ggn_sega_gamex_phantasy_star_0.jpg
"Oh sunnuva...WHO PUT BIRD SEED IN MY POCKETS?!"
So what's the final verdict readers? The game is awesome. It's a great RPG and with the exception of a few minior details, it's a top notch game. It looks good, it sounds good, it's addictively fun and you can play with your friends or by yourself and still have a blast. If this sounds like your cup of tea, I highly recommend you DS owners give it a shot (please do...I need other people to recruit into my party). It's a great time to be had by all, and is ALMOST perfect.
+ Great multi-player and free wi-fi
+ A suprisingly deep single player mode
+ Really good presentation, nice graphics and music
+ Not just your everyday button masher RPG...actually requires strategy and thought!
- Although still really well done, he music and graphics aren't perfect
- The menu interface is somewhat counter intuitive
- The pause menu doesn't pause. When you're playing online I can understand...but when you're on your own? C'mon Sega.
NintendoFanboy19 awards Phantasy Star 0 an B+.
Special Award: The "THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE!" Award
An MMORPG on the DS? Impossible you say? HA! HA! Lookit that developers! Sega has released a polished, high quality RPG and lookit that, the online service is free. So all you guys who say it can't be done or are hesitant to release a game that pushes the DS conceptually or is a straight sequel...it can be done, and it can be done RIGHT.
For further proof, see Dragon Quest IX.