review by Kaioh
released: 2009
platform: nintendo ds
company: capcom
genre: mmo rpg

SEGA has finally released PS0 to North American audiences. Picked up the only copy within a 100 mile radius of me yesterday. So far, I have put about 5 hours into it and I'm having a (photon)blast! It brings back many memories of playing PSO on the Dreamcast. Thankfully, SEGA has kept the WiFi multiplayer to play online with anyone in the world. One reason I prefer DS over PSP. Too bad only like 1% of PSP games have actual online play out of the box.* (*fact pulled out of my ass)

So, on to the game. SEGA unfortunately removed the opening theme song from the Japanese version because of some licensing issue. Oh well, nothing too major. Graphics are pretty good, but kinda "fuzzy". Not too bad. Game still looks really good. The top screen is used for all the action and the bottom screen is used for you map, chat, and menus. Sound is a bit "tiny". Not as good as I would have expected. So far the music is decent. Nothing memorable like PSO's soundtrack. Maybe after 100 hrs. I'll have Zero's music in my head. :) When you first start the game you have 3 save slots to use with 3 characters. Went ahead and created a RAcast named Kaioh. Just like back in the day on my old trusty Dreamcast. There isn't much when it comes to customizing your character. Just a few options for color, head, mag color, etc. There's a dressing room on the main menu that lets you redo your character if need be. There is also an in-game "Joint Trunk" that lets you share items with all your characters.

The controls are pretty much exactly like PSO. You have 2 palettes that you switch with the R button. Each palette has 3 action buttons. Y= Strong Attack, B= Dodge/Roll. A= Light Attack. The second palette can be used for techs/mates/etc. L button is used to reset camera. You can also lock-on/strafe when holding it down. Similar to strafing in PSU. You do weapon photon attacks by holding down an attack button for a few seconds and release. Zero uses the old PSO "3 hit combo" attack scheme. Something they threw out the window when they did Phantasy Star Universe. Photon Blasts are done by holding L+R for a few seconds. Your teammates can also boost your PB by holding L+R within your PB symbol.

The quick menu is a bit slow. You have to hold L+Start to bring it up. Not as easy to switch weapons/techs/etc. when in the heat of battle. Story mode is much improved over the original PSO. Each race has a different storyline. With different respones to choose from while talking, the outcome can be different later on. This gives a much welcome boost to the single player experience. You also encounter many characters who will join you in your quest. Later, you can have them join you when you want to go grinding/rare hunting.

WiFi Multiplayer mode was the seller for me. No stupid Hunter License fee involved. Just like the original on DC. Although, not as robust as previous Phantasy Star games. First thing you'll notice when you play online is there is no lobbies. You can only play online with friends (must have their FC) or with random people in "Free Play". Free Play uses a matchmaking service that will team you together with others that have similar levels. Chat is limited to premade phrases when playing in Free Play mode. You have full chat when playing with friends. There is no drop in/drop out play. So when someone leaves the game, no one else can take that spot. There is a "Play Alone" mode which means what it says. You can play the online mode by yourself while waiting for friends to log on. A sound will play with a flashing icon to let you know when someone is online.

Loot is different and for the better I think. Enemies no longer drop loot. Instead, after you clear a room, a large container will appear. When you open it, a lot of items will pour out. Here's what I think is neat. Every bit of the loot is yours. Everyone gets their own set of loot. So no more ninja looters! Boxes in the field work the same way. Trading loot is done a bit different as well. You and the person you are trading with must go to a counter in town and choose to trade. You can't drop loot for someone to pick up.

I recommend this to any PSO veteran. It's a bit pricey at $35. Don't really like to pay more than $30 for a DS game, but that's just me. If you can find it (I had a tough time finding it), definitely pick it up.

If anyone wants to play sometime, here's my info.

FC: 3395 3672 0176
Nickname: Kaioh85
Character name: Kaioh (RAcast)