Phantasy Star Universe - Xbox 360

by Sega

• Three enormous planets to explore. A gigantic overworld and more than 20 enormous dungeons are featured.
• All-new ene mies to fight. Along with a brand-new roster of standard opponents, there are more than 15 major bosses to challenge.
• Player-controlled vehicles. Players no longer need to travel everywhere by foot, adding a new dimension to exploration.
• The best online Phantasy Star experience to date. Features a game world that will evolve with new content over the course of several years.
• Players: Single and Multi-player

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000G0JD9I
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 26, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,894 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360

The long awaited new title in the beloved Phantasy Star series is on its way! Phantasy Star Universe delivers a rich, ever evolving world and will provide hours of entertainment to both online and offline RPG enthusiasts. Single-player fans will embark on an offline quest as Ethan Waber, a 17-year old cadet intent on saving his sister from an invasion of mysterious life forces called THE SEED. While online players will create their own characters from a range of races, and then set off to explore all three planets in the Gurhal solar system. Fans will travel with a squad of other adventurers, enter urban sprawls teeming with hundreds of other players, and build their avatars into powerful warriors.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Heads Up November 2, 2012

By Pharonix

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I for one truly enjoyed this game, unfortunately i rented it from gamefly only recently.
The add-on, Ambition of the Iluminus is no longer available from the marketplace, and online
play has been discontinued for those who do not possess AOTI.

With a brand new Phantasy Star online in the future in 2013, All servers for PSU will close down
this November, or have already done so.

I recommend this game for those who do not care about online play.
But 35 dollars for the xbox title is a tad too much.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun but Highly Repetitive January 7, 2007

A Kid's Review

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

This game is very fun on your first go through story mode, and the storyline makes me think of a bad anime. But after that, I saw nothing else to do but try to and repeat missions for meseta(PSU's form of currency)for the best weapons and armor, and after doing that, there is absolutely nothing to do but the missions which you will no longer need to do unless you are bent on achieving the maximum level.

I did all this in the offline mode, and online mode may be different in good ways. But making a game which is basically like Diablo 2 in space pay-to-play, I found to be very idiotic. In short, if you enjoy games that have an easy story mode, and require you to spend large amounts of time to get the decent weapons, and enjoyed PSO, then you will most likely enjoy this game.

17 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Just a Regular Review December 21, 2006

By K. Bisram

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I got the game recently it has like 12 levels where you can get to travel to three different worlds [I forgot their funny names, I remember now, Parum, Mootab...i forgot the other]. So far I'm on 7th quest and each quest last roughly 30 minutes [Some I finish under 20] so overall the game is pretty quick offline. But there is an online mode which you can play online with other users; I haven't tried it out so I can't fill you in the details. There's also an "Extra Mode" which you can unlock after you do a certain amount of quests. Extra Mode is basically you get to be another "Guardian", other than the main character, Ethan [I know what kind of RPG name is thaT!!], and take on the quests you already completed with the Ethan. Unlike "Story Mode" which is the original mode you play with Ethan, Extra Mode never ends until you end it yourself. Extra mode is pretty nifty because you can create your own character from the hair to the clothes and even the voice is customizable.

Even though, the game is pretty fun and has a somewhat good replay value, I would suggest renting it first. I haven't played the rest of Phantasy Star sagas, so this one is my first so I can't tell you the differences and similarities

Cons:

-the buttons commands were hard to get use to

-too short

-stupid AI, stand around doing nothing, and when you leave to kill the enemy, they yell "where's Ethan!!"

-When the character's have conversations, the bubbles take up a good portion of the screen making it hard to see

-No pause button!! So if you left your game, let say to go the bathroom you have to make sure you clear out the area because can get attack and die [trust me on this on]

-Not much to explore in the planets, unless you prefer not to have a bunch of places that don't serve a purpose

-When you beat one of the 12 chapters they show the same cut scene from the beginning act over and over...it's pretty annoying

Pros:

-Big area maps w/ pretty scenery

-A lot is customizable; include Rank, such as Hunter, can buy clothes and change into them

-You can use almost any type of weapon you want and change it easily

-Nice cut scenes

-Nice futuristic look but as great as Star Ocean

-They put extra characters but the ones who you can't talk to disappear

-"The Buddy System", you can get to pick which characters you want to go with you on your side quests

-The three planets you get different distinctive shops, they don't sell you the same thing as the others

-Earn money pretty quick and spend it quickly

-Pretty easy to gain levels

-Enemies offer a good challenge, they don't die to easily and they aren't too defeat

-A lot of treasure to be found

-The made the chapters look like an anime or TV show, having a introduction on what the chapter is about before you play it, can be interesting for some or just a spoiler for some

-Synthesis ability, even though you have to find the boards before you can synthesis item and each board has a limit to how much you can synthesis

-When an ally is dead they resurrect themselves in some time

[That's all I can think of on the top of my head]

Overall I would say the game is good, but too short [But the online & Extra mode seems to show some promise]. I recommend people who haven't played the rest of the phantasy star sagas to rent it before, instead of regretting spending $60 on a game they didn't like. Great way of just spending time killing enemies, saving the world without much of hassle of needing a walkthrough Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great game for the price! May 30, 2008

By Dave R.

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

This game takes a while to get started up and it lacks a few features that the other phantasy star games had but all in all for the price its a great title, playing as the main character Ethan Waber and seeing the story unfold is very cool! It reminded me alot of a anime with the chapters in the game so its like your playing a anime tv show which is kinda weird at first...but its fun! I paid about 20 bucks for it off of here and I was very satisifed with all its features its a fun game anyone can play if your style action/adventure/rpg. It even has online mode if your into online with your friends

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good October 6, 2009

By Geoff

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

Phantasy Star Universe is a very good game i think. Overall everything is well done.
The only two con to the game that will continually annoy you are these: one, The Save Points are far and few between in missions (i kept haveing to go back to just before a hard boss fight on one of the later missions), and 2, the combat is slow and not ussualy chalangeing, but somtime. the enemies have very effective ranged attacks and do aoe dmg (they are what kept killing me).

Otherwose the story is excellent, mthe music is amazeing and the customization option are incredible.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent upgrade to an old titile January 15, 2007

By Almonz D. Lemaitre

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I've only played this game for a short period but so far the stand alone story is slightly better than the original form Dreamcast. The graphics are slightly improve as well as the game mechanics. If you liked the previous installments, this one hasn't changed very much, but I'd still give it a try. Playing online was also fun, though I feel the scription cost is a bit too steep for this old game.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars PSU is a very fun online rpg June 10, 2007

By PantherFlash

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

If you played the demo version, then the full version has unlimited aspects. With the recent updates like Operation Firebreak, there's no regret purchasing this game even if it's not a mmorpg. PSU is alot of fun, although the graphics are mediocre as the gameplay makes it up to it's flaws. There is also a continuation of the story mode only avalible online.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Thank Microsoft you can play the demo version February 8, 2007

By Merryjuice

Platform for Display:Xbox 360

Fun: 2.0 out of 5 stars   

If you're looking for the next World of Warcraft breaker game, this definately wont be it. What Phantasy Star Universe DOES give you though is a decent offline story, but a grind-fest for online play.

Offline mode is where most people who are starving for another RPG besides Oblivion for the 360 will want to look. I personally didn't finish the story but got about 30 hours into it. The characters in the story are paper thin, but give you an accurate portrayal of how the online mode universe will be when you head into it. The combat system is exactly the same offline as it is online. Attack move, attack again till death, clear the area of mobs, get the key for the door, move to the next area. Your teammates AI is pretty decent, and provides adequate cover in areas. Sometimes they get swamped and killed really quickly, but this can be taken care of with a raise spell. The mobs are dreadfully slow and are easy to run from, so don't fret about being overwhelmed unless you back yourself into a corner.

Online mode is exactly like Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst. You pick a mission to do, you go into an instance to fight the mobs, and when you're done, you collect your money and sell your items. What do you do after that? You go right back in and do another one. Rinse and repeat until your at the max level of 200.

In online mode, you will run into single instance over and over to finish a different objective. You CANNOT go in and finish multiple objectives, only the ones on the conditions set. This got really boring, as I would walk into an area I just cleared just to clear it again, and maybe go to the second or third level of the map, which looks exactly the same as the first level, only with more mobs to kill. After doing this repetitive motion for 30+ hours in offline mode, I wasn't willing to build up another character online in the same way.

Whats worse is in order to play online, you have to pay 10 dollars up front. You don't get a 30 day trial period to see if you like it. Thankfully Microsoft has a demo version of the online mode you can play for free, and I tried my online mode that way.

The community I saw in the online version was very limited. You had a few characters that were high level but weren't responding to tells for help, and those around my level had a serious issue with not using their xbox communicator to speak. I don't know what it is with people playing online MMOs and not wanting to use mics to talk, but would rather type.

This game is rapidly dropping in price, so if you feel you need an offline RPG to tide you over till Fable or another Oblivion expansion, this may be worth picking up for 30 bucks. If you're looking for an online game that will knock your socks off and replace online giants like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars, I encourage you to play the free online demo version of this game on xbox live before you buy. This is a change of pace though if you're used to playing other MMOs, and I can say I semi-enjoyed the experience and simplicity of gameplay. It never held my attention though beyond a few weeks though. Read more ›