Customer Reviews

Phantasy Star Universe

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Okay so the storyline is so and so. Not a bad one but at points sort of corny but I overall enjoyed it. Was too short. But here is the good part. Online is completely amazing you WILL BE ADDICTED. My fiance plays and so do I and we never quit. We fight over it! The story line continues in oline mode. With new charactors and such. Online there are thousands of poeple you meet, so many new missions to do, it's just so fun. They update everyweek. New levels. Such as it used to be level 80 was the highest. Now they updated it to 90. SWEET!
A new expansion pack comes out for your rooms. So they are more whats the world??? kewler?? haha.
You can have pools, fans, all kinds of nick nacks. New weapons. The prices are a big ubsured. BUT it makes it for longer gameplay. I love it. It's completely addicting. ^_^

Tedious is about all this is. Imagine a hack'n'slash and add a futureistic Star Wars look-a-like story and you got Phantasy Star in a nutshell. I have owned this game since November. I feel so guilty it sits there and sits there just taking up space. I pick it up now and than to play it, [...] you know what? The tediousness just gets worse. First chapter, you have to run around a subway station, see a cinematic and then hack some penguin wannabes. Then there is the long and boring task of putting on these goggles to see weak spots in rubble, than taking them off hacking. Move to the next rubble thing and do it again. Chapter three you have to use the goggles again, then you have to use a laser thing to kill these plant spores, then you pull out a sword and slice'n'dice a plant into chewable pieces. Chapter three is the farthest I have gotten so far.

As for online, it is annoying! Most people don't speak English on there. You also have to type to people to talk, and the vast majority don't know that once you join a party you can talk, so they just type in the party, annoying as hell! Plus you have to pay 10 dollars for it.

I got this game in spectacular condition, not only that but i got it 3 days earlier before expected arrival time. thanks bunches.