The end result is a system that was probably much more feasible to run on an Xbox 360 eight years ago, but playing it today it feels like the shadow of what a modern MMO like this could accomplish.

Supposedly, ARKS Operatives explore entire planets to eradicate the Falspawn, but you only see a handful of procedurally generated arenas each mission. It’s a very objective-focused format that keeps things moving quickly at all times, but it loses a lot of the discovery and sense of scale that usually goes hand-in-hand with MMOs. Once you’ve accepted a mission you’ll only see people in your party and a handful of others that may be doing the same mission. Rather than have you explore a sprawling open world of interconnected zones, PSO2 uses a lobby and instance system to congregate players and allow everyone to chat and team up. The conversations that move the story forward are self-contained as story quests from the main quest-giver NPC, which prevents them from slowing down the pace of missions. All of the missions you go on have a few bits of voice over sprinkled in but otherwise it’s just about plowing through enemies and having a lot more fun as a result. It's just about plowing through enemies – and having a lot more fun as a result.And so in an unusual but much-appreciated move, PSO2 almost completely removes its exposition from the actual game. And to be clear, it really doesn’t matter this is absolutely not the kind of game you play for the story, so the developers have clearly just focused their attention elsewhere. Both entering and leaving these story conversations requires sitting through lengthy loading screens.

Most of it is doled out by stiff characters that lack lip sync and feel like a waste of time. (PSO2 is entirely unrelated to the single-player Sega Genesis JRPGs.)ĭespite the top-notch English voice cast, PSO2 just doesn’t have an interesting story. Prior franchise knowledge is absolutely not required to understand it, but experience with the original PSO does help. That’s honestly about all that you need to know or remember about this vague, jargon-packed, and emotionless story. ARKS is an elite task force focused on exploring new planets and eliminating a dark and corruptive force known as the Falspawn. In PSO2, you take on the role of a new ARKS (Artificial Relict to Keep Species) Operative.

While its unique brand of anime-style flair and pulse-pounding gameplay are far from what you’d expect in a typical online game, PSO2’s amazing combat system, rewarding progression, and passionate community prove it was mostly worth the wait. But Sega’s Phantasy Star Online 2 is now officially out in North America on Xbox One as a free-to-play MMORPG. We’ve seen games get remastered for a whole new generation of console hardware in less time. Eight years is a long time to wait for a game to finally get ported from Japan to America.

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