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What do you think the western reception of Phantasy Star Online 2 will be?

Lindsay

Lindsay

Member
Nov 4, 2017
3,131
Personally as someone who's put thousands of hours into PSO/PSU/Portables/Zero combined, I'd give more than half a seconds worth of care about this if it were PSU2. PSO died to me the moment I started up PSU. And then in its second year they shoved PSO stuff down our throats (only episode 1 stuff because reasons). Then that stuff carried over into the Portable series resulting in Infinity semi-merging the two series. PSO2 may be PSO in name only but that just makes it worse imo.

MochaKoffee said:
And yeah, there's probably some lingering resentment in the western fanbase from how Sega treated PSU, lol.

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I'm glad that image and variations of its survived the ages.
 
meowtor

meowtor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27
i played it when it first dropped with english fan patches, getting friends to try and play it with me was too much of a pain to get accounts made with the kanji security codes, and staying on top of fan patches for stuff was just a bit much. I gave up pretty quick on it due to the work that had to go into it. Now that we are getting a proper english release, i can much easier convince new people to come try it out with me. I expect and hope it takes off well
 
Starviper

Starviper

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,431
Minneapolis
I think it's way too late for this game. There isn't much being done visually / gameplay wise at this point in time. Monster Hunter World is a way better way to scratch the itch, IMO.
 
flashman92

flashman92

Member
Feb 15, 2018
4,558
Honestly from a new player's perspective, I can see people being super turned off by the stupid pace of the game in its current state. Assuming we really are just getting the JP version untouched, players will be showered with 1,000,000 EXP tickets which will catapult you towards the level cap. Bingo rewards give everyone decent high level poverty gear, on top of the player shops. You could honestly see most of the major stuff in the game in a couple of weeks, if you even choose to do so (is there any reason to do certain free fields?)

I have 500 hours on one character I've been playing since the beginning, 300 hours on another which was made 3 years in, and less than 100 hours on a character made within the last year, and all 3 characters have roughly the same amount of EXP. Granted A LOT of my time on the earlier characters was spent shit posting in the lobbies.

That said, the core gameplay still feels amazing and I love the game. I'm certain at least some people will love it too, even if not a lot.
Vivian-Pogo said:
People into PSO1 expecting something similar might be disappointed (I was). People into MMOs in general might enjoy it.
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Fair warning to everyone who wants to play this after playing PSO1

PSO1 is Dark Souls without a roll. PSO2 is a character action game where you are constantly zipping around the stage cancelling animations.

GayAnimeDad said:
(if they aren't censored).
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Is this my only hope to get some female costumes with pants

Tolby said:
There's at least two of us now. How bad is the gacha part?
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Clothes/accessories are bought using lottery tickets which cost real money. However clothes can be bought on the player shops using in game money. The mining/fishing are more blatant gacha systems (stamina systems, levels, etc) but I just ignored the whole system. I haven't spent a dime on the game.

Pikagreg said:
Is it true they butchered the lore in PSO2 since the TV anime came out?
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I didn't follow it too closely, but Ep 4 takes place in a post apocalyptic Vegas and follows some anime high school girl

Then later on Alis from Phantasy Star 1 shows up, except now she's half naked and looks like garbage
 
aiswyda

aiswyda

Member
Aug 11, 2018
3,093
Dest said:
The population that is going to play this game in the West has already played this game via patches.
Reception will be positive but only from those who've already played it. I doubt anyone new will really try the game out.
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I don't think that's completely true...I never played (I don't like playing on PC) but had a large interest in playing it. I plan to try it out as do quite a few other people I know who never got to play it patched for various reasons
 
pswii60

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,666
The Milky Way
Dest said:
The population that is going to play this game in the West has already played this game via patches.
Reception will be positive but only from those who've already played it. I doubt anyone new will really try the game out.
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I've never played PSO2 and I'm a huge PSO fan, can't wait to play this after the disappointing PSU. But I have a problem: it's not coming to the UK. US only! So still no progress.

When Phil said it "is coming to the West" at E3 he could at least have just said "is coming to the US" instead and been more upfront about it.
 
Android Sophia

Android Sophia

The Absolute Sword
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
6,096
Phantasy Star Online 2 is basically Devil May Cry: The MMO, with an excessive dose of anime.

It'll do fine, even if it won't blow away the market. Especially because it's free to play and cross-platform. The biggest things that'll hold it back is the realization that it's eight years too late, and the direction the story takes Episode 4 onward. Episode 3's story is fantastic, however.
 
flashman92

flashman92

Member
Feb 15, 2018
4,558
Oh, and even though I've already played 1,000 hours on the JP servers, I will totally be picking up the US release as well. Thankfully my 3 characters wear fairly cheap clothes I should easily be able to pick up. I was never a hardcore player and have alwayts relied on the free poverty gear (yeah I used the advance quest gear, don't judge me). With the stupid amount of free EXP they give you, I should be able to get 3 characters to 70ish in less than 400 total hours.
 
Android Sophia

Android Sophia

The Absolute Sword
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
6,096
Shadoken said:
Goddamn .... what have they done.
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Yeah, Episode 4 is easily the lowest point of Phantasy Star Online 2's story. Which is a shame, because Episode 3 was so incredible.

I haven't really played Episode 5 onward sadly, as I grew out of the game. I'll be interested in checking it out with the US launch tho.
 
Luckett_X

Luckett_X

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,406
Leeds, UK
I can't speak to what the content patches over the years did for the game, but I played it in the launch months and it was a depthless bore of anime sexdoll tropes everywhere and some fairly confusing progression mechanics.

People that made PSO2 their white whale are definitely going to be hugely disappointed because it lacks ALL the atmosphere of PSO, and is just a weird commercialised continuation of where Phantasy Star Universe dragged the series. Hell thats not even fair as I enjoyed Phantasy Star Portable 2 loads more than PSO2.

In a year like 2020, it's going to just look bad up against Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Trials Of Mana, and all other action jRPGs that choose to bring their A-game that year.
 
Kawngi

Kawngi

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,219
I was a huge fan of PSO1 so I went through the hoops to play at launch with a (very) partially translated English patch. Still never was able to unsub from the Japanese emails Sega sends haha, gave up on that though. I remember not enjoying it a whole lot at the time, but also couldn't read a fair bit of it, so that probably had a lot to do with it. I'll definitely try it when it comes out in the Spring but I'm not picturing a huge audience for it.
 
texhnolyze

texhnolyze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,154
Indonesia
It's actually a fun game at its core, but it's just so grindy. Some people may stick with it, some others will go back to their favorite gaas.
 
ListeningGarden

ListeningGarden

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,495
It will find a decent sized audience, but many will be very disappointed in the direction and tone the story takes after the first episode or two. Overall, it just can't match the atmosphere of PSO1, but some will revel in just how bonkers it gets. Mechanically it still feels quite fun if a bit dated, and that will carry it a long way for people who just want something enjoyable to bounce around in with friends.
 

Gyro Zeppeli

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,289
I tried it out recently. I didn't like it at all. It seemed like a disjointed and incomplete MMO. I don't know. Felt cheap. Sega really outta make a proper Phantasy Star V.
 
ForgedByGeeks

ForgedByGeeks

Self-requested ban
Banned
Dec 1, 2017
601
Woodinville, WA
Dest said:
The population that is going to play this game in the West has already played this game via patches.
Reception will be positive but only from those who've already played it. I doubt anyone new will really try the game out.
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I guess I don't exist then haha.

Played PSO original a ton and can't wait for it.

I don't think it will get millions of players unless on GamePass, but I am sure it will hit at least 500k or so for 6-12 months.
 
PandaShake

PandaShake

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,458
it's way too late for me. It was fun during it's time playing with an english guide on an unofficial english lobby, but being free isn't novel anymore
 
djplaeskool

djplaeskool

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,734
It will be interesting to see how many go through the story, and how many will just jump into the hamster wheel.

Episode 1 is mostly poorly paced intro.
Episodes 2 and 3 are really the highlight of the entire affair.
Episode 4 was pretty miserable, with an annoying crew of protagonists, bad shoehorned tie-ins with the first animated series, but decent game content additions.
Episode 5 had some neat characters and development caught in a confusing story. Also the Buster quest system was a total flop.
I'm pretty ambivalent on Ep 6 so far as well.

Episodes 1-3 have essentially been removed from the game and condensed into an Omnibus quest retrospective system, which I feel takes away a lot of the gravitas of its more serious moments.

All that being said, If you're in it for the grind, boy this game has got one hell of a show to put on for you.
Grind your weapons
Grind your units
Grind your stats
Grind your techs
Grind your class unlocks
Grind your level caps
Grind your dailies
Grind your weeklies

Also, Phaleg Ives.
That is all.
 
ZeroDS

ZeroDS

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
3,419
This really never did it for me in the way the original did. Which is a shame cause PSO is probably one of my most favourite games. Wish the west would get DQX as well though.
 
Forkball

Forkball

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,940
Every now and then I get the urge to reinstall and jump in, but after watching beginners guides there is just an overwhelming amount of systems, currencies, and monetization.

I'm there day one for PSO 1 HD.
 
OP
OP
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,183
djplaeskool said:
It will be interesting to see how many go through the story, and how many will just jump into the hamster wheel.

Episode 1 is mostly poorly paced intro.
Episodes 2 and 3 are really the highlight of the entire affair.
Episode 4 was pretty miserable, with an annoying crew of protagonists, bad shoehorned tie-ins with the first animated series, but decent game content additions.
Episode 5 had some neat characters and development caught in a confusing story. Also the Buster quest system was a total flop.
I'm pretty ambivalent on Ep 6 so far as well.

Episodes 1-3 have essentially been removed from the game and condensed into an Omnibus quest retrospective system, which I feel takes away a lot of the gravitas of its more serious moments.

All that being said, If you're in it for the grind, boy this game has got one hell of a show to put on for you.
Grind your weapons
Grind your units
Grind your stats
Grind your techs
Grind your class unlocks
Grind your level caps
Grind your dailies
Grind your weeklies

Also, Phaleg Ives.
That is all.
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At least lobby actions don't have to be leveled up.
 
AllMight1

AllMight1

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,717
i think it's going to have a positive reaction, especially because it's gonna be f2p.
Maybe not a lot of people will invest money into it.

But I will..........................
 
batfax

batfax

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,392
I think they'll be crushed by the stupid amount of content they're going to be getting all at once. I tried to write a post about it when the game was announced to be coming here but I just gave up. Classes, class combinations, room customization, mecha combat, crafting, skill rings, mags, partner machines, pets, fashion, all these systems set up to make sure you can have at least a decent baseline without the rarest of the rare loot... it just keeps going on.

Some of the ridiculous character designs that happened and... basically everything that happened starting with episode 4 is going to be some shit though. At least the story content is easy to ignore, but damn, things really went off the rail with the new direction they took things in when they wrapped up the core story. Also wonder if they'll be bringing that story back as playable, since it was greatly reduced in the JP version not long ago, but the new anime is going to be based on it Episodes 1-3 so not having them properly playable in the west feels like a dumb idea.
 
Pellaidh

Pellaidh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,167
I think people are going to be pretty disappointed. The game has just been hyped so much, and I think a lot of people don't realize quite how dated it is by today's standards. And I'd imagine a lot of people who're hardcore fans of the franchise and would be willing to put up with it are already playing the Japanese version and probably won't switch anyway.

Mostly though, I'm just really interested in people's reaction to Episode 4 (which depending on how up to date the game will be on launch might be the one you start of with). Because I'm pretty sure that's like the exact opposite of what old Phantasy Star Online fans associate the game with.
 
Zellia

Zellia

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,769
UK
I expect it to carve out a niche but be hugely divisive. It's not all that similar to PSO1 and I can see that disappointing people. Also lol episode 4.

On the other hand it has waifu fanservice pandering up the wazoo so people might go for that.
 
mudai

mudai

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,330
There will be a closed beta but only on Xbox One. Still no exact release date outside of Spring 2020 though. And still no word about Europe. I hope it won't be region locked if in fact it only comes out in the US for now.

That being said: I do hope that there will be a at least somewhat healthy playerbase. I do fear that the English release is too to grab a wider audience though. I played a good chunk of the Japanese release (always on and off though) and I'm looking forward to the English version.
 
Dynheart

Dynheart

Self-requested ban
Member
Oct 31, 2017
658
I was excited, then I watched some game play. The number spam and crazy large numbers is off putting to me. I like a little more method to the madness instead of the craziness that PSO 2 seems to have in it's combat.

I'll still give it a try, though. Loved PSO, and liked PSU. It would be a shame not to try PSO 2.
 
Lagamorph

Lagamorph

Wrong About Chicken
Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,355
Isn't it only getting a US release rather than 'the west' as a market?

It did they change approach and actually announce a release in Europe as well?
 
Kida

Kida

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,899
It will find an audience. There are tons of F2P games that are doing well that look and/or play worse than PSO2.
 
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