In two years, Phantasy Star Online 2 will be a decade old. Although it seems like Sega’s relic, it surprisingly finds a place among the popular action-MMOGs immersed in fan love. Every gamer should wonder why Phantasy Star Online 2 still survives in the era of captivating games like War of Warcraft and Elders Scroll Online. It turns out that the game’s combat is so livid, with an accompanying incredible loot system, that more and more players keep joining the club. The game is available on PC, Xbox, and PS4. 

Excelling Despite Its Shortcomings 

The game isn’t exactly a typical MMO game. In a real MMO, you’ll find sprawling maps with innumerable players going about their tasks and quests. In Phantasy Star Online 2, you don’t see anything of such. Rather than large maps, you have lounges or hubs that are further segregated into blocks. Each of these blocks holds up to 200 players at a time.

So, you’ll have your character in one of these usually-crowded blocks upgrading your equipment, gathering supplies, and attending to quests. While this is relatively manageable, the problem is in trying to play with a friend. Since there’s a sequestration of blocks, you’ll request a move to their blocks. You can also look for groups in your block to enjoy team play.

Another area where it seems Phantasy Star Online 2 faults is graphics. But I do hold an opinion that kind of just stays in the middle. Even for a 2012 game, the graphics are just basic and not enterprising in any way. However, eight years later, it hasn’t diminished or become obsolete. I find it rather intriguing to play Phantasy Star Online 2 in 2020 and not get put off by its design.

Like in many Japanese games, this game goes overboard with anime. Everything looks blown out of proportion, and some are just ridiculous. You’ll fight bad guys bigger than an entire apartment and perform stunts physics got nothing on. If you have a thing against these unrealistic anime features, this game is not a good place. But if you’re an anime lover, oh, oh, oh! Besides the huge tool for crushing your enemies, the anime character creator is just out of this world.

You can create an anime character precisely the way you want. What’s fascinating is that you can adjust body parts to unthinkable sizes – just as you please. With an array of flamboyant cosmetics, your anime character can be as outrageous-looking as possible. 

Phantasy Star Online 2 found feet in the American gaming scene eight years after its release. The reason for that is palpable throughout the game. For instance, you can either cherish the outlandish anime or completely despise it. Finding a middle ground is almost impossible. It’s apparent the developers never built it for audiences outside Japan.

Now, it’s here, and there are many compelling positives of the game. We’ll get to that in a minute. The game’s belligerence doesn’t stop with combats and character appearance and runs off on the sound. The sound of weapons clashing is startling, and the music will make your heart beat faster. That’s not all; you have the characters announcing their moves. Isn’t that amazing? As expected, the male’s voices are deeper than you’d ever hear, and the female’s come with an overstretch.

The Combat is Everything

Phantasy Star Online 2 may fall behind in many things, but boy, its combat is exceptional. The most striking thing is the collection of weapons available. You’d hardly find such arrays in modern MMOGs. From piercing swords to assault rifles, you have everything to run your enemies to the ground. For an even better thrill, these weapons are animated.

Each level presents the opportunity to unlock specific attacks. These attacks determine how you employ weapons. With intuitive controls, you can seamlessly take anyone on your way to the slaughter. The fact that you can do so many things during combats is just thrilling. Each weapon can get up to six attack types. Manipulating the control has no steep learning curve. On Xbox, the face buttons do the job.

There’s a white orb that displays as you position for an attack for even more efficient combat. When it turns red, it indicates it’s the right time to attack. The result is a Perfect Attack that deals significant damage. Combat is easy, mainly because of the different attacks available. Often, the core of your job during a fight is choosing the best weapons, attacks, and combos to use. Nothing can be easier!

You can try something different by entering the third-person mode. That allows you to locate targets with your gun’s mires for a shot.

Simple Missions, Interesting Nevertheless

Missions in Phantasy Star Online 2 are pretty straightforward. Choose from a list of biomes and then select a game’s difficulty. Set your party in motion, and you’re good to go. Before you begin the mission properly, you can do some prepping to get you fully set. You enter a drop-ship that takes you where you can trade items, craft necessary tools, boost energy levels with a soda, and get some NPCs to join your mission. Then step into the teleportation pool to begin your task.

There’ll be lots of characters trying to stop you from completing the mission. The onus is on you to send them to hell. With the tools and attacks at your disposal, that shouldn’t be a problem. When you get to the boss enemy, show him who the real boss is and cart away your loot.

What We Think

Phantasy Star Online 2 is far from being a relic. Instead, it makes for exciting gameplay, even without a compelling story. It does have its issues, but none are overwhelming enough to swallow its good. The combat, particularly, is enthralling. There’s no doubt Phantasy Star Online 2 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.