Phantasy Star Set for DS

via IGN


Sega is bringing the Phantasy Star series to the DS. The new game is titled PS0. No, this is not a new version of Phantasy Star Online. The "0" is actually "Zero" (which you may or may not have figured out depending on your browser's character set).

While the magazine describes PS0 as a completely new title, it does inherit a bit from its predecessors. On top of a story mode, which is not detailed in the magazine, players have access to a four-player multiplayer mode which offers both local and Wi-Fi Connection-based play.

One of the coolest new features for the multiplayer mode is visual chat. Players have access to a scratch pad on the bottom screen, which they can fill with doodles and send to fellow players. The drawings appear in bubbles above the characters, giving the game a comic look (assuming you're good-enough at drawing, that is).

Players can also communicate using pre-set symbols.

Outside of the chatting, the bottom screen is used to display your stats, a map, and your action palette (this is the name that Phantasy Star gives to the player's move menu). It appears that you can select moves from the palette using either the stylus or the R button.

PS0 features all the Phantasy Star character types of old, along with a few new ones. The characters are drawn a bit younger here, as if they've gone back to their teenage years, but PSO fans will have no problem recognizing them.

For this first DS installment, Sega has brought in some new additions to the development staff. Toshiyuki Kubooka, from the Idol Master and Lunar series, is overseeing character creation. Tooru Shiwasu, who previously headed up the online quests in Phantasy Star Online but went on to become an author, is working on PS0's scenarios with another author, Teru Arai.

PS0 is set for Japanese release this Winter.

I have a new christmass gift I must have. However the winter announce date makes me suspicious as every other game I've sene announced this month (and in the early summer even) at 09, at the sonist. So either Sega has been working on this for awhile and just now announced it after they're almost finished (which is possible I suppose), they're going to push the date back several times, or its reusing already existing assets.

Sigh...

When I first heard about this I was hoping for a new title in the original Phantasy Star series. The title is misleading. Good news anyway, though.

Now it makes more sense. We're going to see more PSU stuff. Not wholey unexpected given PSU got a psp game, plus its the franchise sega has been working on for years (I believe production started in like 03 or 04), so it makes sense.

I don't like it nearly as much as the idea of getting back to Algol, but hey, now we'll finally see if my ideas of a PSO-like game for the DS would be as good as I thought it'd be.

Edit: Screenshots YO!

http://www.gamekyo.com/news28991_pha...reenshots.html