Why Phantasy Star Online does NOT suck

by N R Reaburn

Before I start, let's make something straight. I have played each and every Phantasy Star except for Gaiden and the small ones released in Japan for a console which never even made it to Australia, so I think I'm fairly qualified to actually comment on this.

Recently, I've heard a lot of people knocking Phantasy Star Online. They hate the graphics, the story, the quests (how could they hate the quests?), and especially the characters.

What is WRONG with you people???

Graphics... ah, the eternal cry of the old-style gamer, don't deny it: "They put graphics over plot! Infidels!" Please, people, get a life. The graphics are cutesy 3d, and personally I love them to bits! Nothing makes me smile more than logging on to some random game and discovering that we're all HUnewearls, or all wearing blue, or something equally silly. And the customisation rocks, you can't deny it. You want a hot babe with an eye-patch and pink hair? You got it! DBZ fan? Make a HUmar! The stage designs are simply brilliant - I'd happily hold a dance party in the mines, the Ruins are just plain creepy, and I'd be quite content to spend a few days wandering around the Forest... assuming someone killed all the monster first. Speaking of monsters, I have two words for you all: Dark Falz.

Story. I admit, the story is rather unusual, considering the modern flair for linear games like FFX. Don't get me wrong - I adore FFX to bits, and I'm buying FFX-2 the instant it's released here, but the story is just TOO DAMN LINEAR. In PSO, you have to piece it together, from comments made by the characters, or Rico's Message Pods - a nice change from simply finding a book which tells you what happened! (Final Fantasy 6, I'm pointing at you.)

The quests are quite literally a stroke of genius. They're the BEST way to earn that desperately-needed Meseta, they're the most amusing way to earn levels, and each gives you a small piece of plot, or at least something to smile at. The first quest I ever tried - Battle Training - set the scene perfectly... Save the dude, put up with the INCREDIBLY irritating partner, and get taught how to play, all in the space of about 25 minutes! Not too shabby! Plus the quests introduce you to characters, help you find rare weapons, and tell you more about what really happened to the Pioneer One. GLEE!

And of course, the most interesting part of the game - the characters. Just from the first couple of quests, you meet Ash, a naive hunter trying to prove himself, Racton, a greedy trader, and Kireek - quite possibly the most down-and-out irritatingly evil SOB I've ever had the joy of pounding into the ground. You start to feel for the characters - I bet there's not a single one of you who didn't enjoy turning Kireek into so many circuits at the end of From the Depths, and I know I'm not the only gal who enjoyed it simply because it meant they were rescuing Ash. Yes, I'm an Ash fangirl, and what's more I'm bloody well proud of it! I'm also a Doctor Montague fan... hell, the guy's a nutty genius who made his own robot maid! What's not to like?

So, I say to all of you who despise PSO because it's not as "Emotionally involving as PS2" (which I couldn't bear to play after Nei died), or "Story-driven as PS4" (true nuff, but PS4 had some scary religeous implications when you looked at it properly)...

Pull. Your. Smegging. Heads. Out.