TGS 2009: Phantasy Star Portable 2 Hands On
Phantasy Star Portable 2 is the latest game from Sega's relatively new Phantasy Star Universe series. A separate entity from the normal Phantasy Star franchise, Phantasy Star Universe is presumed to take place in a different time period and location, as well as having new features. Unlike its predecessor, Phantasy Star Portable 2 is a fully-fledged title and not a port, so production has been taken a lot more seriously.
Gaming Union had a chance to check out Phantasy Star Portable 2 while we were at this year's Tokyo Game Show, although many of the game's role-playing aspects weren't experienced during the demonstration. Mainly because we took part in a 2 vs 2 ad-hoc battle.
After going through a lobby, the gameplay kicked in, and it was similar to King of the Hill. There were checkpoints that needed to be captured, and by holding them, points were amassed. It actually took a relatively long time to capture these checkpoints though, so being killed was always a hazard.
Obviously due to the nature of the game, the competition was human orientated, but there were some monsters to be found around the maps, but they weren't in obvious places. The map that was experienced seemed a bit disjointed too, as it was a collection of islands that could only be reached by using jump pads. It made the action a bit disjointed, because although the map was small, it was still quite difficult to actually find people to fight against.
The combat itself wasn't that deep. It definitely felt like an Action Role-Playing title, as there were only a few moves that could be performed. It's probably possible to alter these moves through the menus, but it's not something that was disclosed during the demonstration. Some of the moves did look quite nice though, and there was definitely a element of skill promoted through the gameplay, although the actual AI enemies didn't pose much of a challenge.
The demonstration was quite short, and only showed off the player vs player aspects of the game, but the graphics were pretty solid and if there is a lot of depth to the game, it could be one that appeals to many people. While there is only a Japanese release confirmed at the moment, Phantasy Star Portable did come out in the West, so there is a good change Phantasy Star Portable 2 will do the same.
