Fonuel (Phantasy Star Online 2) Papercraft Model by Moekami

22 Nov, 2021

Did you know that Phantasy Star started its journey as a space-themed RPG game in 1987 on the Sega Master System? After going through four series and a remake of the Phantasy Star Collection on the PlayStation 2, it was only then that this game series entered the online world in 2000 on the Dreamcast. Phantasy Star's long history is what makes the presence of its last online series, Phantasy Star Online 2 a byword for gamers around the world. When the game was still released in the Japanese version in 2012 and news of the making of the English version appeared, at that time he was already greeted with enthusiasm by his fans.

What makes Phantasy Star Online 2 what so many gamers have been waiting for? The gameplay itself seems so simple without much change since it was released long ago. It also does not follow the mecca of today's mainstream online games. However, all of that doesn't seem to erase the charm attached to Phantasy Star Online 2, especially for console gamers who grew up with the game series.

Space Travel

Perhaps the first factor that makes Phantasy Star Online 2 in particular and the game series in general so enchanting is the theme of the story. This game tells the story of the adventure of exploring space and the struggle against alien creatures aka Aliens whose only desire is to eat the world to the end! Yes, it must be admitted, the fire that fuels curiosity about the story about space will never be extinguished from anyone's heart. Moreover, the story in Phantasy Star Online 2 can be said to be very exciting and full of mystery along the way.

The story begins with your adventure as a new cadet of the ARKS army tasked with keeping the peace of the universe. Like any green cadet, you are still undergoing training to become acquainted with the job and the dangers you will face throughout your life. Fortunately, the anxiety you feel is shared by another cadet, Afin, who miraculously gets to know you very quickly. So, you and Afin set off for the planet Naberius, where the training begins.

At first, all the training went smoothly. Until an emergency announcement appeared from Oracle Fleet, the spaceship fleet that became ARKS' headquarters, regarding the conditions that had occurred in Naberius. As it turned out, ARKS' mortal enemies, D-arkers who were ferocious alien organisms, appeared on the surface of Naberius. Luckily, you and a frantic Afin meet Zeno and Echo who are veteran ARKS. As a result, your encounter with an army of D-arkers won't be the end of your life!

There's a reason D-arkers can only be fought by ARKS. The alien can turn any other living thing it touches into part of the D-arkers, even to the point of mutating into a new type! However, ARKS can counteract these effects and they become the only hope in the war against D-arkers terror. Once you know what the eternal enemy of the universe you will continue to face, then the career to become the best ARKS in the universe begins.

Thick Offline Game Nuance

Phantasy Star Online 2's roots that come from offline games are the main influence in the form of games that you will encounter. That's also why this game has a strong story and is well woven through the various missions you can take on. The choice to get closer to the characters you play is also one of the reasons why this game is very interesting to follow. From the way the other characters in the story communicate with you to your involvement in the plot that affects the universe makes the characters feel familiar.

Therefore, the creation of new characters in Phantasy Star Online 2 plays an important role in embracing you to be a part of this online game. When you create a new character, the option to choose which race to play is made easy and hassle-free. You can choose one of the humans who can do anything, Newman who looks like an Elf in fantasy RPG stories with the ability to manipulate elementals and a robot race called Cast that can withstand a lot of damage. Even though it looks boxy in the race selection, it turns out that you can choose any race and become the class you want.

Then, what is the effect of each race's bodily abilities if it is used in a class that is not by its nature? Phantasy Star Online 2 has prepared its role for them. For example, Newman is an expert in controlling "magic" energy but his body is not as strong as Cast or humans. Can they be good melee fighters? Yes, they can fight well thanks to their agility and the ability to cast skills much more often than other races. Likewise with other races. The advantages and disadvantages can be translated well for all existing classes.

Back to the creation of new characters, Phantasy Star Online 2 is oriented to the form of Japanese anime characters. So, if you like Japanese anime and comics, aka manga, then this game will suit your tastes right away. At first, you can choose the shape of the body and face from several character presets that this game has provided. However, if you want to be more personal with the characters you play, this game also provides a variety of customizable shapes that you can set yourself. It's also easy; You can simply slide the graphic up and down to change the shape of your character.

The new character settings aren't limited to body and face shapes. You can also customize the various accessories that she can wear, such as her glasses, ponytail, and clothes. Later, you can change the costumes he uses yourself by buying through premium item shops or from shops run by other players. Because this game adheres to the Freemium system, which means playing for free with the addition of a premium item shop with real currency, a lot of cosmetics will depend on the economic system.

The games brought by Phantasy Star Online 2 will be very familiar if you have played other Phantasy Star game series. All attacks and movements are directly executed by you, either through the keyboard and mouse or controller. Its large nature is influenced by the culture of game consoles, making players have to be nimble in fighting like an action game. In addition to regular attacks, you can also launch a variety of unique skills for each class.

In addition to collecting the strongest armor and weapons, you also need to collect the skills stored on the Disc. Unlike other online games that usually provide skills based on level increases, Phantasy Star Online 2 asks players to look for these skills from defeated enemies to increase their level. So, you must always actively check for drops from enemies, especially regarding skills. Because, maybe you will be battered against the enemy due to a low skill level, even though the character level is high.

The shape of the game area in Phantasy Star Online 2 is also still the same as the previous series. All areas are divided into play areas with various uniqueness. Although the shape of the area does not change every time you enter it again, the enemies in it change, both in strength and in the surprises they provide. Yes, enemies sometimes patrol or hide to ambush you! Likewise with the various objects in it; it changes to provide freshness at every turn.

Even the forces in areas you feel familiar with can change drastically. Often ordinary enemies turn into enemy bosses that you have previously faced! Not just one, there could be two bosses that ambush you! Especially when you are much stronger than the level of monsters that should be there.

The shape of the compartmentalized area makes you need to choose in advance which area you will visit from Oracle. This type of game area is the same as Dungeon with various difficulty levels to choose from. The difference is, you can find areas where parties or groups of players can meet and play together; different from the typical Dungeon game in general.

This game is also quite loose in providing an opportunity for players who are defeated by monsters to return to exploring the Dungeon. You can go back and forth from the Dungeon to the Gate Ship, where the Dungeon and Oracle are intermediaries and can sell various items you find or make new Party friends. This makes the pressure felt by players when playing becomes much lighter.

Speaking of pressure, then you have to meet enemies who will fight you in this game. Various types of enemies, ranging from small to giants will appear before you! They're not that easy to beat either. All enemies have weak points that can be exploited, both physically and with elements of weakness. However, there are also enemies with thick skin and you must attack their hidden points to defeat them! This is what makes fighting enemies in Phantasy Star Online 2 exciting.

The strength of the enemies that you will face in Phantasy Star Online 2 makes the presence of a partner to accompany your adventure very important. Making a Party is important, but you can take things more seriously by forming a Team with other players. Registered teams will get the right to use a cool special room to gather. They can also use special passive skills that affect attack, defense, Experience level, money, and the possibility of getting rare items by raising the Photon tree in the Team room. For that, they must collect points by completing Team Quests every day.

Another element that affects your strength is a small robot named Mag. At first, Mag is only able to float by your side without much help in battle. However, once you feed him various items, from unused weapons to armor, his powers will build up and he will give you passive powers, such as increasing weapon attack, defense, and elemental power. He can also issue cool skills that can save you when in a critical situation.

Unleash Hidden Potential

Your character is not only supported by the level increase and the skills it has to become strong. He also needs outside help, such as strengthening weapons and armor through physical and elemental upgrades to augmenting skills. All of these services can be found in Oracle Fleet. Likewise with goods storage services aka warehouses, exclusive shops, lottery machines, mission counters, and shops opened by other players.

Weapon strengthening through Upgrades in Phantasy Star Online 2 is set with the plus system. When you strengthen equipment with the help of an object called Grinder and pay a certain amount of money, then it will increase in strength with a + marked, such as +1, +2, to +10. The higher the plus value you get, the higher the chance for it to be damaged. To ensure its safety, this game offers premium items that can be purchased at the cash shop or using FUN currency that can be collected through quests or helping other players.

FUN currency is also used to use lottery machines which allow you to win a variety of great prizes, from coupons that give out new accessories to new costumes. In addition to using FUN, some other prizes with more valuable prizes require ARKS Cash or AC which can be purchased through the item mall using real money. AC currency is also used in several other, far more important places.

That place is the Skill Counter, where you choose skills to develop your character. When you level up, the skill points you get will be useful for increasing your passive power, such as increasing the physical strength of a weapon or defense. The skill branch itself is quite a lot and players who are less experienced in shaping the character they want are not impossible to make mistakes. Phantasy Star Online 2 offers the opportunity to change classes at any time for free. However, to add a new skill tree or reset a skill, you have to pay a certain amount of AC.

If you want to access the Team's warehouse feature so that the items you got earlier but you can't use because they are in a different class can be used by other team members, then you need to become a Premium member by paying for a subscription using real money. With the removal of the feature of exchanging objects between players, there are only two ways to give objects to other players, namely using the Team warehouse or using the play store. To use the store, you must also become a Premium member by paying for a subscription.

Conclusion

From the game side, Phantasy Star Online 2 is very fun to play. You can find a variety of actions, ranging from fierce battles, interesting stories, to challenging enemies. The quality of the graphic display is also very attractive, especially for gamers who like Japanese anime and manga comic culture. Excellent enemy designs and environments make adventures on other planets so much fun.

However, there are quite a lot of supporting facilities for Phantasy Star Online 2 which are paid for by the publisher. If gamers are given the option to subscribe, then like other monthly paid online games, it's only natural that gamers get a full share of the experience playing this game. However, gamers still need to pay more to get access to the supporting features of this game, such as Skill Reset and Equipment Upgrade safety.