Retroview - Phantasy Star Zero

Official Site: http://www.sega.com/games/phantasy-star-zero/
Source: Youtube Channel SegaAmerica

I remember waiting for Phantasy Star Zero to come out.  My wish for a Phantasy Star game on the Nintendo DS had come true and was so close.  It was one of the very few games I pre-ordered and picked up on the first day.  That was over 3 years ago when it was released back in November 10, 2009.  I didn't play over 100 hours on it like I thought I would, but I did manage to complete the main part of the game at least once.  Phantasy Star Online held a lot of great memories for gamers and so many were excited for Phantasy Star Universe.  Unfortunately, it wasn't met with the same type of love and appreciation for the game.

Many other gamers didn't like Phantasy Star Online to begin with because of the lack of story considering it's an RPG (there was absolutely a story to the game, but you had to pay attention to the conversations and message nodes to understand what was happening).  With Phantasy Star Universe, fans complained it was TOO much story and not enough gameplay among other changes to classes, combat mechanics and such.  Sega responded by making Phantasy Star Zero meet up between the two for an enjoyable experience for a portable system like the Nintendo DS.  They balanced the amount of story with gameplay while returning the combat mechanics back to the original Phantasy Star Online while adding some new ones such as charging attacks and abilities.

The game takes advantage of the touch screen which has access to maps, AI commands, and text messages.  Then, there's also free online cooperative gameplay with players around the world.  I tried it and it really worked!  Online gameplay on the Nintendo DS was definitely better than the Nintendo Wii at the time.  Everything that made the Phantasy Star series past PSO fun returned with lots of different weapons, feeding mags, strategic 3 part combo attacks, and cooperative play.

With a game like Phantasy Star Zero, I was hoping more developers would be able to create games with as much content, online accessibility, and replay value in the future for handheld systems.  I was hoping Heroes of Ruin would be one of those games for the Nintendo 3DS but ended up having no end-game content.  I guess I can count on Sonic Team to continue to make games I wouldn't mind playing for hours on end when it comes to the Phantasy Star series.  Especially with Phantasy Star Online 2 coming out.

Although I didn't play it as much as I thought I would, it's a game I still come back to once in a while.  The game is still pretty pricey at most retail stores, but it's worth playing if you enjoy Action-RPGs and own a Nintendo DS or 3DS.