PSP2:Phantasy Star Portable 2
Phantasy Star Portable 2 is the sequel to Phantasy Star Portable, officially announced on August 20th 2009. Its existence became known through information on a bonus UMD to be included with a best-seller's rerelease of the original game, which states that the opening movie for Phantasy Star Portable 2 will be included. Confirmation that it was SEGA's 'New RPG' to be revealed on August 20th appeared when leaked magazine scans from Famitsu appeared on the internet.
It is due for release on December 3rd 2009 in Japan, selling for 5040 yen. No release details for other territories have been announced.
Plot
The story of the game takes place three years after Episode 3. Instead of being a member of the GUARDIANS as with PSU and the original game, you instead work for a private military outfit called Little Wings. Little Wings runs a space colony resort known as Clad-6.
Two NPCs are known - the human girl Amelia Percival (エミリア・パーシバル) and the beast boy Yoot Yun Yunkaath (ユート・ユン・ユンカース).
The story is said to contain twice the text and voice content that the original game had, in response to feedback that the original game's story didn't have enough volume and was too easy.
Story characters
Amelia Percival
Amelia Percival is a 16 year old human girl belonging to Little Wings. On the other hand, her past is a mystery.
Yoot Yun Yunkaath
Yoot is a 15 year old beast boy living on Moatoob. Due to his upbringing, he's a bit lacking in common sense.
Other characters
Characters from previous games will appear, such as Tonnio. It's unknown if they will be redesigned (since 3 years have passed since the previous games).
New content
The game is said to have more all-new monsters, and three times as many missions as the original game (according to the game's producer, Satoshi Sakai). Presumably it will include new items as well (similar to the original game). Also stated is that there are 'fully redone character designs' for the game's default classes, although they can of course be customized to the player's liking.
New monsters
| JP name | EN name | Attribute |
|---|---|---|
| スヴァルティア | (Svaltia) | 
|
| エビルシャーク | (Evil Shark) | ? |
Existing monsters will also return. Known to be returning right now are Vahra and De Ragan.
New areas
At least one new area is stated to appear - Seabed RELICS.
Common box
The common box, missing in the original game, will be reintroduced in this game. You'll be able to pass items to your other characters using it.
Battle changes
New moves will be available in battle, some seemingly inspired by Phantasy Star Zero. Among these are an emergency dodge, charged shots for ranged weapons and shields similar to Phantasy Star Zero, but available as single handed weapons (since PS0 did not have the same dual wield system PSU and PSP have).
Emergency dodge
Allows you to evade enemy attacks by executing a forward roll. Details such as whether you are invincible while dodging are unknown.
Charged shots
Allows you to fire a more powerful shot. Only works with ranged weapons, and the firing animation changes for a charged shot.
Shields and Exact Guard
Shields are a new weapon type appearing in PSP2. They are left-handed weapons that can be equipped with any right-handed weapon. They are used by holding down R to guard against enemy attacks. By timing your guard to match an enemy's attack, you can perform an Exact Guard that will deal counter damage to the attacking enemy.
Chain system
Details are unknown, but it appears to work like PS0, in that you can build up a combo while attacking enemies allowing you to deal more damage with attacks.
Photon Points (PP)
Unlike other games in the PSU universe, PP is now a character stat rather than a weapon stat (similar to PS0 and PSO's TP).
Photon Arts
One new Photon Art is known - a saber Photon Art called Infinite Storm.
Network play
Unlike the original game, Phantasy Star Portable 2 will include infrastructure mode allowing for true internet play; this mode will be called Internet Multi Mode. According to Satoshi Sakai, players will be able to be matched up in a four-player party through a matching counter, but you can also search for other players and exchange partner cards so you can play with friends. In addition, there will be multiplayer-only missions that require more than just 'slaying monsters'.
Multi mode will include an on-screen software keyboard to allow players to communicate via text chat. This keyboard will allow you to enter alphanumeric characters and symbols in addition to Japanese kana (in the Japanese version, it remains to be seen how this will work in any localized version).
Ad Hoc mode for local multiplayer play will also be included and will work like the original game's Multi Mode.
External links
- Official Japanese PSP2 site
- Sega Nerds - Phantasy Star Portable 2 seen in promotional poster
- 1UP - Phantasy Star Portable Gets A Sequel
Gallery
Cover art
