Phantasy Star Universe Offline Impressions + Video Walkthrough

Because of the inability to get online with my PS2 version of Phantasy Star Universe and the fact that the PSU servers have been hit hard in its first days of release, I decided to take a look at the offline component to the game. Much to my surprise it’s actually a full blown “game” and not just a few silly missions like Phantasy Star Online’s offline game. Each mission starts off with some lengthy in-game and out of game cutscenes that tell a very involving story. I’d say that each mission I’ve been through so far has been 80% cutscenes and 20% actual gameplay which is on par with the likes of Xenosaga.

[Video Walkthrough Of Story Chapter 1][more]

When you’re not watching the cutscenes you’re either wandering around some amazingly beautiful cities or you’re in an actual combat area. So each and every mission pretty much plays out like this; You watch a bunch of cutscenes, you wander around talking to people, sometimes on several different planets, you watch some more cutscenes, and then you head into a combat area. Once in the combat area you get to experience what pretty much amounts to Phantasy Star Online 2 as you make your way through several rooms that require you to slash your way through a plethora of enemies in order to get to a final boss. The bosses I’ve seen so far have been pushovers but I’m sure that will change soon enough. Some of the time you also pick up NPCs along the way that help you fight your enemies, although they are honestly not much help.

After a mission you can go and spend your hard earned cash on a huge amount of upgrades of which there are many more than PSO ever had. Once my PC version comes later this week I’ll give some impressions of the online game which should be much more favorable. That being said if you like lengthy story, amazing graphics, and PSO combat then the offline component might be enough for you as it’s rumored that it takes over 40 hours to complete.