I spent dozens of minutes bypassing the language barriers erected solely to prevent America from playing Phantasy Star Online back in the day, since my friends were gushing about how excited they were for this to come out. I lied about my country of origin. My emails from Sega and YouTube are still in Japanese by default to this day, and if I ever step into Japan I may be shot on sight. When I finally logged in on my contemporary toaster laptop, I made my own Original the Character. After hours of labor, moving sliders to the maximum side of either direction and giggling more and more as my character got progressively ridiculous, Lappy McBunBuns was born on July 18, 2012. I then proceeded to not play a single actual second of game playing however this game's gameplay plays. But I can tell you, friend, I didn't regret any of them

Phantasy Star Online 2 is a fun time sink

PSO2 still looks good so many years and the designs of areas are really well done. The ARKS hub has a bit of a sparse feeling in cutscenes though. Music is hella catchy and the presentation is on point for the most part. Yes it looks like an early PlayStation 3 game (for obvious reasons) but one that looks good.

PSO2 isn’t Pay 2 Win, but there are advantages for plunking down cash for AC. There are workarounds for some of this if you don’t desire to pay any money and you can get “Star Gems” (the other premium currency) pretty easily without using your credit card. But it just makes the game less of a hassle if you do so. Think of it as "Pay 4 Advantage" (and convenience.)

While there is no true endgame (the joke is that “fashion” is the real endgame), there is plenty to do/keep you busy. There are always events going on, there is a PVP mode (not great but not horrible and at least each match is quick), a challenge mode (which is again ok,) crafting, upgrading and the fact you have access to all your classes. Again, premium members can take the most out of this but it’s not like there is nothing to do, even if you get the best stuff

There is a story mode, but it’s quite a slog and (until recently) not really well put together due to how they reworked it from its original format. But at least you get rewards so it’s not a total wash.

Gameplay is pretty good. It’s constant, somewhat quick and quite forgiving. You don’t have to “git gud” to get the most out of it, though content is being released where you have to be somewhat competent (or at least use a class and sub-class that can help you brute force your way.) It’s not entirely mindless but you can’t just “press x to win” as well. Classes are fun to try out and you will find one that makes you go "oh this is fun/challenging".)

There is no pressure on how you play. If you’re a social butterfly, PSO2 has you covered. If you’re a lone wolf, this works fine, as ALL group content can be joined without having to ask for an invite and you can get bots to help you in other content. No one expects you to chat during missions so as long as you play decently, no one is going to boot you. Alliances (this game’s version of guilds) are plentiful and welcoming.

Pretty much worth the wait. In a genre that is becoming saturated and hyped up games are failing to live up to their potential, PSO2 is up there with Warframe, Destiny 2, World of Warcraft and EVE in games that deliver one way or another. It's refreshing but also familiar. Not the deepest MMO and if you’re going to commit fully, you may have to get that credit card out but it’s fun and satisfying. Highly Recommended.

Overall: 9/10

Phantasy Star Online 2 is a F2P MMORPG set in the Phantasy Star universe, released in Japan in 2012. and released elsewhere in 2022. On PS4 to access Phantasy Star Online 2 you have to first download Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis and then download the free DLCs in the launcher. This game in the time of writing (May 2023) is no longer supported by the developers, the servers are still online, but there isn't any new content, since all staff and resources are now further developing New Genesis.

When first starting a new game you are given the option to choose the look and class of your character, all changes you are making in appearance can be later changed using a currency called Star Gems or the Free Salon Ticket. The classes can be changed anytime at no cost. After the game's introduction to the game's mechanics you have the option to do anything you want: Story missions, ARKS quest, Side quest. Leveling up isn't a problem, only later in the game it starts to become a grind.
The Story missions aren't a big of a deal, since they are mostly just a mix of voice and text-based cutscenes, but the story overall is great.
The best part of the game is combat, every class has at least two equipable weapons and each one has its own abilities. When leveling up, each level gives you a skill point which can be used to upgrade your class. The combat is fast-paced, dynamic and fluid, with many option to enhance your weapons and armors. All weapons and armor can be earned doing quest or be bought in the Player's Market which is the place where you are going to spend your hard earned Meseta (in-game currency) for items with ridiculous prices.
The Player's Market is a place where other players put their items and price at which they will be selling the item. Here is also where all fashion items can be bought, or at the Player's Market or with Limited-time Scratch Tickets bought with real money. Since in 2023. there aren't as many players as before and since there aren't new Scratch Tickets, every single fashion items, especially for female characters costs a lot, if you want to wear something you like, you have to grind every single day by doing Daily and Weekly tasks, doing those quests is the best way to earn money.
The end-game is literally just grinding for better gear and earning more Meseta in order to buy fashion items. Fashion is the true end-game, as many players say. There is also a PvP mode which no one plays, so basically it's dead.

All in all, this game offers a good amount of content, many story quests, side quests and challenges, but after completing all of them, you are left only with grinding for Meseta and better gear and buying fashion items, if there is even something left of it. The best part of this game is combat, but the endgame is mostly fashion.

A perfect example of what makes an amazing MMORPG : Great class diversity, an absolute addicting, satisfying and dynamic gameplay with a lot of depth, an enormous amount of content and variety on all sides of it as well as an absolute banger OST.

My only complaints generally were about menus, what exactly to do in what order and the enhancement system that were not intuitive at all but you eventually get the gist of it.
Also, the main story was just your random shounen nekketsu story but it is not what is important anyway.

Unfortunately, since the launch of Phantasy Star Online 2 : New Genesis, the devs fucked it up and made it unplayable to make the players move.

PSO2 is the best MMORPG I have ever played.