From Rags to Riches: A Closer Look at Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis was released this year on June 9 on Xbox and is also available on PC on multiple platforms. As such, cross-platform is huge for this game in order to maintain a healthy player base. The release was highly anticipated due to the success of last year’s  Phantasy Star Online 2 release. The base game came to the West almost eight years after its launch in Asia. Many people expected a lot of things from this game. Although it had a rough start, the game is now in a much better state.

About the game

Many players anticipated the release of the free-to-play Pso2 New Genesis for many reasons. First, fans would all get to experience the wide-open battlefield environments. This also includes exploring a whole new world featuring broad, expansive playfields filled with ferocious enemies. Players could also traverse wide-open environments, speed, and soar across the giant landscape and skies with new special abilities. To add, transitioning into a new area is as simple as walking into it because there are no loading screens.

The Creation Engine allowed characters to become more enhanced and helped develop players’ identities in Pso2 New Genesis. This allowed players to adjust every imaginable characteristic to create their one-of-a-kind avatar.  Characters are connected with Pso2 so you can move between Pso2 and New Genesis with minimal changes to the character’s items or skills. The new multi-weapon system and abilities allow players to combine two types of weapons for smoother weapon switching. In addition, New Genesis boosts battle speed by using a variety of weapons and techniques.

Redesigns to the graphics helped bring the lush environments to life. As well as create amazingly detailed player characters and monstrous foes in razor-sharp resolution. The game also introduced new lighting and particle effects as weapons clash with armor. This undoubtedly allowed players to experience Phantasy Star Online 2 in a way that they have never seen before.

New Genesis Growing Pains (The Rags)

As I said before, hopes were high going into New Genesis. However, the experience wasn’t so great for many people at first. The screenshots above illustrate how the game was initially broken. When I first logged into the game, I had the option to keep my character from Pso2 which I did instead of making a brand new one.

When the game first launched, it was plagued with server issues. Many players reported insane amounts of lag and some crucial NPCs wouldn’t load in as well. I experienced this issue firsthand. In fact, the entire main hub area wouldn’t load in properly. This caused my character to fall through the map. The connection with the base Pso2 game was not good either with people not being able to load in at all at first.

At first, New Genesis didn’t have the player’s personal quarters (PQ) or alliance bases implemented either. So players weren’t able to visit their rooms or alliance bases from Pso2. A lot of people have spent hours upon hours decorating their PQ’s for their friends to be able to hang out with them. The much-loved casino was not in the game either. Currency from Pso2 did not transfer over to New Genesis.  However, this was an understandable move in order to safeguard the game’s market from breaking right away.

Arrested Story Progression

Gear was a big thing as many pieces didn’t transfer over or their stats randomly changed. Leveling was a grind for most players well. Players were forced to progress in New Genesis‘ story in order to progress to certain areas where enemy levels increased dramatically. However, you were out of luck if crucial NPCs didn’t load in the main hub area. This caused many fans to get stuck, essentially halting their story progression altogether. If you were a lucky one and had no issues, you could max out your level at 20. Yet, this rare condition made it difficult to run an active alliance. Luckily, SEGA was able to steer New Genesis in a better direction.

Now (The Riches)

It’s been 2 months since the release of New Genesis. Fortunately, the game is in a much better position than when it first launched. Many updates have corrected the issues people have experienced while playing. I’ve heard more positive sentiments about the game after talking with my fellow alliance members and players. Updates have fixed lag issues in a major way, which provided better and smoother gameplay. I have been able to take many pictures thanks to patches that removed stuttering that was previously common in the game. The main hub area loading has been phenomenal for most people. Thankfully, the game hardly has loading screens, which helped smoothen the transition from area to area.

Loading into the base Pso2 game has been easy and flawless. Even with New Genesis out, people are still visiting the base game to have fun there as well. You still have to play the story to progress through certain areas. Luckily, the developers are dedicated to putting out new content to make it a more enjoyable experience.

A recent update added a little more to the story and helps with the leveling a bit more. In addition, the update also added in the fan-favorite Braver class. It was a welcomed addition and allows players another way to make their character more unique and have fun. Scratch tickets continually added new content accessories to the game. This too also allows many ways for people to enjoy their characters in New Genesis.

In short, multiple updates for New Genesis fixed many bugs and issues that initially plagued the game. Now is a perfect time to jump back in if you took a break or if you want to experience it for the first time. As someone who put over 900 hours in the base game in less than a year, I will definitely be revisiting New Genesis. Game Pass also provides a little extra for subscribers, as New Genesis players will receive monthly reward perks. Comment and let us know if you plan to revisit this beautiful game.