Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2
From Sega Retro
| Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Dreamcast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Sega | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer: Sonic Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peripherals supported:  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre: RPG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 (ファンタシースターオンライン Ver. 2) is an update to Phantasy Star Online, and was released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2001, Much like ver1 the game can still be played through private servers with the Dreamcast Broadband Adapter, Modem and can be used with the DreamPi[1]
Contents
Gameplay
Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 is almost identical to the original Phantasy Star Online, however adds in a "ultimate" difficulty, increases the level cap to 200. There are new multiplayer-focused "challenge" and "battle" modes, as well as several new single-player quests. "Go Go Ball" was added to online lobbies 11-15, as was a "dressing room" mode, accessed by using 100,000 meseta, to change player characteristics without re-creating the character.
In addition, new items were introduced and several bugs fixed. A shortcut menu can be accessed during gameplay by holding 
and pressing 
to equip or use items. Pressing with the menu up will change to different item types.
Very little (if anything) was added to the game's offline mode, so for those without access to the internet, the disc was for all intents and purposes the same as its predecessor.
Ver. 2 has limited compatibility with the standard Phantasy Star Online. In some situations, players from both games can interact with one another, while new sections are strictly for Ver. 2 players. The Dreamcast Broadband Adapter is also supported in this release.
Like its predecessor, Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 requires a dedicated Visual Memory Unit due to the amount of blocks it is likely to use.
Screenshots
PSO Ver.2 players could opt to play with those who owned the original version, but with limited compatibility.
A shortcut window can be used to access items quickly.
Go Go Ball
History
Development
Plans were initially put in place to have this version of Phantasy Star Online run entirely through Windows CE, however technical difficulties meant this idea was scrapped (causing the game to be delayed for about a week).
Release
Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 arrived very late in the Dreamcast's lifespan and was unable to recreate the same levels of success as its predecessor. This is likely due to new conditions imposed on consumers; in North America and Japan, a paid "Hunter's License" subscription was required to play Ver. 2 online. In the US the charge was $5 a month for a minimum of three months.
Conversely, in Europe no charge was placed on online play, however users required a copy of Dreamkey 3.0 for the game to work - a disc only available directly from Sega. Sega chose to shut down their entire online service for those not using 3.0 (or 3.1) discs prior to the release of Ver 2., meaning it was not actually possible to order a 3.0 disc through a Dreamcast[2].
Versions
This version of Phantasy Star Online would be ported to Windows PCs, though would lack the "Ver. 2" subtitle.
Magazine articles
- Main article: Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
Dreamcast version
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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84 |
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| Based on 15 reviews | |
| Dreamcast, US |
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  Cover
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 Inlay |
| Dreamcast, EU |
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  Cover
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 Disc |
| Dreamcast, EU (White) |
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|
 Disc |
| Dreamcast, JP |
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  Cover
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 Spinecard |
PC version
| PC, JP |
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 Cover
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Technical information
VMU Features
Character Data from Phantasy Star Online can be converted to be used in version 2. Once it is converted, the character can no longer be used by the previous version.
| Name | File Name | Comment | File Size | Icon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOV2/MAIN_DATA | PSO______SYS | PSOV2/MAIN_DATA | 15 blocks |
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| PSOV2/GUILD_CARD | PSO______2GC | PSOV2/GUILD_CARD | 30 blocks | 
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| PSO/SCREEN_IMAGE | PSO______IMG | PSO/SCREEN_IMAGE | 195 blocks | 
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| Name | File Name | Comment | File Size | Icon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith | PSO______004 | PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith | 8 blocks | 
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| PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith | PSO______005 | PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith | 64 blocks |
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| PSOV2/Letter from Lionel | PSO______004 | PSOV2/Letter from Lionel | 11 blocks |
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| PSOV2/Letter from Lionel | PSO______005 | PSOV2/Letter from Lionel | 47 blocks |
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| PSOV2/Soul of Steel | PSO______004 | PSOV2/Soul of Steel | 27 blocks |
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| PSOV2/Soul of Steel | PSO______005 | PSOV2/Soul of Steel | 64 blocks |
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| PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl | PSO______004 | PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl | 25 blocks |
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| PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl | PSO______005 | PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl | 27 blocks |
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| PSOV2/The Retired Hunter | PSO______004 | PSOV2/The Retired Hunter | 10 blocks |
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| PSOV2/The Retired Hunter | PSO______005 | PSOV2/The Retired Hunter | 26 blocks |
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| Name | File Name | Comment | File Size | Icon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSO/MAIN_DATA | PSO______SYS | PSO/MAIN_DATA | 15 blocks |
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| PSO/GUILD_CARD | PSO______GCD | PSO/GUILD_CARD | 30 blocks |
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External links
- Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Dreamcast
References
- ↑ http://www.dreamcastlive.net/games.html
- ↑ File:DreamcastMagazine UK 33.pdf, page 9
- ↑ File:Dorimaga_20021011_JP.pdf, page 32
- ↑ File:Dorimaga_JP_20010608_2001-02.pdf, page 36
- ↑ BGamer, "Maio 2002" (PT; 2002-0x-xx), page 102
- ↑ Consoles +, "Août 2001" (FR; 2001-07-27), page 90
- ↑ Consoles +, "Avril 2002" (FR; 2002-0x-xx), page 127
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (2002-03-11)
- ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "No. 25" (UK; 2001-08-09), page 48
- ↑ Dorimaga, "2001-02 (2001-06-08)" (JP; 2001-05-25), page 36
- ↑ Dorimaga, "2002-18 (2002-10-11)" (JP; 2002-09-27), page 32
- ↑ Edge, "March 2002" (UK; 2002-02-27), page 95
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "November 2001" (US; 2001-10-02), page 215
- ↑ GameNOW, "November 2001" (US; 2001-10-16), page 94
- ↑ GamePro, "November 2001" (US; 2001-1x-xx), page 158
- ↑ Game Informer, "November 2001" (US; 2001-1x-xx), page 126
- ↑ MAN!AC, "05/2002" (DE; 2002-04-03), page 48
- ↑ PSX Extreme, "07/2001" (PL; 2001-0x-xx), page 49
- ↑ SuperGamePower, "Agosto 2001" (BR; 2001-xx-xx), page 37
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