Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2

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Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2
Pso MainFile.png
System(s): Sega Dreamcast, Windows PC
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Peripherals supported:
Sega Dreamcast
Broadband Adapter, Jump Pack, Dreamcast Keyboard, Dreamcast Modem, Visual Memory Unit, Dreamcast VGA Box
Genre: RPG

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Dreamcast
JP
¥4,8004,800 HDR-0163
Sega Dreamcast
US
51193
Sega Dreamcast
EU
MK-51193-50
Windows PC
JP
¥6,8006,800 HCJ-0323
Windows PC
KR

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 Broadband Adapter, Modem and can be used with the DreamPi[3]

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 R and pressing Y to equip or use items. Pressing R 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 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.

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[4].

Versions

This version of Phantasy Star Online would be ported to Windows PCs, though would lack the "Ver. 2" subtitle.

Production credits

Game Design Section
Program Section
Graphic Design Section
Sound Section
Tokyo Recording Unit
  • Orchestra Recording Producer: Kotaro Kamada (Band Power)
  • Orchestra Arranger: Daisuke Okamoto, Toshiaki Iida
  • Conductor: Yasufumi Tokito
  • Main Orchestra Play: Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
  • Orchestra Chief Manager: Hiroyuki Tominaga (Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra)
  • Musician Co-Ordinator: Ayako Sato (Witchcraft)
  • Recording Engineer: Hirokazu Akashi, Yoshitada Miya, Hirofumi Sako
  • Assistant Engineer: Sawako Sogabe, Kazunori Yoshida (Sound City), Satoshi Nakazawa (Sound City)
  • Recorded At: Wave Master Recording Studio (June-Oct 2000), Sound City Studio (Sep 2000)
London Recording Unit
  • Vocal: Loren
  • Recording Co-Ordinator: Shiro Sagisu (Ro-Jam)
  • Recording Director: Kan Hashimoto (Jail House)
  • Recording Engineer: Philip Bagenal
  • Recorded At: Eastcote Studios London U.K. (Oct 2000)
  • Sound Co-Ordinator: Yukifumi Makino
  • Sound Created By: Wave Master Inc.
Sega Corporation
Management Team
Consumer Product Dept.
Licensing Dept
Isao Corporation Network Contents Division
  • General Manager: Hiroshi Nakanishi, Game Business Dept.
  • Manager: Keiichiro Suzuki
  • Producer: Akihiro Itoh, Takeshi Hotta, Rikiya Katagai
  • Communication Server Development: Akito Osame
Technical Support
  • General Manager: Kunihiko Hayashi
Sega of Amerca Dreamcast Inc.
Localization
Soad Test
  • Lead Tester: Gabrielle Brown
  • Assistant Leads: Tom Fong, Shaheed Khan
Soad Marketing
Sega.Com
Sega Europe, Ltd.
Marketing Support
Source:
In-game credits (JP)

Magazine articles

Main article: Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Dreamcast Magazine (JP) #2001-02: "2001-02 (2001-01-19,26)" (2001-01-05)
Logo-pdf.svg

Wallpapers

The following wallpapers were included as extras on the installation disc of the PC version of Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2.

Screenshots

Physical scans

Dreamcast version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
91 19.03.2002
100 11/03/2001
87 №115
87 №123, p127
80 №108, p95
94 [5]
97 №2001-02, p36[6]
88
90 02.10.2001
100 11/10/2001
Sega Dreamcast
91
Based on
10 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
BGamer (PT)
80
[7]
Consoles + (FR) NTSC-J
87
[8]
Consoles + (FR)
87
[9]
Digitiser (UK)
80
[10]
Dreamcast Magazine (UK) NTSC-U
82
[11]
Dorimaga (JP) NTSC-J
97
[12]
Dorimaga (JP) NTSC-J
94
[5]
Edge (UK) PAL
80
[13]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
78
[14]
GameNOW (US) NTSC-U
75
[15]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
73
[16]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
90
[17]
PSX Extreme (PL) NTSC-J
73
[18]
SuperGamePower (BR)
98
[19]
Sega Dreamcast
84
Based on
14 reviews

Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2

Dreamcast, US
PSOV2 DC US Box Back.jpgPSOV2 DC US Box Front.jpg
Cover
PSOVer2DCUSInlay.jpg
Inlay
Dreamcast, EU
PSO ver2 Pal dc back.jpgPSO ver2 Pal dc front.jpg
Cover
Psov2 dc eu disc.jpg
Disc
Dreamcast, EU (White)

Psov2 dc eu predisc.jpg
Disc
Dreamcast, JP
PSOV2 DC JP Box Back.jpgPSOV2 DC JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
PSOV2 DC JP Spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
PSOV2 DC JP Disc.jpg
Disc
PSOV2 DC JP Inlay.jpg
Inlay

PC version

PC, JP
PhantasyStarOnline PC JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
PC, KR
PSO PC KR Box Front.jpg
Cover
PC, TW
PSO PC TW Box Front.jpg
Cover

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.

Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 Save Data
Name File Name Comment File Size Icon
PSOV2/MAIN_DATA PSO______SYS PSOV2/MAIN_DATA 15 blocks Pso MainFile.png
PSOV2/GUILD_CARD PSO______2GC PSOV2/GUILD_CARD 30 blocks Pso Guild.png
PSO/SCREEN_IMAGE PSO______IMG PSO/SCREEN_IMAGE 195 blocks Pso Screenshot.png
Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 Quest Save Data
Name File Name Comment File Size Icon
PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith PSO______004 PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith 8 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith PSO______005 PSOV2/Soul of a Blacksmith 64 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Letter from Lionel PSO______004 PSOV2/Letter from Lionel 11 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Letter from Lionel PSO______005 PSOV2/Letter from Lionel 47 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Soul of Steel PSO______004 PSOV2/Soul of Steel 27 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Soul of Steel PSO______005 PSOV2/Soul of Steel 64 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl PSO______004 PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl 25 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl PSO______005 PSOV2/Central Dome Fire Swirl 27 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/The Retired Hunter PSO______004 PSOV2/The Retired Hunter 10 blocks Pso DLC.png
PSOV2/The Retired Hunter PSO______005 PSOV2/The Retired Hunter 26 blocks Pso DLC.png
Phantasy Star Online Save Data
Name File Name Comment File Size Icon
PSO/MAIN_DATA PSO______SYS PSO/MAIN_DATA 15 blocks Pso MainFile.png
PSO/GUILD_CARD PSO______GCD PSO/GUILD_CARD 30 blocks Pso Guild.png

External links

  • Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Dreamcast | PC

References



Phantasy Star, Sprites.png
Phantasy Star series
"Classic" series
Phantasy Star (1987) | Phantasy Star II (1989) | Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (1990) | Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium (1993)
Phantasy Star II Text Adventures (Amia | Anne | Huey | Kinds | Nei | Rudger | Shilka | Yushis/Eusis) (1991) | Phantasy Star Adventure (1992) | Phantasy Star Gaiden (1992) | Phantasy Star (2003) | Phantasy Star Generation: 1 (2003) | Phantasy Star Generation: 2 (2005)
Compilations
Sega Ages Phantasy Star Collection (1998) | Phantasy Star Collection (2003) | Phantasy Star Complete Collection (2008)
Related media
Music
Phantasy Star Collection: Sound Collection I (1993) | Phantasy Star Collection: Sound Collection II (1993) | Phantasy Star 1st Series Complete Album (2008) | Phantasy Star Series 25th Anniversary Sound Collection (2012) | Phantasy Star Series 25th Anniversary Concert Sympathy 2013 Live Memorial Album (2013) | Phantasy Star (2022) | Phantasy Star II (2022) | Phantasy Star III (2023) | Phantasy Star IV (2023)
Audiobook
Memorial Drama CD & Fanbook "Phantasy Star: Fuujirareshi Kioku" (1995)
Book
Phantasy Star II Hint Book (1989) | Phantasy Star III: Toki no Keishousha Koushiki Guide Book (1990) | Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom Hint Book (1991) | Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni Game Guide Book (1994) | Phantasy Star Koushiki Settei Shiryoushuu (1995) | Phantasy Star IV Official Players Guide (1995) | 25th Anniversary Phantasy Star Visual Chronicles (2013)
"Modern" series
Phantasy Star Online (Ver. 2 | Ep. I & II | Ep. III | Blue Burst) (2000-2005) | Phantasy Star Universe (Ambition of the Illuminus) (2006-2007) | Phantasy Star Online 2 (es | Cloud) (2012-2020) | Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (2021)
Handheld games
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Character Timer (2002) | Phantasy Star 0 (Mini) (2008-2009) | Phantasy Star Portable (2008) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 (Infinity) (2009-2011) | Phantasy Star: Eternal Planets (2011) | Phantasy Star Nova (2014) | Idola: Phantasy Star Saga (2018)
Compilations
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II & III Trilogy (200x) | Phantasy Star Defender's Pack! (2011)
Spin-offs
Pachislot Phantasy Star Online 2 (2020)
Related media
Music
Phantasy Star Online Original Sound Track (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Songs of Ragol Odyssey: Soundtrack Episode 1 & 2 (2002) | Let The Winds Blow: Phantasy Star Online Episode III Special Edition (2003) | Let The Winds Blow: Phantasy Star Online Episode III C.A.R.D. Revolution Original Sound Track (2003) | Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Premium Arrange (2004) | Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst Episode IV Sound Track (2005) | Phantasy Star Universe Game Soundtrack (2006) | Phantasy Star Universe Tsutaya Original Sound Track (2006) | Save This World: Phantasy Star Universe Original Score (2006) | For Brighter Day Phantasy Star Universe Original Soundtrack (2006) | Phantasy Star Universe: Illuminus no Yabou Original Soundtrack (2008) | Phantasy Star 0 Original Sound Track (2009) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Special Single CD (2009) | Phantasy Star Soundtrack: Theme Song Collection (2010) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Original Soundtrack: Wings of Universe (2010) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity Special CD (2011) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity Original Soundtrack (2012) | Phantasy Star Series 25th Anniversary Sound Collection (2012) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Mini Sound Track (2013) | Phantasy Star Series 25th Anniversary Concert Sympathy 2013 Live Memorial Album (2013) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1 (2013) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 2 (2013) | Phantasy Star Music Collection 2000-2007 (2013) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Character Song CD: Song Festival (2014) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 3 (2014) | Phantasy Star Nova Original Soundtrack (2015) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Character Song CD: Song Festival II (2015) | Phantasy Star Online Series 15th Anniversary Concert: Sympathy 2015 Live Memorial Album (2016) | Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation Original Soundtrack (2016) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 4 (2016) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 5 (2017) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 6 (2017) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 7 (2019) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 8 (2019) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Original Sound Tracks Vol. 7 & 8 Special Pack: Recitea (2019) | Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle Theme Song Vol.1 Destiny / Timeless Fortune (2019)
Audiobook
Phantasy Star Online 2: Project Dream Arcs! (2013)
Book
Phantasy Star Online Navigation Guide (2000) | Phantasy Star Online Official Perfect Guide (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Kanzen Kouryaku Guide (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Perfect Guide (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Tettei Kouryaku Guide (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 Perfect Guide (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Fan Book (2001) | Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Official Perfect Guide (2002) | Phantasy Star Online Ultimate (2002) | Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 Settei Shiryoushuu (2003) | Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution Complete Guide (2003) | Prima's Official Strategy Guide: Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution (2004) | Phantasy Star Universe Signature Series Guide (2006) | Phantasy Star Universe Perfect Bible (2006) | Phantasy Star Universe Visual Book (200x) | Phantasy Star Universe Settei Shiryoushuu (2007) | Phantasy Star Universe: Illuminus no Yabou Perfect Guide (2007) | Phantasy Star Portable Fan Book: Guardians Maniacs (2008) | Phantasy Star Portable Perfect Bible (2008) | Phantasy Star 0 Photon Master Guide (2008) | Phantasy Star 0 Complete Guide (2009) | Phantasy Star 0 Official Strategy Guide (2009) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Star Frontier Guide (2009) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Perfect Bible (2010) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Settei Shiryoushuu (2010) | Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity: Infinity Battle Guide (2011) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Start Guide Book (2012) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Master Guide Book (2012) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Expert Guide (2013) | 25th Anniversary Phantasy Star Visual Chronicles (2013) | Phantasy Star Nova Guide Book (2014) | Phantasy Star Nova Side Stories (2015) | Phantasy Star Nova Perfect Bible (2015) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Fashion Catalogue 2012-2015 (2015) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 1 & 2 Settei Shiryoushuu (2015) 15th Anniversary Phantasy Star Online Visual Chronicles (2015) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Fashion Catalogue 2015-2016: Oracle & Tokyo Collection (2016) | Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 3 Settei Shiryoushuu (2016) | Phantasy Star Online 2 es 3rd Anniversary Visual & Chip Collection (2017)
Other Phantasy Star Online 2 -On Stage- (2014) | Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation (2016) | Phantasy Star Online Series 15th Anniversary Concert: Sympathy 2015 Live Memorial Blu-ray (2016) | Puso Ni Comi (2019) | Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle (2019-2020)