by Benoit » Wed Apr 07, 2004 10:04 pm
I'll try to make my point a bit more clear:<p>You come here, on the Phantasy Star Online forum, and start bashing the game. That in itself is a bad start.<br>Now let's look at your points.<br>First you say:<br> <blockquote>My biggest complaint is that the only thing that really makes PSO a "Phantasy Star game" is it's name!</blockquote> <br>Now, that's not true. I've repeatedly pointed what makes this game Phantasy Star. It's the unique mix of sci-fi and medieval aspects. You have humans, newmans and androids. You have Techniques. Then there's the whole story which is inspired by the story of Phantasy Star.<br>Phantasy Star is also innovation, and this title innovated by its "You're not the only hero." premise. You're cooperating with other players instead of fighting them. That, too, is innovation.<br> <blockquote>I look at PSO and see how new gamers getting into RPGs have no idea of what a real RPG is.</blockquote> <br>It is a real RPG. More real than the cinematic RPGs of today. An RPG is about role-playing your character, and living and learning a story. PSO fits that profile. There's also the fact that you're not really following a linear plot. You can make some decisions that will alter the storyline or change the outcome. The Kireek and Sue/Bernie subplots are great examples of this. You can also make choices in quests that affect the outcome.<br> <blockquote>I don't like the game because it isn't what *I* consider an RPG to be.</blockquote> <br>That's a very egotistical(right word?) remark there. A game doesn't have to suit what you define as a specific genre. Who's to say that what you describe is a real RPG?<br> <blockquote>I'm not going to try to define "RPG" and have you tell me how wrong I am. Like I said originally, I haven't played PSO all that much, nor to it's full potential. This is because it didn't saitsfy my expectaions of an RPG (let alone a Phantasy Star game).</blockquote> <br>So you didn't experience PSO to its full potential and yet you bash it as if you knew much about it. Oh please, stop that attitude. You don't know what you're talking about, you just proved it.<br> <blockquote>But from what you tell me, I can read all these little info pods and understand what has already happened. Oooh, that sounds fun to me! I'd rather progress a story on my own and watch the events unfold on my screen.</blockquote> <br>And what exactly is the difference between seeing an event and reading a message pod? There's no real difference that matters. An RPG also isn't really about seeing events unfolding all the time. It's about taking an active role in the story and not just watching it like a movie. There's the movie theater for that. This is a video game.<br>Besides, I already mentioned that it's not just message pods, but also quests where you see some events and interact with NPCs.<br> <blockquote>You seem to forget that I haven't played PSO all that much. I disliked it so I stopped playing it. All these things you're telling me about the game... a lot of it means nothing to me because I didn't dig that far into it.</blockquote> <br>Yet you still continue to bash the game like you knew it.<br> <blockquote>Benoit, I *did* give PSO a chance (all be it, a limited chance considering I never played online), and that's the point.</blockquote> <br>You didn't give it a fair chance, since you barely know the game. If you gave it a fair chance, you would know something about what we are talking about. Yet you don't and just dismiss it. So you have no real point.<p>And this is what I see way too often. People dismissing the game without having really tried it. Lame complaints like:<br>"It has no story" - Sure there's a story! The messages and quests together make one hell of a story. Persons who say this haven't bothered to read/play these and giving some thought to it.<br>"It's not Phantasy Star" - I've already described this above. The feel is Phantasy Star, and the elements are there.<br>"It's not Algol" - PSIII also didn't take place in Algol. Does that make it any less of a Phantasy Star game? Of course not. Phantasy Star doesn't have to take place in one specific location.<br>"It doesn't connect to the original games" - Again, what the problem? The feel and the elements are there. It doesn't need to connect.<p>So there you have it. Peace out.