Should Phantasy Star return to its offline roots?

[Frogacuda]

Originally posted by Gutsman
Yeah it puzzles me why so many people have Skies of Arcadia in their "favorite RPGs" list....it was an average RPG

If that.

[Kidnemo]

Hell ya, you guys are telling the truth!

Oh wait, I really enjoyed SoA...

People have different opinions I forgot

[Hero]

Originally posted by Kidnemo
Hell ya, you guys are telling the truth!

Oh wait, I really enjoyed SoA...

People have different opinions I forgot

That means the unwashed fools, like me and you, have no idea what a good RPG is like.

For an offline PS...depends. They better keep the same aesthetic they've had in PSO. Then again, what exactly is it that makes old PS games soooooooooooooo much enjoyable and holy that you demand a PStar V?

Getting lost in gargantuan mazes with no maps? Mediocre story and plot twists? Heck, maybe PSV could try to be different, like PSIII was, and then praise would really begin. Honestly, I'm fond of PSII, only because I played it as a kid, but looking at their quality as RPGs now, or even back in the day they were crafted, what makes them so special to demand a sequel? Sure...you could do some amazing things with how far graphics have gone, but if a PSV stuck to the 'core' gameplay of old PS games (which they would have to - otherwise the fanbase demanding the game would no longer care for it), I think you'd have a really boring game on your hands.

[Frogacuda]

Originally posted by Hero
That means the unwashed fools, like me and you, have no idea what a good RPG is like.

I must have missed the part where we criticized anyone for liking the game. Must have been Delta.

Originally posted by Hero
but if a PSV stuck to the 'core' gameplay of old PS games (which they would have to - otherwise the fanbase demanding the game would no longer care for it), I think you'd have a really boring game on your hands.

I missed the part where we said it should play like the old games, too. It's been a good 10 years, you know. The PS games were great in their day, but there's no denying the gameplay would have to be completely overhauled. I think everyone would agree to that. Lets not waste time arguing about wether or not PS1 would be great if it was released today. It's beside the point.

[Gutsman]

They better keep the same aesthetic they've had in PSO. Then again, what exactly is it that makes old PS games soooooooooooooo much enjoyable and holy that you demand a PStar V?

Getting lost in gargantuan mazes with no maps? Mediocre story and plot twists?

The ironic thing is most of the aesthetics in PSO are all copied from the original PS games. From the character designs, the enemy designs, the weapons, to the music. The grass assasin was from PS2. The gilchic and cardine in the mines and the rappies were from PS4. And slicers, daggers, grants, megid, etc... All copied from PS 1-4.

Even the concept of the different enemy types (dark, altered beast, machines) was copied from PS2 and 4.

The best thing about PS has always been its setting and style. As long as they keep that it will be an RPG worth playing.

All they have to do is keep doing what they did in PSO..ie replicate the same style and atmosphere, have the same classic PS charater types like Hunter, Ranger, Force user, etc....

[Hero]

Then what's the point of whether it's online or off? If it's in need of a gameplay overhaul, why is there such agreement that an offline Phantasy Star would be better, when the only examples of an offline PS are 1 - 4 (which you said, needs to be overhauled)?

If you want to cite present RPGs and the directions their going in as why to optimistically spin an offline PS, then I'd ask - why Phantasy Star? If you want to use next-gen RPGs as a benchmark of the series could establish, then what you ask is for us to look outside the series as influence in Phantasy Star. Meaning...it really wouldn't be 'Phantasy Star' since, the contributing factors to a PSV would be how current-day RPGs play, not it's older siblings from 10 years past.

Sorta like the arguement of a sim-like Ridge Racer NOT being a 'real' RR, because it doesn't play enough like the ones before it.

If Skies of Arcadia had a futuristic element, if it had all the names, history, and throwbacks to old PS games, but played just like Skies of Arcadia, could you call that a 'real' Phantasy Star, or would you hate it?

(I'll go out on a limb and assume you didn't care for SoA. But I did. If that.)

So why call for a new PS if 1)you don't expect it to play like it did but 2)aside from name and aesthetic, there would nothing to link a new PS to the older ones?

What if there is a PSV in development, and somewhere down the road Sonic Team decided to give it a different name, different planets, and a different spin to make it a new franchise? Would it somehow be better or worse of a game had it been named PSV?

My debate isn't whether PSO should remain online or not...but it's in what truely defines a game as a 'sequel.' Since people don't care to call PSO a 'true' sequel, what is it that makes a game true to the franchise?

Gameplay? But you already said that it's in need of an overhaul.

Look/aesthetic? But PSO has it, and isn't a 'real' sequel.

So what is it that entices someone to ask for a sequel a certain way, and what are they looking for in a real sequel? Wouldn't it be good enough to just have a great game/visual/aesthetic no matter what it's called?

And the REAL reason for the post...I'm stuck on my online quiz and bored enough to type so many paragraphs. Online or off, I'd like a new Phantasy Star, just as long as they don't make it play like the old ones, and as long as it looks like PSO does in terms of its world, technologies, races, people, costumes, design, etc. But if they gave me that and called it 'Space RPG' I'd still be happy.

[Gutsman]

I can't speak for Frog but here are my 2 cents as to what I liked about the non-online PS games gameplay-wise:

Having 3 distinct planets/settings to explore and travel between. (desert planet, forest planet, ice planet)

PS2 and 4 allowed you to switch members in and out of your party.

You can "steal" items from shops in PS2.

The uber-cool "combination attacks" in PS4

Having different types of vechicles to travel around

All the Hunter's Guild mini-quests in PS4

[unit003]

Originally posted by soundwave
Yes. Most definitely the series should return to its roots but with the design and art direction of PSO. They should keep the 5 person party system and definitely have combo attacks. Assuming it comes out on a current console it would be cool to be able to import your PSO characters as party members. aahhh, pipe dreams.

I agree with you, but the design of PSO is nothing compared to what we've seen in the series. If you check the way all hunters look now, they lack a certain feel that makes these characters stand out for what they are, for example, compare Chaz/Rolf/Nei/Rika to their PSO countrparts and the difference is striking enough, not to mention how the human ranger is the closest thing to having Wren. (which I can make a near-perfect copy of)

I'm thinking if they made a new PS which the gameplay of PSO in mind while keeping the look of the original series (and some of the missing spells/moves) then I think it would have worked out real nice.

[Opaque]

I thinkit woud be nice to have an offline Phantasy Star, but I think they shouldn't stop making online ones just to make an offline one, they should just do both, like what SquareEnix is doing now...

[Frogacuda]

Originally posted by Hero
If Skies of Arcadia had a futuristic element, if it had all the names, history, and throwbacks to old PS games, but played just like Skies of Arcadia, could you call that a 'real' Phantasy Star, or would you hate it?

Probably both. I don't automatically like everything related to a series I like.

I shouldn't have to explain why online and offline RPGs are entirely different beasts. I'd like to see a legitimate successor to the original saga in the form of a game in the same genre. I don't much care for the online thing, I find it repetitive and uninteresting.

And how can you like Skies but criticize PS for a lack of plot. Skies didn't even have a plot. It was a glorified collectemup.