Phantasy Star Online is a game that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while. Well, it’s out now and surprisingly, completely free to play. Unlike Guild Wars 2, that includes the price of purchase. Also unlike Guild Wars 2, I can actually run it on this laptop.

First things first, if you plan on joining me and the rest of the PSO2 community, I suggest you consult the PSO2 Guide List for everything you need to know about… well, everything.

After signing up and downloading and installing, I had to download the first patch, which was 3GB and prone to interruptions. It took me forever, but I managed to complete the download after half a dozen retries.

I messed up on character creation. You see, I spent half an hour making Natsume just the way I wanted her… and then my lack of understanding of the Japanese language led to me clicking the “Randomize” button. So I spent about three minutes redoing Natsume as best I could. So it’s kind of lucky I lost connection halfway through the tutorial field, as that gave me the time to delete my character and redo her right.

I’ll be honest. I enjoy taking my time with this.

I felt like going with this accessory, but decided against it. For starters, it looks wrong. Also, it really isn’t meant to conceal her eyes. According to the icon, they’re shades. I just have a crappy integrated graphics card is all…

I wish character creation had the options of Portable 2… but then again, Portable 2 lacks an oppai slider.

After making Natsume a third time, I revisited the tutorial area and recorded my exploits. Surprisingly, capturing the event went smoothly.

…even if it looks choppy. I assure you, it didn’t run that choppy, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if it did. PSO2 runs pretty damn well, and I actually managed to finish the area. Something I can’t say about Vindictus. Seriously, Vindictus. Go screw yourself.

I wish I had my mic on-hand so I could have done commentary. Not that I had much to say. Primary reactions:

6:10 – Black NPC dies first!
6:50 – Yo, Avan! Wait, what’re you doing here?!
12:37 – …Aura?
14:05 – I shouldn’t this happy about clearing the tutorial area… but WHEEEEE!!! S-RANK! Feels good, brah.

So, running Camtasia to capture PSO2 video worked out well even on this machine. It’s the rendering and saving that turned everything to hell. Areas loaded slow as hell, and I think it caused my client to crash.

As for my impressions of the game itself… It’s a good start. I may have to wait for the Fall update before I can get my hands on some Twin Knives, and that’s if I’m lucky. The weapon variety right now is downright pathetic. Only two to three unique weapons for each class right now. Down the line there’s going to be more weapons and more classes though. Watch out if they roll out Vanguards. Them traps can be godly.

The controls took some getting used to. It’s probably best to go with a game pad. Once I dig up my adapter, I’m using a PS2 gamepad for this. Here’s a quick overview: WASD to move, mouse to control camera. Left click for attacks, right click for techs, E to pick items up, R and F to scroll between weapon palettes, SPACE to jump, SHIFT to guard, number keys for quick inventory. It kinda works, but it feels awkward and cramped. I might get used to it, but I don’t think I particularly want to. Then again, mapping buttons to a gamepad has its own problems.

The current struggle is now figuring how to get equipped and figuring out where I’m going. Dealing with NPC quests is another thing I don’t look forward to. I could just wait for the English version (and mah new machine), but I’ve got it now, so… hey, couldn’t hurt. Except when my laptop heats up. Then it quite literally mildly burns. And I’m running on minimum settings.

FYI, I’m on Ship 10. I was told that a good chunk of the English-speaking community migrated there from Ship 2 after Ships 1-5 got overcrowded. Not that that stops others from picking different ships.

I’ll try working on honing my unarmed combat skills, since it’s the closest thing to Twin Knives we have so far. Rappies beware!