PSO2 THEN TO NOW - Happy Console Gamer

Johnny shares his thoughts playing PSO2 the beta on the Xbox
Phantasy Star Online 2 review/first thoughts is a free-to-play online action role-playing game in the Phantasy Star series developed and published by Sega. Created as a successor to Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Universe, Phantasy Star Online 2 features gameplay elements and aesthetics reminiscent of previous Phantasy Star games while incorporating unique twists on the formula. The initial version was released for Windows in Japan in July 2012.
A PlayStation Vita version was released in February 2013, while a PlayStation 4 version was released in April 2016. A spin-off/companion game, Phantasy Star Online 2es, was released for Android and iOS in 2014.[11][12] A Nintendo Switch cloud version, entitled Phantasy Star Online 2 Cloud was released in April 2018. At E3 2019, it was announced that the game would be releasing outside of Asia for the first time exclusively on the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows in early 2020.
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Join Johnny Millenium The Happy Console Gamer as he discusses new video game news and reviews forgotten games that not many people know about but should!

[@Ultimatesadventures]

The Man that has a shirt for everything he talks about. Gotta love the Happy Console Gamer

[@romulodornelas3206]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@nolanwest7029]

Very nice King Crimson picture you have good taste do you play pso2?

[@tonyderka4630]

What about phantasy star universe?

[@Grutmaw]

Gotta say that PSO2 has that SEGA feel. It's something that most SEGA games have, it's hard to explain once you've played a SEGA arcade game you'll understand what I mean by it.

[@Gunplabro]

That feeling is video games.

[@cam9144]

It has a nostalgic arcade kinda feel and grit

[@itsagabe]

Up until EP2, PSO2 did feel very special. I'd say the beginning of EP3, even, when it seemed like it would follow the same storytelling structure as the previous two. But from EP4 onwards, it barely feels like that anymore. It's a great game, but it definitely doesn't feel like a proper sequel anymore, instead being concerned with anime tropes (more so than PSU).

[@TheVirusIsTheCure]

I love Sega including the dreamcast

[@blueshky]

Agreed. I feel that anytime I play Sonic R or Sonic Shuffle.

[@Frogdoddofficial]

Pso on the dreamcast is still one of my favorite games of all time.

[@lazebrowneyes]

I enjoyed that one but the one that really affected me when I was younger was the gamecube version that I got to share with my cousins at the time. 3 of us played that game for a thousand hours probably. Had two-three cartridges of high level characters lol

[@SC0RPI0NFURY]

Same

[@DhinCardoso]

Dude! Pliz, get a DC and let's play it! Go to dreamcastlive website and join us on PSOv2 =)

[@troymcguffey8801]

Me too. I have hundreds of hours on a few memory cards. I still have my original for my Dreamcast.

[@baldwingoggans3782]

Pso on dreamcast chgd my life

[@BlueMilkJedi]

This is what gaming is all about having fun adventures and making memories with your friends.

[@Sega_Dreams]

"My Sick Addiction, Part 2!"

[@isooblivion5849]

Sega has redeemed themselves!!! FINALLY!!!! I m a Ps4 guy but I bought an Xbox 1 JUST to play Phantasy Online Star 2!! and i am loving every second!!! hit me up ship 3 Jobe lvl 60 hunter 50 fighter

[@ronsilk6212]

John it is so good to see your videos popping back up in my suggestions. Your videos make me so happy a snap me out of my depression. Thank you always my friend.

[@Erock691]

You hit the nail on the head with how revolutionary PSO was back on the Dreamcast. It was a true life changer and I literally describe it to people who had never played it just as you did! That said I can see myself coming to the same conclusion as you did for PSO2. I just hope it releases on ps4 and switch quickly!

[@ilitsa]

I didn't get into PSO until the GameCube days, but man I remember when I first stepped into the online, it blew me away, it was my first online rpg experience.

[@Neffbomber]

Ilitsa Samariya dame but mine was on the Xbox, absolutely loved it

[@Blitz1Blacktail1]

It wasn't my first, but it's definitely one of my favorites in the memory department (competing with Neverwinter Nights). Heck, I still come back to it. Sometimes I even start anew. It never gets old.

[@pyrotictiger9930]

Yeah, a friend of mine had this on DC, blew my mind right out of my skull and on the carpet. Been a personal favorite since, picked it up 2 or 3 times on GC. Though, I've realized nostalgia value is better kept by not playing favorites if they start wearing thin by trying to play on PC private servers. It's a lesson few learn, even though it does have it's own kind of heartbreak to not play again. I'd still be a total sucker for a remastered PSO though. A. Total. Sucker. SEGA. So when's it coming to the Switch?

[@disruptive_innovator]

John's Phantasy Star videos are how I found this channel like, wow, 10 years ago I think. I love his enthusiasm for these games and his honest opinion!

[@illusion274]

I actually see the game being 8 years old as a good thing in the fact that now we are getting a game with 8 years worth of content, updates and episode expansions all at once. The closed beta was a very small taste of what this game has to offer

[@CruisingWithCrabb]

Thank you for showing a clip of Pioneer 2. Love how much showcasing you do for the music in your videos in games.. ESPECIALLY THISSSS!! 😍

[@Thee_Deputy]

I don’t know. Phantasy Star Online 2 is honestly exactly what I hoped for/expected. I hopelessly waited for it all these years and I was still pretty damn surprised. Can’t wait to get my mind off everything and play.

[@ddopeyy]

I can't wait for John to talk about the game some more when it officially releases. Maybe we'll cross paths in Oracle sometime! EDIT: Changed "gush" to "talk" since John doesn't actually gush about much in the video.

[@ddopeyy]

@@henrywilcox1000 That's not what he said at all. Also, rehashed bullshit? All online Phantasy Star games are like that, but that's kind of the point - they're loot grinders... It sounds to me like you're the one who doesn't like the game. No need to be such an ass - "Get a clue!"

[@BoshBargnani]

He didnt gush at all

[@doctorwiiu4619]

really happy to see Sega doing so well these days, growing up a megadrive kid ill always love sega

[@sp4cepigz174]

Man it’s so good to see you back making content

[@eatvietnam2682]

Sterling review as ever. Particularly in light of recent health issues, please look after yourself! We need you Johnny! Cheers

[@krono5el]

pso on Dreamcast was a straight up revolution and we played for so damn long, Sega for life baby : P

[@DhinCardoso]

Dude! Pliz, get a DC and let's play it! Go to dreamcastlive website and join us on PSOv2 =)

[@sausagesausage]

SEGA 4 LIFE

[@kayzilla96]

@@DhinCardoso i have a DC is there any straight forward peripheral i can use to jump online aside from the dreampie

[@BigDozer84]

Phantasy Star Online for the Sega Dreamcast is one of my favorite games of all time...all the music, especially the one that played during the logo screen

[@seanr291]

I love these videos man. Well done

[@techkingonline]

To think the Japanese have been playing PSO2 for 8 years lol. That blows my mind.

[@jessebijma]

TechKingOnline There were a lot of english players as well. There’s been an english patch around since for a long time

[@EternalLovefield]

@@jessebijma I played from 2013-2016 and it was an awesome experience. There are a lot of expansions as well. I wonder if we'll get events like the vocaloid concerts they used to do.

[@itsagabe]

Jesus, it's been eight years! I don't remember quite when I stopped playing more seriously, but I have over 3.5k hours logged into my main character, and he's not even the first (just the first I had put any effort into). I gotta say though, SEGA sort of ruined PSO2 story-wise with the coming of EP3. EP1 had a good tone and its slow pace served the storytelling well. EP2 introduced new elements, but still felt like it continued from where EP1 had stopped and omg, it was such a great story! I'll never forget fighting Theodore. His theme from this EP is by far one of my favorite songs in the whole game. But then EP3 came, it was meh, and they open the floodgates with EP4 and that ludicrous anime. Mechanically, the game has improved over time but not only did the story went down the drain, but we can't play it as it once was anymore. They've condensed quite a lot of the game, including the story, so you have a sort of summary instead of experiencing it in its entirety.

[@EQOAnostalgia]

Meh, i played it about 2-3 years ago... English patch was messed up so i didn't bother to keep playing. It's going to be much better once localized.

[@khiemnguyen7929]

EQOAnostalgia still waiting for pc.

[@BigGamer9000]

Im am now discovering this channel, its awesome!! Definitely subscribed. Keep up the great work👏👏👍

[@ricosalvaje5802]

Glad your feeling better and still making reviews.

[@spottheturtle9568]

I'd love to see complete remakes of the originals.....well, 1, 2, and 4 anyways. How cool would it be to expand upon the story of Alis with this new tech? I know I'll probably never see it, but one can dream.

[@albertlavinski797]

This channel just gets me excited about gaming again ya know . In my junior year of film school right now and I'm pretty stressed by this Corona virus stuff and this channel is just great . I recently started playing this game on the Japanese servers along with PSO 1 on a private server and it's all thanks to your videos on Phantasy star ! So thank Johnny and keep up the great work 👾🦉

[@user-wr5yg6cy2b]

Glad to see you again. Love your channel!

[@michaeltamez8818]

glad your back john long time fan of the show.

[@JoeTeaserJO3BeatsFoelker]

Love the channel man!

[@orlanditodr]

I started on Dreamcast too, I was lucky to have the keyboard back then, been waiting for this!!!

[@Panisgood]

Seeing Johnny shoot Bal Rodos with the turret guns while the hook gun was ready to go hurt me a bit lmao

[@bennykurns]

Careful Johnny, remember what happened the last time you played an MMO! :D

[@midnightspeedpainter3602]

OMG that music brought back the feels.

[@DhinCardoso]

Dude! Pliz, get a DC and let's play it! ! Go to dreamcastlive website and join us on PSOv2 =)

[@josepartida1711]

Good to see you back to your ol’ energetic and upbeat self, Johnny 👍

[@4sevn]

the BG music

[@bjbegui]

You were spot on with Pso 1 online...to this day I still think about those times and my experience when I first went online.... I often think about pso-1 and every now and then I still play spending hours and hours on... The simple game play The fantastic music... What a gem

[@soldatheero]

you can play it for free blue burst ultima server still fun

[@1grtwn]

John...thanks for bringing PSO back into my world...I have started the original master system version because of your videos. Greetings from Louisiana!!!! Thanks for bringing the nostalgia back!!!

[@tazgamerplays]

I still wish they would make a new single player main story for Phantasy Star.

[@tonyknighton4019]

Same, but as long as PSO makes the big bucks, that most likely won't happen.

[@SnowyFoxFox]

@@tonyknighton4019 I don't know. I feel like the slow comeback that singleplayer JRPGs have been making in the West over the last half-decade is making it at least more likely than it was beforehand, when conventional industry wisdom had decided that we don't want traditional JRPGs anymore.

[@SnowyFoxFox]

Honestly, I had a lot of fun playing through the first three episodes of PSO2 solo. It took a little time, but I was surprised by how invested in its story I wound up getting, and how much I cared about its characters by the end of it. Even some of the seemingly inconsequential side characters got some fleshing out, and a few became more and more important to the story as it went on. Regardless, yes, a return to form for Phantasy Star with a traditional singleplayer entry would be very, VERY welcome.

[@juliogodoy8296]

How I missed my Sunday morning videos!

[@heartlesslucas7781]

Glad you're doing well man and I can't wait to play PSO2 when it hits Steam!

[@GundamrussGaming]

Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts when the official release drops :)

[@nickr3526]

When he says music is adequate... *Laughs in Luther theme, double theme, apprentice theme, persona theme, all of ep6 music, Tokyo theme night, .....

[@shutup1037]

He haven't experienced those lol. It's beta anyway

[@shutup1037]

I listen to Dark Falz Luther's theme everyday

[@Cogi1337]

Hell yeah brother.. back at it.. loving these.. I love PSO as much as you.. Happy hunting

[@GamingObserved]

I'm so excited to man!!! Cant wait!

[@blackflame4506]

Sup Johnny!! Glad to see ya and smiling brother.

[@nessonic]

Came here after catching your PSO1 video, I waited ~20 years to finally play this (owned 1 for DC but had no connection back in the day so I stupidly never even did offline mode). Really loving PSO2 thus far, it's been everything I've not found in other mmos. Great to hear a comparison with the 1st one!

[@sixty8haze]

Really enjoyed your candid thoughts on this game. I have to say, almost verbatim my same thoughts and angst about wanting to play this game. I loved PSO on Dreamcast and spent hundreds of hours playing it with friend's. Loved grinding for rare weapons and items, meseta. The music i still hear it in my head from time to time when I sit back and think about those day's. From Forest, to Caves, to Mines, to Ruins running down that long corridor knowing you we're approaching the boss. I agree this game is a lot more of the same redundancy from before but I think it's more nostalgia for me. I love it and have reached lvl 32 so far on the beta re-release. I'd love to play with you sometime if possible.

[@ReconWo1f]

Good to see you back on youtube doing videos Johnny, I loled at 8:40. In all seriousness I would love to see a film fury or your thoughts of the sonic movie haha. (my fav part was at the start with the sega logo showing all the games)

[@Vanessaira-Retro]

I have all the various versions of PSO and its been one of my favorite games of all time. We have a very similar story from experiencing it. Also that Macross/Robotech jacket. ;D

[@NaikoArt]

great video!

[@TimLane262]

Can't wait! I didn't get to play the beta but I played 1 back in the day and I can't wait to blast slice and dice!

[@OH.A.M.]

You have come a long way after your first Phantasy Star Video Johnny, and to be honest I also like the old Johnny with the bandanna. Good old days.

[@lorddavinci5468]

Getting so hyped!!!

[@Realmjumper4099]

Good vid thx Johnny.

[@Rudytricks]

Johnny thank you so much :) you give me courage to try youtube video

[@SkullTaker]

I still play PSO1(GC version) on Wii. It’s timeless, one of my favorite games of all time

[@crazytyler131]

This is my first time on this channel. Great video! One thing he didn’t mention is all the classes you can play as! I only played the other PSO on the xbox 360. This one seems to have a lot of different classes to play as! I’ve been playing the gunner which is a lot of fun!! This is a free game I definitely recommend!!

[@neongreenninja5433]

Hey man i really appreciate you! , nice dreamcast keyboard

[@noside.foxhound]

12:18 This exactly Johnny! I totally understand and agree with you, it's happening to me with Mortal Kombat: Deception (PS2) I never played the game but I am doing it now, I'm also aware that this has been released long time ago and the game game is good but it would have more impact if I would had the chance to play it when it came out.

[@firetiger1021]

I remember playing pso when it first came out! Those were the good ol days.

[@itsjay6655]

I remember staying up almost 24 hours to get a lavis cannon 😅

[@SDGRTX1455]

Beautiful review 😭 btw, playing right now from the Netherlands on the Xbox one X. Did locate my regio to United State and download it and did the regio back to Netherlands and it works. To feels man :(

[@kazemba3177]

"A couple hours here and there" Meanwhile... Im here putting in 12-16 hours every day into the game.

[@azogdefiler25]

Still waiting for Sega to revive Phantasy Star main series. Not online(seriously, more than 25 years have passed since the release of the fourth part)

[@guitarspud1723]

I'm playing ps4 for the first time right now. Im really digging it!

[@lazebrowneyes]

Well they tried to do an anime but that thing... it's dumb.

[@davidvilchez2209]

Jonny glad you are doing better. Did you ever get into Wow? That has been my go to mmo for years now

[@hian]

This game has a lot more to offer. The beta only offered a fraction of the game's entire content. If you think it won't blow your mind, wait til you see the crazier raids and the frickin mech battles in space. It can still blow minds in 2020.

[@computersoulutions]

Great Vid! I Was waiting for you to gush about this game being a big phantasy star fan. I dug the beta I'm sad though my friends won't play with me as none have an Xbox One. I hope it goes multiplat soon, is it wrong I'm hoping they release it on Vita too?

[@lilithlianshi2094]

just wait when you able n do boss raid against Profound Darkness, Magatsu, Deus, Phantom Mother and Tower Defense 1-4. you gonna realy love that shit

[@Dantehhhhh]

Ah, the Spread Needle. Gives me memories lol.

[@derrickstevens6777]

Finally found phatasy star online episode 1 and 2 for gamecube ! Been playing it offline but I still love it !

[@CosmicDuskWolf]

Did get to play a bit back in 2012. Was suppose to come out here in 2012. At least it's finally coming out here. Just can't wait for it to come out on PC and PS4.

[@masayoshsato7906]

Awsome man

[@BlackRabbit007]

Just fought my first Red Manace Urgent quest yesterday and it feel awesome....

[@TheJabberWockyy]

This game is so fun. I genuinely enjoy playing it.

[@orlanditodr]

The fact you can join mid mission and go help is awesome

[@perfectibility999]

The gameplay style of PSO was somewhat like level grinding from its earlier JRPG roots, and it's level grinding in a good way. You put in the work, you get the rewards. Your characters become more powerful, get more abilities, and get better equipment.

[@ToadstedCroaks]

There also wasn't an overwhelming penalty for failure, you simply had to pick up and try it again with everything you picked up along the way. It took time to "dungeon crawl" through the 3-4 areas before each boss ...so you learned the layouts / gimmicks quickly after failing the first time. In the meanwhile, the extra xp, money, items, etc. helped you get further each attempt. Grouping even eased the learning curve until you could do it solo yourself. The game was really great about that, letting players push themselves to get through the game, rather than having artificial gatekeeping or gearchecks. I played from start to finish once as a ranger with just a saber, just because I could. The more you learned about the gameplay, the more you could rely less on gear / xp; but you could always fall back on the rpg element of it to push through content. I would be so bold to say that Phantasy Star Online was Dark Souls before Demon Souls was even a thing. You got what you put into the combat, into the way you gear, the way you raise your mag, just like Dark Souls games. It was always rewarding being great at combat mechanics, knowing enemy behaviors, knowing range limitations on enemy / player attacks, etc. The combat felt visceral, which probably says a lot in why people were willing to put hundreds of hours into it and not even know why. Just look at how much people will rerun silly parts of Dark Souls for no other reason than they can, and they enjoy it. For it's day and age, it was a genre in it's own league.

[@lesterrr12312]

omg there's even a hidden Film Fury Sonic The Movie Review right from inside the game in this video, how cool?! :DDDD

[@UnGudGaming]

I was a hunter / Ranger skill tree that specialized Crit rate and air dodging when i played the overseas version.

[@TheDUBOVISION]

Seems like you still seem excited of the memories.....great game.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

It looks like an astounding game

[@xMedieval]

You are everywhere...

[@freddyramirez5479]

100 percent agree man. I’ve been playing this game almost every day and sometimes all day and it’s fun/addicting but it really doesn’t give you the same feeling ep 1, 2 & 4 gave.

[@LeShark75]

PSO on the Dreamcast was brilliant. Tying up the phone line on dial up for 16 hours was great, gaming without getting disturbed by phone calls Lol. I had a mate who ran a local games store here in England and he got PSO in stock a week early. I fired up the game expecting to not get online, but it worked and I spent a few days playing the game with some other lucky gamer's around the UK and some of the guys from SEGA. Great times.

[@aaronm8143]

Can’t wait 😭

[@Tai827vtuber]

Using dreampie, a patch disc, and internet browser disk you can play phantasy star online on dreamcast. Alot of people play it.

[@keving2115]

Happy Console Gamer... I love you. no Joke... You keep the thrill alive man...

[@weazer21]

Hey man have you checked out the collection of mana for the switch ??its a great little complication of FF and MANA

[@Suedeash]

Dude can I just say that I hope you're okay. I know you're not 100% right now and with this virus shit going on I just hope you're taking care of yourself. Can't wait for PSO2!

[@jgalla5549]

My brother didn't let me play his Dreamcast, so a year or 2 later I got it for Gamecube and played split screen with my 2 friends. Friday nights of PSO, Smash Melee, and frozen pizzas are peak childhood memories.

[@evergaolbird]

No worries HCG, the Closed Beta was just the "Tip of the Iceburg" - Just wait til Open Beta starts and in the future - the NA Server has reached beyond Episode 2 Expansion. The Oracle Story Arc is from Episodes 1 to 3, 4 is on Earth, 5 is on Omega, 6 is on Oracle but with a bigger Enemy (where the boss of the enemy is loved by the PSO fans especially in Asia).

[@nissan300bhp]

im with you 100% john.. I too have this game for dreamcast sat on the shelf behind me,. I remember playing and thinking wow this is nuts,. we were very lucky to grow up through it all., the golden years for sure,... now everything is just , nahhh whats next! I remember waiting for like at least a year after initially hearing about say chrono trigger to come out,. was like WOW

[@blee5132]

Can’t wait for tonight😍

[@kyllhugs7097]

Pso changed my life i still play on gamecube and had for dreamcast

[@ToadstedCroaks]

Some people say highschool / college were fundamental moments in their life. I say it was a long 3 month summer after highschool graduation, playing Phantasy Star Online. That was a crash course in human interaction, etiquette, romance, and how to care for a child / pet. It was *the* cliche "Boy / Girl has an outrageous adventure while on a summer vacation trip" .

[@wartome3196]

I’m glad you were honest about this. I felt the same thing. I would pay $60 for a PSO plus on Xbox one.

[@ogblackiechan8577]

I remember crafting the Deva mag on accident not knowing how rare it really was

[@johnjohn40100]

I used to play pso for the Dreamcast. It brings back some many memories. I don't remember the names of those awesome weapons but they were amazing. The deadly sabres, the twin blades, that needle bow, and mags.good times. And oh yea, the emoji chats and sounds online!

[@josephharkreader7875]

I love PSO. I played the Dreamcast version a bit, and later on jumped into the GameCube version. I'm currently playing on a private server and having a lot of fun! I can't wait to play PSO2.

[@wolfpacsyxx]

Can’t wait to play it

[@ragonel]

I got to play universe online and me and my friends all brought our memory cards to eachothers house to play ep1 and 2 on game cube... I love this game

[@atiger01]

Dreamcast PSO was so awesome at the time. I even got a ethernet adapter from Japan and used a gamefaqs page to walk me through registering it on a Japanese website. So great.

[@ridhorochman]

Wao hope you enjoy the game when its finally released. I've been playing total 5600+ hours on JP server too and its still enjoyable.

[@ThePooler43]

Baked like a good Christmas ham playing pso on Dreamcast good times pso2 is awesome 👏

[@rexmageuser]

Baked for like 8 years for sure...