Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2 builds on the pioneering online series from the Dreamcast era and expands its formula with more modern technology, a larger world, and deeper character customization. Players create their own avatars, choose from several classes (sword-wielding fighter, ranged shooter, mage, and combinations thereof), and in squads of up to four players complete missions on several planets and in different environments, from deserts to ice fields and space stations. The game is built on fast-paced action combat with a strong emphasis on mobility and attack combos, regularly updated content, seasonal events, and an extensive system of cosmetic items, through which Sega has long made money running the free game. It also features an elaborate character editor, thanks to which the game has long enjoyed popularity even beyond purely action-focused players, and an extensive system of so-called Mags – helper companions that the player raises and upgrades themselves throughout the entire time they play.

The Windows version was the first, and for a long time the only, platform on which Phantasy Star Online 2 existed at all. The game launched in Japan in July 2012 and remained a purely Japanese affair without official localization for almost eight years, so players outside Japan could practically only access it through imported accounts, VPNs, and fan-made guides and patches translating the Japanese interface. The PC version benefited from regular graphical and content updates and from being the technologically most open platform, with the highest achievable resolution and frame rate, as well as support for community-made interface add-ons. Controls were tailored to keyboard and mouse from the very start, which showed especially in faster combat sequences and more precise aiming for ranged classes, while later console versions had to redesign the entire interface and targeting system for a gamepad. It was on PC that Sega could test new content, game balance, and new systems for years before other platforms gradually received them – platforms the game reached only after a multi-year delay and in a much more limited form, localized exclusively into English.

Why play: For the most open and technically most capable version of Phantasy Star Online 2, with the highest achievable resolution and controls tailored to mouse and keyboard from the very start – just be prepared for the long-missing official localization outside Japan.