Phantasy Universe Update: Miyoshi Speaks

Sega's finest RPG series is stepping up to the next generation, as Phantasy Star Universe approaches Xbox 360 alongside the PS2 and PC versions. We caught up with Sega's Takao Miyoshi to see how things are progressing.

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"Not much has carried over to Phantasy Star Universe from previous Phantasy Star games," affirms Sega producer Takao Miyoshi. "In fact, while we have this overall world view of Phantasy Star, we're aiming to make PSU as a very new game. Some of the traits and features are partially carried over, but this is really an all-new game."

Welcome to Phantasy Star Universe, a game that's been in the making for longer than expected, but now with the sweetener of an Xbox 360 incarnation on the release schedule.

It's a sequel to the celebrated Phantasy Star Online games, set in a galaxy that mimics the original Phantasy Star series - right down to the colors of the three planets. And according to Miyoshi, talking exclusively to Kikizo, it's the first Phantasy Star to offer something truly new and next generational for the series.

With the first proper offline story since Phantasy Star IV, and the recent news of an Xbox 360 version set for later this year complete with full Live support, passionate Phantasy Star fans will be enjoying a game that spans multiple planets with as much emphasis on offline gameplay as there is for the online experience.

It's an RPG franchise that has come a long way since it first hit the gaming scene way back in 1988, and it's plainly obvious that Miyoshi-san wants to revive the series while staying true to its heritage - even though nobody from the 1988 team is hanging around the Sega building any more these days.

"Basically, there is no one left from the early days to work on PSU," explains Miyoshi pensively. "There were some communications with them, but only when we were working on Phantasy Star Online, when we were able to get advice and perspective from the original Phantasy Star team."

Takao Miyoshi is Manager of Sega's Global Entertainment R&D#3 team which is revitalising the Phantasy Star franchise

And what about more recent changes to the team, like for example just a minor thing, like the departure of former Sonic Team boss and ex Sega creative overlord, Yuji Naka? "To be honest," reveals Miyoshi, "everything on PSU had pretty much been finalized without all that much direct input from Naka-san, so it's not so much a problem in terms of it affecting the game's production at this stage."

"This team created the PSO games and really we feel close to the way the series exists today. And this is a good thing since some things which we could not include in PSO will now be expressed in this new game."

The esteemed development division is promising more than forty hours of single player gameplay, with the spin doctors boasting of "an emotionally engaging story, stunning cut scenes, and a strong cast of characters with very distinctive personalities."

Players will be able to create a squad of up to six players instead of four, with huge lobbies promised, and with over twenty unique enemy species and more than 200 enemy variations, there's set to be a lot of variety.

In Online Mode, players are given the opportunity to create their own characters from a range of races, as they explore all three planets in the Grail system. Fans can travel with their friends as a squad of six adventurers, enter urban sprawls teeming with hundreds of other players, and build their avatars into powerful warriors.

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