[PSP] Phantasy Star Portable 2 thread of "I can't believe it's good" and Rainbow drops

Available Now!

tldr version on why you should care:
Straight up, this is the culmination of PSO/PSU; it takes almost all the good things from PSO/PSU/PSP, gets rid of all the bad shit, and adds new mechanics and UI that are actually smart and greatly streamlined. This is inarguably the best of the series since the original PSO games, and nostalgia aside surpasses it any many ways. Also if you liked PSO but did not like PSU, still take a look at this (there's a demo available on the PSN store); go to literally any message board and find a PSP2 thread, there are tons of people who hated PSU who love this. Do not dismiss this just because PSU sucked.

The Basics

Quote:

-Free online play!
-8 Character Slots.
-You can transfer your character from PSP1 or the PSP2 demo into the full game for minor bonuses.
-Like PSP1, there are Titles you can earn (aka achievements) for things like complete X number of missions, successfully block X number of attacks, etc. These are actually noteworthy because most (all?) titles will earn you monetary rewards, often very good items or items not available any other way. There are 250 Titles to earn in PSP2.
-While many levels/enemies/assets return from PSU/PSP1, there are new monsters and levels, including many of the original PSO levels/enemies/outfits/items.
-Also worth noting that you now accept ALL missions in ALL modes from a single counter; so Story Missions, Open Missions, etc are all accessed through the same counter. No more planet and lobby hopping to get to a mission, everything is available through one menu.

Story Mode

Quote:

-Yes, it's still pretty terrible story/plotwise. If you're so inclined, you can hold Start and skip every single cutscene.
-Like PSP1, you will be given dialogue choices that will affect certain mission outcomes, sidequest availability, and which ending you get (there are 3). However once you have beaten the game, all story missions become available to replay (which allows you to make different choices to get the different endings/sidequests), as well as harder versions of the story missions.

Multiplayer (ADHOC) and Online Modes

Quote:

-Free online play!
-No voice chat (which you can get around by doing ADHOC play through the PS3 and using PS3 voice chat if you're really inclined and have a group already). An addition to previous games besides the shortcuts and text chat is that you can now set up "Auto-Chat" options, which are messages that your character will automatically say in certain situations (ex. Start of a Mission, someone levels up, etc).
-There is no content difference between ADHOC and Online mode; if you want, you can play ADHOC mode single-player. Some multi-player missions will require actual human players however.
-Similar to PSU, Urgent Missions will randomly be earned after completing an Open mission (but NOT in Story mode). This allows you to perform an Urgent mission that has signficantly increased item drop, EXP, and Meseta rates. This is also how some of the original PSO levels are used in PSP2. Unlike PSU however, if you turn the system off or go to the main menu you lose the ability to the do the mission until you earn one again.
-Versus Mode returns with team-bassed and free for all missions for up to 4 players.
-Player shops are gone.

Character Levels, Classes (aka Battle Types) and Race Abilities

Quote:

-Max Character Level is 200, Max Class (Battle Type) Level is 30.

-There are now only 4 Battle Types. Each one can use up to a certain level of Photon Art:

Hunter- Skills 30, Bullets 15, Technics 15
Ranger- Skills 15, Bullets 30, Technics 15
Force- Skills 15, Bullets 15, Technics 30
Vanguard- Skills 20, Bullets 20, Technics 20

Changes to the Ranger Class:
-Rangers have seen two big changes from PSU/PSP1. The first is that ATA (Accuracy) now adds to the weapon damage calculation for gun damage. This is extremely significant for Ranger players; in previous games, ATA which basically a requirement to equip guns; if your ATA was high enough to equip most guns you were pretty much already always hitting enemies anyway so it was somewhat a moot point. With ATA now calculating into actual damage dealt, this actually brings Rangers up to par with the other classes in terms of actual damage output, as well as actually making the races best suited for Rangers actually do more damage. The second is that there are no longer individual elemental bullets for every gun; this was a huge pain in PSU/PSP1 as you would have 6 different elemental bullets for every type of gun, which is no longer the case. Now guns (like melee weapons previously) are found/bought with elemental % already tied to them; Bullet PA's now focus on other benefits, like higher Accuracy, Attack, etc.

Changes to the Force Class:
-Forces have two moderate changes from PSU/PSP1. The first being that in PSU/PSP1 you got a damage bonus if you had multiple spells of the same "type" on the weapon you had equipped. This is now gone, and similar to guns now all Force weapons are now found/bought with elemental properties on them, and you now get a damage bonus if you cast a spell that is the same property as your weapon. Secondly, Forces can now "combo" spells like melee attacks up to 3; the 2nd and 3rd spells will cast faster (75% and 50% faster respectively). You can also perform Just Attacks with Technics as well. Also as a side note Shift and Deband now cover both Physical and Magical buffs; so there is no longer a Magical Attack buff and a Magical Defense buff, the 4 have been consiladeted into 2.


Race Abilities
-Humans and Newmans now have a new Mirage Blast ability, which works as the equivalent of the Beasts' Nanoblast from PSU/PSP1; as you take/give damage, a bar fills up which allows you to use the blast when full. Mirage Blasts are "Extra" units that you equip on your armor. You must also be level 10+.
-Cast SUVs return from PSU, and work just like the Mirage Blasts.
-Beast Nanoblasts return from PSU/PSP1, with some changes.
At level 10 you unlock 2 Nanoblasts, which are the normal ones from PSU/PSP1.
At level 20 you unlock a stronger Nanoblast.
At Level 30 you unlock the Silver Nanoblast which has a different apperance with new attacks, and the possibility to the do the Black Nanoblast.
At level 40 you unlock the Gold Nanoblast which is even stronger, and also has the chance to do the Black Nanoblast.
At levle 50 you unlock the Invincible Nanoblast.

Class Customization - Type Extension and Customize Abilities

Quote:

-Probably the biggest change in PSP2 is that you can now customize classes heavily. Every time your Class Level goes up (which levels up on Mission points earned at the end of each mission), you are given a certain amount of points which you can use to upgrade weapon profiency. Unlike in PSU/PSP1 where each class can equip only certain weapons up to a certain rank, in PSP2 each of the 4 classes can only equip C ranks of the "standard" weapon types for that class, then everything past that is up to you! For example, if you're playing as a Ranger you'll actually need to put points into being able to use Rank B Rifles. However this also opens up the opportunity to go above and beyond the standard types; so if you wanted to make a Force (magic user) be able to equip S-rank two-handed Swords, you absolutely can! Keep in mind that buying the proficency to use weapons outside of your Class "defaults" will cost considerably more points. At max level however you will be able to max out your default weapons, as well as many others but not ALL types. There is no risk involved to this process, as you can get a refund on any points spent at any time, so if you put points into Twin Dagger proficency and change your mind, you can get those points back at no loss.

-In addition to the above, there are now seperate Abilities that you can equip to your character, regardless of Class. You start with 4 Ability points, and earn one more with every 5 Class Levels you earn, up to 8 points total (you do not earn any at Class Level 25 or 30). Your currently available Ability points are based on your current class however. As you level up the different classes, you will unlock different Abilities which you can equip; each ability requires a number of Ability points to equip, and you can change them out at any time. The abilities range from Stat boosts, to Item and EXP rate increases, and so forth. Most Abilities are earned from different Class Level Ups, but you can use them with any class once you have earned them; for example, Hunters unlock ATK Boost at Hunter Level 2. You can then switch to Ranger which unlocks ACC Boost at Level 2, and equip both as the Ranger if you choose.

Photon Arts (and changes)

Quote:

-Photon Arts are used by each class as their special attacks/abilities; Skills are weapon special attacks, Bullets are special properties applied to bullet attacks, and Technics are magic spells.
-Photon Arts use Photon Points (PP) as before. The biggest change is that your PP is tied to your character overall, not to individual weapons. Now your PP regenerates much faster, BUT there are no longer any PP restoring items.
-Like PSO you know find higher level Photon Arts via usable PA disc items; you no longer level up PA's by use as in PSU.
-You can now have every PA in the entire game equipped at the same time (which you could not in PSU/PSP1). There are 136 PA's in PSP2.
-There are new PA's in PSP2, and some previous PA's have seen minor changes.
-Gun PA's are now used by holding the shot button, which fires a stronger blast and can hit multiple enemies at the cost of using more PP. Also if you are hit while charging your blast, the PP remains lost.

Equipment and Items

Quote:

-New weapon type "Shield" has been added; allows you to block attacks to take considerably less damage, at the cost of some PP. You can perform a "Perfect" block by blocking at the exact time of the attack, which will reflect damage back to the attacking enemy as well as use less PP.
-The individual Head/Arm/Body/Extra unit slots on Line Shields (aka Armor) are gone; now Line Shields have up to 4 slots that can be filled with any combination you want (ex. you can have two "arm" units equipped at once now).
-You can now assign 6 different Line Shields to your active palette in-game; allows you to conviently swap between different armors on the fly just like you can for weapons. Useful for swapping between different resistances within levels without having to go to your menu.
-New items in all categories have been added, including SUV's.
-Equipment requirements are now level-based instead of stat-based; so for example now instead of having to have 35 ATA to equip a handgun, the requirement may now be a Character Level of 6.
-The Shared Item Box returns, allowing you to transfer items between characters as well as storage. The box now holds up to 1000 items. A big improvement over PSU/PSP is that you can now send items to your box at any time in the field, so you no longer have to leave the level and go to a shop and pay to offload inventory if you're full!
-In addition to the rare red item drops (which play a unique sound effect when dropped), there are now also super rare rainbow-colored item drops as well.
-Over 2000 items in PSP2!
-Weapon Grinding no longer requires Grinders or has a chance of failure. Weapon grinding now only requires a Meseta fee. A weapon grinded to +10 can then be changed to a S-Rank weapon via a special item, which allows unique C-rank weapons to now be potentially useful even late-game.

General Gameplay and Other Changes

Quote:

-The Dodge roll from PS Zero has been added (uses PP). Very useful for avoiding attacks, and you can also roll when locked onto an enemy to roll around them, which is particuarly useful for melee fighters.
-The Chaining system from PS Zero has been added. As regular attacks are landed on an enemy, a chain counter appears over them. So long as regular attacks continue to be added, the chain increases. Once a Photon Art is used, the chain counter resets in about 3 seconds, but that Photon Art (and any other used before it resets) will do additional damage proprotional to how high the chain counter is, which usually winds up being a lot more damage.
-Just Attacks return from the previous games; if you time your attacks just right, the attacks will be stronger. In PSP2 you can now do Just Attacks with all PA's and attacks (was previously limited to melee attacks and PA's).
-Wands and Rods can now do 3 hit combos (like melee weapons), with each successive PA casting quicker. TCSMs cannot combo.
-There are now rare versions of Bosses that may appear (like rare enemies) instead of the regular boss in Open Missions only. Likewise, there are now also Rare Shops that may appear in the middle of Open Missions as well.
-You can now only carry 1 Scape Doll at a time. Scape Dolls are items that will automatically revive you and then disappear if you die.
-Partner Machines from PSU/PSP1 return; there are 60 PM types in PSP2, and there is now a shortcut menu where you can now give your PM guidelines to follow in battle (Heal, Attack, etc). However they have now changed the name from Partner Machine to "MySynth." No fucking idea.
-If you attack enemies with an element they are weak against, you will see unique visual effects to indicate this.

Vision Phone Passwords

Quote:

-This game has a password system accessed via a computer in your character's room; through Sega events and other sources passwords are made available to download unique items. Fortunately for us, all of the passwords for the US version have already been hacked out. The full listing is below; the number of Japanese DLC items listed seems to indicate that the US will probably not be getting DLC items and missions, although that remains to be seen.
-Note that you can only use a password once; when it says "up to 50%", that is up to 50% elemental effect on the item. If you want you can turn off your game without saving and reload to try to get a better % on the item if you're so inclined.

Spoiler:

Password - Item
32091120 - Bullet Lancer (up to 50%)
53962481 - Maverick Rifle (up to 50%)
33286491 - Scouring Bubble
29888026 - Clarita Visas I (up to 50%)
30495153 - Toop Nasur (up to 50%)
11293398 - Puyo Pop Fists (up to 50%)
54186516 - Puyo Pop Fever Gun (up to 50%)
34819852 - Sonic Knuckles (up to 50%)
74612418 - Ogi's Head
34162313 - Special Pizza Slicer (up to 50%)
89747981 - Pizza Shack D. Box (up to 50%)
32549411 - Platinum Tiger (male clothes)
32549412 - Platinum Tiger (female clothes)
32549413 - Platinum Tiger (male parts)
32549414 - Platinum Tiger (female parts)
32549410 - Angry Marshmellow (up to 50%)
98443461 - Trauma Bandages (male clothes)
98443462 - Trauma Bandages (female clothes)
98443463 - Trauma Bandages (male parts)
98443464 - Trauma Bandages (female parts)
98443460 - Crutches (up to 50%)
72401991 - Lovely Feathers (female clothes)
72401992 - Lovely Feathers (female parts)
72401990 - Art Javelin (up to 50%)
41761771 - Hanhel Tsunagin (male clothes)
41761772 - Hanhel Tsunagin (male parts)
41761770 - True Hash (up to 50%)
48168861 - Blank Epoch (male clothes)
48168862 - Blank Epoch (male parts)
48168860 - Telltale Hearts (up to 50%)
55687361 - Magical Princess (female clothes)
55687362 - Magical Princess (female parts)
55687360 - Mr Ekoeko-stick (up to 50%)
84639190 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes blue x white)
84639191 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes red x white)
84639192 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes green x white)
84639193 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes yellow x white)
84639194 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes purple x white)
84639195 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes pink x white)
84639196 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes light blue x white)
84639197 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes gold x white)
84639198 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes white x white)
84639199 - Knight-King Armor (female clothes black x white)
84639200 - Knight-King Armor (female parts)
76416348 - Excalibur (up to 50%)
24932270 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes red x black)
24932271 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes blue x black)
24932272 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes yellow x black)
24932273 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes green x black)
24932274 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes purple x black)
24932275 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes pink x black)
24932276 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes brown x black)
24932277 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes light blue x black)
24932278 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes black x black)
24932279 - Akahara Reisou (male clothes white x black)
24932280 - Akahara Reisou (male parts)
46815464 - Kansho Bayuka (up to 50%)
15644321 - Plug Suit Shinji (male clothes blue/white)
15644322 - Plug Suit Shinji (male parts)
46211351 - Plug Suit Rei (female clothes white/black)
46211352 - Plug Suit Rei (female parts)
34336181 - Plug Suit Asuka (female clothes red/black)
34336182 - Plug Suit Asuka (female parts)
32143166 - Longinus Lance (up to 50%)
39395341 - Miku Hatsune Dress (female clothes grey/green)
39395342 - Miku Hatsune Dress (female parts)
39395343 - Miku's Leek Saber (up to 50%)
39395344 - Miku's T. Leek Sabers (up to 50%)
39395345 - Miku's Leek Rifle (up to 50%)
39395346 - Miku's Leek Wand (up to 50%)
51355131 - Ochakendoog (up to 50%)
51355132 - Tea-Dog Plush
51355133 - New Tea-Dog Plush
51355134 - Pa-Panda! Table
54333358 - Edelweiss Figure
43326648 - Play Blu Edge (up to 50%)
88619433 - Game Pro Knuckles (up to 50%)
33974688 - TOXIC Cannon (up to 50%)
21887733 - PS Magazine R-Mag (up to 50%)
54684698 - The Rappy of Hope
41325468 - Memoir of a legend
64991154 - Nei's partnership

Most amazing jew boots

I'm definitely excited for this game, but I still want to finish playing through the first one before I get into it. I have to admit though, I didn't know this was coming out so soon.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Been playing the demo almost non-stop, it's sooo fucking good. Found out today that I can block with double pistols or a Rifle equipped, sooo fucking awesome for my Ranger. Also having the Charge shot on your guns is sweet, when you do it with twin pistols you do this sweet jumping away shot animation.

Also I got a sweet SUV where your character goes apeshit with this surfboard thing and hits everything multiple times.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

This does sound intriguing. Does the online work across regions or is it stupid and region locked? Not that I'll necessarily be about the same time anyone else is, but just curious. Also, is there much point in getting this if you are playing solo?

How ya doing, buddy?

Hmmm, not sure about cross-region play actually.

If you have any penchant for loot/grinding games I think it would be worth it for playing solo; I'm sure I'll do some pickups with randoms, but for the most part I'll probably only be playing online with people I know. For what it's worth, I've only been playing the demo single-player.

Most amazing jew boots

I've been waiting for this game since the JP version was released. This is pretty much how PSU should have been released way back. ( And now my character is gone forever, since they shut down the PC/PS2 servers...) They fixed just about all the issues people had with PSU, and the JP version has loads of DLC missions, events and items.

When I went to E3 and spoke with one of the PSU moderators / GM, he is not sure if the DLC will come out in NA as fast as the Japanese did. He did stated that its thanks to Sony that the time release difference between JP and NA servers ended up more than a year apart. With Microsoft, they don't have a waiting period when you submit the updates for the game on the 360, where as the PS2 version (meaning PC as well), Sony requires a mandatory waiting period of two weeks, so the waiting time stacked up. Even the director of the game, Sakai-San, had no idea apparently.

Hopefully that crap won't happen again, but with PSU's update track record, who knows?

I will probably attempt to hop online with people once I figure out my wireless router issues, if not, I will simply play with my husband and roomate.

How ya doing, buddy?

Watched a gameplay and character creation video and fuck this game looks amazing. I've been waiting a long time for a true successor to the original PSO and this looks to be it. Just wish I'd heard about it before I left for Korea; I left my PSP back home. Now I'll have to have my wife mail it to me.

FELIPE NO

HOLEE FUCK: Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity Expansion announced in Japan, and may either be considered PSO2, or possibly lead directly into it.

Scans of PSP2I here. Some translations from the scan courtesy a couple of places:

Quote:

*Can import your character in from Phantasy Star Portable 2. Appears that all existing PSP2 Story modes and levels will return, and that this is all additional content on top of that.

*New Story Mode - There will be a brand new Story Mode (Episode 2) that is set during the events of Phantasy Star Portable 2 (Episode 1, the original PSP2).

*New Race - A new race called "Dumans" are being introduced. They are mutated humans that have an Infinity Blast special attack.

*Character Redesigns - Existing races will receive visual overhauls. You can see this in the artwork and models in the scans, basically character designs cross the board look fucking crazy awesome (I see Skills foaming at the female Cast in the 4th scan).

*Infinity Difficulty - A new difficulty that is higher than S-Rank.

*Character Rebirth - The level cap for Infinity will be 200. Once you hit Level 50, a "Rebirth" option will appear. At any time between Levels 50-200, you can Rebirth which will reduce your character level to Level 11, but your character will have improved stats which you can choose. This will allow players to exceed the normal maximum stats. Also it will be "easier" to reach Level 200.

*More PSO Monsters - Monsters from Phantasy Star Online such as the Garanz, Chaos Bringer, and Olga Flow will appear in the game.

*Visual Lobbies - The online lobby system originally seen in Phantasy Star Online will return.

*Screenshot Functionality - Players will have the ability to take in-game screenshots.

*Mission Codes - The game will also add a new tag mode feature for exchanging "mission codes." These codes detail the specifics of missions -- such things as "mission with high drop rate of rare items" and "mission where you fight a dragon." You can combine cards to form new missions. Appears to be similar to the DQIX map system.

*There will be a "huge connection" between this game and PSO.

As you can see in the scans, there is a "PSO 10th Anniversary" logo shown, and prior to this news releasing, it was recently noticed that Sega picked up and renwend the PSO2.jp domain name. Combined with the last bit about the Producer of the game saying PSP2I has a huge connection to PSO2, there is a lot of speculation that either they are considering this game PSO2, OR that PSO2 is coming. In either case, everything shown here looks fucking awesome on top of PSP2 which is already awesome. If this leads into a separate PSO2 I may shit myself.

In other news, I'll work on getting the OP for this thread organized and decent shortly; currently working on doing the final version of the Reach OP, I'll do this one after that (which shouldn't be nearly that level of effort needed).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm one of those guys who still thinks PSO is above and beyond anything to come out of the PSU series. They did pretty well with Phantasy Star Zero, but I was underwhelmed with Portable.

That said, I am always willing to give a new Phantasy Star game a shot. We'll see how this one is next month.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If you liked Zero, you'll likely like Portable 2, at least to some extent as that team helped on PSP 2 and several features made it over like rolling, blocking, and the chain system (I think that was in 0?) The demo's a pretty good indication of the game, I'd check it out first.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

There hasn't been a good Phantasy Star game since IV.

Someone had to say it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

On the subject of numbered Phantasy Stars, II came out on the App Store the other day. It's on sale, if anyone is curious.

Originally Posted by SailorDaravon

If you liked Zero, you'll likely like Portable 2, at least to some extent as that team helped on PSP 2 and several features made it over like rolling, blocking, and the chain system (I think that was in 0?) The demo's a pretty good indication of the game, I'd check it out first.

Depends on what the chain system is. In any case, that sounds promising enough. I'm just tired of the PSU setting.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

There's videos of PSP2i up now:

YouTube - phantasy star portable 2 infinity

The character and weapon designs are ridiculously over the top, which is awesome.

I was speaking idiomatically.