Space World 2001 Hands-on: Phantasy Star Online

The GameCube incarnation of Sonic Team's online RPG was playable at Space World and offered a few surprises. A 30-percent complete build of the game, whose working title is merely Phantasy Star Online, was on the show floor and allowed players to get a taste of online play via the GC's modem adapter. Each of the four networked kiosks featured a different player class to try. It looked as though either the new character classes or costumes in the game were on tap in the build. A female hunter android, complete with a ponytail, was available, as was what appeared to be a male force who sported robes and a headdress similar to the taller female force character in the original game. Exact details on what enhancements the game will have other than new character classes have not been released.

The game was nearly indistinguishable from the Dreamcast version graphically, although the frame rate felt a bit more solid. The control was tight and responsive, although it was hard to get a true feel for it in the game due to the fact that you weren't able to access features such as checking on your inventory, your mag, or techniques. Chatting, via text or face icons, was possible, although anyone who's played the Dreamcast version knows hunting and pecking letters while playing is an invitation to be mauled by an enemy. Like the DC version, it was possible to assign phrases to the digital D-pad for quick use, which helped communication a bit. There is still no word on whether Nintendo or Sega will provide a keyboard of some kind for use with the game.

The demo allowed players to fight their way through the first forest stage and take a transporter to a boss fight that would alternate between the fire dragon from the original and the ice dragon from PSO Version 2 and ended once the dragon was defeated. The online play appeared to be smooth and fairly lag free, comparable to the DC version's online play. At present, there have been no exact details released on whether or not a fee will be charged to play the game. At the very least, it looks as though PSO will break new ground on the GameCube, as it should be the only online title available for the system when it's released in Japan.