The end credits have rolled on Phantasy Star 2 yet again. Still one of my favorite endings, if not the most favorite. So original and bold. It would even be that by today's standard. But fifteen years ago it was almost too bold, too daring. But then the game was full of firsts and was unlike anything anyone had seen. I'd lay them all out here of course, but Magus is currently still playing through it, and he's one of the few people who actually might read this.
As for PSO, SEGA has heard some of the community criticism and moved up the updates so that along with the scheduled Mop-up Operations for E1, we have the second half of E4. They've also given us access to the E4 content from the main teleporter in Pioneer 2, so that we don't have to do it from the Principal's Quests. I've managed to play through 9-5 and 9-6 with Magus. They have you still pursuing those who you're after, and following them underground. More caves you ask? Well, yes, but these are unlike anything seen in the game heretofore. They're underground in swirling sand infested caverns filled with new creatures altered by D-cells. The new dark creatures look great. They also move great. You'll still see the Satellite Lizard, Yowie, Sand Rappy, Zu, and the Boota variants, but they've been joined by the Merissa A, Goron, Pyro Goron, Goron Detonator, and the Girtablulu. The Goron are the new Dimenian. They have photon blades in their hands and they're like bandersnatch in that their arms are elastic. So their attack range is great. I'm not in E4 as a Hunter, I'm a Force, I'm staying away from them anyway, but it must be a riot for those having to melee with the Goron. The Pyro Goron just means a different tech attribute to me. The Goron Detonater on the other hand, that's something all together different. The thing is huge, with a massive attack range. It has much more hit points and power to reflect its size. One interesting thing all Goron do is teleport. It's rather great, in a chaotic way, to have four or five of them constantly trying to warp in behind you. The Merissa A is like a super slime. It essentially stays erect and doesn't pool itself into a moving puddle. It hops around and has a freezing tech attack. It also has a striking attack, and will attempt to belly flop onto you. There is a rare form of the Merissa A which we haven't seen yet called the Merissa AA. The Girtablulu can only be described as a D-cell infested scorpion about the size of a tank, with an eye where the stinger would be. It's immune to every tech but Grants. Its claws work as shields and it seems to have a bunch of tech attacks. It also can move your character around, keeping you from attacking it. It's easily the hardest non formal boss creature in the game. Also worth noting are the locations themselves. Far more dangerous than the rest of the game. You've got sand that's burning hot that damages you. Full rooms of it so you have to take damage as you go. Creatures and plants spewing clouds of poison and megid. Crumbling rooms with parts of the ceiling falling on you. They've even upped the puzzle aspect. The one in 9-6 actually took us a great while to solve. All with E4's ramped up creature spawn rate. Makes it all rather fun if you ask me.
No comments:
Post a Comment