Phantasy Star Online 3 Success

The third in Yuji Naka's PSO series proves to be one of the most popular playable games at the Tokyo Game Show. New screens inside.

Phantasy Star Online III: C.A.R.D Revolution drew some enormous crowds at TGS last week, with people waiting in line to play for up to 45 minutes. Proving extremely popular with the Japanese public on day two of the show, the online RPG won't make it to western shores until 2004, but the new packaging and spin-off bundles revealed at the show were enough to keep everyone excited.

The new PSO3 branded keyboard controller, developed in partnership with Sammy, will make it easier to play the third in the series, while Sega also unveiled the trilogy pack bundle for all three games, along with the souped up Phantasy Star Online 1&2 Plus, again for GameCube.

Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution continues the story arc of its online predecessors with players assuming the roles of Hunters once again to explore the mysteries of the planet Ragol. Episode III expands on the Phantasy Star Online universe by combining RPG team-based battle tactics with the mechanics of deck settings and card collection.

Episode III allows players to chat about gameplay strategy and how their day was at school and what Veronica in 7th grade said when they asked her out. Afterwards, players then journey to the planet's surface to strategically deal their deck of cards in turn-based Card battles.

Arks and Bosses or Hunters and Items make up your decks and you'll need to utilize different strategies in order to claim victory. The many unique online strategies that will present themselves through multiplayer combat will certainly provide Episode III with replay value, keeping players coming back for more punishment.

Fortunately for those who aren't online-enabled, PSO Episode III will also have offline play modes that feature both single player and a multiplayer mode that supports up to 4 players.

Stay tuned for more on PSO3 as the Japanese release draws closer.

Adam Doree
With help from Joseph Jackson in the 'clue about PSO' department.