Unlike the original Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online, the Japanese release of Phantasy Star Zero doesn’t have English text. Come to think of it, I’m not even sure the Japanese Dreamcast game did. Maybe I should have just left that bit out instead of mentioning it and then saying I didn’t know it was true.

In any case, this game is in Japanese, which means you may not understand why you’re poking around in dungeons or what the stuff you pick up is.

It’s on sale at Play-Asia this week for $14.90. I had a serious PSO problem back in college, and I suspect that having a similar experience with portable convenience could draw me in for a long time.

I probably won’t have the exact same experience of hanging out in the lobby over Christmas vacation, making up Pac-Man symbol chat animations with my roommate as he describes the Twilight Zone episode he’s watching on a second TV in his parents’ house, but the “playing the game a bunch and having a rad time” experience should carry over.

tags / phantasy star zero / sega / play-asia / jc