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Phantasy Star UniverseFrom Sega Retro
Phantasy Star Universe (ファンタシースターユニバース) is an action role-playing game by Sega's Sonic Team for the PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. In Japan, it was released for the PC and PlayStation 2 on August 31, 2006, with the Xbox 360 version releasing on December 12, 2006. Its North American release was on October 24, 2006, available in all formats. The European release date was November 24. While Phantasy Star Universe is a hack and slash role-playing game similar to the Phantasy Star Online games, it takes place in a different time period and location and has many new features. Like most of the PSO titles, PSU is playable in both a persistent online network mode and a full featured single-player story mode. Phantasy Star Universe was followed by the standalone expansion Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus. StoryThe universe is the Gurhal Star System, which consists of three planets. Each planet has its own unique culture formed by its inhabitant races. The history of the Gurhal Star System is filled with conflict amongst the different races. However, after the Final Conflict 100 years ago, a union was formed between the three planets. This led to the birth to the Allied Army, and ultimately to peace for the Gurhal Star System. At the start of the game, Ethan, the main character, and his little sister Lumia, are at the celebration of the 100th year anniversary of the Alliance Space Fleet on the GUARDIANS Space station. The celebration is interrupted when a mysterious meteor shower almost destroys the entire fleet. During evacuation, Ethan and Lumia split off of the main evacuation route, and collapsing rubble separates Lumia from Ethan. Ethan then meets up with a GUARDIAN named Leo, but they are attacked by a strange creature. The creature paralyzes Leo, and Ethan takes his handgun and kills the creature. Leo then tells Ethan to find his sister, and that a rescue team is on the way. After killing multiple creatures and saving people, Ethan finds Lumia, and they both leave the station. After a conversation between Leo and Ethan, Ethan reveals that he dislikes GUARDIANS because his father died when on a mission. Leo, impressed with Ethan's abilities, convinces Ethan to join the GUARDIANS. Ethan and his classmate Hyuga are trained by a female Guardian named Karen, who leads them against the SEED, the strange monsters that came from the meteors. After being hired to accompany a scientist to a Relic site of an ancient, long-dead civilization, they find out the SEED are attracted to a power source (A-photons) the ancients used and that the solar system has just re-discovered. Karen finds out she is the sister of the Divine Maiden (the prophet of the Holy Light) and takes over that position when her sister dies at the hands of her estranged father who intended to kill Karen to increase the original Maiden (Mirei)'s power. After befriending rogues, guardians, and casts alike, Ethan angers Magashi, a CAST who heads the Endrum Collective and has been kidnapping scientists who know about the ancient power source. After Ethan and a rogue named Alfort Tylor kill Magashi, Ethan helps activate an ancient weapon the prior civilization used to survive the SEED before they were almost completely wiped out. Ethan then gathers allies against Guardian orders to attack the last SEED outpost standing where two of his friends and the scientists are being held. In the outpost Magashi claims to be brought back to life by the SEED, where in reality he is a CAST incarnation of Dark Force who controls the SEED itself and controls whatever they infect. With the help of Karen, Leo and Tonnio, Ethan defeats Magashi once and for all. FeaturesPSU has the following features:
Open betaAn open beta was held for Xbox 360 users a few weeks before it was released in North America. The software was available on the marketplace for Xbox Live Gold subscribers for download for two days starting on October 13, 2006. The trial originally ran until October 18 but was eventually extended to October 21. As of January 15, 2007 it has now been put back onto the marketplace, and the server is up and running, for players who have Xbox Live Gold to download and try. Their policy states that they will reset the servers at the end of each month, however, from the period of September 2007 to April 2008, Sega did not reset the servers. Community OnlineThe PC/PS2 servers were merged together while the Xbox 360 played on a server on its own. The PC/PS2 servers were region locked, while on the Xbox 360 servers people from all over the world could play together. Production CreditsExecutive Supervisor: Hideki Okamura, Masanao Maeda, Kazihiro Yasutomi, Hideaki Morishita Planning SectionPlanning Director: Shintaro Hata Design SectionArt Director: Kosei Kitamura Programming SectionProgramming Director: Yasuhiro Takahashi Sound SectionSound Production: Sega Creative Center, Sound Section Warsaw & Hollywood Orchestra Recording SectionConducted & Mixed By: Masamicz Amano Warsaw StaffPlayed By: Warsaw Phiharmonic, National Orchestra Hollywood StaffPlayed By: The Hollywood Session Orchestra New York Recording & Mix SessionSound Producer: Atsushi Kosugi Tokyo Mastering SessionExecutive Producer: Fumitaka Shibata Save This World (Phantasy Star Universe Main Theme)Vocal: Kelli Sae With You (Phantasy Star Universe Ending Theme)Vocal: Lita Harvey For Brighter Day (Phantasy Star Universe Grand Ending Theme)Played By: Philippe Saisse, Acoustique Trio, Reaturing Kelli Sae Motion Capture: Sega Creative Center, Motion Capture Studio, Takeo Iwata, Hiroshi Tanaka, Shunkichi Yukitake, Kimiko Nakaizumi, Hitoshi Noda, Yukie Nagiwara, Haruna Mitsuhashi Motion Capture: Links Digiwork Inc.Producer: Kazuhisa Nishimura Motion Actors: KatsugekizaActor Coordination: Wataru Koga Capture Edit Cooperation: Studio Ibuki Inc.Director: Masahiro Miura CG Movies: Polygon Magic Inc., Dynamo Pictures Inc.Producer: Akira Mayama CG Movies: Sega Creative Center CG TeamDirectors: Takeshi Itou, Tomokazu Takahashi CG Movies: Dynamo Pictures Inc.CG Director: Kaname Aoki CG Movie/Event: Griot Inc.Producer: Masashi Sakamoto CG Movie/Event: Animaroid Inc.Designers: Shinichi Kawabe, Masato Nozawa, Fumihiko Kagawa, Tomoya Shinbori, Yoshihiro Hatano, Kazuyuki Mori, Takuya Suzuki, Yuya Nagata, Yuki Hamatani CG Movie/Event: Digital Media Lab Inc.Producer: Shusaku Chamoto Modelling/CG Movie/Event: Polygon Magic Inc.Supervising Producer: Osamu Ogiwara CG Movie: Sanzigen Inc.CG Designers: Toshiaki Ihara, Yasuhiro Kato, Tatsuya Kono, Kazunobu Sano, Atsushi Nemoto Modelling: Flight Unit.Designers: Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Kaitzokuya, Takeshi Miyamoto, Kouhei Kyono, Atsuyoshi Hokari, Keiko Miyahara, Shigeyoshi Ishima Modelling: Sega (Shabghai) Software Co. Ltd.Designers: Yu Yong Qing, Jin Chuan Zhong, Huang Fu Lin, Liang Jia Ni, Chen Yan Sega Of America Inc.CEO: Naoya Tsurumi Sega Europe Ltd.CEO: Naoya Tsurumi Physical ScansPlayStation 2 Version
Xbox 360 Version
Windows Version
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