Many in the west were a little surprised when Sega announced plans for Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis in July of 2020. At the time, Phantasy Star Online 2 was still several months away from its western release, so such a huge revamp didn't make a lot of sense. The game has actually been out in Japan since 2012, however, so for many players in the east, at least, the upgrade was long overdue.
In the months following the announcement, Sega made it clear that New Genesis isn't intended to be a replacement nor expansion for PSO2, but instead a companion game of sorts that offers players a new way to experience Phantasy Star Online. Some of the elements developed for New Genesis have even been implemented in the original game, although there remain plenty of big differences between the two titles.
Updated August 31, 2022, by Tom Bowen: Despite having been available in Japan since early 2016, Phantasy Star Online 2 has only just become playable for PS4 owners in the west. As well as the base version of the game, they'll also have access to New Genesis, a separate game that takes place within the same universe. With players able to jump freely between the two, some may be curious to find out how New Genesis differs from Phantasy Star Online 2. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it does so in many ways, the most notable of which can be found down below.
12 Enhanced Character Models
For some people, character creation is a big part of the MMO experience, as it allows players to express their individually and really lean into the role-playing experience. Phantasy Star Online 2 already had one of the best character creators around, but the one in New Genesis somehow manages to put it to shame.
The new graphics engine brings with it some huge changes to the quality of character models in the game as well as a host of new options and sliders for users to play around with. The possibilities are almost limitless, thus allowing players more control over their Phantasy Star characters than ever before.
11 The Graphics Engine
Not only does the new graphics engine improve character models, but also the graphical fidelity of the world in which the game takes place. The visuals in New Genesis really are streets ahead of its predecessor, with almost everything about the game's graphics having been reworked and improved.
Given that the Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 servers first went live in 2012, some will feel that the change was long overdue, but few could have expected just how impressive the transformation would be. Granted, there are still better looking MMOs out there, but not too many and not by much.
10 The Game World
Sega have been quick to stress that New Genesis is neither a sequel to nor a replacement for Phantasy Star Online 2, but instead a "whole new universe" that would coexist peacefully with its predecessor. This new universe, though certainly familiar in some respects, at times feels almost unrecognizable from the old one.
As well as the huge visual upgrades, the game's world is now inhabited by countless non-aggressive species which helps to make it feel more alive than ever before and far more immersive too. The new day/night cycle further adds to this authenticity, as too do the impressively immersive weather effects.
9 Items & Currency
While a lot of things can be carried over from Phantasy Star Online 2 to New Genesis, there are certain items that players will need to leave behind when they make the leap. These include certain materials and furnishings, consumable items and Skill Rings. Perhaps most frustrating, however, is the inability to transfer certain currencies.
In order to protect the in-game economy of New Genesis, players are unable to bring their Meseta with them. The good news is that the game's premium currencies, Star Gems and ARKS cash, can be used in either version of the game. Those who have spent real money on the game will therefore not lose out when making the transition.
8 Character Growth
It's not just their Meseta that players will need to leave behind when they transfer their characters over to New Genesis, but also their levels, skills and arts. This effectively means that most players will be starting from scratch, which, although no doubt frustrating for some, will at least ensure that everybody starts on a level playing field.
Thankfully, those who've sunk a lot of time into Phantasy Star Online 2 can at least carry over some of the skins that they've acquired during their time with the game, as well as weapons, units and Mags. Unfortunately, the latter no longer boost players' stats or aid them in battle, although they still maintain evolution device data from the previous game.
7 Weapons
Stats, augments and potentials have been changed for a lot of the game's weapons, while any that are tied to classes that have not yet been added to New Genesis will be unusable for the time being. Main and sub classes do share weapons now though, so players are no longer restricted to only equipping weapons from their main class.
New Genesis also changes how weapon camos work, allowing players to select a camo for each type of weapon rather than being limited to one weapon camo at a time. Though purely cosmetic, the change serves as a huge quality of life update, as it negates the need for players to switch camos every time that they change classes.
6 Movement & Map Traversal
Both in and out of combat, the way that players move around in New Genesis has been completely overhauled and feels far more fluid than ever before. Running, dodging and wall-jumping is far less clunky than it was, which can make getting from A to B a lot more enjoyable.
Though some players may still opt to use skills to close the gap between themselves and their foes from time to time, the new movement options arguably negate the need to do so. As a result, players can save their precious Photon Points for more pressing occasions.
5 Combat
As well as combat in general now feeling a lot more fluid, there have also been a few other key tweaks that really enhance the overall experience. Perhaps the most significant of these is that bosses now have a visible HP bar, making it far easier for players to gauge how much longer a battle is likely to go on for.
Another big change is the way that enemies react to debuffs, with New Genesis offering a far more realistic representation than Phantasy Star Online 2. Stricken enemies will now visibly react to negative status effects, often rolling around on the floor or howling in pain when players hit them with a debuff.
4 Classes
Unlike Phantasy Star Online 2, which had 12, New Genesis only offered six classes at launch, though this number has since been increased to eight. Players can choose from the Hunter, Ranger, Force, Fighter, Gunner, Techter, Braver, and Bouncer classes, although the other four classes found in PSO2 are no longer options.
The four missing classes were also absent at the time of PSO2's launch, before gradually being added into the game in future episodes. This suggests that Sega may yet add these additional classes to New Genesis, although it's difficult to predict how future updates will be handled.
3 Auto Loot
Ever since the first Phantasy Star Online game on the Sega Dreamcast, players have had to manually pick up any items dropped by fallen enemies. Back then, this was fairly common practice, but by the time Phantasy Star Online 2 released in 2012, many games had already switched to an auto loot system. Unfortunately, PSO2 wasn't among them.
New Genesis fixes this problem, automatically placing loot into a player's inventory so that they don't need to pick it up themselves. The over the top particle effects that signified a rare drop are also no more, with players now getting a simple and far less distracting prompt at the top of their screens instead.
2 Mechanics
It's important to remember that Phantasy Star Online 2 was already eight years old when it finall made its way west back in 2020. As a result, many of the game's core mechanics were inspired by early twenty-first century MMORPG tropes and trends, resulting in a game that was very much a byproduct of its era.
Conversely, despite carrying over certain elements to use as a foundation, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is a lot more modern by comparrision. It therefore brings with it a lot of major quality of life updates, including the afortementioned auto loot mechanic and more fluid and refined combat.
1 Story
Upon completing the tutorial for New Genesis, players will have the option to revert back to the main story of PSO 2. This was a fantastic feature when the former first went live as its narrative was fairly limited in scope when the game was first released.
These days, New Genesis is doing quite a bit better on this front, though players will probably find themselves dipping back into the PSO 2 story as they await further updates. Things do seem to be moving at a fairly healthy pace though, so they shouldn't have to wait too long.
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.