Sega Unveils Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity

Screenshot from Phantasy Star Portable 2.

Phantasy Star Portable 2 is getting a big Burst-like update this year. Surprised? You shouldn't be! The original PSP2, released last December, has sold over 600,000 units, making it a true contender in the crowded PSP multiplayer market.

Formally revealed on the pages of this week's Famitsu, Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity promises to up the PSP2 experience with a new story, a new race, and improved gameplay systems. The magazine has a six page blowout on the game along with commentary from producer Satoshi Sakai.

Sakai feels that Infinity is not just an update of the original PSP2. The game's logo, which shows a large infinity symbol, is meant to emphasize this. Said Sakai, "At the time of 2, we aimed for the limit of a PlayStation Portable online RPG. We were able to include everything we wanted. However, at the same time, we got the feeling that we could do more. We've included the word 'Infinity' with the meaning of breaking through the limits. The story alone has 1.5 times the volume of 2.

Story, Characters & Races

The story has a new sequence titled "Episode 2." This focuses on a new character named Nagisa, an 18-year-old who wears an eye patch and has tremendous battle strength. She's traveling around Gurhal for an unknown reason.

The reason Nagisa wears the eye patch actually ties into her race. Nagisa is a member of the Duman race, a new playable race that joins the Human, Numan, Cast and Beast races that were present in the original PSP2. Dumans were formed when Human DNA underwent a change. Pure white skin and an eye patch are characteristic of Dumans.

On the gameplay side of things, Dumans have far greater attack strength compared to the other races. They have access to a special "Infinity Blast" attack which turns the aura that surrounds them into a weapon.

Default female Dumans dress like dancers, with males dressing like fencers. The other races won't feel old in the face of the new Duman threads, though, as all races are seeing their default costumes redone for Infinity. When creating your character, you make arrangements to these base costumes, so you'll definitely want to take a look when Sega releases official artwork.

In his interview with Famitsu, Sakai shared a few additional details on Nagisa, the Duman race, and the new Episode 2 story.

The story surrounding Nagisa is a continuation of the story from the first Phantasy Star Portable 2, revealed Sakai. The final mission of the original PSP2 was followed by an epilogue sequence telling what happens a year after the game. Episode 2 is the story of what happens in that one year prior to the epilogue.

Regarding Nagisa specifically, while saying that he couldn't get too specific, Sakai said to expect her to make a somewhat surprising entrance into the game. She's a character that lacks a certain amount of common knowledge and is taken up by a certain mission or duty. You initially won't know if she's a friend or ally, but Sakai wants players to pay attention to the character's growth as she develops a friendship with Emilia and the other characters.

Regarding the Duman race, Sakai said that the race actually existed in the time of the previous entry (I'm not sure if he means PSP or PSP2). They've at last been recognized as a new race. Because they just mutated from humans, they have a small population and are discriminated against.

From a combat perspective, the Dumans have the image of a "magic swordsman." While their capabilities with regards to combat are high, their defense is weak. Players will need to be adept at evading enemy attack, so Sakai believes the class may be suited to slightly advanced players.

Sega stages some wild collaborations for PSP2. Can we expect the same from Infinity?

New Features For Pros

Outside of the story, race and character details, Famitsu also has a look at the new functionality and features that are being readied for Infinity. There's going to be quite a bit added to the game to make things more player friendly and also extend the experience for fans.

For the Phantasy Star Portable veterans, the game offers a new difficulty level. Similar to PSP2, when heading off on a mission, you visit a Mission Counter to select the mission and difficulty. In PSP2 Infinity, you can select a new fifth difficulty, marked as a red infinity mark and known as "Infinity Rank."

The game will also include a new "reincarnation" or "rebirth" feature. Through this system, characters who have been raised to a certain level can have their level reset to 1, while keeping their parameters unchanged. Your characters stop rising in level at 200, so using this system, you can build up stronger characters.

In the interview, Sakai said that this reincarnation system becomes accessible once your character reaches level 50. He also said that the balance has been adjusted for Infinity, so re-raising your character up to level 200 won't take as long.

On the multiplayer front, the game will have a tag-mode ("surechigai") communication system called "Friend Search." When you pass by other players, you'll exchange character data and "mission codes." You can head off on missions with the characters you receive in this fashion. The "mission codes" include such things as "mission where the rare item drop rate is high" and "mission where a dragon appears." You can combine multiple mission codes to get a new mission code.

(If you're unsure about the specifics on this mission code system, join the club! I presume Sega will detail this area in future updates.)

Core Phantasy Star Portable players will also likely appreciate the new screenshot feature. Press select, and you'll enter into Screenshot Mode. A camera icon appears on screen. Press start, and you'll snap and save a pic of the action. Famitsu suggests using this feature to record your character's growth.

Phantasy Star Online Connections

Some of the new features appear to be shout outs to the original Phantasy Star Online. In fact, the game will purposely feature some elements that will remind you of PSO as a shout out to PSO on its 10th anniversary.

Chief among these shout outs is the new Visual Lobby system. In the original PSP2, when playing online, you selected fellow players from a list. In PSP2 Infinity, you'll make use of a PSO-like visual lobby, where you move your character around a virtual world and directly search for partner players while conversing. Helping out here is a new chat interface that looks like something out of a cell phone.

Infinity will also feature some Phantasy Star Online monsters. PSP2 had PSO monsters as well, but you can expect more this time, including such beasts as Garason and Chaos Bringer.

Less specifically, Famitsu hints at a big connection between Episode 2's story and Phantasy Star Online.

Commenting on these Phantasy Star Online connections, Sakai said that the visual lobby system addresses a concern over beginner players needing a good amount of courage when attempting to start up multiplayer sessions in PSP2. The staff was actually looking into possibly including the visual lobbies in PSP2, but technical hurdles kept it out.

Regarding the specifics of how the lobby system works, Sakai said this is something that's being looked into right now. They'd like to make it so that the lobbies can have the same number of people as in PSO. They're also hoping to make a system where the player creates the lobby.

New story and communication elements are planned for Infinity. (Screenshots are from Phantasy Star Portable 2.)

Sega seems to be putting a whole lot of effort into Infinity, but there's good reason for that. The game is due for Winter release, which could place it up against such major multiplayer releases as Lord of Arcana, God Eater Burst and, of course, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd.

Famitsu is promising a blowout on all these multiplayer games for its next issue. The public at large will get a chance to try out Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity at the Tokyo Game Show, where it's scheduled to appear in playable form.

Development is currently 50% complete, according to Famitsu.