Kotaku: phantasy star portable

Hey, Look, It's Phantasy Star Portable 2

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:00:00 MDT

SEGA's action role-playing-game series is once again coming to the PSP with Phantasy Star Portable.

Goodbye ad-hoc! Phantasy Star Portable 2 features online multiplayer, making it possible to playing with play and chat with fellow players across Japan.

Featuring double the voice acting and text as compared to the prequel, the game system has evolved as well, featuring quick escape, charge shot and new countering measures. There are new character designs as well.

Phantasy Star Portable 2 takes place 3 years after the previous title and is due out in Japan on December 3.

Japanese Voice Actress Getting Her First Trading Cards

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:20:00 MDT

When we were kids, we collected baseball cards. Jose Canseco, Mark Grace and Ken Griffey, Jr. In Japan, kids these days (hey, more like adults!) can collect voice actress cards.

Vocal thespian Rie Tanaka (Phantasy Star Portable, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3) is releasing her first set of "trading cards" this September.

One pack will set you back ¥525 (US$5.50), while a box is priced at ¥6,300 ($66). A carton is ¥107,100 ($1,100). There are 147 different cards. Collect 'em all!

田中理恵オフィシャルブログ [ Rie Rie World ]::2009年9月発売！待望のファースト・トレカ！ [Rie Tanaka Blog via オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

Phantasy Star Portable 2 Coming This Winter

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:00:00 MDT

Phantasy Star Portable was a big hit and one of the biggest selling PSP games in Japan last year. So what do you think of the chances for a sequel?

Pretty good.

According to this notice for "The Best" budget version of Phantasy Star Portable, a special UMD will be bundled that shows off Phantasy Star Portable 2's opening movie.

Phantasy Star Portable "The Best" will be released in Japan on October 8. Phantasy Star Portable 2, according to this, is scheduled for a winter release.

Phantasy Star Portable 2 Announced [VGChartz Thanks, Dartavius!]

Phantasy Star Portable Release Telepiped Forward In Time

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:40:41 MST

Do they still use telepipes in Phantasy Star? Well if they do, Sega just selected one from its inventory, bumping up the release date of Phantasy Star Portable in North America.

The PlayStation Portable action role-playing game will be invading our shores on March 3rd, weeks in advance of its previously scheduled release date. Somewhat coincidentally, I also plan to turn on my PSP for the first time in many months on March 3rd, unless a review copy of Phantasy Star Portable should make its way here prior to that date.

Phantasy Star Portable was released in Japan last July, racking up over 700,000 sales, making it one of the top thirty selling games in the country.

Sega has more Phantasy Star action planned for later this year, as Sega of America recently expressed its corporate desire to bring Phantasy Star Ø to Western shores.

And then, once we're all covered on the Nintendo DS and PSP fronts, Sega will get cracking on bringing a proper Phantasy Star RPG to whatever. Right, Sega? "Right, Mike," says Sega.

Phantasy Star Portable Launch date moved to March 3rd! [SEGA America Blog - thanks, Castor!]

Sega Bringing Phantasy Star Portable Stateside

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:00:00 MDT

Sega announced rather quietly at Tokyo Game Show that Phantasy Star Portable will be coming to North America. The Phantasy Star Online-style action RPG will hit these shores in March of next year, with Sega likely hoping it will match the success it has had with the game in Japan. Phantasy Star Portable has sold well over 600,000 copies on its home turf, in some part riding on the success of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G.

While Phantasy Star Portable features wireless multiplayer of the local "ad hoc" style, it may be taking advantage of upcoming PlayStation 3 functionality that simulates infrastructure connections. That means online monster hunting with primary colors and futuristic laser swords, the kind of stuff that can make us momentarily pause our Phantasy Star V daydreaming.

Phantasy Star Coming To The Nintendo DS!

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:00:00 MDT

This Friday's issue of Japanese game mag Famitsu announces that the DS is getting Phantasy Star Zero. The game's characters are designed by Toshiyuki Kubooka (THE iDOLM@STER), and the scenario is mystery novel writer Teru Arai and former PSO quest honcho Tooru Shiwasu. The up-to-four-player game features multi-player over Nintendo WiFi. The cool part: The chat system supports stylus sketches. The game is slated for this winter in Japan, and if the big Phantasy Star Portable sales are an indication, this game should do very well.

Another scan after the jump.

Famitsu 20080912 [Wii@Everyday via Sega Nerds Forums]

SEGA Ships 500,000 Phantasy Star Portable Copies

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:00:00 MDT

Japan's latest gaming love affair is SEGA PSP title Phantasy Star Portable. Since going on sale July 31st, 500,000 copies of the game have been shipped in the week following its launch. No Western release has been announced for this action RPG as of yet.

セガ、PSP「ファンタシースターポータブル」発売から1週間で出荷本数50万本達成 [Game Watch]

Sega Wants Some Of That Monster Hunter Money For Phantasy Star Portable

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:30:00 MDT

When Sega announced Phantasy Star Portable for PSP, it seemed like a good fit. The PSP is doing extremely well for itself in Japan currently, and with Phantasy Star Online servers shutting down left and right, a move to a hot platform certainly can't hurt. With Monster Hunter Portable G 2nd for the PSP moving some 2 million copies in Japan, more group beast slaying and item finding over a wireless connection will almost certainly be welcomed by the Japanese gamer.

Unsurprisingly, when seeing the newly revealed artwork for Phantasy Star Portable, I was immediately reminded of Capcom's Monster Hunter; surely not an accident on Sega's part. Gone are the soft illustrations of the pointy-eared character cast from Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Universe, replaced by big action, big dragons and big weapons. The logo? Similarly Monster Hunter-ish in its grittiness.

Probably a step in the right direction for Sega, but we wonder how many Monster Hunter devotees will judge Phantasy Star Portable a worthy purchase by its cover.