Phantasy Star Zero DS

game.Graphics: 9/10

For a DS game, these graphics are very, very nice. I'd say just a little bit behind Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. That's a very small issue For what we've seen the DS put out, this is by no means bad, at all. Coupled with the fact that there is a lot of stuff in this game, and that all of it is 3D, it's not a bad deal at all.

Music: 8/10

While not my favorite kind music out of a game, Phantasy Star Zero's music certainly does have some nice tunes to it. Many are very fitting for whatever setting you happen to be in, and the quick transition from the normal tunes you hear when not fighting to that area's fighting theme is so smooth, you'd almost think it was a single track being played. Each of the areas music and battle tracks, respectively, both almost always fit the setting, which is naturally hard to do in any game.

Gameplay: 10/10

Possible Phantasy Star Zero's best asset is this. The gameplay is simply awesome. It's simple enough to be easy to learn, but then, at the same time it's complex enough to where you aren't able to simply button mash through everything. With the amount of different weapons and Techniques, the possiblities are nearly endless. You'd be hardpressed to find someone using the exact same things as you are. And the customization for Weapons, Mags, and Armor is even better. This is something you're almost guarantee'd to be unique in, as you can specialize each weapon for a certain thing with the Elements you can get. Elements that raise EXP earned, ones that increase damage, elements that add a certain Element to your weapon to make it more effective against opposing elemental creatures, and many, many more.

Online Play: 10/10

And the pièce de résistance, what a Phantasy Star Online game is known for, the online play. While not exactly the same as Phantasy Star Online's online play, because of hardware restrictions, Phantasy Star Zero does what it can with what it has, and boy does it do those quite well. Without the capability of Lobbies like PSOnline had, instead we have the ever(not-so) popular friends list with friend codes. But then there's also Free Mode, which will pair you up with 3 other people at random, online.

With the limits on gameplay that a full touchscreen keyboard would have had while fighting, they instead opted to go the Pictochat pathway. Instead of typing now, you instead, literally, write what you want to say on the touchscreen. Coupled with that, you can also save a bunch of messages in a the ShortCut button. Makes things a lot easier, and a lot faster. The second section for Online play, as that would be way too long a paragraph, is the actual Online gameplay. Everything you can do offline in this game, you can do online as well.

The 3 modes you can choose from in the beginning are “Play with Friends(on your friendslist), Free Mode(3 random people, preset messages), and finally Play Alone.” Play Alone is there simply because monsters on Online Play are much harder to kill then in Offline mode, regardless of difficulty. Plus, you may not be able to get people to play at the exact time you want to play. So, play by yourself, is the answer, but still online. While playing on any mode, it'll alert you whenever someone on your friends list comes online, joins/makes a party, or is just simply there.

Story: 7/10

Phantasy Star Online was never known for it's story. Phantasy Star Zero is no exception, but is a step up. Kinda cliché, the story is quite similar to Phantasy Star Online's story. Each Race differs in story, but only a little. You play as a character related to someone in the past, and try unravelling the mystery of the Great Blank, of which also connects with PSO's story. Due to spoilers, that's as deep as this I'll go.

All in all, I think this game deserves a well-earned 9/10.

It's definitely a must-own for RPG-lovers, and an excellent addition to anyone's DS game collection. But, before you buy this, it'd be best if you have wifi access, as the Online mode is where this game truly shines. But then again, Phantasy Star Online also shone on Online mode. To reiterate, this game is a general must for any RPG lover. Or any hack 'n slash lover. Or both.

It is truly one of the many gems on the Nintendo DS/DSi.My final score: 9/10.