this ended up being longer than i thought but here you go
it shifted focus away from a working formula to open world slop which was never sega's specialty (nor anyone's, really).
people didn't like the whiplash from going from a lv.100 character to a lv.20 cuck with fewer skills.
lack of content and an endgame loop. basically expected of a live service game, but here it only served to amplify the other frickups.this guy also put it succinctly
>People who enjoy fast and snappy combat don't want to trudge around big open spaces filled with nothing. People who want a traditional MMO experience may not enjoy devil may cry style frenetic combat.
basically trying to please too many crowds at once. since it has "Phantasy Star" in the name, naturally it'd grab the attention of old fans of the series, but it's not made for them, and honestly never has been since PSO2 because of the seething about PSO2 itself back then. the game already had a massive shift since Ep.4 and dropping Phantasy Star from the title would've been better. PSO2 and NGS just feel like an exhibition hall for the series' history except the new blood doesn't even give a sh*t anyway.also, there's something you need to understand about this game's audience, the english-speaking side of it is complete dogsh*t. you've probably heard "trannies and erpers" enough by now but it still needs to be said. it's filled to the brim with erptrannies and casuals who care more about getting the game out of their face as soon as possible so that they could go back to idling in lobby. hom*osexuals who feel entitled to both power and cosmetics in an RPG without having to do anything, and complain about every single gameplay addition to the game even though that's exactly what it needed to get out of the early years rut. it's none other than their b***hing that led to an RPG where you can get serviceable gear without doing much of anything, and 90% of the game is designed around that gear.
[...]
(cont'd)
this turns the game on a casual level into a loop of, log in, get handout gear, check out latest content, done. getting best-in-slot is actually a fairly autistic and involved grind (although nowhere near PSO2 affixing and i'm talking about BEFORE Ep.6 casualization), and solos and time attacks are unironically fun and challenging, but because it's not required or expected of the average person, they do the aforementioned routine then go back to complaining about having nothing to do.and TO THIS DAY they are still fighting to get systems and grinds simplified even further or even removed. at this point no one is even sure whether these morons are to blame, or SEGA for bending the knee for them. people say SEGA doesn't listen to their playerbase but it's not true, some things got so bad BECAUSE they listened to too many people they should've never listened to.
and not every argument made is well-informed. NA was given a flattering, end-of-life version of PSO2, which they treated as gospel and the pinnacle of design when what actually happened was that they ate 9 years worth of content and QoL in one year, completely blind to its moronic designs because the game was moving too fast. the often cited "mindless mob-grinding" was none other than a direct port of Cradle, the class and encounter designs took cues from none other than successor classes and Ep.4/5/6 gameplay, and the israeli monetization model with cosmetic banners every other week has always been there if not even worse because you used to be able to pay to do more fricking damage as well.
(cont'd)
overall it's a questionable successor to an already questionable game, with moronic designs and a moronic audience. although i've opened up to it more because many of the sh*t i didn't like in the first post are less prominent today.
for example, there is a more tangible loop of 5-6 things i regularly do for meseta and loot. i can usually afford what i want unless it's just absent from the market (this is a lengthy subject on its own but in short, it's giga sh*t on NA because of low supply and scalping).
i don't have much reason to go into the open world anymore.
more systems were added to make progression and builds less linear, like EX affixes, PA customs and equipment crafting.
multiweapons are basically required for most classes, which made some of them go from merely 3 PAs to almost running out of palette space. this is going from one extreme to another, but i'll take it over 3 PAs.
even the notoriously trash loot and enhancement system had more changes made to them in the last 7 months than the last 7 years combined so at least that's being acknowledged.
and basically there's only one other game in this genre that scratches the same itch which is Vindictus. or maybe i ended up here BECAUSE back then i was looking for another frenetic action RPG. in any case it's something i play because there's a severe drought of games like it, but it's just okay and 100% not traditional Phantasy Star by any means.
