With two closed beta tests now behind the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, the curtain is slowly being lifted on what we can expect from the series' next entry. SEGA's latest PSO2: New Genesis Prologue video reveals a little more on what to expect from the game, including a release window. So far, the game is really stepping it up to become a wholly next-gen MMORPG with plenty of fluidity in gameplay and an intense character creator.
The two most important pieces of information revealed were about the closed beta coming to New Genesis' Global version and the game's release. The closed beta sign-up started a day earlier and has limited spots via the Xbox Insider Hub app on PC. Much like the first round of closed beta for Phantasy Star Online 2, players managed to crash the app during sign-up, but things are now working again -- SEGA even added more spots as an apology. The official release window for New Genesis is June, although there hasn't been any information on whether this will also be for Xbox.
Previous Prologue videos covered the bulk of the gameplay changes, and information on the current PSO2 website covers what will be transferable to New Genesis, so this video was a little lighter. SEGA revealed the introductory cutscene where the player crash lands in a pod on the planet Halfa and two of the other main characters encounter and rescue them. Aina (a native to the planet) and Mannon (another Meteorn like the player) are part of the main story similar to Matoi and Xion, although no one is a deity here. We also learned there is a beginning area settlement, which is much smaller than the main city we've seen so far. All this raises the question of whether there will be other small towns and settlements to discover across this new world.
More character creation details were also revealed, and it appears to go further than even the most detailed creators currently out there. CASTS were finally shown, and they get an extra option called decorations, which let players remove or add extra small parts to bulk up or slim down these robots. Facial expressions are also completely customizable and usable similar to symbol art, giving player characters extra personality. All emotes, hand, facial and regular can be combined to add to this too.
Since PSO2: NGS requires some high-end specs to run, SEGA will be releasing a Character Creator in late May to act as a benchmark program to test PCs. Characters made in it can also be imported to the game when released. In game isn't the only place players will see their characters either. The opening cutscene, the one which plays before logging in, will feature the player's character rather than the generic default. It should make for some interesting online videos, since PSO2 players tend to get pretty creative.