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Phantasy Star Portable PSP
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Mar 3, 2009
Phantasy Star Portable Image
Metascore
64 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 38 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: Fans of the acclaimed Phantasy Star Universe series can now explore Gurhal on-the-go via the PSP m. Up to four friends team up to unravel the exclusive new storyline that picks up where Phantasy Star Universe ends and before the start of PSU: Ambition of the Illuminus. The infestation of the alien SEED was thought to be under control by the end of PSU, but a new menace has stricken the Gurhal system. Alongside a new character named Vivienne, players must investigate the contamination and clear out the affected wildlife. In this intriguing new installment, players will delve deeper than ever before into the mysteries of Phantasy Star Universe. [Sega]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 38
  3. Negative: 5 out of 38
  1. 1UP
    91
    Any port that makes me consider giving the source material another spin is worth the price of admission any day.
  2. Cheat Code Central
    74
    The story presentation isn't so hot, and the gameplay can get repetitive, but hunting for items, weapons, and gaining experience is addictive.
  3. Gamer 2.0
    49
    The Phantasy Star series is one that has incredible potential on any handheld if done right. Unfortunately, Sega's second attempt at a Phantasy Star game on the PSP comes up well short of anybody's expectations.

See all 38 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. VagrantW
    9
    My history with Phantasy Star has been storied; I loved the first four games, they were wonderful. Phantasy Star Online I hated at first, but I warmed up to it slowly, I played it for a little while and it was fun but an easily forgettable game, not really Phantasy Star at all (it would've fared better had it had another name). So I'd pretty much given up on the franchise until I caught wind of Universe. I gave Phantasy Star Universe a try and that seemed very promising, but the 'kewl kid' I had to play as, Ethan Waber, was more boring than the Houses of Parliament on a dull day, that coupled with the painfully bad voice acting of some of the characters (especially the Neuman female) realy put me off it. And at the end of the day, that's sad because I saw some real potential there. I tried Phantasy Star Portable not really expecting anything special, but I was interested because it was the same sort of thing as PSU but I would no longer have to play Ethan Waber (huge bonus), I could play my own character instead. What I found I was pleasantly surprised about, quite so indeed. The gameplay is exactly the same as Universe, and that's a good thing because it's a nice little Diablo-style dungeon romp, that's what the gameplay elements are, and they do that well. What was great about the game though was outside of that. The storyline was a little on the predictable side, but the characters were handled very well, especially the CAST named Vivienne whom it'st he player's duty to help evolve as a character. The charming interactions between the characters made the pedestrian storyline come alive, and because of that it feels like the most 'Phantasy Star' game to date since IV. All in all, Phantasy Star Portable is what I would consider the first point of logical evolution from Phantasy Star IV in the current generation of technology, and if Sega plays this right then they could easily have a cult classic on their hands. I'm already eagerly looking forward to Phantasy Star Zero and hoping for more of the same. One thing I am going to snark at though is the poor Games Radar review, which actually complained about the characters having depth. So... what, a handheld RPG has to have shallow characters to be enjoyable? I don't think so. Just because it's on a handheld doesn't mean a game has to be instant gratification, that's not at all what Phantasy Star Portable is about. And in fact, this only more proves my point that it's more true to the originals in that it has decent characters. These young reviewers have no idea what the original Phantasy Star was like. So to fans of Phantasy Star (I through IV), I'd say give this a look. The gameplay is no longer the same, it had to evolve to keep up instead of remaining stuck in the past, but the feel of it is there, and if you're willing to give it a chance, it'll grow on you.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MarlonB
    9
    An amazing port of an awesome game. Ugh, but no online multiplayer?! Still the best PSP game by far.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. BizitmapB
    8
    While some of the more irksome behaviors of Universe, such as dumb NPC AI and silly storyline, are still present, the 90% of the time you spend hacking and slashing at endless hordes of nasty critters is a lot of fun, as is getting all the very different weaponry to lay down the law.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes