Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II

Play Magazine

I've logged 70 hours on the game so far, and I'm nowhere near quitting. Sure, I've finished the game many times already, but the game's structure of almost endless goals keeps me coming back for more every single day. [Jan 2003, p.82]

GameSpy

Sonic Team has done so many things right here that it's hard to wrap my head around everything simultaneously.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

A masterpiece...PSO will, ever so slowly, sink its addictive claws into your brain, never to let go, even after you've beaten it once. Or twice. Or more... [Dec 2002, p.93]

Media and Games Online Network

The best RPG the GameCube has to offer, and it is the only online game the GameCube has to offer, not to mention that it is a damn good one.

XenGamers

It gives players a large variety of options for both online and offline play and provides hours of gameplay with two long quests, numerous side-quests and several multiplayer modes. [Import]

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

A gloriously realised futuristic Gauntlet-style playground where you can chat, trade, cooperate and do battle. Pure magic. [NGC]

IGN

Online, I can tell you, the experience is completely different and the sense of being in a whole new world shines through brilliantly.

GMR Magazine

Unhealthily addictive. [Feb 2003, p.96]

Gamezilla!

The only real flaw that I saw is the tendency for lag to creep in during a four person game, as the Gamecube does get a little stressed by the amount of processing required.

AceGamez

Atmospherically the game is without rival and the sense of community is absolutely charming.

Gamestyle

Sixty hours is barely scratching the sun beaten and twisted surface of this game. Sixty hours in PSO is nothing.

GameZone

The addictive gameplay is still here as well, even if it is the same levels and stages over and over again at times, and new areas just means more hours sunk into sitting in front of the console.

Boomtown

Those that criticise and vindicate the linearity of the one player game are misunderstanding the central theme. Atmospherically, the game is without rival and the sense of community is absolutely charming.

GamePro

To say that Sonic Team has added a lot of new stuff to PSO would be the understatement of the century.

GamerWeb Nintendo

Simple addicting gameplay and graphics ranging from nice to outstanding are wonderful to behold, but the absence of a keyboard seriously hurts the online play and community.

Nintendojo

Abandons exterior features and special effects to deliver an addicting Action/RPG with an intriguing story and noticeable Japanese influences.

GameCube Europe

But even if you only go online with this game for a month or 2, it will be wholeheartedly worth it.

Nintendophiles

It's simple, it's easy to learn, and it's fun. I declare the GameCube's first online game to be a success... However, I cannot stress enough that it isn't worth your time and money if you're not going to play online.

GameCritics

Addictive personalities will no doubt find themselves caught up in the game to the exclusion of all else. There's always one more quest to undertake, one more rare to find, one more level to grow…it's these elements that keep people coming back.

Game Over Online

Note: This review was written by a moron that was too cheap to go online (that and the fact all the &*%$#*@ adapters were sold out) and play it. So he had to opt out and go for the less-than-perfect split screen option with his smelly, fat, and hairy, best friend.

Yahoo! Games

If you're already a PSO vet, there's little reason beyond character-leveling to re-play the first episode, but for one and all, there is a new, engaging and entertaining experience here, provided you can pay the online piper.

G4 TV

Not only a great game, but also a terrific online RPG that is an ideal ambassador for the GameCube's online hardware.

Game Informer

The design is light years behind the PC market. [Jan 2003, p.101]

GamingTrend

When you start to dream about how pissed off you are that the game target locked your lv12 Rafoie spell to the item boxes to your right instead of the 6 enemies walking towards you to your left you know it is time to call it quits for a while.

GameSpot

Despite the game's flaws, it's still as addictive as ever, and you'll find yourself playing it for hours on end.

Nintendo Power

Provides an involving offline experience for up to four players. [Dec 2002, p.218]

N-Insanity

The game can be fairly tedious sometimes, but it has enough good moments and great multi-player to be a fun game.

TotalGames.net

Whilst we’re still deeply enthused by Sonic Team’s opus, all of this means that to enjoy this game costs an awful lot of money. Perhaps too much money.

Edge Magazine

For those willing to invest in all of the paraphernalia required to experience it, Phantasy Star Online remains a beguiling prospect. [May 2003, p.104]

GameNow

Paying $8.95 per month is a crapload, right? Well, it is, considering what the game doesn't give you - a persistent world (like in "Everquest"), or any sort of ranking system. [Dec 2002, p.74]

Eurogamer

Admittedly better value for money than the rather uninspired "version 2" Dreamcast release, but for a game which has seen as much development as this to suffer from fundamental flaws and dodgy design decisions in so many areas is bizarre.