It’d be an understatement to say I was a fan of the original Phantasy Star Online. While my classmates in high school would often blame their poor marks on lengthy football practices or alcohol-fueled social events, the reason for my own slipping grades was less typical: My level 100 HUcast ate my homework.
Nearly a decade later, Phantasy Star Zero on the DS manages to stir up some of that long-dormant obsession. It looks and plays like a lost sequel to the classic Dreamcast dungeon crawler, but that vintage feel also stands out as its most glaring flaw — with its high-maintenance camera, imprecise controls, and lousy user interface, Phantasy Star Zero could easily pass for an action-RPG from 2001. And even though it’s packed with all-new environments, enemies, and characters, I can’t help but feel like this is the same game that I played in lieu of studying for Chemistry exams.