AJCast!

PSO2 Character Creator demo: a piece of Japan… available to the world!

April 5th 2012. A date to be forgotten like any other… but not for me.

This date represents a small step towards the accomplishment of a great plan from SEGA: the international release of the Phantasy Star Online 2 Character Creation kit, accessible online for all to enjoy. This step may remain the entirety of the great plan for the North American market, as we haven’t yet had confirmation on a release date for PSO2 outside Japan, but one would think that if SEGA’s future intention is to focus on digital distribution – and that the distribution of part of an upcoming triple-A title-in-the-making HASN’T been limited to Japan – it’s a good sign that we may see more soon.

Enough with the speculation; I visit PSOW if I want to extrapolate on the topic. Today I’m here to show off the power of this amazing creation kit. It’s crazy how you can do JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. I swear, there are AT LEAST four settings directly affecting the breasts of a female character. I say ”directly affecting” since several other settings will invariably change other factors such as… right, well, I’m not going to spoil TOO much of it and I am also not here to discuss the technological breakthroughs in PSO2 mammary customization (Ed: thank god!). I’m here to show you what is BEYOND the Character Customization.

First I guess I should show the core element of this program, right? I thought to myself ”what could I POSSIBLY want to create using this complex construction of moon-language menus and sliders?”. Oh yeah, this is kind of important to know beforehand: the program is entirely in Japanese. Everything except the ”Press Enter Button” on the title screen. And the title, I guess.

So first I made my girlfriend. Unfortunately I didn’t take any screenshots of her; sue me.

AND THEN!

I made…

This guy looks familiar... must be the paint job.
This guy looks familiar… must be the paint job.

Bret, from Flight of the Conchords.

It’s weird though. I had this impression of déjà-vu when I got done with creating him, and the moment he got his hands on a gun it became clear I had created… something else. Something more… err… less… Kiwi… and more… English.

Looking angry now... yup, totally reminds me of that one guy.
Looking angry now… yup, totally reminds me of that one guy.

Okay, this must have been a mistake. The facial expression looks like it SOUNDS like it wants me dead. A lot.

I realized I had not created Bret in the instant that followed the acquisition of his Ranger’s default loadout.

Come on, don't aim for the balls!
Come on, don't aim for the balls!

AJ… AJ, NOOOOOoooo! My BAAALLS!!

So after having lost all hopes of future procreation – and getting over it – I felt like trying out the feature that would allow me to see if I can ever HOPE to run PSO2 – SHOULD it ever come out here – and that is the EDF feature.

AJCast, running wild.
AJCast, running wild.

Fine, I guess there won’t be any full-frontal shots of YOU during the benchmark. Whatever…

Did I say EDF? I meant ‘benchmark’. It’s a little confusing since the scene opens up in a ruined city in the rain and there are tons of Ravager-like creatures all over the place. Then a big creature drops by and a buddy Ranger drops it in ONE shot. Then a HUGE boss-like creature appears and… that’s the end of the scene. It is pretty awesome, I must say.

Probably the best part of the character creator. I'm serious.
Probably the best part of the character creator. I'm serious.

EDF! EDF! ED- uh, PSO2! PSO2! PSO2!

Then everything ends in a Forest 1-like area with Rappies all over the place and landing crafts of some sort. That part wasn’t bad, just definitely more boring than the EDF one before.

Well, I’m gonna go back to it and try to tweak those graphic settings. I might download better drivers for my card as well… (Ed: And maybe some improved anti-AJ groin protection, too?)


Posted

in

by

Comments

6 responses to “PSO2 Character Creator demo: a piece of Japan… available to the world!”

  1. ShaunCG Avatar

    It is slightly uncanny just how much that character looks like AJ, all the way down to his favourite attire of yellow, green and purple powered armour.

    1. guillaumeodinduval Avatar

      I find the depicted attire to be quite Jet Set… Jet Set Radio, that is.

  2. Minh T Avatar
    Minh T

    He didn't ask for this.

  3. Kenty Avatar
    Kenty

    Ooh finally a reason to boot my iMac into windows

  4. badgercommander Avatar
    badgercommander

    I don't think I have laughed this hard in a long time. I now want to play this game. Well done sir I tip my hat to you.

    1. guillaumeodinduval Avatar

      Did I mention it will be free-to-play as well? Download it and run it like you own it… well… because you do own it. My only concern is how much gameplay and content will be ''hindered'' by their planned ''Cash Shops''.

      If the core game mechanics remain true to PSO, than I don't think it would matter. I know I wouldn't care if I have to grind 10 more hours for 1 level since I didn't get ''the level 20 to 21 XP booster pack (5x XP bonus)* *lasts 60 minutes'' for 100gigameseta (aka 2.75US$). If I like to play the game, I'll play it for millions of hours anyway. Millions.

      But yeeaahh, the acquisition of Three Rings by SEGA in late 2011 scares me a bit; Spiral Knights (from Three Rings) has got to be THE worst F2P model out there. And I sure hope SEGA didn't go to them for advises.