Sega’s western divisions have officially announced the European and American versions of the eagerly awaited Phantasy Star Universe. As announced previously, both offline and online modes will be included in the title. The offline version allows players to assume the role of 17 year old cadet Ethan Waber on his quest to rescue his sister from a mysterious alien life form known as THE SEED, who have taken over the planet Ethan’s sister lives on.
The online game allows players to create their own character from a range of races as they team up with fellow players to explore the all three planets in the Grarl solar system.
Yuji Naka is involved with the game, but as with all previous post-DC era Sonic Team titles, he will only be supervising.
"Phantasy Star has a rich history, both as a single-player RPG franchise and as an online multi-player series," commented Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, Sega of America. "By fully supporting both gameplay modes in one package, we will be able to provide gamers with a fantasy role-playing experience of unprecedented depth."
Another Sega spokesperson added, "from its roots way back in the late eighties, Phantasy Star has become synonymous with quality RPG adventure. Now developed as both a single-player and an online multi-player game, Phantasy Star Universe delivers RPG fans their greatest adventure yet."
Both the PS2 and PC versions of the game will be released in spring 2006.
More details can be found at Kikizo and Gamerfeed.com.
