Sorry for the long post, but I actually
really enjoy New Genesis and I feel like people like me don't talk about the game much. It's mostly complainers saying the game is dead or something and whew, they have no idea what a dead game looks like if they think NGS is dead lol.
I started playing Phantasy Star Online just about a year before the Global version of PSO2 was announced, which is when I hopped on the PSO2 JP servers since I didn't even know that game existed. I could get into an extremely long rant about how entitled I think the community is, but needless to say I think the pace of the game is perfect for me and I really do not expect too much from it. I like to log in every day and do some simple stuff, and then when a major update comes out I'll play for longer periods of time. I have to say, the recent Creative Spaces update has got me coming back and sticking around for longer. I'm hoping that whatever update we get in August, for the combat stuff, it'll be similar in that I can spend just a little bit longer on the game every day. Really though, it's a free game and has the best monetization of a F2P game I've ever seen. Most of the complaints against it I either don't agree with or flat out just don't understand, especially coming from the perspective that it IS a F2P game and there aren't any like it on the market that aren't extremely predatory gacha-type shit, or games where you can only play up to like level 5 and then have to pay for a membership. Heck, even RuneScape locks the majority of its content, especially the good content, behind a membership. NGS is very accessible in that regard, and I urge anyone to find something better for the price.
I think when someone says that the NGS combat is better than PSO2, they don't necessarily mean they difficulty/depth of the combat, but the fluidity. Trying to go back and play PSO2 feels horrible in comparison, and honestly the thing I look for the most in a video game is the movement and fluidity, which is something NGS excels at, particularly when it comes to the comparison between it and PSO2. It feels similar to how big of a leap PSO2 was over PSO. That's the big thing that keeps me playing, because if the game played like any other MMO out there I would drop it. ESO, FFXIV, Black Desert, Lost Ark, New World, RuneScape, they all have so much stuff to do in them but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because I HATE the way the games play and I certainly don't want to shell out money for something that I don't enjoy playing, even if there is a lot of stuff to do in it.
I think the story is improved in its presentation, the combat-feel is improved (though it is lacking in depth and it seems they are looking to resolve that), the monetization is improved (you don't need Premium to have a PQ, less SG required for scratches and free SG scratches), the entire augment system is MUCH better (which also helps monetization), the way you get food buffs is better, graphics are obviously better, the QOL features we have now are much more plentiful (stuff they never bothered to change or update in PSO2 for a decade finally getting changed in NGS), and I mean even something like the PQ is vastly improved.
My wishlist of things that are missing in NGS that were in PSO2 is:
- More concerts, because listening to the same concert since the Retem release is now something I don't even watch, I just let the game idle in the city
- Movement Photon Arts (though they have been adding more movement options to the world which is nice)
- Randomized quests
I'd also like more elaborate Urgent Quests. I don't think many people realize that the majority of PSO2's UQs are the same as what we have now, which is essentially just "go through a bunch of enemies and kill a big enemy at the end." There are types of quests though like the multi-part ones that I really enjoy, like the ones where the whole ship has to work together to build up the percentage and if it reaches 100% before the timer is up then the next part of the UQ drops. Or the one where you have to guard the tank through that hive and then fight the giant moth boss at the end. Or other massive boss fights that require a deeper knowledge of stuff like I-frames and DPS. I'd really like to get the AIS suit back for some missions.
I don't know if people are exactly wanting MORE content like they say they are. They are wanting content that is more variable and seems really cool to play through. If the NGS team focused on just making stuff badass, and the quests had more unique features to them, people would be more receptive to it. Because, ultimately, the game has the same content cycle that PSO2 has literally always had, it's just that right now it's not as sci-fi as those previous games. It's a lot more grounded and not wacky enough. Like my stance on the fluidity of gameplay, perhaps people don't stick with it as much and repeat the content that does exist because it's just not stylish enough. Why would you replay stuff if you don't like the way it makes you feel when you play it? I'm a massive Star Fox fan but I only played through Zero one time because I hated how I felt trying to play the damn thing.
So, I get it, I really do, when people don't want to play NGS. What annoys me is how much people complain and shit on the game because it's not something they're expecting. I guess it's a little indicative of how nothing like this exists in the video game space, so people want it to be really good, but it does get tiring when it seems like the majority of people who are complaining don't even necessarily know why they are complaining and it would probably be better for them to just stop playing the game and move on to something else. Or, if they're not playing the game, I don't know why they stick around the community so much. I think some people are literally addicted to talking shit on the internet, as well as have some serious FOMO problems where they feel like they CAN'T stop playing the game or they'll miss out on some SG or a random fashion item.
All of that being said. My character is named Damaris and I'm on Ship 2, so if any of you guys play you should shoot me a friend request!
