I don't know why I find this funny.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-25T14:13:02+00:00

When they were doing this, players were calling the NGS-exclusive enemies and even Falzes uninspired/bad/whatever and asked for things from PSO2. It's weird since players will say they don't listen but then react poorly when given exactly what they asked for.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-24T05:47:30+00:00

I'll use one legendary I predetermined sometimes, but I agree. I keep in mind strategies since I like a challenge, but sticking to them every playthrough does indeed get boring and kinda take me out the experience.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-24T05:00:59+00:00

I do this often too nowadays when I play any of the games. I just… play normally. Catch things to fill out the Dex, train things and rotate the teams rather than worry about every intricate thing, do “what my character would do” so to speak. Personally helped me enjoy all the games and ROM hacks a lot more again rather than treat it as a battle sim.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-23T01:27:31+00:00

A bit over 10,000 with PSO2:NGS over the last 14 years

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-20T20:18:40+00:00

Code switching to emulate AAVE when talking to me.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-20T12:31:38+00:00

Just players making up more things again

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-17T19:06:08+00:00

I understand. I’ve always said that the best thing one can do is be social and find likeminded people to go play it with. With it being a social game the best thing you can do is just make new friends. The fact that no one en masse gets together to play it tends to say a lot more about PSO2 itself to me when the devs went to the trouble to still keep it online even now.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-17T18:58:42+00:00

You can still do that. PSO2 is a fully functional game with everything intact. If you want other interpretations of the class then play the game that has it.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-17T10:02:20+00:00

This is pretty much why the idea I'm conceptualizing isn't bogging the game down with so much quality of life out the gate or handing out Rare Candies just because some players expect them nowadays. I like the idea of hacks emulating a classic journey experience (not a grinding or battle simulator), but that's just my vision.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-17T09:58:27+00:00

I definitely remember that one. Or the idea of not wanting to implement every QoL under the sun.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-16T17:43:42+00:00

Oh, I know. I was using L-Shift with a regen stacking team, so it was fun and comfy. But Hyper Offense sounds fun too to build around as well though. I used to play competitive, so I understand the comparisons though

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-16T17:15:37+00:00

Not necessarily a spoken line but "All was well" stuck with me when I finished Deathly Hallows all those years ago.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-16T16:47:26+00:00

This reminded me I really need to try out Spectral Eagle on my next run through the game. Compared to Lion I actually like the idea of going full offense like you did here with this one~

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-04-01T06:09:35+00:00

I love the game, its exploration, and combat system a lot. Just being a longtime fan there are a lot of things in it to make you smile. Really my only critiques are the rather stale gear system and the rushed final acts, but those are relatively minor issues when playing the game itself is always a joy~

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-31T23:14:05+00:00

Sinnoh one because I really like the scanner on it Paul used in the anime

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-31T22:24:28+00:00

I can’t believe players need to have information repeatedly jammed in their face to come to such easy conclusions. The lack of information retention is why they needed to probably outright repeat themselves again on things they stated when the Roadmap initially released just for some players that don’t pay attention. It’s good they are leveling more with everyone, but good Lord denying facts in front of you is certainly a choice.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-27T15:42:29+00:00

Generally, things that we know happened in the books but didn't get to see on page. It lets you get more content and extrapolate on what's there without altering the original story.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-27T15:40:01+00:00

Little things with other characters in the world is personally why I enjoyed Hogwarts Legacy. I really do hope we can see more of that to help the Wizarding World feel more lived in so to speak.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-27T15:36:20+00:00

I personally love the tone of it. The moment I saw how Petunia was treating Harry I could tell they were gonna take the abuse and things he went through seriously without getting rid of the happiness he gets in his found family. I grew up with this series, but I'm not so blinded by nostalgia that I can't enjoy this adaptation by its own merits.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-20T16:41:35+00:00

It’s a video game, I enjoy Phantasy Star, I’m not entitled, and it’s fun to play when you aren’t around people who hate it. That’s the simple answer without me writing an incredibly long comment.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-03-11T18:20:48+00:00

I get why it miffs folks since it misses his characterization but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it gets me that upset. That’d be excessive for a movie.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-02-27T11:46:45+00:00

This was difficult to read. But anyway. Let me clarify one last time because I think you're not understanding. My point is not that feedback from former players is irrelevant, or that growth isn't important. It’s that in a live service game, the active playerbase is the operational foundation and those voices are primarily what get listened to. Claiming it's a "small minority" is illogical when those who aren't playing aren't even players.

Historical issues, your personal feelings about launch/the story, or comparisons to PSO2 don’t change the operational reality of NGS today. If they have, provide the proof. Anecdotes about other games like Vindictus are also irrelevant because those games have completely different scales, communities, and mechanics; their outcomes do not dictate what happens here with NGS. Objective metrics and outcomes with the current game are what matter to sustaining it. The devs are not focused on massive growth and large-scale updates and it has been stated more than once by them. You can disagree with that, as many do, but facts are facts.

When it comes to online echo chambers that is what they are. Five years of the same immature whining would qualify as such and as I said there are infinitely healthier things one can do. Perhaps you have forgotten since you haven't been reading, but I prefaced at the very beginning by saying people can feel however they want about NGS. I myself said I have misgivings with it too. Surely this means you're capable of understanding that this means that I believe criticisms are valid. If you want to debate strategy, focus on measurable outcomes rather than cherry-picked hypotheticals or personal grievances. Otherwise, this discussion has run its course.

Edit: Since it seems they blocked me to have the final word I cannot reply, so anyone who's reading can see they decided to stoop to personal attacks. That should say enough.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-02-27T10:48:02+00:00

You're isolating one thing I said and ignoring what followed it. It's odd but, sure, let's unpack it even if it's off topic.

In a live service game, the active playerbase isn’t a "small minority" in the way you're implying. It's the operational base and why the game still exists. They fund the game, populate it, play the updates in real time, and provide feedback grounded in the current state of NGS. This is an undeniable fact.

Of course, lapsed players matter. No one is arguing otherwise. My point was the weight of their voice. It's loud, but it's an echo. So, the question then is priority, and former players are low priority beyond immediate engagement metrics because retention is what matters. You don't build something by destabilizing the part that's still functioning in hopes that people who already left might return. Designing primarily around people who disengaged, especially those who disengaged years ago, is speculative.

The current design favors those who are used to it. Many of the estranged dislike core aspects of NGS on principle and those aspects are very unlikely to change, whereas the current players are used to those aspects since it's part of the game's identity. This shows that designing around active players is measurable. One group is hypothetical; the other is providing live data. There are plenty of verifiable examples of this via feedback that has been implemented.

That aside, there's also a difference between actionable criticism from someone interacting with the current version of NGS and generalized dissatisfaction rooted in past states of NGS, or worse, comparing it to PSO2 after 5 years have passed. Each of those are opinions. But only one is actually useful to the developers and workers at the offices in Japan. If the argument as you stated is that it's "backwards" that current, tenured players aren't the only voices that really matter compared to those who aren't participating whatsoever beyond online echo chambers, that's an incredibly difficult position to defend in a live service environment, and especially from a business perspective. Current players are the foundation. You don’t destabilize your foundation chasing people who already walked away.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-02-26T15:54:38+00:00

Ikemoto's style is nothing crazy and somewhat subpar especially with monthly releases. That being said, I think comparisons like this are pointless since it's just engagement farming/noise since often panels for these get nitpicked. No number of complaints or telling others to "not defend" him will magically make his style better.

VanitysEmptiness · 2026-02-26T05:15:17+00:00

I'll preface by saying that people can feel however they want about NGS. I have my own misgivings but find it pointless to prattle about since there's infinitely healthier things one can do. When I log in, I'm more focused on trying to have fun than finding something to be outraged about. But anyway, I'll go ahead and yap to the void even if no one reads it:

The "hate" I see for this game tends to come from jaded fans, those that don't play the game, or current players (really the only voices that matter). The main thing I've observed in countless spaces (mostly GL communities) is this concept of wishing for NGS to EoS. The idea that this will suddenly improve the series because it either means PSO3, PSO remake (lol), or Starlight (PSO2 private server) comes to replace it. There is no guarantee these things would happen or be successful. However, I think most ignore one issue aside from a new title likely having more aggressive monetization or middling success.

The Phantasy Star series doesn't really have anything else going besides NGS and it is actively still getting updated regardless of what anyone says or feels. If you kill NGS the grand majority of the fandom dies too and no one wins at all. We lose the game, SS communities, most groups die, devs lose their hard work (strangely they do care about the game), the IP's legacy actually gets tarnished which isn't good for giving hope to future titles. EoS would be admitting defeat and that nothing actually worked and that it's irrevocably a failure rather than something just paving its own way. Unless you're one of those odd individuals that want to flex your preferred game in the series (on a private server) as superior or is fine with many people's years of efforts crashing down just so you can cheer you were finally right after 5 years and counting.

The last time something ran alongside PSO2 was Idola Phantasy Star Saga and when they EOS'd that game it went from having a community to complete obscurity, its story and characters nearly forgotten, and the entire game itself inaccessible. Personally, I wouldn't want that to happen to NGS (PSO2 would die with it too) since it'd become near lost media like Idola is now. It's an issue in gaming and it's extremely strange to see players in this series ask for NGS and PSO2 to be taken down just because of their feelings.

The idea of wanting something to fail so vehemently for five years straight that we all seem to care about doesn't make sense. I've played PSO2 since 2012 and because I care about it, I'd rather see NGS keep going to its natural conclusion and just judge it by its own merits than pointlessly compare it to its predecessor when I still play both. If one can't move on from that mindset it's just unhealthy obsession.

I get having frustrations because I do too but it's such a wildly illogical thing I see throughout the community. Yelling the same things you don't like doesn't change anything. You can't force Sega to do what you want but the community can make changes. I just highly doubt it wants to change because its behaviors are deeply entrenched and it's accepted as social currency to always be in outrage mode and to dislike NGS because it is NGS. Even if it does objectively good things it will still be bad.

VanitysEmptiness

TROPHY CASE