Phantasy Star Online 2
A player takes on a creature in "Phantasy Star Online 2." pso2.ph

Sega has announced that “Phantasy Star Online 2” will be coming to the PlayStation 4 sometime in 2016 for Japan. Prior to the announcement, the game was only available on the PC and the PS Vita. It is also unknown if the online game will come to Western shores, as the title has been a South East Asian exclusive for quite some time now.

Originally released in Japan back in 2012, “Phantasy Star Online 2” is currently a free-to-play online game, similar to other multiplayer titles like “DC Universe Online.” According to Cinema Blend, the only time a player will have to pay with real money is if they want to get the game’s new expansion packs, which add more levels and monsters to the online title.

Now that the game is coming to Sony’s current-gen console, Attack of the Fanboy has stated that another new expansion will be coming as well. The expansion will be called “Reborn: Episode 4,” though no official details about it has been given.

Fans have been asking Sega for a Western version of the game for a while now, but it doesn’t seem like “Phantasy Star Online 2” will be coming to North America anytime soon. Sega hasn’t given any reason for the game not coming to the West, though fans can hope that the company will eventually port the game.

As the title suggests, “Phantasy Star Online 2” is the sequel to the original online game that came out for the Sega Dreamcast many years ago. The original “Phantasy Star Online” helped pave the way for online gaming on consoles, a feature that was exclusive to PC gaming back in the 1990s.

To this day, there are still plenty of fans that play the original game on the Sega Dreamcast. New attempts have been made to capitalize on the original game’s success like “Phantasy Star Universe” for the PlayStation 2 and “Phantasy Star Portable” on the PSP, but neither title have been able to recapture the magic that the first game had.

While “Phantasy Star Online 2” won’t be coming to PS4 till sometime in the next year, the game will be playable during Tokyo Game Show 2015. Fans in the area will be able to try out the PS4 version and see its difference from the PC and Vita versions.

Phantasy Star Online 2: Official Trailer (Credit: YouTube/LevelUp Philippines)