Changes from PSO2
The game pretty much plays exactly the same as PSO2 with some slight differences; like rare enemies getting prefixed names on Planet Machia.
Hunter Class
Hunters are given a new sword GA which spins them vertically into the air like Tornado Dance. From here they'll promptly slash down at a diagonal angle.
This GA could be best described as the Partisan's Over End. It wraps the weapon in a sword of light.
In this Double Saber GA, you jump forward into an upside-down spin attack. The distance it travels is based on the enemy's location, so it won't let you pass over them.
With this Knuckle GA, you basically punch into a ball of light that expands with each hit. Then on the final blow, you thrust forward and it explodes.
PSNova doesn't have a dedicated "Weapon Action" button, so things like 'Guarding' have to be placed on the weapon palette.
Ranger Class
Rangers get access to Twin Machine Guns, which brings us a brand new GA. Basically, they launch themselves into the air, and shoot at the ground. After they land, they spin around and shoot from each side like the latter half of Messiah Time without the slow motion.
Since PSNova doesn't have a dedicated "Weapon Action" button, we were unable to perform a Stylish Roll. We can only speculate for now that it might be something you equip to the weapon palette.
Force Class
Technics work similarly to PSO2 with one interesting change. You can only perform charged Technics in the demo. This tends to be quite annoying as you'll still consume GP if you quickly tap the button.
When comparing the technics available in the demo, Gi Foie stands out as having better fireball animations than PSO2.
Buster Class
Pile Shooter fires piles that latch onto the enemy. It's primarily a situational GA used mainly for the Gigantes. From here you can optionally switch to another weapon type, and attack the piles directly.
Burn Smash is a Gran Art that swings the Pile sort of like a golf club.
With this Gran Art, you perform a forward somersault into the air, and shoot a Pile down at an enemy.
As the weapon name suggests, this Gran Art creates Halos around the character. The Halos are randomly fired at enemies dealing tons of damage.
If you've been following the previews, you've most likely seen this Gran Art before. It's called Resonance Cannon, as it shoots a large Gran energy beam.
Click the [Quick Impressions] tab to continue.
Quick Impressions
Phantasy Star Nova for all intents and purposes is just an alternate take on Phantasy Star Online 2. It feels like they took the original prototype and upgraded the game on a slightly different path. Aside from the new content, everything pretty much feels exactly the same, with some graphical tweaks and upgrades here and there.
It feels like this game is going to have a more strategic approach than PSO2, since you won't have everything at your disposal at the beginning. Don't forget, you have to build up your base with Gran after all.
The graphics are gorgeous, if not a bit bloom heavy. The character models seem just a step below the PC version. This new planet feels quite alien compared to PSO2 where the stages felt ripped straight from Earth.
The controls are nothing to write home about. Due to the limited number of buttons on the Vita, some actions that were convenient to do on PC are now a little bit cumbersome. The first main gripe is the lack of a "weapon action" button, where now you have to push two buttons instead. Step dashing also requires two buttons, but luckily you can change that in options.
Casting technics from the sub-palette is definitely going to feel awkward for PC players. Long-tapping on the screen to cast them takes your hands off the controls for too long, disrupting the flow of gameplay. Perhaps a better solution could be using both the arrow keys and rear touch panel in a fashion similarly to the way it's done with gamepads in the PC version.
The addition of Halos brought a nice change of pace from the battles of PSO2. Now you have to plan where to place these floating platforms to get a better shot at the weakpoint. Interestingly, these platforms can also break when the Gigantes charges ahead.
As for the music, well…I was never a fan of Motoi Sakuraba, so because of that, none of the songs so far are convincing me to purchase the soundtrack. It would have been interesting to hear Tri-Ace utilize the Sympathy music system, but sadly none of the songs appear to be dynamic at all. Instead, music would play only when enemies appeared, then go silent afterwards. I guess in a way, this makes the game feel more atmospheric, so it's not entirely a bad thing. I'm just hoping they get Go Shiina to make a few songs.
One final note, they changed the voiceover for the Emergency Code. The new voice sounds extremely excited, and it gets ridiculous after finishing a Gran Burst.
button is used for normal attacks, while the 
is used for Gran Arts and Technics.
button.
