The same Phantasy Star broadcast that unveiled some new details about Phantasy Star Online 2 for the Playstation 4 also formally announced the release date of Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 4 for the PC.

Like Episode 3 which released last year, Episode 4 brings with it lots of new content. Episode 3 brought us the planet Hakubundo, and Episode 4 takes us to Earth! The adventures in this planet will take place in a vision of Tokyo in 2028, in its sprawling, mechanical metropolitan glory. There will even be a major enemy that is train-themed. While there are enemies such as a tank and a helicopter (with some crazy rotor blades) there are also Tyrannosaurus Rex’s and a new hooded enemy called the Phantom. Interestingly enough, the BGM music for adventures in Tokyo will change depending on whether or not it’s day or night.

And while the third episode brought us the new Bouncer character class, Episode 4 will treat players to the Summoner. This class summons and raises Pets to attack and provide support on the battlefield. You can summon more than one in battle, too. Individual Pets are customizable through a feature called the Candy Box, which is conceptually similar to the Navi Customizer from the Mega Man Battle Network series. and come with their own strengths and weaknesses native to their species. Only three Pet types are announced at the moment but more are sure to come – it’s hard not to see this idea becoming popular, and Pets do allow for lots of experimentation. Plus, the Pets announced so far look pretty cute.

January 27th is the expected launch date for Episode 4, following a regular maintenance period to update the game. Continue reading to check out trailers for the Summoner and the planet Earth – both of which are a few minutes long. And check out the PSUBlog entry linked at this article’s end for an even more detailed breakdown and more videos of the most recent Phantasy Star livestream.

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