- "the most ambitious, compelling, and robust online offering on the handheld to date."
- "true spiritual successor to the original Phantasy Star Online."
- fully realized single-player campaign, but the multiplayer modes are the big draw.
- Online or local play with up to four players. Free. No territory restrictions. Friend codes or random party assignment.
- Lobby area. Random map variations and cannot move from one level to another without going back to the lobby.
- "multiplayer modes have no overarching narrative"
- "remarkable graphics engine"
- can map actions to Y, B, or A, and to R+ Y, B, or A.
- "accuracy increases with each successful hit during a combo, making it easier to land heavy attacks (by going light-light-heavy, for instance)."
- "(Ardent fans of the series will be delighted to know that Phantasy Star Universe's miguided linkage of Technics to certain weapons has been discarded.)"
- Visual Chat - Draw any type of message you want, like "Heal me!" Up to 20 messages can be saved to shortcuts. Friends-only. Random teams are limited to keyboard chat and premade symbols.
- Added the ability to dodge.
- Camera control could be an issue with the lack of an analog stick.
- "more than 350 unique weapons, the majority of which are brand-new."
- Character designs are by Toshiyuki Kubooka, from the Lunar series.
- Mags are present.
- Can use same character in multiplayer and singleplayer, and experience/items carry over between the two modes.
- No comment on downloadable content/updates.