Sonic Team recently released a few bits of info regarding the new tech's you'll be using in Phantasy Star Universe. However, as you'd expect its all in Japanese, so we cant tell you anything about it. What we can do is show you some amazing pictures though - Just look at these spells!

Thanks to Ragol.co.uk Forumer Kranz91 for spotting this exactly one hour ago here!

Another Fortnight, so another Hunters Gazette - It's like Bread and Butter, and just as tasty, well especially this edition anyways, as we settle the score!

Ever since the release of World of Warcraft, the amount of activity on not only the Phantasy Star Online servers, but also here has slowed right down, and we're pointing the finger at World of Warcraft, naturally! We know it's stolen many of our forumers, and i personally know its taken a lot more then that... but were they right to leave?! Well, lets go and have a peek as this fortnights Ragol.co.uk Hunters Gazette puts both PSO and WoW under the lamp (Well... we can't afford a spotlight).

 Hunters Gazette - World of Warcraft Vs. Phantasy Star Online

Click Here to go the the Hunters Gazette

Once you've read it, why not have your say on the matter on our forums in this thread!

See you next time!

The Ragol.co.uk Episode III Battle League 2 is well underway now and we've had some great matches so far! If you're interested the match results and information, including the currentl League Table can be found in this Ragol.co.uk Article!

Also on the subject of the Battle League, we've also gathered some snapshots and put them up on display in the very same article. But as if that wasn't enough, we've got a new download for you aswell!

Not a part of the Battle League, but a fun 15 minute match between the teams of our forums Lee-yoshi (Me!) & Ivan, and Redhead & COM took place in an evening not so long ago, and although the COM went quickly, Redhead didn't go so fast! You can see the complete match by clicking here to download the 20Mb video file (.wmv file), or by heading over to our Downloads page and clicking the very same link there!

Sonic Team of America have today announced upcoming features you can all expect to see in the coming 3 months on the english version of Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst! To make it short and sweet, next up is Ultimate mode, August see's a special Episode II event/quest, and we all have to wait until September for Challenge & Battle Mode, and after Ultimate mode is released, there's nothing new for Episode IV until October earliest!! :-(

• 28th July
  • Episodes I, II & IV: Ultimate Mode
    • Note: To play Ultimate mode, you need to be the following levels:
      • Episode I Ultimate Mode requires level 90 or above
      • Episode II Ultimate Mode requires level 100 or above
      • Episode IV Ultimate Mode requires level 110 or above
• 11th August
  • Episode I: Endless Nightmare Quests
• 18th August
  • Episode II: Special Event Quest!
• 1st September
  • Episode I: Challenge Mode, Stages 1 - 5
• 8th September
  • Episode II: Quests 'Phantasmal World 1 & 2', 'Gallon's Shop', & 'Reach for the Dream'
• 29th September
  • Episode II: Battle Stages 1 - 4

Tar to Ragol.co.uk Forumer Moonwraith for spotting this news quicker then the average bear!

Team GX, a batch of very adventurous and technical experts (As it would seem) have developed a program system that allows you to play many offline multiplayer Nintendo Gamecube titles, online!

Some of the titles they mention that it are being tested to be made compatible with at the moment are:

• Phantasy Star Online (All Gamecube titles)
• Super Smash Brothers Melee
• Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
• Super Monkey Ball 2
• StarFox Assault

Although very basic at the moment, they have released a BETA program, that you can download. It's free to use, and if you're big on technical know-how, go and give it a try! You download a program, and it tells you the rest, as, like i've said, you're a technical wiz-kid! However, i'm sure you'd jump at the chance of giving multiplayer Super Smash Brothers Melee online a shot. Also with PSO being made compatible, that would also mean there's no need for a Hunters License.

I must note to you however that this is a U.S. system only, meaning you'll need to own American NTSC versions of these games to give this a shot, as scripts for PAL (European) games are different.

I can't tell you anymore then this, i don't know how it links up, works, or anything else, including test it as i'm not an American gamer. If you are and wish to try it out, go and head over to their forums where you can also download the BETA program by clicking here. If it does work, be sure to report back to us and let us know on our own forums for all our other members!

Sonic Team of Japan have been hard at work again by dealing out another 10 great and action-packed new Phantasy Star Universe screenies! However to me these all look like non-gameplay screenies and more FMV shots, but oh well, beggars can't be choosers. Enjoy!

Sonic Team of Japan are holding their very own PSO: Blue Burst Battle Competition!

The competition is being held between August 13th & August 28th 2005 and any Japanese Blue Burst player can enter by filling out the registration form on this webpage (English) from psobb.jp. Organised by in-game GM's, the competition is being held in a knockout style. You are given a battle fixture against someone else, and if you win, you advance to the next round. If you keep winning up to the point where you win the finals, you've won the whole thing and will be crowned the battle champion!

For those who dont want to enter though but just want to get in the battle mode, SToJ are also giving you the option of 'Free Battle' at the registration counter in-game by selecting the 'Duel' option.

A great scheme no doubt, and hopefully one we'll see more of, aswell as on English Blue Burst's soon ^_^

U.S. gaming magazine Nintendo Power recently interviewed SEGA of America head honcho Simon Jeffrey about the upcoming prospects of SEGA and Nintendo, & SEGA on Nintendo!

The first and main focus of the interview was concerning the Nintendo Revolution's ability to hold past generation games. With already a catalogue of 221 games that could easily appear on the Nintendo Revolution during it's lifespan from Nintendo's gaming history over the NES, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo64 GameBoy's, the possibility of other games companies doing the same with it's back catalogue is a huge plus for Revolution buyers - And with SEGA on board unleashing it's back catalogue of games, considering there's the SEGA MegaDrive, SEGA Saturn, SEGA GameGear, SEGA Master System, and maybe even the SEGA Dreamcast, the Nintendo Revolution would easily be a huge hit for all past and present gamers... so what do SEGA think?

"I think we're really looking at which of our classic IPs are appropriate for different platforms," said Jeffrey, "We're very interested in Revolution at the moment. We obviously haven't made any announcements, but we, like other people, are talking with Nintendo about what Revolution will be, about potential opportunities on Revolution." - From IGN.com

Simon Jeffrey commented that it's definately a great system and one that SEGA would love to be a part of, although while saying this, there's nothing confirmed as of yet, and nothing is in development, because of Nintendo's secrecy over the Nintendo Revolution. According to Simon Jeffrey, SEGA know just about as much as you and I on the new console. If Nintendo approached them, they'd be more then happy to discuss SEGA on Revolution in more depth!

To read a little more of it, head over to this page on IGN.com, or, if you live in America, go and get Nintendo Power to read the whole thing!

Our great Lobby Jukebox has really taken off lately, as a fair few of you out there have definately been taking a peek at it and listening to some of the amazing tunes on offer. While this feature has only been running for a few days, already we've had many requests coming in for tune recommendations, and it's because of this that our Jukebox has grown, now including 19 songs altogether, which i've listed below:

• Abysmal Ball - banquet - Lower Seabed (Episode I)
• "IDOLA" have the divine blade - Olga Flow Battle (Part 2) (Episode II)
• Image of a Hero - Character Creation Theme
• Jungle - A Forest Cage - Jungle (Part 1) (Episode II)
• Jungle - A Lush Load - Jungle (Part 2) (Episode II)
• Prenotion - Online Mode/Options Theme (Episode I)
• Revolution to the Origin - Part 1 - Ruins (Episode I)
• Revolution to the Origin - Part 2 - Ruins (Episode I)
• The Frenzy Wilds - Gal Gryphin Battle (Episode II)
• TrickTrack - Versus - - VR Spaceship & Battle Theme (Episode II)
• Valentine - Valentines Lobby Theme
• Wierd Night - Hallowe'en Lobby Theme
• World With Me - Episode II Ending Theme
• Chant this Charm - Billy Hatcher & the Giant Egg (From PSO: Episode III)
• The Concept of Love - Jet Set Radio Future (From PSO: Episode III)
• Sonic Theme - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Chemical Plant - Zone 1 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Emerald Hill - Zone 1 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Emerald Hill 2 - Zone 2 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2

If you want to hear these great tunes, then you'll need to open up our Lobby Jukebox! To do that, either click this link, or browse into this article and click the permanent link there. If there are any other great Phantasy Star Online or SEGA tunes you'd like to see on our Jukebox, then post a comment in our forums here! Enjoy!

We've gone all musical as we've just finished putting the finishing touches to our latest project for y'all. What's that? Yes, as you could have guessed from the big picture above this postage, we've only gone and made our own Lobby Jukebox for you all to enjoy. No slack jawed rapping, no annoying manufactured pop groups, no female cat killers, just good ol' Phantasy Star Online and great SEGA tunes for you all to enjoy.

Ever wanted to liven up your Ragol.co.uk Article reading, or maybe your forum browsing was becoming a bit of a chore... well no more, with the new Ragol.co.uk Lobby Jukebox! Click the Link below, and the player opens up in its own pop-up box so you can just select your song and whack it onto your taskbar while you carry on with your own thing. You could even listen to it while you play Phantasy Star Online!

At the moment, there's 5 classic tunes to enjoy. If it really takes off and you love it to pieces, post which PSO/SEGA tunes you'd like to see on the Jukebox in our forums here and we'll get it ready for selection A.S.A.P, or just general feedback ^_^

Now all you need is the link for this great device:

Click Here to go to the Ragol.co.uk Lobby Jukebox

Or... visit this Ragol.co.uk Article.

When will all of the updates on the official Phantasy Star Universe site stop!?  Hopefully never! ST is constantly bringing all of its loyal fans more and more to drool about.  Just today, the official site was updated with much more content on its "World of Phantasy Star Universe" and its "Characters" sections.  These sections can be found on the main site by clicking on each respective link.

The "World of Phantasy Star Universe" section has been updated with more information including stuff in Guardians, A.M.F. and Endrum Collective under 'Organization'; Guardians Colony under 'Area'; and finally Relics and Seed under 'Other'. 

As Lee-yoshi mentioned already, the vast majority is in Japanese, so let's all hope for some more English updates soon!  Might as well take a look around anyway.  Have fun!

Sonic Team have once again uncovered even more news regarding Phantasy Star Universe to their budding Japanese audience - And because it's all in Japanese, we can only tell you so much. However, as a start, there's a further 2 new characters in the line-up.

Adding to the now 6 character line-up are Hyuga Ryght and Renvolt Magashi. As i've already said, i can't tell you much about these 2 new characters, however, i can tell you that Renvolt is not a Guardian character, but in fact part of another group entitled the 'Endrum Collective'. More english information hopefully soon!

Sonic Team of Japan are Blue Burst mad as ever with their recent updates, and on the 12th of July, kept on adding:

• Challenge Stage 5 - Episode II

Challenge Stage 5 takes place in the Control Tower of Episode II should you be this far already! It's by no means an easy challenge, and with what awaits you in the Control Tower for Stage 5, the challenge only gets harder. Playable for 2 - 4 Human Players, get through the tower as fast as you can to record the fastest time possible to add to your overall time for when you complete Challenge Mode and recieve a special weapon!

It's been a fortnight since the last Hunters Gazette was unleashed upon Ragol.co.uk... so let's have another!

In this fortnights edition, we turn back the hands of time to before the millenium and examine the SEGA Dreamcast and Phantasy Star Online... yea, the very 1st one! Why was it made, what did it do, and why is it still popular today? All these questions and more answered in the Hunters Gazette!

 Hunters Gazette - Phantasy Star Online Origins

Click Here to go the the Hunters Gazette

Also as another reason to have a peek into the Hunters Gazette this fortnight, we've managed to get our hands on something unbelivable. We have the VERY first T.V. advertisement for that very first SEGA Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online game. To view it, click into the Hunters Gazette or head over to our Downloads page. Its amazing to watch and may even bring a tear to your eye for those real hardcore fans.

Sonic Team have earlier today added 4 quests to the English version of Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst. What 4 quests you ask?

• Mop-Up Operation #1, #2, #3 & #4 - Episode I

It's time to clean up the areas of Episode I - And no, i don't mean taking to the Ruins with a featherduster to clear those icky cobwebs off the walls, no no. Ragol has been overrun by swarms of monsters from Forest to Ruins, and you've got the job of doing what you do best, slay 'til you can slay no more!

All 4 Mop-Up Operations are playable for 1 - 4 human players and are all timed missions, so really the more the merrier.  Can you take them all out before the timer ends? Happy Hunting!

[UPDATE] It appears that's not all for today. Sonic Team have also added in 4 all new Episode IV quests aswell as Free Play for Episode IV! Now THATS good news! :D

Today is the last day to enter the 2nd Phantasy Star Online, Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution 2nd Ragol.co.uk Battle League!

If you wish to take part, get your entry in A.S.A.P before midnight Monday 11th July 2005. To do so, click here.

Sonic Team have once again outdone last weeks great updates for Universe by adding another 2 Wallpapers for download through the Phantasy Star Universe website. While we love every update we get, surely something that actually affects the game would be nice Sonic Team every once in a while? :p

Head on over to their 'Downloads' page to download a Lumia & Ethan combo wallpaper and Guardians Colony wallpaper all in shiny resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024.

An announcement on the official English Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst website tells of some highlights to expect through the rest of July as far as updates go:

• 12th July
• Episode I - Mop-Up Operations 1, 2, 3 & 4
• 26th July
• Episode IV - 4 new quests aswell as below surface levels to be made available!

July 26th will most definately be a great day to make sure you're up and online because the below surface areas of Episode IV from what i've seen will really make the game, and the announcement of 4 new quests alongside this release aswell as the return of Mop-Up Operations for Episode I, aswell as the possibility of a few more updates for the month of July will make this month unmissable! Happy Hunting!

I'm pleased to inform you all that I have just submitted several guides to the site, with the help of Kefka.  Those guides are the following:

Skorpius's Guide to MAGs Equality Evolutions

Special Technique Bonuses

Rares specific to one section ID

& finally

VulpesMundi's Variable ATP Guide

We urge you to please take a look at these guides, and all of the previously submitted ones, also.  If you have any comments or questions regarding the guides, feel free to voice them in our forum's Feedback Forum.

Sonic Team have updated the official Phantasy Star Universe website with 2 more downloads today to show off the 2 newest additions to the games character line-up. If you head over to the websites downloads area, you'll be able to download wallpapers (800x600, 1024x768, & 1280x1024) for both Leo and Lumia.