I got to start Phantasy Star Nova today and am loving this game. Seems nicely optimized for the PSTV and it's a joy to control via dualshock 4. At first I wasn't enjoying it much as a Hunter, but once I restarted as a Ranger it clicked immediately after trying the dual machineguns. Guns seem more fun to use compared to melee, but that might change later. The whole game is extremely fast paced and I keep wanting to do one more mission/run. Walking over items to pick up....great quality of life fix! And it is nice to be able to beat a mission without having to clear all enemies like in much of Phantasy Star Portable.
First boss was epic. The dragon with all the weapons and stuff attached to it looked great and it was fun to destroy it's many parts. His head looked like the dragon from Panzer Dragoon. Story wise I don't know the exact details but it seems exactly like Xenoblade Chronicles X so far (exploring an alien world is easy to appreciate IMO). CG cinemas have a cinematic flair that makes me not want to skip, so even in Japanese it is holding my attention.
As someone who doesn't have any way to play PSO2 right now I am so happy to have found out about this game. It's not the same for sure, but it is giving me a new fix in this series that had flown under the radar. Helped that I snagged it new for $15. It's also very import friendly and having a quick translation guide on my phone fills in the missing pieces. Anyone who has dabbled in PSO should feel right at home.