PSO III Beta Test Launches With Unlockable Rewards for the Retail Version

The beta test for Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution has begun in Japan, and Sonic Team is offering players who participate in this online trial period a number of special edition gift cards that will carry over into the final version of the game.

According to the official PSO Episode III Japanese website, there are three different kinds of special cards to collect from playing the online trial. The first is a spooky 'Halloween' Rappy that will no doubt strike fear into your enemies. The second, as you can see below, is a Sonic-themed card that gives your character Knuckles-style fists.

The third special card has yet to be unveiled, and we're guessing it's a bit of a surprise (you can see teaser images of that one at the bottom though).

It's highly likely that this trial version is only available to Japanese players, which is kind of a bummer, but just in case you want to try it out you can sign up for the trial by filling the form on this page. Here are some more details about what to expect/how to have the most fun in the PSO Ep III Trial, thanks to PSO World:

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General Facts:

• Androids are now called Humanoids
• You can't copy Guild Card Data
• You can't change Guild Card Number
• You can have 210 Guild Cards maximum
• You can use a wave bird
• You must use controller port 1 for controlling your character
• You can't change your password
• Use a memory card JUST for Ep 3 Trial, there are reports of data for other games being erased from the card used if you have other saved info on the card. Therefore, we are suggesting that you use one card just for the trial so that you won't lose data for other games
• You can use both a 251 or 59 memory card
• If your Character Data is erased your Guild Card Data is erased as well
• You can't use your trial character in the final version, but if you play the final version using the memory card that you used for the trial version you'll recieve a present card
• There is a snapshot function available and a walkthrough on how to use it is available on our Episode 3 page
• There is a time limit during battle
• There is a maximum of only 8 people that can watch a battle
• No katagana, hiragana or chinese characters for names
• You can play offline
• You can use your Ep 1 & 2 Hunter License, however no Hunter License is requried for Trial
• There is 12 lobbies per block and a maximum of 1000 users per block
• You can connect to Ep 1 & 2 lobbies but you will not be able to connect to v1.0 JP lobbies
• There will be unannounced server maintenances, so if your game suddenly stops this may be the reason

Download Quests:

• They are testing download quests still but it will be in the game for a fact and the schedule will follow the same format as the Ep 1 & 2 schedule, so news on new quests will be released as it comes.
• You can choose which memory card to download quests to

Happy hunting/carding/whatever!