Sonic Team is stuffing a bunch of special Game Boy Advance mini-games into the Gamecube version of Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, but besides one special bonus item it seems that you will need to be connected to the internet in order to truly enjoy them. Yuji Naka recently stated that these bonuses will, for the most part, not come included on the GC disc.
At a special event where the online capabilities of both PSO and the Gamecube in general were shown off, Naka-san spoke to IGN about the Game Boy Advance connectivity and the ability to download micro-versions of classic Sonic Team games onto the handheld. You not only have to complete a particular quest to unlock the mini-game, but also need to download that quest and game from the internet.
For example, to get a fully playable GBA Nights game, players have to successfully complete the “Nights Quest” in December. The game can then be downloaded to your GBA via Nintendo’s N-Port feature (meaning the data transfers directly to the Game Boy Advance system, without the need of a cartridge).
Other GBA goodies, such as versions of Puyo Pop and Chu Chu Rocket (as well as a slew of unannounced apps and games) will be made available periodically, so GBA owners will never know what they’re going to get next.
Apparently there will be one exception to this – the only bonus item that will come included on the disc itself will be a “special reward for Sonic Adventure 2 Battle players, which is unlocked upon completion of the ‘Yellow Fake’ quest.”
We’d be intrigued, if Naka-san hadn’t already spilled the beans on what that special reward was – it’s a Tails-themed Chao that can be transferred to the Gamecube SA2 port or a GBA copy of Sonic Advance.