Ladies and Gentlemen, Forces and Rangers, Hunters of all ages…

We present to you the results of the PSP2 Fan Art Contest!

You guys sent in a fantastic amount of entries, including a number that were so good our judges were caught starting at their computer screens for a moment going “… Wow.” Today, we’d like to announce our top three winners, including the Grand Prize Winner who will get their submission placed in the game!

10th Place

The first entry to make the top 10, this scene reminds us of what might have been if the storyline in PSU had been just a little different. It features Ethan and Karen on Neudaiz, which is also where the two enjoy a little friendly sparring later on in Episode I. The leaves gusting by and the relaxed poses, plus the great attention to detail, made this one of our favorites.

9th Place

This entry is also themed after PSU, and promotes Cubic Star, one of the big clothes manufacturers in the Gurhal System, via a magazine cover. (True story: I actually have a T-shirt that says Cubic Star on it.) This faux cover, which shows the character flying by on an airboard, has a great mix of style, substance, and creativity.

8th Place

Everyone knows that well-created villains are often times the coolest characters. This entry, which ranked in at #8, reminds us of some of the most classic villains from the past games in Phantasy Star – all the way up to PSU. To top it all off, the PSO dragon even makes an appearance at the bottom. Win!

7th Place

Rappies, rappies, and more rappies! There was something magical about this entry, which focused solely on the outlines of rappies and yet created a rather heartwarming piece that even comes complete with a baby rappy holding a heart. Could it get much cuter? Probably not. #7 is definitely one for all the rappy fans out there!

6th Place

Coming up next in the rankings was an entry from one of our recent favorites, Phantasy Star Zero! All the main characters are here in this piece, including a cute little Sarisa and a friendly looking Kai on the right. Oh, and there’s Ogi, too. Wait… did Ogi give anyone permission to use his head as an armrest?!

5th Place

In fifth place, another really great entry that takes place on Neudaiz in the Gurhal system! Those little rappies might look like easy pray, but be careful – you never know when something unexpected might be right behind you!

(Oh, and nice touch with the Dreamcast, too!)

4th Place

Koltova Farms presents the latest in their new line of breakfast cereals: Rapp-yo’s! Just one bite and you’ll be feeling as crazy as the Rappy on the box! Just look at him – he’s sure having a better time than most people! Why, you might even say he’s COOCOO FOR- [Lawyer's Note: Ruby, that's copyright infringement.]

- COCOA PUFFS!!!

[Lawyer's second note: Sigh.]

3rd Place

Nothing says awesome like making the new oldschool again. That’s exactly what this entry, from Christa M., did! It features a number of major characters from PSP2, including one of our personal favorites – the rappy in the corner!

This entry scored very highly because of the great presentation and the oldschool love that at least a few of our judges have for older games in the series. Well done, and congratulations on your prize!

2nd Place

This was one of those entries that literally made our judges stop in awe when they opened it. It blends the best of what originally made the series great by including Alis Landale from the original Phantasy Star, and mixes it with an art style so gorgeous that you can’t help but feel amazed when you look at it.  Please give your congrats to Dennis P. for this masterpiece, which is most definitely deserving of one of the top three spots!

1st Place

Alright, this is it. The single entry that was voted simultaneously as the most creative and also one of the best presented submissions of the entire contest. From the moment we saw this entry, we knew it was probably headed for the top three – and the judging scores said the same. It’s an entry that made us all smile and crack up laughing as soon as we took a look, and for good reason. We present to you the first place entry, in all of its glory:

Win.

Please join us in giving your congrats to all of the top ten entries! We also recommend checking out the full list of submissions here on our Flickr page! You guys all did a fantastic job, and we’d like to say thank you for all the great artwork you sent in!

Finally, we’d also like to announce now that in addition to the first place winner being placed in the western version of the game, we are also going to be including the second place winner! You’ll be able to get both the RAPPY and Alis Landale wall scrolls to spice up your room when the game releases in the coming months!

On the SEGA side, I’d also like to give some special thanks to Sakai-san and the Phantasy Star dev team for letting us replace those bikini models with something even more awesome, to Clumsyorchid, who was crucial in helping us get this contest started in time, and to all of the many people at SEGA of America and SEGA of Japan who helped make it happen!

We hope you guys all have a great weekend, and congrats once more to everyone who sent in an entry! Thank you for making this contest a huge success!