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[Komatsu]

Twenty-five years ago today, Sega launched Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast, fundamentally changing what console RPGs could be. While PC gamers had EverQuest and Ultima Online, console players had never experienced anything like this.

As a committed UO player, I bought the game a few months after release and took it to the only friend I had who owned a Dreamcast. It blew me away.

It sounds quaint now buy what made PSO special was how Sonic Team solved problems nobody had tackled before. Word Select auto-translated preset phrases so players from different countries could communicate. Symbol Chat let you create custom emoji. Your MAG companion evolved like a Tamagotchi (remember those?).

Yeah, it had limits. No jumping. Can't move and attack at once - something that infuriated console players even then. Only four players per mission. But those constraints shaped something that inspired Monster Hunter and everything that followed.

The official servers are gone, but you can still play PSO online on your Dreamcast, PC and/or GameCube. There's still a thriving community working on server software for the game. Just last year, a single-player hack, Return to Ragol, made waves.

What are your memories of PSO? Did you play on Dreamcast, GameCube, or Xbox? Any stories from your time in the lobbies?

 

[Giallo Corsa]

25 years you say ?

 

[Magic-DEI-Hire]

God I love this game.

 

[WX3]

My brother had a Dreamcast that he got for Christmas after I had moved out. I never got to see him play it. He told me about it, but whenever I came to visit either he wasn't there or gaming didn't come up. But I knew from talking to him that it was something special, I just didn't understand it. Nothing he was saying made any sense. Reading the OP I had a rush of nostalgia from an era that passed me by completely. Man I wish I could go back!

 

[MagiusNecros]

It's funny. I just started playing again 2 days ago on Ephinea and it's crazy how good it is to this day. It's timeless.

 

[Codiox]

PSA:

You can use lossless scaling to bring this game to 120fps easily. Due to the nature of the game, the little input lag added doesn't matter. Playing PSO in 60+fps is something else.

 

[Power Pro]

The internet was around, but I wasn't quite living on it yet the way I do now. I didn't know every game that came out, and still actually got some news from game magazines.

Anyway, my point is I still remember when I even learned about PSO. I didn't know jack shit about it, but I was playing Unreal Tournament with a keyboard/mouse on my Dreamcast at the time, and I was playing against only a couple people, and we were actually chatting. One of them said he was gonna go off and play PSO, and I was like "what's that?" and he said it was an online RPG, and immediately I was like whaaa??? Not sure how long the game had been out at the time, but I was calling stores all over trying to find a copy, when I finally found one at a second hand store actually.

After that, dozens of hours in version 1 alone. Good times.

 

[Perrott]

 

[IAmRei]

i remember playing the PSP of PSU, good game although it's sometime dragging along, but still fine game imo

 

[RoboFu]

It's so sad we never got a true sequel. PSO 2 didn't play the same and is now some weird hacked together monstrosity that seems to be free money for Sega though.

I would love a new game with the same gameplay as the first., but that would never happen because today negative blog reviewers would trash it all to hell.

 

[hinch7]

Brings back fond memories from the DC days. Outstanding MMORPG and feels hugely influential for the modern day ARPG's.

 

[cireza]

Legendary game, still playing v2 on Dreamcast every once in a while.
Also loved PSU and AoI on Xbox 360.
PSO2 and NG are complete garbage though.

 

[dave_d]

I still remember the only way to get the US version to work with the ethernet adapter was to burn that web browser disk so you could configure the system to use the adapter. (The Japanese version had that menu in PSO but they turned it off for the US version.) Had a lot of fun with the game though.

 

[Team Andromeda]

The most magical online experience I ever had

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Played the Dreamcast version offline as a kid, played the PC version when I was 16 with people from 4chan. It was golden.

 

[Witchilich]

PSO2 and NG are complete garbage though.

NGS is garbage but classic PSO2 is good. PSO3 should have story like classic PSO2 and gameplay like NGS.

 

[cireza]

PSO2 is good.

Awful F2P mechanics with infinite menus, infinite drops, tons of currencies to make you waste your time and feel the need to pay to make the game playable.

 

[808mate]

PSO and Ver2 import on the Dreamcast, then Episode 1+2 on the Gamecube.

Good times. Could never get into Episode 3 though.

 

[BennyBlanco]

One of the absolute GOATs.

 

[Moridianae]

Only game I ever imported was PSOv2 well before it's stateside release.

Had to use a Game Shark to bypass the region, but it was incredibly fun to play and being one of the few US players with the orange name was cool.

 

[Georges Chiellins]

I only every played a version released on PC... not sure what it was called. In 2004 or 2005, I think.


edit: might have been Blue Burst, actually, just looked it up.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Never played this, but it looks cool. Any way to enjoy this to it's fullest today?

 

[Magic Carpet]

Older than Youtube.
Explains why I've never seen anything on the game.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Never played this, but it looks cool. Any way to enjoy this to it's fullest today?

Ephinea PSOBB | Home

A Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst private server that recreates the classic PSOBB experience while adding new content and features.

ephinea.pioneer2.net

 

[LavitzSlambert]

I loved this game so much. Yes, even the combat that was "clunky", it felt satisfying to have different weapons do different animations and combos. Finding those red boxes was such a rush. Tons of playlists and podcasts while grinding rare weapons. I originally played on Gamecube, but returned years later once Blue Burst hit so I could finally play online.

Originally ran pistol/rifle RAmar but ended up HUcast running sword/dual blades and mechguns.

 

[diffusionx]

Great game. I didn't play it as much as I wanted because I was in college, but it was dope and a lot of fun.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Ephinea PSOBB | Home

A Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst private server that recreates the classic PSOBB experience while adding new content and features.

ephinea.pioneer2.net

Thanks for spoon feeding me man.

So just to make sure I'm understading this: the original game came out for DC. Then for GC came Episodes 1+2 and then this Blue Burst one is the PC version with all the content which has been revived by the community, right?

 

[Hookshot]

Had loads of fun with this, I had the big chainsaw sword really early on and I'd get pestered about it constantly. Sadly the DC version got hacked and it became dumb with people one shotting rooms with spread needles.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Thanks for spoon feeding me man.

So just to make sure I'm understading this: the original game came out for DC. Then for GC came Episodes 1+2 and then this Blue Burst one is the PC version with all the content which has been revived by the community, right?

Exactly correct. That server I linked to also has some of its own conveniences that the original game didn't have. It's the definitive way to play for sure, especially with randos online.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Exactly correct. That server I linked to also has some of its own conveniences that the original game didn't have. It's the definitive way to play for sure, especially with randos online.

Thanks again man. I'll bookmark that post and check it out sooner rather than later. Could be a nice game for the christmas holidays!

 

[SEGAvangelist]

25 years you say ?

I remember getting this at around 11am in the mail, booting it up, and then not going to sleep until 6am the next day. My longest and most epic play session of my entire life. 25 years ago was awesome.

 

[STARSBarry]

I remember my parents got a second landline just because I was playing this game so much on dialup. No one could ring in and when they did it would kick me off. Remember one month they came to me asking why the phone bill was £90+ I was like "its this game" they paid for the second line and set price internet deal (not per minute) after the third month, man I loved this game so much. I remember when I told them I needed to pay a subscription on top for Version 2 when that came out. Haha good times.

In a way I think its one of the first games that told part of its story through environmental story telling similar to Dark Souls that I can ever remember playing. That first time you got to ruins and approached the Obelisk in the field, and that ending was haunting.



you sure as hell didn't feel like you won, because well you didn't.

 

[Komatsu]

Never played this, but it looks cool. Any way to enjoy this to it's fullest today?

Ephinea, which LavitzSlambert linked to, is one of the most popular servers. But there's also Ultima PSO. If you want to play on original hardware (DC, GC or Xbox), there's Sylverant and Schthack. As with almost every online community, which server to play in is a decision often tied to drama, history, etc but for the casual player they're all good options.

 

[Alexios]

Great, pioneering stuff (and still decent fun), I just wished it had more of a story (I wish we had met and saved red ring rico) and maybe an actual ending, lol (v2 and Episode sequels barely did any more with that either). Still/back/maintained online too (the original/v2 on DC as well, not just BB/PC).

 

[Dzab]

One of the best games of all time.
As someone that's been around on Ultima server for 10 years, I cannot reccomend it lol. Ephinea is good, and has an active community.

 

[shoplifter]

Great game. I didn't play it as much as I wanted because I was in college, but it was dope and a lot of fun.

Oh lord, I managed to pull it off in college. Having the BBA really helped

PSO was the reason I joined GAF.

 

[Haint]

Shame they ruined such a popular and successful franchise by trying to turn it into a crafting simulator (Universe) and then an aimless F2P slop menu simulator (PSO2). The series could very well still be as relevant and popular as Monster Hunter if they'd just kept making fully 3D Sci-fi themed Diablo.

 

[Komatsu]

PSO2 - the base game - is actually a very solid action RPG with a pretty interesting plot (Episode 4 excepted) but it has very little to do with PSO. I would love for them to do a remake and actually flesh out the plot or at least set an offline PS game in Ragol.

 

[Freeman76]

My favourite game of all time. Endless fun unless mum wanted to use the phone The only game thats ever scratched the same itch is POE2. Rare drops are actually rare, makes the experience so addictice

 

[STARSBarry]

Shame they ruined such a popular and successful franchise by trying to turn it into a crafting simulator (Universe) and then an aimless F2P slop menu simulator (PSO2). The series could very well still be as relevant and popular as Monster Hunter if they'd just kept making fully 3D Sci-fi themed Diablo.

There was one sequel I felt was worthy and captured the feeling of the original extremely well.



Shame it never got the success it deserved.

 

[Days like these...]

Twenty-five years ago today, Sega launched Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast, fundamentally changing what console RPGs could be. While PC gamers had EverQuest and Ultima Online, console players had never experienced anything like this.

As a committed UO player, I bought the game a few months after release and took it to the only friend I had who owned a Dreamcast. It blew me away.

It sounds quaint now buy what made PSO special was how Sonic Team solved problems nobody had tackled before. Word Select auto-translated preset phrases so players from different countries could communicate. Symbol Chat let you create custom emoji. Your MAG companion evolved like a Tamagotchi (remember those?).

Yeah, it had limits. No jumping. Can't move and attack at once - something that infuriated console players even then. Only four players per mission. But those constraints shaped something that inspired Monster Hunter and everything that followed.

The official servers are gone, but you can still play PSO online on your Dreamcast, PC and/or GameCube. There's still a thriving community working on server software for the game. Just last year, a single-player hack, Return to Ragol, made waves.

What are your memories of PSO? Did you play on Dreamcast, GameCube, or Xbox? Any stories from your time in the lobbies?

Man playing this on dial up on the Dreamcast for hours on end were some of my fondest gaming memories.

 

[Moses85]

It cracked the NGC security

 

[DeVeAn]

This game BLEW my mind at release. Playing online was so fun. I only got the game because of the Sonic 2 demo. What a game.

 

[cash_longfellow]

I wish they would come out with a proper single player game for the series.

 

[ChazAshley]

Every single time I dip into PSO, I put at least 100 hours in each one. PSO DC, GC v.1 and 2. Blue Burst on PC.... so many many hours with no regrets. Already tempted to reinstall some of the private servers again.

There was one sequel I felt was worthy and captured the feeling of the original extremely well.



Shame it never got the success it deserved.

I see that you're a man of culture as well. It was honestly REALLY cool to have a PSO game on the go back in the day. Definitely worth playing

 

[Komatsu]

There was one sequel I felt was worthy and captured the feeling of the original extremely well.



Shame it never got the success it deserved.

I loved PS0 as well! Such a great game. Wish it had more of a plot though...

 

[March Climber]

I didn't manage to get into this game until the fan re-release/server happened a few years after the DC release, but when I did it was a pretty fun experience.

I think the most interesting thing about PSO back then, that still holds today, is just how different it was artistically compared to every other MMO that released around it.

The above art would probably not be received well today, but back then it definitely stood out. It was a colorful, space fantasy adventure, cyber-future combined with a Japanese aesthetic. Even the soundtrack sounded very different and future-ethereal from other online games:





Nearly everything else before and after this game was going for traditional swords and sorcery experience on the usual fantasy realm full of elven-types, orc-types, fairies, etc. which even eastern MMOs like FFXI were guilty of leaning into. PSO took those concepts and flipped the table over.

It's a shame that the fanbase and devs didn't have an agreed-upon vision of what Phantasy Star's future would be after PSO. Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Zero were good, but they were strongly lacking that high budget, high tier console presence with a stellar story that would rival Final Fantasy.

This franchise should be a pillar Sega franchise, right next to Yakuza, SMT, Sonic, etc. but instead it lies in that 'we're scared to put too much money into this I.P. for fear of low sales' section, so instead they will rest on the laurels of PSO 2/New Genesis for years. Who knows, maybe in the 2030s someone new will go up the ranks in Sega and take a serious look at the franchise for something new.

 

[Arsic]

Take game
Do a Diablo 2 resurrected style "remake"
Profit

That's all they need to do.

 

[readonly]

Loved the game, I had cable internet at the time but no Ethernet on my Dreamcast. I remember using windows with a modem and winroute to fake a dialup connection from Dreamcast to my pc that then routed through my cable connection. I played UO and Evercrack back in the day and PSO was so cool and different.

 

[Gambit2483]

"Let's hurry up and pick a Mission, I have to log off soon..!"