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It's Phantasy Star Online's 15th anniversary and i haven't stopped playing it

I disagree with this, I still play it a load just to chill out and it's not really aged at all.

PSO and Mario 64 are (to me) the only two games I would consider as perfect, in that you can't really remove anything from them without it becoming a lesser experience, but on the flip-side you also can't add anything to them without it being just padding. Just look at the various sequels, everytime they tried to change something - be it removing the mags, changing the art direction, making the fighting mechanics more complicated or trying to make the story more central to the plot - it always ended up making a worse title.

PSOv2 on the dreamcast is Sonic Team's opus magnum.

I think Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2 are infinitely more playable than PSO due to the combat changes, but I wouldn't say PSO is a bad game per se. I'm just very finnicky about controls and gameplay in my games.
 
I played PSO on Dreamcast for hundreds of hours. Crazy to think that was 13 years ago now.

I haven't played it in a long time. I was hoping to get the Xbox version but it required a Live account which I couldn't create due to no broadband at the time.

I do recall being disappointed with the range of customization options in character creation. Sega said you could make your own unique character and you'd never run into a copy of your character but the options were very limited.

Does anyone remember that event Sega held on Sonic the Hedghehog's anniversary where Sonic characters appeared in the social hub? I heard you could interact with them, but I never figured out how to do it myself.
 
i mean presumably the PSO team is still working on PSO2 right?
I've checked out some 2 gameplay. Seems a lot more overwhelming so I'd imagine 1 would be a good practice run and something to redeem myself with as a Dreamcast owner who never took advantage of the online capabilities (though, I was 11 at the time...)...though, SEGA being SEGA sometimes, who knows.
 
If you have a PC you can get set up using the PSO2 tweaker and a lot of it is translated, at least last time I touched it.

I wouldn't say it's easy but there's a lot of info between their site and reddit to get you up and running. I haven't tried to mess around with the Vita version but at least on PC you get some English.
 
I do recall being disappointed with the range of customization options in character creation. Sega said you could make your own unique character and you'd never run into a copy of your character but the options were very limited.
Maybe where it concerns faces and such, but I give it props for letting you make a super chunky character with the weight slider. I played FF XIV for a bit and everyone seemed perfectly fit.
 
Maybe where it concerns faces and such, but I give it props for letting you make a super chunky character with the weight slider. I played FF XIV for a bit and everyone seemed perfectly fit.

You could adjust height also, which was a nice touch. Seeing really short characters swinging big heavy weapons was amusing.
 
I would pay for official PSO BB PC servers again. Take my money SEGA. :<

Is it playable without understanding any Japanese?

You'll need a guide for client orders, and you won't understand the story (story progression isn't' mandatory at all anyhow), but beyond that it can be played with some difficulty.
 
You'll need a guide for client orders, and you won't understand the story (story progression isn't' mandatory at all anyhow), but beyond that it can be played with some difficulty.

Unfortunately there's just enough missing translation and annoyance around the edges that I couldn't stick with it, despite really enjoying the base gameplay. It could never come together for me because there's always missing pieces or something being hidden behind missing translation.
 
Thanks for bringing a smile to my face, OP. PSO is one of my favorite games of all time. Played the crap out of it on DC (good ole Seganet.) Such a satisfying overall experience. I really need to get Blue Burst. I had it briefly but couldn't find a decent server (most seemed sketchy.)
 
PSO is definitely one of my favorite games ever. I can say the same for the soundtrack. I still play the Gamecube version from time to time.
 
Unfortunately there's just enough missing translation and annoyance around the edges that I couldn't stick with it, despite really enjoying the base gameplay. It could never come together for me because there's always missing pieces or something being hidden behind missing translation.

Ehh.... I'm not really sure what you mean? I've been able to play the Vita version just fine, only having to look up client orders and monster names. And the PC fan translation is 100% fully playable, story included. :\
 
PSOv2 on the dreamcast is Sonic Team's opus magnum.

Agreed. I eve like plenty of Sonic Team's more recent Sonic games, but would still say that nothing they've ever done with Sonic compares with what they achieved with Phantasy Star Online.

I think Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2 are infinitely more playable than PSO due to the combat changes, but I wouldn't say PSO is a bad game per se. I'm just very finnicky about controls and gameplay in my games.

I'm one of the few that didn't despise the PSU template, and think that the series (which would include the Portable games) has plenty of its own merits. Even at its best though, I wouldn't put them in the same league as the original game. I do find it funny though how many people will swear of that entire line of games, but then are wowed by PSO2... when PSO2 is basically one more iteration on top of Portable 2 gameplay-wise, and almost identical in tone. It reminds me of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
 
I'm one of the few that didn't despise the PSU template, and think that the series (which would include the Portable games) has plenty of its own merits. Even at its best though, I wouldn't put them in the same league as the original game. I do find it funny though how many people will swear of that entire line of games, but then are wowed by PSO2... when PSO2 is basically one more iteration on top of Portable 2 gameplay-wise, and almost identical in tone. It reminds me of Windows Vista and Windows 7.

I actually really like Portable 2's gameplay, as I feel like they had a better balance between PP usage and photon arts. Contrast to Universe/Portable 1 basically requiring dragging around a ton of weapons, and PSO2's limited weapon types and excessive amount of photo arts/techs.
 
A few days ago, in the aftermath of seeing the new Star Wars movie, I excitedly pulled Rogue Squadron II from my shelf to let the Star Wars hype wash over me. I hit eject on the Wii and removed Phantasy Star Online. I paused for a moment before re-inserting Phantasy Star Online.

I started playing PSO back when it was released on the Dreamcast. I was in middle school, and I had the keyboard, a level 99 hunter named Sephiroth (lol), and probably a cup of cocoa.

I more or less haven't stopped playing PSO. I'll go a few months where it sits on the backburner, sure, but it always comes back. I think a lot of people do this with the original Super Mario game. It's a warm cheeseburger that will always be there when you need it.

Happy birthday, old friend.

Great post. I lol'd at sephiroth. I think we played together!! /sarcasm

Great game. One of the few games that left a hole in my gaming-life that's yet to be filled.
PSO & SOCOM II
 
Great post. I lol'd at sephiroth. I think we played together!! /sarcasm

Great game. One of the few games that left a hole in my gaming-life that's yet to be filled.
PSO & SOCOM II
closest any online game has come to giving me the same feeling is MHT on wii. but everything is doomed to fall short. it's lightning in a bottle. i'll never be 13 again.
 
Ehh.... I'm not really sure what you mean? I've been able to play the Vita version just fine, only having to look up client orders and monster names. And the PC fan translation is 100% fully playable, story included. :\

Every time i've played on PC numerous items, popups and UI elements would be untranslated. Maybe it's gotten better in the past few months but a lot of the server-side stuff wasn't being translated or something was getting messed up in translation attempt.
 
How did we go all last gen without a PSOv2/Blue Burst console remake? It seems like easy ass money. Not a lot of money, but enough to cover the port and go positive on top.
 
I'm still waiting for PSO2 to come here.

You might as well just use the fan translation at this point if you really want to play the game. As a bonus, playing the Japanese version means you don't get stuck with the one that's always months behind on content.
 
I can bet the lack of support from SEGA comes from assumptions made by US publishers and those wanting to view their audience before releasing a game. I'd like to see more of this series, especially the Vita ports.

What are they thinking when they release what they do? You have franchises that have open worlds, quality to their design, and an original fanbase. I think they have some of the worst people making decisions sometimes. They don't localize what we think has quality until there's a massive outcry against their company.

I'd love if PS Nova was localized, but what do they replace it with? What they think is a good RPG. It shows they can't do it anymore without a certain mindset.

Their showcase straps age socks on everyone and then we're limited to what we actually get. I think it downright sucks we only get certain things under their leadership. Everyone now needs to tell them how much it sucks and how they're controlling their company will only bring crap left and right.
 
What a classic,loved it to death on DC,especially before the hacking started,then on Gamecube,it was awesome seeing people with the cool weapons for the first time or seeing my chibi FOmarl firing a bazooka...I also had a tall RAcaseal named Ann-Dro...awesome times,the online experience with this will never be bested because of it's place in time... ;)
 
i mean presumably the PSO team is still working on PSO2 right?

That team is not working on pso2. The pso2 is incomepetent and really slow to make changes and basically engineered themselves into a corner.

The Sonic Team that made PSO is no more. Leads are in Naughty Dog,some Microsoft developer, on other companies. That team is long dead.
 
Every time i've played on PC numerous items, popups and UI elements would be untranslated. Maybe it's gotten better in the past few months but a lot of the server-side stuff wasn't being translated or something was getting messed up in translation attempt.

Damn near everything should be fully translated. It should be fully playable. There's a few server side things that aren't translated, and some of the text for client orders, but beyond that it's fine. The PSO2 Proxy even translates some of the server side stuff too, if you use that.

Maybe you didn't have the translation patches installed?
 
A shame about PSO2 western localization, it's still a fun game with that lobby/quest feel. It has quite a few anime and game collaborations though that I don't even know what would make it to the western version.

As has been said though, the English patch translates a lot of the necessary stuff (items, main story cutscenes, and general quest information) but usually right after an update you might have to disable the English patch until they fix compatability (usually within a day.) Knowing katakana helps quite a bit too.
 
Damn near everything should be fully translated. It should be fully playable. There's a few server side things that aren't translated, and some of the text for client orders, but beyond that it's fine. The PSO2 Proxy even translates some of the server side stuff too, if you use that.

Maybe you didn't have the translation patches installed?

I had them installed but things that were supposed to be translated just wouldn't translate. It wasn't an issue at first but eventually I got deep enough to where I felt like I was missing like 30% of what was going on. Random weapons or items wouldn't be translated and in a loot game that can be a bit hard to work around. I've been feeling the itch lately so i'll probably end up giving it another try, maybe it was just bad luck with the times I tried.
 
I still boot up the DC v1 and v2 and play them sometime through every year, I also dip into the private pc blue burst servers now and again to get my PSO fix, the game is still fun even this long after release, it's rather timeless.
 
I had them installed but things that were supposed to be translated just wouldn't translate. It wasn't an issue at first but eventually I got deep enough to where I felt like I was missing like 30% of what was going on. Random weapons or items wouldn't be translated and in a loot game that can be a bit hard to work around. I've been feeling the itch lately so i'll probably end up giving it another try, maybe it was just bad luck with the times I tried.

It happens because it's always a work in progress. Most of what's untranslated isn't important, however... unless you really really enjoy flavor text.
 
We got DSL shortly after the Dreamcast came out which was awesome but meant I didn't get to play online much. I still love the single player campaign and probably play through it twice a year or so when I have time. I would love for Sega to make a new PSO and release it worldwide but I think I'd prefer a Phantasy Star V to a PSO 3.
 
I think Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2 are infinitely more playable than PSO due to the combat changes, but I wouldn't say PSO is a bad game per se. I'm just very finnicky about controls and gameplay in my games.
Yeah, PSZero is a good average too. Useful PAs, rolls, faster everything, better designed maps.

But PSPo2/PSPo2 Infinity... oh man, so good.

Still need to go back and finish PSO since I really want to know all the story first hand, but the average dungeon length and combat speed (plus not having dodges or blocks) made me put it in the backlog for awhile.
 
closest any online game has come to giving me the same feeling is MHT on wii. but everything is doomed to fall short. it's lightning in a bottle. i'll never be 13 again.
I was 13 when PSO came out too.

I can listen to the main menu music for hours. God damn.
I feel bad for anyone that didn't get to experience that.
 
Sega sucks for not releasing PSO2 here. Played on the JP servers until they finally blocked NA IPs...

I'm sure there are ways around it, but it's crazy to me to try and actively block people from playing. If you're not going to offer those person a legitimate way to play the game then you're just making people who love PSO and are willing to jump through the hoops to play (and probably pay some too) unable to do so.
 
I'm sure there are ways around it, but it's crazy to me to try and actively block people from playing. If you're not going to offer those person a legitimate way to play the game then you're just making people who love PSO and are willing to jump through the hoops to play (and probably pay some too) unable to do so.

NA IPs are not blocked. What happened last time is that there was a DDoS attack and the anti-DDoS measure SEGA and their providers took prevented people from getting on. It's been pretty much resolved now, and the PSO2 Proxy exists should such a situation ever happen again.
 
That team is not working on pso2. The pso2 is incomepetent and really slow to make changes and basically engineered themselves into a corner.

The Sonic Team that made PSO is no more. Leads are in Naughty Dog,some Microsoft developer, on other companies. That team is long dead.
Naughty Dog? You're thinking of the original Sonic Team that made Sonic, not the division of it that made PSO. Yasuhara who was the level designer for most Sonic games moved to Naughty Dog for a while but has been at Nintendo since a few years ago.
But aside from Yuji Naka, the director, most of the same people that made PSO are working on or have worked on PSO2.

Also if you really want to play PSO2 just play the translation patch. I don't agree with a some of their translations but it's perfectly serviceable if you want to play the meat of the game.
 
You could adjust height also, which was a nice touch. Seeing really short characters swinging big heavy weapons was amusing.

That was my character! Ayu Landale, tiny HUnewearl with a big-ass partisan.

I miss PSO so, so much. Not being a computer person, it was my first real foray into anything along the "MMORPG" lines. Spent way, way too many days starting the game up after dinner and then next realizing the sun was coming up. It was such a new, exciting experience for gaming, something that I think would be hard to replicate again in that way for me.

Plus, as others have said, it was that perfect mix of simple but complicated, casual but hardcore. And it was still before Sega made the Phantasy Star series so "anime" in terms of character design, which I miss.
 
PSO is still a joy to play. I really don't understand SEGA's decisions regarding PSO2, but at least the Japanese servers are plenty fun to play on and the Tweaker makes it playable extremely easily.

I've probably spent more time playing Phantasy Star than any other series. Closest that can maybe come close is the Elder Scrolls series, but I still kind of doubt it. Shame that SchtServ closed down, since it had by far my most progress in the game--- something like level 150-some with nearly all the best end-game equipment. At least there's the GAF server, sort of. I never see anyone else playing on there. =\
 
I don't know how many times I passed by the infirmary, locker, shops during my missions in PSO. Probably thousands of time. It felt like a ritual and it was very repetitive but somehow it was fun and you didn't want it to end. I miss this game. PSO 1 or 2 on PS4 would be an insta buy for me.

Pioneer-2.jpg
 
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