PSO Series: Phantasy Star Online

[Kidakairis]

Personally I've played a lot of Blue Burst (PC Version) and I have to say it's a rather addicting game. I wish I would have been able to play online back in the Dreamcast days but was unable to. Personally PSO on the Dreamcast is still fun to play solo but is a really shallow experience without multiplayer. There is a GameCube version that allows for couch multiplayer and adds episode 2 missions but unfortunately it is relatively high priced for an old game. Overall I enjoy Blue Burst edition the most because I like using the Keyboard, it is a low spec game by today's standard, includes all the episode's (1,2,4), controller support for those who prefer it, and still offers several online servers with vary changes.

I like the race and class system as well as mags which are customizable and have several cool designs. However as far as action RPGs go being as old as it is it definitely shows age for those who find this an issue. Also I've had friends complain about how stale it can feel going through the same dungeon over and over even with random layouts. I can defiantly see where it is not for everyone there are several criticisms that are definitely valid. Overall I enjoy it and tend to play it at least a few times a month.

Phantasy Star Zero is similar enough to the PSO Series to mention here. It is also the only handheld game we received in the USA. I like the new elements that where added like an overhaul to stat system specifically taking away max limit allowing for more customization. Also rare drops such as photon drops and materials were much easier to obtain and a store was added to trade in your photon drops. Sadly with the closure of the DS online network multiplayer is no longer easily available taking most of the fun away after finishing the story. You can access another server to play online through the use of an action reply but finding an action reply  is pricey and you will be lucky if you can get a full lobby of people even if you manage to get one.

Anyone else still play this series or have you in the past?

 

[JezMM]

I first played PSO via Blue Burst back on the official servers.  Was my first proper online gaming experience and I had a blast with it even though I didn't really understand the game fully (I only saw half the game by piggybacking off my higher level friends and getting pocket money and hand-me-down weapons from them) and was on dial-up so everyone laughed at how laggy I was (in an endeared way not a mean way).

My memories of that game eventually lead me to pick up Gamecube's Episode I & II.  Was fun to replay it as an adult, even if it's a bit grind-heavy single player.  I followed guides and was able to understand the game mechanics much better this time, though was a bit sad that it lacked Episode 4's content which I assumed I'd just never get to play again.  I tried Phantasy Star Portable 2 at some point after this but couldn't get into it.

Then entered the unofficial SCHThack servers for Blue Burst.  I played a whole bunch with some friends and we would grind our levels up while chatting together on skype.  We even made it to Ultimate mode even though we didn't play very far into it.  It was great to revisit Episode 4 and refamiliarise myself with it's content.  Sadly SCHThack had a critical error and all that data is gone now, but that friendship group long disbanded for a myraid of reasons and I have plenty of archived screenshots for memories.

Later on a friend from that previous phase of PSOing introduced me to PSO2, giving me confidence that it wasn't too hard to setup an account there.  I played it with them and met a whole bunch of new friends too, one of which is now one of my best friends.  The game itself was really fun, I missed the "simpler times" of PSO1 and PSO1's aesthetic, but PSO2 was still enjoyable and equally addictive on it's own merits.  I played this all the time for a good 2 years before a bunch of drama happened and my friendship group there dissolved.  With the people I remained in close contact with no longer playing it for one reason or another, I now only pop on every couple of months to try out the new content available and then leave it again.

I did try Phantasy Star Zero, bought it second-hand not long after Nintendo WFC shut down actually, assuming because it was a portable title and had a special dedicated story mode, it wouldn't be a boring grind-fest like PSO1 offline is... but it was lol.  Lost interest since it didn't even have the nostalgia factor that kept me interested in PSO1/2 single player.

Overall though I owe a lot of great times to the PSO games.  I DO feel a significant part of their appeal is the social factor, the games themselves can't keep my attention entirely on gameplay it seems.  But I love the clean anime sci-fi aesthetic over typical medieval/fantasy MMORPG style, I love that (PSO2 especially) physical movement and combat is on equal grounds with stats and items and grinding for what gets you through the game - I found PSO1 very accessible for that reason.  Great soundtracks too (no surprise there considering PSO1 was made by Sonic Team and PSO2 retained several of those musicians that we know best for Sonic music).

[RubyEclipse]

This series was my jam for the longest time. (Even though I only bought PSO for the SA2 Demo, originally!)

Played Dreamcast, GC, and Blue Burst for so many years, but had a great time through and through. I got to work on PS: Zero on my first tour of duty at SEGA, and really enjoyed watching them make a spiritual successor to PSO. (They still hadn't revealed PSO2 at this time.)

Also have to agree with the music comments - I still listen to the soundtrack and my friends and I get together every year to play offline multi-player challenge mode together.

[Meta77]

 

Personally I've played a lot of Blue Burst (PC Version) and I have to say it's a rather addicting game. I wish I would have been able to play online back in the Dreamcast days but was unable to. Personally PSO on the Dreamcast is still fun to play solo but is a really shallow experience without multiplayer. There is a GameCube version that allows for couch multiplayer and adds episode 2 missions but unfortunately it is relatively high priced for an old game. Overall I enjoy Blue Burst edition the most because I like using the Keyboard, it is a low spec game by today's standard, includes all the episode's (1,2,4), controller support for those who prefer it, and still offers several online servers with vary changes.

I like the race and class system as well as mags which are customizable and have several cool designs. However as far as action RPGs go being as old as it is it definitely shows age for those who find this an issue. Also I've had friends complain about how stale it can feel going through the same dungeon over and over even with random layouts. I can defiantly see where it is not for everyone there are several criticisms that are definitely valid. Overall I enjoy it and tend to play it at least a few times a month.

Phantasy Star Zero is similar enough to the PSO Series to mention here. It is also the only handheld game we received in the USA. I like the new elements that where added like an overhaul to stat system specifically taking away max limit allowing for more customization. Also rare drops such as photon drops and materials were much easier to obtain and a store was added to trade in your photon drops. Sadly with the closure of the DS online network multiplayer is no longer easily available taking most of the fun away after finishing the story. You can access another server to play online through the use of an action reply but finding an action reply  is pricey and you will be lucky if you can get a full lobby of people even if you manage to get one.

Anyone else still play this series or have you in the past?

 

I currently play pso2 on ps4. It's pretty fun honestly of you enjoyed the first