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PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Review - Happy Console Gamer
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2016
- Phantasy Star Online review and memories!
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Join Johnny Millenium The Happy Console Gamer as he discusses new video game news and reviews forgotten games that not many people know about but should!
![[PSO: Blue Burst] Beginner's Guide to RAcast](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gCeT-ocVD7c/mqdefault.jpg)
This is my favourite video on your channel. The enthusiasm you show for Phantasy Star Online is so infectious that I rewatch this video when I’m in need of being uplifted.
The best thing about this game was you didn't have to play online even though its in the title
RadioOctive you did for the Xbox it was bull shit
Psp2 is alot better offline
Thank you for this timemachine, 1999 I was 16 Years old, first 1000 bucks earned, spend on a Dreamcast, Modem, Controller, VM, PSO, Dreamcast Keyboard and Mouse, Parents at vacation, me home alone. Nothing compares to this first time going online it was magical, everything unknown and mysterious, i was a noob, those Dimenians burnt in to my brain, lightsabers and mags. Than the Hackers brought us the end. Still unique childhood memory.
You should get a DreamPi. You can still play this game online and many others with the Dreamcast
Phantasy Star Online is magical to me, and hearing your story made me fall in love with that world all over again. Amazing video.
you can still play it online with a computer versions set up private server
PSO was one of those unforgettable gaming moments. it was a major milestone in my gaming
Ah. So YOU were Serge07.
Feel the Serge! In your mouth!
I was Nei First on PSO v1 as well as Jezabelle in v2. I hosted a GameFaqs fighting tournament with fabulous prizes.
You met each other online?
i guess i played with him too,i was playing pso v1 on dreamcast,i had as name kameo and tikal. damn at those time hacking in game was brutal.
Game Sack he's Serge??!
I’ve re-watched this video multiple times over time, I feel the exact same way about this game - I want more than anything for it to come back like it was
have you checked out blue burst? you can even emulate the Dreamcast and GameCube versions and play them online just like the good old days!
You can still play this amazing game online on the Psobb Ephinea server. It's the best one I ever found. updates, events, more people than the other ones which are dead now. It'd be nice if more of you guys would come play there. :D
i've been playing on ephinea, too scared to meet other people but i got my brother to play with me a couple times like our kid days :)
I definitely wanna give it a shot.
all these years later still insane how active that server is. Posted a trade request in the discord at like 4-5 AM and got instant replies lmaoo
I'm super happy you decided to finally release this video. Phantasy Star Online was and is one of my favorite video gaming experiences of all time. So many memories of running Forest/Caves/Ruins on Dreamcast, and then when V2 came out for Gamecube I don't know how many thousands of hours I spent in those worlds. Fantastic video man.
Brings back so many memories doesn't it? Spread needle and the lavis cannon. Haha, what weapons and fun...
"Didn't like it too much, only played like 250 hours" OH MY GOD. I barely spend that kind of time in game I love. Also I think PSU was pretty dope, never played the portable versions. The music is amazing!
Hacking absolutely destroyed PSO. Not only did everyone have the best gear, but they would not only kill you, but MAKE YOUR CHARACTER LEVEL 1. That's really fucked up in a game with 200 levels. I have very fond memories of the game, but eventually had to abandon it because of all the character killing assholes. That first month or two was magical, though.
Thankfully this never happened to me.
Wow, was it really that short a period of time that the game was enjoyable? I played it the first few months, really enjoyed it, but then moved away from it. I came back in mid 02, and the online game was pitiful.
You can still play PSO:BB
Hacking on Dreamcast? I remember the days of Broomop on PSOv2, but I never was hacked. PVP sucked regardless of hacking. The game overall was amazing, regardless of the generation you played. V1, V2, Gamecube, Xbox etc.
That's pretty much why when I switched to PSO:BB (the PC version), I never looked back. Characters were no longer stored locally, but in the servers, and that alone made hacking considerably harder
Totally obsessed with this game for the longest time, GameCube version. It consumed me. I had four characters and passionately worked on all of them. True bliss. did all the side quests, got a lot of legendary items. Beat ultimate mode.
Never went online a single time. All story mode, minimal local co-op (pretty much just with my brother - our older sister's boyfriend got him into the PC version, he learned how to hack, then lost interest entirely - I stayed behind).
Same bro same
Haha, dude, that is incredible!! PSO was so magical you never had to go online. I never did either. But the most fun for me was playing co-op on the gamecube version with my brother. Hands DOWN, some of the most incredible fun we've ever had. Nothing ever topped that. Not even World of Warcraft could surpass that special magic. I want to make the spiritual successor to PSO b/c I miss it so much, but there were so many things I wanted to improve!!
I sold pso gamecube version last year. That was the only game I clocked over 200 hours.
Just got it over the weekend. Would love to get some into from some of you more experienced players. Do all sidequests come from hunter guida? Can i only have 1 mag per player? (In hgcs other video he had a few for every character, not sure if thats an online bonus or if it will take towards the end to obtain) and how do I create weapons and armor etc?
I wanted this game SO bad when it came out! Unfortunately, my internet connection was so slow that I never got around to playing it... but I remember going online, looking up all the development news, and reading every review and article I could about PSO. Watching this video brought back all those feelings of longing I had as a teenager to play this game.
PSO is pure magic and that moment cant be re-created ever again. It was a historic milestone in console online gaming. amazing to experience it.
Great vid. The nostalgia is strong with this one. The music to PSO eps 1-4 is just so damn good, that title screen theme blows me back to 2001 so fast it hurts.
[Coury] I have very fond memories of this myself. Playing it with the members of the GameFan Tavern IRC chatroom, somehow tricking my college's firewall into letting me past it with my broadband adapter, and eventually putting around 200 hours to level my character to 100.
I have no idea what happened to that VMU with my save data on it, but its gone now. I wish I knew where it was. I transferred my character to Version 2, but stopped around level 106.
I do own the first version of the GameCube edition, but I never quite recaptured the magic of version 1.
Are you and John gonna do an episode for PSO, like you did the turn based series?
@@RobertSeeJen No reply from them huh? Lol.
@@Olie956 seems like it lol
@@RobertSeeJen Hahahahaha!
I played it on the Gamecube, no internet but I would play it splitscreen with a friend of mine. To me I always said it was a futuristic Diablo with lightsabers and that gets most people playing it.
Completed the first episode but by then my friend had stopped playing it so I solo'd it and stopped on the second episode, it was a really good game, still have it now.
The gamecube version was the way I played. We never played it online but we did play split screen and those memories I’ll always have
Same! Me and my brother's would play it split-screen all the time! Great memories!
Who else is still playing PSO in Nov 2019? Getting ready for Xmas event??
When I played on xbox the developers already had given up. That damn jingle still haunts me. it was Christmas for like a year. 🤣🤣
I'm surprised no one has made any mention of the Phantasy Star portable games. They were just as good, if not slightly better, especially part 2. I loved the fact that you could manually block, dodge, dual wield a gun and a sword, plus it had way more weapon types!! I play it on my vita at work to this day!!
I played this game on the Dreamcast, and it was some of the fondest video game memories I've ever had. Getting to the last level of Ruins, not having a team that could beat Dark Falz, having somebody go out to the lobby to look for a high level player, bring them into the game and just barely squeak out a victory.
This game changed me, easily the happiest time of my life
I would spend all my time playing Phantasy Star Online on Gamecube in 4-Player split screen with 4 friends after school on Fridays during High School, it was amazing. We spent our after-prom playing it like idiots til like 3AM shit was awesome
Same here. Never really played it online, but spent AGES playing in split-screen with my friends. Such a shame that there really isnt any sort of spiritual successor to it.
Man, remember when mmos used to facilitate online interactions with other players?
Most mmos these days may as well be single player games up to the level cap and even when you want to do those end game raid type deals, the last thin you want is to have to play with pugs. I miss just being in random lobbies or maps and just partying and level grinding with random people and making friends.
The days of social mmo gaming may very well be behind us now...
very true, now all I see in MMO are just levelling and raid, pvp,
No way, “Serge” was my gamer name on PSO as well!! I played on the GameCube! Nostalgia at its finest watching this video. I’m finally going through ALL your videos and it’s amazing finding these awesome stories! HCG you’re like my rl gamer twin! Your ffxi stories and your pso are in sync with mine. I feel like you’d be someone awesome to have a drink with and just talk endlessly about these nostalgic moments! Your videos are just amazing sir. Job well done!
Mag Farming as I watch this Video. Still playing Phantasy Star Online.
psobb ephinia server has about 50-60 players on average if you guys still want to play
I actually booted it up yesterday lmao
I just joined a few days back
I just got it last week
Please go to ephinea.pioneer2.net/ if you still want to play. This server is pretty crowded for an old game! 100+ ppl atm.
@@bramvalkenburg5655 Can you emulate into this server?
Great cheese and rice, man. This takes me back. I came in on the Phantasy Star series on Phantasy Star II, and was immediately hooked. PSO came out around the time I met my wife, and moved out of my parents' house, so that whole period of time was full of great things for me. Did you ever get into PSO fan fiction? I wrote the most popular fanfic series on PSO-World; The Recollection Saga. A great labor of love, that was.
Thanks for this.
I'm 28. I miss this game so much. So many great memories. Great video man, keep it up!
just download emulator on PC for the NGC version ;-) or just get the ultima version which is free. Just register and download it and you're good to go
This was incredible. I still have that poster hanging on my wall. And the STRATEGY GUIDE! It introduced me to what would one day be my favorite weapon, the Delsaber's Buster. Ahhhh. Amazing memories. Thanks for the video.
I didn't have internet back then so I always played the game offline. The music is sooo nostalgic to me.
I could listen to you tell gaming stories for hours. Love getting the scoop from such a great first-hand source.
I love rewatching this video every few years. It brings back the magic I felt from this game. I was in elementary school at a friend's house and this was the game that he had on the Gamecube. I knew I had to have it. Sure enough, that Christmas 1 Gamecube, 1 Phantasy Star. That's all I needed.
Your experience is so similar to mine.
I still play it to this very day.
The golden ages were definitely the first months after each version came out. Though I kept onplaying since 2007, and came back some years ago.
Of course private servers will never feel like those days. But its still good to be able to login and have some fun with the Dreamcast community.
Btw loved your video about PSO and FFXI. Really touched my heart!
Cheers!
Remember NOLing? Where a cheater would overwrite your character to the level 5 NPC reporter NOL, then force-save your game..
OMG! I forgot about that term!
I had that happen to me...I got out of the game for a few months and came back to a bunch of hackers and cheaters....pissed me off so much...getting PK'd...items stolen....NOLed....UGH.....i stopped playing after that
If I remember correctly if you turned off your DC instead of exiting normally it wouldn't save. I remember getting Noled and it didn't stick and I'm pretty sure thats what i did lol
Man that sucks, never had that issue myself, played mostly on the GC only played on DC for like a month.Such a great game just wish SEGA gave a shit about western fans but you know, they don't :(
I remember that happened to me I was so pissed off lvl 158 hunter with alot of rates, pretty much lost everything
Im always happy to see a new happy console gamer episode in my sub box
Thank you for refreshing such good memories. Every now and then I boot up an emulator and go through the game again, offline. I know there are PC versions and servers and stuff, but I'm doing this out of pure nostalgia. This game was truly special and mesmerizing. That Press Start music hits so hard in me brain. Incredible times.
I tried so hard to play this game online. Had cable internet so I tried this at a friends house who had 33.6 and loved the evening we had. Lent the game to him and bought a broadband adapter that took about a year to find. Bought it, got the game back and couldn't play it because it was locked onto his Dreamcast. Bought about 6 different PSO dreamcast copies and all locked. Buy a Gamecube and PSO Ep. 1&2 and took about another year to find a broadband adapter for that. Bought that adapter and 2 months later moved into the country where 33.6 was king!
I love the Phantasy Star Series. It's strange to have such fond memories of playing Phantasy Star Online Offline.
You are able to get multiple user serials for the DC version. Google it. This is what I use even though I have a genuine copy.
" fuck dating, i just wanted to play.. the 56 modem was plugged on and good bye world, hello phantasy star online!!..." god damn that is one true gamer!!!
I just began playing PSO on the Dreamcast online with a bunch of people in a private server. its an awesome game. My 1st experience online was on PC playing Unreal Tournament. Btw, I love your videos. Your passion for retro video games is very well expressed how you describe your experience. That's exactly how I felt and still do. Another video game I remember you talked about was "The Ninja Warriors" on the arcades. I was hooked on that game also. I'll continue watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
Phantasy Star Online was amazing. I rented it on gamecube when i was like 7. rental store closed down, But they sold me the game, so i was happy. Never got to play online, but the offline aspects still keep me engaged. I wish i had a group of friends to play with.
Did you ever play Zero online on DS?
I played the Xbox version nonstop for 4 months when it came out in early 2003. My friends and I discovered the dupe bug at some point and we started duping every rare item we found so all of us would have them. Then we started trading dupes with random people for other rare items and kind of ruined the game for ourselves, lol. We had pretty much every item in existence when they finally patched the bug. Good times.
Haha, I remember duping on Dreamcast! I didn't realize they had that problem on Xbox too. I bought the Xbox version but couldn't stand hearing annoying people's voices so I just stuck with the Dreamcast and Gamecube versions. Definitely spent a huge chunk of my life on that game! It's still online for free on PC via Schthack!
This was my favorite game coming out. Was in 5th or 6th grade when I finally got it a friend turned me onto and I never looked back. Played it religiously for at least 5-6 years thousands of hours poured into it. I wish I still had my guide book to it as it had all the tips for the mags. Thanks for the trip down memory lane
GameCube version was life for me man. My childhood friends and I played split screen for years. Amazing stuff. Now I introduced my little cousins to it and we started characters. It's rough around the edges but I can't believe how well it holds up. Great video man love your work.
Phantasy Star the game Johnny loves so much that he trolled Pete Dorr during his Twitch stream by sending him to the wrong dungeon...... Johnny Trollenium lives
hahahh! >_>
Do any other MMOs interest you Johnny? FFXIV? WoW? etc...?
Craig Anderson
Dragon Quest X would be the only MMO I would cave for right now
HappyConsoleGamer Yeah, I would like to play it as well. I think it's only on PC at the moment. Hopefully get released on PS4 in the future.
It's actually on a lot of systems already. Wii, Wii U, 3DS, PC...it's announced for PS4 and NX, too.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like it'll ever be localized, and the Japanese version uses an IP lock...
Awesome vid, great enthusiasm. Was worth the wait to do this subject justice! :)
Omgosh that was so adorable the way you described experiencing online for the first time. "Is this real life????" That was so long ago that I haven't thought about that great leap from singleplayer at home to ONLINE AT HOME. That was definitely an important milestone.
i don't know whats more impressive, this massive review, or the fact that you somehow still have all those amazing photo's and screen shots from many years ago. Love the channel dude, love the video!
I love your enthusiasm, you remind me a lot of myself when it comes to the passion for games
I don't really play games anymore but I played PSO for thousands of hours from 2001-2008. Schthack's BB was the pinnacle of this game, letting players do party missions solo. It was an insanely flawed game; the IDs Pinkall and Bluefull were terrible for finding good items; HUmars and FOmarls were inferior, and robots sucked in single player; and combat was slow until you found a God/Battle (or V101 or Heavenly/Battle) and likewise a V801 for magic. I can't believe I remember this stuff! But it was the most addictive game ever... there's just something so gratifying about shooting a rifle at a gopher with a six pack. A lot of people IRL loved this game, but it still had a cult status.
This video hits really close to home. I never personally owned PSO for the Dreamcast, but a friend did, so we would always play over at his place for hours and hours on in. When PSO came out on the Gamecube I purchased it and the same friend and myself sank over 800+ hours into it across multiple characters. I remember using psoworld to help design mags. using max level mags to help boost new characters, Pal Rappy hunting using the missions by using portals in and out to allow for new re-spawn rates, etc. Honestly, some of the most fun I have ever had in online gaming and probably some of my favorite gaming experiences of all times.
I just bought Phantasy Star Online: Episodes 1 & 2 for GC few days ago. You've talked so much about the game that I had to get it now that I saw it in a video game store. Haven't had time to try it out yet.
Johnny did you know that fans still keep servers up for Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast and people still play it? If I remember right, there's one fan server that has about 1,000 members that regularly play
If it wasnt too hard to configure the system to play online i would keep playing with my DC and original games, but the comodity of having Pso BB on Pc keeps me from doing it :/
+AtTheGates
Is that easy nowadays? i must keep an eye to that cdi method.
+AtTheGates Yeah i play on Stchack server in Blue Burst.
+AtTheGates If i still had my Wii i would try it, anyway im going to try setting up the Dc.
can you play the dreamcast emulator online?
Oh i forgot to mention, i also played PSO2 for a long time (since beta).
Your best bet to play it is either on PC or on your PS4 with a JP SegaID, people on PSOWorld can help you there for sure.
PSO2 is currently into Episode 4, really loved the story from Episodes 1 to 3, (4 takes quite the different turn but still awesome to play) :)
See my channel for some gameplay videos if interested!
How easy is it to set up a JPSega ID I'm interested thanks
Not that hard. The only tricky bit is the Japanese Captcha.
Okay gonna give it a try
Majin Buu
Google Arks Layer and it's got a step by step guide AND the patches.
humm. I will check it out
I never had a dreamcast, but I remember seeing Phantasy Star Online everywhere. I remember loving the artwork
I'm 29 years old and I still have my copy of PSO plus for my gamecube. I still load it up and run around trying to solo ultimate mode, feed mags and transfer items around on my few level 100s once or twice a year. Been itching to play it some lately.
Sadly they probably aren't planning on a western release of PSO2. Just recently they announced PSO2 for Nintendo Switch but only for Japan. The game looks amazing but if they don't localize it for the Switch version in due time then I would assume that's the sign it's dead in the water for the western release.
From what I've gathered, the "Switch" is actually region-free, meaning you can play any game cartridge from any region on any "Switch" console!! but the only problem is getting past the language barrier to fully enjoy the game, but one can probably argue that there are some ways to familiarize yerself with the game and figure out menu selections and options etc. and still get some enjoyment out of it, right??
.. .. ...Or I can just simply study on how to read Japanese text!! XD XD
(Which is probably why so many westerners nowadays are studying Japanese!! To check out and fully enjoy some AWESOME Japan-exclusive Anime, Manga, and Video games, right??)
You know that fan translations are coming out for the switch version right?
And just like that. Its finally comming. Only 8 years late though. Already been playing the jp since beta
come join us on the ultima server if you never played ep 4 its back to the style of 1 and 2 still a vibrant community and love the music as well. i feel like that game was made to last everything from the secrets to the mags everything even the menu sounds
Oh man, seeing that friends list. So many awesome people. Still gotta thank you for hooking me up with one of the extra opa opa mags you found, AND the holy ray. You were the most generous, helpful person I ever played with.
Wow fantastic video. That's taken me back 20 years. I have the same story but from the UK. I remember going to Tokyo and buying every PSO merchandise I could find. God I miss the Spread Needle & Heaven Punisher
I'm always hoping that PSO would get remade or remastered for today's consoles and/or portables 😐
doesn't need to be. BB is F2P during with no microtransactions, and a ludicrously kind fanbase, at least nowadays
Does anyone else remember how often people "NOL"d you? You would join a game and then all of a sudden you were a level 5 NOL character. The hell of it is, v2 saved after every major load so you were completely screwed if that happened. At least in v1 you could power off and power back on and your character would still be there. That was some of the scariest time for me playing online back in the day.
LOL OMG Memory!!! forgot about that term!
:) Glad to bring back memories. (Unfortunately in this case, not so good ones haha) We may have played together back in the day. Me and my friends played all the time at launch and then later on the schthack private servers after the DC servers shut down. I haven't played in a few years but will always have nostalgia for this game! Thank you for the video.
Great times on PSO. I'd bought the DC Keyboard too, and it came in very very hand for communication in PSO. I'd got my name down for the game on release, but I got a call five days before to say it had come into stock, this meant that for almost a week we (Very few of us) had the run of the mill before the masses came along. I went by the name of Mr Quint back then and made some great friends playing PSO. Great Video.
I'm still friends with people that I met on Phantasy Star Online at 10 years old. I also had friends that followed me to FFXI, but nothing compared.
I wonder if one of the main reasons they are not releasing PSO2 in the west is because of all the hackers and cheaters from the original PSO ruining the game for so many players.
Tekken4Life3 I think so too a$s holes always ruined it for everyone
Not anymore
No, they fixed that in pso on gamecube, by keeping the two regions separated.
Much like they will if they do release PSO2 in the west.
No love for Phantasy Star zero on the ds?
None!
I lost a crapton of 3DS/DS games a few years ago on a train. Phantasy Star Zero was the one game I did not regret losing on that train, overly linear POS..
I started playing Blue Burst (the PC public hosted version) this year with my mate who has played since the Dreamcast days. A lot of your stories mirrored his own so much, makes me wish I had played it back then!
I loved these games. I was Alistair and Sphynx on dreamcast. I was Alistair, NOOB SAILBOAT and Guy Ledouche on phantasy star universe, our clan was GRINDHOUSE. Such great times. I miss those days. 1000s of hours played.
That story with all those players hacking the game sounds like it inspired the ".HACK" franchise!!
RockmanSam lol probably true
My heart was broken when you didnt like PSU for my time it holds such good memories
Eddie Smurffie SAME
Eddie Smurffie Same. As per my name
Eddie Smurffie it looked good but I found it quite terrible and Ethan was a terrible main character.
that game is trash. but i respect your memories of it
PSU was not fun, but PSU expansion was a little better.
I've never played this game but I adore watching this guy I've never watched before gush about this game and that says a lot! :)
I played about 100 hours of Phantasy Star Online on the Gamecube. But I never ever went online with it! We didn't have internet at the house back then so I was unable to play it online. I still had so much fun playing it. The grind was real in solo play lol.
PSO The best rpg for me! I love to play on my dreamcast but in my country were eliminated dial up connection to the internet, but I do not have broadband to play online.
Check out "DreamPi" to get your Dreamcast back online
We had this for the longest time but then... we lost it. We have no idea where it went but it was so much fun to play it with my brothers and neighbors. It was a great bonding experience. Eventually I want to play it again!! We still talk about it fondly.
I'm still playing online on Dreamcast on Sylverant (with DreamPi) and then as well as PSOBB on PC Ephinia. Game's still as good as ever and aged extremely well.
My brother and his friends got PSO on the Dreamcast and started playing it using a 72 hour trial for SegaNET that was available on Quake Arena. He got it going and turned it on and I was blown away by it. He went away for the weekend that week and I started playing PSO myself and, man, I just could not put it down. I was glued to that thing and tied up the phone line the entire weekend; it was so damn addicting. When he came home and found I had used up pretty much all of his hours he was so pissed, but I didn't care. The game was just so much fun and so much different to Diablo 2 which I was also hooked on. Unfortunately I never played it online again on the Dreamcast after that weekend.
Ver. 2, Episode 1 & 2, and Episode 3 completely passed me by as I never got to play it online again on the Dreamcast and, much like the other 155 million people in the world, I got a Playstation 2 instead of the other competing consoles, and I was content with it and a PC. It wasn't until 2005 that I was getting bored of Ragnarok Online (long story with that one) that I randomly googled Phantasy Star Online and came across PSO: Blue Burst. At the time my brother was into World of Warcraft and I was contemplating joining him, but I always had this longing to play PSO again. I ended up going with Blue Burst and was there day 1 of the US server launch. I must have played that game for about a year before I ended up quitting due to a lot of the people I played with jumping ship. In that time though, man, I had so much fun. The problem with Blue Burst was that the JP servers were always favored over the US, thus they always got all of the patches early and had all of the administration managing the servers while we had only a few admins. Needless to say it got hacked and I learned the name Broomop and all the wonders of dupes and having to take 500 pictures of every worth a shit rare you got and a video of you getting it and blah blah blah. I had enough and gave up on it.
During playing Blue Burst I had heard from a friend on there that Phantasy Star Universe was in development. The way I perceived it was almost an open world game where you can travel on bikes and hover vehicles and play in a much more action oriented Phantasy Star world filled with much more inlaid lore. Needless to say I was hyped like crazy and couldn't wait for it to come it. I remember getting $40 from my dad and going to Gamestop to pick up the PC version, and then paying for the hunter license and getting into it. I made my character and got into the world and it looked amazing even though my PC couldn't play it that well. The first thing I noticed were shit tons of weeb roleplayers sitting in front of the first dungeon area (Linear Line) spouting off Kawaii crap and fuck tons of those picture chats; it was off putting to say the least, even from someone who played Ragnarok Online with alt caps typing 12 year old Korean girls. The next thing I noticed was that my conceptual understanding of an open world was complete bullshit and that the game was roughly the same design as PSO, but with multiple lobby worlds you can explore. That really turned me off, especially when I got into Linear Line for the first time and saw that it was basically just another point A to point B dungeon with a boss as the end. Something about the game just didn't turn me on like PSO did despite the combat and controls being much much better. This game used to literally put me to sleep out of boredom. I am not sure why they had to make the launch version of this game so fucking hard to progress in, but it felt like pushing a boulder up a hill. Meseta was scarce, exp came slow, and without a group of people it was near impossible. On top of all that, since my PC wasn't that great, I would run slower than the rest of the people I played with so I'd never get any of the drops (odd to think that but it's true). The whole thing was a shit show and I gave up within a few months. It taught me to never be hyped for something to that magnitude ever again. I actually joined a Facebook group for a PC private server that is in development and I asked them what their favorite part of the game was when it was still going, and the only response I could get out of them was "The social aspect". If all you liked out of a fucking game you are paying 9 bucks a month to play is the social aspect, then you sure as shit are not getting your money's worth because fucking IRC and AIM are/were free; go "socialize" there.
So after that I ended up giving up on PSO for a while and went onto other games/World of Warcraft. It wasn't until 2008, after I had quit WoW and the official Sega servers for BB had shut down that I came across Schtserv. To those who don't know: Schtserv is a private server that has been around way too long and pioneered (pun not intended) the private server scene for PSO; nowadays there is Eden, Ultima, Ephinea, and the lowly brazilian server LEGiTS that nobody plays on and I was an admin on for a small period. Schtserv is where I sunk way too much time into PSOBB because, hey, the fucker was free and fully functional, so why not? I remember playing it for about 1.5 years before quitting and then picking it back up for another year later on. I really got the full experience of PSO that I had longed for when I got into Schtserv and I do not regret the first 1.5 years. It is also where I really got into hacking the game and used to do solo runs of TTF and MA4 nonstop slowly climbing up to 200 and trying so hard to get shit like hit% Excaliburs and Syncesta to make Double Cannon. Eventually I ended up getting a level 200 Fomar and made friends with a guy who actually gave me 2 Dark Flows, but unfortunately my account got perma banned along with all of that despite being hardware banned and all that a long time ago; couldn't weasel my way out of the last one.
That's pretty much where my story ends in PSO. I tried coming back to it a year or so ago, but the lust to cheat is too strong and I ended up getting IP banned off of Eden and Ultima. To those who are interested in playing PSO, first I would suggest Blue Burst as it is the final version of PSO with Episode 4 and all the accoutrements, and seoncd I would suggest playing on either Eden or Ephinea and avoid Ultima and Schtserv like the fucking plague; the admins of Ultima/Scht have developed microtransaction systems and bait people into "donating" to them (they don't use the money for the servers and there's a lot of proof of that) plus Chrono and Lee are fucking pricks. Eden is a very nice community of people who are actually progressive with the game and are trying to expand it and make it more interesting; needless to say I instantly regret ever cheating on there because that place is something special. Ephinea is run by Sodaboy who developed the Tehtealla server emulator which I believe most of the servers use. You can also download the aforementioned Tethealla and run your own server if you wanted to, but I'd keep the dream down to just doing LAN/WAN with friends. Unfortunately, Ultima and Scht have the largest player bases (I guess people are gluttons for punishment/bullshit) so if you want a larger group, then you have to go to either of those two (I'd suggest Scht over Ultima because that place is a huge shit show). Also accept that cheating is as inlaid into PSO as corruption is in government and know that Broomop still fucks with PSO servers actively so it will be impossible to avoid it. Eden is very good about banning cheaters (like me) so if you want a clean(er) experience, then go there. There are also Ver. 1 and Ver. 2 Dreamcast, PC, and Gamecube servers still running like Sylverant, Schtserv PSOPC, and Scht's Gamecube server if you want to play any of them.
No matter what you choose PSO is a unique experience and fun if you get into it. If PSO2 ever comes stateside, then I'd possibly get into it, but given the timeline of how long the JP servers have been active, how much has come out for it, and how easy it is for westerners to play on there, I highly doubt it. It's fun to dream though.
Oh man. So many flashbacks. I only played the GameCube version, but it was so cool playing with friends.
This game came out when I was seven years old. I didn't really get online gaming back then, but now, the fact that this was an mmorpg on a console in 2000 is truly amazing.
I remember playing the dreamcast version on my lonesome, but when gamecube launched... the couch co-op was insane!!! We would pass around the disc and memory card so characters could level and catch up. It was so cool to meet up on the weekend and see what they were able to get. Best couch co-op ever. Hands down.
Love the stories you had with PSO. I really hope they bring a new console version game of Phantasy Star. The original 4 will always be the most nostalgic.
I did so many of the same things you did in anticipation for PSO. That was an amazing game. I dropped over 100 hours on that game and loved every minute.Just recently...my baby plays with my dreamcast keyboard. Great video!
right away I looked and saw a full length video which is great , more entertainment and plus your favorite game series too is a real bonus, thnx John!!!
My friends and I used to play split screen on our summer vacation. Many great memories.
Great overview! I unfortunately missed this series when it came out. Sounds like there were some great memories. Cheers!
I share so many of your experiences! I had every (domestic US) version of the game and that same strategy guide and poster! It seriously changed my life! It was like a euphoric drug to me during my harsh late teen years! I even got a dedicated phone line just for the game on Dreamcast so that I wouldn't get disconnected from incoming calls! LOL! I remember the very first day I got it and got online, I was absolutely flabbergasted! My best friend wanted his set up too that day so I went over to his house to set it up as quickly as I could and welp... I hardly saw anyone in real life for the next few years after that, LOL! And when the game first came out, most people were polite and it all went well until the crazy hacking happened! But yeah, the experience the original PSO series gave was truly incredible! It is also my all-time favorite game and the game I spent the most time on by far. The Dreamcast was such a wonderful system with so many gems... but noooo, everyone wanted the stupid PS2 and it's DVD player! :(
I didn't really get into PSO until a friend showed me PSOEpI&II back on the Gamecube. At the time, I had no way to play the game online really, but when I found out there was a PC version, I had to try that out. I played that for a little bit, and moved on to Blue Burst. Met a lot of online friends that I still have today in the game, and it was a great experience. I still play with them today on PSO2.
This is one of the best gaming channels. It always feels good to watch these videos.
I remember seeing the previews for this game on Xplay back when it was GameSpot TV, and my brother and I getting so hyped for it. It was the first game we bought with our own money and the first time we bought a game a launch. We weren't sure when it was supposed to release so we would call Target every couple of days til they said they had it.
When we got it we begged our mom to set up the Internet service on our Dreamcast. Finally she caved and set it up for us.
For the entire summer we were out of school we would stay up from like 9pm til like 7-8 in the morning every night.
Finally my mom noticed the bill. Apparently she chose the wrong option, so instead of setting it up through the dial-up service we already had, she signed up for the expensive AT&T option that was like 5¢ a minute or something ridiculous like that. Needless to say we were relegated to only playing it offline until Ep. I & II came out on the original Xbox.
This game and the countless sleepless nights I shared with my brothers and my friends are some of my most cherished memories of my time here on this earth. There will never be anything like it again but it is very fun to go back and try hunting down rare weapons and armor. Ultimate mode was such an amazing switch up and scale up from the other modes. Legendary game.
I *loved* playing PSO. I barely played online during the GCN era. Only got a chance to at the end of my highschool career, but it was magical connecting to schthack.
Later during college I picked it up again on PC via Blue Burst (and Episode 4), and I spent a lot of time there as well.
I don't think I can go back to it now that I've found Monster Hunter. But that first Dragon fight. De Rol Le, Vol Opt, and Dark Falz (on hard and higher)... You never forget that.
So many long nights playing this game. You so accurately described the feeling of existing in an online universe with people from all over the world. What an experience for a middle 8th/9th grade me.
It was a weird time when I played PSO. I played on PC on unofficial servers, but what was funny is that there were players on that same server playing on their dreamcasts. I was always into programming, so that type of crossplatform was amazing to me.
i love the title screen of PSO, so atmospheric & nostalgic. but i only played offline, my big brother was way more into it, he also has/had that book & poster.
I saw the name Zeiram in your friends list, that would be wild if that was me, I used to use that name all the time back in the day. Great video regardless haha
Great nostalgic trip Johnny :)
My first time with PSO was on the Dreamcast, PSOv2, since i didn't had a proper way to get online (europe) i mostly played the game offline, but it never got boring.
I too still got my savefiles on my VMU's :)
I did however played online with the first PC version (remade my characters there), which was a blast for sure :)
Only years later i got to play PSOBB, which included ep2 and ep4 next to ep1.
It was one hell of a game for its time. That game was the reason I got a gamecube at the time was for episode 1 and 2 ( the silver one that I still have today and plugged in my tv ). Every once in a while i'll start it up and play a bit. It still feels great to play this instead of all the private server in the pc version. I really liked your video on this game. It got me thinking about all the good times I had with my friends... As for a north american release of pso 2 i wouldn't hold my breath anytime soon
This game changed my life and started my love for mmos and online games! Still play Blue Burst on pc and can't get enough of it.
+referral madness 80-100 players. 10-20 rooms on Ultima
Oh man, I'm totally with you here - going online on the Dreamcast with PSO the first time was absolutely unbelievable. Thanks for the nostalgia!
YOU are the sole reason I started Phantasy Star. And now I finally got over myself and imported ep 1&2 plus for the NGC, and guess what? They sent me the trilogy.
I invested about 140hrs into the dreamcast version, but never really got into it until I found classmates that played it for the Gamecube and I played that version so many hours I can't even remember. I loved this game so much with all my heart! This and Earthbound were my childhood games.
PSO Blue Burst is still online today.
Haven't played since 2013 because I lack the time to get back, but from what I've played back then people are very welcoming and friendly and it was a very fun game.