Is it worth playing Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast now?

[The Adventurer]

I'm trying to bulk up my Dreamcast collection, and one game I've always been curious about, is Phantasy Star Online. I've always heard it described as an MMO though. But I've learned it has a single player mode. Also the Ver.2 version isn't very expensive. How integral is its multiplayer aspect to its experience?

I've also learned there's an enhanced version on the Gamecube (that appears to cost a fortune), and apparently the only multiplayer it has is 4 player split screen. Is PSO really more of an online co-op game then an MMO? Its a bit unclear.

[Edmond Dantes]

I haven't played it, so take this with a grain of salt, but back in the day I heard that PSO was basically "online" in the same sense that first two Diablo games were online. IE not really MMO, more like co-op dungeon crawls.

[kupomogli]

Since the Dreamcast version is so cheap, if you're only interested in episode one or want to get a taste of the game, then get the Dreamcast version. If you like the game, then get the Gamecube version which includes episode two, or you could play the PC version of Blue Burst which includes episode four. Episode three is a Gamecube exclusive which is a sort of card type game/tactical game of sorts. The game is super unbalanced with light versus dark(light is op.)

Phantasy Star Online is a great game and worth playing. The controls are stiff, but everything about it works so well. You can be one of three different classes with several different races. All classes except robots can cast magic, all classes can use basic weapon not of their class as long as they have the stats for it. Hunters are your physical classes, being good with melee weapons. Sabers only attack single targets for a three hit combo, daggers do double hits three times, swords and spears are slower but do wide attacks that can hit multiple enemies at once, and cutters are boomerangs, a hunters version of the gun. Since I've never played as the gunner class, not really knowledgeable about it, other than the basic weapons. The reguluar gun shoots, while the smg shoots three shots at a time with low hit rate. Your characters have three different types of physical attacks, a regular attack and two charge attacks. The first charge attack is more powerful and has knockback while the other charge attack does regular damage but uses whatever special effect the weapon has. Whenever you attack, you can't just keep hitting the attack button to attack. You have a three hit combo, but you have to attack at the end of the attack for the second attack to come out and the end of the second for the third attack to come out. You can also do two regular attacks and finish the combo with a charge attack, or do two charge attacks and finish the combo with a regular attack, or whatever you want. The force class is your magic user, and while the hunters and gunners don't do too much damage with magic or have as much TP, the force has a massive amount of TP and does massive amounts of damage. Every enemy in the game has a weakness or strength, so magic users are mainly based on hitting enemies with the weaknesses. Get high level healing spells and support spells, the magic users(and other classes,) can allies in the area rather than just themselves. The magic is all completely different. If you were to use Foei, it shoots a straight fireball. Gifoie shoots out a fireball that circles around outward damaging enemies, and Rafoie casts an explosion at one enemy. Also depends on the class you use. If you use a Fonewm, they'll get damage bonus for using the Ra spells. Added on episode 2(so not on Dreamcast,) Fonewearl has bonuses for Foei, Barta, and Zonde.

The game has its flaws but it's really good. One of the more fun Diablo clones because it's actually quite a bit action based rather than click, click, click, click. I prefer Phantasy Star Online more than the much smoother Phantasy Star Universe/Portable world because while they did add smoother movement, it just doesn't feel exactly the same. Still good, but not as good as Phantasy Star Online. I like both hunters and force users, so another thing I don't like is how every magic spell is the exact same with a different element. There's also more elements now and spells are tied to weapons, so you have to have a different weapon per spell, plus you have to switch weapons(even though you can do quick swap) with them, rather than having multiple spells to cast without changing weapons(up to five on consoles, you need the sixth for regular attack.)

[ncman071]

I dont own PSO for the DC, but aren't there still private servers available for PSO on the DC?

[SpaceHarrier]

I still play the Gamecube version to this day (offline), and still find it completely addictive. Go ahead and get ver. 2 on the Dreamcast, I mostly play the Episode I content anyway (Gamecube contains Episode II, with some pretty environments but not enough enemies or treasures).

If you want a hassle free first character, make a RAcast, or RAcaseal (ranger androids). You can see traps by default (traps are invisible and pop up to explode right in your face for human characters), you have good defense and HP, and excellent accuracy. If you want a challenge, FOnewm or FOnewearl (magic casting newmen) will certainly test your patience with their grindyness. HUmars and HUnewearls are good balanced characters in between those extremes.

The game can feel a bit lonely offline, since the story is mostly told through short quests and little in game info points, but is strangely addictive.

Ver. 2 added 'ultimate' difficulty, which is wayyyy harder than Very Hard, with enemies that RUN at you and are huge and spit liquid death. Get it.

[Zthun]

I don't know if you'd be interested but if you have the dreamcast broadband adapter (around 200 dollars), there are private servers set up to run PSO on the dreamcast. Just follow the instructions to set up connections to their DNS servers.

[Tron 2.0]

Sure on the dc you can through a private server.Still if you're gonna play it on a console id go the gc version.PSO on the GC has episode 2,while the DC version does not.Still the catch being you need the gc bba if you want to play it on a private server.There is a pc version as well,pso blue burst which is the most complete version.

[The Adventurer]

Thanks for pointing out Blue Burst. I hadn't realized there was a Windows version of the game. And its not hard to get. I think I'll try that version first.

[Zthun]

Thanks for pointing out Blue Burst. I hadn't realized there was a Windows version of the game. And its not hard to get. I think I'll try that version first.

I remember playing the PC version for a bit and I really hated the controls using a keyboard and mouse. I remember the DC version being better because I liked the feel of the controller, though that may just be nostalgia talking. Let us know your opinion on it after you give the PC version a whirl.

[The Adventurer]

Unfortunately the client I installed brought up a bunch of virus alerts. So that sort of put a kibosh on that plan for the moment.

[Jorpho]

I prefer Phantasy Star Online more than the much smoother Phantasy Star Universe/Portable world because while they did add smoother movement, it just doesn't feel exactly the same. Still good, but not as good as Phantasy Star Online.

I guess that includes Phantasy Star Zero (DS)?

[Steve W]

I own the Dreamcast version and both GameCube versions, and I have never gone online with any of them. I did actually go out and buy the GameCube's broadband adapter to do it, and for whatever reason I never bothered. The one-player game is so good, I didn't feel the need to ever go online, especially with all the stories of hackers and cheaters that were screwing up the Dreamcast scene.

The nice thing about the GameCube version is that you can play split-screen with other people, something I've done many times with my nephews who I introduced to the Dreamcast version of PSO back in the day, and they're still fans of the games. There's a few areas that you can't access unless you've got at least one other person in your group, but those are usually just small rooms with a bit of loot in them, nothing you have to complete to finish.

[Arkanoid_Katamari]

I own Version 2 on the Dreamcast, played a little of it, but didn't get very far. I suck at RPGs tho, I don't play them very much, so I may be the wrong person to listen to. I did get a decent way into FF13 tho, so Idk. This was one of the first RPGs I played, only a few years ago I decided to give RPGs another chance, and Idk wat I'm doing. Cool looking game, tho, but prolly much more playable online, and obviously the servers r down now for the Dreamcast. My friend plays it a lot tho, on his computer, so theres still ways to play the online parts, I guess.

I don't particularly collect hardcore for the Dreamcast, I pick up games here and there, but I'd say if ur looking for good Dreamcast games look into the fighting games or shooters. If u don't have Jet Set Radio tho, u need to play that one. It's a good challenge, but a great game. I'm currently playing Jet Set Radio Future on the Xbox, and it's much easier, but def one fantastic game series. Very dated tho, so I doubt they'd make a sequel, as the whole game is full of late 90s culture stuff, like the baggy clothes, graffiti, raver clothing, hiphop, weird piercings, and rollerblading. But it brings me back to what was "cool" back then, when I as in jr high. But the graphics hold up real well.

[Tanooki]

I own the Dreamcast version and both GameCube versions, and I have never gone online with any of them. I did actually go out and buy the GameCube's broadband adapter to do it, and for whatever reason I never bothered. The one-player game is so good, I didn't feel the need to ever go online, especially with all the stories of hackers and cheaters that were screwing up the Dreamcast scene.

I used to own the DC version back in the period that system was alive. I found I felt the same way for about 20-30 hours into it, but it got really repetitive at the levels I had to play at to rank up so I started to dial-up into the game, ultimately it took it to a 2nd character and between the two over 100 hours of time on it, clearly the most used game on my DC and I even used the keyboard with that one to chat up people too. I later had the GC version, got about a little less than half that time on it because a lot of it was a re-run until the new stuff but still fantastic on there. I still like the way Sega put that game together compared to most others online since, Guild Wars 1 & 2 being kind of an exception that was more fun, but that said I looked into the PC version and it looked like a headache to setup and I wasn't sure I'd have the time to commit. For some reason I remember virus threats about it too which I see another post here broght up as well.

[Sosage]

When PSO originally released it was a very progressive console title. A lot of things that are considered the norm for online console gaming were experimental design decisions in PSO for the Dreamcast (along with SegaNet). It's well worth revisiting from a historical standpoint and to appreciate how things progressed.

Every little detail about this game is very thoughtfully designed around the online experience. How much time a section takes. How large the overall game is. How many enemies of which type spawn in. The level lay out. The environment art that makes incredibly tiny areas seem large. The battle system and the combos requiring timed move cancellation instead of spamming the attack button. The simple class system. The upgradeable Mags. The communication system. The lobby system design. For it's time and place, it's an awesome undertaking and was the right way for online console gaming to take its first giant step in designing an online centric title.

...but I'm also not going to make any promises that it has aged well. I've played through the single player version several times (several years ago), but multiplayer is where the real magic of this game lies. If you play it online, today, you need to put yourself in the mindset that this sort of experience was only available on PC's at the time. Also keep in mind that this was an era where the PC and console audiences were seen as two very different demographics to design for.

As a side rant, the original PSO's forward thinking is also why modern sequels to the series are pretty "blah" in comparison. PSO for DC was a huge step forward as far as design and tech for consoles. Now that what it originally accomplished is incredibly common place (if not vastly improved upon), there aren't a lot of revolutionary avenues left to go with the concept.

P.S. IIRC Dreamcast version also ties to your machine and VMU (I'm not sure if that is an issue now days). So make sure you build a character on your main Dreamcast unit using your own VMU...probably not a big deal now, but BITD it was a pain.

[kupomogli]

I guess that includes Phantasy Star Zero (DS)?

I own it but I've never played it. Bought it from someone on this forum.