Mycroft1325
Member
- Guildcard
- 42043257
Hey All, so I figured five years is enough playing & lurking to see if this Game & Community was worth joining. Was that overdoing it a bit? 
Anyway, I'm a crusty old veteran gamer, been playing Videogames since 1976 at the age of 5 when my parents got us our first PONG system. I've been a fan of the Phantasy Star Franchise since the very first PS came out on the Sega Master System and for the time, the game blew my older brother & I away.
The Graphics & Sound were very impressive, for us, way above anything on the NES, but we all know that stuff is secondary over the long haul. Everything else about the game was impressive as well. From the presentation (Cutscenes! Such a novelty, and those amazing '3D' Dungeons! Wow!) to the interface, from a technical perspective the game was so easy to play, but wasn't shallow. However, as with any good cRPG, it was the story & characters that really drew us in. The Game was truly Top-Tier for the era. (And it was one of SEGA's silly oversights that the remaster was never released in America. Sigh...)
The 2nd game wasn't quite as big of a leap on the Genesis, but was still a great RPG showcase for the system. Phantasy Star III was a lot less impressive overall EXCEPT for the entire 'Generations' concept. Being able to make those critical choices playing through 3 generations of characters gave it a surprisingly good feel of the flexibility, the player agency, that is (or should be) the 'Holy Grail' of any game purporting to be an RPG. No programmed game can, of course, get anyway near the Player-Focus of even a modest Pen 'n Paper RPG, but the more the Devs keep that goal in mind, the better the game will be.
But I digress.
By the time PSO came out for the Dreamcast in 2000, it was instantly recognizable as a Sci-Fi 'Diablo Clone' & while moving to the Action'RPG' genre was a bit of a personal disappointment to me, the game still did what it was designed to to very well. Once I accepted the animal for what it was, I had a lot of fun with it. When the Gamecube version came out a few years later, I enjoyed it even more, as the 4-player splitscreen allowed my crew & I to adventure together & in person, ensconced in our Comfy Chairs. It was as fun to us as those legendary 'Halo' LAN parties (which I also enjoyed), but without all the Consoles, Cables & Clutter.
Still, we make do with what we have, right? While playing online with others may not be as good (obviously that's personal preference), it can still be tremendously enjoyable & it's very cool to see this 'ancient' game still alive & kicking, with players both old & new, discovering or re-discovering what makes PSO such a treasure.
Anyway, I'm a crusty old veteran gamer, been playing Videogames since 1976 at the age of 5 when my parents got us our first PONG system. I've been a fan of the Phantasy Star Franchise since the very first PS came out on the Sega Master System and for the time, the game blew my older brother & I away.
The Graphics & Sound were very impressive, for us, way above anything on the NES, but we all know that stuff is secondary over the long haul. Everything else about the game was impressive as well. From the presentation (Cutscenes! Such a novelty, and those amazing '3D' Dungeons! Wow!) to the interface, from a technical perspective the game was so easy to play, but wasn't shallow. However, as with any good cRPG, it was the story & characters that really drew us in. The Game was truly Top-Tier for the era. (And it was one of SEGA's silly oversights that the remaster was never released in America. Sigh...)
The 2nd game wasn't quite as big of a leap on the Genesis, but was still a great RPG showcase for the system. Phantasy Star III was a lot less impressive overall EXCEPT for the entire 'Generations' concept. Being able to make those critical choices playing through 3 generations of characters gave it a surprisingly good feel of the flexibility, the player agency, that is (or should be) the 'Holy Grail' of any game purporting to be an RPG. No programmed game can, of course, get anyway near the Player-Focus of even a modest Pen 'n Paper RPG, but the more the Devs keep that goal in mind, the better the game will be.
But I digress.
By the time PSO came out for the Dreamcast in 2000, it was instantly recognizable as a Sci-Fi 'Diablo Clone' & while moving to the Action'RPG' genre was a bit of a personal disappointment to me, the game still did what it was designed to to very well. Once I accepted the animal for what it was, I had a lot of fun with it. When the Gamecube version came out a few years later, I enjoyed it even more, as the 4-player splitscreen allowed my crew & I to adventure together & in person, ensconced in our Comfy Chairs. It was as fun to us as those legendary 'Halo' LAN parties (which I also enjoyed), but without all the Consoles, Cables & Clutter.
Still, we make do with what we have, right? While playing online with others may not be as good (obviously that's personal preference), it can still be tremendously enjoyable & it's very cool to see this 'ancient' game still alive & kicking, with players both old & new, discovering or re-discovering what makes PSO such a treasure.