Returning Old Guards....the Dreamcasters and Cubers! <3 How? Why? ....

[slugger]

Sup new friends. My brother and I once spent an entire summer playing split-screen while listening to Bleach by Nirvana (speaking of nostalgia). We always wanted to play online but we had difficulties locating the GC adapter that was needed. I did eventually get to play Blue Burst but at that point I was in college and didn't have a ton of time to play anything.

I discovered Ephinea because just yesterday he and I were talking about how PSO2 was coming to switch, and how I really preferred the first game. I was really hooked by the option to make a hardcore account, though for now I'm just playing normally as all the knowledge from back then slowly returns.

 

[Harborer of Hope]

Sup new friends. My brother and I once spent an entire summer playing split-screen while listening to Bleach by Nirvana (speaking of nostalgia). We always wanted to play online but we had difficulties locating the GC adapter that was needed. I did eventually get to play Blue Burst but at that point I was in college and didn't have a ton of time to play anything.

I discovered Ephinea because just yesterday he and I were talking about how PSO2 was coming to switch, and how I really preferred the first game. I was really hooked by the option to make a hardcore account, though for now I'm just playing normally as all the knowledge from back then slowly returns.

Nostalgia is a fickle and often a sadistic mistress! PPL here can attest to your offline only blues dear, but fret not! LOTS of Other ppl can preach to thee about the Trauma of online PSOing back then! Everyone who's payed PSO2 had come running back saying the SAME thing... "PSO2 just doesn't have the CHARM of the original!". You're gonna love it here! And if you can....drag others kicking and screaming here too dammit! <3 Wonderful hasing u among us! Welcome Home! =3

 

[CyborgJiro]

I am from the offline gamecube days. I miss this game, and now I am back. I cannot say me and my friends ever really got past like the third boss but that is about it. I barely played into the story and the is the main thing i probably wanna try first.

 

[Asmod3hus]

I started on Dreamcast when I was young, then we got the gamecube version and played local multiplayer with my father in law. Got back to the game when I finally got my place and a TV I played with a friend who didn't know the game and I searched on the internet to see if there was a way to play online and do the quests with him.
So this is how I ended up here ^^

 

[POLEZIAX]

I had a friend who owned the game on Dreamcast and I'd use his character to troll people and he didn't want me playing as his char anymore haha Then when it was re-released on GC I got a copy and played via dial up and was completely immersed. I'm an RPG connoisseur and I feel that PSO does a great job capturing the classic RPG grinding feel while adding it's own flare of hack and slash, another thing that I'm a fan of. Ultimately I feel that sometimes, simpler is better, and PSO is a shining example of that. You don't need HD graphics and a complex engine to have a good game. I like old school graphics that are more videogamey anyway. Most new games make me feel like meh- all style no substance.

 

[Harborer of Hope]

With SO MANY Vets returning lately, mew wanted to bump this poll <3!

 

[MEGADRIVERS]

Hello friends: old-timey DC player here. Got a real itch to start playing again after the Sega survey and needed to scratch it. Someone on a discord I belong to pointed me towards Ephinea and here I am! Looking forward to asking for your spare Fluids.

 

[Harborer of Hope]

Hello friends: old-timey DC player here. Got a real itch to start playing again after the Sega survey and needed to scratch it. Someone on a discord I belong to pointed me towards Ephinea and here I am! Looking forward to asking for your spare Fluids.

SQUEEeeeeeee!!! Looking forward to pouncing and playing wiff you too MEGA-san! Welcome Home! =3

 

[Archvile]

Started on GC around 2004, I was usually playing the game with a friend. I never properly owned a copy of PSO myself. Then in early 2008 I moved to BB and the rest is history.

I was never on the official SEGA servers, always was on SCHT even when I was on GC. (which I tried online a few times)

 

[CB1981]

Been on board since (US) launch day of V1 for DC. As to why I came back THIS particular time, OG original Phantasy Star.

The original Master System Phantasy Star reached the US in 1988 and was my big present for xmas from my mom that year. I fell in love with it from the get go, even though the concept of a turn based RPG was WAY out of my wheelhouse at that age. Took me most of xmas vacation before I made any progress at all, but once I did I was hooked forever. This Xmas celebrated 30 years since then (goodness, I'm so old :\), and I planned on revisiting it over the holiday as a nostalgia trip. Switch port came out and confirmed that decision for me, so I did. And when I finished it I said, "well, lets keep going!" Finished PS2, PS3 (using save states to skip replaying Rhys to death, did all the timelines) and PSIV. Halfway thru 2 I jokingly texted my cousin saying "20 bucks says I carry this thru to PSO and wind up still playing that in April".

Well, took longer than expected to do the original series as I wound up discovering the translations of the Generations remakes and a couple hard mode hacks, but yep, finished 4 and was dying to play PSO.

I couldn't remember the name of the old server I used to play on (schthack) last go so I went to Google, remembered it when I saw it, found out about the data loss and went "Oh. Well. Looks like I'm starting over again from scratch. Okay, cool. Lets see what my options are." So scht was elimated for losing my progress, a couple of the other servers had some cool new weapons which I liked initially and then I saw how extreme they took the game (sorry, getting 5-10x XP ALL the time, and always being able to feed your mag is basically DC PAR hax mode, pass), and wasn't hip to it. Read about here, loved the concept of "it's the game as Sega intended, just with some QoL modernization", and was sold. Easy decision, no regrets. Ended up recruiting said cousin as well, and he (also a DC era vet) is back on board now too

 

[Harborer of Hope]

Been on board since (US) launch day of V1 for DC. As to why I came back THIS particular time, OG original Phantasy Star.

The original Master System Phantasy Star reached the US in 1988 and was my big present for xmas from my mom that year. I fell in love with it from the get go, even though the concept of a turn based RPG was WAY out of my wheelhouse at that age. Took me most of xmas vacation before I made any progress at all, but once I did I was hooked forever. This Xmas celebrated 30 years since then (goodness, I'm so old :\), and I planned on revisiting it over the holiday as a nostalgia trip. Switch port came out and confirmed that decision for me, so I did. And when I finished it I said, "well, lets keep going!" Finished PS2, PS3 (using save states to skip replaying Rhys to death, did all the timelines) and PSIV. Halfway thru 2 I jokingly texted my cousin saying "20 bucks says I carry this thru to PSO and wind up still playing that in April".

Well, took longer than expected to do the original series as I wound up discovering the translations of the Generations remakes and a couple hard mode hacks, but yep, finished 4 and was dying to play PSO.

I couldn't remember the name of the old server I used to play on (schthack) last go so I went to Google, remembered it when I saw it, found out about the data loss and went "Oh. Well. Looks like I'm starting over again from scratch. Okay, cool. Lets see what my options are." So scht was elimated for losing my progress, a couple of the other servers had some cool new weapons which I liked initially and then I saw how extreme they took the game (sorry, getting 5-10x XP ALL the time, and always being able to feed your mag is basically DC PAR hax mode, pass), and wasn't hip to it. Read about here, loved the concept of "it's the game as Sega intended, just with some QoL modernization", and was sold. Easy decision, no regrets. Ended up recruiting said cousin as well, and he (also a DC era vet) is back on board now too

MOAR SQUEEEeeeee!!! WHO's your Cousin dear? So mew can put them on her POUNCE list as well??? <3!

 

[Trip Mercy]

Honestly, some of the best times I ever had were playing this game. It just holds a special place in my heart. I used to wake up on Saturday morning turn on the Dreamcast and just play my heart out. I wouldn't leave my room or eat or anything. My brother would be pissed because he could never use the phone on the weekends due to the Dreamcast's dial-up modem taking up all the connectivity. I would fall asleep grinding levels with my friends. Some of the best friends I have ever had, I might add. Every time I hear that opening music on the title screen my heart just skips a beat. I absolutely love this game and am afraid that getting back into it might just interfere with paying the bills!

 

[Harborer of Hope]

Honestly, some of the best times I ever had were playing this game. It just holds a special place in my heart. I used to wake up on Saturday morning turn on the Dreamcast and just play my heart out. I wouldn't leave my room or eat or anything. My brother would be pissed because he could never use the phone on the weekends due to the Dreamcast's dial-up modem taking up all the connectivity. I would fall asleep grinding levels with my friends. Some of the best friends I have ever had, I might add. Every time I hear that opening music on the title screen my heart just skips a beat. I absolutely love this game and am afraid that getting back into it might just interfere with paying the bills!

Eeeeeeee!!! The Nostalgia struggle is REAL! Players still suffer from falling grades....loss of sleep.....relationship strains...late for work....the list goes on....we feel you dear! Be Strong...worse case scenario, you can always tell your current party "Hey, I need to be off in 20 minutes to get some sleep for work"....and someone can set an alarm clock to halp chase you off. Hell, mail mew and she'll /kick you if you need her to! <3! Just a thought! =P OH! Almost forgot! Welcome Home!

 

[JackEnglish]

I guess I can be happy to say I'm part of the 2.5% that started with ephinea as my first experience with pso. I'm only 20 years old so i never had the chance to play older official versions, but I had heard of pso for like half my life, but only now did I give it the chance. I'm glad to say I have been enjoying my time with both the game and the community :3

 

[Harborer of Hope]

I guess I can be happy to say I'm part of the 2.5% that started with ephinea as my first experience with pso. I'm only 20 years old so i never had the chance to play older official versions, but I had heard of pso for like half my life, but only now did I give it the chance. I'm glad to say I have been enjoying my time with both the game and the community :3

*Squeeeezies!* =3

 

[Junko Enoshima]

I've been playing PSO since the Gamecube with me and 3 of my other friends. We would go over to the friends house that owned the game and we would play for hours, although I will say that we weren't very good and didn't even get very far. As I don't think I ever got a single rare. This was for a few reasons, as we loved just making new characters and trying them out, and whenever we got to a "high level" we never really went passed it because life always takes over.

While I was in school my and one of those friends found a server running and we decided to give it a shot. SCHTSERV, in the days of Crono running the show. I put so much time and effort into PSO and still to this day have so many fond memories of playing late at night blowing off all my school work just to have a chance at getting a good rare drop. However, nothing lasts forever, there was a data loss making me lose all of my progress on a Humar by the name of dg-pilz-e who was around level 130-140, as well as the general mismanagement of the server turned me off from playing PSO online for awhile. As i needed to focus my time and energy on the schoolwork i neglected to I could get into my higher education so I could pursue my goal of becoming a paramedic.

Alongside being a PSO player i'm also a big fan of the Super Smash Bros scene, Theres always a saying in the community that nobody officially "quits" or leaves forever, it's just a hiatus until you rediscover your love and passion for a game as well as a community. PSO is no different to me. I made good friends while I was on SCHTSERV and made a lot of memories from the enjoyable grindfest that PSO is, and I wanted to do the same again. When that same friend told me he was playing on this server, I downloaded immediately. Enjoying every minute of this community and almost 20 year old game yet again.

Gaming nowadays is in my honest opinion worse then it was 20 years ago, there's a lack of passion and the demographic has changed into live games trying to reap larger profits off of microtransactions. There isn't a very good sense of community in most of these experiences because it always feels like developers are against their player base, trying to put in anti consumer practices like paying money for a dot on a gun. Ephinea isn't ran by companies or corporations. it's run by it's community, A community that has a special love for a game that should be considered so outdated, As Mew said, there are games that completely blow PSO out of the water on nearly every level, But a game is more then it's graphics, sound, and level design. It's about creating an experience the players will never forget and want to let go of. This is why no matter how old this game gets, no matter how many better options there will be. I will always come back to this extraordinary game.

 

[Minsc]

Dreams of meeting a flesh and blood person in my area. I found some fellow on the IGN forums who happened to live in the same province as me. He linked me some videos of this game for the Dreamcast called Phantasy Star Online. I was hooked, within a week I went from not even thinking about the Dreamcast to purchasing the system, PSO and a memcard. Bought it at Future Shop (now Best Buy) on Feb. 21, 2001. I remember dad saying the girl at the cash seemed interested in my (I never believed it).

My love affair with PSO had begun. How many times did I watch through that intro cut scene? More than than I should have. Sometimes I'd sit transfixed at the title screen, the music just sucks you in.

I made a HUmar called Minsc and eventually made my way to the offline forest. Quickly I died and discovered my weapon was missing upon revival. Foolishly, I recreated my character. Mindset n00b.

Online was a whole other experience. While I had played games like Diablo online before, PSO had this charm that stood out. I don't know what newcomers think of the balloon chat today but to me it was a nice touch which allowed the online experience to stand out.

While not the best at the time, the colourful graphics still stood out. Thanks to it's graphical style the game still holds up well today.

I can safely say I put in too much time in this game over the years. My journey went from PSO ver.1 > PSO ver.2 > PSO Ep. I&II (GC) > PSO Ep. III > PSO BB > PSU > PSU: AOI > PS:0 (JP import, a first and only) > PSO:0 English. Over the years I took a crack at PSO2 and various PSO:BB and GC private servers. Today I am here, sometimes.

As for that IGN board user who introduced me to the game, I never did play with him.

 

[Harborer of Hope]

I've been playing PSO since the Gamecube with me and 3 of my other friends. We would go over to the friends house that owned the game and we would play for hours, although I will say that we weren't very good and didn't even get very far. As I don't think I ever got a single rare. This was for a few reasons, as we loved just making new characters and trying them out, and whenever we got to a "high level" we never really went passed it because life always takes over.

While I was in school my and one of those friends found a server running and we decided to give it a shot. SCHTSERV, in the days of Crono running the show. I put so much time and effort into PSO and still to this day have so many fond memories of playing late at night blowing off all my school work just to have a chance at getting a good rare drop. However, nothing lasts forever, there was a data loss making me lose all of my progress on a Humar by the name of dg-pilz-e who was around level 130-140, as well as the general mismanagement of the server turned me off from playing PSO online for awhile. As i needed to focus my time and energy on the schoolwork i neglected to I could get into my higher education so I could pursue my goal of becoming a paramedic.

Alongside being a PSO player i'm also a big fan of the Super Smash Bros scene, Theres always a saying in the community that nobody officially "quits" or leaves forever, it's just a hiatus until you rediscover your love and passion for a game as well as a community. PSO is no different to me. I made good friends while I was on SCHTSERV and made a lot of memories from the enjoyable grindfest that PSO is, and I wanted to do the same again. When that same friend told me he was playing on this server, I downloaded immediately. Enjoying every minute of this community and almost 20 year old game yet again.

Gaming nowadays is in my honest opinion worse then it was 20 years ago, there's a lack of passion and the demographic has changed into live games trying to reap larger profits off of microtransactions. There isn't a very good sense of community in most of these experiences because it always feels like developers are against their player base, trying to put in anti consumer practices like paying money for a dot on a gun. Ephinea isn't ran by companies or corporations. it's run by it's community, A community that has a special love for a game that should be considered so outdated, As Mew said, there are games that completely blow PSO out of the water on nearly every level, But a game is more then it's graphics, sound, and level design. It's about creating an experience the players will never forget and want to let go of. This is why no matter how old this game gets, no matter how many better options there will be. I will always come back to this extraordinary game.

Awwwwww Junko-chaaaan~! *Moar Squeezies!* =3 <3!

 

[Ryan]

Wow, I never posted here? Wild.

I'll just copy my post from my original intro thread...

I'm Ryan! I got my start with PSO on the Gamecube a loooong time ago; I originally bought PSO just to get the Tails Chao in SA2B, and it turned out to be an amazing and addictive game in its own right. I switched to BB not long after Sega's servers for it went down, as I didn't want to cheat them out of any money or anything... I played on Schthack for years before getting disillusioned with it due to its "cheat protection" that kept crashing my browser and Skype. :| I played on an obscure private server for a bit not long ago, but that stopped working for me too; it had some crazy experience boosts on literally all the time, which was a big turnoff by itself.

I was directed here by a couple of members of the /r/PSO community on Reddit. I'm looking forward to an amazing vanilla PSO experience that I haven't had since my days on GC!

 

[Serph_Embryon]

Rambling ahead.

I already mentioned this in my introduction post but I might as well expand on it. So I was from Gamecube. I don't remember how long I played PSO but it for a good number of months at the very least; probably over a year or so. I think I also hit level 120ish as a Greennill HUmar. That Class in particular is special to me personally since it was the first one I ever played as in PSO. I was introduced to a good friend who I played with for awhile there. But then GC PSO went down we eventually moved to Schthack. I still have screenshots of our time there.

Sadly, after knowing him for what feels like almost a decade, he broke off all communication with me and it's been years since I've talked to him. His friend (Who I've also known for a long while and notably never played PSO) hasn't talked to him in about as long either. All I know is that he's still alive and well. It's incredibly unlikely that my friend is here and I don't expect to run into him but still I do really like this game all the same.

That title theme will always be my favorite.