Phantasy Star – Retro Game Resource

Introduction

My recent article on my experience with the SEGA Dreamcast sent me on a nostalgia trip from which I have not yet recovered. As the weeks elapsed from the writing of that article, I slowly became overwhelmed with a yearning to delve more deeply into some of the individual games that defined that time in my life. One game in particular kept cropping up in my near-aimless wanderings through my memories; that game was Phantasy Star Online. The reason I so hastily pursued writing about this game was first its incompatability with a formal review in my format thanks to the thousands of hours it would take to replicate my previous playthroughs in their entirety, allowing me to avoid another taxing review, and second its near-evergreen relevance to my gaming life. There have been very few games, if any, that have siphoned such a percentage of my waking hours; Phantasy Star Online is all consuming. This dungeon-crawling, party-based online multiplayer, action-RPG allowed a peek into the future, at a time when online console gaming was truly in its infancy, and it all began with a chance purchase of a Dreamcast magazine at the corner pharmacy.

Continue reading “Gaming Memories #3: Phantasy Star Online”

Introduction

Some time around 1999 or 2000, I purchased an Official Dreamcast Magazine and saw a multi-page spread on on a game called Phantasy Star Online. Being exclusively a console gamer, I was absolutely blown away by the next-gen graphics and the ability to play with strangers online. I read and re-read the article innumerable times, until I finally got the game as a gift from my parents. Though they would not agree to the recurring payment for Dreamcast’s online service, I spent 100’s of hours in solo mode and considered the game one of my favorite of all-time.

With the game, I purchased a strategy guide that had a history of the Phantasy Star series in the back, and I was intrigued. This directly lead to my exploration of these games that I had missed in my SEGA Genesis days, due to a lack of perceived interest in RPGs.

By the time I had experienced PSO, I had already been thoroughly indoctrinated in RPGs, my new favorite genre, and was ready to partake in the founding entries of the series. The obvious starting point was the game that laid the foundation for the series, a game that was truly ahead of its time; that game was Phantasy Star for the SEGA Master System, a console I had previously known nothing about.

Continue reading “Phantasy Star (Sega Master System) Resource”