Phantasy Star Offline 

Tha Gamecube version of PSO had split-screen, which allowed us to co-op thrugh the whole game at my friend's house. Good times.

PSO's y2k futurism aesthetic is what originally enticed me to try it out a couple of years ago and since than the series has had a special place in my heart. It's not too often that you see games with that kind of art style and vibe these days outside of niche indie circles.

I only ever played this game offline on the GameCube with my brother, and still this is possibly the most impact a video game has made on my future taste in gaming. The feeling of seeing a red box drop has still yet to be matched!

The music is literally timeless

Sega's depiction of space and space colonies has always looked so pretty and unique!

Still my most beloved game. It's a huge shame you never got to experience the Online gameplay where it shone brightest and was absolutely designed for.

Ahhh the nostalgia is strong on this one. It really shaped how I felt online RPGs should be structured. By the time I played WoW I was unimpressed, but apparently that's the template that worked for most people. The fact that the whole thing is playable offline means old heads can continue enjoying it for decades to come too!

Offline mode for Phantasy Star Online is the sort of endgame all to be eventually discontinued MMOs should strive for. No, it'll never be the same as playing online as intended, but at least it doesn't make all that artistic effort just vanish one day.

This game will always be my favorite game of all time. Like you, I really only played offline until private servers came out. I spends hundreds and hundreds of hours playing offline with my friends on the GameCube. Such good memories! I still remember finding my first rare weapon….

being someone formerly involved with the PSO2 translation before the official western servers came out, and a PSO fan since the Dreamcast myself, I can shed some light on why it's not "PSO3". PSO2 was the single biggest massive success the franchise has had natively, the original PSO2 held strong for nearly a decade, massive merchandising, two anime, and so much more, when the time came it's age was really starting to hold things back ~2017, they began development of New Genesis as a successor, and settled on making PSO2 and NGS share not only a client, but let you carry over your character (aesthetically) to not lose the existing base of players. They actually did discuss that they had considered "PSO3", but opted to focus on "PSO2" as a brand, rather than "Phantasy Star", because for all intents and purposes, PSO2 had outgrown it's own series in popularity

The Dreamcast was ahead of its time. I never owned one but the launch lineup really got my attention. Having killer apps available for a new console release is like a lost art now.

On Phantasy Star Zero, I was quite literally addicted to it on the DS. It's genuinely fun. Highly recommended, it has flown under the radar for far too long.

I love this game SO MUCH. Played a LOT on my Dreamcast. Then finally online when the PC port came, and in official SEGA servers! Then Blue Burst on alternative servers.. Oh my GOD this game is so good

Flood of nostalgia just from the first few seconds. It legitimately made me emotional. I probably had 400 hours in one of my charters. The thing about nostalgia is that it reminds you that life was simpler back then… Great video!

It's a shame you never played the game online as having the community is what the game was really about. Not just having people to play with but learn from as you'd be surprised how much more complex the games mechanics can get. This game really opens up when you have that kind of access.

A simple remake of this on the Switch would be such a treat, even if it was offline only. I'd love to play this again, I just don't have the time (and money) to get it all set up on the GameCube again. Put easily 1500+ hours into this gem.

To anyone on this video. Look up the theme after you beat the final boss and it goes to the credits. Still the best songs you could hear finishing this game. Good memories.

"Corridor Based" Is an excellent term for these types of games

I spent hundreds of hours on PSO(ffline). Bosses are spongy but if you come back a few hours later, you'll deal with them in no time. 2 of my favourite things about this game is its loot system paired with the fact that you can upgrade your weapons. I remember keeping a weapon for so long that it had +26 after its name (which was the max for this specific weapon). It's basically the opposite of modern looter games, you cared about some of your weapons in PSO, you had them for maybe 20 hours, they were gradually improving alongside you (so was your mag)

Always happy to see this game continuing to get the recognition it deserves ✌

I played this for thousands of hours online back in the day. It's one of my all time favorites.

The Gamecube version of PSO is more tuned with offline/single-player in mind so boss fights don't take a million years. The Caves boss on normal only has like 4k hp or some such. Much more manageable than 6k when you're only doing 9-12 damage for most of the fight. I played the GC version growing up strictly offline. On occasion my school friend would come over and we'd play coop but that's about it. PSO, Morrowind, Diablo 1 and 2, Deus Ex, Kingpin: Life of Crime, Blood 2, MGS 1 and 2, Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3, Ocarina of Time, etc., etc., these are all the games I am in love with, and games I still go back to at least a couple times a year. Granted, most of those aren't from the 2,000's but still.

Another great video, as always! Love getting to hear about series that I never played myself but have always been interested in.

1:45 I've been playing too long. When that Belra didn't turn and try to smash the camera I was shocked.

This video was so appropriately timed for me lol. I recently picked the game back up on my ol GameCube and play it whenever I'm capped on all my weekly stuff on FFXIV. There's just something about the relative simplicity of old-school PSO. It's not that flashy or complex, being a loot-based MMO, but it's just so damn fun that you can't forget about it. I recall the online days spent on my Dreamcast, and they were many and memorable. Maybe someday I'll see about doing a Blue Burst pserv. Until then, I'll continue being salty that all my level 20+ tech disks for my Fomarl aren't dropping😂

Few games have given me this kind of atmosphere.

I lived in Pioneer 2 since the first day the game was released here in Europe, to the day SEGA closed it's servers, when internet connections were dial ups, and the phone bills were criminal when you played A LOT, like me. Like me, yes, that i was 15 years old at the time, and had a lot of time, and i spent entire days playing it, most of the time with no sleep at all. It was my first window to that thing called "internet", talking to people from afar was mind blowind, and the game had a nice community, i remember some days just logging in just for chatting with my friends in the lobbys. Still have the cigarette burned Dreamcast Keyboard lol. Of course later on i played Universe and PSO Blue Burst (i play them ocassionally now) but it was never the same for me, Ragol was unique.

Good stuff. I remember to see the ads of this game in so many gaming magazines back then, really interesting see this callback. Keep up!

When I was in high school back in 2003ish, my friend had this on gamecube and he brought it over one afternoon. We played all night long and I continued to play by myself till they left the next morning. I never slept. I was instantly in love. I BEGGED them to come back as often as possible so I could play. I eventually got the game myself so I could play without them needing to bring their copy over and I lived on it, offline, for probably the next 5 or 6 years. I and my friends were racing to see who could be the first to do things, unlock new difficulties, equip certain armor and weapons, find certain units, and see new mag species. I was the first to reach Ultimate difficulty on my Hunewearl! I was so excited and my friends and I were in awe of how much the game changed at that tier. I have so many fond memories of this game, PSO will be in my blood till the day I die probably. Awesome video, thanks for all the nostalgic memories.

the boss-fight music is gold

The forest theme is still absolutely magically to this day

Love your videos, keep up the good work :3

I also experienced both Phantasy Star 1 and PSO for the first time pretty recently as well and so this video was a treat to watch. I love both of these games and the PS series has this nostalgic quality to it thats hard to place. I didnt grow up with either of these games but just seeing them on a screen makes me feel feelings as if I had.

This is a great video, Videos like this is why i still enjoy being apart of the PS community. (Also thank you for introducing me to TheAnine3D channel as well, Really cool stuff!)

I also only played this game offline for the game cube. My all time favorite game...never have i seen sealed-j sword drop once, but i still love it all the same. Hucast for life.

I'm so glad this popped up in my recommendations! I subbed!

I still play it to this day, and people are still playing!

I spent all my hours on the GameCube version solo and splitscreen with a friend. Before modern gaming with so many gacha mechanics the high point was always seeing an enemy or boss drop a red item box. Rare item hunting was one of my favorite things to do.

Hi, thanks for the video. I am glad to find this channel. Please keep up the good work. I am a sega fanboy and owned dreamcast back in the day.

This is the exact video I was looking for. That 100% deserves a sub.

One of the best videos made about PSO, keep it up!

Ok, seeing a Video like this in 2023 is AWESOME! I have PSO & Ver.2 for Dreamcast, but I was seeing some contradictory information on GameFAQs, and was REALLY Worried when I saw the Ver.2 Manual mention "Sereal Numbers" (which I don't Have, cause I did a Case Replacement!) But actually seeing Footage stating you CAN play Offline, puts me ar ease! Weather predictions are anticipating a pretty bad Ice Storm this year, and if I'm locked inside for a Week or Two, I see no better time to play Phantasy Star!!

PSO2 is still playable online with a raspberry pi and some simple software. I still play regular (only started pso 2 online in 2009 on DC with a BBA). Great fun

One of my favourite childhood games. Always dreamed of playing it online but split screen was good enough. Haven't seen so much as a screenshot of this game in well over a decade. Great memories. Nothing in gaming will match the dopamine kick of finding one of those legendary red weapons with the yellow name.

This was my first online experience (second if you take into account Planet Ring), and I still remember the first night I played this. It was absolutely amazing. I made so many friends playing this... I still play with them online until this day. It's hard to understand because the game is very old and you have 1000 MMO's now, but it was a magical experience. PSO was a masterpiece.

you can still play this game online to this day. it's a private server called PSO2: Blue Burst. it's still very active too

I played PSO a bunch alone and with friends as a kid, all offline. A couple years ago, I heard about private servers and finally got to play through the hardest difficulties with other people. It was an absolute blast, and it really showed me what I missed as a kid, only being able to play offline. PSO is a game that will always hold a special place for me.

Exactly the kind of video I would have loved to have made about my time with the Gamecube port, there was just something about the time frame of just barely understanding what I was in for on my own with vague guides from PSOworld at the time. There was something kind of bittersweet and solemn about almost every encounter considering you had to really set aside time depending on the size of the zones and there were story beats like Dark Falz, Soul of Steel and the esoteric sidequest steps like Soul Eater.

It hurts my heart hearing this game referred to as "classic games" in the same way it's weird hearing The Offspring referred to as classic rock. I can't believe it's been nearly a quarter of a century since this game came out.

The fact people still talk about this game says so much❤ This was definitely ahead of its time!

Loved this series in GC back in the day. Would play offline with my friends and online with strangers. Was a great time. A few years ago played and beat PS IV and man does it rock…honestly can’t get into the other originals though

Man, please respect the aspect ratio, don't stretch a 4:3 frame. I haven't used a Dreamcast emulator in a while but I seem to remember an option to make it render more of the sides to have it in proper 16:9.

This was the first online game I ever played as a kid back when it was first released on the Dreamcast. It was quite an experience and I made a number of friends in the game. Unfortunately, people could "hack" your character and turn them into a completely different character using a cheating device I'm guessing, and that eventually happened to my character, though I still kept playing after it happened. I played through the Blue Burst version of the game on a private server with a couple of friends a few years ago. It's still a fun experience, and, like you, I love the aesthetics and the music of the game.

I put so many hours on the game cube version with the transfer data system. Was wonderful with friends and family

seeing NGS on the screen is neat, but honestly a lot of us PSO2 enjoyers still love the base game, especially all the stuff that's happening with newer updates

I guess I shouldn't be suprised by PSO using some of their 8 bit og series soundtracks, but I have to say: I didn't think that the VR Spaceship theme slaps this hard in 8 bit

Once on Kongregate I saw a game called Phantasy Star Offline, or something similar to that, I thought it was interesting so I checked it out. The game loaded up to a small character in a top down rpg format, the entire area was devoid of anything except the Player, I started moving to the left before the game abruptly stopped and showed as screen mimicking a "You Have Been Banned" screen that you'd find in online games, and I couldnt do anything else. I wondered what exactly was going on, so I took to the comments. From what I could gather, it seems that this game's creator had gotten banned from Phantasy Star Online (for a reason he most likely found to be unfair) and decided to make this short game to (for lack of a better term) spite the PSON devs. The PSOFF game is still playable in kongregate if you want to check it out, though your playthrough will most likely be the exact same as mine was...

@ 1:13 This is the site of a translation error, or perhaps an omission. We actually came to Ragol in search of clean energy, as this was where Photon was discovered-However it was found that Dark Falz created it, leading into the rest of the games.

My biggest gripe with the supposed sequels, pso2 and NGS, are that the class roles are basically non-existent. Pso2 dungeon runs are actually a racing game in disguise with how fast they get cleared, and NGS is actually just Phantasy May Star. With the original, rangers are integral for long range threat management, forces for support and aoe/multitarget damage (bosses), and hunters are needed to keep the monsters off of the first two. It's still there in zero and to a slightly lesser extent in universe, but I don't see anything like it in 2/NGS, just people dpsing as fast as they possibly can

The music always brings me back.

PS4 is one of the best 16-bit JRPGs as well IMO.

I love Phantasy Star Zero, it's like PSO except it fits in my handbag and I can take it with me anywhere.

Having a lvl 118 hucaseal with twin sabers and a god/battle (speeds up attack sleed by 30%) will always be one of my greatest accomplishments in gaming.

Dreamcast was so ahead of its time. I had no idea it even could connect to the internet until many years after it had already lost support. Such a cool console.

Great video, still love PSO The shout out to the first Phantasy Star is welcome as well, this series deserves more love, you just don't see more Jrpgs like it Also, I need to find the Brazilian PS1 remake made in Java (yes, really) It's the same game but with better leveling, better monster stats and the possibility to save in as many files as you want

Love the video. If you plan on jumping into Phantasy Stat Zero I highly recommend looking up the shortcut commands as none of them are explained ingame and greatly increase the gameplay experience.

PSO on Gamecube was the perfect gaming experience for me, in large part due to the couch co-op. I could play offline with my brothers and/or roommate, then take the same character online and meet some amazing people from all over. I still come back to it every few years. I hope to get my son into it so we can play together too.

I still can't believe this game ran on the dreamcast with a 28.8K modem using dialup (this was the time when kid gamers started to research into monthly internet plans to bug their parents with)

I literally just started playing Ephineas server. Great timing.

Great video as always !

I remember going into the dragon boss as a hunter. Was in the air half the time so i learned to keep a good pistol on me when i farmed him. Good times

I was insanely addicted to the original one on DC. Used to eat my dinners in front of it. Sheogorath, a RAcast. I also played the Gamecube one, but never was addicted to it as much as the DC one though.

It was the first online game I played and I played it a lot. Played the BB release on PC when the private servers were still popular. Still play the offline/private Tethella client from time to time.

Been looking forward to this. Great vid as always, loving the chill vibs. So true, mines was the prettiest level although Forest is a close second - and there was something about seeing the distant ruins in... Ruins... that was just otherworldly. Also love that this is Phantasy Star 'Offline' - I've ground (grinded?) 260+ hours in leveling up to 120 just to beat the final boss on Ultimate. The same... four... levels... over and over again... over a period of 20 years on and off! But due to the save file it's the only game I still play on the original hardware rather than emulating. Did you ever go online even back in the heyday, and have you tried in the current day? There's apparently a niche community that's set up servers and sell hardware that's supposed to get the DC back online but I've never got it working for me

I kinda think the beauty of the origihnal PSO is in its simplicity. If they made it today it'd be full of skill trees and a bunch of dicking around in the menus. I like that it took the turn-based combat of the originals, translated it to realtime, and made it feel smooth enough while running on dial-up. Playing it now has almost like a meditative vibe for me that PSU only partially captured and PSO2 just abandoned outright.

Great memories of this one

5:56 did you know you can hit the start button/bring up the menu while going through a tunnel with traps and it wont slow you down, so you can safely pass through. Just a little tip ;)

Wow this really takes me back. I had such a good time with PSO Online but the jump from single player to online multiplayer was initially a big turn off for me. I gave it shot though and loved it. Phantasy Star 4 though will always be dear to me since it was my very first RPG. One can only dream of a remake.

When my brothers, nephew , and niece have game nights. We play GameCube on the Wii. We play local 4 player co-op on PSO. Great times.

Pso is still played to this day in the PSOBB version.

My favorite offline game ive ever played used to play with my brother lots of memories. Id really love if they remade this game😊

many a night on gc 4 players , and now many on ultima server and still loving it to chill on and solo

really cant wait for you to talk about Phantasy Star Universe

Very cool 😎👍 always been intrigued by PSO

I haven't had my dreamcast for many years now, but I still play my gamecube version sometimes. Still love this game.

There is still a big community playing even using their dreamcast connected online to play the original version.

Just picked PSO, i'm extremely stoked!

This popped up in my recommended out of nowhere and clicked to see what this was about, the moment I saw "Dreamcast Enjoyer" I subbed instantly. What a GIGACHAD, great video.

Apparently my dad logged a lot of hours on the Dreamcast version back in the day. I'm working on getting my Dreamcast online so I can try it out. I love the aesthetic of the game. I find it oddly nostalgic, even though it came out six years before I was born.

Played PSOffline for ages as a kid. Fast forward many years later, I bought a broad band adapter and started playing on Schthack server with my GameCube. Only then I could finish my quest of making a double cannon ❤

I remember buying PSO on Dreamcast after working to get the money. And I ripped out the serial sticker cus I didn't know I needed it. So my game was useless. But it came out on GameCube and that's when I finally played it...

Game never went away thankfully to very dedicated people. Ephinea is my favorite private server. I always keep it installed with how small it is.

This and Phantasy Star Universe were my childhood.

So addicting!

You heard the man! Stay phantastic!

I started with Phantasy Star Portable when I was little and goddamn I loved it.

I wish I had played PSO as a kid, I'm sure it'd still be one of my favorite games today. I never played it but still feel like it's one of my favorites somehow.

It sucks that many went back to this and just forgot about OG PSO2 it kind of upsets me a bit now these days... Looking back that's just tough now I guess but very unfortunate really.

I played this online on the dreamcast back when dial up was a thing! So many great memories! Not to mention everyone was using the GameShark to mod in the game and there was no restrictions adding mods and cheats online for the dreamcast.

Great memories of this game! Luckily I had a PC but couldnt really afford many games. The PC version was actually easily pirated and there was an exploit to allow the trial version to get access to the entire game. There was also a duplication exploit and hundreds of people willing to hook you up. So like 12 year old me running around in groups in the highest level gear having no idea what was going on but looking like a badass android. Good times.