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Phantasy Star Online

January 01, 1970

Phantasy Star Online is an online role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. It was the first successful online RPG for game consoles; players adventure with up to three others over the internet to complete quests, collect items and fight enemies in real-time action RPG combat. The story is unrelated to previous games in the Phantasy Star series.

Phantasy Star Online
Japanese Dreamcast cover art
Developer(s)Sonic Team
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Takao Miyoshi
Producer(s)Yuji Naka
Programmer(s)Akio Setsumasa
Artist(s)Satoshi Sakai
Writer(s)Akinori Nishiyama
Composer(s)Hideaki Kobayashi
Fumie Kumatani
SeriesPhantasy Star
Platform(s)Dreamcast
Windows
GameCube
Xbox
Release
December 21, 2000
  • Dreamcast
    • JP: December 21, 2000
    • NA: January 30, 2001
    • EU: February 15, 2001[1]
    Ver.2
    • JP: June 7, 2001
    • NA: September 25, 2001
    • EU: March 1, 2002[2]
    Windows
    • JP: December 20, 2001
    GameCube
    • JP: September 12, 2002[4]
    • NA: October 30, 2002[3]
    • EU: March 7, 2003
    Xbox
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Before Phantasy Star Online, online gaming was limited to western PC games, particularly RPGs such as Diablo, Ultima Online, and EverQuest. Believing online play was the future, Sega chairman Isao Okawa instructed Sonic Team to develop an online game for the Dreamcast, produced by Yuji Naka. Sonic Team's experiments led to the development of ChuChu Rocket!, the first online Dreamcast game. Using what they learned from the project, and taking significant inspiration from Diablo, Sonic Team built Phantasy Star Online. As Japanese internet service providers charged for dial-up access per minute, and high-speed connections were not yet widely available, Okawa personally paid for free internet access bundled with Japanese Dreamcasts.

Phantasy Star Online was highly anticipated and launched to positive reviews and commercial success; critics praised the online gameplay as addictive but criticized the single-player mode. It received the Japan Game Award for "Game of the Year" and is recognized as a landmark console game, influencing multiplayer dungeon crawlers such as the Monster Hunter series.

Phantasy Star Online was ported to Windows and rereleased on the Dreamcast as Ver. 2 with expanded content. Following Sega's exit from the console business in 2001, the game was ported to GameCube and Xbox as Episode I & II, featuring new characters, environments and other features. Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution, released for GameCube in 2003, was a turn-based card game. The online series continued with Phantasy Star Universe (2006) and Phantasy Star Online 2 (2012). Sega decommissioned the last official servers in 2010; Phantasy Star Online is still played on private servers.

Gameplay edit

 
A player battling enemies in the forests of Ragol with three other players

Phantasy Star Online is an action role-playing game primarily played with other players cooperatively over the internet. Players take on the role of adventurers sent to explore Ragol, an uncharted planet.[8] To create their character, they choose between a handful of races and classes, which define their abilities and statistics; for example, some types are better with "techniques" (magic spells) while others are more skilled with ranged or melee weapons.[9]

Players can play either online or offline. Online, players are brought to a lobby where they can chat and organize teams of up to four.[10][a] Team members can communicate by typing using a physical or onscreen keyboard,[9] even when in different environments.[10] Preset phrases are automatically translated between languages, and custom emoticons are also supported.[9] Players can also exchange "guild cards" to exchange private messages and see when the other is online.[9]

After organizing a team, players are transported to their own instance of the hub spaceship Pioneer 2, where they can buy and sell items, store money and items, heal, and browse quests.[10] At any time, they can transport to Ragol, where combat and exploration take place.[10] The four environments – forests, caves, mines, or ruins[10] – comprise winding passages and large areas where enemies spawn.[10] Players fight enemies in real time, using weapons and techniques and collecting items.[13] Attacks can be chained for more accuracy and speed.[14][15] Typically, all the monsters in a room must be defeated to advance.[9] Each environment ends in a boss battle, which rewards the team with a large sum of experience points.[10] Quests, taken on Pioneer 2, task players with specific challenges; once completed, the team returns to Pioneer 2 to collect their reward.[10] Higher difficulties reward players with more experience points and better items. Some items can be used to feed the player's mag, a small creature that follows the player character and aids them in battle.[10]

Plot edit

The story of Phantasy Star Online is unrelated to the original Phantasy Star series,[10] and is less substantial.[8] Threatened by the imminent destruction of their home planet, thousands of refugees arrive at planet Ragol aboard the spaceship Pioneer 2. As they establish contact with colonists sent ahead on Pioneer 1, an enormous explosion shakes the planet. Adventurers from Pioneer 2 land to investigate the explosion and search for Rico Tyrell, daughter of the head of Pioneer 2. They discover the planet overrun by monsters, and follow messages left by Rico leading to an ancient evil, Dark Falz.

Development edit

By the late 1990s, the popularity of online gaming on personal computers had grown substantially in the west, but was almost nonexistent in Japan, where consoles were more popular. Sega chairman Isao Okawa believed the internet was the future of gaming and wanted a flagship online game for Sega's Dreamcast console. None of Sega's development studios wanted the project, as they were occupied with their own ventures, such as Jet Set Radio (2000) and the Sakura Wars series.[16] Okawa gave the responsibility to Sonic Team, led by Yuji Naka.[16][17] Sonic Team was not particularly receptive to the decision, but continued with development.[16] After Okawa became ill, Naka sent reports to the hospital to update him on progress.[16]

Concept edit

 
Producer Yuji Naka in 2015

Sonic Team began experimenting with the Dreamcast's network capabilities after completing Sonic Adventure in 1998.[18] They saw the creation of an online game for Japan, a nation of console gamers, as a serious challenge, akin to creating a new genre.[16] Much of their time was spent learning the basic elements of online gaming; they wanted to make sure the network functionality worked before developing the gameplay, setting, and story.[16][19] Their network experiments became ChuChu Rocket!, released in 1999 as the first online game for the Dreamcast.[19][20][21][22] Sonic Team used the lessons learned from ChuChu Rocket! to implement network technology in the larger project.[19][21][22]

Because of the lack of Japanese online games, and the developers' experience with the genre, Naka looked to western games for inspiration,[16] and studied three online RPGs popular at the time: Diablo (1996), Ultima Online (1997), and EverQuest (1999).[16] Diablo in particular impressed him on a gameplay and technical level; he enjoyed how smooth the graphics and action were despite requiring significant system memory.[19] Diablo was a 2D game, however, and Sonic Team wanted to develop a 3D game with the same degree of smoothness and gameplay. This concerned Naka, as he did not want his game to use the cheap and bland graphics associated with online games.[16]

Naka decided against creating a massively multiplayer game similar to Ultima Online and EverQuest, which would handle many players simultaneously in a persistent world; the necessary servers would have required two years of programming, and the Dreamcast did not have a hard disk drive to support continuous online patches. Naka was also more interested in working on new projects instead of continuously updating the same game for years, and doubted Sonic Team would be able to keep the game interesting.[11] The team therefore adopted Diablo as their main inspiration, determined to outclass it.[16]

Art and setting edit

Sonic Team built a science fiction-fantasy game under the working title Third World.[16][19] The art style was "comic-like" at first, but became more realistic. One of artist Satoshi Sakai's early concept drawings of a dragon reminded Naka of Sega's Phantasy Star series; which had been dormant since Phantasy Star IV (1993) for the Genesis.[16] Naka had served as main programmer on Phantasy Star (1987) and Phantasy Star II (1989).[23] He had always wanted to develop a multiplayer Phantasy Star game, but previous hardware did not allow for it.[24]

With the Phantasy Star series chosen as the setting, Sonic Team continued developing the gameplay and story. The team was given freedom not to adhere strictly to elements from earlier Phantasy Star games.[16][19] The game would not continue the story from the previous Phantasy Star games, something that made Naka feel liberated.[18][24] Since few of the Phantasy Star IV staff still worked at Sega, the art team felt little obligation to adhere to the previous games' style, retaining only the science fiction look and some enemy and item names. Naka and Sakai believed factors such as the change in graphical fidelity and genre were enough to differentiate it from previous Phantasy Star games.[16]

Music edit

The soundtrack was composed by Hideaki Kobayashi using a Roland JV-2080 synthesizer, with live orchestration on some tracks, including the theme song. Kobayashi composed ambient music for calm scenes, and incorporated more rhythm and melody for battles. He composed short four-bar melodies that are sequenced depending on gameplay; for example, when an enemy appears, the system plays music associated with that enemy. The process was a drain on the Dreamcast hardware, and gained the nickname "the crasher" among staff for how often it would crash the game during development.[25]

Online functionality edit

Sonic Team had conceived their 1998 Saturn game Burning Rangers as an online game for four players, but abandoned the idea due to insurmountable network problems.[26] They used the ChuChu Rocket! networking system as a template for the online functions for Phantasy Star Online.[19][21][22] This presented new challenges, as the new network would connect players between different countries.[19] Sonic Team ran experiments with different internet service providers, dial-up modems, cable modems, and other networking configurations to ensure the game would work for all players.[23] In Japan, Sonic Team gave beta versions to 10,000 users who pre-ordered the game, so they could work with a variety of equipment and internet services to eliminate problems.[23] They wanted to run a worldwide test but did not have time.[23] 90% of the testers were able to play online.[27] Despite technical success, Sega was concerned that the high cost of internet access in Japan would be prohibitive for gamers and reduce sales.[24] Japanese internet service providers charged per-minute fees for dial-up access, and high-speed options such as broadband were not yet widely available. To combat this, chairman Okawa personally paid for free internet access for one year to be bundled with each Dreamcast.[16]

One of the biggest challenges was bridging the language barrier between global players.[18] Sonic Team felt that developing a universal language system would be the largest barrier to a global gaming network.[19] The team started by developing the word select system, which allows players to select predefined expressions to be translated to other players.[17] The system had about 2000 words near the end of development, and Naka found it difficult to add more words to satisfy all player needs.[11] Sonic Team built support for five languages: Japanese, English, Spanish, German, and French.[28] They omitted Italian and Portuguese due to time constraints. Korean was also considered because of the internet boom in Korea at the time.[11] Japanese and English were easier to implement because the only concern is the word location in the sentence, whereas Spanish and French have grammatical gender. The language system had to be fully redesigned at least once.[11]

Each server could accommodate one thousand players.[29] Sega initially prepared 20 network servers to accommodate 20,000 online users for game's launch, with room to add more servers as necessary.[30] This was increased to support up to 36,000 players right before launch.[27] Sonic Team partnered with Swatch to use Swatch Internet time (or "beat time") as a universal clock for the game.[19] The clock was implemented so players could coordinate with those in other countries on when to play online.[31] The clock system divides each 24 hours into 1000 beats, with one beat equaling one minute and 26.4 seconds.[31][32] The time was maintained directly on the server and not based on the user's clock on their system.[19] Sonic Team decided not to add jumping to keep the levels simple and simplify the network code.[26]

Naka joked that future gamers would laugh at the word "Online" in the title, as he believed that online gaming would become standard; it was included as the concept was new and so important to communicate.[19]

End of production edit

Phantasy Star Online was planned for release in March 2000, but was delayed so more features could be added.[11][23] The team planned 18 character types, and had male and female sketches for each, but settled on nine.[23] A player-versus-player mode was included in beta versions given to journalists, but this was omitted in the final version because it distracted players from the cooperative focus and introduced game balance issues;[23] additionally, as the console-playing audience was younger than the PC audience, Naka did not want to evoke competitive behavior.[19] The development team had more ideas for features to implement as development came to a close, with Naka wishing he had six additional months to add more features.[11] Phantasy Star Online took two years to develop.[18] Naka found it difficult to make a networked game for consoles, and developed an appreciation for Microsoft for supporting online games so well.[19]

Promotion edit

"As one of the most anticipated games for RPG fans and Dreamcast owners alike, Sonic Team's Phantasy Star Online represents what could be the pinnacle of current next-generation gaming, roleplaying or otherwise."

— Official Dreamcast Magazine (US), December 2000[33]

Sega unveiled Phantasy Star Online at the 1999 Tokyo Game Show with a gameplay demonstration.[24][34] Naka called it the "killer app" for the Dreamcast as it used all aspects of the system, most importantly the modem.[11]

As the first online RPG for consoles, Phantasy Star Online was highly anticipated.[11][28][33][35] Journalists saw it as the next evolutionary step in console-based role-playing games.[11][13] Francesca Reyes of Official Dreamcast Magazine proposed that it would be an "industry-changing title", a landmark in the history of console gaming.[11] Computer and Video Games wrote that the Dreamcast was quickly becoming the platform for innovative games, and wrote that Phantasy Star Online was "arguably the most revolutionary - not the mention most ambitious - console game ever".[36] GameSpot believed it would "change the way we think of RPGs" and could possibly be "the most exciting console RPG ever created".[13][37] Edge wrote that the multiplayer mechanics "would lay the foundations for a new era of console gaming".[17] Video Gamer called it the "Dreamcast's most ambitious project yet".[35] Some journalists had concerns about the viability of the online modes, and saw the single-player option as a fail-safe should it not function correctly.[32][35]

To promote the game, Sega bought a star on the International Star Registry and named it "Ragol".[38] The first 100,000 people to pre-order the game in Japan received Phantasy Star Online branded dog tags.[39] A limited edition in Japan including a branded memory card was canceled and the memory card sold separately on Sega's website.[40][41] Early copies of the game included a demo for Sonic Adventure 2.[42]

Launch edit

 
Phantasy Star Online was first released for the Dreamcast.

Phantasy Star Online was released in Japan on December 21, 2000.[40] The language could be changed to English or any of the other supported chat languages, making it "import-friendly".[43] Naka had hoped for a simultaneous global release, but the western release was delayed for beta testing and marketing reasons.[17][40] While subscriptions would be free in North America,[44] in Japan the game included a 30-day free trial, after which Japanese players were required to purchase 30-day or 90-day subscriptions.[45] Immediately after the Japanese release, Sonic Team began maintaining the overworked servers and investigated network problems in Hiroshima and Okayama.[16]

Sonic Team hoped that Phantasy Star Online would be successful in Japan; international sales were seen as a bonus.[16] In North America, which Naka believed would be the biggest market, Phantasy Star Online was released on January 30, 2001.[46][47] It sold 75,000 copies there on the first day and was the bestselling game that week.[48][49] Sega's North American online gaming service SegaNet was not required for online play.[31] While the Japanese version supported the modem and broadband adapters,[27] the North American release did not support the broadband adapter, but IGN explained how to use it by swapping discs with an import copy.[50]

Phantasy Star Online sold 500,000 copies in Japan and one million worldwide, meeting Sega's expectations almost exactly.[30] Naka had hoped to sell more, but believed the servers may not have carried the load.[16] Before its western launch, nearly 100,000 players had registered.[18] By April 2001, over 235,000 players had registered worldwide: 130,000 in Japan, 70,000 in North America, and 35,000 in Europe.[51][52] By May, over 270,000 had registered.[53] The peak number of users connected simultaneously was 26,000.[52]

Phantasy Star Online suffered problems common with other online games, with players cheating and selling rare items online.[54] Several weeks after launch, Japanese players began exploiting bugs to duplicate items, enhance their stats, and kill other players.[55][56] Sonic Team announced they would ban players found cheating or disrupting other players, starting in May 2001.[56][57] According to IGN, cheating was prevalent because Phantasy Star Online used a peer-to-peer communication system. Blizzard Entertainment had similar problems with Diablo, but after moving to a client-server system for Diablo II, cheating became more difficult.[55]

Sonic Team added more quests for players to download, translated into the five languages used in the game.[23] In Japan, a special "Fan Cup" quest was held from March 23 to April 6, developed with the game magazine Famitsu. In the event, over 70,000 players[52] competed for the fastest time; the winner received a cash prize and a rare game item.[51] As he had with ChuChu Rocket!, Naka played online[11] and was happy to see American and Japanese players playing together using the communication system.[23]

Later releases edit

Ver. 2 edit

In April 2001, Sega announced Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2, an updated version of the original game with new content and improved features,[58][59][60] including an increased level cap (to 200),[61] a new difficulty mode for players over level 80,[58] a battle mode that pits players in one-on-one or team battles, a soccer minigame with balls shaped like characters from ChuChu Rocket!,[58] new weapons and monsters, gameplay balance alterations, day and night effects, an improved user interface, and two new areas exclusive to online quests. Ver. 2 also adds a challenge mode, which places teams in a stage with starting equipment and stats; if a teammate dies, the mission ends.[58][59][60][61][62] Players could import their character from the original game or create a new one;[61] characters registered for Ver. 2 could not be used in the original game. Any illegal items were also deleted during the upgrade.[62]

Sonic Team worked a tough schedule to develop Ver. 2 in under six months,[16] releasing it on June 7, 2001, in Japan and September 25, 2001, in North America.[61][63] Unlike the original North American release, Ver. 2 required subscription fees to play.[31] Three months of unlimited gameplay could be purchased at a time.[64] The game still had no dependencies on SegaNet, however.[65] In Europe, DreamKey 3.0 was required.[58] Ver. 2 was ported to Windows in Japan and released on December 20, 2001.[66][67]

Episode I & II edit

 
ASCII Corporation produced a unique GameCube controller with a keyboard to help players communicate in Phantasy Star Online.

On January 31, 2001, following years of losses, Sega announced it would discontinue the Dreamcast and restructure as a third-party developer.[68][69] In May, Sega announced an expanded GameCube port of Phantasy Star Online, which became Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II.[70] Sega chose the GameCube because it had similar architecture to the Dreamcast[71] and supported dial-up, which Sega believed was important despite the approach of broadband internet.[53] Sonic Team created a GameCube demo of Phantasy Star Online within a month.[72]

To make the game more viable for Nintendo's family-oriented consumers, Sonic Team added a split-screen multiplayer mode.[73] Since the GameCube had no out-of-the-box network capabilities, Nintendo developed a modem and broadband adapter and sold them separately.[74] The servers were maintained by Sega.[75] GameCube players could not play with Dreamcast players.[75]

Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II comprises two "episodes": Episode I is a port of Ver 2 with improved graphics, whereas Episode II comprises entirely new content, which Naka described as a true sequel.[76][77] The game adds characters, environments, quests, a split-screen mode, and updated graphics and interfaces.[78] Some quests reward players with minigames based on Sonic Team games Puyo Pop and Nights into Dreams, which can be played on a Game Boy Advance connected to the GameCube.[79][80] A Chao resembling Tails, a character from the Sonic games, can be imported into Sonic Advance and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.[76]

Sonic Team ran a beta trial for some players who had pre-ordered Episode I & II, starting on May 31, 2002.[81][82] The game sold 70,000 copies within the first month in Japan, and by October had sold over 100,000.[83][84] It was released in North America in October, and in Europe on March 7, 2003.[85][86] Like Ver. 2, Episode I & II required a paid monthly subscription.[78][85][87] ASCII Corporation developed a keyboard controller for the game,[88] released only in Japan, though plans were announced for a keyboard controller to be released in America. Some players resorted to importing the controller from Japan.[89][90][91] An enhanced version of the game, Episode I & II Plus, was released for the GameCube later. This version included many quests originally distributed exclusively online, a new challenge mode, and new items.[92]

Episode I & II was ported to Xbox on April 15, 2003.[93] Servers were hosted through Xbox Live and did not interface with the GameCube or Dreamcast servers.[76] Because of its Xbox Live foundation, the Xbox version supports voice chat but did not connect players across regions.[77][94] The game required an Xbox Live account to play online or offline; as the game was packaged with Xbox Live in Japan, to localize the game quickly, Microsoft did not remove the limitation. In addition to Xbox Live fees, Sega charged players an extra subscription fee to play online.[94]

Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution edit

Main article: Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution

In 2003, Sega announced Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution. The game is a sequel to the story presented in Episode I & II, but replaces the action RPG gameplay with a turn-based strategy card game;[95] after developing Episode I & II, Sonic Team thought that players may want a new experience. Players of Episode I & II and Episode III can chat and interact in common lobbies, but cannot enter game instances together.[96] The online servers for the game shut down at the same time as the GameCube Servers for Episode I & II.[97]

Blue Burst edit

A new version for Windows, Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, was released in Japan on July 15, 2004, following an open beta that began on May 22.[98][99] It is a port of Episode I & II with another episode of new content.[100][101] It features enhancements including a system allowing players to communicate across different servers;[101] the most significant change is that the game is online-only, with user data stored on the servers, reducing cheating.[98][102] In January 2005, Blue Burst was released in China, Sega's first online game there.[103] It was released in beta in North America in May 2005, and fully in June.[100]

Server closure edit

The North American Dreamcast servers operated until September 30, 2003.[104] The North American and Japanese GameCube servers as well as the Japanese Dreamcast servers were shut down on March 30, 2007, following a month of free service.[97][105] The Japanese Xbox servers were shut down on January 31, 2007,[106] and the North American servers followed on April 22, a week earlier than the announced date of April 30.[107][108] The North American and European Blue Burst servers were shut down following a free period lasting from January 12, 2008, until the server's closing on March 31, 2008.[109][110] This was followed by the shutdown of the Japanese Blue Burst servers on December 27, 2010, the last official Sega servers.[16][111] Hobbyists have developed private servers, and so the game retains a cult following and can still be played online.[14][112][113][114]

Reception edit

Phantasy Star Online received "generally favorable" reviews per ratings aggregator Metacritic.[115] Dreamcast Magazine (Japan) wrote that the cooperative play was an interesting shift from a trend in multiplayer games being mostly competitive.[118] Edge agreed, writing that the variety of gameplay experiences shared with other players kept the game fresh.[119] Spanish magazine Dream Planet and GameSpot praised how the players can take on different roles in the teams, such as a supporting healer or ranged attacker.[120][121] IGN commended the extensive amount of equipment and items for eliciting friendly competition to collect them.[8] The chat system was also praised for making communication easy, especially between players speaking different languages.[117][121][123]

Critics agreed that the single-player mode was boring compared to the addictive online multiplayer.[8][116][117][119] GameSpot and GameSpy wrote that it lacked life and became tedious and repetitive when played alone,[121][122] and GameSpot advised players not to try the game unless they were planning to play online.[121] Other common complaints included poor camera control,[8][121][122] the lack of map and quest variety,[118][119][121] and poor storyline.[8][116][123] Despite the concerns, critics agreed that the fun had in online multiplayer overshadowed these problems.[118][119][121][122] Edge wrote that the changes in gameplay experiences with different players replaced the variety that normally be expected in the quest design.[119] Critics also praised the freedom for players to design and equip characters and develop their own playing style.[8][116][122] Computer and Video Games wrote that "PSO marks a step in a new direction for console adventures and there's so much right with the game that to even mention these faults doesn't quite feel in the spirit of what PSO represents".[116]

Reviewing Ver. 2, Dreamcast Magazine (UK) felt that it would renew interest in the game for those that enjoyed it, but would not convert new players.[125] GameSpot and IGN agreed, saying that the core gameplay remained the same, but the new features may be worthwhile for dedicated players, even with the new subscription costs.[126][127] Reviewing Episode I & II, critics praised the split-screen mode, Game Boy Advance downloads, graphics improvements, and gameplay tweaks.[128][129][130] GameSpot wrote that the new material in Episode II was not significant enough for veteran players to return, and criticized some practical issues with how split-screen multiplayer was handled.[131] Eurogamer criticized the cost for a network adapter, subscription fees, and the "almost obligatory" keyboard.[132] Several critics complained about the lack of a keyboard available in the Americas.[129][130][131]

GameSpot named Phantasy Star Online the best Dreamcast game and eighth-best console game of 2001. It was a nominee for the publication's "Best Role-Playing Game" prize among console games, but lost to Final Fantasy X.[133] During the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Phantasy Star Online for the "Massive Multiplayer/Persistent World" award, which was ultimately given to Dark Age of Camelot.[134] Episode I & II was a runner-up for GameSpot's 2002 "Best Role-Playing Game on GameCube" award, which ultimately went to Animal Crossing.[135]

Legacy edit

 
Promotion for Phantasy Star Online 2 at Tokyo Game Show 2017

As the first online role-playing game for home consoles,[18] Phantasy Star Online is considered a landmark game.[23][136][137] It won several awards, including Japan Game Award for "Game of the Year", awarded three days after the death of Sega chairman Okawa, over the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Dragon Quest VII, and Kōkidō Gensō Gunparade March.[138][16] VentureBeat dubbed it "one of the most important games in console gaming evolution".[112] IGN named it one of the best RPGs of all time for being the first online experience for many gamers.[139]

1UP.com called Phantasy Star Online one of the most revolutionary games of the 2000s, crediting it for creating "an entire pantheon of multiplayer dungeon crawlers that continue to dominate the Japanese sales charts" and making "both online gaming and the concept of fee-based services a reality for consoles".[136] Hiroshi Matsuyama, president of CyberConnect2 and developer of the .hack series, cited the game as an influence.[140] It is also believed to be a major influence on Capcom's Monster Hunter series.[16]

According to GamesTM, the Phantasy Star series has struggled to live up to the legacy of Phantasy Star Online. Sega has been slow to localize Phantasy Star games, and the PSP entries in the series did not capture the attention of the west. Concurrently, Monster Hunter had a similar formula to Phantasy Star Online and became successful.[16] Later Phantasy Star games, such as Phantasy Star Universe (2006), share similar gameplay with Phantasy Star Online but failed to reach the same critical and commercial success in the West. In Japan, Phantasy Star Universe became the best selling game in the franchise.[141] Phantasy Star Online 2 was released in Japan in 2012,[142] and localized for the west in 2020.[143] Phantasy Star Online 2 made over 900 million dollars since its release.[144]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The high player population in this part of the game has led some sources to label the game as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). However, other sources have explained that the main portions of the game are not massively multiplayer, only the lobbies.[11][12]
  2. ^ Three individual reviewers gave a perfect 10 score

References edit

  1. ^ "Phantasy Star Online sur Dreamcast". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "Phantasy Star Online Ver.2 sur Dreamcast". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  4. ^ １．『ファンタシースターオンライン』とは. Nintendo (in Japanese). from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II - Xbox - GameSpy". GameSpy. from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "Xbox版『PSOエピソード1&2』に新たなオンラインクエスト2種類が追加！ - 電撃オンライン". Dengeki Online (in Japanese). December 15, 2003. from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II sur Xbox". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Chau, Anthony (January 31, 2001). "Phantasy Star Online". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e Gerstmann, Jeff (January 30, 2001). "Phantasy Star Online Review". GameSpot. from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stahl, Ben (May 17, 2006). "Phantasy Star Online Hands-On". GameSpot. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Reyes, Francesca (February 2001). "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (PDF). Official Dreamcast Magazine. No. 11. pp. 36–41. (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2018.
  12. ^ Fahs, Travis (September 9, 2010). "IGN Presents the History of Dreamcast". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Stahl, Ben (May 17, 2006). "Phantasy Star Online Hands-On". GameSpot. from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Olivetti, Justin (February 7, 2012). "The Game Archaeologist dials up Phantasy Star Online: The players". Engadget. from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  15. ^ Sonic Team (2002). Phantasy Star Online: Episode I &II Plus instruction manual. North America: Sega. p. 37.
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External links edit

  • (in Japanese)
  • (in Japanese)

January 01, 1970
phantasy, star, online, online, role, playing, game, developed, sonic, team, published, sega, 2000, dreamcast, first, successful, online, game, consoles, players, adventure, with, three, others, over, internet, complete, quests, collect, items, fight, enemies,. Phantasy Star Online is an online role playing game RPG developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast It was the first successful online RPG for game consoles players adventure with up to three others over the internet to complete quests collect items and fight enemies in real time action RPG combat The story is unrelated to previous games in the Phantasy Star series Phantasy Star OnlineJapanese Dreamcast cover artDeveloper s Sonic TeamPublisher s SegaDirector s Takao MiyoshiProducer s Yuji NakaProgrammer s Akio SetsumasaArtist s Satoshi SakaiWriter s Akinori NishiyamaComposer s Hideaki KobayashiFumie KumataniSeriesPhantasy StarPlatform s DreamcastWindowsGameCubeXboxReleaseDecember 21 2000 DreamcastJP December 21 2000NA January 30 2001EU February 15 2001 1 Ver 2JP June 7 2001NA September 25 2001EU March 1 2002 2 WindowsJP December 20 2001GameCubeJP September 12 2002 4 NA October 30 2002 3 EU March 7 2003XboxJP January 16 2003 6 NA April 15 2003 5 EU May 23 2003 7 Genre s Action role playingMode s Single player multiplayer Before Phantasy Star Online online gaming was limited to western PC games particularly RPGs such as Diablo Ultima Online and EverQuest Believing online play was the future Sega chairman Isao Okawa instructed Sonic Team to develop an online game for the Dreamcast produced by Yuji Naka Sonic Team s experiments led to the development of ChuChu Rocket the first online Dreamcast game Using what they learned from the project and taking significant inspiration from Diablo Sonic Team built Phantasy Star Online As Japanese internet service providers charged for dial up access per minute and high speed connections were not yet widely available Okawa personally paid for free internet access bundled with Japanese Dreamcasts Phantasy Star Online was highly anticipated and launched to positive reviews and commercial success critics praised the online gameplay as addictive but criticized the single player mode It received the Japan Game Award for Game of the Year and is recognized as a landmark console game influencing multiplayer dungeon crawlers such as the Monster Hunter series Phantasy Star Online was ported to Windows and rereleased on the Dreamcast as Ver 2 with expanded content Following Sega s exit from the console business in 2001 the game was ported to GameCube and Xbox as Episode I amp II featuring new characters environments and other features Episode III C A R D Revolution released for GameCube in 2003 was a turn based card game The online series continued with Phantasy Star Universe 2006 and Phantasy Star Online 2 2012 Sega decommissioned the last official servers in 2010 Phantasy Star Online is still played on private servers Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 3 1 Concept 3 2 Art and setting 3 3 Music 3 4 Online functionality 3 5 End of production 4 Promotion 5 Launch 6 Later releases 6 1 Ver 2 6 2 Episode I amp II 6 3 Episode III C A R D Revolution 6 4 Blue Burst 6 5 Server closure 7 Reception 8 Legacy 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksGameplay edit nbsp A player battling enemies in the forests of Ragol with three other players Phantasy Star Online is an action role playing game primarily played with other players cooperatively over the internet Players take on the role of adventurers sent to explore Ragol an uncharted planet 8 To create their character they choose between a handful of races and classes which define their abilities and statistics for example some types are better with techniques magic spells while others are more skilled with ranged or melee weapons 9 Players can play either online or offline Online players are brought to a lobby where they can chat and organize teams of up to four 10 a Team members can communicate by typing using a physical or onscreen keyboard 9 even when in different environments 10 Preset phrases are automatically translated between languages and custom emoticons are also supported 9 Players can also exchange guild cards to exchange private messages and see when the other is online 9 After organizing a team players are transported to their own instance of the hub spaceship Pioneer 2 where they can buy and sell items store money and items heal and browse quests 10 At any time they can transport to Ragol where combat and exploration take place 10 The four environments forests caves mines or ruins 10 comprise winding passages and large areas where enemies spawn 10 Players fight enemies in real time using weapons and techniques and collecting items 13 Attacks can be chained for more accuracy and speed 14 15 Typically all the monsters in a room must be defeated to advance 9 Each environment ends in a boss battle which rewards the team with a large sum of experience points 10 Quests taken on Pioneer 2 task players with specific challenges once completed the team returns to Pioneer 2 to collect their reward 10 Higher difficulties reward players with more experience points and better items Some items can be used to feed the player s mag a small creature that follows the player character and aids them in battle 10 Plot editThe story of Phantasy Star Online is unrelated to the original Phantasy Star series 10 and is less substantial 8 Threatened by the imminent destruction of their home planet thousands of refugees arrive at planet Ragol aboard the spaceship Pioneer 2 As they establish contact with colonists sent ahead on Pioneer 1 an enormous explosion shakes the planet Adventurers from Pioneer 2 land to investigate the explosion and search for Rico Tyrell daughter of the head of Pioneer 2 They discover the planet overrun by monsters and follow messages left by Rico leading to an ancient evil Dark Falz Development editBy the late 1990s the popularity of online gaming on personal computers had grown substantially in the west but was almost nonexistent in Japan where consoles were more popular Sega chairman Isao Okawa believed the internet was the future of gaming and wanted a flagship online game for Sega s Dreamcast console None of Sega s development studios wanted the project as they were occupied with their own ventures such as Jet Set Radio 2000 and the Sakura Wars series 16 Okawa gave the responsibility to Sonic Team led by Yuji Naka 16 17 Sonic Team was not particularly receptive to the decision but continued with development 16 After Okawa became ill Naka sent reports to the hospital to update him on progress 16 Concept edit nbsp Producer Yuji Naka in 2015Sonic Team began experimenting with the Dreamcast s network capabilities after completing Sonic Adventure in 1998 18 They saw the creation of an online game for Japan a nation of console gamers as a serious challenge akin to creating a new genre 16 Much of their time was spent learning the basic elements of online gaming they wanted to make sure the network functionality worked before developing the gameplay setting and story 16 19 Their network experiments became ChuChu Rocket released in 1999 as the first online game for the Dreamcast 19 20 21 22 Sonic Team used the lessons learned from ChuChu Rocket to implement network technology in the larger project 19 21 22 Because of the lack of Japanese online games and the developers experience with the genre Naka looked to western games for inspiration 16 and studied three online RPGs popular at the time Diablo 1996 Ultima Online 1997 and EverQuest 1999 16 Diablo in particular impressed him on a gameplay and technical level he enjoyed how smooth the graphics and action were despite requiring significant system memory 19 Diablo was a 2D game however and Sonic Team wanted to develop a 3D game with the same degree of smoothness and gameplay This concerned Naka as he did not want his game to use the cheap and bland graphics associated with online games 16 Naka decided against creating a massively multiplayer game similar to Ultima Online and EverQuest which would handle many players simultaneously in a persistent world the necessary servers would have required two years of programming and the Dreamcast did not have a hard disk drive to support continuous online patches Naka was also more interested in working on new projects instead of continuously updating the same game for years and doubted Sonic Team would be able to keep the game interesting 11 The team therefore adopted Diablo as their main inspiration determined to outclass it 16 Art and setting edit Sonic Team built a science fiction fantasy game under the working title Third World 16 19 The art style was comic like at first but became more realistic One of artist Satoshi Sakai s early concept drawings of a dragon reminded Naka of Sega s Phantasy Star series which had been dormant since Phantasy Star IV 1993 for the Genesis 16 Naka had served as main programmer on Phantasy Star 1987 and Phantasy Star II 1989 23 He had always wanted to develop a multiplayer Phantasy Star game but previous hardware did not allow for it 24 With the Phantasy Star series chosen as the setting Sonic Team continued developing the gameplay and story The team was given freedom not to adhere strictly to elements from earlier Phantasy Star games 16 19 The game would not continue the story from the previous Phantasy Star games something that made Naka feel liberated 18 24 Since few of the Phantasy Star IV staff still worked at Sega the art team felt little obligation to adhere to the previous games style retaining only the science fiction look and some enemy and item names Naka and Sakai believed factors such as the change in graphical fidelity and genre were enough to differentiate it from previous Phantasy Star games 16 Music edit The soundtrack was composed by Hideaki Kobayashi using a Roland JV 2080 synthesizer with live orchestration on some tracks including the theme song Kobayashi composed ambient music for calm scenes and incorporated more rhythm and melody for battles He composed short four bar melodies that are sequenced depending on gameplay for example when an enemy appears the system plays music associated with that enemy The process was a drain on the Dreamcast hardware and gained the nickname the crasher among staff for how often it would crash the game during development 25 Online functionality edit Sonic Team had conceived their 1998 Saturn game Burning Rangers as an online game for four players but abandoned the idea due to insurmountable network problems 26 They used the ChuChu Rocket networking system as a template for the online functions for Phantasy Star Online 19 21 22 This presented new challenges as the new network would connect players between different countries 19 Sonic Team ran experiments with different internet service providers dial up modems cable modems and other networking configurations to ensure the game would work for all players 23 In Japan Sonic Team gave beta versions to 10 000 users who pre ordered the game so they could work with a variety of equipment and internet services to eliminate problems 23 They wanted to run a worldwide test but did not have time 23 90 of the testers were able to play online 27 Despite technical success Sega was concerned that the high cost of internet access in Japan would be prohibitive for gamers and reduce sales 24 Japanese internet service providers charged per minute fees for dial up access and high speed options such as broadband were not yet widely available To combat this chairman Okawa personally paid for free internet access for one year to be bundled with each Dreamcast 16 One of the biggest challenges was bridging the language barrier between global players 18 Sonic Team felt that developing a universal language system would be the largest barrier to a global gaming network 19 The team started by developing the word select system which allows players to select predefined expressions to be translated to other players 17 The system had about 2000 words near the end of development and Naka found it difficult to add more words to satisfy all player needs 11 Sonic Team built support for five languages Japanese English Spanish German and French 28 They omitted Italian and Portuguese due to time constraints Korean was also considered because of the internet boom in Korea at the time 11 Japanese and English were easier to implement because the only concern is the word location in the sentence whereas Spanish and French have grammatical gender The language system had to be fully redesigned at least once 11 Each server could accommodate one thousand players 29 Sega initially prepared 20 network servers to accommodate 20 000 online users for game s launch with room to add more servers as necessary 30 This was increased to support up to 36 000 players right before launch 27 Sonic Team partnered with Swatch to use Swatch Internet time or beat time as a universal clock for the game 19 The clock was implemented so players could coordinate with those in other countries on when to play online 31 The clock system divides each 24 hours into 1000 beats with one beat equaling one minute and 26 4 seconds 31 32 The time was maintained directly on the server and not based on the user s clock on their system 19 Sonic Team decided not to add jumping to keep the levels simple and simplify the network code 26 Naka joked that future gamers would laugh at the word Online in the title as he believed that online gaming would become standard it was included as the concept was new and so important to communicate 19 End of production edit Phantasy Star Online was planned for release in March 2000 but was delayed so more features could be added 11 23 The team planned 18 character types and had male and female sketches for each but settled on nine 23 A player versus player mode was included in beta versions given to journalists but this was omitted in the final version because it distracted players from the cooperative focus and introduced game balance issues 23 additionally as the console playing audience was younger than the PC audience Naka did not want to evoke competitive behavior 19 The development team had more ideas for features to implement as development came to a close with Naka wishing he had six additional months to add more features 11 Phantasy Star Online took two years to develop 18 Naka found it difficult to make a networked game for consoles and developed an appreciation for Microsoft for supporting online games so well 19 Promotion edit As one of the most anticipated games for RPG fans and Dreamcast owners alike Sonic Team s Phantasy Star Online represents what could be the pinnacle of current next generation gaming roleplaying or otherwise Official Dreamcast Magazine US December 2000 33 Sega unveiled Phantasy Star Online at the 1999 Tokyo Game Show with a gameplay demonstration 24 34 Naka called it the killer app for the Dreamcast as it used all aspects of the system most importantly the modem 11 As the first online RPG for consoles Phantasy Star Online was highly anticipated 11 28 33 35 Journalists saw it as the next evolutionary step in console based role playing games 11 13 Francesca Reyes of Official Dreamcast Magazine proposed that it would be an industry changing title a landmark in the history of console gaming 11 Computer and Video Games wrote that the Dreamcast was quickly becoming the platform for innovative games and wrote that Phantasy Star Online was arguably the most revolutionary not the mention most ambitious console game ever 36 GameSpot believed it would change the way we think of RPGs and could possibly be the most exciting console RPG ever created 13 37 Edge wrote that the multiplayer mechanics would lay the foundations for a new era of console gaming 17 Video Gamer called it the Dreamcast s most ambitious project yet 35 Some journalists had concerns about the viability of the online modes and saw the single player option as a fail safe should it not function correctly 32 35 To promote the game Sega bought a star on the International Star Registry and named it Ragol 38 The first 100 000 people to pre order the game in Japan received Phantasy Star Online branded dog tags 39 A limited edition in Japan including a branded memory card was canceled and the memory card sold separately on Sega s website 40 41 Early copies of the game included a demo for Sonic Adventure 2 42 Launch edit nbsp Phantasy Star Online was first released for the Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online was released in Japan on December 21 2000 40 The language could be changed to English or any of the other supported chat languages making it import friendly 43 Naka had hoped for a simultaneous global release but the western release was delayed for beta testing and marketing reasons 17 40 While subscriptions would be free in North America 44 in Japan the game included a 30 day free trial after which Japanese players were required to purchase 30 day or 90 day subscriptions 45 Immediately after the Japanese release Sonic Team began maintaining the overworked servers and investigated network problems in Hiroshima and Okayama 16 Sonic Team hoped that Phantasy Star Online would be successful in Japan international sales were seen as a bonus 16 In North America which Naka believed would be the biggest market Phantasy Star Online was released on January 30 2001 46 47 It sold 75 000 copies there on the first day and was the bestselling game that week 48 49 Sega s North American online gaming service SegaNet was not required for online play 31 While the Japanese version supported the modem and broadband adapters 27 the North American release did not support the broadband adapter but IGN explained how to use it by swapping discs with an import copy 50 Phantasy Star Online sold 500 000 copies in Japan and one million worldwide meeting Sega s expectations almost exactly 30 Naka had hoped to sell more but believed the servers may not have carried the load 16 Before its western launch nearly 100 000 players had registered 18 By April 2001 over 235 000 players had registered worldwide 130 000 in Japan 70 000 in North America and 35 000 in Europe 51 52 By May over 270 000 had registered 53 The peak number of users connected simultaneously was 26 000 52 Phantasy Star Online suffered problems common with other online games with players cheating and selling rare items online 54 Several weeks after launch Japanese players began exploiting bugs to duplicate items enhance their stats and kill other players 55 56 Sonic Team announced they would ban players found cheating or disrupting other players starting in May 2001 56 57 According to IGN cheating was prevalent because Phantasy Star Online used a peer to peer communication system Blizzard Entertainment had similar problems with Diablo but after moving to a client server system for Diablo II cheating became more difficult 55 Sonic Team added more quests for players to download translated into the five languages used in the game 23 In Japan a special Fan Cup quest was held from March 23 to April 6 developed with the game magazine Famitsu In the event over 70 000 players 52 competed for the fastest time the winner received a cash prize and a rare game item 51 As he had with ChuChu Rocket Naka played online 11 and was happy to see American and Japanese players playing together using the communication system 23 Later releases editVer 2 edit In April 2001 Sega announced Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 an updated version of the original game with new content and improved features 58 59 60 including an increased level cap to 200 61 a new difficulty mode for players over level 80 58 a battle mode that pits players in one on one or team battles a soccer minigame with balls shaped like characters from ChuChu Rocket 58 new weapons and monsters gameplay balance alterations day and night effects an improved user interface and two new areas exclusive to online quests Ver 2 also adds a challenge mode which places teams in a stage with starting equipment and stats if a teammate dies the mission ends 58 59 60 61 62 Players could import their character from the original game or create a new one 61 characters registered for Ver 2 could not be used in the original game Any illegal items were also deleted during the upgrade 62 Sonic Team worked a tough schedule to develop Ver 2 in under six months 16 releasing it on June 7 2001 in Japan and September 25 2001 in North America 61 63 Unlike the original North American release Ver 2 required subscription fees to play 31 Three months of unlimited gameplay could be purchased at a time 64 The game still had no dependencies on SegaNet however 65 In Europe DreamKey 3 0 was required 58 Ver 2 was ported to Windows in Japan and released on December 20 2001 66 67 Episode I amp II edit nbsp ASCII Corporation produced a unique GameCube controller with a keyboard to help players communicate in Phantasy Star Online On January 31 2001 following years of losses Sega announced it would discontinue the Dreamcast and restructure as a third party developer 68 69 In May Sega announced an expanded GameCube port of Phantasy Star Online which became Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II 70 Sega chose the GameCube because it had similar architecture to the Dreamcast 71 and supported dial up which Sega believed was important despite the approach of broadband internet 53 Sonic Team created a GameCube demo of Phantasy Star Online within a month 72 To make the game more viable for Nintendo s family oriented consumers Sonic Team added a split screen multiplayer mode 73 Since the GameCube had no out of the box network capabilities Nintendo developed a modem and broadband adapter and sold them separately 74 The servers were maintained by Sega 75 GameCube players could not play with Dreamcast players 75 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II comprises two episodes Episode I is a port of Ver 2 with improved graphics whereas Episode II comprises entirely new content which Naka described as a true sequel 76 77 The game adds characters environments quests a split screen mode and updated graphics and interfaces 78 Some quests reward players with minigames based on Sonic Team games Puyo Pop and Nights into Dreams which can be played on a Game Boy Advance connected to the GameCube 79 80 A Chao resembling Tails a character from the Sonic games can be imported into Sonic Advance and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle 76 Sonic Team ran a beta trial for some players who had pre ordered Episode I amp II starting on May 31 2002 81 82 The game sold 70 000 copies within the first month in Japan and by October had sold over 100 000 83 84 It was released in North America in October and in Europe on March 7 2003 85 86 Like Ver 2 Episode I amp II required a paid monthly subscription 78 85 87 ASCII Corporation developed a keyboard controller for the game 88 released only in Japan though plans were announced for a keyboard controller to be released in America Some players resorted to importing the controller from Japan 89 90 91 An enhanced version of the game Episode I amp II Plus was released for the GameCube later This version included many quests originally distributed exclusively online a new challenge mode and new items 92 Episode I amp II was ported to Xbox on April 15 2003 93 Servers were hosted through Xbox Live and did not interface with the GameCube or Dreamcast servers 76 Because of its Xbox Live foundation the Xbox version supports voice chat but did not connect players across regions 77 94 The game required an Xbox Live account to play online or offline as the game was packaged with Xbox Live in Japan to localize the game quickly Microsoft did not remove the limitation In addition to Xbox Live fees Sega charged players an extra subscription fee to play online 94 Episode III C A R D Revolution edit Main article Phantasy Star Online Episode III C A R D RevolutionIn 2003 Sega announced Episode III C A R D Revolution The game is a sequel to the story presented in Episode I amp II but replaces the action RPG gameplay with a turn based strategy card game 95 after developing Episode I amp II Sonic Team thought that players may want a new experience Players of Episode I amp II and Episode III can chat and interact in common lobbies but cannot enter game instances together 96 The online servers for the game shut down at the same time as the GameCube Servers for Episode I amp II 97 Blue Burst edit A new version for Windows Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst was released in Japan on July 15 2004 following an open beta that began on May 22 98 99 It is a port of Episode I amp II with another episode of new content 100 101 It features enhancements including a system allowing players to communicate across different servers 101 the most significant change is that the game is online only with user data stored on the servers reducing cheating 98 102 In January 2005 Blue Burst was released in China Sega s first online game there 103 It was released in beta in North America in May 2005 and fully in June 100 Server closure edit The North American Dreamcast servers operated until September 30 2003 104 The North American and Japanese GameCube servers as well as the Japanese Dreamcast servers were shut down on March 30 2007 following a month of free service 97 105 The Japanese Xbox servers were shut down on January 31 2007 106 and the North American servers followed on April 22 a week earlier than the announced date of April 30 107 108 The North American and European Blue Burst servers were shut down following a free period lasting from January 12 2008 until the server s closing on March 31 2008 109 110 This was followed by the shutdown of the Japanese Blue Burst servers on December 27 2010 the last official Sega servers 16 111 Hobbyists have developed private servers and so the game retains a cult following and can still be played online 14 112 113 114 Reception editReception original Dreamcast version Aggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic89 100 115 Review scoresPublicationScoreComputer and Video Games nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 116 Edge9 10 119 GameRevolutionB 123 GameSpot8 2 10 121 GameSpy9 5 10 122 IGN9 3 10 8 Next Generation nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 124 Consoles 91 117 Dreamcast Magazine JP 10 10 b 118 Dream Planet96 120 Phantasy Star Online received generally favorable reviews per ratings aggregator Metacritic 115 Dreamcast Magazine Japan wrote that the cooperative play was an interesting shift from a trend in multiplayer games being mostly competitive 118 Edge agreed writing that the variety of gameplay experiences shared with other players kept the game fresh 119 Spanish magazine Dream Planet and GameSpot praised how the players can take on different roles in the teams such as a supporting healer or ranged attacker 120 121 IGN commended the extensive amount of equipment and items for eliciting friendly competition to collect them 8 The chat system was also praised for making communication easy especially between players speaking different languages 117 121 123 Critics agreed that the single player mode was boring compared to the addictive online multiplayer 8 116 117 119 GameSpot and GameSpy wrote that it lacked life and became tedious and repetitive when played alone 121 122 and GameSpot advised players not to try the game unless they were planning to play online 121 Other common complaints included poor camera control 8 121 122 the lack of map and quest variety 118 119 121 and poor storyline 8 116 123 Despite the concerns critics agreed that the fun had in online multiplayer overshadowed these problems 118 119 121 122 Edge wrote that the changes in gameplay experiences with different players replaced the variety that normally be expected in the quest design 119 Critics also praised the freedom for players to design and equip characters and develop their own playing style 8 116 122 Computer and Video Games wrote that PSO marks a step in a new direction for console adventures and there s so much right with the game that to even mention these faults doesn t quite feel in the spirit of what PSO represents 116 Reviewing Ver 2 Dreamcast Magazine UK felt that it would renew interest in the game for those that enjoyed it but would not convert new players 125 GameSpot and IGN agreed saying that the core gameplay remained the same but the new features may be worthwhile for dedicated players even with the new subscription costs 126 127 Reviewing Episode I amp II critics praised the split screen mode Game Boy Advance downloads graphics improvements and gameplay tweaks 128 129 130 GameSpot wrote that the new material in Episode II was not significant enough for veteran players to return and criticized some practical issues with how split screen multiplayer was handled 131 Eurogamer criticized the cost for a network adapter subscription fees and the almost obligatory keyboard 132 Several critics complained about the lack of a keyboard available in the Americas 129 130 131 GameSpot named Phantasy Star Online the best Dreamcast game and eighth best console game of 2001 It was a nominee for the publication s Best Role Playing Game prize among console games but lost to Final Fantasy X 133 During the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards the Academy of Interactive Arts amp Sciences nominated Phantasy Star Online for the Massive Multiplayer Persistent World award which was ultimately given to Dark Age of Camelot 134 Episode I amp II was a runner up for GameSpot s 2002 Best Role Playing Game on GameCube award which ultimately went to Animal Crossing 135 Legacy edit nbsp Promotion for Phantasy Star Online 2 at Tokyo Game Show 2017 As the first online role playing game for home consoles 18 Phantasy Star Online is considered a landmark game 23 136 137 It won several awards including Japan Game Award for Game of the Year awarded three days after the death of Sega chairman Okawa over the likes of The Legend of Zelda Majora s Mask Dragon Quest VII and Kōkidō Gensō Gunparade March 138 16 VentureBeat dubbed it one of the most important games in console gaming evolution 112 IGN named it one of the best RPGs of all time for being the first online experience for many gamers 139 1UP com called Phantasy Star Online one of the most revolutionary games of the 2000s crediting it for creating an entire pantheon of multiplayer dungeon crawlers that continue to dominate the Japanese sales charts and making both online gaming and the concept of fee based services a reality for consoles 136 Hiroshi Matsuyama president of CyberConnect2 and developer of the hack series cited the game as an influence 140 It is also believed to be a major influence on Capcom s Monster Hunter series 16 According to GamesTM the Phantasy Star series has struggled to live up to the legacy of Phantasy Star Online Sega has been slow to localize Phantasy Star games and the PSP entries in the series did not capture the attention of the west Concurrently Monster Hunter had a similar formula to Phantasy Star Online and became successful 16 Later Phantasy Star games such as Phantasy Star Universe 2006 share similar gameplay with Phantasy Star Online but failed to reach the same critical and commercial success in the West In Japan Phantasy Star Universe became the best selling game in the franchise 141 Phantasy Star Online 2 was released in Japan in 2012 142 and localized for the west in 2020 143 Phantasy Star Online 2 made over 900 million dollars since its release 144 Notes edit The high player population in this part of the game has led some sources to label the game as a massively multiplayer online role playing game MMORPG However other sources have explained that the main portions of the game are not massively multiplayer only the lobbies 11 12 Three individual reviewers gave a perfect 10 scoreReferences edit Phantasy Star Online sur Dreamcast Jeuxvideo com in French Archived from the original on July 14 2018 Retrieved July 14 2018 Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 sur Dreamcast Jeuxvideo com in French Archived from the original on July 14 2018 Retrieved July 14 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Online Hands On GameSpot Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 9 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k l Reyes Francesca February 2001 Twinkle Twinkle Little Star PDF Official Dreamcast Magazine No 11 pp 36 41 Archived PDF from the original on June 25 2018 Fahs Travis September 9 2010 IGN Presents the History of Dreamcast IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on July 17 2015 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c Stahl Ben May 17 2006 Phantasy Star Online Hands On GameSpot Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b Olivetti Justin February 7 2012 The Game Archaeologist dials up Phantasy Star Online The players Engadget Archived from the original on October 19 2015 Retrieved July 14 2018 Sonic Team 2002 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II Plusinstruction manual North America Sega p 37 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Behind The Scenes Phantasy Star Online gamesTM February 16 2011 Archived from the original on July 28 2017 Retrieved May 24 2018 a b c d Phantasy Star Online PDF Edge No 92 Christmas 2000 pp 3 50 56 a b c d e f Ahmed Shahed February 5 2001 Yuji Naka Interview GameSpot Archived from the original on July 26 2015 Retrieved May 27 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cellucci Mark 2001 Interviews Yuji Naka Creator of Sonic and Phantasy Star Online Sega Archived from the original on December 8 2002 White Matt March 7 2000 Chu Chu Rockets To Stores IGN Retrieved May 9 2015 a b c Justice Brandon Gantayat Anoop February 11 2000 IGNDC Talks Shop with Sonic Team IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on May 18 2015 Retrieved May 27 2018 a b c Doree Adam February 4 2009 He s Back Yuji Naka Prope Interview Page 2 Kikizo Archives Archived from the original on August 25 2016 Retrieved May 27 2018 a b c d e f g h i j Justice Brandon Chau Anthony February 1 2001 Interview With SEGA Legend Yuji Naka IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on December 20 2015 Retrieved May 27 2018 a b c d IGN Staff October 1 1999 IGNDC Interviews Sonic Team s Yuji Naka IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on December 20 2015 Retrieved May 27 2018 Mielke James August 9 2020 Phantasy Star Online s music has defined the series for 20 years Polygon Retrieved August 23 2020 a b Mielke James August 2 2020 Phantasy Star Online s director talks Diablo influences cut features and Christmas Nights Polygon Retrieved August 23 2020 a b c Gantayat Anoop December 20 2000 PSO Broadband IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b Fischer Blake November 2000 Phantasy Star Online PDF Next Generation Vol 2 no 11 pp 23 25 Archived PDF from the original on June 12 2018 Williamson Colin March 23 2000 Amazing New Phantasy Star Online Screens IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b GameSpot Staff October 20 2000 PSO Network Details GameSpot Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c d Chau Anthony July 24 2001 Phantasy Star Online F A Q Frequently Asked Questions Updated IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b Insight Phantasy Star Online PDF Hyper No 88 February 2001 pp 26 27 Archived PDF from the original on June 12 2018 a b Phantasy Star PDF Official Dreamcast Magazine No 9 December 2000 p 56 Archived PDF from the original on November 7 2017 GameSpot Staff April 26 2000 Phantasy Star Online Unveiled GameSpot Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c Phantasy Star Online PDF Video Gamer No 4 February 2001 pp 94 95 Archived PDF from the original on June 25 2018 Access All Games Phantasy Star Online PDF Computer and Video Games No 227 October 2000 pp 6 7 Archived PDF from the original on June 25 2018 Lopez Miguel November 10 2000 Hands OnPhantasy Star Online GameSpot Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 Star Maker PDF Official Dreamcast Magazine UK No 18 April 2001 p 21 Archived PDF from the original on July 13 2018 Gantayat Anoop November 15 2000 Got Your Phantasy Star Online Dog Tag IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c Ahmed Shahed September 26 2000 PSO Launch Details GameSpot Retrieved May 28 2018 Sato Yukiyoshi Ike May 17 2006 Phantasy Star Online Limited Edition Cancelled GameSpot Retrieved May 28 2018 Sato Yukiyoshi Ike May 17 2006 PSO Includes Sonic 2 Demo GameSpot Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 Gantayat Anoop December 21 2000 Play Phantasy Star Online in English Now IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 Justice Brandon November 28 2000 Sega Re Confirms Free Play for Phantasy Star Online in America IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 Gantayat Anoop November 13 2000 Sega of Japan to Charge Fee for PSO IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 GameSpot Dreamcast News Phantasy Star Online ships Archived from the original on October 4 2001 Retrieved April 23 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link EBWorld com Dreamcast February 1 2001 Archived from the original on February 1 2001 Retrieved April 23 2023 GameSpot Staff May 17 2006 Sega comments on Phantasy Star Online 2 GameSpot Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 GameSpot Staff February 21 2001 Dreamcast makes a statement GameSpot Retrieved May 28 2018 Chau Anthony February 2 2001 Phantasy Star Online Compatibility with Broadband Adapter IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b Chau Anthony March 12 2001 PSO Fan Cup Event in Japan IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c Gantayat Anoop April 6 2001 Phantasy Star Online is Hot IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b Chau Anthony May 22 2001 Chatting With SEGA Developers IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on December 8 2017 Retrieved May 28 2018 Chau Anthony February 8 2001 Bid For Your Phantasy Star Online Items Today IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 a b IGN Staff April 20 2001 SEGA Scream Stop The Cheating in Phantasy Star Online IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 a b Chau Anthony March 5 2001 Phantasy Star Online Cheaters Days Are Numbered IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 Gantayat Anoop May 10 2001 Sonic Team Takes Action IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c d e Adams Gary March 28 2002 Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 PDF Dreamcast Magazine UK No 33 pp 4 9 Archived PDF from the original on June 12 2018 a b Chau Anthony April 4 2001 Phantasy Star Online Version 2 Official Page Launches IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 a b IGN Staff April 13 2001 GameJam Sega Shows off Phantasy Star Online v 2 IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 28 2018 a b c d Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 Sega 2001 Archived from the original on October 24 2001 a b Chau Anthony June 9 2001 Phantasy Star Online Version 2 IGNinsider First Impressions DC IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 31 2018 Gantayat Anoop July 12 2002 Phantasy Star Online s New Look IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 31 2018 IGN Staff July 16 2001 Pay to Play PSO Ver 2 for GameCube IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 31 2018 IGN Staff October 23 2001 SegaNet Sets Flat Rate IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 31 2018 Walker Trey December 18 2001 Phantasy Star Online demo available GameSpot Archived from the original on November 8 2017 Retrieved May 28 2018 検索結果 セガ 製品情報サイト Sega in Japanese March 3 2017 Archived from the original on March 3 2017 Retrieved May 28 2018 Kent Steven L 2001 The Ultimate History of Video Games The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World Roseville California Prima Publishing pp 588 589 ISBN 0 7615 3643 4 Ahmed Shahed January 31 2001 Sega announces drastic restructuring GameSpot Archived from the original on May 10 2015 Retrieved December 9 2014 IGN Staff May 15 2001 Pre E3 Sega Announces 10 GameCube Titles in Development IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 30 2018 Phantasy Star Online Electronic Gaming Monthly No 145 August 2001 p 66 IGN Staff May 17 2001 E3 PSO Version 2 Direct Feed IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 30 2018 ４ ファンタシースターオンライン エピソード１ ２ 開発スタッフインタビュー PAGE１ Nintendo in Japanese September 2002 Archived from the original on March 6 2016 Retrieved July 14 2018 IGN Staff May 13 2002 Nintendo Jumps Online IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on December 24 2013 Retrieved May 31 2018 a b Satterfield Shane May 14 2002 Nintendo explains its online stance GameSpot Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 a b c Gamespot Staff February 18 2004 Sonic Team Q amp A GameSpot Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 a b History of Phantasy Star IGN Ziff Davis January 28 2004 Retrieved June 3 2018 a b IGN Staff March 29 2002 New PSO Details IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 31 2018 Harris Craig May 22 2002 E3 2002 Nights on the GBA IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on July 28 2017 Retrieved May 31 2018 IGN Staff December 13 2002 Nights PSO Quest IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 Sato Yukiyoshi Ike May 17 2006 PSO Episode I amp II beta test begins in Japan GameSpot Retrieved June 3 2018 IGN Staff May 29 2002 Gaming in Japan IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 31 2018 Gantayat Anoop October 3 2002 Hands on GameCube Broadband IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on January 20 2018 Retrieved May 31 2018 IGN Staff October 25 2002 Graphs Weekly GCN Sales in Japan IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 31 2018 a b Calvert Justin February 18 2003 European Phantasy Star Online pricing GameSpot Archived from the original on November 18 2013 Retrieved June 3 2018 Parker Sam October 29 2002 Phantasy Star Online ships for GC GameSpot Retrieved June 3 2018 Parker Sam October 2 2002 Phantasy Star Online pricing GameSpot Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 Gantayat Anoop October 12 2001 TGS 2001 Best Peripheral Ever IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved May 31 2018 Mirabella III Fran October 30 2002 PSO Diary Volume 1 IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 IGN Staff October 10 2002 PSO Keyboard to U S IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on February 2 2015 Retrieved May 31 2018 Varanini Giancarlo October 30 2002 PSO Episode I amp II impressions GameSpot Retrieved June 3 2018 IGN Staff September 2 2003 New Phantasy Star Online Game for Japan IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 Mirabella III Fran April 16 2003 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II IGN Ziff Davis p 4 Retrieved July 29 2018 a b Gerstmann Jeff January 31 2003 Microsoft announces Phantasy Star Online details GameSpot Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 IGN Staff April 28 2003 Phantasy Star Online Episode III C A R D Revolution IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved June 3 2018 Almaci Hasan Ali Kemps Heidi June 15 2004 An Interview with Yuji Naka The Next Level Archived from the original on November 15 2016 Retrieved May 27 2018 a b お知らせ September 15 2007 Archived from the original on September 15 2007 Retrieved July 14 2019 a b Niizumi Hirohiko May 25 2004 Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst shipping in July GameSpot Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 PSO BB OFFICIAL SITE Archived from the original on June 2 2004 Retrieved February 7 2021 a b SEGA Announces Free Download Of Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst GamesIndustry biz May 11 2005 Retrieved June 9 2018 a b IGN Staff April 13 2004 Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 Niizumi Hirohiko June 14 2004 100 000 sign up for Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst beta GameSpot Archived from the original on November 6 2013 Retrieved June 3 2018 Niizumi Hirohiko January 20 2005 Sega breaking into Chinese online game world GameSpot Archived from the original on November 6 2013 Retrieved June 3 2018 GameSpot Staff August 28 2003 Phantasy Star Offline GameSpot Archived from the original on January 18 2015 Retrieved May 28 2018 wPSO xONLINE SUPPORT HP December 27 2007 Archived from the original on December 27 2007 Retrieved July 15 2019 Arendt Susan December 26 2007 Sega Shuts Down Phantasy Star Online in Japan Wired ISSN 1059 1028 Retrieved July 14 2019 PSO World com US XBox Server Shutdown www pso world com Retrieved July 15 2019 PSO World com US XBox Server Closure Notice www pso world com Retrieved July 15 2019 PSO World com Servers Now Under Free Period www pso world com Retrieved July 14 2019 PSO World com PSO BB Server Shutdown www pso world com Retrieved July 14 2019 PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst psobb jp Retrieved July 14 2019 a b Phantasy Star Online one of the most important games in console gaming evolution is 15 VentureBeat December 22 2015 Archived from the original on December 25 2017 Retrieved July 14 2018 Evangelho Jason Hundreds Of People Are Still Playing SEGA s Phantasy Star Online And You Can Too Forbes Archived from the original on May 12 2016 Retrieved May 12 2016 Fenlon Wes April 14 2017 Phantasy Star Online will never die how the nicest fans in gaming keep a 16 year old MMO alive PC Gamer Archived from the original on January 21 2018 Retrieved July 14 2018 a b Phantasy Star Online Reviews Metacritic CBS Interactive Archived from the original on August 12 2012 Retrieved June 20 2012 a b c d e Skittrell Lee March 2001 Reviews Phantasy Star Online PDF Computer and Video Games No 232 pp 78 81 Archived PDF from the original on July 14 2018 a b c Test Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online PDF Consoles in French No 109 February 2001 pp 74 77 Archived PDF from the original on July 14 2018 a b c d Dreamcast Soft Review ファンタシースターオンライン PDF Dreamcast Magazine JP in Japanese December 29 2000 p 20 a b c d e f Phantasy Star Online PDF Edge No 95 February 2001 pp 70 71 Archived PDF from the original on July 14 2018 a b Phantasy Star Online Lluvia de estrellas PDF Dream Planet in Spanish No 14 March 2001 pp 34 39 a b c d e f g h Gerstmann Jeff January 30 2001 Phantasy Star Online Review GameSpot Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved July 14 2018 a b c d e Phantasy Star Online GameSpy 2001 Archived from the original on December 2 2001 a b c Gee Brian 2001 Phantasy Star Online Dreamcast Game Revolution Archived from the original on May 22 2006 Retrieved July 14 2018 Reyes Francesca April 2001 Finals Next Generation Vol 4 no 4 Imagine Media pp 80 81 Adams Gary March 2002 Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 PDF Dreamcast Magazine UK No 33 pp 4 9 Archived PDF from the original on June 12 2018 Chau Anthony October 3 2001 Phantasy Star Online Version 2 IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on April 28 2016 Retrieved July 14 2018 Torres Ricardo September 25 2001 Phantasy Star Online Version 2 Review GameSpot Archived from the original on February 11 2016 Retrieved July 14 2018 Review Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II GamePro October 29 2002 Archived from the original on June 15 2006 a b Turner Benjamin November 10 2002 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II GCN GameSpy Archived from the original on November 16 2002 a b III Fran Mirabella November 1 2002 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on December 1 2017 Retrieved July 14 2018 a b Varanini Giancarlo November 4 2002 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II Review GameSpot Archived from the original on July 3 2016 Retrieved July 14 2018 Phantasy Star Online Episode I amp II Eurogamer February 4 2003 Archived from the original on August 17 2003 GameSpot VG Staff February 23 2002 GameSpot s Best and Worst Video Games of 2001 GameSpot Archived from the original on August 3 2002 2002 Awards Category Details Massive Multiplayer Persistent World Academy of Interactive Arts amp Sciences Retrieved July 26 2023 GameSpot Staff December 30 2002 GameSpot s Best and Worst of 2002 GameSpot Archived from the original on February 7 2003 a b Parish Jeremy February 2010 The Decade That Was Essential Newcomers Phantasy Star Online 1UP com Ziff Davis p 2 Archived from the original on May 31 2013 Retrieved September 23 2011 Furfari Paul 15 Games Ahead of Their Time 1UP com Ziff Davis p 2 Archived from the original on October 20 2012 Retrieved September 26 2011 第5回 日本ゲーム大賞 awards cesa or jp Retrieved September 2 2021 23 Phantasy Star Online IGN Ziff Davis 2012 Archived from the original on November 24 2014 Retrieved November 29 2014 IGNPS2 May 16 2003 E3 2003 hack Interview IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on June 29 2011 Retrieved July 1 2010 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Mielke James August 2 2020 Phantasy Star Online s director talks Diablo influences cut features and Christmas Nights Polygon Retrieved November 1 2022 Pereira Chris September 5 2014 Phantasy Star Online 2 s Western Release Still Delayed But It Is Still Coming GameSpot Archived from the original on October 4 2017 Retrieved July 14 2018 McWhertor Michael June 9 2019 Sega s finally bringing Phantasy Star Online 2 to the West in 2020 Polygon Retrieved June 10 2019 Phantasy Star Online 2 has made over 900 million in sales since 2012 Destructoid Nintendo August 6 2021 Archived from the original on October 16 2022 Retrieved November 1 2022 External links editOfficial website in Japanese Official website Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online homepage in Japanese Portal nbsp Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phantasy Star Online amp oldid 1223109262, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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