What Makes PSO Special to You?

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itsthinkingstill
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What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#1 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:28 am

Was playing PSO today and heading on to Episode 1&2 for the first time in a while and it made me think, what captivates/ makes PSO so special to hundred's of people that still play it online today? It will be a different answer for everyone but to me it means two things. 1. Its just a fun well made game that allows you to do the same things again and again without it feeling repetitive with great graphics, great gameplay and amazing music (World With Me and Can Still See the light are amazing). 2. I think another major one is that PSO is a time capsule, it represents to many of us (its cliche i know) a world pre 9/11, a simpler time of our childhoods/teenage years where it was all about Amazing video games and the Disney Renaissance ect. The world contained in PSO is a place frozen in time, it has not really changed since it first came out in late 2000-early 2001 and the people in it while older have not lost the kindness or the friendships still contained on Pioneer 2 or Ragol. It in my opinion is the same way people feel about the world in Shenmue, a place from long ago with many fond memories and good friends that we may still keep in touch with or are just a distant memory. It also to me represent the end of the "Glory" days of video gaming where video games in just a year or two would fundamentally change in tone and philosophy in game design for the worse and is when many of us had to start to "grow up". I might just be crazy or a old fossil at heart but make a comment on what makes PSO special to you now and forever :D

I will leave it with a timeless commercial

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mazonemayu
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#2 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 2:30 am

funny you mention it, I was moving to episode 1 & 2 on my xbox, only a few weeks ago...

1) levelling up for the sake of levelling up
2) the incredible amount of loot that the game offers
3) the way it looks and feels just works for me, I still find it magically after all those years
4) not because the simpler time and childhood years, as I was already 26 when it came out, but it still managed to captivate me (then again I never grew up, am 43 now and I'm still into the same stuff I was 30 years ago)
5) because it's PSO
We are SEGA generation.

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itsthinkingstill
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#3 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 3:16 am

mazonemayu wrote:funny you mention it, I was moving to episode 1 & 2 on my xbox, only a few weeks ago...

1) levelling up for the sake of levelling up
2) the incredible amount of loot that the game offers
3) the way it looks and feels just works for me, I still find it magically after all those years
4) not because the simpler time and childhood years, as I was already 26 when it came out, but it still managed to captivate me (then again I never grew up, am 43 now and I'm still into the same stuff I was 30 years ago)
5) because it's PSO


Sorry for putting the "childhood" part in as i know it does not apply to everyone, heck i myself only have the vaguest memories of PSO back in the day that the person i knew who had a dreamcast may have had it. Honestly i could just be time melting memories together as i did not really get into PSO until the 10th anniversary of the DC. Also i think most of us here have not grown up and hold things from all those years ago dear to us, i still ball at the ending to Toy Story 3 with no shame :lol:

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mazonemayu
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#4 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 4:10 am

no, no, it's a good thing you put it that way, proves that PSO isn't just awesome coz it stems from childhood memories, but from the fact that it was actually a revolutionary console game, since adults like myself also loved it.

btw, I forgot:

6) and tis one isn't specifically for PSO, but for the DC in general: I had huge phone bills :lol: :lol:
We are SEGA generation.

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HuntrRose
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#5 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:55 am

I avoided PSO back in the day because it was pay to play...

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Sega1Dream
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#6 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:18 am

The PSO v1 was not a "pay to play" when it came out. Part of the reason for the PSO v2 upgrade was so that Sega could make money for people to play online. I think this was also a first for online game play.

PSO v1 was my favorite due to the free online play. I think I did go v2 for a year, but gave that up after Sega announced their departure of Hardware :cry:

Overall, PSO was and still is an amazing game to me. It's crazy, because the game play is somewhat repetitive, but the continued adventure to find new thing keeps the game lasting for such a long time.

HuntrRose wrote:I avoided PSO back in the day because it was pay to play...

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Bob Dobbs
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#7 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:40 am

To add to the list I read above...and a good list at that...
1. You do not need to wait for others to play online.
2. You never know who will pop-in when you are online.
3. Chat is good, so you can clearly communicate.
4. Rare team play game as opposed to just shooting and trying to beat the other player.
5. It creates a positive play time as others will try to help each other.
6. Newer players are encouraged to keep playing and join in on the fun, no one is alienated. Alot of new players in other games (mostly Q3 due to connection and hardware factors) do not have fun being a target for others, so they briefly play and then quit (I apologize to all of those players who PM'd me and posted about this, to note, I get fragged to death by others as well).
7. Typically as a whole, connection speed is not a factor in playing online so modem players do not feel the pain of playing with BBA players like you do in Q3.
8. Ease of connecting with ANY method (Netopia, BBA, DreamPi, DC-PC server, standard dial-up). Initial set-up may be a bit troublesome at first but (like the mafia) once you're in, you're in.
Regards,
Bob Dobbs

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mazonemayu
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#8 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 12:12 pm

very true Dobbs, I've been through the: try to hit every enemy once and I'll finish em off, so you share in the experience thing, with new and low lv players, a million times...in that way, PSO really brings folks together and you get to rely on each other
We are SEGA generation.

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itsthinkingstill
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#9 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 12:55 pm

Well said Bob and mazonemayu!

OfManNotMachine
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Re: What Makes PSO Special to You?

Post#10 » Tue Mar 06, 2018 6:57 am

There's a few things that did it for me...

1. On a console...there was absolutely NOTHING like it at the time. It was light years ahead.
2. It played so smooth, it was deep, yet simple, yet challenging
3. It had a pretty good community until some dumbass hackers were crashing people's games n such
4. Just sitting in a lobby n chatting with friends you made in the game for hours about all sorts of stuff
5. It's just as fun today, as the first time I played it the day it came out.

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