A huge game for the Dreamcast in online features and a cool game! Put a bunch of hours in playing online and in offline, can work with both. Game on single player gives the game a atmospheric and moody feel with the big levels and music. Fun with others for sure but game left a nice impact on me in terms of mood and design. Combat takes a bit getting used to but works very well and has a more tactical feel for real time combat with RPG elements. Story is in bits throughout the game and quests and has a mystery feel to all of it along with extra scenes. A nice memory and love playing the private servers to this day. :D

During the Dreamcast's short but oh-so-sweet time in the spotlight, no developer more distinctly encapsulated the brands ethos and aesthetics quite like Sonic Team. Although criminally cut short due to the consoles lacklustre sales, the catalogue of varied and creative titles they put out during this time were overflowing with that special Sega sauce; colourful, fun, pick up and play classics like Sonic Adventure and Chu Chu Rocket managed to instill themselves in the hearts and minds of gamers for decades to come.

However, their most groundbreaking game by far would come at the tail end of the consoles short life, in the form of the seminal Phantasy Star Online- an insanely ambitious experiment that redefined the joy and wonder of co-operative play by introducing console gamers to the world of online play- and it would do so with that signature Sonic Team style.

From the title screen alone you knew you were in for something truly special- lulled in by its hypnotising, ethereal sci-fi intro theme, inviting you to imagine the endless possibilities that lay ahead at the frontier of this new age of gaming.

As a young polaroidplayboy, I was utterly mesmerized by Phantasy Star. I can't begin to count the sleepless nights I spent teaming up with strangers (who quickly became friends) to explore this beautiful, strange, uncharted new world- helping each other learn the ropes, battling ever increasingly difficult monsters, trading the rare and wonderful weapons and loot, feeding our Mags (which was almost a game unto itself), and simply shooting the shit back at home base after barely making it through a tough as nails boss fight. Gamers today might take these simple pleasures for granted, but at the time, there was nothing even remotely comparable, and it opened my eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities in gaming.

With its stunning and vibrant cyberpunk aesthetic, otherworldly ambient techno soundtrack, and irresistibly addictive gameplay loop, Phantasy Star Online pioneered (hah) a new genre and heralded a new era in technology. And as far as I'm concerned, no game has managed to quite recapture that same co-operative magic since- the closest contender being of course Monster Hunter, which owes much of its DNA to PSO as even its developers readily admit.

One of my most nostalgic gaming memories by far, and unquestionably one of my all time favourite games ever.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to cook some bacon and eggs with this new weapon I just found.