Atayin
Feb 1, 2006, 11:17 AM
I was thinking about that feeling... you know, that liberating feeling you get when you FINALLY make it home from the store to play the game you've been waiting for. You start playing and everything is so new, fresh and exciting. You don't know what to expect and you're exploring every aspect of your new game. It got me thinking about what PSU is going to be like when I first get going. Sure, I know I'll make my character, make a room and so on and so forth... but venturing around the planet, gaining levels for the first time and finding new things.. who will I be doing it with? Will they be people I've met from PSO-World? Or maybe people I encounter in the Lobby town who are all chatting about how exctatic they are to be playing. Either way, it's interesting to wonder what it'll be like.
So, as we all patiently (many of us impatiently *including me*) try to wait for PSU, I think it'd be fun for everybody to think back on their first experience as a newbie when they played PSO. I thought mine was pretty interesting, so I'll share.
....
I had waited months to play Phantasy Star Online after delayed release dates and constantly checking to see when it would be available. They said it would be a game that broke language barriers and would do all sorts of things, all on a console. Not to mention the fighting was in real-time, yet it was an RPG. It was something new, innovative and in some aspects, revolutionary. I was excited to say the least.
Back then, PSO had graphics that were mind-blowing for most of us. Especially for an RPG. Dreamcast, afterall was the most advanced console at the time. Sure, I was expecting nice graphics, but my jaw still dropped when I hit the character screen and heard that smooth and steady music playing. The game had a lot of personality already.
After spending maybe an hour in the character generator, I logged onto the MIRANDA ship. People were practically eccentric! "OMG THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME LSDKJGDG", "WE'RE FINALLY HERE! CELEBRATE!! (emote: YAHOO!! YAHOO!!)", etc., etc. Needless to say, I was excited as well.. But not as excited as I got when something unexpected happened.
A big group of level 90+ characters from the Japanese server all came to greet us with a warm hello. I was literally grinning from ear to ear from such a friendly gesture. Two of them, both Forces, volunteered to help myself and another new player after we all introduced ourselves. The four of us played through the game from Forest 1 and through Dark Falz, the force characters keeping us healed, resurrected and making sure we got the XP. When that ending theme played after beating Dark Falz, I was completely sucked in. I couldn't beleive the generosity and the comradery I felt from these people who were sitting on the other side of the world.
We returned to Pioneer, where our veteran friends proceeded to give us item after item as well as a ton of Meseta. They gave us their best wishes, we traded guild cards, said our goodbyes, went our seperate directions so that they could help others, and I spent the remainder of the day thrashing away at monsters with Sabers, Handguns and a bunch of money for resources. I made plenty of friends and I had a lot of fun in PSO, but one of the most outstanding things to me was that first game.
Nothing beats the challenge of having to pull together without lvl 90+ characters to help you out, but the gesture of them taking the time to help a bunch of foreigners was what I found so compelling. Especially considering that out of the vast majority of cultures, Japan is not always the most accepting when it comes to foreigners. Despite all of that, here we were, all gamers, coming together regardless of background, culture, creed and everything else.. to have a good time. Needless to say, I thought it was really cool to have so many Japanese friends.. and even some who couldn't speak English.
....
I'm hoping that PSU will be a lot of fun when I start playing. I don't expect anything like the intercultural experience that I had with PSO because PSU will be a different type of game. Either way, I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll even run into a few of you guys when I get there. Does anybody else have Rookie experiences they want to share? Any major expectations for PSU in regards to them? A reason that many of us are even excited to play PSU is because we love PSO so much. I wonder how the transition from one great game to another will be.
So, as we all patiently (many of us impatiently *including me*) try to wait for PSU, I think it'd be fun for everybody to think back on their first experience as a newbie when they played PSO. I thought mine was pretty interesting, so I'll share.
....
I had waited months to play Phantasy Star Online after delayed release dates and constantly checking to see when it would be available. They said it would be a game that broke language barriers and would do all sorts of things, all on a console. Not to mention the fighting was in real-time, yet it was an RPG. It was something new, innovative and in some aspects, revolutionary. I was excited to say the least.
Back then, PSO had graphics that were mind-blowing for most of us. Especially for an RPG. Dreamcast, afterall was the most advanced console at the time. Sure, I was expecting nice graphics, but my jaw still dropped when I hit the character screen and heard that smooth and steady music playing. The game had a lot of personality already.
After spending maybe an hour in the character generator, I logged onto the MIRANDA ship. People were practically eccentric! "OMG THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME LSDKJGDG", "WE'RE FINALLY HERE! CELEBRATE!! (emote: YAHOO!! YAHOO!!)", etc., etc. Needless to say, I was excited as well.. But not as excited as I got when something unexpected happened.
A big group of level 90+ characters from the Japanese server all came to greet us with a warm hello. I was literally grinning from ear to ear from such a friendly gesture. Two of them, both Forces, volunteered to help myself and another new player after we all introduced ourselves. The four of us played through the game from Forest 1 and through Dark Falz, the force characters keeping us healed, resurrected and making sure we got the XP. When that ending theme played after beating Dark Falz, I was completely sucked in. I couldn't beleive the generosity and the comradery I felt from these people who were sitting on the other side of the world.
We returned to Pioneer, where our veteran friends proceeded to give us item after item as well as a ton of Meseta. They gave us their best wishes, we traded guild cards, said our goodbyes, went our seperate directions so that they could help others, and I spent the remainder of the day thrashing away at monsters with Sabers, Handguns and a bunch of money for resources. I made plenty of friends and I had a lot of fun in PSO, but one of the most outstanding things to me was that first game.
Nothing beats the challenge of having to pull together without lvl 90+ characters to help you out, but the gesture of them taking the time to help a bunch of foreigners was what I found so compelling. Especially considering that out of the vast majority of cultures, Japan is not always the most accepting when it comes to foreigners. Despite all of that, here we were, all gamers, coming together regardless of background, culture, creed and everything else.. to have a good time. Needless to say, I thought it was really cool to have so many Japanese friends.. and even some who couldn't speak English.
....
I'm hoping that PSU will be a lot of fun when I start playing. I don't expect anything like the intercultural experience that I had with PSO because PSU will be a different type of game. Either way, I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll even run into a few of you guys when I get there. Does anybody else have Rookie experiences they want to share? Any major expectations for PSU in regards to them? A reason that many of us are even excited to play PSU is because we love PSO so much. I wonder how the transition from one great game to another will be.