Your Move

In 1999, Sega released their final home console, the Dreamcast. Among several features it had that were new to game consoles, there was a built-in modem. Few games used it, and even fewer used it well. But one used it phenomenally. Phantasy Star Online wasn’t the first online multiplayer game on the Dreamcast, but it was absolutely the most ambitious. You could customize your own character, choose your abilities, and pick which weapons you enjoy using the most. When you’d log in, you’d be transported to a lobby, where you could build a team of up to 4 players. You could take on the main story, or a number of different missions, which would be updated periodically. The story could take place in one of four areas - forest, caves, mines, or ruins - which all followed a pattern of moving through several environments before getting to a boss monster that would take your entire team to defeat. Playing this game 20 years ago presented certain challenges, not the least of which was getting