It's just a Phantasy

 

This week's wacky music Weds comes to us from a distant galaxy of sorts. A Phantastical galaxy, full of lazer swords, Gobots that punch, and monsters just defending their homelands. That's right, we're talking the incredible composition of Phantasy Star Online!  Composed by Hideaki Kobayashi, the original series soundtrack (Episodes 1-4) have such a vibe that can only be described as atmospheric. 

PSO would go onto becoming a lot of firsts as well as a lot of lasts for me in my gaming experiences. This was the first MMO styled multiplayer online experience. I was immediately drawn in by the vast universe we had to explore, the incredibly cool idea of playing games with others online, and of course- the soundtrack.  I've included a few clips to check out yourself, but it's easily one of the best soundtracks to vibe with on a busy work day or to just relax with. 

Unfortunately it was in some ways, Sega's last hurrah going into the final holiday season with the Dreamcast as their featured game console. Sega had failed to make profits yet again, and would soon bow out of the console market by mid 2000-2001.

The music is very full feeling. An array of instruments brush past your ears filled with highs and lows that draw you in. One feature that's difficult to share over a blog post, or through sharing music is during gameplay the soundtrack shifts with the players depending on where they are or what they're doing!  For instance, if you're in a safe area sorting through your items, you'd have very peaceful organic moments, however if you're being ambushed the orchestrated soundtrack quickly picks up the pace with you to get your heart pumping.

These features are pretty commonplace in today's games, but in the year 2000 it was considered to be fairly new. It definitely added to the overall experience. I simply love the overall story and feelings going into the 4 part episodic experience. By episode 3 you come to find that all of the work migrating into the wilds could have been in error as we've destroyed organic lands for our own selfish needs to expand the tech industries. You have an option to join a rebellion and side with the monsters of each infiltrated world. Far deeper than one would expect!

The balance this game offers moving from spaceship scenes and advanced society to uninhabited lands in forests or dungeons while still maintaining a balanced soundtrack is incredible, and I feel it's an experience that everyone should check out!  This has been your space cowboy, JISH, welcoming you to another mid-week addiction. I hope ya'll are doing well. Stay safe my friends!

In an article on Polygon in 2020 (Celebrating PSO's 20th anniversary), they actually interviewed Hideaki Kobayashi  He had this to say-

"Phantasy Star Online is coming up on its 20th anniversary. This was one of your early projects, looking back, but how do you reflect on the development of the game at this point?

I joined the Phantasy Star Online franchise in the year 2000 with PSO and have been involved with almost every version of the game since, for 20 years. It’s become my life’s work, really. At the same time, 20 years has gone by in a blink of an eye, from my point of view. Right now [at the time of this interview in 2019], we’re working on Phantasy Star Online 2. We’ve been working on this title for over five years. It really feels like the years flew past."