I started from PSO Version.2 when my older bro handed me down his Dreamcast back in the day but never played online. Then we both played Episode 1&2 multiplayer and I occasionally went online on his Gamecube to grind Towards the Future for EXP. Had a lot of fun memories, and I loved teaming up with my bro and his friend with my Fonewearl to blast through stages but my bro majorly regrets spending as much time as he did on the game. After that, we spent a little time on Universe and then stopped playing the franchise altogether. PSO2 looked cool, but we didn't bother with it and from what I've been reading, we're not really missing out on anything IMO.
The memories that stick out the most to me are as follows:
-Struggling to get to Stage 3 of Ultimate Ruins on Version 2 offline.
-The absolutely abysmal drop rates of rare weapons other than Red Gun/Saber in Version 2. Rares weren't just rare, they were straight mythical. Thank fuck they eased up on it slightly in Episode 1&2 but the rates were still pretty bad.
-My bro's stories about how fucked online was in Version 2 (hacking, how the Japanese avoided American players and how he only managed to team up with Japanese players because he was from the UK, etc.). He was able to complete the online quests to get S-Rank Needle and Cutter so that was something.
-Watching my bro quickly blast through Jungle to kill a Mericarol every day before work for Monkey King Bar (he never got it).
-My bro's co-worker taking the red box from my bro's kill in Ep.1&2, which my bro thought was either Partisan of Lightning or Monkey King Bar (can't recall) but it was a Photon Drop instead. I think my bro would've killed him if it was a rare weapon lol.
-My bro, his friend and I grinding for Baranz Parts in offline multiplayer on Ep.1&2, and finally getting it.
-Me encountering a Hildetorr in Ep.1&2, then getting one shot with one punch and no scape dolls.
PSN: Otogi-Matsuri. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/OtogiMatsuri