> My first character was Necromancer (FOnewm), who was initially dressed in the the black outfit with red spikey hair, and later changed to the standard red attire.  The first two people I got to know in PSO were Lucero (RAmar) and Akuto (RAmar).  At the time, I was mostly playing on weekends, and these two guys always seemed to be on at the same time as me.  We met and played on Ariel 10-01, which eventually became our guild headquarters.  Another friend I played a lot with early on was Temptress, a very cool FOnewearl.  She became part of the inspiration for my first female character, Seductress (HUnewearl).  All three of us were completely immersed in the wonders of PSO, and we had no idea what lay before us.  I can remember going into the Mines for the first few times (on normal difficulty) and thinking this is so hard!  The Sinow Beats were amazingly tough at first, but teamwork and perseverance paid off.  Then one day Akuto and I finally got to Dark Falz.  I can remember being nervous -- even more so after finding out he could kill me at will.  We finally did beat him, and we found our first rare -- a PHOTON CLAW.  Temptress played through early Spring, Akuto continued on until late Spring, and Lucero played through early October, when he was no longer able to regularly connect with his ISP.

     > The next two major players I met were Abdiel (HUmar) and Squall (HUmar).  To be honest, I never considered Abdiel to be a good friend until much later.  As for Squall, we hit it right from the git-go.  We had a lot of good times.  If I recall correctly, I met Squall when he was around level 22 and I was around 32.  It seemed as though he always remained about 10 levels behind me.  For the record, the Squall I'm talking about was surely one of the first ones on PSO (if not the first), as copy cat characters popped up like weeds soon thereafter.  Abdiel kind of faded from the my scene until some time in the Summer, while Squall went through a period of absence, since he had no dial-up ISP.

     > About this time, mid Spring, Lucero and I decided to make an official PSO Guild, otherwise known as a clan.  Lucero already had his own guild, called "Gleaming the Cube"  (GTC).  I had a selection of friends I always played with when Lucero wasn't around, so we essentially decided that GTC wasn't big enough for both of us.  I came up with the idea that we could form a single guild with two wings.  Lucero would lead the GTC wing, and I could lead my own wing, which became the Shin Force Guild.  He loved the idea and said, "I like the way you think".  That solidified our friendship and we were rarely seen in separate games for too long.  Also, the quest for new members had begun.

     > Sephiroth (HUmar), Neifirst (HUnewearl), and Ash Soprano/King Mob (RAmar/HUmar) were the next major friends I made.  I met Sephiroth and Ash through Lucero, as he always seemed to have more friends than me.  We enjoyed PSO through level 100 together, and they became GTC members.  I was on my third Lv100 with Seductress being #2 and Synbios (RAmar) being #3.  Sephiroth faded away around May, as his sister basically took over PSO in their house, and his enthusiasm for the game dropped off.  Ash, who eventually became a GTC Guild member, provided us with many hours of friendship on PSO up until as recently as a few weeks ago.  It was reported to me that King Mob was NOL'ed, and I haven't seen him since.  For the record, NOL'ed in his case meant that his character was converted to a Lv155 HUnewearl named "NOL".  Neifirst was a great looking HUnewearl who inspired me to create Mieu (HUnewearl), another Phantasy Star character.  He played mostly late at night or early mornings because of his weird hours at work.  He eventually created his own clan which consisted of characters relating to the Phantasy Star realm.  I haven't seen him lately, but I know he doesn't plan to get v2 until the Gamecube version arrives.

     > Next I met three ladies, one of which I became great friends with.  Shadow (FOmarl) and Katrianna (HUnewearl) were introduced to me via Ash.  I thought it was really cool to see women playing games, which most people think only men are interested in.  We played a lot for a few months, then Shadow and Katrianna faded away for a while.  Recently, I spent some time with Katrianna (just as she converted to v2), but I fear that she is having trouble connecting. =/  The third was Echidna.  I met her in a open game sometime in April (I think), while I was playing as my newest character, Mieu.  I was around Lv67 while she was around Lv62.  Our characters were almost twins!  We played on and off for a few months, and I even got to be friends with her husband, Zero/-D- (HUmar/HUcast), who loved to play on the Japanese ships.  Then something happened, which caused us to spend more time together.  I can't site a specific event or reason for this, other than fate.  Echidna and I became great friends and got to know one another pretty well.  I eventually asked her to join our Guild, and she accepted.  She was immediately promoted to second in command and given the rank "Ninjitsu HUnniwearl", which to this day is hers alone.  To date, other than Lucero, Echidna is the person I've spent the most time with on PSO.  She hasn't been seen by me for about three weeks now, and sources say she has lost interest in the game.  I truly cherish the many good times we had in the realm...

     > Long time Shin Force visitors know the name Metal Gear X (MGX) from the message board.  Through Sega Force and Shin Force, I've known Strider since 1997.  Well, he was the next person to join the PSO realm, and our guild.  His first character was Strider (RAmar), but his eventual favorite was the v2 HUnewearl known as Seraphy.  I was overjoyed when he decided to join the fun.  Unfortunately, he was never able to spend a lot of time playing, but we still managed to strengthen our friendship and enjoy Sega online gaming (as it was never supposed to happen).  He recently told me of his lack of interest (in PSO) and time, which has essentially closed the book on his chapter in PSO.  To this day, I regard him as one of my best friends, even though we have never met face to face... yet.

     > More women were on the horizon as a casual friend of mine, Harlot (HUnewearl), introduced Lucero and me to Syfte/Larynn (HUnewearl) and Miss Thang (HUnewearl).  We immediately became friends and played a lot for a while.  Syfte was the first person in my circle of friends to get the Japanese PSO v2.  She dogged me for weeks to get my v2 online, but I was in no hurry, as I knew how difficult it was to obtain a Dricas account.  Miss Thang and I eventually convinced her to do the legwork for me, as she had done the hard part for herself, and getting me a Dricas account would be relatively simple for her.  I was very thankful to her and made my PSO v2 online debut on July 3, 2001.  Shortly after that, Lucero also made his v2 debut as Candy (HUnewearl), and Squall returned to PSO in v2 form as well.  Squall was then announced to be second in command of GTC -- a title which he holds dearly.  For whatever reason, Syfte, "Missy" and me never played much after that, but I have fond memories of our times together.  Both of them recently logged off PSO (for Dreamcast) for the last time.

     > Somewhere in the same time frame, I met Rydon/Paladin (RAmar/HUmar).  Initially, we never really played that much, but he eventually became a Shin Force member along with his wife, Bambie (HUnewearl).  One of the funniest stories Paladin told me was when I (as Seductress) once saw him in a lobby with his wife.  He said, "hya Seductress"!  As the story goes, his wife became a little concerned that he was associating with some one named Seductress, maybe even a tad bit jealous...ROFLMAO.  One of the most interesting things about this couple is that Bambie is the one that got Paladin into playing PSO.  Obviously, this goes against all conventional wisdom.  Anyway, Paladin and Bambie have been very good friends, and the source of much pleasure in the realm.  I still see them almost every day.  =)

     > Still around late Spring, early Summer, I ran into two more long time Shin Force friends, Julian (RAmar; aka Valder) and his wife Jocelyn (HUnewearl).  They make a great tag team as Julian usually takes the early to late evening hours, while Jocelyn consumes the late night gaming sessions like a pro!  One of my favorite memories with Julian was when I gave him his first HEAVEN PUNISHER, which allows one to wield "heaven's almighty punishment".  His sheer amazement of its immense power was something I'll never forget (and is totally understood by all who witness it).  One of my favorite memories with Jocelyn was when I used a chat symbol of a nude woman (that I got from Echidna) and she told me to "stop showing those baby feeders"!!  That was the first time both Echidna and me had ever heard that reference to breasts, and we laughed our asses off!  =)  Both Julian and Jocelyn are devoted Sega gamers, which makes them people after my own heart.  =)  The only hitch in our gaming together was the short period of time when we couldn't see each other move!  I eventually corrected that by using my alternate dial-up ISP.  They are both highly valued Shin Force members that I see on a fairly regular basis...

     > At some point this past Summer I met Zack (HUmar), the supreme leader of the Rabishun Clan.  At the time, I had a HUnewearl named Masqurin, who has since been replaced by Kasumi Ninja (HUnewearl).  Anyway, Zack promised he could get me a sweet DOUBLE SABER, and he surely came through.  He introduced me to many of his members, including Azriel (FOmarl), Nathaniel (RAmar), and Norrin Radd (HUmar).  Zack often told me of his clan's enjoyment of getting high, which was the source of many jokes in the interim.  Azriel has been offline for a while now, and Zack has recently logged off for good (well, until PSO Xbox arrives).  I still see Nathaniel occasionally, and Norrin quite often.  I also started playing a lot more with Abdiel (remember him?), and he quickly became a highly respected Shin Force member.  Abdiel and I love to joke about the fact that he dies a lot, whereas I never die!  LOL.  I recently gained much pleasure in giving him a FLAME GARMENT so that he could shed his PARASITE WEAR forever!!  Much to my dismay, I only see him on weekends these days...

     > In late Summer, I hooked up with [www.synbios.net]'s webmaster, known as Parn (HUmar).  He is a diehard gamer like me, and our limited time together in the realm has been quite enjoyable. I also met his sister, the "real" Masqurin (HUnewearl) right after him.  We have played on and off for the past few months, which have been highlighted by her uncanny ability to restart her character as a result of corrupted files.  Through all those restarts, she even managed to gain Shin Force membership.  =)  Masqurin also generously provided us with hand-drawn pix of various PSO people we know.  Most unfortunately, I recently found out her days on PSO are numbered, as her family is switching to DSL. =(  Parn remains online, as he doesn't live at home anymore.

     > Within recent months, I ran into a person I've seen quite often on Ariel 10.  Her name is Blumchen (HUnewearl), and she is a former member of a clan (sorry, I don't know its name) which also resided at Ariel 10, until it was disbanded.  We talked and decided that Shin Force membership was right for her.  Siggy, whose PSO departure last night inspired this article, is a long time friend of Blumchen's.  They're both late night gamers, like me.  =)  My highlight with her in our relatively short time, would be the high score of 188% in the "Love Test".  I think I speak for both of us when I say that was FUN!  I see her on a regular basis to this day.  =)

     > This Fall, before Lucero/Candy started having problems connecting, he befriended a HUcast named Cloud and added him to the ranks of the GTC.  Cloud has been a good friend to me, and has essentially taken over the once expansive GTC guild, if for no other reason than default on Candy's and Squall's part.  =/  I sincerely hope to see Candy and Squall on a regular basis again -- soon.  Cloud has even contributed reviews to Shin Force, as he expands his responsibilities.  The Cloudster also brought in a new member named White Knight (RAmar), who has turned out to be a very well trained "area clearer".  As of this writing, Cloud and White Knight are the only two active players left in the GTC wing.

     > Although we got off to a rocky start, Blue Heaven (HUmar) has persevered and gained a spot in the Shin Force Guild.  He was first introduced to me by Echidna this past Summer.  Initially, I didn't enjoy his attitude or gameplay manners.  In my opinion, Blue has since "seen the light", and has truly earned his membership.  He has been a good friend, a great teammate, and provided a great sense of humor for all to enjoy.  Finally, Blue has mastered the Code of the Shinobi, and now wields the Shin Force!  =)

     > One thing is for sure.  PSO is a wonderful experience that only online participants can truly appreciate.  I often think about Sega's groundbreaking achievement while I'm playing.  The scope of the game, and the magnitude of your interaction are awe inspiring.  Anyway, there is no way I could remember all the people I enjoyed playing with in one sitting.  Therefore, I plan to author additional editorials on this subject as necessary.  I also wanted to have a small log of this once in a lifetime experience, brought to you and me exclusively by Sega, utilizing Sega created software AND hardware.  I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I did writing it.
 

Good Gaming,
-Shinobi