I know this post. I came from one participant, offline just PSO2 Meseta encounter on Dreamcast and Gamecube (a little time on BB on PC, but not really enough to count), but I put a lot of hours in that game, and have fond memories of performing splitscreen with other men and women. Even my SO, after he and I met. I loved the general aesthetic of this world, along with the feedback loop: the notion of crawling through dungeons that were little, getting equipment. I have since chowed down two PS games during this time, tho I have never had the opportunity to properly sit III and IV. Just hasn't occurred.
But it's been years and years since then. When I heard the PSO2 CBT was happening, I signed up within a couple of hours of the statement. I never knew I needed PSO back so awful, but I remember about two decades before, wanting to play online but could not for a variety of reasons (no money for the sub, 56k just modem on DC when our house already moved to DSL, oh the primary world issues.) That I was hooked, although I have to say, it may be a little nostalgia wrapped into the fantasies of my 13 year-old self coming back at the age of 32.
I really do think the cheap Phantasy Star Online 2 Meseta game features some items that set it apart from other games I'd explain as grindy or repetitive, because it's a little these two things, but it's great world layout, with a few amazing looking set pieces given the rather low resolution of this content, and fantastic music. It also has a fairly deep world that doesn't abide by a great deal of fantasy and Sci-Fi cliches. It is a world I feel like I have not experienced yet, and wish to do it all over again.