Xbox Series X/S backwards compatibility has been a godsend for the nostalgic, but it can be better still with these five games
Microsoft has got a lot right this generation with the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. The former is the more premium choice offering gaming at 4K and a larger SSD, while the latter is a more affordable digital-only option that’s perfect as an Xbox Game Pass machine. Even the infamous exclusive drought is coming to an end, with titles like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 releasing imminently. That’s not to mention titles like Perfect Dark, Fable, Everwild, and more coming next year and beyond. Yet one of the greatest triumphs of all for Xbox this generation, continuing on from the last, is its dedication to backwards compatibility. Tons of Xbox 360 and some original Xbox games are available to play on Xbox One and Series X/S, playable via the original disc, purchasable from the Microsoft Store or downloadable from Xbox Game Pass or the monthly Games with Gold rotation. Yet while an admirable effort has been made to preserve many of the best games from the days of the 360, the original Xbox still feels somewhat underrepresented. Here’s five OG Xbox titles we’d absolutely love to see get the green light in future. Arguably one of the most important games ever created, Phantasy Star Online was one of the pioneers of online console gaming when it first released on the Dreamcast, and continued to be with its Gamecube and Xbox ports. While we certainly don’t expect the “Online” part of Phantasy Star Online to make a return, the game is still fully playable in offline and local split screen modes on the original Xbox. The online multiplayer aspect of PSO is definitely what made it stand out from the crowd the most, but it’s an incredibly fun game to this day both online and off. Your player-created character can be of one of three different races, each with their own stats and class assignments. Hunters can wield swords and spears, while Rangers fight from a distance with rifles and launchers, for example. Higher difficulty modes and a wealth of content kept PSO incredibly fresh. Each tier of difficulty provides experience bonuses, and access to rarer enemies and loot. It’s quite similar to western looters like Diablo in that sense, which PSO drew direct inspiration from. Now, do we expect Sega to grant backwards compatibility to PSO on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One? Not a chance. The company is currently supporting the wildly popular Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, and likely won’t want to dedicate resources to the original game, let alone one with a re-established online connection. Still, we’d love nothing more than to be proven wrong here, as Sega and Microsoft have always been on good terms since the Dreamcast days. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 arguably did for fighting games what Phantasy Star Online did for online gaming.
