character is used to interact with other online players to arrange battles and tournaments. To play the game online, a GameCube modem or broadband adapter is needed. To play using the official server requires the purchase of a 30-day "Hunter's licence". The same licence can be used to play Episodes I and II, as well as Episode III. On April 1, 2007, the official Sega server for online play was shut down. Plot In Phantasy Star Online Episodes I and II, the spaceship Pioneer 2 arrived at the uninhabited planet Ragol in hopes of colonization in response to the failing ecosystem of the home planet Coral. In Episode III. Pioneer 2 has since gained independence from Coral, but inner strife still prevents an organized colonization, and it remains in orbit above Ragol. The government of Pioneer 2 also hopes to exploit "the germ", a mysterious substance discovered on the planet, which they use to power the newly developed "C.A.R.D. technology", which is used to store items such as weapons as cards and allow them to be used much more efficiently. C.A.R.D. is an acronym for "compressed alternate reality data". The game can be played as either the "Heroside" or the "Darkside". The "Heroside" are military commanders, who take orders from the government to explore, research, and ultimately, capture the Arkz, an anti-government faction. The "Darkside" are the Arkz, founded by a man known only as Red. The Arkz try to intercept and destroy the government's plans for the exploitation of the planet. They also oppose the use of C.A.R.D. technology due to its unpredictability and the lack of complete understanding of the germ. They still, however, use a stolen version of the technology in order to be able to compete with Heroside. Both sides also search for the location of the "Great Shadow", the source of the germ. Within the two factions, each character has their own goals and aspirations, and playing as certain characters in battle will reveal different aspects of the story. When both sides of the story are completed, one after another, it is discovered that the government, while experimenting with the germ for clone technology, is attempting to create bio-soldiers with the genetic material of Red's deceased twin daughters. The final boss for Heroside is a rejected mutated clone of Pollux. The final boss for Darkside is a rejected mutated clone of the other twin, Castor.