Oh I would never downplay it. That soundtrack is one of the best ever made and it never ceases to blow my mind that it was her first major work out of college. It's because Street Fighter 2 loomed so large over Shimomura that what followed immediately afterward was held to an impossible standard. I love her work in…

Saturn port of D&D or bust, my friend.

I absolutely love this story of your experience. I know so many people of varying ages that went through the same arc that same year. My brother in particular rediscovered gaming in '96 at the age of 18 for exactly the same reason; the simplicity and conceptual ease of access in early 3D games brought him back in.…

Me too. Big time. I actually imported it because I wanted it so bad and my 100% unlocks save file is still sitting on my PS1 memory card. Unlocking Evil Ryu and Guile in World Tour remains one of my proudest gaming moments. It's SO HARD!

Just like GhaleonQ, I've been waiting for someone to pop up and do Fantasy Zone's endings justice. Damn well done, Caty.

I couldn't resist!

Man. I am really glad I didn't mention how I actually like most of Other M in this article…

So… did you actually read the article? Or did you just respond to the headline?

That is an EXCELLENT call.

Thanks, El Santo. Means the world.

I highly, highly recommend going in with a stacked save file. I used the one labelled: "Start of the game with max of every item, max of every card, full magic stock for every character, but at starting levels with beginning GFs to play a legitimate game with a great edge." http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/…

Dude. Final Fantasy VIII: Big Chill Edition is my dream game.

Thanks :} And expertly put about how the game, much like the actual life experience, is best served by coming back to it years later. This was actually inspired by doing precisely that. I love Final Fantasy VIII's characters, world, art, story, and music… but I've always loathed playing it. It's only now when I know…

Xel, go play Project X Zone 2. It's RE6 Leon that shows up, but his hair is pure 1998.

This WILL happen. But the temptation to make MGS 2 all three entries is powerful.

Man. I wish it was still online, but I actually wrote a feature for Edge Magazine four years back that was purely about the RCPD. It is one of the all time great game environments for precisely the reasons you lay out.

HA! That is a very different movie.

I'll agree with everyone else here on Code Veronica. It has really not aged well, though I still adore it. The settings in particular are amazing, but it's very poorly paced in terms of backtracking.

Yeah Found kicks ass. Much preferred over Pedals.

It's still inexplicable to me that Downward is Heavenward didn't connect with a bigger audience. "If You Are to Bloom" is such a powerful single. But I guess in 1998 it was already too late for a single quite so noisy.