The most compelling and psychological story ever told, period. Fei Fong Wong is one of the most compelling and introspective characters I've seen in a JRPG; the same sentiment can go towards Elly and Krelian's character. But I do find some of the other cast of characters to not be executed well enough, (for instance: Rico). And everyone knows about the infamous Disc 2 where it turns the entire typical JRPG gameplay the first disc had and made it into basically a visual novel. Also, sadly, this game suffered from a lot of grinding in order to progress with the story. It was an ambitious game that was rushed and had a team where they weren't experienced with 3D modeling so it was a recipe for disaster yet it turned out to be a near masterpiece. I didn't mind the sudden change in disc 2 because I found the lore and the worldbuilding to be so fascinating that I just wanted to learn more.

After playing this game, I have read so many books and read so many articles discussing gnosticism, and the many branches of psychological thinking (Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, etc). This game made me think about my life in a very unique way and opened my eyes to what storytelling can accomplish. Because of this, I was on a hunt to find games similar to Xenogears but had very little success in doing so over the years. That is why this game is so special; there is quite literally nothing like it. I thank this game for getting me into psychoanalytics and am grateful I got to experience this game in my life.

Controversial take, but this is a game that I feel deserves a remake the most; if Square ever does touch up on Xenogears and fixes its problem, this could very well end up being the greatest game ever made. I know the gaming industry is going through a sort of "remake renaissance," but, with the right team and vision, I can see a remake of Xenogears being done well. The base game is not perfect and has many flaws but most masterpieces exhibit the same sentiment. Despite it all, I find Xenogears to be one of the greatest games ever made and no other game is at the same level of complexity quite like Xenogears.

I wouldn’t be here right now if this game didn’t exist. This game left the biggest personal impact on me. At the time, I was in a dark headspace, questioning my existence and wondering what was my place in the world. I couldn’t hold myself in high self-esteem for the longest time. I had no meaningful connection developed and was truly in a nihilistic mindset. I truly believed life was deterministic and free will was just an illusion. One day, I wanted to just get my mind off of reality and just play a game, any game. The game I chose to play that fateful day was Final Fantasy IX. This game truly saved me from my most troubling times. It probably is very cliche and over the top to say “I probably wouldn’t be here without this game,” but that’s exactly the case with FFIX.

While I was having my negative existential dread, Final Fantasy IX gave a positive conclusion to existentialism that I have never seen done in a video game: “How do we rise above existential dread and accept a deterministic world? Though your individuality and sense of self may be an illusion, everyone has the ability to experience genuine moments that are specific to you. One’s that nobody else can or will experience. The connections you’ve made, the path you went, those are yours and yours alone. Nobody would feel the same emotions in the exact same way you felt. The only way to make your experiences beautiful is if you’re with someone else, someone who cares for you. That is what makes life worth living.” It poses such a simple yet unique solution to existential dread. How could I not get so emotional after hearing that? After the credits rolled, I was so moved; I didn’t know such a game can come into my life at the perfect time. I am tremendously grateful to have played this game and I am still profoundly moved by how many people were saved by this game and went through the same dilemma that I have gone through many years back.

For this reason, Final Fantasy IX is a masterpiece in every stretch of the word. I would do anything to play this game for the first time again.

Influenced by many works of art like Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky, Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” as well as Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe,” Skies of Arcadia embodies a sense of adventure unlike any other. There is a great sense of freedom in this game. At a time where JRPGs were defined by convoluted lore, characters/themes dealing with moral ambiguity, and dark, harrowing settings, Arcadia would go back to the old JRPG roots and make its own mark on the genre. It doesn’t have heavy interpersonal drama or delve deep into the character’s psyche, but the simple joy of adventure. The game's sky-bound world serves as a backdrop for one's dreams and its enchanting soundtrack enhances the experience. Sometimes a game doesn’t need to be the most complex work ever created. Skies of Arcadia is a celebration for fans that adore JRPGs. There's a delight in playing this magical game yet if you delve deeper you'll find underlying complexity.

Granted, the game isn’t flawless; its random encounter rate in both the Dreamcast and Gamecube version is very high, and the combat is very slow, with lengthy animations. But, what the game sets out to do, its missteps are easily forgiven.

A game that brings out the inner child in me is truly priceless to me. I felt a tinge of sadness when the adventure in this game came to an end. The journey I experienced will always hold a place in my memories. Basically, this is a game that I'll definitely share with my children.

~My Personal favorite Persona Game. I acknowledge all of the cons this game has; The Answer is easily the lowest point of the game, traversing in Tartarus isn't fun and not being able to control your party members during battle does suck. But the execution of its themes and a majority of the social links is still worth the playthrough. Social links like Akanari and Aigis are some of my favorites in the entire series. Every time I think about this game, I always get emotional. The soundtrack is easily my favorite soundtrack in any video game. And The ending is easily my favorite ending in any video game; the last section of The Journey is where it really peaked for me. I just love this game too much and will gladly say I am looking at this game with rose-tinted glasses. The game is still worth the time investment btw, even if it hasn't aged well, it's still a game any fan of JRGPs should at least try once in their lifetime.

Amazing experience. What makes this game so unbelievably good is how it doesn’t use any cheap/forced horror or jumpscares to make it come across as scary but more on the psychological side of horror. The fear of the unknown is the kind of fear that is the most terrifying and the Silent Hill team did this in spades. I don’t want to spoil any major plot points but it is so fascinating finding out why each character is in silent hill to begin with, all the trauma they have gone through, and the devs really dig deep into their psyche, to the point that it is too painful to bear witness. As a psychology nerd, James’ character is a character arc that I’ll probably never forget. Everything that was built up til the end of the game was profoundly written and made me gitty seeing all the references to Carl Jung’s shadow theory and repressed emotions/memories. My main gripe with the game is how easy it is to get lost in this game. Granted, this could have been intentional for the purpose of being thematically accurate but sometimes it felt like I was wasting huge chunks of my time just trying to figure out where to go. I appreciate how the enemy designs were very symbolic of what James perceives but some of them were just easy to deal with and didn’ horrify me after being saturated with them. All in all, this is the kind of horror I am deeply into, it is by far the best horror game I’ve ever played and deserves all the praise it gets.

My favorite video game of all time. It was one of the first video games I have ever played and it is the game I have replayed the most. My favorite cast in a video game, my favorite gameplay in a JPRG and it had a plethora of masterfully crafted moments that still make me emotional. Don't think any other game will ever top this game for me. This game helped me at a desperate time in my life and it will continue to influence my daily life. Even as a kid, I knew I was playing my favorite video game and this game will forever be magical to me. God, I love this game.

After spending some time reflecting on this game, I can't help but remember its flaws overshadowing its strengths. FFXVI has some of the most incredible moments in the series but it also has some of the slowest parts the series has to offer. The gameplay, which heavily focuses on action and individual combat doesn't align well with the games storyline. While the story itself embodies the essence of a fantasy tale it lacks a sense of collective overcoming adversity due, to how Clive, the character handles everything on his own, embodying the individualistic mindset.

Without spoiling I must say that the resolution to the struggles faced by the oppressed characters was quite disappointing and unrealistic. It felt rather simplistic and doesn't reflect reality.

The game does explore themes and topics that could evoke emotions and have a profound impact. However it falls short in conveying these ideas leaving them feeling somewhat flat. It saddens me because I can see the potential for greatness in the story.

Another drawback of the game is how it leaves many questions unanswered and presents many questionable scenes without proper context. One significant example is Barnabas character; while his motivations or details about his mother are not addressed in the storyline they are explained in the Active Time Lore, though not at a time when players would prefer to read more.
The way the ATL was implemented in this game didn't quite meet my expectations. There were moments when I had questions or mysteries that weren't adequately explored and I wanted to read the ATL to learn more but it mostly provided me nothing. It felt the ATL was necessary to piece together what has happened in the story which didnt fit in with the kind of story FFXVI was trying to tell. It felt like the ATL didn't seamlessly fit into this story driven game unlike games such, as Elden Ring where lore is explained through item descriptions but still maintains a sense of exploration and combat in From Software games. In my opinion the implementation of the ATL fell short.

FFXV was what I hoped for in a dark, modern Final fantasy for the most part. The story was executed well on some parts, although there were moments where I felt certain plot points could have had an impact. Clive facing his shadow still gives me some goosebumps thinking about it but it couldve went even further. I also wished that it delved deeper into the concepts explored by its characters. However it does touch upon their struggles to some extent. There is "some" payoff for their dilemmas so I can't fault the game entirely in that regard.

The pacing was solid in the half of the game. Things got a bit strange once the second half kicked in. As for gameplay, it was incredibly enjoyable to play; I didn't get bored fighting the enemies. However, the repetitive game design of how the side quests were handled made the action gameplay didnt mesh with the rpg elements.

I'm sure you've heard criticism about the side quests being lackluster. Not all of them were bad. Some side quests actually built upon themes like breaking free from fate or discrimination, confronting ones shadow and forging paths for people to live and die on their terms. They weren't all incredible but not every single one was terrible either; it was sadly bogged down to repetitive game design.

I genuinely appreciate the attention, to detail in the world and lore. The bosses were truly a spectacle to behold and Clive proved to be a protagonist seamlessly joining the ranks of the main characters, in the Final Fantasy series. I just want to clarify that I'm not criticizing or being negative, towards the game. As a fan of the Final Fantasy series I simply want to understand what the developers intended for us to grasp with FFXVI. My aim is to provide constructive criticism and feedback. Overall, I do believe FFXVI is a good game. I've mostly enjoyed my time with it. Although it has many flaws, my experience with the game was more or less positive, especially compared to other flawed games.

After completing FF7 Remake, the first part of this remake project trilogy, I knew it was gonna derail from the original. I knew that whatever the writers wrote for this new journey would be something I won't like and would bring in convoluted concepts of fate and destiny, deterministic philosophy and multiverse theory that the original story didn't have in the first place, or atleast not in the forefront of the themes.

Let me say my negatives first; when I finished the game and say the ending, I didn't like it all. It was just like every other Square rpg where the 2nd half of the story would be convoluted and paced in a weird direction for the sake of ambiguity and for players to continually discuss with. A lot of the twists felt like the writers wanted the player to be emotionally confused and use those twists for the sake of shock value and fanservice. However, after some time thinking about it, I do appreciate the devs being this risky with this kind of story. It's like they trusted the players with their new vision of the game. Not many games this generation have ever went to this direction. When I finished FF7 Remake, I've already accepted the original FF7 that I've loved is gone and that whatever new stuff the devs bring to the table wouldn't be what I wanted but I'm still curious how things will turn out. Rebirth left me questioning more but wanting more. I know for a fact the next and final part will leave some unresolved plot points as red hearings but I've already accepted that. There's no getting off this crazy train.

Now positives; the gameplay and exploration is phenomenal. In terms of gameplay and graphics, this is by far the best square game they have made in the past decade or 2. I have spent so many hours just exploring every nook and crany, battling every enemy, just sucking out every enjoyable aspect that game has to offer. And the game throws in so many minigames and other activities to switch up the gameplay loop and because of this I was never bored. However, since this is an open world game I did experience some exploration fatigue and got a little tired doing the same quests over and over again, but again the switch up of gameplay sprinkled throughout the game helped alleviate this. I could easily go over the 100 hour mark This game made FF7 Remake look bad, like really bad. It's gonna be hard to go back to Remake. This game has even more strategy, more role playing aspects, more player expression, its the whole package. Another positive is how they basically nailed every character; each character as if I remembered it but in the modern age. There were some story beats that were actually better and more actualized in this game compared to the original because it added more character and understanding on each character, main or side. Scenes like the Dyne scene, cosmo canyon, and gold saucer in general where I genuinely felt it was better executed in rebirth than in the original.

I didn't hate this game, not at all. I did have expectations that I wouldn't like it after completing Remake, but I've gained an appreciation for this project and want to see more of the devs new vision on this beloved story. I'm just curious on how this will end, even if it does end up as a car crash or train wreck. This game did have too much going on, making the story even more convulted and messy than it should be. Any newcomer that hasn't played any FF7 game in the compilation would be completely lost in rebirth but I felt the basic, bare bones interpretation of the themes and message its trying to convey is there. But the complex ideas of psychology, theology, and philosophy from the original are present here but it's just different. That's one word I can sum for this game: "different." In a good and bad way. It has its pros and cons but I've learned to outweigh the pros from the cons and appreciate what the devs are trying to do. There's no getting off this train.

As a fan of Xenogears and the first Xenoblade game, I actually really like Xenoblade 2, despite it all. Sure, it has many glaring faults and its fanservice is detrimental to the game as a whole but, once you got the hang of it, the combat was really fun to play. Fixing the tutorials, redesigning the characters, and not being another Xenogears episode V rehash could've made the game better, at least in my opinion. Not as good as the first game but still a great game and story. Have a soft spot for this game.

I find this game to be one of the most profound games I've ever played and I do sincerely believe this story would've only worked in the video game medium. Automata is what happens when a Drakengard/Nier game has a functional gameplay system and an amazing story to back up with it. It deserves all the praise it gets. Took me years to play this game after its E3 reveal in 2015 and the hype behind it was fatiguing but I'm glad I took my time and finally played this gem of an action RPG. Its existentialist themes and the heartbreaking characters that were developed made this game a masterpiece in my eyes. One of my new favorite games from recent memory.

Quite possibly one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. How the story was told with its subtle hints and dialogue jam-packed with so much meaning and interpretation were it was just masterfully done. Matsuno is a one of kind director that pulled an ambitious story without it feeling confusing or expostion heavy.

I have no qualms with the story whatsoever. The only criticism I have are the gameplay elements and how infuriatingly difficult it is to beat the game a first time through and how stupidly easy it is to break the game. I personally don't mind going through a power trip and feeling like a God destroying the game's difficult since it's a strategical JRPG, a genre in which encourages the best strategy at all times, but I can't excuse the infamous difficulty spike in the end of chapter 3. It is still a near perfect game and one of the best final fantasy games ever made, it's just not for newcomers.