When you fall in love so strongly with something, sometimes it's hard to find a way to relive that experience again. I have felt this way about jrpgs for a while. I have played some excellent ones, but the childlike wonder of my all-time favorites has felt like it was something I wouldn't achieve again.

Suikoden 2 (and 1, but different story) showed me I was wrong and captured that feeling all over again. This game has everything that I could ever want out of a JRPG. Its world is so big, immersive, and developed. It has a simple but beautifully fun combat system. It has a ton of variety- whether fighting, doing army battles, duels, and recruiting the massive lineup of characters. It has wonderful music and beautiful presentation that enhances its atmosphere. It's not too long but has plenty of meat to dig into. It's replayable, with lots of role-playing in this role-playing game. Above all else though, it tells such a great story too. I refuse to spoil anything, but the way that it tells such a small, personal, and investing story with its characters on such a large scale that adds as much weight as it does memorable moments is fantastic. I love this game. I think the fact that I'm already itching to revisit it just a couple of months later is a sign of something special. wonderful