eightleaves
Coming back to this with context from the later games only makes me view this already masterful game in an even better light. Perfectly wrapping up existing arcs and storylines coming out of SC and setting up new conflicts, concepts, and storylines that carry on 5 games later, all while telling its own beautifully tragic story about a man stricken with grief and hellbent on punishing himself. I'd say Sky the 3rd, while not being my favorite game in the series, stands as the true testament to the genius of Falcom.
Even after fully catching up to the series, this remains the most magical and memorable game for me, the first game that truly skyrocketed me into being a longtime fan of this medium. The hold this game has on me is strong.
With every subsequent game I play in the series I always come back to FC and find something new to appreciate from it. It has an infectious charm and soul to it and I remember being immediately drawn by the title screen music alone. I really miss Estelle and Joshua's coming of age journey here, when our only worries were defeating monsters and exploring this new and vast land of Liberl. It has the least going on compared to the other games, but that's fine since this is game is one of the most memorable for me.
2014
"But you still made it this far, didn't you? Sure you were awkward and clumsy. But you always did your best to become someone even a little better. Pushing hard in spite of being weak, you struggled to improve yourself any way you could. You continued breathing despite the pain up until now. If you don't acknowledge your pride in that...Then who else will?"
This is kind of my reason for living
"Your name is unknown, your deed is immortal."
2006
ACHIEVE YOUR MISSION WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT.
DESPAIR NOT UNTIL YOUR LAST BREATH.
MAKE YOUR DEATH COUNT.
DESPAIR NOT UNTIL YOUR LAST BREATH.
MAKE YOUR DEATH COUNT.