evanrabuhlay
2000
Having beaten this game about a dozen times I just have to forever praise the team behind this and Thousand Year Door for their impeccable charm. Replaying this right after beating Origami King (which isn’t bad!) the thing that struck me the most is how Nintendo now refuses to allow the side characters to be fully and vibrantly unique. Here we have so many lovable and memorable allies, and yet I can barely tell you anything about who is in most of the sequels. A really sad development and I hope that in future installments they go back to allowing more individuality in the supporting cast.
The map creator in this game is IMPRESSIVE. I spent most of my time creating the most insane multiplayer maps imaginable and just going bananas on the bots. More games should have map editors as tight and perfect as this one! Why can’t I fuck with the lighting and weather in most map makers!!!
2004
So much potential in this game. It’s basically Gundam Build Fighters before that existed. It’s a little too short and the gameplay skews very heavily towards making certain play styles worthless. But man it’s so fucking cool and fun and the walking animations are goofy as hell.
Should have taken off more than Pokémon. The breeding system is so fucking addictive to try and perfect.
1997
Breath of Fire III has been and will likely continue to be my favorite game of all time. Not necessarily because of the quality of the game (which is excellent! And any jrpg fan should play it!) but I played it at a perfect time in my life for it to hit me how it does. The soundtrack is so fun, the gameplay is just varied enough compared to its contemporaries, and the color palette is so much more vibrant than the sequel. No doubt a perfect game (for me)