There's something special to having a story that makes you want to drop everything and dive in headfirst. Do an internet blackout to prevent spoilers. Besides part 1 of the FF7 Remake that came out in 2020, I haven't felt this way since I played through the Witcher series after 3 came out, and the Mass Effect titles before that.

For reference, if you don't know, Final Fantasy VII was a Japanese video game that came out in 1997. My dad came home one day and handed 12-year-old me a Playstation 1 that he won in a golf tournament for the longest drive. The first game I picked up was FF7. It's hard to describe how a story/experience resonates with you so hard it changes your life in some ways.

Is funny how seemingly small choices can have such long-lasting effects. Another honourable mention to Mass Effect that I picked up in a Blockbuster bargain bin years after it came out and blew my mind. In Aesteria, Zydlari take a lot of cues from the Asari, and Valhai from the Turians.

Now, FF7's DNA is present in most of what I create. I see a lot of Midgar when I describe Rax City on Rakuur. I play a lot of the breathtaking soundtrack while writing scenes. The game showed me how compelling dynamic, 3-dimensional characters can be.

I was skeptical when part 1 of the remake was coming out. The day before launch, I watched a stream of it and saw an image like this.