FF VII and, as often occurs, this reminds me of a story...


'98, I had been out of gaming for at least a few years (parties, girls, beer, dirt bikes, school, etc), my brothers also, they pretty much followed my lead. The last time I remember "geeking out" was over Mario Cart on SNES with my brothers (had played through "FFII" & "III", but MC was the sh it). Finished school early (averaged 21 units per semester, plus summer/winter classes where available), so that summer was going to be awesome. My dad had sold a jet ski he "built", but after finishing the "mods", he didn't want us on it because it was too fast (he did that with cars, boats, bikes, he's just now starting to "slow down"). The young guy he sold it to was $100 short on cash, but offered his PS+ games to cover the difference. He took it, without knowing anything about the system and games, figuring that my brothers and I might get some use out of it. He showed me what he'd received. I don't recall any of the other games that were included, but FF VII caught my eye right away. That summer, in between parties/girls/beer/dirt bikes/lake/etc., I accomplished eveything in that game. No guide, bred the Gold Chocobo, KotRT, Ruby, Emerald, Vincent (he was a "hidden" character, if my memory serves me correctly), "maxed" materia, everything. My fathers barter for FFVII got me back into gaming.