Boy, there’s a lot.

Final Fantasy is an obvious one. I’d say the Ivalice entries were particularly inspiring since Yoshida’s artwork is now basically what I most strongly associate with what fantasy aesthetics should look like. But FF in general is where my love for colorful characters and epic plots arose.

Xenogears is where stuff really starts being rooted firmly in my head. The religious symbolism, combined with an incredibly intricate plot is something that has pretty much defined my sensibilities in terms of good sci fi.

Chrono Trigger was another big one - an incredibly tight, fun adventure that pretty much delivers on every front. I’d love to make something like it one day.

Outside games, there’s definitely Neon Genesis Evangelion. It’s kind of changed my perception on a lot of things, and I don’t really mean the psychological aspect - I’m speaking more about the relationship between author and audience, as well as the meaning of the text beyond the text.

The Witcher is something I’ve stumbled into relatively late, but it’s still pretty much redefined what I look for in fantasy. It’s still my favorite novel series and it helps that the various adaptations and sequels across media have been so good. Also, Sapkowski himself is just such a smurfing icon and I hope I can still meet him someday.

The art of Ryszard Beksiński has definitely given me nightmares, but in a good way. I still count the time we visited a gallery with his works during a summer trip one of the most defining moments of my adolescence.

SMT in general has also been a big game changer since it showed me that there are other things that can make a game compelling and I’ve come to really appreciate a bigger focus on gameplay and challenge.

I’m sure there’s more - like I’m certain there’s a movie or TV show out there somewhere - but these are what I got off the top of my head.