3 was utter perfection. The created characters weren't just clones of the main cast. There was still some symblance of a story to be had. And then there was Chronicles of the Sword. My favorite thing in a fighting game ever. I know most people hated it, but I always wanted an RPG where encounters played out like a fighting game. And aside from Legend of Legaia, this was as close as it was going to come. But I've been around since Soul Blade/Edge myself as well. But I've played and owned most of the games in the franchise. Played it in the arcade, enjoyed it on PSOne, and followed it into the Dreamcast, and kept up with it through the NGC/PS2/XBox, and now I hate what they've done with it. At least 5 isn't as garbage as 4 was. But I still hope they take their foot out of their mouth and make something decent again with the franchise