Sharing a random experience from the PS1 days

[SoThankful]

This is what the launch countdown for Vagrant Story looked like on Squaresoft's website just one day before its release.

 

[Segadude113]

only ever read about it in a magazine, didn't know there was a countdown. coolness!

 

[midnitecarnival]

Awesome game.

And there's never been another like it.

Started it many times but never completed it.
That's the story of my gaming career: Massive ever-piling backlog where I've only put in the first four hours of each title.

 

[UnDubious]

Good stuff. 2000 seems like a different world now, as far away from this current reality as the '90s.
I didn't know Vagrant Story when it launched, even though I was into RPGs, and it didn't appeal to me for years after I learned about it. It didn't have the typical RPG look, it was a dungeon crawler, in fact it kind of reminded me of a Western-made computer RPG from the outside. I only tried it eventually because back then I wanted to play every RPG ever made. I had a great time. It's one of the best PS1 games, IMO.
--
Slight novella ahead, I tried to make it readable and interesting.
If we're expanding on this to talk about random PS1 experiences in general, I didn't own a PS1 when it was relevant (I had a Saturn), but my older brother's friend lent him one for a while at one point, along with several games. He left for a day or a weekend and set up into his room and tried all the games. Breath of Fire III was the one I really got into; I had discovered the genre through BoF II, and it had the same spirit, plus it still felt more like an evolution of SNES RPGs than a revolution like the new wave of fully 3D RPGs, which I didn't like (I like them now). I played it for several hours that day and felt the same magic, but then my brother came back home, and the PS1 was returned to his friend.

I quit gaming for a few years as a teen. Years later, I got a used PS2, and bought DQVIII along with several PS1 RPGs - BoF III being the one I most looked forwward to. But I stepped on a wire or something, the PS2 fell, and it broke before I could ever play it. Eventually I went to a small used goods store (there were still a decent number of them, though they were already on the decline) and saw a PSOne there for maybe 50-60$. I pretty much bought it just to play BoF III, after all these years. I really liked the game. I'll admit 2 and 3 have overly high encounter rates, but other than that I think they're top RPGs. I kind of hated IV, in comparison. Never played Dragon Quarter.