Chrono Cross

An exceptionally beautiful and an underrated PSX game. It is an atmospheric master work. Its style and approach to color in the worlds tropical environments is incredibly beautiful. The music is phenomenal and widely regarded as one of the best JRPG soundtracks of all time with songs that evoke feelings of deep contemplation and nostalgia, adventure and wander, townfolk whimsy, sacrifice and tragedy. One day while Serge is running errands he is suddenly teleported to an alternate dimension where his childhood friends no longer recognize him. Hes told the location of a grave stone that confirms he had died 10 years ago. Kid who seems to be waiting for Serge appears and tells him about a mysterious powerful item called the Frozen Flame that may be able to get him back to his timeline. Somehow there are others aware of Serges existence too. Lynx a mysterious and dangerous cat demon whose also seeking the power of the frozen flame wants Serges body and will do anything to get it. But why? Chrono Cross is a game about fate, being human and the choices we make and their consequences on us, others and the world. The story although rock solid in its totality is presented in a pretty clumsy way. Its plot and characters are steeped in existentialist philosophy. There are also minor themes of colonialism, racism, and environmentalism. There are alternate and splitting timelines, there is body swapping, many strange artifacts with specific powers, over 40 playable characters with their own unique spells and ways of talking. Where it sometimes lacks in decipherability it excels instead in being able to evoke emotion with unpredictable plot twists, poetic meditations on the meaning and value of life, its very human characters and its gorgeous scenes and music. Playing the first title of the series Chrono Trigger is not completely necessary but will be emotionally rewarding and will make understanding the plot much easier. Many believe the game is not a direct sequel but I think it is. It has references to and reappearances of old characters and the plot is a seperate story but a continuation of events that happened in the first game.

Final Fantasy IV

This is the RPG that started it all for me. I was maybe 15 and just learning about emulation and how to do it on my PC. When I got it working I watched and heard the music in the beginning cutscene and I knew I was in for something special. Dark Knight Cecil and members of his air fleet are shown killing Mysidian mages and stealing the magic crystal they tried to protect. Upon reporting back to the King Cecil confesses that he does not understand the reasons for his mission. The King immediately removes Cecil of his duties and sends him to a neighboring village to deliver a package. Cecils arrival forever changes the fate of the village and of his own life. FF4 is the first FF title on the SNES and the first game in the series to introduce the active time battle system which allows lots of strategizing to defeat your enemies. This epic adventure has over 30 hours of main story content, 12 playable characters, has you travelling all around its world via airship, in its underworld, inside giant walking robots, mythical fairy caves and even on the moon! FF4 is often cited as one of the first RPGs to be heavily story driven. It takes itself very seriously but admittedly is often a bit ridiculous. Do not expect a life changing story but instead just enjoy the ride. The pixel art is fantastic. The music composed by the now legendary Nobuo Uematsu. It has appeared in several lists (IGN, Game Informer, Gamestop, GameFAQS) as one of the best games of all time. If you love retro games but somehow missed this one or if you want to know what the older FF games were like without most of the frustration that comes with older RPGs then this game is for you.