I love Zelda. A Link to the Past, and Ocarina of Time are great. The Wind Waker is probably my favorite Zelda game. I've said Uncharted 2 was the most fun I've ever had playing a video game, and that is true. It's a great game.

There are a lot of great games, but none has come close to drawing me in like FFX did. This game created an emotional connection with me that has not since been duplicated in the video game realm. The characters, the story, the music, touched me like I never expected a game to be able to.

If I remember correctly, I put well over 150 hours, possibly closer to 200 hours into FFX. I could pop it in and check, but I'm confident I'm not exaggerating. I loved just running around the different areas of the game. Each area had it's own musical theme, was filled with hidden wonders and beautiful vistas. One of the cities had something like a symphony hall where you could purchase music spheres (which were each of the songs in the game). The songs were so beautiful I would just sit and listen to them over and over. I did every side quest, got every last weapon...by the time I decided to take on the final boss, the battle ended up being one of the easiest of the game because I was so overpowered.

I think the defining moment for me was how the game ended. It was a story about love, but also about sacrifice, and the game didn't back down from that duality just to give us a happy ending. I remember it was so climactic for me I could physically feel it like a punch in the gut. I admit, I did cry (I'm a passionate guy), but if entertainment of any sort can inspire me to feel such strong emotions...I can only say bravo!



Side note: Square Enix is supposedly remastering FFX in HD for release on the PS3 and Vita. They announced this about 2 years ago, though recent un-official comments suggest this is still in progress. My hope is that they are remastering both FFX and FFX-2 and will release them on one disc later this year.