Memory card

After revolutionising RPGs on PS1 with FFVII, Square had to do the same here. And it delivered. The full voice acting and sunny visuals (that water!) might not seem amazing these days, but in 2001 they were revolutionary. Through its prerelease period and year-long headstart in Japan (leading to many imports), the future of gaming never looked so fantastical.

“Hearing the main theme song (To Zanarkand) is such a sweet sorrow song that, still to this day, both relaxes me and brings up emotions!” says reader Nathan Cooke. The piano melody hits right from the start, and you know you’re in for something epic. “I even skipped school to play it,” says Scott Bishop. On the other hand, @teh_ ferrett sat one exam, bought the game, and then sat another before popping it in and “spending all night playing it instead of studying for my exams.”

TURNING TIDES

At the time, English dialogue had to match the Japanese mouth movements, leading to some awkward sections in retrospect. “I still cringe thinking of that laugh scene. And I played [Sega Saturn’s] Deep Fear!” says @1Nogarda. Others have learnt to love the laugh scene. “At the time, it seems silly. But when the big reveal happens, it makes Yuna’s laughter a thing of horror and beauty,” says Timmy Trebuchet.

It had big advancements to gameplay, with the sphere grid skill system and revised turn-based combat, but for many it was all about the story and characters. At 11, “it was the first game that emotionally broke me,” shares Nate Ross.

It all came together in what was a pivotal game for many players, selling them on the genre. “The RPG that began my obsession,” muses Nick Royster. @Murder_Mama sums it up: “It was my entire childhood. I fell in love with everything.”