Final Fantasy IX (2000)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: SquareSoft

The ninth installment of Square's flagship series is a return to its roots, ditching the cyberpunk and sci-fi trappings of VII and VIII and returning to a more classical medieval fantasy setting with a generally more lighthearted tone in both plot and character design. The main protagonist Zidane is a thief whose group of thieves/theater actors has been hired to kidnap Princess Garnet of the Alexandria kingdom. He is surprised when she actually wants to be kidnapped, but Queen Brahne of course isn't happy about it. After their airship crashes during the escape an adventure begins at first to get Garnet to safety and then to explore the reasons for the Queen's increasingly aggressive actions that threaten to plunge the whole of the known world into war.

The return to roots in setting is also in the gameplay mechanics such as the return to a 4 member party limit and exclusive classes between characters as well as numerous callbacks and references to the series as a whole. The leveling and abilities have been simplified and the whole game is much more accessible and user-friendly, making this a good entry point for new players. Though the game feels much shorter than other installments and it actually is since it is possible to complete the game in less than 20 hours which is a fraction of most JRPGs. One sidequest even requires a time limit to the endgame of 12 hours. Of course how much the player chooses to indulge in the leveling, minigames and sidequests will affect how much time and joy they get out of the gameplay which is good for experienced players.

The aesthetics are very well-designed with the bright and slighty cartoony backgrounds as well as the more stylized and deformed characters ranging from standard humans to anthropomorphized hippos and anteaters. This is only hampered by the limits of the console it was designed for as the PlayStation was on its last legs at the time of this release. The pixels on top of polygons effect that was used does squeeze more detail out of the hardware, but adds to it sometimes grainy and muddled visuals. Whatever that lacks in visuals though is made up in story and characters. The 8 main characters are all likeable and relatable with each trying to overcome their own problems ranging from existential crisis, the nature of duty and honor, love and loss and loneliness, etc.  The adventure is not only a quest for a goal, but also a personal growth journey for each of them. My personal favorite of the series as well as that of the series' creator as it represents everything that the series was envisioned to be.

Buyer's Guide:
Can be found for the original PlayStation in both the original and Greatest Hits releases and as a PSone Classic on PlayStation Network.

4½ Surprisingly no palette swaps of enemies out of 5

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1-6 | Developer: BioWare

The official add-on to Baldur's Gate II, it adds a few new locations (including a massive dungeon) to "Shadows of Amn" (hereafter referred as "SOA"), and a big quest happening a few weeks after the end of SOA.  A quest that could lead you to godhood... or damnation.

The whole cast of NPCs from BGII is back, plus one massive surprise, on a new game.  First problem: being a standalone, you're cut from all the other towns previously visited, and from your base.  Say goodbye to anything that wasn't in your inventory, although most of the NPC come equipped with top notch stuff.

Yet this add-on has one big problem.  It’s linear.  Of course you choose in which order you'll do the dungeons, but that's pretty much it.  Much less side quests, and often related to the main one.  It would have been better if the player still had been somewhat able to get out of the area, or if he had been given a little more liberty in how to deal with some of the quests.  That's a big bummer after two games where you could in some occasions literally bullshit your way out of a fight.  Here, it's a splendid example of the D&D archetype: Door-Monster-Treasure-Side quest leading to more doors-etc, etc. bummer.

Other than that... new enemies, new items (including a fun feature to create very nasty little things by combining stuff. fun and useful.), new dungeons and new sights.  Although the environments are far from being as beautiful as in SOA.  All in all, good but not great.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on PC, Mac, and GOG.com.

3½ "I'll stick my poleaxe in your bottom and turn you into a battering ram!!"

Nutted by Docrate1 (If he comes at you with a poleaxe... abandon all hope.)

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1-6 | Developer: BioWare

The game begins a few months after the ending of the first game. Abducted by a crazy wizard, you are about to embark on a journey to discover even more about your past and yourself.  And make yourself new enemies.  Lots of new enemies.
Heck, it seems all the bad stuff happening on the sword coast is falling on one poor schmuck: you.

BG2 takes on the strengths of its predecessor, and enhances them tenfold.  Better graphics, much better environments, lots of new items, classes (which open the way to class quests, a fun thing that sets you on a few quest available only if you play a certain class of character.  The reward is reaaaally worth the crap the game will throw at you).  That and the game is huge.  I'd say twice of three times as long as the first one coupled with its add-on.  Lots of new places and literally hundreds of side-quests, and secrets to find.  I've played this game for close to 10 years now and I still discover secrets.

The game still has flaws, but many corrections have been applied since the first one.  First, it's easier to survive.  The AI of NPCs and enemies is much better, and easier to customize.  Then, lots of NPCs to choose from to assemble your team, with more versatility than in the first one.  Third, it's easier to find protective objects, which were really rare in the first.  And fourth... hell... it's supposed to be a challenge.  Forget the first one.  Compared to this, Baldur's Gate was a warm up.  On top of that it's still available.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on PC, Mac, and GOG.com.

5 "This time I'll shove my mace up your bum & turn you into a popsicle!!" out of 5.

Nutted by Docrate1 (If he comes at you with a mace... run faster than before.)

Baldur's Gate (1998)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 - 6 (multiplayer available) | Developer: BioWare

Set in Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms, you play a young orphan with mysterious abilities, hunted down by a mysterious organization, for mysterious reasons and who goes on to become one big pain in the ass for said organization.  Seriously, no way to sum up the plot without spoiling like a madman.

Back when Baldur's gate was released, it was one of the first games in that new generation of computer medieval fantastic RPG / Hack'n'Slash games, with Diablo and a few others.  BG offered a freedom of action completely new at the time, with choices that had real impacts on the story, along with great graphics, a compelling story and beautiful music.  Drawbacks were the AI of both your companions and enemies, and the overall difficulty, as it was quite easy to get killed multiple times in the first 2 hours.  The game was hard.  Really hard.  And boy was that a challenge.

An extension was released afterward ("Tales of the Sword Coast"), with new quests, new stuff and new shitheads to kill.  A great game, still available, and an HD remake seems to be in the works.

4½ "I'll stick that sword up your ass and turn you into a brochette" out of 5.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on PC, Mac, and GOG.com.

Nutted by Docrate1 (If he comes at you with a sword ... run.)