Remembering a Genre

I got Zelda: Skyward Sword for christmas. Hurrah! I love Zelda! Unfortunately due to my inability to read small print when jumping about shouting ‘I have Zelda!’ I did not notice the requirement written on the box for a Wii Motion Plus. As it was Christmas Day when I discovered that I could not play without this attachment, with the chances of any shops open being a hard, cold zero, I took to looking like a lost puppy for a while, hoping that a miracle would happen. It did not.

It finally dawned on me that it would be a few days (days!) before I could play and I decided that I would need something else to fill my time. Scouring the shelves for a game I hadn’t got bored of yet produced no results. I wasn’t in the mood for guns, or Skyrim. I sincerely apologise to everyone in the world, ever, but even though I can’t stand Oblivion I still gave Skyrim a chance, and I could not get into it. Again, I’m sorry.

Seeing as I still had the Wii connected up for the first time since it helped me fail my diet via Wii Fit (a long, long time ago), I decided to have a browse on the Wii store. I fancied something a little retro, and I had been eyeing Zelda: Majora’s Mask last time I’d been on it. All thoughts of anything Zelda related were pushed out of my head, however, when I saw what was up for sale. This was a game that I wanted so much when I was younger, and then I forgot about it for years. From time to time it would come up in the odd conversation where I would remember that I wanted it and I would half hunt for it for a while. This was Chrono Trigger.

Playing Chrono Trigger took me right back to that ‘playing a classic RPG for the first time’ feeling, and the last time I felt that was when I played Final Fantasy 9, when I was 15. The typical elements… the ones that are slowly fading from modern RPGs such as naming your own character, a captivating story, and the pivitol moment when you get your own airship kept me smiling throughout Chrono Trigger. I have replayed the early Final Fantasies more than once, but there’s nothing like the first time.  I haven’t really bothered with RPGs for a long time, the last one I played was Lost Oddysey, and before that… I can’t really remember. I feel like the hunt is on for some decent games that I can get lost in. You know the type; you have work at 7am and you’ve been doing ‘this last bit’ for three hours and it’s now 2:30am. That’s the kind I want. Suggestions on a postcard, please!