The Wii conundrum has been taken care of and it's time to delve into happier thoughts. For those not in the RPG Temple, I traded in my Wii, some extra controllers, a Game Cube controller, my Wii games, and a handful of DS games. The grand total in Gamestop store-credit was $361 and I spent it all. I bought the Daxter bundle PSP, some accessories, FFT, Jeanne D'Arc, VP: Lenneth, Gurumin: AMA, Phoenix Wright: TaT, and Elite Beat Agents. The last two are of course DS titles.

Now to return to topic. I am basing these titles on the sheer enjoyment I had with them and on the impact they've had on my gaming career. As I age, my feelings towards certain games/genres evolves accordingly and the placement of these titles may fluctuate...but rest assured these games are on this list for a very good reason and are all very deserving of praise:

5. Final Fantasy XII

My most recent brush with perfection...Some o_O will have you believe FFXII is pitiful and not worthy of the series, I cannot really argue either way because I am still fairly new to the Final Fantasy franchise. In fact the only titles I've played are FFIII(DS), FFVI(GBA), FFX, and FFX-2. FFXII's gambit system and license board are features I'd never experienced before and I absolutely love them. In the $tyle of Chrono Trigger and others I also lean heavily against random battles these days (though they still can be implemented well ala Rogue Galaxy). FFXII was the first game I played on a PS2 of my own and will go down as one of my favorite games of all time.

4. Chrono Cross

Chrono Cross was my very first experience with the Playstation, and my most memorable. In a word, I'd describe CC as beautiful. The opening score when the game is inserted is simply mesmerizing and may be my favorite game track of all time...and the artistry that went into crafting the characters and locales stunned me and still impresses me today.

My very first memory of this game is from the commercial that appeared on tv advertising it. I remember watching the Green Dragon open its frog-like mouth wide to roar and the damage was done...I was hooked...and from this first step I've turned into a Sony gamer for the most-part (though I am still catching up!).

3. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I wasn't (and still am not) a big fan of The Legend of Zelda or Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and hadn't yet played A Link to the Past, but was head over heels for Link's Awakening. This minimal exposure to the vaunted franchise did not deter me from begging for this title for my birthday a few weeks after it released and I am very glad for that. I'll never forget seeing Ganondorf pursuing Princess Zelda in the rain. The pounding of hooves on the draw bridge and then the sight of him...hideous...an epic moment in gaming history.

That mischieveous Skull Kid, the crazy Owl, that lard King Zora...the game is full of memorable moments and NPCs...Never has slicing into chickens been so fun (and dangerous!).

2. Pokemon Red/Blue

Phew, putting hundreds of hours into a game is not always easy...I can't imagine how many batteries I used up leveling my pokemon for battles, but it's sure to be off the charts. The only time in my life I've participated in a gaming tournament of any kind was when Pokemon: The Movie came to theaters and my local shopping mall hosted a tournament. My friends and I lined up at 6am to be included in the excitement and all those long nights of practice paid off as I destroyed the competition. In the first round I was paired up with my friend's little brother. His beefy Snorlax and Venusaur were both annihilated by my Articuno...and in the following round my Alakazam flattened the opponent's Dragonite.

Three of the lasting friends I made in this lifetime were thanks to Pokemon, the lamest meeting being when I asked this nerdy Chinese kid in my science cla$$ "Sooo, how many Pokemon do you have?" To which he replied, "50!"...and now he has an invitation to my future wedding. Wild #@$ 'M ##'s on the Cinnabar Island beach are a man's best friend...

1. Chrono Trigger

I am not entirely certain when I first played CT, but I think it was when I was between Pokemon Blue and Gold. Quite tardy, I agree, but I never owned an SNES so cut me some slack. Anyway, how can one explain Chrono Trigger in a brief blog? It is undoubtedly the pinnacle of role-playing achievement and will likely never be surpassed.

From the epic battle for the fate of earth with Gato at the Millennial Fair to the hair-raising race with Johnny across the rubble of Lab 32 to Spekkio's torturous lessons in magic to Nu hunting in a rainy 65,000,000 year old forest, Chrono Trigger is the most exciting experience I've ever had in a video game. There are games that suffer from the pangs of graphix envy over time, but Chrono Trigger's SNES graphical $tyle never gets old, the game was made to transcend time afterall! The sountrack is legendary, the characters endearing...If there is such thing as perfection, Chrono Trigger is the poster child in every way. Watching Frog Squash never gets old...