"What I have shown you is reality. What you remember, that is the illusion."

Final Fantasy VII. This game changed the way I looked at video games. Sure, IV and VI were great games, as was Chrono Trigger (my favorite of these three), but VII was special.

I know I'm not saying anything new or original, as it seems VII is regarded as the best of the series, but I remember the first time I saw Sephiroth's face come up through the fire...

...it was late at night, I was spending the night at my friend's house, and the three of us were doing the usual late-night video game binge, when Cloud rushes out of the house in Nibelheim after Sephiroth goes kraZy, and sees the town on fire and Sephiroth killing everyone.

All the lights were off when Sephiroth's head rises up, and we freaked out (in the good way). That was the first time a video game ever elicited that kind of emotion, until later, when I almost cried at Aeris' death...at the hands of Sephiroth, no less.

I've been writing and deleting the following paragraphs for the last half hour, not knowing how to follow this up, and often sounding like a fanboy about my love of Sephiroth and FFVII in general. It was an amazingly deep game beyond what was just played, from Aeris' attitude to Cosmo Canyon to Jenova to the Lifesteam...enough, Greg! There's plenty of symbolism and mythology that would take far too long to write about...maybe another day. Until then, I may have to watch Advent Children tonight to get a FFVII fix.