Square Enix

The difference between Parasite Eve II and any of the games in the Resident Evil series can be summed up like an unhip microbiology major's bad joke: "What's the difference between a neo-mitochondrial mutagenic airborne virus and a fluid-transmitted virus which reanimates and increases aggressive tendencies in mutated expired organisms?"

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence

I was a little surprised to see the turn Parasite Eve II takes in regard to the original, which was more of a traditional role-playing game. This sequel is just what Brad says it is—a Resident Evil clone that tries to keep its feet in both genres.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence, Mild Language

As many people know, Chrono Cross is the long awaited sequel to Chrono Trigger, a game released roughly five years ago for the Super NES that involved some memorable and original gameplay based around time travel. Chrono Trigger was famous for allowing the player a remarkable amount of variation in how he/she chose to play the game.

Playing Chrono Cross can be a bewildering experience, and that's not a slight at the game's graphics, music, gameplay or even its story.

Game Description: While it's officially a sequel to the immensely popular Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross is completely its own role-playing game with over 40 characters, a branching story line, and multiple endings. Like its predecessor, the game is about crossing through time and setting things right. This story focuses on Serge's quest for the Frozen Flame, which will give the beholder the power to bend space and time. Serge wants the power to save himself from dying in a parallel universe but, as you can guess, nefarious forces are also vying for the Frozen Flame to suit their own purposes. Chrono Cross features the stylish character designs and wondrous cut scenes that gamers have come to expect from SquareSoft, but the game also has a number of gameplay innovations. Though the battle engine is essentially turn-based, characters don't have to wait their turn to cast a spell or make an attack; battles are moderated by stamina. Also, the repetitive battles with lesser monsters that make so many RPGs sag can be easily avoided because all monsters can be seen on the screen.

Game Description: Create the world of Fa’Diel in Legend of Mana. Choose a character, starting weapon, and starting area. Once in the starting area, you will have to complete a quest to earn artifacts, which can be used to create new areas on the map that have unique quests as well. With over 60 different artifacts and quests to discover, there is plenty to do in Legend of Mana.

The watercolor illustration quality of the graphics is simply amazing. In fact, it's so good that it made me think that if more games of this visual quality were continually produced on the PlayStation, the system could be a viable platform for years to come.

I am still shocked that Square would toss aside the excellent multiplayer feature I had come to expect from the Seiken Densetsu series. But as disappointing as that was, it wasn't what kept Legend Of Mana from shining.