I'm glad that I bought a PlayStation Vita several years ago. Before I bought the Vita, I already had the PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation 3. I didn't have a home video game console made by Nintendo before I bought the Wii U several years ago, and this happened close to the end of the Wii U's lifespan. That's because when I began thinking about buying a video game console for the first time, my thoughts drifted toward Sony's consoles. This probably happened because I got to play a few PlayStation games by then, most notably Final Fantasy Tactics and Chrono Cross. On the PlayStation 2, which is the first console that I bought, I initially played Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XII, God of War II, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I enjoyed playing those games because they're great, and, back then, I didn't buy more video games to play on the PlayStation 2 because the games that I already had kept me satisfied and because I wasn't a "gamer". I'm still not a "gamer". I guess that I can be called a casual gamer. That is, most of my free time doesn't go toward playing video games. But I am aware that many people of my age are gamers. They grew up playing video games. Therefore, they know a lot about the video game industry, they usually have a large video game collection, and they spend a lot of time playing video games. Anyway, let's get back to the Vita. Though the Vita doesn't have a large library of its own games, it still has the PlayStation Store, on which you can purchase not only Vita games but also PS1 games and PlayStation Portable games. Not every game that was released for these consoles is available for purchase, but some games are available. One of the games that I added to my collection on the Vita some years ago is Silent Hill. But I began playing this survival horror game in September of this year. It's one of the games that usually appears on people's lists of the best PS1 games. Well, after finishing Silent Hill, I've got to agree. This game is fantastic. It's quite an experience. It didn't take long for me to finish playing it because I used a video game guide for help. I downloaded a BradyGames guide in PDF format. Though I did this, I still had a good time playing the game. If you don't have a Vita or some other PlayStation console, you can play PS1 games on a computer by downloading an emulator and video game ROMs. In this way, you can also play games on your phone. But my preferred choice of playing PS1 games on anything other than a PlayStation console is playing them on the Anbernic RG350m retro game console. Not every PS1 game runs perfectly on this console, but Silent Hill, for example, runs without problems. You can also get the GPD XD Plus console, which is somewhat more expensive, but it's a more powerful machine and it runs PS1 games without problems. These and other retro game consoles can be easily purchased on AliExpress. By the way, when you play PS1 games on the Vita, you can change the screen resolution in the options menu by pressing and holding the PS (Home) button. You also have to press this button when "switching discs" for PS1 games. Another game that I played only on my Vita is Xenogears. This happened a few years ago. Xenogears is a known game in North America, but its popularity in Japan is much greater. It's one of the most beloved video games in Japan. I can say that it's definitely another fantastic RPG from Square. When it comes to its gameplay, Xenogears is not perfect. Like many other RPGs of its time, Xenogears features many random battles that sometimes take place in areas that look rather dull. Still, if you use a video game guide for help, you can avoid or shorten these somewhat unpleasant experiences. When it comes to its visuals, designs, music, story, and characters, however, Xenogears is fantastic. I've got to mention that Final Fantasy VII is another RPG that I got to finish on my Vita. This happened about a year ago. I began playing this role-playing video game from Square several years ago because it's known as one of THE must-play PS1 games. It didn't quite live up to my expectations because I played it years after its release and not right after it was released. I found it to be inferior to Chrono Cross, for example. So, after finishing about a third of Final Fantasy VII, I stopped playing it. I returned to this game some months later and came close to finishing it. And, finally, out of a desire to finish this game in order to have a feeling of completion and satisfaction, I beat the game about a year ago. So, what are my thoughts on Final Fantasy VII? After finishing this game, I can say that it's definitely one of the best RPGs on the PlayStation, though it's not my favorite RPG on the system. It has a good battle system. Battles in this game aren't a chore most of the time. Many of its visuals are fantastic, especially the ones in Midgar. Its story and characters are good too. I don't think that the music score by Nobuo Uematsu is all that great, but it has its moments. Overall, I'm glad that I played this game. It belongs on the list of video games considered the best:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_considered_the_best
But I think that I know the reason why this video game is praised more than it should be and why it's heavily promoted by the video game industry. Final Fantasy VII has a very noticeable environmental propaganda message, and it's probably not the only propaganda message in the game. This is especially clear at the end of the game. Environmentalism is one of the policies of the Western oligarchy. I'm not really against environmentalism. It's obvious that nature has to be protected and preserved. But I still wanted to point this out when it comes to Final Fantasy VII. The enduring popularity of this video game is not entirely organic. It's a great game, but I didn't enjoy playing it as much as Silent Hill, for example. If I were to choose my favorite home video game console, I think that I'd choose the PlayStation. This isn't because I think that it's the best console ever, though many people would argue that it is the best console ever. It's because I had a good time playing PS1 games. It's the first console that I seriously thought about and researched. Still, this happened years after the end of the PlayStation's lifespan. The PS1 has a large library of good video games. This is despite the fact that I still don't have a PS1. All of the PS1 games that I have I played on my Vita or on my PS2. I do like the looks of the PS1, and maybe I'll buy an original PS1 someday on eBay or on Amazon simply as a decoration. It's one of the least expensive old consoles on the market. Another thing worth mentioning is that I still haven't decided to buy a Nintendo Switch. On first look, it would seem that I would have bought a Switch a long time ago because I like handheld game consoles. On second look, however, some issues have held me back from buying this console. Firstly, I'm still not impressed by this console's features. It's really only good for playing Switch games. Secondly, I don't like some of Nintendo's practices. It's a company that constantly sues people for one reason or another. Nintendo has gone after ROM sites and sued the owners of these sites for huge sums of money. I've also heard that Nintendo creates artificial shortages in order to create demand for its products. So, in general, I don't like Nintendo's scummy and monopolistic practices. I think that I won't be giving any more of my money to Nintendo. Moreover, I'm happy with the Wii U that I have. I can play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Wii U. I also got to play almost every other Zelda game in existence thanks to the Wii U. I've already purchased many Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance games on my Wii U or Nintendo 3DS in the last few years. When it comes to the Switch, the only old games that it has to offer are some (and not all) SNES games and NES games. I'm not a kid who plays video games just for the sake of playing video games. If I play a video game, it usually has to be great because I care about things like quality and originality.
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