Sony

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

When it came to role-playing games (RPGs), there was Square, there was Enix, and then there was everyone else. Nowadays, however, Konami, Capcom, and Sony are entering the fray with competent RPGs that seem to improve with each consecutive release. Square apparently had taken notice and decided to blow them all away with Final Fantasy VII. Enix, on the other hand, is still sitting on its hands. I figured Star Ocean was supposed to hold us over until the latest Dragon Quest epic was completed, but after playing Star Ocean, I have to say they'd better come up with a new plan.

Game Description: The gods are out to destroy the universe. When their meteor collides with the planet Expel, the paths of two heroes will cross and the fate of the universe will lie in their hands. You take the role of either Rena or Claude. While both characters are on the same quest, there are times when they will take separate paths. Naturally, both characters develop different skills throughout the game and along the way their actions determine which other characters in the game can be recruited. You can also spend skill points to learn new abilities that will improve your chances of success. Ultimately, both Rena and Claude will be able to create new items with their skills and some raw material. When you encounter enemies, all of the battles take place in real-time in beautifully rendered environments. It’s up to you to try and save the universe from the gods in Star Ocean: The Second Story.

I think Dale was more insulted by this title than I was, though I was particularly appalled at the horrendous art direction. Like some kind of outsourced nightmare, everything from the cut sequence, to the pre-rendered backgrounds, to the character sprites, don't just look as if different teams did them, they look as if different companies did them! There isn't any visual cohesion to ground all the other elements in the game.

PaRappa's concept based on rap, plays something like a cross between Simon-Says and Tekken-style 10-hit combos in a music video. While this may sound simple, it no where near demonstrates the depth of the game.

If nothing else PaRappa The Rapper broke all the rules. I remember like Chi, when PaRappa was released and some people dogged it because it was very simple looking game. It didn't have the latest in 3D graphics and state of the art Artificial Intelligence (AI).