what got you into the Tomb Raider series?

Tomb Raider series is an interesting series for me because I didn't have a PlayStation.

I had the N64.

So I first saw Tomb Raider in magazines like GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, stuff like that.

And my friend had a connection we'll say who was able to burn playstation discs which you know your high school is like oh my god this is so great like we can rent games from blockbuster and then bring them to his house and burn them and even though i didn't have a playstation i was like like cool let's get what games could we get for you and they one of the games was just tomb raider so i got to first see it at a friend's house you know off a burnt disc from from a blockbuster copy and i was like this looks really cool you know it's like you know we didn't have anything like that in the 64 at least not at the time and i was like oh man this looks like indiana jones was the immediate comparison it was like oh man this is yeah this is something different this is something new and while we didn't you know beat it i was only playing it that night it left a lasting impression and i always like followed the series without playing the series because again i didn't have a playstation so when the new games came out i watched the reviews and or read the reviews and just kind of follow along with the series see what you know the highs you know with the original trilogy and then the lows as it went to like angel of darkness and i remember And it was just so abysmal.

And I'm just like, oh, man, how did it fall? And I never really played the games.

And it's not because I didn't want to, because I eventually did get a PlayStation and PlayStation 2.

Like anniversary is nothing like the I mean, you can see the comparisons, but they are still different games.

up, Barry.

Yeah, I'll say quickly with that Fighter Pass you mentioned.

Melty Blood is one of those weird, unique games because when I play a game, a lot of times I'll think, how could this be incorporated into Smash Bros.? It's just one of those things.

Like, how could these characters work? And there's a game I played two years ago called Tsukihomi, which is a fantastic visual novel.

Highly highly, highly recommend it.

It's just a wonderful story.

And I was thinking about that, like, oh, how would these characters go? And lo and behold, there's already a fighting game and it's Melty Blood, which is all the characters from that visual novel.

I'm in.

Yeah.

Oh, hands down.

Like you could tell they had more experience.

And again, you're going to see this a lot with games released at the end of a console life cycle.

The team knows how to get the most out of that system at that.

Yes.

And that shows with nine.

If you had to pick one huge moment and one small moment that were really impactful, what would be the ones you would select? A big moment that we all remember and one small moment that maybe people have forgotten.

When did you first encounter the ninth series? Nine

got buried because it came out like.

A few months before X.

Like, it was just terrible, terrible release timing.

And I think the PS2 was already out when IX launched.

Really? I didn't know that.

So, a lot of people forgot about IX.

What's your take on Kuja?

I've not, no.

But one of the coolest parts of Dissidia is honestly the ending.

The first Dissidia.

And if you go to the ending, and this is not really spoiler, I mean, it has the main cast from 1 to 10.

And they're all going back to their respective worlds and they're all cheery or they're saying something and like both cloud and squall are just like brooding assholes like like their personality quote unquote shines and throughout the whole game if you watch character interactions no one likes them all the other characters are like like why are you such a dick

Okay.

I thought it was very convoluted.

Yeah.