Eureka! Great Gaming Finds
 

Every once in a while you come across a game you probably didn't even know existed. But then you play it and you think, "wow. This is exactly the kind of game I'd love to play!"

That happened to me when I came across an obscure little game called Fate.
As a Diablo II lover, I knew at once that I had found something I'd truly enjoy.

I found this around a year ago I believe. It's a great title, and doesn't limit you in the way diablo 2 does.

I picked up Dragon Warrior III for the GBC in junior high on a whim without knowing anything about the legacy of the Dragon Quest series. I was so friggin' hooked. I played it for months on end.

Roughly eight years ago when I was an impressionable 12 year old - or perhaps 13? *shrug*, I was browsing PC games.

I saw one called Deus Ex, and decided to pick it up because I thought the cover was neat.

Really impressive random decision. I haven't played it for a few years since getting my new laptop, perhaps I should dig it out and do a Let's Play... probably one of the best games I've ever played.

I bought Dungeon Keeper and Dungeon Keeper 2 on a whim, and I really don't regret it.

The best way to describe it is; you play as the evil side in Diablo.

I bought Tales of Destiny on a wim and loved every minute of it. I also picked up Xenogears on a similar whim.

Dammit EvilNESS beat me to it.

Xenogears was one of my best impulse purchases ever. I was in Toys R Us (I was young then) had just recently gotten my PS1 and was looking for a good first RPG for it, and I really wanted Final Fantasy VII, because I had rented it from Blockbuster and loved it, but FFVII was sold out and hadn't yet been reprinted.
It came down to Xenogears, which I had never heard of before, and Legend of Legaia, which I had played a demo of and enjoyed (not as much as I enjoyed FFVII.)

I was leaning towards Legend of Legaia just because I had played the demo and was familiar with it and my father walks up to young, impressionable Solid Snake, stares at Legend of Legaia's kiddy-art cover, and says: "You're too old for that children's crap."
I tried to correct my father and specify that Legend of Legaia wasn't a kid's game, but even as a rebellious teenager my father's approval was always a nice thing.

So I guess a random whim on my part, with an assist from my father, resulted in me being introduced to one of my favorite RPGs ever. (Third behind Suikoden 2 and Chrono Trigger, actually.)
Also, I rented the full version of Legend of Legaia about a month later and didn't enjoy it at all.
Smart decision.

Wild arms, the original. That was an impulse buy and I still dont' regret getting it.

One night when I was 15 my brother came home from his shitty job an hour away and said he had something for me. Apparently the Playstation and N64 were becoming top-priority in the game rental store nearby, and he had stopped buy and picked up a couple of games for me since they were clearing out the SNES area.

One was Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

The other was Earthbound.

In the days before I had a subscription to Game Informer, I actually made an impulse buy.

(Gasp! Shock!)

The only game I ever bought on the spur of the moment?

Destroy All Humans.

Now that I think of it, perhaps I should impulse buy some more games...