For 90s kids, there’s no need for explanation. For others, well, pokemon was a phenomenon. It was everywhere, on TV, in magazines, toys, stickers. You could trade pokemon at the school excursion on the bus.
You felt alive in this world, pokemon gen 1-2 were the pinnacle of pokemon for me. And in gen2, finishing the game, and lo and behold, there’s a whole other region (kanto) waiting for you to explore it. The night cycle in the game blew my mind in ways that I have been chasing ever since.
I know it will never be reached again, but the memory will remain as powerful as it was that evening of the early 00s. What is your greatest gaming high, that you know will never be topped again, and that you have been chasing ever since?
Katamari Damacy
EDIT: I could add a few more–
The original Legend of Zelda
Final Fantasy IV and VI; I was one of those people who bounced off of VII because of battle load times (I tried twice and both times that was what drove me from it)
A now-obscure Atari arcade game called Rampart
Another arcade game, an action RPG from Taito called Cadash, which could be played by four players on two linked cabinets (no emulation, even official ones, currently support this mode)
FF6 is mine. That moment when they turn the corner and the world map music changes. Beyond cathartic. The 3-4 hour tension and release they set up in that part of the game is an incredible design triumph.
I did okay with the delays in FF7 but it was absolutely unbearable by FF9. On the plus side, that drove me to discover Suikoden merely because it had instant transitions.