40. Chrono Cross (PS)
One of the most rancorously divisive games ever, Chrono Cross had a lot to live up to in being a sequel to one of the most beloved RPGs of all time. To please fans it would have to meet not only the incredibly high standard of quality set by Chrono Trigger (which it mostly does) but also certain expectations of just what the game should be (i.e., Chrono Trigger 2). Well, it's not simply Chrono Trigger 2, and if you can't deal with it then that's your problem, junior. And, in my correct opinion, it's a better game for it. Rather than doing the obvious and just giving us the chance to catch up with Crono and his friends, the developers decided to expand the Chrono universe and its central hook of time traveling and consequences in a more profound way. It's pretty heady stuff, and with some 40-odd possible characters to recruit, does get a bit on the messy side at times. The payoff is absolutely worth it, though, especially for any diehard fan of Chrono Trigger as there are a million references from and tie-ins to that game to nerd out over. Chrono Cross' battle system is a massive departure from Trigger's, giving butthurt fans another thing to be butthurt about, managing to be accessible yet surprisingly deep. It's quite an achievement that syncs up nicely with the shed load of playable characters and each one's respective elemental property, a true masterstroke of game design. The change-averse can take at least heart in Yasunori Mitsuda returning to do the soundtrack, and it is no exaggeration to say that his work here is a contender for the best video game OST of all time. It is utterly magnificent. Each and every track manages to create a sense of spellbinding wonderment, restless wanderlust, or devastating yearning. Whenever I listen to Star-Stealing Girl it never fails that the hot tears flow, creating a new ocean of time... oh yes.
39. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (NES, SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafx CD, PS2, etc.)
The game that introduced me to the Ys series, its cute little knight-errant protagonist Adol Christin, and the pure aural bliss that is Sound Team JDK. Ys III is a bit of a departure from the rest of the series due to its side-scrolling nature, an aspect that is more appealing to the Metroidvania fan in me than the isometric perspective used in the other games - and it's sure as shit preferable to the bump-into-enemies-to-kill-them mechanic of the first two games. Despite this, it's classic Ys all the way: workman-like action RPG goodness that emphasizes great gameplay and a rocktastic score over contrived storylines and other fluff.
