A formative and strange digital world I spent a lot of time in as a kid. The way that swathes of areas change from one to another, the music, the mystery of higher levels, the limited information in online databases, the mystique of the ever-futuristic "korean versions" that had new content, the weird little rituals of fame and trading and interacting. The sense of depth as you progress towards the Zakum mines, or into the Ant Tunnel. The poor writing and at times broken localization lent itself to a lot of hypothesizing and memorability, the extreme amount of luck required to get stronger equipment bordered on hilarious.

As a game itself... well, I think this game is honest in the sense that there's a ton of grinding, and it sucks ass to do! There's a lot of bizarre and messy decisions, but it adds up (or at least did, for me as a kid) to an overall interesting experience.

Playing as an adult, the magic, of course, is gone, but it's still a game I think about and draw on from time to time.