Civilization, The World Ends With You, Persona 3 & 4, and Chrono Trigger.
Civilization inspired my interest in history (namely ancient history). I have some good memories of playing hotseat Civ II with my brother when I was really young. It started out as just a fun game to play, but the more I played it the more I started reading the civilopedia history descriptions and whatever other details they added in. It was all so interesting and its really fed my overall interest in history.
The World Ends With You inspired me to be more sociable years ago when I played it as a freshman in high school. I was nowhere near as antisocial as the main character, but his overall character arc hit home with me. At the time I usually just avoided people who weren't already my best friends because of social anxiety, but I loved the game so much I ended up taking the lesson the main character learns to heart. As a result I ended up forcing myself to be more social and expanded my horizons.
After playing the Persona games I've found myself being a lot more open to random activities that I wouldn't normally do. It's odd but I think I've played those games so much that I now associate that kind of thing with the social linking mechanic. Crazy maybe, but it's the kind of crazy I'm ok with.
Finally, Chrono Trigger inspired my enthusiasm for video games. It was the first game I played and finished, and it is still one of the best childhood memories I have. Without Chrono Trigger I might not have the passion for gaming I have today.
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