Today's game on display from our physical collection is Steins;Gate for the PlayStation Vita!
With Steins;Gate Re:Boot almost here, following our review, I thought now would be the perfect time to take a quick minute to look back at the original Steins;Gate—a title that ended up meaning more to me than I could have ever imagined.
My history with the franchise prior to playing the visual novel wasn't the greatest. I had watched the anime adaptation of Chaos;Head as it aired in Japan, completely unaware at the time that it was a butchered version of a visual novel classic. So years later, when I learned that its thematic sequel Steins;Gate was finally coming West on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, I was a bit hesitant. Still, I was willing to give it a chance, and that turned out to be a decision I'm so glad I made!
From Slow Start to an Unforgettable Thanksgiving Night
I'd be lying if I said Steins;Gate clicked with me right away. In fact, I wasn't sold on the protagonist, Okabe, or his eccentric obsession with pretending to be a mad scientist, and his friends didn't initially click with me either. I simply went through the motions of playing, hoping it would eventually pick up. The sci-fi elements at least piqued my interest—especially the discussions around black holes—but the rest of the game seemed to drag.
Then I reached the turning point, and everything changed. Much like a real black hole, I found myself completely pulled in! On Thanksgiving night in 2015, I sat down intending to spend just an hour or so with Steins;Gate before switching to something else. The next thing I knew, it was 3:00 AM on Friday morning, and the only reason I stopped was because my Vita's battery had died. That was the exact moment I became a lifelong fan of Steins;Gate and the Science Adventure series as a whole.
A Lasting Collection
Beyond the game itself, Steins;Gate is one of the very few series I actively collect merchandise for. After beating the campaign, I made sure to track down the Collector's Edition of the PS3 release. I also bought official Steins;Gate shirts that I still wear regularly—my parents have even memorized the Steins Gate worldline divergence number, 1.048596, just from seeing me wear them so often! Every version of the game has earned a permanent spot on my shelf, and I look forward to adding a physical copy of Steins;Gate Re:Boot alongside them soon.
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