Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood, known as Samurai Spirits: Zankuro Musouken (サムライスピリッツ 斬紅郎無双剣) in Japan and Fighters Swords in Korea, released on November 15, 1995. It is the third game in SNK's popular Samurai Shodown series of fighting games for the Neo Geo. While it is the third game in the main series, it is the first part of a two-chapter story set between Samurai Shodown and Samurai Shodown II.

Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within, released in Japan as Clock Tower: Ghost Head, is a survival horror point-and-click adventure game developed by Human Entertainment and released for the PlayStation in 1998. It is the third game in the Clock Tower series, and is considered a spin-off in its home country of Japan where it was not a numbered release. The story follows 17-year-old Alyssa Hale who suffers from multiple personality disorderwith an alter ego named Mr. Bates. The player must guide Alyssa through various environments, altering between her normal and twisted personality, to uncover the secrets of her and her family's past.Clock Tower II was met with negative reviews. Journalists heavily criticized the gameplay which they found to be poor due to its slow and dated point-and-click interface, as well its reliance on trial-and-error mechanics. The story was criticized by some but found to be mature and creepy by others. Critics ultimately did not recommend the game except to those looking for an experience similar to Clock Tower (1996) and those looking for a game that, like a cult film, is flawed conventionally but redeemed by its willingness to stray from the mainstream.

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the Final Fantasy series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertainment, and became the first in the main series to see a PAL release. The game's story follows Cloud Strife, a mercenary who joins an eco-terrorist organization to stop a world-controlling megacorporation from using the planet's life essence as an energy source. Events send Cloud and his allies in pursuit of Sephiroth, a superhuman intent on destroying their planet. During the journey, Cloud builds close friendships with his party members, including Aerith Gainsborough, who holds the secret to saving their world.Development began in 1994, originally for the Super NES. After delays and technical difficulties from experimenting on several platforms, Square moved production to the PlayStation, largely due to the advantages of the CD-ROM format. Veteran Final Fantasy staff returned, including series creator and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, director Yoshinori Kitase, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. The title became the first in the series to use full motion video and 3D computer graphics, which featured 3D character models superimposed over 2D pre-rendered backgrounds. Although the gameplay systems remained mostly unchanged from previous entries, Final Fantasy VII introduced more widespread science fiction elements and a more realistic presentation. The game had a staff of over 100, with a combined development and marketing budget of around US$80 million.Assisted by a large promotional campaign, Final Fantasy VII received widespread commercial and critical success, and remains widely regarded as a landmark title and one of the greatest games of all time. The title won numerous Game of the Year awards, and was acknowledged for boosting the sales of the PlayStation and popularizing Japanese role-playing games worldwide. Critics praised its graphics, gameplay, music, and story, although some criticism was directed towards its English localization. Its success has led to enhanced ports on various platforms, a multimedia subseries called the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and an upcoming high-definition remake for the PlayStation 4.

King's Field III (キングスフィールドIII) is a medieval-themed first-person role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation in 1996. It is the third entry in the King's Field series and the last one for the original PlayStation. The English language version was renumbered and retitled King's Field II, because the original King's Field was released only in Japan.