In my previous column, I was debating whether or not to buy a PlayStation 4 to replace my old one or to spring for a brand new PlayStation 5. Well, after talking with the few people I trust to provide me with good counsel, we have a winner. I elected to get the PlayStation 5 digital edition. I actually went back and forth about getting the disk drive or not, but I couldn’t rationalize spending the extra money.

My major concern with upgrading was if, or how, I could access data from my old PlayStation 4 since it is no longer around. I had a PlayStation Plus account during the last year but canceled the membership about a month ago. I restarted the membership and hoped for the best, but I will get to that later.

Looking at my new PlayStation 5, the controller struck me as pretty amazing right off the bat. It feels really ergonomic. I like the grip much better than the PS4 controller as well as the responsiveness of the buttons and analog sticks when playing games. The haptic feedback is also pretty amazing.

The console itself fits very well in the space I have available for it, and it runs very quietly. There are some differences in the menu that I am still getting used to. Most notably, you no longer hold the PS button to activate the sleep or turn off menu. I am learning, but the new menu seems intuitive.

While my new PS5 was doing its initial setup and updates, I tinkered with the memory settings. That is where I found something that amazed me. I had the ability to download all of the saved data from the cloud that used to be on my old PlayStation 4. All of it was there, even though I canceled the membership about a month or so ago. Sony kept that data for me for just such a possibility, and I could not have been happier. It’s almost like I never lost my PS4.

This led me to the second-best thing to happen to me this week. I have spoken in numerous columns about how much I love Square Enix’s classic RPG The Last Remnant. My progress from the PlayStation 4 was still there and ready to go with the new PlayStation 5.

As a little bit of history, I started my journey with The Last Remnant back in 2006 when I bought it for the Xbox 360. It subsequently killed my Xbox 360, but I was hooked. I vowed that I would finally earn a platinum trophy with the remaster. I had to restart so many times because it is truly garbage at signposting, and certain quests can be blocked off permanently.

Readers, I did it. I defeated the Absolute Conqueror (the version of the final boss you face once you have completed all the quests). That was the last obstacle standing between me and the platinum trophy. This was also the first time I beat the title. I called fellow GiN columnist Vincent Mahoney (who has called The Last Remnant my white whale) and nearly cried from happiness. It was pure joy and a feeling of finally completing a task nearly two decades in the making that made me so happy.

In terms of future plans, I want to get EA Sports College Football 25 next, a true next generation title for the PlayStation 5, and put a lot of hours into that. I also plan on scouring the market for amazing titles to play. This is the first current generation console that I have bought since the Nintendo Switch released, and I plan to make the most of it.

Finally, dear readers, please never stop hunting your own white whales.