Lurker > transience

I could do 200 with enough time!

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xyzzy

I would never play Brothers with my son, holy cow

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xyzzy

it has co-op? that seems terrible conceptually, but maybe it works?

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xyzzy

47.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHohBVfhGDU

2013
PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4

The mix of story and gameplay mechanics here is truly profound. The brothers in Brothers have a really deep bond. The older brother really carries the younger brother since the younger one cant do half of the things in the game. He spends a lot of time hanging on to his brother and struggling with the fact that he cant swim. The game makes you feel that through controlling them together at the same time using both analog sticks.

This game seems to be about loss but its ultimately about growth as the younger brother goes from being a burden to slowly being able to take care of himself throughout his journey. This culminates in what is probably the most powerful moment I can think of in video games thanks to the interaction between story and gameplay. Brothers is a short, atmospheric game that can only truly work once, but even seeing it through on successive playthroughs, theres a craft and a beauty to this game thats undeniable.

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xyzzy

48.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek4jdzO1NuQ

2012
Xbox 360, PC, Switch, PS4

Bleed is just damn fun to play. There arent really any other run n gun games using Bleeds dual trigger controls that I can think of. Theres a pace to the action that puts it a clear cut above the Contras of the world.

Some games have more to them, a cool atmosphere or whatever, but Bleed just gives you great combat mechanics and some really hard fights and lets you go at it. It feels kind of freeing to just play a game that feels so good.

I love how compact this game is. Youll get through it in an hour or two, less than that on replays, and it has zero fluff. Every battle is memorable. You get in, fight a lot of intense boss fights and get out. An hour of playing this game can feel exhausting because of the intensity and it feels really good afterwards. Its like the video game equivalent of a workout for your hands and brain.

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xyzzy

well, Nier has a fantastic localization, one of the best I can think of. even in 2001, FFX was slammed for Yuna's delivery and some of those lines.

my most randomly memorable FFX thing is where Tidus randomly jumps on a guy's head to take some binoculars or something like that. it's just so... weird. that stuff is littered throughout FFX and wouldn't exist if it came out today.

edit: I just found this while googling and what https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFkjo2syDrQ

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xyzzy

I think ff7 remake is the outlier though, not the rule. that game is being treated with the utmost of care. you won't find a modern jrpg that will get the same kind of attention. if you remake, I don't know, Xenogears, then it's going to have a tragic result.

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xyzzy

I actually think FFX gets much better if you either add a scene skip button or just removed voice acting altogether. games like FF6 would sound stupid as hell too if you had someone saying son of a submariner out loud.

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xyzzy

the first hour is bad, yeah, but once you get to Besaid I think it's pretty good. gameplay wise though, yeah, cause the game is slowly spoon feeding you basic combat mechanics.

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xyzzy

we're just getting these all out of the way tonight

48.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnhee7Btowk

2001
PS2

FFX is a weird dichotomy of feelings for me. The games biggest strength is the world building they do to establish Spira as this unique place with specific customs, norms and laws but then your ability to actually explore that space is essentially nonexistent, as are any semblance of level or dungeon design.

Its turn based battle system and leveling mechanics are best of class and are still thought of super highly today but then the battles themselves are overly simplistic, matching enemy types to characters and switching them out as the game commands you. Later on you can deviate a little, but by then youre in the endgame or even postgame.

Its overall narrative is strong, especially with how it handles the existential fear of Sin and the religious dogma of Yevon but its massively undercut by the dialogue and voice acting which is juvenile at best and awful at worst. Its actually shocking just how cringe-y this game feels so many years after its release.

Even the balance of the game feels awkward. The beginning focuses heavily on Spira and its customs, some of the best stuff in the game, while the gameplay is very basic. When you reach the second half, the game gets much richer from a gameplay perspective but falls flat as the scenes get longer and the dialogue starts to get more and more painful to hear. Its really strange to play this game today. I like it a ton, but sometimes I step back and wonder if this game has just aged really poorly or if maybe Ive outgrown it.

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xyzzy

50.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csQFGdTZqN0

2006
DS

Portrait is the best of both Castlevania worlds. It has the general look and feel of a Symphony-like but also features smaller, contained levels in the form of portraits which are more akin to a classic Castlevania. The castle doesnt sprawl quite like a Symphony of the Night or a Dawn of Sorrow, but I think I prefer that. Sometimes figuring out the next place to go can be a struggle and that is almost never a problem in Portrait.

This games gimmick is the two character system, where you can switch between two guys or use them together to do big damage through combo attacks. That stuff is definitely a gimmick, but its fun. It never gets in your way and you typically fight bosses with just one guy to conserve MP anyway. Charlotte just makes things go by a little faster.

Overall, this game kind of has no flaws. All of the touch screen problems with Dawn are missing here and collecting souls has almost no purpose outside of adding gameplay variety (and I usually stick to standard attacks + Charlottes magic anyway). You can definitely run into grinding problems if you want to collect them all but theres really not a need unless youre a completionist (which is fine).

This game features a great array of boss fights, especially towards the end, and the last boss is super memorable due to its unique circumstances and general gameplay challenge. Some of the skills you get in the back half of the game make traversal super fun, and if youre crazy like me you might play with some of the cool sequence breaking paths that totally break the game.

If this game does struggle anywhere its that, while its completely competent in every way, it also feels very standard fare. Its not doing anything exciting. Its fun to play but its not a game that really sticks in your mind or keeps you coming back for more. Its like eating a sandwich. For as much as I dont really care for Symphony of the Night, I have to admit that its much better at crafting an experience than Portrait is.

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xyzzy

51.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGC_EzojK6E

1994
SNES

I think FF6 gets my vote for best Final Fantasy story, though there are caveats there. I really really like the struggle against the empire in the world of balance. FF6 is fairly straightforward and Star Wars-y but it totally works as an RPG plot.

The ensemble cast gives you many views of the empire and gives you a lot of motivation to get them back. FF6 does some really interesting stuff like Lockes scenario, Zozo, the banquet with Gestahl or the opera. The plot moves forward at a masterful pace as it builds and builds until you hit the climax at the floating continent. The end scene there is probably the most impactful scene in series history, and the moments afterwards with Celes are next level for something that came out in 1994.

The beginning of the world of ruin is good, as the story is still driving you forward. Seeing the world transform is really fascinating as you try to put the pieces back together. But once you get the airship back, the games masterful pace just kind of freezes. Kefka hides in his tower and youre free to just wander. Without that driving force, it kind of stumbles.

The reason it stumbles is that I dont think the gameplay of FF6 is very fun. It's worse than that - it's kind of bad. The characters are extremely same-y in battle and the fights just arent very fun. Most of the dungeons are mediocre at best with some being hilariously bad, especially in the world of ruin. It sucks, because this game has such power narratively. The below-average battles are tolerable when the plot is driving you forward, but once that dries up, the game stagnates. This game is really close to being great.

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xyzzy

half-minute hero has the best implementation, where if you're too high in level for the enemy they just bounce off you and you get the exp

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xyzzy

iiicon posted...

i think you're conflating the old ff pc ports of 7 and 8 with the new ports

nah, I haven't played those (well, unless you count the old FF7 PC port that I played in 1998)

I just booted it up and went and played with it. you can turn frameskip on but you have to pause + hit a button to enable it so that sucks if you just want to frameskip battles. fortunately you can also just hit a keyboard shortcut to activate it. there are options to do it in the menu but it disables stuff. the frameskip in the game doesn't seem to be configurable either - I'd just like to play battles at like 2x speed, not warp speed with ATB involved, but maybe there are options in the config files for that.


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xyzzy

KamikazePotato posted...

I used to want an FF9 remake (and it's still tempting after seeing how good the FF7 remake is shaping up to be), but hearing Zidane's voiced lines in Dissidia made me rethink that. I don't think the game needs modernizations so much as updates. Which the Steam port does a good job at, especially with stuff like this:

https://sites.google.com/view/moguri-mod/home

yeah, I've looked at this but it doesn't really appeal to me - for 7, yeah, but this game already looks pretty good

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xyzzy

maybe for battles, but even then I didn't care for the implementation. it basically goes to warp speed or nothing. to be honest I haven't played with it because I think it disables achievements (???) as if you're cheating if you just want to speed things up.

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xyzzy

52.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwrPK0ulK4I

2000
PS1

I have a real deep connection for the Final Fantasy series, going back to 1990, which is to say that FF9 strikes a chord with me. This game is openly pandering to people like me: someone who really cares when they invoke FF4s four fiends, or cares when they talk about Josefs story in FF2. All of those feelings are deeply woven into my DNA and this game hits it hard.

Of course, if the first thing that comes to mind with FF9 is its reverence for series history, the second thing is the games speed. The slow battle system gets all the attention, but really, this game is just overall slow. Towns take forever to navigate. The story plays out pretty slow. The pacing of some of the slower sections, especially trigger pointing, can feel like work. You definitely have to work to enjoy this game. This is a game that really benefits from a frameskip.

Its almost like the game was overpowering the PS1. Its got to be the best looking game on the system. Those prerendered backgrounds still look great today. The music evokes really strong feelings and I really like the games main characters and story. It has some of the best scenes in the series. When this game peaks, it really soars.

The gameplay honestly works despite the speed. The class system works because each character essentially exists as that class archetype: Zidane as a thief, Vivi as a black mage, Steiner as a knight, etc. I really enjoy the ability system, synthesizing new weapons and trying to get every piece of equipment so you can master every ability. None of it is really needed as FF9 is a fairly easy game but its really fun anyway.

So, while FF9 has its drawbacks, its strengths shine through. Its still a lot of fun to play today and despite its glacial battle system I think it holds up the best of the PS1 FF games by far.

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xyzzy

okay, fourth tier down! I guess this is the 'all out attack' tier.

100. hacknet
99. braid
98. batman: arkham asylum
97. super meat boy
96. portal
95. world of goo
94. hollow knight
93. super mario world
92. mega man maker
91. ace attorney 2
90. zelda: majora's mask
89. xenoblade chronicles xi

88. monument valley
87. dragon warrior
86. mega man 3
85. castlevania: dawn of sorrow
84. nier: automata
83. we love katamari
82. zelda: link to the past
81. lethal league
80. half-minute hero 2
79. mike tyson's punch out!!
78. god of war 2
77. wolfenstein 2: the new colossus
76. super smash bros ultimate

75. binding of isaac
74. final fantasy 7
73. super hexagon
72. crystalis
71. suikoden
70. ace attorney 5
69. etrian odyssey 5
68. dragon warrior monsters 2
67. crypt of the necrodancer
66. dragon quest 3
65. final fantasy 4
64. actraiser
63. shadow hearts 2

62. persona 4 golden
61. metroid fusion
60. mega man 11
59. castle crashers
58. ace attorney investigations 2
57. street fighter 2
56. shadow complex
55. persona 5
54. zelda 1
53. holedown

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xyzzy

53.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYME5YC2IbY

2018
Mobile, Switch

Some games dont need a fancy writeup. In Holedown, you aim and shoot a bunch of balls that go flying all over the place and it feels so damn good. Its like a dopamine blast to all the senses as the screen lights up and the block breaking sounds go crazy.

Theres nothing more to it. Holedown is addicting and fun. I will play this game on my phone for years.

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xyzzy

54.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4bvZZa5Mtg

I love the Zelda 1 overworld. With enough skill, you can go anywhere at any time. Theres a lot of options: you can go out of order on dungeons, sure, but theres also just finding secret entrances which exist on every other screen. Some will give you a free heart, some give you money, some charge you for a door repair fee. I think a lot of Zelda players think of this game as being archaic and lacking structure, but that aimless wandering is my favourite part of it. I'd rather wander around an open world map than navigate a dungeon. Wandering is fun.

Of course, over time and playthroughs you just learn where to go and what not to do. Zelda 1 is all about exploring the overworld and that magic goes away when you know it so well. Thats where randomizers come in. Zelda 1s core design works perfectly with a randomizer, meaning that you can come back to this thing endlessly and get that special sense of discovery each time you burn a bush. I find myself grabbing a new seed fairly often (once a year or so) and spending a couple of days trying to find where everything is, getting worked by wizzrobes all the while.


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xyzzy

55.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnDzJ9KzuV4

2017
PS4

Persona 5 is basically the best in the series in every mechanical aspect. The social linking and the rewards you get from them, the dungeons, the battle system, the music, the story, the unbelievable sense of style everything is best in class here. If you take Persona 5 as a checklist of features, its way the heck up there.

And yet, it isnt even my favourite Persona game just because of how excessive it is in every aspect. This game needs a damn editor. The pacing is just never any good: Persona games, for me, are all about the reinforcing feedback loop between story, social linking and dungeon crawling, and P5 will often spend multiple hours going in on story beats that just dont need half as long to be explained. Sometimes you just want to get back to playing the game, or at least I do. Even when the game finally wraps up its narrative, it throws in a weird coda to pad the game out ten more hours because yeah, thats exactly what this game needs.

Its easier to talk about the negative aspects of P5 because the positive is that this is a great looking and sounding Persona-ass Persona game. Especially the sound. Sometimes youre wandering around town in the rain and Beneath the Mask is playing and the games unique look and feel just hits you in the best way.

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xyzzy

yeah it's a weird thing

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xyzzy

it could be worse

it could be automata

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xyzzy

thanks for showing up! (it's still pretty good today)

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xyzzy

56.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OWSoXUKWRQ

2009
360, PC, PS4, XB1

I went into a replay of Shadow Complex expecting the worst. Shadow Complex was a big deal because it hit at the perfect time, a time when downloadable sized games were starting to really hit it big but before every other game on the market was a 2d metroidvania. Those games didnt start hitting until 2011 or 2012 and by 2015 they were everywhere: Dust, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Axiom Verge, Timespinners, Guacamelee, etc. Now its hard to find a 2d game that isnt a metroidvania in some aspect.

On top of that, Shadow Complex is one of the most visually ugly games in recent history, an ode to the washed out shades of grey and brown that was left behind during the mid to late 00s. It also has this awful 2.5d system where enemies shoot at you from the background in an attempt to simulate the third dimension. It was bad then and its worse now.

And yet, this game somehow totally works? Shadow Complex is fairly linear in its design but theres still a thrill in finding hidden items. Powerups really make you feel more powerful and the game does a good job at taking you from being ultra weak to a fighting machine.

The right stick aiming makes this games combat more interesting than the standard Metroid thing of standing there and shooting. Your movement options are good once you start getting things like the foam gun and the double jump. The pacing is the best part as it feels super hard to put it down once you get going. You always feel like something good is going to happen next. For a game with a lot of glaring flaws up front, Shadow Complex is shockingly good.

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xyzzy

57.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvOMXTMDMeE

SF2 is an absolute classic, one of the ten most influential games in video game history. Some of my best video game memories came at the hands of this game, whether it was from winning incredible matches in the arcades or just playing the SNES version of Turbo with friends.

Its a good thing they didnt have timers on games in the 90s because I put an unbelievable amount of time into SNES turbo. I had to have had at least 500 hours played, maybe even 1000. I dont think I make a list at the end of the 90s but if I did, this game is probably #1. Its not as much fun to play now - its very much a game that worked because it was omnipresent and everyone around knew how to play it well. This doesnt work so well when youre pushing 40 and havent had actual real life competition in close to 15 years. But I still love this game, and even playing against the bs computer still makes me smile to this day.

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xyzzy

I need to get you guys off of AA5. maybe this will help

58.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUQfT7dAu94

2011 (Japan)
DS

AAI2 does a really good job of staying fresh and clever. It feels like theyve learned how to write characters and scenarios better by this point. I especially like the games main foil, Justine Courtney. Shes a more refined version of Franziska von Karma and has a character arc that really pays off.

AAI2 incorporates an overarching story much better than any of the other games. Each case weaves together in smart ways and sometimes the payoff is unexpected. The final case in the game is basically a grand finale for everything thats happened in the game and the final scene has something like 17 characters in the same room trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Its real good.

All that said, the Edgeworth games, by design, are just less thrilling without the in-court segments. Because of that, the big reveals are less impactful and nailing the bad guy doesnt feel quite as good. AAI2 has a cohesion and a storyline thats way up there for the series but only ends up being middle of the pack because of the lack of payoff.

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xyzzy

59.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsLHvg93bX4

2008
360, PS3, PC, Switch, etc

Castle Crashers is ubiquitous. Everybody can play it, and I mean everybody. Its so simple and obvious and just fun. This was my sons favorite game when he was 4 years old.

Now, you can take that as a negative - that this game is so mindless that even a 4 year old can enjoy it. Thats a positive in my book - I want my beat em ups to stay plain. I dont want depth in the combat system, I want a simple game thats fun to mash out.

Castle Crashers is that exact thing, endlessly fun and mashy, and its one of those games you can easily come back to years later. The different character builds gives it just enough depth to keep it interesting. Just make sure you play with friends, because this game, enjoyable as it is, isnt close to being as fun by yourself.

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xyzzy

I think it's still on sale - $15. I just bought it a few days ago (I had played it in 2018, just finally spent the money on it)

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xyzzy

I haven't played 20XX - I've heard mixed reviews, and yeah, I'm not an MMX fan. I've been interested but never took the leap.

Mac Arrowny posted...

Not to throw shade on your son, but I got to the last boss in MM3 when I was 6. I feel like some people nowadays underestimate how good kids can get at games if they play them enough...?

are you sure you were 6? I ask because there are lots of things that I remember doing at young ages that actually happened 2 or 3 years later. I can remember getting my face beat in by MM2 when I was 9, but by the time I was 12 I could handle it after a lot of practice. obviously others may be better than I was, but it wasn't until I was older that I could handle those games.

anyway, both of my kids can handle 3d games, but the idea of sidescrollers is actually really foreign to them. they tend to hold a direction for a long period of time because that's what they usually do, so when they try to play a 2d Mario or whatever, they have to fight against that. that's my perception of it anyway. my son is reaaaaaalllly bad at even the first level of Mario World but can beat Mario Odyssey (using the assist mode, but still) and is at the end of Breath of the Wild.

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xyzzy

60.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2PAI5JNAT8

2018
PC, Switch, PS4, XB1

Mega Man finally modernizes, or at least as much as a classic fan would want without it becoming a completely different thing. The classic Mega Man series is extremely dogmatic in its structure and series traditions never die or change. MM11 still holds on to what people feel is core to the experience - 8 robot masters, Rush, Yellow Devil and all the other series staples - but finds ways to innovate around the edges in ways that are surprisingly welcome, and most notably, manages to not really alienate core fans in the process.

MM11 brings in a new powerup system called Double Gear that honestly changes everything. Being able to slow down time or power up your weapons adds a dimension that just never existed before. It also has honest to god accessibility options for the first time, an easy mode, dedicated slide and rush buttons, weapon switching via the second stick, the ability to turn off the archaic lives system on easy difficulties, etc. My 6 year old was playing this today and was able to beat Wily 1 despite not having anywhere close to the skills needed to beat a single Mega Man level from any other game, and that's wonderful. (I should make a list of his top 10 games from my perspective. A lot of them would be on this list, probably, mostly because he plays what I own.)

And on top of all that, they also made some really good weapons that are fun to use in all sorts of ways. The game looks great. Once you adjust to Mega Man actually looking different for the first time in 20 years, you start to be amazed by all the particle effects of your awesome weapons. Each one is good here with lots of different uses depending on the situation. The color of this game really pops and the boss fights are dynamic in a way that theyve never been. This game looks just okay in screenshots, but great in motion.

Some of the stages, like Bounce Mans, are a little too gimmicky for their own good, and the game sometimes leans a little too hard into slowing down time with a lot of timed instant death hazards that chase you from behind. But other than that, they straight up nailed what I would want from a next-gen Mega Man classic game, something I wasnt sure I could ever want.

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xyzzy

61.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiq4eOUDI2k

2002
GBA

Ive come to realize that this game isnt really a Metroid game, at least not in the traditional sense. Its not trying to recreate the same feelings as other Metroids. It goes big on story and mood to the detriment of the solitary, maze-y structure that the series so heavily identifies with.

Metroid Fusion is more like a survival game. Youre stalked by a creature that's stronger than you that could be around any corner. The game takes a lot (A LOT) of time to craft a story about what is happening on the planet. Theres more dialogue in this game than in every other Metroid game combined. Youre boxed in an area until you solve that mission and then move on to the next sector.

In doing that, Metroid Fusion becomes a unique thing. It straddles the line between classic Metroid powerups and tight gating to keep the storyline moving forward. It isnt completely successful at either at first, but as you get deeper into it, it actually kinda works really well. Its certainly the most tense and foreboding of all of the Metroid games, outside of maybe the original version of 2.

A Metroid superfan like me will always be bothered by the lack of freedom and some of the other mechanical restrictions put on the player, but if you can let go and enjoy the tension, Fusion brings something that other Metroid games simply cant.


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xyzzy

I'm gonna have to bite my tongue until I get to 5. but, I will say that the 'small town feel' fits 3 better than 4, even though it's not portrayed as being small town, just because the game has a smaller scope and you can get to know the people a little easier.

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xyzzy

I knew that would set someone off!

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xyzzy

62.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O10pqWZPhiU

2008/2012
PS2, Vita

Persona 4 took Persona 3s core and improved a lot, especially in terms of a narrative. Persona 3 had a story but it largely let the systems run themselves, at least until the last couple of arcs. Persona 4 made everything much more authored, from the dungeons to the characters to the search for the main villain.

The bigger emphasis on story and overarching narrative makes Persona 4 feel a little more rich than its predecessor. You probably learn more about the core characters in the first 10 hours of Persona 4 than you did throughout all of 3. On the flipside, it also slows down the pacing, something that would continue into Persona 5.

Speaking of Persona 5, this game is in a weird spot. Persona 3 stands out for being the first one of these kinds of games and Persona 5 one-ups everything that 4 did. 4 ends up in this strange middle ground where it feels kind of forgotten despite being the flagship game in the series for a full decade. Its good, yeah, but why play this one when you could play 5?

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xyzzy

hey there! I love how I haven't really posted here in a year or so and yet all the same people are still here. nothing ever changes around these parts. the average age must be like 35 which is kinda unheard of on a video game message board.

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xyzzy

dumb names on each tier would not be my style

but if anyone wants to try to come up with ones that somehow represent all ~12 games, by all means

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xyzzy

that's another tier down. 3 down, 7 to go

100. hacknet
99. braid
98. batman: arkham asylum
97. super meat boy
96. portal
95. world of goo
94. hollow knight
93. super mario world
92. mega man maker
91. ace attorney 2
90. zelda: majora's mask
89. xenoblade chronicles x

88. monument valley
87. dragon warrior
86. mega man 3
85. castlevania: dawn of sorrow
84. nier: automata
83. we love katamari
82. zelda: link to the past
81. lethal league
80. half-minute hero 2
79. mike tyson's punch out!!
78. god of war 2
77. wolfenstein 2: the new colossus
76. super smash bros ultimate

75. binding of isaac
74. final fantasy 7
73. super hexagon
72. crystalis
71. suikoden
70. ace attorney 5
69. etrian odyssey 5
68. dragon warrior monsters 2
67. crypt of the necrodancer
66. dragon quest 3
65. final fantasy 4
64. actraiser
63. shadow hearts 2

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xyzzy

63.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiDUAGNPg9A

2004
PS2

Shadow Hearts is a quirky but sincere little JRPG. Shadow Hearts 2, on the other hand, is just goofy all the way. It has a strong core story once it gets going, but youre also hunting down gay porn to make dresses for your loli doll and fighting your wrestling teacher as a vampire bat superhero thing. SH2 manages to somehow bring these two extremes together. Its not perfect all the time, but it works.

Honestly, coming back to this game in 2019 is kind of shocking. This game just screams 2000s, even moreso than its predecessor. SH2 was novel as a joke-y JRPG before that kind of thing was common, but video games do jokes and break fourth walls all the time now and do them much better. The gameplay is better than SH1s but the dungeons are bad news and really nerf the enjoyment. The voice acting isnt very good and the game has this maddening translation where the voices dont match the subs. This game used to be a top 10 staple for me and its fallen a long way.

But theres a real silver lining here: once you get a ways in to the game, the story and atmosphere get really good. The main character is an all-timer and it really shines when an antagonist rises up and the plot starts driving you in a direction instead of wandering around Europe. The second disk is some of the best stuff on the PS2 and Im not sure that any video game has a better ending. SH2 doesnt hold up like it used to but it still has some real strengths.

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xyzzy

64.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TmgNMgcLk0

1991
SNES

Actraiser is the original next-gen game in my memory. It wasnt a launch game but it was close, and most people didnt have a SNES on day 1. The opening was next level: the graphics, the mode 7, the way it zooms into the ground, the majestic sound of Yuzo Kushiros magnificent soundtrack in glorious 16 bit quality. I get the feeling that younger people dont get why this game is impactful and it could just be a you had to be there moment.

Its still fun to play today though! Actraiser is pretty simple mechanically but the mashup of sidescrolling action game and building sim mixed with some god game elements still totally works today. You dont spend too much time in the simulation sections before youre hack and slashing, and those levels only take a few minutes before youre on to new towns and new problems.

The different modes create an almost Persona-ish feedback loop where you defeat bosses to rebuild cities which levels your character up so he can fight more monsters. Even the top-down angel sim sections have action elements in there since there are enemies coming after you. Actraisers gameplay variety keeps the game feeling fresh.

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xyzzy

4 is good. it's not on my list but it's not very far off. it's just been a long time since I played it last.

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xyzzy

yeah, Leon would most likely only really like 8 or 11. maaaybe 5, but probably not.

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xyzzy

65.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKmuaU2WoKg

1991
Every Platform Ever

Ive been a huge fan of FF4 for going on 30 years now, but for some reason now I find it kinda.. boring? Im not really sure. I think its the most influential game in the series by a mile, the one that birthed ATB and defined the spirit of the series, and therefore the rpg genre, for the next decade-plus. But when I play it now, its like theres nothing to it.

Getting bored of it makes sense since Ive beaten it something like 20 times and own just about every copy known to man, including two copies on the Wonderswan Color for some reason. But Im not sure why my feelings on it went from being a top 10ish game to near the bottom of my list.

In fact, Im not sure if it would make my list at all if not for the best randomizer on the market, FF4 Free Enterprise. Rom hacks and randomizers are weird to deal with in the context of a favorite games list but it definitely makes me appreciate the core design of FF4 more. In Free Enterprise, youre given an airship and two random characters and can randomize any number of ultra-specific variables. Its really well thought out and makes me appreciate the best part of FF4: the bosses and the simple yet effective dungeon designs.

This game is so goddamn iconic in so many aspects that just being able to zip to any location you want at any time is a real treat. Its just fun to take Tellah, DK Cecil and Yang to a fight in the sealed cave against the Mom Bomb. Maybe the game has gotten stale, but its climactic moments still rate in 2020, silly as they are.

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xyzzy

66.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOE_fLX2JsY

1992
NES, GBC

This is easily the most influential game in the DQ series. Its the first game in the series that feels modern, and the class system is a great addition, especially class changes. The spell list greatly expands from the basics to essentially what still lives on today. You get Pachisi, day/night cycles, mini-medals (in the GBC remake anyway), the monster arena, etc etc. If this game came out in 1988 in NA instead of 1992, wed think quite a bit differently about Dragon Quest here.

The first handful of hours are super fun as youre building up your guys and exploring a huge world map. It has the charm of the original but with much more depth as you slowly expand your footprint across the first major continent.

About halfway through, you go on an orb hunt that really kills the momentum. Wandering around the world on a ship trying to find the right threads to find the orbs is the games one real weak point. It can turn into FAQ bait if youre not patient. Thats what keeps this game out of my top 30, honestly.

The end of the game ties in to the first two games in a surprisingly poignant way, especially for someone like me who holds the nostalgia of the original Dragon Warrior in such high regard. This game really cemented Dragon Quest as an all time series.

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xyzzy

you'll probably hate this game, it's too twee for you

but you should 100% just play it however the heck you want. kill people, talk to people, whatever.

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xyzzy

that's why I prefer Necrodancer!

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xyzzy

67.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgYaD8xXiQ

2015
PC, Vita, PS4, Switch

A rhythm roguelike doesnt work if it has bad music, and indeed, Necrodancers songs really slam. It isnt just the music. The sound effects, the visual look of the game, and the general dance aesthetic is just so damn good. It all works together to feel great.

But it also doesnt work if its easy to play. You need that difficulty to make the rhythm aspects feel good when you nail the patterns and the beat all at once. When youre dancing alongside a dangerous miniboss, Necrodacer can feel zen-like.

I suck at this game and thats okay. I kind of love how brutal it is. I played the demo of Cadence of Hyrule and it just felt too permanent and too relaxing. I love the stress that Necrodancer brings, that feeling that Im going to die and its just a matter of how long I can hold on.


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xyzzy

and here's the one I wrote up and deleted because I skipped one. warning: the 60s are jrpg heaven. it's just how the numbers worked out this year we'll get past this, I promise!

68.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ZouXpUC4g

2001
GBC

Monsters 2 takes the excellent Monsters 1 and just adds way more stuff. Way more monsters, new monster families, equipment for your monsters, a fully fleshed out world map and then essentially infinite subworlds in the form of magic keys. Its a great product for fans of the original since it just supersizes whats already there.

Monsters 2 continues what made Monsters 1 great: its super fun to breed monsters and go from a pathetic slime to a maxed out superboss. This game gets more into the postgame content than the original did, and for those crazy people like me, there are fun hard mode hacks that really force you to breed well and let you get access to some of the super late game monsters easier. That stuff is great for a Monsters addict like me.

Monsters 2 pushes the series forward, but does a lot that Im not actually interested in. The game adds a storyline as opposed to just randomized dungeons forever, but Im not coming to this series to hit trigger points and figure out what to do next. I like just breeding monsters, and while theres way more content to be had here, Im totally fine with the old list of guys. DW Monsters isnt a catch em all kind of game since the focus is on breeding them together. Youre not putting them in a box to gaze at them endlessly. The old game is my Pokemon Red, so to speak, and this one is more like Gold.

I still love this game though. Its weird. Monsters 2 is completely competent and is a game I will gladly sink dozens of hours into, but when it comes down to it, I might as well play the original which is much higher on this list.

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xyzzy

whoops, thanks for catching that, I did skip one:

70.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cBUlKndLWo

3DS/Mobile
2013

I can go both ways on this game depending on my mood. Undoubtedly, AA5 is the least consequential AA game in the series, and it can be kind of forgettable because of it. The plot of this game seems bombastic (no pun intended) with the exploding courtroom and the DARK AGE OF THE LAW but its actually a very safe, by the numbers kind of game. The two main characters, Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice, dont really grow in any meaningful way, especially Apollo who just seems sidelined now that Phoenix is here.

The main point of the game is to introduce Athena. Athena isnt my favorite character but shes an interesting wrinkle to the standard brofest we usually get with our lawyers. Unfortunately, her main mechanic is the mood matrix which is a heartbeat away from the perceive stuff that drew so many negative reactions in AA4.

But I think all of this negative stuff is burying the lede here. This game is a massive return to form after the tragedy of AA4. That game wasnt just a bad game with lots of plot inconsistencies, it threatened to destroy the canon of the series. They made two spinoffs with Edgeworth solely because they had aborted the main Phoenix arc and that was all they had to go with. With this game, they managed to right the ship and introduce some new characters. Yeah, its fairly safe, but thats exactly what the series needed at this point when it seemed like AA was just over.

Speaking of new characters, its also worth mentioning that on top of trying to right the canon, this is the first 3DS game after years on the DS. That transition to a higher fidelity worried me from a budget standpoint and also because they might try to do something in real time that was beyond the scope of the DS. Instead, they made some great looking new characters with some really good animations, and those animations really popped when the game came out in 2013 after almost a decade on the DS.

And despite being safe, there are some good cases here. Im a major fan of the DLC case, probably the best in the game for how unique and surprising it was. I like case 3 a lot too. AA5s climax case isnt my cup of tea due to how weak and goofy the final villain ends up being, but its still a fun case with a lot of good reveals. AA5 isnt as good as AA1 or AA3, but its a really good game.

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xyzzy

I actually have grown to dislike playing games on a TV so I mostly play games on my PC or on Switch in handheld mode. I like being able to move as I play.

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xyzzy