LogFAQs > #898625653

76. Rock Band 2
Original Release: 2008
Developer: Harmonix
Platform: XB360

Ha, immediately after Brutal Legend I rank Rock Band 2. What are the odds (even Painkiller shows up here). Anyway, this is a game that would most definitely be DLC or a mini-expansion in 2018, but 10 years ago it was fine to release it as a standalone product and call it a sequel. I can't even remember what the new features were that they added, other than a brand new tracklist.

I'd probably give Rock Band 1 the edge in terms of which game has better songs, but only by a small margin. It's no question that RB2 probably has the better music, but RB1 (also on this list) has the nostalgia factor. I loved getting together with a group of friends and binging Rock Band 1 when it had that novelty factor. We'd each have a role. I wasn't doing this as much anymore when RB2 came out.

Also, this game was not worth $59.99 for the game only.

75. Arc Rise Fantasia
Original Release: 2010
Developer: imageepoch
Platform: Wii

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You know, for an RPG on a Nintendo console, I'm surprised this game doesn't get talked about as much as all the others. But that could be due to the horrible voice acting. It sounds like the localization team skipped out on hiring professional voice actors and decided to do it themselves. Big mistake. This shit is worse than SotN, Resident Evil, Grandia, etc. At least those game were laughably bad, here it's grating. The plot is actually pretty good at times but unfortunately the VA takes that all the way. You can turn it off, but then everything is just awkward.

I actually like ARF's plot and world, as it goes into quite a bit of depth. It really does feel like an early to mid-2000s JRPG, that ultimately came out at the end of the decade. The plot can also be easily compared to a Tales story, but better. I liked all the playable characters (if you take away the VA from them) and the antagonists were also quite good. There were some great, memorable moments scattered throughout the plot and the final boss was surprising. The world design is also exceptional. Towns are HUGE and look beautiful, and the music that accompanies them is well made.

ARF fails in the combat section, though. All the battles are pretty much simple cakewalk - hit auto or attack and you win. Boss battles, on the other hand, are brutal. Bosses have a shitload of HP and consistently use their super moves to kill you fast. In order to get through them, you either have to grind a LOT (for almost every boss) or trial-and-error your strategies until you get lucky and manage to win. One boss in particular had a party wipe by petrifying your entire party at the beginning of battle. What made it worse is that his dungeon had no save points (and plenty of spelunking and story). That's some cheap Baten Kaitos shit right there. I hate the term and the comparison as I mentioned before, but this is like the Dark Souls of JRPGs. It's a shame, too, because if it wasn't for the unbalanced combat and the horrible localization, this game would be ranked much, much higher.