LogFAQs > #949019705

final honours!

HM07: jubeat [series] (Arcade, 2008-present)
I'm going to have a lot of rhythm games on the list, and in nearly all of the cases, trying to rate individual entries, especially in arcade releases where there are constant updates, is not in any way worth the effort. So, in those instances, I'm throwing the [series] tag on and lumping everything together.
Anyway, jubeat is one of the more popular modern Japanese rhythm games, featuring a 4x4 grid of large square buttons, each overlaid atop a small display. When the button lights up, you press it, and that's it, that's the game. On one hand, its simplicity allows it to be very accessible - it's always one of the most popular games at the conventions and events I've been to, despite having a plethora of cabinets. And that simplicity hides a hell of a lot of depth, because the difficult charts (Level 9 and 10) require a lot of technical precision; figuring out how to place your hands to hit awkward patterns of 4+ buttons quickly and in time takes a lot of effort.
It's a great game, but I have less fondness and/or history with it than the other rhythm games on the list, and there are already going to be enough of those as-is.

HM08: Meteos (DS, 2005)
Honestly, I really wanted to put this on the list. Outside of one specific puzzle game that's going to show up very high, this might be my favorite puzzle game that I've ever played. It's clever and weird but still fairly intuitive and uses visual and sound design shockingly well for what was...basically a DS launch title.
Unfortunately, I haven't played this in over 10 years. I plowed through it for a while in my random DS games playthrough topic on this board back in like 2008, and somehow it stopped working for the flash card I had played it on, so I mostly forget how the hell it works and what gameplay was really like enough to place it on the list proper.

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it's an underwater adventure ride