LogFAQs > #950401843

28. Final Fantasy VI (SNES, 1994)

While I'm not a big Final Fantasy fan (or RPG fan in general), this is my favorite of the series. The battle system is still pretty standard, but moves along at a nice pace, and each of the game's many playable characters feels distinct and interesting. The story is great, too - it's compelling and not overwrought with needlessly convoluted crap like basically every JRPG post-FF7. And on that note the game's length is really good, too - once again, not unnecessarily padded like most modern JRPGs.
The big draw for me here is the awesome cast, a true ensemble where you could reasonably argue for like several "main characters" in a game where at least 5/6 of the characters have significant story arcs, and a few others have pretty solidly developed stories, too. I'm a sucker for the ensemble cast (It's why I loved Lost so much - well, before they blew the ending) and it's a big draw for me here. In a game where you can and will choose different selections of characters throughout, it's nice to see so many of them get big parts, rather than just being accessories to the main's plot. The game's branching-story arcs, when your party splits off into groups and you take control each of them for a section of the story, are the highlight of the narrative. It's really neat to see different groups interact and to have the space to give these individual plots airtime rather than reducing them to an afterthought. And FF6's big villain is maybe not incredibly deep, but he's very good and memorable nonetheless.
Honestly, after 2/3 of the game, I'd probably say this is my favorite JRPG game ever. Sadly, the final third is...a very weird and structurally jarring turn - the World of Ruin segment. Conceptually, it's very neat - you jump ahead in time and have to reunite your party starting with a single character. You're catching up plotwise to what everyone's been up to and dealing with the ramifications of the, uh, "significant event" that led to there being a place called the World of Ruin. In practice, the game just loses a ton of its cohesion and kind of feels like a mess. There's still neat stuff here, no doubt - the storylines are well told - but unfortunately it also comes at a point when you gain access to giving espers (magic spells, basically) to every character, and it makes the whole endgame rush unfocused and homogenous.
You may discount my take here, because I lost interest and never made it to the top of Kefka's tower. But by that point, I felt like I had already gotten through the meat of the plot and there was nothing left other than to just check off the box of "beat the game", after grinding some levels to get the right espers for all of my party. It's disappointing, because all the rest of the awesome stuff is still great, but losing steam (and focus) by the end means I'm putting it below the other SNES Squaresoft RPG that I think is pretty rad. Sorry, FF6!
Top 5 Characters: Cyan - Celes - Sabin - Shadow - Mog

27. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004)

Back on entry 51 (Fall Guys) I did a nice little ramble about violence in video games, and my general distaste for it. I figure there's no other way to properly dunk on myself than to include (and rate higher) a Grand Theft Auto game on the list. Of course, the violent stuff is never particularly compelling here - the novelty of stealing cars and running over people and battling cops and whatnot is as good as it is in any of the other GTA3-era games, but it's not what sets this one apart. The story and setting is really great; 2004 was just the right amount of time to look back at early-90s west coast rap nostalgically and translate that into a video game, and the game really hits all the right notes. After the relatively simple beginnings of dodging crooked cops and fighting rival gangs in Grove Street (not-Compton!) of Los Santos (not-L.A.!), you're given access to a huge swath of map space that is nothing but coastal roads, small rundown towns, and empty hills and forest. From there the story introduces a bunch of ridiculous characters and missions, many great, some awful (the flight school and RC plane missions are so brutal), but just full of variety and color.
I love all the different stuff that you can do in this game; it's chock-full of different mini-games and tons of customization options, from RPG-esque stat leveling to character customization via haircuts, clothes, and tattoos. But man, it's the huge map that wins me over here. Having a world map that includes not one, but three major cities to f*** around in, each with their own style and stories and mini-games and such, is bonkers for a PS2 game from 2004. It's still pretty great for a game now. And all the little spaces in-between - the podunk towns, the oceanside roads, the varied geographical features and hidden enclaves, it's all just so satisfying to wander around in. If the Wind Waker writeup taught you (or me, I suppose) anything, it's that I'll absolutely eat up anything that does the feeling of traveling justice, and this game nails it too, in a much more grounded way. (Turns out driving a vehicle around for 30 minutes in a robust video game engine is pretty great.)
And hey, somehow I wrote a couple of paragraphs about a GTA game without even talking about shooting someone. I deserve a medal.

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