Board 8 > transience's top 60 games - 2018 edition

(+) Yeah! (+)

4.



Ori is a metroidvania that focuses almost exclusively on platforming. There's definitely combat but the bosses in the game are climactic escapes rather than fighting some big thing. This game was never all that interested in giving you lots of combat puzzles. Ori was made to jump.

It's better off for it. Ori has *amazing* screen-to-screen gameplay thanks to a great skillset. It's pretty standard fare up front until you get a double jump and then everything changes. The bash ability is a genre-changer. The parachute and climb and double jump are a lot of fun, especially in conjunction with bash. Ori's traversal is best-in-class -- probably ever so slightly better than Metroid, which is a big compliment.

It's also a beautiful game with a pretty fantastic soundtrack. There isn't much bad to say about the game. Some people think it's a little too hard but that gives you a reason to find all the powerups and master some of the moves needed in the game. Ori is a must for any fan of Metroid.
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3.



Here's how I gauge Super Metroid vs. Zero Mission. Zero Mission controls better (much better). Super Metroid feels better. One of my favourite feelings in video games is wall jumping in Super Metroid. It just feels good thanks to Super Metroid's really floaty jump. You bounce off a wall and just go shooting off. The level design is more like a suggestion than a requirement as you can just bypass most of it. I almost hesitate to call it sequence breaking because there kinda isn't a required sequence. You just fly in this game.

It's super fun to do that too. There are dozens of ways to play this game, challenge games or getting items or whatever. The community behind this game is super serious and dedicated -- randomizers are fun, but my personal favourite is a simple hack that rotates the screen 90 degrees. This game has a lot of life to give.

I'm actually not that great at this game, mostly because of the controls. I love just moving around in the world though. Getting a big running jump and flying screens high is so good. Maridia is the best because it's full of wide open areas. The fight with Ridley is classic. Yeah, this game is forever. Others will control better but whatever.
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Pretty good top 2
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one day I will beat a Metroid game
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No way is Ori as good as Metroid. You can make a case it does the exploration and platforming better - I'm pretty sure I disagree, but I can see it - but its combat is light-years worse. Metroid having fun combat really rounds it out as a complete package for me; I'm generally much less enamoured of Metroidvanias that don't. (or, why I can't really get behind the hype for SotN)
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Super Metroid lets you turn off your upgrades. Zero Mission doesn't.

Super Metroid superior.
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it is, but I also don't think Metroid has world class combat or anything. combat in Super Metroid is straight up bad until you get some beam upgrades.

Ori is kinda similar - you're just stuck shooting that dumb attack at the beginning but by the end you're either avoiding enemies or blowing them up with a variety of stomp/bash/attack/charge burst. if you're just sitting in a corner dodging attacks while jamming the x button, yeah, that isn't very good. but it's also not the only way to fight in Ori.
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1.

http://media.gamestats.com/gg/image/object/616/616991/operationshadow_ngageboxboxart_160h.jpg
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a copy of that is still in my house
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2.



FIESTA. This game is endlessly replayable. I've beaten it maybe 40 times?, most of those in the last 2-3 years. Almost every class has a skill or two that surprises you. That versatility is mostly neglected through the course of a first playthrough because you just blow everything the hell up. Everything, even bosses, have a surprising amount of status weaknesses that let you even the playing field. The four job fiesta lets you explore these options and it is a ton of fun.

Story and atmosphere and all the things you usually come to an RPG for aren't really played up here. It's pretty standard fare - it's fine, even good, but it's not going to bowl you over. It's that class depth and variety that hook me here. The fiesta will come around again this year and I'll do 2-3 runs through the game. Some day I will graduate from the fiesta to solo class challenges -- someday.
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1.



Xenogears is just on another level from an audio/visual perspective. I just adore the way that this game sounds. It has my favourite video game soundtrack and story. I don't think the two can be separated either. Sometimes I treat this more as a sound novel than anything.

This game's plot is madness, not just the substance that's there but also the scope. It has side characters that have more development than some games' main characters. It uses hilarious terminology like the -song- of the -gospel- in a completely self-serious way that is totally endearing. Endearing is probably the best way to explain this game - it just feels so passionate and earnest. I can't help but dive all in on it.

I won't deny that this game has flaws - you'll notice that I haven't actually talked about gameplay here. I do like the battle system and think it has some good boss fights, but yeah. This isn't gonna compete on that level with other RPGs let alone action games. Those flaws are just secondary to the game's narrative arc. I've played through this probably a dozen times and I still like going back and re-experiencing it. Xenogears is the best.
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@SaveEstelle
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transience posted...

Sometimes I treat this more as a sound novel than anything.

Disc 2 might as well actually be a sound novel
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still a great one!
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just pull up a chair and tell me all about it
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Oh man, surprising top 4! (To me).

Ori was awesome, but I never actually finished it due to the fact that I was playing on a Steam Link which just was kind of inconvenient. I wish it were on PS4. The one thing Ori had that was better than I think any other Metroidvania game (except maybe the one you ranked above it) was... atmosphere. And atmosphere is also the main area where I think SM just blows away ZM. I think a lot of it has to do with the GBA hardware limitations, but SM just has this awesome spooky, lonely, alien vibe that ZM didn't really manage to recreate IMO.

FF V - I only played it once, and it was almost 20 years ago at this point. I should give it another try with one of these four job challenges. The job system is definitely awesome - I think my biggest complaint about it TBH is the soundtrack is pretty weak by Final Fantasy standards. There are a lot of songs that flat out annoy me whereas most FF games just listening to the music is part of what makes it such an enjoyable experience.

Xenogears - man, so much greatness and yet so many flaws in the same game. I seriously wish we could have seen what this game would have been if they had the budget to spend another year on development. The music is incredible, the first half is pretty great, and I *loved* the regular combat system with combos... so fast and smooth for an RPG. But the second disc is just a mess, and I also thought the gear combat was not nearly as fun as the regular combat.

Anyway, cool list!
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Kaxon posted...

I think my biggest complaint about it TBH is the soundtrack is pretty weak by Final Fantasy standards.

FFV has a great set of battle, overworld, and dungeon themes
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I need to play more Metroid. All Ive ever beaten are the NES original and Prime 1. I started Prime 2 once. Early on, I played about an hour without saving (just hadnt come across an opportunity) when the power went out. Was too annoyed to replay what Id lost.

Have always wanted to try ZM, Super and Fusion. Just havent had the time. Your list is giving me an itch to make time, though...
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Xenogears
FFV
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that's a major gap Popo! you should give one a try. any of zm/sm/am2r/fusion would do.
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and Kaxon, join me on the fiesta next year! or join the fiesta board, either way:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/1101-final-fantasy-v-four-job-fiesta
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If you ping me on twitter or facebook I'll probably do it. Otherwise chances are I'll forget by the time it rolls around.
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I should probably fiesta again sometime, I havent done it in a few years.
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I'll bug you guys in June when it starts up.
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so, I made a top 60 list because I wasn't that interested in talking about some of the lower games on my list, but I did actually stretch it out to 100 when ranking games. I can talk about any of these if anyone is interested in them.

here comes maybe the greatest post in gamefaqs history - from 100 to 1:

Thus is our treaty written, thus is our agreement made. Thought is the arrow of time; memory never fades. What was asked is given; the price is paid.
ARF

I wouldn't mind hearing Half Minute Hero 2. I love the first one, but I couldn't really get into the second one.
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Majora's Mask over OoT, huh

Another one sees the light
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SSBB as your favourite Smash game? That's sort of been an unusual choice in recent years. Is there a particular reason you like it more than the other Smash games?
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Half-Minute Hero 1 had two versions - one that had lots of different modes, and one that just focused on the RPG. the other modes weren't that good but the RPG ones got a little tiring all at once.

HMH2 fixes that by making the formula a little more complicated, having a persistent world (to a certain extent) and nixing all the other modes. it's definitely a better version of that - but it's also like 20 hours. way too long.

HMH2 also has the most randomly insane soundtrack ever.


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cotn
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I didn't play much Melee. I just didn't like the movement. Brawl is a little floatier and more manageable - and I had a friend on my level to play it with so it was way more fun. I played a little bit of Melee with a friend but I was way better than him so it wasn't much fun.

I played Smash 4 for like an hour, shrugged and never bothered again. that game is just the same as Brawl and I've already played that.
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NFUN posted...

cotn

is this necrodancer? at first I was trying to contort it into a castlevania title
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On the subject of soundtracks, how about that re-recorded Xenogears coming in April?
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I got the 3DS version of Smash 4 since I didn't have a Wii U and couldn't deal with the controls. I might get it when they inevitably port it to the Switch.
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transience posted...

NFUN posted...

cotn

is this necrodancer? at first I was trying to contort it into a castlevania title

y
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JonThePenguin posted...

On the subject of soundtracks, how about that re-recorded Xenogears coming in April?

they did this a couple years ago too with MYTH. I listened to some of it on the website - I assume it was new, anyway - and kinda shrugged. like that stuff is great but it's going to sound much the same. I'll certainly grab it when it comes out because Xenogears.
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Necrodancer is a nice take on the roguelite formula. those games have gotten increasingly frequent to the point that a new one kinda makes me scoff now.

I like it so much in theory. I also am not good at it. I'm pretty decent at rhythm games and at simple roguelite type things but I have a hard time tracking everything on screen.

I do think this game is great. wish I was better, but also I think I would like it a whole lot more if it came out in 2013 instead of 2015. I didn't play it until it came out of early access cause that's how I roll.
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Given how much you like the Ace Attorney series, have you ever tried any of the Danganronpa games?
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haha I have a feeling tran would not enjoy Danganronpa much
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I have not. I assume there's a lot of anime in it if Leon responded like that!
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transience posted...

I have not. I assume there's a lot of anime in it if Leon responded like that!

yeah that's the main thing

It borrows a lot from the Ace Attorney style but it cranks the anime-ness up to eleven
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yeah anime and me do not mix well
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although I think I might pay a princely sum to watch you or Jeff Zero play it because he'd probably hate it even more than you would

I might pay even more than that to watch Jeff Zero play Life is Strange
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You would not like Danganronpa.
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i think your take on zero mission/super metroid is 100% on point and i couldn't have put it any better
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A+ on Xenogears' sound, man. I will never forget the soundtrack or the effects. The select/cancel noises are lodged in my head more than even any Final Fantasy's. The way it all comes together is a masterpiece in atmospheric design despite the crude (buy charmed) sprites and occasionally weak locales.

Xenogears is King.
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The best game of all-time is, in fact, present in that giant title post!

Pretty much everything on the list checks out except for Zoop. Like of all the puzzle games to like how does somebody end up loving Zoop
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heroicmario posted...

The best game of all-time is, in fact, present in that giant title post!

Maybe I skimmed past it, but I didn't see it!
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