Board 8 > KP's Top 100 Games (Win $5 For Guessing Right)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Thorn posted...

teddie > sees is a nuclear level take imhotbqhhhhh

For real though P4 cast is great. I prefer SEES but it's definitely a different dynamic and that dynamic basically develops over time whereas the Investigation Team has great friend chemistry from the jump.

Teddie is the only one of the P4 cast I like

jk I like Kanji too, but the rest are kind of meh

azuarc posted...

I got everything right except the Subnautica because I thought Subnautica would be too easy. ><

Oh, this is a lie. I didn't get Fear & Hunger 2 right either because I've never heard of that game. I forgot about that question and was more annoyed at being the one person to not pick Subnautica.

P3 is FFVIII, P4 is FFX in terms of cast chemistry

P5 is...uh...FFVII, maybe?

azuarc posted...

Oh, this is a lie. I didn't get Fear & Hunger 2 right either because I've never heard of that game. I forgot about that question and was more annoyed at being the one person to not pick Subnautica.

And half an hour later, on a different device, Youtube decides to recommend me a video about Fear and Hunger. That's fucking weird.

Next round hints will be posted in a bit.

Kenri posted...

Caught standing on the banister is what sells it for me.

Cat behavior.

I wish I'd somehow caught that moment on video. Was the only time I ever saw the Alien come to a dead stop when it knew where I was.

azuarc posted...

And half an hour later, on a different device, Youtube decides to recommend me a video about Fear and Hunger. That's fucking weird.

Mildly creepy but hats off to the algorithm I guess!

After how we came close to ending up with multiple perfects last round, I tried to make this batch of hints more challenging overall.

Round 7 Hints

21. !

22. An RPG where the main character is not its strongest representative in GameFAQs contests.

23. At one point, you jump down through several HOLES, then emerge at a higher elevation than when you started.

24. It's a glitchfest with a bunch of sequels that improve the core concept...but the original will always be nostalgia incarnate.

25. The best Tales game.

26. Probably spawned thousands of google searches along the lines of 'Can Cordyceps actually do that?'

27. The only Resident Evil game on this list.

28. A JRPG that goes through not one, but two years-long time skips that heavily affect the plot.

29. A 2D indie action game duology. I loved them enough to upload several gameplay videos to youtube.

30. One of the few games on kickstarter that I backed, was a big kickstarter success...and that I actually ended up liking.

Would you mind posting the list to date? It's okay if you wanna just wait til the topic's done.

Sure. I'll keep it to a pastebin so this page doesn't get clogged though.

https://pastebin.com/CHT33Cy6

Guesses sent

Thanks!

Guesses sent. A couple in there feel a bit like crapshoots, heh.

Upsy-daisy

Top 30 Honorable Mention: Lies of P

Playing this now, and Lies of P absolutely would have gotten high up on the list if I'd started it before this topic. Definitely Top 30, maybe Top 20 if I was feeling extra spicy. Excellent Soulslike game, and is the only one (at least that I've played) that is on par or better than some of From Software's offerings, although it doesn't quite hang with their best.

I'll give this 24 more hours.

Gonna try to get some guesses in ahead of the deadline but it'll be close

I won't be posting until tomorrow either way (work busy) so if you people send guesses before then, I'll count them regardless.

Round 8 Results

--

9 people submitted guesses.
The most common score was 5 / 10.
The average score was 5.89 / 10.

Well, I sure succeeded in making it harder! Everyone got a 6/10 or worse this time around, except for two outliers that scored high.

--

Hint:
21. !

Answers:
Metal Gear Solid 9

Thought there might be some guesses for other MGS games, but no, you guys swept it.

--

Hint:
22. An RPG where the main character is not its strongest representative in GameFAQs contests.

Answers:
Final Fantasy IX 5
Final Fantasy VI 4

A battle of two Final Fantasies, with the consensus narrowly guessing correctly.

--

Hint:
23. At one point, you jump down through several HOLES, then emerge at a higher elevation than when you started.

Answers:
Silent Hill 2 2
Dark Souls 3 1
Spelunky 1
Final Fantasy VII 1
Outer Wilds 1
Portal 2 1

I figured this would be a tough one. The hint was pretty obscure, although I included an extra clue in it with the capitalization of HOLES, referencing one of the weirdly memorable lines from Silent Hill 2. Even that clue is pretty obscure though, so I'm not surprised that only two people got it.

--

Hint:
24. It's a glitchfest with a bunch of sequels that improve the core concept...but the original will always be nostalgia incarnate.

Answers:
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow 6
Nier 1
Devil May Cry 1

'Glitchfest' was a pretty big indicator. RBY is infamous for glitches.

--

Hint:
25. The best Tales game.

Answers:
Tales of Berseria 5
Tales of the Abyss 3
Tales of Arise 1

This one was a KP knowledge check. I've gotten into multiple discussions on this board about not liking Abyss very much while praising Berseria.

--

Hint:
26. Probably spawned thousands of google searches along the lines of 'Can Cordyceps actually do that?'

Answers:
The Last of Us 9

Freebie. Even if you haven't played the game, you probably heard someone mentioning it when the TV show was at its peak.

--

Hint:
27. The only Resident Evil game on this list.

Answers:
Resident Evil 4 7
Resident Evil 2 Remake 2

I respect the RE2 Remake guesses, but unfortunately for them, there was no swerve.

--

Hint:
28. A JRPG that goes through not one, but two years-long time skips that heavily affect the plot.

Answers:
Dragon Quest V 6
Nier 2
Chrono Trigger 1

Didn't even consider Nier when making this hint. It fits, although not as much as DQV, which is a game utterly defined by its time skips.

--

Hint:
29. A 2D indie action game duology. I loved them enough to upload several gameplay videos to youtube.

Answers:
Bleed 2
Hotline Miami 2
Ori and the Blind Forest / Will O' the Wisps 2
Spelunky 1
Shovel Knight 1

I'm honestly curious about the people who got this one right. Did they remember me talking about Bleed years ago? Did they track down my dormant youtube channel? Did they hunt through Steam's catalog and go for an obscure pick? All valid options!

--

Hint:
30. One of the few games on kickstarter that I backed, was a big kickstarter success...and that I actually ended up liking.

Answers:
Torment: Tides of Numenara 2
Undertale 1
Shadowrun: Hong Kong 1
Divinity: Original Sin 1
Divinity: Original Sin 2 1
Shovel Knight 1
Hollow Knight 1

A bunch of good guesses. I've played and like most of the games here. Torment is the only one I actually backed, though.

--

Which makes the winners of Round 8 Mac Arrowny and AxemRedRanger, each with a score of 9/10! Don't feel like doing a lightning round this time, so they'll both get payouts.

Game writeups will be posted tomorrow and the day after.

You always talked about how good Bleed is with transience, IIRC. I played Bleed myself on your (or his) recommendation a year or two ago and liked it a lot! Then I immediately bought Bleed 2 and still haven't played it for some reason...

That glitchfest one had me pretty uncertain. Didn't peg you as a Pokemon fan, heh.

MacArrowny posted...

That glitchfest one had me pretty uncertain. Didn't peg you as a Pokemon fan, heh.

I've got really strong memories tied to GSC and RBY. Despite playing a lot of Gen 3 through 5 though, I don't have the same enduring fondness for them, and I dropped off entirely afterwards. Pokemon is best when you're a kid discovering the world.

UltimaterializerX posted...

Final Fantasy 16 would have worked for 28 as well.

Don't have a PS5 :(

I knew someone had played Bleed and spoken highly of it, but I didn't realize it was you.

I have since played Bleed 2. It was okay.

Mac and Axem, you guys suck.

KamikazePotato posted...

Metal Gear Solid 9

Thought there might be some guesses for other MGS games, but no, you guys swept it.

I said MGS2. I also said Portal for 23, Gravity Rush for 29 and Psychonauts 2 for 30, so I'm fairly sure I wasn't counted. (I had the other 6 correct.)

azuarc posted...

I said MGS2. I also said Portal for 23, Gravity Rush for 29 and Psychonauts 2 for 30, so I'm fairly sure I wasn't counted. (I had the other 6 correct.)

You're right, sorry about that. Was in a rush to get the post up after being out all day. Double-checked everything and edited the post, it should be correct now.

KamikazePotato posted...

22. An RPG where the main character is not its strongest representative in GameFAQs contests.

Answers:
Final Fantasy IX 5
Final Fantasy VI 4

A battle of two Final Fantasies, with the consensus narrowly guessing correctly.

lmao I forgot all about FFIX here. I've got eternal 2006 contest brain.

KamikazePotato posted...

29. A 2D indie action game duology. I loved them enough to upload several gameplay videos to youtube.

Answers:
Bleed 2
Hotline Miami 2
Ori and the Blind Forest / Will O' the Wisps 2
Spelunky 1
Shovel Knight 1

I'm honestly curious about the people who got this one right. Did they remember me talking about Bleed years ago? Did they track down my dormant youtube channel? Did they hunt through Steam's catalog and go for an obscure pick? All valid options!

Shout out to this youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiamondman85 it almost had me answering Rebel Galaxy or Roblox

lmao that would have been a hilarious false positive considering that's not my channel

Yeah it's pretty obviously not you but for a moment I was fooled.

A lot of the youtube results when searching your username are actually reviews of your books, which is neat.

30. Torment: Tides of Numenara
The spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment. It's a shame that the overall reception for this game was mixed, because while it doesn't quite live up to the first game, I think Numenara holds up very well on its own merits.

The Torment games are pretty close to Visual Novels. They do have combat, but it's not the focus whatsoever, and both games would probably benefit from removing battles entirely even if storyline changes would need to be made. 99% of my enjoyment came from the writing, where Tides of Numenara excels, albeit not without some caveats.

Numenara's story can broadly be described as a series of vignettes, where you travel around learning about the stories of individual people. Most RPGs are like that, but Numenara takes it a step further and really goes in-depth with them. Those mini-stories are the definitely best part of the game. They consistently come across as emotionally impactful in a relatively short number of words. Your party members are memorable, each with a strong personality and with an ending path that changes based on how you help them solve their problems. The game's third area is also worth mentioning as one of my favorite environments I've played in an RPG, being fantasy-style creepy and packed full of interesting setpieces.

However, whereas Numenara's writing does a fantastic on the micro level, it stumbles on the macro level. There's a strong hook about you being the castoff body of an immortal god, but the main plot honestly ends up bit undercooked. The various vignettes and setpieces don't tie together into one cohesive whole, leaving the experience feeling slightly lesser than the sum of its part, although I do like the game's final conclusion.

29. Bleed / Bleed 2
You can air dash, slow time, shoot things, and parry.

That's Bleed. Both games have inherently cool mechanics and fantastic game design. My strongest metrics for how much I enjoy an action game are "will this get more fun if I turn up the difficulty?" and "do I want to turn up the difficulty?" Some games feel like going through the motions once you figure out their loop. Bleed made me want to turn up the difficulty, then do a no-hit run of some bosses, then record myself doing that for no good reason. Super fun games. Oh and there's a plot too I guess, but it's very much an excuse for the action.

28. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Dragon Quest is a fun little series. The writing is charming, the artwork is Akira Toriyama, and the music is...there. It's easy to see how these games basically created a new genre and became pop culture phenomenons in Japan. Decades later, and Square-Enix still churning out similar DQ games, like JRPG comfort food.

Then there's Dragon Quest V. I'm not going to say it's the most complex story ever written, or that it would even hit me as hard nowadays that I'm older. But more than the rest of the series combined, DQV makes you feel things. To avoid spoilers, the broadest stroke I can paint is that you follow the main character over the course of their life. It's a very personal tale that prioritizes storytelling over the RPG standard of slowly building up a party of characters. The status quo is not treated as god here, and it makes for an extremely memorable experience with some legitimately shocking scenes.

This is where I would usually start listing flaws, but I'm not sure I have any worth noting. Maybe you can say that this type of story would have worked even better outside of the Dragon Quest framework, but I like how the JRPG lightheartedness balances out the big events that happen. Definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

27. Resident Evil 4
RE4 has the best level design and pacing of anything I've ever played. Every new place you go to is a fun encounter with something new to offer. Areas are open-ended enough to create unique environments for combat, but still linear so that you never lose momentum. The slow-ish pace of combat makes every fight feel tactical and meaningful, rather than yet another wave of enemies to blitz through. Ammo is restricted so that you need to put some thought into your shots, but not to the point where you're starving for resources.

It's honestly ridiculous how well Resident Evil 5 holds up almost 20 years later. Despite how it revolutionized the industry and inspired a lot of other games, few of them have managed to match its sheer level of moment-to-moment quality. I played the Remake recently, and while it was very good, the best parts were probably the sections airlifted straight from OG RE4.

Lastly, Leon Kennedy is a great protagonist no matter which incarnation you're referring to. The cheesy RE4 one is iconic, and the more serious Remake version is an alternative take that feels fresh and makes sense. Hmm. Maybe it's the hair...

26. The Last Of Us
I'm not a huge fan of Sony's AAA cinematic games. By that I mean Uncharted, Spiderman, God of War, Horizon, etc. I recognize they're good games but they don't fully appeal to me.

Last of Us 1 is the exception. While not perfect, this game is a masterclass of the zombie apocalypse genre. The story is resonant and deeply emotional, the actors all put on career-high performances, and there's multiple story beats that left me speechless. It all culminates in that ending, which has its detractors (hi Leon) but is extremely memorable if it's something you vibe with.

TLOU doesn't skimp on the gameplay, either. It has a nice mixture of stealth, survival, and 3rd-person shooter. I like how most encounters start with me silently taking down enemies, then devolve into a tense shootout when I get caught halfway through. Some sections aren't paced super well there's a few too many obligatory ladder sections but overall I enjoyed playing TLOU almost as much as I enjoyed experiencing its story.

Maybe one day I'll play RE4

TLOU was a weird experience for me. It took me forever to get through the first third of the game because I didn't think it was very good. Then I got hooked until the ending, which soured me on it and made me not even want to play TLOU2.

Maybe one day I'll play a Resident Evil game

Mzero, I have only really played REmake but I absolutely LOVED it. You should play it.

25. Tales of Berseria
I was waiting for a JRPG like this for years.

To be fair, Berseria still falls into some of the genre trappings. Its main character has a bad-in-an-anime-way design. The pacing is inconsistent. Environments are low-budget and straight out of RPG Maker. The obligatory mascot character has voice acting that I can best describe as painful. And unfortunately, it doesn't entirely stick the landing, with some of the later plot beats diluting what made the experience unique.

But even with all that, Berseria rules. Its writing aside from a couple lines that crossed over into edgy territory is generally excellent. There are real moment of pathos here, where characters consider who they are, how they should lead their lives, and how much they're willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals. Velvet in particular is one of my favorite protagonists of all time, although the main party members all fantastic cast chemistry and strong character arcs. I was invested in the narrative more than any other recent JRPGs outside of [REDACTED, WILL BE ON THIS LIST]. It takes a lot for a game's plot to engross me now that I'm older and have seen literally hundreds of game stories, but Berseria succeeded in a big way.

As for the battle system; it's a Tales game. Even the worst Tales battle systems are pretty fun, and this is one of the better ones. It passed the KP test of 'turn the difficulty up and see if it gets more fun', although mostly because is Velvet super broken in a fun way.

24. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
People shouldn't bother playing RBY for the first time in this day and age (maybe the GBA remakes, though). All you'll be left with is confusion over why this blew up into an insanely popular media franchise especially if you've played later Pokemon games first. The formula has been iterated on so much that the original RBY feels like an arthritic dinosaur.

But, man...you had to be there. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow was, without exaggeration, a lifechanging event. I have never seen a video game take over an entire generation to this degree. Call of Duty found a massive audience, but not everyone plays Call of Duty. Nintendo games are classic, but not everyone plays Nintendo. In the years of 1998-99, everyone in the younger age brackets played Pokemon. There was nothing else like it in existence. I have so much nostalgia attached to RBY that I could never in a million years judge it objectively.

With that said...it actually does a couple things better than its successors. RBY keeps its story light and allows for some degree of nonlinear exploration. Newer Pokemon games, at least up until Arceus and Scarlet/Violet, were increasingly linear, on rails, and needlessly verbose. A paper-thin plot is better than a bad plot. I'm interested in where the series goes from here, though. If they iterate on the Scarlet formula and release it with FPS that runs faster than a powerpoint presentation, maybe I'll actually play the next one.

23. Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is tough to discuss. It's one of those experiences that has mutated beyond its original reputation and scope. With every year that goes by without a game that can match exactly what Silent Hill 2 accomplished and with the increasingly rose-tinted memories people have of it this game gets elevated to an even higher pedestal.

I get why, though. Silent Hill 2 just feels special. It's the definition of a game where each interlocking piece comes together to form a cohesive whole, greater than then sum of its already-impressive parts. You change any tiny part of SH2 and its fans would riot. There are so many details in the game that feed into each other, including the monster designs, cutscene direction, janky controls, specific lines of dialogue, location of minor items, and even the awkward voice acting.

It all culminates in an experience that is scary, unnerving, and thought-provoking. Silent Hill 2's plot hits hard, although it's been aped by so many other horror games that it won't feel as fresh to newcomers these days. Doesn't help that SH2's re-releases are...extremely questionable. That Bloober Team remake is gonna be a disaster.

22. Final Fantasy IX
FF9 is a vibes game. While it does have strong elements that you can dissect and pick out in an objective manner, that wouldn't really cut to the core of what makes it such a special experience for some people. There's just this combination of whimsy and melancholic nostalgia that no other JRPG captures. 'The Place I'll Return to Someday' is a perfect title for FF9's main theme, and it puts you in the right mood as soon as you enter the title screen.

But this is a writeup, so I'll try to focus on some of those specific elements regardless. Vivi's characterization is universally praised and for good reason. The first four party members are all strong in their own ways. The soundtrack is up there with Nobuo's best, the pre-rendered backgrounds are gorgeous, and Disc 1 & 2 have tight pacing with lots of big scenes that move the plot forward. I also love the system where you enter a new town and get to see what all your other party members are doing as you explore. Why in the world hasn't that been copied by more games?

Final Fantasy IX isn't without flaw, of course. The last four party members don't get nearly as much development as the first four. Disc 3 doesn't feel quite as tightly-paced and impactful as the early game. Necron is kind of silly for a final boss. And unfortunately, the battle system is way too slow, even by old-school JRPG standards. If you can get past those issues, though, you're in for a very good time.

21. Metal Gear Solid
Despite the many sequels, MGS1 still feels like the most 'complete' Metal Gear game. Its writing is consistently entertaining, its pacing is near-flawless, Shadow Moses is the best setting in the series, and even Snake's voice acting comes across as grounded (by Snake standards). This is the game where Kojima was either restraining himself or being held in more restraint by editors. While unhinged Kojima can be fun, there's nothing wrong with having just a moderate number of plot twists, and the game includes plenty of unique moments regardless. Psycho Mantis alone blew people's minds back then.

I can't say much about MGS1 that others haven't. It single-handedly raised the bar for cinematic storytelling in gaming. Solid Snake is an enduring, beloved icon largely because of this game. The gameplay is definitely showing its age by now, but how could it not? MGS1 laid the groundwork for the entire stealth genre. And despite its limited mechanics compared to its successors, what's there is still very fun to play 25 years later.

I played Pokmon Blue in 1998 and I don't get why it blew up...! The series has had a strange journey where we spent our teenage years thinking it was a lame game for babies, and then it had a resurgence when people went back to it as adults (except for just me, it seems!).

I feel like I don't praise FFIX as much as I should because B8 overrates it to high heaven, but it's still a great game.

MGS1 is such a classic that FFVIII used Solid Snake's character arc for Squall...!

Your Berseria write-up is pretty much exactly how I felt about Vesperia. I should probably get around to Berseria someday but man, it's hard to invest time in long RPGs (or any genre really) these days.

Kenri posted...

Your Berseria write-up is pretty much exactly how I felt about Vesperia. I should probably get around to Berseria someday but man, it's hard to invest time in long RPGs (or any genre really) these days.

I was a fan of Vesperia's plot back in the day but it just hits way less hard these days. Feels watered down compared to something like Berseria. Yuri Lowell is still cool though.

I've always liked Vesperia more as a character piece than for its plot per se, though the plot has its moments too. That said, last time I tried to replay it I didn't get past the (extremely slow) first couple hours, so who knows how I'd feel about it now.

The GBA remakes hold up pretty well imo. I started with Yellow in 1999 and loved it at the time but I don't think I'll ever play RBY again

Leonhart4 posted...

I played Pokmon Blue in 1998 and I don't get why it blew up...! The series has had a strange journey where we spent our teenage years thinking it was a lame game for babies, and then it had a resurgence when people went back to it as adults (except for just me, it seems!).

I went through my "lame baby game" phase when I was like 10 but it only lasted a few months (maybe even weeks idk)

Some kids definitely went through the 'lame baby game' phase but only after a period of being obsessed with it. Pokemon playgrounds were the wild west. Battles, trading, rivalries, political alliances, schools making new rules, rumors running rampant...those were the days.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1618-division-32-64-round-1-pokemon-gold-silver-crystal-vs

imagine how this would go today

Round 9 Hints

Since we're in the Top 20, I tried to keep the hints on the harder side.

11. An isometric, dialogue-centric game where a good chunk of it is spent arguing with yourself.

12. This game inspired my least-favorite critic review of all time, where the reviewer gave up because they kept fishing at the wrong spot.

13. A PS3-era game that started a new genre. Multiple games in my Top 10 are in that genre, actually.

14. A JRPG where you build up a reputation through battles and dialogue choices, resulting in the game giving you changing titles that look like: [Main Character Name] the [Adjective]

15. My favorite Bioware game. So far, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition have appeared on this list.

16. A PC game released in the late 90s where the main character constantly updates their journal. Seriously, you'll hear that voice line a million times.

17. A strategy game duology. Can't think of anything else that wouldn't immediately give away the answer, so that's all you get. No, that last sentence wasn't a secret hint, and neither is this one.

18. A PS2 game that received controversy on release for its misleading trailers, which hid a major character entirely.

19. Was released to moderate success about a decade ago, but got a recent resurgence of popularity due to memes. In fact, memes are referenced fairly often in the game itself.

20. A game with choices and multiple endings, where your yes-man advisor encourages you to screw all the other factions and take over.

LeonhartFour posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1618-division-32-64-round-1-pokemon-gold-silver-crystal-vs

imagine how this would go today

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/946-north-division-round-1-pikachu-vs-parappa-the-rapper
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1306-north-division-round-1-pikachu-vs-fox-mccloud

Times have changed!

Guesses sent

LeonhartFour posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1618-division-32-64-round-1-pokemon-gold-silver-crystal-vs

imagine how this would go today

imagine having a contest today :(

damn, I had the same guess for 11 and 16

MacArrowny posted...

damn, I had the same guess for 11 and 16

Hmm yeah, gonna make one change to Hint #11: it was a game released sometime after 2010. The one person who already submitted guesses can amend them if they want.

I knew immediately what 11 almost certainly was, and had to research 16, so...

My guess for 11 was already a shot in the dark that I was pretty sure wasn't correct anyway

Torment: Tides of Numenara is... I gotta move that up my backlog. I backed it way back when, read and loved all the novelettes they released during the buildup, and then it came out at a time when I really couldn't dive 500% into a mega-RPG and I just haven't ever gotten back to it.

Having finished it myself, I will say KP is maybe underselling how undercooked the central plot is. It's...lacking. I got the most thematically correct ending, the most 'meaningful' one and it did not spark any of the joy correctly answering 'What can change the nature of a man?' did. The side vignettes WERE very good, but if you're an 'endings matter' guy it's a skip. Keep that in mind.

If you're an "endings matter" person then oh man are video games not the right media for you

Is that true for RPGs? Like, I'd say every mainline Final Fantasy other than 12 has a great ending, and even 12's wasn't particularly bad.