Board 8 > Leonhart Ranks 124 User Nominated Games

(+) Yeah! (+)

okay I lied here's one more before I go to bed

89. inFamous (pjbasis)


I only played this game because it was one of the free games Sony gave away after their PSN fiasco several years ago, and I assume many people were introduced to it that way. I own the other inFamous games, too. I just haven't gotten around to playing them yet. I enjoyed the first game. I like the setting. It looks appropriately rundown while at the same time being pretty big and feeling active. Cole is a decent character, although he's nothing special. inFamous did have a surprisingly decent plot though, including a few twists that I didn't see coming. That being said, I only played the "good" path, so I didn't get the full experience of playing the "bad" path and seeing what's different between the two. There's not much nuance in most of the choices, so it's usually pretty obvious which one is "good" and which one is "bad." Well, there was one choice that I made without even realizing what I was choosing because the game made it difficult for you to tell what you had to do, which was kind of a bummer. I don't think it changed much of anything though, and it's probably the choice I'd have made anyway. Regardless, the good path is apparently canon, so I guess it all works out!

The real appeal of inFamous are Cole's powers though. Like I said, I can't comment on them fully since his powers develop differently depending on whether you play it good or bad, but lightning-based powers are usually pretty sweet either way. Riding along railroad tracks or power lines was always fun and never seemed to get old. The game gives you plenty to do, and you can mostly tackle it in any order you want. The major plot missions have to be done in a specific order and you have to do some of them in order to open up other areas in the city, but other than that, you have the freedom to do what you wish whenever, which is nice. I'd like to get back to these games at some point, but I haven't really been in any hurry to do so.

Bonus Question: Do you prefer to play as a "good guy" or a "bad guy" if given the choice?

I know that it's not always strictly good or bad in some of these games but you get the idea
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I think you can consider it almost the full experience if you just play one side.

LeonhartFour posted...

Well, there was one choice that I made without even realizing what I was choosing because the game made it difficult for you to tell what you had to do, which was kind of a bummer. I don't think it changed much of anything though, and it's probably the choice I'd have made anyway.

I think I know exactly what you're talking about. When you have to choose between his girlfriend and the doctors?
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: Do you prefer to play as a "good guy" or a "bad guy" if given the choice?

Kind of depends on the game. In the Infamous games, always the bad guy.
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Johnbobb posted...

LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: Do you prefer to play as a "good guy" or a "bad guy" if given the choice?

Kind of depends on the game. In the Infamous games, always the bad guy.

Yeah this. It is called 'inFamous' for a reason. So much more fun being the bad guy.

You should try inFamous 2 if you liked 1. It is better in every conceivable way except the story. I personally didn't like Second Sun so much though.

pjbasis posted...

I think you can consider it almost the full experience if you just play one side.

LeonhartFour posted...

Well, there was one choice that I made without even realizing what I was choosing because the game made it difficult for you to tell what you had to do, which was kind of a bummer. I don't think it changed much of anything though, and it's probably the choice I'd have made anyway.

I think I know exactly what you're talking about. When you have to choose between his girlfriend and the doctors?

That's the one.
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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

It is called 'inFamous' for a reason.

Maybe in 1, felt like his character in 2 flowed better as a good guy though, and Second Son just sucked as a villain.
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Infamous 2 is probably my favorite as far as story/character goes

Second Son was also great except for the terrible evil ending

I feel like in general the evil powers are more fun
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88. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (pyresword)


I like this game, but I feel like it'd be hard to go back to after playing the sequel since it's just so much better (list spoilers). The premise of all these Ultimate High School talents being locked inside the school as the apocalypse rages in the outside world is very intriguing, although the exact details are always kept nebulous for effect since you're never sure how much you can believe of what Monokuma says. Danganronpa starts off pretty well with an interesting first case. There's a surprise betrayal, a delightfully corny riddle in 11037, and perhaps the best execution in either of the first two games (I haven't played V3 yet, so I can't speak to those). It leaves you feeling unsettled in a good way, wondering what's going to happen from here on out.

Unfortunately, it kind of veers off in another direction for a lot of the game by going really over the top with its black comedy. I don't like Monokuma's brand of "humor" at all (Mondo Butter was just the worst), and the murder mysteries weren't as compelling for the next two cases. Part of it is that Danganronpa has a rather large cast, but most of them aren't all that good. And for being a school filled with kids who are supposed to be the future hope of the nation, a lot of them are really dumb. The logic and actions of some of these characters are pretty bad at times. I guess there's supposed to be some sort of message that a completely average in every way kid like Makoto winds up being the leader and a symbol of hope, but it just makes me think the school's selection process is fundamentally flawed somehow! Anyway, Danganronpa manages to turn things around with the last two cases, which are really good, partially because at least the game recognizes who the best characters are and has gotten rid of most of the bad ones at that point. The twist at the end of the fourth case in particular was really well done, I thought, and really helped cement Asahina as one of my favorites from the first game. Regardless, the trial segments are almost always a good time (as long as you're not playing one of the mini-games anyway). The action feels fast-paced and free-flowing as the debate jumps around from one character to the next. It's the other aspects of a case that usually bring them down in my book.

I often hear people compare Danganronpa to Ace Attorney, and while I get where they're coming from, I wouldn't recommend this game to someone simply because they like AA. I think it'd be pretty jarring for someone who came into this expecting the two to be a lot alike. I know it was for me! Danganronpa is a lot sloppier and more irreverent, in addition to having an entirely different sense of humor. Plus, it cranks the anime factor up to eleven. The characters aren't as charming either for the most part, although I do like a handful of them quite a bit. The Free Time Events are pretty fun and help you grow attached to the ones you like, but they feel a bit more simplistic than something like Social Links from Persona. It's a lot more of a hit or miss experience than Ace Attorney tends to be. Don't get me wrong. I think Danganronpa is fun, but I don't think the target audience is necessarily the same.

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite character from the first Danganronpa?
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite character from the first Danganronpa?

Josh
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Is the "gameplay" like AA?
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Ugh. I love Ace Attorney (though I'm not a diehard like much of the board) so I thought I'd like DR, but I just hate it.

A lot of it is that I despise "angst for angst's sake," and beneath the unfunny humor and the shitshow that is Monokuma, that's how DR felt to me. Bad things are happening because HOORAY MISERY AND DESPAIR.

The twists felt more like ass-pulls toward the end, but that might just be because I was hating the game so much at that point that I didn't want to acknowledge if it did something good. I'm not normally like that though.
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pjbasis posted...

Is the "gameplay" like AA?

The format is similar. There are investigations, and there are trials. The style of the game is radically different though.
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upupupupupu

DR definitely has more EDGE in it. i think younger me might have liked it a lot more. and it's definitely less accessible than AA. i'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6.

I...don't really think Danganronpa is angsty at all. Although, I guess what I should actually say is that I think saying this is already a refusal to meet the game on its own terms.

beneath the unfunny humor and the shitshow that is Monokuma

I guess applying it to this specific context what I mean is that I think Monokuma and his brand of humor is the very thing that makes the game not just "angst for angst's sake".

Also I think Danganronpa has significantly more charming characters than Ace Attorney. But then again you'll pretty much never see me have anything good to say about Ace Attorney unless it's about Edgeworth, so whatever.
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pyresword posted...

Also I think Danganronpa has significantly more charming characters than Ace Attorney.

yikes
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite character from the first Danganronpa?

Most of them are meh to bad, I'll go with the safe choice of Asahina.
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Fukawa is definitely my favorite Danganronpa 1 character. I don't love the cast overall and think there are a lot of bad characters compared to the other games, but I do like her.
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I guess Byakuya.
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87. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (kateee)


I used to struggle to remember what order Hours, Persons, and Doors came in the title so I'd occasionally have to look it up if I wanted to talk about it to make sure I got it right, but thankfully, I don't have that problem anymore! Anyway, since 999 is the only Zero Escape game on this list, I'll just go ahead and say it's my least favorite of the three, while Virtue's Last Reward is my favorite (with Zero Time Dilemma in the middle, obviously). That's not a knock against this game. Zero Escape is just a good series. I love the setting and the atmosphere. Starting the game by having to find your way out of a room flooding with water is really intense and sets a strong tone. 999 revs it up even higher after the character introductions when someone literally blows up, and the rest of the cast seems compelling, too, despite the fact that they didn't blow up. It's a fantastic introduction and drives you to see where it all leads. I also lucked out in that I got the ending that leads to the True Ending last, so I didn't have to do a lot of backtracking and replaying. I got the Axe ending first, which I feel like is probably the best one to get first because it's appropriately creepy.

I enjoy splitting off into groups with different sets of characters. They divide the cast up well so that you get plenty of time with everyone. I like Junpei as a protagonist, although he's a bit too crass for my tastes at times. My favorite characters are probably Ace, Snake, and Lotus, and there's no one among the main cast I dislike. I really like the story because it stays crazy all the way through, but in a good way. It's hard to tell where it's going sometimes, and it doesn't always pay off, but I like the fact that they aren't afraid to try. I can respect the fact that the series always takes big swings, so I can overlook it when it stumbles a bit at times. I appreciate the stuff it got right more than I complain about what it got wrong. The True Ending tries so hard to bring it all together, and it mostly succeeds. It has a few hiccups, but the good far outweighs the bad. I need to replay the series one of these days so I can experience it all over again because it was such a wild ride.

As an aside, I loved the prosopagnosia twist even though I saw it coming, partly because I had actually heard of it before. I remembered randomly seeing a news story about a dude who had it one time when I was a kid, so that was neat for me. I think the fact that I knew what it was and thus could recognize the symptoms when they were foreshadowed enhanced that twist for me.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Zero Escape game?
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yeah i liked it when they started going off on their tangents about phenomena and conditions that i was aware of prior to going through the game. shoutouts to ice-nine

man it's like we're connected by the morphogenetic field
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999 came out around the height of my obsession with Umineko so the small bombs thing amused me a lot.
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especially since the small bombs were actually real in this case
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oh right since VLR isn't on the list i'll just say here that i agree with what seems to be the consensus that it's the best game in the series. the way that it ties the gameplay to the narrative really just puts it on another level. the only knock i have on it is that because of the 3D models, it has the worst visuals out of the three but you can definitely overlook that.

i've only played through 999 and ZTD once though so maybe i'll change my mind but i feel pretty confident in my ranking.

VLR > 999 > ZTD
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite character from the first Danganronpa?

Probably Kyoko

LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Zero Escape game?

I think ZTD, actually (which seems to be a rare opinion). VLR is close, though.

999 and AA6 spoilers:
As I'm sure occurred to many of us on the board, I saw the prosopagnosia twist in AA6 coming from a mile away due to 999
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86. Super Paper Mario (pyresword)


Super Paper Mario gets a bad rap, but I don't feel like it's warranted. It gets blamed for ruining the series for some reason, but that was Sticker Star's doing. Sure, it's not as good as the first two games, but there's no shame in that. They changed the gameplay into more of a platformer instead of a pure RPG, but I didn't mind that. I missed having a bunch of unique party members, but being able to swap between Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Peach was lots of fun, too. The Pixls were also fairly cool, although I wasn't too big on the new villains. However, while Super Paper Mario may have been deficient compared to the other two in gameplay, it's right up there with them in the quality of the writing. It's still top notch. Bowser remains a top tier Nintendo character, and then there's also the "introduction" of Mr. L, who was excellent. The worlds are colorful and charming, too. I think the Sammer Kingdom might be my favorite one. The series of battles was very cool, as well as the way that chapter ended.

Super Paper Mario is a fun game to mess around with, too, especially since it's so easy. You don't really need to formulate any strategies to beat it. You can just play however you want and roll through the game. You can switch around between the characters on the fly, so you can compensate for the fact that Bowser can't jump high by jumping high with Luigi's super jump ability and switching to Bowser in midair because he does a crapton of damage if he lands on an enemy. I cheesed the last boss that way, actually. It was ridiculously easy to pull off since the final form is so big that Bowser can just bounce off of his head repeatedly for massive damage.

Just talking about the good ol' days of Paper Mario is making me sad and angry about what Sticker Star did to this series. I haven't even touched anything vaguely Mario RPG-esque since then. How were Paper Jam and Color Splash anyway? I guess it doesn't really matter how Color Splash was unless they port it to the Switch since I don't have a Wii U, but I was just curious.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Paper Mario?

That's it for tonight.
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I never played Sticker Star. The writing still seemed good in Color Splash and painting stuff was fun, but the card mechanic got kind of annoying after a while. I only got maybe 10 hours in, though. Maybe I'll get back to it some time.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Paper Mario?

The original for me! I think it actually might have been my first non-Pokemon RPG. I have a ton of nostalgia for it.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite character from the first Danganronpa?

Byakuya Togami aka Poor man's Miles Edgeworth

But he is way lower in the overall series ranking. DR1 just doesn't have a very strong cast.

LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Zero Escape game?

999 > VLR > ZTD

All three are solid but 999 is a masterpiece.

LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Paper Mario?

I will do a Mario RPG series ranking instead

TTYD > BiS > PM > SMRPG > Super Star Saga > Super PM > PiT > Color Splash > Sticker Star

Haven't beaten PiT, Color Splash and Sticker Star. They were just so damn boring. Played a little bit of Dream Team and that was boring as hell too. Mario RPG may just be dead to me.

My favorite is VLR as well I think.
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Fav Danganronpa character: I have a strange an inexplicable love for Ishimaru. I think it's his amazing eyebrows

999 > VLR > ZTD, purely from a plot and character perspective. If I were ranking puzzles, I'd have to think about it, but I'd probably have VLR on top.

Only played SMRPG, Paper Mario, and TTYD, but out of those, I liked Paper Mario on the N64 the best. I will confess that I might be blinded by nostalgia since I played that game a ton when I was young.
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85. Rock-Paper-Scissors (Xeybozn)


Rock-Paper-Scissors is a classic. It's a very simple game, but yet it never gets old. As you can see, they even have intense rock-paper-scissors tournaments. I'd wager it's resolved more disputes than any other method in human history. Nobody dares to question the results of a game of rock-paper-scissors. Perhaps part of the appeal is that it feels like there's strategy to the game as you try to plumb the mental depths of your opponent in an attempt to calculate which of the three they're most likely to throw, but it's honestly mostly random. You might have a preference to what you like to throw, but you obviously don't throw it every time.

Now there's some controversy on whether you throw on "scissors" or you add a "shoot" at the end to signify it's time to throw. I prefer to go on "shoot," but I'll play the other way if I absolutely must. The one thing I absolutely will not abide, however, is people who want to add things other than the basic three into the mix because it just gets out of control and there's no real authority or guideline to determine what beats what. It basically just turns into Calvinball, where everyone makes up the rules as they go along, and as anyone who's ever participated in a contest I host, I am not a fan of chaos. I prefer things to be orderly and reasonable. That's what makes this game great. It's simple and incontrovertible, and it should always be that way.

Bonus Question: Rock, paper, or scissors?

I choose rock.
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Rock, Paper, Scissors > 999

What the **** is this?

Wait, didn't the girl in the skirt throw scissors? Why is the girl who threw rock freaking out?
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Anagram posted...

Wait, didn't the girl in the skirt throw scissors? Why is the girl who threw rock freaking out?

She's really happy she won the tournament.
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Team Rocket Elite posted...

Anagram posted...

Wait, didn't the girl in the skirt throw scissors? Why is the girl who threw rock freaking out?

She's really happy she won the tournament.

Ah, okay.
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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Rock, Paper, Scissors > 999

I've probably played more than 999 games of Rock, Paper, Scissors in my life

Fair, next
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Sounds like Leon should watch Kaiji...
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Good ol' rock. Nothing beats that.
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Did you guys watch The Adventures of Pete & Pete on Nickelodeon back in the day? I remember there was an episode featuring a dude whose nickname was Paper Cut because he always threw paper in Rock-Paper-Scissors. Everyone knew it but they were all too scared to throw scissors because he was really intimidating.
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Always rock.
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Always scissors
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84. Mega Man 3 (Shonen_Bat)


We follow up Rock-Paper-Scissors with Rockman! Mega Man 3 is an important game for the series. It introduces the slide, as well as marking the debut of both Protoman and Rush. I've always liked the Rush powerups, even though they're usually pretty situational. Like I said during the MM5 writeup, I tend to judge these games by how cool the Robot Masters and their powers are, and MM3 is really solid in both departments. Snake Man is one of my favorite Robot Masters, although I can't really explain why. I've just always really liked him. Shadow Man has one of the best designs in the Classic series. Gemini Man, Spark Man, and Magnet Man are cool, too. Top Man wins the most hilarious design award. Hard Man is the only real dud here, although they make up for it by Hard Knuckle being really good.

MM3 has a solid set of powers overall. Even the ones you wouldn't think would be good can be surprisingly effective, like using the Top Spin to cheese the final boss. Getting to re-fight the Robot Masters near the end was fun, too, since they're all vulnerable to their own weapon for some reason. It has one of the easiest endgames of the Mega Man games I've played, but I don't really mind that. It's nice not to have to restart levels once in a while! So while Mega Man 3 isn't my favorite Classic game, it's still a blast.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Robot Master in Mega Man 3?
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Shadow Man

It's a shame the SNES Mega Man graphics didn't get used more often. Is it just MM7 and MM&Bass? Because it was the best the series ever looked.
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Can't stop the Top (Man).
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83.Donkey Kong Country Returns (Axl_Rose_85)


I love the Donkey Kong Country series, so I was pretty hyped when they announced this game. Even so, I didn't get it initially because I heard the motion controls were a little overdone, so I waited for the 3DS version before I actually played it. For starters, the game looks fantastic. The graphical style and art direction are both superb. It captures the feel of a Donkey Kong Country game really well most of the time. It's got plenty of bonus levels and extra stuff to collect and do as you go through the levels. It keeps you busy, that's for sure. There's plenty of variety in the level types. I love the levels where everything is silhouetted and you have to manuever through the whole thing with only an outline of the characters and their surroundings. For the most part, the game is really fun.

Donkey Kong Country Returns wasn't afraid to try new gimmicks, although that was honestly part of my problem with the game. I didn't like some of them as much. The rocket barrel levels were the worst, and I can only imagine how bad they were with motion controls considering how utterly unresponsive those sections were without them. It was kinda dumb that you could only fully control Donkey Kong, with Diddy Kong basically acting like Clank the whole time and just providing supplementary support. That works in Ratchet & Clank, but I'm used to being able to switch between the two characters at will in DKC, so it's kind of annoying that you can't. I don't really care for all the new enemy types, and the bosses aren't very good either. I guess Nintendo couldn't use the Kremlings anymore or something, but I kinda missed them here.

I saw people hyping this as the best DKC game after it came out, but I just don't see it. While it's fun a lot of the time, it definitely has problems. I haven't even finished this game yet. I got so annoyed by one section that I put it down and haven't gone back to it yet. I suppose I will before the Tropical Freeze port for the Switch comes out because I heard it improves some of the stuff I had issues with, so I'm looking forward to playing that one.

Bonus Question: What's the best game you never finished?
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And that's another tier down!

Why cant we have a normal, straightforward killing in this country once in a while?!

83. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Axl_Rose_85)
84. Mega Man 3 (Shonen_Bat)
85. Rock-Paper-Scissors (Xeybozn)
86. Super Paper Mario (pyresword)
87. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (kateee)
88. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (pyresword)
89. inFAMOUS (pjbasis)
90.Steins;Gate 0 (pyresword)
91. Mega Man 5 (tazzyboyishere)
92. Sharks and Minnows (LeonhartFour)
93. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (pjbasis)
94. Bomberman Generations (NBIceman)
95. Animal Crossing (AxemRedRanger)
96. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Snake5555555555)
97. Metroid Prime (Mac Arrowny)
98. Portal (handsomeboy2012)
99. Jak 3 (Johnbobb)

Maybe I shouldnt be saying thisBut he definitely did it. Murder. At least once. Maybe twice.

100. Super Metroid (kateee)
101. Pokemon Snap (Anagram)
102. Wii Sports (handsomeboy2012)
103. Sonic Adventure 2 (Johnbobb)
104. Connect Four (WhiteLens)
105. The Floor is Lava (Xeybozn)
106. Life is Strange (Robazoid)
107. Scrabble (Raka_Putra)
108. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (pjbasis)
109. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Dragon66116)
110. Vagrant Story (Mac Arrowny)
111. Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City (AxemRedRanger)
112. Sonic Spinball (Drakeryn)
113. Donkey Kong 64 (AxemRedRanger)
114. The Simpsons: Barts Nightmare (Robazoid)
115. Hide-and-Seek (Xeybozn)
116. Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (AxemRedRanger)

You look like I did after I mistakenly took a swig of Worcestershire sauce.

117. Charades (Raka_Putra)
118. Star Fox Adventures (NBIceman)
119. Musashi Samurai Legend (AxemRedRanger)
120. Tic-Tac-Toe (Xeybozn)
121. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (handsomeboy2012)
122. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (Axl_Rose_85)
123. Shaq Fu (handsomeboy2012)
124. Monopoly (WhiteLens)

More tomorrow.
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best game I never finished is probably...Etrian Odyssey 3? thats the first thing to come to mind.
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I'm not really a fan of Punch-Out or Super Punch-Out but they're good enough games and I sure as hell never finished either.
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