Board 8 > Leonhart Ranks 124 User Nominated Games: Part 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

aww, nothing about the humor in that writeup?
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I mean I can't talk about everything in these writeups! I gave you a funny GIF at least!

the humor is a secondary appeal anyway
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Hmm, I'd definitely say that about the anime, but not the VN! Humor proportionally is a much more major element there. Tomoya pranking Sunohara too good.
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Sunohara is almost always a secondary character though! His interactions with Tomoya are rarely the focus. They just have more time for it because it's a visual novel.
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LeonhartFour posted...

What is your favorite visual novel?

Probably Higurashi, but Ever17 and The House in Fata Morgana are close enough that it's hard to say for sure.
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Well my guess list is off to a poor start.

Anyway, about Clannad, I really should get back to playing that at some point! I finished two routes and then I got distracted by other things.
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Yeah, I was wondering if you were still playing or not.
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24. Kirby Super Star (Shonen_Bat)


Kirby Super Star is basically a compilation of games conveniently grouped together in one location. They're not all sidescrolling platformer adventures. There are also fun mini-games like Megaton Punch, where you can devastate the entire planet with a strong enough punch, and Samurai Kirby, which is a reaction time game where you have to be the first to push a button once you're given the signal, which is more tense than you might think! There's also Gourmet Race, which is a three-stage series of races against King Dedede. That's probably my least favorite game in Kirby Super Star because, as you might expect, it's not difficult to win, and I'm not a speed runner type of gamer who enjoys trying to beat his own best times. You can also fight all the bosses from every game in a continuous streak in the Arena, which is really fun. The Ultra version of the game has even more bosses, and there's also a Helper to Hero mode where you have to beat the bosses solo as one of Kirby's buddies. That one is really fun because you have to learn how to use each power effectively to win.

As far as the platforming adventures go, the first two (Spring Breeze and Dyna Blade) are fairly short and straightforward games, although I do like the last boss fight in Dyna Blade. They start to mix things up in the Great Cave Offensive, which is a non-linear adventure where the goal isn't just to beat all the levels and bosses, but also to find the various treasures (usually references to other Nintendo franchises) littered throughout. This one might have the best boss in the game with the Computer Virus/Battle Windows, which is a parody of old style RPG battles. Revenge of Meta Knight is a really cool cinematic experience where Kirby goes from place to place as Meta Knight and his flunkies banter about it. I feel like this game was the precursor and/or inspiration for Subspace Emissary with just the way it's laid out, and there's a sense of urgency since you have a time limit on each level. The final battle with Meta Knight and the escape on the Wheelie afterward is a really cool sequence. My favorite game might actually be Milky Way Wishes though. I just like the setting and the worlds here. Plus, this is the one game where you have the various powers in your inventory when you find them, and you can access them whenever you want. The final boss here is very fun and surprisingly challenging for a Kirby game.

I mentioned the Ultra version that came out on the DS about a decade ago, and it added even more games! There's Revenge of the King, which is basically a darker and harder version of Spring Breeze, culminating in a steel cage match against a masked Dedede. The big new one is Meta Knightmare Ultra, where you get to play through all the platforming games as Meta Knight, including his own game, so you have to struggle with the existential crisis of him destroying his own ship! He's nearly as broken in this game as he is in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Seriously, you can tear through all those levels effortlessly with him, so naturally, the only suitable final boss could be an evil Meta Knight clone! Overall, Kirby Super Star was my introduction to the series, and while his games are usually pretty fun, I haven't found one to match this one yet.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite game in Kirby Super Star?

No exact hits here, but lhg was only one spot off, so he was the closest!
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Great Cave Offensive
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3fbo6kelBM
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Dang, my list looking pretty bad already. Favorite game is probably Milky Way Wishes.

Should mention the mini cutscenes Ultra has between games which are adorable.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugn2Ly8pQxk
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Johnbobb posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugn2Ly8pQxk

sorry, that's only a 5/10 theme for a 5/10 character
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those are fighting words, friend
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Johnbobb posted...

those are fighting words, friend

not my words
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NFUN posted...

Johnbobb posted...

those are fighting words, friend

not my words

?
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what is even happening here
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Johnbobb posted...

NFUN posted...

Johnbobb posted...

those are fighting words, friend

not my words

?

That's the score Wickle gave it in his character ranking topic
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NFUN posted...

Johnbobb posted...

NFUN posted...

Johnbobb posted...

those are fighting words, friend

not my words

?

That's the score Wickle gave it in his character ranking topic

ew wickle wtf

9/10 theme for a 9/10 character at least
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oh right I forgot to mention that we did have a surprise entry from user SaveEstelle!

1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 8
3. Final Fantasy 7
4. Metal Gear Solid 3
5. Persona 4
6. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
7. Super Mario Bros 3
8. Mass Effect 3
9. Mass Effect 2
10. Skies of Arcadia
11. Metal Gear Solid
12. Uncharted 2
13. Super Street Fighter 2
14. Uncharted 4
15. Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
16. Mega Man X
17. Super Mario Galaxy
18. Kingdom Hearts 2
19. Donkey Kong Country 2
20. Kirby Super Star
21. Sonic Generations
22. Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter
23. Clannad
24. TMNT 4
25. Super Mario World

so for those of you who were worried about him having "inside information" I think you can safely dispense with those concerns
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He's still doing a lot better than me!
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don't worry I can already say that just about everyone was a good bit off on at least one of their predictions so you can still make up ground
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Yeah, I forgot, but it's fine. Will just continue to read the write ups.
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23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Janus5k)


First of all, I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles growing up. It was one of my favorite series. I watched all the cartoons, the movies, played all the games, and had an insane amount of toys. I still remember getting a Technodrome for Christmas when I was like 5 years old, and it was the best thing ever. Good times. Anyway, like I said, I played a lot of the Ninja Turtles video games, but Turtles in Time has always been my favorite (although I want to give some love to Hyperstone Heist, which was essentially the Genesis version of the game). I'm a big fan of sidescrolling beat-em-ups, and the turtles are a perfect fit for this genre.

Turtles in Time has some fun levels with a wide variety of enemy types and designs due to the time travel mechanic. There are some really good boss fights here, too, with my personal favorites being Slash and Super Shredder. The music is also pretty catchy. I play as all the turtles, although Leonardo will always be my favorite. I think Donatello is considered the best just due to the long reach of his bo staff, but it's not like the game is so hard that it's exceptionally more challenging with a certain one. The gameplay is a lot of fun regardless of which one you play as. Plus, it's a short game, so it doesn't take that long to beat it with all four of them anyway. I like slamming enemies around and throwing them into the screen (Making an entire boss battle around that was pretty neat), as well as getting Pizza Power and spinning all over the screen taking out bad guys. Turtles in Time also has a cheesy charm with a lot of the voice clips, like "Big Apple, 3 A.M." or "My toe! My toe!"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is always something that will bring out the nostalgia goggles for me. It's just such an inextricable part of my childhood. I don't know that Turtles in Time is really that much better than any other beat-em-up out there, but it's usually the one I'll find myself going back to when I'm in the mood for one. If you're a fan of the genre, I think there's always that one in particular you like above all others, even though the games aren't conceptually all that different from each other. Turtles in Time is that one for me.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite beat-em-up?

Exact hit for kateee, but most people had this one in the 20s, so nearly everyone had a good feel for this one!
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Leaderboard after day 1!

kateee - 7
SaveEstelle - 7
The Mana Sword - 7
Eerieka - 8
linkhatesganon - 10
LordoftheMorons - 11
pjbasis - 12
AxemRedRanger - 13
Janus5k - 13
NBIceman - 15
Mac Arrowny - 19
Shonen_Bat - 19
Robazoid - 23
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not bad
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Haha, jokes on you. 8 is my lucky number!

I actually compiled my list sorta randomly and sorta by looking at what other people were saying. >_> Hey, you said they could PM you if they didn't want others to cheat that way! Since I've only been posting regularly for a short time, I felt like I didn't know you as well as anyone else so I needed all the protips I could get.
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hey you do what you gotta do to succeed
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite beat-em-up?

Castle Crashers

man I need to go back and play that again
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22. Mega Man X (Mac Arrowny)


This is my favorite Mega Man game of all the ones I've played. Most of them, I've been content to play once or twice, but I've gone back to Mega Man X many times over. It's probably the only one that I know which Maverick is weak to what weapon off of the top of my head, and I know where all the Dr. Light capsules are. I'm aware that's not any grand achievement. I'm just providing some context for the writeup. Anyway, even the intro level gets you hyped up for the game by forcing you into an unwinnable fight against Vile, only for Zero to save X at the last moment by blasting the mech's arm off. It doesn't feel like Zero only appears twice in the entire game because the dude maximizes both of those times. I think this might have been the first video game I ever played where a hero died (although since Zero is a robot, "death" is pretty cheap in this universe), so that left an impact on me, too.

I like the enhancements of Mega Man X over Classic, like the dash that allows you to make longer jumps than ever before. It's why I always do Chill Penguin's stage first because I just can't handle not having the dash at my disposal. Well, that, and the game essentially wants you to do that stage first. The wall climb also enables Mega Man X to do things in terms of level design that the Classic games couldn't do. There's also something cool about getting all the upgrades and watching X gradually change from being pure blue in color to white. The new look just conveys that you're getting more powerful for some reason. Plus, the game gives you an awesome bonus by allowing you to get the Hadouken once you've gotten all the upgrades, and it's a one-hit kill that you can only use at full health. As such, you don't get to use it that often, but it's extremely satisfying if you actually manage to nail a boss with it.

As I've repeatedly said when talking about Mega Man games, the appeals largely come from the bosses and their powers. Mega Man X has a classic lineup of Mavericks, with my personal favorites being Spark Mandrill, Storm Eagle, and Boomer Kuwanger. I like the fact that the weaknesses have a visible effect on the bosses, like literally shocking Armored Armadillo's armor off of him. Mega Man X also has an excellent soundtrack. It's got more of a rock and roll vibe to it than the Classic games do, which is ironic, considering the Rockman and Roll puns there! I still need to play the Playstation Mega Man X games one of these days, as well as Mega Man Zero, because I generally prefer these games to the Classic ones.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Mega Man X game?

Exact hit for both Mac and lhg!
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MMX1-3 are all pretty much perfect games IMO. I was disappointed in MMX4 for some reason (maybe because I only played through it as Zero?), and found X5 to be insanely hard compared to any other MM games.
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Wasn't that big on the X series, but I enjoyed the first one.
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21. Kingdom Hearts II (Raka_Putra)


Kingdom Hearts II diverged from the original in many ways. It decided to attempt to leave its own imprint instead of focusing as much on the Disney/Square crossover aspect. That stuff is still there in a big way, but it introduces a bunch of new characters of its own (as well as carrying over some new characters from Chain of Memories, which many people probably didn't play before this because it was a card game on Game Boy Advance) to try to tell a story of its own through Organization XIII and the Nobodies. This was the beginning of the series' descent into convolutedness (although I don't think it's as bad as its reputation suggests) since it creates some inherently self-contradictory terminology and plot points with how Nobodies and Heartless work. I don't really mind it though because I'm usually fond of video game stories that go over the top with its craziness. Plus, I loved Roxas and his character arc during this game. He's very sympathetic because he gets stuck in a no-win situation through no fault of his own, and he's somehow a more layered character than Sora despite the fact that he supposedly has no emotions...!

Kingdom Hearts II also sacrificed some of the substance of the first game's battle system in favor of more style. And you know what? I'm totally good with it. As I've repeatedly said, good presentation goes a long way for me. This game's flash and flair are impressive. Some people didn't like Reaction Commands because they made things too easy, but I loved them because they made things look more awesome. The gameplay is still really fun, even if I don't think I ever got a game over in the main game. There are even a select few fights where Mickey Mouse can come and bail you out if you run out of HP, with the Xaldin fight being the most memorable one. I've still never seen him show up! Speaking of Xaldin, I loved the Organization XIII fights in this game. They were all really fun, and the Final Mix version added a bunch of new ones. I need to go back and do all those at some point!

As far as favorite parts of the game, I think the Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion is by far the best. It's super intense, and it brings a bunch of the game's most important characters together. You get to fight side by side with the major Final Fantasy characters in the game, and you get your first real Organization XIII fight, too. Finally, you top it off with the 1000 Heartless battle, which epitomizes the game's style over substance philosophy because Reaction Commands and lower level enemies make it very easy, but it's a cool concept. I loved the game's final world, too. It's got a great atmosphere, and it's fun to fight your way through it. Kingdom Hearts II had some curious design decisions (like turning Atlantica into a rhythm game), but for the most part, they worked for me, so that's why it's my favorite one.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Kingdom Hearts game?

Several people were way off on this one, although pjbasis only missed by one spot!
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Not surprised I guessed poorly on that one. I always assume people like KH more than I do, so I tend to rank it higher for other peoples' guesses. In my case, I played KH1 when it came out and enjoyed it well enough. But then I had friends and cousins who wanted to play it, but all sucked at it and wanted me to do all the fighting. I've probably had to play through the Alice in Wonderland stage at least eight times and somewhere around the fifth time, a part of my brain broke and I decided I couldn't stand the game anymore.

I couldn't get through the tutorial part of KH2. Not sure I can even explain why. Something about it just didn't work out between us.

So yeah, KH1 is both my favorite and the only one I've played to any significant degree.
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2
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Well, I don't blame you for that! Wonderland isn't a great world.
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whiffed on that one
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LeonhartFour posted...

he's somehow a more layered character than Sora

Not exactly a high bar.

Ill hold myself back from any more.
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that was the joke
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It's hard for me to tell when a lot of people would take that 100% seriously.
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20. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (LeonhartFour)


That intro where Ryu gradually builds up to throwing a Hadouken directly at the screen was absolutely amazing back in the day. That might have been the moment I learned to appreciate the value of presentation in video games! Now during the '90s, Capcom released five different versions of the game (and have somehow released three more versions since then, including one just last year!). If you grew up on Street Fighter II, you probably have one "definitive" version of it that you loved more than the others. I imagine for most people, it was either Turbo or Super Turbo. For me, it was this one. I liked the full roster of fighters here, and they made several additions and revisions to the movesets (This is the first time Ryu and Ken really started feeling like they had different fighting styles), but I wasn't a fan of some of the changes Super Turbo made (The Alpha games perfected that style of gameplay for me), so I prefer vanilla Super Street Fighter II.

As far as characters go, Ryu has been my favorite most of the time, although I've played with and beaten the single player Arcade mode with every character. I liked experimenting with the new movesets, like Ryu's new fireball that actually sets people on fire. Then you have the four new characters, with Cammy being the best of the bunch. I liked Dee Jay a lot, too, although he's an exception for me in terms of the type of character I usually pick. I tend to prefer fighters whose special moves are motion-based rather than charged, so I don't use characters like Balrog or Guile that often. That being said, most of my friends were bad at fighting games, so I could win with anybody, so it's not like it mattered.

One of my favorite features of Super Street Fighter II was its Tournament Battle mode, where you can have up to sixteen fighters compete. You can rotate around between players if you want, but I actually preferred to watch all-CPU tournaments. I don't know what it was about it, but it was a lot of fun to watch and try to guess who would win. This was the first fighting game I can think of that had something akin to this. I would also occasionally do this weird thing where I would hook it up to a Game Genie, input the code that gives you infinite health, and host tournaments with that cheat enabled. I don't know how the game determined who would win after time ran out, but I guess it had some sort of system in place to figure it out since there was never a draw! I'm not sure if Super Street Fighter II is my favorite game in the series (It's close between this, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Super Street Fighter IV), but it's probably the one I've invested the most time in over the years.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Street Fighter game?

Exact hits for Roba, kateee, LotM, and Kleenex! This was another game most people had pretty low, so no major damage done either way.
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Leaderboard after day 2!

pjbasis - 18
kateee - 19
The Mana Sword - 19
linkhatesganon - 22
Mac Arrowny - 23
SaveEstelle - 23
LordoftheMorons - 25
Janus5k - 27
AxemRedRanger - 28
NBIceman - 29
Eerieka - 32
Robazoid - 39
Shonen_Bat - 43
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Little bit of catch-up.

Favorite beat-'em-up is a toss up between Streets of Rage 2 and Dungeons and Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara.

Favorite Mega Man X is the original.

Favorite KH is the original, although 2 is very very close.

Favorite SF is IV.
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I'm more interested in KH2 compared to the first game, but from what I gather I should start with the original.
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Favorite Mega Man X game

1 > 4 >>> 2 > 3 >>> 5 > 8 >>>>> 7 > 6

Favorite Kingdom Hearts game

2 > 1 >>> BBS >>>>> 358/2 Days > CoM

Havent played DDD and Coded yet

Favorite Street Fighter game

4 > 2 > 3 > Alpha 2 > Alpha 3 > Alpha > 5 >>>>> 1 > EX2 > EX > EX3

The original Street Fighter doesn't belong anywhere but on the bottom.
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here is me ranking all the street fighters I've played

4
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19. Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End (SaveEstelle)


As you can see by the fact that I have two Uncharted games in the top 25, I'm a big fan of the series. I thought Uncharted 3 would be the end of the series, at least with Nathan Drake as the protagonist, since that was supposed to be his "last job" and all, so I was pleasantly surprised when they announced a fourth game to be his "one last job." Perhaps my one big complaint about the first three games is that they never really delve into Nate's past and how he became who he is. The third game teased you with a few little things, but A Thief's End gives you some real content of substance in that department. The primary source for that here is given through the introduction of Nate's brother, Sam. I'm actually not a big fan of the character, but he helped give me something I'd wanted for four games, so I had to live with it.

To no one's surprise, the game looks beautiful. Uncharted 4 literally takes you all over the world, so you have diversity in the types of locations to explore. The series' trademark parkour is as good as ever, although it feels like they scaled back the setpieces a little bit. The biggest improvement is the combat. The areas are humongous now and have plenty of stuff to use as cover, so you can realistically use stealth to take down enemies now. The AI is smarter now, both for your partner and for the bad guys, which makes the gameplay more challenging and satisfying overall. The combat has evolved from something immensely frustrating in the original game to something that's actually enjoyable by the fourth game, so I've got to give Naughty Dog props for that.

Now my biggest concern with Uncharted 4 was how they would conclude Nate's story. The series has generally not been great with its final bosses and endings, so my apprehension was justified. Thankfully, the game allayed my fears. The entire final area and subsequent revelations were all really good, and I thought the last boss was very fun. Best of all, the ending was touching, and I thought it was a perfect conclusion to Nate's story. I was very happy with how they wrapped up his part in the series. I don't know if it will continue without him, although they left the door open for it. I'll be there for it if they do, but he'll be a tough act to follow.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Uncharted game?

Several people had this finishing at the bottom for some reason, but Roba and Shonen_Bat were both only one spot off!
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Not too far off there, I'll take it.

Never played an Uncharted game.
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i've only beaten 4 games in the top 25 (and played any significant amount of 3 others or so), so i'm just gonna comment on clannad (the anime - i haven't played the VN)

the first half was mostly not good IMO. most of the characters seemed like they had potential until they were actually explored, at which point they dropped off for me (kotomi was the worst offender; people thinking her music was bad just wasn't funny)

but the love story told in after story, combined with the reality of slow-moving, uninteresting life after graduation - outright incredible.

favorite VN, where you literally don't control a character on a screen at all - fate/stay night. if we're broader with game definitions, then of course it's one of the ace attorney series.
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