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

(+) Yeah! (+)

Mobilezoid posted...

Ashley is the obvious best

it's getting to the point where I'm honestly wondering if you're just trolling all of us and you don't actually mean any of this
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I worry about people thinking that about me sometimes but I swear I come by all of my opinions honestly!
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it's just uncanny how you consistently have terrible characters as your favorites
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Garrus, Tali and Wrex

Easy answers

14. Super Mario World (kateee)


As should be made clear by the fact that I have three Mario games in the top 15 and in the highest tier, I'm a big fan of this series. Mario is basically the series of my childhood because I spent untold hours playing the first four games over and over again, not to mention all the spinoffs. There have been many debates over the last 25 years over which 2-D Mario game is the best between Mario 3 and Mario World, but it's always been pretty clear cut to me. That's not a knock on this game, but we'll get more into comparisons when the other one shows up later on. Mario World is still an amazing game with some awesome level designs and a great aesthetic sense. It's a very colorful and vivid game, and it's got dinosaurs galore, most notably Yoshi, who trivializes the difficulty in this game in a lot of ways, which is probably why they banned him from Ghost Houses, fortresses, and castles. Yoshi is basically an infinite free hit as long as you can keep catching him. His long tongue gives you a lot of leeway with enemies since you have a drastic reach advantage over them as long as they can't shoot projectiles. You can sacrifice Yoshi to give you an extra boost on your jump or to make up for your mistake if you mess up. The Blue Yoshi in particular is broken, since he can fly with any Koopa Troopa in his mouth, shoot out flames when he spits them out, and creates a ground pound tremor any time he lands from flight or a jump. Now I've made it clear that I don't value difficulty that highly, so I don't care how easy Yoshi makes the game because he's super fun to use.

Now I'll go on the record and say I'm not a fan of the cape. It exists to help you reach otherwise inaccessible areas, but it can also be used to allow you to skip over large chunks of levels without having to do any of the platforming. I generally avoided using it for that purpose, but I usually wasn't very good at controlling flight in Mario World anyway. It is good for slowing your descent to make it easier to make precise landings, which is helpful, too. I just thought it was weird that this game scaled back on the power-ups big time after how many Mario 3 had. I guess you don't really need anything here other than the cape and Yoshi. They're more than enough to let you breeze through the game.

As much as I said I enjoyed using Yoshi before, many of my favorite levels are the ones where you can't use him. I love the Ghost Houses, fortresses, and castles. The music for them is really cool and adds to the tension, and there are platforming elements and enemies you only encounter here. When you want a challenge in Super Mario World, this is where you go, along with the Star Road and Special Road, which I also loved. They are really cool bonus areas, and it was fun trying to find all the secret routes to get there. They don't mess around either. They're all constantly trying to confuse you, crush you, and drop you into bottomless pits. One of the most fun things in Mario World in general is the fact that they have so many secret rooms and exits to find, and locating them all feels like a big accomplishment. The game's design philosophy revolves around its secrets moreso than on pure platforming (the layout of the level, enemy placement, etc.).

Overall, my favorite areas were the Forest of Illusion and Choco Valley. My favorite Koopaling fight was Ludwig von Koopa, since he was the only one who didn't have another boss fight that was exactly the same. I'm also a huge fan of the final boss fight here. It has great presentation and atmosphere, with the progressing phases of the Koopa Klown Kar, Toadstool throwing out items to help Mario between those phases, and just the craziness of trying to land that final hit as he bounces all over the place. It was a great way to end the game and one of my favorite final bosses in a series that has a bunch of great ones.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Mario game?
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kateee and AxemRedRanger were only one off on that one!

Leaderboard after day 4!

kateee - 34
pjbasis - 44
Janus5k - 45
AxemRedRanger - 47
The Mana Sword - 48
linkhatesganon - 51
NBIceman - 54
Mac Arrowny - 55
LordoftheMorons - 56
SaveEstelle - 60
Shonen_Bat - 63
Eerieka - 64
Robazoid - 66
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Mario game?

Odyssey > Galaxy 2 > Galaxy > World > 3D World > Bros. 3 > Bros. > 64 > 3D Land > NSMB Wii > NSMB U > Bros. 2 > Sunshine > NSMB > NSMB 2 > Land 2 > Land

- Odyssey is a Top 10 game for me
- Galaxy 2 and 1 are Top 20 games
- World is Top 50 and 3D World is Top 100

Super Mario Galaxy. Probably Mario 3 out of the 2D ones.

Third from last, really moving up in the world. My predictions haven't even been that far off but I missed Mega Man/Kirby/Uncharted by a mile.
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Do you mean mainline Mario? If so then Super Mario Sunshine.

Otherwise it's Paper Mario TTYD.
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let's make it overall Mario so you have a good answer
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Garrus was my favorite squadmate. I love me some snipers.

Welp, I sure did tank hard going from being only 1 away from the top to being second-last. Ah well, not like I expected anything less.
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well we're only halfway through the list so you can still turn it around...!
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Overall Paper Mario
Platformers probably Super Mario World, but possibly Odyssey.
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Tali is the best ME squadmate, followed by Wrex, then Mordin, then Garrus. It drops off after that.

Ashley as the best is definitely an opinion, that's for sure.
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Oof way wrong about the me games
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I thought my Mass Effect hierarchy was pretty well known, so I was kinda surprised so many people got that backwards...!
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Think it's time to catch up on the entire topic, actually.

What is your favorite FPS?
Team Fortress 2.

Which Portal game is your favorite?
Portal 2.

What is your favorite Xeno game?
Xenoblade.

What is your favorite game with multiple endings?
Undertale.

What is your favorite RPG battle system?
Probably FFX. For action RPGs, Tales of Graces f.

What is your favorite Zelda game?
Majora's Mask.

What is your favorite Shadow Hearts game?
The original.

What is your favorite Umineko episode?
1 or 7.

Who is your favorite Metal Gear character?
Solid Snake.

Which Final Fantasy has your favorite soundtrack?
Final Fantasy IX.

What is your favorite SNES RPG?
Earthbound.

What is your favorite multiplayer N64 game?
Goldeneye.

What is the most stylish game you've ever played?
Persona 5.

What is your favorite GameCube game?
Skies of Arcadia: Legends.

What is your favorite Ace Attorney epic case?
2-4.

What's the main appeal of Kingdom Hearts to you: Disney, Final Fantasy, or the original content?
The mixture.

What is your favorite video game soundtrack?
Nier 1.

Who is your Smash Bros. main?
Captain Falcon in Melee, Ike in Brawl, Shulk in SSB4.

What is your favorite non-epic Ace Attorney case?
3-4.

What is your favorite cast in a video game?
Dragon Age: Origins.

Who is your favorite video game protagonist?
Solid Snake.

What is your favorite visual novel?
Phoenix Wright 3.

What is your favorite Kingdom Hearts game?
Kingdom Hearts 2.

Have you played a game because of a GameFAQs contest?
Quite a few. This site basically introduced me to Square.

What is your favorite Western franchise?
Fallout.

Skipped the questions that don't really apply to me.
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I knew you really liked 3, but I thought you just talked about it more because your opinion on it was farther from consensus!
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Yeah, I guess that's true. I'll ramble about that soon enough.
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LordoftheMorons posted...

I knew you really liked 3, but I thought you just talked about it more because your opinion on it was farther from consensus!

same
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Paper Mario TTYD is probably my favorite Mario game overall, though it's hard to compare to the platformers.

World or Galaxy 2 for core series, though I'm still not sure where Odyssey goes.
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Favorite Mario game is likely 64.
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Aww I'm all out of nominations.
Though I do agree with your assessment of KH2.
As for my favorite...probably KH2. I enjoyed BBS too but sometimes it feels too serious and lonely.
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13. Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter (NFUN)


I'm actually in the middle of replaying this game right now! When it comes to Board 8 Flavors of the Month, I tend to be initially resistant, especially when you have pockets of the fanbase who try to make you play it because it's better than whatever thing you like is, which is a surefire way to make sure I don't play something for a long time (like Xenoblade). Trails in the Sky has its share of those people, too, but it's also got some pretty chill fans, so I decided to give it a shot (although I managed to do it without telling Board 8 about it somehow, unlike everyone else). Most of the time, I appreciate the game when I finally do relent, but I value my stubbornness too much to give it up! Anyway, I've already talked at length about Trails in general in the First Chapter writeup, so I won't repeat myself here.

Second Chapter is basically the first game, just bigger and better. All the same party members return (with a few temporary guests thrown in for good measure from time to time), but now they have access to stronger Arts and Crafts (not to be confused with the hobby of making stuff with your own hands). You can even do Craft Chains now, where multiple party members attack at the same time. Perhaps the best thing is the fact that nearly all of the party members join permanently fairly early on, so you can have your party of choice or rotate them around instead of them coming and going as the plot demanded it, like it was in First Chapter. The game still takes place in Liberl and you'll spend the first half or so of the game going back to the same towns you visited in the first game, but the tone of the game is more serious and the scale of the plot is bigger. You're not just a couple of newbies going around the country foiling local schemes, but now you're veterans who are trying to stop a secret society from gaining access to a potentially world-altering power. You'll get to visit a bunch of new locations in the second half of the game, too, so it's not a simple retread in that regard.

As I stated, Second Chapter takes itself more seriously than the first game does. The humor still manifests itself from time to time, but it's less frequent. The focus of this game is on Estelle's unwavering determination to protect and save what's most important to her, and it's mesmerizing to watch. The game is full of emotionally powerful moments (and not just from Estelle), which I'll gladly exchange for a little less humor. The end of chapter 6 in particular is a top tier video game moment for me. I think the way they paced the first two Trails in the Sky games was magnificent. They slowly rope you in with a lighthearted tale and let you get attached to the characters before plunging them into a massive "save the world" adventure, and at that point, you're too invested to back out. Second Chapter has a strong ending, too, which is probably why I haven't been in any hurry to continue the series. I'll get there eventually, but First and Second Chapter combine for a very satisfying experience.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Trails game?

Rankings for this one were all over the place, but LotM gets an exact hit!
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Not quite done it yet, but Cold Steel 1 blows away the five previous games.
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SC > The Third >= FC
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LeonhartFour posted...

What is your favorite Trails game?

My order is probably SC > 3rd > FC > Cold Steel 1 > Cold Steel 2.

Practically speaking though it's more like Sky 1 = Sky 2 = Sky 3 > Cold Steel 1 = Cold Steel 2
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Still really want to play Zero/Ao even despite the fact I think I've been spoiled on nearly every major plot twist in those games by now.
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hey, at least you probably didn't get spoiled on the best twist

CS1 > Ao > SC > Zero > 3rd = FC is probably how I'd rank the series? Not a fan of 3rd or FC, but the rest are pretty good.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

hey, at least you probably didn't get spoiled on the best twist

General note for others: This post is hinting at what I believe are pretty major spoilers for Zero/Ao no Kiseki, so you have been warned.

Anyways I suspect this isn't true unfortunately. At least, I've been spoiled on something that both seems major and has been described as major/one of the most significant twists in the series by everyone I've seen talk about it, and also has almost nothing to do with anything from the other games other than possibly the beginning of Cold Steel 1. (which means you would have no reason to suspect I've been spoiled on it.) I will say that it involves the character of KeA and just leave it at that in case other people are reading this.

I'm sort of pissed also actually because this was the one thing I was spoiled on that wasn't really my fault. Most of the spoilers have been from me overzealously browsing the Kiseki wiki, but this one was due to someone poorly noting what games their spoilers were from. (They were discussing the beginning of Cold Steel 1 and how it might relate to this particular spoiler, but the way they gave the warning made it sound like it was entirely Cold Steel spoilers to me.)
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Just ranking the ones I've actually played, SC > CS1 = CS2 > 3rd > FC

I watched at least partial playthroughs of both Crossbell games and they'd maybe both be above the Cold Steels? Hard to judge from just watching but they seemed great.
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Tbh what I've heard about the Crossbell games makes it feel almost like they combine the things I like most about both Sky and Cold Steel, so I'm almost positive I'd love them. Also Crossbell seems like the most popular arc among people who have played the whole series.
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12. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (SaveEstelle)


I am thankful that user SaveEstelle nominated this game so I didn't have to, because I couldn't have a list without a Ratchet & Clank game on it! I remember getting into this series back in the day because it had fantastic commercials featuring live actors using the weapons from the games to hilariously disastrous effect (like turning people into chickens). Naturally, the weapons and gadgets are a large part of the appeal with this series because there's a wide variety, and most of them are viable (or at least have situational usefulness). Plus, much of the environment was destructible, so it was fun just to blow stuff up for the heck of it. Insomniac also did an excellent job of recognizing what the weak points were in one game and fixing them in the next. Each of the mainline Playstation 2 games is better than the one before it, culminating in one of the best games on the system in Up Your Arsenal (The less said about Deadlocked, the better).

Tools of Destruction, the first of the Playstation 3 games, was a bit of a step back, but that was partially because the series started moving in a different direction here. The Playstation 2 trilogy was very lighthearted all the way through, with practically no serious plot to speak of, which was fine, because the comedic writing for them is some of the best around. They started trying to tell a more serious story starting with Tools of Destruction, primarily to fill in the backstory for the two main characters. I don't know that anyone was necessarily clamoring for this, so it felt a little weird at first. Maybe I'd look back on it more fondly with a replay now that I know what I'm getting into because the gameplay was as good as ever, and it's just a beautiful looking game. Plus, they managed to sell me on all of it with A Crack in Time (Fun Fact: The originally proposed title was "Clock Blockers," but Sony thought that pun was a little too on the nose, I guess!).

First of all, the gameplay and weaponry is as good as ever. My personal favorites are the Tesla Spikes and Mr. Zurkon (who is always looking to kill you). However, probably the thing that puts A Crack in Time at the top of the Ratchet & Clank series for me is the time puzzles. Clank has been one of my favorite characters since his debut, and they gradually gave him more and better solo segments, culminating in these puzzles. They're really fun and challenging to solve without ever really getting frustrating. They gradually get more complex as you go along and as they add new elements to them, but the learning curve is very manageable. I solved all of them without ever having to look up the solution for any of them, and that felt like a big accomplishment for me!

Since I mentioned that the series took a turn for the serious with the story here, I suppose I should mention that I think they did a really good job with it. There's one moment in particular ("I wouldn't risk any more than six minutes") that got to me way more than I ever thought possible with Ratchet & Clank. The smartest move was bringing back Dr. Nefarious as the primary antagonist though. I absolutely love this guy. He's one of my favorite villains. He's got a really unique motivation and goal in A Crack in Time, which is simultaneously intriguing and comical. The boss battles against him are always top notch, too, and this game is no exception. I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more, but play Ratchet & Clank.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite series that debuted during the Playstation 2/GameCube/Xbox generation?

No exact hits, but kateee, Janus, and pj each only missed by one spot!
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Never given much thought to R&C but it sounds pretty cool actually.

If Metroid Prime counts it's easily that. If not then uh, God of War I guess?
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Well Trails debuted during that generation on a handheld so I guess I'll say that?
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11. Final Fantasy VII (Eerieka)


You never forget your first time with your favorite series, and that's certainly the case with me and Final Fantasy VII. Now I did not play RPGs in my early childhood. The very first RPG I played was Super Mario RPG, which came out when I was ten, and Final Fantasy VII was the second, which came out when I was eleven. I was familiar with the name "Final Fantasy" since I read a lot of gaming magazines (I had a subscription to GamePro for over ten years), but I had never been drawn in by it until I started seeing all the previews for this one. It looked like nothing I had ever seen before, with all the stunning visuals (at least in the FMVs and the pre-rendered backgrounds) and the cyberpunk elements. Midgar in particular was one of the most incredible locations I had ever witnessed in a video game. I remember being somewhat downcast when we had to leave the city because I would've been content to spend the entire game there.

When I finally got Final Fantasy VII and began playing it, it was everything I thought it could be and more. It sucked me in right away and mesmerized me from start to finish. Imagine my surprise when the game started throwing "mature" themes at me like rescuing a girl from a pimp while cross-dressing as a woman, and the characters (Barret and Cid in particular) spat out obscenities left and right. Keep in mind that I was eleven years old at the time, so this was pretty mind-blowing for someone like me to see stuff like that in a video game. This was the first time video games felt...adult to me, for lack of a better word. On top of that, the main character was an enhanced super soldier with a huge sword and ridiculously spiky hair (who could ride a motorcycle for good measure) traveling around with a black dude with a gun-arm and a martial arts chick with sex appeal to the max while trying to stop a silver-haired guy with an even bigger sword. Seriously, to a middle school kid who had never experienced anything like this in a video game before, Final Fantasy VII was the coolest thing ever.

Then there's the fact that this game was telling this epic, sprawling story that didn't totally make sense, but that was honestly part of the appeal back then. It was "deep." At that age, you stop wanting to be a kid and start wanting to be more like an adult, so you're naturally drawn to things that may go over your head a little bit while you posture and pretend to understand them anyway. Heck, that was Cloud's character arc in a nutshell, too, which made him even cooler than he already was. I found out that he was really an antisocial loner growing up, and suddenly, I feel like he's just like me! That was the magic of Final Fantasy VII. Then there was the fact that this was the first game to really make me "feel" anything emotionally about a character when Aerith...well, you know. Square knew exactly what they were doing and who they were targeting with this game, and they did a masterful job of it.

Obviously, I don't still believe it's the greatest thing ever, but I'll always remember how it made me feel back then. I think it's a great game even today, so don't think this is just me viewing everything through rose-colored glasses. I still play these Golden Era Final Fantasy games every so often, and they always remind me why this is my favorite series and probably always will be.

Bonus Question: What is the first game you played in your favorite series?
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No exact hits, but NBIceman and AxemRedRanger only missed by one. Several people missed this one by a lot!

Leaderboard after day 5!

kateee - 47
AxemRedRanger - 58
NBIceman - 59
Janus5k - 60
pjbasis - 60
linkhatesganon - 65
The Mana Sword - 65
LordoftheMorons - 69
Mac Arrowny - 69
Eerieka - 75
Shonen_Bat - 75
SaveEstelle - 80
Robazoid - 86
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4 of the games I selected are still alive. I don't think any of them will be in the Top 2 so I think it's about time a bunch them start falling.
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Well, 40% of the top ten is still pretty incredible!
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Making a comeback! Think kateee has this pretty well locked up though.

Favorite Mario game: Paper Mario for overall, 64 for platformers

Favorite Trails game: Only played FC so far

Favorite series that debuted in PS2/GC/XB generation: I guess I'll have to say KH purely on the strength of the two mainline games

First game from my favorite series: Tales of Symphonia
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I was actually just going for a bunch of Board 8 games when I made the list and only after that I sort of realized that they were all going to rank pretty highly.
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well what can I say

I am the quintessential Board 8er I guess
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is the first game you played in your favorite series?

Dragon Warrior Monsters (which my mom actually got me and my brother for Christmas without either of us asking for it; apparently she went to Gamestop and asked if they had anything similar to Pokemon, so good job to that random Gamestop employee for introducing me to my favorite series!)
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Favorite Trails game

SC > FC

I've only beaten the first two T*** games so far and I didn't get very far in 3rd.

Haven't played Cold Steel yet but I'm very interested in those games.

Favorite series that debuted in the PS2/GC/XBOX era

Kingdom Hearts

First game in my favorite series

Final Fantasy IV, but I had no clue what I was doing (I must have been like 6 or 7) and never got past Mt. Ordeals.

Final Fantasy VI is the first one I went on to beat.

Favorite PS2/GC/Xbox franchise is a toughy. Can't really think of many franchises I'm very into that started then. Probably Phoenix Wright if you count that, or Knights of the Old Republic.
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For some reason, even as a kid, FF7 never grabbed me. I respect it for the place it has in gaming history but yeah. I think I would like it more if you never left Midgar.

Bonus Question: What is the first game you played in your favorite series?

Demon's Souls. Basically bought a PS3 for it and it was totally worth it.
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I got about halfway through FFVII before quitting because I didn't know what to do after the submarine section and I didn't want to look it up right then and there.
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I'm not even sure what my favorite series is.
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LinkMarioSamus posted...

I got about halfway through FFVII before quitting because I didn't know what to do after the submarine section and I didn't want to look it up right then and there.

I don't know how you could ever not know what to do in FFVII. For its problems, a lack of clear direction isn't ever one of them.
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I acknowledge I probably missed something. I was playing very sporadically anyway (took me two and a half years to get to the halfway mark).

I think I found some item and needed to place it somewhere, but I don't remember.
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