Board 8 > Leonhart Ranks 124 User Nominated Games: The Top Five

(+) Yeah! (+)

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Team Rocket Elite)


My current top three has been an unassailable triumvirate for at least a decade now. I don't know what it would take for another game to break into this group at this point. Metal Gear Solid 3 was the first real look at Big Boss for much of the fanbase since many didn't play the original two Metal Gear games. I love the story because this marks his start to darkness, and it's such a bittersweet loss of innocence tale. This is what elevates Big Boss to the top of my favorite Metal Gear characters because I love a well executed tragic hero. It's just painful at times to see the earnest naivete of Naked Snake, knowing what he will eventually become. In particular, there's a moment where Eva delivers him a message from The Boss, which says, "I've never seen someone with such clear eyes." Speaking of the eyes, while Big Boss doesn't openly express his feelings through speech, you can glean so much just from watching his eyes and his body language. Just look at his eyes during the scene where The Boss tells him she's defecting to the Soviet Union. During the ending, he doesn't say a single thing, but you know exactly how he's feeling the entire time because his actions and his expressions tell you all you need to know. It's emotionally very powerful, and it's why the enduring image of the series is that salute.

Of course, while Big Boss is the best character here, there are many other good ones here. Metal Gear Solid 3 has my favorite support crew in the series. I can literally spend over an hour at the very beginning just talking to everyone on the radio without the game ever repeating itself. If I ever find something new, I'll equip it and call everyone on the radio just to see what they have to say about it. I'll save on every screen just to hear Para-Medic talk about movies. The cast chemistry here is just outstanding. I even like Metal Gear Solid 3's cast of villains. Everyone will talk about how great The Boss and Ocelot are here, which goes without saying, but I found myself really appreciating Volgin, too. He's one of those guys you love to hate, and you just want to take him down because he's such an evil scumbag. I know many complain about the Cobra Unit because they're mostly flat characters, but I do like what they represent in terms of the theme of the game. I also love the fact that they're all over the top representations of a single emotion, so they provide so much good cheese. The Sorrow is actually my favorite member of the Cobra Unit, including The Boss herself. I just think he's really cool, and that boss "fight" against him is a neat concept. Most of the boss fights here are super fun because the game gives you multiple ways to defeat them all, so it's enjoyable to just experiment with different things.

Metal Gear Solid 3 changed the style of gameplay for the series going forward, since Naked Snake is sneaking through wide open jungle areas for most of the game instead of being stuck in a single, sterile structure the entire game like in the first two Metal Gear Solids. They even had to completely redo the camera in the Subsistence port because they realized the traditional top-down camera didn't work anymore. I know people criticize the fact that you spend so much time in menus, whether it's changing camo, healing wounds, or eating food, but it never bothered me that much. There's just so much variety in the gameplay, and I like the fact that you can go Rambo in the jungle now if you get caught. I'm never that guy who doesn't try to kill enemies, so I like the fact that the game made it feasible to completely clear out an area. Metal Gear Solid 3 takes a while to open up completely, but I believe the stretch of the game from The End to the end is one of the best things I've ever played. What a thrill!

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Metal Gear?

Unsurprisingly, a lot of people got this one right!
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I wonder if I would've liked MGS3 much more if I'd played Subsistence instead of Snake Eater...

My strategy in MGS3 was to knock enemies out and then kill them with the knife once they were on the ground, which made The Sorrow's fight painful.

Did you play the original MG games?
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I've never played the original Metal Gear games, no.

I did read Slowbeef's LPs of them though, which is good enough, I think...!

But yeah, the new camera alone in Subsistence makes Metal Gear Solid 3 a much better experience.
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I absolutely hate the stealth genre. The gameplay always feels so monotonous, and I don't find the thrill in waiting for enemies to pass by before I can continue on. It just feels like waiting to me.

MGS3 is a damn masterpiece though. I'll probably never replay it, but Big Boss is such an engaging character.
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Favorite MGS game is the first one, but IMO 1/2/3 are all around the same level of quality. 3 might be my favorite but I need to finish it again before I confirm.
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i've only played mgs3, 1, and 2 (in that order), but 3 is my favorite. it's my favorite fully voice-acted game of all time, i think, and it's not particularly close. big boss is one of the GOAT characters in games that value gameplay over story. and the soundtrack on that game is insane. it's probably my favorite video game where the player gets to shoot people with a gun.

i got stuck at the first mgs4 boss when i played the game in like 2013 and never managed to beat it
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MGS3 is a bad stealth game so someone who doesn't like them should like it more I think. I always get impatient with it towards the end and start just running through shotgunning everyone because yeah the stealth gameplay is bad in it. Worst in the series really.

All that being said MGS2 is my favorite but I do really like MGS3. It's my second favorite in the series despite having the worst stealth gameplay in the series. Just has a better story and cast of characters than the other games. Even beats MGS2 in this regard overall, (though I like Raiden and the end of MGS2 more than any character or moment in MGS3) but MGS2's gameplay is much much better to me. I prefer Big Boss to Solid Snake too-- he's basically got a lot of the good aspects of Solid, minus most of the things that irk me.

And I'd say reading slowbeef > playing the original metal gear games. They're just not very good, on the NES at least. They're playable but nothing even fans of the series need to experience.
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SeabassDebeste posted...

i got stuck at the first mgs4 boss when i played the game in like 2013 and never managed to beat it

Laughing Octopus is pretty hard the first time through, I'll admit.
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the first time? i tried for like 3 hours man

and then another hour on a later day!
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only stealth games I've played are Assassin's Creed, Batman Arkham and MGS

I feel like the stealth aspects of the MGS games before MGS3 are pretty bad because you either have to kill someone and stuff them in a locker or wait for their patrol to finish

MGS3 was where it opened up and you could change your camo and crawl through places to avoid detection. Then it got ridiculously easy in MGS4 where you just have to set the octocamo to auto and crawl through everything.

MGSV was where the true stealth began with absolutely perfect gameplay. You can play stealth in so many way by avoiding enemies by infiltrating at night, have your buddies mark/kill, use the chopper to just mow down the enemy or hell just drop in a tank and start running people over. Don't want to deal with a whole base chasing you down? Just use a sniper rifle and kill the target from far away and then get on your chopper and leave.
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I mean the first time you play the game

It took me forever to beat her, too, but I can beat her on the first try whenever I replay it now.
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I need to play this again, if only just to talk with Paradise Medic about, nnn, how does it taste?
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My favorite Metal Gear is 3, but I think I might prefer 2's gameplay by a bit (though 3's is also great).
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in terms of story 2 is my favorite
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Mega Mana posted...

I need to play this again, if only just to talk with Paradise Medic about, nnn, how does it taste?

that's one heck of an auto correct
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good gif
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Favorite 3D platformer is Super Mario Galaxy 2

Favorite Metal Gear is Metal Gear Solid 3

So yeah, good list!
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2. Final Fantasy X (Eerieka)


Final Fantasy X was the end of an era for the series in many ways, and it served as a transitional game to what the series is now. It was the first game in the series to spawn a sequel, which was outrageous at the time (I still remember when that image of Yuna wearing booty shorts and dual wielding guns first leaked. Literally nobody knew what to do with that), but now it's commonplace. It was the first Final Fantasy game with voice acting, realistic facial expressions, and all that fancy stuff that technology didn't let them do before. It's a little rough around the edges in those areas at times, and it shows. It's honestly part of the charm of it to me though. I'm one of those people who thinks the laughing scene is unironically funny since it's supposed to be cheesy on purpose.

My first playthrough with Final Fantasy X was a magical experience. I managed to go into it mostly blind with only very basic details. It really helped me to identify with Tidus because he was just as much of a stranger to Spira as I was. As he learned, I learned. All the major plot twists were just as much of a shock to him as they were to me. I love Spira as a setting with all of its mythology. It's probably my favorite world in the series. People made a big deal back in the day about Final Fantasy X not having a world map because it would prevent you from getting immersed in the locations, but I was totally hooked and invested here. The pilgrimage to Zanarkand keeping the journey fairly linear (at least until you hit the endgame) actually worked for me. Of course, it was the characters who make the world come alive. Final Fantasy X features my favorite playable cast in the series. They're just so good together, and I like them all a lot. Tidus, Auron, and Yuna are among the best Final Fantasy characters ever. Plus, this was the first game in the series to feature battle banter, which as I've made clear from previous writeups, is awesome and I love it wherever it appears.

Another thing that helps Final Fantasy X rank as highly as it does is the battle system. In most RPGs, random battles are necessities to be endured, but I actually think fighting is fun here. I love the Conditional Time Battle system that encourages you to strategize what you want to do each turn, and that strategy is amped up even further by the fact that you can switch all of your party members in and out on the fly as you see fit. I made sure to use every party member in every battle so everyone gets AP. I also love the way the Sphere Grid is designed (assuming you're like me and you abhor grinding). During the main story, your party members (except Kimahri, I guess) will spend nearly all of it in their own section of the grid, but they should complete it by the time you hit the endgame. The Sphere Grid opens up at the same time that the rest of the game opens up, and it's just brilliant.

I suppose I should talk about the ending a little since it's probably my favorite one in gaming. I've seen it numerous times, and it still gives me chills every time I watch it. I obviously can't get into specifics here because of spoilers, but if you got attached to the cast along the way, it'll definitely stir up some emotions in you. Plus, I like the fact that there was a little ambiguity in the post-credits scene, although Final Fantasy X-2 got rid of that by existing at all. Oh well, it's still an awesome ending.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Final Fantasy?
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X
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I'll pretend this is the end of the list

great #1 game, X absolutely deserves it
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GranzonEx posted...

I'll pretend this is the end of the list

all right see ya
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FFX is a great game and also the only mainline Final Fantasy game I've completed.
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LordoftheMorons posted...

My favorite Metal Gear is 3, but I think I might prefer 2's gameplay by a bit (though 3's is also great).

good post!

LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Final Fantasy?

I've only beaten 6 and 4 (DS version), but I played 7 until near the end of Disc 1 and X until some boring temple, or the first Seymour fight? Something like that.

6 is by a colossal margin my favorite. 7 would probably be my next favorite if I finished. Couldn't get into X at all, and I really didn't like the cast or the voice-acting. Pretty much disliked every character's voice and design, save Auron.

The game is astonishingly pretty, though. And voice-acting aside, its soundtrack is fantastic. "To Zanarkand" stirs a surprising amount of emotion in me.
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9 is my favorite, but 9 and 10 together are both in my top 5 RPG's and are significantly ahead of any other Final Fantasy game.
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9 is also my favorite due to Final Fantasy Syndrome, but I acknowledge 10 is objectively the best.
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X is the best mainline FF (was hoping it'd pull the upset off over FFVIII I believe at one point you actually humored that)

Tactics is the best FF
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I mean FFX is pretty darn close to #1

FFVIII just has certain intangible personal factors for me that no other game can really match, which I'll get into in the writeup
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Lopen posted...

Tactics is the best FF

Also an acceptable opinion.
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1. Final Fantasy VIII (Eerieka)



I have a unique relationship with Final Fantasy VIII. I'm not going to spend this writeup trying to "justify" its spot at the top or explain why it's the best game ever. I'm just going to discuss my feelings about it so you can understand my fandom a little better. I might be pulling the curtain back a little too much because some of this stuff is frankly pretty weird, but whatever. Some of you have heard this stuff before anyway. After I beat Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics, I became a fanatic for the series, so when the news about Final Fantasy VIII began, I read every single thing I could find about it. I've never followed a game prior to release the way that I did this one. It was the first game I ever pre-ordered (and I still have those pre-order bonuses: A cloth world map, a mini gunblade, and a couple of character cards that sadly didn't resemble Triple Triad cards). When it finally released, I spent nearly that entire first weekend playing it. Basically, if I wasn't eating or sleeping, I was playing Final Fantasy VIII. I got close to the end of disc three in that span of time.

When I beat the game, I wasn't ready for it to be over. I actually started writing a fanfiction sequel that took me like a year and a half to complete, and it was 208 handwritten pages long. This was before I even realized fanfiction was a popular thing because we actually got internet in our house for the first time literally the same week Final Fantasy VIII came out, so it was oddly serendipitous timing. I spent untold hours (largely because of how slow dial-up was; things kids these days will never understand) looking up even more stuff about the game. I even found a Final Fantasy fansite that had a thriving fanfiction community and plugged myself into it. That was my hub of choice before I discovered GameFAQs, actually. I replayed Final Fantasy VIII multiple times while I was writing the story in an attempt to capture speech patterns and mannerisms, and to make sure I kept their characterization consistent with what it was in the game. I even started another separate sequel that I never finished because I went off to college and it fell by the wayside. I'm pretty sure I still have the notebooks I wrote them down in, so I guess I could theoretically go back and finish them one of these days!

The major factor in my obsession with Final Fantasy VIII was Squall, obviously. I've been some form of Leonhart4 on virtually every website I've ever had an account on for nearly twenty years for a reason! He was the perfect character for where I was in my life as a 13-year-old because he was someone I felt was just like me. He was quiet, brooding, not the best at making friends and acting like he was good with all that while secretly wanting to have real relationships with others. Squall's character development also made him into someone I wanted to be: Someone who grew into a leader and a hero, someone other people looked up to and admired despite his flaws. I even styled my hair like his for a while. Plus, the dude was just so cool. His weapon was both a sword AND a gun, and Lionheart is easily one of the best looking weapons in any JRPG. You could even do extra damage with the gunblade by hitting the trigger at the right time (Seriously, the concept of timed hits from the Mario RPGs is great. I don't know why more games don't use it), and he literally never missed! He's just the best like that.
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As far as the actual gameplay is concerned, I do think it's a lot of fun. I love breaking the game wide open with the Junction system and utterly destroying everything in my path. Triple Triad is one of the best mini-games in the series because it's fun, easy to play a quick game or two as you go, and it has fantastic rewards to incentivize you to play. Final Fantasy VIII probably has my favorite final boss sequence in the series, too. Naturally, the best game ever would end the best, so that's no real surprise!

Bonus Question: What is your favorite game?

Bonus Bonus Question: What is your favorite game either on the list or not on the list (depending on what you answered above)?

Final leaderboard!

AxemRedRanger - 64
NBIceman - 70
kateee - 80
Janus5k - 86
pjbasis - 94
LordoftheMorons - 96
Mac Arrowny - 98
linkhatesganon - 108
Shonen_Bat - 116
SaveEstelle - 118
Eerieka - 120
The Mana Sword - 122
Robazoid - 140

Congratulations to AxemRedRanger on the comeback victory! You can PM me with what game you want and how you want me to get it to you. I can also just give you the equivalent in a gift card with the assurance you'll actually use it to buy a game.
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I set my ATM cards number to 0001 because Im number one!

1. Final Fantasy VIII (Eerieka)
2. Final Fantasy X (Eerieka)
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Team Rocket Elite)
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Shonen_Bat)
5. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddys Kong Quest (Shonen_Bat)
6. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations (Team Rocket Elite)
7. Mass Effect 3 (SaveEstelle)
8. Persona 4 (Team Rocket Elite)
9. Skies of Arcadia (Team Rocket Elite)
10. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NFUN)
11. Final Fantasy VII (Eerieka)
12. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (SaveEstelle)
13. Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter (NFUN)
14. Super Mario World (kateee)

All I did was point the finger of justice in the proper direction.

15. Mass Effect 2 (WalkingWiki)
16. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Dragon66116)
17. Sonic Generations (Johnbobb)
18. Metal Gear Solid (Snake5555555555)
19. Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End (SaveEstelle)
20. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (LeonhartFour)
21. Kingdom Hearts II (Raka_Putra)
22. Mega Man X (Mac Arrowny)
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Janus5k)
24. Kirby Super Star (Shonen_Bat)
25. Clannad (Robazoid)

Im a lawyer. I live for needless procedures.

26. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (Axl_Rose_85)
27. Tales of Symphonia (Team Rocket Elite)
28. Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutors Path (Axl_Rose_85)
29. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Anagram)
30. Final Fantasy Tactics (SaveEstelle)
31. NieR (tazzyboyishere)
32. Kingdom Hearts (NBIceman)
33. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (Dragon66116)
34. Super Smash Bros. Melee (Anagram)
35. Persona 5 (greengravy294)
36. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Raka_Putra)
37. Bomberman 64 (Janus5k)
38. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Drakeryn)
39. Assassins Creed II (Johnbobb)
40. Final Fantasy IX (Eerieka)
41. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Snake555555555)

I like the sound of that Dashing young lawyer flying fabulously.

42. ESPN Extreme Games (LeonhartFour)
43. Sonic Mania (handsomeboy2012)
44. Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Drakeryn)
45. Final Fantasy XIII (Robazoid)
46. Shadow Hearts (tazzyboyishere)
47. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Shonen_Bat)
48. Trails in the Sky: First Chapter (Robazoid)
49. Final Fantasy VI (Eerieka)
50. Jak II (tazzyboyishere)
51. Persona 3 (pyresword)
52. Steins;Gate (Mac Arrowny)
53. Xenogears (SaveEstelle)
54. Portal 2 (banananor)
55. GoldenEye 007 (Pirateking2000)
56. Chess (Xeybozn)
57. Kirbys Dream Course (Janus5k)
58. Shadow of the Colossus (pyresword)
59. Paper Mario (NBIceman)
60. Tales of the Abyss (NBIceman)
61. Mega Man 2 (LOLIAmAnAlt)

Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessaryfeelings.

62. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Raka_Putra)
63. Tetris Plus (LeonhartFour)
64. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (Janus5k)
65. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Dragon66116)
66. Super Smash Bros. (Anagram)
67. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Axl_Rose_85)
68. Viewtiful Joe (kateee)
69. Four Square (Pirateking2000)
70. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood (Johnbobb)
71. Super Mario 64 (Pirateking2000)
72. The Last of Us (Dragon66116)
73. Super Mario Bros. (pjbasis)
74. Persona 4: Dancing All Night (Janus5k)
75. Skee-Ball (WhiteLens)
76. Mass Effect: Andromeda (kateee)
77. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Mac Arrowny)
78. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (tazzyboyishere)
79. The Bouncer (LeonhartFour)
80. VVVVVV (NFUN)
81. The Simpsons (WhiteLens)
82. Chrono Cross (pjbasis)
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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)
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LeonhartFour posted...

Bonus Question: What is your favorite game?

Bonus Bonus Question: What is your favorite game either on the list or not on the list (depending on what you answered above)?

TWW
Dark Souls
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Good write-ups. I enjoyed reading through these topics.
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Vagrant Story ;_;

Link to the Past my favorite not on the list
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Final Fantasy VII answers both bonus questions for the top two.

Favorite game not on the list is Chrono Trigger.
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FF9 is my favorite game. ^_^

Also Super Metroid being so low should be classified as a crime. (Same with OOT, but I feel that game is still over rated, it just shouldn't be like close to last)
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alright not last place

mission accomplished
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The Mana Sword posted...

alright not last place

mission accomplished

You're only saying that because I crushed you in points.

Favorite game on list: Life is Strange
Favorite game not on list: Life is Strange: Before the Storm

Also it was fun following along with these rankings!
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Well, I'm glad people enjoyed the list. Who knows when the next list will be, but it was fun!
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LeonhartFour posted...

What is your favorite game?

In my head I treat the whole trilogy as one game, but for me it's the Trails in the Sky games and honestly I'm not sure anything else is even close.

LeonhartFour posted...

What is your favorite game either on the list or not on the list (depending on what you answered above)?

Favorite game not on the list is definitely Okami. Pretty great game.
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Favorite game and favorite not on the list is Chrono Trigger.

Favorite on the list is Super Metroid.

For my free game, I'll go with Persona 5 on PS3. I'm AxemSmurf on PSN.

Would probably get Nier Automata on Steam but somehow I don't think my bargain basement laptop that fails to run Danganronpa 3 cutscenes at full-speed (or even some Falcom intros!) is going to cut it!
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you didn't like life is strange, leon?
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Favorite game is probably FFX, Kerbal Space Program, Crypt of the Necrodancer or Factorio
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Can you gift games digitally on PSN now?
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epic simulpost
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SeabassDebeste posted...

you didn't like life is strange, leon?

That's a complicated question.

The simplest answer is that most of the characters are unlikable but as a one-time experience it's worth a play.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Can you gift games digitally on PSN now?

Oh, I have absolutely no idea. I just...assumed it was possible, I guess?

If it's not, I'll just go with the gift card.
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I could send you a PSN gift card with the appropriate amount, I suppose. I can just PM you the code for it.
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Okay, just sent the PM. Let me know that you got it and the code worked.
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