Board 8 > Haunter ranks 101 games he's played over the last decade, with write-ups.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Oath doesn't really have anything else I could call a complete homerun as at its core it's still a remake of a rather simple game. There's one town, a bunch of dungeons, and a plot twist (a new one in this game) that is typical Falcom fare but at least gives the plot some depth. It's also incredibly short. But the gameplay is so much fun that it's the best out of all the Ys games. I wish Falcom used that formula more!

You should give Ys Origins a try, that game is set up pretty similarly. Given your thoughts on recycled content I'm not sure you'd enjoy the "beat the game with every character" thing the game kind of wants you to do but it's definitely worth at least one playthrough

There's also The Ark of Napishtim but I didn't think that one was nearly as good.
---

Yeah they're really trying to shove Ys Origin in my face with all the rereleases. I may check it out, although I didn't particularly enjoy a demo I played of it.

25. Final Fantasy IV DS
Original Release: 2008
Year Played: 2008
Developer: Square Enix
Platform: Nintendo DS
Favorite Character: Kain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=040pdYSTMxg" data-time="

Recreating a beloved SNES RPG classic with 3D graphics is a pretty ballsy move, but Square did it with FFIV and it turned out to be really good. It's a shame they never followed suit with FFV because they had something going here. FFIV was always my least favorite of the SNES trilogy but the DS remake of it stole my heart.

It's not the new graphics that make it the best iteration of FFIV (although they helped a lot), it's the changes in gameplay and mainly, the difficulty. I'm not too familiar with all the versions of FFIV released here on in Japan (hardtype, easytype? wtf) but this is clearly a much more challenging game than the SNES one and the GBA one. Random encounters are quick but frequent, and one bad battle can lead to a fast game over. You're always kept on your toes, and it's quite rewarding to make it through each and every dungeon. In fact, because the game is so tough it also feels much slower paced, which is a good thing as it's quite short. You're not -required- to grind, but it doesn't hurt. It's also sometimes imperative to go out of your way to complete optional tasks and get better items/equipment so you can survive.

Boss battles are done exceptionally well. I've always been a fan of these encounters in the "classic" FF games because they're not just random slugfests. They have gimmicks and I love gimmicks. I'm not sure if it was Sakaguchi who came up with the idea (Lost Odyssey had a ton of gimmick battles) but I always loved changing up my strategy to deal with some of them. FFIV DS takes this even further by adding certain interesting tweaks to battles which make them tough but very, very rewarding to beat. My favorite was Lugaeborg. who uses Reversal Gas which caused healing spells to do damage and attack spells to heal. This changes up your whole strategy, forcing you to use Curaga on the boss or Firaga on yourself to heal, but also being wary of him reversing the effect back to normal. Others have you doing things like Reflect spamming. Ordinarily you'd only find stuff like this in the new hidden content of each of the ports/remakes which I often don't touch, so it was nice that it made it into the main plot.

I can't really call this the complete collection but it's my favorite FFIV release. I wish the optional dungeon from GBA made it in. I also didn't care for augments, as they were too time-consuming to figure out effectively. Also I wish more FF games used a five person party.

This is great. Tag.
---

24. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
Original Release: 2016
Year Played: 2016
Developer: Falcom
Platform: PS3
Favorite Class VII: Laura

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAkYZeydouA" data-time="

SPOILER WARNING

It's been a minute since the last Trails title on this list. Cold Steel II takes second least favorite Trails game for me based on a few disappointing factors, but by no means is it a bad game. It's not even average-bad...it's really, really good. It just doesn't hit the same marks the first Cold Steel did, and in some ways the plot is a disappointment.

Gameplay wise, CS2 is an improvement and virtually perfects its battle system. Overdrives were fun and were oftentimes key in winning battles, and the combat in general flows more fluidly. Little changes here and there make for a better experience. Plus, you'll eventually get a huge roster of character you'll be able to use in battle, including the ones from the last game. I also loved the mech battles introduced near the end of CS1. They were a simple but really cool addition and I have somewhat of a thing for giant robots using flashy attacks against each other. One of the things I loved about the Suikoden series was its inclusion of different types of "battles" like the duels and wars. It's not a major addition but it made the game feel more engaging, and CS2 nails that feeling.

But if you've played SC and found the countless backtracking and recycling of areas from FC a little frustrating, Cold Steel II won't strike your fancy. It does the same exact thing but manages to have even less new areas. You'll go through the same places from the first game, and most of the dungeons WILL be revisited either for optional or required quests. Remember the chapter bosses from CS1? Well, almost all of them are back in some ways. You'll face the baboon again, then you'll face the dogs, then the spider, then all those archaisms...sometimes you'll face these bosses in the exact same areas where they were located in the first game! It all felt like padding.

Speaking of padding, the whole game's structure felt really fetch-questy. You see, CS1 ends with a bang and you're dying to know what happens next. Erebonia's suddenly in chaos and Rean is missing. There's giant mechs on the loose and a civil war has begun. CS2 is the story of that civil war, but it never feels like one. Constantly, we are told and occasionally shown the state of things in the country with the ongoing war, but we're never really participating in it. We'll occasionally run into the bad guys here and there, but for the most part we're traipsing around the countryside doing menial tasks or searching for friends. I was excited to see what happened to all of Class VII at the end of the last game, but the first act throws them all back together in a perfectly tied box. The first act involves going around Nord, Kreutzen, and Legram to find all the missing members. Then, you actually get some plot momentum with an intermission chapter. I loved this chapter. Some questions get answered and others are asked. We end with an epic showdown and get a cool airship, and then it's back to the status quo. Act 2 deals with going around and liberating some areas and then visiting four irritating, elemental dungeons to find some MacGuffins. This is tedious busywork and the second halves of each part of the act sometimes propels the plot forward (especially in the Roer section) but not always. There's also a Suikoden-like recruitment system however that I loved. Second time I mentioned Suikoden in this write-up but this game feels like it's giving nods to that series if it's unintentional. All your former Thors classmates can be found and recruited in East Erebonia. Speaking of that, am I supposed to believe that every single character is hanging around East Erebonia and nowhere west of Heimdallr?

I mean, I understand that we're not up to that part yet (CS3 will get there) but I, like some others, was under the impression we would get to visit some new locations heard about in CS1, but that's not the case. It cheapens the feel of the game, but I'm sure this will change once CS3 and CS4 are released. Most of the core character cast doesn't really get any big developments. Sure, you may find out some things about them but not enough for how well they were presented in the first game. Machias felt like an afterthought, he had like no presence.

The finale finally wraps some of the story up and the final dungeon is epic and well-designed, but the ending (not the epilogue ending) feels like CS1's ending in that it's not a cliffhanger, but a series of revelations that are left unanswered. The end of CS2, like CS1 before it, left me wanting way more. There's a bunch of new questions and too few answers and we're left with a feeling of emptiness inside. There's a timeskip after that and we go to a Crossbell scenario which leaves us wanting freaking CROSSBELL, and then we're back to another timeskip with Class VII chillin' like the old days and the same revelations from before not expanded upon. The scene with Claire and Rean in Trista's train station put a tear in my eye. I wanted to see more of Rean immediately after the final chapter's final boss and what he has been up to, but I knew the game had to end soon. I also shipped ReanxClaire.

Oh, and I also felt like no matter how powerful I was gameplay-wise, the game never displayed it story-wise. It overuses the big damn heroes that is prevalent in the series but here it's really bad. I can wreck a boss but the scene after that shows it getting back or him/her using some special move and then we don't a chance...but wait, X guy or X girl from the previous game suddenly shows up to save the day! This literally happens all.the.time. The worst instance of this is in Act 2 when storming an enemy base. You run into random mooks that look the same and then at the end of the dungeon is the random mook commander (who has the same exact character model as the other random mooks) holding a hostage captive. Nevermind the fact that we just S-Crafted the shit outta his buddies and got shot hundreds of times, he has a gun pointed to the hostage and we can't do anything! He sics some soldiers, then the big dog bosses on me, then still tries to blackmail us afterwards and we don't stand a chance against him! Fortunately, a character from the previous game makes an appearance just in time and everyone's saved! This becomes a nuisance later on, where we face a bunch of the villains in the final dungeon and beat them but then they come back and nearly kill us before some big damn hero shows up. It's funny, because I absolutely wrecked the final chapter final boss within moments. They had an epic boss track that I didn't get to hear because I beat him in less than a few minutes, which is why I linked to it above.

But, at the end of the day, I nitpick a lot, and CS2 is still amazing and an essential game to play. I reckon it will be a much better experience when CS3 and later 4 are released in the west, because it'll feel like a part of a package. I wish it were paced better, yes, but what we got was worth the price of admission and then some. It's still a Trails game and an excellent one at that. If you're a fan you'd be doing yourself no favors skipping out on it, and even if the story has its faults and doesn't flow smoothly and ends sorta anticlimactically, it's still a freaking Trails game! These games have the best RPG storyline in this day and age, and it's still ongoing. I loved Suikoden for its various lore, backstory, and worldbuilding, and how it built upon a larger storyline in every entry of the franchise. And I love Trails for doing the same exact thing except doing it even better, and I know one day it will pay off.

I pretty much agree with that assessment of Cold Steel II. The good parts of the game (Intermission, the finale) are really good imo, but a lot of the rest of the game drags way too much. I do more or less like the first half when you're rounding up the class VII members and (sort of) seeing how Erebonia has been affected by the war, but man I didn't care for a lot of stuff in Act 2.

Crow the best.

Trails game ranking imo: Sky SC > Sky The 3rd > Sky FC > Cold Steel 1 > Cold Steel 2
---

Gross, Claire. Probably my most disliked character.
---

23. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Original Release: 2005
Year Played: 2009 (a little bit of it in 2005)
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Platform: GameCube
Favorite Character: Ike or Gatrie or Jill or Haar or Naesala

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsH5sj5KlTw" data-time="

Two FE games on this list and the first appearance is in the top 25! I'm not the biggest fan of the series, though...I love the addicting gameplay, and I used to like the stories but I find them quite lacking now that I'm older. I'll elaborate more on that. The characters in each game also grow on me after wrecking a battlefield. For example, in Sacred Stones I used Gerik pretty much to destroy everyone and everything, so I was always looking to see any sort of development the game would give him even if it's a minor support conversation. Path of Radiance expands upon this.

The battlefields are larger and often times more bombastic than in the GBA entries. Lots of units and lots of things going on, especially in the later chapters. Some battles take forever and this is my biggest issue with Fire Emblem and the SRPG as a whole. I don't enjoy making multiple autosaves just "to be safe" but I felt like I needed to do this frequently after Chapter 15 onward. I don't want anyone dying, ever, and I worry too much after my units! This is why I don't like Myrmidons too much -- they operate mainly on high evasion and crits, so it's easy to move them into firing range and letting them go to town. But what happens when the enemy gets a lucky move and ends up OHKO'ing that Myrmidon, which is entirely possible? Remember that a unit who dies is permanently gone, so for me this was a restart. Playing carefully and conservatively was sometimes irritating in the late game. Other than that, though, I liked the battles as a whole, and the headquarters prep in between.

Probably my favorite part of the game is the story. This is the first of a duology yet it doesn't pull a Trails and ends with a cliffhanger. You don't really need to play Radiant Dawn, but it's advisable especially if you're a fan of the plot and the world, because PoR ends with unexplained events and unanswered plot holes. Unfortunately, Radiant Dawn released a few years later on a different console, so if you didn't have a Wii, sucks to be you. I liked the overall plot and the mysteries surrounding the Black Knight (which are not answered here), as well as the Greil Mercenaries. Best of all, there is an arc involving the ravens and heron in Begnion which is actually very deep, mainly for Naesala's chronic backstabbery. He was one of my favorite characters. One of the most irritating things about FE storylines is its treatment of villains. While Ashnard was a great and capable villain, the issue is that all the bad guys looks like obvious villainous assholes with no redeeming qualities. Most bosses of each map look the part, either big bandits wearing rags or pissed off looking knights in armor. It's just a small nitpick though.

Crow the worst character in any Trails game.

Haunter12O posted...

Unfortunately, Radiant Dawn released a few years later on a different console, so if you didn't have a Wii, sucks to be you.

Aren't people much more likely to own Wiis than GCs...?

I played both of these on an emulator anyway though.
---

Fire Emblem is absolutely stuffed with shallow one-note minor villains but design like that gave us Gheb, so all is forgiven.
---

AxemRedRanger posted...

Fire Emblem is absolutely stuffed with shallow one-note minor villains but design like that gave us Gheb, so all is forgiven.

Sacred Stones at least gave us Selena, who I was sure would join you but ended up being a boss. For every Selena we get like 20 Valters. If the FE character looks evil, then he is evil and has no redeeming qualities. I mean seriously, youve got Hans and Iago on your side at the beginning of Fates and did anyone actually expect those two to join you?

I mean one's even named "Iago" for fuck's sake
---

#bump#

.

22. Okami
Original Release: 2006
Year Played: 2010
Developer: Clover Studios
Platform: PS2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAvQNB_8HZQ" data-time="&start=21

It's a shame Okami bombed at the video game box office, because if a game like this would've been released in this day and age, it'd be so popular a sequel would be announced the very next day. I mean, we live in an era where Undertale could win GOTY awards and come to be a beloved cult classic! But poor Clover didn't get that chance and the only follow-ups we got to Okami was a DS spinoff (?) and HD remakes. I bet if this game was released on the Wii it would've garnered more attention.

I didn't give this game a proper chance till 2010 and was surprised that the graphics aged so well despite being halfway into the sixth generation. It is basically Zelda for PS2, complete with its own various gimmicks, this time in the form of an art brush. I always like that mechanic even if solving puzzles or attempting to draw something and failing was annoying. Still, the game is presented well and truly did feel like a Zelda game and that's a good thing.

If there's one thing I got slightly annoyed at, it's that this game seriously drags itself on its hind legs, especially toward the end. You've basically got three story arcs, all of which are pretty good but all of which also tie together in the conclusion. It's awesome how after completing the first arc, a giant new region of the world map opens up to you with new characters, new villains, new locations, etc. And then after that, yet another region opens up! But by the time I reached Kamui I was worn out, and yet the game still trudged along. On top of that, there's frequent reuse of assets and often having to fight the same bosses. Fucking spider.

But you gotta give this game props for excelling in what it attempts to do and being original at that. I remember my friends and I playing this and Shadow of the Colossus at the same time originally, and always thought of this as the more artistic game of that time.

Wonder what a sequel to Okami would be like? Would it still have the brush, or would there be a completely new game mechanic?

Haunter12O posted...

It's a shame Okami bombed at the video game box office, because if a game like this would've been released in this day and age, it'd be so popular a sequel would be announced the very next day. I mean, we live in an era where Undertale could win GOTY awards and come to be a beloved cult classic! But poor Clover didn't get that chance and the only follow-ups we got to Okami was a DS spinoff (?) and HD remakes. I bet if this game was released on the Wii it would've garnered more attention.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/943732-okami

?
---

Tom Bombadil posted...

EDIT: Oh hey I see netflix has a show about GLOW for some reason. Is that worth watching? I don't know much about GLOW other than that it existed

alison brie

Mac Arrowny posted...

Crow the worst character in any Trails game.

Haunter12O posted...

Unfortunately, Radiant Dawn released a few years later on a different console, so if you didn't have a Wii, sucks to be you.

Aren't people much more likely to own Wiis than GCs...?

I played both of these on an emulator anyway though.

Yeah not me. I owned a GC but didn't get a Wii till late 2010.

21. Grandia II
Original Release: 2000 (DC) 2015 (Steam)
Year Played: Briefly in 2002 or 2003, then fully in 2015
Developer: Game Arts
Platform: Steam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XqprRUVSJo" data-time="

Grandia II is awesome. It boasts one of the strongest, most robust battle systems in any JRPG and also an incredible, unforgettable soundtrack, among other things. It was, in many ways, better than the first game, but still lacked that certain something that made the original Grandia great. I think it was the sense of adventure. Grandia had it in spades: going into a new continent and finding new civilizations and locales felt truly amazing and one-of-a-kind to me, and Grandia II unfortunately didn't really have much of that. Still, it's an overall improvement.

I love the battle system, and the mana eggs and learning new skills always felt fluid and well-made. It's not every day you see an amazing leveling mechanic in RPGs like the Sphere Grid for example, but GII's skill leveling is up there. I mean, at least it was back when I first played it in the early 2000's at a friend's house. I wish I played it more back then, but I didn't own a DC so I never got to finish it. Thank God for Steam. So yeah, battles are awesome and boss fights are well made. Often, you'll fight a boss that has multiple body parts and it's up to you to figure out the right way to tackle it while managing your combos/criticals and resources. Not enough games do stuff like this.

The game also has an interesting storyline. It's similar to Dragon Quest in that it likes to divide certain arcs/vignettes that are all connected in some ways at the end. You'll reach a new town or region of the world map and you'll have to solve their problems. At the end of the day you typically fight a body part of the evil dark lord Valimar as you move on. After the halfway point, the plot starts to pick up and revelations come in from the left and right as you move forward. Oh yeah, the game's very linear. You can't ever return to other regions of the world map and you get locked in the final dungeon once you reach it. Better be prepared for that.

I also wish Ryudo's potential as a great RPG character was fully realized. This didn't happen. He starts off as a stoic, "I don't care about you I just care about the money" type of hero, but with a sense of humor. I liked this and wish it continued, but then he learns about love and becomes kind of a beta emo around the halfway mark. Don't get me wrong, I liked the way his arc concluded but it felt like a character assassination in some ways. He certainly didn't seem like the same character near the end of the game than he did in the beginning, but I don't know if this development necessarily allowed me to like him more. I also found Elena to be shallow and boring and Millenia was clearly the better choice and character. Wish you could use her more. The other characters also sometimes feel a bit one-note, especially the last two that join your team. This, and the labyrinthine dungeon designs are what bring this game down a few notches.

Oh, and this is composer Noriyuki Iwadare's magnum opus. He did the Lunar series as well and I think Grandia 2's soundtrack is my favorite of his. YouTube it!

Lollipop Lane, kid
---

TOP 20!!! Year denotes the year I played it.

2008
Lost Odyssey
Tales of Vesperia

2009
Exit Fate
The World Ends With You

2010
Persona 3 Portable
Red Dead Redemption
Mother 3

2011
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC

2012
Mass Effect 3
The Last Story

2014
Fire Emblem Awakening

2015
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

2016
Stardew Valley

2017
The Witcher 3
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Zero
Final Fantasy V
Persona 5
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Yakuza 0

The List So Far

-Shit Tier-
101. Angry Birds
100. Adventures of Mana
99. Bravely Default
98. Suikoden Tierkreis

-Absolute and Utter Meh-
97. I Am Setsuna
96. Tokyo Xanadu eX+
95. Star Ocean 4
94. Super Mario Run
93. Star Ocean 5
92. Tales of Xillia 2
91. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
90. Candy Crush
89. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
88. Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy
87. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
86. Cosmic Star Heroine
85. Final Fantasy XV

-Revel in Mediocrity-
84. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
83. n+
82. Skyborn
81. Radiant Historia
80. Cuphead
79. Mario and Luigi Dream Team
78. Tales of Zestiria
77. Brutal Legend

-It's Not Half Bad-
76. Rock Band 2
75. Arc Rise Fantasia
74. World of Final Fantasy
73. Indigo Prophecy
72. Horizon: Zero Dawn
71. Ninja Gaiden Black
70. The Wolf Among Us
69. Skyrim
68. Resident Evil 5
67. Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction
66. Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
65. Shadow Complex
64. Echoes of Aetheria
63. Final Fantasy XIII
62. Uncharted 2
61. LA Noire
60. Undertale

-Here Comes the Good Stuff-
59. Rock Band
58. Diablo 3
57. Battlefield 1
56. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
55. Ratchet and Clank
54. Ys SEVEN
53. Dust: An Elysian Tail
52. Grand Theft Auto 4
51. Tales of Xillia
50.75. South Park: The Stick of Truth
50.5. Borderlands
50.25. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
50. Ninja Gaiden II
49. Ara Fell
48. Metal Gear Solid 4

-Here Comes the GREAT Stuff, or How to Fill a Tier With RPGs-
47. Mass Effect 2
46. Xenoblade Chronicles
45. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd
44. Bioshock Infinite
43. Magna Carta 2
42. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
41. Call of Duty: World at War
40. Final Fantasy Tactics A2
39. Grand Theft Auto 5
38. Crisis Core
37. Tales of Berseria
36. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
35. Last Scenario
34. Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together
33. Donkey Kong Country Returns
32. Fallout 3
31. Final Fantasy Dimensions

-Awesome and Addicting-
30. Final Fantasy XIII-2
29. Super Smash Bros Brawl
28. The Last of Us
27. Ys: The Oath in Felghana
26. Devil May Cry 4
25. Final Fantasy IV DS
24. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
23. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
22. Okami
21. Grandia II

-All Killer No Filler-
20. ?? ???? ????????? ?? ????
19.
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.

Arti posted...

Haunter12O posted...

It's a shame Okami bombed at the video game box office, because if a game like this would've been released in this day and age, it'd be so popular a sequel would be announced the very next day. I mean, we live in an era where Undertale could win GOTY awards and come to be a beloved cult classic! But poor Clover didn't get that chance and the only follow-ups we got to Okami was a DS spinoff (?) and HD remakes. I bet if this game was released on the Wii it would've garnered more attention.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/943732-okami

?

Not sure if you're implying that the game was a critical success, which I know it was. Wasn't the game not selling well part of the reason Clover closed down?

Haunter12O posted...

Arti posted...

Haunter12O posted...

It's a shame Okami bombed at the video game box office, because if a game like this would've been released in this day and age, it'd be so popular a sequel would be announced the very next day. I mean, we live in an era where Undertale could win GOTY awards and come to be a beloved cult classic! But poor Clover didn't get that chance and the only follow-ups we got to Okami was a DS spinoff (?) and HD remakes. I bet if this game was released on the Wii it would've garnered more attention.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/943732-okami

?

Not sure if you're implying that the game was a critical success, which I know it was. Wasn't the game not selling well part of the reason Clover closed down?

I think he's implying that it WAS released on the Wii
---

I took it to mean you think the game would have been more successful if it had debuted on Wii.
---

this one is honestly so easy guys:
Immune: digi
Immune: KCF0107

Boot: Terastodon
Boot VeryInsane

GTN posted...

this one is honestly so easy guys:
Immune: digi
Immune: KCF0107

Boot: Terastodon
Boot VeryInsane

WHoa
---

20. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
Original Release: 2017
Year Played: 2017
Developer: Falcom
Platform: PS4
Favorite Castaway: Griselda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ZIVji5_18" data-time="

Ys VIII is one of the newest games on this list but also happens to be the best Ys game I've played. Part of the reason is how easy it is to pick up and play. Combat isn't hard to learn and is a whole lot of fun, and Falcom took great care in making the game as un-frustrating as possible. Simple things like allowing you to warp back to base and then back to any crystals go a long way (the other Ys games didn't have this). The combat is easily the best of any Ys games, blending the extra party members like in Ys SEVEN (minus the mindlessness) and the excitement of Oath together. I also reviewed Tokyo Xanadu near the beginning of this list, and it used a "prototype" version of Ys VIII's battle system, but here it's improved in every single way.

Hell, if it wasn't for the story and odd pacing, I'd rank Ys VIII in the top 10, but unfortunately these two don't really hit any sort of stride. You see, the game tasks Adol in surviving on a deserted island while finding the others who were on the ship with him. You'll build a village, get help fending off monsters, and even hunt a serial killer. It's a very well grounded story that works, and the village-field-dungeon-field-dungeon scheme it's got going for in the first two chapters works. Throughout these early bits, Adol has dreams about a mysterious girl named Dana who seemed to live on this island. Soon enough in the plot, Dana almost basically takes over as the main character. Once you hit the north part of the island, the game pretty much dumps the whole surviving on an island theme in favor of the mystery of the extinction of an ancient civilization. The pacing is a bit off in these chapters and often the game locks you in a linear pathway until you're done with certain plot points. I also felt that the dungeon design and boss design suffered here, as well. The boss fights in the first parts of the game were fun and well designed, but later on they become just mindless slaughterfests. The exception to all of this is chapter 5, the longest chapter of the game that also returns to the pacing of chapter 2, and it's done well with one of the coolest boss battles (Oceanus) in ARPG history.

But the worst is chapter 6, where the story becomes utterly ridiculous and basically incomprehensible. So the ancient civilization was destroyed because it was fate? And let's just say when the word "Lacrimosa" actually starts popping up in game, the story turns to shit. It's convoluted and none of that was needed, and worst of all it pretty much renders everything that happened before this chapter pointless. The final boss is called Origin of Life for Heaven's sake.

Not gonna bitch about the story anymore, because at the core Ys games aren't really about the story but more about adventure/exploration and combat. It's just that Falcom decided to go big with plot in this entry, and the game suffers a bit as a result. By the way, I have not played the newly patched translation edition of this game by NISA. I played the original and the VA is crappy and translation is poor, but I hear they fixed it up. Those who haven't played the game yet or Switch owners won't have to deal with that!

So besides the story and pacing, the battle system is great and it's so much fun dodging and guarding. The game makes an effort in allowing you to accomplish many things as you play through the story. I wasn't the biggest fan of the defense battles but I understand why they're there. Dana's flashback quests add a nice layer of depth to the game as it allows for actual town exploration, and her dungeon and ability to switch forms was freaking brilliant.

Oh and special praise to the amazing Falcom ost.

19. Final Fantasy V
Original Release: 1992
Year Played: 1999/2006/2017 (final complete playthrough)
Developer: Squaresoft (Square Enix for iOS)
Platform: iPhone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8PbJwplkmE" data-time="

I originally played FFV in the late 90s when it came in the anthology version. I wasn't totally impressed and didn't get very far (that and I kept dying). Then I gave it a chance on the GBA in 2006 but life events didn't allow me to get very far either. It was finally last year when I was deployed that I played through this game fully, from beginning to end. On a freakin' iPhone!

I also believe that the latest phone version is the best. The redefined graphics actually look good, and the game uses the SNES version's music as apposed to the lower quality of the Game Boy Advance. I do believe there's a fast forward feature as well, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing the game with FFIX. Oh, and it also includes the optional dungeon from the GBA version, which is a tedious mess but hey, it's there if you want more of the game.

Anyway, I've mentioned before that I love the "classic" Final Fantasies, before Square Enix came together. Talking about FFIV-FFIX and X, of course. FFV uses a more advanced job system than III before it, which would pave the way for FFT's mastery in using this feature. You basically have to grind a lot to get multiple skills and master multiple jobs, but by the end of the game you'll have enough done to feel like a God. And that's what I loved, but unfortunately it came too late. Just when I felt like I had multiple options for each of my characters to customize them with, bam here comes the final boss. Of course, you also have the optional dungeon, which is a challenge but requires tons of grinding and using specific skills or jobs to defeat the bosses. I wasn't a fan of that. The actual final boss of the main storyline was fun, though.

This is the last Final Fantasy on the list and it's quite high on my list after my most recent playthrough. I absolutely loved it! I wish I gave it a real chance earlier, but its time finally came. Playing on the phone was easy and extremely user friendly! I suggest the naysayers give it a whirl. I wouldn't say it's better than FFVI-FFX but none of those are on this list, so FFV gets the honor of being the highest ranked Final Fantasy ITT. Not that it has much competition. *coughFFXVcough*

Best FF

Interesting to hear praise for the mobile version; I had always heard that it was a bad port (though I haven't tried it myself).
---

LordoftheMorons posted...

Best FF

Interesting to hear praise for the mobile version; I had always heard that it was a bad port (though I haven't tried it myself).

FFVI was a bad port. The remastered visuals in this one actually work to its advantage and charm.

18. Fire Emblem Awakening
Original Release: 2013
Year Played: 2014
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Platform: 3DS
Favorite Character: Lon'qu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrbrPMzWGS0" data-time="

That's a wrap for 2014. FE:A was a game that was easy to pick up and play, and so I was able to get into it quite easily after playing the demo and being impressed by it. The gameplay feels so refined when compared to the previous entries. Honestly though, I loved the ability to disable perma-death, as it made my frustrations with the previous entries and frequent auto-saving due to a no holds barred RNG go away. I know, I know, it makes the game easy, but it's still a fun game regardless and actual strategy is still often required.

One of the coolest changes here is the music that plays in the map screen. Whenever you go into battle, the music changes to a more bombastic version (by adding instruments) of the map theme, rather than a new theme altogether. The latter made the previous entries' battles feel entirely disconnected and I would often turn them off altogether, so it's nice that they thought of this new thing that makes battles seem seamless. The music is fantastic, too, by the way.

FE:A suffers due to its rather shoddy storytelling that starts off strong and then meanders off. The first 10 or so chapters tell a compelling plot about three kingdoms embroiled in war. Honestly, there's so much great plot here that you wonder what the rest of the game will be like when you realize you're barely even a third of the way through. Unfortunately, the second third of the game focuses on an entirely new subplot that takes up around 10 chapters. This subplot, involving the war with the Valm kingdom, is disconnected from the overall plot involving Plegia, and unfortunately it drags on for way too long before we get back to the good stuff, but by then it's too late. FE:A also suffers from the same issues that plague the rest of the franchise's storylines. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good. It's black and white. All the villains look like villains so you know who they are and they have no redeeming qualities to them. All the playable characters are pretty much Heavenly souls. FE:A tries to add some depth to its storyline but, like the other games before it, all of it falls flat.

There's a cool time travel mechanic which allows you to group pairings together to open up side missions where you can recruit the couples' children, who turns out to be some of the more powerful characters. Choosing who to marry to whom is one of the highlights, and each of the support conversations are pretty cute. Dunno why, but I choose Maribelle. There's also plenty of side missions. All in all it's quite an expansive game, and by the end you'll have so much to do and you'll want to do it all in order to be ready for the final few maps. The game also allows you to pair characters in battles to build their support and turn them into unstoppable killing machines...sometimes. I liked that feature too.

FE:A manages to turn down the frustration of the earlier entries but it does have a few glaring issues. I haven't played Fates. I want to, but I no longer own a 3DS. These games are fun to get into, and if I don't focus my brain on the irritating or cringeworthy things in the series, I begin to love the games for what they are. FE:A happens to be my second favorite installation in the franchise next to Sacred Stones (yes, I liked SS). But I really, really, really want to play Fates.

FEA approximately 70 spots too high
---

70 spots too low imo
---

17. The World Ends With You
Original Release: 2008
Year Played: 2009
Developer: Square Enix
Platform: Nintendo DS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx4GQyxO9cE" data-time="

This was a unique, come-out-of-nowhere game that unfortunately never launched a franchise. I'm sure that will change, since there's lots of potential here. I also believe this was one of the few good things to come from Nomura. It seems...underappreciated, maybe? Nah. But I do think there's a possibility for a sequel if the final mix does well. For me, I went with my gut when I randomly picked it up in the store and ended up enjoying it.

TWEWY starts off with a hero who says he doesn't get people and generally seems to act like he's about to go shoot up a school, but Neku actually grew into a generally likable character. The other supporting cast were well written too, except for maybe Beat who was annoying. The game has a weak beginning as a whole, but turned into an addictive and well realized little adventure by the time you're near the end of week 1. Even the battle system, which seems like a mishmash of random chaos on the screen, becomes addicting. Now, this is NOT the case with the iOS version I also played recently. The one screen makes it frustratingly difficult to win any boss battle due to some kind of weird control scheme that I haven't figured out yet which allows the player to use the second character in the top screen. If anyone knows how to do this, please tell me now, because it just seems to happen at random and I'm stuck at one of the early bosses.

Moving on, TWEWY has probably one of the coolest, most charming soundtracks in a JRPG. I've already mentioned my love for the composer and arranger in the Crisis Core write-up, as he also did the music for that game. What's really impressive is that these are fully vocal, Persona-like themes and they're in a DS game! Most of my favorites are also battle themes, and they're all pretty fitting for a game of this caliber.

The World Ends With You oozes with style, and it's entirely self-aware. I loved its rendition of Tokyo, but if there's one thing I didn't love it's the fashion mechanic, which was just a bit too weird and hard to utilize because I didn't like the menu interface at all. In fact, while I liked the style, sometimes it got way too in your face, as it did with the menus.

But yeah, sequel please.

16. Stardew Valley
Original Release: 2015
Year Played: 2016
Developer: ConcernedApe
Platform: PC

There are plenty of indie games out there at the moment which try, but fail, to be love letters to classic 80s or 90s games. I've featured a few of those on this list, and nearly all of them are marked pretty low. Stardew Valley is a game that feels like this to Harvest Moon, but it actually turns out to be better! Better than even the SNES and 64 renditions of HM. I haven't played any of the new ones nor have I played Rune Factory because I never liked the direction the series took.

But yeah, this is basically the best Harvest Moon game to date. It takes everything that made those games great up to eleven. Not to mention you can even mod this game. It's just so deep, and there are plenty of things to do. You can spend all day working on your farm or you can go to the town and work on a budding romance or you can gather various plants to sell them off for money or you can go do the mine. The mine is a 100+ floor randomly generated dungeon with simple combat mechanics where you can gather rare artifacts or materials. On top of romancing the different women of the town, you can also befriend almost all of the different townspeople who have multiple layers of personality to them as well.

The game's incredibly rewarding, no matter what you do. Yeah, there's a main storyline involving either helping the local Wal Mart expand their business or deciding that they're a bunch of pricks and helping the town by restoring the museum instead. These plots move too slow however, and like Harvest Moon the game is endless no matter what. The story isn't what this game is about. Instead, grow your farm, get married and raise a family, and be the person your grandfather wanted to me. I should also mention that you have a ton of land for your farm and you can make some cool designs to share. For example, look at this one:

https://www.imgur.com/gallery/ND2lnp9

Stardew Valley is a perfect example of what happens when an indie game inspired by another classic game is done right.

The most important part of that image, of course, is that he picked best girl.
---

Top 15

2008
Lost Odyssey
Tales of Vesperia

2009
Exit Fate

2010
Persona 3 Portable
Red Dead Redemption
Mother 3

2011
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC

2012
Mass Effect 3
The Last Story

2015
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

2017
The Witcher 3
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Zero
Persona 5
Yakuza 0

Haunter12O posted...

Tales of Vesperia
Persona 3 Portable
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Zero
Persona 5

Good man.

Even though I haven't played Trails to Zero, but being a Trails game I'm sure it's fantastic.
---

Glad to see Odyssey, Vesperia, and Last Story still hanging around.
---

15. Exit Fate
Original Release: 2009
Year Played: 2009
Developer: SCF
Platform: PC

This is SCF's other RPG Maker XP release on this list, and it is exponentially better than Last Scenario. This time around, he makes a game heavily inspired by Suikoden. Actually, this is mostly a Suikoden fangame with a hint of Final Fantasy and Xenogears thrown in. I think it only uses Suikoden II tilesets except for the world map, but other than that, it's a damn good successor to the last real Suikoden (five). Oh, and it's free to download.

You play Daniel Vinyard, a colonel in a kingdom at war with the city-states. Soon enough, Daniel is framed and has to defect. What follows is a journey to unite the two and end the war, as well as find out the truth about his past. This is standard stuff, but it's told rather well. There are eight chapters altogether, each one larger than the other, and you get your castle in chapter 3. The castle's not as impressive as something you'd get out of Suikoden II or V but it's a nice addition and you have SEVENTY characters plus to recruit! All of them can be used in battle! That's impressive work, especially when you also realize that you can have up to six characters in battle.

As I said before, this is a successor to Suikoden V, and I would even go as far as to say it could be Suikoden VI. You'll consistently deal with political intrigue and build your castle as you go on scouting for new allies. Dungeon exploration is very basic as they all have a simple layout. You can "bribe" random encounters to avoid them, as they can be brutal towards the end of the game. But the coolest thing is the war battles, again similar to Suikoden's format. This time around, you have multiple units on a map each of which is comprised of up to three recruits (each recruit gives a different bonus or skill). The wars play out in Fire Emblem format: you can either move and attack or just attack on a grid, and the enemies will do the same afterwards. There are plenty of wars and they have a surprising amount of depth to them. They're also probably the most difficult part of the game! This is, by far, the best war battle system in any Suikoden, actually. Konami could learn a thing or two from this if they ever smarten up and return to the franchise. There's also optional war maps you can find and play by going to one of the strategist recruits in the castle.

The story doesn't hit the emotional high points of something like Suikoden II, but it does have plenty to offer. Daniel's an alright protagonist, something of a do-gooder and Gary Stu most of the time but also happens to have a dark side. I wasn't his biggest fan, honestly, and he wasn't the greatest in battle. The strength lies in the supporting major characters, like his best friend Jovian and the strategist Bast. The villains are okay, but a certain duo really stands out here. The story does have a rather strong plot twist at the end of Chapter 6 that energizes the game and I was glad for that.

It's impressive how well this game is made considering it's done by one person, especially since there are absolutely no bugs/glitches. That being said, it has its flaws due to the limitations of such a project, being a 40-hour game and all. It borrows music heavily from Final Fantasy, Xenogears, Wild Arms, and Suikoden among others. It also borrows tilesets from Suikoden II as mentioned before. If you can get past the fact that there's no original music and everything is something you've likely heard before, then this shouldn't be a problem. Fair warning, though. The character artwork isn't exactly pretty, either, but it is what it is.

I actually found out about Exit Fate here on GameFAQs in 2009 and downloaded it immediately. I spent 40+ hours on this game, and it happened to be my favorite game I played that year. That's crazy, too. You should play it if you haven't already.

pyresword posted...

Haunter12O posted...

Tales of Vesperia
Persona 3 Portable
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Zero
Persona 5

Good man.

Even though I haven't played Trails to Zero, but being a Trails game I'm sure it's fantastic.

Yeah, I played Zero with the current mishandled translation and it still managed to get this high into my list. I think the better fan translation is about 70% done. https://geofront.esterior.net/ is the link to that group.

14. Lost Odyssey
Original Release: 2008
Year Played: 2008
Developer: Mistwalker
Platform: XB360
Favorite Character: Jansen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5bF0s40SnI" data-time="

I played some amazing JRPGs in 2008. Tales of Vesperia and Lost Odyssey both came out on the 360 of all consoles and I got to experience both games. I'd give the edge to Vesperia, but I still hold Lost Odyssey in high regard because it's (almost) everything I wanted from Sakaguchi's team. It's an excellent Final Fantasy without being a Final Fantasy, because let's face it, if he was still part of Square Enix/Squaresoft this would totally be the next FF. There are many nods: an ancient king resting in one of the main cities not named Odin, a water serpent not named Leviathan, and so on and so forth.

Lost Odyssey has an interesting premise, with have your party being immortal beings who cannot die, but have suffered enough tragedy throughout their lives. Kaim Argonar is one such character, and as a result for living for 1,000 years he's become a depressed, nearly silent hero. I don't blame him. He meets various characters along the way, including mortals, and they band together to find and defeat the one who's caused them to be this way. The villain is well written, too, and he has a lasting presence throughout the game. He reminds me of characters like Exdeath and Kefka, in the sense that they're constantly there and they succeed in some of the things they do (you even get to play as him briefly). By the end of the game, you'll want him dead. You have some interesting characters who join you, too. Jansen is an woman-chasing, alcoholic mage who constantly has one-liners and quips he likes to throw out randomly during story scenes. I think this is a result of the VA improvising his lines sometimes and I love it. He gets some ample development in the end as well, and became one of my favorite characters. Not everyone, unfortunately, gets the same amount of development. I didn't mind Cooke and Mack, because I felt that Sakaguchi gave them enough story and moments for them to grow on me. Sarah, on the other hand, gets very little development, as do the last two characters who join the party way too late in the game.

Perhaps the best thing about Lost Odyssey is how well steeped in lore it is. The locations are huge and the towns are beautiful. It's clear much time was spent on making these places. Numara's calming town theme never gets old as you wander its canal-lined streets, while Uhra feels like an industrial revolution metropolis. One of the towns turns into a Moonside-like nightmare realm due to a curse, and it's up to you to save it. The world has plenty of personality and it's definitely really pretty, but I wish it were a little bigger.

Pacing is an issue here, as Lost Odyssey is slooooow. You'll often spend hours in one location, not because they're long but because battles can sometimes get monotonous and there's plenty of scenes and content to digest in every one of these places. Battles feel kind of archaic. it's a turn based system where you choose your attacks from all your characters and watch each ally and enemy perform their move based on speed. There's no turn order grid, something that was popularized by FFX in 2002, and this game came out in 2008. This isn't exactly a big problem, but sometimes battles can get tedious after a while. Boss battles are fun, on the other hand, and many employ some sort of gimmick. I should mention that the first two bosses are quite challenging, but then nothing after that comes close. It's really unfortunate, because I truly wanted the game to remain as difficult as it was in the early parts of the game. There are also long load times. The world turns out to be quite small, with tons of unused land. It also seems like there's missing or cut content. Lastly, as I said before, the last two characters join in Disc 4, which is way too late in the game when there's only a small handful of areas left and things to do.

Another thing that bothered me is the memory feature which involves examining objects or talking to people and invoking a memory of Kaim's over the last millenium. What these are are short little stories that occur over a black screen with text, and more text. They're meant to pull on your heartstrings, as the majority of them are sad. This is what Sakaguchi was going for. The whole time I read these, I just shrugged and remained emotionless. None of them meant anything for me and they also felt completely disconnected from the main plot. They felt like a last minute afterthought. What would've made them better is actual visual flashback. SHOW, not TELL! But that's asking for too much, as this wasn't exactly a triple A game.

This is also one of Uematsu's best soundtracks to date. Lots of Final Fantasy feels, with some tracks surpassing his work in that franchise.

I nitpick but I digress. Lost Odyssey was an extremely memorable game and I hold it in high regard. It hits all the right notes at the right time. It's a shame Mistwalker doesn't really do much these days. Lost Odyssey deserves a second chance but it's sorta faded into obscurity now and it's been ten years. A sequel would be perfect, starring Kaim again sometimes in his millenium-long existence. There's definitely potential there. It's disheartening that this was released in a period of a JRPG drought and decline in popularity on the 360 of all things. Hell, I wouldn't mind an HD remake (there are also issues with framerate dropping that pop up frequently in this game). I can also go ahead and pretend this is the real Final Fantasy 13. Sakaguchi and Uematsu and their team went on to make The Last Story, luckily, which turned out to be an ever better RPG. You'll see it later on the list.

13. Mass Effect 3
Original Release: 2012
Year Played: 2012
Developer: BioWare
Platform: XB360
Favorite New Character: Javik
Least Favorite New Character: Diana Allers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf6SEcgzp-c" data-time="&start=147

Okay, I'll address elephant in the room first: the ending. It sucks. It really sucks. There's no denying that and no matter how much some people may try to defend it (why?) it is downright terrible. Rumors point to some internal troubles or politics at BioWare which caused the story writer and director to go behind the team's back and change the ending at the last minute, and other rumors point to more shady dealings like wanting the real ending be DLC. Whatever the case may be, the ending backfired on BioWare and they've lost a lot of fans, and haven't made a great game since. I'll keep talking shit: who the fuck is Jessica Chobot, and why is she in this game? Was this some flavor of the month journalist who somehow got herself weaseled into the game? I really don't know, but she looks uncanny and ugly (uglier than Ryder) and shouldn't be in this. She plays no role in the story anyway, and nobody knows who the fuck she is anymore.

With that out of the way, I can say this safely: the ending does not ruin the game, or the experience of playing through an epic space-faring RPG trilogy. Some will say it does, but are you seriously going to sit there and tell me that 60+ hour of RPG'ing is completely destroyed by the last 10 minutes of the last game? I don't think so. I mean, yeah, I really wanted a proper final boss instead of a Marauder with shields. I wanted a lot which we didn't get, unfortunately, but that's okay. Look past that and look at the rest of the game, because it's really, really good.

In Mass Effect 3, the galaxy is at stake and you constantly feel that pressure coming from the imminent Reaper attack. There's really not much filler. Every mission involves saving a race from extinction, or wrapping up any loose ends left over from previous games. That's also what I loved. All these characters you met back in ME1, like the reporter, show up in their respective grand finales here. Even the side missions this time around are exciting. I wish there were more direct references to Mass Effect 2, but alas that was not the case. Most of the new playable characters from that game disappear or do not join your party, and the Collectors never show up again. I'm not going to blame ME3 for that, though. It has plenty of more important content. Even the build up to the actual Reaper fights on the Krogan and Tali's homeworld are amazing. Cerberus has been turned into some sort of white supremacist analog and I'm okay with that too because the game did still need human foes, although I hated how Udina turned out to be an enemy because I always preferred him as a selfish, stuck-up jackass rather than an actual villain. Everything else is ultra-refined to near perfection. The planet mining is done better, the combat is much better, planet exploration is more fun, and wrapping up each individual character's story was rewarding. The set pieces also look much better than anything we've seen (Cerberus HQ, Rannoch, and Palaven are my favorite). I especially loved the final romance scenes in the game, and everything building up to the (disappointing) ending on Earth was amazing.

If it weren't for the ending I probably would've ranked it higher, and I do believe that it could've been the perfect sequel if they actually spent some time on it. It's a bit unfortunate, especially because this was BioWare's last hurrah before they turned to shit. No, I haven't Andromeda, but from everything I've heard and seen, it looks like crap and I won't be touching it. They're in an even worse position now than ever before. But if they keep doing shit like putting people like Chobot in their games they're going to dig their hole even further.

Haunter12O posted...

Okay, I'll address elephant in the room first: the ending. It sucks. It really sucks. There's no denying that and no matter how much some people may try to defend it (why?) it is downright terrible.

The patched ending is just fine
---

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Haunter12O posted...

Okay, I'll address elephant in the room first: the ending. It sucks. It really sucks. There's no denying that and no matter how much some people may try to defend it (why?) it is downright terrible.

The patched ending is just fine

Not for the hundreds of thousands of fans who bought and finished the game before the patch was released.

Haunter12O posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Haunter12O posted...

Okay, I'll address elephant in the room first: the ending. It sucks. It really sucks. There's no denying that and no matter how much some people may try to defend it (why?) it is downright terrible.

The patched ending is just fine

Not for the hundreds of thousands of fans who bought and finished the game before the patch was released.

Sucks for them I guess
---

I thought the original ending was alright. My main problem with it was that all three endings were almost identical, which I wouldn't even have realized if I hadn't checked the others out later. Thankfully the patch fixes that.
---

bump

Not sure how to approach #12, it's a hell of a game to write up.

Hi. *extends hand*

I'm GTM.

(literally how I debuted)

(but Im not supposed to remember that lol explosion)

2
9

Its coming