Board 8 > Leonhart Ranks 100 Games with Writeups: The Top 40!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I liked the girls better in 1 and the guys better in 2. I dunno if the lows are any worse between the two games (Byakuya and Mikan are probably the worst for each game?). I know a lot of people hate Hifumi, for example, but I generally found him hilarious.
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Hifumi is pretty terrible, but the low-key worst character in DR1 is actually Mondo.

also the worst DR2 character is Teruteru

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I generally can't bring myself to care about people who die in the first chapter that much, though Fat Byakuya was cool. I barely remember Mondo, and Teruteru was basically nothing.
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Halo not in the top 100

banned

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he leon I just beat street fighter 1 using save states on the Switch

how anyone can beat that game legit is beyond me

What strength!! But don't forget there are many guys like you all over the world.

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TheKoolAidShoto posted...

Halo not in the top 100

banned

Multiplayer with rocket launchers only

Good times

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Nelson_Mandela posted...

he leon I just beat street fighter 1 using save states on the Switch

how anyone can beat that game legit is beyond me

What strength!! But don't forget there are many guys like you all over the world.

Yeah, it's a really bad game! The special moves are totally broken if you can actually manage to execute them though!

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I beat Sagat in Street Fighter 1 mostly by wildly mashing buttons and directions to get the special moves to come out and then fighting him dozens of times until doing this actually worked out. It was really dumb!

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All those sports games are good

My brother and I played a lot of NHL Hitz 2002 (a GameCube launch title!) and that was pretty good too. Also a game I had forgotten about that would make a top 50 list for me

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I feel like Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey is more of the NFL Blitz/NBA Jam game than NHL '94

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That would be Blades of Steel

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#35. Marvel's Spider-Man


Insomniac is one of my favorite developers (Play Ratchet & Clank) and Spider-Man is one of my favorite superheroes, so I was very excited when I heard they were joining forces for this game. The previews looked so good, and I was down with the new Spidey suit, as well as the fact that this was a more veteran Peter Parker whod had his powers for about 8 years, so we werent going to be subjected to yet another origin story! In terms of gameplay, Spider-Man games can be kind of hit or miss because its difficult to get the feel of web swinging down and make it control well. However, I had faith in Insomniacs ability to pull it off, and they did not disappoint.

Traversing across New York City is so smooth, whether youre swinging above the streets with your webs, youre climbing buildings, or youre hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Its just amazing. As you progress in the game, you can unlock quick travel via the subway, but I honestly didnt use it that often because I just enjoyed zipping across the map as Spidey, finding the different landmarks, stopping various crimes in each district, and hearing the latest episode of J. Jonah Jamesons podcast. There are so many cool little Easter Eggs all over the place if youre Spider-Man fan. I think I found all of Peters old backpacks before I ever progressed the story past the prologue. I dont make it a point to go after Platinums unless I really enjoy the gameplay (or its something easy like a VN), and I had no problem doing all the stuff needed to get it for this game (its a fairly straightforward Platinum anyway).

I was also curious to see what Insomniac would do with the combat considering how creative and inventive the Ratchet & Clank series is, and its spectacular. Just beating up bad guys is fun enough as it is with Spideys crazy agility (and Spidey Sense works really well in this game), but you can unlock various upgrades and enhancements as you level up and unlock new suits (most of which are references to other iterations of Spider-Man, like the Scarlet Spider), everything from explosives to literal electromagnetic pulses. Each suit has its own unique ability attached to it as well. My personal favorites were the Iron Spider Suit, the Stark Suit, the Negative Suit, and the Vintage Comic Book Suit (which does nothing but make Spider-Man quip even more, but I love it anyway). The game has some really cool boss fights, including some two-on-ones that are really tense.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the story in this game. They managed to make it its own thing instead of merely adapting a story from the comics. They changed some things around without doing any disrespect or disservice to the source material. There were some genuine surprises and plot twists I didnt see coming, including a pretty big stinger at the very end that has me hyped about the sequel (and with this game being a massive success beyond even Sonys expectations, theres little doubt there will be a sequel). It was fun to get to interact with a lot of classic characters in a new way. Even as a big Spider-Man fan with high expectations for this game, this game managed to meet those expectations and then some.

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I just finished Spider-Man and made a point of getting my 2nd ever platinum.

pretty darn good game

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Dr_Football posted...

I just finished Spider-Man and made a point of getting my 2nd ever platinum.

pretty darn good game

Yeah, it was my second non-VN Platinum (FFXV was the first).

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Leonhart4 posted...

Asahina was probably my favorite DR1 character.

Aoi was one of my favorites as well. She just plays a much smaller role in the overall story because she's simply likeable rather than having any particularly useful traits.

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Leonhart4 posted...

Yeah, it was my second non-VN Platinum (FFXV was the first).

How the hell do you Platinum a VN

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uh pretty easily

you just do the stuff it tells you to do

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#34. Final Fantasy Tactics


Give me the original translation of Final Fantasy Tactics, typos and all, over the unnecessarily verbose and overly flowery War of the Lions translation. People talk about how the plot doesnt make sense in the original, but thats just silly. I think theres maybe one scene in the original where its genuinely difficult to tell what theyre trying to say, and even then, its not that big of a deal to discern what they really mean. The original translation is fun and the important lines have more impact and punch. The line above is way more memorable and effective than Tis your birth and faith that wrong you, not I. Plus, give me Algus and Vormav over Argath and Folmarv any day! Plus, only the original has the fantastic battle quotes like, Life is short! Bury! Steady Sword!

Anyway, now that weve got that out of the way, lets move on to more important matters! There are a couple of major appeals to Final Fantasy Tactics. The first is the job system and the strategic battle plane where you place your units and move across the field to defeat the enemies. Im not a huge fan of job systems in general, but this one is fun enough. I dont experiment or attempt to optimize my characters. There are several job classes Im pretty sure Ive never touched even one time. Most of the time, I stick to the basics and then gradually replace all my generic units with the recruitable party members and their unique skill classes. However, the last time I played Tactics, I did a Geomancer SCC (Straight Class Challenge), and it was a lot of fun! I dont know if Id do it again anytime soon, but it was certainly worth doing once. I think the battle system can be a lot of fun regardless of the classes you use because I enjoy the strategic elements of it. There are a lot of memorable story battles, too, like Fort Zeakden, Zirekile Falls, Golgorand Execution Site, Riovanes Castle, and Murond Death City. There are many fights that are still a challenge for me, no matter how many times Ive played this game.

But the real draws of Final Fantasy Tactics to me are the characters and the story. I love the games cast. Ramza is one of my favorite protagonists in any game. Hes among the most purely heroic characters Ive ever seen. He does the right thing simply because its right, regardless of what those around him do, which is an especially rare thing in Ivalice. He goes against the political tide and current of his day, even when it gets him branded a heretic and an enemy of the state. I respect that level of integrity. There are many foils to Ramza in Tactics, and I love me some foils. You have Delita, who believes that the end justifies the means and so he doesnt care what he has to do to get what he wants. Gafgarion cares about nothing but himself and sells his services to the highest bidder. Then theres Wiegraf, a man who sold out his principles for the sake of power. I love the banter you get in battles where they participate, as they debate their own beliefs with each other. I wish more games did stuff like that. There are a lot of really fascinating characters with their own motivations, and I like seeing how they work for and against each other.

Final Fantasy Tactics is a plot about a power struggle, as multiple factions battle it out to see who gets to fill the void left behind by a king who died without an heir of appropriate age. There are conspiracies, rebellions, assassinations, manipulations, intrigues, betrayals, and more. I had never seen a video game story like this before in 1998. Ivalice is a world of nobles and commoners, where most of the nobles dont live up to their name. Its a pretty dark story, and many of the characters get killed off at various points. Yet I appreciate the fact that theres still an undercurrent of hope with Ramza, showing that theres never a wrong time to do the right thing, even when no one else will and even if no one recognizes you for it. No matter how bad things may seem, theres always hope.

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Algus
Aeris

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Also, I enjoy FFT, but I'm very bad at it. I even have a lot of trouble with I think the second mission? The surrender or die in obscurity one.

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The first few missions in Tactics are pretty tough since you don't have a lot of stuff available to you, unless you're willing to grind it out.

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Did Square ever say why they changed from Aeris to Aerith?
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Did Square ever say why they changed from Aeris to Aerith?

There are copies of FFVII where her default name is Aerith, although they're pretty rare.

It was probably supposed to be Aerith all along (to sound similar to "earth") but since the "th" sound doesn't exist in Japanese, it's sometimes hard to translate names in English that should have it!

(the Sunleth Waterscape in FFXIII should be the Sunless Waterscape)

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More later.

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huh, i actually think i got reasonably far into lufia 2 and just... petered out somewhere. would like to give it another go, though circumstances make that pretty unlikely i fear. FFVII too.

FFT is sadly one of those that'll probably never happen.
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#33. Kirby Super Star Ultra


Here I am combining a bunch of different games into one entry again! Seriously, this is the best Kirby game Ive played by a wide margin partly because it does provide such a wide array of experiences. Each game is too short to be its own full-length game, but for something like Kirby Super Star, it works because you can blast through one game in a single sitting. Im specifically ranking Kirby Super Star Ultra here because I did enjoy the extra stuff it added, especially the game where you get to play as Meta Knight and Helper to Hero, which is Arena mode, except you get to play as one of the helpers, which can be pretty tough since youre limited to one power. My personal favorite to use was the Plasma Wisp.

Anyway, the appeal of Kirby games is the light and fun platforming, as well as the ability to copy your enemies powers. You can either use them yourself as Kirby or create a buddy to fight alongside you (and a second person can control them if youve got someone else to play alongside you). There are a lot of different abilities available to you, but my favorites are the beam, the mirror, the bomber, the yo-yo, and the fighter. The games are all fairly easy for the most part, so you can just roll with your personal favorite powers for the most part, as long as you have access to them. You almost never need to have a specific power for a section or a battle, and if you do, the game will provide it for you so you dont get stuck in an unwinnable position.

The game breaks you in pretty easy with Spring Breeze and Dyna Blade, which are both short games and not really difficult in any way, although they do have a couple of cool boss fights. Kirby Super Star really opens up once you unlock The Great Cave Offensive, Meta Knights Revenge, and Milky Way Wishes. The Great Cave Offensive encourages you to explore each level to find various treasures, which are really pieces of Nintendo lore (like the Triforce). The levels are really cool, and I think it has the most memorable bosses, especially the one that parodies an old school JRPG battle. Revenge of Meta Knight is a race against the clock, quite literally, as each stage is timed (although youre almost never in danger of actually running out of time at any point). It probably has the most fun story and characters, as the time limit ramps up the tension, and the other characters are often seen bantering about Kirbys progress at the bottom of the screen, which is fun. The climactic battle against Meta Knight and the escape on the Wheelie might be the single best moment in the entire game. Milky Way Wishes might be my favorite game in Kirby Super Star. I think it has the best designed levels, and the game gives you unlimited access to powers once you find a powerup of them. You can transform into any power youve found at any time from the menu, which is pretty handy. The last boss fight here is probably the most difficult fight in the game, and its a lot of fun.

Kirby Super Star also has some fun little mini-games that have multiplayer modes if you want to try those out. Gourmet Race is just that. Its a series of races where you try to collect as much food as possible along the track while also winning the race. Then you have Megaton Punch, which is Kirbys version of Test Your Might, where you have to line up your strike just right, and you can literally split Popstar in half if you do it perfectly. Theres also a showdown type game where you have to be the first one to hit a button once the game prompts you, and you automatically lose if you false start multiple times. Its a simple concept, but it can be really tense waiting for the signal and trying to get it in first. So yeah, if youve never played a Kirby game before and you want to try one out, I cant see any reason to play anything other than Super Star. The entire essence of the series is squeezed into this game, and nothing else Kirby has produced has matched it.

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Each game is too short to be its own game.

Man the original Kirby game was pretty darn short huh

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LeonhartFour posted...

(the Sunleth Waterscape in FFXIII should be the Sunless Waterscape)

wow the localizers suck

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LeonhartFour posted...

Insomniac is one of my favorite developers (Play Ratchet & Clank)

It's funny that I'm a fan of Spyro and Resistance but never got around to R&C yet. Someday! Probably after I get through the Jak games again.

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Whiskey_Nick posted...

Each game is too short to be its own game.

Man the original Kirby game was pretty darn short huh

I mean, it was short! It's only four levels.

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Did you happen to ever play Robobot? That was definitely the best single-player experience I've had with Kirby post-Super Star, gives a great mix of original content and Kirby fanservice that Star Allies kind of overbloated itself with (and was kinda unfinished to start with), and the armor feels like a gimmick with actual legs that expands Kirby's abilities as opposed to, say, Return to Dream Land stopping the action every second for the cinematic super abilities. Would recommend giving it a look if you haven't!

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No, I haven't played that one yet. I'll look into it.

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pjbasis posted...

It's funny that I'm a fan of Spyro and Resistance but never got around to R&C yet. Someday! Probably after I get through the Jak games again.

I still need to play Sly Cooper one of these days. That's the major PS2 platforming series I haven't played yet.

I should play Rayman Legends someday, too.

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#32. Nier


Nier has probably the most jarring opening of any game ever. As soon as you boot up the game, Laura Bailey just starts cursing up a storm, and you have no idea whats going on. Before youve even officially started Nier, you already know youre in for something the likes of which youve never seen before. Another thing that clues you in to the fact that this is an uncommon experience is that the main character is, well, old. You rarely see a JRPG protagonist over the age of 21! Well, technically, in Japan, there were two versions of the main character in two separate games, the old man and your typical bishonen hero. One game was called Nier Gestalt, and the other was called Nier Replicant. Im glad we got old man Nier in the west because I think his motivation to save Yonah works better as her father than as her brother, but maybe thats just me.

In terms of graphical presentation, Nier is to the PS3 what Shadow Hearts is to the PS2. It certainly isnt stretching the limitations of the systems hardware! Like Automata, the world is pretty small, and you find yourself going to a handful of locations over and over again. The battle system isnt anything special either, although I wouldnt say its bad. It just winds up being kinda repetitive. You find one or two spells that work for you and spam them whenever you get a chance, and you just mash away with regular attacks until then. You have other party members who are controlled by the CPU, but they feel largely useless. The sidequests can be rather frustrating at times. And yet somehow it all works! You get charmed by the characters in the small world because theyre full of personality. The New Game+ runs add layers to the battle system as you start to understand what youre really doing. The sidequests are almost worth it because of all the fantastic banter you get, and as Ive said before, Ill never say no to more optional banter.

The glue that holds Nier together is the plot and the characters who get swept up by it. There are multiple times when you think you understand what this game is about, and then it hits with you a twist or revelation that just blows your mind. If you only beat the game once and never do a New Game+ run, youve only skimmed the surface of the depths of this story. They had to release a document after the game came out called Grimoire Nier in order to fully explain everything because its so complex. The last three endings are all really poignant in different ways. Ultimately, why I rank the original Nier over Automata is because I got more emotionally invested in the characters here, and there were more unexpected gut punches along the way as a result. I love Grimoire Weiss. Hes my favorite character across both games. Papa Nier is a really good protagonist. Emil and Kaine are great supporting characters that find ways to make you care about them, and they all have excellent chemistry.

Oh, and of course, I have to say a word about Niers soundtrack because it might be the greatest video game OST ever made. Just go listen to it.

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Nier

Far

Wherever you are

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Nier is such a great game (I played it on 360 actually!) It's another game with tons of little things that I love and when you realize what's going on completely alters the way you thought about it. Love the distorted/reversed voice effects when you kill enemies and "absorb" them. And the never stated but oh-so-obvious reveal of why these enemies are dropping items like coloring books hit hard. Kaine the best. And the showdown with Devola and Popola hits such an emotional note.

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I love Kirby Superstar.

Dont think I ever played Ultra. Maybe it's on my anniversary collection, in which case I will have to give the new games a try.

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#31. Bomberman 64


Bomberman 64 is probably in my top 5 for most played multiplayer games. This entry is unique in the series because this and the sequel, Second Attack, are the only games that dont use a 2-D grid style for multiplayer battles. Instead, you fight on an open 3-D plane, which changes the strategy of battles. You can predict the range of explosions to an extent on a grid, and you can also use it to trap players if you know what youre doing, but thats harder to do here since you have free range of motion. Its also sometimes hard to tell just how big the blast radius will be, so you might get hit by an explosion when you thought you were in the clear. I personally loved it, but Im guessing it wasnt a popular decision with the fanbase as a whole because they ditched it in later games.

Anyway, Bomberman 64 was a blast (quite literally) with four players. Theres really no other way to play because the battlefields are too big for anything less. The good thing is that every battlefield has its own unique features, and I enjoy playing on all of them. You have stages where there are pillars that obstruct your line of attack if you choose to kick your bombs, but you can also use it to your advantage if you time it just right because the explosion travels through objects. There are stages with multiple levels, and your goal is to be up top and rain down destruction below. You have a stage with water, which slows how fast your bombs roll, so you have to take that into consideration. You have a stage with grass, where the location of your bombs are hidden, so it makes things even more chaotic than usual. Theres a pirate ship that rocks back and forth, and the bombs roll back and forth with it. No matter what stage you choose, Bomberman 64 is crazy and anything can happen. There were never really any hard feelings about losing because you were too busy laughing at how crazy that explosion was that killed you.

The style favored attacking from long distance and attacking aggressively. We were always throwing and kicking bombs at each other. You can even upgrade the size of your bombs, the type, how many you can have on screen at once, and all that. After you got killed, you briefly became a ghost who could affect the field of play. You could kick bombs around or throw ones that were already laid down, but you couldnt make any of your own. You could even possess another player and run them into an explosion, which was always a good time. I also heard Bomberman 64 had a pretty solid single player story mode, but I never bothered with it! We were always too busy blowing each other up!

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Never played bomberman 64 but I did play a bunch of multiplayer on Super Bomberman.

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Super Bomberman was the only game I ever experienced with the adapter that let you hook in more than 2 SNES controllers.

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I had a couple of sports games that used it as well.

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Bomberman 64 with 4 people is a blast. Had some good times with it in college.

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Bomberman shouldve won over Squall in 2004. ;)

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Zylothewolf posted...

Bomberman shouldve won over Squall in 2004. ;)

nope

should've beaten Alucard in 2003 though

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I can't fathom Bomberman being superior in 3D. The 2D series is just so polished and simple.

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Most of my knowledge of Bomberman comes from ProtonJon.

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Nelson_Mandela posted...

I can't fathom Bomberman being superior in 3D. The 2D series is just so polished and simple.

They're both really fun! I just want a good Bomberman game again.

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How archaic would the original Nier feel coming from Automata?

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A Bomberman compilation + new Bomberman not being on Switch yet is egregious

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LordoftheMorons posted...

How archaic would the original Nier feel coming from Automata?

I don't think it's as drastic as going backwards from Persona 5 to 3 and 4, but Nier's gameplay wasn't considering great even when it was new! Like I said, I don't think it's bad. It can just get repetitive.

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