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

(+) Yeah! (+)

Nier got really old for me really quick. I liked what they were going for but it didn't feel right for me

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Probably nothing else tonight.

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or 5 more tonight

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Definitely not 5

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We shall see

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#30. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story


Ive said this many times, but RPG Bowser is the single greatest character Nintendo has ever produced (although I guess Square deserves partial credit!). When I learned that he was finally getting to take center stage as the main character, I was all in. As you can see by its ranking here, Bowsers Inside Story lived up to those lofty expectations for me. I suppose there could have been some skepticism considering Bowser had never been the main character of a Mario game before. You could wonder if RPG Bowsers effectiveness was due to the fact that they gave him to you in small doses so it always left you wanting more, but I think this game stacks up with the very best stuff the series has to offer. He isnt self-titled the King of Awesome for nothing! Seriously though, one of the things that impresses me about most Mario RPGs is how clever and funny the writing is, and this game proves you can never have too much RPG Bowser (as an aside, one of Sticker Stars biggest offenses was reducing Bowser to just a generic bad guy and giving him zero lines of dialogue. Seriously, that game does not understand why people like Mario RPGs).

Anyway, the basic premise of Bowsers Inside Story is that Mario and Luigi team up with Bowser (unbeknownst to him since he unwittingly swallows them at the beginning of the game. It makes sense in context, trust me) to take down Fawful, who makes his return after skipping out on Partners in Time. I honestly wasnt a big fan of the guy in Superstar Saga (I thought his unique way of speaking was more annoying than funny), but they actually make him into an effective villain here. Mario and Luigi occasionally have to help power up Bowser from the inside to help him defeat the stronger enemies in the game through a series of mini-games that are pretty good, for the most part, if not a bit repetitive. Switching between controlling Bowser and controlling the brothers is pretty much seamless (you can basically do it whenever you want), and they make it work really well.

The core gameplay of Bowsers Inside Story is largely the same as the other Mario & Luigi games when youre controlling the brothers. The game emphasizes teamwork between the two of them, whether while youre exploring or in battle. You have a bunch of different abilities that you gain throughout the game that enable you to access areas you couldnt before, and the special combo attacks you can use in battle are really fun and can be pretty powerful once you get the timing of them down. Bowser adds a new wrinkle to the formula because he operates alone, but he can gain special Koopa Troop attacks as he finds various members of the troop. He can also inhale most enemies and let Mario & Luigi deal with them if you so choose. There are occasionally some giant Bowser battles, too, and those were some of my favorite battles in the game. Also, I have to say that Bowsers Inside Story absolutely nailed the final boss. Its one of my favorite final bosses in any game with one of my favorite final boss themes. The atmosphere is just off the charts. It brings all the gameplay elements together in a really fun way, and its really satisfying to win.

I didnt bother to get the Bowsers Inside Story remake they released on the 3DS last year though, and that was mostly because I didnt like that they changed the graphical style to resemble New Super Mario Bros. The art style of the Mario & Luigi games is part of their charm, so I just couldnt see it being as good as the original. I guess people agreed with me because I heard it bombed, and AlphaDream (the company that developed the Mario & Luigi games) declared bankruptcy back in October of last year. Its kind of sad to think that the days of great Mario RPGs are probably behind us now after how amazing they were for about 15 years.

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Super Mario RPG is the only Mario RPG that interests me all that much for some reason.

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LinkMarioSamus posted...

Super Mario RPG is the only Mario RPG that interests me all that much for some reason.

Youre missing out

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fascinating

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RPG Bowser is so great.

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Mario RPG > Superstar Saga > Paper Mario > Bowser's Inside Story > Super Paper Mario > Dream Team > Partners in Time > Color Splash > Paper Jam > Sticker Star

Need to get around to TTYD someday

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Bowser is my favorite character in general, it feels great to take control of him in this game.

That scene at the very end of the game makes me happy, the one where hes back at his castle, interacts with his minions and Starlow, and gets a cake from Peach.

Yeah, I really like the ending. That was a cool little moment.

I'll try to churn out one or two tonight. It's been a busy weekend.

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#29. Sonic Generations


After the success of Sonic Colors, I was excited to see what Sega would come up with next. When I saw that they were doing a weird collaborative team-up between Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic as they zoom through recreated zones from the past, I was sold immediately, especially once I saw one of the levels was going to be Sky Sanctuary, one of my all-time favorites. Some people talk about fanservice and nostalgia like theyre bad things, but as long as you can use it well, Im all for it! I think Sonic Generations did a good job of remembering the past (and showing that Sonic Team actually did understand what made the series great) while giving us a reason to be excited for the future. The series actually had a really solid decade after a rough 00s, so that was good to see!

Sonic Generations features nine zones with two acts apiece (one Classic Sonic act and one Modern Sonic act). Each is a recreation of a zone of the mainline Sonic games up to that point, so you have Green Hill from Sonic 1, Chemical Plant from Sonic 2, Sky Sanctuary from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Speed Highway from Sonic Adventure, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2, Seaside Hill from Sonic Heroes, Crisis City from Sonic 2006, Rooftop Run from Sonic Unleashed, and Planet Wisp from Sonic Colors. Theyre grouped into three groups of three zones meant to be representative of different Sonic eras, and each group has two boss fights. Youve got Metal Sonic, the Death Egg Robot, Shadow the Hedgehog, Perfect Chaos, Silver the Hedgehog, and the Egg Dragoon. Each Classic Sonic act is a straightforward 2-D sidescroller like the Genesis Sonic games. The Modern Sonic acts are basically 2-D/3-D hybrids where Sonic is more on rails like in Sonic Colors rather than being a wide open area to run around in like a lot of the 3-D Sonic games. He also has the boost mechanic that Sonic Unleashed introduced, which provides a really satisfying sensation of speed. They also brought back the Red Star Rings from Colors to encourage exploration and trying to find all the routes through each zone. Each act has a remixed version of the level theme, too, which is really neat.

Now some people might criticize Sonic Generations for being too short or not having enough unique content, and I suppose I can get that, especially if you didnt come into the game as a fan of the series. They do have a bunch of side missions you can do, which pads the length of the game a bit. I just enjoy the nostalgia of playing through these familiar zones in a fresh way and feeling the thrill of watching myself gradually get better and faster at navigating my way through them. Generations also lets you unlock bonuses, like classic songs from throughout the series, and you can even set them to play during the zones. You can race through Green Hill with Flying Battery playing in the background, or you can blast through Rooftop Run and jam to Endless Possibilities at the same time. Its a really cool bit of fanservice. It feels like such a little thing, but it makes me wish more games allowed you to do it!

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Solid decade hmm, Colors, Generations, and Mania vs. 4, Lost World, Boom, and Forces. Great time!

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I mean, half of Generations was good.

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Generations is the best Sonic game

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LinkMarioSamus posted...

Solid decade hmm, Colors, Generations, and Mania vs. 4, Lost World, Boom, and Forces. Great time!

Lost World isn't a bad game, and I don't care to hear the opinion of someone who didn't play a single one of them anyway.

(Sonic All-Stars Racing was also fantastic)

trdl23 posted...

I mean, half of Generations was good.

And the other half was great, yeah.

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#28. Street Fighter IV


Street Fighter IV is the most extensive online gaming experience Ive had by a long shot. Online multiplayer isnt a selling point for me at all, and yet I found myself getting engrossed into this games fight scene. I played several Board 8ers in this game over the years, as well as just random people online. There was just something addictive about it. It was easily accessible regardless of your skill level (while I am miles ahead of any of my real life friends since none of them got into fighters the way I did, I am thoroughly average overall) or who you wanted to play as, and it had a good community. I used to love watching the Street Fighter IV tournaments for EVO, too. I tried getting into the online scene for Street Fighter V solely because of how much fun I had with this one, and it just wasnt the same. I cant explain it (well, other than it just not being as good of a game as SFIV, I guess!).

Anyway, I still remember that original trailer of Ryu and Ken fighting with the new art style as Indestructible played in the background (it makes me sad that they only used that song in vanilla Street Fighter IV) as people were trying to dissect every nuance in it to figure out what the style would be and what new techniques they would add. There was so much hype because it had been a decade since Street Fighter III, and it absolutely delivered on that hype. One of the biggest new elements SFIV added was the Focus Attack, which would let you absorb a single hit and deliver a crippling counterattack, which would leave your opponent open for a followup, or you could just safely retreat. You also had EX Moves, which would use up a bar on your Super Meter and allow you to deliver a stronger version of a special move. Then there were Ultra Moves, which were devastating attacks that could quickly turn a match around if you landed them, and they had outstanding cinematic presentation to accompany them. Your Ultra Meter built up as you took damage, so it was basically a way to ensure that you were never totally out of a match.

While I did spend a lot of time on the original Street Fighter IV, my love for the game really skyrocketed with Super Street Fighter IV. I could never find a character I wanted to main in vanilla, but with the addition of Guy and Cody with Super, I found my boys. Im a big fan of the Street Fighter Alpha series and I loved Final Fight back in the day, so I latched onto them right away. Super Street Fighter IV also added a bunch of classic characters from the past, and by the time Ultra came out, you had an almost incomparable roster for the series (Street Fighter Vs is a little underwhelming in comparison, at least to me). I loved Guys speed and his pension for misdirection, although his Ultra moves were really difficult to land, so that limited his effectiveness for me. If I was trying to be serious online, I usually rolled with Cody because he had a good keep away game and some strong counterattacks, as well as a super satisfying Ultra move that I loved hitting people with whenever it landed.

Also, unlike Street Fighter V, Street Fighter IV actually had a really good single player mode. I beat it with every single character, and it was fun seeing the ending cutscenes, as well as the intros with their rivals with unique dialogue in the penultimate battle (hearkening back to the Alpha series). In terms of fighting game plots, it actually feels pretty cohesive, which is really impressive! But the gameplay is so much fun that I didnt mind beating arcade mode with every character. As far as fighting games go, its hard to do much better than this one.

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IN-DE-STRUCT-IBLE

Nothing's gonna stop me now

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well whatever

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i mean i'm theoretically here + would love to play some of these but i haven't!

is sonic generations 2D?

loved paper mario; always wanted to play the handheld mario RPGs, but wound up never playing even one.
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Sonic Generations has 2-D and 3-D levels

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Sonic Generations has maybe my least favorite final boss in all of 3D Sonic. I don't know if I just couldn't figure out how the controls were supposed to work but it was horrible.

Rest of the game was fun though.

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Yeah, the last boss is bad. I beat it but I still have no idea what I did to beat it.

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#27. Super Mario Galaxy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMF_KXEY5g8

I think that video encapsulates the sheer joy, freedom, and creativity that Super Mario Galaxy provides in its movement and jumping with the gravity mechanic it implements. It just makes jumping feel good. This is the game that made me fall in love with 3-D Mario again. I played a ton of Super Mario 64 back in the heyday of the Nintendo 64. There really wasnt anything like it before, but after playing Super Mario Sunshine, it kind of soured me on the experience. I think I went several years after that before I tried to play Mario 64 again, and it was for a Board 8 project where I ranked all of the stars from best to worst as I collected them (Im pretty sure it still exists on the Wiki in case someone wants to read it!). This project was also the first time I collected all 120 Shines in Sunshine, but the reason that got me to go back to those two was how much I loved Super Mario Galaxy.

The games greatest strength, appropriately enough, is its atmosphere. I was fascinated by astronomy as a kid, so the idea of playing a game where youre blasting through space and traveling to different worlds with different properties and stuff was really cool to me. Theres just so much creativity and color in all the worlds. I love the feeling of activating a Launch Star as the camera zooms out to show a cinematic wide view of the surrounding area. My personal favorite one is launching out of the volcano in Melty Molten Galaxy and the camera cuts in front of Mario to show the volcano erupting behind him. It just looks so awesome. One of the things that enhances the games atmosphere is the fantastic soundtrack, which might be the best one in any Mario game of any kind. They went for a fully orchestrated score, and its simply beautiful.

I suppose I do need to say a word about the controls because Super Mario Galaxy does use a lot of motion controls, and I know a lot of people flat out dont like them. Im somewhere in the middle where I dont mind games that have them, but I dont feel like they really add anything noteworthy to a game. For the most part, Galaxys motion controls are fine. You are constantly lightly flicking in order to spin, which is an important gameplay move because you have to spin to do a lot of stuff in the game, as well as being used to damage enemies. The only thing that ever really frustrated me was when you had to do the rolling ball levels because its so difficult to be precise with them, and those levels require a lot of precision. But for the most part, theyre fine. I think the game handles well outside of the rolling ball. You do have to use the motion controls for the power-ups, too, but I think they all feel pretty cool. I like the Ice Flower and the Boo Mushroom power-ups that Galaxy introduces as well.

Super Mario Galaxys worlds are divided into a couple of types. You have worlds that have multiple stars to collect, which means theyre generally bigger and feature a lot of exploration. You also have worlds that only have one star (and occasionally a second), which tend to be more focused around a single feature and are more focused on platforming. I think it provides a good balance in the game. My favorite major worlds are Battlerock, Ghostly Galaxy, Gusty Garden, Freezeflame, Toy Time, and Melty Molten. My favorite minor worlds are Sweet Sweet Galaxy, Hurry Scurry, Buoy Base, Bigmouth, Sand Spiral, and Matter Splatter. You also have Prankster Comet challenges, which appear in select worlds and give you specific challenges, like collecting 100 Purple Coins, racing through a level against Cosmic Mario, or beating a boss without getting hit. The Bowser levels also tend to be really good, and the boss fights against him are really fun. The final level is super good, one of my favorite final areas in the series. Also, it was really nice that they finally brought back playable Luigi to a mainline Mario platformer, so that gives it a big boost in my eyes, too!

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I dont know why but I just never could get into Galaxy. I guess it was probably the control scheme? I think I got about half of the stars.

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Galaxy is so good. Ended up a bit disappointed with Odyssey by comparison!

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Wheres devil may cry

LordoftheMorons posted...

I dont know why but I just never could get into Galaxy. I guess it was probably the control scheme? I think I got about half of the stars.

Yeah, I do wish Nintendo would re-release both Galaxies on Switch. I think it would help people who struggled with all the motion controls.

Kenri posted...

Galaxy is so good. Ended up a bit disappointed with Odyssey by comparison!

Well, I knew Odyssey was aiming to be more like Mario 64 in style than Galaxy, so I did temper my expectations a bit. Still a great game though!

ertyu0078 posted...

Wheres devil may cry

I played like an hour of the first DMC and decided it wasn't for me. People tell me to just play DMC3 and you don't really need to play the first two to enjoy it.

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#26. Shadow Hearts: Covenant


Shadow Hearts: Covenant took the grim and serious atmosphere of the first game and let it take a backseat to something lighter and sillier. It doesnt totally get rid of it, as you still have Yuris struggles with his (still literal) inner demons and battles against (also literal) outer demons, but its a game that has no problem making fun of itself (and the characters often make fun of the bad guys theyre going up against, which is also great) and is a little less depressing as a result. I think its a lot easier to get into Covenant, and it improves upon the original in most areas (except for dungeon design, most notably. This games dungeons can be pretty bad sometimes).

I think one of the aspects I appreciate the most about Covenant is how it follows up on the original Shadow Hearts. Very few games with multiple endings make the bad one canon, but this game does. I thought that was a pretty bold move, and it also enabled them to take the story in a direction that they otherwise couldnt have. I think Covenant has a really good story that gets better as it goes along, just like the original Shadow Hearts. Ive often said that this game should be called The Yuri Hyuga Owns Faces Show because there are so many instances of him literally punching bad guys in the face in an awesome FMV. Yuri is such a great protagonist because hes always brash and confident in his skills, even when the villains try to hinder his special abilities. He manages to be a good guy while continuing to be the Rude Hero we know and love. In the opening cutscene of the game, he saves the lead female of the game from a group of bad guys, and then he proceeds to unceremoniously dump her on the floor before walking out the door without a word. Theres also one cutscene thats always stuck with me where he argues Might vs. Right (which is the literal name of the cutscene in the game) as he mercilessly beats down a basically helpless old man (whos been behind a lot of the evil stuff thats happened in the game up to that point, for the record). Its kind of uncomfortable to watch, but its also part of what makes Yuri unique among JRPG heroes.

Now while Yuri is the main draw of Covenant, I think the overall playable cast is a big improvement over the first Shadow Hearts, which had a small cast, with about half of them having one-dimensional personalities and essentially no real role in the story. Covenant has a much bigger cast, and the characters (other than Lucia) feel like they matter and have a real reason to be there, as well as having optional content dedicated to them (Joachims wrestling tournament is one of my favorite parts of the game). They have some great cast chemistry, and its fun to see them interact with each other. Covenant also really improved on the battle system, almost to the point of making it too easy. You can have your characters team up to do really powerful and flashy combo attacks, which trivializes most boss fights since you can just gang up on the one bad guy and wreck him, but it looks and feels so good. Now Covenant compensates for it by having the last boss be easily the most difficult fight in the game (at least it was for me), which makes it really satisfying when you do beat it. I wish Shadow Hearts was more popular than it is, and I wish user SaveEstelle had finished the first game so he could have gotten to this one because it would have been a lot of fun to watch him experience it!

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poor Shadow Hearts

you deserve better

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#25. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMATSpXZjDg

That clip describing the origin of one of Nathan Drakes bizarre quips goes a long way to explaining the charm of Uncharted as a whole and why Nolan North was perfect for the role. I think hes at his best here in Uncharted 2, partly because hes constantly changing who hes traveling with and so his style of banter changes. For instance, I love it when hes with Tenzin because Drake still talks at him even though he knows he doesnt understand what hes saying. Theres a constant air of tension and mistrust when hes with Chloe, which results in some great chemistry between them. Drake and Sully are always great together, although its unfortunate that hes only around for the early part of the game.

When you start a game en media res, the goal is to get the player invested in finding out how it got to that point, and Uncharted 2 nails that better than any game Ive played, where you have Nathan Drake bleeding and clinging to the bottom of a train hanging over the edge of a cliff. I think Uncharted 2 is impeccably paced, as the game keeps the action moving from area to area without ever really dragging, while also knowing when to throw in some downtime, like wandering around the village. I never had to force myself to keep playing it because I was always eager to find out what happened next. Thats not to say its a perfect game, but youre willing to overlook its weaknesses because its strengths are so good.

In terms of gameplay, the leap from Uncharted 1 to Uncharted 2 might be one of the biggest improvements from the original to the sequel Ive ever seen. I always dreaded combat in the first game because it was poorly designed and enemies were bullet sponges that took forever to kill. They largely fix those problems here, so it keeps the game moving. The puzzle sections are a lot of fun, too. I always enjoy piecing together the hints from Drakes journal to figure out what to do next (Drakes journal in general is full of great Easter Eggs, too). Overall, the real draw of Uncharted 2 is how amazing the setpieces are. The cinematic presentation is top notch and provide for maximum drama because it feels like natural progression (provided youre not one of those people who deliberately stops to show that the game waits for you to reach a certain point to trigger the next setpiece). I love the entire Borneo sequence, and the train part is also excellent, especially because you know youre closing in on finding out what happened to Drake at the beginning. If you just want some good action, you wont find much of anything better than Uncharted 2.

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Uncharted 2 is so fucking good. A perfect AAA spectacle title that probably inadvertently ruined AAA gaming for several years as everyone tried to copy it.

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4 > 2 > 3 > 1 > LL > GA

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Huh, Lost Legacy was that bad?

I played a little bit of Golden Abyss and didn't like it at all, but I haven't played Lost Legacy.

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Uncharted 2 was great. I need to get back to 4 one of these days.

I actually thought 1 was pretty good though!

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UC1 is fine because the characters are great, and the puzzles and parkour are fun. It's everything else that drags it down.

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Combat was definitely worse than 2, but I didnt think it was horrible. Maybe playing on a lower difficulty helped? (Cant remember if I did easy or normal).

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I got the Nathan Drake Collection a while ago and played through UC1 - Nate was great, but I definitely didn't care for the combat at all so it's good to know 2 improves on it. Should really go back to it one of these days.

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LordoftheMorons posted...

Combat was definitely worse than 2, but I didnt think it was horrible. Maybe playing on a lower difficulty helped? (Cant remember if I did easy or normal).

I played on normal and the enemies were definitely still bullet sponges. I don't think the combat areas were designed well for firefights either, but that's just me.

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Janus5k posted...

I got the Nathan Drake Collection a while ago and played through UC1 - Nate was great, but I definitely didn't care for the combat at all so it's good to know 2 improves on it. Should really go back to it one of these days.

It's an insane leap.

UC2 is basically the pinnacle of cinematic action games and I don't think it can be topped. Really marvelous from beginning to end.

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#24. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars


This was my very first RPG, and I imagine Im not alone on that one. Ive always been a big Mario fan (Super Mario Bros. was my first video game), so when I saw all the previews for this game, I was interested, even though I didnt totally understand what it was all about. Thankfully, Super Mario RPG is perfectly suited to be a first RPG. The gameplay is simple but engaging. I dont know why more RPGs dont implement timed hits because its a brilliant concept. It ensures youll never get bored fighting random battles because youre always trying to make sure you land the perfect hit, as well as trying to defend against enemy attacks to avoid damage. The weapons and the special moves all have their own unique animations and timing for extra damage, so its fun to learn them and use them all. There are also some fun and addicting mini-games that are easy to learn and dont require a lot of time investment. I spent so much time doing the Yoshi races. The game doesnt overwhelm you with secrets, sidequests, and collectibles, but theres enough there to satiate your curiosity if youre willing to look for them.

Super Mario RPG keeps everything pretty basic when it comes to character building: You only have 5 total party members; levels cap at 30; weapons, armor, and accessories are pretty straightforward; you learn new special moves via leveling up; and you can choose one stat to give a bonus to each time you level up. Its easy to get good at the game, and theres nothing too powerful for you to overcome with the right setup and practice. Speaking from personal experience here, Ive completed all the sidequests and beaten all the optional bosses, including Culetx t, and I dont consider myself an RPG completionist by any means! I very rarely beat any games superboss. Its just a really good entry point for beginners to the genre.

But the real charm of Super Mario RPG is found in its characters. I had never played a game with so much personality before, especially in a Mario game, where the hero is usually silent and the villain usually possesses generic motivations. Even the random NPCs you encounter from town to town are funny and memorable. Of course, Super Mario RPGs greatest achievement is the creation of RPG Bowser, who actually becomes your reluctant ally this time around to take down this games antagonist, Smithy. One of my favorite items in the game is the Hurly Glove, where Bowser literally throws Mario at enemies. Speaking of Mario, despite being a silent protagonist, he still manages to show plenty of personality. I love it when he reenacts events in order to explain them to other characters, literally transforming into the people hes talking about at times. Many of the games villains are fun, too, like the Axem Rangers, Booster, Jonathan Jones, and Croco.

To wrap things up, I remember people being surprised by Super Mario RPGs strength in the original Games Contest (Street Fighter II LOST?! was one of the original contest running jokes), but I picked it to win that match without thinking. I mean, its a Mario game made by Square on the Super Nintendo. What more do you need to be a really popular game? I was really happy to see it make a deep run in the 2015 Games Contest as well. It was one of the bright spots in a contest that was largely infected and affected by outside rallies.

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Geno for SSBU!
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Team Rocket Elite posted...

Geno for SSBU!

Mallow > Geno

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SF2 LOST??? is the main reason why I dont like this game, but I could never get into other Mario RPGs either.

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SMRPG was also my first RPG but kid me was dumb and never made the connection of "hey maybe i should try other rpgs" and it took years before that revolutionary idea occurred to me.

yoshi races no thanks though

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xp1337 posted...

SMRPG was also my first RPG but kid me was dumb and never made the connection of "hey maybe i should try other rpgs" and it took years before that revolutionary idea occurred to me.

yoshi races no thanks though

I spent more time betting on CPU Yoshi races than actually controlling Yoshi...!

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It was my first RPG too.

yoshi race is bad. The first anyways. It's so rare for me to actually get past the first one that I can't really speak to the minigame's quality after that.

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AxemRedRanger posted...

It was my first RPG too.

yoshi race is bad. The first anyways. It's so rare for me to actually get past the first one that I can't really speak to the minigame's quality after that.

Yeah, getting the timing right is tough, but it's fun once you do.

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