Pumpkin's Top Games of All Time Ever

[Pumpkin]

56. Suikoden IV (PlayStation 2)
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Suikoden IV takes place in the island nations long before the other Suikoden games. Our hero, Lazlo (or whatever you name him) has just graduated in to a full-fledged knight, but because this is a video game, and a Suikoden one no less, he soon finds himself outlawed. His troubled don't end there because he also inherits the Rune of Punishment. In case you couldn't tell by its name, it isn't a good thing.

This is a Suikoden game and plays much like the others save a few differences. For one, battle takes place with parties of 4 instead of 6. Most travel is also done long distances over sea on a ship instead of walking around a world map. Like other Suikoden games, you have to try to recruit the 108 Stars of Destiny. Magic takes place in the form of 'Runes' which you can purchase and attach to certain characters. There are ship battles as well as rock-paper-scissor type duels. As usual, you have a headquarters, this time on a ship, which contains several mini-games. There are at least 108 recruit able characters, and 56 characters usable in battle (including guest and non-stars of destiny).


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General impressions:
Suikoden IV is the black sheep of the Suikoden family. It isn't as good as the others. The HQ isn't as nice, the battle party was lowered to 4, the characters aren't as interesting on the whole. But it is by no means a bad game. It still had a very interesting story, some solid characters, some very pretty locations, and my second favourite True Rune story of the series. It has some fun things like the confessionals, and it has some of my favourite character designs as well. It also has my favourite Jeane and Viki designs. I don't enjoy it as much as the rest of the series, but it's still a very good game and I really like it.

Story:
I'd say it's a strong point in this game, despite everyone disagreeing with me :P. I liked the Rune of Punishment because it wasn't just a rune you could spam for power (well it was, but not story wise). I liked learning some back story for the history of the Suikoden world, and seeing some old (young?) faces like Ted, which tied in with the first game. I liked the politics of this one a bit more than most other Suikoden games as well, and while the characters and gameplay weren't as good, I thought a lot of the dialogue flowed well in this one.


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Gameplay:
The gameplay is by no means bad, I think the biggest issue is that it was a departure from the rest of the series. When you have as many characters to level grind as a Suikoden game, 4 in a party is not nearly enough. Those extra 2 party members make a difference. Also, as much as I liked the beautiful water environments, getting from place to place with little going on was just very dull. Other than that the gameplay was fine and I did actually enjoy the ship battles.


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World:
As I mentioned above, both pretty and dull. The ocean is vast and beautiful, but having to traverse it forever to get somewhere was not fun. But the islands for the most part were pretty interesting and it had some memorable areas.


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Characters:
The characters didn't have the same charm as in the other Suikoden games, but it still had some strong ones that I enjoyed. As usual I appreciate the diversity of character types you find in this series, and it was certainly interesting having an older, drunk woman as your strategist.

Favourite character: Flare 62672
Honourable mention: Kika 62673


I liked both of these ladies because while they were very different people, they were both strong and determined and excellent allies. Plus Flare is an archer and I love me some archer characters.

Overall it is the weakest in the Suikoden series, but it is still a solid, fun, enjoyable game that I will continue to play. It has a strong story and some interesting characters.


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[CimminyCricket]

You know, I think I have this one, but I have yet play a single Suikoden.

[Pumpkin]

55. Spyro 3: Year of The Dragon (PlayStation)
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This Spyro game is about saving poor baby dragons from yet another comical dragon hating villain. There's also a love story.


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This game plays about the same as Spyro games from the time. You travel to different worlds via portals and collect gems and dragon eggs. You can glide and breathe fire and headbutt things, and there are also mini-games like skateboarding and the like. In this game you can also control different characters in set locations to do mini-levels.

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This is my favouritest Spyro game. I have so much fun playing it. I love the worlds and the side characters and the mini-games. The story stuck out to me much more, although it's still a Spyro game. But most of all I love all the different baby dragons and there funny little skits and names! Just bought it again recently and have had a bunch of fun playing it again!


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[Slothy]

Remember back when Spyro was fun and cute? Because Activision doesn't.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

but Pepperidge Farms does.

[Pete for President]

Suikoden IV is the only one I have played. I remember finishing it but not getting all 108 characters. I also remember some runes being very OP and the ship battles were awesome even though they weren't very challenging. Agreed on some dull environments. I liked sailing from one port to another buying and selling goods for a profit.

[metagloria]

Spyro 3!!! Not sure if I prefer it over 1, but I definitely love it. One of the best platformers of the PSX/N64(/Jaguar?) generation.

[Ayen]

The last good Spyro game.

[Pumpkin]

Another Tekken game?? Don't worry, there's only one left after this


54. Tekken Tag Tournament (2) (PlayStation 2/3)
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I'm lumping together both of them. Tekken Tag Tournaments 1 and 2 are about beating up your opponent in some time paradox where there dead are brought back to life and a 40-50 year old Michelle looks like she's 17. Also, does it bother anyone else that she supposedly adopted Julia but Julia looks JUST LIKE HER?! What are the chances she adopted her clone now really. Anyways I'm getting off topic. Michelle is pretty cool regardless.


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In Tekken Tag Tournament you pick two characters and you swap between them while beating up another tag team. Some health will recover on the one not currently fighting depending on the damage bar. It fights like all Tekken games where the buttons correspond to different limbs. It also has large amounts of characters from the entire series, so even if your favourite was killed off, you can use them in the Tag games.


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I like both games a lot and my favourite part is having pretty much all of the characters available. There's so many to choose from and you can use two at once, which is fun. Tag 2 is pretty much an improvement on Tag in every way, but I have a few issues with it. I feel like the sexualization is starting to get over the top, and not just for characters like Anna where I expect it, and the customization system is a really big step down from 6, in my opinion, which was disappointing because it was one of the things I was looking forward to most. But aside from that they are both incredibly fun games and I really enjoy them. Especially since the first one had bowling at that was incredibly fun!

Favourite character: Lili 62703
Honourable mentions: Xiaoyu, Anna, Jun 627026270462705


Lili has dethroned Xiaoyu has my favourite Tekken character since Tekken 6. I just enjoy using her more. But Xiaoyu is still really up there and I like how quick and agile she is. Anna and Jun return as favourites for the reasons I listed in my Tekken 2 review. I like Jun almost purely out of nostalgia though because I don't click that well with her fighting style.


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[Ayen]

I got to play this with my brother and nephew and I kicked so much ass as Nina.

[Pumpkin]

53. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PlayStation 3)
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Ni No Kuni is about a young boy named Oliver who ends up in a strange and magical world and becomes a wizard to save his mother. While he's there he learns about “soul mates”, people who are connected to people from his world, he restores broken hearts, and he meets some new friends.

This game has a lot of stuff to keep track of. You can catch and tame monsters and also evolve them. The monsters will do a lot of the fighting for you in battle. You learn spells which not only work in battle, but serve a wide range of purposes outside of battle as well. Such as unlocking locks, growing plants quickly, or speaking to ghosts. You also get a cauldron for items. Another part of the game is taking certain heart qualities (such as enthusiasm) from those with an abundance and giving it to the “heart broken” to make them feel better. You also travel between the two worlds to find people's “soul mates”, because helping one from one world will generally help the other. There are 3 playable characters and they can each have a certain amount of monsters available to use in battle.


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General impressions:
This game is beautiful, there's no doubt about that. You're basically playing a Studio Ghibli film. A very very long one. While I love the art style, the beautiful and wonderful world, the likeable protagonist, and the interesting story, something about it is just... off. I can't figure out what. Maybe it's just too much stuff going on and it makes it too overwhelming. I don't know. But on paper it is an amazing fantasy game and I'm glad I played it and I would certainly play it again. There is an incredible amount of detail in it, from your magic book actually being a book with wonderful drawings and such to the fact that this is one of the only games where the character uses stairs properly. Major points in my book just for that one thing.

Story:
The story is very interesting, although it has some glaring faults to it and is incredibly slowly paced. But it's actually very good, it kept my interest and it kept me wanting to see more and play more. The plot twist near the end with Pea was excellent and touching and it had some incredible fantastical moments that just suck you right in.


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Gameplay:
There is so much going on in this game I don't even know where to begin. It's very interesting to me to have magic more useful outside of battle. I loved collecting heart pieces and helping people out. The monsters were cuties and I liked using them, but some of them were infuriating to catch. The game is a lot of fun, but it's hard to keep up with everything, especially if it's a game you put down for a while and come back to. As I mentioned, for all of its good qualities on paper, something is a bit off about it and I often found if I played it too much I would get big headaches, which was pretty odd. And this game is long. This game is very very long. Also each area provides a considerable difficulty spike, but it doesn't take long to catch up.


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World:
Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous. Seriously, I would play it just for the beautiful world. They tricked me at first with the smaller map but it is vast and fun to explore. There are too many gorgeous areas to count, but the towns also feel lively and vibrant, especially when you help out the townsfolk. It's just great, top 5 video game worlds for me easily.


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Characters:
This is the weak point for me. I like the characters just fine but I don't love any of them and I hate our last entry fellow. There's lots of cute and nifty monsters to use though. And Oliver is a cool kid with a touching story. But overall they didn't really stand out to me, which is a shame.

Overall this game is absolutely beautiful when it comes to world, graphics, and story. The game has a lot of elements to it but it somehow manages to be less than the sum of its parts, and so that is why it is so low on the list despite it's strong qualities. Excellent fantasy game, though.


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[metagloria]

I really enjoyed that game but the combat was just awful. I mean "awful" is too strong...I just hate not being able to truly control my characters. Very clunky and poor support AI. Gorgeous world though, and sweet story.

I never beat the final boss :sigh:

[chionos]

I really need to get this and finish playing it.

[Pumpkin]

Last one for tonight! Tomorrow we finish out the 50's, so we will be about halfway done, whoooo~


52. Tales of Legendia (PlayStation 2)
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Tales of Legendia is about Shirley and Senel as they end up on a giant ship and Senel has to rescue her because she holds some kind of special powers or position in society, although what exactly it is is not known at first. Senel teams up with some others with similar goals as he attempts to get her back from those who would use her.

This game is a bit different from most Tales games of the time, but it still had it's similarities. X button attacks, O uses arts. Attacking restores the TP needed to use arts. Pressing a directional button with O uses different arts. In this game there will be some sort of... gel bubbles in certain paths, protecting chests usually. Entering a fight while inside one of these will trigger a stronger than usual monster. The game also has block puzzles to do in most dungeons. There are 8 playable characters with 4 used in battle at a time.


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General impressions:
I was a bit nervous to try this one because it's the black sheep of the Tales family. Sure enough, it wasn't as good as the others I had played. But it was still quite good, especially later on when things start to pick up more. The characters were interesting and the story was excellent. The gameplay is alright but certainly the worst from the series. But despite its faults, it kept getting better and I would definitely play it again.

Story:
The story is the best part of the game. It's hard to go in to much detail without spoilers, but it really had me interested when things started to pick up. I liked learning about the different types of people and how the world got to where it was. I also really like the deconstruction that this game used. The main character views his previous lover as perfect and she's shown as such in some flashbacks, but as time goes on you learn that he was seeing her through rose-coloured glasses and she was actually kind of a jerk. She did do some good things but she wasn't the perfect maiden we were led to think she was. I really liked the story, although it did feel a bit slowly paced at times.


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Gameplay:
One of the weak points. It isn't as fun as the rest of the series, the 2D battle screen gets a bit confusing and difficult, and the block puzzles were awful later on. The AI is also a bit stupid and your main healer likes to not heal until the last possible second, which often leads to dead characters. Cooking was much less exciting. But other than that it was fine.


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World:
The world actually has some very interesting locations that I had a lot of fun exploring. The world felt very large and vast and there were some very pretty places. The best thing about it though was the teleport things they had everywhere to minimize back tracking. It was an excellent feature and took away the potential for something tedious.


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Characters:
While this game by no means has my favourite characters in video games, they are overall well written and interesting. A lot of them felt and acted like real people. It was actually hard for me to choose favourites because they don't stand out much, but their interactions and scenes are well written and I like the cast more as an ensemble than as individuals.

Favourite character: Norma 62739
Honourable mention: Shirley 62740


Norma was just a big silly goofball and some of her stuff made me laugh out loud. She just brought a lightheartedness, and she was silly and goofy and fun. She was also pretty positive and picked herself back up when she was down. Shirley is generally hated and I can see why in some instances. Her voice is annoying and she gets kidnapped a bajillion times. But she's a heroic and selfless character deep down and she has some of the most interesting development and scenes, especially with her changy parts.

Overall this is a weak entry for the Tales series, but still a really good game overall. Good characters, great story, so-so gameplay. Good history to it as well. A lot of fun and I will definitely play it again.


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[Pete for President]

Ni No Kuni is awesome in many aspects, but something is off indeed. The game does way too much handholding, and while the battles can be challenging the actual puzzles and fetch quests are mostly lame. The characters literally tell you which spells to use to solve a quest/puzzle, and you can only cast them and finish that quest until you have talked to them enough. Let me think for myself please, I'm not dumb :cry:

But man does this game go out with a bang. It has one of the strongest endings I have seen in a long long time.

[Pumpkin]

Woke up early today


51. Bravely Default (Nintendo 3DS)
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The game centers largely around the four Crystals, which at the beginning we see engulfed in darkness. Meanwhile, one of our characters hometown is swallowed up by the Earth. He teams up with the vestal of Wind and two other companions as they attempt to revive the Crystals.

This game plays like some old school Final Fantasy games with some differences. You have 4 characters, all 4 usable in battle. There are many job classes to choose from and each serves its own purpose. You can switch to any of the ones you have anytime outside of battle and for any character you want. In Bravely Default, jobs are obtained by defeating enemies of the job at certain points in the story or through sidequests. It also has the Brave/Default system, where you can borrow against or save up turns in battle.


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General impressions:
This game was one of the reasons I got my 2DS. I was so excited to play it. But every time I went to get a new game, I was never in the mood for this one. Eventually I was and I picked it up and for the first few days I could not put it down. My 2DS was constantly on the charger because I was draining the battery like a crazy person. I was so interested, so excited. But I noticed that the further in I got, the more my interest waned. I realized I didn't really like the characters, the story was incredibly predictable, and the game was really kind of hard, even on easy. I still like the game, don't get me wrong, but I suppose it didn't live up to what I expected it to.

Story:
At first the story really grabbed me. I couldn't wait to see what happened next, to get the next character, to go to the next area. What was going to happen!? As it went on though, I realized the story was absurdly predictable. I saw pretty much every twist coming, and that's saying a lot because I'm really bad at that. Especially the “Things aren't black and white!” twist because Edea spent the whole game shoving black and white morality down my throat at every opportunity. If they'd been a bit more subtle about it, it would have had more of an impact. Instead it was “Okay, when's the reveal, let's get on with it.” But the story is still pretty solid and I liked that the villains for the most part had some depth to them instead of just being evil badbads.


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Gameplay:
I'm split on this so I'll start with the negatives. I like to play video games ALONE. I won't even VS players in fighting games anymore, I'll just take turns. I want to play games A L O N E. I don't want to turn on StreetPass, I don't want to connect with other players, I want to play it as if no one else exists. I hated that this game penalized me for that. Oh you want to rebuild the town? Well it's going to take 10 years because you prefer to play without linking to your friends. You don't get the special friend attacks. And we are going to remind you every time you boot up the game that you will not have it as easy because you play by yourself. I don't play with other people. I don't like that. Awesome if you do, but don't penalize me if I don't. Also this game was hard and really repetitive towards the end and also in dungeons. Now that that's over with, this was refreshing if you enjoy games like FFV and the job system. I LOVE the job system. So many jobs, so many cute outfits, they get to keep those jobs in scenes. So much fun. The Brave/Default option was also really cool and made the regular fights much quicker and easier. It was also good that they had battle and difficulty settings.


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World:
The games world was quite interesting and I did like it. The towns were very pretty and artistically done and I always liked seeing what the next town would look like. Very pretty, great diversity. Only negative I can think of were the repetitive dungeon maps. Other than that, no complaints, really great world.


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Characters:
Another weak point for me personally, although a lot of people love the characters. I thought I would love Agnes and made her my main lady, giving her my favourite job classes and such. She is a good person but I don't know, she didn't stand out to me. I didn't really like the others, although I didn't dislike them either. I guess Tiz would probably be my favourite of the bunch, but not enough to give him his own section in this review. I'd say some of the villains were more interesting to me. But I did enjoy their interactions and little character skits.

Overall this is a good game, especially if you like old school Final Fantasy. It definitely goes back to its roots. It was a bit repetitive and predictable, but it's good fun to play, especially for fans of the job system.


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[Loony BoB]

I wouldn't mind another go at a Tales game someday, and Bravely Default too. Hopefully they get a port to a console I currently make use of sometime.

I expect I'll buy Ni No Kuni sometime.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Norma is great. I thought she was a really funny, fun character. She attacks with bubbles for Pete's sake.

[Ayen]

BD fairy is creepy as smurf.

[Pumpkin]

Bit of an early schedule today. Let's finish up the 50's!


50. .hack//series (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine)


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I'm including all four games in the series because it's hard to judge them individually. It would be like judging each disc of the PS1 FF games individually instead of as a whole. Anyways, these games are about MMO players in The World as some strange junk goes on. People playing the games are going in to coma's in real life, and newbie player Kite gets some weird messages and powers. It soon becomes obvious that this isn't a typical video game and Kite and his gang need to set things straight before more people get hurt.

This game is a single player RPG meant to mimic an MMO, since an MMO is the setting of the game. So in the game you go to different maps by entering different keywords, you have safe zones, and you call up your party members to come join you instead of them being readily available at all times. Sometimes they will be busy with “real life” and will be unavailable to you in game. There are also some sidequests to do and such. Each character has a job class that he/she specializes in. There are a lot of playable characters, some story mandatory, and some you can recruit by doing sidequests.


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General impressions:
I actually didn't know what an MMO was when I started playing this, but that didn't stop it from being fun! It should also be noted that this game is more than just a game, it's got a whole experience with it. You even get short movies to watch with the games to show what's going on in “the real world” as you progress the story events in game. There's also an anime that is pretty connected, but it isn't necessary to watch to complete the game. Because it has so much around it, and you even get like a little messages thing and you can customize your background before you officially join the game and stuff, it really makes for a very immersive experience, something I enjoy a good bit.

Story:
the story is excellent and really had me hooked. I was a bit creeped out and scared, but excited and wanting to know more and see more. I wanted to understand what was happening and why. It has some very interesting lore to it, it's well told, and overall is just a very gripping story. The story is by no means a horror, but it does have some thriller aspects to it, which is a genre I really enjoy. Great story.


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Gameplay:
The game is really fun to play. There's a bunch of maps to explore, the world really changes with the events, and even the menu screen before entering the game itself is fun because you can customize it and stuff. I like the realism aspect of not having everyone available to you at all times, although it was a bummer sometimes to not have access to a character you use frequently. The sidequests and mini-games and such were also much fun.


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World:
My biggest complaint here is that some of the maps get repetitive. But other than that it's good, it has some nice locations, and it changes with the games and the story, which was pretty neat. Nothing special but not bad at all either.

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Characters:
With so many characters, there's bound to be some you like! There were quite a few I really enjoyed using and it was interesting to see some of the personalities you got along the way. There was also a good variety so you could adjust your parties for your personal play style.

Favourite character: Mistral 62758
Honourable mention: Elk, Natsume 6275962760

Mistral is sweet, bubbly, and kind. She's also fun to have around and makes some silly comments. I was sad that she became unavailable for a good chunk of time, but overall she's a great character. Natsume was very naive and had low self-esteem, but she melted my heart and I liked having her around. Elk has one of the saddest stories and I couldn't help but feel for the poor guy.

Overall great game with great atmosphere. Excellent story, really fun to play. The games cost an arm and a leg now though, which is a shame because I really like them and wish I could play them again.


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This evening we kick off the 40's, yaaay!

[Shauna]

I cannot believe how expensive these games are. Particularly because each individual title is only like 8 hours long (I've only played one but I've looked into the rest of them in terms of gameplay length).

[Pumpkin]

49. Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns (PSP)
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In this game, you play a farmer who has a choice of moving to one of two villages. One will focus more on raising livestock while the other will focus more on growing crops. You also have to try and restore the friendship of the two towns by participating in the weeklyish cooking contests for some reason. As usual in a Harvest Moon game, you can get married as well.


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This plays like most Harvest Moon games. You take care of crops and livestock. Time passes at about 1 minute per second and the villagers have their own schedule. There are 4 months representing the 4 seasons, which affects things like which crops can be grown. You can get married of course. This game also places emphasis on the cooking contest every week or so, where the villages will go up against each other in a themed cooking contest.


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Yes, that man is dressed like a panda


This is my favourite Harvest Moon game. I feel like it's become easier to play, it fixed a lot of the previous issues, and it's a lot of fun! There were quite a few characters I liked which adds replay value for the marriage part. The downside is that heart events are random, which can be rather frustrating. But other than that, it's probably the most intuitive that I've played, they teach you how to do things well, and it's very fun!

Favourite character: Laney 62765
Honourable mentions: Georgia, Nori 6276662767

Laney is a really sweet and caring woman who I always enjoyed talking to. She's also very easy to get gifts for because you can find stuff for her outside for free. Georgia is pretty and kind and Nori is a nice, motherly type. It is a Harvest Moon game though, so they're all abnormally nice.


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Well we're about halfway done my list now, so tomorrow I will have a special thingy! It will only be one post, and I know I've been going fast so it'll give people a chance to catch up on my first half. So look forward to that! :plumcheer::kaocheer:

I hope everyone is having fun :kaoclove:

[metagloria]

...I picked it up and for the first few days I could not put it down. My 2DS was constantly on the charger because I was draining the battery like a crazy person. I was so interested, so excited. But I noticed that the further in I got, the more my interest waned.

This description applies to every handheld game Square-Enix has ever released. ​They're so good at making them addictive, and so bad at fleshing them out and keeping them interesting.

[Pumpkin]

...I picked it up and for the first few days I could not put it down. My 2DS was constantly on the charger because I was draining the battery like a crazy person. I was so interested, so excited. But I noticed that the further in I got, the more my interest waned.

This description applies to every handheld game Square-Enix has ever released. ​They're so good at making them addictive, and so bad at fleshing them out and keeping them interesting.

Interesting. Do you have some other examples? I'm curious now

[metagloria]

...I picked it up and for the first few days I could not put it down. My 2DS was constantly on the charger because I was draining the battery like a crazy person. I was so interested, so excited. But I noticed that the further in I got, the more my interest waned.

This description applies to every handheld game Square-Enix has ever released. ​They're so good at making them addictive, and so bad at fleshing them out and keeping them interesting.

Interesting. Do you have some other examples? I'm curious now
Well more or less, like I said, you can throw pretty much any Square-Enix handheld game in there...



Dissidia: hey neat an FF fighting game! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Theatrhythm: hey neat an FF rhythm game! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Revenant Wings: hey neat an FF strategy game! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Dragon Quest IX: hey neat a handheld Dragon Quest flagship title! (160 hours later) ...okay this is getting ridiculous, I should stop running grottos while sitting in front of the RNG calculator
FF 4 Heroes of Light: hey neat a throwback game with an old-school job system! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Bravely Default: as you described
even Crisis Core, as great as it was, the later missions became a slog because there was no variety.


That's the keyword...variety. At some point, every handheld title just begins to pad itself with repetition, whether in broad swaths (Bravely Default's chapters) or small ones (Theatrhythm's small song collection, RW's battles).

[Skyblade]

...I picked it up and for the first few days I could not put it down. My 2DS was constantly on the charger because I was draining the battery like a crazy person. I was so interested, so excited. But I noticed that the further in I got, the more my interest waned.

This description applies to every handheld game Square-Enix has ever released. ​They're so good at making them addictive, and so bad at fleshing them out and keeping them interesting.

Interesting. Do you have some other examples? I'm curious now
Well more or less, like I said, you can throw pretty much any Square-Enix handheld game in there...



Dissidia: hey neat an FF fighting game! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Theatrhythm: hey neat an FF rhythm game! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Revenant Wings: hey neat an FF strategy game! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Dragon Quest IX: hey neat a handheld Dragon Quest flagship title! (160 hours later) ...okay this is getting ridiculous, I should stop running grottos while sitting in front of the RNG calculator
FF 4 Heroes of Light: hey neat a throwback game with an old-school job system! (40 hours later) meh. Am I done yet?
Bravely Default: as you described
even Crisis Core, as great as it was, the later missions became a slog because there was no variety.


That's the keyword...variety. At some point, every handheld title just begins to pad itself with repetition, whether in broad swaths (Bravely Default's chapters) or small ones (Theatrhythm's small song collection, RW's battles).

You forgot the best.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

[Pumpkin]

:kaoclove::kaoclove:HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE:kaoclove::kaoclove:


Here's my special post of the day. Remember how *someone* here wanted me to compromise my list by finding 3 more games I didn't feel deserved to be on the list on to the list? Well good news, since I started posting it about 2 weeks ago, I have actually played 3 more games I would add to the list, yay!

I'm not going to bother numbering them because while 2 of them would be at the end of the list, one of them would have made it about 10 spots up and I don't feel like reordering stuff.

So here are some mini-reviews of those three games!

Wedding Designer (Nintendo DS)
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This is a cute little game where you plan some weddings for some women. You choose out her dress, makeup, bouquet, venue, music, invitations, other stuff, and for some reason bedroom and look of the groom. That's right, as all powerful wedding planner, you can change the groom from a black man to an asian man if you so choose because why not. The game is pretty simple, it's incredibly hard to make a mistake since the bride will frown at any selections you make that she doesn't like, so you just kind of... don't pick those. And then you get on with the wedding and take some photos before moving on the the next client! It's fun and cute, but a little bit short. Could do with a more fleshed out sequel

Just Dance (Nintendo Wii)
62774
I have a lot of fun playing this, and best of all, it's a very good workout. It's a shame it'll all be undone with Valentine's Day sweets. Anyways, I have the first and second one. The first one I really like. It has some fun dances and some cheesy songs and a few songs I like. It's a bit difficult but I enjoy it. The second one I don't like as much. It's more forgiving but I don't find it as fun and I don't like the song selection as much

Style Savvy (Nintendo DS)
62775
I tried this game because a lot of people who like another game coming soon on my list recommend this one. And I tell ya, I can not get enough of it. You basically own your own clothing store. So you go to the buyer's center, buy clothing from all different designers (they aren't all available all the time) and then it'll go to your storage where you sell it to customers. In your store, you click on the customer to serve and you'll get a small description and then they'll ask you for something in particular. Sometimes it's a whole outfit. Then you have to try and find something they like based on their style. You get to show them 3 outfits consequence free and the fourth time you have to make them try on clothes. If they don't like what you pick out by the fourth time, you'll lose the sale. But they'll be back so it doesn't matter much. If they like what you pick, they'll buy it. You can also design mannequins and some people will come in and buy the whole display set. You also get to pick from different store designs and music, which you can change anytime. Of course you can change the looks of your avatar character as well. There's also fashion shows but I don't like those much to be honest. Anyways, it's a ton of fun for someone like me who loves dress up games and I'm hoping to try the newer 3DS version soon!

And those are my 3 games that could have made the cut had I played them sooner! That'll be all the updates today and tomorrow we will resume with the top half of my list!

What can we expect? Well, more Final Fantasy games, obviously. I said I have 14 on my list and I've only posted 4 so far. Also more Zeldas, more Xenos, more Tales, and more Suikodens. Some other series. Some stand alone games. MORE GAMES MUCH EXCITE

[Colonel Angus]

Very interesting list, Pumpkin. A whole lot of games I never played. Was kinda surprised by some of the games & not @ all surprised by others. Never took you for a Fighting game fan. Can't wait to see the rest!

[Pumpkin]

Let's start the list back up with the last Tekken game


48. Tekken 6 (PlayStation 3)
62780


Same as the other Tekkens. It's a fighting tournament. You fight your opponents. Desirable outcome being that you win.


62781


This plays like other Tekken games. Triangle, Square, O, and X all correspond to different limbs. You can do combos and stuff. This game also has a story mode that I can't remember what it's called, but you go from level to level beating bad guys until you generally get to a boss and beat him/her up. There are a lot of levels and the dialogue will vary from one character to the next. You can also customize your character with game monies you earn, or by using the characters and collecting treasure chests in the previous game mode I mentioned. There are several other modes like Team Attack and Survival that are present in most Tekken games.


62782


This is my favourite Tekken game! It brought in my new favourite Tekken character, I loved the customization and the outfit selections and choices, it had a large cast, the graphics were good, I liked the story type mode and seeing the differences in dialogue and stuff, and overall it was just so much fun! It has it's faults of course, but most of the stuff I hear about I've never had a problem with because I play against the game on Easy mode so even though I don't know what I'm doing, I still do really well! Overall just so much fun.

Favourite character: Lili 62783
Honourable mentions: Xiaoyu, Anna 6278462785

I love Lili's fighting style and just her style in general. I had so many outfits for her that I loved. She seems like kind of a snob though. But I'm pretty good at using her. Xiaoyu and Anna still on the list, still fun to use.


62786

[Pumpkin]

47. Suikoden (PlayStation)
62787


Suikoden is the story of a young boy from the empire, son of the renowned General Teo. One day, his best friend Ted comes to him and reveals a secret about a certain True Rune he possesses. One thing leads to another and eventually the young man is leading his own rebel army.

This game plays like most Suikoden games (shocking). You go around trying to recruit the 108 Stars of Destiny. The battle parties are made up of six characters, and magic takes the form of Runes. There are also many mini-games to be played around your headquarters depending on who you recruit. There are also duels and army type battles, both of which are sort of rock-paper-scissor type events. Losing units in the army type battles can result in their permanent death, making them unusable for the rest of the game. There are 78 total playable characters in battle, including guests and non-stars of destiny.


62788
She's nice


General impressions:
I think this was the third Suikoden game I played. I really like it, it was a lot of fun. The characters as interesting, the story is interesting. The gameplay is certainly less refined than the later entries but it is still very Suikoden. Also, Toran (the default HQ name) is the name I always use now when needing to name a town or building or farm or whatever in other games. Including other Suikoden games. The biggest frustration I had was the big rock-paper-scissors army battles where I would have characters die and have to start the fights all over again. Other than that very fun and has some good scenes in there to help you with some backstory for the rest of the series.

Story:
A strong point. They managed to make it very touching, especially in the beginning with Ted and needing to run away. Then there was of course Odessa's death and getting the new headquarters. It's paced very well and really well told. You can really feel the desperation and the sadness of everything happening to the hero pretty much at once. And the game gets more positive as it goes on, really making you feel like you're making a difference and that you're starting to win the war. But going back to face the emperor at the end is still very sad and touching and really hits home with how far you've come since everything started. Not the best story in the series, but very strong and interesting.


62789


Gameplay:
It's less refined than the later entries, which wasn't too surprising, but it's still a basic Suikoden game and if you like the way Suikoden games play then you'll like this one too. Recruiting the Stars of Destiny in this one is challenging, but not impossible, and there's some fun mini-games to keep you occupied.


62790


World:
Strong world with a lot of memorable locations. Almost every area has a history and a feel to it, which might be helped by the large cast of characters and the fact that they come from these places. There's good variety and it actually feels big and vast, even though it's only one section of the whole Suikoden world.


62791


Characters:
Not the strongest in the series because things were still getting started, but a lot of good and interesting ones. Also good for fans of Leknaat because she probably has the most going on in this game. She's not just the woman who gives you your tablet, you can actually go to her home, see her with Luc, learn about her Rune and her sister. Also there's obviously a lot of series classics that debut here, like Flik and Viktor and Futch for example. Also with such a large cast, it's good to see a variety of unexpected character types, like Gremio.

Favourite character: Viktor 62792
Honourable mentions: Lotte, Viki, Hix 627936279462795

Viktor is a big awesome bear man with a secret heart of gold and a foul-mouthed sword. Lotte is the adorable cat girl, Viki is the ditz who can teleport you (insanely useful) and Hix is kind of dumb but also the sweetest thing in the world.

Overall it isn't the strongest in the series, but it's certainly a great game worthy of the time to put in to it. Especially if you're a fan of the later games, you can see the origins of a lot of stuff mentioned later on.


62796

[metagloria]

Suikoden is the only game in the series I've played. And, while it was enjoyable, it didn't earn a spot on my top 108. Once I got the one guy with the super powerful stick attack (looking it up...Kai), the rest of the game was a breeze as far as difficulty. But I remember some of the missions and areas being interesting, and the HQ-building was fun. I'll have to wait and see which Suikoden gets the highest spot on your list and think about adding it to my giant queue.

[Pumpkin]

46. Record of Agarest War Zero (PlayStation 3)
62798


Record of Agarest War Zero follows our hero Sieghart during a time of war when basically you're trying to save the world from evil. During that time he tries to save a young girl named Mimel, dies in the process, and is then revived. This game spans two generations and has many playable characters.

This game is a rather complex strategy RPG game. It involves linking characters and AP points. Each character has extended squares that it can link to, and if a character is placed in one of those squares, the characters will be linked. Linking characters allows them to perform on the same turn. So if you have all six party characters linked, they can all attack on the first characters turn instead of waiting for their turn. It's a bit more complicated, but that's the gist. This game also has a dating sim aspect, and the hero of generation 2 will be the result of whoever you end up with in the first generation out of three possible bachelorettes. The second generation hero can be matched with any remaining party member. Relationships can be improved through dialogue choices or through vacation days by chatting with the characters.


62799


General impressions:
This was my firs Agarest War game and what got me in to the series. I like dating sims and I like dialogue choices and this has both! It also has a political story that for once I didn't have trouble following and I liked the dialogue for the most part. It's characters seem pretty stereotypical, and in some cases are, but I was happy to see most of them had some depth. It also had a good sense of humour to it. There were only 2 generations in this game, which on the one hand was good because you had more time to decide on your future bride, but on the other I would have liked it to have more than that. The worst things about this game are the difficulty, the sheer amount of battles you need to fight, and the fanservice. But on the brightside, it wasn't nearly as fanservicy as I was led to believe, although it is very much there.

Story:
A good story, but not the best video game story by any means. It was good for me because I'm terrible at political dramas, but this one was clear and easy to follow, which I really appreciated. It's a very character driven story, which is something I'm also fond of. Overall it was enjoyable and I liked it, but it wasn't anything special.


62800


Gameplay:
Worst thing about this game for me. So many fights. SO MANY FIGHTS. Just to get like 5 minutes of scenes. And I played the game for the scenes. Add that to the fact that I suck at strategy games and there was no easy mode. Each fight would take me like a half hour and you usually have to do 3 or 4 just to get to the 5-10 minute story event. There was an auto battle but you needed to fight enemies weaker than you, so it was for the most part useless. Also bosses WILL kill you. It's kind of designed in to the game unless you're massively overleveled, and death only gives you a point boost for your special attacks. This game is not easy to just get stronger than the enemy, you need to actually know what you're doing.


62801


World:
Not good. You travel to dots on the map. The battle backgrounds and town backgrounds get very repetitive. On the plus side, it has vacation days that let you explore, but not really. Not good for those who want an open world to explore.


62802


Characters:
One of my favourite things. I like dating sim elements and having the hero be based off of your previous coupling. The characters seem pretty shallow but most of them surprised me with some added depth to them, which was great. I loved the interactions and I loved seeing how my dialogue choices would affect the relationship ratings.

Favourite character: Alice 62803
Honourable mention: Routier, Sayane 6280462805

What I like about Alice is she's just a good, normal person. No exaggerated personality. She cares about her friends, she works hard, she makes jokes, but it's never in your face or shoved down your throat. Plus she has a demi-God demon crab-man servant and that's something special. And her battle shuffle is adorable. Routier is just a sweetheart. I expected to be annoyed with Sayane because it seemed they were trying to hard to make her perfect (look, she's beautiful, smart, kind, and funny!) but she wasn't overbearing in the least and was actually beautiful and smart and funny and kind. Pretty impressed with the cast overall.

This game has long, complicated, difficult gameplay, and too much fanservice, but it's worth it for the story and the characters. Very much enjoyed, I just wish it was easier.


62806

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Tekken 5 and 6 were pretty solid entries. I really enjoyed them, but I'm not a fan of the prevalence of the bound system.

[Pumpkin]

45. Legend of Mana (PlayStation)
62809


The Legend of Mana has a vague overarching plot, focusing more on several character plots with three major storylines and a bunch of side stories. The first major story arc is about the Jumi who have nearly been hunted to extinction for their jewel hearts. The second follows a brother and sister dragoons who fight on opposite ends of a war by different dragon masters. And the third is a complicated love story about four childhood friends and their different paths in life. There are many smaller story arc. There is one main playable characters, but you recruit several along the way depending on decisions you make. Some are guests. You can also have monsters accompany you and golems you've created as well.

This game is extremely non-linear. The world is built by obtaining artifacts, which when placed on the map will make new locations. Battles are on set points in the map where you press different buttons to perform different skills, most of which can be customized on the menu. You can also catch and raise monster eggs and monsters, make your own golems to fight with you, and grow your own odd fruit from the fruit trees. In order to finish the game, you need to complete one of the three main story arcs. It's hard to get everything in this game because it's very finicky about when you do what, so a guide might be needed if you want to see everything it has to offer the first playthrough.


62810


General impressions:
This game has a very unique art style, which is one of the first things I noticed. I'm actually not a fan of the character designs, but they are very creative and well-done, it's more just personal preference. The locations are beautifully drawn and it looks like a work of art. The game is extremely non-linear, which is great and adds replay value. However, if you're a completionist it might get pretty frustrating. I played with a guide for this list so I could be sure to see everything. The battles can get pretty repetitive and as pretty as the maps are, some of them are very easy to get lost in. But this game has a very unique way of story telling and it was refreshing in that it was quite different from anything I'd ever played. I also very much enjoy games that spawn theories, and I like that this one can be looked at as starting over “after the end” or even as telling the stories of “before the end”. It brings a different and much more desperate feel if you look at it the second way, and I love how much the tone can change from that.

Story:
The overarching story in this game is incredibly vague and hard to pinpoint. Instead, you mostly follow several mini character stories. I was okay with this because I love character driven plots. With that being said, it was a bit odd as it seemed the main hero was just thrown in to these situations, ranged from silly to incredibly serious, and the hero had little to nothing to do with them. Some of the stories were a bit hard to follow. But overall there were some more fun and silly ones, but also some very deep and serious ones. Of the three main stories, my favourite was the one with the childhood friends, but the Jumi one was excellent too. I liked the love story because it was a very unique and fresh take on love stories and it really got me invested and feeling for them.


62811
This is pleasant


Gameplay:
The gameplay overall is nothing special and at times could be quite frustrating, but that will be covered more in the world section. I wouldn't say it was boring, but battles could be a bit odd because of the positioning of things. But there was a ton of customization available, the world building was so awesome, and there were a good bit off side things to do like make the golems and grow the fruit. The game was also incredibly easy, which I could appreciate.


62812


World:
The world itself was beautiful and had some amazing locations. It was diverse, it was beautifully drawn, and it was interesting. The downside was that certain maps were horrible and so easy to get lost in. I had a map in front of me and I still got lost all the time. It can turn a 10 minute thing in to a 40 minute thing. But aside from that it was beautiful and fun to explore.


62813


Characters:
This is a very character driven game and one of the best things about it is that the characters are not stereotypical or black and white. Sometimes it was hard to pinpoint who exactly was the good guy or the bad guy. Because it wasn't always clearly a good or bad guy, just different people. Except Niccolo, that guy was a jerk. But the cast was diverse and interesting and we got to watch a lot of them in some great moments.

Favourite character: Pearl/Blackpearl 6281462815
Honourable mentions: Matilda, Esmeralda 6281662817


I've always enjoyed split personality characters and Pearl was very interesting to me. On the one hand I liked her because Pearl was soft spoken, polite, kind, and caring. She was kind of a drag in battle though. But as Blackpearl she was strong, confident, intelligent, and amazing in battle. Both were awesome characters. I liked Matlida because I found her to be a pretty unique character and I really liked her story, and the same thing with Esmeralda but in a different way. All of these characters had very touching stories.

Overall beautiful game, strong character, very unique and refreshing. Great non-linear gameplay, but a bit dull with the battles and stuff and some very frustrating maps. Still it's a very unique game worth checking out.


62818

[Loony BoB]

I see what you mean about the character design. They remind me of those troll toys. The game looks really pretty in general other than that, though!

[sharkythesharkdogg]

The whole game is great.

Some people found the two player option a little clunky, but I really enjoyed the fact that a friend could pick up a controller and play as one of the other party members in battle.

[Pumpkin]

44. Rune Factory 3 (Nintendo DS)
62820


The hero of this story has amnesia and can also turn in to a sheep like monster. But one day he wakes up in a new town and is given a home inside a big special tree. Because this is a spinoff of Harvest Moon, you will do farming, socializing with the visitors, courting a bachelorette of choice, and participating in events. But the next part comes from going out and fighting monsters and defeating bosses to help Micah regain his memory.

This game has the typical Harvest Moon aspects. You do some crop farming. Livestock in this game takes the form of monsters. You catch monsters and they will work your farm or give you products. You can expand your home to include things like a pharmacy or a kitchen so you can make items to help you on your quest. Time passes in game as do days and there are different months representing the different seasons. There are events to participate in. You can also court a bachelorette of choice. The second part of the game is fighting enemies, gaining experience and leveling up, and fighting bosses to regain Micah's memory. You can also ask certain villagers to accompany you in to battle.


62821


General impressions:
I was a bit nervous about this game which is why it took me so long to play it. I really like the Harvest Moon games, but they take up full game days just to do farming and socializing, so I was worried about how I would do both of those things and still find time to go adventuring. I saw sharky play another Rune Factory game on the PS3 and it seemed really enjoyable so I gave this one a try. The game is actually pretty well balanced to make that easy for you so you have ample time to get everything done. There's also no in game time limit so you can dilly dally all you want. The characters were fun and interesting, the game was easy to play and very intuitive as far as controls, very fluid. The game was pretty short (if you don't drag it on) and the world was pretty small, but overall it was very fun and I enjoyed it.

Story:
Not the deepest story by any means but still fun and interesting. Mostly the stories revolve around the individual characters and learning more about them, with the overarching plot being about Micah dealing with his transformations and worrying about some of the villagers who aren't as fond of monsters. The story is basically background noise in this game, which focuses more on gameplay and characters.


62822


Gameplay:
A strong point for this game. It's a lot of fun, it's very easy to play (not just in difficulty) and there's always something to do. Whether it be cooking dishes, tending your farm, doing requests, socializing, fishing, fighting monsters, participating in events, or any other number of things. My favourite thing was doing requests, although the downside of them was that you could sometimes be offered to do requests that you couldn't complete and you'd have to wait another game day before accepting another one from that location. Other than that it was really fun.


62823


World:
The world was very small, but it did have it's interesting spots. I was also happy that my bachelorette of choice liked my favourite icy location as her date spot. But the village did feel very lively, especially since the characters would have their own routine and wouldn't just be static and standing there.


62824


Characters:
Another strong point for this game. There's a lot of interesting and unique characters, the dialogue and interactions are well written, and they really make you care about them. My favourite thing was that they would have their own relationships and conversations separate from the hero, which you don't see often. Sometimes they would include Micah, but other times you could just listen to them converse.

Favourite character: Sofia 62825
Honourable mentions: Gaius, Marian 6282662827

It was actually hard to narrow down my favourites list, there's so many good characters. I liked Sofia and her quirky backwards talk and how cheep she was to find gifts for. Her story of why she talks that way was also pretty touching. Gaius is silly and hardworking and absolutely adorable. I wish this game had a female option. I wasn't expecting to like Marian but she was quirky enough to make her way in.

Overall this is a great game if you like something very open. You make your own schedule and do what you want. The story takes a backseat, the game is short, the world is small, but the characters are awesome, they feel very genuine, and it's a lot of fun to play.


62828

[Skyblade]

I also really dislike the character design of a lot of the Mana games.



Rune Factory 3 is fantastic. So glad you like it. More people need to play it.

[Pumpkin]

43. Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky (PlayStation 3)
62830


Atelier Escha & Logy follows two alchemists hired to the town's R&D department. They have certain jobs to complete and also spend some time working towards exploring some mysterious ruins.

There's a lot of stuff to do in this game. It has typical RPG fighting elements to it. In this game you will have 3 characters fighting with 3 as support for those characters, and they can be switched outside of or during battles. Unlike the other Atelier games I've played, this game allows support attack and defense for everyone, including support characters, as opposed to just support for the main character. Time management is also an important aspect. Every few months you will receive a list of tasks to complete. There is one mandatory one needed to be done to progress the game, and several smaller ones for extra points. Alchemy is also a large part. You can craft items from ingredients to healing items to weapons using alchemy. Every action takes a certain amount of time to do, like gathering, fighting, or creating items. You have a time limit for your tasks. Atelier Escha & Logy offers you the choice of which of the two protagonists to play as, but both will be present for most of the game.


62831


General impressions:
I'd finished up Atelier Totori and Atelier Meruru and I was wanting to try another one. I'd read good reviews about Escha & Logy and how it was apparently easier than the others I'd played, which is a huge plus for me. I was a bit iffy about it because the environments were more drab than the other two games. That is one of my complaints, but overall it is a fun game, it improved on a lot of stuff, and it was much easier. It loses points for being more drab and having characters that interest me less, plus having too many DLC characters, but it's still a fun game.

Story:
The Atelier games I've played do have a story, but it mostly takes a backseat to gameplay and characters, and this one is no different. You're basically working Alchemists with a job to do every month and some mini-jobs to earn more points and money. I would say that this story interested me very little, but I'm not sure how much had to do with the characters and the presentation.


62832


Gameplay:
A lot of fun, and improved on the others quite a bit. Alchemy is made more involving, the time limit is broken down in to smaller fragments, making the game easier, being able to support for and with every character and also being able to swap characters in the heat of battle so that your other ones can recover. Probably the biggest improvement is that when you return home your items are refilled so you don't have to spend precious days making more healing salves. Although the limitations on how many items you could bring were annoying. But overall it was really fun and the gameplay improved most of my complaints from the other ones.


62833


World:
I don't have a lot good to say about the world. There were a few neat areas but overall it was drab, boring, and unpleasant. I didn't look forward to exploring or seeing more. But apparently there was some bad event called “The Dusk” that kind of ruined the place so I suppose it's justified. But I would have preferred brighter and more interesting environments.


62834


Characters:
There were a lot of characters that I liked fine, but none of them had me excited or inspired. There were a few I really disliked. I was a bit disappointed that some characters with story involvement that I thought would be playable turned out to be DLC characters. I really hate when they expect me to pay more money for more of them and not just guests from previous games or something but characters that should very well be playable without me having to pay even more.

Favourite character: Lucille 62835
Honourable mention: Linca 62836

I thought both were very sweet. Lucille, while kind of out of nowhere, was precious and her baskets were cute in battle. She was actually a pretty useful fighter despite her appearance. Linca was great in battle and I enjoyed seeing a character who wasn't perfect and had her own struggles. There was some really funny scenes with her trying to make friends.

Overall the world is kind of drab and the characters, while good, aren't anything special. But the gameplay is great, there's a lot to do, and it's a big improvement. It's a really fun game to play if not a bit short.


62837


And tomorrow we finish up the 40's!

[Pumpkin]

42. Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny/Oceans (PlayStation 3)
62845


This game is about two friends named Aden and Sonja who randomly end up somewhere they don't know and also oh yeah Sonja is trapped in Aden's body. This is of course not a situation they want to live with forever so they embark on a somewhat epic although mostly just nice quest to get Sonja her body back.

As this is a spin-off of Harvest Moon, there is of course the option to court some of the villagers and get married and have a baby. There is once again an in game clock that progresses the time and four months representing the four seasons. There are of course festivals and events. Farming is present in this game as well although it is a bit different. You'll get four farming islands as the story progresses, each of which can grow and produce different things. You recruit monsters to do your growing for you, so no need to water stuff. There's of course also the fighting part where you will go to certain islands and fight beasts with weapons of your choice. You can also expand your house and add things like a kitchen. Tamed monsters can accompany you on fights.


62846


General impressions:
I watched sharky play a lot of this game and, as I mentioned in my Rune Factory 3 review, it eased a lot of my concerns with the series. Eventually, after watching him play about a year in game, I decided to try it for myself! I knew most of the story and stuff so I was mostly checking out the gameplay. It was fun and I really enjoyed it and I look forward to a full and proper playthrough sometime down the road. I would say a negative is that you don't get to play as Sonja, the female lead, until you've finished the main storyline, and there are a good deal less bachelors than bachelorettes. So you kind of have it stacked against you if you want to play a female character.

Story:
The story was pretty interesting, I think. I do find how upbeat and positive it is pretty amusing. You have a woman literally trapped inside a man's body, both of whom are aware of the fact, they've woken up on a strange island with a bunch of strangers, and they have to go defeat monsters and stuff to figure out what's going on. That story could have taken a much darker tone, but instead none of it is treated as anything more than a minor annoyance and everyone is just so happy and nice. It was pretty funny to me.


62847


Gameplay:
The gameplay isn't as good as Rune Factory 3. The controls are kind of awkward and it's a bit difficult to get the hang of. They also don't really explain some stuff that they should. Farming is much easier but it feels more disconnected since a lot of it is done by your monster slave labour. But stuff like how to give them cookies, they don't explain that you just need it in your inventory so you're sitting there trying to figure out how to feed them. But I do like that now you can cancel and accept requests as often as you want with no limit. But they do get repetitive.


62848


World:
The world feels both big and small. The ocean outside of the island is massive and it can take days (in game) to get to your destination. But the island is very small, so it gets kind of boring after a while. But still it was a very nice town and there are some interesting islands and some very cool dungeons.


62849


Characters:
I am convinced that Fennith Island, the main game location, is a utopia. Everyone is so nice and so happy. Everyone helps everyone, everyone gets along. The worst thing to happen is like a kind of half-assed attempted burglary and a child having a tantrum. Other than that these people are the nicest people ever. I do wish there was more interaction and stuff, but I was quite fond of the cast and I can't think of one character that I disliked.

Favourite character: Electra 62850
Honourable mentions: Lily, Bismarck 6285162852

Electra wasn't even on my radar originally, but I just found her very sweet and kind and polite. She was also an incredible hard worker and she does what she can to help out the family. Lily was like the older sister I never had and she had some really funny and sweet moments. Bismark is a nerdy workaholic, he's extremely shy, but he'll stand up for himself and others if he needs to.

Overall this game is cheesy and upbeat, but it's also just a lot of fun, it's sweet, and it has a good sense of humour. There's a lot of stuff to do to keep you occupied, but it isn't for someone who wants a more serious game.


62853

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I really enjoyed Tides of Destiny. It's not perfect, but I think it does most of what it does well.

I appreciated the crafting systems, and the fact that you could ad your little craft areas to the house. You could make food, clothing, weapons, healing items, and furniture.

The hardest part about the crafting was finding ways to up increase your skill level so that you could complete the higher level crafting requests.

The combat system plays like a hack 'n' slash platformer, and it can be a little awkward on occasion, but it's decent.

I also agree that it's just a happy, positive, fun game. All the characters are pretty great, and it's fun giving them clothes or finding what their favorite food is.

[Skyblade]

This is the one game in the series I haven't played. I find it hard to believe that it's better than RF3, though. I'll have to try it at some time to find out for myself.

[Madame Adequate]

Okay so I'm thinking Pumpkin is my official go-to person whenever I want to know anything about a JRPG! This is a great thread :D

[Pumpkin]

This is the one game in the series I haven't played. I find it hard to believe that it's better than RF3, though. I'll have to try it at some time to find out for myself.

I personally liked it better :shrug:


Okay so I'm thinking Pumpkin is my official go-to person whenever I want to know anything about a JRPG! This is a great thread :D

Thanks :D I'm glad you like it

Sorry, a bit late with the update, power outage. I'll post the third one up in about 3-4 hours


41. Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland (PlayStation 3)
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Atelier Meruru follows our protagonist, Meruru, a Princess trying to become an alchemist. Unfortunately her father isn't too keen on the idea, so they strike a deal. She has a few years to prove that alchemy can benefit and grow their tiny kingdom.

The game is an RPG and time management game. You have a set amount of time to accomplish certain goals, mostly growing the population. Almost everything in this game takes time, from resting to synthesizing to gathering and fighting. You will be given certain smaller quests to complete to go towards your rank, which you can use to develop the Kingdom and grow the population. You can also accept quests to improve your popularity and earn some extra coin. A big part of the game is synthesizing items that you'll need for the various quests. The battles are turn based, allowing three party members in battle at once. There is a good amount of playable characters and multiple available endings.


62861


General Impressions:
Atelier Meruru was my first game in the series. I mostly got it because I was looking for Totori, but I couldn't find her game without ordering it online. But she was in this game so I gave it a try. At first I found it very stressful because of the time limit. I think you get 5 years total with a check up at 3. Which seems like massive amounts of time, but really isn't. Everything takes time. It goes by very very quickly. Honestly, having played other games in the series, I wouldn't recommend this one first as I find it more difficult. But it was easier when I went back and played after finishing Totori because I had a better grasp on what I was doing.

Story:
The story for an RPG is pretty shallow, but that's okay. As I said, time goes by quickly and before you know it you've spent five years fighting bunnies and making random stuff in your atelier. This game is much more character focused than story driven. You get to learn a lot about your companions if you trigger the right scenes and see how they get along and interact with each other. Heck even the shop owners get personalities in this game. So not a super strong story, but fine if you want something more lighthearted.


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Gameplay:
The battles are overall pretty easy, although there were a few hard ones here and there. Synthesizing the right items definitely makes a difference if you can afford the time. The time management is the hard part. Knowing when to gather, when to synthesize, when to go fight. How much to gather in the dungeon. How much time to spend resting and recharging. But the good thing, if you like that type of thing, is that you aren't micromanaged. You chose which quests to focus on, where to distribute your points, how you spend your days. It's a refreshing kind of freedom rarely seen in RPG's.


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World:
The world is very bright and cheery, which reflects well with the lighthearted tone of the game. You're not out to save the world from destruction, you're just trying to help a girl follow her dreams and help her country. The music is whimsical, which really adds to the atmosphere of the areas. The whole thing is just light and happy, which is a good thing. Some of the areas are gorgeous. There are also adorable little bubbles over the gathering areas.


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Characters:
The characters are where the game shines for me. A lot of it is cliche stuff, but they still have solid personalities and strong interactions. The character development scenes were always what I looked forward to the most. Also a lot of the character art is gorgeous.

Favourite character: Totori 62865
Honourable mentions: Mimi, Meruru 6286662867

I of course adored Totori. She was sweet, she was kind, she respected others and the weird ways they showed their affection. In battle she was pretty weak, but it was always cool to have a secondary item user. Mimi grew up a lot from Totori, acknowledged her faults, and worked to become a better person. While she isn't perfect, at least she's trying. I love the friendship between her and Totori. And she's pretty badass in battle. Meruru grew on me. I was worried about finding her annoyingly perky, but her determination and positivity won me over. Her angry silly moments also helped.

Overall it's a more lighthearted game, focusing a lot on time management. The characters are strong and interact well with each other. There's a lot of independence in how you play. It has good replay value for trying things differently and unlocking different endings, although you might need a guide because it gets pretty complicated. The atmosphere is very bright and upbeat.


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[Egami]

Very interesting list so far Pumpkin, seeing lots of games I don't know which I feel tempted to check out now :)

[Pike]

I've hardly played any of the games on this list so far xD But good job with it!

[Pumpkin]

Very interesting list so far Pumpkin, seeing lots of games I don't know which I feel tempted to check out now :)Thanks! Which games are catching your eye?


40. Kingdom Hearts II (PlayStation 2)
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This is a game about Sora, the wielder of the Keyblade, and also Donald and Goofy because why not. Sora travels from Disney world to Disney world meeting Final Fantasy and Disney characters and defeating the Heartless and the Nobodies. And no, they aren't just jerks and losers (well, debatable I suppose), they're actual monster things.

I think this is an action RPG, but I'm bad with genres so I could be wrong. But anyways you take Sora and you beat stuff up with his Keyblade. He can also cast magic and transform a la Sailor Moon. Donald, Goofy, and Guest Character From Relevant World will assist you as backup and their actions can be set as far as what you want them to do/not do. You can jump and flip and skateboard and there's also a space ship shooting game thing but I prefer not to speak of that.


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General impressions:
Some of you already know my Kingdom Hearts I horror story, but basically I didn't get to play it for many many years despite the fact that I should have been able to play it, so I moved on to II. And it was so much funness! I loved traveling to new worlds and interacting with my favourite Disney characters. I love the amount of detail such as the outfit changes in different worlds and also the different command menu. Oh I loved those command menus. It was a lot of fun, it wasn't difficult, and it kept me interested. I did not like the Gummi ship things and I hated the beginning part with Roxas. Hated. I keep meaning to have a save right past that part to start up on because it's awful and long and drawn out. But other than that, it is so far the only KH game I enjoy.

Story:
I'll admit I'm a bit lost on some of it because I don't own every console in existence so that I can play all the games. Plus I skipped the first one. But I did like what I saw and there was some stuff that had me very interested, like Namine and the Nobodies. Mostly I just preferred the individual smaller stories of the worlds themselves.


62873


Gameplay:
So much fun! It's easy, the controls always worked well for me, I like having the guest characters a lot and being able to play with Disney and Final Fantasy favourites. The worlds were a lot of fun to explore and I always enjoy games that let me jump everywhere. The game was somewhat linear but they changed things up enough that it didn't really bother me.


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World:
Excellent because there are so many worlds. Some of them felt a bit small, but most were very exciting and fun and interesting. I especially liked the Nightmare Before Christmas world because it really felt like I was in the movie. There were some other great ones too, like Mulan world which was big and had some diverse areas in it.


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Characters:
I like pretty much everyone in this game except Roxas but none of them stood out as I favourite. I liked how sweet Sora was and I found him pretty unique as far as most protagonists go. I like that just seeing the difference from KHI and KHII now that I've played both, you can tell how much more comfortable he is with his Keyblade. Goofy is also awesome because Goofy

Overall the story is interesting and it has good atmosphere, the characters are fun and cute, but I mostly like it for the gameplay and the visuals as well as just exploring the Disney worlds I loved as a child.


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And that concludes the 40's! Thirties start tomorrow~

[Egami]

Thanks! Which games are catching your eye?

Ni No Kuni and Tales of Legendia, for example.

And Kingdom Hearts...which I've never played for some mysterious reason that shall forever elude me.

[Loony BoB]

Just wanna echo Hux and Egami. I really feel you describe games in a way that makes me want to play them. You go into just enough detail and throw in just enough pictures to encourage people to read without making it a long-winded review (which are still good, but only when you are specifically looking for detail on a game, not so much when you're just being told about one randomly).

[metagloria]

:omgomg: KH2 :omgomg:

[Pumpkin]

And now for a game no one cares about except for me!


39. Girls Fashion Shoot (Nintendo 3DS)
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In this game you are an aspiring super model in high school, without the drinking, drugs, or eating disorders. It's a very kid friendly game. But your goal is to climb to the top of the model ladder over several in game years.


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There are a few different things do do in this game. You start out by creating your own avatar character. The main thing is photo shoots. Every month you have 5 photo shoots to do, including a special one that might be posing with another model or a cover shoot. Each one will have a criteria, like “Pink skirt and sporty look” for example. (Yes, there are weird combos like that). Then you select from the massive selection of clothing to make the required look. There's a nifty search feature to help you narrow the clothing down, so you can input “sporty” or “pink” for example, and the clothing is separated in different categories like skirts, sweaters, dresses, etc. If your boss lady likes your outfit, you get to pick your pose and decorate your fashion page with many different options. You get paid for each job and you get paid more depending on your popularity. Once all 5 jobs are completed, you move on to the next month. Besides the main job, you can also audition for separate fashion spreads and such, but you'll have to pay for your own wardrobe, hair, makeup, and photos to submit. There's also some hanging out with friends events and you can spend your money on your own fashions and looks for your character.


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To understand why this silly game ranked so high on my list, you have to understand my quest for the perfect dress up game. I love dress up games, I don't know why. I'm not even that in to clothing or getting dressed really. But anyways, those little kids games you can play, those are super fun to me, but they last like 5 minutes and there's minimal clothing selection. So it's fun but then it's done and I'm bored again. But this game is the first decent length dress up game I've found and it has an amazingly large selection of clothing. I didn't get bored at all and it took me like 2 weeks to finish instead of the time it takes to watch a commercial on TV. It's cute, it's fun, it's positive and upbeat. You get to make your own character, you get to see tons of clothing combinations, and you can replay it again and make totally different outfits and covers and stuff. This certainly won't be the most popular game on my list, but I think it's awesome and it's pretty close to my ideal dress up game. It's also a game I play for something lighthearted just to relax since you can step away from it for a while and come back without being lost. Much fun.


62890

[metagloria]

In this game you are an aspiring super model in high school,

I'm listening...


without the drinking, drugs, or eating disorders.

*yawn* Pass.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

She made me pick outfits.

Then she made fun of my choices.

#stopbullying :colbert:

[Slothy]

Bullying over fashion modeling? Sounds pretty realistic to me.

[Pumpkin]

I didn't bully him. I just said it was interesting that he decided to pair a navy blue and white horizontally striped sweater with some camo pants and heels is all

I mean it fit the criteria (somehow) it was just not the most flattering outfit he could have come up with

[Pumpkin]

38. La Pucelle Tactics (PlayStation 2)
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This game follows a group of demon hunters from the Church of the Holy Maiden, and a new demon hunter named Prier in her hopes to become the new Maiden of Light. Her brother joins her as well as some odd characters she encounters on her journey.

This is a strategy RPG. It's pretty typical, move and act, but with some twists. There are certain areas you can purify, and standing on one of the floor panels that contains these squares will allow you to change the direction of it. Enemies and allies standing on it when you purify it will receive damage (or be healed with the right colour). You can also recruit monsters that you meet and train them to become stronger in battle. But don't train them too much without rewards or they'll leave you. There's a large selection of playable characters if you include monsters.


62893


General impressions:
This was one of my first ever SRPG's, so at the time I didn't really know what I was getting in to. But it was a lot of fun, and I loved being able to recruit cute monsters with cute names and the silly little things they say. The battles were fun and not too complicated, although the game can get pretty difficult. It's overall pretty funny, it has some good, well written humour. I bought it again not to long ago and I loved it just as much.

Story:
The story is overall pretty forgettable, although there are a few scenes here and there that stood out to me and gave me the feels. I think the individual character stories were more interesting than the overarching plot, but I don't think it was poorly written either. Just not my favourite.


62894


Gameplay:
The gameplay is really pretty fun when you get the hang of it and there's some pretty cute attacks. I like learning the strengths of the different monsters I recruit and how to use my parties as best as I can. The negatives would be that the game can be quite difficult, and eventually the monsters start becoming stronger pallet swaps so then it gets frustrating if you spent all that time level grinding a monster for a stronger one to just come along, especially for me because I didn't like having more than one type of monster. Other than that it was very fun.


62895


World:
There's some pretty neat areas, but not really an explorable world map in the traditional RPG sense. You mostly explore it through the battle maps, and the few townish maps you get are 2D. But there was some good area diversity and it stayed interesting.


62896


Characters:
I'd say this is the strong point of the game. The characters are well written, have good depth, and are quite interesting. Even though she wasn't one of my favourites, Prier was particularly well fleshed out I think and you get to see a strong young lady, and not just in the way she shows you. I didn't really dislike any of them.

Favourite character: Eclair/Dark Eclair 6289762898
Honourable mention: Alouette 62899

Like I mentioned in my Legend of Mana review, I enjoy characters with split personalities, and that was Eclair. Shy and sweet on one hand and open and aggressive on the other. Also they both had different fighting styles. Alouette was like the mentor lady and I like her now mostly out of nostalgia because I loved her when I first played. But she is kind and her story is really interesting.

Overall it's a fun, silly game with some touching moments thrown in. The gameplay is fun and easy to get in to, but it can get a bit difficult. But the characters are where the game really shines and it has a great cast.


62900

[Skyblade]

Overall I enjoyed La Pucelle, but I found the battle system did get a bit more tedious than most tactical RPGs, especially as you progressed. It had some interesting ideas, they just didn't all work out.

[Pumpkin]

Last one for tonight. Also, fun fact, this is the game my current forum set is from!


37. Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (PlayStation 3)
62901


This game has our favourite video game consoles turned in to attractive and kind of crazy anime ladies. In this one, our hero Neptune is sent to an alternate dimension where she meets alternate dimension versions of her friends and needs to find a way back home when she isn't busy slacking off for several years. Meanwhile, there's some bad guys and stuff.

This is an RPG game. You'll see enemies on the maps and if you hit them to initiate a battle, you'll start with the upperhand. If they get you from behind you'll be ambushed. In battles you'll have a targeting square, the size will vary based on weapons, and when you attack you'll hit all enemies in that targeting square. Your attacks can be customized on the menu. You can also use abilities, and at a certain point you can transform in to the powerful HDD mode, which also gives access to special skills. There are four characters usable in battle at a time, and you can have support characters linked to them as well.


62902


General impressions:
I was a bit nervous about this game because it is very fanservicy, but I heard it was funny and that Victory was the best one, so I gave it a try. I really liked it a lot. It was a lot of fun, it was very funny, and the characters were great. It also taught me a lot of stuff about the game industry since I had to look up some of the jokes. But with that being said, it is way too fanservicy, which made me very uncomfortable, and there's a lot of grinding needed. There's also a huge amount of breaking the fourth wall, which never bothered me but might bother some.

Story:
The story is pretty memorable, but it's not deep or involving. This is a silly game so the story is pretty silly as well. It does have a lot to do with the video game industry, so if that's something you're interested in, it might be pretty fun.


62903


Gameplay:
I did like the gameplay, although it wasn't anything special and the targeting system could be frustrating. My biggest complaint was that there were quite a few times I had to stop and grind like 10 levels and it took a while and I'm not super in to grinding like I used to be. But other than that it was fun, and I loved the battle quotes, especially since a lot of them are things I actually think while playing an RPG.


62904


World:
Pretty much a low point in this game. A lot of areas are recycled and none of them are really that interesting to begin with. There's some fun ones I guess but I don't have much positive to say about this.


62905


Characters:
This for me is what makes the game worth playing. On the downside, the characters are way too fanservicy, which I hated. But other than that I like most of them in their own way. They're just absurd and crazy and silly. I actually really did find them pretty funny and I thought a lot of their dialogue flowed well and felt genuine. Like stupid conversations I would have with my friends. Great characters. Also, most of them fit the split personality thing I enjoy (it's a part of the game).

Favourite character: Vert 62908
Honourable mentions: Neptune, Noire 6290662907

I had a hard time narrowing this one down too. I like Plutia a lot, but not her transformation. I like Nepgear because she's sweet and kind, but she's not as funny or interesting. Anyways so on to my favourites, I like Vert a lot because she's an odd combination of proper lady, snob, and neckbeard gamer shut in, and you just don't get that combination very often. Noire is like the one sane man, but still not very sane. I love her voice though. And Neptune is an excellent character for her slang and attitude alone. Her slang is both the best and worst thing ever.

Overall this game is ridiculous, but that's what makes it fun. The humour can be pretty crude and it's very fanservicy, things I didn't like, but I loved the characters and it had me laughing out loud quite often.


62909

[metagloria]

This looks like a game I would really enjoy and never admit that to anyone.

[Pumpkin]

36. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (PSP)
62913


This game follows the gang of Final Fantasy IV many years after the end of the first game. Rosa and Cecil's son is growing and taking his test to join the Red Wings, but soon things take a turn for the worst, and a mysterious girl who looks like Rydia arrives, fully equipped with summons, and starts stirring bad stuff up.

This game plays very much like Final Fantasy IV with a few differences. It's turn based combat with each character having a certain role or job they fulfill, meaning the action commands differ by character. There are also combo attacks available. One of the key differences is that in this game battles are affected by phases of the moon. Different phases of the moon will lower one type of attack or skill and augment another. These can be changed by sleeping at an Inn for example and can affect the outcome of battles. There are 22 playable characters, although some can be lost, and also 9 temporarily playable guest characters.


62914


General impressions:
I wasn't sure what to expect with this game because it seems to get some mixed reviews. But I'd really enjoyed Final Fantasy IV, so I wanted to give it a try, and I also wanted to own a physical copy of IV so I bought the PSP collection. I will say this game starts out very very strong and the beginning had me more excited than IV did. The turning point comes in the fact that it's separated by character chapters, and some characters didn't interest me much or their chapters weren't fun for me, so those dragged the game down a bit. But overall I enjoyed it, it was fun, and it was nice to see the group again.

Story:
I think it has a really strong story, although some of the credit is due to IV for laying the foundation for it. But it always had me guessing, wanting to know and see what would happen next, and the music mixed with it well to create good ambiance. It was a really strong story and certainly a high point of the game, although the storytelling was a bit odd and some of the time frames were a bit wonky or at least hard to follow.


62915


Gameplay:
I enjoyed IV's gameplay and this is very similar, so I enjoyed this too. I did think the moon phases were a neat touch and they brought a unique element to the game. It was important to know what did what if you had trouble with a boss fight or something for example. I did find this game a bit on the hard side, unfortunately, and some of the bonus dungeons were awful so I didn't bother to complete most of them. Overall it was good.


62916


World:
Pretty much the same world as in IV, which I liked. It was nice seeing all the places again, but they did actually feel like years in the future and it was really fun to see how everything had changed. It's not the FF world that stands out most to me, but I don't have any particular complaints either.


62917


Characters:
This is the strong point of the game for me. IV has such a strong cast so seeing where they are many years later and catching back up with them was awesomeness. It also has an incredibly large cast, which I love, and added a few new interesting and likeable characters.

Favourite character: Porom 62918
Honourable mentions: Ursula, Leonora 6291962920

I wanted Rosa to make the list but she doesn't stand out as much in this game. But Porom is of course still my favourite because she's as awesome and loveable as ever. I hated her new pink hair at first but it has grown on me and I like it now. I like Ursula for her strength of character. She fights for what she believes in and she doesn't give up. Leonora is similar and she works really hard, plus I just like her attitude.

Overall not as great as IV, but still a game very much worth playing. It had some awesome chapters and storytelling, an amazing, large cast of characters, and some new and unique aspects to the gameplay.


62921

[Bubba]

I bought the FFIV PSP collection myself recently for my Vita. I haven't played either so am very much looking forward to them!

[Pumpkin]

35. Xenoblade Chronicles (Nintendo Wii)
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Xenoblade Chronicles is about two giant robots and the people who live on them. On the one, we have the human type people called Homs (and some cute puffball type people called Nopon) and on the other you have the Mechon, these machine type monsters who come over and attack and destroy. But there is one weapon, the Monado, which can damage the Mechon in ways that normal weapons can't.

This is I think an action RPG. You control one character of your choice in a party of three. I'm trying to give details but the gameplay took a while for me to pick up on and I haven't played it in months so I've forgotten some of it. You auto-attack I think until you select a skill. The skill icon will then start to “refill” before you can use it again, and each character has different skills. You can also customize your characters to a certain degree. Also, character outfits change with equipment, which is pretty cool.


62926


General impressions:
I will say this game unfortunately did not interest me at all at first. We got it because it was expensive but had gone down in price and was starting to get hard to find. So we picked it up while we could. Sharky decided to play it first, at the first parts I saw did not catch my attention. It was like 2 giant robots fighting (not my deal) followed by some dudes with British accents fighting some robots (still not my deal) with a gameplay style that was slightly confusing, in some dark environment (doesn't interest me). Plus, I'm sorry to say this, the character faces creep me the heck out, I really hate them. Their faces look like melty and sunken and it's just... it's just weird. Anyways, point is I'm glad I decided to play it anyways because past that point the game is pretty awesome. It's got a great story, typical for a Xeno game, and the world is absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful, large, free to explore. Overall to me it is a very strong game with a weak beginning.

Story:
Like I said, this is a Xeno game, so the story is awesome. Plot twists galore. Some of them were slightly predictable, but a lot of it came out of nowhere and really had me surprised. That does add some replay value as well because you can go back and play it again and see things differently. But yeah the game had me on the edge of my seat, wanting so much to know what would happen next.


62927


Gameplay:
The gameplay is good, but wasn't great for me. The best part was just the sheer amount of sidequests, which was awesome if you wanted a break from the main storyline and it gave you something to do while grinding. But the game was hard near the beginning. That one boss that gave me so much trouble, can't remember his name. It does get a bit easier, but not as easy as I would have liked, and the gameplay did have me confused at first. I did get the hang of it and got pretty good at it, but it isn't a game I can go back and just play like I'd never left, I'd have to relearn the battle system. Another problem that was really a personal thing was how big some enemies were, which I found to be very intimidating. But that wasn't a fault in the game, just personal preference.


62928


World:
Best part of this game, hands down, and one of the best of any game I've ever played. So many beautiful and gorgeous areas, very explorable. You can spend hours just going around and finding stuff and seeing the sights. There was not one location I disliked and a lot I absolutely loved. Some areas were literally breathtaking and I would just stand and stare at them. I'd always heard it it had an awesome game world, and that was no exaggeration. It is stunning. I don't have enough pictures in this review to show you all the great locations, so google some if you'd like


62929
You can explore all of that


Characters:
Kind of a weak point for me, otherwise this game would have ranked probably a good 10 spots higher. The character designs, like I said, creep me the heck out. Although it's neat to see them in their current armor in the scenes. I didn't have anything against the characters per se, but none of them really grabbed me in a way that made me care as much as I could. Not to say they were poorly written because a lot of them had good story and development, just that none of them meshed with me that much. Also, they yell way too much during battle. “IT'S REYN TIME!!!!!!!”

Favourite character: Melia 62930
Honourable mention: Shulk 62931

I like Melia because I found her very sweet and awkward. She seems kind of snobbish but doing some sidequests and stuff you can see that she really does care, she just isn't always sure of herself or how she should act. I put Shulk as second simply for his development and writing.

Overall this is a very strong game with amazing writing, interesting gameplay, and one of the most gorgeous video game worlds I've ever experienced. It's a great adventure and RPG so I'd recommend it to fans of the genre.


62932


Also, please let me know if the images are working~ Was acting a bit weird

[sharkythesharkdogg]

All images are working. They're working "Thanks to the power of the Monado!"

A massive game with hours of things to accomplish in a massive world.

It has Shadow of the Colossus amounts of environmental and enemy ambiance.

[Fynn]

XENOBLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, on TAY, I'm really ashamed to admit this, but I've spent way too much time on Rydia's chapter on the iOS version because the 3D model uses the I censored version of her outfit.. I'm sorry, I'm a disgusting human being :G

[Pumpkin]

34. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)
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This game follows our hero Link as he has just turned of age to receive his cool green clothes in honour of that other Link dude from that other game. But because there wouldn't be much of a plot if we all just ate cake and partied (well that would be a different type of game) Link's sister gets kidnapped and Link has to hitch a ride with some pirates to go rescue her.

This plays like most Zelda games. You play as Link and go around beating up monsters and evil plants, solving dungeon puzzles, and killing bosses and absorbing their hearts (that is what happens right?) You get some cool gadgets along the way like a boomerang and a giant leaf among other things. A large part of this game takes place on the ocean in a boat traveling from island to island.


62934


General impressions:
I wasn't too sure about this game because having only seriously played OoT and MM (I'd tried a few of the handhelds but never sunk many hours in to them) the art style of this one kind of turned me off. It looked too cartoonish. But when I started this list and heard good things about it I decided to give it a try and I was happy I did. I'm still not a huge fan of Link's new look, although he is much more expressive, but I actually enjoyed the light, cartoonish environments, especially the waves when travelling by boat. I also very much enjoy water areas and well... you know. This game does have it's faults, I think the beginning half was very linear and it didn't let me explore, and some of the areas were frustratingly difficult, although that last part is typical Zelda for me. Overall it was really fun and I quite enjoyed it.

Story:
I do enjoy the story in this game and I enjoy the added personal element of Link having to rescue his sister instead of just a kid going to save the world because why not. With that being said, it wasn't super deep and a lot of it was predictable, especially the Zelda part. As soon as I met our pirate lady friend I was just counting down the minutes until her reveal as Zelda. But the story was still interesting. I did like that it was actually an “after the end” type of thing, but it was still lighthearted ad cheerful.


62935
Link is displeased


Gameplay:
As I mentioned above, my biggest issue was them giving me a huge sea to explore and telling me “We can't go that way right now!” It was very linear at the beginning, and the dungeons were too close together for my liking. Other than that the game was really fun, even if some of the dungeon puzzles were confusing. I think this game did a great job of also having some puzzles be solved by objects other than the key item you get for the dungeon, and it made me have to think a lot harder about my surroundings and not just about what I had in my inventory.


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World:
I really liked the world, I thought it was bright and vibrant, but with some diversity as well. Sailing the sea was a lot of fun of course and a lot of the towns were lively and cute. I really did enjoy exploring new places and I always got so excited to see where I would go next and what it would be like.


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Characters:
Surprisingly strong for a Zelda game. I think Link emotes much more in this game than the others, which gave him some personality despite being silent. A lot of the extra characters had me excited to meet them and learn more about them as well.

Favourite character: Medli 62938

I love Medli, I think she's so sweet and adorable and I always felt bad for sending her flying in to a wall because I wasn't sure what I was doing. But yeah I always got super excited when I would see her.

Overall it's a very fun game, and other than the art style is similar to the other Zelda games I've played. It's a bit linear at first but it does open up, the world and characters are charming, and the puzzles are fun.


62939
Love this picture


That's all for today!

[Slothy]

I like pretty much everything about Wind Waker except the low dungeon count and the sailing. Take those two things out of the equation and I'd ague it's probably the best Zelda since the SNES that wasn't named Majora's Mask.

[Skyblade]

I like pretty much everything about Wind Waker except the low dungeon count and the sailing. Take those two things out of the equation and I'd ague it's probably the best Zelda since the SNES that wasn't named Majora's Mask.

Have you played Link Between Worlds yet?

Anyway, this is a great game. Similar to Vivi, I only have a couple complaints.

Since the HD version made the sailing a lot better, those complaints are basically all of the islands with nothing to do. The Reef Islands, Seven Star Island and its ilk, etcetera. Nothing ruins the adventures of sailing like finding one of these incredibly boring islands.

[metagloria]

Xenoblade is WAYYY TOO LOW and the characters are awesome and IT'S DEFINITELY REYN TIME but I totally respect all the great things you said about it.

Now what's this I hear about uncensored Rydia?

[Slothy]

I like pretty much everything about Wind Waker except the low dungeon count and the sailing. Take those two things out of the equation and I'd ague it's probably the best Zelda since the SNES that wasn't named Majora's Mask.

Have you played Link Between Worlds yet?

I have actually. I just forgot about it when I said that. :exdee:

I do like Link Between Worlds more than Wind Waker, but it's hard not to when it's a fairly original take on the classic formula and does pretty much everything right.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I need to go back and play some more Wind Waker, but before that I need to finish playing Majora's Mask.

[CimminyCricket]

Windwaker! <3

[Electroshock Therapy]

I like pretty much everything about Wind Waker except the low dungeon count and the sailing. Take those two things out of the equation and I'd ague it's probably the best Zelda since the SNES that wasn't named Majora's Mask.

Dungeon count doesn't make or break a Zelda game for me. A Link to the Past has the highest dungeon count, but I consider that game kinda annoying rather than fun or challenging. If a dungeon is going to be included, I'd rather the quality be good rather than the quantity. Majora's Mask as four dungeons, and I consider those some of the best of the series. I know a lot of people love their dungeons, and so do I, but having even so much as the standard 8-count isn't necessary for me.

[Fynn]

Xenoblade is WAYYY TOO LOW and the characters are awesome and IT'S DEFINITELY REYN TIME but I totally respect all the great things you said about it.

Now what's this I hear about uncensored Rydia?

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131210233327/finalfantasy/images/b/b3/TAY_IOS_Ursula_in_Kaipo.png

[Bubba]

It's criminal that I haven't played Windwaker yet but having never owned a Gamecube I suppose it makes sense.

I will eventually pick up a Wii U and Windwaker HD will be at the top of my list. MissH and I played through The Phantom Hourglass last year which was really enjoyable.

[Pumpkin]

Yes Vivi, as a MM fan you should know that dungeon count isn't the most important thing ;)

Also


Xenoblade is WAYYY TOO LOW and the characters are awesome and IT'S DEFINITELY REYN TIME

My gosh you're fussy

THIS IS THE POWER OF THE MONADO!!!!!


33. Fairy Fencer F (PlayStation 3)
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This game is about our hero, Fang, who pulls a “wish granting” “sword” from a stone in the hopes of wishing for some food. Instead he meets a fairy named Eryn who recruits him on a quest to save the world and revive the Goddess. After his initial bump dat noise reaction, he agrees to become a Fencer to help Eryn regain her memories. Along the way they are joined by some... eccentric allies (including a guy with a bad Canadian accent?) and defeat some... also eccentric villains.

This game has some unique gameplay elements to it. You have a range as to where you can attack that can be increased. You can unlock the ability to attack several times in a row and customize which attacks to use. You can also transform when certain conditions are met. Each character has a primary weapon they use but can use up to four weapons types which are changed simply by selecting different attacks or skills. There are two types of playable characters, the first being the Fencers, who act as your party members in battle, and the second being the “Fairies” like Eryn who become the weapons with which the fencers attack. You can also collect Fairies by defeating bosses and the like after which you an sort of customize them, equip them to your characters, or even equip them to the different locations to customize the dungeons. There are missable characters.


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General impressions:
I was interested in this game because I liked Hyperdimesnion Neptunia for it's silly humour and wanted to try another funny RPG. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised and this game exceeded my expectations. For a while there I wouldn't put it down. It was just as funny, it had great characters, but it did an even better job with the gameplay and story. There were a few things I didn't like as much but overall it was a huge improvement and I enjoyed it much more than I expected. It was also easier. There was a bit much fanservice, but it wasn't too over the top either.

Story:
Once again this story is mostly corny, cheesy, and silly fun. But more than that it had some actually serious and well written moments. I cried at one point. Sure I cry at the drop of a hat, but I certainly wasn't expecting that from such a silly game. It had some very cliche moments to it and will never be a deep Xeno type of story, but I was invested, I cared, and it did surprise me at times. The game does at one point repeat, as in you go back in time and re-recruit your allies, which was a bit of a pain, but it did a god job of switching up the story and the music and stuff so it still felt new. This game also handled a love triangle extremely well, which was refreshing because love triangles can get ugly.


62956


Gameplay:
Wasn't the best in the world but was actually pretty fun. There were a few things that weren't explained to me properly, which would be my biggest complaint. Like they didn't explain that your weapon could turn in to other types of weapons, so I thought I would have to get a new one or something, when really you can learn the other weapon types whenever you want. And how to do more than one attack in a row. But overall it was great fun, I loved the skill animations, and I loved how fun it was. Be warned though: The battle music when transforming/transformed during the first section of the game is atrocious.


62957


World:
Kind of a weak point. It reused a lot of areas, but there were some pretty ones and you could customize things like how many points you would get and what enemies would appear. But overall nothing really special.


62958
This image has nothing to do with anything, I just find it cute.
He has an afro with a sword stuck in it.
And look at his little change purse, so cute!



Characters:
Best part of the game. Very few of them are likeable in the traditional sense, but their eccentricities make them stand out more. I also loved how they would act with each other. I do think the characters had good depth and development, especially considering the type of game and how not serious it is. A lot of them really surprised me. Oh and you could customize some outfit accessories which is awesome.

Favourite character: Tiara 62959
Honourable mentions: Karin, Eryn 6296062961

It was hard to narrow these down too because there were a lot of great ones. I thought I would hate Tiara because she was kind of a stuck up jerk, but she ended up having some of the best development and a lot of the best scenes. Plus her little shoes were adorable and I would pay SO MUCH MONEY FOR THOSE. Karin had some very funny scenes, I just wish I'd seen more of her. And she was a Fairy and could turn in to a bow for battles and those are my favourite RPG weapons. And Eryn was a sweet and caring girl.

Overall this is a silly, lighthearted game with really weird characters and some unnecessary fanservice and an uninspiring world. But there's some great story moments, great characters and character development, and it was overall just a lot of fun to play.


62962

[metagloria]

MissH and I played through The Phantom Hourglass last year which was really enjoyable.

That surprises me, because my one big-time-Zelda-loving friend says Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are unbearable because of the repetitive elements. I never played PH but in ST, the dungeons are great but eventually using the train to move around becomes a huge pain in the neck.

[Slothy]

Dungeon count isn't all that matters in a Zelda game, but when a Zelda game has almost nothing to do outside of them that's all that fun and there are at least two mini dungeons that feel more like they got cut to meet a deadline than were intentionally added that way it definitely hurts a game.

Majora's Mask can get away with a low dungeon count because everything else is so different and so much more involving than they usually are in a Zelda title.

[Pumpkin]

My main problem with the dungeons in WW is that I felt a few of them were spaced to closely together :lol:

It was like yay, finished up the dungeon time to go to a new town and... another dungeon? Really?


Dungeons are actually my least favourite part of Zelda games which might be why I only like 4 Zelda games :erm:

[Pumpkin]

Bit earlier today because I was up early and posted the first one early


32. Pokemon X (Nintendo 3DS)
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In this game you go on a quest to become a Pokemon master by catching Pokemon and defeating the Elite Four. I assume. That's usually the story, isn't it? There's also the whole Mega-Evolution happening this time and as usual an evil organization.


62965


This is played similar to most Pokemon games. You get a starter Pokemon, choosing between a water, fire, and grass type. The types each have a weakness and a strength to other types. Then you go fight Pokemon to increase your EXP and level up your Pokemon, who will sometimes evolve in to new Pokemon. You can also catch wild Pokemon and add them to your team. You can carry a large amount of Pokemon but can only bring 6 with you at a time. In this game you can also ride certain Pokemon as well as customize your character's look and clothing. There's also some games you can play with your Pokemon.


62966


This is my favourite Pokemon game for a few reasons. The first being the character and outfit customization. It's been established I liked to play dress up so this already made the game awesome to me. I loved the cute Pokemon Amie games. The graphics were better, there were some new, cutie Pokemon. And most importantly, it returned my precious Squirtle to me. It also had some awesome areas to explore as well. Overall it's just awesome and fun and so far the best Pokemon has to offer for me.


62967
This is actually incredibly close to what
my character looked like
So I stole this one instead of having to upload my own pics

[Skyblade]

Really fantastic game. Lacking in two major areas. Endgame content, and the main storyline. Other than that, brilliant and probably the best overall game in the series.

[Pumpkin]

So some news, this is actually my last "short style" review as the rest of the games on my list are more story and character heavy. So long short reviews, you served me well, especially for a lot of the games near the bottom of the list.

And the honour of last short review game goes to...


31. Ape Escape 3 (PlayStation 2)
62968


This is a game about some monkeys taking over all of the TV channels to uhh... I don't know, there was a goal in mind I think. The story isn't really the important part of the game. It involves monkeys and TV. You can choose between the male and female character.


62969


In this game you will travel from TV station to TV station capturing monkeys with your cool gadgets like a hula hoop that makes you go fast and a little RC car, among many others. Also a net. The net is important. And on top of that you can transform! It is a platforming game so you'll be jumping and avoiding obstacles and occasionally a monkey will beat you up and take your net. Very serious stuff.


62970


This game is just so much fun. An old friend not very in to video games gave it to me because he said it was a lot of fun, and the premise sounded stupid, but it had me laughing. It's easy to play, it has so many interesting and diverse levels, and it was just fun. You also get monkey horoscopes and you can check on your monkeys to get little info bits and stuff. Overall just a really fun and easy going game for something more lighthearted. I also liked the outfit changes with the transformations and my favourite was the ninja.


62971
That's deep


Tomorrow we start on the top 30!!!

[Madame Adequate]

oh snap Ape Escape I played the SHIT out of the original it was so good

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I don't think I ever played 3! I loved the first two games though! I should play 3.

[Pumpkin]

I've only played the third one!

Time for the top 30!


30. Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360)
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In Tales of Vesperia, the towns and cities are protected by magical barriers of sorts to keep the monsters outside. At the start of the game, former Knight Yuri decides to track down the thief of an aqua blastia core, the absence of which is causing some water problems for his friends. While tracking down the thief, he meets a young lady named Estelle and learns they have a friend in common. Soon they have to venture out in search of the thief and their friend Flynn, learning that there's more going on in the world than they knew.

This game is played similar to most Tales games with finer details I couldn't describe because I couldn't pull them off. You attack with the B button and perform arts with A, which consumes TP. TP is restored by attacking or winning a battle (or by using items). Abilities are learned through equipped items. You can change your on screen character and which character you use in battle. They don't have to be the same character. You can also find recipes and have your characters cook to restore HP and TP and such. There are 4 characters usable in battle at a time. There are 7 playable characters in this version with one guest, but there's some extra stuff in the PS3 version.


62986


General impressions:
This is one of the Tales games I'd heard the most about, but I don't have a 360 so I couldn't really play it. But eventually I got some other games to play on the system and my boyfriend let me borrow the 360 from work, so I got to try it out a few months ago! I wasn't sure what to expect, I just knew that people love Yuri and Rita and it's the favourite of a lot of people. Overall I think it's a great game, look how high up it made it on my list, but it wasn't my favourite Tales game. There was a bit too much politics and I have a hard time keeping up with that type of story so I was a bit lost at times. But it does have an interesting story, it's fun to play, and has a strong cast of characters. Also the skits were a bit weird in this one.

Story:
The story isn't bad or weak by any means, but I did have a hard time keeping up with some of it because there was a lot of political drama and I just don't have a mind for politics. I was always getting people confused and I'd get lost at certain points. But the parts I did understand were great and the game wasn't all politics. The more fantasy storyline very much had me excited and interested and there were some great moments and some really touching and sad ones.


62987


Gameplay:
The gameplay is the same as most Tales games but I liked it a bit less because they didn't do a good job of explaining the finer details, and there were a lot of them, and so it just became a big confusing mess at the end and basically all I had down was attack and skills. Not to mention the button reversal on a controller I wasn't familiar with made things more difficult than necessary.


62988
I wish I'd known how to keep her
Princess outfit


World:
Pretty strong. There were some gorgeous areas, there was good diversity, the places felt alive. There were a great many places I looked forward to seeing and exploring and they were all very cinematic in how they were presented as well. My favourite was Halure because of the beautiful tree and the unique style of the homes and such.


62991
So pretty!


Characters:
Very strong cast of characters and great relationships. One of my favourite things about Tales games is how each character relates to each other and not just to the main two. They truly feel like an ensemble. I didn't like Rita like I was expecting to, but there were some awesome characters.

Favourite character: Estelle 62992
Honourable mentions: Repede, Judith, Yuri 629936299462995

Yep, lot's of favourites, I had trouble narrowing it down. Estelle was just great. She was sweet and kind, although a bit naive. She was just such a good friend and she grew a lot during the journey. And her pink hair was cute. Repede was just a cool dog with an attitude. I wasn't expecting to like Judith but she became my favourite to use and I did enjoy her scenes and found her very interesting. Yuri was just well written, good voice acted, and brought a certain depth and change from most protagonists.

Overall strong game with an interesting story, beautiful world, and awesome cast of characters. Gamepay is a bit bloated and not well explained though.


62996

[Rez09]

I wasn't expecting to like Judith but she became my favourite to use and I did enjoy her scenes and found her very interesting.

I'm in exactly the same boat here. I was extremely disinclined to like Judith, but she quickly became one of my favorites in the game. I actually liked her character-wise and outright adored using her in battle -- she's super floaty and I loved juggling enemies. :)

[chionos]

Downloading ToV immediately.

shi, this thread is fantastic btw. I love how you're breaking down the games, especially your JRPG breakdowns.

[Pumpkin]

Downloading ToV immediately.

shi, this thread is fantastic btw. I love how you're breaking down the games, especially your JRPG breakdowns.

Thank you! Had you played Tales of Vesperia before?


29. Skies of Arcadia Legends (Gamecube)
63002


Skies of Arcadia is about a group of Sky Pirates, in particular a young man named Vyse and a young woman named Aika, when they discover a young woman named Fina being chased by the evil empire type entity. They don't know why she's being chased, but they're determined to protect her and things become even more personal when the empire arrives at the Sky Pirate hideout.

The game plays like a lot of RPG's. You get in to random encounters where you fight enemies and can use magic and items and stuff. Something different about this game is the element stones which allow you to change the element on your weapons with just the push of a button during the characters turn, allowing you to deal more or less damage to the enemies. The element of your weapon at the end of the fight will also determine what type of spells your points go to. The world map is traversed by airship, and you gain access to new locations with ship upgrades that come throughout the game. There are a total of 6 playable characters, and some characters you can recruit to your cause later on (that aren't playable).


63003


General impressions:
Sharky loves this game so he highly recommended I try it for this list here. I'd tried it briefly before but stopped very shortly in because I was worried Aika was going to turn in to one of those characters I hate. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case at all. This game, despite technically being post-apocalyptic, is absurdly positive, happy and cheerful, which was pleasant to see. The main character, Vyse, is ridiculously upbeat and happy, never succumbing to depression despite quite a few situations where no one would blame him. It was refreshing to have such an upbeat game, almost like being a child again when all the kids shows are just so happy no matter what. That isn't to say the game doesn't have depth, it does, but it deals with it in a different way than a lot of games.

Story:
The story starts out pretty stereotypical good guys vs bad empire, and for the most part it stays that campy, but it has some hidden depths to it. Along the way we learn that the world of Skies of Arcadia is actually after a massive apocalypse, we learn the heartbreaking story of why Drachma hunts that whale so much, not to mention the actual scene with the whale later on that is truly heartbreaking. One of the moments that touched me most is when Vyse and crew arrive on a town that used to be full of opportunity but now lays forgotten, the people have given up on life, their dreams. They're sad and miserable and hate their lives. At first it's easy to see why, they were promised things they never got, they lost a lot of people, and they were left stranded out there. But then Vyse shows up and tells them how much they could accomplish despite their crappy circumstances, and it really hits you and makes you think about all the opportunities people let go to waste because they don't at least try. That's a message I've kept with me since, and it is a special game that will give something like that to you.


63004


Gameplay:
The gameplay was overall pretty good. I liked the added elements to the weapons and how the characters learned their abilities. It had a lot of fun sidequests, and you could do some fun stuff like customize your HQ and your flag. I'm always a fan of recruiting people thanks to Suikoden. The negatives for me would have to be the dungeons, which can be very long and annoying, and the ship battles. I did not like the ship battles, especially since some of them last forever. I'd say gameplay is this game's weakness, but it was still fun.


63005


World:
The world is pretty unique in that it takes place on islands in the skies. I also enjoy how the areas are affected by the different moons. You have the forest, the desert, the ice area. Each one brought a lot of diversity so you didn't feel like you were staring at the same thing over and over again, which I really liked. The downside is a lot of the towns felt rather small.


63006
Yes, those are sky fish


Characters:
The characters are just as campy as the story! But still very likeable for the most part. They're all so happy and positive no matter what happens to them. This game is also pretty unique in that almost every NPC has their own look.

Favourite character: Fina 63007
Honourable mentions: Vyse, Aika 6300863009


The main three were my favourites. It might be because they had a lot of time to develop. Like I said, they're all just so happy and upbeat and they don't let anything stop them or keep them down. They're determined, kind, and they care deeply about each other. It's really something I admire.

Overall if you're in to dark and edgy, this game isn't for you. It's bright and happy, it's a lot of fun, it's got some cool customization, it's got airship battles, and it has a lot of heart. I'm glad I gave it a chance because it really is a great game.


63010

[chionos]

I think I downloaded the demo when it first came out but I don't know that I ever played it. I've certainly never played the full game. Actually, I believe this will be my first Tales game altogether.

[Pumpkin]

Awesome. It's a pretty great series and Vesperia is one of the most loved

[metagloria]

Vesperia is great but some of the characters were super lame. It's probably my least favorite of the three Tales games I've played, but still excellent.

[Pumpkin]

28. Record of Agarest War (Xbox 360)
63011


Okay the long story short version of this is that a man named Leonhardt dies trying to save a young elf girl. He is brought back to life on the condition that himself and four generations of his descendants will sacrifice themselves to merge with the five pillars of the world to prevent bad stuff from happening, basically.

This is a strategy RPG and boy is it ever. I covered a lot of it in Agarest Zero review. You get six characters in battle and abig part of fights is linking to other characters to gain a strategic advantage. Each character has certain squares he/she can link to and putting a character in one of those squares will allow them to link. Linked characters can combine attacks and can all act in the same turn instead of waiting for their individual turns. This can literally be a life saver. There is also a dating sim aspect and an alignment gauge always present during scenes. The alignment will change based on your story decisions. For the first four generations you will have 3 bachelorettes, and their compatibility will change based on your decisions. The resulting child will be the hero of the next generation. The fifth generation can be paired with any remaining female character. As this game spans five generations it is long and there are tons of playable characters.


63012


General impressions:
This was the second one I'd played in the series and I loved it. For starters it had an easy mode, making it that much better. There's some things it did worse, like removing vacation days, but a lot of it was better. I liked that the game had 5 generations of matchmaking, but this did sadly lead to some of the characters being less fleshed out. I'd say the first generation was most guilty, I barely got to know my potential brides. But overall it had really strong characters, and an interesting and well told story.

Story:
Again, Agarest manages to tell a political drama I can actually follow and that actually keeps me interested. The downsides being that scenes are short and far between, meaning I have to do like an hour of battling for 10 minutes of scenes, and it could be a bit jarring when going through the time skips, not just in story but in gameplay. But the story was really interesting and since this game is character driven I was very happy with how it was told.


63013


Gameplay:
I liked the gameplay much better than in Agarest War Zero because there was an easy mode. The game still wasn't as easy as I would have liked, but it did make a visible difference. Also turning off the battle animations made a world of difference in time. With that being said the ratio of story to battles was still very off and I would have liked it much more had their been less fighting to do. But as far as strategy games go, this one was pretty unique compared to most that I've played and it was fun enough. Another thing I mentioned in story was changing generations was jarring, as there was always a battle party and formation I was accustomed to and I'd have to find something new each time, which was a bit weird. It was almost like starting back at zero.


63014


World:
The low point of the game again, but not quite as bad. You do get a bit of scenery change when you switch generations but once again most maps are just travelling from dot to dot. You could move around typical RPG style in certain dungeons, but I didn't like that as much because you weren't healed between battles and it was easy to get lost, plus they usually ended in boss fights.


63015


Characters:
Best part of the game. The characters are a bit too fanservicy, so you'd think they lacked depth, but I was pleasantly surprised at most of them. Despite a lot of them only being there for one generation, they were very well written and interesting and the story was told really well through them.

Favourite characters: Yayoi, Sherufanir 6301663017
Honourable mentions: Vira-Lorr, Lavinia 6301863019

Yayoi and Sherufanir are pretty much tied and are both from the second generation. Yayoi was just the sweetest thing and one of the only properly dressed ladies of the game. In fact, she has an abundance of clothing. But she was kind, she was pleasant, and I liked her a lot. Sherufanir is originally shown as flirty and mischievous but she's one of the deepest characters, acting as a big sister to her love rival, showing her hidden hatred for the war, and just having a lot of depth. Vira-Lorr is no-nonsense, get things done, and speaks her mind, and I really admired her strength of character. Despite the fact that her people are hunted, she shows her third eye without shame. Lavinia is from the gen 3. I wasn't expecting to like her because of her cold demeanor (and terrible outfit) but she was very well written when they showed her vulnerable and caring side

Overall this game has way too many fights, a dull world, and is way too fanservicy. But the story is excellent and the characters are interesting and well-written, which makes it worth it for me in the end.


63020
I love this picture because it shows that even though she could be killed for that third eye
she never hides who she is

[Pumpkin]

27. Final Fantasy IV (Gameboy Advance)
63039


Final Fantasy IV follows our hero Cecil as he comes to terms with his dark deeds in order to better himself and save the world as the Crystals are being stolen. He recruits allies from all corners of the world to help him.

Final Fantasy IV plays similar to most Final Fantasy games. You can have 5 characters in battle where you will issue commands such as attack, summon, black magic, item, among others. Each character has different skills and abilities they can use and fit in to general Final Fantasy jobs, such as White Mage or Dark Knight. There are 12 total playable characters.


63040


General impressions:
I was a bit (really) late on the Final Fantasy IV train and only finished it last year. I'd tried it a few years ago but I got sad when Palom and Porom died so I took a break and didn't come back for a long time. Eventually I did come back and started over and this time played to completion. I have to say that I understand the love for this game. While it isn't my favourite, it's still an enjoyable experience. The characters are great and well written. I didn't feel any of them suffered from a lack of personality. The story was interesting and engaging. The game even made me like some of its villains. There were also some truly touching moments. I think it suffered a bit of a difficulty spike towards the end, and some of the dungeons were mind numbingly long, but overall this is a great game.

Story:
The story was great. There were some truly heartbreaking moments, like when everyone dies ever, especially Tellah because that's the one that sticks. I especially was touched by later moments when Golbez comes to his senses. It was excellent story writing because they showed how he had remorse for his actions, but also understood if others couldn't forgive him, and he gave Cecil his space. So when Cecil sucked it up and forgave him before he left, it was such a beautiful moment. You really grow to care about the characters, which makes the story that much better because you're so invested. There's also a good number of twists and turns to keep you on your toes, especially if you don't know what's going to happen.


63041
It usually is


Gameplay:
The gameplay I would say is average. It was fun, I have very few complaints, but I didn't find it to be anything special either. Although I am a fan of characters having their set roles. My biggest complaints, as I mentioned, was the sudden difficulty spike and the long long long long dungeons. Eventually you stop caring and just started rushing through them because you have other things to do and just want to get to it already. But overall it was fine and fun to play.


63042


World:
The locations themselves were fine, although not many of them stood out to me. I think the most positive thing about the world is how it contributed to the tone of the whole game. Plus there are three world maps, which is quite unique in itself.


63043


Characters:
Well I covered this a bit in the story section already. The characters were great, very well written, and they really make you care. While some of them fit some cliches, I would say they're more than the some of their parts and they feel like real people. Watching them grow and develop was a lot of fun, and seeing some of them die, fake or otherwise, was a punch in the stomach because you didn't want them to die or even leave your party.

Favourite character: Porom 63044
Honourable mentions: Rosa, Cid 6304563046

I think Porom is just the sweetest thing, she's smart and wise beyond her years, and her interactions with her brother are cute. I actually liked Rosa and found her to be a strong character. Sure she has her damsel moments, but she always sticks it out, works hard, and helps others. I wasn't expecting to like Cid but his absurdly positive attitude grew on me. He was a hard worker and he never gave up.

Overall I'm really glad I gave this game a try. It really shows what Final Fantasy has to offer to RPG lovers, it's character centric, which I absolutely love, there were moments that had me teary eyed, and the whole game was a lot of fun. Definitely deserves the praise it gets.


63047

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I encourage everyone to play Skies of Arcadia, and if you don't like it, you can go be wrong somewhere else. :colbert:

[Pumpkin]

26. Tales of the Abyss (PlayStation 2)
63057


Tales of the Abyss follows our hero, Luke, who was stuck in his noble family's mansion ever since he was kidnapped when he was little. Things get shook up a bit one day when a mysterious woman arrives and attempts to assassinate his trainer. Things go wrong though and before he knows it, the mystery assassin and himself find themselves far away in the enemy kingdom while the two kingdoms are on the brink of war.

This game plays pretty similar to other Tales games. X button attacks, O button uses skills. You can do different skills by combining O will different directional buttons. This game also has different elemental fields that will change and adjust magic, but I was never good with that so I never bothered. Cooking is still present. The character on screen and the character you control in battle are up to you and do not have to be the same character. There are 4 characters usable in battle, 6 playable characters, and 1 guest.


63058


General impressions:
I think I may have played this game when I was younger for a brief period of time, because Tear looked very familiar to me, but I can't remember clearly so I don't really count it as my first Tales game. I got this one after playing the Xillia games and loving them and also to see Tear because she did look so familiar to me. People warned me that the main character was annoying, but he never bothered me that much. Overall the game is pretty strong for me, I liked the characters, I liked the story, and it has a definite RPG feel that I look for. It was also easy to play except for that one horrible boss near the beginning of the game.

Story:
I'd say it's a strong point. Even though a lot of the plot twists were pretty obvious, it didn't leave me any less interested, and I was very much invested to see how things would be dealt with and what would happen. I liked how the game was not black and white and how you had good, bad, and neutral people from all different sides and you'd sometimes find help where you wouldn't expect it. This game is also very character driven, which we all know I like, so it was not just about the story for me but about how the characters would react to the story that made me like it so much.


63059


Gameplay:
One of the easier Tales games to play and get the hang of, which I liked, but some of the controls were a bit stiffer than some of the other entries. I'd say a big problem was that money was harder to come by than I liked, and most of my grinding was not for levels but for money for new equipment. Because of that, I also didn't get to enjoy the cooking as much as I would have liked. Other than that the game was fun and I have little to complain about.


63060


World:
Excellent world, I think it's actually my favourite of the whole Tales series, which is saying a lot because the Tales games have pretty great worlds. There was a wide variety of environment and a lot of them were stunning. My favourites would be Keterburg because I love snowy areas, and Grand Chokmah because there is so much water and there's like A WATERFALL BEHIND THE PALACE. The place is just surrounded by water and it's gorgeous.


63061


Characters:
While there were less characters that made me go WOW the ensemble itself was really strong and they worked excellently as a group. The characters individually had good depth to them and there were a range of personalities. A few of them really surprised me because they weren't really cliche's of what you would expect by looking at them. They all had pretty strong development as well.

Favourite character: Natalia 63062
Honourable mention: Mieu 63063

I didn't think I would like Natalia because she seemed pretty snobby and stuck up, but she quickly proved me wrong. She's very sweet and caring and isn't afraid to get right in to things to help people in need and she works hard to make life as good as she can for everyone. Plus she an archer and I love archers. I like Mieu second most because come on. Look at him.

Overall this is a really strong game, it has a great cast of characters, and an interesting story. The gameplay is a bit clunky but it's easy to get in to and fun to play.


63064

[Skyblade]

My favorite Tales game.

I still have no idea how you are supposed to use 90% of the game mechanics.

[Pumpkin]

We have now reached my top 25 :plumcheer: Very excite!


25. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (PlayStation 3)
63067


Atelier Totori is about a young girl named Totori who has studied to become an alchemist and now works to gain her adventurer's license so that she can go out and find her mother. Her mother was a famous adventurer but one day she never came home. Totori and her friend Gino work hard so that they too can become adventurers.

There are a few elements to this game. The first obviously being alchemy. You combine ingredients to make items that you can use to make more items or equip or bring with you to heal or attack enemies. This game also operates on a time limit, and you have a few in game years to do certain tasks like renew your adventurers license. There are also multiple endings depending on what you accomplish during the time frame. The battles are RPG style, with a battle party of 3 members which you can switch by going and speaking with other available characters. In battle there is a turn order and different characters have different skills they can execute. Alchemists are the only ones who can use items, which range from healing to bombs which deal damage. Most actions in game take up a certain time, from alchemy to battles, to gathering materials, to traveling. You can also take on requests.


63068


General impressions:
This is the Atelier game I wanted most because it has Totori and Totori is adorable. I ended up buying it a while after finishing Meruru, even this one comes beforehand in the timeline. It was interesting to see the characters and how far they'd come from this game to Meruru and also to discover some backstory. Overall I found this game to be easier and more lenient with the time frame. Some stuff it did worse like the slow world map travel, but I preferred the story much more and found it much more investing.

Story:
The story still isn't the main focus and this is more of a gameplay and character driven game, but I did actually really like this one. I liked wondering where Totori's mother was and uncovering secrets about her that Totori didn't know. I also liked the aspect of going from a small town to a big city and they did a good job of conveying the feeling, I felt. It also had some really touching moments.


63069


Gameplay:
I thought it was a lot of fun. It put less emphasis on battle than the other two I've played, having only one mandatory boss fight (if you got that far in the game). The time frame was easier to follow and less stressful overall, I was better at making equipment and managing my time, and I felt things were given to me slower so I could adjust to them more easily. Overall the game was really fun and I could waste hours on it without even noticing.


63070


World:
Not as bright as in Meruru, but still very upbeat and cheerful with a good range of different locations. I still liked the little gathering bubble icon. The towns were fun to explore and I liked when new areas opened up to see what they had to offer and see the new things I could find.


63071


Characters:
The best part of the game. Even a lot of non-playable characters had good personalities and a good sense of humour and the people really did feel like coworkers and acquaintances that you would see over several years. I liked learning more about everyone and there was a good variety of playable characters for different play styles.

Favourite character: Totori 63072
Honourable mentions: Rorona, Melvia 6307363074

Totori is of course my favourite. I liked seeing her grow and mature and gain more confidence in herself. I really liked how determined she was and how she never gave up even when she would fail several times. She was also very caring and gentle. I like Melvia because she had a good sense of humour and wasn't afraid to be who she was. I liked Rorona a lot because she was just so ditzy and weird that I couldn't help but laugh. She was less mature than her student.

Overall it has a touching story, fun gameplay, and an amazing cast of characters. It's a sweet little adventure and it has some beautiful art.


63075

[Pumpkin]

24. Eternal Sonata (Xbox 360)
63077


Eternal Sonata is the story of Frederic Chopin's dying dream. In this dream, we meet a young girl named Polka who has a fatal illness, but also grants her magical powers. The dream world is ruled by the comically evil Count Waltz, who is pushing something called Mineral Powder on his citizens, and all of our heroes have reason to stop him.

This is a somewhat unique RPG in terms of gameplay. Each characters turn has a time limit during which you can move and attack until time runs out. When attacking you'll build up a combo bar or sorts, which is always a good thing. Another unique aspect of the game is that there are light areas and dark areas which will affect skills. For example, if you're in a sunny field, a certain skill might be a healing one, but if you move under the shade of a cloud that healing skill will become a different skill. Each battle area will have access to light and dark areas. Like a dark ship having light pools from the hanging lights. There are 10 playable characters total in the Xbox version, one temporary and/or missable, and 12 playable in the PS3 version.


63078


General impressions:
I want to start by saying that I had no idea this game had a PS3 version until AFTER I bought the Xbox 360 version. Then I moved and lost it and said this time I will get the PS3 version, since it has extra characters, switchable outfits (I think), and is on a console I can more easily access. But I couldn't find that version until after I caved and bought the Xbox version again. The whole thing is quite frustrating. It's super cheap now so maybe I'll end up with the PS3 version someday anyway. Anywho, about the actual game, I think it's incredibly charming, beautiful, and has some great characters. Music in video games has never been the most important thing to me but if you're in to that this game has some beautiful music. Since one of the main characters is Chopin and all. Speaking of which, between the chapters you get some neat little info history sections about his life with some of the wonderful music playing in the background. It's a nice touch.

Story:
This is the weak point of the game to me. I was much more invested in the individual characters than I was in the main story and it's honestly pretty forgettable overall. I wouldn't say it's bad, just doesn't stand out. The part that does stand out is that they took a real person from history and invented a fantasy world for him, and spend the game trying to figure out if the people and the world in his dreams are real or not. That part was pretty neat. But the whole Mineral Powder story seemed more tacked on just to give it a goal.


63079


Gameplay:
It's pretty fun and more involving than a lot of RPG's where you stand there and select a command (not that I dislike those at all). I really liked the light and dark element and how that could affect the battle, especially in places where the light or shadow would move, so one second you're using one attack and then the cloud moves and you have to adapt really quickly. I also liked the aspect of manually shooting the Viola's bow, but I sucked at it, so I wasn't the best. But overall very fun and involving gameplay.


63080


World:
Beautiful world, one of my favourite video game worlds ever. Some of the locations are breath taking and I have a hard time narrowing down my favourite areas. Each new spot brought something different and there were just so many that I can't wait to see again when I replay the game. If I had to pick favourite areas, it would be Baroque because pretty snow city, Elegy of the Moon for it's uniqueness, and Ritardando despite it's stupid name.


63081


Characters:
I loved the characters. A lot of them are cheesy cliches, but I don't even care, they're cliches that make me care about them and make me invested in their story. Even the annoying ones didn't really annoy me that much, and the whole cast just made me smile. I also liked how often the party would switch, giving you different perspectives of the story and seeing different people and areas. They also all had cute musical names.

Favourite character: Viola 63082
Honourable mentions: March, Polka, Claves 630836308463085

Viola kicks butt, she's strong willed, and she doesn't take crap from anybody. But she's still sweet. Plus she's an awesome archer which we know I love. March was very useful in battle and was quiet and sweet, it's just a shame she doesn't join until later on. Polka is dying and hated by everyone, but that doesn't stop her from being sweet and kind and helping everyone she can. And I'll be honest, a lot of why I like Claves is actually her look and femininity.

Overall this is a cute sweet game with some touching moments but an overall forgettable story. But the gameplay is fun, the characters are sweet, the music is great, and the world is beautiful. It's a very magical adventure.


63086

[metagloria]

Wow. I enjoyed that game, but 24 is awfully high! I agree with all the stuff you said pretty much. Thought it got pretty weak in both story and gameplay near the end. Once you can do 5-6 harmony chains, combat is a joke.

[Shauna]

haha weak story is putting it mildly.

It made approximately no sense and then had like a three hour ending FMV which tied it up nicely. And by that I mean didn't explain anything.

[Pumpkin]

I really liked the game :(

Oh well that's why these lists are subjective huh :monster:

[Shauna]

I really liked Eternal Sonata. :shobon:

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Any game where you get to play as Chopin mowing down enemies with musical names is a top game to me.

[Pumpkin]

I really liked Eternal Sonata. :shobon:

Misunderstood your comment, my mistake :)

I was half asleep :shifty:

[Pumpkin]

23. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (PlayStation 2)
63091


It's thousands of years in to the future and humanity is now in space somewhere, a log way from Earth. The story follows Shion, a young engineer, her android KOS-MOS, and some other peeps as they have an absurdly long journey through space trying to get to one planet. Along the way they're attacked by alien type creatures known as Gnosis and in some cases have to face up to their past to move forward.

Xenosaga is a pretty unique RPG in terms of gameplay. It would take a while to explain it all. Basically to attack, you press triangle or square and to open the menu for ether (magic) and items and such you press X. Depending on certain conditions, you can also press O for a stronger attack, known as a Tech Attack. Characters also have boost gauges which when used will give them the next turn, unless the enemy boosts over that. You can also fight in big mechs called A.G.W.S. if you so choose. There are 6 playable characters and two temporarily playable characters.


63092


General impressions:
I wasn't expecting to like Xenosaga as much as I did. My mom bought it shortly after I moved back in with her, a few years after it came out. She figured I would like it because there were a lot of girls on the cover, and even at 12 I've always preferred female characters. The funny part was we thought chaos was a girl looking at it. Anyways, it looked way too sci-fi for my tastes but I gave it a try and I'm really glad I did. It's one of my favourite game series ever and I think that it tells an amazing story and it does it better than most games. As an added bonus, I learned a lot playing the games, because I constantly had to look up references (like Albedo, Nigredo, Rubedo) and what they really meant. It also prompted me to start looking at things differently and notice deeper meanings in certain stories, something which also applies to video games, and if I'd never started doing that thanks to this game then my games list would look a whole lot different today.

Story:
The story is the bread and butter of this game. It tells an amazingly complex and interesting story, it presents it beautifully, and it always leaves me wanting to know more. The cliffhangers were annoying because I wanted to know what would happen so much. The whole game keeps you on your toes and guessing, and it really sucks you in and leaves you at the edge of your seat. A lot of people complain about the hours of cinematics, which I can see be annoying for some, but for me it made the game that much better. Sometimes I didn't care about playing the game, I wanted to watch this amazing story unfold. There are some beautiful and touching moments, and the ending still makes me cry. It also allows you to go back and play after you finish the series and look at things in a different light. The story is amazing, one of the best I've ever come across in a video game.


63093


Gameplay:
The gameplay was the weak point for me. If you enjoy more unique systems then awesome, but not so much for me. I've gotten used to it over the years, but especially at first it was hard. The tutorials aren't super clear, leaving you to figure some stuff out on your own, stuff like why you need to switch your techs to Hi ASAP because it will make a world of difference. I made it almost the whole way through the game the first time without realizing that and I gotta tell ya, it made it a massive challenge. And I am not a fan of challenging games. I found the combat system to be unnecessarily complicated, basically. It also has a very big difficulty spike around the Song of Nephilim and some absurdly difficult bosses to fight. I couldn't comment on the A.G.W.S. Because I never used them. The game is also very linear but I honestly never felt it because the story was so interesting. I only noticed after it was pointed out to me and I thought about it for a while. The mini games, especially poker, were super fun.


63094


World:
You're in space. Honestly while some of the cinematics are stunning, the world itself is generally not. You get some nice places here and there, but most of it is grey corridor, inside of giant space whale alien, more grey corridors, some white corridors, aaaand some more grey corridors. But although they may not have been visually appealing, a lot of areas had interesting stories behind them, which I really liked.


63095


Characters:
On the whole I like the characters. I'd say this game is more story driven than character driven, but that doesn't mean the characters don't get a fair amount of attention. Their personalities are varied, their backstories are interesting and mostly heartbreaking. The biggest fault would be just how much the game focuses on Shion, leaving the others to almost always take a backseat, although Shion is actually pretty likeable in this game.

Favourite character: MOMO 63096
Honourable mentions: Jr. 63097

MOMO was my favourite because I mean come on. She's a sweet robot girl who whose father is widely regarded as a psycho and whose mother can barely even look at her. Despite this she still tries so hard to make friends and be useful. And she's incredibly smart, which is to be expected. Jr. got better in the sequels but even in this game he has an interesting story. And he's got some of my favourite tech attacks.

Overall this is not a game for everybody. Both the plot and the gameplay are convoluted and complicated, but if you enjoy sci-fi fantasy with psychology and religious references and deeper hidden plot points and some robots then I'd definitely say give it a try. Really the story is glorious if you get in to it.


63098

[Egami]

I loved Xenogears but never played a Xenosaga game...:(

[Madame Adequate]

I wasn't took taken with Ep 1 so I never played the second or third, but I've always intended to revisit the series at some point, and your post on it reinforces that intention!

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Episode 1 is still my favorite of the trilogy! It was so good!

[Pumpkin]

22. Final Fantasy V (Gameboy Advance/PlayStation)
63100


Final Fantasy V starts with a mysterious meteor crashing near where Bartz is chillin with his Chocobo friend Boko, when things start to go awry. The Wind Crystal shatters and they have to work hard to prevent the next three from falling to the same fate.

This is played like a lot of Final Fantasy games. In battle you select from a list of commands ranging from attack to item when it's your turn. This game has job classes that you can switch freely between outside of battle. You will have access to different skills and abilities depending on your characters jobs. You'll also be riding in a wide variety of cool rides, such as boats, airships, and Chocobos!


63101


General impressions:
I think V was my first pre-PS1 era Final Fantasy game, so I wasn't too sure what to expect going in to it, but I ended up loving it. The strange thing about V for me is that I seem to like it more when I'm playing it then when I'm looking back on it, and it's usually the opposite. But this was a charming little game, it had a good sense of humour, and it had the beloved job class system. Hard to go wrong with this classic Final Fantasy game.

Story:
Not the strongest story in the series, but still very solid and it kept me interested. There were some wonderfully touching moments, like going to Bartz's home town, learning more about Galuf, and the moments between Faris and Lenna that I absolutely loved, and this game did get me teary eyed at certain spots, like most of the scenes with Syldra. Tugs at the heart strings. This game does an amazing job of having those touching moments and still having a good sense of humour and making me laugh along with them. So while the story isn't the strongest on its own, the story-telling is wonderful.


63102


Gameplay:
A lot of fun, sine I'm a big fan of the job class system and this is one of the games that did it best. I loved the little outfits, I loved the wide variety of jobs, and none of them were impossible to master, although some took some time. The game was also pretty easy overall with a few more difficult things thrown in here and there. Overall it was a good deal of fun, especially for a big fan of the series.


63103


World:
Pretty good. You do get several different world maps, which adds some variety, and there was a good deal of locations to explore with some good diversity. It even had a Moogle's Forest which was really cute. It didn't stand out to me too much but I don't really have any complaints either.


63104


Characters:
Very much a strong point. I'm usually a fan of larger casts of characters and this one is pretty short on them, but the characters were were given were all very strong and made the story one hundred time more awesome. I liked every single one of them and they each had moments that made me care about them and feel for them. They worked great as a group as well.

Favourite character: Lenna 63105

I'm not going to put an honourable mention because it boils down to ALL OF THEM and then it's not really an honourable second best character mention anymore. They're all just awesome and I have such a hard time picking favourites. I liked Lenna a lot because she was sweet and sacrificing, risking her life for others and doing her best to be supportive of everyone. Faris was great for being one of the strongest people there, and not compromising who she was, Bartz was great for his positive attitude, Galuf worked great with the others and had his badass dying scene, and Krile was great for being a strong little lady who did her best for her grandfather.

Overall great game, fun and easy to play with one of the best examples of the job class system this series has to offer. But where it really shines is the characters and how they could bring humour to the situation but still have their touching and memorable moments.


63106

[Egami]

Good one Pumpkin! FF V is a really great and charming game. My favorite of the SNES era. What did you think of ExDeath as a villain and the last part, the Cleft of Dimension?

[Pumpkin]

Good one Pumpkin! FF V is a really great and charming game. My favorite of the SNES era. What did you think of ExDeath as a villain and the last part, the Cleft of Dimension?

I liked ExDeath okay, I don't think he was a particularly weak villain. Plus awesome name I mean really. The Cleft of Dimension never particularly stood out to me so I'd say so-so. Some final dungeons are tedious and some are great, this one was kinda in between for me

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Xenosaga Ep.1 and FF5 are both pretty fantastic.

I'm like the only guy that likes Ziggy, but I'm pretty sure there are other Galuf fans.

There better be.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Ziggy is a cool guy.

[metagloria]

Not a Ziggy fan. But also not really a Momo fan so :shrug:

But FFV!!!! :dance:

[Pumpkin]

We're getting in to my top spots which means more Final Fantasy's!



21. Final Fantasy Tactics (The War of the Lions) (PlayStation/PSP)
63116


Final Fantasy Tactics is a political drama about... ummm... Remember how I said I was bad at political stories? I don't remember much about the overarching plot except for there's like a war over the successor of the throne I think? And some noble houses are supporting one side or the other? But I know much more about the smaller details of the story, like those in poverty who hate the nobles and the Ramza family drama llama, and of course the whole Delita thing. So basically what I'm saying is I know more about the smaller character plots within the major plot.

This is a strategy RPG with job classes! You get in to fights along the map between story events, and there you can move your characters and have them attack or use skills. Some skills or magic have a wait time, so it's important to check turn order and make sure your enemy won't move before the execution of the action! There's a wide variety of job classes, most of which are unlocked by using other job classes. Acting and such gives you JP to spend towards learning abilities for the jobs you're using. There are story mandatory characters but you can also get generic soldiers for a small fee. I personally gave each character two jobs to master.


63117


General impressions:
I've always loved this game and it's job class system, although it is sadly on the harder side since I suck at tactics games. I'm actually pretty sure that I get worse at it as time goes on. But that doesn't stop me from playing it and getting excited everytime. I will say that when going through my top games list, this game did go down quite a few spots when I stopped to look at it more, but it's still an awesome game, it's one of my favourite strategy game ever, and it has some amazing moments and great atmosphere.

Story:
As I mentioned above, I do have a hard tome following the overarching storyline, instead focusing on the smaller stories within the story. Those I did find very interesting and the game does a good job of making the world feel very real and making you feel like a small part in a bigger event. It was well written and lots of moments really gave the feels. It also had some good shades of grey in there, which I could appreciate, making morality more complicated than the typical right vs wrong.


63118
Burn!


Gameplay:
It's really fun to play but really hard as well. Like you should grind but you shouldn't grind too much because then the enemies will level with you but you'll be stuck with more basic equipment since you haven't progressed the story yet. So finding the right balance can be tricky. And there's some very complicated and difficult bosses. But I loved the job class system and all the different combinations you could come up with and I liked having to think about my environment and my turns and such. It wasn't a game to just mash the X button with, I actually had to put thought in to my actions, and I like that.


63119


World:
The world is kind of drab and largely unexplorable other than battles and moving along little dots on the map. But there were some interesting maps that added some strategy to the fights. Overall though not really great at all.


63120


Characters:
A strong point for this game. There's so much going on and so many people, but they make you care about them and they're written very well so you really get immersed in their stories. The characters really do make the whole story and it's am experience watching them go through the war and how they're affected and what actions they take.

Favourite character: Alma 63121
Honourable mention: Ovelia 63122

I liked both these ladies because they kind of get swept up in things and Ovelia especially gets used a lot, but they still stay strong and kind and don't let it break their spirit. I also enjoyed Alma being more of a background than a central character because it felt more genuine to not have everyone at the center of everything like you get in a lot of RPGs.

Overall a good game with really strong characters and awesome gameplay. A great example of the job system and a lot of fun for fans of Strategy RPG's. Heavy political story with shades of grey for those who enjoy those types of things.


63123

[Loony BoB]

Great to see FFV so high on the list. I keep forgetting to put my PSP back in my bag so I've not made progress on FFT recently, but I'll try to remember and that way I can keep doing my 1-2 battles per tram journey home like I was before.

[Pumpkin]

Oh look, we are at the top 20!! :party: Less than a week left on this list


20. Dark Cloud (PlayStation 2)
63124


At the start of Dark Cloud, some evil rich dude revives the dark genie and commands it to destroy the world. But the King of fairies is having none of that (I'm not making any of this up) and at the last minute manages to trap people and buildings and such in to floating balls called Atla, which are conveniently spread across the dungeons of the land. Our hero, Toan, after witnessing his village get destroyed, is contacted by the fairy King and given a gemstone called the Atlamilia, which will allow him to open the Atla and restore the world.

There are two main sections of this game. The first is going through dungeons, collecting Atla, defeating enemies, and beating bosses. In dungeons, on top of keeping track of your own HP, you must also watch out for your weapon HP and your thirst meter. If your thirst meter is depleted your HP will begin to drain. This can be restored with items or in a healing fountain. Your weapon loses HP through use and if depleted your weapon will break. Weapons can also be customized and evolved in to stronger weapons, so it's important not to break them. The second aspect of the game is town building. Each Atla you find in the dungeons will contain anything from a house to a person to a lamp. The items fit in specific houses and the houses can be placed anywhere in the village you're rebuilding, along with roads and trees and such. The villagers will also make requests as to where they'd like their houses because just saving their lives isn't enough, although a lot of the requests are optional to fulfill and just give you an extra prize if you complete the requests for the whole village.


63125


General impressions:
This is one of the first games I had for the PS2 (along with Jak and Daxter) and I played it non-stop for a good while. I loved it. I loved the town building, the weapon evolving, some of the characters. Something to note about this game is it's a rare case of a game getting much easier the further in you go. The beginning of the game is the hardest part because you don't have a shop, have limited resources, have low HP, WHP, and thirst, little money, and weak weapons. The first dungeon is incredibly frustrating for those reasons but the game gets much easier after that and once you build up your thirst bar enough, it's never even an issue anymore.

Story:
I really like the story although it's not the deepest. I think it's very well told, especially in the beginning when you really feel the lonely desperation of poor Toan and the mayor, being two of the only people left. It's not a character driven story, but it's still very sweet and has some incredibly touching moments, and it did surprise me towards the end when things shifted around a bit. This isn't the deepest or best told of games, but the story is charming and kept me interested.


63126
The one on the right is a moon bunny


Gameplay:
It's a lot of fun when you get past that initial difficult bump I mentioned. There's a good amount of characters with different play styles so you can find someone who matches yours (although don't neglect the others or you'll regret it!) and I always got super excited when it came time to evolve my weapons to see what new thing would come up. Town building was excellent and I liked being able to play over and over and never have a town be the same.


63127
I friggin love Steve.
See character section for details



World:
The world is excellent, there's a great diversity in areas and I liked most of them, especially the starting town, the forest village, and the town by the ocean. What's more is you pretty much decide where the roads, trees, houses, shops, all of that stuff goes so they towns are highly customizable. Complaint would be that they're small and I would have loved to see them be bigger with more to customize.


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Characters:
This is not a character driven story and the characters beyond their introduction parts get very little in the way of scenes or dialogue. Really they're all pretty disposable. But they were still charming and fun to use and as an added bonus the NPC's were all different and had their own personalities and felt like real people. As did some of the villains.

Favourite character: Xiao 63130
Honourable mentions: Ruby, Steve 6312963131

Xiao was an adorable cat girl (for once in the non-perverted sense) who made cute slingshot shooting noises and had an adorable run. She was also very fast, which I liked. Ruby was fun to use because I like long distance magic attacks. Steve is a talking slingshot who makes smart-ass remarks and stupid jokes while you fight. Really what's not to love? Also, according to him 63132

Overall this is a cute game with a charming story and fun gameplay. You can customize the towns, the world is excellent, and even though the characters don't get much time in the sun they're still fun to use.


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[metagloria]

You're 1000% right about the difficulty barrier. I didn't beat the game for a very long time because I couldn't beat the first boss! But once I eventually did, I was totally engrossed and the rest of it was very diverse and fun. I like the randomness to the dungeons and the way you were sort of forced to use other characters. It had a really neat mix of gameplay elements.

[Karifean]

Ah nostalgic feelings coming up. My brother and I borrowed this game from a friend for like a month and we had a blast playing through it. It had a lot of interesting concepts and I remember actually liking the Quick Time Event parts. Don't remember much of the overall story, but I do remember that it was just really fun to play. Don't recall if we ever beat the final boss.

We never did figure out how fishing works.

[Freya]

No really, someone said it earlier but now I know if I need advice on JRPGs, Pumpkin is now my go to girl! Heck I may just go back through this thread if I have a question on a game, I'm sure i'll see it in here.

[Pumpkin]

Thanks for the positive feedbacks guys!


19. Suikoden III (PlayStation 2)
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Suikoden III mostly takes place in Zexen and the Grasslands. Zexen is full of knights and brick buildings, and the Grasslands consists of several tribes of people who largely live with nature. These two nations are bumping heads and it seems like war is imminent. We get to experience the story through three heroes: a young man named Hugo, son of one of the Grassland chiefs, Chris, a famous knight of Zexen, and Geddoe, a mercenary and his group. As we watch the situation deteriorate between the two places they soon discover that they may share a common foe.

This game is largely similar to most Suikoden games with a few differences. In this game, you will experience most of the story through the eyes of the three main characters. The game is divided in to 5 chapters and you will play 3 chapters with the main 3 in any order you choose. From there, you will choose a hero among the three to continue the adventure in chapters 4 and 5. There are also a few side stories you can experience. While that part differs from the series, the rest is very much the same. You recruit as many of the 108 Stars of Destiny as you can, magic takes the form of Runes that you equip on characters, and you have battle parties of 6. You build up an headquarters and can play mini-games and such depending on who you have recruited. There's also rock paper scissor inspired duels and war battles that are played sort of like a board game. There are a total of 78 playable characters in this game including non-stars of destiny and guests.


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General impressions:
This was my first game in the series, and I'd say on the whole it's a good introduction. The character recruitment in Suikoden III is easier than most of the other games in the series, it's well explained, it's intuitive, and it has an interesting and easy to follow story, making it good for newcomers to the series. So if you haven't played a Suikoden game then I'd say this is a very good starting point. It also has my favourite headquarters and some of my favourite mini-games, like the plays. It was funny casting some people in the role of Romeo and Juliet for example who didn't suit the part at all.

Story:
It's got some politics in there but it's overall easy to follow and the politics kind of act as background noise anyway. I like how the game kind of snowballs so what you start with is nothing like what you end with and I really liked that about it because it got more and more investing and less predictable. Your enemies are no longer enemies and some friends are no longer friends. It was also a neat touch to watch the conflict happen from different points of view, although I never enjoyed playing Geddoe and his story felt very disconnected from the others.


63140


Gameplay:
Very good and a great example of the series. It was fun, easy to get in to, and improved on a few things. I liked the new skill thing where you could increase your characters attributes and add more to increase, it added a bit of customization. The war type battles were quite interesting in this one although I found them harder than the other games. And the mini-games were some of the best in the series. The game was also pretty easy and character recruitment was also easy for the series, which could be refreshing. It's also one of the only ones I bothered with trading.


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World:
The world travel is a bit odd, like they didn't know how to incorporate a world map, but still there managed to be a lot of diversity in the areas and a lot of really interesting places. I really liked the Duck Clan village and Chisha Village (despite not going there often) but there were a lot of great areas and Budehuc Castle was gorgeous and an awesome headquarters to have.


http://i.imgur.com/Pio1ZyY.png


Characters:
Lot's of great characters, which is bound to happen when you have such a large cast. Surprisingly, I liked the main cast less than the main casts in the rest of the series and much preferred a lot of the side characters.

Favourite character: Iku 63142
Honourable mentions: Percival, Yumi, Fubar, Sarah 63143631446314563146

Iku, although not usable in battle, was just an awesomely sweet and adorable woman and I've always loved her hairstyle. She has one of my favourite love stories. Percival was just amusing and Suave. Yumi showed a lot of strength despite not being in the limelight much and I loved using her in battle. Fubar because I mean come on. And Sarah because I felt for her in a weird way and I really appreciated her sense of loyalty. Plus she was badass in battle.

Overall a great example of the series and awesome for newcomers. I have very little complaints, the game was fun and engaging and I'm excited to play it again.


63147

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I should go back and play more Dark Cloud sometime, but I've been spoiled by Dark Cloud 2. I played them both pretty close together, and the difficulty of the first one made it less approachable.

Suikoden III is my favorite Suikoden, and I still enjoy going back to play it occasionally. I really liked the "Wheel of Destiny" or whatever it was called, and found the rest of the game to also be a good blend of solid gameplay and innovative ideas.

[metagloria]

The game is divided in to 5 chapters and you will play 3 chapters with the main 3 in any order you choose.
That's really cool and I wonder why more games don't feature stuff like this. Aside from the very brief Locke/Sabin/Terra split in FFVI, Square has never incorporated branched gameplay like that. Imagine how much cooler XIII would be if you could partially choose the chapter sequence in the first half of the game.

I "wrote" a mock Final Fantasy game (in massive detail) when I was 15, and after one of the disc changes, half your party went to one continent and half went to another, and you got to choose which order to play them in before reconvening for the final disc.

[Skyblade]

It occurs to me that I haven't ranted on about how bad Final Fantasy Tactics is recently. I'll need to correct that some time, especially with it blighting so many of these "best games" lists.

[Madame Adequate]

It occurs to me that I haven't ranted on about how bad Final Fantasy Tactics is recently. I'll need to correct that some time, especially with it blighting so many of these "best games" lists.

I don't like it either, but the difference is shion is actually explaining why she likes stuff from a personal perspective and talking about stuff like her favorite characters and all that. Plus she admits the thing has faults, which is a refreshing breeze from a Tactics fan!

PS Suikoden III fourth-best Suikoden (which still puts it as one of the best games ever)

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Woah woah woah.

You get to play as a Griffon?

I need Suikoden III.

Also, I played Dark Cloud back when I first got the PS2. I was so excited, but then I just couldn't get into it at all. It was so hard and I was terrible at games. I wish I could find my copy again as I've been wanting to attempt it again. I have a bad feeling that I gave it to someone or sold it, though.

[Egami]

It occurs to me that I haven't ranted on about how bad Final Fantasy Tactics is recently. I'll need to correct that some time, especially with it blighting so many of these "best games" lists.

Hehe, what didn't you like about it? :p

[Rez09]

Suikoden III's intro = <3

[Pumpkin]

Suikoden III's intro is the best <3

Now time for another game no one likes!


18. Star Ocean: The Last Hope International (PlayStation 3)
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This game follows Edge and Reimi, two young space explorers as they go out and... explore space. But things go a teensy bit wrong and one of their space ship bros goes missing and they have to travel from planet to planet to find it, meeting aliens and exploring planets in the process.

This is an RPG in which you control one character in battle but you can decide which one that character is. I can't remember all of the specific controls, but it's easy once you get in to it and well explained. You attack, use skills, and if your timing is right you can blindside the enemy (my favourite thing to do) which will help land a critical hit. You also have a bonus board that fills up if you complete certain requirements in battle which will do things like double exp or money and other such things. Taking a critical hit can break some of the bonus board. The game also comes with selectable difficulty levels and an invention thing where your characters brainstorm ideas and then you can make the items from there. There are 9 total playable characters with 4 usable in battle at a time.


63157


General impressions:
I loved this game both times I played it so I was pretty surprised to learn that most people hate it. Oh well! I got it as a present and I'd played Star Ocean 3 before but it never really stuck with me and I didn't finish it. Not that it was a bad game it just didn't do anything special for me. But I was pleased to find that I adored this one. It's another game that I could barely put down and I found myself staying up later than I should have because I wanted to keep playing. There is one horrible spot though that I hated and some of the bosses were much too hard for easy mode, but other than that I felt like it was a great game.

Story:
Wasn't the best RPG story out there, but I did enjoy it and I was always looking forward to what was going to happen next. Overall I think it was well told, I liked the pacing. There were a few really good moments and a few really cheesy moments so I guess it would even out to average.


63158


Gameplay:
A lot of fun, I really liked it. Especially since I could use an archer character and I think in terms of pure gameplay, she would be my favourite archer to use out of any video game. I liked the bonus board (although it was bum that it would be gone if you turned off the game and started back up) I liked the abilities and the blindsides, and I thought that the battles were fast paced and exciting. My only other complaint was that bosses were much harder than they should have been for easy mode.


63159


World:
I really like the world because it's actually many different worlds. There were some I hated and the Cardonian Mothership (I think it was called) was horrible, drawn out, unattractive, and just really bad. That part of the game almost made me quit. But I'm glad I stuck it out because there were some good places after that and some good places before. Overall I'm really impressed.


63160


Characters:
So not the strongest cast but I did like a few of them. The biggest problem would be the atrocious voice acting which was hard to look past. There were some good characters and some characters I didn't really like. I wouldn't say the cast was anything special.

Favourite character: Reimi 63161
Honourable mention: Faize 63162

As I said I love Reimi in battle because she's an archer, but she's overall my favourite. She steps in when she needs to and she surprised me because she doesn't seem like the leadership type. She's also just sweet and adorable. I thought Faize was very well written and his development interested me the most. Shame about him becoming the bad guy though.

Overall for all of it's glaring faults I had a wonderful time playing this game. I did like the story, I liked inventing, I liked seeing the characters interact, I loved exploring the worlds, the gameplay was fun, and it has my favourite archer to use ever. At the end of the day I had so much fun, and that's a large point of playing the game!


63163

[metagloria]

Screw the haters, SO4 rules.

[Rez09]

While I have some issues with SO4, primarily the lack of a manual targeting option in the original version and Edge for about half of it, I still think very highly of the game overall. I like the visited worlds, combat was well executed, I liked using most of the characters, puzzles weren't annoying, I got to ride a bunny. Good stuff overall.

Reimi is also a COMPLETE monster in combat, almost Maria levels of powerful, and I can see why she'd be awesome for an archer fan. :D Quite amusingly I only found her rough to use in one area, the Cardianon Mothership (where several enemies are programmed to directly prioritize her), and you listed it as one of your least favorite areas. Not that I disagree; that place sucks. >: |

[Pumpkin]

I forgot about the bunnies!


17. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PlayStation 3)
63169


I'm going to be honest here, I know very little about the story because I started playing it on a very small screen and I couldn't read the dialogue and stuff. But it does seem there is a crystal and that your character, like every character, is special in some way.

This game is an MMO so you play in a world with other players from everywhere. You make your own character(s) and choose their job which will determine where you start. As you level up and do different quests you'll be able to do different jobs and also do some side jobs like weaver and such. You pretty much go at your own pace but the game will dial you back if you're overleveled for story events. And of course you can do things with other players but I mostly played solo.


63170


General impressions:
I've always wanted to try this game because CHARACTER CREATION but I didn't want to have to pay for a game every month. I decided to get it and start with the free trial and go from there. I loved it. The world was so vast, character creation was everything I'd wanted, it has a good sense of humour (from what I can read now on the bigger screen) it has a million things to do, and everyone is so nice! Not just the people from EoFF, who have been awesome about helping me out, but strangers too. I was very nervous because if you recall my rant on the Bravely Default review, I do not enjoy playing games with other people and I get self conscious very easily. So I was super nervous about real people seeing me play and seeing all my flops and mistakes, but no one made fun of me or made me feel bad and I always had a helping hand when I needed it. I was super happy to find out I didn't need to do a monthly payment but could instead buy cards so that way I can take a break (like I am now) without worrying about draining the bank account.

Story:
Like I said, I'm not too far in the story yet and most of what I've seen I couldn't... well, see. So I can't comment much on this. But I do like how you also get little side stories with your job guild. I'll probably be able to comment more on this when I play some more but in the meantime maybe someone else can fill in the blanks.


63171


Gameplay:
Super fun and so much stuff to do. SO. MUCH. STUFF. I loved being able to create my won characters and grow them and learn new skills and start doing things like cooking and fishing and doing the little quests here and there and participating in those fate things. I'll be interested to play more of it and see about maybe trying a group thing although I'm still pretty nervous about that. A few tasks could get a bit tedious but overall it was fun and I have very little complaints.


63172


World:
Gorgeous gorgeous world with a lot to see and explore and do and I haven't even explored it all yet. There's so many beautiful areas that I would just stop and look at and I always got really excited to go check out every nook and cranny. I thought Limsa Lominsa would be my favourite because water everywhere (and it is really awesome) but I ended up liking Gridania more. I just found it so nice and peaceful.


63173


Characters:
You are the characters so chances are you'll like them! I made three characters and I would tell you about them but chances are you don't care. They're super cute anyways. There's also obviously the story relevant NPC's but I've missed most of their dialogue so I couldn't tell you much.


631746317563176
Dese are my characters


Overall this is a super fun game and worth the time cards when I feel like playing it. I loved creating my own characters, exploring the beautiful world, and also the other players are great and helpful. Awesome game, I'm glad it was my first (and probably only) MMO. Anyways, lesson is buy a bigger TV.


63177

[Pumpkin]

16. Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo 3DS)
63183


In Fire Emblem: Awakening, your avatar character wakes up with amnesia and is discovered by some pretty important people who throw caution to the wind and recruit you to their cause almost immediately. There's some political stuff going on, but more than that, there's some demon-ish type creatures that start appearing and well... that's some bad news right there. So it's your job to save the future for your kids because even in times of war people still need love.

This is a strategy game, so you move your dudes and dudettes across certain squares depending on their move. Afterwards, you can heal your allies or attack your enemies, depending on the characters job. Eventually they can change jobs or become stronger ones if you have the proper items and such. You can also smoosh two of your people together to make one more powerful unit. Also your characters get friendship points and stuff from doing battle together and then you get scenes between them and eventually they can get married!


63184
You and me both


General impressions:
This game has a dating sim aspect to it that doesn't involve any nudity which is 100% of the reason I picked it up, not gonna lie. But the game was super hard, even on casual, so I stopped playing. Eventually I said that no strategy game was going to stand in the way of me playing matchmaker so I picked it back up. This time I could play it, although it was never easy. Anyways there's something that made it easier. You can buy monster boxes for grinding. At first I didn't want to do this because I couldn't afford it, but I realized that the loot you get in battle almost always makes up the difference. So being able to grind did make the game much easier and more enjoyable. As expected, the character interactions are marvelous and you have a wide variety of matchmaking choices. I just wish it was easier.

Story:
The story is interesting enough, and it had some very touching moments to it. Most of the good storytelling and interesting bits are very character focused, and there were some plot twists I didn't see coming. With that being said I wouldn't say it was amazing. I feel like I should have more to say but I don't so there you have it.


63185


Gameplay:
The battles and stuff are too hard. I'm glad there was a casual option or all of my characters would be dead. I just don't have a mind for strategy as sad as that makes me. But the character relationships and matchmaking was excellently superbly excellent and that's what made this game rank so high. The conversations, not just among potential partners, but also between friends were touching, well written, funny, and flowed really well. It was fun trying to pair each character up.


63186


World:
As is the case for most strategy games, you don't get much in terms of world. There are different battle maps and stuff but towns are not explorable and nowhere really stood out to me. There's not much more to say, it was par for the course as far as strategy RPG worlds.


63187


Characters:
Best thing about this game hands down. As I mentioned the characters are well written and likeable, their interactions are amazing, ranging from very touching to funny, and there's a very large cast as well, which I really enjoy. Plus you get to have the characters get married and stuff which is great since I love dating sims.

Favourite character: Olivia 63188
Honourable mentions: Ricken, Frederick, Morgan (Male) 631896319063191

It was reeeealllly hard to narrow this down because there were so many awesome characters. I liked Olivia because she was a sweetheart and had some great support conversations. Ricken was like my MVP, being my best mage and actually being able to take a hit. Frederick is who I chose as my avatar husband because he's pretty close to my type and Morgan was adorable and sweet and goofy and also very useful in battle.

Overall this game is very difficult, but it has an interesting story, touching moments, and a really awesome cast of characters with great interactions between them.


63192

[Slothy]

Am I a bad person for buying Theatrhythm instead of this when I got my 2DS? Probably. Do I care? Probably not.

[Pumpkin]

As long as you enjoy Theatrythm then how could you be a bad person? I'd still recommend giving this one a try in the future if it seems like your cup of tea

[Slothy]

It would be. I was just in the mood for something a bit more casual at the time and FF music is hard to go wrong with.

[Skyblade]

When you said "smoosh two units together to make one more powerful unit", I wasn't sure whether you were referring to Pair Up or the child unit system. :D

I love this game, and I'm glad you liked it. I would recommend the Golden Gaffe DLC pack for you. It makes grinding MUCH easier and gives you tons of money. Also, if you like the Support conversations, get the Scramble Pack. They add in a lot more character moments in three special maps that aren't really difficult.

As great as this game is, it did have issues. The difficulty was a bit off as Intelligent Systems were trying to balance the utterly broken Pair Up system. And the maps are rather bland for the series, with too many open fields.

[CimminyCricket]

Aw yis!

Star Ocean 4 and Fire Emblem: Awakening!

SO4 had great game play, but the voice acting made me play the entire game in silence. :C

FE:A was super legit and my first ever Fire Emblem game.

[Loony BoB]

Always awesome to see FFXIV so high on these kind of lists. :D Really glad you're enjoying it! The world really is stunning, and also it's got Gold Saucer as of now so you can also do chocobo racing and Triple Triad, so you should nip on and check them out. Oh, and it's a minion giveaway in our FC this weekend, Ashton, so be sure to check the Facebook page and vote for some timeslots.

[Pumpkin]

15. Final Fantasy X (PlayStation 2)
63194


Final Fantasy X is the story of our hero, Tidus, as he gets swept up by some mysterious giant icky whale and ends up somewhere where supposedly the place he lives was destroyed a thousand years before. While trying to find his way back home, he joins a summoner, Yuna, who's job is to defeat Sin, the same Sin that sent him to this strange place.

Final Fantasy X is a bit different than the average Final Fantasy game. There is no ATB bar, instead characters have a turn order displayed on the side. Three characters are playable in battle, but characters can be freely switched in and out. Summons in this game will stay on the battlefield until they are KO'd or dismissed, replacing the regular party. There is no leveling up, instead characters receive points to spend on a sphere grid, which will allow them to increase their stats and learn new abilities. There are 7 total playable characters and one guest.


63195


General impressions:
Final Fantasy X was one of my first Final Fantasy games and I loved it from the moment I played. Yuna is actually the character that got me in to the series, although it was her X-2 version, but that's another story. My opinion of this game has diminished over time, but as you can see I still like it very much or it wouldn't be this high on the list. I think this game has an excellent story, some really strong characters, and is just overall a lot of fun to play. Other than the one mandatory blitzball section, the game never feels like a chore. Instead I just find it a joy to play and an interesting and involving adventure.

Story:
The story is my favourite part of the game. At first I was so curious about Spira and Zanarkand and what the differences were and what had happened. Was Tidus in the future? Would he ever get home? Soon I found myself focusing on the summoner and her pilgrimage. I love the contrast in this game between the environment and the mood. Most areas are bright, sunny. But the people in this bright and sunny places live in constant fear of Sin. They regularly suffer the loss of their homes and their loved ones. You can just feel the mood. The tone gets darker as the story goes on, but it still kept me hooked. The game kept going past when I expected it to, past Zanarkand, and the game had done a great job of making Zanarkand feel like the end game. Even now when I know what's going to happen, I'm still touched by a lot of the moments, like Tidus finding out the truth about what will happen to Yuna, her standing up for what she believes in, and so many more great moments.


63196


Gampelay:
The gameplay isn't so great. I mean it isn't bad but Final Fantasy has certainly come up with better. I like the ATB system, and the sphere grid was more of an annoyance than anything. The forced Blitzball match was horrible. I'm happy its available as a mini-game for those who enjoy it but the mandatory round is the thing I dread most in the game. What I did like was the summons sticking around and fighting and being able to swap characters in and out of battle easily. Also the overdrive system was great.


63197


World:
The world in this game is stunning. There are so many beautiful locations, from Besaid Island to the Moonflow to Zanarkand itself. And the locations have so much life and atmosphere to them. Zanarkand especially. My favourites are probably the beautiful snowy Lake Macalania and the beautiful and snowy Mt. Gagazet. I think snow is pretty, in case that hasn't been made obvious at this point.


63198


Characters:
My opinions of the characters has changed drastically since I first played. I used to think Rikku was awesome, Auron was so badass, Lulu was the coolest. Now they don't do as much for me, although I don't dislike them either. But overall the cast was strong and I think they really worked well as an ensemble.

Favourite character: Yuna 63199
Honourable mentions: Kimahri 63200

I thought I would hate Kimahri when I first played. It's like a giant blue cat thing, really now. But I've really come to love his character. He's devoted to Yuna and he literally risks his life to save her. He's her protector and he's awesome. His moments with Biran and Yanke have me cheering him on. There's not a bad bone in his giant blue body. Yuna has just recently taken the top spot. I just love who she is, how strong and selfless and honest she is. She struggles but she still stays a sweet, caring, and awesome person. She wants to help the people of Spira and she continues to press towards that goal long after others would have given up, like after being condemned by Yevon. She's just such an amazing person.

Overall I think this is a really strong game and a great Final Fantasy. Engaging story, strong cast of characters, easy to get in to gameplay, beautiful world. The game is just a lot of fun and the story always sucks me right in.


63201

[Karifean]

Well, there's my personal favorite non-VN game. I still vividly remember how I revisited this game a few years back and fell in love with it all over again. And every time I hear or play To Zanarkand it just takes me right back. :love:

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Woah woah woah.

You get to play as a Griffon?

I need Suikoden III.


Pumpkin will fuss about this, but the griffon's name is Fubar because he leaves his enemies fucked up beyond all recognition. :smug:

Fubar the warrrior.

The indomitable trio.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fsSdV2WOBn4/maxresdefault.jpg

[Loony BoB]

It's no secret around here that I dislike FFX because of the three primary characters - Tidus, Yuna and Seymour. Other than those three I actually don't mind the game that match, but they're such a massive part of it that it just left a bad taste in my mouth. I can see how people who don't mind those characters could love the game so much, though, because the world itself and the battle system are beautiful, and I really like the other playable characters and the minigames.

[Skyblade]

It's no secret around here that I dislike FFX because of the three primary characters - Tidus, Yuna and Seymour. Other than those three I actually don't mind the game that match, but they're such a massive part of it that it just left a bad taste in my mouth. I can see how people who don't mind those characters could love the game so much, though, because the world itself and the battle system are beautiful, and I really like the other playable characters and the minigames.

I agree with Pumpkin's views on Yuna, and I really like her. Tidus isn't terribly good, but he's by no means awful.

Seymour is a character I utterly loathe, though. But the gameplay, solid story, fantastic side characters, and engaging world let me enjoy the game regardless.

I actually have more fun with the sequel, though. Even though I don't like several of the changes, I love the number and variety of side quests. It's like FFTA2 in that regard.

[Pumpkin]

Seymour is actually my least favourite antagonist of any game ever

I'm sorry but when you kill a guy 3 times, he needs to stay dead. Just sayin

[Madame Adequate]

GOD YES I LOVE FFX

It's the best in my humble opinion :shobon:

[metagloria]

GOD YES I LOVE FFX

It's the best in my humble opinion :shobon:

And yet it's not even on your list of video games :colbert:

[Pumpkin]

We're not done with Final Fantasy yet. There's a reason I'm on a FF forum

Have you noticed my new forum set? Coincidentally, sharky and I have decided to replay FFXII together yesterday. Which means we will be playing the game very slowly while fussing at each other for doing it wrong


14. Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2)
63216


Final Fantasy XII is about sky pirates. Well not really but I'm going to say sky pirates. Also there's a war going on and some supposed traitors and some nation being taken over and some dudes with long hair and a princess who can never bend down to pick anything up ever. Ahem, um a nation takes over some other nations and the old King, after surrendering, is assassinated. There's some more political stuff going on.

In this game there are 6 playable characters along with several guest characters. You will control one character out of a party of 3 and set up gambits for your allies, such as heal when HP is below 40% or attack leader's target and other such things. Characters are highly customizable via the license board. On the license boards you can select what magic the character can use, which techs, which weapons they use, which armor they can equip, and even select status augments for them. Afterwards, you'll need to buy the corresponding item so your character can use it. There are also hunts to do for a sidequest.


63217


General impressions:
When I first played this game, it would have been at the bottom of the list, if it made it at all. I was quite disappointed by it. Why were the enemies visible instead of random encounters? Why weren't they all lined up in battle where I would give them each commands? What happened to the traditional summons? All of these things upset me because it wasn't my idea of a Final Fantasy game. But it had its merits so I tried it again. I've played it quite a few times since then and when I stopped looking at it for what I expected it to be and started looking at it for what it was, my opinion of it greatly improved, and now it's one of my favourite Final Fantasy games ever. (Except the summon thing, that still bugs me). The game is a lot of fun, it has a strong cast (although it could have done much more with them), it has a mature story, a great world to explore, and best of all: the license board.

Story:
It doesn't have the most memorable story to me, but it was still enjoyable and unique from what I've come to expect from Final Fantasy games, which makes it a bit refreshing. The whole things feels more mature and real, instead of, well, fantasy. There's obviously some fantastical elements to it, but it felt a bit more grounded, if I'm making any sense. I did enjoy the overall story, although it was by no means my favourite, but I very much enjoyed the smaller character driven stories. Which surprises no one if who has been following this list.


63218
He's fallen... in love
(not really)



Gameplay:
Some areas of gameplay I love and others not so much. I am a big fan of the more traditional Final fantasy battle style and in that regard this is a bit disappointing. But since I was stuck only controlling one character, I did enjoy how the gambits were set up because I could have my characters take care of stuff I normally would and I don't really have to think about it. As I mentioned, I love the license board, it's probably my favourite ability system of any game ever because it gives a lot of freedom to customize your characters in your way, as opposed to what's already laid out for them. It could have been improved, but overall I thought it was great. My main complaints would be that the game really drags on and it gets quite difficult around the Phon Coast.


63219
They're not doin too great


World:
Great world, very vast and explorable. It feels like a real world, very large and almost limitless. There's a great many different areas with different looks and stuff and I loved exploring it all and seeing the newest places. My favourite areas were Eruyt Village and Mt. Bur-Omisace. The biggest complaint would be the Sandsea's because it's so long and so much sand everywhere. Just sand. Forever. But overall awesome world.


63220


Characters:
I've come to appreciate the characters more and more and the fact that most of them have more subtle personalities rather than in your face tropes or cliches. At least to me. I just wish they had more involvement with the story. I enjoyed their individual stories but it seemed they were not present for most of the overarching storyline, which was a shame. I also appreciated the lack of a traditional love story. I have nothing against love stories but it's nice to be without one once in a while.

Favourite character: Penelo 63221
Honourable mentions: Fran, Balthier 6322263223

I actually like all of the characters. Ashe used to be my favourite but now I find her, I dunno, a bit too harsh I guess? I like Penelo because I think she's sweet and kind and she's kind of like the straight man for Vaan. She wasn't what I was expecting from her looks. Fran and Balthier were both interesting and well written personalities and I liked Fran's quiet confidence but then also being able to see a different side of her when we went to her home.

Overall a really fun game, awesome character customization, vast explorable world, and a really strong cast of characters. Great game and I'm glad I gave it a second chance.


63224

[Egami]

And yet it's not even on your list of video games :colbert:

It is, you just have to take letters from some of the games to form the name. That is the genius of his list, very much every game you think should be there is already there implicitly.

[Karifean]

Final Fantasy XII, huh. Four words: International Zodiac Job System. Takes the gameplay up to 11. It better get released as an HD Remaster over here.

[Pumpkin]

What worries me about the IZJS is that I don't want to lose my black mage archer :ohdear:

[Egami]

Nice, great seeing XII so high on your list Pumpkin :)

[metagloria]

Yay XII! :dance:

I wish I could play IZJS.

[Madame Adequate]

I'd be curious to hear why you like the License Board so much, Pumpkin, as it's one thing I've seen even big fans of XII say is very weak. Not trying to attack you or anything of course, I'm genuinely interested :p

Also metagloria, I won't provide links or anything, but I am given to understand that if you poke around the correct parts of the Internet, a fan-translated IZJS playable on a PS2 emulator does exist.

[Pumpkin]

Because it allows full character customization so I can make character types I don't often find in other games. Like my biggest example is Black Mage Archer. I love archer characters, I love black mage characters, but they are very rarely combined. Archers are usually not that magical and Black Mages usually are close distance staff fighters when they don't use magic. So for games like this where I can customize not only what abilities they have but what weapons as well I can have a black mage archer. And a time mage gunner. That type of thing

I'm a huge fan of games with set job classes OR freedom to make my own. I prefer making my own but I'll accept set jobs classes as a second best. What I don't really like as much is the middle grounds where everyone kind of has some of everything

[Egami]

The main complaint I've heard about the license board is that it is too easy to max out every character so you basically end up with all characters being the same, so deciding early on what path to take each character is a bit inconsequential in the end. To keep the characters different you would have to stop expending LPs after a certain point. I am tempted to agree with that. Compared to, say...X's sphere grid or the job classes in V...the license board seems small and takes much less effort to fill up.

[Pumpkin]

I never had that problem :lol:

[Madame Adequate]

Ah, I see! That is interesting, thank you for giving more detail on that :)

[Karifean]

IZJS does make a Black Mage Archer pretty much impossible, sad to say. It does make the Black Mage a pretty ridiculously fun class to begin with, though. Having the Level 1 Spells do area-of-effect damage is just all sorts of broken.

[Electroshock Therapy]

So, am I to understand that the so called "improved" IZJS version actually takes away freedom?

[Pumpkin]

I think it gives you job classes which is still pretty cool, but does take away why I personally like the license board. I'm sure there's other improvements but I haven't played so I dunno first hand

[Karifean]

Yes, IZJS does take away freedom. But that's not an inherently bad thing, it just makes you specialize. IMO it works quite well.

And well that's only one of many other things that are changed in IZJS. It doesn't solve all of XII's technical issues, and creates some new ones, but its improvements far outweigh everything else. For instance, just about ALL the chests/treasures are changed, and they are actually useful now. A lot of the best magicks, technicks and equipment have to be found in chests in difficult dungeons. Also, no more BS Zodiac Spear, that little secret has been taken out entirely, and you can get the spear in a different way. Finally, any respawnable chests are now respawned by going only ONE screen away, making farming them a hell of a lot more manageable and fun.

There's also the single feature that makes it absolutely impossible for me to go back to original FFXII ever again: the L1 speedup. Pressing L1 makes the game run at about triple speed, which turns getting around towns or lengthy areas from a chore to just a little diversion. A wonderful little addition.

And now I'll stop derailing this topic into a discussion that probably should've been on the XII board. :greenie:

[Rez09]

Also, no more BS Zodiac Spear, that little secret has been taken out entirely, and you can get the spear in a different way.

Isn't there some kind of equally powerful bow that replaces it, though?

[Pumpkin]

13. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (Nintendo DS)
63240


Dragon Quest V starts with our young hero journeying with his father. Unfortunately things take a turn for the worst and we'll watch our hero grow over the years and follow his journey to learn more about his parents while starting a family of his own.

This is an RPG and battles are fought in first person. You can control up to 4 characters in battle, but you can also allow them to control themselves by selecting a strategy for them to use. In this game you can also recruit monsters to fight by your side. You can also talk to your party members when walking around towns and fields and later in the game you get to pick between three potential bachelorettes to be your wife.


63241


General impressions:
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the main reason I went for this game was because marriage. I played the game so my cute little sprite character could get married to another cute little sprite character, but what I wasn't expecting was the wonderful game I would get in the meantime. So basically what I'm saying is I came for the wedding and stayed for the charming story.

Story:
Absolutely great, I adored it. It's a cute little story with some funny moments and puns but then it throws some heart wrenching scenes at you and it shakes you up and it hits you pretty hard before it goes back to being sweet and cute. You watch your hero grow up and you see everything that he goes through and how it makes him a stronger person in the end and it's just. I can't describe. I was not at all expecting a story that moved me this much. Like I said I was expecting the game to peak at the marriage with some fun surrounding it, but instead the marriage was just a drop in the bucket of wonderful moments. I laughed, I cried, I probably applauded somewhere in there. I'm serious, I don't really have any complaints about the story.


63242


Gameplay:
So so. It wasn't the easiest game to play, but it wasn't terribly difficult either, save for a few boss fights here and there that gave me some trouble. I liked having monsters join but it was hard to get the monsters I actually wanted. I did really like that you could talk to your party members and they would say so many different things. Like if you talk to one NPC, they'll commented on what he said, and then if you talk to another NPC, they'll comment on that one as well. I thought that was a charming little touch and would love to see more games do that.


63243


World:
There were some good memorable places but I would say overall the world was about average. There was some good diversity and very few of the dungeons were annoying (but there were some). My biggest complaint would be that the world felt kind of small and I would have liked it more if there was more to explore.


63244


Characters:
I really like the cast, there just wasn't a very big cast. But even the silent hero managed to have personality and spirit and I didn't dislike anyone. I obviously enjoyed having the matchmaking feature although I felt the game had it heavily weighed towards one option instead of having them all on equal ground.

Favourite character: Nera 63245
Honourable mention: Saber 63246

Nera is a sweet and precious woman and I loved having her in my party and hearing her comments. She was just the nicest lady. One of my top game characters ever, no doubt about it. And Saber is your sidekick saber-toothed cat so what's not to like there?

Overall this is n amazingly charming game with a beautiful and well told story that sticks out to me among the ocean of RPG's I've played. It could have been stronger in a lot of areas but it's still a great game and I'd highly recommend it to fans of the genre.


63247


Tomorrow, the last post of the day will begin our top 10, how exciting! I bet a lot of you an guess what's coming just by process of elimination by this point. I'm glad everyone has been enjoying the list, I'm having a lot of fun posting it!

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I have yet to play Dragon Quest V, but I own it now! I also just beat XII for the first time. I have issues with the license board at times, but I got used to it by the end of the game and had no issues. I also don't really mind being able to max something like that out easily. I can make everyone the same, but I don't have to (and I didn't).

[Forsaken Lover]

9K2MQXcrlBo

Always good to find others who appreciate SO4.

[Pumpkin]

12. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PlayStation 2)
63253


This game is the conclusion to the Xenosaga trilogy and answers most of the questions the games had us asking, so I can't go in to much detail without spoiling anything. It has a very large inclusive database to catch you up on the first two games if you have not played them, although I'd recommend at least playing the first one. For what the series in general is about, see my Xenosaga I review (#23)

Final Fantasy fans should feel pretty at home with Xenosaga III's combat system. It's discarded the more complex combat systems for a traditional command menu on which you select actions such as Attack, Tech, and Item. There is a break gauge that will stagger a character or enemy when depleted and the boost gauge is once again present. There are also special attacks for individual characters that can be used when you have enough boost built up. Each character has two main skill paths they can explore but I mean why wouldn't you just learn all of them? There are also E.S. Battles at set points in the story, which are basically the battles with giant robots because Xeno series. There are 7 playable characters and 3 guests.


63254


General impressions:
Being a long time fan of the series, this was a game I snatched up almost immediately after it was released. And I wasn't at all disappointed. I was wondering how they would address all of the changes made from I to II and I found that it rather cleverly combined both games in to a rather perfect blending of the strengths of each. I also loved that it wrapped up most of the questions and there were some awesome moments. The main complaint I have would be that they obviously rushed to finish it so Disc 2 was just non-stop one major thing after the other. Oh and also some bloody scenes are censored which kind of makes them make no sense unless you know what's going on.

Story:
Like the rest of the series, wonderful. We finally get to the bottom of a lot of the questions we had from the other two and the whole thing is brilliantly told, sucking you in and making you excited. There were so many water works from me this game! So many touching and sad moments and a bunch that were just really fun to watch. I also loved how in this game you can also go back and watch all of the scenes again in case you wanted to show someone some of them or just wanted to see them again because they were great. As far as complaints, it was rushed towards the end and it was a bit odd to have all new characters introduced for the last game in the series, but it was pulled off rather well considering.


63255


Gameplay:
Finally this game was simplified for a player like me who enjoys that type of thing. No more having to read a guide on how to effectively use the complex system, it's just a good old fashion RPG style of battle. The one thing I didn't like was the abilities. Well kind of. You had set abilities for your characters which led to very little customization other than choosing in which order they would learn some of them. What I did like was the massively powerful end abilities you would get by learning all of them, which to me was a great way to show how the characters had grown and become super powerful after 3 games of fighting bad guys. It was a really great reward for the player who made the effort.


63256


World:
Actually an improvement on the series although still not the best game world. This time around we had some towns to explore, a lot brighter and more interesting locations, and an ending location that had so many layers to it it was hard not to be impressed.


63257


Characters:
Mostly the same as my other two reviews, although Shion is darn near unbearable this time around. Yeah, it's kind of plot relevant, but it was a bit disappointing because in the first game she was such a polite and kind woman who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. By the time this game rolls around she's an obnoxious, verbally abusive spoiled brat. But we did get to use some series regulars in battle this time and one of them I could not be happier about.

Favourite character: MOMO 63258
Honourable mention: Jr., Miyuki 6325963260

So no one is surprised by MOMO and Jr at this point, although sadly MOMO's role in the story this game was essentially non-existant, which is a shame. But she's adorable, she's an archer, and she's incredibly badass in battle this time around. Jr. Is still cool and a pretty well rounded character to use. Miyuki! I've always liked her so it was great to give her some more screen time and to actually be able to use her in battle for once. That was pretty awesome.

Overall this is my favourite game in the series. It ties the other two together in a great way, it has some beautiful and touching moments, the gameplay is made simpler, and it's just a great conclusion.


63261

[metagloria]

Probably the best of the trilogy, although I've only played it once and barely remember anything about it at all

[Pumpkin]

11. Tales of Xillia (PlayStation 3)
63267


Tales of Xillia gives the player the choice of two heroes, Milla, Lord of the Spirits, and Jude, a med student. The game is mostly the same no matter who you pick, but there are some differences and one major separate point. Milla has lost her ability to summon the spirits and warns that there is a dangerous weapon she must stop. Jude, not wanting to just ignore the dangerous weapon or Milla, decides to join her on her mission.

Tales of Xillia plays similar to a lot of the games in the series. You attack with the X button and use Arts with the O button. Using arts uses TP, which can be replenished by attacking. Characters can also link for joined attacks and support skills. The player can also accept quests for rewards. There are 6 playable characters, with 4 usable in battle at a time.


63268


General impressions:
Tales of Xillia was my first ever Tales game. I'd heard a lot of good things about the series, but I'd never had a chance to play it myself. So off I went to Game Stop, where I had a few choices. Xillia looked the most interesting, but to be honest the art style displayed on the cover turned me off. Luckily for me (and no one else) the art style in game was much much closer to my tastes. Not only that but the game turned out to be great fun. I wasn't sure at first because I found the battle system quite confusing, but once I got the hang of it it was really good. I liked the characters, I had fun playing, and the plot twists kept me on my toes. It's what got me in to the rest of the series.

Story:
The story is a definite strong point to the game. I love the pacing, the unexpected twists and turns, and the way it was told. It was very easy to get immersed when playing the game and I always wanted to see what would happen next. There were a few less good parts like Alvin's constant flopping back and forth, but overall it was really well told. Your enemy changes, the world changes, the information you have changes. Playing it again is certain to have a different feel because you have a different understanding of what's happening and why. Great fantasy story.


63269


Gameplay:
As I mentioned, the gameplay had me confused at first, but after a while I got the hang of it and I found it quite fun. I liked linking up with others and doing combos, the battles were fast paced and fun. I loved being able to take control of whoever I wanted in battle while being able to have a separate character as my running around character. I'm also very happy with the fact that the game was set on easy and the game WAS EASY. Much plus points in my book. I also liked the battle quotes and the victory quotes, they made the game that much more amusing. Although I liked the option of choosing which of the two main heroes to follow, I'd say my main complaint was how uninteresting they made Jude seem at first. I was offered Lord of the Spirits and... med student. And I actually ended up liking Jude much much more, but I had chosen Milla because hers just seemed that much better from their initial scenes.


63270


World:
I have two opinions on the world. Well the two worlds. Rieze Maxia was gorgeous, absolutely stunning. Area after area kept my interest. Elympios on the other hand was ugly and bland and I hated it. But I suppose it was intended to be that way for the most part, so... good job? My favourite area, although there were many I thought were stunning, would be the Kijara Seafalls and Kanbalar


63271


Characters:
The characters were the best part of this game. Since this was my introduction to the series, it introduced me to the skits and things that I absolutely adore in Tales where the characters all interact with each other. They don't live off of the main character only, but they all have relationships between each other, which is awesome for making the game feel like an ensemble and makes it all feel more real. The characters themselves were really strong and I liked them all except Alvin and Milla, although I still appreciated their writing and development. Also, other then Milla, they all have pretty excellent footwear.

Favourite character: Elize 63272
Honourable mentions: Leia, Jude 6327363274

Elize was my favourite because she's such a sweet girl. Even after being mistreated by the apple villagers, she still waves goodbye and doesn't hold it against them. I thought I Leia would get on my nerves, but once we I got to see beyond her loud and energetic exterior, I saw a kind young woman with some insecurities who always does her best for others. Jude grew on me as the game went on and I found him overall a rational and caring guy with some touching and funny moments.

Overall great story, great characters, fun gameplay. Hard to go wrong with this one, especially if you've never played a Tales game before. It's one of the best the series has to offer.


63275

[metagloria]

I still need to borrow Xillia from my friend who got me into Tales! Looks fantastic though.

[Pumpkin]

I'm not feeling too great so I'm going to post this up now and go lay down

Speaking of which, we have now reached the top 10, yay!! :plumcheer::cake::peachdance::kaocheer::cat::joker::joker::party::pinkelephant:

Are you excited? You should be! Only a few days left!


10. Tales of Xillia 2 (PlayStation 3)
63277


Tales of Xillia 2 is the sequel to Tales of Xillia, and I would not at all recommend playing it before completing the first one, unless you want everything spoiled for you. It's been a little while since the conclusion of the first game, and now we have our new her, Ludger, going to do some job related stuff. But things go kind of wonky for him and before you know it the whole gang is reunited and investigating the strange occurrences happening all around.

This game is played similar to the first Tales of Xillia and most of the Tales series. You attack with X and use arts with O, attacking and ending battles will replenish some TP for arts. Two characters can be linked together to give support skills to each other. You can also do combo attacks between characters that are linked together. Our hero Ludger also has a special skill that allows him to switch between several different weapon types and has a sort of rage mode as well. This game also has side chapters for your characters, relationship values, dialogue choices, and a kitty finding sidequest. Oh and tons and tons of debt to pay off. There are 9-10ish playable characters (can't explain without spoiling) and 4 usable in battle at a time. You can choose which character you control in battle.


63278


General impressions:
This was one of my only first day purchases! This game is ranked barely above Xillia and it's hard to say how much it owes to the first game setting the ground work. But I do think there were some great improvements, such as relationship values (although I wish it could be between all characters) and dialogue choices. And finding kitties. But my favourite part was how they added character chapters since characters are my favourite parts and this way you get some extra special time with them. The story is great, the characters are still awesome (and there's more to use now too!), the gameplay is still really fun. Biggest complaints would be how much they push Ludger on you. Like for certain battles it's pretty clear you're supposed to use him instead of a character of your choosing and your stuck having him as your main running around character a lot which is boo. But other than that it's a great game!

Story:
Quite interesting, although the main story wasn't as good as Xillia. But I loved the way it was told and that there was more involvement from the player this time, so you felt more like you were in it rather than just being an observer. I also liked the more character centric plots as I mentioned. It also had some interesting moral dilemma's and there were quite a few moments that shocked me and left me wanting to know what would happen next.


63279


Gameplay:
Just as fun as the last one so see most of my review on that. This game was still fast paced and exciting without being overly complicated. I liked that there were even more playable characters this time around and the weapon switching part was pretty neat. There was one absurdly difficult boss fight but other than that the game was easy, which I liked because I had it set on easy. And the kitty finding was adorable and fun and I loved it. Oh and the little end battle skits were cute as ever.


63280


World:
So I still hate Elymios although it was somewhat improved. Just so brown everywhere. But Rieze Maxia was as awesome as ever and there were still many beautiful areas to explore. The world was a bit expanded from the last game but overall it was largely the same.


63281


Characters:
Still an incredibly strong cast, still had awesome interactions with each other, and I really don't have any complaints. It was great to see them after everything that happened and finding out what they were up to.

Favourite character: Elize 63282
Honourable mentions: Leia, Jude 6328363284

No surprises here. It was nice to see Elize gain a bit more confidence in herself and have her school life going on. Leia's new outfit bugged the crap out of me at first but it's grown on me I have to admit. She's still a really sweet woman and I can't help but feel for her. Jude comes back better than ever (with worse hair) becoming more confident and secure and still being an overall good dude.

Overall this was an awesome game and it really did the first game justice. There were some improvements, the characters were still super awesome (now featuring their own chapters!) and you got to find kitties everywhere. Kitties everywhere! A lot of fun to play.


63285

[Pumpkin]

9. Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS)
63310


Chrono Trigger is hard to tell you about without spoiling anything. You have this dude named Crono who goes to like a fair to see his friend Lucca, and he meets this young lady. Eventually he and the young lady, Marle, go see Lucca who is showing off one of her new inventions, when suddenly Marle disappears and Lucca and Crono have to go after her and wind up in a strange place. One thing leads to another and then they have to save the world.

This is an RPG. You get in to fights and once your bar fills up for a character, you'll be able to select a command like attack or item. Each character has individual skills called techs as well that are largely dictated by their element. This game also allows for combo attacks between two to three party members. There are 7 playable characters, one of whom is missable, and 3 usable in battle at a time. This game also has multiple potential endings.


63311


General impressions:
I played this game just last year I believe for the first time. I'd always heard good things about it, although I was fortunate enough to never have had anything spoiled for me. Well I'm pleased to say that I can tell why this game gets so much praise! It's a lot of fun and pretty much what someone like me is looking for in an RPG. Good story, good characters, fun gameplay. The game was a bit too much on the difficult side but not impossible and it was pretty short, but I guess it is meant to be replayed. Other than that it was great.

Story:
The story was excellent. Exactly the kind of fantastical adventure I want when I play this type of game. It had some wonderfully touching moments, it was well paced and well-told, it had some great moments of suspense. I loved traveling through time and how certain things would have consequences later on in the game. There were some tears during some scenes, not gonna lie. The game really does make you feel invested in what's going on. It could be a bit campy at times but I'd say overall it was pretty epic.


63312


Gameplay:
It was pretty good fun. It was easy to get in to, intuitive, and straightforward. It was a little bit on the hard side and there could sometimes be a bit too many encounters for my taste. But I did really like the combo attacks, I thought that was great and it rewarded you for using different parties. I also really liked how characters had different elements, I'm always a fan of that type of thing.


63313
French people play Chrono Trigger too


World:
Overall excellent. There's a lot of diversity, which is to be expected when you're traveling through time. There were so many areas that I loved exploring. The one place I hated was the future because it was so brown and grey and drab and ugly, but I guess it was supposed to be. I really liked Zeal because pretty and I also really liked the snowy area beneath it as well. Great world.


63314


Characters:
Pretty strong cast. I didn't really like a lot of the more popular characters but I could appreciate what they did and their development. The only one I didn't really like was Marle because I felt like they were trying to tell me she was a certain way when her actions made her seem another way and she just didn't really connect for me. But I'd say it's a strong cast with interesting stories and fun to use.

Favourite character: Robo 63315
Honourable mention: Ayla 63316

I wasn't expecting to like these characters because well Robo isn't that cute and I'm not super in to robots and I was expecting Ayla to be a miss fanservice. She's a cave woman and she's somehow perfectly waxed and coiffed are you kidding me? But Robo was just precious and I love love love when he's doing the farming with the bandana on his head. And he was pretty cute in the game and had such touching and sweet and sad moments. Ayla turned out to just be this awesome, fun, confident and intelligent (in her own way) woman and it was just like a party having her around. She always gave me a mood boost.

Overall this is a great game with an epic story, a great world to explore, and some awesome characters that really make you care about them. I can see why it became such a classic.

Also, Frog is in it.


63317

[Skyblade]

No mention of the kitties?

63321

:omgomg: After your Let's Play, I still think of this smiley as the "shion kitty" smiley.

[Psychotic]

Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog

9YsAyO9oW00

best song in this game

best song in any game

[Madame Adequate]

Now that is one classy song but I don't think you can say it's the best even in this game because


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aanqnyJy-JU

[Kyros]

Chrono Cross was good too, but imo didn't live up to its predecessor. Chrono Trigger was ahead of its time in many aspects too imo.

[Rez09]

305 years ahead of its time in some parts.
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[Pumpkin]

8. Final Fantasy X-2 (PlayStation 2)
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Final Fantasy X-2 is the story of former summoner Yuna as she became a sphere hunter to find a certain someone from Final Fantasy X. While doing so she learns that things are not all well and good in Spira despite the eternal calm and once again goes on a journey to save the world. If you haven't played X and don't like spoilers, I wouldn't recommend you play this one first.

Final Fantasy X-2 has brought back the job classes in the form of Dresspheres, which can be switched freely during and in between battles. It has the classic ATB battle system, but this time it's paced faster. The game is separated in chapters, with each area having it's own episodes per chapter. Each episode has its own tasks ranging from defeating an enemy to playing Monkey matchmaker. Most areas are accessible at any time via airship, except for a few exceptions here and there. There are three playable characters.


63341


General impressions:
This game is the reason I got in to the series. I saw a game with an all female cast and I was like “Um, yes!” Sadly this game was not out yet. But I did get Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, and X to try. When this one finally came out I was all over it, and I was not disappointed. It's more lighthearted but I think its just so fun. I like the way it's segmented so I never get bored having to do the same thing over and over again. There's obviously some events I like more than others (that awful massage one) but overall I enjoyed most of it and I found the game very fun from beginning to end. I was never short on something to do.

Story:
The story is the weak point of this game. Unlike most people, I don't think its bad, but it certainly isn't the best the series has to offer. It feels almost like its just there for the sake of having a story, as opposed to being important to the game. Although I did like seeing Spira after the calm and how things had changed. I like that it wasn't suddenly a utopia, but a place with new struggles and problems.


63342


Gameplay:
The highlight of this game. It is my ideal RPG gameplay in terms of battles. Job classes, ATB, quick, fun, investing. I actually liked the battle quotes and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Like I mentioned above, the game is setup so I was never bored and things didn't get repetitive. There were mini games to play and things to do like digging if you just wanted to focus on something like that. Just so much fun this game was.


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World:
Same as in my review of Final Fantasy X, with a few minor differences. This game is MUCH less linear and you're almost always free to do things in whatever order you want. They changed up a few areas and I don't like what they did with Mt. Gagazet and the Calm lands overall, but I don't think they ruined them either.


63345


Characters:
I still adore Yuna, I liked Rikku just fine, but Paine didn't interest me much. I did like how many non-playable characters were important to the story, which isn't something you see as often. I'm a huge Gippal fan, mostly because I love his voice. Black Mage was my favourite dressphere because... well Black Mage.

Overall it might not be for those who want a more serious RPG experience, but I thought it was amazingly fun and I always look forward to playing it.


63346

[metagloria]

This is why you are the coolest

LOVE LOVE LOVE Chrono Trigger and X-2, both will be in my top ten.

[Pumpkin]

7. Suikoden II (PlayStation)
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Suikoden II is a story about two young friends during a time of war. Just when they think a treaty is signed and they can go home, they find that they're own people have betrayed them. While escaping, our young hero, Riou, is found by some strange men and brought to their fort to work for them. Before too long, his friend Jowy finds him and the two learn much more about what's going on in their country than they could have realized.

This game plays similar to other Suikoden games. You need to try to recruit as many of the 108 stars of destiny as you can, and you receive a headquarters where you can participate in mini-games depending on the characters you have recruited. Magic is in the form of Runes that you can purchase and equip on your characters. There are also duels and army battles that are kind of like rock-paper-scissors and the army battles have you move units on a map to engage the enemy. There are 81 total playable characters including guests and non-stars of destiny, with 6 usable in battle at a time.


63369


General impressions:
As a Suikoden fan, this is the game I'd always heard of. This is largely considered the best game in the series, and a lot of events referenced on forums, in discussions, or even in other Suikoden games were things that took place in this game. It cost a lot of money, but one day I did finally manage to get a hold of the copy. And I don't regret how much I spent at all. The story is great and engaging, there's a large cast of characters and a lot of them are very well written, it has one of the most epic video game antagonists ever, and there's some incredibly touching and well-told moments.

Story:
Best part of the game and one of the reasons this game is such a classic. The story is deep and well told, and it really makes you care and get invested in what's going on. The endings are touching as are a lot of the moments in between, and you can really feel the pressure and desperation of the world considering what's happening to it. It's just so involving. The betrayal in this game is somewhat predictable, but it still manages to be incredibly well written and heartbreaking. I don't really have any complaints about the story, it's quite excellent.


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Gameplay:
Pretty similar to most Suikoden games. An improvement from the first game, but nothing amazing or that stands out from the rest of the series. Some of the recruiting is pretty difficult. The cooking contest though is one of the best mini-games ever and I'm sad it couldn't be initiated whenever and however many times. That's the only thing that could have made it so much better. It was a lot of fun.


63371


World:
The world is actually pretty strong because there's a lot of areas with a deep history to them that you're exposed to, so it really makes you invested in what's happening to them. I will say that unfortunately I found this to be one of the weaker headquarters, personally, but the world overall was really great and the towns felt alive and real.


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Characters:
The game does a great job of having a lot of variety, which is to be expected for such a large cast, but to also have a lot of them be well written and memorable. The main cast in particular sticks out among the series as one of the strongest, and even the antagonist is interesting, and leads to an epic boss battle unique from most others. It was also interesting to see Flik again and how he'd changed since the first game.

Favourite character: Millie 63373
Honourable mentions: Hix, Viktor, Freed Y 633746337563376

I like Millie and Bonaparte because they're both adorable and sweet. I'm not sure what Bonaparte is exactly, but their dynamic is pretty cute. Hix is still a loveable kind hearted oaf, Viktor is still a bear man with a heart of gold. I liked Freed I think because he reminds me of my boyfriend, who even kind of looks like him.

Overall this is an incredibly strong game with a wonderfully told, deep, investing story, a really strong cast of characters, and fun gameplay. Highly recommend for Suikoden fans, especially since it's now available much cheaper on the PSN.


63377

[Skyblade]

FFX-2 is awesome. Sure, the story is terrible. Sure, the game can have way too much fanservice sometimes. But the sidequests are just so much fun that you don't care.

Have you tried the HD remake yet, Pumpkin?

[Pumpkin]

I have not

[Shauna]

Suikoden is fairly heavy politics-wise, and you have commented about how you don't really like games like that? How do you get past this prominent feature of these games if it's something you tend not to enjoy?

[Pumpkin]

I can just follow Suikoden games better for some reason :shrug:

It's not that I dislike political stories, I just can't seem to follow most of them. Could be because Suikoden games you're more hands on in the middle of the politics instead of being on the side while you hear about political figures A,B, and C? So it makes it easier to follow?

Couldn't say exactly, I just seem to be able to understand them better :lol:

[Kyros]

Holy crap, it's Suikoden II. This just became one of my favorite threads of all time in the history of ever.

[Skyblade]

I have not

You should. Extra dresspheres and some bonus content.


Suikoden is fairly heavy politics-wise, and you have commented about how you don't really like games like that? How do you get past this prominent feature of these games if it's something you tend not to enjoy?

While it's heavily political, you can follow the story just by following the individual stories of the main characters. Their friendship and clashes mirror the political drama, which makes it easier to follow than the interaction of major power blocks. A personal story, told on a grand scale.

[CimminyCricket]

X-2 was pretty cringe worthy for me story and dialogue wise, but the game play was fantastic!

[Shauna]

Suikoden is fairly heavy politics-wise, and you have commented about how you don't really like games like that? How do you get past this prominent feature of these games if it's something you tend not to enjoy?

While it's heavily political, you can follow the story just by following the individual stories of the main characters. Their friendship and clashes mirror the political drama, which makes it easier to follow than the interaction of major power blocks. A personal story, told on a grand scale.

I get that. I only ask because she had previously commented on how Tales of Vesperia was too political, while I would consider Suikoden II way more political than that game ever was. Even with the buffer of dealing with individuals... I guess it is probably just different perception between the two of us - causes me massive disconnect, is all. xD

[Karifean]

Final Fantasy X-2 is a fantastic game! I don't think I've spent more time on any other FF game, much less have beaten ANY other game nearly as much times as I did FFX-2. It's just that much fun.

And while I didn't care for the main story at all, the side stories in all the different places in Spira were pretty neat. Plus, Creature Create is addictive as all hell and had some good stories among the different Fiend Tales, too.

[Pumpkin]

Don't know what to tell you Shauna. I had a hard time remembering who was who in Tales of Vesperia that wasn't the main cast. Like the guy who had the um.. dungeon thing going on, I could never remember who he was or where he was position wise, or even what his name was vs other political figures, so it got really confusing when they were talking about like "such and such did this" and I didn't know who they were talking about or what impact it would have. Don't really know what else to say


6. Suikoden V (PlayStation 2)
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Suikoden V follows the Prince of Falena and his family and knights. A large part of the game is the Sacred Games event, in which people compete against each other in a gladiator style competition to find out who will marry our hero's little sister and become King and leader of the Knights. Unfortunately two of the favoured winners is pretty skeezy opposing political factions, and pretty soon the Prince and his family have some pretty intense things to deal with.

This game is played similar to most Suikoden games. You have to try to recruit the 108 Stars of Destiny and you get your own headquarters, where you can participate in mini games and such depending on who is recruited, as well as shop and do other things. Magic takes the form of Runes which can be equipped on characters. There are also duel and war battles that kind of operate like rock-paper-scissors. This game has 75 characters usable in battle including non-stars of destiny and guests, with parties consisting of 6 members at a time.


63381


General impressions:
It was really hard deciding between this one and Suikoden II. They're pretty close to even for me, but this one beat it out by a tiny bit. I love the story, I love the characters, the headquarters was beautiful, it was well told, and the game was a lot of fun to play. It had some very intense moments to it that left me on the edge of my seat and the world was absolutely beautiful. My main complaints would be that the pacing near the beginning is very slow and it takes a while to really get going (although that does help set the stage pretty well) and it's not the best for beginners because it's one of the harder ones (if not the hardest) as far as character recruitment goes.

Story:
Excellent story. It's quite long but because of that you can really feel things building and changing as you go. This game did a better job of keeping me guessing as to what was going on and where I was storywise than the others. In the others I always knew when the betrayal would happen and when I would get my headquarters, but this one changed things up quite a bit as far as pacing. The story itself had some amazingly touching moments, a lot of suspense, and it did a great job of setting the tone for how things were doing. Amazing story.


63382
She mad


Gameplay:
The gameplay is pretty good. It's very Suikoden so if you like that style of gameplay, you'll like this one too. I liked how the big war battles took place on both sea and land and I enjoyed managing those more than in most of the other games. The game overall was quite easy, but the recruiting as I mentioned is one of the harder ones and some of the characters can be downright frustrating to get if you missed some simple little step at some point. The mini-games weren't as fun, but overall this game was really good.


63383


World:
Beautiful. My favourite Suikoden world and one of my favourite video game world overall. It might help that so many places were near water. I can't really think of one area I disliked, even the grey stone wall places still had beautiful surroundings. There was even a town made up of like joined little boats. The whole world was absolutely gorgeous, ranging from beautiful city to mountain town. Loved it. I can't even think of a favourite spot there were just so many good ones.


63384


Characters:
This game had a very strong core cast that really made me feel for them and what they were going through. Some of the background characters didn't stick out as much and could be pretty forgettable, but overall a really strong cast and fun to use.

Favourite character: Miakis 63385
Honourable mentions: Luserina, Haswar, Lyon 633866338763388

Miakis was just an adorable badass who was awesome at her job of being a body guard, while also remaining bright and upbeat. Which made her sad moments that much more touching. Luserina was a sweetheart who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. Haswar was a sweet lady and kind of like the family member I wish I had but never did. Lyon was loyal and strong and courageous, so it was hard not to like her.

Overall an awesome game and a great example of the series. Fun to play, strong story, great central cast of characters, and absolutely stunning world to explore. Beware the recruitment though, they didn't make it easy this time around.


63389

[Shauna]

No need to defend yourself. I was just curious.

[Pumpkin]

Time for the top 5 :kaocheer::kaocheer::kaocheer: Only two days left


5. Tales of Symphonia (GameCube)
63393


Tales of Symphonia follows a young girl named Colette on her quest to regenerate the world as per an age old ritual that allows their world to prosper. Before she leaves though, her friends Lloyd and Genis get in to some trouble at the local human ranch and are in some serious trouble.

This game plays similar to other Tales games. You attack with a button and use techs with another. Attack restores your TP, as does ending the fight. You can also perform combo moves of sorts. You can cook by using recipes you've found if you have the right ingredients and you gain control of a number of different vehicles throughout the game. There are a total of 9 playable characters with 4 usable in battle at a time.


63394


General impressions:
By the time I'd started playing this game I had played a few other Tales games and was pretty excited to see what this one was like. Especially since it's one of the more popular and well-liked ones. Sure enough, this game exceeded my hopes and it quickly made it's way in to one of my top spots. This game managed to give me the same butterfly in the stomach excitement as my top game on this list, something that very few other games have ever accomplished. The game had me hooked almost instantly and I loved every minute. I suppose my biggest complaint would be the pacing could be a bit off at times and some of the dungeons were frustrating.

Story:
Excellent story. First thing it made me think of was how similar it was to Final Fantasy X, but, to me, it was much better told. It could be because it was actually a deconstruction of the “chosen one” type of story that is present in X, but it was much more involving and interesting to me. The actual pilgrimage part actually ends pretty quickly before they get in to the more deep moral implications of having a “chosen one” and what that would mean. One of them is constantly plagued with doubt, worry, and inadequacy issues while trying hard to put on a brave front, despite the incredible toll the whole thing is taking on her body, and the other one acts tough but is actually deeply unhappy and suicidal. I was also terrified and interested in the human ranches and what those meant, and I found the tie in to a second world and them competing for resources really interesting. The story was very deep and had many layers to it, which I really liked.


63395


Gameplay:
It's still fun because it's a Tales game, but it is a bit clunkier and less polished than the later entries on the list. I did once again enjoy being able to select a character to use in battle and having another one on the map. I had more fun doing the cooking in this game than the other, and overall I would say it was easier. Some of the dungeons were long and annoying, but the game in general was not too difficult and it didn't take much level grinding.


63396


World:
Some absolutely gorgeous locations and some I didn't like as much, but there was good variety and some really unique areas, especially some of the dungeons. But overall it doesn't make the strongest impression.


63397


Character:
This is a Tales game, so a very strong point. The characters all interact with each other and there are relationship values. What I liked is that every character had a depth to them and a strong backstory. None of them were cliches although some seemed to start out that way. They were all well-written and I liked almost all of the characters.

Favourite character: Colette 63398
Honourable mentions: Sheena, Lloyd 6339963400

I like Colette because she was just the sweetest and most selfless person. She tried to stay strong for everyone despite what was happening, which made the stuff happening quite heartbreaking. Sheena I liked in personality because she had a sweet heart, but I did hate using her in battle sadly. Lloyd seemed a bit dumb and naive but over time he shows he's quite intelligent and resourceful and he sticks up for what he believes in and his friends. There were a lot of good characters so it was hard to narrow down the list.

Overall great game with an amazingly told story, a good world, fun gameplay, and an awesome cast of characters. The game had a lot of depth to it and it got me excited to play in a way very few others have. Great example of the genre and the series.


63401

[Madame Adequate]

Oh god oh god Suikoden II and V yesssss both all-time classic video games that everyone should play!

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Amateurs...

/struts off

[metagloria]

I enjoyed Symphonia a ton, but it was kind of draggy at times and felt sort of like it lasted forever even though it really only lasted about 50 hours. Very deep story and gameplay though. Still liked Graces f a bit better.

[Kyros]

ToS was really good, but I felt like it was just a shorter, lesser version of ToD2. I didn't like Zelos either and always made sure to kill him

[Pumpkin]

4. Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle (PlayStation 2)
63409


Dark Cloud 2 follows our heroes Max, a young inventor, and Monica, a girl from the future, travel through time to stop the evil Emperor Griffin from being evil and stuff.

Both of your heroes have two types of weapons, long and short range. Short range weapons can be used by pressing X and long ranged can be used by pressing L1+X. The characters don't level up, but you can find treasures to increase their health and defense. Weapons can be improved and also evolve in to new weapons if certain requirements are fulfilled. Weapons also have WHP, and unlike in the previous Dark Cloud, they will not break if they reach zero, but they will be unusable. Monica can also transform in to monster, which will allow her to talk to other monsters of the same type. Max can control the Ridepod, which can be used for stronger monsters, although it has fuel that needs to be replenished. Dungeon floors also have medals for completing certain tasks which can be redeemed for items. A guest character can accompany the party for added benefits. Like the previous Dark Cloud game, world building is a big part of the game. You'll obtain geostones which contain things like houses and buildings and you can move people in to them, although some are picky about what type of house they'll live in. Most towns are made this way, making them very customizable, although certain conditions will need to be fulfilled.


63410


General impressions:
Dark Cloud 2 is a big step up from Dark Cloud. It improved things like the thirst bar, the weapons breaking, and the characterization. There are far less characters now, which I don't like, but the two heroes are likeable and have good development. Even the guest characters are sometimes well fleshed out. The world building is much more flexible and fun, although the actual areas are less interesting to me. I like the time travel aspect, but they didn't do much with the future, which was a shame. The story is campy but interesting and it has some very touching and engaging moments. It has a ton of fun stuff to do, like photography and inventing and Spheda in the levels that don't make you want to break stuff. When I was younger I used to take pictures and pretend I was writing an in game newspaper with it. It was just a lot of fun.

Story:
The story as I mentioned is pretty campy and it has enough plot holes to look like Swiss cheese, but it was still interesting to me. I always enjoy seeing what happens next, and even if its not the strongest story, I find it's beautifully told. Later in the game it gets even better when we find out the almighty Emperor Griffin is one of the cute little moon bunnies. But somehow it comes off as even creepier and scarier. There were some genuinely touching moments, like Shingala and Max and his mother.


63411


Gameplay:
The gameplay is a lot of fun and there's always something to do if you want a break from the main story. Build up your weapons, take pictures, invent, go fishing, see what funny things the monsters have to say, customize your ridepod, spheda, collecting medals, customizing your towns, recruiting new people, and so on. There's just so much fun stuff to do. And the main game is fun, the battles are easy to get in to. The monster badges are painful to grow but fun if you just use them to talk to monsters. There's a lot more freedom to the world building which I thought was a huge improvement too.


63412


World:
The world is very pretty and has some great areas and dungeons. Palm Brinks is lively and beautiful, and there's enough diversity in how the areas look to make them all feel fresh and new. The future was kind of a wasted opportunity and I didn't enjoy those areas nearly as much as the regular world. My favourite place was Veniccio because of its gorgeous spot on the beach, and its future version, Luna Lab, has some of the best music in the game.


63413


Characters:
Although I'm not a fan of so few playable characters, I found them very well written and likeable. Both main characters were fun to use and I liked both of their personalities and what they brought to the table. There were so many interesting guest characters that it made me actually care about finding and making the right home for them. So while it wasn't the strong point of the game for me, it was still a positive.

Overall, fun gameplay, a ton of stuff to do, likeable characters, customizable world, and some wonderfully touching moments. One of my favourite games to play. And different outfits are always a plus.


63414


So tomorrow we end this list with my top 3 favourite games of all time ever. I have my number 3 review written up already, but my top 2 are special to me so I'm going to write the reviews as I post them up for a change. That means they will be long and less coherent than usual, but I hope you'll all still enjoy it. I'm a bit sad and happy that this list is ending, it's been much fun.

See you tomorrow for our big finale! :peachdance:

[Kyros]

Heck yeah DC2!!!!! Spheda was the best thing ever. There was so much cool stuff in the Dark Cloud games. It would be sweet if they came out with another one b/c I'd buy it instantly. Confirmations for DC3 come and go so I wish it'd be official already.

[Skyblade]

I really like the stories and characters in the Tales games. But in both the ones I've played so far (Abyss and Symphonia), I just get to a point where I go "why the hell are the mechanics so annoyingly complicated", and I give up.

I still have yet to find anyone who has played that game who actually does anything with the Cooking mechanics.

[Pumpkin]

Heck yeah DC2!!!!! Spheda was the best thing ever. There was so much cool stuff in the Dark Cloud games. It would be sweet if they came out with another one b/c I'd buy it instantly. Confirmations for DC3 come and go so I wish it'd be official already.

Ugh I wish they'd just come out with it already :G I'd be so happy if they did, it's an awesome series



I still have yet to find anyone who has played that game who actually does anything with the Cooking mechanics.



I had more fun doing the cooking in this game

:D

[Skyblade]

Heck yeah DC2!!!!! Spheda was the best thing ever. There was so much cool stuff in the Dark Cloud games. It would be sweet if they came out with another one b/c I'd buy it instantly. Confirmations for DC3 come and go so I wish it'd be official already.

Ugh I wish they'd just come out with it already :G I'd be so happy if they did, it's an awesome series



I still have yet to find anyone who has played that game who actually does anything with the Cooking mechanics.



I had more fun doing the cooking in this game

:D

You enjoyed the cooking, yes. But did you figure out who specialized in what? What dishes people liked, who crafted what well, what bonuses they all gave?

[Kyros]

I did that and cooked everything in the game I'm pretty sure. Didn't the food come out better if you used the person who made them better? I don't remember b/c it's been a long time since I played ToS.

[Pumpkin]

I didn't *master* the cooking, but I rarely master anything in a game. I did get petty good at it and I had everyone with their maximum amount of stars for the dishes (like Raine usually only got up to 2 stars because she wasn't a very good chef) but yeah I did a ton of cooking in that game. I did some in Vesperia, but not much, and I tried in Abyss but I was always so broke I couldn't afford to do much :argh:

I don't think Xillia had the cooking

[Skyblade]

I tried with the cooking in both games. Then, half an hour later, I realized I had spreadsheets opened, trying to determine who I needed to fix what to give the maximum benefits, and I just went "to heck with this", and stuck to generic items ever since. I never understood why the heck the mechanics were so complicated. Most of the players I talked to had a similar reaction. "Oh, I just chose recipe X and stuck with it, because no one really hates it and it works for most situations". The mechanics are stupidly overcomplicated, especially with no good in-game tracking system for some of the stats.


The combat gives me a similar problem. I don't specifically remember how it worked in Symphonia, it's been too long since I've played it. But in Abyss, I remember sitting through hours of tutorials on Fields of Fonons, only to wind up completely ignoring the system in favor of basic attacks and basic artes. Because it's stupidly overcomplicated.

"You have to have two of the same element ability cast on the same location to create a FoF. Oh, and you can't actually aim them, they cast on whatever your current target is, so hope it doesn't move. Then, abilities used in the FoF get additional effects. So, again, hope the enemy doesn't just move away or sidestep, or that field will be useless. Finally, don't forget that your main character can't actually set up ANY FoFs, just in case you thought the system was too easy to set up."

So they give us a system requiring three or more turns to set up and take advantage of, that you have almost no control over due to the fluid nature of combat and the whims of the AI, and that only marginally improve your skills. I wound up getting so frustrated by the completely inaccessible depth in the combat that I quit the game and never went back. I keep thinking "y'know, I liked the story, I should go see what happened", but then I get in, play a battle or two, and shut the game off again. I didn't have the same desire to go back to Symphonia because I realized how similar it was to FFX, and I figured I knew most of what I needed to about the story.

[Pumpkin]

I didn't like the FoF in Abyss either and I agree that the combat mechanics in the series are generally overcomplicated. But I've never been the person who needs to maximize everything or do everything perfectly and I managed fine on what knowledge I had. Like I didn't care in Symphonia about the best recipes because I was doing it for fun and it worked just fine. In Abyss I never needed to use the FoF to win battles, the game was overall pretty easy and what wasn't could be fixed with a bit of evel grinding, so I never needed to learn the FoF stuff

Not fussing at you, you like what you like, just saying for me it was generally a non-issue

[Skyblade]

I didn't like the FoF in Abyss either and I agree that the combat mechanics in the series are generally overcomplicated. But I've never been the person who needs to maximize everything or do everything perfectly and I managed fine on what knowledge I had. Like I didn't care in Symphonia about the best recipes because I was doing it for fun and it worked just fine. In Abyss I never needed to use the FoF to win battles, the game was overall pretty easy and what wasn't could be fixed with a bit of evel grinding, so I never needed to learn the FoF stuff

Not fussing at you, you like what you like, just saying for me it was generally a non-issue

I don't feel like I HAVE to get the most out of mechanics, I feel as though I have to be ABLE to get the most out of a mechanic.

In Abyss, for example, several things bugged me. First, the game tracked which transformed Artes you had unlocked/used, and the completionist in me wanted to fill that page up.

Second, and more important, I was afraid I'd get into a fight where basic attacks and the three Artes that had been all I had used since the first area of the game would eventually wind up useless, and I would have no clue how to progress or fight anything because I had no further strategy developed.

Third, it did get a little boring using the same exact attacks every single battle. I wanted some more depth to the battle, but the complexity required to get to it was just ridiculous.



I need to go back and try controlling another character. Maybe Tear will be more fun.

[metagloria]

I didn't ever get cooking in Symphonia at all :shrug: I did it every now and then with Lloyd after a battle to restore some TP, but that's it.

Also, if Dark Cloud 2 is that high on your list, I definitely need to play it.

I'm waiting with :omgomg: levels of anticipation for your top 3!

[Rez09]

The Field of Fonon mechanic may be the worst general mechanic I've encountered in the series thus far. It is extraordinarily difficult to make use of until you unlock sunlight chambers, which allow you to make use of incomplete fields, but then you can constantly use them and the effects are so powerful it trivializes the rest of the game. First it's useless because you can't use it, then it's useless because battles are pointless.

[Egami]

I'm waiting with :omgomg: levels of anticipation for your top 3!

Yeah, will be interesting to see what #3 and #2 are...I think we all know what Pumpkin's #1 is.

[Pumpkin]

IT IS TIME

DUN DUN DUNNN


3. Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation)
63420


Final Fantasy VIII is the story of a mercenary group called SeeD. We meet Squall, a SeeD completing his training, and a few others who accompany him. Along the way he meets a woman and falls in love, comes to terms with his feelings, and also there's some evil sorceress because of course there's an evil sorceress.

Final Fantasy VIII is a bit different from most other games in the series. GFs, Guardian Forces, essentially the summons of this game, play a huge roll. Each character needs to equip one to be able to do more than attack. With it they can then customize the battle commands, such as adding the use of magic or items. Junctioning a GF will also allow the player to improve certain character stats by Junctioning magic spells that the player draws from the enemy during battle. The maximum amount one character can hold of each spell is 100. This means that with each spell the character casts, it will deplete that spell, and the player will need to draw more to go back to 100. If a spell is Juntioned and the player uses it, that stat will decrease. There are a total of 6 main playable characters and 5 temporary.


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General impressions:
Technically speaking, VIII is the first FF game I played. I don't count it because I couldn't make it past the Fire Cavern and Ifrit scared me. I was quite young. I couldn't remember anything about it other than the scary demon thing. Something I do remember was that it was a struggle to even get to play it at all because I wanted to only play Disc 3 because it had the girl (Rinoa) on it and I wanted to be the girl. My small brain took a while to understand that she was on ALL of the discs, not just the one with her face on it. Again, I was quite young. I played it again a few years later, it was my second one. This time I had a better understanding of how the game worked and I absolutely loved it. The characters, the story, the world. I've replayed it so many times since and every time is just as exciting.

Story:
A lot of people think its weird but I actually really like it. And I like it more starting when things get weird. It's a fantasy. I would have been more bummed if it stayed “teen mercenaries get hired to do stuff”. I liked the Moombas, and I liked how fantastical it had all become. The sorceresses, the traveling to the past (kind of), the weird places like Esthar. It just felt... well like a fantasy. I don't know how else to describe it. It had me hooked the whole way. It also had kind of a more serious tone to me than other games in the series, but that could be because of Squall and how he felt and how I interpreted it based on similar feelings. I don't really like the space part, the whole thing just gave me question marks over my head. But I did love most of it and it also has one of my favourite video game romances ever.


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Gameplay:
The gameplay I'm kind of torn on. I don't like how you magic works because I'm weird about having 100 of everything, so I could essentially not use magic in this game unless I drew it and cast it from the enemy directly. But I did like being able to customize the characters however I wanted, and it has my favourite summon system of any Final Fantasy game. I liked how Boost actually gave you something to do during the long summon animations, and overall it had my favourite summon designs. Overall it certainly isn't the best gameplay in the series, but it wasn't bad either.


63423


World:
This game has one of my favourite Final Fantasy worlds, and video game worlds in general. There are so many beautiful locations, from Fisherman's Horizon to Balamb to Esthar to Winhill. Almost every new location had me going “wow” and they easily stay in my mind when I think back on the game. My favourite has to be Balamb Garden. It's so pretty and some of the most exciting moments happen there. It has great music, it's bigger than a lot of towns, and it has a lot of things you need. Would live there.


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Characters:
I really like the characters in this game. Well, except for Irvine, but I don't hate him either. I think the characters are solid, the group is overall well written together, and it has some really strong relationships, even between the protagonists and the antagonists. I just wish some of the heroes had interacted more between each other than they did.

Favourite character: Squall 63425
Honourable mentions: Selphie, Zell 6342663427

Squall is a character I can actually relate to really well and I found him very well written. He comes across like an emo jerk at first, but when they show you his thoughts, you can see he's put up a wall because he's lost people he cares about. He's not a jerk, he's just emotionally stunted. And watching him grow and change was great and I really enjoyed it. I really loved how they would show you what he was thinking because it made it more clear that he was having emotional problems which is something I can identify with, although I deal with it differently. I like Selphie and Zell because they bring a lot of fun to an otherwise very serious game. Selphie's diary was super cute too and so was Zell and his romance.

Overall it has great characters, a beautiful world, one of my favourite main characters and romances, and an interesting story. It is one of my most replayed games ever and there's a reason it made it so high up on this list.


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Also, fun fact about sharky and mine's joined game list that we lost. This is my number 3 overall and it was tied for his favourite Final Fantasy and pretty high on his individual list, so it made it to number one on our joined list :D

[Skyblade]

Great game. It gets way more flak than it deserves. It's not perfect, but it is still a fantastic game with some really great characters.

Plus, best Shiva design of the series.

[Egami]

Well, just one more surprise on Pumpkin's list...wonder what it is :)

[Pumpkin]

Hopefully you'll still enjoy my number 1 even if you know what it is :lol:

[Egami]

Well, I won't spell out which game it is to not ruin the surprise for those who don't know; but that game really doesn't do it for me, I finished it once when it came out and never really felt like playing it again until recently and try as I might I just couldn't get into it this time around and stopped playing before finishing it.

But, different strokes for different folks as they say :)

[Pumpkin]

I understand. Not everyone likes the same things. I just mean maybe you'll like my actual review even if you don't like the game :P

Most people know what my number 1 is, I've never been shy about it. But hopefully people still enjoy the review even if it's not really a surprise

[Madame Adequate]

I do think VIII is a great game, but I won't pretend I'm not a little sad seeing it higher than Suikodens! :p But I can forgive you because you recognize that Zell and Selphie are two of the best characters.

[Skyblade]

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Did Wakka steal Zell's haircut?

[Egami]

I just mean maybe you'll like my actual review even if you don't like the game :P

Oh for sure, just as I have enjoyed this whole thread so far :cool:

[Karifean]

Final Fantasy VIII is a game I find myself coming back to time and time again. It has very high replay value to me, especially compared to most other games in the series. The fact that it has bar none the best minigame in any game helps that.

Squall is my favorite FF lead character. Both in story and in gameplay. In story because I relate to him in many ways and found his actions and reactions quite understandable. In gameplay because he's just so damn strong. Perfect accuracy, 150% damage per hit and a quick and simple yet still very strong Limit Break? Yes please.

I do wonder what #2 is going to be...

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Mother smurfing Spheeda!!!

It's the perfect blend of a love hate minigame. See that ring 400 yards away on the other side of several chasms? You get three strokes to make it. Don't forget the ball can't be the same color as the ring, though. If you fail that it. You'll have to reclear the whole level before you can try it again.

You know what Spheeda? Don't worry. I'll save you the trouble.

http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyzbgimStO1qd8t4mo1_500.gif

Plus it means I'll probably suffer less.

[Pumpkin]

I'm going on an early schedule today because A) I don't have these two reviews written in advance and I don't know how long it will take and B) I has lots of stuff to do this afternoon/evening so I need to get the stuffs up earlier.

I'd also like to note that my top 3 was not hard to peg down at all. Some of the other games I had a hard time deciding between them (like Suikoden II and V, or Tales of Symphonia and Dark Cloud 2) and some of the order could change depending on my mood. But my top 3 are my top 3 and that hasn't changed at all. On top of that, my top 2 is very far ahead of the rest of the games on this list, meaning no other game even came close to knocking them off their thrones. I really love these two games and they are the reason I like games as much as I do and they're kind of the gold standard for me for gaming, the standard by which all other games are measured.

I really like them is what I'm saying.

So without further ado (and I apologize in advance for how long these next two reviews are going to be)


2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64)
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Majora's Mask follows our hero Link, after saving Hyrule in Ocarina of Time. He's out searching for someone when he's knocked from his horse. He awakens from this to find his horse gone and a strange skull kid wearing an even stranger mask playing with his stuff. The Skull Kid steals his Ocarina, and Link gives chase. Things go from bad to worse however when the Skull Kid turns him in to a Deku child (kind of a wood person) and he ends up in a strange world called Termina. He meets the Happy Mask Salesman who can help him become human again on the condition that he gets his Ocarina back. But he only has 3 days because after that, the world is going to end when the moon comes crashing down. The Happy Mask Salesman isn't going to heal him without asking for something back however.

Majora's Mask combat wise plays similar to most Zelda games. You go around hacking enemies with your sword, completing dungeons, and using cool gadgets like a bow and arrow. There are some differences though. In this game you can get transformation masks allowing you to transform in to some series staple races like the rock people Gorons and the fish people Zora's, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. This game puts heavy emphasis on masks, each of which will do something different for you. There are only 4 dungeons in this game but a lot of sidequests to complete. The most unique aspect of the game is the time limit. You have 3 in game days before the world ends, although once you pass the beginning section, you can rewind it and start back at the first day. Doing so allows you to keep story important items, but you lose extra stock and money (except what you put in the bank). Game time passes at about 1 second = 1 in game minute. You can get songs that allow you to slow time or to skip to the next 12 hour period. Rewinding time also serves as a way to save the game. Because of the clock, a lot of the sidequests are very dependent on what time it is in game.


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General Impressions:
I'm not even sure what to write here, I could talk about this game for hours. I'd played this after Ocarina of Time with my mother, who was disgusted at it. She said it was lazy and a cheap rip off of OoT because they reused character models. I think that aside from the character models, this game is not really a rip off at all, having a whole new world and story. My favourite part of this game though is that it's something very special. This game is more than the sum of it's parts. It's deep and it's layered. This game has spawned so many theories and discussions and I've read essay after essay about what the story really means, and even if I don't agree with all of them, I think it's beautiful and magical that a game can do that. That a game can be so deep and so inspiring as to spawn all of these thoughts and ideas. It goes beyond what just in the game and that is so rare to find. I love games that can give you different interpretations and one of my favourite things to do is replay the game with the new theories in mind. What if Link is dead and he's going through the 5 stages of coping with death, for example? (Seriously look some up, there's a ton of them) It allows me to play the exact same game but get something totally different out of it. I personally find the game quite depressing, watching everyone slowly die over and over again and knowing that until you finish you can't save everyone (and even after you finish, the Deku Butler's son is still dead, which horrified me when I finally realized where my Deku Mask likely came from) and the music reflects the tone pretty well. The music in this game is very beautiful but usually very sad and sombre (although it has some upbeat tracks as well). Anyways I could go on at length about this but I'll stop here. If anyone wants to discuss it with me feel free to PM me because I'm always up for a chat about this game.

Story:
The story is pretty great, even if you don't go in to the deeper meanings and symbolism. You have 3 days to save a dying world by rewinding time over and over again. The tone is excellent and it really made me feel how desperate the situation was becoming for them, especially if you spend all 3 days in Clock Town as the music changes and people get more and more worried and depressed. But what makes this story stand out is how it's told through the NPC's. In most games the NPC's are there almost as background and here they tell the story, they show you different ways people deal with what's happening and how things are changing. I'll go in to more detail in the characters section about that, but I just think it's a really great story and it always has me invested.


63432


Gameplay:
As far as the gameplay itself, it's very similar to the Zelda series which is kind of middle of the road for me. I don't love it or hate it. Where the gameplay excels is the sidequests. This game is actually very short and nowhere near as indepth storywise if you just do the dungeons and end the game. It barely has any dungeons at all and they're all pretty easy and quick to beat (not that I'm complaining about that part, I do enjoy the easiness), but there are so many sidequests to do and so many of them are investing and touching. It adds a whole other layer to the game itself. The time limit was at first very stressful and can still be sometimes but I've gotten used to it after the 100th playthrough (exaggeration) so I'm fine with it now. I do lime being able to switch races and I especially loved using the Zora, especially for the beaver races. I loved how quickly and gracefully I could swim in the water areas.


63433


World:
The world is pretty good but it wouldn't rank on my top video game worlds. I like how each area brings something different with Clock Town dead center and every area is clearly divided. The areas themselves were big enough for me to enjoy exploring them. But on the downside the world did feel kind of small overall and I would have loved to see more areas.


63434


Characters:
This is an odd case. There is one playable character (if you don't include the souls or spirits of the dead people who you wear as a mask to transform (yeah it's a creepy game)) but a ton of NPC's who are important to get the full scope of the story. As I mentioned in the Story section, this game gets a lot of its depth from the NPC's, instead of them just being there in the background. You get to see people like the man at the training school who says he's not afraid of the moon and can then be found cowering, afraid of his death. People like the Postman who want to evacuate but won't until he's officially given permission. The sad part with the ranch sisters when the older one gives the younger one some of the adult milk before they die. The young man turned in to a child and his fiancee worrying about him. The frozen goron and the dead goron hero, the zora who's eggs were stolen. It all reflects on the world, on the story, and on how everyone deals with things differently. So while there's only one playable characters, there's a large cast of characters that make the game what it is.


63436


Overall this is an excellent game. It has spawned so many theories and discussions which I think is magnificent and the game really does manage to be more than the sum of its parts. There aren't many dungeons and there isn't much you need to do to complete it, but the amount of sidequests and just character watching adds a lot of depth to the game and makes it so much fun to replay. Just a magnificent game and some of the best storytelling and mood setting I've ever seen. This game is one of the reasons I feel confident when I say that yes, video games can be art.


63435


In a few hours we will have my number one game!!

In the meantime

XDX4ZwUeOok

[Slothy]

It's not number 1? I'm so confused. Up is down. Left is right. The brake and the accelerator have switched places. What world is this?

[metagloria]

Great pick. My friend who likes Zelda way more than I do rates this as his favorite Zelda game too. I like it a lot, but it's probably my third favorite Zelda title. Maybe second.

[Pumpkin]

Vivi: Is it your number 1?

Ninja post by metagloria there. What are your favourite Zelda's?

[Egami]

I'd also like to note that my top 3 was not hard to peg down at all. Some of the other games I had a hard time deciding between them (like Suikoden II and V, or Tales of Symphonia and Dark Cloud 2) and some of the order could change depending on my mood. But my top 3 are my top 3 and that hasn't changed at all. On top of that, my top 2 is very far ahead of the rest of the games on this list, meaning no other game even came close to knocking them off their thrones. I really love these two games and they are the reason I like games as much as I do and they're kind of the gold standard for me for gaming, the standard by which all other games are measured.

Yeah I am very much the same way. On my favorite games list the first 2 or 3 are easy and obvious choices but the further down I go on the list the harder it becomes to sort the games. The first games are such obvious choices for me because, like you, I see them as being quite far ahead of the others, I like them so much that I doubt any other game will be knocking them off any time soon.

I never played this particular Zelda (my favorite is A Link To The Past), but heard it mentioned a lot when people were comparing Lighting Returns to it due to the similar time limit/mechanic.

[Slothy]

It wouldn't be my number 1, no. But given how much I know you love it I was expecting it to be yours.

[Karifean]

I've only ever played the first Legend of Zelda, and I quit it after completing about half the temples due to a lack of motivation to continue. If I ever try another Zelda game, it'd be this one.


my top 2 is very far ahead of the rest of the games on this list, meaning no other game even came close to knocking them off their thrones. I really love these two games and they are the reason I like games as much as I do and they're kind of the gold standard for me for gaming, the standard by which all other games are measured.

I know that feeling so well. It's exactly how I feel about my Top 2 VNs. Although I can see them being dethroned someday since I only got to know both of them about a year ago. But for now, they are the best of the best for me, and no game even remotely comes close to being what these novels are for me.

[Pumpkin]

Seems to be a common theme!

[metagloria]

Ninja post by metagloria there. What are your favourite Zelda's?

Stay tuned to my thread to find out :p

Majora's Mask and ALBW are two of my top three though.

[Pumpkin]

I still want to try the new one but I haven't even played LttP yet!

It is on my list of 1000 things to do though so I will play it eventually

[metagloria]

You'll appreciate ALBW a lot more if you play ALttP first.

[Freya]

I wasn't expecting that as your Number two but it's a great game to have as number two

[Skyblade]

I've already put most of my thoughts over in the thread we have up for the remake.

Great game, nothing at all like I was expecting.

Not as good as A Link Between Worlds in my opinion, but really good nonetheless. I'm still ranking it among the 3D Zelda games. Not sure where it will fall.

[Kyros]

FFVIII awesome!!! I've been playing the steam version recently (first playthrough of it since ps1 days), and I have almost all of the achievements. I've decided I'm going to finish off the kill achievement(s), Blue Magic one, and finish with Squall's initial level on a 2nd playthrough. I didn't realize until after I killed Ultima Weapon in doing so also took out my best chance to farm Cursed Spikes needed for Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar.

[Pumpkin]

And for the grand conclusion of my list, it is none other than


1. Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)
63439


Final Fantasy IX is the story of a thief named Zidane who is trying to kidnap the Princess Garnet. Little does he suspect that she's looking to get kidnapped. There's strange things going on in her Kingdom of Alexandria and she wants to do something about her mother the Queen who has been making some weapon's deals. This game follows our heroes during a time of war as they explore new lands and learn some things about their pasts that they wouldn't have expected.

This game plays similar to a lot of Final Fantasy titles. Battles are random and your characters stand on one end of the battle screen with the enemies opposite. Once the ATB bar fills up, a command menu will allow you to choose between Attack, Item, or any individual character commands. You also have a Trance bar that fills up, which can do stuff from increasing strength to allowing special abilities to be used, depending on the character. Characters in this game have certain jobs or roles in battle, such as Black Mage and Thief and their abilities are determined by that. Abilities are learned in this game by equipping weapons or items and obtaining points in fights which go towards these abilities. Once you gain enough points you will be able to use the ability without using the equipment. There are 8 playable characters with 4 usable in battle at a time.


63440
It was so hard for me to narrow down images for this review


General impressions:
Brace yourselves because this is going to be a long one. I haven't had the best life and I got passed around a lot as a child. At one point, my mother left me with her ex boyfriend, Barry, and for a few years I lived in relative stability. She'd left me with him before but he'd dropped me off with his family or strangers. I guess this time he must have felt guilty because he kept me around for a few years. Anywho, when I was around 10 or so (not sure exact age, but around there) we watched the Final Fantasy Spirits Within movie (yep) and I loved it (yep) and Barry decided to tell me that Final Fantasy was actually a video game series. If you saw my VIII review you'd know I had played VIII by that point but I'd totally forgotten the tiny bit I played and it wasn't actually until about 4-5 years ago that I remembered. So at this point I had no idea it was a video game series and I got super excited so I went on the internets and looked it up, seeing that there were 10 main games. I looked around at all the characters and wondered why I hadn't seen the girl from the movie, and Barry explained that they're all separate. But I saw Yuna and she looked close enough so I got interested in X. That's when I saw the announcements about X-2. ALL GIRLS??!?! OUTFIT CHANGES???!?!?! Sadly for me, X-2 wasn't out yet. So anyways time passed and Barry got us a PS2 along with Dark Cloud and Jak and Daxter. Then it was Christmas or my birthday or something and I got a special surprise. Final Fantasys VII, VIII, IX, and X. "Sorry, X-2 isn't out yet, but maybe these will keep you occupied while you wait." I looked at all of the covers and all of the booklets trying to decide which to play first and I saw Vivi. Adorable Vivi. I popped the game in and my life changed forever. I loved it loved it loved it. Every moment, every scene, I just ate it all up. Because of this game I joined this forum, I met the man I love, I have this beautiful home. I have my love of RPG's and the Final Fantasy series. I have a game that makes me happy everytime I play. I have a game that let me go in to another world when I was in an abusive relationship, when I was dealing with my mother's addictions, when I felt alone. I had Final Fantasy IX.

Story:
I love this story. I absolutely love it, almost every single moment of it. It's just so fantastical and it sucks me right in. I get so engaged, so engrossed in it no matter how many times I play it. The pacing is perfect for me, starting out one way and slowly building to something deeper. Learning about the characters and their pasts. Seeing the world grow and become more accessible. So many touching and beautiful moments like Vivi standing up to the Black Waltz for the first time, Queen Brahne's death, Zidane rejecting his friends and them still being there for him, Alexander vs Bahamut, the destruction of Lindblum I could go on and on. Most games have a 2-3 moments that I look forward to every time I play, but this game just has so many. So many moments I want to relive and see all over again. So many sad scenes, so many happy ones. The game is overall pretty optimistic and bright which makes the devastating scenes have that much more impact. I really have no complaints about the story, I love it to pieces.


63441
I'M GETTING SO EXCITED TO PLAY THIS AGAIN
THIS IS A GOOD LIFE LESSON


Gameplay:
The weak point. The gameplay is actually kind of bum compared to most of the series in a lot of ways. The battles are slow, SO SLOW, the Trance is terrible and should be thrown off a cliff, characters aren't really customizable, and it's just not all that inspiring. But that's not to say it's all bad. I do love job classes and it has my favourite mini-game, Chocobo Hot & Cold. I could sink so many hours in to that, and I loved having Choco change colours and finding new treasure. So it's not the worst game in terms of gameplay but it's certainly not the best. It could have done so much better.


63442


World:
I love the world of this game, especially since it like grows with the story. You start off on the Mist Continent, which has enough awesome areas on it as it is, and then you explore more and adventure further and see many other great areas. It had a lot of good diversity and it didn't feel like the same thing over and over again. My biggest complaint is that they could have done much more with the Lost and Forgotten Continents as they did not have much on them. My favourite areas would have to be Dali, Alexandria, Esto Gaza, and Black Mage Village, although it was super hard to narrow this down and I liked almost every single area.


63443
This game. THIS GAME


Characters:
I love this cast. I like every single character, although Amarant is on the lower end because they didn't do much with him. I liked how they would switch your party around to go with the story and I loved seeing them learn more about themselves. I think it's a journey of self-discovery, something I can identify with a lot, and it was awesome seeing them all learn more about their past and coming to terms with it. Some characters sadly didn't get enough time in the spotlight and they could have interacted more amongst each other.

Favourite character: Vivi 63444
Honourable mentions: Quina, Zidane, Steiner 634456344663447

Oh look, the only game that has only males as my favourite characters (well Quina is debatable, but I've always seen Quina as a he). Vivi is just the sweetest most precious thing, but he's not afraid to stand up for himself and his friends. He's also incredibly powerful. His story of coming to terms with his death was very well written and he took it with such grace and maturity that I can't help but admire him. Quina is who s/he is, and is also kind of a lovable goof that brings something happy and fun to the story that I really liked. Zidane is overall just a good guy and I really liked his moment of development because it showed him on a deeper level. He was an awesome friend who was always supportive of everyone no matter what there decisions were. I hated Steiner the first time I played because he was like a buzzkill but now I love seeing him grow in to his own person and learning to think for himself. I could go on about all the other characters as well because they're all pretty great but this is getting long enough as it is!

Overall this is a great game with a charming and engaging story, a strong cast of characters who develop and grow really well, some fun mini-games, and a beautiful world to explore. The gameplay is sadly on the lower side of passable. But more than anything, this game has influenced and changed my life and I love it to pieces. The butterflies in the stomach feeling I get when I play this game is something I've been searching for in games ever since and since the moment I played it it has always been my top game of all time ever.


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[Freya]

YES. This is why we're friends.

[Pumpkin]

Thank you so much to everyone who participated, I had a lot of fun and I'm really glad I did this! I hope you all had a lot of fun too :D! So I did some stuffs and you can treat this like the credits which means feel free to walk out now. Thanks everyone for the participation!


97. Grand Theft Auto III/Vice City/San Andreas (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3509651&viewfull=1#post3509651)
96. Family Feud (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3509776&viewfull=1#post3509776)
95. Driver (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3509961#post3509961)
94. Pokemon Leaf Green (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510039&viewfull=1#post3510039)
93. don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510273#post3510273)
92. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510437&viewfull=1#post3510437)
91. Hakuouki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~ (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510582&viewfull=1#post3510582)
90. The Promised Land (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510710#post3510710)
89. Pokemon Stadium (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510759&viewfull=1#post3510759)
88. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510853#post3510853)
87. Princess Debut (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510956#post3510956)
86. RPG Maker 3 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3510994&viewfull=1#post3510994)
85. Soul Calibur II (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511071#post3511071)
84. Soul Calibur III (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511233&viewfull=1#post3511233)
83. Final Fantasy XIII (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511317&viewfull=1#post3511317)
82. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511452&viewfull=1#post3511452)
81. Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511587&viewfull=1#post3511587)
80. Doki Doki Universe (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511647&viewfull=1#post3511647)
79. Tekken 2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511710&viewfull=1#post3511710)
78. The Sims 3 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511843&viewfull=1#post3511843)
77. Final Fantasy VII (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511880&viewfull=1#post3511880)
76. Dawn of Mana (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3511914&viewfull=1#post3511914)
75. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512017#post3512017)
74. Ys Seven (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512092#post3512092)
73. Xenogears (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512164&viewfull=1#post3512164)
72. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512342#post3512342)
71. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512465&viewfull=1#post3512465)
70. Super Scribblenauts (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512576&viewfull=1#post3512576)
69. Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512698&viewfull=1#post3512698)
68. Pokepark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512769&viewfull=1#post3512769)
67. Pokemon Diamond (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512873&viewfull=1#post3512873)
66. Final Fantasy Theatrhythm (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3512988&viewfull=1#post3512988)
65. Tomodachi Life (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513025#post3513025)
64. Mario (Power) Tennis (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513093&viewfull=1#post3513093)
63. Katamari Forever (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513215&viewfull=1#post3513215)
62. Luminous Arc 2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513292&viewfull=1#post3513292)
61. Record of Agarest War 2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513330&viewfull=1#post3513330)
60. Xenosaga Episode II (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513477#post3513477)
59. Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513524&viewfull=1#post3513524)
58. Pokemon Snap (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513603#post3513603)
57. Tekken 3 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513722&viewfull=1#post3513722)
56. Suikoden IV (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513795&viewfull=1#post3513795)
55. Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513862&viewfull=1#post3513862)
54. Tekken Tag Tournament 1/2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3513978&viewfull=1#post3513978)
53. Ni No Kuni (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514077&viewfull=1#post3514077)
52. Tales of Legendia (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514158&viewfull=1#post3514158)
51. Bravely Default (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514242#post3514242)
50. .hack//Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514309#post3514309)
49. Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514364&viewfull=1#post3514364)
48. Tekken 6 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514712&viewfull=1#post3514712)
47. Suikoden (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514742&viewfull=1#post3514742)
46. Record of Agarest War Zero (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514775&viewfull=1#post3514775)
45. Legend of Mana (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514892&viewfull=1#post3514892)
44. Rune Factory 3 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3514989&viewfull=1#post3514989)
43. Atelier Escha & Logy (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515048&viewfull=1#post3515048)
42. Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515149&viewfull=1#post3515149)
41. Atelier Meruru (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515286&viewfull=1#post3515286)
40. Kingdom Hearts II (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515319&viewfull=1#post3515319)
39. Girls Fashion Shoot (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515467#post3515467)
38. La Pucelle Tactics (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515543&viewfull=1#post3515543)
37. Hyperdimesnion Neptunia Victory (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515583&viewfull=1#post3515583)
36. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515741&viewfull=1#post3515741)
35. Xenoblade Chronicles (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515782&viewfull=1#post3515782)
34. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515814&viewfull=1#post3515814)
33. Fairy Fencer F (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3515965#post3515965)
32. Pokemon X (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516034&viewfull=1#post3516034)
31. Ape Escape 3 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516103#post3516103)
30. Tales of Vesperia (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516238&viewfull=1#post3516238)
29. Skies of Arcadia (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516306&viewfull=1#post3516306)
28. Record of Agarest War (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516341&viewfull=1#post3516341)
27. Final Fantasy IV (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516479#post3516479)
26. Tales of the Abyss (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516517&viewfull=1#post3516517)
25. Atelier Totori (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516545#post3516545)
24. Eternal Sonata (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516641&viewfull=1#post3516641)
23. Xenosaga Episode I (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516704&viewfull=1#post3516704)
22. Final Fantasy V (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516777&viewfull=1#post3516777)
21. Final Fantasy Tactics (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516901&viewfull=1#post3516901)
20. Dark Cloud (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3516984&viewfull=1#post3516984)
19. Suikoden III (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517034&viewfull=1#post3517034)
18. Star Ocean: The Last Hope (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517178&viewfull=1#post3517178)
17. Final Fantasy XIV (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517243&viewfull=1#post3517243)
16. Fire Emblem: Awakening (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517299#post3517299)
15. Final Fantasy X (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517427&viewfull=1#post3517427)
14. Final Fantasy XII (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517498&viewfull=1#post3517498)
13. Dragon Quest V (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517609#post3517609)
12. Xenosaga Episode III (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517822&viewfull=1#post3517822)
11. Tales of Xillia (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517936&viewfull=1#post3517936)
10. Tales of Xillia 2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3517963&viewfull=1#post3517963)
9. Chrono Trigger (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518086#post3518086)
8. Final Fantasy X-2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518150&viewfull=1#post3518150)
7. Suikoden II (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518188&viewfull=1#post3518188)
6. Suikoden V (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518296&viewfull=1#post3518296)
5. Tales of Symphonia (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518324&viewfull=1#post3518324)
4. Dark Cloud 2 (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518393&viewfull=1#post3518393)
3. Final Fantasy VIII (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518503&viewfull=1#post3518503)
2. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518545&viewfull=1#post3518545)
1. Final Fantasy IX (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/161484-Pumpkin-s-Top-Games-of-All-Time-Ever?p=3518591&viewfull=1#post3518591)

Games by system:

Mario (Power) Tennis (#64)
Pokemon Snap (#58)
Pokemon Stadium (#89)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (#2)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (#72)

Skies of Arcadia Legends (#29)
Tales of Symphonia (#5)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (#34)

Family Feud (#96)
Mario (Power) Tennis (#64)
PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (#68)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (#75)
Xenoblade Chronicles (#35)

Final Fantasy IV (#27)
Final Fantasy V (#22)
Pokemon LeafGreen (#94)

Chrono Trigger (#9)
Dragon Quest V (#13)
Dragon Quest IX (#82)
Family Feud (#96)
Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar (#69)
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (#81)
Luminous Arc 2 (#62)
Pokemon Diamond (#67)
Princess Debut (#87)
Rune Factory 3 (#44)
Super Scribblenauts (#70)

Animal Crossing New Leaf (#71)
Bravely Default (#51)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm (#66)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call (#59)
Girls Fashion Shoot (#39)
Pokemon X (#32)
Tomodachi Life (#65)

Driver (#95)
Final Fantasy V (#22)
Final Fantasy VII (#77)
Final Fantasy VIII (#3)
Final Fantasy IX (#1)
Final Fantasy Tactics (#21)
Legend of Mana (#45)
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (#88)
Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (#55)
Suikoden (#47)
Suikoden II (#7)
Tekken 2 (#79)
Tekken 3 (#57)
Xenogears (#73)

.hack//Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine (#50)
Ape Escape 3 (#31)
Dark Cloud (#20)
Dark Cloud 2 (#4)
Dawn of Mana (#76)
Final Fantasy X (#15)
Final Fantasy X-2 (#8)
Final Fantasy XII (#14)
Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas (#97)
Jak and Daxter (#92)
Kingdom Hearts II (#40)
La Pucelle Tactics (#38)
RPG Maker 3 (#86)
Soul Calibur II (#85)
Soul Calibur III (#84)
Suikoden III (#19)
Suikoden IV (#56)
Suikoden V (#6)
Tales of Legendia (#52)
Tales of the Abyss (#26)
Tekken Tag Tournament 1/2 (#54)
Xenosaga Episode I (#23)
Xenosaga Episode II (#60)
Xenosaga Episode III (#12)

Atelier Escha & Logy (#43)
Atelier Meruru (#41)
Atelier Totori (#25)
Doki Doki Universe (#80)
Fairy Fencer F (#33)
Final Fantasy XIII (#83)
Final Fantasy XIV (#17)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (#37)
Katamari Forever (#63)
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (#53)
Record of Agarest War Zero (#46)
Record of Agarest War 2 (#61)
Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (#42)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (#18)
Tales of Xillia (#11)
Tales of Xillia 2 (#10)
Tekken 6 (#48)
The Sims 3 (#78)

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (#36)
Final Fantasy Tactics (#21)
Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (#91)
Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns (#49)
Ys Seven (#74)

Don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story (#93)
The Promised Land (#90)

Eternal Sonata (#24)
Record of Agarest War (#28)
Tales of Vesperia (#30)

Games by genre (according mostly to Google):

Dawn of Mana (#76)
PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (#68)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (#2)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (#72)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (#34)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (#75)

Doki Doki Universe (#80)

.hack//Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine (#50)
Dark Cloud (#20)
Dark Cloud 2 (#4)
Kingdom Hearts II (#40)
Legend of Mana (#45)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (#18)
Xenoblade Chronicles (#35)
Ys Seven (#74)

Driver (#95)
Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas (#97)

Soul Calibur II (#85)
Soul Calibur III (#84)
Tekken 2 (#79)
Tekken 3 (#57)
Tekken 6 (#48)
Tekken Tag Tournament 1/2 (#54)

Family Feud (#96)

Final Fantasy XIV (#17)

Ape Escape 3 (#31)
Jak and Daxter (#92)
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (#88)
Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (#55)

Katamari Forever (#63)
Super Scribblenauts (#70)

Final Fantasy Theatrhythm (#66)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call (#59)

Atelier Escha & Logy (#43)
Atelier Meruru (#41)
Atelier Totori (#25)
Bravely Default (#51)
Chrono Trigger (#9)
Dragon Quest V (#13)
Dragon Quest IX (#82)
Eternal Sonata (#24)
Fairy Fencer F (#33)
Final Fantasy IV (#27)
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (#36)
Final Fantasy V (#22)
Final Fantasy VII (#77)
Final Fantasy VIII (#3)
Final Fantasy IX (#1)
Final Fantasy X (#15)
Final Fantasy X-2 (#8)
Final Fantasy XII (#14)
Final Fantasy XIII (#83)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (#37)
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (#53)
Pokemon Diamond (#67)
Pokemon LeafGreen (#94)
Pokemon X (#32)
Rune Factory 3 (#44)
Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (#42)
Skies of Arcadia Legends (#29)
Suikoden (#47)
Suikoden II (#7)
Suikoden III (#19)
Suikoden IV (#56)
Suikoden V (#6)
Tales of Legendia (#52)
Tales of Symphonia (#5)
Tales of the Abyss (#26)
Tales of Vesperia (#30)
Tales of Xillia (#11)
Tales of Xillia 2 (#10)
Xenogears (#73)
Xenosaga Episode I (#23)
Xenosaga Episode II (#60)
Xenosaga Episode III (#12)

Animal Crossing New Leaf (#71)
Girls Fashion Shoot (#39)
Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar (#69)
Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns (#49)
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (#81)
Pokemon Snap (#58)
Princess Debut (#87)
RPG Maker 3 (#86)
The Promised Land (#90)
The Sims 3 (#78)
Tomodachi Life (#65)

Mario (Power) Tennis (#64)

Pokemon Stadium (#89)

Final Fantasy Tactics (#21)
Fire Emblem: Awakening (#16)
La Pucelle Tactics (#38)
Luminous Arc 2 (#62)
Record of Agarest War (#28)
Record of Agarest War Zero (#46)
Record of Agarest War 2 (#61)

Don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story (#93)
Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (#91)

Games by series:

.hack//Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine (#50)

Record of Agarest War (#28)
Record of Agarest War Zero (#46)
Record of Agarest War 2 (#61)

Atelier Escha & Logy (#43)
Atelier Meruru (#41)
Atelier Totori (#25)

Dark Cloud (#20)
Dark Cloud 2 (#4)

Dragon Quest V (#13)
Dragon Quest IX (#82)

Final Fantasy IV (#27)
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (#36)
Final Fantasy V (#22)
Final Fantasy VII (#77)
Final Fantasy VIII (#3)
Final Fantasy IX (#1)
Final Fantasy X (#15)
Final Fantasy X-2 (#8)
Final Fantasy XII (#14)
Final Fantasy XIII (#83)
Final Fantasy XIV (#17)
Final Fantasy Tactics (#21)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm (#66)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call (#59)

Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas (#97)

Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar (#69)
Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns (#49)
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (#81)
Rune Factory 3 (#44)
Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (#42)

Dawn of Mana (#76)
Legend of Mana (#45)

Pokemon Diamond (#67)
Pokemon LeafGreen (#94)
Pokemon Snap (#58)
Pokemon Stadium (#89)
Pokemon X (#32)
PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (#68)

Soul Calibur II (#85)
Soul Calibur III (#84)

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (#88)
Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (#55)

Suikoden (#47)
Suikoden II (#7)
Suikoden III (#19)
Suikoden IV (#56)
Suikoden V (#6)

Tales of Legendia (#52)
Tales of Symphonia (#5)
Tales of the Abyss (#26)
Tales of Vesperia (#30)
Tales of Xillia (#11)
Tales of Xillia 2 (#10)

Tekken 2 (#79)
Tekken 3 (#57)
Tekken 6 (#48)
Tekken Tag Tournament 1/2 (#54)

Xenoblade Chronicles (#35)
Xenogears (#73)
Xenosaga Episode I (#23)
Xenosaga Episode II (#60)
Xenosaga Episode III (#12)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (#2)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (#72)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (#34)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (#75)

[Kyros]

Now I feel let down. I pretty much hated almost every character in FFIX, and the gameplay was way too slow. I was sorely disappointed in Zidane not dying at the end, which would have made me like the game a lot more. It also had a random, pointless last boss for no reason. How anyone likes FFIX for anything other than the music, chocobo hot/cold, and the AP system (I kinda liked it to an extent) is beyond me -_-

[Freya]

Re-read her post about it then and maybe it wont be so beyond you :D

[Pumpkin]

Everyone has different tastes. I love IX with a passion :monster:

[Karifean]

Haah, Final Fantasy IX. I only played you for the first time a few years back, when you were released on the European PS Store. Playing you was quite fun, but I don't have the kind of nostalgic feel I get playing VII. Naturally. I grew up with VII. Nonetheless I have utmost respect for you as a game and a story, and I'd go back to play you again any day. And I can wholeheartedly empathize with anyone who loves you for what you are.

Great list, Pumpkin. It was very enjoyable to read from start to finish, and although I skipped some games so as to not spoil them for myself, you really managed to convey your affection towards these games very well. Wonderful job.

Still, only two visual novels. Sigh. Maybe I should list my top visual novels sometime.

[Pumpkin]

Got the spoiler, thank you!

I'm glad you enjoyed it :D I would love to see a top VN list, it might give me some ideas for new ones to play. I always like ones with dating sims in them but I dun like the adult scenes so it's been a bit challenging to find some for my tastes

[Egami]

Oh, with closing credits and all...nice work Pumpkin! ;)

Hehe, I've been trying to consolidate my own favorite games list, brining it down to 50 titles. Finding the right order for the games is harder than coming up with the games themselves :p

[Freya]

Yeah totally do a VN one, I'll be all up in that. I need some new ones. I've gotta have english ones though cause yeah and same as pumpkin, it's hard to find non adult scenes ones.

[CimminyCricket]

I noticed Disgaea isn't on there. I'm going to assume that multiple high level space aliens have attacked you and stolen your copy preventing you from completing it and that's why it's not on your list.


:colbert:

[Slothy]

YES. This is why we're friends.

I have similar feelings about this.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Time to go get her more games so she can start another grand video game adventure. :kakapo:

[metagloria]

Games by system:

Mario (Power) Tennis (#64)
Pokemon Snap (#58)
Pokemon Stadium (#89)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (#2)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (#72)

Skies of Arcadia Legends (#29)
Tales of Symphonia (#5)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (#34)

Family Feud (#96)
Mario (Power) Tennis (#64)
PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (#68)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (#75)
Xenoblade Chronicles (#35)

Final Fantasy IV (#27)
Final Fantasy V (#22)
Pokemon LeafGreen (#94)

Chrono Trigger (#9)
Dragon Quest V (#13)
Dragon Quest IX (#82)
Family Feud (#96)
Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar (#69)
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (#81)
Luminous Arc 2 (#62)
Pokemon Diamond (#67)
Princess Debut (#87)
Rune Factory 3 (#44)
Super Scribblenauts (#70)

Animal Crossing New Leaf (#71)
Bravely Default (#51)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm (#66)
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call (#59)
Girls Fashion Shoot (#39)
Pokemon X (#32)
Tomodachi Life (#65)

Driver (#95)
Final Fantasy V (#22)
Final Fantasy VII (#77)
Final Fantasy VIII (#3)
Final Fantasy IX (#1)
Final Fantasy Tactics (#21)
Legend of Mana (#45)
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (#88)
Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (#55)
Suikoden (#47)
Suikoden II (#7)
Tekken 2 (#79)
Tekken 3 (#57)
Xenogears (#73)

.hack//Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine (#50)
Ape Escape 3 (#31)
Dark Cloud (#20)
Dark Cloud 2 (#4)
Dawn of Mana (#76)
Final Fantasy X (#15)
Final Fantasy X-2 (#8)
Final Fantasy XII (#14)
Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas (#97)
Jak and Daxter (#92)
Kingdom Hearts II (#40)
La Pucelle Tactics (#38)
RPG Maker 3 (#86)
Soul Calibur II (#85)
Soul Calibur III (#84)
Suikoden III (#19)
Suikoden IV (#56)
Suikoden V (#6)
Tales of Legendia (#52)
Tales of the Abyss (#26)
Tekken Tag Tournament 1/2 (#54)
Xenosaga Episode I (#23)
Xenosaga Episode II (#60)
Xenosaga Episode III (#12)

Atelier Escha & Logy (#43)
Atelier Meruru (#41)
Atelier Totori (#25)
Doki Doki Universe (#80)
Fairy Fencer F (#33)
Final Fantasy XIII (#83)
Final Fantasy XIV (#17)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (#37)
Katamari Forever (#63)
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (#53)
Record of Agarest War Zero (#46)
Record of Agarest War 2 (#61)
Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (#42)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (#18)
Tales of Xillia (#11)
Tales of Xillia 2 (#10)
Tekken 6 (#48)
The Sims 3 (#78)

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (#36)
Final Fantasy Tactics (#21)
Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (#91)
Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns (#49)
Ys Seven (#74)

Don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story (#93)
The Promised Land (#90)

Eternal Sonata (#24)
Record of Agarest War (#28)
Tales of Vesperia (#30)


SNES (0)

Pumpkin, this is a serious problem.

[Pumpkin]

I guess some of them can be played on the SNES but no I haven't played any on the SNES

I think I played the SNES once briefly. I've played the original Nintendo quite a bit though

[Egami]

SNES (0)

Pumpkin, this is a serious problem.

Oh my, list invalidated ipso facto! :p

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I have a few SNES games she's going to try eventually. Don't you worry!

We've got:
Illusion of Gaia
Super Metroid
Secret of Evermore
Zelda: LttP

There's some others floating around. I have an old NES and a copy of the first Zelda. I've actually never played it very much myself.