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12 - Not played.
I actually own and have played some of one of the BoF series. I think it's number five? Either way, I don't know exactly why I never got that far into it, I can only imagine I was distracted by other games or just life in general. It seemed alright and I really would have liked to get a lot further than I did. Just too many games on the backburner, I think. :(
Breath of Fire 2 is a really good game, but I definitely preferred 3.
I will respond kindly to your assessment in due time but right now, school projects are kicking my ass so I'm going to be a bit busy for awhile, I just wanted to pop in to show you this news article I found the day you posted your BoFII post that mentions Breath of Fire II.
WARNING, this article contains some major spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles as well so if anyone hasn't played the game yet but still intends to do so, you might want to give the article a pass.
Greg Perreault: Killing God in Video Games
Yeah, this ones going to get a lot of flak for being so high on the list. :p
Also, that article was fun.
11. Record of the Agarest War (PS3/360)
First off, for those who saw the trailer, no, this game is not entirely focused on Fan Service. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, this game is solid, and very unique in it’s story. Not so much the overarching plot, but more the execution.
This game spans five generations. Our hero makes a vow that will keep him alive to fulfill a promise, and as a result a burden is placed on him and future generations of his family. You play through five generations of the family, each one being a full story in it’s own right, all while building up to that fifth generations finale. And each generations story is great.
The only real weak point for me is Generation fours hero is a smurfing tool. Though it is amusing that most of your party treats him like he’s useless half the time, so there is some compensation there. He’s not bad by the end of the generation, but he’s it doesn’t really make up for it. On the other side, we have Generation 3 with the greatest main character in the game, Thoma. He’s amazing as a character, and I was sadder at the end of that generation then any other point in the game.
The character relationships and interactions in this game are handled amazingly well. It has a huge cast of characters, really only comparable with games like Suikoden in shear volume. It also does a comparable job at giving all of these characters personality and story, and in a lot of instances the shear length of the game allows it to do even better. I love the premise your relationship with your potential spouse is based on more then just your interactions towards them, but also general choices you make in how to proceed.
Gameplay is great. I love teaming up multiple guys and performing a huge variety of combination attacks. By end of third generation you have a pretty set way of handling fights though, but a continuation of characters getting added in there are still ways to keep changing up your strategy by small bits.
And this game’s difficulty can get pretty damn brutal at times. Midas from Generation three is a damn beast of a man, but the final defeat of him was so wonderfully satisfying. After him the difficulty tones itself down a lot, but a great chunk of the game keeps the heat up. Of course difficulty comes in for more then just battles. The game keeps track of turns used, and if you take to long you can actually miss out on different aspects of the game.
It also comes with a great sense of humor, and very great comedic timing. Never does the comedy disrupt the games serious moments, something that bothers the hell out of me is some games. Not a huge point, but something worth mentioning I think.
Finally, I like the ‘morality system’ if you can call it that. Rather then a complete overhaul of character, it’s more a lean your character takes on how things should be handled. It’s well handled in that your choices matter, and your character still holds on to his strong and distinct personality. Amazing SRPG right here.
^I never got around to playing that one.
11 - Not played.
10. The Adventures of Hammy Hamster: Return to Bum Tickle Cove (PS3/360)
When we last saw Hammy Hamster and his furry friends, they had escaped the clutches of the evil Captain Irrelevant using a combination of sleep powder and marmite. Of course, they had come away empty handed. The fabled Saucepan of Destiny was still locked away in the hidden vault on the island. It is time now for the intrepid Hammy to gather his strength and return to claim what is rightfully no-ones.
I don't think that anyone can really argue with the fact that this game sneaked into the top ten ahead of more notable, real and clearly better games, but it is personal choice after all. The fluid combination of classic RPG, puzzle-solving, anal stimulation and action elements give this a completely unique feel.
10/10.
EDIT: Sorry, Mr Cracker, couldn't resist! Like BoB though, I haven't played (or heard of) half of these games! I clearly need to expand my gaming knowledge.
Alternatively, NeoCracker has made a list of games that leave out some absolute delights (I'm losing hope for the top ten having all ten games I think should be in it... :p) in favour of obscure games that are obscure for a reason. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubba
I am only offended by the lack of effort to properly emulate my posting style in your parody sir. :colbert:
And If by 'obscure for a reason' you mean 'obscure because you mongaloids lack any real culture or desire to leave your comfort zone'.
Go back to your cookie cutter, AAA titles that the magazines tell you to like! Imma talk about Devil Survivor instead.
10. Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Survivor 2 (DS)
Once again I end up with a game here for simply doing everything better then it’s predecessor more so then adding something new and shiny. Like I said before, BoF 2 up through what will be my #4 are practically interchangeable, though from a purely objective standpoint, I don’t know if it can be argued that Agarest War is on equal terms with Devil Survivor 2, which ends up being the reason it was selected for the higher spot.
It added so much strategy with the new abilities that were learn able, and wonderful set up to build your relationships with various characters. Also it’s one of the strongest casts Shin Megami has given us, a personal favorite being Joe. He’s one of the best examples I’ve scene of a character who is way smarter then they present themselves. And, without spoiling anything, I will say there is a party divide at one point, and of anyone he probably has one of the most irrefutable reasons to go the way he does, and is one of the games strongest show of character. If you have a DS and like the SRPG’s, get into this one.
Though in the end I can’t say anything else I haven’t already said about the first DS, so instead I’ll give you one of the funniest bit’s I’ve ever scene in a game, ever really. When going off to see his hospitalized Girlfriend, Joe begin’s Singing Dick in a Box.
Sometimes AAA games are good. Shocking, I know!
But you don't even have Chuck Yeager Air Combat in this thing, so it's clearly ridiculous.
NeoCracker's Top 100 Games, aka Insert Anime Characters. ;)
EDIT: Tensei, I think, not Tensai? Going by my search results, anyway.
'Sometimes' being the key word here. :p
And I hate air combat games.
ANd besides, I have a couple more conventional titles in the top ten. :p
This is definitely the most hipster of top games lists.
You know, this makes me smile a bit on the inside for some reason. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Happy Noodle Boy
Edit: @BoB Spelling things correctly is for squares.
Devil Survivor 2 is an amazing game. Episode 1 of the anime just aired if you are interested.
9. Xenoblade Chronicles
The only real problem that this game has is that it made no use of motion controls, and as a result would have handled better on any other console. This game was massive in scale and amazingly well written, and easily the best game on the Wii.
The combat has a lot of variety based on how you decide to level your abilities throughout the game, and the skill load out you end up going with, in addition to the way you build your character trees themselves. An example being Dunban has a tree which gives him insane evasion for building yourself on a no-armor build.
You even gain access to new abilities that other characters have by building up different character relationships, which brings up the next great thing about this game, building relationships and Heart to Hearts. The Heart to Heart moments do so much to build a feeling of comradely throughout the game, and add more to all the characters involved. I feel I know more about the individual characters of this game then just about any other game out there.
And it may take a while, but it definitely feels like a story written by Monolith. Fei of Xenogears being the only real exception, they do have trouble making the main character that interesting as a character. Still though Shulk does the job well enough, and his actually story and history is engaging. That’s something that holds true for all characters though, the engaging parts anyway. Well, except one, but I’ll get to that.
The questing in this game is also insane, mostly to the games benefit. They actually do the side quests very well, and they feel more like they add life and variety to the game and towns, and the places you start to gain a feel and personality. However, the questing gets a bit to meh at times. It can feel especially pointless as you can, at times, finish quests before even getting to the person who gives it to you. A fair amount of them start to feel silly and pointless, though in the end more good comes from it then anything. It wouldn’t take much refinement to work out the kinks.
Ignoring the flat faces, which mind you are a bit bothersome, the world and people look amazing. Once again we see a game that shows how much more important art design is to graphics. The details and scale of the things you fight are marvelous.
There is really only one big issue I have with this game, and dear god is it something that pisses me off to no end. However, I will spoil this, as even mentioning it will ruin something that happens a fair way into the game. I suggest if you are playing through now, or intend to soon, you don’t unspoiler this until you’ve reached a certain village floating in the water. :p
(SPOILER)smurf Fiora. Seriously, she is bar none the worse part of this game. She is boring, stereotypical, and once Lady Mayneth is no longer a part of her, her soul reason to stay around is she is Shulks Child hood friend, and therefore love interest. A trope I hate to no end. That’s the problem too, is that all she amounts to as a character is that.
This alone wouldn’t bother me were it not for this next part, the game basically straight out says that as a person Fiora is stronger then Melia. When the game tried to push this on me, I wanted to stab someone in the smurfing throat.
Melia effectively deals with more trout then any other character in the game. It’s as if the gods themselves go out of their way to trout all over her, yet still she is able to stay hold on, even managing to push her own feelings and desires aside in order to make things right. There is no one in this game stronger them Melia, especially not some dull and badly written Child Hood love interest.
Rant out of the way, still an amazing title. From beginning to end, outside of a few bumps here and their due to some odd writing decisions, there really is no way to go wrong with this title.