The fact that septerra core is on this list, period, made me smile.
The fact that septerra core is on this list, period, made me smile.
I just read this now, so I have some catching up to do.
I like that you have La Pucelle: Tactics on there. I'm playing it right now and it's a really good, fun game.
I'm sorry to hear you didn't like Final Fantasy II or X. They definitely have their flaws but I still like them and enjoy playing them. Maybe not as much as some of the others, but they're still good games.
I like Final Fantasy VIII.
I don't think there's anything wrong with where you placed VII. I actually think it's lower end for a Final Fantasy game. That being said, it's still a Final Fantasy game (I think there's only been one I've played that I didn't like or enjoy in some way) and is still better than some games I've played.
It's also a shame you didn't like Xenogears. I read the game script and the story was very interesting and engaging. I liked a lot of the characters. To tell the truth though, I have since acquired a copy of the game, so I can actually play it, and I never get far before I get bored. Not sure why.
I guess since you recently played the Suikoden games, they probably won't be on your list that you made a few months ago, but this would be high up for me. Well, most of them. I lost most of mine in the move, but I kept II (it was too expensive and rare to lose) and my boyfriend has III, and I bought I back about two days ago. Now I want V, because it was a very good game. Play V, Mike.
I look forward to seeing how high up on the list Final Fantasy IX is.
I was pondering where Suikoden 1 and 2 would be put on the list, but you are right in that it won't be appearing. Anything I played this year won't be. I'm guessing that I would place 1 just ahead of Trinity Universe, which is my 100 Spot, and 2 just past Borderlands 2, replacing it at 66. Perhaps I'd set it higher after my next playthrough of it, which I shall likely embark on soon.
And I'm glad to see one of the worlds few remaining Septerra fans here Pauper.
To the next games!
24. Fallout: New Vegas (PS3/360/PC)
For all you nay-sayers out there that said I didn’t get the point of a Open World RPG, I use this title to tell you to go smurf yourselves. This has all the things that the big open world RPG’s get praised for, and all of that comes without the need to sacrifice a great plot to do it.
The opening scene of New Vegas was one of the best openings I have seen in a video game. Benny was absolutely wonderful, and I loved how he actually looked you in the eyes and the dialogue he had before shooting you and burying you. And even though I wanted to make him pay, and I traveled all the way to New Vegas, I couldn’t bring myself to kill Benny. So instead I smurfed him.
The choices you make in New Vegas really seem to matter as well. There are so many things going on in the world, and at games completion I loved hearing how all of my actions resulted, whether or not it had to do with the main story. This is the most invested I had ever been in an open world RPG.
And the characters were terrific. While a personal favorite is Veronica, I give major props to Arcade Gannon for having the best endings in the game, as no matter what you do in some way or another Gannon shows himself to be a freakin’ bad ass. Best part? Both gay Characters, and in no way were they shown in a stereotypical light.
And yes, while the game is glitchy as all hell, it doesn’t stop the gameplay from being really solid. Like any open world game, you are given a ridiculous amount of customization over your character, and the Perk System was wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, a smart player will figure out easy ways to abuse the system, but at the very least it comes with a lot of thought and planning to do so, and isn’t something you’re going to just pull off right out of the gate. (Well, at least I didn’t).
All the weird things of New Vegas to discover were wonderful too. I think I had the most fun traveling through the Vault where you discovered some everyone in it had died, and there was some kind of Civil War going on over sacrifices being made to the Computer to keep food and water coming. I won’t spoil it, but dear god was it hilarious and smurfed up when you get to the bottom and find out what happened.
In short, greatest of the Open World RPG genre, even if you didn’t like Elder Scrolls, much like myself, this is a great one to go check out.
23. Rune Factory 3 (DS)
This is a game whose focus is farming and getting married, as well as finding out who you are and why you are here because of your amnesia. And there’s some pretty solid dungeon crawling gameplay! And if you are not already fascinated by the concept, I can’t say I’m surprised cause it sounds smurfing awful. Really, Rune Factory and Harvest Moon on a whole are almost impossible to make sound enjoyable.
What I could start with is saying there is a big variety of crops to grow! Though that really does nothing to help sell this game to people who don’t already enjoy the series. The combat is really good though! But in the end when compared with games with a combat focus it doesn’t amount to much more then functional and a bit quirky, but there really isn’t a game out there it beats out, so you can’t really use this as a major selling point either.
Rune Factory just has this bizarre nature to it that you get in to your role as this farmer/Monster Fighter/Family man. Where this game shines more then any other in the series, however, is the quality of the writing. Every relationship you build in this game feels genuine and is fun. You play as a guy who is actually, personality wise, a very normal guy. He is pretty much the only normal person though, and he’s dropped in this world of these strange and bizzare people.
As your relationships build, he begins accepting the bizarre nature however, and while he retains his own normality, fit’s in very well in this land of weirdo’s and crazies. And better yet none of them are just weird, they have a lot of personality to them. Some of their stories can even be down right sad and depressing. This is likely the only game I have ever played in which I can honestly say I don’t dislike a single character, and considering the massive cast that’s impressive. And I believe it was twelve of which of them are marry-able!
The story is actually pretty good too. There is an actually over-arching plot going on that, while nothing amazing, does a good job at keeping you interested in progressing the story, and adding to the over all feel and flavor of the world.
Benny... I had the poor bastard crucified. I was so very hungry for revenge after he smurfed me over twice but I felt a bit guilty seeing him up on the cross. On the other hand, having his suit was pretty ring-a-ding, baby.
As for Veronica and Arcade, they were good characters first and that they were homosexual was secondary. Great writing. It was also cool that you could make your own character gay. Actually, maybe you could make them bi too, I never tried.
22. Demon’s Souls (PS3)
This game reminded me of something very personal about myself, something I had started to forget in the gaming landscape of the time. What it reminded me of was I was a masochist who reveled at the sight of my own suffering. ANd Demon’s Souls was a harsh and wonderful mistress indeed. This game would never relent, for any reason.
Then there is the level design. Beginning to end this game holds a dark and dreary atmosphere that really draws you in. And I can’t think of anything in the game that doesn’t look, at the very least, above average.
Now, I admit to being a bit unfair in this games high ranking, as I was sold on the incredible difficulty of the game. This comes with the game having a way of being pure frustrating at times, though it’s not often the game feels just plain unfair (Though the Poison Swamps are nothing more then a pain in the ass.) The controls can feel stiff and unresponsive at times as well, though nothing terrible.
Then the lack of story. Mind you, the story isn’t bad, it just ends up feeling like it’s not important. That really get’s bothersome with the world shifting alignment based on your actions. It’s an very difficult aspect to control, as it’s affected by your mortality rate, which is garunted to be high. Still though, I forgive these flaws and look fondly upon a game that didn’t try to holding your hand through the game and gave you an experience no other game was offering at the time.
21. Muramasa (Wii)
This game is best described as poetry in motion. The animations and models are all absolutely wonderful in this game, and is a prime example of how Art Design will always beat out graphics. With their unique style, Vanillaware gives us one of the best experiences of this console generation.
Showing their is still some life left in the genre of the side scroller, Muramasa tells the story of two separate people who, for one reason or another, are fighting against all forms of man and demon. The stories are very intriguing and characters are well written.
There are a lot of fun ways to upgrade your weapon based off your playstyle. True, the difference isn’t huge, but still noticeable and appreciated. Most of the difference comes between the two characters more so then the weapon selection you go with. This keeps both stories enjoyable to play though.
There are a total of 3 endings for each character, the second un lockable ending being a personal favorite for each character. The game also includes a a varied amount of levels, a few of which have some fun and unique way’s to progress compared to others, though they don’t really do much to change up the gameplay. Mind you, the gameplay is fun enough it does not really need much to change it up. If you have a Wii, get this game. It was absolutely wonderful.
No, I haven't played them, either.
Woo, top 20, here we come!
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
I put DS on my top 10 ps3 games. It came at a time when ps3 fans were admittedly hurting for RPGs and I kinda overdelvered. I dont really vibe with action rpg's, I prefer classic, tactical gameplay but this one brought me back to ghouls n ghosts in my genesis days. Its all about learning a level, mastering the system, and the reward of a challenge. The dungeons were also well done with puzzles, traps, levers and creepy stuff like a claustrophobic cavern with a giant fire slug filling it up and slowly squirming towards you.
Part of me is excited to see if there will be another 20 games that you have not played!Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Also....
Quick notes on games I forgot to list and about where they would be ----
I look forward to seeing what the top 10 are. Granted, I don't agree with a lot of the list(particularly about Xenogears which is one of my top 5 RPGs), but I still enjoy seeing views that are so drastically different from my own.
You have a Persona 4 avatar so I'm going to assume that you'll rank that game highly. So we'll agree on that at least. I also liked seeing Mother 3 get some love; kudos to you for that.
Last edited by Bright Shield; 04-22-2013 at 08:46 PM.
"Repent your sins through death!" - Ramirez - Skies of Arcadia
"Ah, Demon's Souls! Brings back fond memories."
"Wasn't that the game that distracted you
from your plans to destroy humanity or
something? I think I recall there being a
thread about it on villain boards."
"Ah... yes... that. You mean this thread, don't you:"
VillainBoardThread0a.jpg
"I think Sauron and Kefka are still pretty
pissed off at me for it. Can't say I blame
them. But I got Dracula to start playing too
so at least someone on there understands."
@Bright Shield - Yeah, I've come to except I'm one of the only people who hates Xenogears. Hell, if I didn't want this thread to be 90% me arguing that I would have kept responding to Wolf.
Oh, and Speaking of Dark Souls....
20. Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64)
What you do is Take Ocarina of Time and think about everything in that game that was good. For Majora’s Mask, make all of that even better then it was before. This game was an amazing upgrade to an already solid title, and did a lot to add to the mechanics.
The big one, of course, was the masks that changed your race. Between Link, The Deku, The Goron, and Zoran you had a lot of different ways link would be played throughout. Not to mention all the effects different masks would offer, even the non transformation ones.
There are two other things that sold me though. Firstly being the story. The towns and world have never felt as lively in Zelda as they did in Majora’s Mask. It felt like so much more work had gone into making you care about the lives around you, and it really helped to make the plot seem important. Not to mention a great Villain in Majora’s Mask and it’s fairly tragic Puppet. They went a much more original route this run, and I loved the change from Gannon as the villain.
The other big thing was the Time Travel Mechanic, resetting the world every three days. I had never seen a Mechanic quite like this in a game, and it made sense in terms of story. Hell, it added a lot to the Narrative and Atmosphere. This, for me, was the most unique and refined title offered up by Zelda and a big part was due to this very mechanic.
Best of all this ending up being the most challenging
Zelda launched. And, of course, a person who enjoys a good challenge this is a big plus for me. So yes, best Zelda game created ever.
19. Dark Souls (PS3/360/PC)
I admit to probably over-ranking Demon Souls since it came out at a time which I felt there wasn’t really a challenge in the games getting released, but in no way do I feel I am over rating Dark Souls. What this game is gameplay wise is Demon Soul’s with practically all of the systems improved upon and smoothed out.
In addition the story and world are more detailed and developed then Demons Souls was. There is a lot more personality amongst the NPC’s this time around, though that isn’t may favorite improvement.
That honor goes to the art design. If I were judging this purely on aesthetic appeal, Dark Soul’s would be the number one on my list. There is not a single place in this game that doesn’t look wonderful. So much variety and color compared to the last game, and still manages to create a better atmosphere and feel. A personal favorite monster design is tied between the Maw Dragon and what I dub the most awkward boner I’ve ever gotten, Chaos Witch Quelaag.
Even the equipment upgrade system became better, being more user friendly then It was before. The difficulty is still very high, yet unlike Demon Soul’s it never feels like the game was being cheap and unfair. Then there is one more odd thing to note on this game, and that is the community.
I have never scene such a nice community in an online game in my life. So willing to help people out, and more so then necessary. All you need to do in the online is assist people in progressing the level, yet this guy just gives me a +5 Lighting weapon. The online guys even put themselves in harms way prior to you. Usually to detriment of themselves. True, if you die when summoning mission ends, but it’s not like they get anything if they die either. There is this odd comradely that comes from the games difficulty, and it’s smurfing wonderful. Get this trout now.
^I definitely agree with Majora's Mask being the best Zelda game.
It's cool to have views that are different from everyone else as well. I get crap once in a while for saying that Devil Survivor 2 is the best strategy RPG ever. Even though barely anyone has played the game. If we all agreed, there would be nothing to talk about.
"Repent your sins through death!" - Ramirez - Skies of Arcadia
18. Your Mom
This game is a huge guilty pleasure for me. It’s pretty universally detested, and for fair reason. There isn’t really much at all to like here. Still though, it has kind of this bizarre charm for me. I’ll do my best to explain it.
Compared to a lot of other games I’ve listed, this doens’t really pose much of a challenge. Though perhaps that’s part of it. When I’ve spent a lot of time putting in the effort of over coming a challenge, sometimes it’s nice to just go in and get it done without hassle.
There is also a lot there. In terms of shear volume, no game comes close to this one. You could spend hours and hours looking, and never find everything that exists within this games girth. True, most of it is pretty loose and sloppy, part of me can still appreciate it’s existence.
Really though, the biggest gripe I have is the ending. No matter how you go about it, you never feel satisfied upon completion. Maybe this is because so many other people have done it with no effort, it doesn’t really feel like you’ve accomplished anything. Though still, when you’re out of other things to do, at least it’s always ready and available for you to give it a spin.
Fine, no one play along with my April Fools.
18. Dark Cloud 2/Chronicles (PS2)
Okay Level 5, I love you guys. This is one of the best development studios out right now, and even their games that don’t go over to well still get praised for trying new and unique things. And for me, Dark Cloud 2 is the greatest game they have launched. In so many ways this game is absolutely brilliant. Though not to say it’s flawless by any means.
The Story is an interesting one to judge. The overall plot is pretty good, but nothing great. Where this game shines are the story arc’s presented in each area. The restoration of the origin points of things in the future is just wonderful, and do so much to flesh out the world it takes place in. The highlight for me being Crest, The Great Sage. Not only does it perfectly paint why Crest was so revered in the future, and just why so many people cared about him, but it comes with a big twist at the end of the arc.
The town building you do to restore the Origin Points is also wonderful. You don’t have as much freedom to do whatever you want with the town as I would have liked, as you need to restore certain features, but still it’s so fun creating the towns and gathering recruits.
This game is full of all sorts of trout to do. You have your Town Building, Fishing minigames, Fish Raising, Spheda, Weapon Synthesizing, and the normal gameplay itself. And all of this is fun. This is a long ass game with a lot to do to keep you occupied. And there’s benefits for doing all of them as well, giving you some incentive!
If there is something about the game that holds it back, however, it’s not very balanced between your characters. Mostly the Ridepod is able to handle pretty much every situation the game could possibly throw at you. Compare that to Monica’s Transformations, which are just pathetic. Melee weapon between Max and Monica is debatable as to whose could be better, but Max’s Gun is far superior to Monica’s Magic Armlet.
Still though, the con’s aren’t really to big of a deal, and the positives are huge. I’ll be happy if this ever get’s a PSN launch.
17.
This right here is DQ at it’s finest. The Idea of the story being so vast it takes place from the time you are a child who can’t even read, all the way up until you have children of your own was wonderful. This game get’s credit just for having such a big Idea and implementing it well.
I do specify the ‘Hand of the Heavenly Bride’ due to having once played the non-DS remake on a fan translation I barely made it into before losing interest. Not because it was bad by any means, I just had things going on at the time. Plus the new bride is awesome.
Anyway, one thing I loved is being able to capture all the different monsters of the world to form your parties. Hell, I even liked how various creatures had level limits imposed on them. You’ll find yourself constantly updating your party, yet there still remains a lot of options on how to build it.
There was never really a huge twist as far as plot goes, but that’s not to say it’s not good. Plenty of enjoyable characters, appropriately evil villains, no plot holes I can think of, and well executed, the story accomplishes all that it needs too.
And the puns are smurfing hilarious to me. When I reached The Abby of the Above, I almost peed myself in laughter when I spoke to The Nuns of the Above. These games just revel in how delightfully cheesy their puns are.
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