Pumpkin's Top Games of All Time Ever

[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)
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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.

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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.

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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.

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That's deep

Tomorrow we start on the top 30!!!

[Madame Adequate]

oh snap Ape Escape I played the trout 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 Eoz9Lvp.png
Honourable mentions: Repede, Judith, Yuri 9OHtD3D.jpgTrGpWRy.pngW4kKFIW.jpg

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.

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[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)
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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).

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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. (SPOILER)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.

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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.

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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.

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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 NbBQ8Eu.jpg
Honourable mentions: Vyse, Aika nvk1KXF.jpgO86mtRe.gif


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.

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[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)
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 8EkRGFy.jpgrXts80Z.jpg
Honourable mentions: Vira-Lorr, Lavinia s2wxkuC.jpghJCrFkt.png

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.

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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)
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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.

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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, (SPOILER)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.

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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.

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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.

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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, (SPOILER)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 gftu6gD.jpg
Honourable mentions: Rosa, Cid Fm7hKpW.jpg8zZClSO.png

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.

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[sharkythesharkdogg]

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

[Pumpkin]

26. Tales of the Abyss (PlayStation 2)
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 OwZc5Cr.jpg
Honourable mention: Mieu myyz6af.jpg

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.

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[Skyblade]

My favorite Tales game.

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