ToriJ's Top 20 Games

[Ayen]

Man, being able to make monsters from my DVD collection would be great. I only got about a kabillion different ones to choose from.

It's time for the Top Five! What will it be?

#5
Kotorbox.jpg
Why oh why isn't BioWare being brought in to help write the movies? This game's story put the prequels to shame, TO SHAME! Granted, that's not saying much but eh. KotOR came out back in 2003 for the Xbox and Microsoft Windows and brought with it a well crafted story, interesting characters, the best original character to be included in the expanded universe in a long time (HK-47) and the biggest plot twist since Darth Vader's, "I am your father!" line in the Empire Strikes Back. Once I started playing this game I couldn't stop until it was finished, even after all the times it crashed on my computer I kept coming back for more and saving all the time like a madman. It makes the Top Five easily for me.

[Pike]

I enjoyed KotOR but I always felt like it was more of a 4/5 game than a 5/5 game. I dunno, it was solid, but it just seemed to be missing some sort of extra spark for me. Am I the only one?

[Slothy]

I didn't really like KOTOR at all. Traveling around the Star Wars universe was nifty, and who doesn't love lightsabers? But the gameplay didn't excite me and I found the story awful to be honest. It wasn't that it was outright bad, it just kind of meandered around and was too predictable. The pacing just didn't sit well with me, and everyone went on about how amazing the plot twist was but all of the foreshadowing for it was so heavy handed that it seemed obvious to me within the first hour or two, and I only became more certain of it as it went along. By the time I got to the big reveal I just lost all interest.

I feel about the same about all Bioware writing though. They just don't do anything for me. Too predictable and more than a little boring in terms of pacing.

[Ayen]

Dilly Dally Shilly Shally.

And on that note.

#4
Final_Fantasy_VII_Box_Art.jpg
The first RPG and Final Fantasy game I ever played, also the first RPG and Final Fantasy I ever beat. Go figure. Plot in a nutshell: evil corporation fueled by corporate greed is draining the planet to make life easier for human life, save the planet! I know I'm oversimplifying as all hell but that's basically the gist of it. Oh and something about a guy with mother issues? Anyway, vast world to explore? Check. Evil corporation behind experiments that ruined people lives? Check. Love story? Kinda, sorta check, depends on your dialog options. Loveable yet annoying villains you run into repeatedly? Check. Fun gameplay and battle system? Check. Minigames? Check. An animal you're not sure is a part of the cat family? Check. -tosses checkbook- Love it or hate it, and I think the ratio between that has evened out through the years, VII does it job by getting people to talk about its characters and story years after coming out and can often still be found in official top ten lists along games like Ocarina of Time and Mass Effect (I forget which list that was...) And when you can still be as relevant today as the time you come out you know you're doing something right.

Three left to go.

[Jiro]

Knights of the Old Republic would've been even better if it was bigger, or like, finished. I think the first one also suffered from cut content and trout.

[Ayen]

I know at least one scene they cut from the game, not sure about others. Sadly I think the second game suffered from the same problems. Can't remember. I just remember a lot of people saying KotOR II was unfinished, which made no sense to me because why would you release an unfinished game? Unless they meant in content and not literally lacking an ending.

#3
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This was hard. So hard I considered lumping the entire series together. While I like how 2 did things better than 1, I went through the whole experience wishing I had the old crew back and that's where the first game eventually won out. I can get why some people wouldn't care about the pacing of the game. I like it because I like my story to breathe and take its time and I like getting to know the characters in question. I always took the time to speak to each character in-between missions and such. I also think the romance had a bigger pay off since it was just the one love scene and fewer options. I don't hate the romances in 2 and 3 (you know how hard it was to stay loyal to Liara when Garrus became a romance option?) I just think there's only so many ways you can do a love scene that having one is a lot better than a bunch.

Fair warning: the leap between controls from 1 to 2 is a fairly big leap. It took me a while to get used to 2's controls again after spending time on the first game. I don't remember the EA logo on my copy of the game, though. Why is it so hard to find good pictures for game cover art? -_-

[Madame Adequate]

Oh snap Evil Zone is not a game I expected to see on this list I r8 you an 8/8

KOTOR 1 had unfinished content, but it was a complete game. 2 was a better game, just not one they finished, because there isn't a developer on the planet that doesn't actively try to screw Obsidian over.

[Ayen]

BioWare generally know how to improve upon their games with the sequels, it's one of the reasons I respect them as a development team.

#2
Metal_Gear_Solid_cover_art.png
I wrote a review of this game last month and touched on a lot of things I liked about the game, I'll try to sum it up here: Metal Gear Solid was one of the first games I remember playing that showed games could be more than what they were, as it was a Motion Picture in its own right. It made you feel for the characters, even if they were a boss you just beat, knew all the right buttons to press on the emotional scale and had a lot fun Easter eggs to boot. It was also surprisingly educational as I learned more about genes, nukes, weapons and war without even realizing it. This was an easy choice for the Top Five for me.

One more game

[Pike]

MGS is good stuff.

[Ayen]

Annnnnnnd the number one game in my Top #20 list is....

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-gives Vivi a handkerchief-

#1
final-fantasy-x-box.jpg
LET ME TASTE YOUR TEARS EOFF!

Final Fantasy X was the game changer, introducing the franchise to PlayStation 2 and voice acting and they spared no expense on the voice acting part. It has the enriching world of Spira which holds many parallels to our own world: a religion that controls the massive, prejudice against the closest thing the game has to Mexicans, denying certain advancement because of fear of divine punishment and they take their sports game VERY seriously. Most of all it has characters I can actually relate to, Yuna being the main one. I like the story which comes with more religious symbolism through trying to cleanse the world of 'sin'. I like how Yuna is basically a Christ symbol in this for that reason. I like how summoning and summoners are actually an integral part of the game and not just anyone can be one. And I love the twist at the end (SPOILER)with Auron being dead this whole time. You may spend your time wishing you could be another character, but as the person on the outside looking in as the player is Tidus serves his purpose just fine. And I'm a sucker for Godzilla size monsters wrecking trout whenever they can. The game left me wanting more.

[Shauna]

*Seal of Approval*

I dunno if I'd have FFX being my favourite game ever, but it is up there.

[Loony BoB]

Your signature is an appropriate end to that post, because you should be smurfing sorry.

[Ayen]

Your signature is an appropriate end to that post, because you should be smurfing sorry.

[Madame Adequate]

This is glorious and you are wonderful.

[Bolivar]

FFX is a groundbreaking achievement and I'm sorry for anyone who can't enjoy it!