I read that as Tony Hawk and got confused when I looked at the picture.
I read that as Tony Hawk and got confused when I looked at the picture.
#10:
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Vagrant Story
This classic underdog RPG takes the following awards with great honour:
‘Best PS1 RPG’
‘Best sound design’
‘Most girly names for male characters and that’s ok’
‘Most crafty weapon upgrade system’
‘Best great hammers & great axes’
When I was 12 years old I borrowed Vagrant Story from a friend. I ventured into Lea Monde and bravely fought my way through the first few areas where I was blown away by both the creepiness and awesomeness. Unfortunately my poor English at the time left me completely clueless about the weapon system and the Ogre boss halted my progress. I literally had no idea what I was doing with my axes and swords.
For ten years the game lingered in the back of my head as that awesome RPG I couldn’t beat. But then it showed up on the PSN and I plotted my revenge. It all made sense now and with great joy and anxiety I once again traversed the dark world of Lea Monde. The sigh of relief when finding a save point, that merciful feeling when coming across a workshop, or even that moment of joy of finally rising to the surface where the sun is shining after spending hours and hours in the dark depths all made this game truly memorable.
The characters and their dark mysteries are intriguing and the game is not afraid of taking them through unexpected plot twists. The balance between dungeon crawling, puzzling, cutscenes and crafting in the workshops makes for awesome pacing. The ending left me satisfied too, and I really sympathised for the character the game makes you believe is the enemy for 95% of the story.
I really admire this classic RPG.
You know what's great about the PS1? The fact you can spot a PS1 game from a mile away.
Atmosphere over graphics brother, Vagrant Story was really good looking at the time and the atmosphere they have created still works to this day.Originally Posted by ToriJ
I probably should have phrased my post better, but I wasn't knocking it. I just honestly preferred back when you could tell which game came for what. PS1 and N64 games had their own look that was unique for that system. Nowadays I honestly don't see a difference even between the exclusives.
Ah, I see what you mean now. I guess nowadays only wii/wii-u titles are sometimes distinguishable.
#9:
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SSX3
This insanely big snowboard game grabbed the following awards mid-air:
'Most awesome mountain experience'
'Biggest tricks'
'Most epic peak to bottom race'
'Most fire coming from a snowboard'
Go where ever you want to go, whatever you want to do. Things are cruisy here:
With Tricky already on #20 we have SSX3 cranking everything up to level insanity and comes in at #9. The biggest difference compared to it’s predecessor is the freedom you get in conquering the mountain. Races, challenges, collectibles, freestyle events: while you shred the slopes you come across all kinds of things to do. Believe it or not, it makes for a lot more life-like mountain experience.
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LET'S GET THAT SUPER UBER! Also: "Ooh, colours!"
In the winter of 2011/2012 I spent three months in Whistler Blackcomb, BC, Canada. This is one of the biggest ski areas in the world and here I noticed where the inspiration for SSX3 came from. Coming down from the peak all the way to the bottom feels very similar to the game. You start out at the rocky peaks, then move down into the trees, you pass the freestyle terrain park and border cross, and finish in a run that ends right in the heart of the village. Like the game, this takes anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes depending on what route you take. How awesome is that?
Even the game’s radio host sounds exactly like the host on the official Whistler Mountain FM.
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I only wished there was a higher difficulty setting for the races. Other than that SSX3 gets a near perfect score.
I only ever played the first SSX on PS2 but it was ridiculous amounts of fun. The only other snowboarding game I'd played was the mini-game from FFVII.
It was a bit of a step up!
I know, right? FFVII had the best snowboarding ever. They could have made it a full game.
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I just picked up Vagrant Story. We'll see if I like it as much as you!
I really need to play some of the SSX games again someday.
Good choice brother! I hope so too.
Are you playing with a guide? If not (and that's the way I'd recommend it), here's a vital tip: turn on something in the settings that says: 'weapon notifications' or something similar. It'll show you an important feature of how the weapon system works! And try using one specific weapon for each different class of enemy.
streme Wheelie
Recognized Member
Vagrant Story is one of those games I just missed the train for but I'm keen to pick it up one day, even if it is dated, because I feel like it's an important part of Square's illustrious history
I don't know if I'll like the battle system based on the little I've played today. Seems like it could be fun. I'll have to remember your tip when I get into it next. As of now I'm playing without a guide but I might use one eventually if I get stuck or something. The characters and world seem pretty interesting and I think I'll like the story. It also looks pretty good for a PS1 game. Kind of makes me think of MGS in a weird way... probably with just how cinematic everything feels.
Can't go wrong with this one brother, trust me
I had the same MGS-vibe feeling when I got back in the gameI really love Vagrant Story's battle system, the chaining works like a charm and there are so many abilities to unlock.
#8:
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Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Tommy Vercetti picked up the following awards personally:
'Most cruisy boulevard'
'Best hotel room'
'Most atmospheric city'
'Most roller skating bikini girls'
'Best mafia real estate sim'
'Best rock radio channel'
One of my best friends and me were insanely hyped for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Luckily it surpassed all our expectations by a mile and after playing through all over again about year ago I can happily say it still is an incredible game.
None of that modern GTA stuff I don’t like, hurray! Scriptedness is held to a minimum and so are rubber banding, hand holding and one-man-army-ism (to a certain extend). The missions boast more freedom than any other GTA to let our creative minds get to work and that’s exactly the way I like it. Finishing a mission the way I want to with whatever I want to use gives an extra sense of accomplishment.
With a compelling story, a ton of sidequests, the most successful humour in the series, a good climax and near-perfect pacing I think I spent at least 500 hours in Vice City and I loved every minute of it. It came to a point where my buddy and me came up with our own challenges as if getting 100% wasn’t enough. And I got 100%. Twice. It was that good.
Last thing I want to point out that Vice City was the perfect size to comprehend. I could remember every alleyway, every escape route, every landmark, almost all hidden packages or unique jumps and drive anywhere without using the map at all. I think in this sense the following GTA’s all became too big for their own good.
I didn’t just play GTA: Vice City; I lived in it and it was epic.
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