It's been about 5 and a half years since I did my last Top 100 list. Due to my OCD and compulsion to constantly create lists in my head I think it's time for an all new Top 100.
My first thought was to reevaluate the old top 100, but fuck it, it's easier to pick 100 new games that I didn't have on the list last time. In the past 5 and a half years I've played more than I usually have, largely due to COVID. And in that time I've played a lot of new great games.
Plus, when I made the last list, I avoided adding multiple games from the same franchises. So I can dip back into the Dragon Quest pool and a few others.
Anyway stay tuned. Starting tomorrow we're doing this shit again.
My first thought was to reevaluate the old top 100, but fuck it, it's easier to pick 100 new games that I didn't have on the list last time. In the past 5 and a half years I've played more than I usually have, largely due to COVID. And in that time I've played a lot of new great games.
Plus, when I made the last list, I avoided adding multiple games from the same franchises. So I can dip back into the Dragon Quest pool and a few others.
Anyway stay tuned. Starting tomorrow we're doing this shit again.
Recently Spotted:
Foolz (2m)
I recognized the name immediately. Eternal Sonata I did beat. A weird and enchanting game! I think they also did some of the Star Ocean ports to PSP. I beat all of them as well.
Loved Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse back in the day. Still like it but more in the sense of reminiscing about it. Those stiff controls and precise jumps needed in some areas are certainly frustrating as all hell.
If I'm being honest, I'm a little bit ashamed of myself to say that I loved Langrisser so much. It's a god damned gatcha game. But I do like it and hey, if you can't be honest with yourself, who can you be honest with?
If anything though, it made me hate the genre that much more. This game deserves way better than being locked behind pay walls, time restrictions, and all of that crap that makes mobile gaming companies billions of dollars each year. I suppose at the end of the day I can at least rest well-knowing I didn't spend very much money on the gatcha fees.
If you're not familiar with the game, it's a turn-based strategy game, somewhat similar to the Fire Emblem series. What made Langrisser stand out a bit though was your characters each control their own set of troops. And the characters and troops all have their own unique branching paths to level up, so depending on how you want to play, you can customize quite a bit of the combat. The story is interesting too. It's sort of a trip through the history of the series. I have only played a few of the early games in the series, so I'm not overly familiar with it, but it's seems to be a good bit of fanservice for those who are familiar with it.
And as an added bonus, the character design is all done by the man who started with the series, Satoshi Urushihara, the "Master of Breasts." Seriously, that's the guy's nickname. Much like Akira Toriyama, he's a very well renowned manga artist, although his work outside of gaming is a little different. Look it up, although maybe use incognito mode. And all jokes aside, the dude is pretty talented.
This is actually the game that pulled me away from Hearthstone, so God bless it for that. I finished the primary story, but every year they open up new ones, to keep bleeding money from players. And see some of the later editions, but sadly I don't have hundreds of extra dollars laying around to keep up with what is more or less expected of the players. Still, as criminal as gatcha games may be, if I could afford it, I'd probably be playing this one a lot more.
I'd like to think that the development of this game started with a conversation that went something like this. "Can we make a sequel to a game that most of the audience has never played, and for a movie that's never existed? And on top of that, can we also have the main character beat up an old lady for a candle?"
Not a lot makes sense in this game, so it's kind of pointless to try and figure it out. But It was still a lot of fun. And in my younger years, beating it was one of my great accomplishments. The whole world that the Goonies II takes place in makes Metroid look like something as simple and straightforward as Super Mario Bros.
But getting lost and accidentally discovering new levels and even finding your missing friends was the entire charm of the game. Whenever you stumbled across something like that, it was a major feeling of accomplishment.
Plus the soundtrack was amazing. It started right off with a chiptune version of Cyndi lauper's Goonies are Good Enough, and kept up that level of quality throughout the game. It's funny how it never ranks as a game with a top soundtrack, although I suspect it was because most players never got that far into it.
Back when Konami was good.
That game was passed around many times between our circle of friends. Like a cheap hooker
That's a sign of quality if I've ever heard one.I traded Skate or Die for Zelda. Win for me.