Robio's All-New, All-Different, Top 100 of All Time
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Really enjoyed Suikoden. Also played 2 and 5 which were also very good. The fifth one was my favourite. Really dug the idea of trying to find and recruit all those characters to fill up your castle.
I only just played the 2 last year. Enjoyed it, even though it was a much slower paced game. One of these days I'll have to check out another in the series. I know a "spiritual successor" to the series just came out, although if I recall the reviews pretty much hammered it and said go away.
robio said:I only just played the 2 last year. Enjoyed it, even though it was a much slower paced game. One of these days I'll have to check out another in the series. I know a "spiritual successor" to the series just came out, although if I recall the reviews pretty much hammered it and said go away.
Yeah, that’s Eiyuden Chronicle. It’s on Game Pass and I’ve been playing it on and off. It’s not bad but it’s also not as good as Suikoden.
robio said:#76 - Little Big Planet
Somewhere out there is a hacker who I need to thank. Thanks to the great PSN hack of 2009 or 10 or whenever the hell that was, the Sony gave out a variety of games as an apology. I chose infamous, which was a darn good game in its own right, but the one I am most thankful for was Little big planet.
LBP was a pretty remarkable game. By the late 2000s, 2D platformers were pretty much a dead genre. Even Nintendo wasn't making very many of them anymore. But here comes Media Molecule with this amazing Game that not only is extremely fun, but it absolutely feels fresh and unlike any other 2D platformer. Quite a feat really. Between the sackboy character, the craft world, it's floaty physics, sticker system, and everything else it felt completely unique. Everyone took notice, even Nintendo. Reggie himself said it should have been a Nintendo game. Pretty high praise.
What really need the game special though was a feature that wasn't that important to me. The level creator. And well, I might not have cared much about it, a giant community sprung up of people who were devoted to the game and would spend hours making levels and even attempting to recreate other beloved games. One person who really enjoyed this would be my son.
My boy was about 7 years old or so when I let him play LBP for the first time, and he was completely hooked trying to play People's games, and make his own. For whatever reason he was really hooked on all of the horror games that were being created. I would be sitting on the other side of the house and I would hear this shrill shriek from a little kid that would then turn into giggles as he would replay these same levels over and over and over, and yet still find a way to be surprised.
It was also through this that he pretty much destroyed My old PSN account. At the time I wasn't comfortable with him having his own account, so I'd let him use mine. That way if any undesirables tried to message him I could see it. That wasn't the case, but what did happen was hundreds of other young kids who were playing this game sent him friend requests and messages to ask if he wanted to play. My inbox was ultimately filled up from this and eventually I had no choice but to Nuke the account. Thanks kid....
That kid also turns 18 and graduates high school in about a week. Time definitely flies. So, whenever I think of LBP, I immediately go back to him as a little kid having an absolute blast playing by himself and his obnoxious online friends. So once again, thanks. Hackers. Probably never would have touched this game had it not been for you guys.
What a story. I loved this game so much, a magical time. I was in my mid 20s though, I might grow up one day lol.
#74 - Mega Man X
One of my favorite things about the 16-bit era was seeing what developers would do with all the extra power for existing franchises characters that we grew to love in the 8-bit era.
Mega Man was a little bit late to the party since Capcom couldn't stop releasing NES versions of the series, even after everyone else had moved on. But that might have been for the best, because Mega Man X was super polished when it came out. The game got a real story, the Boss fights were better than ever, and In the new armor added a whole layer of abilities and ways to explore the levels.
It's also one of those games I forget how much I like. I bought this damn game three times over the years - when it originally came out, on the Wii U store, and then again on a Mega Man X collection for the PS4.
But my very favorite thing about the game was a secret that I didn't discover until probably 20 years after it came out. One of the secret power-ups that Dr. Light had for Mega Man was Ryu's fireball. When the game was originally made, Street Fighter was the hottest thing in the world, and Capcom knew it had to sprinkle a little bit into all of its other games. I'm sure I was very late to the party in this discovery, but who cares? Being able to do a hadoken as Mega Man was one of the greatest little moments that gaming has ever offered.
One of my favorite things about the 16-bit era was seeing what developers would do with all the extra power for existing franchises characters that we grew to love in the 8-bit era.
Mega Man was a little bit late to the party since Capcom couldn't stop releasing NES versions of the series, even after everyone else had moved on. But that might have been for the best, because Mega Man X was super polished when it came out. The game got a real story, the Boss fights were better than ever, and In the new armor added a whole layer of abilities and ways to explore the levels.
It's also one of those games I forget how much I like. I bought this damn game three times over the years - when it originally came out, on the Wii U store, and then again on a Mega Man X collection for the PS4.
But my very favorite thing about the game was a secret that I didn't discover until probably 20 years after it came out. One of the secret power-ups that Dr. Light had for Mega Man was Ryu's fireball. When the game was originally made, Street Fighter was the hottest thing in the world, and Capcom knew it had to sprinkle a little bit into all of its other games. I'm sure I was very late to the party in this discovery, but who cares? Being able to do a hadoken as Mega Man was one of the greatest little moments that gaming has ever offered.
I rented it a few times. I never knew about the Hadoken thing. I'll have to try that sometime.
Edited: Sat, 15 Jun 2024 17:53:28
Mega Man X is my favourite game in the franchise, such an excellent game. How can not mention the amazing soundtrack? The hadoken secret was indeed very cool.
I think it's the best game in the whole Mega Man series, though I have some emotional attachments to others in the series that I'd rank higher. But it's definitely my favorite post 8-bit era. In fact, it's almost kind of sad how the series immediately plateaued and then got so much worse after a few years. I guess the Zero games were a step up, but Christ they were hard.
I never did play the Zero games. I keep eyeing that Zero Legacy Collection every time I see it on sale.
I've played a couple of them, but I don't think I've ever gotten particularly far in any of them. They just seemed borderline cruel. Maybe they're easier with a proper controller. I only played the first first few on handhelds, and action games on handhelds have never really worked out well for me.
Dvader said:robio said:#76 - Little Big Planet
Somewhere out there is a hacker who I need to thank. Thanks to the great PSN hack of 2009 or 10 or whenever the hell that was, the Sony gave out a variety of games as an apology. I chose infamous, which was a darn good game in its own right, but the one I am most thankful for was Little big planet.What a story. I loved this game so much, a magical time. I was in my mid 20s though, I might grow up one day lol.
I believe that was "Geohot" George Hotz?
Edited: Sun, 16 Jun 2024 06:24:03
#73 - Monster Hunter World
While Monster Hunter 3U will always be my favorite in the series, I probably spent more time with Monster Hunter World. Without question, it holds my record for the most time I've ever spent with the series, and that doesn't even count the additional time with Iceborn. I know a lot of purists didn't care for the changes to the item gathering, but that saved so much time that you could devote to hunting. And as a result, I actually found this easier to just pick up and play a single round.
But what I really appreciated about it was the regions themselves. There were as many as in previous games, but God damn. Did they make up for it with the size and scale of them. For the first time it actually felt like you were really exploring a huge world. I remember I was still finding New paths and areas in the first ancient Forest well after I had already put in over 100 hours into the game.
Even the hubs were cool. They were constantly evolving as you completed missions and it was always worth spending a little time wandering around just to see what changes had been made. The same went for the seasonal celebrations at the online hub. Always fun to see how the decorations and themes would change. And at the end of the day, how could you go wrong? Hanging out with a bunch of scientists who are basically hanging out in an opium den? Good times.
While Monster Hunter 3U will always be my favorite in the series, I probably spent more time with Monster Hunter World. Without question, it holds my record for the most time I've ever spent with the series, and that doesn't even count the additional time with Iceborn. I know a lot of purists didn't care for the changes to the item gathering, but that saved so much time that you could devote to hunting. And as a result, I actually found this easier to just pick up and play a single round.
But what I really appreciated about it was the regions themselves. There were as many as in previous games, but God damn. Did they make up for it with the size and scale of them. For the first time it actually felt like you were really exploring a huge world. I remember I was still finding New paths and areas in the first ancient Forest well after I had already put in over 100 hours into the game.
Even the hubs were cool. They were constantly evolving as you completed missions and it was always worth spending a little time wandering around just to see what changes had been made. The same went for the seasonal celebrations at the online hub. Always fun to see how the decorations and themes would change. And at the end of the day, how could you go wrong? Hanging out with a bunch of scientists who are basically hanging out in an opium den? Good times.
Hell yeah! Monster Hunter World baby! I vaguely remember renting Monster Hunter for the PS2 back in the day and it didn’t quite click with me. Just very briefly played it. Picked up Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii U but just never got around to really playing it either. That all changed for me when Monster Hunter World came out. It completely hooked me on the franchise. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak are easily two of my most played games ever. Needless to say I’m pretty hyped for the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds.
Eh. I preferred tri and MH4 to World. Too many dragony monsters, too little big apes, frogs and bugs. Where are our rock diving, lava spewing seahorses? It got many things right and had a ton of QoL improvements, but fell short in the monster departement. Also, after 100 hours, I still got hopelesly l9st in the ancient forest.
I did not like MH4 at all. For me 3D action games just don't work on handhelds. The controls are just too limiting. For that reason alone, I can't consider it a fun game.
#72 - Kagero: Deception II
Do you like killing Innocent children, women, and old people? If so, I've got the game for you. Kagero: Deception II. When I first picked up the game, the back of the box made it sound interesting. You're going to attack people using traps? That's different. However, I learned it wasn't as much trapping people as it was torturing people in traps. But hey, that turned out to be pretty fun.
The game rewarded the player by connecting your traps together in order to end the victim's life in a grandiose fashion, ensuring that the last day of their life was also their worst one. Sure, you could set up an arrow trap to hit somebody as soon as they opened a door. That's certainly effective. But is it as much fun as having someone walk into a bear trap, then drop a jar of oil on them, and then have a flaming arrow barbecue them?
Kagero who provided a lot of moments like that, and while it got a little uncomfortable at times, it was tough to argue. It wasn't fun. It was also maybe one of the first games that made me really appreciate that. Sony was going after more mature games. Although in this case you might have to make an argument as to why catapulting someone into a waffle of spikes and then electrocuting them is in fact more mature than jumping on a turtle.
Do you like killing Innocent children, women, and old people? If so, I've got the game for you. Kagero: Deception II. When I first picked up the game, the back of the box made it sound interesting. You're going to attack people using traps? That's different. However, I learned it wasn't as much trapping people as it was torturing people in traps. But hey, that turned out to be pretty fun.
The game rewarded the player by connecting your traps together in order to end the victim's life in a grandiose fashion, ensuring that the last day of their life was also their worst one. Sure, you could set up an arrow trap to hit somebody as soon as they opened a door. That's certainly effective. But is it as much fun as having someone walk into a bear trap, then drop a jar of oil on them, and then have a flaming arrow barbecue them?
Kagero who provided a lot of moments like that, and while it got a little uncomfortable at times, it was tough to argue. It wasn't fun. It was also maybe one of the first games that made me really appreciate that. Sony was going after more mature games. Although in this case you might have to make an argument as to why catapulting someone into a waffle of spikes and then electrocuting them is in fact more mature than jumping on a turtle.
Edited: Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:10:46
#71 - Solomon's Key
When most kids got their NES, it probably came with some game pack in. Super Mario Brothers, Gyromite, duck hunt, etc. But for a brief period of time, Nintendo offered a cheaper version of the console that didn't come with a game, but instead came with a big magazine that was a directory of all the games that had been released up until that point, which was somewhere in mid-1988. That directory had a description of each game, the box, art, screenshot, and some sort of tip or secret. That was the version that my neighbor got, and I probably spent as much time reading that as I did playing a lot of games.
That directory also opened my eyes to a lot of the early obscure NES games that had already disappeared off in shelves by the time I got my own console. Athena, Spelunker, Super Pitfall, Mighty Bomb Jack, etc. Admittedly, most of these were third party games that weren't particularly good, and really no one missed out on not being able to play them. There were exceptions though, and Solomon's Key was one of them.
Trying to find a copy of this was a really big priority for me back then, but I never found it. I played it once for a minute at a friend's house, who was the rich kid who had every game in the world, but he wouldn't let me play it long because we had to play ice hockey or something like that.
I wouldn't actually get my own copy of this until the Virtual Console. I don't remember if it was the first game I got on the VC, but it was one of them. And surprisingly it actually held up as well as any NES game did, largely due to it being a puzzle game with pretty decent controls All things considered. The only problem with it, was this game was fucking hard. I really don't know how any kid could have possibly finished this back in the day. There weren't unlimited continues, there weren't saved games. You had to be good, smart, and well, good and smart I guess.
Ultimately it wouldn't be until it came out on the virtual console that I ever finished it. God bless those save states. It was well worth waiting to finish it at that point though. There was a small but fairly active miiverse community for the game, and it was actually a lot of fun talking to other people, and listening to their bullshit about being able to finish without dying once. That's right, bullshit. No one's that goddamn good.
That said, I still finished it. Over 25 years after I first discovered it, but I still finished it. And you're goddamn right I'm proud.
When most kids got their NES, it probably came with some game pack in. Super Mario Brothers, Gyromite, duck hunt, etc. But for a brief period of time, Nintendo offered a cheaper version of the console that didn't come with a game, but instead came with a big magazine that was a directory of all the games that had been released up until that point, which was somewhere in mid-1988. That directory had a description of each game, the box, art, screenshot, and some sort of tip or secret. That was the version that my neighbor got, and I probably spent as much time reading that as I did playing a lot of games.
That directory also opened my eyes to a lot of the early obscure NES games that had already disappeared off in shelves by the time I got my own console. Athena, Spelunker, Super Pitfall, Mighty Bomb Jack, etc. Admittedly, most of these were third party games that weren't particularly good, and really no one missed out on not being able to play them. There were exceptions though, and Solomon's Key was one of them.
Trying to find a copy of this was a really big priority for me back then, but I never found it. I played it once for a minute at a friend's house, who was the rich kid who had every game in the world, but he wouldn't let me play it long because we had to play ice hockey or something like that.
I wouldn't actually get my own copy of this until the Virtual Console. I don't remember if it was the first game I got on the VC, but it was one of them. And surprisingly it actually held up as well as any NES game did, largely due to it being a puzzle game with pretty decent controls All things considered. The only problem with it, was this game was fucking hard. I really don't know how any kid could have possibly finished this back in the day. There weren't unlimited continues, there weren't saved games. You had to be good, smart, and well, good and smart I guess.
Ultimately it wouldn't be until it came out on the virtual console that I ever finished it. God bless those save states. It was well worth waiting to finish it at that point though. There was a small but fairly active miiverse community for the game, and it was actually a lot of fun talking to other people, and listening to their bullshit about being able to finish without dying once. That's right, bullshit. No one's that goddamn good.
That said, I still finished it. Over 25 years after I first discovered it, but I still finished it. And you're goddamn right I'm proud.
The boxart reminded me of Solstice, a game my cousin (or is it nephew?) had. We never came close to beating it, but it was just a very different and unique experience. I guess most of that is because it was an isometric game when most everything we played were 2D platformers.
And I remember Solstice, and the two games were actually very similar. The concepts were pretty much the same - use some kind of magic to help the wizard solve an environmental puzzle and get to the next room.
That said, what I will always remember about solstice was how weird it was that the cover of the game was a really jacked looking wizard. The ad for the game took it to an even different level.
And on that note, happy early Frigay?
That said, what I will always remember about solstice was how weird it was that the cover of the game was a really jacked looking wizard. The ad for the game took it to an even different level.
And on that note, happy early Frigay?
Edited: Wed, 26 Jun 2024 15:47:04
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I think for most people, Final Fantasy 7 gets thrown around as the jrpg that was officially rang in the "next generation" on the PlayStation. For my money though, it was Suikoden.
It was so unlike any game that came before it. You had traditional turn-based combat, but you could have a team of six characters, where you could have different team-ups depending on who is in the party. In that regard it was like Chrono trigger but on steroids. And then aside from that, you had these giant strategy battles that while they were simple, really changed the scale of the combat.
And the best part of all was there were 108 characters in the game. Not quite all of them would join you in battle, but all of them would play some sort of role as you wandered the world recruiting them to live in your castle and fight for your side. That scale was just unlike anything I had seen before.
My biggest regret with the game was waiting slum before I finally played it. There's little question that Suikoden was a victim of bad box art. It's not quite as horrendous as Mega Man, but there's really nothing that makes me want to check this out. So I easily walked by it a hundred times before I finally decided, "well, I got nothing else to play so maybe this?"
Turned out to be an amazing decision for me. The game isn't overly long at about 20 to 25 hours, and I remember beating it the weekend that I got it. So it pretty much kept my butt glued to bean bag where I would play games in my shit hole apartment for those full 3 days.