My Top 10 Games

Hey guys.

So to kinda kick off with some content I thought i'd give a list of my top 10 games, these will span all known consoles (except Xbox coz....reasons).  These games are ones that I personally adore and play over and over or just have really really good memories with.  The only rules for these games are that they must be games I've played through and completed, no demos, and I must genuinely like the game for any reason be it gameplay, soundtrack or characters.  Oh and Pokemon will be in a seperate list....too many games from that franchise to just choose one.

************************************************************
#10

Spider-man 2 (PlayStation 2)

Alright so to start the list is Spiderman 2.  Not the Amazing Spiderman but the Toby Maguire one.  Yes I prefer Toby Maguire as Peter Parker so shoot me.  The game itself is pretty straight forward; you're spiderman......what you wanted more? Watch Spiderman 2.....too lazy? Fiiiiiine.

In the game you play the same storyline as the movie but with filler and more villains.  You web-swing through the city and help civilians with problems ranging from getting children's balloons to fighting criminals in mech suits.  The gameplay is simple and just generally ok, the soundtrack is nothing memorable but it fits the setting you're in.  The reason this game comes at #10 is because it's relaxing.  It's quite fun and relaxing to just swing around the city, perform stunts and solve the petty crimes.....or to get spidey to suicide jump off the Empire State Building only to save himself at the last second because whhhhy not?

#9

Mario Kart (Nintendo DS)

This game is just fun.  Not much of an introduction is needed really, Mario Kart is pretty much the same since it's debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).  It doesn't really have a plot.  Mario and friends were bored to shit one day and thought: "hey know what would be fun? Inviting our arch-enemies and racing around tracks filled with lava, dangerous plants and bottomless pits while hitting each other with shells and bolts of lightning".  I chose the DS version specifically because it's the first Mario Kart game I got and completed, as well as the first game on the DS I completed 100%.  Honestly for me this game is mainly a confidence booster though because the minute you get Mario's Shooting Star, and learn how to boost at the beginning of the race then you're pretty much guaranteed to come first every time.

#8

Breath of Fire 3 (PSP)

So in #8 we have the first of many turn based RPGs.  BoF3 is a game that is pretty much like Final Fantasy.  However it takes a different approach to it.  As a member of the brood, a powerful race of dragons, you wake up in the world as a little boy named Ryu who doesn't really know his place in the world.  The game revolves around the idea of him finding a place to belong.  While his friends Rei, Nina, Momo, Peco and Garr help him along the way.  The game moves at a kind of slow pace to begin with but it suits the relaxed nature of the setting around you.  The soundtrack always seems to reflect Ryu's mind.  Whether he would find a place peaceful or hostile, if he's in a hurry or taking his time the music will always give you a hint.  BoF3 doesn't bring much originality to the table other than the ability to transform into a number of different dragons depending on what genes you mix and match together.  Although it is kinda funny how the strongest transformation isn't a dragon but the main character gone super saiyan.  I love this game because it's a good game, the plot is interesting the music is quite relaxing and honestly that boss theme just really gets me hyped up.  Although the minigames are a bit of a hassle, and especially if you want to 100% complete the game, the mnigames will take up a lot of your time, most of these aren't central to the plot yes but they do help later in the game and quite frankly just serve to elongate the game.  That being said this game has a certain lack of challenge to it.  Even the strongest enemies in the game can be beaten relatively easily once you've established their pattern.  So if you want a nice relaxing game with some action and some funny moments this is definitely the game for you.

#7

Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP)

I have a HUGE love - hate relationship with this game.  It pisses me off.....but I love it.

Let me explain.  Final Fantasy is one of my favorite video game franchises ever.  The story is always interesting, the characters are fun, the plot always thickens, and you always slay a God or God-like being at the end.  But you also have the superbosses to serve as an additional challenge, the ultimate weapons to collect and different fighting styles to try....this however is Dissidia. Think of an all out battle between the first 10 main characters of your favorite series and their respective arch rivals.  Now add a bunch of swords, a hint of magic and a dash of abilities and you have an awesome experience and a really fun game.

Dissidia employs a system of 1 on 1 battling, where you control a character's movements, completely abandoning the turn based system RPGs are used to.  The controls are simple to understand and perform.  The game itself is quite enjoyable but it's so damn difficult.  There were moments in the game where I just wanted to curse everything and everyone in existence.  But I didn't...coz i'm nice like that.

Anyway the game is kinda unfair as the Computer tends to cheat, it reads your input and lets it's character dodge and block at the perfect moments, even allowing it's characters faster cooldown times (so can attack and dodge more often).  Combine that with their better weapons and armor and you basically can't win.  In order to get the materials to buy the stronger weapons you need to beat the higher level opponents.... you need to actually beat higher level opponents with much stronger armor and weapons than you.  So this game becomes all about strategy, waiting for the best moment to strike, while avoiding your enemies attacks and considering whether to use a bravery move (a move that damages your opponent and increases the amount of damage a HP attack can do) or use a HP (Hit Point) attack (a move that decreases your opponents HP if it connects).

So why do I love this game? Because i'm a bloody masochistic fu.....I mean because the rush you get, the excitement, the happiness you get from beating that son of a bitch after he kicked your ass over and over AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND----

I'm sorry......I was reliving a horrible moment fighting one of the characters......

But as I said, that happiness you feel after beating someone who has been given a huge advantage over you makes it so worth it (people who have played Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2 or Bloodbourne know what I'm talking about), and the game really is fun once you really figure out how to use a character to his or her fullest potential......or use Terra.  Terra rocks.

#6

Portal 2 (PC)

Wanna know why I like this game? Stick around and you might have some cake too.

Portal was one of the most innovative games to ever exist.  You start off with your silent protagonist, a woman named Chelle, who wakes up in the Aperture Science testing facility.  Through the course of the first game she learns to think with portals by using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.  This creates 2 portals which are linked in such a way that anything going through one portal will instantaneously come out the other, no matter the distance.

Of course this puzzle game became extremely popular except for one small problem.  The game was way too darn short. About an hour gameplay and that was it.....

Enter Portal 2.

It's the beauty of the original Portal but with more substance, an actual plot and much more game play.  GLaDOS and Chelle make their return and honestly I love this game just from GLaDOS alone.  In case you're wondering, you know that sassy, sarcastic friend you have where everything they say is both funny and an insult? That's GLaDOS in a nutshell.  The game manages to balance out gameplay with humour, making you feel isolated for short periods of time yes, but making up for it with either some random things being said or a cutscene.  I do however love a specific part of this game and that is after you're lost in the old Aperture Science facility.  The feeling of loneliness is expanded on and in fact you really feel small and insignificant, especially when the facility doesn't seem to have a clear end.  Couple this with puzzles that are actually a little challenging and what you've got is a tough game  that will make you start feeling desperate and truly sad when unable to pass a challenge.

Oh and about that cake? Well........always remember the cake is a lie.

#5

Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)

Hoo boy ok, FF9 is my favorite Final Fantasy game EVER (FF7 fans hate me if you wish).  This game did so much right it's just scary.  I'm a huge fan of medieval themed.....well anything really.  From movies to books to games most of the things I like are either medieval or set in the future.  That being said Final Fantasy IX really keeps true to the medieval theme, being more of a tribute to the first Final Fantasy.  The soundtrack is interesting, the FMV is beautiful and the plot (as with all Final Fantasy games) is just beautiful.  But what makes this game truly intriguing is the theme of life and death.  Throughout the game you encounter Vivi, a character who learns that his life is extremely limited, and Kuja, the main antagonist who knows the meaning of his existence and rebels against it.

The 2 characters however completely change throughout the game, Vivi learning that life is meant to be lived, to make good memories that will some day enter the planet's crystal and contribute to the cycle of life, and Kuja not being able to deal with the idea of his mortality, even so much as saying that the universe shouldn't be allowed to exist if he can't.

FF9 manages to bring everything together very well, any complaints I have with this game are small, such as Zidane's thieving abilities being pretty underwhelming.  With some enemies having items to steal that are only 1/256 chance of stealing and no real way to actually increase this chance.  Although my biggest complaint is also the biggest challenge of the game.  Not the superboss but the 12 hour challenge.  Let me explain.  To get the ultimate weapon for one of the characters in the game you need to get from disc 1 to disc 4 in under 12 hours......it takes me 8 hours to get 3/4ths the way through the first disc. Just. Plain. Evil.

#4

Wacky Races Starring Dastardly and Muttley (PlayStation 2)

WR truly lives up to it's name.  The game is insane.  Truly insane.  Mario Kart insane, but more vibrant and colorful, harder to control vehicles, and more cheaters (looking at you Dick Dastardly and Muttley).  The game has you control any unlocked Wacky Racer to go through a series of races, from normal racing to time trials to battle arena challenges.  This game is tough.  It throws anything it can at you and there is no one winning strategy......until you get car 00 (aka Dastardly and Muttley's car) then winning is as easy as spreading glue.  There isn't much to say about this game.  There's no real plot, no general meaning to what you're doing just grab it and race to your heart's content.  I will say though the boss races will have you banging your head against the wall because the win conditions are simple, but as they say easier said than done.

#3

Bravely Default (Nintendo 3DS)

Ok this game is awesome. It's about 4 characters, Tiz the villager, Agnes the vestal (a priestess), Edea the warrior and Ringabel.....the amnesiac embarking on a quest to awaken the 4 crystals and defeat the evil Duchy of Eternia.  The reason this game is #4 is because everything about it (almost) is amazing.  The soundtrack is majestic and reflective of the situation you're in.  Uplifting and energizing when in battle and relaxing when in a city like Florem.  Heck I have "That Person's Name is" and "Serpent Eating the Ground" on my phone and are 2 of the first songs I listen to when I leave my house.

The story is just engaging and interesting, pulling you in and making you wonder why everything is happening, what this world has to offer and what the inevitable outcome is.  The gameplay is simple and very strategic returning to the traditional RPG with the exception of the Brave and Default commands, and the 3D is pretty good.  However it's no. 4 for a couple reasons.  Mainly that the game is split into 10 chapters. Not a bad thing in itself.....until you realise that chapters 4-8 are the same damn thing.  A boss rush.  Which normally in RPG's isn't that bad, except that it's the same bosses you've been beating up just in groups, and in each case you can beat them with pretty much the same strategy.  By this point you already know who the true bad guy is and why s/he did what s/he did, but you're forced to play it out a certain number of times because why the bloody heck not?  Also whereas some of the voice acting is superb.....some (Agnes) are just (Agnes) terrible (Agnes), I won't (Agnes) name anyone (Agnes) specifically, (Agnes) but there is (Agnes) a character (Agnes) who at times will just make you lower the volume on your 3DS and hope nobody heard...........ok it's Agnes.  Is this game worth it? Heck yeah.  It's a lot of fun and quite interesting to change the jobs and abilities around and find a 100% winning strategy.

#2

Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves (PlayStation 2)

Ah Sly, you cheeky cheeky little bastard.

Sly Cooper is a raccoon whose entire family are master thieves.  Using the Thievius Racconus he has learned all the techniques of his ancestors and has set out to become the most successful honorable thief with his friends Murray the brawny hippo and Bentley the genius turtle.  Their adventures lead them to defeat the evil Clockwerk twice and now face their biggest challenge.  Entering the Cooper vault which has been taken over by the evil Dr. M.

This game is just so much fun.  Not only is the platforming fun and easy to grasp, but the challenges within the game are interesting and really test you.  In addition to the 3 main characters you now have access to 4 more side characters with their unique controls and actions.  I love this game too much to put it any lower because I just have so much fun playing it.  The chemistry between characters is good, they're interesting and fun to watch interact with each other, the sound effects and soundtrack fit perfectly, and you really feel like a master thief with all the jumping, swinging, sliding and gliding around that you do.  I do have some little complaints with this game but it's just too much fun to care.  Even when you're not out doing missions you can explore the stage and just have fun teasing bad guys, stealing, and testing out new gadgets.
  
#1

Suikoden Tierkreis (Nintendo DS)

This game is truly amazing.  From the soundtrack to the plot heck even the voice acting is awesome.  It takes no. 1 (and gets me all choked up) because it was the first game that really made me sit and think about life, about my actions within a game and about destiny.  The game starts simply enough.  You control 4 characters as they decide to do some pest control with creatures called laggards.  After some time the characters come upon a valley....well just before the valley disappears in a flash of green and is replaced by a forest with some ruins.  All the characters slowly forget that the valley ever existed, instead thinking that the ruins always existed there and decide to explore them.

Once there they are attacked by strange monsters, the party is pushed back until they find a book.  This book, upon touching it, gives all but one of them powers.  New abilities such as healing, paralysing an opponent and (it's implied) super human strength.  The party then decides that they should discover what the book is about.  From there the story continues on to have the main characters included in a war that involves the destruction of their planet.

This game focuses heavily on the notion of whether or not a pre-determined future is desirable.  A future where you could forsee all pain and suffering, and where every smile, every surprise would be predicted or whether it's best to not know what's around the corner.  Honestly after beating the game I didn't know whether I was the hero or not.  Is saving the world worth others suffering?  Or is it best to have some people accept defeat so that others could live out a pre-determined future?

ST takes #1 slot because it made me think, it made me doubt what I know and what to think.  Heck after switching the game off I just sat there thinking to myself for 3 hours what I would have preferred.  Yes the game has it's flaws, it's not really challenging, it's not truly difficult and frankly the game can be beaten by playing through normally.  There are no real secrets other than getting all 108 members to join your team.  All this game wants you to do is focus on the plot and it's message and the people it affects.

I'd rather not give any spoilers (mainly coz this post is long enough as it is), but if there's any game I would recommend you try it's Suikoden Tierkreis.  But be warned, the Archivist and Auster Folk battle themes will stay in your head FOREVER.


************************************************************

Alright guys thanks for reading that was my top 10 favourite games, but honestly there are so many games I'd love to add and they'll probably be in a list on their own.  I'll probably make other individual lists.  Hope this post wasn't too long and you guys could bare with it for a bit.  As for me I'm gonna go look for some books in scary ruins, get super powers and save the world.