StarPhlox said:

Final Fantasy XV was my GOTY last year and I still think it deserved it in terms of how it gripped me for the brief time I spent mainlining the game and not attending to the dozens of hours of sidequests one could get into.

I loved the atmosphere it evoked and the relatively smaller scale of things that made the cast feel like brothers. You had the same party at the start as you did at the end in the strictest sense, but to me their growth was evident and it hit home for me as I reflected on my own relationships with my 3 brothers. Also, I had watched the anime and played all the demos and watched Kingsglaive as well, which all enhanced my enjoyment and in a tangible way and made the whole thing less confusing.

Initially I fully intended to go back to XV after finishing the main quest but, much like Breath of the Wild, it just feels odd to return to that world after the end credits because of how it's handled. So although I adored XV I just needed it to be what it was--a smaller, more intimate Final Fantasy game that played extremely well, looked beautiful, and made me feel a wealth of powerful emotions.

Click to expand...

It made me felt a lot of confusion for sure. I also watched Kingsglaive and Brotherhood, and without those I would be absolutely lost in the story. They cover the beginning and background, but the rest of the game probably needed two more movies to fill in many of the gaps. Again, that's not to say the moment to moment gameplay wasn't awesome, and I liked the overall story beats, but it felt like a friend who kinda saw a movie while he was drunk and trying to court someone trying to tell you the plot of the movie, and the movie was Primer. So, again, not very coherent. That also kind of robbed me of many of the heart-to-heart moments between the characters as some of the motivations were just stilted or missing.

But I played a lot of the game, thought it was gorgeous and atmospheric, and brilliant when it worked. I do wonder what a FFXV that was fully realized can look like. For that alone I support their efforts to "fix" the game post-release.

Well, time for 5 games that didn't make the list. I had a busy day so no separate anectode post.

Guacamelee



This game was a very pleasant surprise! I love metroidvanias, but I'm generally put off by off-brand ones because they often fail to nail the formula. They have exploration and semi-nonlinearity, sure, but they're generally not fun to explore, with weird empty worlds and no drive to push the player forward. Guacamelee was not like that at all. The world Drinkbox designed is a delight to traverse, and even look at. It feels like it's just the right size too, not too big to grasp but not too small to be fun to explore.



Beyond that, the game even retains its own identity in the Metroidvania space. Due to its character action-ish combat system, the game can change up its design and throw encounters at you that would just be filler in other games. The brilliant part is that the combat and traversal are tied to each other, with your abilities being necessary to break through different kind of blocks. Couple all that with a sense of humor and a very distinct visual style, Guacamelee is a straight up winner.

The Lost Vikings 1/2



This is one of those games that was on my shareware CD as well. One of the earlier games I played, I spent a ton of time with this. Maybe my love of puzzle platformers and Blizzard can be traced back to TLV. Here, we have three characters to control that each have their own distinct abilities and weaknesses. A runner, an archer/swordsman, and a shield-bearer. The sequel added a dragon and a werewolf, and gave new abilities to the returning characters as well.



The brilliance of these games is that you can only control one character at once, but the world keeps moving. Many times, to solve a puzzle, you need to put characters in danger and control another character, switch back and forth control to ensure every character temporarly moves out of danger and then the group is reunited as fast as possible. The design is generally very clever and every situation feels razor tight. Many rage moments, but the good kind of rage.

Outlast



With the sequel coming out tomorrow, I guess this is a good time to talk about it. Outlast was pretty freaking cool. The game was legitimately terrifying at points, and not just because of jump scares. It does a really good job of making you feel bad because of limited resources, and makes you panic. It reminds me of the movie Grave Encounters in many ways. That you can't fight back is actually a good thing here, even though I'm kind of sick of that mechanic overall in horror games. Somehow, it works here.

Click to expand...

There are jump scares, sure, but I think jump scares aren't entirely pointless. Relying solely on them is banal, sure, but when you create an atmosphere of tension, the addition of jump scares further unsettles you because you don't know if the tension is going to blow up or just remain slowly ascending. And yes, the AI can be cheesed in many parts, but for the most part it's too nail-biting for me to notice that stuff. Overall, I was very impressed with it and I look forward to the sequel.

Super Castlevania IV



Okay, this bears a little bit of explaining. I LOVE SCIV. This game would make it into my top 100, but there's already enough Castlevania in there that I have to cut this one due to the franchise rule I have. Too many Castlevania games otherwise, and the ones I like more do a good enough job of representing the franchise instead of this one. I know you haven't seen any Castlevania in my list yet, but be patient. Plus, while I do really like it, it's one of the ones I like less among the ones I like. How can I say that? The game does so many mind-blowing things with its technology! Sure, it does, but it feels rather easy and kind of... dull? at times?



I mean, for a Castlevania game. The main walk-and-whip series is super tight in its design, and it's also hard as a rock. SCIV doesn't feel as focused with what it's doing. Don't get me wrong, it's still better than most other games in the genre, but I think it's outclassed in every aspect but visuals by basically every other classic Castlevania game. Egoraptor did a video comparing this to CV1 and why this one comes off unfavorably in terms of level and encounter design, and I think he hits the mark. Check it out here.

Final Fantasy IX



So, this is my favorite Final Fantasy game. It's not my first, but it's the one I enjoyed the most for sure. I never related to VII, as I thought it was ugly and overwrought. I actually liked aspects of VIII, but I thought it was poorly paced. IX, on the other hand, was compelling right off the bat. An original fantasy world with amazing visual design and graphics, a pretty simple story that's played pretty well, and enemy designs that are all cool and look great on the PS1.



In hindsight, its issues stand out more. The notorious battle loading times for example. Also the battle system is so basic and uninteresting, especially compared to something like the SMT franchise. I almost wish I could replay this game as an adventure game with little combat (some of the boss battles were pretty cool). In the end, I think the presentation and visuals and focus on a straight forward story with endearing characters is what makes this game so compelling. Not compelling enough to put in my top 100, but clearly it's good enough to be a part of the conversation.

Great list. The Steam/IOS/Android port of FFIX has many of the quality of life features that will allow you to play it as an adventure game. The full list is in the GAF OT http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1207698. It includes things like no random encounters, increased movement speed, no grinding and a few others.

jdstorm said:

Great list. The Steam/IOS/Android port of FFIX has many of the quality of life features that will allow you to play it as an adventure game. The full list is in the GAF OT http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1207698. It includes things like no random encounters, increased movement speed, no grinding and a few others.

Click to expand...

Wow, that seems life changing almost. If I ever feel inclined to replay the game I should definitely look into that!

I'm so happy that I didn't apply the "one game per franchise" rule. Especially due to some games in the same franchise so radically different from one another.

Nuu said:

I'm so happy that I didn't apply the "one game per franchise" rule. Especially due to some games in the same franchise so radically different from one another.

Click to expand...

It's not "one per franchise", as I said several times earlier

It's a complicated and totally arbitrary formula I have. If there are multiple entries in the franchise that are too similar to each other, I'll pick one as an ambassador. For example, unless I REALLY like multiple particular entries in classic Mega Man, I'll probably include one. But Mega Man X is different enough that I can enter both.

That being said, there will be cases where I break my own rule because I really care particularly about one game. It's just that I don't like SCIV enough to bump anything off my list, and there will be other (better) Castlevania games that represent the spirit of the franchise, and are close enough to SCIV. There are entries that I have already made who will have other games in their franchises in my list.

I see. That's good to know. I can't stand the "one game per franchise rule."

Alright, anectode time.

I almost never had an Xbox 360. Unlike the PS3 or Wii, they were not available in Turkey. That kind of soured me on the system, because why treat my country like second class citizens when the other console manufacturers made the effort? Anyway, I never had s 360 until I moved to America and a friend gifted me his old one in 2013 so that we can play Call of Duty together.

I still had a Live account though, thanks to the disaster that was GFWL. As I mentioned in an earlier anectode, I was unable to play games with it because it was blocked in Turkey, but when I moved to the states, I was able to play some games now. I went back and played a bunch and even added my credit card to the system and bought some stuff. This is still before I got a 360.

At some point my account got compromised. Someone somehow figured out my password, attached the account to a 360, and bought a bunch of stuff, including Street Fighter IV and some football stuff. Obviously I immediately noticed and removed my card from my account and contacted MS support, saying my account was compromised, and someone attached it to their 360 and I would like those changes refunded.

The representative asked me for the ID (or serial number, whatever) of my own Xbox 360. I was taken aback. What? I don't have one, I said. The representative said "We need to have the ID of your 360 to determine that the charges were made from a different system instead of yours". I explained that I don't have an Xbox, I have a Live account due to GFWL. The representative told me I could be trying to defraud them and refund games I bought myself, and that they had to have the ID of my system to prove that I'm in the right. I was both confused and infuriated. What kind of support system is this? I understand the protocol, but do they give so little a shit about GFWL that they don't have a protocol for detecting fraud for it?

The rep went further to recommend that I buy a 360 and register it to my account to prove that I'm in the right. That was pretty ridiculous. At that point I lost it and explained to the rep that they can clearly see where I live based on my account and that I don't live wherever this other person is living. I tried contacting support several other times in case I get a different rep that can help me out, but I always got the same answer. In the end I had to call it a loss and do a chargeback from my bank.

That was a pretty miserable experience with support overall. Not only was I not helped, I was treated like a scammer and even told to buy a 360 to prove that I'm right. Seriously? I know people have had bad experiences with GFWL but I don't know if it gets any worse than this and not being able to play games I bought because of region locking.

nynt9 said:

Alright, anectode time.

I almost never had an Xbox 360. Unlike the PS3 or Wii, they were not available in Turkey. That kind of soured me on the system, because why treat my country like second class citizens when the other console manufacturers made the effort? Anyway, I never had s 360 until I moved to America and a friend gifted me his old one in 2013 so that we can play Call of Duty together.

I still had a Live account though, thanks to the disaster that was GFWL. As I mentioned in an earlier anectode, I was unable to play games with it because it was blocked in Turkey, but when I moved to the states, I was able to play some games now. I went back and played a bunch and even added my credit card to the system and bought some stuff. This is still before I got a 360.

At some point my account got compromised. Someone somehow figured out my password, attached the account to a 360, and bought a bunch of stuff, including Street Fighter IV and some football stuff. Obviously I immediately noticed and removed my card from my account and contacted MS support, saying my account was compromised, and someone attached it to their 360 and I would like those changes refunded.

The representative asked me for the ID (or serial number, whatever) of my own Xbox 360. I was taken aback. What? I don't have one, I said. The representative said "We need to have the ID of your 360 to determine that the charges were made from a different system instead of yours". I explained that I don't have an Xbox, I have a Live account due to GFWL. The representative told me I could be trying to defraud them and refund games I bought myself, and that they had to have the ID of my system to prove that I'm in the right. I was both confused and infuriated. What kind of support system is this? I understand the protocol, but do they give so little a shit about GFWL that they don't have a protocol for detecting fraud for it?

The rep went further to recommend that I buy a 360 and register it to my account to prove that I'm in the right. That was pretty ridiculous. At that point I lost it and explained to the rep that they can clearly see where I live based on my account and that I don't live wherever this other person is living. I tried contacting support several other times in case I get a different rep that can help me out, but I always got the same answer. In the end I had to call it a loss and do a chargeback from my bank.

That was a pretty miserable experience with support overall. Not only was I not helped, I was treated like a scammer and even told to buy a 360 to prove that I'm right. Seriously? I know people have had bad experiences with GFWL but I don't know if it gets any worse than this and not being able to play games I bought because of region locking.

Click to expand...

So regardless of whether it's for a video game system or any other support call, the typical first line of defense (or Level 1 customer support) has the standard set of responses to the hundreds of standard questions.

You didn't have a standard question.

When you run across this situation in the future, ask to speak with a supervisor. This gets you to Level 2, where someone with more experience can address things that aren't routine.

Basically, every time you called back, you were running through the same Level 1 people who know how to answer basic stuff. When things get infuriatingly frustrating, ask for a supervisor.

And if the supervisor can't help, ask for their supervisor. Eventually you'll get to someone who, hopefully, knows how your problem originated and can address it in a way I'm sure the company would like to see it addressed to keep their customers satisfied.

Telling you to buy a 360 to register it to ensure you're not trying to defraud them seems a ridiculous statement to make when GFWL is an existing online system for them.

NoFaceNico said:

Agree 100% with Sleeping Dogs.

Disagree 100% with Enslaved. It's such a consistently overhyped game that embodies everything that went wrong in the last generation in gaming. Quick time combat, motion cap animation creating laggy controls, disgusting bloom effects, and a story that pretentiously tries to connect itself to Chinese folklore but only borrows character names from it instead.

Click to expand...

I was unaware that enslaved was in any way hyped up
Nowadays i like to think of it as a light short game with some good mocap and voice acting
Id play it on easy since the bas ecombat isnt that grand but i do enjoy it still

AngmarsKing701 said:

So regardless of whether it's for a video game system or any other support call, the typical first line of defense (or Level 1 customer support) has the standard set of responses to the hundreds of standard questions.

You didn't have a standard question.

When you run across this situation in the future, ask to speak with a supervisor. This gets you to Level 2, where someone with more experience can address things that aren't routine.

Basically, every time you called back, you were running through the same Level 1 people who know how to answer basic stuff. When things get infuriatingly frustrating, ask for a supervisor.

And if the supervisor can't help, ask for their supervisor. Eventually you'll get to someone who, hopefully, knows how your problem originated and can address it in a way I'm sure the company would like to see it addressed to keep their customers satisfied.

Telling you to buy a 360 to register it to ensure you're not trying to defraud them seems a ridiculous statement to make when GFWL is an existing online system for them.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that - since then I've found out. It was early in my life here in the stats so I had yet to learn such concepts.

Tizoc said:

I was unaware that enslaved was in any way hyped up
Nowadays i like to think of it as a light short game with some good mocap and voice acting
Id play it on easy since the bas ecombat isnt that grand but i do enjoy it still

Click to expand...

Yeah I think it's vastly underrated. Really neat story and world and characters. But some people call niche cult classics overrated I guess. The only people who still remember the game enough to still bring it up probably really like it and everyone else doesn't care so every time it's brought up it's positive.

Sorry for being late - busy day.

Top 100 time.

55: Oni



This game was my first encounter with Bungie. It was the time of third person action games, and this seemed like the king of them. Combining an anime art style and narrative, Oni was a really fun blend of melee combat with combos and third person Max-Payne-esque shooting. The variety was the real key here, as there were many weapons that played differently, many enemy types with different abilities, and many environments to experiment in.

Click to expand...

This game had an oddly vibrant modding scene on PC too. Mods let you swap out your protagonist for any character in the game, and later on there was an anniversary edition fan patch to fix the game for modern PCs. New enemy types, new areas, HD retextures, and even new playable characters. I've played through this game so many times for the combat alone, memorized all the enemy patterns and levels, and even playing through the game with all the characters you can play as. Really fun stuff, and if you ever wanted to play in an archetypal 90s scifi anime, this game is perfect for you.

54: Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition

Click to expand...

This was the first character action game that pulled me in. Having never played the previous DMC games, I was coming in to the series with some expectations regarding what to expect, and I was blown out of the water. Before I get to the gameplay, the presentation was just amazing. The particular flavor of Japanese irreverence and gothic horror put together was the perfect tone, and the game's visual style was pitch perfect. The level design was clever and made the game feel bigger than it is, and gave you a real sense of place, making the palace feel very memorable.

Click to expand...

Then we have the combat. DMC3 is one of the best character action games of all time, and it just plays so well. Dante is snappy and has a varied moveset that the game actually encourages you to use (thanks to the style system), and each weapon you get feels like a valid addition to your arsenal. It just feels so good to control. Additionally, the game had a large amount of content, hidden stuff, extra difficulties and even extra characters to play as. Back then, I wasn't really into completionism or challenging games, but this is one game that I worked through step by step, put the time in, and got good. The result was totally worth it, as I beat the game on every difficulty with every character, which was ridiculously tough for me at the time. But ever since then I've held the genre in high regard and also have had high standards for it.

53: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Click to expand...

Earlier I mentioned how SCIV isn't in my list because there's a game that's straight up better. This is that game. Sure, it doesn't have the fancy Mode 7 effects or the goofy diagonal whipping, but it doesn't need them. In fact, it's better for not having the latter specifically. The first Castlevania game was hard as balls but very cleverly designed. Every single moment in the game was a challenge to the player, almost a puzzle to solve. I feel like this is a lost art in platformers these days, where either levels have a lot of platforming and enemies but they're trivially easy so there's no satisfaction (I'd argue that SCIV almost feels like this), or they game goes "I WILL BE DIFFICULT" and it's just miserable and unfair to play. Castlevania 1 nailed this, and 3 took it even further. (2 was an open world game for its time, and thus lacked tight encounter design since you had to be able to traverse areas in multiple directions and possibly not have the right resources to finish an area).

Click to expand...

The game was a pretty big technical achievement on the NES, but it was the content that was the star here. Levels that are designed just as well as CV1 if not better, plus more of them, plus three completely different characters you can play as, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. It's really brilliantly calculated, and also fiendishly brutal. As I've mentioned before on other posts, I'm a big fan of simplicity in games. Adding too many elements can distract from what makes the core design tick and feel like a loss of focus. CV3 adds just enough, but doesn't tip the scale. It's walking the razor edge of balance. Overall, we have the culmination of the classic Castlevania formula. Really great game.

52: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (+expansions)



The Witcher 3 is basically the endpoint of the modern western RPG genre. Sure, there will eventually be a game that bests it, but it will take quite some time. Following Geralt through books and games and reaching the conclusion of his story is worth the price of entry alone, but there's so much more here. This game is obscenely content-rich. Every side quest is voice-acted, and each one of them feels like someone put a lot of effort into writing it. Every story feels worth pursuing, and every time the results are hard to stomach. The world of The Witcher is a grim one, yet it doesn't revel in being GRIMDARK like Warhammer. It's a human, flawed world and that's what makes it so special.

Click to expand...

Every time you make a choice, it's a hard one between two bad options, and what seems to be less bad can sometimes come back around and bite you back. Geralt himself is perfectly positioned in this world, an outsider who is on the verge of caring. This isn't a role-playing game where you are a blank slate and have a vast variety of options to play your character as. You are playing Geralt, and making decisions from a set of choices he would pursue. The Witchers being neutral, you can either be uninvolved and let things play our (and end poorly), or get involved and try to sort out a messy situation. Either option always ends up having consequences, and having that actually play out in a game this large, having each mini story as a point of gut-wrenching anguish is just masterful. There's much more to be said about the story, the voice acting, the graphics, and everything else, but this is the core of The Witcher to me. All the small moments that had just as much attention paid to them as the big ones, and all of them having lasting emotional impact for me.

51: Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

Click to expand...

Shovel Knight is everything I love about retro games, but the way I remember them instead of the way they are. Yacht Club are really geniuses. There have been many attempts at recreating the success of older platformers, but no one has really done it to the extent that Shovel Knight has. The game is just a blast to play, feels oldschool without having the pitfalls of older games, and is just super tight. Additionally, they've supported it post-launch with so much awesome content, and the extra campaigns are arguably even better. Each different character plays completely differently and has their own campaign, and they're all great. The music, the pixel art, the controls, it's just perfect. The game is neither too challenging nor too easy either, and they've used both old and new game design elements to perfect this mix. There's really not much else to say - Shovel Knight is amazing. Go play it already.

Click to expand...

I always wanted to try Oni but never bothered renting it despite seeing it on the video store aisle always.

Also, Shovel Knight is one of the most over-rated games of all-time IMO. I don't think the level design is that good.

Yeah!!!! Shovel Knight and Castlevania III!

Man when I played Dracula's Curse for the first time maybe a year and a half ago its overall quality blew me away. Easily a favorite Castlevania and a top 100 for me, too.

Oni I always thought looked cool but I skipped it due to poor reviews! I don't make that mistake these days as often, I hope.

Shovel Knight I really am crazy about and I think Specter Knight's campaign is the best so far.

Witcher 3 is fine. Glad to see it in the middle of the pack and not in the top 10.

Nuu said:

I always wanted to try Oni but never bothered renting it despite seeing it on the video store aisle always.

Also, Shovel Knight is one of the most over-rated games of all-time IMO. I don't think the level design is that good.

Click to expand...

Weird! I really love the game and think it's brilliant. The level design stands out to me. What do you think could be done better?

StarPhlox said:

Yeah!!!! Shovel Knight and Castlevania III!

Man when I played Dracula's Curse for the first time maybe a year and a half ago its overall quality blew me away. Easily a favorite Castlevania and a top 100 for me, too.

Oni I always thought looked cool but I skipped it due to poor reviews! I don't make that mistake these days as often, I hope.

Shovel Knight I really am crazy about and I think Specter Knight's campaign is the best so far.

Witcher 3 is fine. Glad to see it in the middle of the pack and not in the top 10.

Click to expand...

CV3 is weirdly underrated. 1,2 and 4 dominate the conversation when it comes to the classics for obvious reasons. Perhaps 3 came too late in the life cycle of the system.

Oni I'd say is a cult classic and a game that captured a particular audience at the right time. If you went in today it might not be as fun.

I also think Specter Knight is the best SK campaign because I love the movement mechanics.

Today's anectode is a shorter one.

I love DMC3, like I said, and I 100%ed it. Thing is, you might be able to deduce some stuff from what I've mentioned before. I played it on release, but I never had a PS2, so I clearly played it on PC. We didn't have any official controllers or any worthwhile ones, so I played the game with mouse & keyboard controls.

Here's the kicker: at the time my main gaming machine was a laptop. And I didn't have a mouse on the side most of the time. Putting all these together, one can come to an absurd conclusion. That I played, and 100% completed DMC3:SE with a laptop keyboard and a touchpad. This seems like insanity, right? Well, I actually did that. It was not the optimal way to experience the game for sure, but I worked hard and made it. I don't know if I should be proud of this, but it's something for sure.

Further, I even used to play RTS games and even Counter-Strike with a touchpad, and did fine. *shudder*

Awesome thread! Its kind of inspiring me to eventually do one of my own.

Wow playing those games like that sounds beyond miserable!

Probably the worst experience I had playing a game in a similar fashion was playing through Metroid Prime: Hunters on my laptop last year. Used a Wii U Pro controller for most things but for several sections I'd also have to rely on the touchpad on my laptop and go between the two. It was so bad and awkward but I was driven to finish every Metroid game.

I kinda wish we would get those DMC games on PS4 some day soon. Liked Devil May Cry on PS2 way back in the day and then I was hyped for 2, but it was bad and I returned it to Gamestop for a full refund that same weekend I got it. Never touched 3 and only played a demo of 4 that was really mediocre. Would be great to come back to that series with a fresh perspective as an adult because I think I could enjoy them quite a bit.

So yeah, I just stumbled upon this thread nynt9. This is how list are done man, it's been a great read, I'm liking the "Not in the 100" list just as much as the 100 list. Just the fact that Fate of Atlantis, Grim Fandango, and Crimsonland are being covered in the same thread is a treat.

Love the antidotes as well, makes for a great read, it's gonna be hard to top this 100 list. Your picks are varied and interesting, you've done some gaming in your time man. Just that fact that Lost Vikings got a mention kinda kicks ass, I loved that game. Subbed and looking forward to the rest.

Disappointed that Civ V didn't make the list, but I know damn well that Civ IV did

Time for 5 that didn't make it...

Hitman (2016)



This is another game that I really wanted to make it into my list, but I just didn't have enough room. I love the Hitman series, but they've always felt on the cusp of perfection and not fully there. 2016 is the one that comes closest in many ways. After the absolutely dreadful Absolution that, by all rights, should have killed the franchise, we get a new Hitman game that totally nails the ethos of the original series and then some. The openness, flexibility and variety is ridiculous. The level designs are brilliant, and there's an absurd amount of content.

Click to expand...

The real gem of this new Hitman is all the optional content. Each mission can be transformed by the developers or players with the addition of new objectives and restrictions, and they all force you to think differently. Elusive targets are an especially brilliant idea, since you only have one shot at them. One problem with this series is that once you get better and better with repetition, the challenge kind of goes away. Elusive targets solve this by making you think on your feet, and they're the addition that suits the soul of the series the best, in my opinion.

Super Mario 3D World



This is the best Mario game since SM64. I know many will disagree here, but I am steadfast in this. Like I said with my post on SM64, the beauty of that game is in its simplicity. And here we have the same deal. The game has a small amount of mechanics, but it does so much with them. Constant creativity in level design and visuals keeps everything fresh constantly.

Click to expand...

The multiplayer is a really underrated aspect of the game as well. It's a chaotic mess, but in a fun way. In a sense, this game is a better party game than Mario party because you can throw everyone in there and see them cooperate or intentionally grief each other, and it's just a fun time. There's something for everyone in this game, regardless of skill level, and it's just incredibly easy to sit down and appreciate. I think Mario as a series should be simple, but use that simplicity to create depth and polished levels, and SM3DW excels at that.

Dying Light



I did not expect to enjoy this game as much as I did. Dead Island was a disappointment, and I only bought this because I believed in the potential of the formula. To my surprise, it was realized to its potential and then some. Featuring a good open world with a lot of stuff to do, a lot of loot that never feels too much, a visceral and challenging combat system, great visuals and a mildly intriguing story, this game was a blast to play.

Click to expand...

It also has one of the best drop-in-drop-out co-op systems. It's so easy to play with your friends regardless of each other's progress, and it never feels like a waste of time for one player who isn't as far as the other or vice versa. The rarely-used invasion mode was super fun as well. The game world is very well-designed as well, encouraging both parkour and combat and exploration equally. The grappling hook near the end was a great addition as well, just like every other late-game skill you unlock that feels like a big improvement. Overall, this game was a huge surprise for me and I'm looking forward to seeing how they pursue it further.

Rogue Legacy



I've played many roguelites, but none of them came close to Rogue Legacy. The progression system is among the most satisfying in the genre for me, and I think that's what makes or breaks a roguelite. Beyond that, the mechanics are fun, the randomly generated levels are actually interesting and challenging, and the game almost feels like a legitimate Metroidvania that's hand-designed.

Click to expand...

The random handicaps and buffs all add variety to each run, yet it still comes down to your skill. It's hard to explain why I feel this game is so perfectly tuned, but it just nails every aspect of its formula so that it's just challenging enough while being extremely rewarding. I played through this game several times on PC, PS4 and Vita, and loved every moment. If it comes to Switch, I'll buy it again and finish it again. There are some minor issues that prevent the game from being a top 100 for me, but still a great game overall.

Miasmata



This is the most interesting survival game I've played, and it came before the big survival boom, and had some weird-ass mechanics that were way ahead of its time. You're trapped on an island (it's not procedurally generated), and you get struck by a deadly disease. You're supposed to find a cure, but things get complicated fast. You need herbs to cure yourself, but the recipe is unclear, you need to search for more information. You also need to make medicine to alleviate your symptoms so you can continue exploring. The crafting system is actually quite elaborate, as you have to manually weigh and cut and crush ingredients to make meds. But this isn't the only problem. The game has an exceedingly realistic walking system, and walking on uneven ground can cause you to slip and fall and get injured, especially when it's raining, so you have to be extra careful. You can make meds to improve your dexterity and constitution permanently to reduce the effects of these ailments.

Click to expand...

But of course your troubles don't end there. There's a beast on the island, and it's after you. This is an animal-like creature that stalks you, and it has an actual presence on the island and AI. From what I can tell, it's not scripted in any particular way, and it actually roams the island and behaves like an animal. There are ways to trick and repel the beast temporarily, and you have to be on the lookout for it constantly. It's quite brilliant and the game makes you really feel the tension. But the most brilliant system of he game is its map. You have a map of the island you fill out as you go, but you don't have a marker depicting your location. Instead, you can pull up your map, visually find landmarks in the world and find them in the map, and triangulate your position. It's the most realistic map system I've ever used in a game and it's brilliantly designed. The game was kind of clunky, but it had so many great ideas and the atmosphere was so strong that I'd still recommend it. It can look pretty neat at times too.


(Triangulation in effect)

Spladam said:

So yeah, I just stumbled upon this thread nynt9. This is how list are done man, it's been a great read, I'm liking the "Not in the 100" list just as much as the 100 list. Just the fact that Fate of Atlantis, Grim Fandango, and Crimsonland are being covered in the same thread is a treat.

Love the antidotes as well, makes for a great read, it's gonna be hard to top this 100 list. Your picks are varied and interesting, you've done some gaming in your time man. Just that fact that Lost Vikings got a mention kinda kicks ass, I loved that game. Subbed and looking forward to the rest.

Disappointed that Civ V didn't make the list, but I know damn well that Civ IV did

Click to expand...

Thanks! Though I gotta disappoint you and say Civ V is my favorite...

I'm really surprised to not see Hitman make the top 100?! Didn't it rank super high on your best of 2016 list?!

Mario 3D World I somewhat disagree with you on. It's a good game for sure, but I think its weird how simple Mario controls compared to like 64 when he has so many moves. Different games though. I would put it near the bottom of the pile when it comes to 3D Mario games (still better than the vast majority of video games overall).

I'm feeling kinda unwell and I was pretty busy today so no anectode, but I'll keep the list going.

50: Resident Evil 5



I think this game is pretty awesome. Sure, maybe RE4 was more revolutionary and did some things better, but 5 gets overshadowed too easily. It's still great. I love the atmosphere, which is pretty underrated. Combining body horror with being in a completely foreign place, the game felt uneasy at every opportunity, and the color grading gave it a very distinct feeling. At times it felt relentless, with how unkillable some enemies seemed. The co-op was a good addition, and while I understand that for some people it made the game less scary, to me it made the game just more fun to play. Playing with the AI was fine, but playing with someone else was a good experience as well. Your companion can have your back, but you also need to have your back and it's one more thing to worry about.

Click to expand...

I really like the cinematic take on the franchise here. They added some more over the top action stuff and went on full movie here. The camera work and cinematography in general is super underrated in this game. They paid a lot of attention to detail with the framing and editing and at points it was almost Kojima-like. The ludicrous fights you go through, the setpieces, Chris punching a boulder, it all made the game a really cool and fun romp that RE6 tried to replicate but failed to. Overall, if you're not super stuck on RE being explicitly survival horror and can handle some action horror, RE5 is really great.

49: Vanquish



Vanquish in many ways kind of killed the third person shooter genre for me. Combining Platinum's tight, ridiculous gameplay with Shinji Mikami's sense of style, Vanquish is so pure energy. Character action games are generally melee combat based, but Vanquish makes the formula work for shooting. You can use cover and be lame, sure, but the game is all about mobility and speed. The rush you get from playing this game is unparalleled.

Click to expand...

I really hope the rumored PC port happens, because it would be great for this game to get a second life and maybe even a sequel. No other game lets you slide on your knees with a jetpack, slow time and shoot, do backflips, shoot more, and just go nuts with the world. With Vanquish, I can write all I want but it's all about the feel, the style. You just have to play it to get it.

48: Nier: Automata



I know this game is really new, so I'll have to justify its inclusion here extra hard, but it being new also means that I shouldn't spoil anything. Well, let's just say that this is about where the first Nier would have ranked on my list, and I like this one a lot as well. The fact that we got Platinum gameplay to complement Yoko Taro's insanity is just such a delight, and thus I'll replace Nier easily here. Maybe the sequel doesn't have as much goofy sidequest stuff as the first, but it plays so much better overall. It feels like playing a Platinum game, but for once they weren't constrained to making a smaller game, they could go all out with a larger, connected world and have others focus on storytelling.

Click to expand...

Then we have the narrative and the themes. I really don't want to spoil too much, but let's just say that as a fan of The Stanley Parable and meta-narratives, I really enjoyed Nier: Automata. The first game already did a phenomenal job with deconstructing the genre and player expectations, but this one takes it even further. I'd still love this game if it fumbled its themes and execution, but it actually nails it. I'll just say that this is a must-play.

47: Max Payne



Max Payne is the perfect cultural storm. It came out shortly after The Matrix, and was the first game to utilize bullet time. The ability to do John Woo-esque dives while shooting people is still cool, and it was incredible back then. Additionally, the noir comic book vibe of the game was a really unique storytelling device back then, and they nailed the tone, look, and sound. Every moment in the game is still iconic, and it's still incredibly fun to play. The only sequel it ever got, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne was also great, maybe better in some ways, but the original game's cultural impact is still bigger I think.

Click to expand...

*lemonface*
It was quite a tough game as well. Part of it was having to master this completely new paradigm of playing a shooter, dodging and effectively utilizing bullet time, but part of it was just that the game was tough. And that toughness reflected in the world of the game, how everything was cold and hostile. The dream sequences are still among the best in gaming, the light occult touch gave the game a unique feel, the piano flourish is still iconic. The game also had an amazing modding scene too, especially with The Matrix-related mods that added melee combat and walking on walls and the lobby level, and a later mod based on the gun-kata movie Equilibrium.

46: Warcraft III/The Frozen Throne



And this game is my favorite RTS. Technically, I'm more attached to Red Alert as a series, but this game is just too good. Mechanically, it's so varied and balanced, with different races feeling entirely distinct, but the real reason is the story. Warcraft 3 and its expansion revolutionized storytelling in RTSs, and they set the ground work for World of Warcraft and DOTA, which are both huge phenomenons still. Telling an epic fantasy tale spanning continents and time, WC3 solidified one of the most iconic stories in gaming. It also popularized (if not created, I'm not sure) hero-based RTS gameplay, which many others have adopted and the MOBA genre was born out of. It gave us some of the most recognizable characters in gaming like Arthas and Illidan, and it gave us the mobile phenomenon that is Hearthstone. This game's influence is crazy.



But there's more. Every faction was interesting to play as, each having their unique twist, mechanics and heroes. The multiplayer was incredibly fun because of this, but the real gem was the modding. As I've mentioned before with HOMAM3, I love creating maps for my friends to play. I've spent most of my custom content creation through the map editor of WC3, which was really great, and you could extend it with even more capability by hacking it. This is also how DOTA was born. But there was so much more variety out there. X-MEN multiplayer campaigns with full cinematic cutscenes, many other multiplayer modes, even over-the-shoulder perspectives, a WOW mod that had a huge world and quests and factions, it was quite incredible. Blizzard went above and beyond with WC3.

StarPhlox said:

I'm really surprised to not see Hitman make the top 100?! Didn't it rank super high on your best of 2016 list?!

Mario 3D World I somewhat disagree with you on. It's a good game for sure, but I think its weird how simple Mario controls compared to like 64 when he has so many moves. Different games though. I would put it near the bottom of the pile when it comes to 3D Mario games (still better than the vast majority of video games overall).

Click to expand...

It did, but there's just not enough room in there. Gotta cut something. As for 3DW, like I said earlier, I think Mario games are best when they're simple, and 3DW was simple yet did a lot with its simplicity.

Max Payne is an amazing, amazing game.

I don't see a lot of love for Max Payne 3, but I never got around to it either whereas I love 1&2.

StarPhlox said:

I don't see a lot of love for Max Payne 3, but I never got around to it either whereas I love 1&2.

Click to expand...

When I finally decided to complete a game 1-2 years ago, I chose Max Payne 3. I ended up hating it. Goddamn was it repetitive, although the gunplay was satisfying, yet I ended up thinking it was a waste of my time. I loved Max Payne 1 and 2.

Sorry, still not feeling well, so no time for an anectode. I'll try to catch up over the weekend! Time for 5 that didn't make it.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade



I love the WH40K universe. For the longest time, there were no proper games set in it, then we got Dawn of War, which was amazing. It was a fresh breath of air for the RTS genre, combining accepted conventions with new ideas like squad based control, cover, more unit based combat than buildings, etc. It had a great campaign too. It was the perfect WH40K game. Then we got expansions to add even more to it, and they even added a conquest-like campaign, hero building and more. Really well-made game that got great support from Relic over time.



I mentioned how fond I am of trolling in multiplayer games. Necrons in WH are my favorite race as such. Annoying troll tactics and unusually persistent units are basically drool-inducing for me, and they translated this well to the game as well. The Dark Crusade expansion brought them to digital life, and it was perfect. Both in campaign and multiplayer, Necrons were amazing to play as. I still think this is hands down the best representation of 40K in game format.

Jazz Jackrabbit 2



It was the era of mascot platformers, and Epic brought edge and quirk to PC with Jazz Jackrabbit. I actually never played the first one, but spent quite a bit of time with the sequel. Honestly, this game (and its expansions) were nothing new for the genre, and they weren't even particularly amazing, but for some reason I spent a lot of time with it. The levels felt massive and the exploration element was pretty well realized, and it was a blast to play.



Looking back, this game was like a bizarre blend of Sonic and Commander Keen. Part of the appeal was that there was a level editor available for it and a community of level creation and custom content. By now those of you who follow the thread know that that stuff appeals to me. The game felt like it had endless content, and at the time being a PC-only player, it was the best option I had as a platformer so it was dear to me.

Paper Mario



I actually really like this game, but I just can't justify taking out anything from my top 100 for it. I think the Paper Mario formula was brilliant and creative, but it lost appeal with every subsequent iteration. It was a really clever idea at first with cool level design, a story that's interesting enough, fun characters and a neat battle system, but Nintendo kept taking the franchise in weird directions that stopped appealing to me. Too many games that felt too similar, yet also not similar enough in the right ways.



That being said, the original Paper Mario was great. The world felt really large and exploration was a joy, with many puzzles revolving around all the mechanics of dimensionality and the unique party members you meet. This is one of those rare games where I just felt compelled to keep pushing just to see what the game would throw at me next. Funnily, since I never had a Gamecube, I never got around to playing TTYD in its time so I missed the window on it, and going back to it never felt appealing and it didn't have the same passion for me as the original.

Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts



I love brutal platformers that are well-designed and visually appealing, and this game hits all the marks. It's actually kind of comical how overly difficult it can be at times, but I like it for it. They aren't afraid to throw the kitchen sink at you and let you figure it out. While this series had several iterations, the SNES version felt like the best balance to me. The art, music and feel of the controls were top notch. Nailing the perfect run gave you a rush and you really needed to commit and learn patterns.



A lot of platformers go for the brutal difficulty angle but few of them nail it. For some, you are expected to play the game in a way such that there is a perfect set of inputs from the start of the level to the end, and if you deviate from that, you fail. Here, it felt like you had room for doing things in different ways, and levels sometimes even had minor branches in the path. That feeling of experimentation and being able to succeed in different ways is key, I think.

VVVVVV



Speaking of tough platformers, VVVVVV is a great one. Terry Cavanagh really nailed it with this one. A game with basically a single input outside of movement, and he explored the gravity switching mechanic to such an extreme. Minimalistic graphics, snappy controls and an open level design that let you progress in different areas when you were stuck all make this game a masterpiece. The nonsensical abstract art design works in the game's favor too, as it's both amusing and also visually very easy to read.



It's seriously amazing how much experimentation with the mechanics Terry got to throw in there. The escort mission, the "survive" part, brutal challenges like Veni Vidi Vici... there are countless mini-challenges in the game, and they're all brilliantly designed. Having secrets to go for with extra difficult challenges, a unique name for each room, the elephant, and enough flexibility to allow for fun speedruns are many other factors that add tot he game's charm. I'd say the game is a true modern classic.

Piston Hyundai said:

Max Payne is an amazing, amazing game.

Spoiler

Max Payne 2 is better, though.

Click to expand...

MP2 may well be better, but I think MP had a bigger impact, and is more iconic. Also the sniper defense level in the construction yard with Mona running across in 2 really annoys me.

StarPhlox said:

I don't see a lot of love for Max Payne 3, but I never got around to it either whereas I love 1&2.

Click to expand...

Pachimari said:

When I finally decided to complete a game 1-2 years ago, I chose Max Payne 3. I ended up hating it. Goddamn was it repetitive, although the gunplay was satisfying, yet I ended up thinking it was a waste of my time. I loved Max Payne 1 and 2.

Click to expand...

You guys mention this game Max Payne 3, but I have no idea what you're talking about. There are only two Max Payne games! I hear some studio made a knockoff later on but it has nothing of the originals tonally. Just because you shootdodge and have a dude named Max in your game doesn't make it a Max Payne game. Doesn't help that it was also super tedious to play. Constant interruptions by cutscenes that make the character do things that you could (and should) have done in gameplay yourself. I have no idea what game we're talking about. There are only two Max Paynes.

I love Jazz Jackrabbit 2, but I always thought that the fast and loose movement and open level design made it all feel a little too unfocused. It made looking for secrets a lot of fun, but the critical path stuff kind of suffers for it. You could often blast past any obstacles with a running jump since you run so damn quickly and the hover keeps you in the air for a real long time.

The art, music, and mod support is all fantastic, though.

Back to the main list!

45: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D



And here it is, my favorite Zelda game. Why do I like this one so much? Because of the weird, almost avant-garde tone, its design focusing you to obsess with the world and identify with its despair, and just how creepy and un-Zelda it is while remaining excessively Zelda. As we all know, this game was made in a very short time window after OOT, and it feels like an entirely different game. Instead of focusing on a large, open world, it focuses on one city and its outskirts. Instead of exploring space, you explore time. The only other game that I can think of that does this is Lightning Returns. Everything is designed around this, the time to the end of the world and the actions of the characters. You can miss things in the 3-day cycle and you will need to reset them. You can't possibly get everything done in time, which makes it feel incredibly fatalistic. You will have to cheat time to save the world.



The world just feels off. Everyone is weird and off-kilter. It's simultaneously colorful and dark. Everyone is either too blissfully ignorant or excessively dark. The skull kid is a bizarre antagonist of a bizarre world. The masks are an unsettling way to gain new abilities, and they all have their own backstory that is oftentimes as depressing as anything else in the world. The dungeons are pretty good, and the time aspect adds a new layer of challenge to them. It's really astonishing how much they accomplished and how creative they were with the shortest turnaround time in the series.

44: Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth



I am a huge fan of Cthulhu Mythos stuff. Obviously it's a hugely influential setting, but no game has really done the original works of Lovecraft justice (let's not get into the racist stuff). Until this one. A first person survival horror shooter, COCCOTE is basically the best Lovecraft game ever. Combining adaptations of multiple of his works, but mostly Shadow Over Innsmouth, you play as a detective going to the small town of Innsmouth. Stuff swiftly goes downhill from there. Featuring a sanity system that plays with your perception, stealth mechanics, locational body damage and more, this game is a really atmoshperic horror game that nails its premise.

Click to expand...

It's not perfect as a game, but it does the whole self-questioning narrator thing of the stories very well, and the inn escape sequence in the intro is hands down one of my favorite gaming moments ever. Hearing the crowd congregate outside, barring your door, pushing a closet in front of it and searching for a way out was great, and very accurate to the feel of the original story. The way enemies can break down doors in pursuit of you after a while felt groundbreaking at the time, and you never felt safe. So many amazing setpieces. A hard recommendation for horror fans.

43: Mega Man Zero Collection

Click to expand...

Ok, I'm cheating a bit here, but this was released as a single DS SKU so I'll take it. I like all the Mega Man games, but the Zero series is my favorite. I've always been drawn to the Zero character due to the melee focus and aura of mystique about his past, and because of him being the "other" character. With the Zero series, they decided to go deeper on him, give Mega Man some lore, and focus on really challenging gameplay. I absolutely love all four of these games, and weirdly I care about their stories a lot too.



Them giving Zero a blaster may have been a weird choice initially, but it makes sense with all the weapon options and abilities you earn throughout these series. Inti Creates did an amazing job with the level design in this subseries, making each area feel open, difficult, interesting and fun overall. I 100%d every single one of these, which, as I've mentioned before, is something I reserve only for games I really love. Especially when they're this difficult.

42: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Dual Destinies



I love, really love the Ace Attorney series. The sense of humor, the courtroom gameplay, the twists and turns, quirky characters and insanely convoluted cases are the main reasons, but there are many small details as well. Like many, I was unimpressed with Apollo Justice at the time, and was scared that the series had lost its magic after the departure of the director Shu Takumi. Well, I was proven super wrong with Dual Destinies. Going the triple protagonist route was brilliant. Apollo was redeemed, Phoenix was given status in the world reflective of his record, and Athena was a great addition to the cast. The jump to 3D was handled very well, and the game's art style was not only preserved, but also enhanced as a result of it. Investigation scenes were better, and the courtroom stuff was much improved as well.

Click to expand...

But the story. The story was amazing. Apollo's growth, Athena and Blackquill's journey, the justice system, the villain, the returning characters and all of it were handled so well. I even loved the oft-maligned second case. They reveal the culprit right at the beginning, but the evidence is so overwhelmingly irrefutable that I started doubting myself, wondering if I was misremembering the opening cinematic for the case. It made me doubt everything, and the final revelation was actually very satisfying. How all the other cases ended up connecting to the main storyline was great as well. Overall, this is hands down my favorite Ace Attorney game.

41: Mirror's Edge



This game came out of nowhere. It was EA's period of brilliance where they put out new IPs and great games for a while. First person platforming sounds like a miserable idea, but the full body awareness was a great way to mitigate that, along with clever level design. Featuring a unique, stark visual style, a great soundtrack, and a pristine setting, Mirror's Edge was such a fresh, unique take on platforming.



The sense of fluid motion and the ability to pick your own traversal path through the linear-but-enabling levels made this game a blast. It had a strong variety of levels that were all well-designed. The sequel really missed the point, and there are many analysis videos explaining it, but basically going open world sacrificed the tight level design, rebooted the story to tell a worse one, wasted its mechanics, introduced an unnecessary skill system and probably killed the franchise. Raycevick has a good video on it. But I think the first one is an unassailable classic.

Piston Hyundai said:

I love Jazz Jackrabbit 2, but I always thought that the fast and loose movement and open level design made it all feel a little too unfocused. It made looking for secrets a lot of fun, but the critical path stuff kind of suffers for it. You could often blast past any obstacles with a running jump since you run so damn quickly and the hover keeps you in the air for a real long time.

The art, music, and mod support is all fantastic, though.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the game was definitely not the definition of polish. It was actually quite... loose with its design. But it was still fun because of the openness of the levels, like you said. I never paid attention to the music too much, but now that you mention it, yeah, it's great.

Even though I think you're cheating by putting a collection on here, the fact that they made it so you can play through all 4 without a break makes it slightly more legit. That's how I played them, at least.

Overall, these are probably my favorite entries of yours so far and Majora's Mask is probably my favorite Zelda as well, although BOTW and ALBW are both up there and I guess I did 100% each ALBW and MM twice which I can't say for BOTW. I don't think I'll ever 100% that game!

Mirror's Edge sure was cool and I must admit I really liked Catalyst but that was a tremendous failure it seems.

I sure should give those Phoenix Wright games another shot. I love Zero Escape and Danganronpa so slow Japanese weird games are fine for me, but PW didn't click!

Yay Mirrors Edge made an appearance. Since thats one of my personal top 5, its always great seeing others enjoy it. 2016 was actually a great year for the original Mirrors Edge. Not only did it get an unlikely sequel, but also 2 AAA spiritual successors in Watchdogs 2 and Titanfall. Both of which may arguably be better games then Catalyst and its Igvania take on the formula.

StarPhlox said:

Even though I think you're cheating by putting a collection on here, the fact that they made it so you can play through all 4 without a break makes it slightly more legit. That's how I played them, at least.

Overall, these are probably my favorite entries of yours so far and Majora's Mask is probably my favorite Zelda as well, although BOTW and ALBW are both up there and I guess I did 100% each ALBW and MM twice which I can't say for BOTW. I don't think I'll ever 100% that game!

Mirror's Edge sure was cool and I must admit I really liked Catalyst but that was a tremendous failure it seems.

I sure should give those Phoenix Wright games another shot. I love Zero Escape and Danganronpa so slow Japanese weird games are fine for me, but PW didn't click!

Click to expand...

Not 100%ing BOTW twice clearly makes you a casual Zelda fan

See below for Catalyst.

If you like Danganronpa, Ace Attorney should be pretty close. It's a bit more old school and VN-y, but once you get over that it's just as batshit insane. It starts off more sane, but ramps up pretty quickly.

jdstorm said:

Yay Mirrors Edge made an appearance. Since thats one of my personal top 5, its always great seeing others enjoy it. 2016 was actually a great year for the original Mirrors Edge. Not only did it get an unlikely sequel, but also 2 AAA spiritual successors in Watchdogs 2 and Titanfall. Both of which may arguably be better games then Catalyst and its Igvania take on the formula.

Click to expand...

Titanfall 2 was really awesome! I wish the campaign was longer though. It never ran out of ideas, but it ended pretty quickly. I'd love more of that. I liked WD2 too, but I never really considered it along the lines of ME. The parkour in it is pretty weak. It has some light immersive sim elements too, which I like. ME actually used to be higher on my list, but some other games came out in the years since, and over the years some flaws of ME started to grate at me slightly more. Still love it though. The sequel was such a disappointment The thing is, they nailed the gameplay feel and most of the look, but everything else was mediocre. It really shouldn't have been open world. I still really liked it, but it was an enjoyable sequel to a game I consider to be a classic, and that's just not great. They alienated fans of the original to appeal to some nebulous wider audience, but didn't really try to pull that audience in, so the end result was a game that was made for no one in particular. The least they could have done would have been making a perfect sequel for the fans of the original. Don't spend too much budget on the open world, just make another linear game. Take the campaign levels from Catalyst and the Node challenges, add a few more levels together and string them together, and that's it. Would have cost less money to make and sold better.

I havent played Watchdogs 2 yet. (Waiting for the GotY physical version) however its core plot and design is very true to the original concept of Mirrors Edge. Mirrors Edge was origionally conceptualized as a shooter about a gang that rebelled against a corrupt goverment and ran information living on the outskirts of decent society. Watchdogs 2 really taps into this sentiment despite it not being much of a platformer. However since its Ubi it totally nails the openworld aspects. Plus it has Cranes which are a Mirrors Edge staple. Speaking of Ubi, in my list i forgot to include Steep. I lovingly call that game Mountains Edge. Unfortunately its really douchey like Catalyst, but the gameplay is incredibly true to the Mirrors Edge concept. (Even if it badly needs a 3rd stick/Imput for looking where you are going in first person)

As for Catalyst. It bothers me when people refer to it as an open world, because it never really fulfills that breif. Instead its a bunch of adjecent hub world boxes akwardly tied together by Igvania design. Pity, because despite being a mediocre platformer Catalyst is a fantastic first person brawler and is in many ways just as inventive as the first.

Edit: There was a strong implication at the time that Catalyst existed mainly as a tech demo to develop Frostbite's open world tools. While a focused sequel would have been great it was seemingly never on the table.

jdstorm said:

I havent played Watchdogs 2 yet. (Waiting for the GotY physical version) however its core plot and design is very true to the original concept of Mirrors Edge. Mirrors Edge was origionally conceptualized as a shooter about a gang that rebelled against a corrupt goverment and ran information living on the outskirts of decent society. Watchdogs 2 really taps into this sentiment despite it not being much of a platformer. However since its Ubi it totally nails the openworld aspects. Plus it has Cranes which are a Mirrors Edge staple. Speaking of Ubi, in my list i forgot to include Steep. I lovingly call that game Mountains Edge. Unfortunately its really douchey like Catalyst, but the gameplay is incredibly true to the Mirrors Edge concept. (Even if it badly needs a 3rd stick/Imput for looking where you are going in first person)

As for Catalyst. It bothers me when people refer to it as an open world, because it never really fulfills that breif. Instead its a bunch of adjecent hub world boxes akwardly tied together by Igvania design. Pity, because despite being a mediocre platformer Catalyst is a fantastic first person brawler and is in many ways just as inventive as the first.

Edit: There was a strong implication at the time that Catalyst existed mainly as a tech demo to develop Frostbite's open world tools. While a focused sequel would have been great it was seemingly never on the table.

Click to expand...

Well, maybe open world isn't fully accurate, but it doesn't exactly feel like an igavania either. Maybe your description "awkwardly" covers that. As for the brawling, I felt the mechanics were real easy to cheese and not that interesting. I think the game would have been possibly better if faith couldn't knock out enemies at all. Just keep it pure non-combat. That would incentivize you to run more instead of stopping and fighting.

As for WD2, I can see that angle, and the open world aspects are pretty good, but it doesn't scratch the same itch for me. Assassin's Creed Syndicate feels closer for me, and it has actual parkour.

nynt9 said:

You guys mention this game Max Payne 3, but I have no idea what you're talking about. There are only two Max Payne games! I hear some studio made a knockoff later on but it has nothing of the originals tonally. Just because you shootdodge and have a dude named Max in your game doesn't make it a Max Payne game. Doesn't help that it was also super tedious to play. Constant interruptions by cutscenes that make the character do things that you could (and should) have done in gameplay yourself. I have no idea what game we're talking about. There are only two Max Paynes.

Click to expand...

I've had Max Payne 3 in my Steam backlog for years, tried to play through it on three seperate occasions and could not find the interest to make it half way through.

Also, I played a lot of the first Jazz the Jack Rabbit as a kid (I didn't have NES or a SNES yet) and never knew Epic (Apogee) made a sequel until this thread....

I knew there was some good stuff I missed by not owning a DS, but more and more I regret not playing games on that console.

Sorry for being late, weird day! Let's go. 5 games that didn't make it. I promise I'll go back to anectodes tomorrow. In exchange, I'll add some personal storytelling to my entries today.

Mega Man X4



This is the second Mega Man game I ever played, the first being MM8. That one was actually one of my earlier PS1 games, I think. I had no idea what Mega Man was and where games 1 through 7 were. Then I got MMX4, and again, I was even further confused as to the state of the franchise. Anyway, I loved both, but this one was a lot more exciting. The level design in this one is just off the charts. I generally like the classic Mega Man games, but X is where they really start clicking with me. A more "mature" art style, being able to wall jump and have all these large levels with their gimmicks and cool-ass bosses and... yeah, the list goes on. To me, the MMX control and ability scheme became to be the definitive set of platformer mechanics that I expect from every game.



Out of the X games, this is probably my favorite, with X5 being a close second. The weird play order thing in X5 is kind of confusing for a first-timer, but once you understand what's going on, it's pretty neat. Anyway, both of these games have an amazing art style, great music and awesome game feel. The SNES ones just didn't feel right to me, like they were held back by the system and the slowdowns, whereas here it feels like they've finally accomplished the game they wanted to. And I love it. Of course I play as Zero.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within



I know this is EDGE THE GAME but I actually liked it back in the day. While some aspects were overly angsty and dark, I did enjoy the more fatalistic take on the POP formula. It's a shame that the game gets maligned for its character design and storytelling decisions, because the level design is fucking awesome. Also, parts of the game's grimdark aesthetic and theme are legitimately well done. Taking the amazing concept of the original Sands of Time, adding so much more to it, improving the combat, making the combat part of platforming, adding the Dahaka chase sequences and ramping up the difficulty all made this a much more interesting game. In the first game, you could beat almost every enemy by vaulting over them, but here you have to actually work for it.



The plot twist halfway through the game was cool, and it even introduced a new mechanic for a while, which I appreciate (aka games having plot that affects gameplay). I also liked that there was a secret ending that you could get if you really explored the world, and the world was beautiful and worth exploring in its fullest. This is my favorite of the trilogy, and I debated replacing POP2008 for this one, but in the end the art style of that one won over. Still, this is a game I really enjoy despite some of its shortcomings. The time travel mechanic is still brilliant and I'd definitely be up for a reboot of this formula. Pro tip: the PSP port doesn't control as well, but it has additional content. Two Thrones was great as well, but I felt like by then the formula wore a bit thin, and Warrior Within had the best balance of new stuff and design.

Castlevania: Aria/Dawn of Sorrow

Click to expand...

Putting this outside my top 100 feels like betrayal, but you have to be patient with me. You'll see. Anyway, this is near the top of the IGAvania formula for me. We get to actually step into the future of the Castlevania timeline and see what happens after Dracula's defeat, and it's pretty cool. Combining modern time elements with classic Castlevania, these two games were what really sold me on the franchise. The soul capturing mechanic made for great gameplay, and it also pushed me to 100% both of these games. Julius mode, which completely changes up the gameplay, was also a great addition that added a lot more longevity to the games.



Beyond that, the games just play so well. The controls are tight, the enemy variety is ridiculous which keeps combat interesting, the world are fun to explore and the story is interesting enough to keep going. I know Nuu is going to get mad if he sees this, but this game would end up in my top 100 if I didn't have a rule that superior entries in a franchise bump out others if they're too similar to each other. While this might seem unfair, I just don't want my list to have 5-10 games from 15-20 franchises each, which is what would happen if I did that. There are many other games I love that I want to highlight, and other games will take place of these two. Just know that I love these two as well, and this is the exact reason why I have the "and 100 more" part of my list.

Monument Valley

Click to expand...

This game was a great surprise. I play a lot of iOS games, but I rarely love them. I am a big fan of RocketCat's games, and a few others, but mostly I play puzzle games (more on that later, maybe). Generally, puzzle games I prefer are more on the Sudoku level of things, but every once in a while we get a good adventure puzzler. Then there's Monument Valley. This is just a fantastic game that transcends the medium. The beautiful art style of vibrant, somber Escheran worlds is a combination of familiar and overplayed elements, but in a way that is original and masterfully executed. The way you control the character and manipulate the world are all very well realized on the platform, which aren't always the case with mobile games. But the brilliant level design and small moments how the game makes you care about that damn pillar are what shine.

Click to expand...

My dad games two. He has two types of games he exclusively plays. Realistic military games, and puzzle games. He is a big fan of Call of Duty (well, was, until they went full scifi) and he loves Sudoku type stuff. He was hesitant when I told him to play Monument Valley, but next week when I spoke with him, he was blown away by it. He generally doesn't go for artsy or high-concept games, but the beauty and polish of this game was able to click with him, and we still occasionally talk about the game when we talk video games. That's the power of gaming.

Myst



Speaking of my dad, this is a game he got me into. He was so mystified (heh) by the world of this game, and he often got stumped, so we would play together and sometimes I'd see solutions he'd miss. The kind of lateral thinking the game expected along with the abstract world it presented were somehow very appealing to both of us. This was my first CD-ROM game I think. While a later remaster of the game added full 3D navigation, the game originally consisted of pre-rendered screens that you could click to move through. Beyond the occasional FMV sequence of a character trapped in a book, the game had no people other than you in it and nothing really even moved. It was just serene and oddly creepy.



The puzzles themselves were infuriatingly hard at times. The game was quite open and you could go in many directions, and you would often need to because you'd get stuck. Sometimes, a random lever somewhere on the island would activate something else in a seemingly random, far-away part of the island, so you really had to explore and try everything, which helped you build a mental map of the place. As a result, the game really drew you into its atmosphere. My dad and I finished the game, but we got only one of several endings. Years later I went back to the improved remaster to finish it up, but it never really felt the same playing by myself.

Spladam said:

I've had Max Payne 3 in my Steam backlog for years, tried to play through it on three seperate occasions and could not find the interest to make it half way through.

Also, I played a lot of the first Jazz the Jack Rabbit as a kid (I didn't have NES or a SNES yet) and never knew Epic (Apogee) made a sequel until this thread....

I knew there was some good stuff I missed by not owning a DS, but more and more I regret not playing games on that console.

Click to expand...

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is such a superior sequel to the original that you just have to go and play it. As for the DS, it's definitely my favorite handheld platform and perhaps even my favorite non-PC platform. There are just so many good platformers and niche Japanese games. I'll list more over the course of my lists, but as a spoiler, my top 11 has two DS-original games.

Speaking of the DS, Dawn of Sorrow is the game I almost bought a DS to play. I just have limited time and too many games to play as it is (about 40% of my Steam library is unplayed as it stands, a backlog of months of gaming).

As a huge fan of Aria of Sorrow and SOTN, two of my favorite games of all time, and if I did get a DS it would primarily to play Dawn, though having the Nintendo remakes on a portable would be awesome as well.

I've read you can get emulators running on them as well. I'm a bit obsessed with putting a full compliment of emulators on every device and machine I have, even my HTPC has every system up to the Gamecube emulated on it, including the rare ones, with a full stock of roms, and it's the only gaming I do on that machine.

I caught part of the 80s golden era of arcade games, as they were popular even to the late 80s. Computer games at that time were pioneering the features that would make PC gaming popular and more accessible in the 90s and beyond. Consoles like Atari, NES and Master System also appealed to classic arcade game players, offering easier versions of those games.

1993 was clearly the turning point for DOS/Windows PCs. Early game concepts of the 80s reached their culmination at that time regarding features and accessibility. More simplified too when compared to the text parsers of the 80s.

Prior to that you'd had to settle between various systems, each having advantages and disadvantages over the other. So DOS/Windows gaming was the best starting point as it gathered at that point most developers of the 80s systems.

Going from Maniac Mansion and Zak McKraken to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was mind blowing. Your neighbour country had computer shops with legal games fortunately, though piracy was rampant here too.

nynt9 said:

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is such a superior sequel to the original that you just have to go and play it.

Click to expand...

For single player I preferred the original since it looked a little more naughty than 2 and music was far more rebellious, reminiscing of late 80s computer games.
JJ2 shined in multiplayer. 4 player split screen mode and up to 32 players in online mode. In the late 90s. You could upload your own levels or even music (mod tracker format). For a platforming game you'd struggle to find so many features even today. By the time Lori had arrived, popularity and fandom were very high for a PC game. Surely surpassed or was on par with popular console platformers.

Unfortunately the canned 3D sequel, lack of publisher support and the mediocre GBA redesign buried the game.

Ok, I gotta bring back the anectode. Sorry for dragging my feet on those, was kind of sick last week but I'm better now.

The story of how I got my PS3. As I mentioned earlier, my parents weren't willing to pay for me buying a console. I was on an allowance, but t was nowhere near enough, and the PS3 was expensive already, and due to taxes and import prices, it was even more ridiculous. But I was determined to get one. For Lair! I really loved how that game looked. I wasn't even disappointed with it, by the way. I thought it was a cool game despite its wonky controls but at the time it blew my mind.

Anyway, I needed cash. I decided to save up. My allowance was to pay for school lunches, and I was at a private school that wasn't cheap. We had a cafeteria where you enter a line, get items, pay at the end, and then go to a separate table to get bread and condiments. I had a circle of friends who I explained to that I need to save up, and they were in board to help me. Every day, they got doubles of all items they could at the cafeteria. I would get bread, which was after the payment counter, and added olive oil and spices to it. My friends would usually score me something like an extra pudding or an extra pastry or extra fries. So using those, I would eat lunch every day without spending any money. I was also super into Magic: The Gathering, and I sold some cards and cut back on my playing and buying.

Eventually, I had the system. I bought it from one of those pirate stores whose owner I knew, and he gave me a good deal. It was the only way I would have been able to afford it! But I had to explain to my parents how I got it. Soft drinks like Sprite and Fanta did giveaway draws for consoles before, but not for the PS3 yet. I told my parents that I entered a giveaway for it way before, when I was saving up for the system, even if it didn't exist yet. When I got it, I simply told them I won it. I'm not sure if they believed me (probably not), but they couldn't explain how I afforded it either.

So yeah, I had a PS3! I worked really hard for that console so it was extra special for me. I loved it too. My original PS3 phat is still at my home back in Turkey. My dad used it to play the yearly COD even after I left the country. Nowadays I got him into steam, (he was super distrusting of digital purchases for the longest time) but he got a lot of mileage out of the system as well. We even played through the campaign of World at War together. I never told my parents how I got the system, and I think they'd still be mad retroactively, that's how they are.

Shoutouts to my friends whose help allowed me to get the console. Also to the school for all the free bread.

Spladam said:

Speaking of the DS, Dawn of Sorrow is the game I almost bought a DS to play. I just have limited time and too many games to play as it is (about 40 of my Steam library is unplayed as it stands, a backlog of months of gaming).

As a huge fan of Aria of Sorrow and SOTN, two of my favorite games of all time, and if I did get a DS it would primarily to play Dawn, though having the Nintendo remakes on a portable would be awesome as well.

I've read you can get emulators running on them as well. I'm a bit obsessed with putting a full compliment of emulators on every device and machine I have, even my HTPC has every system up to the Gamecube emulated on it, including the rare ones, with a full stock of roms, and it's the only gaming I do on that machine.

Click to expand...

Yeah Dawn is only surpassed by one other DS game that I'll get to, and it's one of my favorite titles on the system as well. Be careful when emulating it though, to beat the bosses you need to draw a sigil on the touch screen. Maybe there are patches you can find that get rid of that. I played it on my DS back in the day and thought that mechanic was kind of whatever but it makes emulation a huge hassle.

petran79 said:

I caught part of the 80s golden era of arcade games, as they were popular even to the late 80s. Computer games at that time were pioneering the features that would make PC gaming popular and more accessible in the 90s and beyond. Consoles like Atari, NES and Master System also appealed to classic arcade game players, offering easier versions of those games.

1993 was clearly the turning point for DOS/Windows PCs. Early game concepts of the 80s reached their culmination at that time regarding features and accessibility. More simplified too when compared to the text parsers of the 80s.

Prior to that you'd had to settle between various systems, each having advantages and disadvantages over the other. So DOS/Windows gaming was the best starting point as it gathered at that point most developers of the 80s systems.

Going from Maniac Mansion and Zak McKraken to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was mind blowing. Your neighbour country had computer shops with legal games fortunately, though piracy was rampant here too.



For single player I preferred the original since it looked a little more naughty than 2 and music was far more rebellious, reminiscing of late 80s computer games.
JJ2 shined in multiplayer. 4 player split screen mode and up to 32 players in online mode. In the late 90s. You could upload your own levels or even music (mod tracker format). For a platforming game you'd struggle to find so many features even today. By the time Lori had arrived, popularity and fandom were very high for a PC game. Surely surpassed or was on par with popular console platformers.

Unfortunately the canned 3D sequel, lack of publisher support and the mediocre GBA redesign buried the game.

Click to expand...

Very nice to hear how others grew up in similar environments as well! And yeah, PC gaming was pushing the boundary back then with games that felt a lot more experimental, and consoles excelled at the immediate appeal arcade games. It's still kind of like that, actually! We get stuff like indies originating on PC, MOBAs and survival games are pushing the envelope and it's started to trickle to consoles as well.

I had forgotten about the 3D jazz sequel that got canned! Maybe it's better that it never happened, really. Unreal was a better use of Epic's resources for sure.

nynt9 said:

Very nice to hear how others grew up in similar environments as well! And yeah, PC gaming was pushing the boundary back then with games that felt a lot more experimental, and consoles excelled at the immediate appeal arcade games. It's still kind of like that, actually! We get stuff like indies originating on PC, MOBAs and survival games are pushing the envelope and it's started to trickle to consoles as well.

I had forgotten about the 3D jazz sequel that got canned! Maybe it's better that it never happened, really. Unreal was a better use of Epic's resources for sure.

Click to expand...

My best PC gaming years were during 1992-93 actually. The irony is it wasnt on any fancy Amiga or 386/486, but on a friends old 286 PC with CGA monitor. Took 5 minutes to boot and some games were very slow. Only 80s games were playable there.
We played Prince of Persia, Golden Axe, Lakers vs Celtics, Jordan vs Bird, Monkey Island, Green Beret, Operation Neptune, Savage etc We knew there were better systems and arcades, yet we still played those games as if they were brand new.
PC belonged to my best friend's older brother. He was also a subscriber to Greek computer magazines and also the magazine Metal Hammer, country's oldest Metal magazine (1984). His room was filled with band posters. One metal singer was starring at us menacingly. Computer magazines ceased publications, yet that magazine still goes on.

During break we used to read letters from Metal Hammer readers. Those letters were without any censorship. You could swear at anyone. Bands, magazine editors, even at religion. We were laughing with tears. Unfortunately later they applied editing to the letters and we stopped reading.

petran79 said:

My best PC gaming years were during 1992-93 actually. The irony is it wasnt on any fancy Amiga or 386/486, but on a friends old 286 PC with CGA monitor. Took 5 minutes to boot and some games were very slow. Only 80s games were playable there.
We played Prince of Persia, Golden Axe, Lakers vs Celtics, Jordan vs Bird, Monkey Island, Green Beret, Operation Neptune, Savage etc We knew there were better systems and arcades, yet we still played those games as if they were brand new.
PC belonged to my best friend's older brother. He was also a subscriber to Greek computer magazines and also the magazine Metal Hammer, country's oldest Metal magazine (1984). His room was filled with band posters. One metal singer was starring at us menacingly. Computer magazines ceased publications, yet that magazine still goes on.

During break we used to read letters from Metal Hammer readers. Those letters were without any censorship. You could swear at anyone. Bands, magazine editors, even at religion. We were laughing with tears. Unfortunately later they applied editing to the letters and we stopped reading.

Click to expand...

That was a bit before my time - our oldest machine was a 486 I believe. We had a 386 that my dad gamed on but my earliest memories were mostly on the 486. I think we played Space Quest on the 386 but I can't be sure. But I know what you mean. It's kind of like the shareware CD that I talk about in one of my anectodes where me and my best friend idolized that thing, it was the definition of gaming to us. I'm an only child but I was super close with that guy.

Is Greek Metal Hammer affiliated with UK Metal Hammer or is it by chance? Because importing U.K. Metal Hammer was a huge deal for me and I had posters from it on my room as well.

The gaming magazine I mentioned in one of my anectodes was LEVEL, I believe they were Croatian-based even though the content in Turkey was all locally created. Was that magazine a thing in Greece as well?

nynt9 said:

Yeah Dawn is only surpassed by one other DS game that I'll get to, and it's one of my favorite titles on the system as well. Be careful when emulating it though, to beat the bosses you need to draw a sigil on the touch screen. Maybe there are patches you can find that get rid of that. I played it on my DS back in the day and thought that mechanic was kind of whatever but it makes emulation a huge hassle.

Click to expand...

The DS is the one system I've still not attempted to emulate on PC because of the interface. I meant I was of the understanding that you could get emulators to run on the DS, and if I got one, I'd have to find a way to emulate the NES, SNES, Genesis etc catalogs on it. I'm gonna break down and get one eventually.

petran79 said:

My best PC gaming years were during 1992-93 actually. The irony is it wasnt on any fancy Amiga or 386/486, but on a friends old 286 PC with CGA monitor. Took 5 minutes to boot and some games were very slow. Only 80s games were playable there.
We played Prince of Persia, Golden Axe, Lakers vs Celtics, Jordan vs Bird, Monkey Island, Green Beret, Operation Neptune, Savage etc We knew there were better systems and arcades, yet we still played those games as if they were brand new.
PC belonged to my best friend's older brother. He was also a subscriber to Greek computer magazines and also the magazine Metal Hammer, country's oldest Metal magazine (1984). His room was filled with band posters. One metal singer was starring at us menacingly. Computer magazines ceased publications, yet that magazine still goes on.

During break we used to read letters from Metal Hammer readers. Those letters were without any censorship. You could swear at anyone. Bands, magazine editors, even at religion. We were laughing with tears. Unfortunately later they applied editing to the letters and we stopped reading.

Click to expand...

I believe you were referring to Dr. J vs Larry Bird, and it's been a long time since I've heard somebody bring that game up. After my Tandy 1000 , I had to play on my neighbors 286 (but with a VGA) until I built my 386dx, which I quickly sold and replaced with a 486DX. This was right before the hey day of the Graphics accelerator cards, but we still had some decent flat shaded polygons.

The PC was the most important gaming platform for me throughout my life, from the early text adventure games, to Ultima 3, then to the 80's classics like Lode Runner, Karateka, Prince of Persia (Jordan Mechner classics), Ancient Art of War (and other Broderbund classics), the Sierra games, and the Lucas Arts games. But don't forget the awesome titles like Gunship, LHX attack chopper, LIght Speed, Commander Keen, Chuck Yeager's Flight Trainer, and The Battle of Britain (another Lucas Arts game, and I played almost all of these on our 7MHz Tandy 1000SX with a 16 color monitor).

The early 90's would bring us the future, like Wing Commander, Wolfestien 3d, and then of course Doom, this all being 91-94. 86-94 is probably my most cherished time with video games, almost all on PC. It's always nice to hear others fondly remember this classic era.

The arrival of the 3D graphics card and 3dfx in the mid 90's was the real kicker though, I remember working my ass off to afford the crazy build cost of my 486DX. It was very much worth it though, but by this time I didn't have the same kind of disposable time for gaming, and the Nintedo 64 would end up eating most of that time.

nynt9 said:

I never told my parents how I got the system, and I think they'd still be mad retroactively, that's how they are.

Shoutouts to my friends whose help allowed me to get the console. Also to the school for all the free bread.

Click to expand...

Indeed, little help from friends goes a long way. I like your commitment to getting that PS, that's how it's done. Your parents sound a lot like my folks.

I remember being so down that my Tandy could not run Space Quest 4, luckily I got a deal on a 386 from a government auction, though I had to get a new case and power supply for it, and it ended up taking me like 2 months to get the parts to get it working. I beat Doom on it and then sold it to buy the case and mother board, VESA card, and cheap ass VGA monitor for my 486DX from a local PC repair shop, I got the power supply out of the trash at my father's job (he worked for the FAA at the local air port.)

Spladam said:

The DS is the one system I've still not attempted to emulate on PC because of the interface. I meant I was of the understanding that you could get emulators to run on the DS, and if I got one, I'd have to find a way to emulate the NES, SNES, Genesis etc catalogs on it. I'm gonna break down and get one eventually.


I believe you were referring to Dr. J vs Larry Bird, and it's been a long time since I've heard somebody bring that game up. After my Tandy 1000 , I had to play on my neighbors 286 (but with a VGA) until I built my 386dx, which I quickly sold and replaced with a 486DX. This was right before the hey day of the Graphics accelerator cards, but we still had some decent flat shaded polygons.

The PC was the most important gaming platform for me throughout my life, from the early text adventure games, to Ultima 3, then to the 80's classics like Lode Runner, Karateka, Prince of Persia (Jordan Mechner classics), Ancient Art of War (and other Broderbund classics), the Sierra games, and the Lucas Arts games. But don't forget the awesome titles like Gunship, LHX attack chopper, LIght Speed, Commander Keen, Chuck Yeager's Flight Trainer, and The Battle of Britain (another Lucas Arts game, and I played almost all of these on our 7MHz Tandy 1000SX with a 16 color monitor).

The early 90's would bring us the future, like Wing Commander, Wolfestien 3d, and then of course Doom, this all being 91-94. 86-94 is probably my most cherished time with video games, almost all on PC. It's always nice to hear others fondly remember this classic era.

The arrival of the 3D graphics card and 3dfx in the mid 90's was the real kicker though, I remember working my ass off to afford the crazy build cost of my 486DX. It was very much worth it though, but by this time I didn't have the same kind of disposable time for gaming, and the Nintedo 64 would end up eating most of that time.

Indeed, little help from friends goes a long way. I like your commitment to getting that PS, that's how it's done. Your parents sound a lot like my folks.

I remember being so down that my Tandy could not run Space Quest 4, luckily I got a deal on a 386 from a government auction, though I had to get a new case and power supply for it, and it ended up taking me like 2 months to get the parts to get it working. I beat Doom on it and then sold it to buy the case and mother board, VESA card, and cheap ass VGA monitor for my 486DX from a local PC repair shop, I got the power supply out of the trash at my father's job (he worked for the FAA at the local air port.)

Click to expand...

Ah. Re: emulation on DS, it's pretty decent but not super amazing. 3DS is better obviously, and it plays DS games too. You can emulate GBA to make up for the lack of physical capability to play carts I think.

Atari was before my time but it's always fascinating to hear people talk about that stuff.

Earliest I had was the DOS era. I played text adventures and Commander Keen and Dangerous Dave and all that stuff. Lode Runner never clicked with me, but do you remember the psychedelic isometric sequel it got? That was some weird stuff and they game was brutal.

93 was around when I started gaming, and with a few years of lag for titles to trickle down to my region, I was also big into the early Wolfenstein/Doom era. You'll see those come up soon. It's what defined me as a gamer.

With 3D graphics, owning a GPU became prohibitive for me since my parents weren't willing. So I always followed things from a few more years behind, but it was a mind blowing era for sure. I love early 3D visuals.

The things we did to get upgrades to PCs on a budget were pretty interesting back in the day. I also had back channels and stuff to get hardware, like I mentioned in the bazaar anectode. The internet obviated a lot of that stuff.

Im willing to bet at this point that both Bloodborne and at least one of the Bayonettas feature in your top 10

kromeo said:

Im willing to bet at this point that both Bloodborne and at least one of the Bayonettas feature in your top 10

Click to expand...

One of those might be correct, and another is pretty close but not entirely correct. You got both developers right though

nynt9 said:

One of those might be correct, and another is pretty close but not entirely correct. You got both developers right though

Click to expand...

Ahh so i'ts Demons Souls then

kromeo said:

Ahh so i'ts Demons Souls then

Spoiler

Your comments about Castlevania IV wound me

Click to expand...

Just be patient

Hey, I love SCIV but I think egoraptor nailed it when it comes to that game. It's a good game, but it's confused between being a CV remake and introducing new stuff, and both suffer because of that dissonance. I highly recommend watching his sequelitis video on it.

Glad to see Dual Destinies that high up. These days it seems to be one of the least well-liked games in the series despite being generally well-liked at launch. I consider myself a huge fan of the series, to the point wherein managed to play AAI2 before the fan translation came out with a lot of work, and I honestly think DD is definitely the best game in the series, for all the reasons you said.

I'm loving your list so far, many of the games you picked I'd have probably picked them myself, and some that I haven't played yet you're making me want to play them (Shovel Knight has been on my backlog for too long).

40. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back



It was a hard choice between this one and Crash 3. 3 adds more mechanics and different level design elements, but at times it feels too gimmicky. As such, I'll go with 2. As you might have guess from my anectodes, I love the Crash series. It's actually kind of hard for me to articulate why. They're just pure fun. A wacky, colorful art style with great graphics for its time surely helps. No other pure platformer has engrossed me like the Crash games. They have just the right balance of perfection platforming and spectacle. Some levels demand a lot from you, while others are just cinematic chase sequences or autoscrollers on a polar bear. I actually really love those levels. The first Crash game had a great formula, but it didn't really come into its own until the sequel where it was expanded with better controls, variety and just more polish overall.



Just like any platformer worth its salt, the real fun lies in trying to collecting everything. Since the game can be quite frantic, 100%ing every level can be challenging, especially in the chase levels. But it's worth it, as you get access to secret gems that transport you to secret levels. Again, the appeal of the game here lies in how balanced it is, it feels neither too tedious nor too trivial to collect everything. The new level designs in 2 like the sewer and the arctic area feel like natural extensions and they're all cool. I really love the medieval, great wall and other sections in 3 as well, but I felt like the formula had gotten stretched a bit thin there with all the jetski/jetpack/bike levels. That being said...

39: Crash Team Racing



This is my favorite racing game hands down. Actually, having just recently played MK8 Deluxe, I went back to this game briefly for this list to make sure I'm not taking crazy pills. And, I was able to confirm my suspicions. CTR is just better in so many aspects. What makes it better, you say? Well, one must consider that I prefer these games for their single player aspects. CTR's single player campaign is amazing. Featuring time trial levels (that change up the way you play by requiring you to collect time boxes), boss battles, and secret collectibles inside races, this game has a robust story mode that is unrivaled in the kart genre. Seriously, the campaign in CTR is awesome, and of course I painstakingly 100%d it.

Click to expand...

Then we get to the level design. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Mario Kart and 8D is an incredibly beautiful game, but the level design is just so sterile. Not visually per se, but in terms of roads. Every level is basically a straight path with some curves, and maybe one or two secrets. Levels in CTR are much more complex. There are secret paths and shortcuts all over the place, along with various hazards, and the secrets force you to explore more of these as well. Additionally, the terrain is just rougher and the levels are more intricate. To me, the level design in CTR is still unmatched in the genre. Add to that a variety of characters, powerups that feel varied and different, and a great soundtrack, I'd say it's easy to see why I love CTR so much.

38. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward



I really like visual novels, and I love puzzle games, so obviously this is a good fit for me. Add to that the fact that time manipulation is my favorite plot device, we have a recipe for success. 999 was a really great game, and I was excited and surprised when a sequel was announced. Lo and behold, VLR turned out to be awesome. It's not as gory and scary as the original, but the detached vibe of it made it feel more mysterious. For the longest time through the game, I was wondering how it really connects to the previous game, and I was quite amazed in the end. It felt like they forgot some of the themes they explored in 999, but turns out, they didn't at all. It's hard to say much without spoiling, but the multiple playthroughs and how they branch out and come together is simply brilliant. In the end, this ended up being one of my favorite stories in gaming.



The sequel, Zero Time Dilemma, was pretty disappointing. I didn't mind the art style change at all, but the game felt contrived and the storytelling felt stilted. The puzzles were always kind of whatever in these games, but they were exceedingly unfun in ZTD. The characters were particularly unlikeable and the sense of mystery was replaced with a sense of confusion and tedium. In the end, it was still worth it to see the conclusion of the saga and I enjoyed it overall, but I love VLR so much that ZTD paled in comparison. VLR explores philosophy, physics, science fiction and more in really thought provoking ways, ZTD just has COMPLEX MOTIVES.

37. Metroid Prime Trilogy



Metroid is one of my favorite franchises of all time. You haven't seen much of it yet, but we'll get to it. Translating it to 3D is no small task, but Retro totally nailed it here. The prime games almost don't feel like 3D games and more like extensions of normal Metroid. The sense of isolation is preserved, first person platforming works, everything just... works. Metroid Prime is one of those games where it's just way better than it has any right being. I like the sequels a lot too, and parts of them more than the original. 2 has a lot of backtracking, but it's also darker and more interesting lore-wise. 3 is a good conclusion to the series and feels more refined in ways. It's hard to pick favorites, but I guess 1 deserves it for the novelty factor and achievement.



Why isn't this higher on my list? It really should be. However I just can't fully love these games. The control scheme is just bizarre. On GCN it feels too limiting, and the Wii controls are clearly not what the games are designed around (except for 3 obviously). They both end up being clunky. I just want more control of both my character and aiming. Secondly, there's a lot of backtracking that can get pretty tedious. Sure, Metroid games use backtracking in principle, but it's just a lot smoother and less time consuming in the 2D games since navigation is easier in those. Since it doesn't feel great to control my character, it doesn't feel great to backtrack either. I'd love for a remaster of these with more modern controls, really. But still, they're fantastic games that are unparalleled.

36. Garry's Mod/Gmod



I originally wanted to include Overwatch in this list, as it was my GOTY last year. Then I realized that, even if I would rather play OW today, I've spent an absurd time in Team Fortress 2, both in regular game modes and in dumb gimmick modes like prop hunt and surf, to not include it. Then I realized that the real multiplayer FPS GOAT for me is Gmod, and I just didn't want to devote 3 slots to games that scratch a similar itch especially when Gmod is so superior, so I went "screw it" and cut the other two for Gmod. I really didn't want to rank the other two against each other anyway. So what the hell is Gmod? It's a Half Life 2 multiplayer mod later released as a standalone that offers scripting and construction tools that lets you host and play in custom gametypes. For example, there's the RP or DarkRP gametype, where the playing field is a couple blocks of a city, and about 10-20 players persist in this block, with each person having a job. Like cop, trader, mob boss, hitman, politician, etc. Each role has a salary and certain duties they must complete, and certain laws they are obliged to follow (usually set partially by the politician, who can get elected to the position). Throw that into a physics sandbox, give players an economy with which they can buy stuff and build their own makeshift buildings and traps with, and you get total chaos. It was ridiculous, and clearly a precursor to early access survival games, but it was super fun.

Click to expand...

But for me, the real draw of Gmod was Trouble In Terrorist Town. Are you familiar with the social/party games mafia or werewolf? This is basically that. All players are terrorists, and they spawn in a large map. a small amount of players are secretly traitors, and they must kill all other players without getting discovered. They can buy gadgets or activate traps in the level to help them, but they must hide their presence and git in with the normal terrorists. We also have one or two detectives, who can find evidence and are supposed to track down the traitors. Thing is, very few things are actually enforced by the rules. It's all about social engineering. If you act too suspicious, people will try to quarantine or kill you. Maybe you were innocent though, and they just lost a teammate. One's affiliation is only revealed after their body is examined post mortem. So as the traitor you can try to trick other players into killing someone innocent, but that might draw suspicion on you. It's all about sowing distrust and carefully planning things but also being able to react when it all goes crazy. It gets even better when you play many rounds on the same server or even get on a community server and get to know people, because then you can really start to work people.

GamerJM said:

Glad to see Dual Destinies that high up. These days it seems to be one of the least well-liked games in the series despite being generally well-liked at launch. I consider myself a huge fan of the series, to the point wherein managed to play AAI2 before the fan translation came out with a lot of work, and I honestly think DD is definitely the best game in the series, for all the reasons you said.

Click to expand...

I played AAI2 with the fan translation, and it was great. Love the series as well, and DD is so much better than anything else in it that I'm surprised people don't love it as much. I feel like there's a lot of nostalgia towards 3 that is hard to beat for people.

Starlightmuse said:

I'm loving your list so far, many of the games you picked I'd have probably picked them myself, and some that I haven't played yet you're making me want to play them (Shovel Knight has been on my backlog for too long).

Click to expand...

Thanks! Hopefully you find more to enjoy.

These picks thankfully just keep getting better! I'm really excited for the Crash remasters even if it's just the first 3 games. They look awesome redone and it's clear a lot of care went into it. Never played CTR but I have been loving MK8D!

Know almost nothing about Garry's mod but I would put probably each of the Prime Trilogy games in my top 100 with 1 behind a top 5, 2 being a top 50, and 3 probably barely squeezing in. I do prefer the controls with the Gamecube controller for them so I hope we get something that works well if we get a Prime 4 or Federation Force 2 for Switch. Nice work.

nynt9 said:

Is Greek Metal Hammer affiliated with UK Metal Hammer or is it by chance? Because importing U.K. Metal Hammer was a huge deal for me and I had posters from it on my room as well.

The gaming magazine I mentioned in one of my anectodes was LEVEL, I believe they were Croatian-based even though the content in Turkey was all locally created. Was that magazine a thing in Greece as well?

Click to expand...

Magazine's original name was Heavy Metal. There were contacts with German Metal Hammer to have access to band interviews that would be difficult to procure otherwise.

LEVEL was not a thing here, as far ad I am aware.