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Rate the best "character action" games

O

oni-link

Member
For me personally, of the games I've played:

- Bayonetta 1
- Bayonetta 2
- DMC3
- God Hand
- GoW2
- MGR
- GoW3
- GoW
- DMC

That said the top 4 switch around pretty often in my head

I still intend to play DMC4:SE and Ninja Gaiden Black (when/if it gets ported to a modern system)

Some side points:

As "character action" is a pretty vague name for the genre, what do you call these games? Is there a better name for the genre?

Other than the 11 games I have mentioned, are there any others you'd consider essential, or at least worth playing?

Discuss
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
Bayonetta
Bayonetta 2
Ninja Gaiden Black
DMC3SE


Yeah, NG isn't as freeform as the other games, but I still enjoyed it more than DMC.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
The only one I've ever liked is Astro Boy: Omega Factor. Does that even count?
 
J

Jamix012

Member
My experience with the God of War series is just basically having played bits and pieces of most except full completion of Chains of Olympus. In addition I've yet to really get into Ninja Gaiden or DMC (other than DMC4) so my answers are limited but...

1. Metal Gear Rising
2. Viewtiful Joe (I know it's rather different in some ways but still)
3. Bayonetta 2
4. Wonderful 101
5. No More Heroes 2 (More for it's charm than action)
6. DMC4
7. GoW: Chains of Sparta
8. Bayonetta 1

Edit: Despite being more shallow than most series in the genre, I would recommend No More Heroes. I only didn't put the first one on the list because I'm in the middle of that one right now.
 
B

BiggNife

Member
This is just a list of all of the ones I've played off the top of my head, from best to worst:

Bayo 2
Rising
Bayo 1
DMC4
Ninja Gaiden 2
GoW2
DmC
GoW1
GoW3
Korra
Ninja Gaiden 3 RE

I've only played a couple hours of DMC3. I know, I know, it's on my to-do list.
 
G

Greddleok

Member
oni-link said:
As "character action" is a pretty vague name for the genre, what do you call these games? Is there a better name for the genre?
Click to expand...

I call them Platinum Games.

Basically PG > everything else > God of War

I'm divided on whether Bayonetta 2 or W101 is better. Rising is 3rd, and I desperately need to play Vanquish.
 
G

gelf

Member
I still have to choose Ninja Gaiden Black. Its not as flashy as much of the Capcom and Platinum stuff but it nails the combat for me. It could have done without some of the platforming sections but I can look past that.

Metal Gear Rising would probably be my next choice followed by Bayonetta.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
My personal holy trinity is Devil May Cry 3, Bayonetta 2, and Metal Gear Rising.

Honorable mentions = Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition & God of War 2
 
K

KingV

Member
I'm confused why people like Bayo1 better than 2. I played them back to back when Bayo 2 came out, and there Bayo 2 is an improvement on the original in almost very way for most people.

There's a lot of Bayo 1 that is either not fun or poorly designed and kind of feels like filler.

It's still a great game, but Bayo2 fixed a lot of Bayo 1s problems.
 
B

BPoole

Member
DMC3: SE
Ninja Gaiden Black/Sigma
Bayonetta
Ninja Gaiden 2/Sigma 2
DMC4: SE
Metal Gear Rising
God of War 2
DMC1
God of War 3
DmC: Devil May Cry
God of War 1
Killer Is Dead

*Bayonetta 2 is omitted since I haven't played it
 
W

Warxard

Banned
shinobi_ps2___hotsuma_wallpaper_by_thesyanart-d6r07az.jpg


  1. Shinobi PS2
  2. Devil May Cry 3
  3. DmC: Devil May Cry:
  4. Ninja Gaiden: Black
  5. Bayonetta
  6. God Hand
  7. Nightshade
  8. Devil May Cry 4
  9. Otogi
  10. Ninja Gaiden 2

I wish I could make threads so I could educate you all on why Shinobi PS2 is the greatest character action game of all time. But I can leave some blurbs.
-The 'Tate' System, combined with how jumping works in combat makes for an incredibly fluid and stylish way to dispose of enemies.
-Amazing character design by the DMC/Sengoku Basara artist
-Amazing soundtrack
-Great unlockable characters that can change the flow of combat.
-Incredibly challenging combat.
-Unlike Ninja Gaiden, group combat is much more easier to handle thanks to the dash system.
-MOTHER. FUCKING. MORITSUNE.
shinobi_ps2_artbook_4_by_franfriki.jpg
Click to expand...

9rx7Fvv.gif
 
T

tariniel

Member
I haven't really played all that many but here's my personal ranking:

1. Bayonetta 2
2. DmC (sue me, gameplay is A++++)
3. God of War 3
4. DMC4
5. God of War 1
6. Metal Gear Rising
7. Bayonetta 1
 
V

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
Bayo2>Bayo1>DMC3>DMC4>NGBlack>OtogiMGR>God Hand>Killer Is Dead>Onechanbara Chaos 2>God of War 2>God of War 3> God of War 1
 
P

psylah

Member
1.Bayonetta
2.Bayonetta 2
3.Devil May Cry 3
4.Revenge of Shinobi
5.Metal Gear Rising Revengance
.
.
.
.
99999999. God of War 1 through Infinity
 
O

oni-link

Member
KingV said:
I'm confused why people like Bayo1 better than 2. I played them back to back when Bayo 2 came out, and there Bayo 2 is an improvement on the original in almost very way for most people.

There's a lot of Bayo 1 that is either not fun or poorly designed and kind of feels like filler.

It's still a great game, but Bayo2 fixed a lot of Bayo 1s problems.
Click to expand...

They're very, very close for me

1 is longer, so basically there is more of it, and I liked the weapons more in the first game. I also didn't like hitting L to jump into a super powered mode that much

Some of the bosses feel like they were built around that and I felt like the power of the wicked weaves were toned down because of it

If Bayo 1 is a 10/10 then Bayo 2 is a 9.7/10

Spyder_Monkey said:
-Rising
-Everything else
Click to expand...

The saddest thing about Konami going to shit is that now MGR2 probably won't happen
or it will happen and you'll use MB coins to unlock moves
 
P

Producer

Member
DMC3:SE, Bayo1, DMC4 are the best

Also lol at people saying God of War. even vanilla DmC is better than any game of that series
 
Neff

Neff

Member
1. The Wonderful 101
2. Bayonetta
3. Devil May Cry 4
4. Devil May Cry
5. Ninja Gaiden 2002
6. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
7. Bayonetta 2
8. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
9. God Hand

I expect Transformers Devastation will go in here at some point too.

Boo Boo'n said:
Shinobi PS2
Click to expand...

I own it but good god I'm terrible at it.
 
W

Warxard

Banned
Spyder_Monkey said:
-Rising
-Everything else
Click to expand...

What is the appeal of Revengeance? It's an incredibly 'meh' designed game, the overemphasis of the Parry System as the only defense makes the game nearly braindead to compete once you're capable of parrying consistently on higher difficulties (which isn't hard), the sub weapon system is boring (why do I need to AIM to throw grenades.) and the Zandatsu/All Cut system is a novelty at best. Boring bosses, boring level design. Probably the most 'me too!' feeling game of the character action genre.

Neff said:
I own it but good god I'm terrible at it.
Click to expand...

Once you learn how to manage Kunai and cancelling the throw animation for the Kunai with dash, you're there!
 
Strangelove77

Strangelove77

Member
From best to worst-

1. MGR
2. DMC3
3. Bayonetta
4. God of War 3
5. DMC4
6. Ninja Gaiden 2
7. Ninja Gaiden
100. Castlevania: LoS
101. Dante's Inferno
 
O

oni-link

Member
Neff said:
1. The Wonderful 101
2. Bayonetta
3. Devil May Cry 4
4. Devil May Cry
5. Ninja Gaiden 2002
6. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
7. Bayonetta 2
8. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
9. God Hand
Click to expand...

I wasn't sure if this would be considered character action or not (same with Vanquish actually) but I'm going to be starting TW101 in the next few weeks after finding it for a great price, so I'm looking forward to it
 
Neff

Neff

Member
Boo Boo'n said:
What is the appeal of Revengeance?
Click to expand...

Slicing stuff in half is cool. Raiden is cool. The music is super-cool. Senator is a creation of genius character design and writing, and defined an epic climax most probably didn't see coming. A gaming icon was born.

Otherwise, it's a good game, but I'd agree that it's pretty simplistic and same-y.

oni-link said:
I wasn't sure if this would be considered character action or not (same with Vanquish actually) but I'm going to be starting TW101 in the next few weeks after finding it for a great price, so I'm looking forward to it
Click to expand...

I'd say it is. It's a crowd organisation/technique-based melee fighter with all the things you'd expect from one, especially from Kamiya- air combos, Stingers, combo counters, grades and so on.
 
W

Weltall Zero

Member
- The Wonderful 101
- Bayonetta 2
- DMC3
- Bayonetta
- DMC4
- Metal Gear Rising
- Viewtiful Joe
- DMC1
[Other lesser stuff]
- Being poked in the eyes with hot irons
[More unpleasant stuff]
- DMC2
 
T

TWILT

Banned
Devil May Cry 3: SE, Bayonetta 2 and Metal Gear Rising are my top 3.

I have yet to play DMC4SE because I don't have a PS4 yet (Christmas...), but I love vanilla DMC4 anyway, so it miiighttt just crack my list once I get a chance to play it.
 
T

T-Dot

Banned
Makes my dick hard:

Bayonneta 1
DMC1 &3
NInja Gaiden Black
Viewtiful Joe

Great, but could've been better:

Ninja Gaiden 2

Burn it with fire:

Ninja Gaiden 3
 
I

Iva Demilcol

Member
Ninja Gaiden Black
Bayonetta
Otogi I & II
Ninja Gaiden II
Bayonetta 2
Devil May Cry 4
Anarchy Reigns
Devil May Cry
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
donte may cry


Still have to play: Ninja Gaiden 3 RE, MG Rising, DMC 3, God Hand, Shinobi.

Others not included in the list: Games I didn't like. (You can guess what games I'm talking about).
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
psylah said:
1.Bayonetta
2.Bayonetta 2
3.Devil May Cry 3
4.Revenge of Shinobi
5.Metal Gear Rising Revengance
.
.
.
.
99999999. God of War 1 through Infinity
Click to expand...

On the other hand if you're looking for anything at all outside of combat (platforming, puzzling, level exploration, adventuring) then God of War is far better than these other games which excel at combat but offer very little else and usually have very poor level design.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
oni-link said:
They're very, very close for me

1 is longer, so basically there is more of it, and I liked the weapons more in the first game. I also didn't like hitting L to jump into a super powered mode that much

Some of the bosses feel like they were built around that and I felt like the power of the wicked weaves were toned down because of it

If Bayo 1 is a 10/10 then Bayo 2 is a 9.7/10
Click to expand...

I feel like Bayo 1 has higher highs but much lower lows, and experiencing it first is the reason I like it more.
 
B

BadWolf

Member
miku the prodigy said:
Also lol at people saying God of War. even vanilla DmC is better than any game of that series
Click to expand...

Only in terms of combat, and that's just because DmC built on top of DMC's already amazing combat.

God of War's combat runs circles around the combat in Ninja Theory's other games, and other non-Japanese action games in general.
 
W

Warxard

Banned
Neff said:
Slicing stuff in half is cool. Raiden is cool. The music is super-cool. Senator is a creation of genius character design and writing, and defined an epic climax most probably didn't see coming. A gaming icon was born.

Otherwise, it's a good game, but I'd agree that it's pretty simplistic and same-y.
Click to expand...

Armstrong was definitely a fantastic boss. But yeah, I don't see anything special with Revengeance outside of the cool music and the fact that Raiden is a cool character.

I'd argue that it's the God of War of the japanese-developed character action games.

--

I'd like to put a nomination for Darksiders 2 as well.

BadWolf said:
Only in terms of combat, and that's just because DmC built on top of DMC's already amazing combat.

God of War's combat runs circles around the combat in Ninja Theory's other games, and other non-Japanese action games in general.
Click to expand...

Repeat: Darksiders 2. Here.
 
L

lord_of_flood

Member
From best to worst:

Bayonetta 2
Metal Gear Rising
Bayonetta
Ninja Gaiden Black (technically Sigma for me)
DMC4
The Wonderful 101
DMC3
GoW and GoW-like games (e.g. Darksiders, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow)
DMC1
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge

Haven't played: DMC2, DmC(DE), DMC4SE, Ninja Gaiden II, Viewtiful Joe, Legend of Korra, God Hand
 
SOME-MIST

SOME-MIST

Member
bayonetta 2
devil may cry 3
ninja gaiden 2
ninja gaiden black
god hand
bayonetta = devil may cry 4
metal gear rising: revengeance
the wonderful 101
viewtiful joe
god of war 3
god of war 2
no more heroes 1+2
god of war 1
devil may cry (1) not DmC
ninja theory games
 
M

Magic Mushroom

Member
Boo Boo'n said:
What is the appeal of Revengeance? It's an incredibly 'meh' designed game, the overemphasis of the Parry System as the only defense makes the game nearly braindead to compete once you're capable of parrying consistently on higher difficulties (which isn't hard), the sub weapon system is boring (why do I need to AIM to throw grenades.) and the Zandatsu/All Cut system is a novelty at best. Boring bosses, boring level design. Probably the most 'me too!' feeling game of the character action genre.!
Click to expand...

It's not as deep as some of the other character action greats, but damn, it's so much fun. Just great to play. The parry/dodge (which is another form of defense)/Zandatsu is great fun mechanically and a bit different from Platinum's other games. Add awesome bosses and music and you have a cracker of a game.
 
D

dlauv

Member
In no order beyond tier

A: DMC1, DMC3, Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising

B: DMC4

C: Ninja Gaiden Black, Marlow Briggs, Korra, Darksiders 2 (if I have to)

D: Ninja Gaiden 2, DmC, Dante's Inferno

F: DMC2, Splatterhouse

Haven't at all played the God of War series. Also, Rising is by far the best Ninja Gaiden game.
 
B

BadWolf

Member
Boo Boo'n said:
What is the appeal of Revengeance? It's an incredibly 'meh' designed game, the overemphasis of the Parry System as the only defense makes the game nearly braindead to compete once you're capable of parrying consistently on higher difficulties (which isn't hard), the sub weapon system is boring (why do I need to AIM to throw grenades.) and the Zandatsu/All Cut system is a novelty at best. Boring bosses, boring level design. Probably the most 'me too!' feeling game of the character action genre.
Click to expand...

Parry isn't the only form of defense, Raiden's dodge (called Defensive Offensive) has a ton of invincibility frames.

And you don't need to aim the grenades, tap the button and Raiden will throw it towards the enemy you are locked on to.

'Me too'? How many other action games let you slice enemies with precision? Not only that but it has direct effect on how enemies attack (cut off the arms and they will kick or body rush etc).

If anything MGR's biggest accomplishment is having a feel of its very own instead of just copying another (like Bayo did from DMC).
 
G

Gbraga

Member
Never played Bayo 2, but the first is my favorite in the genre. Closely followed by DMC3.

oni-link said:
As "character action" is a pretty vague name for the genre, what do you call these games? Is there a better name for the genre?
Click to expand...

Capcom called it "stylish hard action" when they created the genre, and I think it's actually a better term than "character action".
 
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