Round 4, in which we take the lord's name in vain

[This Old Neon]

Round 4, in which we take the lord's name in vain

You can vote for 1-3 games in this poll. Vote carefully—you can't change your votes after submitting them. The #1, #2, and #3 ranked games at the end of the week will move on to Round 5.

1995 - Suikoden - PS1
1998 - Snake - Mobile
2001 - Super Monkey Ball - GCN
2001 - Kessen II - PS2
2001 - Pikmin - GCN
2003 - F-Zero GX - GCN
2008 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
2008 - Ōkami - PS2/Wii
2010 - Heavy Rain - PS3
2012 - Skull Girls [Encore] - Multiplatform

You are encouraged to discuss your choices and your reasons for selecting the games you did.

[Humphries90]

What is this madness! I need to vote for 5 here!

Suikoden. I prefer it to number 2 as i love the simplicity, the story, characters etc. There's no RPG out there that I've completed more times. These days I daren't touch RPG's with a barge pole but I always have time for Suikoden because it's really short, compact and yet still feels like a real adventure.

Kesson II. My first experience with Romance of the Three Kingdoms things, the beginning of something that would change my life forever. It's probably a bit simple compared to PC strategy games but i think this just did enough to make it special. The mental story, the characters, the epic battles, even bizarre things like for some reason you can get Cai Mao to defect to you. I need to play this again one day. It's been a long time.

I've talked about Pikmin and F-Zero before.

Smash Brawl, it was good, not quite as good as I'd hoped back in the day. I didn't like the SSE, but the normal battles were great as always. Not my favourite smash, but still a great game.

I need to think on this one a while!

[Drauks]

Kessen 2 was an incredible game. After having played RoTK and DW for some time, the toss in for tactics and sorcery on a larger scale was just too good to be true. Charging through entire units with a general only to follow it up from the flank with a large rolling ball of fire set off so much glee. The story more than anything else is what shines for me, from the romance to the comedy. So many good memories, including Cao Ren's awesome shell hat, Zhang Liao's badass deer antler helmet and Zhang He's über masculine take.

As with Humphries90, I preferred Suikoden to it's follow up. This series always had aspects I adored, whether that be recruitment of characters, a base to work out of, or the fact that I could have 6 people in a party! Once I was able to tie in Outlaws of the Marsh with the series, though, it became a definite love affair.

[Humphries90]

I didn't even notice Okami was in this one. Christ. I need 6 votes here.

[The Shoemaker]

Some heavy hitters in this one.

I explained some of my love for Okami last week, very pleased to see it made it through. It's a really great game.

Heavy Rain was a really good experience as well. So many shockers, it was really an interactive movie. I wouldn't mind replaying it sometime.

I spent soooooo much time with Brawl, as it was the first Smash I really got into. It was a game that was just packed full of content. SSE was pretty fun I thought, would have welcomed its return, if not just for those glorious fangasm cut scenes.

[VictorViper]

Easy peasy. F-Zero GX is exquisite and one of the most technically accomplished games I've ever played.

Suikoden will be as close as I get to a soft vote at this stage in the game. It's a wonderful RPG in its own right, but it's getting my vote mostly due to setting the stage for one of the true BGE contenders, Suikoden II.

[SkyPikachu]

I want to vote for Okami so badly but I've never played it. I've watched people play it and it's such a beautiful game.

[Humphries90]

So far I've narrowed down that I will not vote for Brawl since it's my second least favourite Smash and Okami because... well I don't know. I guess I just like it less than my other ones.

I've decided I WILL vote for Suikoden and Kessen II.

Now it's just a toss up between Pikmin and F-Zero GX.

[Kong Wen]

I want to vote for Okami so badly but I've never played it. I've watched people play it and it's such a beautiful game.

If you want to vote for it so badly, I recommend voting for it.

As for me, I stuck with two votes in this round:

Playing Suikoden for the first time was mind-blowing. It was one of the first sprite-based RPGs I played on PS1, and after coming from SNES, it was so neat to see large-form characters that could articulate in so many different ways, from nodding to kneeling, extending arms, etc. I loved collecting characters, building my castle, and I especially loved the various battle systems and how they sometimes come at you by surprise. I feel like this game had an understated effect on my development as a gamer and as an RPG fan, but then I find myself remembering various things about the game quite fondly. I should get back to it (again).

My second vote was for Okami. I actually played the HD version on PS3 (not listed here because I didn't nominate it). Beautiful game, and a fresh, original take on the old "explore a 3D world while getting upgrades" formula.

[Humphries90]

Suikoden, Kessen II and Pikmin. Done.

Seriously the most difficult decision I've made so far.