This Old Neon Forum

Kong Wen wrote:

Kreegs wrote:I agree with this.

Did you want to choose a Tetris, or nominate both?

Let's nominate both. Those crazy Soviets!

Legend of Grimrock II
The first game was basically a nifty modern take on Dungeon Master, with a very optimized interface.
Grimrock II however took the concept to a new level. Instead of working your way through a dungeon level by level, this game quickly opens up giving you several locations to explore and global puzzles to solve. In addition, the skill system is streamlined, the balancing (considering the open nature) is excellent and it offers a variety of classes, races and perks to customize your party. Grimrock II is VERY good and thus I nominate it.


Suikoden II
I just recently got to play this and it blew me away. It is an excellent sequel to an already great game.
It's not just the compelling story and the countless interesting and fun characters with their individual backgrounds, it's also the general presentation filled with unique situational animations that impressed me. Also the presence of alternative scenes/lines depending on the party members and entire optional subplots (e.g. Clive) give the game a ton of replay value. There has also been a lot of attention to detail, since it doesn't just follow up to everything said in the ending of it's prequel, it essentially sets up plot points for the sequels aswell.
This is how I want my JRPG's to be.

Kiwi the Tortoise wrote: Final Fantasy 6
M.U.L.E

-- Earthbound (SNES) -- My brother "bought" (convinced my mom to buy) this and brought it home one day, and we fell in love with it. Compared to the Square Enix fantasy RPGs we were used to, it was quite a change in pace. It still makes me smile.
-- Final Fantasy 6 (SNES) -- I loved the huge cast of this game and played it over and over, discovering the different dialogue you get when you take different parties through different scenes. I was enamored with the expressiveness of the sprites, and the story really touched me. Love the soundtrack.
-- Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) -- I played the shit out of this game.

This is so tough! But I'm gonna try to make some nominations I'm absolutely sure I want to make. Keeping it to one nomination per series for now.

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - An absolutely sublime game that means more to me than most things. I won't gush further, but suffice it to say it's singularly incredibly important to me.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2) - I wanted to avoid nominating more recent favorites in my first post, but I think this is definitely a game that will stick with me for a long time.

Metal Gear Solid (PS) - Really hard for me to pick just one from this series (I will probably end up nominating nearly all of them), but MGS1 seems the most essential the gaming as a medium. Good stuff.

Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) - Smash is the greatest multiplayer game that exists, in my opinion (although it's mighty close with TF2). I can't get enough of it, and Melee is the definitive edition of the series. I hope to see it climb as high as it did in the previous BGE project.

F-Zero X (N64) Favorite racing game by no small margin and one of my favorite video game series period. Many prefer its successor GX, and while GX is outstanding and perhaps "objectively" better, I have some personal, somewhat intangible reasons for preferring X.

Banjo-Tooie (N64) - Banjo is another of my absolute favorite series, and this is my favorite entry. An easy nomination.

--

...that I'm starting to ruminate is probably a sign that I've reached the end of my "sure thing" nominations. But I'm sure I'll be back with more. Thanks for doing all the work for this, KW. I've enjoyed every BGE so far and look forward to another one!

Alright, I'm about ready to add a couple more to the list:

Space Harrier (arcade) - I'm putting this one up for several reasons, but first and foremost, it's just plain damn fun. It's got scorching colours, a pumping soundtrack, a totally bizarre aesthetic and, like Robotron, gets me excited and over-stimulated every time. This thing is from 1985 and still feels like a technical achievement today. That's more a testament to the incredible board architecture SEGA was using through their golden era, but it no less impacts my decision to nominate this amazing game. Fun then, fun now, and I suspect fun forever.

Helldivers (PS3/PS4/Vita) - Here's a game that looks like nothing special until you play it. It's a cooperative shooter with a persistent galactic war as the backdrop that plays out in what appears to be a fairly standard twin-stick shooter format. What isn't immediately apparent is that killing things isn't a goal, it's merely a tool to stave off death. The game offers a huge amount of variety in player load-outs, the careful use and coordination of which can very quickly mean the difference between success and failure in the varied and tension-filled objectives across each mission. Objectives themselves (and payloads) are a highlight thanks to a simple gimmick that requires sequences of button presses to complete (i.e. launch code sequences), which may sound like QTEs, but is elevated to become active engagement under immense pressure. The Helldivers are pitted against three alien factions in literally unlimited supply, so you quickly learn to hustle to complete your objectives and GTFO. The whole thing plays out more like a level in Left 4 Dead than any other shooter, even down to an evacuation sequence/standoff at the end of each mission. Oh, and friendly fire is always on and is absolutely a huge part of the fun. EVERYTHING can kill you. I feel like I have failed my PSN friends, as not a single one of them has been convinced to give this game a shot (aside from RadRetroGamer, who saw its glory without needing a push), and that's a damn shame.

Joining:

Robotron 2084
Bloodborne
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Pluvius wrote:Planescape: Torment (PC)
Star Control II (PC)
Marathon (Mac)
A Mind Forever Voyaging (PC)
Jagged Alliance 2 (PC)
X: Beyond the Frontier (PC)
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (SNES)
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES)
Sword of the Samurai (PC)
Uplink (PC)

There are games out there that I like more than some of the games on this list, but I know the games here aren't going to get the recognition they deserve. Except maybe Lufia II.

Lufia II is of course awesome. And you know you'll get Uncharted Waters respect from me! *Koei emoji*

One of these days I promise I'll play Planescape. It's one that keeps coming up (mostly thanks to you, even before these contests), but I've been weird about it for some reason.

I'm most interested in seeing Marathon and Sword of the Samurai on here. Marathon was pre-Halo Bungie, right? How was it? It was actually the kind of game I might have played back then, but it was completely off my radar. Sword of the Samurai looks like it would have completely been my cup of tea, but none of my computer-gaming friends had a copy, so I never got to play it.

Previously nominated:
Berzerk! (Atari 2600)
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES)
Phantasy Star IV (Genesis)
Shining Force (Genesis)

Okay, it's PS2 and PS3 time:

Fatal Frame - This is certainly the most frightening game I've ever played (just ahead of Silent Hill 4: The Room.) It took me literally ten years to make my way through it. Based on an urban legend, it puts you in the shoes of a young girl looking for her brother in a haunted house. You're only weapon is this crummy camera that can absorb spirits as you take pictures of them. I can't think of a horror game that works as well as this one does. The environment and the controls are spot on and the unpredictability of the situations you find yourself in raises the bar on dreadful gaming. Yikes. Later this year I think I'll take on its sequel. It's on PSN as a classics for those that have the nerve...

Red Dead Redemption - this is, by far, the most fun game from the last generation that I'm aware of. A spaghetti western sandbox game with a huge world and tons to do. I wasn't even going to play it until I was strongly encouraged to by some of the folks around here and was pleasantly surprised how much I loved it and how well it works. Well done.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - this game put everything I used to imagine about the old 2d RPG's on the screen and in my hands. Getting buried in the world and story is delightful and there's tons to do. I could literally play this as my only game if I had to and not get tired of it. I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming PS4 entry as it looks like the same approach but oh so much more. Can't wait!

Dead Space 3 - This game really got chewed out by reviewers and even some fans. I don't get it. I wasn't expecting to like it and, indeed, even passed on getting it until it was free for PS+. It quickly became my favorite of the series. I think folks got hung up on the common issue of a game not being what they'd expected it to be. It's not a survival horror game, though. It's a science fiction action/adventure game. And it's inceedibly fun to play, to find stuff, and to look at. It's my wife's favorite PS3 game due to content and presentation even though she's never played it. I can't wait to play the DLC chapter, which I've already paid for. I'm wanting to finish collectibles in the main game before venturing into it. I hope they do another for PS4.

Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii) - A real gem of the Wii era, it's a real shame it never got a sequel. It's a 3D point and click environmental puzzle game. It used the Wii remote in a variety of ways to figure out puzzles, which was charming, but the real genius was the puzzle solving itself. It also had a very cute art style and loveable characters.
Rayman Legends (Any) - Really good platformer, works great as a multiplayer and single player game. The online extras and hilarious Kung Foot minigame round off a great package.
Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - I think this game was a great return to form for Zelda. It gave a unique system of renting items and allowed you to choose which dungeons to tackle first which gave the game good replayability. It's biggest sin is reusing ALTTP's overworld, but I can forgive it.
Minecraft (PC) - I actually haven't spent a terrible amount of time with the game, but the creation tools and multiplayer components really are great. If I had to choose 5 games to play for the rest of my life this would probably be one of them.
Rock Band (any) - I've actually played more Guitar Hero than Rock Band, but with friends Rock Band really became something big and used to be the thing to do at someone's house. The addition of more instruments really kicked it off.

Rayman Legends: Terrific platformer. I also enjoyed the Wii U gamepad stages.

Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: Can't ignore the DKC series. They were all good games. I'm excluding DKCR though, due to the mandatory waggle controls, and I haven't played the 3DS port.

Hyrule Warriors: Biggest surprise hit from last year. Gotta nominate it.

Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man X: These are the three best MM games, in my eyes. Gotta count them.

Dr. Luigi: I expect this to be largely ignored, but I clocked so many hours in Virus Buster. And the touch controls made that version amazing for me. The touch screen version first appeared in Dr. Luigi, so it gets my nom over the original Dr. Mario.

Blaster Master: Great NES game. One of Sunsoft's best.

evildevil97 wrote:Hyrule Warriors: Biggest surprise hit from last year. Gotta nominate it.

Yeah, Koei! Good to see more Dynasty Warriors entries getting a nod.