This Old Neon Forum

Welcome to the #BGE2020 Elimination Round of 512!

Each game is seeded based on its performance in the two opening rounds of pools. Every game in the Upper Bracket has defeated multiple other games in 1-on-1 polls to get to this point. These are still the best of the best.

Polls are updated weekly, typically on Sunday or Monday. Check back throughout the week to make sure you don't miss a vote!

HOW TO VOTE

This is easy. You only get one vote per poll. The game with the most votes wins. In the event of a tie, the higher seed advances, so don't get complacent!

Easy and fervent vote for the lovely Phantasy Star II. Epic space opera RPG at its finest.

Really tough match-up for one of my favourite Final Fantasy games, lining up against the excellent and deserving Phantasy Star II.

Coming after a string of a disappointing 9, pretty good 10, and non-existent 11, FF12 was a breath of fresh air with an awesome new way of controlling your party that rewards creativity and lets you come up with some OP builds if you just put your mind to it (programming gambits). It also has a wonderful setting, great music, excellent characters (even Vaan, who is an annoying character, is still a well-written character—good characters can be annoying and oblivious), and a pretty good plot.

The only real weakness is that some of the ways it tries to pretend to be an offline MMO can feel unfair (e.g. randomized loot from chests, low drop rates of certain things, etc.).

The scope of the game is also ahead of its time. It's the kind of thing Xenoblade Chronicles was explicitly trying (and failing) to recreate a whole generation later on the Wii.

As much as I want FF12 to win and hope it will win, I can't be too disappointed to see PS2 advance either.

I feel like Final Fantasy XII is the kind of game I should like - it's mechanically interesting, the plotlines are complex and political, the characters are well-developed, there are a lot of good optional boss fights, and it's relatively grounded for a JRPG.

But every time I try to get into it, I am disappointed. I don't know if it's how slow the plot simmers early on, or the areas being too large and samey (lots of ruins/deserts/caves), the license board being a million small things and never feeling like it makes a big difference at any one point, the tutorial for the game lasting 9 actual hours, or how the dialogue is often stilted in an attempt to be formal or Shakespearian... but the combination is a game I just can't stand actually playing (and I tried the fan translation of the IZJS version before the remaster came out - I know the remaster changes some additional things, but I doubt it redeems the game for me).

I played Phantasy Star II for the first time on the Wii VC, and really enjoyed it. It's a little tricky towards the end, but I liked the ability to swap out party members and the setting is great.