Dr. T is an alien
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by Dr. T is an alien on Jan 12, 2022 12:54:49 GMT -5
29. Valkyria Chronicles I remember this being one of the first must-own PS3 exclusives back in the day. But, yeah, see my VCII summary. I guess the reasons I have it higher than II is that the story was better, and it also had Vyse and Aika (bang bang, baby) from Skies of Arcadia. Something I forgot to mention was the art style of the series. I'll just post a screenshot: Alicia is broken, especially when Welkin uses the "unlock potential" orders. She acts as a damage sink, heals magically, can cross entire maps in a single turn, prevents the enemy from dodging her shots, has low-end sniper accuracy, and does far more damage than a scout should. That does not even touch the in game story potential that she has that you, alas, never get to control as it happens in cut scenes. Rosie equipped with the machine gun from the DLC is pretty gnarly to use as well.
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J is Justice
Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 12, 2022 17:02:56 GMT -5
27. Fire Emblem Awakening My first Fire Emblem game and it was amazing. One of the best tactical RPGs I've ever played. Of course, I loved the battle system. The way your characters could grow closer to each other when you teamed them up in battle, unlocking cutscenes, etc, was really cool, too. Shout out to the soundtrack, too. I loved classic mode. Again, your characters dying made you really care for them. Unfortunately, because of that I never beat the game. And I played through it twice! Ah, well. That's what I get.
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J is Justice
Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 12, 2022 19:50:30 GMT -5
26. Valkyria Chronicles 4 The best VC game, in my opinion (though, it's close). I really liked the addition of the grenadier class, even though they were a pain to go up against. The Brave system was another cool addition, which gave downed soldiers one last attack. They even added a ship you can command! Like in II you can get to know your squad mates better with extra cut scenes and battles. I think 4 probably has my favourite main characters, too, with Raz, Kai, etc. Please make a fifth game, SEGA!
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Post by Ryback on a Pole! on Jan 13, 2022 3:56:09 GMT -5
32. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth This game was kind of reminded me of Persona but with Digimon. You travel through randomly generated dungeons battling and collecting them. Collecting Digimon, digivolving them, levelling them up is addicting. I even went for the plat (and failed). Great game. Unfortunately, I haven't played the sequel, yet. Sequel was a let. The plot was very think. It felt more like bulked out DLC to be honest. Original was great though
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J is Justice
Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 13, 2022 5:58:17 GMT -5
25. Tales of Xillia My first Tales game. Probably why I liked it so much, as everything was fresh to me. I loved the battle system. It was flashy and fun. You could team up with your party members to execute link artes, which was a cool idea. I remember enjoying the story, actually. The characters were solid. A big negative with this game is the environments. They're kind of bland. But it's the battle system where this game truly shines.
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Dr. T is an alien
Patti Mayonnaise
Knows when to hold them, knows when to fold them
I've been found out!
Posts: 31,369
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Post by Dr. T is an alien on Jan 13, 2022 9:31:16 GMT -5
26. Valkyria Chronicles 4 The best VC game, in my opinion (though, it's close). I really liked the addition of the grenadier class, even though they were a pain to go up against. The Brave system was another cool addition, which gave downed soldiers one last attack. They even added a ship you can command! Like in II you can get to know your squad mates better with extra cut scenes and battles. I think 4 probably has my favourite main characters, too, with Raz, Kai, etc. Please make a fifth game, SEGA! Yeah, it absolutely was the best of the series. The brave system also allowed the downed character to inspire others as well. The story was pretty good too, especially since the good guys weren't entirely good and most of the bad guys weren't entirely bad (some were actually very good people), outside of the main villain, who still had his interesting quirks and history (for example, he may have engineered the death of one of the main character's father in order to steal his research, but he actually felt a little bad about it and still had love for the man). It felt like a more nuanced story. All of the changes to the gameplay I appreciated, especially after I got a feel for the new tactics available. Oh, and the side stories were a phenomenal addition of optional levels. It encouraged you to vary the characters you used, including using characters whose quirks or skills normally would make you reluctant to use them. Even better, completing each story usually turned negative quirks into positive quirks, sometimes making borderline useless characters (like Drunky McGee, aka Vancey the shocktrooper/unit drunk) into indispensable characters that you take on every mission afterwards. Also, the post-game DLC allows you to add Selvaria and the Winter Witch to your squad! You actually can use empowered valkyria as active characters for once (even if doing so uses 2 command points instead of 1)!
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J is Justice
Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 13, 2022 12:36:17 GMT -5
24. Pokemon Gold and Silver It's the game that made me cry tears of joy when I received it for Christmas, so I had to place it high! I've actually noticed these games getting a bit of hate recently. Then again, so does Red and Blue. I'll admit, I have some issues with the games, such as some of the new Pokemon only being available in Kanto. But the games are still memorable and fun to me. Who could forget Whitney's Miltank? And being able to explore Kanto. I loved the remakes, actually. My favourite addition being the fact you could take pictures of you and your Pokemon in various places. Not my favourite Pokemon games, but I still love them.
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Dr. T is an alien
Patti Mayonnaise
Knows when to hold them, knows when to fold them
I've been found out!
Posts: 31,369
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Post by Dr. T is an alien on Jan 13, 2022 14:25:46 GMT -5
25. Tales of Xillia My first Tales game. Probably why I liked it so much, as everything was fresh to me. I loved the battle system. It was flashy and fun. You could team up with your party members to execute link artes, which was a cool idea. I remember enjoying the story, actually. The characters were solid. A big negative with this game is the environments. They're kind of bland. But it's the battle system where this game truly shines. My favorite quirk was when one of those damned Slenderman-looking enemies spotted you, you’d hear the creepy “Hello there!” As he starts to charge at you. Fantastic stuff.
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J is Justice
Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 13, 2022 17:18:14 GMT -5
25. Tales of Xillia My first Tales game. Probably why I liked it so much, as everything was fresh to me. I loved the battle system. It was flashy and fun. You could team up with your party members to execute link artes, which was a cool idea. I remember enjoying the story, actually. The characters were solid. A big negative with this game is the environments. They're kind of bland. But it's the battle system where this game truly shines. My favorite quirk was when one of those damned Slenderman-looking enemies spotted you, you’d hear the creepy “Hello there!” As he starts to charge at you. Fantastic stuff. I can't actually remember that, lol.
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J is Justice
Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 13, 2022 17:24:22 GMT -5
23. Pokemon Crystal A better version of Gold and Silver, obviously. Not much else to say. You also get a free Suicune, which is nice. I guess I'll admit how I was actually embarrassed to buy this game because Pokemon was no longer considered cool in my age group. Now I'm 33 and play Pokemon games without a care in the world. Kids, eh?
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 13, 2022 20:31:02 GMT -5
22. Dark Cloud Played the demo for this and I was instantly hooked. I was always a fan of simulation games and DC is a simulation game mixed with a JRPG. You go through dungeons, fight monsters and collect parts to rebuild villages and towns. It's insanely addicting. The battle system isn't anything special, but there are multiple characters to mix things up. The game is also really repetitive. It does get old, eventually, and I've never completed it because of that. But, overall, it's a really fun, addictive game (and the sequel's even better).
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 14, 2022 5:44:37 GMT -5
21. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire Man, it was tough choosing my favourite Pokemon games. Ultimately, I have to put these second. Maybe I'll regret it later. Ruby and Sapphire added a lot of cool stuff, like double battles, secret bases and contests. And I loved a lot of the new Pokemon, like Sceptile, Absol, Tropius, Wailord, Shedinja and, of course, everyone's favourite, Wingull. Dammit. It's getting hard ranking these games, now. f***.
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 14, 2022 17:45:20 GMT -5
20. Final Fantasy X-2 No, you're not hallucinating, lol. I love X-2. Yes, it's dumb and full of cringe, but it is so fun. The battle system is amazing. It has a job system, which I always love, and is possibly my favourite job system in any game. And the game just has a fun atmosphere around it. The music is also underrated. Not talking about Real Emotion, but tracks like Eternity, Wind Crest ~The Three Trails~, Besaid, Gagazat, The Farplane Abyss, etc. This game is just so fun that I can ignore the many flaws. The second most underrated FF (spoilers!).
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 14, 2022 20:13:49 GMT -5
19. Final Fantasy VI Okay. I've ranked VI above X-2. We can breathe a sigh of relief. What can I say about VI? It's an all-round amazing game. I suppose the only reason I don't have it even higher is that I don't have as much nostalgia for it as some of the other games. I played it after either IX or X. But, yes, a flawless game... except for Gau.
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 14, 2022 21:36:17 GMT -5
18. Star Ocean: Till The End of Time Like The Last Hope, this game has a great battle system and gameplay, overall. The characters are a bit more tolerable here, though. There's just so much to do in this game. There are secret playable characters, battle trophies, multiple endings, lots of big areas to explore, etc. Really like the music, too. The battle theme is one of my favs. It has some issues, like ridiculous backtracking and that infamous twist. But, overall, this is an epic adventure with a fun battle system and tons to do.
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Post by aka Cthulhu on Jan 15, 2022 3:50:07 GMT -5
18. Star Ocean: Till The End of Time Like The Last Hope, this game has a great battle system and gameplay, overall. The characters are a bit more tolerable here, though. There's just so much to do in this game. There are secret playable characters, battle trophies, multiple endings, lots of big areas to explore, etc. Really like the music, too. The battle theme is one of my favs. It has some issues, like ridiculous backtracking and that infamous twist. But, overall, this is an epic adventure with a fun battle system and tons to do. I remember enjoying the game. Liked the crafting a bit more from the previous game, and I do recall that the game's twist was an "ehhhhh..." moment. Still enjoyed SO3 overall.
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Post by aka Cthulhu on Jan 15, 2022 3:54:21 GMT -5
20. Final Fantasy X-2 No, you're not hallucinating, lol. I love X-2. Yes, it's dumb and full of cringe, but it is so fun. The battle system is amazing. It has a job system, which I always love, and is possibly my favourite job system in any game. And the game just has a fun atmosphere around it. The music is also underrated. Not talking about Real Emotion, but tracks like Eternity, Wind Crest ~The Three Trails~, Besaid, Gagazat, The Farplane Abyss, etc. This game is just so fun that I can ignore the many flaws. The second most underrated FF (spoilers!). I recall the game being a lot easier than X. On the bonus dungeon, there was an accessory that made things easier to cheese through the rest of the bonus dungeon. That said, I remember cheesing through the dark aeons in X with Yojimbo. Except for dark Yojimbo since that was essentially me trying to flip several coins and hoping it all landed on heads with no save. And of course there was the change in blitzball. Still a fun game. Honestly tempted to get the X and X-2 bundle on Steam.
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 15, 2022 6:55:07 GMT -5
17. Dark Chronicle/Cloud 2 The much-improved sequel to Dark Cloud. Like the first game, you go through dungeons collecting parts to rebuild villages and towns. It's a bit more complex in this game and you can also time travel to see your creation's in the future. Dark Chronicle is like an amalgamation of cool stuff you wanted to do as a kid. You can build your own robot, invent stuff, turn into monsters (unfortunately, kind of useless), fish. You even go to the circus. Like most Level-5 games, there's just so much to do. Can you tell I love this company? The graphics and music are beautiful, too. If I had to complain, I'd say the story isn't very interesting and the gameplay does get repetitive towards the end. Here's hoping for a Dark Cloud 3, one day.
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Wade Wilson
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 15, 2022 10:18:15 GMT -5
16. Grandia II The greatest battle system (and theme) ever! I really enjoy the customisation with the skill books and mana eggs, too. Also one of the best protagonists in Ryudo. The other characters are also a lot of fun. The spell animations are so good in this game, even if the game is lacking a bit graphics-wise in other areas. Not gonna lie—as much as I like this game, it has many flaws. Ryudo, although he shows development, does become a little boring by the end. The story is hilariously cliche. Generic enemies, dodgy sound effects, {Spoiler}{Spoiler}Mareg's death . But that battle system is just so good that I can ignore a lot of the negatives.
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Post by J is Justice on Jan 15, 2022 15:44:16 GMT -5
15. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Here it is—the ultimate JRPG hidden gem! The cool thing about this game is that there are two protagonists: Kharg, a human, and Darc, a deimos. And you switch between the two during the story. Both their stories are connected but most of the events happen away from the other. And they both have their own party of characters. Speaking of the characters, they are a varied and unique bunch. I slightly preferred Darc's party, though. This is a tactical RPG, though it's not grid-based. I guess it's more like Valkyria Chronicles, where you can move your characters around more freely. The story, the music and the graphics are all good stuff. It was originally on PS2 but it's now also on PS4, so I recommend everyone checks it out!
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