Games We've Loved...

[2disbetter]

I think Derek or Alec actually mentioned this game (Cave Story) in an interview by the GDC/IGF guys. 

2d

[illithid235]

There's a lot of goodies in here that I've loved as well... FFVI will always be right at the top of my list as best video game ever. I think. That game hit me like a ton of bricks in junior high, and even though I've just now gotten around to beating it like 10 years later, I have always and will always love the beauty that that game bleeds. Music, art, story, characters. Everything is fantastic.

And I know that a LOT of people will probably disagree on this one, but Soul Reaver II is in my list of top games as well.


 No storyline has ever blown me away as much as this game's. I love the whole Legacy of Kain Series, but this is my absolute favorite story section. The gameplay is mediocre, but I don't care.

Shadow of the Colossus was brilliant. As stated before, the sense of loneliness and purpose was so strong, and so well implemented. I love puzzle bosses, so a WHOLE GAME of puzzle bosses is that much better!

I'm surprised this hasn't showed up yet either, but I absolutely loved Okami!!


Now I just have to decide whether or not I'm going to pick it up for Wii... I imagine the system conversion will be oh so sweet.

I need to play Fallout, desperately. I need to play Ico, as well. Oh, if I could only freeze time.. there's so much art to consume in this world!!

[Alec]

I love the Legacy of Kain series! Even when they aren't very good. (Blood Omen 2) Soul Reaver II had a lot of memorable moments in it, and the graphics were very nice.

[illithid235]

Well, nice to meet another fan. And yeah.. Blood Omen 2 sure were dark days.

And that's a series I was really sad to see fade into the night. But oh well, we had some good times.

[Alec]

Defiance was pretty redeeming. I've played through Blood Omen 2 twice, and I enjoy the atmosphere in part. The major problems I have with it are the linearity (would have been cool if it was a bit more open... as it is its just one straight path to the end), the character models (fairly ugly) but mainly Kain didn't really get to act like Kain until the end. He was being lead around and told what to do for 90% which didn't feel right. In the original Blood Omen, the world felt more connected and Kain was just a total bad ass.

Blood Omen 2 is weird because it has a lot of things in common with a game that didn't make it out. It was also made with a racing game engine, which might explain why the cut scenes aren't scripted as nicely as the other games.

[illithid235]

Well damn... that's certainly a fascinating bit of video game lore.

And.. based on a racing game engine? I'm only semi computer literate, and know nothing about programming, so I have no idea how the racing engine affects gameplay... to me it just sounds weird. Gameplay wasn't bad, though, I certainly enjoyed having puzzle bosses again. I guess the racing engine didn't do too much harm.

[Alec]

I'm just confused as to why they didn't use the Soul Reaver engine. Maybe 'cause the racing game was cross-platform already or something.

Btw thelostworlds.net is a super awesome site! Lots of info about the original Soul Reaver ending and hidden unused content in the games. (there's like unused voice files on the original SR disc)

[illithid235]

Gahh!!! Seriously??? I love the voice acting! Michael Bell totally rocks my world! I need to look into that!

But I do remember, from before Soul Reaver came out, all the stuff they were planning on doing, Phase at Will, vampire worshipper boss, full set of elemental reavers, stuff like that.

I'm kinda glad they didn't end it there, though. The twist at the end of SRII just blows my mind.

[Alec]

Yeah, that was the best part of SRII for me. And some of the 3D remakes of old Blood Omen areas.

Yeah, I love the voice acting from the Legacy of Kain series! Its a huge part of what makes them so great. All the voice session outtakes in SRII were great too.

[illithid235]

HAHA, oh yes. Good stuff.

"Seems like a lot of talking for a video game..."

"I come back after 20 minutes, and here's my granddaughter, WAY beyond where I was...I think they must have a chip implanted in their brains..."

Speaking of voice acting outtakes, did you guys get to keep any of the outtakes from Jenna's sessions? I'm sure they'd be fun.

[Alec]

We have a couple things lying around, but mostly she only sent us the final stuff.

[Zaratus]

Hmm, I think I'll mention a couple that are a bit lesser known.  Both old SNES games.  The first is a bit more widely known - it only saw an english release in the PAL territories though.  Terranigma - the third game in the series consisting of Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia.  It's one of the best looking SNES games and can be described as epic.  You start off in an subterranean area and your first goals are to restore the continents to the surface world - Eurasia, the Americas, Africa, Australia, etc.  Afterwards, you go to the surface and get to restore life - plants, birds, animals, eventually humans.  You can even help develop civilization a bit - helping to foster trade and tourism between the cities, helping out in the invention of the camera and the hamburger, and the towns will grow larger.  Sort of typical action-rpg fare - kill enemies. collect gold, gain levels.  Plenty of secrets abound as well, and there's a few little twists in the plot as well.  Easily one of the better games that the US never got to see.  Screenshots await here:  http://www.fantasyanime.com/legacy/terran_shots2.htm 

Another, a bit lesser known is called Dragon View.  The overworld is a first person viewpoint, with clouds of mist representing enemies, although the overworld is a bit clunky, it still works fairly well.  Now, inside the towns and dungeons, and after an encounter with an enemy on the overworld, it's a side-scroller, with back and forward movement too, like a lot of beat-em-up games.  You gain levels as you kill things, and find powerups to raise your max health and magic power.  There's a number of secrets  and side-areas on the overworld map to find, such as teleportation stars, hidden caverns with energy to power up your weapons or armor, or other useful treasures.   The story is more-or-less standard fare, although I thought the text was written well.  Graphics are quite nice.  Here's a little video that shows the first couple minutes, though it doesn't show the world map.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vl0M1pEPAA 

Over the years though, this game remains one of my favorites.  It's just fun to play through.  I remember renting it a few times, then bought it eventually when the store was selling off their older games for real cheap.  It's too bad it never really became well-known.  I miss games like these nowadays.  The most recent games that I thought really captured that feel are Falcom's Ys games.  Ark of Napishtim and especially Oath in Felghana are just amazing. 

[illithid235]

Wow... I actually have played all of those SNES games that you mention. That makes me feel all special and esoteric. You've now made me want to pick up Terranigma again.

[Zaratus]

That's ok, I made myself want to play both those games again.   

[Two Jacks]

I started playing games at a very young age on an old macintosh performer, those games were: Shuffle Puck, Alien Invasion, and Oregon Trail.
These games were just little arcade type games but kept me pretty happy untill I met...


SrarWars: Empire Strikes Back
Mr. GameBoy! Yes I had the old gray gameboy and one of my favorite games was an old SrarWars: Empire Strikes Back game, of coure mine was in Black and yellow (old game boy remeber?).

I stuck with the gameboy for a long time and then picked up:

Mario vs. Donkey Kong
This was the first game I played that had fun, non-aracade, game play. I played this thing untill I was like 9 years old and started when I was maybe 4-5. I never actulay beat the game because it was soooo long but I got almost to the end before my gameboy was broken...

Though the two best games I ever played on my GameBoy was (with no surprise):

Super Mario World 2: Six Golden Coins
Wow, how fun was this game? Secret levels, mini games, BOSS FIGHTS! How could they go wrong? This game showed me alot of what was needed for a good game.

Oh who could forget:

Pokemon Red/Blue
Probally the most plot heavy game I woned at the time. Though the plot isn't exactly genius it did have alot of basic (good) design to it (one that gamefrak has used for years). Also picked up some tips from this game on what a game should be.

Now right about this time my GameBoy was broken... I was forced to play outside and watch T.V. However right around this time my dad bought a Macintosh G4 Tower! And at the same time bought:

MYST
Hmm, what's there to say? This game had the best plot, graphics, and puzzles I had ever seen to that point. Good memories.
_{Bring me the blue pages!!!}

Luckily a couple christmases later and I wind up with a Playstation 1! and with (for some reason) the first RPG I ever bought and the first game. I had no idea what it was at the time I bought it but it's defanitly one of the best games I have ever played:

Final Fantasy VII
Ha, need I say more? This game had it all and most importantly, it was fun. This game taught me what everygame must have at all times, fun. Many RPG's these days (including FF12 which I'm currently playing) don't have fun all the way though or for the better part of the game. FF7 is probally my favorite RPG of all time.

After my dad had bought a newer computer he gave the old one to me (us, I have siblings ). Then that's when I stimbled apon another best all tiem game:

Ferazel's Wand (screan shot taken from Jack's World, my level set )
Ooo, loads of memories with this one. Not only did this game have good replay value, was a great game too, but it came with an EDITOR! I first didn't use the editor but a couple years ago (unfortunatly the fan base is dead) I started to and with have half-way finished my level-set, "Jack's World". Though now with Aquaria coming out I don't know if I'll ever finish it!

Right around my birth (long ago) I got this game:

Final Fantasy Tactics
Whoa! This is the most plot heavy game EVER!  Most of the time I can only barely follow it. I only beat the game this year (it was in storage), good ending, great gameplay, very challenging. I love this game it was funny at times, serious at times, and mind boggling frustrating at times.

Oh yes my favorite Indie Game (for now  ):

Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari)
Sooo fun! Good weapons, good bosses, very good plot, and best replay value I've ever seen! This game will always be in my computer heart.


This is where I looked back at all the games I've played and said to my self, "My favorite type must be 2D scrollers!". I think 2D scrollers are the best, you can do anything with them! Sure you can do anything with everything else but the simplicity of scrollers forces creators to be creative bringing about great results. Mario, Ferazel, Cave Story, and soon to be Aquaria, all creative in their own sense, all great.
These games I've mentioned have changed me as a person, thanks.

_{Most of these images were taken from wikipedia, a great website.}