I've been playing Mass Effect lately. That game is definitely near the top of my list, although I haven't played a lot of the other games mentioned in this thread.
Well, since this thread has been floated back up... I'll say that I'm tempted to add Demon's Souls, and probably Uncharted 2 to my list as well.
Haven't really had a chance to play much this year. Tons of busy-ness and exhaustion. The only game I would add to my previous list atm would be Tales of Vesperia. Fun, fun game. Portal was pretty friggin awesome. I'm enjoying Professor Layton and the curious village. Lost Odyssey has been a disapointment so far. I'm almost past the first disc and the only thing I really like is the battle system, and I don't like it THAT much.
Picking a best is impossible. For me it is between: Ocarina of Time A Link to the Past Legend of Zelda FF2/IV FF3/VI FF7 FF8
Final Fantasy 4 has one of the worst stories for a video game. There was a time where I ranked it above Final Fantasy 6, but after recently going back and playing it I realized how horrible the plot really is. So basic, cliched, and rife with deus ex machina style plot twists. Nostalgia kept it high on my list until replaying it. It is one of the rare few games that I will actually say that it "doesn't hold up well today." However, if the plot was rewritten and expanded it could potentially be one of the best FF games because the foundation for the plot is rather solid. I'm compelled to ask you if you have played it recently? And back to the topic at hand: I just recently finished Resident Evil 4 and I am definitely putting it on my favorite games list. The pacing of the game is so tight. I took me ~22 hours to finish the game, but it felt more like 10 hours. It was a much more enjoyable experience for me compared to RE5. One of the only changes I would make to RE4 would be to have a "quick-draw" weapon system like in RE5 because going back to the menu screen to switch weapons becomes tedious, but other than that I don't have any major complaints. I just started up Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Special Edition on the recommendation of a ClutchFans member. I'm only about an hour into the game, but I have pretty impressed so far. I have a decent backlog of games right now, and I imagine most of them will be added to my "favorite games list." In fact, I think all of my backlog games can be found in this very thread.
Captain Tsubasa 2 Chrono Trigger Silent Hill 1 Oblivion Gran Turismo 2 Silent Hill 3 Mafia The Operative: No one lives forever Prototype The Chronicles of Riddick: EFBB Silent Hill 2 Marvel Ultimate Alliance Supposed to be in order but still pretty arbitrary. I'm sure I'm missing something obvious. For one, I can't think of any strategy games although I love the genre. Some older Command & Conquer/Red Alert games maybe...
What part are you at in Mass Effect? The later parts in that game are some of the best in gaming. Be prepared to make some tough decisions...
In no particular order/genre: Halo Series Ghost Recon Series NBA 2K series Rock Band 2 Super Smash Bros. Star Wars: KOTOR Oblivion Jeopardy (both regular and sports editions) Tetris Super Mario 64 That's all I can think of...
I still love it. It started my love of FF, and obvious by reply it along with Zelda made video games special to me. Part of my FF love is I am a sucker for a love story, and I feel like I can relate to the Cecil, Cloud, & Squall. FF6 I hated at first, but it became addicting to play over and over, as there was always something I missed. FF4's story was basic, but that is part of its greatness. It is by far the easiest to follow because of it. Its the only one I can pick up months later on a saved game and figure out what the hell I was doing. Depends on what you mean by recent. I've played it in the past couple of years, definitely post XII. I have the problem of owning all the final fantasys except the ones released for DS, but no time to play them.
Other ones I liked that weren't Zelda/FF: Goldeneye Halo 2/3 F.E.A.R Super Mario 3/World Breath of Fire series Lufia series Paladin's Quest
I hear you on that. I haven't gotten around to playing FFX or FFXII yet, but hopefully I can get them out of the way within the next year. I also had a feeling FF4 was the one that pulled you into the FF series. I've found a recurring theme among FF fans in that they "never forget their first", and the nostalgia of their first big FF stays with them. As for FF4: Spoiler I actually think the premise of the story is awesome: you're a dark knight who is beginning to question the morality of your king's recent orders. There are rumors that the king doesn't seem himself. You're sent to deliver a package which explodes, leveling a town, and reveals the king's attempt to rid himself of you. The crystal plotline is a classic FF framework for the story, and I actually like the simplicity behind the crystal storyline. What really made me dislike the story after I last played it were: 1) The over the top plot twists that come out of nowhere. Each plot twist isn't given much detail or backstory. They're basically thrown at you at the last second: Oh, you Golbez stole all the crystals? Just kidding, there are 4 more underground. Uh oh, he finally got all the crystals! Oh yeah, by the way, there is this fable that says you go to the moon with all the crystals. And all the revelations on the moon seems hastily thrown at you: you're a lunarian, Golbez was actually being brainwashed himself instead of just brainwashing others, he's also your brother, and there is this guy named Zemus who is the real bad guy. The Kain on-again, off-again brainwashed triple-cross storyline got a little ridiculous and repetitive. 2) Characterization is also lacking except for a small number of people in your party. A lot of the characters just aren't fleshed out enough, and that unfortunately includes Golbez, the guy who you believe is your enemy throughout 9/10 of the game. Golbez probably could have been one of the best FF antagonists, but you just aren't given much information on him or a motivation to dislike him other than he is stealing crystals. 3) Also, the never ending cliches and the weak excuses for resurrecting previously "dead" characters make the game feel less dramatic and epic to me. The cliches aren't that bad because, let's face it, all FFs have those to a degree, but the fake character deaths feel a little like cop-outs to me. Having your characters actually die and sacrifice yourself for your cause would have made the story a lot more impactful in my opinion. Even with all of that said, I think if the was remade and the script rewritten, it could truly be an epic story that stands up to modern standards.
I've actually played all the way through the game with one character (a soldier), and I've just started up again playing as another class.
Ohh ok. I thought you meant you were in the middle of your first play through. Yea, I beat the game earlier this summer as a Vanguard. I'll play it again once all the holiday game rush is over. I should have time to play through again before Mass Effect 2 comes out in January. Can't wait for that one!
For anyone who wants to try out some of the PC games in this thread, you should look into the Steam website. I'm going to download the Half Life games off of their at some point.
Alex Kidd. this game was fun back in the day. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3vXdznM0KNI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3vXdznM0KNI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Phantasy Star 1. Back when JRPG was cool. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rn4Ie8WL7sE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rn4Ie8WL7sE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
