30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[Kamicciolo]

Day 2 - Kami's Favourite "10000000x better than that Day Z Ninjashark harps on about constantly" Game

 

MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

I believe I picked this last time around, but I can't say thats really changed either, so lets run over the same things as last time :V.

 

Picture the scene, Nintendo have already released Galaxy, Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, and now they're stuck for their next big hit. They've exhausted their tried and true franchises to best effect but its not enough. When suddenly, whats that? It'sa Wario!!! And he's here to save Nintendo from financial despair!!!!! (note: events are dramatized for best effect and may have not happened as described!)

 

But yeah, it's Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (thats the proper name goddamnit >:V), a 2D platformer developed by Good Feel (who also made Epic Yarn and are working on Yarn Yoshi), starring everyone's favourite wacky trickster plumber, Wario. The game employs the Wiimote in a simple yet effective manner. WAGGLE. Waggle the stick and stuff will happen. Maybe things will break, maybe things will fall, maybe money will appear, maybe you'll make the enemy sick? who knows, but its simple and effective.

 

But the fun doesn't stop there, the game is loaded with levels filled with tonnes of puzzles and challenges just waiting to be completed, ranging from simple ones like jumping on three enemies' heads to insane ones like not breaking a flying bucket while flying through a spike maze (which is more difficult than it sounds), that are a joy to complete.

 

The game also makes use of sprites and backgrounds hand drawn by bonafide anime studios, giving the game a look and charm that makes it stand out from the rest. Not to mention the music, which ranges from slow and somber tracks to more fast paced ones, which all fit the level they're based on (and there's one taken from Wario World, which is aces too BV).

 

So yeah, go play it~

[jords]

Day 2:

 

 

 

I have a lot of favourites but I think I should mention this one.

 

But I had A LOT of fun with this game. The story mode was pretty great and fun and the level design worked so well. But honestly most of the levels are not meant for 4 players and that's what I liked about it. The craziness  we had to go through was frustrating but fun? We always had some crazy ideas to get through a specific stage and everything goes completely wrong, Loosing Yoshi's, loosing powers, Missing a jump, Loosing everything.

 

I spent a lot of time with this game because It got hacked up and stuff and some people made a software named Reggie! were you can create your own levels and upload them on some website to share with everyone else for them to play.

 

Here is one of them.

 

http://youtu.be/KaXjtxvKcko

 

So another thing I liked about this game was Coin battle. We spent hours on this mode, it was super crazy battling in four players. Players are constantly dying, falling of cliffs either throwing each other off a platform or ground pounding them off and We had a blast playing this mode. It's too bad we didn't spent alot of time in New super mario bros U but we still had so much fun on it.

 

I was hoping Super mario 3D world would of had Coin battle but their battle mode didn't feel that great and was kind of annoying to play because if we died, we would have to start over and it just gets boring playing the same level and dying again.

[Speederino]

This really isn’t an easy question to answer. I don’t have ONE favorite game, I have like…twenty. But obviously I don’t want to be talking about all of them or this post will take a week to finish, so I’ve tried to narrow it down to “Which of my favorite games have I come back to most often?” (if “What is your most played game?” ends up being a question later, I’ll go with my second-most played)  In which case I pretty much have no choice but to go with…

 

 

Skyrim was my introduction to the Elder Scrolls franchise, finally luring me in with the practically limitless potential for roleplaying. You see, now that I’ve gone and played a few other Elder Scrolls, I’ve come to realize that the main storylines don’t really matter to me that much. Oh sure I’ll play them once or twice just to get the most out of the game, but my enjoyment comes more from just creating characters and seeing what happens with them. And I don’t just mean spend a few minutes in the character customizer, oh no no no no. Like I said, I roleplay the shit out of them. Before I even THINK of a character’s appearance I’ll write up a detailed backstory and give them a huge list of personality traits. Only then will I spend twenty minutes in the character creator figuring out a look that suits them. And I use a certain mod that lets me bypass the beginning tutorial area, letting me begin the game in a completely different spot with a completely different premise. Forget all that stuff about slaying dragons and the end of the world, my favorite playthrough by far has been with a pampered noble-woman with zero combat training setting out to take revenge on a group of bandits. I’ve also played as traveling magicians, jesters, huntsman, even average civilians here and there. And I use permadeath rules which, if it’s not obvious, means if the character dies, that’s it. No checkpoints, no reloads, the story is over. That’s how I’m able to keep the game fresh, I’m constantly playing as completely different characters with completely different motivations and lifestyles.

 

But this isn’t the only game where I can do this, so why do I keep coming back to Skyrim in particular? Well like I said, the main storyline doesn’t matter much to me. Most other single player RPG’s with this kind of character freedom don’t have an open world (or a setting that really suits my tastes), meaning I’m forced into a particular storyline whether I want to be or not. That would technically be a fault here too, but like I said, I use a mod. As for the other Elder Scrolls games; I feel Skyrim has the most interactive and dynamic world, which better suits my roleplaying style (although I haven’t played Oblivion yet, so I’m eager to see what I can do in there). I didn’t like how in Morrowind, for example, you have to pick all your character traits right at the beginning and then you’re completely locked into them regardless of how they work out. In there, you have to have a concrete plan for your character. That isn’t something I really consider a bad thing overall, but I could never have made someone like that noble-lady in Morrowind. I watched her grow from essentially being Game of Thrones's Sansa to a bad-ass tank of a warrior, and believe me, I had zero idea that was going to happen. That’s the sort of thing I love to experience, and with Skyrim, the potential for that is limitless.

[Chaos Warp]

Day 2: Favorite Game (not counting Sonic 3&K).

 

I'm going to have to use 2 here because I would feel bad leaving either out.

 

 

This game right here, in my honest opinion, is the pinnacle of the hack-n-slash/beat-em-up genre. This game takes gameplay similar to the likes of Devil May Cry and refines it to absolute near perfection. The game is rarely boring and the combat is always so much fun and hard, yet satisfying. The story probably isn't all that amazing (but really why are you playing Bayonetta for the story), but Bayonetta herself as a character is just tons of fun to watch and is so entertaining, and did I mention the soundtrack is fucking incredible?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXvBUuoKBd8

 

This game's just so amazing in nearly every category, and I am extremely excited for it's sequel coming this year. 

 

And my other choice.....

 

 

Super Smash Bros is probably my favorite Nintendo franchise, and this game IMO is the pinnacle of said franchise. The gameplay in this one is just the most fast-paced, competitive, and fun.  Brawl and 64 are still great games, but their slower gameplay just doesn't hit the same perfection as this game. This game also has an amazing soundtrack, as normal of Smash Brothers, but I feel this game has the best theme song, Final Destination music and menu music in the whole series.

 

 

If I'm going to play a Smash game that's not Brawl modded with Project M, it's going to be this, and I've had so much fun playing this with friends. Love it. 

[Jolt_TH]

Day 2: Favorite Game

...oh dear god I have absolutely NOO idea which my favorite game is at all.

 

umm, I think it'll have to be this one.

 

 

Okami
I really do love this game, and don't really replay it that much anymore this game really has a special place in my heart. There is literally not one thing in this game I can fault, seriously. The gameplay feels really fluid and responsive, especially with the brush controls on the Wii and Amaterasu controls like a dream. The visuals, although not the most graphically "impressive" really fit with the game's premise and ideas and not to mention it just looks absolutely gorgeous, all the way through. The music is outstanding, the soundtrack to this game is legitimately amazing, I would totally buy the £80 5 disk soundtrack because I love it so much. The style is great and fits itself really well with pretty much every moment of the story, tense or relaxed, its just...I can't explain it, seriously I recommend a quick youtube for some of the Okami soundtrack. Finally I love the story. it has to be one of the best stories I have ever experienced in a video game, infact possibly ever. The game really gives you what you pay for, when you think you have finished the game it reveals more of the story to you and by the end of the game you realize that that first point you felt was the end was only about 1/3rd of the story. The story itself has plenty of curveballs that actually make sense in context of the story and don't come from nowhere, and even those that do seem to do it in a way where it sorta fits anyway. It goes into detail about pretty much all of the plot and you will find pretty much all of the questions you are bound to ask are answered. Also I feel that the final boss is worth mentioning, its tough, but it is fun ans hell and is truly epic.
 

[Blue Wisp]

Day 2: Favorite Game

...

Hard choice, but I'll go with 

 

Marvel vs. Capcom - Clash of Super Heroes.

 

It was one of the first fighting games I've ever played, along with Mortal Kombat 3. Extremely fun to this day, I loved playing as Venom and War Machine. It got pretty graphics, quite fun gameplay and a great soundtrack too.

 

Plus Onslaught is the best MVC boss.

 

[mighty hand beholding intensifies]

[Badnik Mechanic]

Every time I get asked this... As of a few weeks ago... three games come to mind and I can never distinguish them... so here they all are... in no particular order.
 
Just... play this video in another tab as you read the first one, just middle mouse it... ready go...
 
P.S. You will probably not get this post if you haven't played the first game....

 
 
 

On the first day... 

SSMB was granted a 30 days of game topic

And with it clarity.

 

On the second day...

Upon the SSMB was planted...

 

The second question...

 

Day 2: What is your Favourite Game?

 

 

Demons Souls

 

 

I first heard about this game via a few video game blogs and forums, the word was "There is this Japanese game, which has trophies, only... it's really good, and amazingly hard. It's all in Japanese, but you don't need to speak Japanese to get it, also there''s this odd feature that lets you invade other peoples games, theres little to no recycling of enemies, the boss fights are amazing and it's one of the best games on the system'

 

Naturally... I was interested. 

 

So I imported the game and... bloody hell. I thought 'Nah it won't be as good as they say...' no it wasn't... it was better. The game is incredible, you play as a yourself, you enter the fog of Boletaria to try and save it and the rest of the world from the horrors inside... the Demons. The demons draw power from the souls of humans, the more souls that are taken, the more powerful they and other beings become.

 

It's a very fair game too, you die in this game, it's because it's your fault or because you got hit. You really, the hit boxes are your body, if you are hit, you got hit. And die you will. Enemies in this game are no pushover, you cannot even at high levels blitz through the game, a fight is a real fight, you have to fight and think of it as a fight to the death... because it is!

 

The lore in here is amazing and is still debated to this day.

 

Dark Souls is more popular... but Demon's Souls is better

 

Up next...

 

ICO/Shadow of the Colossus

 

Technically it's one single game now thanks to the HD version, but they both share an equal place to me. Shadow of the Colossus is the one I wanna talk about. You first start out in vast expanse on a horse, you only know to 'go to this location' you don't know why, or whats there... only that you have to go here. You are armed with a short sword and that's it.

 

You climb a mountain and at the top it looks like the mountain moves.... wait... that's not a mountain. It's a colossi, a huge creature which you must kill, but this creature won't go down without a fight. 

 

This is one of those wonderful games which comes out every generation, if you love video games, you need to get your hands on this.

 

Ideally with ICO, ICO is different to SOC in every way... but in every way it's equally as marvellous. 

 

 

Finally... as of a few weeks ago.

 

Tearaway

 

THIS! You see this right here? You see this!? This is your reason to get a Vita, heck this is your reason to get into video games! Tearaway is an absolutely wonderful experience, you play as Iota, and he has a message for you, you have to navigate his world in one of the best platforming games in decades, the music is lovely, the world is magical, the gameplay is stunning. 

 

It uses the features of the Vita in a way which is not obtrusive or frustrating, it blends our world with the world of the videogame. 

 

And that ending... oh god that wonderful beautiful ending. 

 

When you get Iota's message, if you've become invested into the game, you are going to reply with "I will!"

 

This might be my GOTY for last year, it really is an incredible experience.

[Iggy]

Day 2: Favorite Videogame

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

This game is the biggest comfort ever. Despite giving me my hatred for sea bass and raccoons named Tom, it's also given me something eveyone needs when bad times strike, that thing being comfort. On the day we got the news that our dog had died, I didn't know what to do with myself after all the tears had left. It felt wrong to just play a video game like nothing happened, but I didn't know what else to do. So, I grabbed my 3ds and started playing. The same sweet yellow dog greeted me cheerfully, and this is going to sound sappy, but it helped. Despite the numbness and emptiness I was feeling, my little town was happy as ever. Every villager was glad to see me, and it made me feel like something was normal.

Since I didn't know what else to do, I planted a few trees, scanned a QR code, and made a temporary grave for my dog. I eventually took it town because it was too painful and sad to have, but I'm still glad I made it because it gave me something to do. On that day, it gave me a bit of closure. Because of this, one of the worst days of my life wasn't as bad as it could've been. The next two weeks were full of lining my town's path with fruit trees, changing patterns, redecorating my house, and making my town better. I'd be lying if I said my town was completely advanced now, but I'd also be lying if I said I hadn't made any progress.

Nothing hurts forever. Just because something you loved is gone doesn't mean you'll never be as happy as you were before ever again. You never forget them, but when the wound that grief left starts getting stitched back together by time, you find yourself able to move on and look forward to fresh starts. When the old leaf's turned brown and crumpled, it's time to turn over a new leaf. And that's what I'm going to do.

[Kiah]

Day 2: Favorite Video Game:

I'm sorry (actually I'm not sorry! :P) to have to pull the Sonic card out so soon, but there is absolutely no way I can answer this question truthfully without mentioning a Sonic game of some sort and keep a straight face.

Anyway, my favorite video game is this:

Sonic Unleashed-I love this game!. It's full of love, dedication and hard work from Sega and Sonic Team among other great things. I can go on and on praising this game but I'll try to sum it up the best I can...

 

First off, that introduction! Tons of intense action that felt very movie-like and looked absolutely amazing in CGI (as does the game as a whole! The graphics, art design and details are all outstanding!). And so much was going on...Specifically we saw Sonic confronting Doctor Eggman (nothing new here), but in space with huge robots, along with bullets flying and things blowing up amid a lot of other destruction going on. Within minutes Dr. Eggman was able to trap Sonic, not once, but twice, even though the first time was to no avail when Sonic turned into Super Sonic. Still, he got Sonic TWO times! But alas, we saw a flaw of Sonic, being too cocky with the corny joke-telling and falling for Dr. Eggman's trap of pleading for mercy, and it sure did it cost him! Sonic had become the Werehog and the Chaos Emeralds were gray and useless. Also Dr. Eggman revealed his intentions with creating Eggmanland right after he fired the laser that woke up Dark Gaia and split the planet up and then sent Sonic down to Earth. That's a lot to happen in only in the introduction of the game with a lot more to come!

 

 

Day levels are straight up fun, I really enjoy them. As for the night stages with the Werehog, not so much, but it's okay. Can't say that I hate them and I do appreciate them being around to slow things down and to lengthen the game. Say what you want about the Werehog, but he helps slow things down a bit and keep you busy. This is one thing I definitely love about Sonic Unleashed is the fact that this game keeps you busy-and for a while too with so much to do and discover. The whole thing with the medals didn't bother me too much. Pretty much nothing in this game bothered me actually, except for Eggmanland, which I found to be a real pain. 

 

The cutscenes! Sonic Unleashed provides almost an hour's worth of them in gorgeous CGI. I enjoyed every single second of them as they were beautiful and very entertaining. Putting them all together could make a nice movie. The hidden/bonus cutscenes I found hilarious as well. I enjoyed Sonic Unleashed's story as well. 

 

I thought Sonic Unleashed gave Sonic some good characterization, which is something that I am very big on. Even though his cockiness got him in trouble in the first place, Sonic didn't allow his transformation to dampen his spirit nor allow him not to help others in need. He actually made it a point to find a positive with the Werehog form when he learned he could stretch out his arms. Sonic showed his kindness and concern for people as various times throughout the game he asked if everyone was alright. Sonic was very protective of Chip and helpful to him. Probably my favorite line in the whole game was when Sonic asked "Do I need a reason to want to help out a friend?" This was after Chip recovers his memory and tries to leave to fight Dark Gaia on his own and Sonic stopped him with the question.

 

 

Soundtrack is downright amazing. Hard to pick what my favorite track is, as I enjoyed the whole soundtrack. Basically I find all of the day tracks to be exhilarating and the night tracks soothing. Endless Possibilities is a fun song. "Dear My Friend" just happens to be my favorite vocal song because of the meaning behind the song. I find it very soothing and sad, yet beautiful and touching. I thought the song was rich in meaning in regards to friendship, which was a theme present throughout the game with Sonic and Chip. 

 

 

Even the credits for the game were well done, I thought. I thought all 3 songs provided a nice balance after going through the adventure that Sonic Unleashed provided. Having the photos in the background I thought was a nice creative touch throughout the whole credits. I think the combination of the photos and the songs in the credits actually makes them worth going through from beginning to end. Basically the credits here are a nice final treat to what is not only my favorite Sonic game, but my favorite video game PERIOD.

 

There are some other points I could mention about Sonic Unleashed as well, but I'm going to stop here as this post is already long enough, not to mention I have my work cut out for me seeing that 114 different members participated in Day 1 and I can only imagine how it is going to go from here on out by the time arrives to award badges...

[Lucky]

Day 2 - Favourite Game

 

This is always a hard question for me to answer. There's a number of games that I adore, and last time we had this topic I ended up going with as I had been replaying it at the time and it reminded me just how much I loved it. But I think I might have also been trying to go with a less obvious answer instead of just repeating what a lot of other people had said, and this time I'm just going to go with what would have to be my all time favourite game if I was forced to choose...

 

 

It really does sound quite absurd, adventure of a bear and bird!

 

Banjo-Kazooie is the closest thing to a perfect game that I've played. It has charming and diverse levels that are just large enough to explore without getting monotonous (a problem that stopped me from getting into Tooie), an incredible soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope, and some of the quirkiest and most appealing characters I've come across. The script is genuinely hilarious, and I loved the dialogue that Gruntilda would come out with as you were wandering around her lair. She's always rivalled Eggman as my favourite villain.

 

Two of my favourite aspects of the game were the various moves you could learn from Bottles on your travels through Gruntilda's Lair, and the Mumbo Jumbo transformations you had to go through to adapt to the various environments if you wanted to reach certain Jiggies.

 

 

Still not sure if Pumpkin or Washing Machine Banjo is my favourite.

 

As for the moves, there a diverse range of them without making things over the top or complicated. Again, a problem that stopped me from getting into Tooie as much as I wanted to love it. I remember one of the things that wow'd me the most about the game as a kid was getting the ability to use the red feathers that allowed Kazooie to fly, and I loved that you could explore the entire level from that vantage point.

My other favourite for more immature reasons was getting her to poop out eggs.

 

Another thing that made an impact on me as a kid and which I still love is Click Clock Wood. It was the first time I'd played a game where time passed in an actual stage and I thought it was incredible that you could access it over various seasons.

 

I've played through the game 100% so many times now and it's one of those titles I never find myself getting bored or tired of no matter how many times I go through it. It still holds the same magic it did when I first played it, and is a perfect example of how you do a 3D platformer right. Almost listed it as my most nostalgic game for yesterday's question as I spent an entire summer playing it when it was released and could just mess around in the levels for hours, and I love the fact that I could still do the same thing after all these years and have just as much fun.

 

It's just a little sad that none of the other games in the series could ever come close to matching how great it was.

[MegasonicZX]

Same as Kiah, my favorite game is unleashed (sorry, I swear this is the only sonic game I'll bring up in this topic...maybe ). It just hit all the right notes for me as a sonic game, great levels, great music, great story, awesome scenery and even probably the best hub world besides sonic adventure, heck even the werehog gameplay which almost everyone and their mother despises I think is awesome (what can I say, I like my self a good beat em up), sure the game has its problems but its definitely the one that sits in my heart as the greatest to this day for me.

[Mr Loopone]

Day 2 - My Favourite Game

 

No, it's not Gran Turismo 2 (sorry it's just the intro song from that game and continuation of yesterday) however it is a racing game. This is actually hard to choose from since I have around 50 favourite games all and one of them is arcade only that I can't play unless I have the money to buy an arcade cabinet (Star Wars Trilogy Arcade) Some are really really close with Burnout 3/Legends, Sly Cooper 1, the Ratchet & Clank Trilogy, The Godfather, F1 World Grand Prix II [N64], Super Mario 3D Land, Sleeping Dogs and very recently Prince of Persia: Sands of Time as well as the games mentioned yesterday are being highly enjoyed however not only do I have a favourite game but also crazy enough to have this game 3 times. Usually I have a game that is a console version and a handheld version (or got an another multiplatform version in the case of a few) but not all three except...

 

 

(Also the year that Sega had 3 games that had 06 on it; this one, Sega Rally 2006 and that certain Sonic game can be considered using that year)

 

The OutRun series is a well known arcade series by Sega, some people might have played the original or OutRun 2 in the arcades however not everyone has so I'll explain. The goal is to drive your Ferrari (unlicensed in the original, fully licensed in 2 and 2006) with your girlfriend/female friend from Point A to B within the time limit and what made it noticeable at the time was that you could choose your route after completing that part of the course. It wasn't the first game to do it [TX-1 was] however OutRun was easier to find and also benfitted from having pretty good sprite scaling on top of that. OutRun 2 was pretty much a 3D remake of the original and OutRun 2SP expands on that by giving different courses based on the US.

 

Well OutRun 2006 is both OutRun 2 and OutRun 2 SP [it also comes with an arcade port of OutRun 2 SP] combined with some extras. Remember Sega Miles from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing? Well it originally came from this game so you had to purchase the cars, courses, colours, the music and another things. Now OutRun 2 on the Xbox might have had the original to unlock and some courses based on Daytona 2/Scud Race however it didn't have the SP courses and I didn't enjoy the mission mode as much as the 2006 one. What pushed it as a favourite was of its soundtrack, the beautiful graphics, its simple to play but hard to master gameplay, the content, the replayablity of choosing a different route, the courses (my favourite is Casino Town with a certain blue hedgehog there), the choice of Ferraris, 60fps [as far as I'm aware, might not be] and also showed the reason why I considered Sega one of my favourite publishers/developers.

 

People remember OutRun for its 3 music themes; Magical Sound Shower, Passing Breeze and Splash Wave all that I like with the last one being my favourite of the 3. Well as well as those, they also have remixes done by Richard Jacques, some new songs with Nightbird being my favourite out of those and Turbo OutRun songs too (badly looped though) all good songs. The reason why Burnout 3/Legends isn't my favourite is because of its soundtrack, if they have a soundtrack that I liked it might have been a tougher choice where it would break down into Ferraris or takedowns...

 

I once wrote a review of this game on Sonic Vegemite that might be lost now pretty much praising the game. If I have to sum up a personal meaning of the game, it would be "almost perfection" even though it isn't really or if it was the Flagman's it would be "RANK TRIPLE A".

 

As mentioned earlier, I have 3 versions of the game. The PS2 version, the PSP version and the Xbox version. Now the PS2 version was my first version of the game and really enjoyed it, it has some slowdowns but not to impact the game since I felt it was pushing the system but it did crash once. It wasn't the first time that I played on the game, that goes to OutRun 2 in the arcades however it really did feel like my bedroom was like an arcade. Later on I discovered that the PS2 version wasn't complete since you also needed a PSP on top of that to get everything. I did get the PSP version, not straight away however since it took a few years for me to convince myself to get one and despite the lower frame rate, I still enjoyed the game! Last year, I got myself an Xbox, it took ages for me to get this game to the point of getting OutRun 2 first and was lucky enough to get it cheap as soon as I saw it (same reason for Crash Wrath of Cortex, it is usually pricey for some reason). So not only do I have the superior console version since it ran full speed and had some slight graphical improvements but it has everything and not needing two consoles to complete it. It is rarer though and remembered back in the day where some people in the US were importing European copies to play it.

 

Also another reason why it is my favourite game is because the game was made locally to where I am within the same region (the only claim my city has is GTA: Liberty City Stories/Vice City Stories and an unreleased Mega Drive game called RESQ) by Sumo Digital. Thanks to this game, I also bought Sega Superstars Tennis (2 versions), Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2 versions), Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2 versions), later on OutRun 2 on the Xbox, Virtua Tennis: World Tour really cheaply and Virtua Tennis 2009, the latter two more of the game series but being done by Sumo was a plus. Strange how someone from Sumo is on these forums, if it was up to me I would thank each and every person who worked on this game but it would be very difficult to do that sadly.

[Covskin]

My favourite game is probably never going to change, and that game is Super Mario Bros 3.

 

This is the first video game I remember going to the store to buy. I don't remember any hype for it. I don't remember how I even knew it was out. But buy it my family did.

 

I don't remember that first time playing this game. I do remember playing it many, many times throughout my childhood, all the way up until we got a Playstation in 1998. I doubt there was a month went by without me playing this game, because its just that damn good.

 

It introduced near enough every mainstay in the Mario series, and somehow improved the solid gameplay of the original with the P Meter, new power-ups and a whole new set of level gimmicks. Not to mention the new boss battles and Warp Whistles, which were a godsend to a little kid that couldn't save progress. But damn, if it wasn't fun to play that first world over and over again.

 

 

Oh yeah, and 2-player mode, a basic version of Mario Bros. Great for screwing each other over to reclaim control of the game.

 

Still holds up today, this beauty.

[Ducktor Naldush]

Favourite game, eh? Normally, with great difficulty, I'd say Sonic 3 or Sonic Adventure...but I'm gonna go with the flow and keep this post no-Sonic related.
I gushed over many games in my life, like the aforementioned Pokémon Crystal (its remake SoulSilver being my most favourite Pokémon game), so the choice is very hard.
Lemme see...oh, the heck with it, I'll just follow the suggestion that Spin Attaxx gave me and choose some of my faves, ok?



YOSHI'S ISLAND (Super Nintendo, GameBoy Advance)
THE Yoshi game, not to mention one of my favourite Mario games. Colorful, energetic, whimsical. Visiting Yoshi's Island and the Mario Bros' past was strange at first...no Goombas until the forth world, Yoshi being the main character, Bowser being a baby. And Kamek, who came out of the blue like that.
Not that it matters too much, though. Mario games aren't known for their story, RPGs aside, right?


KIRBY'S FUN PAK (or Kirby Super Star, or Kirby Of The Stars Super Deluxe)
The game that made me a Kirby fan. Sure, I played some Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland before, but this game blew my mind. It felt like a tour through Kirby's Universe. And.It.Was.Glorious. My suggestion? Go for the DS remake; if you're a platform gamer, you won't be disappointed.
Also, the Simirror enemies reminded me of something...



FINAL FANTASY I, V and VI
I can't really choose between these three titles. So lemme list what I think are the strong points of these games, ok?

Final Fantasy VI
This game has a great story, great characters and great gameplay.
Sure, you could say, it's one of the episodes of the biggest Square franchise, it has to have a good script, right?
And here I would stop you. The game has something like 16 playable characters, each one (well, except Gogo and Umaro) characterized wonderfully. And this is no easy task. Every writer worthy of that name knows that.
You get attached to these characters, you want to know what happens to them. And most of all...you want to defeat that charismatic clown of chaos known as Kefka. One of my favourites villains in Video Game history, for sure.
However, this is not the game I would suggest to someone asking me what FF is ideal for beginners in the RPG world. The choice would fall on...


Final Fantasy I
The quintessential RPG. No question asked. I finished this game countless times, most of the time with the same team (Black Mage, Warrior, White Mage, Thief/Red Mage) and I never got bored. Sure, the main characters have no personality whatsoever, but it's just nice to explore this unnamed world while bringing peace to it at the same time.
Yeah, I know that the world of FF1 was given a game in Dissidia. But that game also said that Warrior did everything on his own, with no pointy-hat, hidden-face, glorious-magic-user friend around. Sorry, I don't buy that. Nu-uh.

Final Fantasy V
The game where everyone is everyone. Do you want that old guy to cast apocalyptic magic or to distract his enemies with some sexy dancing? The choice is yours, buddy.
As you could guess, FFV wasn't as serious as later games. That didn't stop it from having engaging characters, a interesting plot and a wonderful gameplay. Also...Aeris' Death? This game contains the best death scene of a character in FF history. Trust me, I know.

[DocAzure]

This one was hard, impossible even, but I think I managed to narrow it down to one. Take note though, there was basically nothing in this, and I'm only favoring this because I've played it recently, but...my favorite game is...

 

Resident Evil 4

 

Resident Evil 4, yep, a sequel game(!). I adore this title, it's everything I want in a game. Massive replay value, fantastic core gameplay, enjoyable story. Let that serve as a tag line for the upcoming...massive write-up I'm gonna deliver.

 

I'm a fan of the Resident Evil franchise, that's no secret, and I've enjoyed the games since I discovered the original back in 2001. Playing forward from that point, finishing the third game, I was left hungry for more, and that hunger was push on by the idea of a Resident Evil 4. How would they make it? A next-gen Resident Evil game on the PS2? Would it still have the same style of gameplay, the tank controls? All was answered that fateful day when I received my PS2 copy. What the hell was this? This wasn't scary! Where's the zombies? These guys are just random villagers. I hated it, really hated it. I was angry, confused...but I soldiered on. Ploughing through the first chapter...but then I felt it, that feeling. I was having fun, and not just normal fun either, ridiculous fun. That's when I realized this game was something special. But what gave me this feeling?

 

The gameplay style was massively changed from the last game, scrapping tank controls and fixed camera angels for a more free, over-the-shoulder type of movement. This really gave the game potential to shine, to allow much more heavy exploration and freedom. Now you could easily dispatch foes with the free aim system, a far cry from the old hold button and shoot the previous three had. This caused a major overhaul in level design, with enemies appearing much more frequently than before, but these enemies were smart, strategy is needed when dispatching them, you needed to use all your skills, all your weapons. This action vibe didn't dispel the survival aspect, though, as ammo was limited, and the newly introduced merchant (best character) didn't sell bullets, only guns. You needed to be smart, know when to run and when to fight,otherwise you would meet an untimely demise.

 

The characters, part of what makes any game enjoyable. Your protagonist is Leon from Resident Evil 2, who is now working for the president. He has been sent to an undisclosed European country (it's totally Spain) to rescue his boss's daughter, Ashley, who has been kidnapped by some weird group called the “Los Illuminados”. I'm gonna get this out the way now, many people find Ashley annoying, a permanent rescue mission? Boo! Oh shut up, it's not that hard, you can hide her most of the time, and protecting her is just a simple case of protecting yourself. Anyway, this starts your journey across this...place, where you meet characters like Luis “Ballistics” Sera, a wise-cracking former cop from Madrid (this place is in Spain...), and other...not so friendly guys, such as Bitores Mendez, a massive hulk of a man, Ramon Salazar, who is a creepy, angry midget, and the big bad, Osmund Saddler. The player is brought along this journey from Leon's perspective, as he gets deeper and deeper into the plot, and...OH GO PLAY IT NOW! You can grab the HD remaster on Steam, XBLA and PSN, it's the best version with all the bonus content from both Wii and PS2 releases.

 

I love this game, it's fantastic. If you haven't played it yet, I recommend it heartily.

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Day 2: Favorite Video Game of All Time!

 

A bit early for this one, no? I guess if you want Soma to rant about Zelda forever, I'm happy to oblige.

 

In truth, there are far too many games deserving of this moniker, or even better games in general.  But there is one that sticks near and dear to my heart, above all others...

 

 

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

 

There are games that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Perhaps it's just the fun you experience playing it, or the atmosphere and characters that seemed to transcend the four sides of your television. Maybe it's some thought provoking question that you never could shake off. Sitting in my room, watching the moon descend time and again, I don't think I could ever quite tell you which it was the struck me hardest, but I found all three waiting for me in Termina. The world is host to complex, sprawling puzzles, and not all are content to sit in dungeons.

 

For the purpose of this post, I'll assume you're familiar with the set-up of the game, so I'll try to get into more detail.

 

 

The gameplay is as solid as can be expected for a mainline Zelda title. Dungeon-crawling is engaging as it is daunting, fields are expansive and full of secrets, and combat is reined in enough to be fun without becoming monotonous. These sort of things could describe almost any Zelda game, though. What makes Majora unique is its insistence on informing the story with the gameplay. Dungeons cease to be the only highlight of the gameplay and become part of a larger, tangled web of a world. Woodfall Temple seeps with corruption and venom, Snowpeak towers as an impossible obstacle and hopeless trek, Great Bay Temple teems with complexity and life, and the Stone Tower sits stark and eerie, a place where even the laws of nature give way in time. These things are the product of the characters and environments, monuments as enigmatic as the people scattered about their bases.

 

 

Something unique to Majora's Mask is its focus on characters. Termina is populated with a wide array of denizens, and nearly all of those that reside within the game's centerpiece Clock Town have a sub-mission one can undertake, each one being fit precisely for the character. Unlike most video games, you won't find much fluff like collectible-hunts or grinding to be done in them; there's daring adventures and the like, of course, but most of them are elegiac in tone, and are built as puzzles for the player to solve. The gameplay informs the narrative, and what it creates is endlessly intriguing. I wouldn't call it a complex narrative (the game's style of storytelling better resembles a minimalist Socratic parable or a Poe fairy tale than any Shakespeare et al), but what things it asks the player can be as startling as any good short story. There were more than a few times after receiving a mask in the game that I'd stop and reflect on just what it was I had done. The people you encounter are facing the end of the world, and every text box and action is a clue to what lies beyond the face, even the face of the game itself.

 

 

The game, of course, is not without its flaws. It is terribly primitive by today's standards graphically, and the game's time limit, though integral to the mechanics-as-metaphor aspect, will grate badly on some people. The minimalist nature of the storytelling may also irritate people looking for an engaging story more in the vein of today's cinematic games, or maybe seem played out to people more used to the modern, holistic indie titles. And frankly, people waxing poetic about it like I have may only aggravate those who don't care for the game or find it underwhelming. This is not the greatest game of all time, I assure you, but it is an endlessly intriguing one. As further and further video games seek to separate story and gameplay or diminish the one for the sake of the other, I can only think back to Termina, and how sweet a marriage of mediums video games might become.

 

[JezMM]

While I'm trying my best to go for the less obvious answer this year, favourite game is just too important to go for an "alternate" favourite game.

 

 

It's hard to think of new things to say about Mario 64 after all these years.  A lot of it is nostalgia - that much is true because I've stated several times I believe 3D Land and 3D World to be the best designed Mario games of all time.  Mario 64 is finally starting to show its age these days.  But it's just so special to me.  Carbo's wonderfully written post covered a lot of what made this game great.  I still play it over and over again to this day.  I just... argh I don't know what to say.  It's a game that has been a constant presence in my life since I discovered it at 8 years old, it's reached the point where it's transcended the ability for me to view it as a product that can be described.  It's just something so personal and special to me at this point.

 

As said it hasn't aged great, it's not the Mario game I'd give to a newcomer even though it's my favourite - but if it's special to you too I'm sure you understand.  It's strange how it's become the black sheep of the 3D games after they gradually took a more and more linear approach with each new game, but that just adds to its unique appeal these days.

[Tracker_TD]

Day 2 - Favourite Game

 

 

Super Mario World (SNES)

 

I simply struggle to convey my sheer love for this game in words. It took the base Mario 3 provided, and actually did something not mediocre with it, giving a huge expansive world to explore at will rather than in a linear fashion, throwing in the ingenious secret exits to extend game time fairly, gave us everyone's favourite video game dinosaur Yoshi, and... argh. I've beaten it literally 5 times 100%, 3 times on SNES, once on GBA, and once on Wii U - and honestly, I still reckon that's not enough to do justice for this game. 

 

Super Mario World has tight controls, fantastic level design, a godly soundtrack, and the exact atmosphere a 2D Mario game should have - there's no level that I dread or feel is a chore, it's a blast to play from finish to end. I could easily just spend my whole day 100%ing the game, and have no issues there - this game is probably one of the only times I'm able to say that. It oozes that unique Mario charm, and it's a crying shame we've not received some kind of true sequel to Mario World, in gameplay that is. Yes, we literally have Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, but that game doesn't come close to hitting the same spot as the original - and New Super Mario Bros isn't a game I think I can mention in the same breath as Mario World.

 

Overall, if you haven't played Mario World, stop what you're doing and fix that right now. If you have to play any Mario game, ignore the people that scream "Mario 3!" or "Mario 64!" and make it this one. 

 

(though a la Jez, I do think Mario 64 should probably be 2nd choice. Not Mario 3 though. That game's just overrated as hell)

 

Runners Up:

Sonic Adventure and Super Metroid are 2nd and 3rd on my list respectively. SA1 is flawed, but I had a blast with it regardless, and it's an experience that'll stay with me as a great memory throughout my life. Super Metroid is sheer kickass in a single game, with an amazingly chilling atmosphere and superb world design.

[kalion]

2nd day and you had to give us the whopper of the question already, Discoid?

Day 2: Favourite Game

The image is cyrptic cos' I mean the Ace Attorney Investigations series even if only one game is currently localised.

I would say the Ace Attorney series as a whole but man have I played those games to death and I can still go back to it. The characters, the emotions, the turnabout, the memories , the revelations..whew. A lotta feelings about this one.

 

Since it's one game..narrowing it down to Ace Attorney Investigations in particular...much like the first post..I like it when a series takes the same formula but goes in a new, exciting direction with it. My fave character is now playable for the whole..plus the returning cast of characters and humour we were familiar with. (Much needed after apollo justice*shudder*) . And that classy soundtrack makes it one of my fave soundtrack of all time which I can never get sick of hearing. They helped me with my studying and when my mood was waaaay rock bottom..it picks me up and makes me fight on..elegantly I suppose.

 

Heck, even my room colour is themed after Edgeworth. I can relate to his character a lot and seeing his develop through the games like my own journey is an enlghtening and inspirational experience. Yes, I know the twists when I replay it but this game has that addictive quality that makes the fan keep coming back y'know? I consider Dual Destinies a somewhat victory for the fans after how AAI 2 was treated. I'm glad the fanbase is'nt dying down anytime soon and the games keep churning out like le Layton crossover and Dai Gyakuten Saiban. I can only hope it continues to be a successful franchise cos' the folks truly deserve it..

[KHCast]

HMMM? I WONDER WHAT I WILL POST? WHAT WILL I, KHCAST, HAVE BE MY FAVORITE GAME???

 

 

Ah yes, Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix

 

I was able to play this gem when my friend lent me both the game and his PS2. 

 

Now I played Kingdom Hearts 2. And it was fun don't get me wrong, but Final Mix literally craps on 2. All the extra things that are included in this version just make it the definitive experience, and I'm so happy 2.5 is releasing soon since I was never able to complete it.( I beat it, just didn't 100%)

 

So Final Mix additions aside, which are awesome, it's more or less the same as KH2, so let me talk about what I liked about KH2. Aside from the simplistic gameplay approach and story at times, EVERYTHING! It to me builds upon KH1 in just about every way. Larger worlds, actual NPC's that walk around and talk with each other,(Fun Fact: KH2 was the only game in the series that didn't have the NPC's just standing) lots of goodies, and so much incentive to just go back and explore the worlds. I can't count how many times I went to Space Paranoids, Port Royal, and Timeless River, those worlds are just so fun! The Synthesizing is much less of a annoyance in my opinion because of stuff like this, as the worlds don't bore me or get stale as easily as they did with 1.

 

 

There are also lots of extra Keyblades to earn, and customizing Sora's forms with them is almost limitless for me. (Using the Winnie the Pooh Keyblade and Oblivion for Final Form never gets old lol.) There are lots of other extra goodies scattered throughout the game as well that always have me coming back. Treasure chests, Summons, Tournaments, Secret Bosses, Mini-games, Utima Weapon, other weapons, yeah there's a lot. And that's not including leveling up to max!

 

And then we have the soundtrack. OH GOD THE SOUNDTRACK.

 

 

 

 

 

Each world has amazing music (cept for Atantica and its lyric songs) that capture the feel and atmosphere to a t. From the rural ancient feel of Land of the Dragons to old timey Timeless River to the techy digital Space Paranoids, everything is just amazing! The original world's also have some pretty amazing tracks.

 

Okay so enough gushing about the soundtrack! We also have the visuals which are amazing for the PS2. Lots of care was put into each world and its style and characters.

 

 

Each world is its own unique thing, and presents itself as such, and because of this, none of the worlds ever feel the same. It's serious eye candy! Twilight Town I should give a shout out to because of it's beautiful lighting and sunset sky. I'm a sucker for those.

 

The world selection for the most part was great and was something that really set expectations up for future titles. Unique, different, and spread through disney history quite nicely.(Though some of the older titles would have been nicer.) While I overall like 3D's world selection more if I'm to be honest, 2 had my favorite worlds. Going through Port Royal as a anime hero, and a cartoon dog and duck, always makes me laugh. It's just so weird I love it!

 

The characters in each world are pretty faithful to their originals and are executed quite well. The interaction with Sora, Donald and Goofy never felt super awkward, and when it did, (COUGH!PORTROYAL!COUGH!) I got used to it pretty quickly and just learned to have fun with it. Most of the FF characters are awesome in this and have been given a much larger role. Cid and Auron are my favorite, but everyone is pretty cool to me. The Heartless are just as wacky and fun to fight as always, and the themed heartless are aplenty. Digital Heartless, Animal Heartless, Cartoony Heartless, you name it. Nobodies are also thrown in, and are interestingly designed. 

 

Oh also the Gummi Ships are a crap ton more fun than they were in 1. Fast, exciting, and blood pumping music to get you pumped. I actually like going back to them every now and then.

 

So yeah, overall, KH2/FM is probably my favorite entry in the series to play as well as my favorite game to play in general. It has lots of content, great music, sexy visuals, and while simplistic, fun gameplay. 3D was almost there, as it had the better gameplay, but just needed after game content that would make going back more worth it. I really need 2.5 to come out so I can re-experience this again....

[Jin.]

Day 2

 

 

I think this one was obvious. BlazBlue Chronophantasma is (currently) my favorite game second to Golden Sun, but I didn't wanna be redundant. I like this game because of it's flashy, smooth and cool combo's, interesting characters, awesome design choices, amazing music and great story and voice actors. There's not much else I can say.

[kalion]

Day 2

 

 

I think this one was obvious. BlazBlue Chronophantasma is (currently) my favorite game second to Golden Sun, but I didn't wanna be redundant. I like this game because of it's flashy, smooth and cool combo's, interesting characters, awesome design choices, amazing music and great story and voice actors. There's not much else I can say.

 

I have to add that the Jap voice actors is THE version to listen to..they really have a talented cast onboard there..

[Wraith]

Well, honestly there are about a dozen games I could put in here. Most of the ones I have in mind I'll probably talk about later, for one reason or another. I'll just talk about an old favorite of mine.

 

 

Pikmin 2

 

Pikmin 2 is a game that took a while to grow on me. My parents bought it for me some time in 2004 after I saw the commercial for it and was interested. I couldn't get into it much as a kid, mostly because I wasn't very good at it, but I soon came to appreciate the heavy focus on exploration and time management as I grew older. Pikmin 2 is different from the first game in that there's far less pressure on the player and a bigger emphasis on exploration and scavenging as many items as you could as fast as you could. The characters were charming, the gameplay was challenging and addicting, the world, while admittedly kind of small even compared to the games that were out at the time, was dense and filled with secrets. It's a really great game. 

[Silencer226]

 

May favorite game is BlazBl-*PUSHES THAT SHIT OUTTA THE WAY* Nah, my favorite game is still probably Jak II. I played this game for so many hours daily, I loved the world, I loved the weapons, I loved the characters. It is ingrained into my soul, Jak at the time to me was an absolute badass. I was a little offput by the weapons when I first got the game because I wanted more eco powers but as I continued playing this just got better and better until eventually I could not put it down. And oh lord,  when i unlocked the cheats... invincibility, giant dark jak, and unlimited Dark Jak, I unleashed so much hell, I would spend hours just fucking shit up for the fucking hell of it. H

[Endy]

 Day 2: Favourite game

 

Hey look its this game again. This is probably gonna turn out badly since I suck at writing and praising at the same time.

 

 

This game is amazing. I love all of it, absolutely everything about it. All of my issues with it are just minor nitpicks except CHOZO ARTIFACCTSJFEJKGLJEBKGBE. That aside, not only do I find Prime incredibly fun and replayable, I think this game does absolutely everything right when bringing a 2D game into the third dimension. I love this game so much I'm having trouble putting it into words. The first person shooter style setup will turn some people off but its far more than a simple shooter.

 

The opening sequence in the Frigate Orpheon is one of my favourite openings in a game. It sets the tone for the game perfectly! The music, the half- dead space pirates everywhere, its just great. The opening sequence gives you all of your weapons from the start, letting you have a taste of the power you're going to achieve later in the game.

 

 

 

After an intense escape sequence you are plopped onto the first real stage with none of the weapons you had before. No one tells you where to go or what to do, and its all up to you to explore the depths of Tallon IV. Hidden collectables are scattered everywhere, and almost nothing is there to help you. The game handles solidly. Once you master Samus's controls you will be charging through everything like a pro.

 

 

Every environment in the game sets and keeps the mood perfectly. They all capture the scarily isolated feel the Metroid series has always been good at doing. The music, the weather effects and the graphics (which I think still look pretty good btw) all combine to create the feeling of being stranded on a mysterious planet, with only your wits...and all the weapons you've gathered along the way so you can nuke everything in your path.

 

Another thing I appreciate about this game is the plot (or lack of it). The game keeps story to a minimum, and the only way you will get any exposition about Tallon IV is if you go out of your way to find it. Scanning can be very tedious at times, but I think this is the best way to approach exposition in games and more games should do it.

 

and theres my sloppily written thing about metroid prime. yay.