To add my opinions on games I've seen mentioned so far:Classic Ys = I've beaten many of these, overall high quality stuff. I'm not as crazy about some of the older entries as
bonesnapdeez is, but it's all very above average for its time.
Xak = I have not tried any of these yet. I fully intend to eventually.
Zelda = Hit and miss series for me. Its highest high;
A Link to the Past, is indeed unstoppable. But there are series entries I don't much care for, and some I outright don't like at all. My favorite 3D entry is
Twilight Princess. I've beaten most games in this series. I fucking hate
Wind Waker and everything it stands for.
Seiken Densetsu = I've not played the Game Boy original. I have beaten SD2 twice. I've barely played SD3. This series tends to excite other folks more than it does me. I can see the quality of its aesthetics, but I find the execution of the combat system in SD2 and SD3 to be a bit clunky. That said, I really enjoyed
Legend of Mana when I beat it.
Hydlide = A series I'm interested in, but haven't put much time in. The hardcore aspect appeals to me.
Lagoon = I've never played this, but I've always read it was crap. It's not crap guys?
Crystalis = I put about two hours into this years ago. I remember becoming annoyed with its repetitiveness, and I didn't like its combat system. However, the
new translation that released has made me want to give this another shot. Everybody else in the world seems to adore
Crystalis, I must have missed something during my play.
ActRaiser = Excellent game, loved it, beat it.
Alcahest = Pretty decent, but very lite on the RPG aspect. I beat it a few years ago myself. My favorite bits are how you can zoom past the arrow markers on the ground. As
toei said, it's very arcadey.
Brain Lord = Hugely underrated action-RPG if you ask me. I enjoyed it tremendously when I beat it. This game has my all time favorite SNES OST.
Illusion of Gaia = Beat this one long long ago. I remember liking its graphics and base concept. The translation does suck, could use a re-translation. The overall experience is still better than
Terranigma though.
Secret of Evermore = I've tried getting into this one a few times. It never sticks. The game design has a lot of issues. Hit sponge enemies and overtly maze dungeons not the least of them. Nice graphics and music at least.
Soul Blazer = The epitome of "less is more", beat it myself back in 1998, I'm due for a replay! It is definitely better than
Illusion of Gaia or
Terranigma for sure. I love the OST.
Terranigma = One of the most overrated SNES games in existence. Has terrible pacing, haphazard scenario design, and a bland plot... plus a HUGE series of fetch quests at the end. I played through about 90% of this train wreck before I couldn't take it anymore. Sure
Terranigma has solid graphics and a decent OST, but that's not enough to save it in my book. I think because North American gamers never got this one officially, it tends to be elevated as a result by said gamers. Forbidden fruit syndrome.
Alundra = Very strong atmosphere, cool plot, overall solid concept. Was ruined for me due to Working Designs screwing with the base difficulty, and a lot of the environment puzzles are straight up sadistic. I didn't finish it, but I can understand why this game has its fans. Its dark vibe resonated with me.
Magic Knight Rayheart (Saturn) = I've never played this, but I often see it praised on forums. Probably a good game, but it seems super colorful and cutesy, not something I gravitate towards.
Beyond Oasis /
Legend of Oasis = I've not played enough of these to have strong opinions yet. The graphics seem above average, and the Arabian theme is interesting.
Exile = I beat this and its sequel on TGCD/PCE-CD. The original
Exile is pretty good, its sequel is not good. Even if you play the Japanese version of the sequel, in order to bypass Wrecking Designs' shitfest of a localization, the design of
Exile II still pales to the original.
Vagrant Story = I've beaten this, and it's my all time favorite PS1 game.
Vagrant Story really is a
masterpiece. Its graphics, audio, localization, game design, combat system, subsystems... just everything is 11/10. Sure the cube puzzles can get old, but they're hardly a mote in this godly game's eye.
Alundra 2 = Never played.
Brandish, Brandish 2 = I beat the original
Brandish via its PSP remake, which was an outstanding experience. I've beaten the SFC version of
Brandish 2: The Planet Buster, and it too was an outstanding experience. I jokingly call these games "Zelda for adults", but that's not too far off really. I love this series, and how I wish its further entries were translated into English.
Crusader of Centy = I played a little bit of this back in 2000. I can't remember too much, though I remember I didn't beat it. I also remember running into Sonic the hedgehog in the game... dude was chilling in a folding chair.
Granstream Saga = Played this one a few times, it's never stuck for me. I don't think it's a bad game at all, and I'd like to finish it someday. It just has a slower pace that can be hard to stick with.
King Colossus = Never played.
Landstalker = Have never put much time into this, but I think I would appreciate it now, more than when I was a kid. I hope its sequel
Ladystalker's English fan translation releases soon.
Neugier = I put about two hours into this years ago. It was kinda fun, but I remember getting annoyed at some huge castle dungeon area and just stopping.
Record of Lodoss War = Never played.
Super Hydlide = Never played.
Twisted Tales of Spike McFang = Never played.
Ys Origin = Beat this one a few years ago. IT IS FIST OF GOD AWESOME. My favorite
Ys.
Zelda = As in the original
Zelda. I first played this in 1987, was blown away. Didn't own the game until 1989, but I was astounded by it as a kid. Took me two years to beat it without using any walkthroughs or strategy guides (I was 12 when I finally defeated Ganon). Utterly magical experience as a kid, truly it was. I adored reading the instruction manual over and over just for its mysteriously and lovely artwork alone. I liked
Zelda II, but never beat it. The game disappointed me as a sequel ultimately.
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I want to apologize for not having made my own big post here yet. I intend to. My day job, and a personal project (designing a card game), have been eating my time in the past two weeks. I've hardly played any video games at all in the past two weeks as a result unfortunately. But I plan to get back on the wagon soon, and yes I will make a relevant post here as well.
