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Post by Sarge on Apr 20, 2021 13:14:49 GMT -5
Ex : Forgot to weigh in a little more on your list. I like a lot of the games on your list, although I do find it fascinating that Super Mario 64 ended up so high on your list and didn't even make mine. Buuuuuut I also admit that I didn't play through it originally back in the day, and it did almost make my list. I just like Ape Escape more. I knew King's Field would make it, and I understand your love of them now. I'll roll around to the others eventually! Inspired choice with Rollcage Stage II. I haven't put a ton of time into it, but always wanted to. The whole "driving on the ceiling" thing always appealed to me. Xeogred: I feel like this is closer to what I'd consider a traditional list of this type. Not as RPG-heavy as my list, and not as King's Field-oriented as Ex's. A really solid mix of genres there. Very happy to see Arc the Lad II show up - I feel like too many people forget that the series exists, and AtLII is the pinnacle of that series.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 20, 2021 13:27:33 GMT -5
And don't worry, Arc the Lad 2 would have been in my mind even if you didn't mention it. My top favorite SRPG next to the Front Missions series and Tactics Ogre LUCT.
My list is just kind of weird since it's nostalgia (N64) VS continued relevance (PSX). Some of those PSX entries are games I've played in recent years during HRG's time and it's a system I still casually play every year pretty much. Always new games I plan to hit up or discover. I could have probably thrown in a few more JRPG's but those powerful memories of how beloved the N64 was to me at the right age and all, I'll never forget that and some of those games. WCW vs NWO Revenge almost made the cut and there's probably a few more that I sunk dozens of hours into.
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Post by Sarge on Apr 20, 2021 14:02:16 GMT -5
I'm still gonna say it - the N64 may be my least favorite Nintendo system outside of the Virtual Boy. There are a few juggernauts, but so much of the rest really doesn't have legs. I know part of that is my RPG bias, but I feel like most action games of that era just haven't aged all that well.
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Post by Ex on Apr 20, 2021 14:32:38 GMT -5
14. Front Mission 3 17. Vagrant Story Glad to see these two included, considering they were recent plays for you. Aged like gold! I do find it fascinating that Super Mario 64 ended up so high on your list and didn't even make mine. I just like Ape Escape more. I knew King's Field would make it, and I understand your love of them now. Inspired choice with Rollcage Stage II. I played SM64 exactly when it released in the USA. A friend of mine bought it on release day, and we played it nonstop. In its actual day SM64 was mind blowing. It's still the best 3D Mario aside from Galaxy. I have beaten the original Ape Escape (none of its sequels yet), I remember giving it an 8/10. It was very creative with the dual analog sticks. Rollcage Stage II just has some incredible game design. The tracks really let you take advantage of driving against gravity, super fun racing stuff. Although the PC version may be preferable over the PS1 version.
King's Field is KING. I beat those games way after their time, no nostalgia weighing in there.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 20, 2021 14:50:58 GMT -5
Yup. I also wouldn't take my ranked order too seriously, which is maybe how everyone is feeling with their list. The top 5-6 might be where they need to be for me but the rest is just all gold. I do think Super Mario 64 is finally showing some rust for me, when I replayed it last year on the 3D All Stars collection. It's still awesome and was mindblowing for its time... I had a friend over at my grandparents place when I got it and we were jumping up and down screaming about how awesome it was, lol. Life changing. But yeah, this last replay might be the last time I hit it up for a long while. I think Ocarina of Time holds up better in ways. Sarge: I can see that. I might have been at the right age for the N64. I could write a novel about all my fun memories with that system back then. But since then I've probably had it boxed up for 15+ years now, compared to the PSX (via PS2/PS3) as mentioned I keep playing throughout the years. Another issue was that N64 collecting seemed to get expensive fairly quickly. And a lot of games for that system were multiplayer centric, which kind of loses relevance in a way. So it has a few things going against in in 2021, but I want to get some cool USB controller and still hit up some new games and revisits sometime.
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Post by toei on Apr 20, 2021 15:40:44 GMT -5
^I actually prefer Arc the Lad 3 to 2. 2 has too many repetitive battles. I got really sick of it in parts. Twilight of Spirits is a great game, I might like it the most, but it's so different from the PSX trilogy that it feels like it shouldn't be compared to them. It can be compared to End of Darkness, of course, which is pretty useless.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 20, 2021 15:44:19 GMT -5
I dropped Arc 3 pretty hard. Nasty graphical changes and the story was non-existent. Enter new town, go to the bar, look at Wanted Posters... story moves forward. Rinse and repeat forever. Painfully boring incentive for an "adventure".
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Post by Sarge on Apr 20, 2021 15:48:28 GMT -5
I liked Arc III, but definitely not as much as Arc II. However, I don't completely disagree with toei that there are spots where it drags, especially toward the end. End of Darkness was so disappointing. I dug Twilight of the Spirits, and having them turn it into a middling-at-best ARPG was just... ugh.
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Post by toei on Apr 20, 2021 16:19:50 GMT -5
I liked Arc III, but definitely not as much as Arc II. However, I don't completely disagree with toei that there are spots where it drags, especially toward the end. End of Darkness was so disappointing. I dug Twilight of the Spirits, and having them turn it into a middling-at-best ARPG was just... ugh. Considering how many Twilight assets are re-used in End of Darkness (not to mention the story, which plays out like a fanfic of that game), my guess is it was made purely to try to recoup on Twilight's budget. I can't see it as anything else than a hasty/desperate business decision. Xeogred I loved being a mercenary. It was like the Hunter's Guild in PS4 made into a full game. Ultimately many of those missions tie into the main story, too. It's similar to those old half-serial/half-episodic tv series like X-Files where you get self-contained episodes and others that advance the overarching story. Also, you can't write "there's no story" and "the story advances" within like 10 words of each other, haha.
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Post by Sarge on Apr 20, 2021 16:25:17 GMT -5
I'm sure the intent was "the story is so bare-bones as to be non-existent". But I do think there's at least a fair amount of story in Arc III, but it's more job/character-related than massively integrated into the plot. It is a game where doing all the jobs is advisable, though, and I found most worthwhile. One of my bigger gripes about Arc III is that it's ridiculously easy, but that's both good and bad depending on your mood.
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