49. Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
Dropping from 44 two years ago; I'm surprised I never quite latched onto the story because I enjoy tracking multiple storylines in books, but it did not work for me in the more interactive medium. There was still enough of an attachment to the story for me to care about it and the battle system is different enough that the game is a nice change of pace from the usual JRPG. If I could get just to the heart of the story without jumping around I could have to say it was a fantastic plot to think about. I had no major quarrels with the level system or battle mechanics. You could turn magic drawing into a grind, but without doing so the battles become an interesting resource management puzzle. Simplifying the level system to a base amount of experience for each level smoothed out the annoyance of having to wait forever to gain the next level as you progressed later in the game. The connection between the characters' stats and the GFs using the junction system allowed for plenty of flexibility in your plans for each battle. Any time a game gives ample reason to care about its main mechanic, instead of glossing over that mechanic, gives it the ability to provide deep levels of strategic choice.
Primarily an RPG player but have interest in any game that will make me think.
