As a note I want to say, that Pokemon is one of the few modern RPGs that has a design much close to the original sources of video-game-RPG: pen and paper, more concrete D&D. At least in the mechanics. But Pokemon is great hiding this fact. In classic RPG you create a party with friends, everyone choosing another class. You have your warrior, the rogue, a cleric and a bard for instance. Pokemon is the same, only this time the party consists of Pikachi, Geckarbor and Serpifeu (I played in german, so the english names may differ). But the basic concept is the same of the D&D party.
heh, it seems they definitely do. Assuming Pikachi is this guy still though
Pikachi sounds pretty cute
Gotta ask though... why'd it take you so long to try a Pokemon game?
That actually is a typo, it is Pikachu in german too.
I took so long, because I was playing for a long time on PC under DOS. As I switched to consoles with Wii and DS, I was trying some series first. Especially Zelda since I heard about it before, and so I picked Twilight Princess. Pokemon I didn't try for some time, as I assumed it is no serious RPG. I was wrong though, it is more serious number-crunching turn-based RPG than many of the modern RPGs.
One of those games I probably shouldn't love as much as I do, the story isn't the best executed, combat can be as much as a chore at times as any other Xeno game for me, Skells can snap the game in half and some other structural issues here and there, but I can put a lot of that stuff behind me and some others don’t bother me as much as others, for one of the most wonderful and awe-inspiring worlds I have ever seen in a videogame, the impact and sense of presence that each continent brings to the table is something that not many other games has been able to replicate, not even the other blade games are capable of making me feel so impressed with the vistas this game is filled with, which alongside the different creatures that exist in Mira, is just epic.
One of my favorite aspects is how it dropped you into the world, with not much explanation, figuring out stuff on my own is something I appreciate and you get a lot of freedom from there, monsters to fight, tons of items to collect, all the armors, Skell parts, locales and characters to meet was all great.
Is a universe I hope keeps being explored with future titles, the different races with their own quirks, the lore and small stories they bring with them, which is one of my favorite aspects of the game, the side stories, from the creepy water purification plant, the back to the future guy, getting to know how each race has its own culture and how it clashes with others, is something I loved with my playtime in X.
All this accentuated by the music, brought by one of my favorite composers, Hiroyuki Sawano, who already left quite the impression on me with Kill la Kill, he delivers on one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, filled with such unique sounds that goes perfectly with the alien nature of Mira and its unknown wilderness. And yes I love NLA night theme, sue me.
Also props to one point of the story cause it has been like a decade since an RPG had caught me off guard at the time.
28: Hint 1: Features a zombie mode with one of my favorite voice actors (Steven Blum) as one of the 4 characters, who also happens to be in the anime of my avatar :P. Hint 2: Okay time for a real hint, it's a FPS in a series that became yearly. This particular entry is the first in a separate series within that series. Hint 3: Hmmmm, the zombie mode had my favorite map in it called Ascension. A common strategy to extend the game is to just run in circles while hitting headshots with a decent gun. However this mode takes a great deal of stamina, as getting to wave 40 can take over 3 hours.
Hint 4: Best selling game of 2010 and oddly enough 10th best in 2011.
27: Hint 1: An RTS! for home console! The version I got had many discs. The sequels would become PC exclusive.
Hint 2: The gist of the game is that World war 2 was altered because Albert Einstein found a way to go back in time and he accidentally kills Hitler which somehow made the world even worse.
Hint 3: Allies have good navy and anti tank units, while the soviets have tesla coils. A funny strategy I often did with the Soviets is build a string of tesla coils from my base to the enemy base. One could only build them 3 or 4 units away from your farthest building so in the end it cost me a ton of money and took forever to achieve, but no army could withstand the string of tesla and once you got to their base, you could destroy them with that alone.
26: Hint 1: Famous turn based strategy game. The version I got had 9 special scenarios where you can play as a historical nation in different eras like Greece, Roman, Middle Ages, and even WWII.
Hint 2: In free mode you could choose between quite a few people and they all had unique strengths. Someone like Gandhi might nuke you though.
25 Hint 1: Another turned based game but this one is in the medieval times. A unique aspect of this from its compatriots is that civil wars can happen. You get to choose between both sides, but if both sides are effectively equal then you lose half your empire just like that. And after you choose a side, the next turn might have another civil war due to loyalty and then you lose almost everything.
#26 Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Previous Year: #24
I'm a huge fan of both Studio Ghibli and Level-5, so when I first heard the two companies were collaborating on a JRPG I was instantly excited for the possibilities, and the game did not disappoint. Ni No Kuni is an absolute joy to play from beginning to end, with the only real negatives being that some of the gameplay mechanics are revealed oddly late into the game. The visual style, soundtrack, story and characters are all excellent. I'm also very glad they are making a sequel to the game.
#25 Journey Previous Year: #23
One of the best games to play whenever you want to just relax and enjoy a great experience. Journey is in many ways a very simple game, but that is also one of its main strengths. It knows exactly what it is and what it wants to do. The whole game is relatively short, but every moment in it is outstanding, from the slide down the reflecting sand to the final ascent to the top of the mountain at the end.
#24 Super Mario Bros. 3 Previous Year: #22
Even after all these years and countless platformers I've played since its release, Super Mario Bros. 3 is still in my opinion the best 2D platformer ever made. Many later games may have added new tricks and gameplay elements to the proceedings, but SMB3 is where the series is in its purest form. The level design is excellent, the gameplay practically perfect, and the little moments of pure fun found all throughout the game are just Nintendo at their best.
Hints for the next three games:
#23: The second game in this crossover franchise. After countless spin-offs and sidestories we're finally about the get the actual third game in this series sometime soon.
#22: The game that popularized the real-time strategy genre. Unlike most later games in the series, this one takes itself quite seriously. Features the debut of one of the best villains in video game history.
#21: High school and demon hunting inside a television.
'The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask' was the Nintendo 64's swan song. It was late in the system's cycle and it had one more thing left in it; a surprisingly excellent game. It turned out to be one of the best looking 5th Generation games in general as well. However, it is a game you either love or hate because for the Zelda series it's very untraditional.
Of course, there's the famous '3-Day System'. From the start of the game, it becomes clear that in 72 in-game hours, the moon will crash into the world and destroy everything. The moon is controlled by a seemingly spoiled and ignored little creature, who also jinxes multiple other things throughout the world. It turns out this "imp" is just a vassal, and he is controlled himself by a demon hidden inside a mask he stole, the titular 'Majora's Mask'. Link gains the ability to turn back time however to redo those last three days as many times as he sees fit. On the surface, a simple concept, but when you look further, the player would notice the game actually has a very deep story involving the implications of 'friendship', relations between people and the feeling of loneliness it could cause in an individual.
I feel it's the perfect follow-up to it's more famous predecessor, a game that takes a different style yet still obviously belongs at the side of the other. I remember television ads being aired when the original game was about to come out in 2000. In it, they mentioned the 72 hour time limit. My mother was certain they said '27' instead of '72' and you only had 27 hours, so we bet one Guilder (the currency here before the Euro). Naturally, I won.
mZuzek said: Aw shit, I'm gonna leave this weekend too. Friends calling over to play Smash prior to the tournament and I just can't turn it down, so since I haven't made posts on #26 and #25 yet, inevitably I'll do some more spam later. But first, I need to set it up:
#24 - It is SMB, but not a Mario game. #23 - The game where you throw away your lovely friend's instrument for a shiny blue royal one!
#23 Ocarina of time
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