#15

YoY: =       My Rating: 9.3/10

Final Fantasy VIII is probably the most divisive main entry in the whole series. While every game in it has both its fans and detractors, there's usually at least some level of consensus when it comes to the general opinion the fanbase has on any given game. You can usually expect to see certain games at or near the top of any list of the best FF games, regardless of who makes it, just with one common exception. Opinions regarding Final Fantasy VIII vary wildly from person to person, some considering it the best in the whole series, while others put it at the bottom of the list. I don't belong to either group, though obviously going by this ranking I see it as an excellent game, though not quite the best in the series. I'd say it's roughly on par with VI and VII, and a little behind two others I'll talk about later.

Final Fantasy VIII was the first game in the series I ever played, though I had seen someone else play VII before that, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. I was very new to JRPGs in general at the time, having only played a few of them on the SNES at one of my friend's, and none to completion. As a result, Final Fantasy VIII was very much like stepping into an entirely new world for me when it came to video games. From the moment the first notes of Liberi Fatali hit and that opening cinematic started, I was hooked. I had simply never seen anything quite like it before, and to this day it remains one of my favourite intros to a video game.

In general, the music was something that immediately stood out to me from the game. Each new track was just perfect for the moment and location it played in, hitting an early game crescendo with The Landing-cutscene, and only really improving from there. The rest of the elements, from the story to the characters and gameplay slowly fell into place over time, and by the end it had became my then-favourite game of all time. Obviously, other titles have since overtaken it, but this is one of the games that I can still go back and replay without any problems whenever I feel like it. In fact, I'm planning on doing exactly that at some point in the coming year.

17) Could this be Day of the Tentacle?

16) Kid Icarus: Uprising?

Things have been pretty slow going so I think I'm adding some early 3rd hints:

15) Ultimate End
Hint 2: In a series known for long and elaborate attacks, this is among the longest
Hint 3: Getting hit by 13 different Knights does take its time

14) Honestly should have had IV in the title
Hint 2: Since it's not really a reboot
Hint 3: It could also have had the subtitle Asgard

13) Both light and dark are your enemy
Hint 2: But only one of them commit genocide
Hint 3: Against the massive cast of beloved characters

12) The first thing you see in this game is the character that stalked you throughout its predecessor
Hint 2: And who was kind enough to offer you a job at the end of the first game
Hint 3: "Not that I wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job, no one is more deserving of a rest."

11) The original english voice actor for the protagonist is the one that's in everything, but they changed it for the remaster
Hint 2: And funnily enough the protagonist's name is very similar to another prominent voice actor
Hint 3: The first voice actor has voiced (Lego) Batman while the second has voiced Spider-Man

Final Fantasy VII

14: God of War (2018)

Majora's Mask?  Sounds like Skull Kid, but I'm not 100% sure.

It could and is correct, both games. You solidify your lead!

#14

(+7)

One of the biggest gainers on the list for my favorite valve series. Such an ingenious little game that doesn't waste your time with incredible puzzles and an eery unsettling atmosphere that builds perfectly throughout with so many iconic moments. Didn't even get a chance to replay this year (altho very much planning to soon), but its a game I never stop thinking about. A damn near perfect 2hr experience

And there we have another one of these excellent LucasArts adventures. This is a point-and-click adventure, but you play three different characters, Bernard, Laverne and Hoagie, which are transported to different times and have to work together to stop purple tentacle from taking over the world. This is sort of a sequel to Maniac Mansion, it reuses some of it's whacky characters and locations. As with many LucasArts adventures, the fun even baked into the puzzles.

The story is set in motion, after purple tentacle drinks from the river which is filled with toxic waste from Dr. Fred Edisons laboratory and grows arms. With this he decides to take over the world. Green tentacle asks his old friend Bernard for help. Bernard takes his two roommates and goes to Dr. Edison. His roommates and the other playable characters are: medical student Laverne - who has apparently arrangements with her psychiatrist - and hardrocker Hoagie. Dr. Edison has a plan to send the three of them back a day with his time-traveling toilet named chron-o-john and let them turn off the machine producing the toxic waste. But this fails and so Laverne lands 200 years in the future ruled by purple tentacle, Hoagie 200 years in the past and Bernard stays in the present. From where you have an insane ride, with puzzles that have changing things in the past to change the future and sending stuff through time.

The characters are so great. Between purple tentacle, Dr. Edison and the three protagonist you have so much strange and quirky behaviour, this is hilarious. They interact with the gameworld in often unexpected but hilarious ways and comment on the actions. This is an all-time classic in the point-and-click adventure genre.

The game got a remaster a few years back with updated graphics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6v-zGTzNCE

Correct!

Also correct!

Nope, Majora's Mask was on my list though, but a little further down. Also just noticed I made a big typo, whoops.