I'm that one weird guy who actually enjoyed Astro's Playroom as much if not more than Astro Bot. It was just the perfect introduction to the PS5 showing what it could do and utilizing it in incredibly fun ways while also being a celebration of PlayStation's history. It even managed to make chasing speed run high scores tons of fun as someone who normally doesn't care much for that. Astro Bot is essentially just much more of that with the added fun of collecting beloved (and very obscure) characters so obviously that's awesome as well, though I think the pure density of fun fell just a little short of Playroom. (A little ironic I used a picture from Astro Bot then, but it was the best one I had).

Sorry for spamming, this is the last for now.

#50

Change YoY: -3   My Rating: 9.0 / 10

Back during the 7th console generation, I felt like there was very little reason for me to get an Xbox 360. I had a PS3 at the time, and just about every game that I was interested in was available on it, so I just thought I had no need for a 360. I didn't really care that much about Halo, Gears of War, or Fable. However, that generation was missing one thing I really wanted: a great Final Fantasy game. FFXIII failed to live up to expectations, and the series in general was struggling to adapt to the HD era. Except we did get one, just under a different name and on a console I didn't own. Hironobu Sakaguchi had founded a new company called Mistwalker after leaving Square, and eventually made a deal with Microsoft to develop games for their new console back when they were still trying to break into the Japanese video game market. This resulted in two exclusive titles, the latter of which is the topic here. Lost Odyssey was just about the only game I really felt sorry for missing out on during this period of time, and that remained the case until around a decade later. My then-girlfriend, and current wife, bought herself an Xbox 360, and I figured I might as well try and find a copy of Lost Odyssey since I can actually play the game, and eventually I did, for just 5 euros. Turned out to be one of the best 5 euros I've ever spent.

There's a lot I loved about Lost Odyssey. The setting is genuinely unique, a world that is just emerging into a new era of technology following something of an industrial revolution, albeit one powered by new forms of magic rather than science, the characters are very well-written and each have their own clear personalities and goals, the story is admittedly following many familiar paths, but includes enough twists and turns to always keep the player guessing, and the music by Nobuo Uematsu is excellent. Yet, rather oddly, perhaps the best part of the whole game are these short extra stories the player can unlock over the course of the game that recount various events from the past, mainly about the main character Kaim. While they aren't necessarily any masterpieces of literature, they are expertly crafted and emotionally resonant short stories that left a lasting impression on me, some of them genuinely hitting me quite hard as well. I still remember many of them vividly, even though it's been years since I played the game. I still haven't played any other games on the 360, but Lost Odyssey was worth the wait. Should probably give this one a replay one of these days.

Edit: Wrong thread

#47

• Nexus...
• ...binds the northern lands together...
• ...and ties the souls of all would-be demon hunters so they cannot leave.

Gonna continue the hinting. I had to move game #50 to #49 because I realized I had a duplicate game that was both in my list and honorable mentions, whoops.

#50

- A bird has to climb to the top of the mountain.

#49

- Departure. Initiation. Return.

- A game known for its musical

#48

- The monster of the Land

#47

- The blue dog got its own game, though it was passed over for a leading role in the movie

I'm a bit late, but hey, let's start with the hints of numbers 50 through 46:

#50: Probably the best PC-exclusive fighting game there is.

#49: Unlike in the other games of the series, no transformations here.

#48: Looks a lot like Metroid, but isn't Metroid

#47: A futuristic story with conspiracies and many twists and turns in the story

#46: Ever wanted to shoot your console? In this game, you can in the final level.

#46: Beyond Good & Evil?

#50: Fez?

That’s right!

Nope