The first game on this list is maybe my favorite of all time. Shameful! I feel like most of my list would be games from the 90s I missed out on because of my dedication to JRPGs. Oh, and as someone who came to Symphony of the Night very late (2014), that game still holds up. Glad I knocked that one off my pile of shame.

@amlabella: I know! I've got no good reason for it. I've even played Metroid 2 (and the fan remake AM2R) last year. So I probably ought just get off my butt and get it done. :)

Ha I was in similar boat! JRPGs were my preferred genre for a very long time and some real bangers came out from 1994-2006 or so. I still play them but I probably lean more action adventure these days.

That's cool about Symphony of the Night, can't say I'm too surprised. I feel like metroidvanias in general hold up very well compared to most older games. I'm not sure if it's because the gameplay is just that timeless or that there has been relatively so few of them that the best in the genre haven't really been eclipsed by newer ones.

I'll be the guy who says "Hey, those Infinity Engine games are preeeeeeeety good." I'll be perfectly honest: I'm still pretty unsure how well most of them gel for anyone who is coming to them in 2017. I played Baldur's Gate again last year because of that weird expansion-midquel thing and still love it, but I also acknowledge that I'm a crazy person who has strategic reserves of patience when it comes to playing older games that I have a certain level of affection for.

If you're ever going to just try and play one of those suckers, pick Planescape while occasionally skimming a guide. The fact that game is a D&D RPG is almost ancillary to the part where you walk around a weird world and read giant walls of text.

Also also! If you're going to play one Devil May Cry game, play 3. The first one is a little too primitive for me to have gotten anywhere, Devil May Cry 2 is a burning trash fire, and Devil May Cry 4 is a set of fantastic combat mechanics set inside a half-finished skeleton of a character action game.

@arbitrarywater: Yeah That's my problem. Eventhough I certainly was around and could have played them then, I never got to play any of them when they would have felt modern. The closest I came was playing Neverwinter Nights which I did like a lot ( I wanna say that's the aurora engine?) . But that seemed a bit more user friendly than the older stuff. I think once i put serious time into one of these infinity engine games, the rest won't be as intimidating, but I'd be pretty much starting from scratch re: mechanics and tropes and such. (as a counter example Breath of the Wild was super easy for me since I've played a zillion Zelda games. Zelda combat is like riding a bike)

Really though I think the biggest issue for me is a personal failing of mine, my backlog is mammoth enough that there are things on that are just as appealing to me that I don't have to work as hard to learn them with more modern graphics. So it's just a question of willpower and desire and blocking out distractions. Some of which are also on this list.

Thanks for the advice! that sounds like a solid plan with Devil May Cry. I was actually leaning towards the reboot since I figure I wouldn't miss any lore, but I haven't been crazy about past Ninja Theory games.

And yeah your comments on Planescape are basically what i'm thinking as well.

TBH given how stacked 2017 is with fantastic new releases, I seriously doubt I touch any of these this year.

Have you played the new Fire Emblem yet? I'm absolutely loving the addition of the turnwheel. It sure beats save scumming. Now I can play on classic/hard whatever it's called like I want to without burning myself out due to my perfectionist tendencies.

@slag: The Infinity Engine has a learning curve for sure, especially if you don't have a ton of familiarity with the anachronisms and quirks of AD&D 2nd Edition rules. I recently bought one of those Player's Handbook reprints (partially for fun, partially as a threat to my D&D group) and finally found out what Speed Factor actually means (it's a modifier for your initiative roll ostensibly based around your weapon's weight.) That said, people revere those games for a reason, and I think they're all some variety of great. If you're ever in the mood and have a good 30-50 hours to kill... yeah. Give 'em a shot.

I can identify with both the "2017 has so much good new stuff and also backlogging requires concentration and effort" sentiments. My own lists on the subject are proof enough. If I'm going to be entirely honest, I'm probably only going to complete two or three games on that RPG list this year. I have a morbid desire to finish Lightning Returns if only so I can finally get all of Final Fantasy XIII out of my life, so that might take priority in the near future. If only Hailinel could see me now.

New (old) Fire Emblem is a lot of fun! I'm probably going to write something up about it when I finish it, but short answer is that I like that they kept all of Gaiden's weird ass mechanics, the script is a lot better than Fates, the map design is super boring and I'm just glad there are no Hyperbolic Time Babies.

HOT DAMN! I was not ready for this much reckless crime!! I will admit to have a few of my own but this is madness.

I did correct a few: Earthbound and Banjo.

If I could ask you to correct one is Super Metroid. It's still so damn good I play it regularly.

You need to get on Super Metroid, Mass Effect 2, and Castlevania: SotN. Those games are brilliant, even years after the fact.

Earthbound & Planescape: Torment... I have more fun thinking about those games than playing them. Now, they're not bad games, but both of them are really beloved for their unique world building and storylines. The gameplay is okay.

Tactics Ogre is a more brutal Final Fantasy Tactics. Good storyline, but be prepared to get roughed up.

Anyway, good luck. You should see my backlog. Ugh.

@eder:haha I don't know if it's madness. :)

I've been playing games for a pretty long time and I've played a ton, but it's basically impossible to play everything. Looking at 2017's releases they are so stacked there's a good chance this list will grow 'cause I doubt I'll get to any of the PS4 exclusives (like Horizon or Nioh) this year since I don't own the console.

You are right about Super Metroid of course.

I'm glad you got some crossed off your list! I was pretty happy to get Megaman X off mine last year.

@viking_funeral: Yeah I know. I'm pretty confident I'll get to the platformers at some point. Those tend to age pretty well and are short enough they are easy to bang out on a whim. Mass Effect I'm working on. I've nearly finished 1.

and oh this isn't my backlog. This is just games I consider to be classics that I haven't played. Some of these I don't own. If were talking about how big my backlog is (counting mediocre games and humble bundle games etc).... You'd probably need to multiply this list by at least 10.

And that'd only be my unplayed games on Steam

If you add in GoG, Origin, Uplay, PS3, Vita, 3DS, DS, PS2 etc... there's probably another 200 or so...

Yeahhhhh....

Digital sales, humble bundles and used games are a weakness of mine.

Yeah I'm definitely not, never played a game proper D&D in my life tbh. Maybe I should read up on that ruleset you mentioned first. Might shorten the learning phase.

Part of my issue with big games like infinity games in general is two fold due to to some character flaws. I'm a very slow gamer, when HLTB says a game takes 40 hours, it usually takes me ~60 because I like to poke around and look at everything. Fwiw I've got maybe 130 hours in Zelda:BotW right, and while I've beaten Ganon, I've only cleared one Divine Beast because I've been systematically hunting Koroks like Crazy (I think I have 400 or so).

The other is I tend to get overwhelmed in games with a lot of choice because I want to see everything, which leads me to burnout on them sometimes. Since I'll replay scenarios over and over to see the different outcomes :)

So yeah I only have myself to blame for a lot of this procrastination. I've really got to have an open schedule and be in a good state of mind to play a game that has that much freedom.

Speaking of LR. I was replaying it a bit last fall and is it just me or did that game age terribly in the graphics compartment already? I feel like I'm looking at a 2009 game not a 2014 release.

yeah I miss Hailinel (and Yummylee and VGK among others), that guy was probably the biggest FF on the site even more so than me, well until ZombiePie found religion :).

Agree with all you've said Echoes. The maps are definitely simplistic, but in light of everything else I'm pretty happy to overlook that.

I really dig it, I hope that Echoes turns into a subseries of remakes of all the old games we never got here. Had no idea how badly I missed pre-Waifu FE style.

@slag: So, secret spoilers for my inevitable Lightning Returns blog, but that game feels like it was cobbled together with duct tape and an intense desire to milk as much out of the Final Fantasy XIII assets and engine tech as possible. The Majora's Mask comparison works on multiple levels, it turns out. The major characters all still look good, but boy do most of the NPCs look like junk. It's a pity that I kinda hate the way its structured, because I like the combat quite a bit. I can't decide if the story is beautiful nonsense or complete and utter bullshit, but I think I'll figure it out should I get back to it.

Fun fact: Hailinel and VGK both seem to be semi-frequent posters on the new Waypoint forums. I don't have a ton of interest in joining that place myself (I find myself increasingly disinterested in a lot of what Waypoint is putting out, unfortunately,) but I did see that Hail was asking about keeping the moderators accountable. Gee, I wonder why he would ask that?

I also hope that Echoes turns into its own little sub-brand, mostly because the idea of modern remakes of Seisen no Keifu and Thracia 776 sound pretty good, especially if the quality of Shadows of Valentia is any indication.

@arbitrarywater:yeah Lightning is a PS3 girl in a drab PS2 world. For some reasons the textures are so dark and muddy unlike Xiii and Xiii-2 and those last gen (for last gen) NPCs.... bleh. Very drab palette

I think it might have been Hailinel who once mentioned to me that according to rumor LR:FF Xiii was originally a Valkryie Profile game re-purposed into the third Fabula Nova Crystallis game. If so that would make a lot of sense from the downscaled production values and some the quirks around it. But yeah that combat system is pretty fun if nothing else.

re: waypoint- Hunh I wouldn't have thought either would end up there. Well VGK isn't that surprising. He always a bit of an omnivore of eclectic material.

Yeah gotta say I respect what Waypoint's doing and the people behind it, but their content never clicked with me. From the look of the site to the written material, just not my bag and that's ok.

But even if it did, I barely have enough time in my life for GB. Only got room for one gaming community in my life. Maybe not even that at times!

Neither piece of the "metroidvania puzzle?" That is a gaping hole! Especially with how prominent that genre seems to be becoming in the indie scene. Good luck at tackling some of these, it seems like you have quite a lot on your plate.

@morecowbell24: ha, you're right. And what's odd is I really like that genre. Maybe a top 5 genre I enjoy playing for me personally

Thanks for the well wishes! I personally doubt I'll ever get to play the majority of these, but one never knows. I've knocked a ton off what this list would have been ten years ago thanks to the digital era.

I can't believe you haven't played Portal 2. You own it and you're a PC guy, you have no excuse!

@liquiddragon: yeah

yeah

Yeah, you're right. I really don't. I even own a copy already too.

I sometimes get too wrapped up in trying to play things in the perfect moment (i.e. finding a block of time where I know I won't get distracted from the game by other things, because I have a nasty habit of not finishing game if I have to put it down for too long). That's partly why I made the list, to encourage myself to prioritize a bit.

@slag: I totally know what you mean.

Maybe next time you're feeling up for a puzzle game and can commit to something in the 10-15 hour range, do consider! I had to mention it cause it's one my favorites from the last gen. The design of it and the balance of difficulty is so spot on, the amount of iteration it must've taken is something I admire very much.