In an effort to simplify and reorganise my personal favourite list - I've decided to just deal with my favourite series of games. It's simpler and, I think, gives a better idea of what types of games I actually like rather than just one off statistical 'blips'.
No order
I'll fill out my reasons when I have time.
Sam Sho 2 and 4 are great.
I still need more time to understand the ridiculous amounts of mechanics in these games. People who think ArcSys games have too many system have never play a later Sam Sho game.
I never liked 3d fighting games growing up. Even Tekken 3 completely passed me by. I got into the series with Tekken 6 on the PSP and the series has slowly become one of my favourite time wasters - just using Ghost Mode.
Unlike Tekken, I was aware of Soul Calibur since the release of Edge? On the PSX...I just couldn't get into it at all. I tried many many many times (mostly with 4 and 5) to get into the series - even have all the guides (I kinda collect fighting game guides anyway) but it never clicked.
With the build up to SC6 and both Aris and Max (the only streamers I actually tend to watch, with Aris edging out Max) hyping it up - I decided to give it another go..on my Vita. Just like Tekken 6 before it - the series finally clicked once I played Kilik.
Arena Combat - I originally got into the series with a copy of Next Plus for the PSP that I picked up off Ebay. I was, and am, a massive Gundam fan and apart from SRW this is probably the best video game interpretation - at least in arcade format. I have all the PS3 Gundam games (including the Japanese releases) and I generally come back to Extreme Vs Full Burst more than any other.
1,2,3 - 4's okay and I haven't played 5.
The original is the best though...I spent hours..HOURS in the item world.
Another series that didn't work for me initially. It wasn't until I made myself sit down with 3 Ultimate on the Wii U that I actually 'got' it - despite owning Freedom Unite on the PSP since near launch.
I love Wadjet Eye games. Short, simple but well told stories. Like a short story you can read in an afternoon. Perfect for those Sunday afternoons.
Sometimes saving the world gets old - sometimes, you just want to make sure that you pass your exams or make that really great potion.
Not everything has to be about the end of the world.
Hey, stahnd upah.
Get Searious
I love...LOVE...Real Bout 2. I think it's one of the best, most hype fighting games ever. It's the 3rd Strike of SNK.
Garou (which I insist prounouncing as the French would - Ga - Rue, not Ga - Row..get seariious) is something else all together. A great game, but not Real Bout 2.
GET IN THE RING
Yeah, I know, predictabo.
As there is no 'franchise' selection per se - I picked BX.
Specifically I like the Nintendo handheld versions and the OG series. I have all the PSP and PS2 games - but apart from the OG games on Ps2 I just don't get the same insane feeling of madness that you get from the DS ones.
Beautiful sprite work and backgrounds.
I'm using this as the placeholder for the Vs. line.
With the increasingly likely demise of the Capcom Vs line, hopefully we'll see a return for Tatsunoko or SNK. Shit, pile them and Namco in - make it NOTHING like SFxT and add Tekkaman Blade in again.
*Magnetoperfectiongif*
This is for the entire series - including Online and Universe.
I rank 4 as one of the best RPGs that I've never finished. It's a great game that I really need to find the time for - My pick for my favourite game in the series, however, would probably be Portable and Portable 2. The dodge in P2 changes the game significantly - it's just that the characters and writing as so very bad. So..very..bad.
Including 40k and assorted spin offs.
I think most will agree that Dawn of War 1 & 2 are the best that Warhammer gets. I haven't really played the Total War games, but there's just too much going on there. If it was just a battle simulator that would be great - but who has time for all the Civ type stuff..I'll play Civ if I want that. Urgh.
Space Marine is a great 3rd Person Game that should have got a sequel. Blood Bowl is good for a laugh. Mordheim and the upcoming Necromunda ( I love me some Necromunda) are perfect for long tactical gaming sessions. Armageddon, despite having Orks as the main enemy force is a great tile based war game. Then there's the Diablo style Inquisitor game...here's hoping its good.
Mods, mods, mods of mods.
Ouendan series
Fastest way to break your touchscreen on your DS.
I love a good loot grind skinner box game, and to my mind Diablo 2 still reigns supreme.
While it is an offshoot of the OG SRW games - or the originator if you prefer, the different mechanics make this a very different game. I also prefer the cast, story and gameplay to the OG series.
Up until Capcom vs Snk 2's release I only ever played Capcom fighting games. Didn't grow up new an arcade, and Street Fighter 2 was the hot shit (along with Mortal Kombat) on the megadrive.
My favourite of the series has always been the psx version of Alpha 3, but that's purely nostalgia. Third Strike is the best SF game.
I was a latecomer to SNK, only learning about KOF with the release of 2002 - but I am now, very much, an SNK fan over Capcom.
My picks?
96
98
2002
XIII
and I enjoy XIV as well.
Roberto, Vanessa and Ralf.
As of writing I've played all of the games, but only finished 2,4,5.
My ranking is
4
5
2
I'm probably (I am) in the minority when it comes to the second game - but, playing the wii remake, I found the game bland to annoying. And no, I don't find the games scary in the slightest. Games don't scare me, neither do movies. I enjoy the psychological stories and the, occasionally, strong female characters.
XII
VIII
VI
IV
Tactics
V
VII
XIV
XV
X/ X-2
Xiii - 2
Then there are some other games I guess
Doom and Doom 2 are fantastic games, and pretty much built into the DNA of all games following in their footsteps. It's difficult for people who weren't there to appreciate how incredible these games were at the time...and still are.
A series that is sorely missed - stealth ninja action that was one of the first games I played on my psx (alongside FFVII)
Metal...Gear?
Like Doom before it, MGS blew people's minds. MGS2 continues to blow people's minds. MGS3 isn't what I wanted, but many love it still. 4 had some nice ideas but was a mess. 5 has the best engine and gameplay and a mess of a story.
I doubt we shall ever see its like again.
Spinning out of a failed RE reboot - Devil May Cry plays to that 'wannabe edgy' teenager that lives inside most men (and some women) While the storyline can be bad (2) or pretty good (3) it's the combat and the feel of being a..cough..badass that keeps people returning to the series. It's also great fun.
Games, being fun...weird huh?
See above, just with more dancing.
What if Persona wasn't set in high school, the storyline actually mattered outside of their own little bubble, the characters social interactions made sense in relation to their combat ability and the female characters weren't reduced to sex objects?
Oh hai Sakura Taisen - the waifu simulator before Persona that was better in many ways back in '96 on the Saturn. Also that theme...godly.
Before you ask - Maria
Though the action RPG is the most well known, I rate KuF: The Crusades and Heroes as the best games on the original Xbox. Blending Dynasty Warriors type fighting with Total War battle systems..there's no other series quite like it. One second you're beating an orc's head in with a mace, the next you're ordering archers to coat an area with fire arrows to burn the fleeing orcs out of the forest.
Over the years, I think the Samurai Warriors offshoot of Omega Force's Musou games have become far better than the mainline Dynasty Warrior games. Better stories with better characters and much faster gameplay. SW4 is probably the best musou game that doesn't have anime characters in it...until then new Orochi game comes out at least.
1,2,3 and Black. I'm not found of 2 and Razors Edge is just okay.
Black is an exceptional action game, with some very boring missions.
Probably my favourite 'new' series.
Look up my reviews from last year to understand why...
Getting close to my favourite game of all time
And almost my favourite rpg of all time
Art
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