tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7441586093670943102024-03-12T19:10:56.157-07:00Misc StuffJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-5696278987303128922014-01-08T06:49:00.002-08:002014-01-08T07:09:08.974-08:00Raiden's Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-aQfxG5tj4/Us1co5GqX_I/AAAAAAAAAiA/G3K69n5VTIw/s1600/PW5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-aQfxG5tj4/Us1co5GqX_I/AAAAAAAAAiA/G3K69n5VTIw/s1600/PW5.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Finally Ace Attorney 5 has arrived, and it was worth the wait (and Capcom has confirmed that they're working on a new Phoenix Wright game, so hopefully we'll be seeing a 6 as well!) There will be light spoilers, so you've been warned.<br />
<br />
I went into the game with mixed feelings, very excited about a new game in one of my favorite series but also disappointed because I already knew that Maya (quite possibly my favorite character in video games) wasn't going to be part of the cast. She was replaced by Athena Cykes (the girl in yellow in the picture above), a young lawyer who just started at the Wright Anything Agency. Athena's purpose seems to be that she's studied analytical psychology, and she can get additional information during cross examination using the Mood Matrix. She does this by finding statements where the emotions don't match what the witness said (ie the witness is happy when they're saying something sad.) This is there to make the court sessions a little more fresh (like they did with Apollo and his bracelet in Ace Attorney 4.) It's a neat feature and did what it was intended to do, but I still prefer Apollo's perceiving to the Mood Matrix.<br />
<br />
While the game stars Phoenix, you play as Apollo and Athena for one case each. Generally, Athena is your sidekick when you play as Phoenix and Apollo is in the background, which is a little bit of a bummer. Athena's personality is pretty similar to Maya and Trucy (the other primary assistants), but there's just something about her that made me indifferent (likely the fact that she isn't Maya.) They went with the assistant in peril story for one of the cases again, and I found myself not really caring about saving Athena, and not caring about her backstory in the way I did with the other characters in the game. Professor Blackquill was a good addition to the cast, as the new asshole prosecutor (a big change of pace from Ace Attorney 4's Prosecutor Gavin, who did get a cameo in case 3!) Blackquill has been convicted of murder, but is still allowed to be a prosecutor. They explain the reasoning in case 5 and the concept is absurd, but that's part of the charm of the series. You put a killer whale on the witness stand in the bonus case after all.<br />
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As far as the gameplay goes, the only update to the court proceedings is the Mood Matrix. You still press witnesses for more information and present evidence (and use Apollo's Perceive in a few cases, which I would have liked to see more of.) They give you more hints this time around as far as what you need to be looking for in the next contradiction, which can be good or bad depending on how much you want to think.<br />
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The real changes in gameplay came in with the investigation sequences. They streamlined the process, and it's a lot better here than in the previous games. There's a notepad that tells you the things you still have to do before you finish your investigation so you don't forget what you're doing, but the real change is the point and click portion. Instead of having to click through every little spot in the room when you've found everything that stands out and still can't advance, the game will show a circle on the pointer if there's an object you can investigate, and a check if there's something you've already looked at. This makes it a lot easier to keep track of what you're doing. You can also change locations within the areas you investigate, and you only need to investigate specific rooms for clues, instead of looking everywhere you went like in the previous games. Another plus is that when you've investigated everything you needed to and are ready to advance, it will move right along so you won't sit there looking for more when you don't need to. The interview sequences are also much better, as your character will tell you when you need to present evidence to get more information, so you don't have to find everybody and present everything you have if you're stuck.<br />
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The cases are pretty solid and they've added anime cut scenes to each case, which is also a nice touch. The game begins with an explosion blowing up one of the courtrooms in the middle of a trial, and that remains overhead until the end of the main story. I was able to pick out the real killer in case 3 from the first time I saw them and while you can usually figure it out early based off of Phoenix Wright logic (not going to go into the details on that since it might spoil things for people that have yet to play the games), they threw a wrench into that formula later in the game. I was pretty surprised at how case 5 concluded and they tied everything together at the end nicely. There were some pretty intense moments in cases 4 and 5, especially with Prosecutor Blackquill.<br />
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I normally don't like DLC, but the bonus case was well worth it. I thought I had the killer in the bonus case figured out with Phoenix Wright logic when the first day of court ended and the game leads you down that path, but then they changed it up in an amazing way so the formula no longer holds up, which is great. The bonus case is one of my favorites in the series, with a lot of twists and turns, great characters, and an amazing ending.<br />
<br />
Overall, this was an outstanding game, a must for anyone who enjoys visual novels/point and click/thinking. It's easily the most playable in the series due to the investigation improvements, and the cases are very good. They left out some very notable characters from previous games (1 year passed between Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies, and 8 between Trials and Tribulations and Dual Destinies) in Maya, Detective Gumshoe, Ema Skye, Larry Butz, and Franziska von Karma, but having Pearl appear in two cases was a nice surprise. I probably would have rated the game higher if I cared about Athena as the new second, but what can ya do.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Score: 9.25/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://raideng.blogspot.com/2013/06/raidens-top-games-full-list-without.html">Raiden's Top 100 Ranking</a>: 22</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Upcoming reviews: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>If there are any games on my top 100 you'd like to see a more detailed review on, or any games you know I've played that you'd like me to review, let me know! Unfortunately, I don't have time to pick up new games that aren't already on my short list, at least for the next year or two.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-5393514488182083932013-12-29T14:16:00.003-08:002013-12-29T14:55:08.847-08:00Raiden's Pokemon X/Y ReviewSame game, different region. That sums up Pokemon X/Y. Overall a good game, but I wouldn't rate it any higher than third best gen in the series.<br />
<br />
I think I would like X/Y a lot more if I hadn't played all of the other games first. After 6 generations and one sequel, the formula and basic gameplay is becoming a little stale to me. At the basic level, Pokemon remains an RPG with a party selection that no other series comes close to. Chrono Cross boasted over 40 playable characters, and that was huge. Pokemon has 718, if serebii is correct, so it's not even close.<br />
<br />
They did try to switch up the basic formula with Mega Evolution, but that really didn't change much. It would make your Pokemon stronger and in some cases change the type, but other than that it wasn't anything big.<br />
<br />
The bigger change came with the new addition of the Fairy type, which made Dragons a lot less overpowered. I'm a little confused as to why Fairy is weak to Poison and Steel (the only reason I've been able to come up with is that those types aren't strong against much), but that's not the thing that really bothers me about new types being added. They made such a big deal about how Fairy is the new big thing, but there are pokemon from previous generations that now have the Fairy type added. Why weren't those pokemon the fairy type? Is there something about the Kalos region that turns them into Fairy type? Why did it take them this long to discover a new type? I know I shouldn't expect continuity in a game targeted at younger children, but that still bothers me.<br />
<br />
One thing that X/Y does extremely well is the Pokemon selection you get on your first playthrough before unlocking the national dex. You have the option of capturing at least twice the pokemon that you did in previous generations (including Eevee's, and gen 1 starters!) Some of the new pokemon are ridiculous though (I'm looking at you Klefki. Really? A set of keys?)<br />
<br />
I would pay good money if Nintendo and Game Freak would give us a game where you can travel to all 6 regions, but that's <span style="font-family: inherit;">something I'll probably never see (unless it's in MMO form, and that'd just suck).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Score: 7.2/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Raiden's Top 100 Ranking: Not ranked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Upcoming reviews: Phoenix Wright 5: Dual Destinies, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
If there are any games on my top 100 you'd like to see a more detailed review on, or any games you know I've played that you'd like me to review, let me know! Unfortunately, I don't have time to pick up new games that aren't already on my short list, at least for the next year or two.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-19401088303479704402013-12-26T18:52:00.002-08:002013-12-26T18:52:22.115-08:00Raiden's The Last of Us ReviewFinally getting around to writing this, and only a hand full of months late! I'm going to try to keep it to light spoilers (if any at all), that don't give away anything as far as story specifics goes. If you're still planning on playing the game and don't want any spoilers whatsoever, you may want to turn back now. You've been warned.<br /><br />
The Last of Us is amazing in every way. Naughty Dog was able to create characters in Joel and Ellie that you can really connect to, and you really root for. One thing I really enjoyed is the moral gray area you take in the game. Most of the time you play as the hero, fighting for justice, peace, etc, but in The Last of Us things are different. Don't get me wrong, you're not playing as the villains or anything, it's just not clear cut. The other people you're fighting against are just trying to survive, same as you (it reminds me of some of the other groups of humans that the main group encounters in the Walking Dead TV show.)<br />
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There are a few complaints I've heard about this game that I'd like to address. Similar to Tomb Raider 2013, one of the negative things someone mentioned to me is that "it relies too much on stealth." That can be true, but only if that's how you choose to play the game. Yes, there are areas that are designed in a way that makes you sneak around, but there are also others that are built to make you charge in, guns blazing. If you choose to play the entire game through using stealth tactics and don't want to try anything different, or lack the skill to have success without it, that's not the fault of the game, that's on you.<br />
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The big thing a lot of people dislike is the ending. Obviously, I'm not going to go into anything specific about how the game ended, but I will say this. The ending that said people seem to want completely contradicts everything that the entire game has built, and goes against what the characters would do or say. When Naughty Dog was still working on the game, they changed the ending from what those people want to what the final product was for that reason, and I wouldn't want it any other way. The only thing I didn't like about the ending was that it meant the game was over, and my journey through the post apocalyptic world with Joel and Ellie had come to an end (at least until the single player DLC is released, starring Ellie! Woo!). One amusing thing I found was an "alternate ending" where the actors ended up singing all of the lines in the final scene like it was some kind of Broadway show. It was really something to see.<br />
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The controls are very smooth, and the crafting system works very well. You're able to find limited amounts of stuff like rags, alcohol, bottles, etc, and have to determine what you want to make with those resources. You also have to do that in real time, so there's no pausing to craft something you need in the middle of battle. There is also a proper New Game+ mode, so you can take a powered up Joel through again if you want to (which I did).<br />
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The Last of Us is an amazing, emotional journey that shows both the best and the worst (mostly the worst) of human nature. Watching the bond between Joel and Ellie grow and develop is very satisfying, and felt real (most games aren't capable of making those things feel genuine). I can say without any doubt that The Last of Us is the best game of this generation, and the second best I've ever played.<br />
<br />
Score: 10/10<br />
Raiden's Top 100 Ranking: 2nd Place (after Final Fantasy VI, before Tomb Raider 2013)<br />
<br />
Upcoming reviews: Pokemon X/Y, Phoenix Wright 5: Dual Destinies, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.<br />
<br />
If there are any games on my top 100 you'd like to see a more detailed review on, or any games you know I've played that you'd like me to review, let me know! I unfortunately don't have time to pick up new games that aren't already on my short list, at least for the next year or two.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-19715084233129988582013-07-17T14:55:00.003-07:002013-07-17T14:55:45.692-07:00The Last of UsJust finished The Last of Us, and it's amazing. The only genuine complaints I've heard about it (aside from one guy on IRC who keeps whining that it was "overhyped" and that it was a PS3 exclusive who has no intention of playing the game, he just likes to bitch) was that the ending wasn't good, but I don't agree with that. I don't know what those people were expecting.<br />
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I don't want to give away anything so I'm going to cut it there. I'll update my Top 100 accordingly with a new writeup for this one in a few days once it's had some time to sink in, so I can give it a placement that isn't based on the high of just finishing things up.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-41879609637743687432013-07-09T10:49:00.001-07:002013-07-09T11:22:16.067-07:00The Adoption Lottery<div class="MsoNormal">
Another question that people ask a lot is what you do while
you’re waiting to be matched. While it’s pretty much just waiting, we get
monthly updates from most of the agencies we’re working with about how many
times our profile has been shown. There are also situations that we apply to
outside of our agencies that Rachel finds on her own through various adoption
communities she’s a part of, and those situations are the subject of this post.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We hear of anywhere between one and ten situations a week
this way, and if the situation works for us we apply for it. That’s when the Adoption
Lottery begins. Pretty much everybody has dreamed of winning the lottery, and
that’s kind of what applying to an adoption situation is like. When you buy the
lottery ticket you know that the odds are very low that you’ll win, but you
still think about what it would be like if you did. An adoption is the same
(though the odds are a lot better than winning the lottery). You know that there are a dozen other
families applying for the same situation and that the odds are
against you, but there’s still that what if feeling, and the hope that maybe
this will be the one, that this will be the child you’re meant to raise. You
start looking at the date the child is due to figure out how much time you have to get everything figured out, and if it’s out of state, what the
travel will be like. How long will you need to be out of state? Are you going
to fly, drive, or take the train? What hotel should we stay at? How big of a
car do we need to rent? What are the travel restrictions for newborns? All of
these questions occupy your mind until you hear back from the agency and find
out you weren't selected. But that’s okay. That just means that it wasn't meant
to be, and there's no time to worry about what might have been. The next situation is right around the corner and you have to get ready
to repeat the process again, because maybe, just maybe, the next one will be the child
you've been waiting for.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-48286175802567549312013-06-20T20:29:00.002-07:002013-07-09T10:49:53.808-07:00Adoption UpdateI get asked frequently about how the adoption is going and today had a lot of action on that front, so here goes.<br />
<br />
I know most people probably aren't too familiar with the adoption process, and when it's complete and you have the child it's great. It's getting there that sucks. As Rachel described it this evening, it's an emotional roller coaster, and the worst day we've had in the process since the failed adoption last year. We were told of a situation Tuesday for an African American child that was born a month ago, and the scenario was perfect for us. The fees were about $15,000 less than a typical adoption because the the child was already born, she was in Missouri so it was only about an 8 hour train ride, no drugs, alcohol, or mental health issues, and the birthmother was open to any race for the adoptive couple, and they wanted to child picked up next week. There were only 5 couples that they could find that were interested, so we had a 20% chance. This morning we heard from the agency, and the birthmother decided she wanted to see more profiles since she now wanted a family that had one African American/Biracial parent or child, so that one fell through.<br />
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Later this afternoon Rachel received a phone call from an adoption lawyer that was working on a case where a baby boy was born 10 weeks premature and the family he had been matched with backed out because they didn't want a premature baby and they had to find a family for him asap. The birthmother had already signed over her parental rights so there was no possibility of another failed adoption. The up front fees were fairly reasonable as well. I had to call him to talk about some insurance stuff and everything was going great until he said that the child was in Arkansas, and one or both of us would need to be there for 6 weeks until he was at normal birth weight and could be released from the hospital. With the medical expenses, travel, lodging, food, and car rental, those hidden fees increased the overall charges to about $15,000 over our budget, so we had to pass on that one. After all the time we've spent waiting, and the failed match, it was very difficult to pass on it, but there was no way we could afford it.<br />
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Thankfully, once the adoption is all done and we have our baby, none of this will matter. Right now the roller coaster is at the bottom of the tracks, but we're nearing that final incline. Maybe one day I'll tell our future child the story of how everything worked out in a How I Met Your Mother-esque manner (I'm watching that right now, so that's where the idea came from.)Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-60263967349174008752013-06-11T08:05:00.002-07:002014-01-08T06:58:21.679-08:00Raiden's Top Games, Full List (Without writeups)<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 426px;">
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 320pt;" width="426">As requested, here is the full list (Updated January 8, 2014)<br />
<br />
102. Pacman Versus
(Gamecube)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">101. Columns (Game Gear)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">100. Home Alone (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">99. Final Fight (Arcade)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">98. Final Fantasy VII (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">97. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">96. Plague Inc (iOS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">95. Dragon Quest V (DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">94. Katamari Damacy (PS2)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">93. Super Bomberman (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">92. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">91. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
(Gameboy Advance)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">90. Pokemon Emerald (Gameboy Advance)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">89. Final Fantasy Legend 3 (Gameboy)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">88. Gremlins 2 (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">87. Chip's Challenge (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">86. Wing Commander IV: The Price of
Freedom (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">85. Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires (PS2)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">84. Punch-Out (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">83. Snake Rattle N Roll (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">82. Dragon Age 2 (PS3)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">81. Captain Comic (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">80. The Simpsons (Arcade)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">79. Worms 2 (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">78. Basewars (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">77. Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">76. The Raiden Project (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">75. Lemmings (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">74. Super Mario Brothers (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">73. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
(PS2)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">72. Warcraft 2 (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">71. Maniac Mansion (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">70. Pokemon FireRed/Leafgreen (Gameboy
Advance)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">69. Chrono Trigger (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">68. Diablo 2 (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">67. Uplink (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">66. Resident Evil (Gamecube)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">65. Skitchin (Genesis)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">64. Wizards and Warriors (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">63. The Addams Family (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">62. Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">61. Phoenix Wright: And Justice for All
(DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">60. Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">59. Gemfire (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">58. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">57. Megaman 3 (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">56. Age of Empires 2 (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">55. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Genesis)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">54. Megaman X2 (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">53. Little Nemo the Dream Master (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">52. Metroid Prime (Gamecube)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">51. Age of Mythology (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">50. Sentinel 3 (iOS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">49. Bubble Bobble (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">48. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">47. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">46. Aquaria (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">45. FEAR (PC)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">44. Megaman X4 (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">43. Kickle Cubicle (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">42. Little Ninja Brothers (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">41. The Legend of Zelda (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">40. Gauntlet Legends (Arcade)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">39. Aerobiz (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">38. Twisted Metal 2 (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">37. Super Mario World (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">36. Parasite Eve (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">35. Contra (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">34. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">33. Super Robot Taisen: Original
Generation 2 (Gameboy Advance)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">32. Tetris & Dr. Mario (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">31. Super Mario RPG (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">30. SimCity (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">29. Megaman X (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">28. Resident Evil 2 (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">27. GI Joe (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">26. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">25. Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">24. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">23. Dragon Warrior II (NES)<br />
22. <a href="http://raideng.blogspot.com/2014/01/raidens-phoenix-wright-dual-destinies.html">Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies</a> (3DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">21. Heavy Rain (PS3)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">20. Metroid Fusion (Gameboy Advance)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">19. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
(PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">18. Phoenix Wright: Trials and
Tribulations (DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">17. Megaman X3 (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">16. Friday the 13th (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">15. Megaman 2 (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">14. Final Fantasy X (PS2)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">13. Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">12. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
(3DS)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">11. Final Fantasy IV (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">10. Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">9. Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">8. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong
Quest (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the
Past (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">6. Super Metroid (SNES)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
(PSX)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">4. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (Wii)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">3. Tomb Raider (PS3)<br />
2. <a href="http://raideng.blogspot.com/2013/12/raidens-last-of-us-review.html">The Last of Us</a> (PS3)</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">1. Final Fantasy VI (SNES)</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-7675443686398509702013-06-11T06:37:00.004-07:002013-06-21T20:27:24.126-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 5-1<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>5.) Super Metroid (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKiqW3iJphI/UbcnWt0hwPI/AAAAAAAAAa4/W5RaUVo2TZ0/s1600/SuperMetroid+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKiqW3iJphI/UbcnWt0hwPI/AAAAAAAAAa4/W5RaUVo2TZ0/s320/SuperMetroid+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly after I got my SNES, I
went to a local used game store looking for a few more games with the leftover
money I had. On the shelf for the low price of $26.99 was Super Metroid. I
liked the original so much that I decided to give it a shot, and it was well worth
the price. It took me years to figure out how to do the wall jump, and once I
learned that added a new dimension through the game. I went through looking for
spots to use the wall jump to go to places I wasn’t supposed to yet. There are
so many things to find, speed runs to attempt, searching for new and amusing
boss strategies. My only complaint is that I can’t get this game on a portable
device.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>4.) Castlevania: Symphony of the
Night (Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4GEemEajT4/UbcnXe5BRMI/AAAAAAAAAbA/zO8tXLtzhuc/s1600/SotN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4GEemEajT4/UbcnXe5BRMI/AAAAAAAAAbA/zO8tXLtzhuc/s320/SotN.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This game had me hooked as soon
as I heard Dracula’s Castle for the first time. This is what action RPGs should
be. A simple, but deep combat system (all of the different special attacks for
your weapons), all sorts of different weapons to find, the inverted castle,
Richter mode, starting stats based on how you did in the prologue, and who can
forget the subpar voice acting. The opening with Richter and Dracula has so
many memorable quotes. I was very excited when I first found out that you could
glitch yourself outside of the castle and explore a few areas to fill in
additional spots on the map. While the Playstation version wasn’t really
complete (it didn’t include Maria mode, but that’s not a very big deal), it’s
still one of the best games I’ve ever played.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3.) Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
(Wii)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XF55BfDAakM/UbcnWGGvKsI/AAAAAAAAAaw/SDbok8zPWOs/s1600/Resident+Evil+4+Wii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XF55BfDAakM/UbcnWGGvKsI/AAAAAAAAAaw/SDbok8zPWOs/s320/Resident+Evil+4+Wii.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were several Wii games that
were ruined by trying to force motion controls into a game (example: Donkey
Kong Country Returns) where they weren’t really needed, but this is an
excellent example of them making an amazing game that much better. The precision
offered by the wiimotes, the easy way to break out the combat knife, and reloading
with simple movements were all great additions. It helped smooth up the
somewhat clunky controls that were used on Gamecube and Playstation 2. As far
as the game itself goes (when it was first released on Gamecube), I was
excited, but also skeptical. I really liked the original Resident Evil formula,
and since I tend to resist change I didn’t want to get too excited for it.
Capcom proved me wrong and released an outstanding game from the opening all
the way to the end credits. Trying to keep Ashley alive was a fun addition, as
was the shop. The attaché case was a better way of inventory management when
compared to the other games in the series, though it was also a lot less realistic.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2.) Tomb Raider (Playstation 3)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MX__sjmzRok/UbcnXuyhXJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/aYrccxE-KFw/s1600/Tomb+Raider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MX__sjmzRok/UbcnXuyhXJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/aYrccxE-KFw/s320/Tomb+Raider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had thought that my top three games were set in stone for a long time, and no other game would make its way
into that elite group. Crystal Dynamics had other plans. I’m not afraid to
admit that I can’t stand the early Tomb Raider games. I really wanted to like
them since I had friends talking about them all the time, and I tried, but I
didn’t enjoy them. Unlimited handgun ammo, horrible AI, and Lara with her
very…. questionable character design added up to me not enjoying the series. I
read about the reboot and Lara’s new origin story in Game Informer (as well as
much more realistic character design), and it piqued my interest. I started
reading whatever I could find on various internet sites, and the more I read,
the more I wanted to play it. After over a year of reading up on a game in
development, my pre-order arrived. From the opening video, you could tell how
much effort Crystal Dynamics had put into this. The visuals are stunning, the
voice acting is superb, the intro portions did an outstanding job of helping to
ease you into the game and the controls (which couldn’t get any better). Seeing
Lara’s transformation from frightened person lost on an island to the hardened
survivor she was at the end of the game was nothing short of amazing. Watching
her apologize to a deer she had to kill for food was a touching moment, and
then there was her first kill. Camilla Luddington’s performance in that scene
was off the charts, and really sold a huge moment in the game, and for Lara as
a character. I really hope that Square Enix decides to publish another
installment in the series, and that they have Crystal Dynamics do the heavy
lifting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>1.)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Final Fantasy VI (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y4o254FGOzA/UbcnVR6orKI/AAAAAAAAAao/oVSVNTE7Q7k/s1600/Final+Fantasy+VI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y4o254FGOzA/UbcnVR6orKI/AAAAAAAAAao/oVSVNTE7Q7k/s320/Final+Fantasy+VI.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here it is, my favorite game ever
(my wife was able to name it when I asked her, so I’ve mentioned it around the
house as well). If you're on EsperNet you probably knew this was coming. I didn’t play this game until 1999 (two years after I played
through Final Fantasy VII), and was blown away. The only thing I would change
about it is the Operahouse sequence (like Cloud’s Past, I don’t want a 15
minute stretch in the middle of a game with very little happening.) Yes, I know
the scene is supposed to be iconic, but it really slowed things down. Even that
couldn’t weigh the rest of the game down. The battle system was great and with
each of the 14 characters getting their own ability and backstory (some more
detailed, others, like Umaro, not so much), there were a lot of different
parties to choose from. The cast was great, with a lot of memorable characters,
and main villains don’t get any better than Kefka. The SAND on his boots,
poisoning Doma, destroying Mobliz, and
offing Gestahl and General Leo on his way to becoming one of the few villains
in gaming to actually accomplish his goal of destroying the world made him the
best final boss I’ve ever encountered. Kefka is psychotic and evil, and you
wanted to keep playing so that you could make sure he got what was coming to
him. There were so many different ways to go through the game in the world of
ruin with the various cast members as you found them. There’s also the never to
be solved mystery of Gogo’s true identity. I can only hope that another game
comes along that I like as much as this one, but I really don’t see that
happening. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there you have it, my top 100
games. Hopefully you enjoyed it if you made it this far, and it didn't make you rage too badly.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-37723947856466330832013-06-10T07:32:00.003-07:002013-06-21T20:27:19.904-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 10-6<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the writeups are longer now, I've decided to split the top ten into two days (no worries, the writeups for the top five are already done!).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>10.) Final Fantasy IV (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qV1yfi31_mA/UbXjLI2KAPI/AAAAAAAAAaM/sVGhqJaYgbE/s1600/Final+Fantasy+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qV1yfi31_mA/UbXjLI2KAPI/AAAAAAAAAaM/sVGhqJaYgbE/s320/Final+Fantasy+4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I own every one of the
remakes they’ve done for this game. I like to say it’s because this is an
outstanding game and not because I’m a sheep, but it’s probably both. I like
the SNES/GBA/PSP/Playstation version a LOT more than the DS/iOS versions. The voice
acting is nice, but the game looks terrible and the control is pretty blah. But
anyway, enough about the inferior version. The story of this game had a lot of
clichés, but was still very good. It also had a great cast, and some
hilariously bad dialogue (YOU SPOONY BARD). I was listening to "To the Moon and Back" by Savage Garden when I started the final dungeons on the Moon, and every time I hear that song (which isn't often, but still) it reminds me of this game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>9.) Dragon Age (Playstation 3)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sN2fu_LddU0/UbXjLLsUtOI/AAAAAAAAAaE/Kyb-WjOxzFg/s1600/Dragon+Age.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sN2fu_LddU0/UbXjLLsUtOI/AAAAAAAAAaE/Kyb-WjOxzFg/s320/Dragon+Age.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tried several more “modern”
RPGs on Playstation 3, and they all bored me and I was never able to get into
them. Then I saw this one as part of a 50% off sale at Gamestop, and figured it
was worth a shot. That was an excellent decision. I’ve started a character
using pretty much every possible build, and even with that I still find myself
being drawn back into this game. I really enjoy the battle system, there are so
many different variations in the characters and builds, the story is great, and
there are so many random quests (especially since I have Origins.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>8.) Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lPP4N_frRCE/UbXjLhPRYGI/AAAAAAAAAaU/EUuiBKSskwg/s1600/Ninja+Gaiden+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lPP4N_frRCE/UbXjLhPRYGI/AAAAAAAAAaU/EUuiBKSskwg/s1600/Ninja+Gaiden+2.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is one of the most difficult
games I’ve ever played (it even referenced the difficulty on the game box), and
finishing this one for the first time without use of a Game Genie or something
like that was one of my proudest moments in my years of playing video games. I
was so excited (and lame) that I saved the time that I beat the end boss, and
still have that in a text file to this day (August 16, 2003, 1:35pm). There is
so much to love about this game. The music is outstanding (The
Parasprinter is still one of my favorite
tracks), the difficulty is very high, the story was great (by NES standards),
and I really like the between level cinematic scenes. There were so many cool
things they did with the level design as well (the wind in 2-2, the screen
going from light to dark in 3-1, etc). I got this game from my parents for
Christmas and I had never heard of the series before that time. For people who
didn’t know much about video games, they hit that one out of the park. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>7.) Donkey Kong Country 2:
Diddy’s Kong Quest (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E-Pw1Yp8bpk/UbXjLM5kajI/AAAAAAAAAaA/TxS3JoD_DEk/s1600/Donkey+Kong+Country+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E-Pw1Yp8bpk/UbXjLM5kajI/AAAAAAAAAaA/TxS3JoD_DEk/s1600/Donkey+Kong+Country+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This game and the next two were
all very close, and it was tough to separate them. I really enjoyed Donkey Kong
Country, but this game was superior in every way. The additions of Dixie and
her helicopter spin and Squitter the Spider made searching for the bonuses and
DK coins that much more fun. There are a few music tracks that stand out in
Mining Melancholy and Stickerbrush Symphony (which is one of the most soothing
pieces of music I’ve ever heard). I spent hours going through Chain Link
Chamber trying to find one of the bonuses, and when I finally did get it I
wanted to kick myself. Web Woods is one of my favorite levels in any
platformer. There’s also Animal Antics, which would have been a forgettable
level if you didn’t have to try to navigate the brambles as Squawks the Parrot
with the wind changing direction (which would send you into the walls, and your
doom). The first time I played the level I kept dying and probably would have
been really frustrated if the music wasn’t so relaxing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>6.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link
to the Past (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aZ51SoW6Bcg/UbXjJ6FCmAI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/wjq9Xa9S6S4/s1600/A+Link+to+the+Past.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aZ51SoW6Bcg/UbXjJ6FCmAI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/wjq9Xa9S6S4/s1600/A+Link+to+the+Past.jpe" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This game came with my Super
Nintendo, and I figured I’d like it since I liked the original and Zelda 2 so
much, but I didn’t know what I was in for. This game is amazing from start to
finish. It gave Link the ability to jump off of hills, the light and dark
worlds allowed for a lot of interesting little puzzles as far as where to use
the Magic Mirror. I really liked the magic bottle concept too. There was the
waterfall of wishing, the fairy in the Pyramid, the Gold sword, pieces of
heart, and I could go on and on. The orchestral version of the Dark World theme
is an amazing piece of music.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-24292666562052398872013-06-09T11:11:00.000-07:002013-11-16T16:22:32.923-08:00Raiden's Top Games List: 20-11<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>20.) Heavy Rain (Playstation 3)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRAqzhlkcs4/UbTECUTNTTI/AAAAAAAAAY0/MgI8bTmFDbE/s1600/Heavy+Rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRAqzhlkcs4/UbTECUTNTTI/AAAAAAAAAY0/MgI8bTmFDbE/s320/Heavy+Rain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If there was a single game that I
could have made into a movie, it’d be this one. When I first read about it in
Game Informer I was surprised by all of the hype it was being given, and how it
was a genre unlike any other so there was really nothing to accurately compare
it to. As the game neared release I kept reading more about it, and every word
made me want to play it that much more. I ended up preordering it, and it was
worth every penny. There are so many different ways you can go with the story
and your decision making as you switch between four characters trying to track
down the Origami Killer and save Ethan’s son before it’s too late. The story
was amazing and the action sequences were very well done. I’d still love to see
a proper sequel to this one, even though it’s pretty obvious that won’t be
happening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>19.) Metroid Fusion (Gameboy
Advance)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HlxKgUwHxFk/UbTEC01avmI/AAAAAAAAAZM/CJPnUtMU6gM/s1600/Metroid+Fusion.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HlxKgUwHxFk/UbTEC01avmI/AAAAAAAAAZM/CJPnUtMU6gM/s320/Metroid+Fusion.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I waited for such a long time to
see a proper 2d follow up to Super Metroid, and while there was very little
hope in it surpassing Super Metroid, it was still a damn good game. Samus being
given the Metroid vaccine at the start was an interesting touch, and while I
was worried that exploring a space station wasn’t going to be anywhere near as
good as exploring a planet, it turned out to be a pretty similar experience.
While I did miss seeing Kraid (he tends to be one of my favorite boss fights),
they did bring back Ridley which is always good. There was also the
introduction of the SA-X, which was great. The intensity of being chased and
stalked by something you can’t even scratch added a new level of excitement,
especially when you had no way to avoid the battle and had to try to escape. It
reminded me a little bit of Nemesis from Resident Evil 3. Giving Samus a little
more character development was new to the series as well, as was the addition
of Adam since she had to follow orders from someone else, but it was really
just a way to keep people going in the right direction, instead of letting them
go wherever like they did in earlier games in the series.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>18.) Lunar: Silver Star Story
Complete (Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_kOnUkuVnks/UbTECZfxTCI/AAAAAAAAAYs/FKmJr7oAfrs/s1600/Lunar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_kOnUkuVnks/UbTECZfxTCI/AAAAAAAAAYs/FKmJr7oAfrs/s320/Lunar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was another series that I
kept hearing people talk about but never played for myself. I don’t even
remember what made me end up trying it in the first place, but somehow I ended
up with the collector’s edition. I must have watched the Making of Lunar Disc a
dozen times in the early days. Having the anime scenes with real voice acting
was a big change in what I was used to. This game has everything, a good story,
a great cast, funny moments, random cultural references (like the kid who said
he ate his Wheaties). Plus, there’s always MAGIC EMPEROR GHALEON.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>17.) Phoenix Wright: Trials and
Tribulations (DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Y_g_AwPITc/UbTEDGWyQII/AAAAAAAAAZE/ExsZy_6Lchs/s1600/Phoenix+Wright+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Y_g_AwPITc/UbTEDGWyQII/AAAAAAAAAZE/ExsZy_6Lchs/s320/Phoenix+Wright+3.png" width="142" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What a way to finish up an
outstanding trilogy. Usually when the basics stay the same, the third
installment of a game tends to slow down but that wasn’t the case here. They
went back to the Maya-in-peril card in 3-5, but somehow managed to make the
fourth time a charm with regards to that underlying story within the case. Plus there's the comedy (see the picture!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>16.) Megaman X3 (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SAWDFZxc1dY/UbTEClomETI/AAAAAAAAAYw/TI0yYlU-Vwo/s1600/Megaman+X3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SAWDFZxc1dY/UbTEClomETI/AAAAAAAAAYw/TI0yYlU-Vwo/s1600/Megaman+X3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I first read that Zero would
be a playable character I went nuts. I actually found how to get the beam saber
with X on one of my first playthroughs, since I just HAD to use Zero against a
boss. Taking down Sigma’s final form was a lot easier with the beam saber, but
if you did that Zero wasn’t with X at the end of the game, which is
unacceptable. The levels were a lot longer, and they nearly doubled the amount
of hidden stuff you could find with the ride armors and the enhancement chips,
plus the Golden Armor (since the beam saber just wasn’t enough). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>15.) Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>
(NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sSLGlwp2kgs/UbTECPZZX2I/AAAAAAAAAYg/K4SxLm30TDs/s1600/Friday+the+13th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sSLGlwp2kgs/UbTECPZZX2I/AAAAAAAAAYg/K4SxLm30TDs/s320/Friday+the+13th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a very good chance that
I’m the only person alive that likes this game. I was so surprised the first
time I read reviews of it online, since the scores it was being given were
horrible. I can’t remember what issues the other reviewers had with it, but for
me it’s one of my favorites. The music is pretty bland (aside from the
cabin/title theme, which is so awesome that it makes up for everything else),
but the gameplay is great. Each of the six counselors have different abilities
(walking speed, rowing speed, and jumping height), and even though Mark edges
out Crissy overall by his rowing ability, Crissy will always be my favorite. I
have no idea why (other than the fact that I really like her name), but she was
always my go to character dating back to when I first played this game when I
was 7 or 8. For a game released in 1989, there were a lot of extra things you
could do. Yeah, you could just try to take out Jason head on, or you could
light the fireplaces and collect torches (or use the quicktorch method) to hit
Jason really hard. There was the cave, taking down Jason’s mom to get things
like the Sweater and Pitchfork on days 2 and 3, you could explore the forest
and try to find the hidden cabins (I mapped those out when I was younger, how
cool was I?!), and you could have the torch and jump, only to fly right into a
knife and trade the second best weapon in the game in for the second worst
weapon in the game. If I ever have a daughter and she has the nickname Crissy,
this game is what gave me that idea. Who says you have to look in baby books to
find good names for kids anyway? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>14.) Megaman 2 (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1UBsILOPaeM/UbTEDjzonEI/AAAAAAAAAZg/F7Ycpqt1o9Y/s1600/megaman2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1UBsILOPaeM/UbTEDjzonEI/AAAAAAAAAZg/F7Ycpqt1o9Y/s320/megaman2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This game has it all. Amazing
level design, even better music (Wily’s Castle, Flashman, Metalman, Woodman,
Bubbleman), great bosses, and a solid difficulty factor (at least until you’ve
played it several hundred times and everything becomes easy), but how many
people spent that much time playing video games when they were younger? There’s
something about the conclusion of this game that makes it stand out to me as
one of my favorite endings of all, and I wish I knew what it was.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>13.) Final Fantasy X (Playstation
2)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-trEXWyqIkCo/UbTEBxsVF_I/AAAAAAAAAYc/-xWSFZMbzrE/s1600/Final+Fantasy+X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-trEXWyqIkCo/UbTEBxsVF_I/AAAAAAAAAYc/-xWSFZMbzrE/s320/Final+Fantasy+X.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I played this one for about a
half hour and wasn’t having too much fun with it, so I put it down and nearly
forgot about it. About six months later I decided to give it another go since I
like to give a game a decent chance before writing it off, and I’m glad I did.
The good moments (everything but the damn laughing scene) outweigh the bad
moments (the damn laughing scene). I’ll never forget the moment when I was
playing the lightning dodging minigame, where you have to dodge 200 lightning
bolts in a row, and I was at 194. Suddenly, a cat jumps onto my shoulders and
makes me lose focus, and ZAP, back to the beginning. That hurt more than the
claw marks on my back from said cat trying to keep from falling off when she
realized she put a little too much oomph into her leap. To Zanarkand is also
one of the best pieces of music I've ever heard.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>12.) Tales of Symphonia
(Gamecube)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QgRGUoySDK0/UbTEDF7UebI/AAAAAAAAAZI/0lc_aSqT2Z8/s1600/Tales+of+Symphonia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QgRGUoySDK0/UbTEDF7UebI/AAAAAAAAAZI/0lc_aSqT2Z8/s320/Tales+of+Symphonia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was my first entry into the
Tales series. The battle system in this series is outstanding, and it helps to
make things like level grinding a lot more fun. Where most RPGs tend to have a
few good characters and a lot of dull fodder, the cast in this only had one
real miss in my book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>11.) Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last
Reward (3DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5NRzj9Oglk/UbTEDoKCFQI/AAAAAAAAAZU/Gvz2-QxgygM/s1600/Zero+Escape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5NRzj9Oglk/UbTEDoKCFQI/AAAAAAAAAZU/Gvz2-QxgygM/s320/Zero+Escape.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you like visual novels, this
game (and the first entry in the series, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, and while
you’re at it, get Time Hollow, Hotel Dusk, and Trace Memory as well) is an
absolute must. They took the only thing I didn’t like about the first game
(having to keep replaying the puzzle rooms) and gave you the ability to skip
those once you completed them the first time. With all of the different
endings, the characters, and the volume of great plot twists, this one had me
looking forward to the third entry in the series as soon as I finished it.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-28383925538734190902013-06-08T05:29:00.006-07:002013-06-21T20:27:09.772-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 30-21<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>30.) Tetris & Dr. Mario (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xbm23JnN9aM/UbMhaqQhOuI/AAAAAAAAAYM/fnOX9yVPuY4/s1600/Tetris+Dr+Mario.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xbm23JnN9aM/UbMhaqQhOuI/AAAAAAAAAYM/fnOX9yVPuY4/s320/Tetris+Dr+Mario.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do you do when you‘re
making a list of your top 100 games and your two favorite puzzle games are on
the list? You remember that they did a combination cart on SNES and you put
that on there instead so you don’t have to make the decision as to which game
you like better!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>29.) Super Mario RPG (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMd9wJZbUt0/UbMhaZHfurI/AAAAAAAAAX8/2BkiGX1MTq0/s1600/Super+Mario+RPG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMd9wJZbUt0/UbMhaZHfurI/AAAAAAAAAX8/2BkiGX1MTq0/s1600/Super+Mario+RPG.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mario, Bowser, and Princess
Toadstool on the same team, and fighting for a common goal. Of course, I never
used Toadstool (or Mallow), my party was always Mario, Geno, and Bowser. The
timed hits were a new wrinkle compared to the other RPGs I had played at that
point. While I don’t think this game did anything perfectly, it did pretty much
everything very well, and that’s enough to earn it spot number 29 on my list.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>28.) SimCity (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMQ7DJMXdH8/UbMhaANdWYI/AAAAAAAAAXw/uxqrcscC230/s1600/SimCity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMQ7DJMXdH8/UbMhaANdWYI/AAAAAAAAAXw/uxqrcscC230/s1600/SimCity.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I first played SimCity in the
computer lab when I was in sixth grade. It was the original version, very
basic, but I had a lot of fun with it. When a friend of mine rented it on SNES
I knew it was a game I had to play more of. I rented it a few times, but it
wasn’t the same. I looked and looked and looked, calling every store that sold
video games within 20 miles of my house for months, until my dad had a
brilliant idea (he did some city planning type stuff for his job, so I think my
parents were happy with one of my game obsessions for once, since it was a more
educational game than they were used to me playing). They put an ad in the
newspaper (this was long before the internet was a big thing), and we got a
bite. A drive across town, $30 from my bank, and it was mine. A month later
Media Play got a huge shipment, and they had copies in stock for over a year.
There are so many different building strategies to use, and I’ve tried them all
when it comes to reaching the elusive Megalopolis. Unfortunately for me, the
closest I’ve been able to get to that level is 462,000 citizens. One of these
days I will earn the Mario Monument, and I will hear the Megalopolis music, and
I’ll see if the Mayor’s house grows another level after Metropolis. At least I
hope I will.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>27.) Megaman X (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIIQPmBb6Tg/UbMhZs11OVI/AAAAAAAAAXo/nBWB2lUBRiQ/s1600/Megaman+X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIIQPmBb6Tg/UbMhZs11OVI/AAAAAAAAAXo/nBWB2lUBRiQ/s320/Megaman+X.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I first saw this game, I
thought it was Megaman 10, and that confused me. Why would they skip ahead in
the series like that? Then I read the manual and learned that X was a name and
not a roman numeral. The capsules, charging your special weapons, and
characters with actual personalities set this apart from the original series.
Plus, it has Zero. When he first dashed in and saved X at the end up the
highway stage, I said “Holy crap she’s awesome!” Zero’s death was horrible
since I found myself caring more about him than I did X, but after he died I
had no choice. Sigma had to pay for starting the uprising that lead to Zero’s
demise. And pay he did, several hundred times over the past decade, on SNES,
PC, my Ipad, PS2, and PSP. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>26.) Resident Evil 2 (Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQdjpPtmxxY/UbMhZsW5OmI/AAAAAAAAAXk/QdjXsvsGOog/s1600/Resident+Evil+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQdjpPtmxxY/UbMhZsW5OmI/AAAAAAAAAXk/QdjXsvsGOog/s1600/Resident+Evil+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got Resident Evil: Director’s
Cut when it was released just so I could have the playable Resident Evil 2
demo. I played through the first game so many times and couldn’t wait for more
zombie destruction, puzzles, and potentially horrible dialogue with bad voice
acting. While the bad dialogue and voice acting didn’t remain, there were
plenty of puzzles, tyrants, zombies, dogs, weird mutated bosses, and of course,
an exploding lab. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>25.) GI Joe (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnahovOcv8Q/UbMhZFNTA7I/AAAAAAAAAYA/k6jNvX0MQIk/s1600/GI+Joe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnahovOcv8Q/UbMhZFNTA7I/AAAAAAAAAYA/k6jNvX0MQIk/s1600/GI+Joe.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I loved GI Joe’s growing up, so
when I found out they had a Nintendo game I had to play it. Playing as one of
five different Joe’s, each with different weapons and abilities (though
Blizzard was essentially useless), plus you could play as General Hawk in the
last level! There was even a second and third playthrough with increased
difficulty for people who took the time to finish the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>24.) Final Fantasy Tactics
(Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWrTmQde6ys/UbMhY_gKTZI/AAAAAAAAAXU/YBOFgske4XQ/s1600/FFT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWrTmQde6ys/UbMhY_gKTZI/AAAAAAAAAXU/YBOFgske4XQ/s320/FFT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was the first tactical RPG I
ever played, and another genre I didn’t know about until it was released. It
took me a little bit to get the hang of things, but once I did I was hooked. I
still prefer to use my own characters instead of the others the game gives you
(TG Cid, Agrias, Mustadio, etc).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>23.) Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8-Wsyeqy5j8/UbMhYE6AhvI/AAAAAAAAAXE/BJaeRxNHRZI/s1600/Castlevania+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8-Wsyeqy5j8/UbMhYE6AhvI/AAAAAAAAAXE/BJaeRxNHRZI/s1600/Castlevania+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The game that brought us Bloody
Tears, one of my favorite video game tracks. I really liked how open ended this
game was, and how you could choose where you wanted to go. Sure, if you went
the wrong way without the proper items you couldn’t advance, but you were still
able to go where you wanted to. If the internet existed when I first started
playing this one I probably would have looked up where to go next, since there
were so many different places to get lost (kneeling on the cliff with the red
crystal, or at the river with the blue crystal being two of the ones that stand
out).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>22.) Final Fantasy XIII-2
(Playstation 3)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lu0nSmQ79Wk/UbMhY8UoJmI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/CMvqcKUVRWM/s1600/Final+Fantasy+XIII-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lu0nSmQ79Wk/UbMhY8UoJmI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/CMvqcKUVRWM/s320/Final+Fantasy+XIII-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I liked Final Fantasy XIII, but
there were a lot of flaws in the game. It was very, very linear, every time you
did a paradigm shift you had to wait through that little animation, Hope (for
most of the game), but XIII-2 improved on all of that. The story was pretty
iffy, and they fell into the “Time Travel caused it” method of storytelling,
but the gameplay and battle system made up for those shortcomings. While the
ending was heavily foreshadowed, I still found myself a little surprised by it.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>21.) Dragon Warrior 2 (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nj3GRQ6jjA/UbMhY19l7NI/AAAAAAAAAXM/1kutRV89VJo/s1600/Dragon+Warrior+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nj3GRQ6jjA/UbMhY19l7NI/AAAAAAAAAXM/1kutRV89VJo/s1600/Dragon+Warrior+2.png" /></a></div>
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I can’t figure out exactly what
it is that makes me drawn to this game as much as I am. As far as RPGs from
this time go it had a pretty good story, and being able to have three party
members and fighting groups of enemies was a huge step up from Dragon Warrior
when everything was one on one. The world in this game was huge (especially
when compared to the original), and there were so many things to find. Don't worry about the picture, that's not really a dog, it's some kind of enormous tiger-like cat that wants to eat you.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-92121975112539499322013-06-07T08:14:00.000-07:002013-06-21T20:27:03.481-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 40-31<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>40.) Little Ninja Brothers (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KUcv5DRRfRE/UbHxloANXoI/AAAAAAAAAV4/eM1vBkpk1fU/s1600/Little+Ninja+Brothers.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KUcv5DRRfRE/UbHxloANXoI/AAAAAAAAAV4/eM1vBkpk1fU/s1600/Little+Ninja+Brothers.gif" /></a></div>
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One of the first RPGs I ever
played, long before I even knew that RPG was a genre. Random battles weren’t the
same as you’d find in Dragon Warrior/Quest or Final Fantasy either, they were
action scenes! You had to fight the various monsters in a Kung Fu Heroes style
battle screen, and if you killed enough of them you’d get your exp and money. There
were a lot of amusing little puns as well (such as the shop that says “Welcome
to McRonald’s, would you like fries with that?”). I had to resort to ebay to
find this game as well, but it was well worth the wait.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>39.) The Legend of Zelda (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JaTCJFxsXpA/UbHxmo3yUKI/AAAAAAAAAWk/b9ERfLBDhlo/s1600/The+Legend+of+Zelda.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="279" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JaTCJFxsXpA/UbHxmo3yUKI/AAAAAAAAAWk/b9ERfLBDhlo/s320/The+Legend+of+Zelda.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The game that started one of the best series ever. I
still remember opening this at my Grandparents house on Christmas, I was so
excited to get home and play it, since it was mine, and not a copy that the
babysitter or a friend brought over. I could save my own game and not have to
keep replaying the early parts of it over and over again. The hour long car
ride home never seemed longer than it did that day.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>38.) Gauntlet Legends (Arcade)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HeBtgY-KDQM/UbHxlBuxvOI/AAAAAAAAAVo/Ok97jqD2JEE/s1600/Gauntlet+Legends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HeBtgY-KDQM/UbHxlBuxvOI/AAAAAAAAAVo/Ok97jqD2JEE/s1600/Gauntlet+Legends.jpg" /></a></div>
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Red Wizard needs food badly! With
the N64 version, I ended up buying that memory expansion just to be able to
play this with more people. As far as the Arcade version goes, I’ll still drop
a dollar into it when I see it and we’re trying to pass the time. Steve, Espy,
and I must have spent at least $100 each playing this game at Laser Quest the
summer we were members there, but it was a smart financial decision! If you
were able to beat the forest level you got a free game (normally $5), but we
were able to finish the forest level by spending about $3. Good deal in my
book!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>37.) Aerobiz (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n_iaLzA7BR0/UbHxkJuMLSI/AAAAAAAAAVg/suwa3LpHTHo/s1600/Aerobiz.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n_iaLzA7BR0/UbHxkJuMLSI/AAAAAAAAAVg/suwa3LpHTHo/s1600/Aerobiz.jpeg" /></a></div>
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This is a game that I’m guessing
most people haven’t heard of. If it wasn’t for a friend of mine in elementary
school I wouldn’t know it existed either. You manage an airline and have to buy
planes, open routes, and link all of the major cities in the world. Becoming
the number one airline shouldn’t be that much fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>36.) Twisted Metal 2
(Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jhxwg7A9tA4/UbHxmyF84yI/AAAAAAAAAWo/d3IAJY_FazA/s1600/Twisted+Metal+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jhxwg7A9tA4/UbHxmyF84yI/AAAAAAAAAWo/d3IAJY_FazA/s320/Twisted+Metal+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I’ve played almost all of the
entries in the Twisted Metal series, but none of them can even begin to compare
to this one in my book. The levels were great, the controls were excellent,
there were so many different cars to play as (though Grasshopper and Hammerhead
were pretty much useless, they made for a great challenge). The different ways
Calypso would generally end up screwing over the drivers in the end were also
very entertaining.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>35.) Super Mario World (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qh_KAX2ZO1s/UbHxmVmwedI/AAAAAAAAAWc/LMwnscDsvTE/s1600/Super+Mario+World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qh_KAX2ZO1s/UbHxmVmwedI/AAAAAAAAAWc/LMwnscDsvTE/s320/Super+Mario+World.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The first time I played this game
at Ben’s, I knew I had to get a SNES at some point. It wasn’t the same
straightforward Mario game we were used to at that point. There were all sorts
of secrets, keys, second exits to ghost houses, branching paths to get across
the world, star road, the special zone, etc. It also introduced Yoshi, who
added an extra element to the game. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>34.) Parasite Eve (Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4zPT6sdzYck/UbHxl3UOyEI/AAAAAAAAAWE/esDL25WY4rE/s1600/Parasite+Eve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4zPT6sdzYck/UbHxl3UOyEI/AAAAAAAAAWE/esDL25WY4rE/s320/Parasite+Eve.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A RPG where you can freely run
around while in battle? Sign me up! This game made me interested in science
class for the first time in my life, when we were learning about mitochondria.
Even though I knew they didn’t cause people to spontaneously combust, I still
wanted to hear the teacher start referencing them in the same way they were
discussed in the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>33.) Contra (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3dORYwu997g/UbHxlJZop7I/AAAAAAAAAVs/wVdQtJf5RNc/s1600/Contra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3dORYwu997g/UbHxlJZop7I/AAAAAAAAAVs/wVdQtJf5RNc/s320/Contra.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I was younger I would only
play this game after using the famous Konami Code since I thought there was no
possible way to finish the game without it. Then the day came where I entered
the code and didn’t realize until the end credits that I went through the
entire thing without dying. I haven’t used the Konami code since.</div>
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<b>32.) Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wTZ-6HuKY_I/UbHxlHhUmyI/AAAAAAAAAVw/ZOAbm9qgSmY/s1600/Hotel+Dusk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wTZ-6HuKY_I/UbHxlHhUmyI/AAAAAAAAAVw/ZOAbm9qgSmY/s320/Hotel+Dusk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I played through and really
enjoyed Trace Memory, so when I heard Cing was making another similar game I
couldn’t wait to play it. Hotel Dusk was
worth the wait. The art style and character sketches were something I wasn’t
used to seeing but fit the atmosphere perfectly. The cast was great (Kyle is
still a favorite of mine), and the story was excellent. Seeing how all the smaller pieces combined to
complete the bigger puzzle was a great experience, and while the magic was
slightly diminished in future playthroughs, it’s still fun to relive again and
again. Well, not all of it. I still can’t get the hang of that bowling mini
game. Dunning would be pretty upset if he saw how many dents I put in his
walls.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>31.) Super Robot Taisen: Original
Generation 2 (Gameboy Advance)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-opSTas4OGXk/UbHxmBb0GdI/AAAAAAAAAWU/6oM-bU_nyPc/s1600/SRT2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-opSTas4OGXk/UbHxmBb0GdI/AAAAAAAAAWU/6oM-bU_nyPc/s200/SRT2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VUhtEhMP4PM/UbHxmDEp6-I/AAAAAAAAAWM/7zm1xywUF0k/s1600/SRT2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VUhtEhMP4PM/UbHxmDEp6-I/AAAAAAAAAWM/7zm1xywUF0k/s200/SRT2-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Tip of the hat to Restless for
introducing me to this series. The gameplay in this series is pretty much the
same as Fire Emblem, only there’s no permadeath and the units are giant robots.
What really sets this game apart in my eyes though, is the cast. There aren’t
many games that I can think of that have a better group of characters. The game
doesn’t TROMBE INTURRUPT take itself too seriously (Episode 30?!, Mystery
Gourmet?, etc). I found myself rooting for the characters to succeed, not just
because I wanted to complete the game, but because I wanted to see them
overcome the odds. This game also has one of the saddest moments I’ve
encountered in a game (end of disc 1 has nothing on this), but I don’t want to
say anything more. </div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-68034808939338834522013-06-06T07:41:00.000-07:002013-06-21T20:26:43.357-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 50-41<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>50.) Metroid Prime (Gamecube) </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2hjYnuk4TSo/UbCe16BkrQI/AAAAAAAAAUs/PVVv1rGyKPw/s1600/Metroid+Prime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2hjYnuk4TSo/UbCe16BkrQI/AAAAAAAAAUs/PVVv1rGyKPw/s1600/Metroid+Prime.jpg" /></a></div>
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When I first heard that Metroid
was going to be getting a fully 3d installment, I was very excited. I wasn’t
fond of the movement of all of the series I loved growing up turning 3d
(Castlevania 64 anyone?), but I figured that if any series belonged in 3d, it
was Metroid. It probably didn’t hurt that that there was an eight year dry
spell for the series, but they already had me hopelessly hooked after the
original and Super Metroid. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Exploring the
beautiful world of Tallon IV with the backing of an excellent soundtrack that
enhanced the atmosphere, great first person combat, fun and creative boss
battles, the attention to minor details (such as the condensation on Samus’
visor in really hot areas) made for a wonderful experience. I never get tired
of the music in the Phendrana Drifts, it fits the area perfectly.</div>
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<b>49.) Age of Mythology (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c1Pfz7N6M6I/UbCe2nJN_yI/AAAAAAAAAVA/fMOy1P59i50/s1600/age-of-mythology-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c1Pfz7N6M6I/UbCe2nJN_yI/AAAAAAAAAVA/fMOy1P59i50/s320/age-of-mythology-20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After playing Age of Empires 2, I
thought that there was never going to be another RTS that I would like more.
Then I played Age of Mythology and was blown away. The two games are very
similar at the basic level, but the depth and variation added by the God
Powers, and an excellent campaign mode (and expansion mode) caused me to change
that thought process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>48.) Sentinel 3 (iOS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIBUc8LRL8E/UbCe2-PwP1I/AAAAAAAAAVE/HPqTYp2yY4M/s1600/Sentinel+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIBUc8LRL8E/UbCe2-PwP1I/AAAAAAAAAVE/HPqTYp2yY4M/s320/Sentinel+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had been hearing people talk
about playing this new genre called “Tower Defense” and I thought it sounded
interesting, but I had no idea where to look to try one out. When I got my ipad
I decided to search for Tower Defense games and I found a game called Sentinel
3 on sale. The timing of that would ruin all other Tower Defense games I’ve
played since (aside from maybe the upcoming Sentinel 4!). I was hooked before
the first level was done. Once you buy the game (pretty cheap, given the size
and depth of it), you don’t have to spend any additional money on it to
advance, unlike so many others I’ve played since. As this was my first Tower
Defense game, I still compare all of the others to it, and none of them have
even come close. If you like Tower Defense, this game is a must!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>47.) Bubble Bobble (NES) </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nllBctFIk1o/UbCez191zvI/AAAAAAAAAUI/5K9D2NUH4lo/s1600/Bubble+Bobble.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nllBctFIk1o/UbCez191zvI/AAAAAAAAAUI/5K9D2NUH4lo/s320/Bubble+Bobble.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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At a time when violence in video
games was out of control (Games like Contra , you SHOOT ALIENS WITH GUNS. THINK
OF THE CHILDREN), a family friendly game came to the rescue. To defeat enemies,
you trapped them in a bubble and popped it. Once popped, they turned into food.
There were a bunch of various items and power-ups that you could get, and it
was the first game I could remember with branching endings. Once you played
through the main game and finished it you could advance to Super Bubble Bobble
(aka the same levels, only with different enemies.) None of them were as
difficult as level 57 on the initial mode, but still, it made for a very long
game. My sister and a friend of hers actually went through the game and wrote
down the passwords for every level and named it “Bub and Bob’s Password Pages”
(this was long before the internet), and I still have that on my bookshelf
today. This past Christmas when my brother was here, he mentioned that he found
a way to beat the end boss (we never knew his name so we just called him Mr.
Bubble) in about a minute and a half, which was huge. The battle normally took
us about 5 minutes, so I was naturally skeptical, but he proved it right there.
It’s always nice to learn new things about a game you’ve been playing for over
20 years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>46.) Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
(Wii)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EgtwScgVuU0/UbCe1mFUldI/AAAAAAAAAUo/_lCra0xL-Kc/s1600/Fire+Emblem+Radiant+Dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EgtwScgVuU0/UbCe1mFUldI/AAAAAAAAAUo/_lCra0xL-Kc/s320/Fire+Emblem+Radiant+Dawn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was the second Fire Emblem
game I played, and it didn’t disappoint. The gameplay didn’t really change from
the Sacred Stones, but it had a much better cast and a better story. It
probably would have been better if I had played Path of Radiance first on
Gamecube, but I had no idea there was a prequel of sorts until it was too late.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>45.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(Arcade)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lzNDNJWzdCc/UbCe2hjFSLI/AAAAAAAAAVI/qPIkS-Xj018/s1600/arcade_TMNT_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lzNDNJWzdCc/UbCe2hjFSLI/AAAAAAAAAVI/qPIkS-Xj018/s320/arcade_TMNT_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even though the NES port had two
additional levels, I still liked the Arcade game a lot more. I ended up buying
Battle Nexus 2 for Playstation 2 just so I could unlock this game and play it
again. Yes, I own the NES version, but it’s just not the same. When we went to
Florida when I was eight they had a little arcade building by the outdoor pool,
and two older kids had broken open the coin collector for this game. They
weren’t stealing the money though, they were grabbing handfuls of quarters and
putting them into the game so they could play as long as they wanted to.
Playing longer was worth more than getting away with at least $20 in quarters,
that’s how much fun this game was.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>44.) Aquaria (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wtd6CD7LZjE/UbCe1YXoCtI/AAAAAAAAAUg/gmit4kwNtiY/s1600/Aquaria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wtd6CD7LZjE/UbCe1YXoCtI/AAAAAAAAAUg/gmit4kwNtiY/s320/Aquaria.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prior to playing this game, I
didn’t know that there were indie game developers (ignorant, I know). It looks
and plays better than a lot of big budget games. Aquaria is big on exploration,
kind of like Metroidvania, but it’s underwater. The voice acting is excellent,
the world is vivid and very large, the music, like Metroid Prime, fits
perfectly. The story starts off in kind of a Myst like manner, where you’re
alone and have no idea what’s going on, but it ramps up as you go. Aquaria is
available on Steam, from Bitblot’s site,
or on the iOS App Store for Ipad. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>43.) FEAR (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfE1eP6Tecw/UbCez4c6rDI/AAAAAAAAAUM/XxGJDTncusw/s1600/FEAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfE1eP6Tecw/UbCez4c6rDI/AAAAAAAAAUM/XxGJDTncusw/s320/FEAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I normally don’t play FPS’ for
their single player modes, I play them for deathmatches. A very exciting single
player campaign was surpassed only by how creepy Alma was. As soon as I
realized this game was going to have some scare moments, I had to wait to play
it in the dark to enhance the atmosphere. It worked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>42.) Megaman X4 (Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RPa9SyoShs/UbCe1tYBe4I/AAAAAAAAAUw/9YQRpq03s48/s1600/Megaman+X4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RPa9SyoShs/UbCe1tYBe4I/AAAAAAAAAUw/9YQRpq03s48/s1600/Megaman+X4.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, the ability to play the
entire game as Zero! Yeah, it may be hard mode vs. X’s easy mode, but it’s
ZERO. The voiceacting was terrible (What am I fighting fooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
*gag*), but the gameplay was excellent. The anime scenes were a nice addition
as well, and I really enjoyed the scene where Sigma and Zero fought for the
first time when Zero was a Maverick and Sigma was the leader of the Maverick
Hunters. Reaper Sigma ended up being the character basis for Darius in the
Twisted Universe (for you IRCers out there).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>41.) Kickle Cubicle (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JMeDpXviEKM/UbCe0g1GbXI/AAAAAAAAAUY/krAyQiwMf0U/s1600/Kickle+Cubicle.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JMeDpXviEKM/UbCe0g1GbXI/AAAAAAAAAUY/krAyQiwMf0U/s1600/Kickle+Cubicle.gif" /></a></div>
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This was one of the first games I
went for on ebay, since I could never find a copy of it in any of the used game
stores around here. It’s kind of like a combination action/puzzle game. You
have to turn enemies into ice blocks to make paths across the water to collect
3 magic bags (or something like that). There were a lot of levels, some of them
very confusing to a young me when I rented it, but that didn’t matter since the
game is that much fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-6302639246029982622013-06-05T06:52:00.002-07:002013-06-21T20:26:35.056-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 60-51<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>60.) Zombies Ate My Neighbors
(SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wFTDBiOR5AQ/Ua9BVRwdN9I/AAAAAAAAAT0/swenlQ-WKkw/s1600/Zombies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wFTDBiOR5AQ/Ua9BVRwdN9I/AAAAAAAAAT0/swenlQ-WKkw/s320/Zombies.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This game is fun in single
player, but it really shines in multiplayer. You have to divide up the weapons so
you can both survive while trying to rescue the neighbors from the monster
hordes. While doing that, you also have to try to avoid accidentally killing
your partner. Of course, some of the real fun in the game is trying to find new
and creative ways to get the other player killed. Jeremy and I never made it
that far in multiplayer mode because we would quickly degenerate into trying to
kill each other, and it was always funny. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>59.) Phoenix Wright: And Justice
For All (DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Qqb81wku4Y/Ua9BUYRK5cI/AAAAAAAAATM/SG83_5QWGis/s1600/Phoenix+Wright+JFA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Qqb81wku4Y/Ua9BUYRK5cI/AAAAAAAAATM/SG83_5QWGis/s320/Phoenix+Wright+JFA.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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While there were only four cases
in this game, the last three were all excellent (and to be fair, the opening
case is more of an introduction, so they’re never very complex) so that made up
for the lack of a fifth case. I still
remember having to pick my jaw off of the floor at the end of case 2-2, and
then again at the end of case 2-4. The cast, the twists, the puns, the jokes,
Maya being Maya, everything combines into a wonderful experience. Now that the
HD Trilogy has been released on iOS, I never have to leave home without Phoenix
and company.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>58.) Command and Conquer: Red
Alert 2 (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-68aKFh3In1g/Ua9BUzW_0DI/AAAAAAAAATc/GbCq_cdgJ9w/s1600/Red+Alert+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-68aKFh3In1g/Ua9BUzW_0DI/AAAAAAAAATc/GbCq_cdgJ9w/s320/Red+Alert+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I’ve played all of the early
Command and Conquer games, but this one really stands out. An interesting
alternate timeline story, balanced teams, and who could forget Espy’s “Miss
Cleo” strategy. I still can’t figure out which side I like to play as more,
since they both have so many fun units to choose from.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>57.) Gemfire (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNfraAj5HFA/Ua9BS4QwbBI/AAAAAAAAAS0/VpeoFcBNUvU/s1600/Gemfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNfraAj5HFA/Ua9BS4QwbBI/AAAAAAAAAS0/VpeoFcBNUvU/s1600/Gemfire.jpg" /></a></div>
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I had no idea this game existed
until my brother rented it. It’s kind of like a cross between a Dynasty
Warriors Empires game and a RTS. You grow food for your troops, build an army,
and have access to special units that can help take down the opposition. I know
I’m not doing it justice with my horrid explanation of it here, but don’t let
my inability to explain it scare you off. This is an excellent game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>56.) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
(DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhDRFa1INF8/Ua9BS2fgC7I/AAAAAAAAASw/DcNijjpv2Jo/s1600/Dawn+of+Sorrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhDRFa1INF8/Ua9BS2fgC7I/AAAAAAAAASw/DcNijjpv2Jo/s320/Dawn+of+Sorrow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next up is another outstanding
platformer in the Castlevania series. I really enjoyed gathering up enemy souls
for my own use (my favorite is still Persephone, at least I think that’s what
it was called). It’s basically a vacuum that sucks up enemies and restores your
HP. Not really effective, but it looks hilarious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>55.) Megaman 3 (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfkQnCFUR2s/Ua9BVWL-4BI/AAAAAAAAATs/h5XUHDvq0ew/s1600/mega_man_3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfkQnCFUR2s/Ua9BVWL-4BI/AAAAAAAAATs/h5XUHDvq0ew/s1600/mega_man_3.gif" /></a></div>
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Capcom did an excellent job
expanding the game with this entry. After defeating the first eight robot
masters, you have to replay four of their levels and take down the robot
masters from Megaman 2. Once that’s done you can enter Dr. Wily’s Fortress. An
excellent soundtrack, the addition of Rush and sliding, some cool weapons
(Shadow Blade, Search Snake), but also some not so cool weapons (Top Spin?
Really? Come on Capcom, you can do better than that!).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>54.) Age of Empires 2 (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8vqLlGvL8GQ/Ua9BT-M4uWI/AAAAAAAAATE/XaT_dltsWnA/s1600/Age_of_Empires_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8vqLlGvL8GQ/Ua9BT-M4uWI/AAAAAAAAATE/XaT_dltsWnA/s320/Age_of_Empires_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I’ve only played through the
single player campaign once. Whenever I play it, I end up firing up a random custom
scenario instead. The Conquerors Expansion was worth the buy for me for the
sole reason of being able to queue up farm rebuilds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>53.) Sonic the Hedgehog 3
(Genesis)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1i1jOYLTkY4/Ua9BU1B9TSI/AAAAAAAAATg/fV8oZ7YWb1w/s1600/Sonic+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1i1jOYLTkY4/Ua9BU1B9TSI/AAAAAAAAATg/fV8oZ7YWb1w/s320/Sonic+3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Easily my favorite game in the
Sonic series. The minigames to collect the Chaos Emeralds were amusing, and
being able to get Super Sonic was another big plus. Of course, I’d occasionally
find myself jumping into pits due to Super Sonic’s greatly increased speed, but
at least the failure was funny.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>52.) Megaman X2 (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t_TjCdErvKw/Ua9BUEKSFeI/AAAAAAAAATA/9E-qKPzuEyw/s1600/Megaman+X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t_TjCdErvKw/Ua9BUEKSFeI/AAAAAAAAATA/9E-qKPzuEyw/s1600/Megaman+X2.jpg" /></a></div>
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When Ben first rented this game
and called me over, we got into a huge debate over whether or not Zero was
coming back. I said no, because the ending of Megaman X said that “Those who
sacrificed themselves for the victory will never return,” and I believed them.
He also insisted that when you entered a password correctly, Zero would pop up
in all of the boxes and give a thumbs up. I said that w<span style="text-align: center;">ould be pointless since
Zero was dead and never coming back, so it had to be X in his fully upgraded
armor, which is why he his helmet had red on it. Thankfully, Capcom lied and I
was so very wrong. The main focus of the story was getting Zero’s parts back
from the X-Hunters so he could save your ass before the final battle with
Sigma. In this case ignorance was bliss, and I was absolutely giddy.</span></div>
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<b>51.) Little Nemo the Dream Master
(NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAR4I4wS7g4/Ua9BUHplBmI/AAAAAAAAATU/K3aOOkgD_NM/s1600/Little+Nemo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAR4I4wS7g4/Ua9BUHplBmI/AAAAAAAAATU/K3aOOkgD_NM/s320/Little+Nemo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had no idea this game was based
off of an old comic strip when I first played it, but I’d still like to read
that comic. I used to have so many problems with the House of Toys. When I
finally beat that level I managed to squeak by the Night Sea, and then it was
onto Nemo’s House. I hated that level. If you died at the end you’d have to do
the whole thing over again, since specific animals were needed to advance, and
I was very impatient. After that, Cloud Ruins trolls the hell out of you by
putting all of the keys at the end of the level. It was great to see, but I
wish I had known that ahead of time. Then there’s Nightmare land. The first
time I saw that level I was at a friend’s house alternating levels with him and
his brother, and when we read that keys weren’t needed anymore we all cheered.
When we read that we got the Royal Scepter, we cheered again. When we quickly
died on the boss of the second area of Nightmare Land, we stopped cheering.
It’s hard to be frustrated with Nightmare Land though, the music there is so
awesome (if you like video game cover music, check out the medley by
Descendants of Erdrick.)<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-28184294788882505262013-06-04T07:10:00.000-07:002013-06-21T20:26:26.893-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 70-61<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Due to popular demand, I've added pictures (or at least attempted to add pictures) to the updates!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xBiVywd666M/Ua3z_dktKsI/AAAAAAAAARY/0TewZTKf_Cs/s1600/Warcraft+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xBiVywd666M/Ua3z_dktKsI/AAAAAAAAARY/0TewZTKf_Cs/s320/Warcraft+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>70.) Warcraft 2 (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The first RTS game I played.
Before this I had no idea that was even a genre. I saw a friend playing it as
the orcs and was so confused when I saw Pig farms.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xd1LF6P28rE/Ua30Il29qCI/AAAAAAAAARg/UydCAOT1GUs/s1600/Maniac+Mansion.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xd1LF6P28rE/Ua30Il29qCI/AAAAAAAAARg/UydCAOT1GUs/s320/Maniac+Mansion.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>69.) Maniac Mansion (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I found this game at a local
used game store, I grabbed it off the shelf right away. It was hard enough to
find a copy to rent when I was younger. I laughed the first time I accidently
drowned one of my party members by having them in the pool when it was filled.
I was only able to figure out how to finish the game with Bernard in the party.
I still haven’t figured out if Dave has any real use.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7MdEFYQ1RE4/Ua30JPpbFHI/AAAAAAAAARo/rc4vhMu0_VQ/s1600/Pok%C3%A9mon_FireRed_first_battle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7MdEFYQ1RE4/Ua30JPpbFHI/AAAAAAAAARo/rc4vhMu0_VQ/s1600/Pok%C3%A9mon_FireRed_first_battle.png" /></a></div>
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<b>68.) Pokemon Firered/Leafgreen
(Gameboy Advance)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could have put Red/Blue on
here, but after my Red cart deleted my game with all 150, including six
Mewtwo’s that I had traded over from Blue playthroughs, it had no chance. Gen 1
is easily my favorite of the Pokemon series, and with the nostalgia factor I’d
be surprised if any future gen surpassed it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gVGChM2kek8/Ua30IjfZqcI/AAAAAAAAARk/WLikYJt_vOk/s1600/Chrono+Trigger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gVGChM2kek8/Ua30IjfZqcI/AAAAAAAAARk/WLikYJt_vOk/s320/Chrono+Trigger.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>67.) Chrono Trigger (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I really don’t know what to say
about this game that hasn’t already been said. One of the best games ever
created. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qA9-NMNZDdo/Ua30JCVNQvI/AAAAAAAAARw/9KrcEgOfvqc/s1600/Diablo+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qA9-NMNZDdo/Ua30JCVNQvI/AAAAAAAAARw/9KrcEgOfvqc/s320/Diablo+2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>66.) Diablo 2 (PC)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had fun playing Diablo and when
my roommate Sophomore year of college started playing Diablo 2 I decided to
give it a shot. We ended up spending hours on the game, farming the Secret Cow
Level and doing Meph runs over and over again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1WT0KDEc6u4/Ua30KM4l8JI/AAAAAAAAASU/D_NwVOfVHjE/s1600/Uplink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1WT0KDEc6u4/Ua30KM4l8JI/AAAAAAAAASU/D_NwVOfVHjE/s320/Uplink.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>65.) Uplink (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same roommate that introduced
me to Diablo 2 introduced me to Uplink during Freshman year. It’s a fun little
hacking sim with branching story paths. I used to take money from really loaded
bank accounts in game rather than earning money the proper way, but what can
you do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gG4qbwhAFZo/Ua30JQ6sJWI/AAAAAAAAAR8/Lep-_UVkRZ8/s1600/Resident+Evil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gG4qbwhAFZo/Ua30JQ6sJWI/AAAAAAAAAR8/Lep-_UVkRZ8/s320/Resident+Evil.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>64.) Resident Evil (Gamecube)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An already excellent game
upgraded in so many ways. The addition of extra areas, the crimson heads, new
puzzles, this is what a remake (or upgrade) should be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-psh44llDyr4/Ua30JlRhQ2I/AAAAAAAAASE/SZqqUyLMqO4/s1600/Skitchin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-psh44llDyr4/Ua30JlRhQ2I/AAAAAAAAASE/SZqqUyLMqO4/s320/Skitchin.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>63.) Skitchin (Genesis)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m generally not very big on
racing games and I’m not positive that this even falls into the racing
category, but regardless of the genre this game is a lot of fun. Roller blade
races, grabbing onto the back of cars, and beating your opponents with whatever
you can find to stay ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AMfuyrvb2rU/Ua30KEF0yZI/AAAAAAAAASY/LtSJeSnIkFc/s1600/Wizards_&_Warriors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AMfuyrvb2rU/Ua30KEF0yZI/AAAAAAAAASY/LtSJeSnIkFc/s1600/Wizards_&_Warriors.png" /></a></div>
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<b>62.) Wizards and Warriors (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This game had me hooked as soon
as I heard the title theme, and it delivers right up until the end. I also
learned what “Indestructible” meant from reading the game manual in second or
third grade. Fun and educational!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lD4wRhsSXQY/Ua30Jk4ykrI/AAAAAAAAASM/ROssZLc8wLc/s1600/The+Addams+Family.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lD4wRhsSXQY/Ua30Jk4ykrI/AAAAAAAAASM/ROssZLc8wLc/s1600/The+Addams+Family.png" /></a></div>
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<b>61.) The Addams Family (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gomez has to rescue the rest of
the family while collecting a bunch of money! I had so many issues with this
game when I was younger, but when I replayed it a few years ago it was a lot
easier. There’s still that one door right inside the house that I haven’t been
able to open.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-65787402409720807212013-06-03T05:48:00.000-07:002013-06-21T20:26:18.920-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 80-71<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>80.) Dragon Age 2 (Playstation 3)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dragon Age, one of the few
“modern” RPGs that I can tolerate. While I liked the cast of Dragon Age 2 a lot
more than I liked the cast in the original, the skill trees and battle system
didn’t live up to the first game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>79.) Captain Comic (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Good old DOS. We had a bunch of
games on our old 386, and between playing Wheel of Fortune, Paperboy, and Super
Munchers I came across a game labeled as “Comic” on the start screen. Being 12
and a genius, I decided to play it, thinking I would be reading a comic strip.
While the game I found wasn’t as good as Calvin and Hobbes, it ended up taking
away hours of my life. If only our install wasn’t broken and didn’t crash the
game near the end.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>78.) The Simpsons (Arcade)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we would take the car ferry
across Lake Michigan for the summer camping trips, I would go into the arcade
and spend around $20-$30 between this game and Final Fight. It helped a hyperactive kid survive four hour
boat rides.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>77.) Worms 2 (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Out of all of the games I’ve ever
played, this one brings back some of the fondest memories. Sitting with Ben and
Chris in the computer room at Ben’s house, perfecting the use of the Ninja Rope
to bypass obstacles and poke someone else’s worm into the water. Of course, we
would sometimes switch it up to the baseball bat for a change of pace. There
was the Super Sheep for long range destruction, sending the old woman after the
opposition, and the classics like Mike’s Carpet Bomb, Concrete Donkey, Super
Banana Bomb, Holy Hand Grenade, Mad Cow, and the Confused Sheep Strike. There was a period of time where I used the Angry Scots voice shouting "YOU ARSE!" whenever I'd get a message on AIM, so I'm pretty sure my family hated this game because of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>76.) Basewars (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Baseball with robots. Instead of
being tagged out on the basepaths, the two robots fight. If the runner wins
they’re not out and can continue along. Every robot had HP, and if it drops to
zero, BOOM. You would get money for winning, which you could use to repair
damaged players (HP doesn’t regenerate post game), or you could buy weapons to
use in fights, or other enhancements to make your players hit the ball harder,
or give them more HP, etc. My favorite was always Cyborg Osbourne. No idea why.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>75.) Super Smash Brothers Brawl
(Wii)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Between this game and Melee, I’ve
probably spent about 100 hours on the series. No matter how much time I play
it, I’m still terrible. My wife loves to play as Yoshi, and the noise he makes
when jumping makes me cringe every time. And yes, she beats me most of the time
when we play. And no, I’m not letting her win.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>74.) The Raiden Project
(Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the game I stole my
online name from. It was summer and we were camping at Wolf River. It was about
100 degrees and the only place that we wouldn’t melt was the air conditioned
arcade. Jeremy and I were looking for interesting games to play and we came
across Raiden. The rest is history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>73.) Lemmings (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I had never heard of a lemming
before I ran into this game. I secretly wanted a lemming as a pet when I was
younger after I got into this game. Thankfully I wasn’t stupid enough to assume that lemmings were
naturally green and blue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>72.) Super Mario Brothers (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Everybody knows this game (or at
least should). My wife wanted to play two players when she first found out I
had it, and I lucked out and managed to get through the game without dying
(normally I have a few issues with those hammer brothers in 8-3) and she still
doesn’t believe that it was dumb luck.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>71.) Castlevania: Lament of
Innocence (Playstation 2)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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The only thing I’d change about
this game is to give it a proper level system like Symphony of the Night had.
Great control, excellent combat, everything I had hoped for when I first heard
about it.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-19502579221617778842013-06-02T14:18:00.001-07:002013-06-21T20:26:08.082-07:00Raiden's Top Games List: 90-81<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>90.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I was so proud of myself the
first time I finished the dam. I was so disappointed in myself when I quickly
died on the third level. I was once again proud when I finally beat the third level,
and rolled through the fourth. To this day
I am still disappointed in myself because I’ve never got by the
Technodrome. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>89.) Fire Emblem: The Sacred
Stones (Gameboy Advance)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t remember what caused me
to get this game in the first place, since I had never heard of Fire Emblem
prior to it, but I was quickly hooked. The permanent character death made me
overanalyze every move because I didn’t want to lose a single character.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>88.) Pokemon Emerald (Gameboy
Advance)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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When Gen 3 was released, I despised
Pokemon. After running an RPG with over 60 active members back when it first
hit, and playing through Pokemon Red about 100 times, I was completely burnt
out. It reached the point I wrote an IRC script that would kick a user out of
the room if they mentioned anything about Pokemon. I skipped Gen 2, and had no
intention of playing Gen 3 until I saw Groudon on the cover of Ruby. For some
unknown reason it really spoke to college aged me and I decided to give it
another try. To this day Gen 3 remains my second favorite of the series.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>87.) Final Fantasy Legend 3
(Gameboy)</b></div>
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As I type this, my cart of the
game is sitting a few feet to my left. I went into the game with low
expectations when I first played it, but it quickly became one of my go to
games on family trips. Every summer when we would go camping in Michigan I’d
start up a fresh game and see how far I could go before we got home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>86.) Gremlins 2 (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t care what anybody says,
Gizmo is adorable. Throwing tomatoes, matches, and paperclips and falling into
pits after missing a jump. Also, the Electric Gremlin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>85.) Chip’s Challenge (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I bought a copy of Windows
Entertainment Pack 4 just to play this game, and will still bust it out from
time to time if I have a few minutes to kill. Great puzzles, great music, and
of course, Bummer!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>84.) Wing Commander IV: The Price
of Freedom (PC)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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As soon as my parents got a
Windows PC, I had to go buy this game. I was introduced to it by my friend
Chris (RIP buddy) and was hooked on the series from the first time I saw it.
Spaceflight combat at its finest, a great story, and movies between missions.
This series was truly ahead of its time. To this day, the first thing I do to
break in a new PC is play through this game. The fan base for this game still
exists, as someone went and made a DVD quality movie patch. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>83.) Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires
(Playstation 2)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I was so into the Dynasty
Warriors series that I purchased the Three Kingdoms books to read the entire
story. Just when I started to get tired of the repetitive gameplay I found
Empires and that added a new dimension that helped keep things fresh.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>82.) Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve still only managed to take
down Tyson once in my life. Probably didn’t help that I couldn’t beat Soda
Popinski until I was about 12. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>81.) Snake Rattle N Roll (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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I was introduced to this game by
my uncle, and as soon as I played it I knew I had to buy it. I won $20 at a
Little League banquet and was at Toys R Us the next day to pick up my real
prize. Eating Nibbly Pibblies (at least I think that’s what they were called)
to increase your weight, avoiding the jumping foot that would squash your face,
and the fish tail, all a lot of fun. I think I’m going to have to play this one
again soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-744158609367094310.post-16551145504693767992013-06-01T16:26:00.003-07:002013-06-21T20:25:52.801-07:00Raiden's Top 100 Games: 100 - 91<div class="MsoNormal">
A few notes before I begin. The
console listed with the game is whatever console or device I preferred to play
the game on, since a lot of these games are on multiple consoles/devices. Each
entry will have a writeup with it (could be one sentence, could be paragraphs,
really depends on the game and how lazy I'm feeling at the time), and possibly
a pointess story or memory regarding the game. This list is my personal opinion
and is not fact. If your favorite game isn't on the list, or isn't placed where
you think it should be, try not to be too offended.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>100.) Pacman Versus (Gamecube) </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Four players, one is Pacman, the
other three are ghosts. What more do I need to say?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>99.) Columns (Game Gear)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve enjoyed puzzle games ever
since Becca introduced me to Tetris when I was five or six, and Columns is one
of my favorites. A lot of batteries died to that game and my Game Gear (since
that thing ate batteries) on car trips to the Grandparents when I was younger.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>98.) Home Alone (NES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s something amusing about
running around the house like an idiot for 20 minutes while trying to avoid
Harry and Marv. How a spider can knock them unconscious for so long is beyond
me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>97.) Final Fight (Arcade)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The reason I picked Arcade over SNES?
You could play as Guy, and Guy is awesome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>96.) Final Fantasy VII
(Playstation)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I loved the Materia system, but I
wasn’t very fond of the cast, and I personally think that Sephiroth is a
terrible excuse for a villain. Despite that, I played the hell out of this game
and still have a file with everything possible on one of my old memory cards. I
even printed out an entire walkthrough (over 100 pages, surprised I didn’t get
in trouble for that) to reference if I got stuck.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>95.) Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
(DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I love the Metroidvania style.
The added dynamic of switching between Charlotte and Jonathan helped give the
game a little extra replay value as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>94.) Plague Inc. (iOS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s something fun about
picking a virus type and trying to wipe out everybody on the planet. The zombie
mode is my favorite.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>93.) Dragon Quest V (DS)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I frequently heard this game
referenced on places like board 8, and always wondered what the fuss was about.
When it was released on DS I ended up pre-ordering it and it did not
disappoint.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>92.) Katamari Damacy (Playstation
2)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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First things first. The people
that created this game had to be on some type of drugs. Regardless, it’s still
a lot of fun to roll up everything, even if the King of All Cosmos is just
going to get drunk and destroy it again.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>91.) Super Bomberman (SNES)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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This game was responsible for me
buying the Four player multitap and extra controllers. It was also responsible
for a lot of yelling coming from the basement at my parents' house when I’d
have friends over and we’d pick the Speed Zone.</div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272304765772798029noreply@blogger.com2