The Last of Us

Just 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.

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.

The Adoption Lottery

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.

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.

Adoption Update

I get asked frequently about how the adoption is going and today had a lot of action on that front, so here goes.

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.

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.

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.)

Raiden's Top Games, Full List (Without writeups)

As requested, here is the full list (Updated January 8, 2014) 102. Pacman Versus (Gamecube)

101. Columns (Game Gear)

100. Home Alone (NES)

99. Final Fight (Arcade)

98. Final Fantasy VII (PSX)

97. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

96. Plague Inc (iOS)

95. Dragon Quest V (DS)

94. Katamari Damacy (PS2)

93. Super Bomberman (SNES)

92. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)

91. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (Gameboy Advance)

90. Pokemon Emerald (Gameboy Advance)

89. Final Fantasy Legend 3 (Gameboy)

88. Gremlins 2 (NES)

87. Chip's Challenge (PC)

86. Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (PC)

85. Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires (PS2)

84. Punch-Out (NES)

83. Snake Rattle N Roll (NES)

82. Dragon Age 2 (PS3)

81. Captain Comic (PC)

80. The Simpsons (Arcade)

79. Worms 2 (PC)

78. Basewars (NES)

77. Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)

76. The Raiden Project (PSX)

75. Lemmings (SNES)

74. Super Mario Brothers (NES)

73. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2)

72. Warcraft 2 (PC)

71. Maniac Mansion (NES)

70. Pokemon FireRed/Leafgreen (Gameboy Advance)

69. Chrono Trigger (SNES)

68. Diablo 2 (PC)

67. Uplink (PC)

66. Resident Evil (Gamecube)

65. Skitchin (Genesis)

64. Wizards and Warriors (NES)

63. The Addams Family (NES)

62. Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)

61. Phoenix Wright: And Justice for All (DS)

60. Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC)

59. Gemfire (SNES)

58. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)

57. Megaman 3 (NES)

56. Age of Empires 2 (PC)

55. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Genesis)

54. Megaman X2 (SNES)

53. Little Nemo the Dream Master (NES)

52. Metroid Prime (Gamecube)

51. Age of Mythology (PC)

50. Sentinel 3 (iOS)

49. Bubble Bobble (NES)

48. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)

47. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)

46. Aquaria (PC)

45. FEAR (PC)

44. Megaman X4 (PSX)

43. Kickle Cubicle (NES)

42. Little Ninja Brothers (NES)

41. The Legend of Zelda (NES)

40. Gauntlet Legends (Arcade)

39. Aerobiz (SNES)

38. Twisted Metal 2 (PSX)

37. Super Mario World (SNES)

36. Parasite Eve (PSX)

35. Contra (NES)

34. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)

33. Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 (Gameboy Advance)

32. Tetris & Dr. Mario (SNES)

31. Super Mario RPG (SNES)

30. SimCity (SNES)

29. Megaman X (SNES)

28. Resident Evil 2 (PSX)

27. GI Joe (NES)

26. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX)

25. Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest (NES)

24. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)

23. Dragon Warrior II (NES) 22. Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS)

21. Heavy Rain (PS3)

20. Metroid Fusion (Gameboy Advance)

19. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PSX)

18. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

17. Megaman X3 (SNES)

16. Friday the 13th (NES)

15. Megaman 2 (NES)

14. Final Fantasy X (PS2)

13. Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube)

12. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS)

11. Final Fantasy IV (SNES)

10. Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)

9. Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES)

8. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)

7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

6. Super Metroid (SNES)

5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSX)

4. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (Wii)

3. Tomb Raider (PS3) 2. The Last of Us (PS3)

1. Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

Raiden's Top Games List: 5-1

5.) Super Metroid (SNES)

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.

4.) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Playstation)

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.

3.) Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Wii)

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.

2.) Tomb Raider (Playstation 3)

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.

1.)    Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

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.

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.

Raiden's Top Games List: 10-6

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!).

10.) Final Fantasy IV (SNES)

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.

9.) Dragon Age (Playstation 3)

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.)

8.) Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES)

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.

7.) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (SNES)

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.

6.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

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.

Raiden's Top Games List: 20-11

20.) Heavy Rain (Playstation 3)

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.

19.) Metroid Fusion (Gameboy Advance)

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.

18.) Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Playstation)

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.

17.) Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

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!)

16.) Megaman X3 (SNES)

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).

15.) Friday the 13^th (NES)

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?

14.) Megaman 2 (NES)

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.

13.) Final Fantasy X (Playstation 2)

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.

12.) Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube)

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.

11.) Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS)

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.