Monday, June 6, 2011

Reid Picks: Top Three Video Games

, author of the science fiction book titled CassaStar, is hosting a blogfest today called: "It's All Fun and Games Blogfest." Participants are asked to list their "three most favorite games and why. Board games, card games, RPG, video games, physical games - even mind games!"

I'm not too excited about board games, so I'll scratch that out as a topic. Card Games? Not really. Role-playing games (excluding video games)? Nope. Physical games? I guess not. Mind games? Cool, but no. That leaves video games for my favorite list.

Since I hardly have the time to play video games as I used to, my picks are going to be some older titles (but not as far back as the Sega Master System and NES era). Here are my top three video games:

3. Mega Man Legends (PlayStation)
Mega Man Legends (a.k.a. Rockman DASH) essentially introduced me to the iconic video game character (the classics didn't interest me at the time but did later). The game was the first Mega Man game in 3D and hardly has any resemblance to the other games. Sure, it has Mega Man and the character Roll, but that's basically it (aside from shooting robots).
Image from Amazon.com.

I enjoyed the story, pacing and action. It's a fairly short game, so I've played through it multiple of times, spending entirely too much time kicking a can in the bakery and kicking soda machines and Servbots (who have Lego men-like heads). I even made speed runs of the game and beat on the unlocked hard mode. Plus, I bought the soundtrack CD and attempted to mind-control my friends with the Apple Market song (it didn't work).

I can't wait for Mega Man Legends 3 -- announced for the 3DS! That means I'll have to buy the handheld game system. (Aug. 29, 2011, update: The Mega Man Legends 3 project was canceled, so I guess there's no reason for me to buy a 3DS yet.)

2. Final Phantasy VII (PlayStation)
I fell in love with RPG video games because of Final Fantasy VII. Although I only played the game one time through, I had a beautiful strategy guide and made sure I did everything in the game (even leveling up all my characters to 99).
Image from Amazon.com.

The storyline was engaging and addictive, and the death scene of one of the characters ripped my heart out (even though I knew it was coming via the strategy guide). I was new to RPGs, so when I got to the top of the Shinra Tower in Midgar, I thought I was near the end of the game. I exited Midgar and found out I had a whole world to explore. It blew my mind.

This also is the game I introduced to a friend, making it the first RPG.he ever played. He went on to play all Final Fantasy games and spent months of in-game time playing FFXIII. I personally don't care for that game, however, as I do not have time for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).

1. Xenogears (PlayStation)
I bought Xenogears for $20 at Sears just because it had a mech (a.k.a. gear) on the back cover. When I popped the disk in, I was enthralled by the opening scene and was hooked when the village Lahan is destroyed. The complex storyline is captivating and the combo battle system is exciting. I love the human and gear battles, the music, the characters, flying around the world, and most importantly, the myriad plot twists.
Image from Amazon.com.

I beat the game in exactly one month in around 170 hours and logged more than 200 hours on it total. I even reached level 99 (I have only done this for Xenogears and FFVII). Then I spent hours of my time listening to songs from one of the game's music boxes while a wrote chapters of my first novel in longhand. I kept separate save files before every CG cut scene so I can go back and watch them, and I beat the last bosses multiple times just to see the heartfelt ending over and over again.

Then the bad luck came. I let a friend borrow my copy, and it came back scratched and not working. I got another copy but it freezes up near the beginning, making it unplayable. Plus, I lost my memory card with all the saved files. Oh well. If I ever have time, I'd like to play Xenogears from beginning to end again, despite its enormous length.

Honorary mentions:
Super Metroid (Super Nintendo)
Chrono Trigger (Super Nintendo)
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PlayStation 2)
Xenosaga (PlayStation 2)
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PlayStation)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis) 
Gunstar Heroes (Sega Genesis)

So there you have it -- my favorite video games. It's interesting how they all have science fiction elements to them (Lunar -- not so much). Have you played any of these games listed? Or haven't?

15 comments:

  1. I played xeno gears. great game.

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  2. Interesting choices! Nice to meet you!

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  3. Looks like some great picks. I'm a new follower from the blogfest.

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  4. Budd, my favorite line in Xenogears is "That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating ... Take it back!"

    M Pax, they are, too, at least for me.

    Alison Miller and Ciara, thanks for following!

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  5. Sounds crazy but I have yet to play a video game. I don'y have a X Box or anything like that. Not even a Wii. I have to get something because the kid are at the age where they want to start playing some of these cool games.

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  6. FF7 also made it onto my list although I still haven't beaten it yet. I bought the computer version and there was a glitch that wouldn't let me get past a certain point. Talk about frustrating!!!

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  7. I remember trying to play Mega Man at a friend's house. It was really fun, but I kept dying every few minutes.

    Thanks for sharing your favorites!

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  8. 99 levels??!!! WOW! I'm impressed.

    GREAT look on the blog!

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  9. Stephen Tremp, I'd suggest getting a Wii for the little ones. It's the cheapest console and very easy to learn. There are a lot of games where you just swing the remote rather than pushing buttons, which the kids will love. And you can play your first video game with them!

    Nicole Zoltack, the ending of FFVII is likely on YouTube if you can't find an affordable copy and just want to see how it ends. You have great taste in RPGs!

    kelworthfiles, Mega Man Legends is a lot easier than the 2D games. I tend to die a lot on the 2D games, too!

    Lynda R Young, your hubby must know his RPGs!

    Bryce Daniels, yeah, it took a lot of hours to get each character to level 99. I probably will never do that again, though!

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  10. Like you, time is my biggest factor in playing any games. But I'm sure if I set aside time to do so, video games could become an obsession with me. They look really cool and conceptually they are very interesting.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  11. Arlee Bird, although I love the stories within RPGs, I hardly have time for them anymore. Nowadays, if I pick up a game, it'll be one that will only take a few hours to beat or one that can be played with others.

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  12. I know they'll revoke my geek credentials for admitting this, but I've never played any of the Mega Man games. I always wanted to, but never got around to it. I'd like to, though. Maybe I'll break out the emulators...uh, I mean, perfectly legal game system and games.

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  13. Monkey Migraine, don't worry, there are plenty of Mega Man games to choose from.

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