roni's top eighteen games
Since Game Informer did their Top 50 Console Games of the Year, Roni has done her own; since, well, some of the choices in Game Informer seemed to be for fanservice-reasons... I post my own (opinionated) view!
18. Chaos Legion, PS2;
Why?; Yes, everyone said this game sucked. Yes, the game was only five hours long. Yes, it was redundant at times, but wasn't Dynasty Warriors? Every redundant step was breathtakingly gorgeous, and full of surprising depth for a Capcom game. Sieg Wahrheit, though your average angsty-quiet hero, has an innocent charm to him; he couldn't help being in the situation that he was in. The imagery was gorgeous, and the story was amazing. If anything, a rent-and-play-for-half-the-night-game.
Selling Point; Beautiful imagery and hardcore story.
17. The Sonic Mega Collection, CUBE;
Why?; Over ten Sonic games on one tiny little disc? Rock on. The disc includes the orginal Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Spinball, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3D, and even the all-disputed Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. For those of us who have the Sega Genesis and no way to get the Sonic games, this is a prayer from Heaven. No flipping through cartiges and blowing inside of them to get the dirt out. No wiggling them around to make them work. Just pure ol' Sonic entertainment.
Selling Point; Dude, it's Sonic.
16. Guilty Gear X2, PS2;
Why?; Everyone was waiting for this one to come tumbling onto my list. Why, may you ask? Because I'm fucking sick of 3D fighters suddenly dominating the market. While games like Virtua Fighter 4, Tekken and Dead or Alive are great fun, and have gorgeous character models and a shitload of different costumes; the depth is completely lost. Maybe I'm just anal because I grew up with Street Fighter 2, but why convert everything to 3D when 2D things can look just as gorgeous. The heightened pace and the gorgeous high res sprites make the game fabulous to watch and/or play. When you watch the right person (or become the right person for that matter), the game is endless fun.
Selling Point; First high-res 2D fighter with a killer gaming/combo system; 20 characters, 3 hidden characters and more than 6 modes of play. Awesome character designs and a killer soundtrack.
15. Devil May Cry, PS2;
Why; Dante, Dante, Dante! The dorkiest Capcom-protagonist in the history of Capcom games. "Flock off Feather-face, or stick around and find out the hard way!" Despite all that, running around the Gate of Hell with two guns and a sword makes for a great catharsis. The game ceases to be survival horror because it's just not scary anymore -- the monsters in the game are blown away, juggled and riped to shreds by Ebony, Ivory, Sparda, and Dante's Devil Trigger. Playing Dante's Dadoo Sparda was just another up. Too bad DMC2 sucked cock.
Selling Point; the demo disc that accompanied RE: Code Veronica X, otherwise I would've never known about it. Oh yeah. Enough fire power to blow through Hell and back, certainly.
14. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, XBOX & PC {soon};
Why; First good roleplaying game set on XBOX, which is an accomplisment all in itself. This game made me consider purchasing an XBOX for myself, though I quickly declined when I learned that it would soon be out on PC. A killer-gaming system with an awesome story. Though it's a short game, it's well thought out and intelligant (you know, for being Star Wars). Lucas Arts did an incredible job, and they left me quite impressed with the outcome.
Selling Point; Being a Jedi! I've always wanted to be a Jedi. (And seeing Star Wars set back almost a thousand years...)
13. .hack Series, PS2;
Why; Four consecutive games leading into the same story. Brilliantly new, but still traditional features in each new installment. First MMORPG simulation. Awesome story, still filled with mystery as you finish INFECTION. Thirst to finish the last of the titles. Unfortunately, with each one being priced at $50 or $35, it kind of seems like a waste for a short, 20-hour game. Despite that, there are still, like any other MMORPG, stronger weapons to get and harder dungeons to conquor. .hack is no RPG, and must be thought of as an MMORPG to take full effect. With its email system and awesome desktop simulation (along with different pictures and music that can be unlocked for it) -- .hack does an awesome job of taking platform RPGs to the next level.
Selling Point; The need to finish the story.
12. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, PS2 & XBOX {soon};
Why; So I'm not the biggest GTA fan in the universe; I still can say (grudgingly) that the game is tight and fun. So I like running around wielding an old ninja-esque blade and chopping random people's heads off and then getting in their cars and driving away. As awesome as this game is, it gets old kind of quick. Not that it's bad, pre say, just that it couldn't keep my attention for more than five minutes. I can only giggle about so much violence.
Selling Point; Mindless, mindless, mindless fun and violence. Wee!
11. Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, PS2;
Why; Just like Grand Theft Auto, but stealthy and with ninjas! The two player mode allows for cooperation between players that are working for a common goal. There's even a level at the end that allows you to play your ninjas in the real world, slaughtering security guards from behind and stalking through malls.
Selling Point; ninjas :}
10. Silent Hill 3, PS2 & PC {soon};
Why; Now let's talk scary. Blood soaked rabbits and a dog on a grill. What made this game so recognizable was the change in controls. There was the option of leaving it at the old resident-evil-type controls, or changing it to simplier four-way control. All the stops were pulled in the making of this game, and absolutely nothing was held back. Stunning imagery aids a stunning story.
Selling Point; The dog on the grill. That bought me.
9. Fatal Frame, PS2;
Why; Now let's talk scarier. I didn't think anything could exceed the creepiness that was Silent Hill 2 -- with its blood streaking across abandoned roadways and the sound of dogs barking behind you as you followed the trail to Silent Hill... but I was dead-fucking-wrong. This was the scariest game that I had ever played in my life. Seriously. I wouldn't play it after dark. Armed only with a camera, taking pictures of ghost is shadey business. Scary business. Shit-your-pants tremble-in-your-seat business. This game deserves more recognition then it gets. With a handful of loyal fans, it still remains scarier than Silent Hill and Clocktower combined.
Selling Point; Being the scariest game in the fucking world.
8. Steel Battalion, XBOX;
Why; Wow. Just. Fucking wow. The first time I saw this game my jaw dropped. The controller was huge, and there were buttons to do just about everything that you'd do in a mech. There was an air-control button, an eject button, and a crapload of other buttons you had to turn on before you even started up your mech. Needless to say I was already breathless when my manager hooked up his copy. This was the best mech sim that I had ever seen in my life.
Selling Point; The awesome controller, and the booklet that included "how to use this machine".
7. Viewtiful Joe, CUBE;
Why; 2D elements thrown into a 3D world. Another game that reminds us that 3D doesn't always do a game justice. Refreshingly new, strikling original, and mindless fun; hopefully Viewtiful Joe will begin a trend of a new brand of 2D platform games. Not unlike Mario, but still terribly different; Joe's catch phrases and the utterly ridiculous story make this game a package of entertainment by mixing movie magic with 2D gaming. Capcom's been throwing gold lately.
Selling Point: "Henshin a go go, baby!"
6. Halo, XBOX;
Why; I don't like Halo. But I had to include it. It's the best selling game in the world, and so many people love it. In my opinion it's not all it's hyped up to be, it was supposed to be a PC game after all, but I don't think any top gaming list would be complete without it.
Selling Point; being Halo, it needs none.
5. Skies of Arcadia, DREAMCAST & CUBE;
Why; I'm sorry. This game deserves recognition. This is, by far, one of the best RPGs that I've played in a long time. Far better than the new final fantasies that Square has been pulling out of their asses. This 60-hour-long-game (not including sidequests) has one of the best stories, and the best characters that I have seen in a long while. Well thought out and fleshed game brings back the old ideals of a fantasy game with a new twist on the world. Doing everything with tradition but complete orginality, Skies of Arcadia offers loads of sidequests (such as fighting Black Pirates and finding "discoveries), and 20 crew members that can be collected during the course of the game (sadly, even some of the crew members were better characterized than Final Fantasy VII and VIII's characters...) This is a must play for every RPG fan.
Selling Point; Bought this on a recommendation.
4. Kingdom Hearts, PS2;
Why; Am I the only one that notices that Squaresoft only makes a good game when it's for someone else? Kingdom Hearts was one of those games that everyone was wary about. "But it's Disney!" Every die-hard Final Fantasy fan screamed (along with the bunch of Final Fantasy fans that went "YAY! More Cloud and Sephiroth and Leon and Aerith and yay!!"). Disney my ass. Though Disney did take most of the credit for the game, Square worked their asses off to make this one right. The story was tight, the gameplay was fun; throwing in just enough new moves to make it interesting, and it even included mild puzzles. It's one of those games that everyone has to play.
Selling Point; Sora's Nightmare Before Christmas costume. Sora and Riku too ... :}
3. Castlevania: Sympony of the Night, PSX;
Why; When Cali first said "RONI BUY THIS GAME IT'S AWESOME" I said "you lie", and then when I played it myself, I went "I was horribly, horribly wrong". What an awesome game. What a tight battle system. This game is hours of entertainment, and as redundant as it may seem, it just never gets boring. It just goes to show you that 1) a game doesn't need to be 3D to be awesome and 2) a game doesn't need good graphics to be gorgeous. This is one those games I play over just for the fuck of it. It is a must own for everyone.
Selling Point; I used to play the Simon's Quest on the NES, this... resembles it. Only faster and prettier and tighter.
2. Chrono Trigger, SNES & PSX;
Why; For all of you who are staring in horror that I picked a SNES game as one of my top games need to close your mouths and read the title again. This is one RPG that I craved to play a second, a third, and even a fourth time. It never gets old. With different endings, different situations and different descisions; it is truly a unique form of RPG'ing. Going back through time and then coming up with different outcomes. This game will never loose significance. Along with Skies of Arcadia, this game keeps traditional gaming elements and mixes them with orginality, reminding us that we don't need to ditch fantasy to do something new.
Selling Point; one of the best rpgs of all time.
1. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, CUBE;
Why; I agree with Game Informer on this one. They're right. I never thought I'd say this, but they are so right. This game is good for everyone. For adults, for children, for people who never, ever played a video game in their life. For those that don't like rpgs, but love action; and for those who love action, but don't like rpgs. This is a perfect mixture of elements. To everyone who said this game sucks because of the graphics: grow up. Really. Since when has Zelda been anything but cartoony? If anything, Wind Waker reminds me of Link to the Past, and the little Link-sprite that vowed to save the Princess Zelda. This game is gorgeous; from start to end, tear jerking and glorious at once. The Zelda elements were captured perfectly in an easy-executable gaming system, an array of weapons, and a boat that talks.
Selling Point; Everything.
And also my 13. Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
12. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
11. I-Ninja
10. Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles
9. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
8. King of Fighters '01 & '02
7. Sonic Heroes
6. Legacy of Kain: Defiance
5. Nightmare Before Christmas
4. Kingdom Hearts 2
3. Wind Waker 2
2. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
1. Kingdom Hearts: Chains of Memory
18. Chaos Legion, PS2;
Why?; Yes, everyone said this game sucked. Yes, the game was only five hours long. Yes, it was redundant at times, but wasn't Dynasty Warriors? Every redundant step was breathtakingly gorgeous, and full of surprising depth for a Capcom game. Sieg Wahrheit, though your average angsty-quiet hero, has an innocent charm to him; he couldn't help being in the situation that he was in. The imagery was gorgeous, and the story was amazing. If anything, a rent-and-play-for-half-the-night-game.
Selling Point; Beautiful imagery and hardcore story.
17. The Sonic Mega Collection, CUBE;
Why?; Over ten Sonic games on one tiny little disc? Rock on. The disc includes the orginal Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Spinball, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3D, and even the all-disputed Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. For those of us who have the Sega Genesis and no way to get the Sonic games, this is a prayer from Heaven. No flipping through cartiges and blowing inside of them to get the dirt out. No wiggling them around to make them work. Just pure ol' Sonic entertainment.
Selling Point; Dude, it's Sonic.
16. Guilty Gear X2, PS2;
Why?; Everyone was waiting for this one to come tumbling onto my list. Why, may you ask? Because I'm fucking sick of 3D fighters suddenly dominating the market. While games like Virtua Fighter 4, Tekken and Dead or Alive are great fun, and have gorgeous character models and a shitload of different costumes; the depth is completely lost. Maybe I'm just anal because I grew up with Street Fighter 2, but why convert everything to 3D when 2D things can look just as gorgeous. The heightened pace and the gorgeous high res sprites make the game fabulous to watch and/or play. When you watch the right person (or become the right person for that matter), the game is endless fun.
Selling Point; First high-res 2D fighter with a killer gaming/combo system; 20 characters, 3 hidden characters and more than 6 modes of play. Awesome character designs and a killer soundtrack.
15. Devil May Cry, PS2;
Why; Dante, Dante, Dante! The dorkiest Capcom-protagonist in the history of Capcom games. "Flock off Feather-face, or stick around and find out the hard way!" Despite all that, running around the Gate of Hell with two guns and a sword makes for a great catharsis. The game ceases to be survival horror because it's just not scary anymore -- the monsters in the game are blown away, juggled and riped to shreds by Ebony, Ivory, Sparda, and Dante's Devil Trigger. Playing Dante's Dadoo Sparda was just another up. Too bad DMC2 sucked cock.
Selling Point; the demo disc that accompanied RE: Code Veronica X, otherwise I would've never known about it. Oh yeah. Enough fire power to blow through Hell and back, certainly.
14. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, XBOX & PC {soon};
Why; First good roleplaying game set on XBOX, which is an accomplisment all in itself. This game made me consider purchasing an XBOX for myself, though I quickly declined when I learned that it would soon be out on PC. A killer-gaming system with an awesome story. Though it's a short game, it's well thought out and intelligant (you know, for being Star Wars). Lucas Arts did an incredible job, and they left me quite impressed with the outcome.
Selling Point; Being a Jedi! I've always wanted to be a Jedi. (And seeing Star Wars set back almost a thousand years...)
13. .hack Series, PS2;
Why; Four consecutive games leading into the same story. Brilliantly new, but still traditional features in each new installment. First MMORPG simulation. Awesome story, still filled with mystery as you finish INFECTION. Thirst to finish the last of the titles. Unfortunately, with each one being priced at $50 or $35, it kind of seems like a waste for a short, 20-hour game. Despite that, there are still, like any other MMORPG, stronger weapons to get and harder dungeons to conquor. .hack is no RPG, and must be thought of as an MMORPG to take full effect. With its email system and awesome desktop simulation (along with different pictures and music that can be unlocked for it) -- .hack does an awesome job of taking platform RPGs to the next level.
Selling Point; The need to finish the story.
12. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, PS2 & XBOX {soon};
Why; So I'm not the biggest GTA fan in the universe; I still can say (grudgingly) that the game is tight and fun. So I like running around wielding an old ninja-esque blade and chopping random people's heads off and then getting in their cars and driving away. As awesome as this game is, it gets old kind of quick. Not that it's bad, pre say, just that it couldn't keep my attention for more than five minutes. I can only giggle about so much violence.
Selling Point; Mindless, mindless, mindless fun and violence. Wee!
11. Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, PS2;
Why; Just like Grand Theft Auto, but stealthy and with ninjas! The two player mode allows for cooperation between players that are working for a common goal. There's even a level at the end that allows you to play your ninjas in the real world, slaughtering security guards from behind and stalking through malls.
Selling Point; ninjas :}
10. Silent Hill 3, PS2 & PC {soon};
Why; Now let's talk scary. Blood soaked rabbits and a dog on a grill. What made this game so recognizable was the change in controls. There was the option of leaving it at the old resident-evil-type controls, or changing it to simplier four-way control. All the stops were pulled in the making of this game, and absolutely nothing was held back. Stunning imagery aids a stunning story.
Selling Point; The dog on the grill. That bought me.
9. Fatal Frame, PS2;
Why; Now let's talk scarier. I didn't think anything could exceed the creepiness that was Silent Hill 2 -- with its blood streaking across abandoned roadways and the sound of dogs barking behind you as you followed the trail to Silent Hill... but I was dead-fucking-wrong. This was the scariest game that I had ever played in my life. Seriously. I wouldn't play it after dark. Armed only with a camera, taking pictures of ghost is shadey business. Scary business. Shit-your-pants tremble-in-your-seat business. This game deserves more recognition then it gets. With a handful of loyal fans, it still remains scarier than Silent Hill and Clocktower combined.
Selling Point; Being the scariest game in the fucking world.
8. Steel Battalion, XBOX;
Why; Wow. Just. Fucking wow. The first time I saw this game my jaw dropped. The controller was huge, and there were buttons to do just about everything that you'd do in a mech. There was an air-control button, an eject button, and a crapload of other buttons you had to turn on before you even started up your mech. Needless to say I was already breathless when my manager hooked up his copy. This was the best mech sim that I had ever seen in my life.
Selling Point; The awesome controller, and the booklet that included "how to use this machine".
7. Viewtiful Joe, CUBE;
Why; 2D elements thrown into a 3D world. Another game that reminds us that 3D doesn't always do a game justice. Refreshingly new, strikling original, and mindless fun; hopefully Viewtiful Joe will begin a trend of a new brand of 2D platform games. Not unlike Mario, but still terribly different; Joe's catch phrases and the utterly ridiculous story make this game a package of entertainment by mixing movie magic with 2D gaming. Capcom's been throwing gold lately.
Selling Point: "Henshin a go go, baby!"
6. Halo, XBOX;
Why; I don't like Halo. But I had to include it. It's the best selling game in the world, and so many people love it. In my opinion it's not all it's hyped up to be, it was supposed to be a PC game after all, but I don't think any top gaming list would be complete without it.
Selling Point; being Halo, it needs none.
5. Skies of Arcadia, DREAMCAST & CUBE;
Why; I'm sorry. This game deserves recognition. This is, by far, one of the best RPGs that I've played in a long time. Far better than the new final fantasies that Square has been pulling out of their asses. This 60-hour-long-game (not including sidequests) has one of the best stories, and the best characters that I have seen in a long while. Well thought out and fleshed game brings back the old ideals of a fantasy game with a new twist on the world. Doing everything with tradition but complete orginality, Skies of Arcadia offers loads of sidequests (such as fighting Black Pirates and finding "discoveries), and 20 crew members that can be collected during the course of the game (sadly, even some of the crew members were better characterized than Final Fantasy VII and VIII's characters...) This is a must play for every RPG fan.
Selling Point; Bought this on a recommendation.
4. Kingdom Hearts, PS2;
Why; Am I the only one that notices that Squaresoft only makes a good game when it's for someone else? Kingdom Hearts was one of those games that everyone was wary about. "But it's Disney!" Every die-hard Final Fantasy fan screamed (along with the bunch of Final Fantasy fans that went "YAY! More Cloud and Sephiroth and Leon and Aerith and yay!!"). Disney my ass. Though Disney did take most of the credit for the game, Square worked their asses off to make this one right. The story was tight, the gameplay was fun; throwing in just enough new moves to make it interesting, and it even included mild puzzles. It's one of those games that everyone has to play.
Selling Point; Sora's Nightmare Before Christmas costume. Sora and Riku too ... :}
3. Castlevania: Sympony of the Night, PSX;
Why; When Cali first said "RONI BUY THIS GAME IT'S AWESOME" I said "you lie", and then when I played it myself, I went "I was horribly, horribly wrong". What an awesome game. What a tight battle system. This game is hours of entertainment, and as redundant as it may seem, it just never gets boring. It just goes to show you that 1) a game doesn't need to be 3D to be awesome and 2) a game doesn't need good graphics to be gorgeous. This is one those games I play over just for the fuck of it. It is a must own for everyone.
Selling Point; I used to play the Simon's Quest on the NES, this... resembles it. Only faster and prettier and tighter.
2. Chrono Trigger, SNES & PSX;
Why; For all of you who are staring in horror that I picked a SNES game as one of my top games need to close your mouths and read the title again. This is one RPG that I craved to play a second, a third, and even a fourth time. It never gets old. With different endings, different situations and different descisions; it is truly a unique form of RPG'ing. Going back through time and then coming up with different outcomes. This game will never loose significance. Along with Skies of Arcadia, this game keeps traditional gaming elements and mixes them with orginality, reminding us that we don't need to ditch fantasy to do something new.
Selling Point; one of the best rpgs of all time.
1. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, CUBE;
Why; I agree with Game Informer on this one. They're right. I never thought I'd say this, but they are so right. This game is good for everyone. For adults, for children, for people who never, ever played a video game in their life. For those that don't like rpgs, but love action; and for those who love action, but don't like rpgs. This is a perfect mixture of elements. To everyone who said this game sucks because of the graphics: grow up. Really. Since when has Zelda been anything but cartoony? If anything, Wind Waker reminds me of Link to the Past, and the little Link-sprite that vowed to save the Princess Zelda. This game is gorgeous; from start to end, tear jerking and glorious at once. The Zelda elements were captured perfectly in an easy-executable gaming system, an array of weapons, and a boat that talks.
Selling Point; Everything.
And also my 13. Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
12. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
11. I-Ninja
10. Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles
9. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
8. King of Fighters '01 & '02
7. Sonic Heroes
6. Legacy of Kain: Defiance
5. Nightmare Before Christmas
4. Kingdom Hearts 2
3. Wind Waker 2
2. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
1. Kingdom Hearts: Chains of Memory