Board 8 #sports Discord Ranks Their Top 100 Video Games Finale: THE TOP 10

#10. Bubble Bobble (NES, 1986)

The oldest game on my list. I simply adore those two little dinosaurs. Bub and Bob are on my top 3 list for Smash Bros characters we need. Make them in an Ice Climbers style duo. Bubble Bobble is a mix of platforming and puzzles with some bullet hell in a few stages. The game is pretty basic, shoot bubbles, jump and thats about it. There are a variety of power ups and cool super items. Stuff like a flood, or lightning or a potion that makes the stage turn into an acid trip. Also spell the word EXTRA and you do go to a magical song land where you bounce on the word extra. The basic game is 100 stages, but stage 99 has a special exit that leads to 20 bonus stages and the true ending. Like many old games the characters have some names that have since changed. Drunk and Big Drunk being chief among them. Skel is now Baron Von Blubba. Speaking of him. All time nightmare fuel for me. Skel is the scariest thing in any video game ever. When those 5 notes play and he appears, I am beside myself with fear. That ghost will not give up until you finish the stage or he kills you. In some stages you get stuck in a pit and frantically try to jump and time a bubble shot to bounce out. Skel just slowly moves in, not fast no no no. He comes at you, little by little, knowing you are doomed. The terror consumes your soul. Wild screaming in terror. Aside from that the main song that plays almost non stop is very catchy and I love it. All the sequels to this game really fail to capture the same magic. The most recent one on PS4/Switch was decent, but not amazing.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/8/2/AAXPReAABi5a.jpg

10.) Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/0/8/AAR9yWAABi50.png
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/0/9/AAR9yWAABi51.jpg

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/1/0/AAR9yWAABi52.jpg

Time for my first favorite game of all time - we all have to start somewhere, with that game that blows all the others away and show you what gaming really could be to you. And for me there is just nothing better than the story that Final Fantasy IV takes you on in the first 10 or so hours of the game.

Introducing your character and Baron and from the beginning you can sense something is off. Despite wanting to be on the side of Cecil and Kain, the music is pretty sinister. Imperial march-y. As you execute a couple quick missions it becomes startlingly clear - we are the bad guys. This is driven home with our bombing of mist, a village whose sin appears to be their descendance from summoners, which thus makes them a threat to Baron. But, Rydia survives and Cecil has a change of heart. He cannot kill Rydia. Which means he cannot continue to work for Baron. This begins his slow campaign of redemption - and the first of many betrayals from the un-relentingly jealous Kain. Mt Ordeals is just the best sequence in a JRPG I can think of because you climb the mountain and easily dispatch all the enemies with Cecils broken Dark Knight powers and then in inverse where Palom and Porom bail you out as your dark knight powers are suddenly useless against the undead Elemental Lord, Scormiglione. And then you come down Mt Ordeal, having to level back up from one, the choice to become good making you so weak in the short term, having to rely on the twins to save yourself and go confront Baron...and augh its so f***ing good

Unlike most people, there is not a single character I dislike in FFIV. I like the twins, I like Tellah and Edward and their little story (which in a lot of odd ways is mirrored in the Hope/Snow dynamic I like so much in FFXIII), I think Cid P rules and that Yang is a bad ass the way he jumps off that airship. The game uses dynamic situations to keep the party changed up and fresh throughout the game, which I think is an underratedly cool way to handle having a cast larger than 4 characters and it does so in ways that make more sense narratively than the ways used in Final Fantasy 2.

The game also features really cool plot beats with the hollow world, Rubicantes big ass tower, the 4 elemental lords of evil and their bad ass song. It also spawned some of my favorite meme-y youtube videos and songs from hyadain, like this masterpiece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UoyjKK8CoY

Sure its also famous for the bait and switch final boss thing, but it basically INVENTED it, so I can forgive it more in this case. FFIV was my #1 favorite game for a good long time, only 9 ever have surpassed it for me. Stay tuned to see which ones.

Hi everyone! Here is my list so far!

100. Ninja Gaiden
99. Dragon Ball FighterZ
98. Outland
97. Out of the Park Baseball 21
96. The Binding of Isaac
95. Kirby's Dream Land 3
94. RollerCoaster Tycoon
93. Shadows of the Damned
92. The King of Fighters XIII
91. Strider (2014)
90. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
89. Kamui
88. Gain Ground
87. Resident Evil (2002 REmake)
86. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
85. Solstice
84. Raiden (series)
83. Ori and the Blind Forest
82. Ogre Battle 64
81. Mega Man Legends

80. Rez
79. Punch-Out!!
78. G-Darius
77. Pop'n Music (series)
76. Shovel Knight
75. Thunder Force V
74. Final Fantasy Tactics
73. Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late
72. VA-11 Hall-A
71. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
70. Spelunky 2
69. The Legend of Zelda
68. Brave Fencer Musashi
67. Lumines
66. Final Fantasy VII
65. Metroid Fusion
64. The Witness
63. Street Fighter V
62. Hotline Miami
61. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

60. F-Zero GX
59. Undertale
58. Everybody's Golf
57. Tecmo Super Bowl
56. Donkey Kong (1994)
55. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
54. Mega Man X
53. Super Smash Bros. Melee
52. The World Ends With You
51. Metroid Prime
50. Windjammers
49. VVVVVV
48. Samurai Shodown (2019)
47. Groove Coaster
46. Space Invaders Extreme
45. Shinobi 3
44. Mega Man 3
43. Mega Man X4
42. Street Fighter 2
41. Deadly Premonition

40. Cave Story
39. Bioshock
38. We Love Katamari
37. Chrono Trigger
36. Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
35. Silent Hill 2
34. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
33. Steins;Gate
32. Wild Arms 3
31. Dragon Quest V
30. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
29. Sleeping Dogs
28. Dance Dance Revolution (series)
27. Cuphead
26. Ys 1
25. La-Mulana
24. Final Fantasy V
23. Guilty Gear Xrd
22. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
21. Elevator Action Returns

20. Silent Hill
19. Eastside Hockey Manager
18. Super Castlevania IV
17. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
16. Mega Man 9
15. Persona 4 Arena
14. La-Mulana 2
13. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
12. Mother 3
11. Super Mario RPG

Here's my list so far

100. The Stanley Parable
99. Death Stranding
98. Kirby's Block Ball
97. Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?
96. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
95. Borderlands 2
94. Twisted Metal 2
93. Cuphead
92. Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
91. Mega Man 2
90. Ghosts 'n Goblins
89. Super Mario Maker 2
88. Final Fantasy VII
87. Donkey Kong Country
86. Mega Man 9
85. Pokemon Puzzle League
84. Marvel's Spider-Man
83. Adventures of Lolo
82. Braid
81. Donkey Kong Country 2
80. Into the Breach
79. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
78. Elite Beat Agents
77. Shovel Knight
76. Back to the Future (Telltale)
75. Mega Man 5
74. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
73. Mario Kart 64
72. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
71. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
70. Metal Gear Solid 2
69. Skies of Arcadia Legends
68. Super Mario 64
67. Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land
66. Hexcells
65. Mega Man 3
64. Heroes of Might and Magic III
63. Mario Party 2
62. Punch-Out!! (Wii)
61. Dark Souls: Remastered
60. Out of the Park Baseball 17
59. Papers, Please
58. Final Fantasy VII Remake
57. Slay the Spire
56. Mario Kart 8
55. Wario Land 3
54. Portal
53. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
52. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
51. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
50. The Simpsons: Hit & Run
49. Picross 3D: Round 2
48. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
47. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
46. Apex Legends
45. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
44. The Witness
43. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
42. Pokemon Gold/Silver
41. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice
40. Jackbox Party Packs
39. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
38. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
37. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
36. Bloodborne
35. Hitman 2
34. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
33. Chrono Cross
32. Guitar Hero 2
31. 3D Dot Game Heroes
30. Mega Man X
29. Crypt of the Necrodancer
28. Sonic CD
27. Super Mario World
26. Super Monkey Ball 2
25. Portal 2
24. Rock Band 2
23. Rogue Legacy
22. Sonic Spinball
21. Super Mario Odyssey
20. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
19. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
18. Spelunky
17. The Last of Us
16. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
15. Metroid: Zero Mission
14. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
13. Metroid Prime
12. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (& Knuckles)
11. Return of the Obra Dinn

I will keep giving hints as I go for my next game. My previous hint was
Next up: A game that I am in the minority of liking more than its much more popular sequel.

Bartzyx posted...

Here's a hint for my top 10 if anyone wants to guess:

1990
1992
1994
1995
2000
2000
2005
2006
2009
2012

So I'm really embarrassed. My 1990 game actually came out in 1991. Not sure how I got the release date confused like that.

Needed to correct that for the record.

Guessing Nick's top 9

9 Mega Man 2
8 Disgaea Complete
7 Bowser's Inside Story
6 Paper Mario TTYD
5 Final Fantasy V
4 Ocarina of Time
3 Final Fantasy VII
2 Chrono Trigger
1 Final Fantasy XI

Maybe guess some more top 10s tomorrow.

Pre-Top 10 Roundup:
HM01: Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS, 2017)
HM02: Alpine Racer (Arcade, 1995)
HM03: WarioWare: Twisted (GBA, 2004)
HM04: Halo: Combat Evolved (XBox, 2001)
HM05: SimTower (PC, 1994)
HM06: Kirby Air Ride (GameCube, 2003)
HM07: jubeat [series] (Arcade, 2008-present)
HM08: Meteos (DS, 2005)
100. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii, 2007)
99. Unreal Tournament (PC, 1999)
98. Pikmin 2 (GameCube, 2004)
97. Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC, 2015)
96. Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA, 2004)
95. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1, 1998)
94. Time Crisis II (Arcade, 1998)
93. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA, 2003)
92. DJ Max Portable (PSP, 2006)
91. Zany Golf (PC, 1988)
90. Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch, 2019)
89. Contra 4 (DS, 2007)
88. Mega Man 5 (NES, 1992)
87. Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
86. The Oregon Trail (PC, 1993)
85. TimeSplitters 2 (Multiplatform, 2002)
84. Fat Princess (PS3, 2009)
83. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS, 2007)
82. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Multiplatform, 2000)
81. Pokémon Go (Mobile, 2016)
80. Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991)
79. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GameCube, 2004)
78. Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)
77. Mario Tennis (N64, 2000)
76. Chip's Challenge (PC, 1990)
75. Elite Beat Agents (DS, 2006)
74. Bust-A-Move (Arcade, 1994)
73. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS, 2006)
72. Crystalis (NES, 1990)
71. StepMania (PC, 2001)
70. Tetris & Dr. Mario (SNES, 1994)
69. Minesweeper (PC, 1992)
68. Mario Kart 64 (N64, 1997)
67. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 2010)
66. Pokémon Picross (3DS, 2015)
65. F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GBA, 2001)
64. Metroid Fusion (GBA, 2002)
63. Pikmin 3 Deluxe (Switch, 2020)
62. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS, 2013)
61. FIFA 98: Road to World Cup (PC, 1997)
60. Resident Evil 4 (GameCube, 2005)
59. Celeste (Multiplatform, 2018)
58. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube, 2003)
57. Pikmin (GameCube, 2001)
56. The Sims (PC, 2000)
55. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch, 2020)
54. Sound Voltex [series] (Arcade, 2012-present)
53. Tecmo Bowl (NES, 1989)
52. Q*Bert (Arcade, 1982)
51. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (PC, 2020)
50. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS, 2005)
49. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014)
48. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube, 2001)
47. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch, 2018)
46. RollerCoaster Tycoon (PC, 1999)
45. Everybody's Golf (PS4, 2017)
44. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)
43. Okami (PS2, 2006)
42. Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole (Genesis, 1993)
41. The Jackbox Party Pack [series] (Multiplatform, 2014-present)
40. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube, 2004)
39. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii, 2007)
38. Mega Man 2 (NES, 1989)
37. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Genesis, 1994)
36. WarioWare Gold (3DS, 2018)
35. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES, 1995)
34. Pokémon Platinum (DS, 2009)
33. Harvest Moon: Back to Nature (PS1, 1999)
32. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GameCube, 2003)
31. Pokémon Trading Card Game (GBC, 2000)
& Pokémon Card GB2 [JP] (GBC, 2001)
30. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GameCube, 2003)
29. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch, 2017)
28. Final Fantasy VI (SNES, 1994)
27. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004)
26. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (DS, 2005-2007)
25. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GameCube, 2004)
24. Mario Party 2 (N64, 2000)
23. Dance Dance Revolution [series] (Arcade, 1998-present)
22. Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
21. Reflec Beat [series] (Arcade, 2010-present?)
20. Kirby Super Star (SNES, 1996)
19. Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)
18. F-Zero X (N64, 1998)
17. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, 1997)
16. Pop'n Music [series] (Arcade, 1998-present)
15. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GB, 1993)
14. Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA, 2004)
13. Pokémon Puzzle League (N64, 2000)
12. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, 2013)
11. Pokémon Red/Blue (GB, 1998)

-Breakdown by Decade-
1980s: 5
1990s: 30
2000s: 36
2010s+: 19

#10 - Judgment (PS4, 2019)

While I still haven't caught up on the full Yakuza series and am still stuck in Yakuza 3 somewhere, since it's a whole new protagonist and perspective with Takayuki Yagami as the protagonist for this game, I decided to skip ahead and play this one anyway. I'm glad I did, since it's one of my favorite games of all time now.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/5/1/AAAnAUAABjD3.jpg

As said above, Takayuki Yagami is the main character of Judgment, a private investigator in Kamurocho. Yagami was originally a young defense attorney who managed to get a not guilty verdict for one of his clients, but then said client went on to murder his girlfriend and burn down her house. As such, Yagami resigned from his job. Judgment's story revolves around a serial killer that Yagami calls the Mole, who is killing various people in Kamurocho and gouging out their eyes. The story and characters in this, I think, is the most interesting of the series as it breaks out of the Yakuza crime scene (though it still involves them somewhat) and tells an all-new story, one that gets even darker than most of the Yakuza titles I've played. I was very impressed with how great this game got as I kept playing through it, so much that I went through the last few chapters in the game in a few hours just because I had to see what happened next.

Judgment returns to the multiple styles of fighting first started in Yakuza 0, as Yagami has two fighting styles to choose from; the Crane style which is more effective against groups of enemies, and the Tiger style that is more effective at one-on-one combat. Yagami can also utilize walls in his attacks by doing various attacks through wall jumping. I felt the combat was more fluid than the more recent Yakuza titles, such as Kiwami 2 which only has Kiryu using a single style. Though the annoyance of battles are when fighting certain bosses, Yagami gets inflicted with Mortal Wounds from the more powerful attacks utilized, which can't be healed through normally and require a separate (and expensive) item to recover. It does make the game a bit more challenging overall though, which is a nice plus to it.

Judgment also continues the recent trend of upgrading the better minigames available in the series (though the loss of karaoke is annoying, it makes sense given Yagami's Japanese VA). Most of the mainstays return, some with even more areas than before (three different mahjong ares to win at!). The bowling alley is repurposed as a VR board game where you chase after a king cat while also trying to reach the end. It's as ridiculous as it sounds sometimes. Yagami also has a drone he uses during some of his main story investigations, and he's able to use this drone in races around Kamurocho as well. Some of the races have really tight timing requirements so much that I still haven't finished all of them yet! Judgment also has side cases which usually focus more on Yagami's detective work, such as tailing enemies, taking pictures, lockpicking, and other such activities. There's also friend events for various people in Kamurocho that also have certain tasks available to complete.

Like all Yakuza titles, Judgment is crammed full of amazing content but the story and characters of this spinoff places it higher than the other titles in the Yakuza series, as well as a high spot on my overall games list. I still haven't finished some parts of it yet, though, and I still have to go through Legend mode for the platinum anyway!

#10 — Final Fantasy XII (Playstation 2, 2006)

Final Fantasy XII is the latest mainline Final Fantasy that I have played. It was a bit of a departure for the series, going from what had always been somewhat turn-based to something close to real-time combat. And although Final Fantasy X had dispatched with the overworld map, XII took that a bit further with the interconnected open world. Or at least as open a world as anything that the series had seen to that point.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/6/6/AAE4GYAABjHO.jpg

It's a very divisive title. I think most people who tried it out either love it or hate it. Not a secret then where I fall on that divide. I love almost everything about it. The setting goes for something more "normal" than what you usually see in the series, and that makes the story and characters much more grounded (Vaan's cartoon six pack aside). For the first time since VI, it feels like a true ensemble, with no true focal character, although Penelo becomes invisible partway through. I hear a lot of griping about all the focus on political machinations, but I could say the same about the typical Final Fantasy tropes; different strokes, blah blah blah. Like Tactics, regrettably, the climax of the story veers again towards the world-ending crisis that the series can't get away from, but I have accepted that. It's probably the weakest aspect of the game, but still pretty good, all things considered.

Where Final Fantasy XII really shines is how it plays. The designers ditched the random encounter system that had been used up to that point, so combat and exploration are seamless in transition. Not revolutionary even for its time, but a stark change to the series formula. You can choose to avoid most enemies in the world, which is nice. The areas are pretty non-linear, and often the only thing stopping you from going anywhere you want is the strength of your party. That's a really nice throwback to the first few games in the series, where you could just explore and then "whoops" you're getting killed in one hit in an area you're not supposed to be in yet. I really like those moments. Feels "old-school" like a lot of games from my childhood.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/6/7/AAE4GYAABjHP.jpg

Another change is that you control just one character at a time, and basically program your allies using a series of priorities. You can still assume control at any time, but it's fun to be able to set some routines and watch them play out. Makes the grind a bit less of a grind, not that you really need to grind in this game, at least not until the post-game. Speaking of which, Final Fantasy XII delivers post-game content in spades. There are several extra dungeons to explore, superbosses to fight, and so on. It's probably the most that the series had delivered up to that point in terms of this kind of content.

The game looked good enough, but the voice samples were compressed which was very unfortunate. The soundtrack was not compressed though, and remains one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time. But I've said before that I prefer Sakimoto to Uematsu, so this is not a surprise. I really like all his Final Fantasy scores.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/6/8/AAE4GYAABjHQ.jpg

I first played this game I think four or five years after it first came out, on a tiny CRT in an apartment that I lived in by myself for a few weeks. I had moved to a new city for work and my then-fiancée had yet to follow me out there. So I would go to work, come home, and just engross myself in the game. It was a fun few weeks and one of my favorite video game experiences, just something really magical. So, Final Fantasy XII has its place in my top ten through a combination of nostalgia for that sweet time, and also its outstanding merits.

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