#3. Final Fantasy Tactics

After Final Fantasy 7 came out I'm sure most people thought there was no way Square could follow it up with anything nearly as good. In my mind though, they completely and utterly topped it with Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics takes all the characters classes and monsters from classic Final Fantasies and puts them in an entirely different gameplay. More importantly Square opted to tell what was one of the most mature and intelligent stories that gaming had seen at that point. People still talk about this game's ending as one of the darkest end notes we've ever seen. It's also one of those games that I almost quit on immediately after starting it. After the "hold your hand" start-up battle I was unable to figure out how to place my additional teammates and so I fought the first real battle with just the 2 default characters about a dozen times and continually died. On my last attempt I accidentally hit a button on my controller and realized I had an additional 6 troops on my team. Yeah... totally changed the battle. Glad I figured it out too, because I can't imagine missing out on what I now consider to be one of the greatest games of all time.

#2. Valkyria Chronicles

It's always great when you play a game and you don't expect anything more than just a good game. But when that good games actually becomes a legendary experience... well that's just about the best feeling you'll get from a video game, and Valkyria Chronicles fit that bill from start to finish. This strategy game is pretty unlike anything that came before in the way it was presented. It mixed elements of a FPS, over the shoulder shooters, and strategy RPGs to come up with a unique anime styled war story inspired by WWI and WWII. The story was amazing, and did a pretty good job of running the gamut with the players' emotions. But as good as it was (and it's as good as a story gets in video games), the battle scenarios are what make this game a piece of gaming history. I would find myself standing in front of my TV screen looking at the huge map, running through potential strategies in my head picturing myself as a great general preparing for a decisive battle. I'm sure I looked like a douche, but dammit this game was so good I didn't care.  Not caring about being a douchebag... that's the measure of a great game.

Surprised it's this high, but I knew it would be on the list, so it had to be one or two by this stage. One of my favourite games of the gen, no doubt.

robio said:

Shouldn't be too hard to guess if you think about my tastes. I actually left one giant clue to it in one of the reviews for one of the other games.

It's this, right?

robio said:

VC is a game that has continued to grow on me. While it was frustrating as hell a few times, I had a great time with the game and enjoyed the hell out of it. But after I completed and went back at a tougher difficulty I started to realize just how much I liked it. I tell you, knowing that we're never going to see the third game in the trilogy fucking kills me.

Apparently a fan translation is in the works.

robio said:

Foolz said:

Apparently a fan translation is in the works.

I've seen some of the early work they've done. It's terrible. It reads like a 1st year Japanese student is doing it with a Japanese to English dictionary.

Lol come to think of it I think I remember you saying that before.

in b4 Journey number 1.

#1. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Here it is. My favorite video game of all time. Dragon Quest 8. To me it gets no better. There wasn't anything particularly innovative in this game and there didn't need to be. This is an example of a genre perfected. Nothing was missing with this game. A well told, well paced story. Customizable characters. Beautiful graphics. An orchestrated score. Side quests that added to the story instead of distracting from it. Well thought out post-game content. And a sense of exploration like no other. This was a game that made it worth your time to get lost. It's my favorite franchise worked on by my favorite developer. As soon as I finished it, I went back and started it again. That's one thing for games that are shorter experiences, but for a 60 hour epic. And the thing that shocked me the most was despite how throroughly I thought I played it, there were still dozens and dozens of things I missed. And I'm sure the next time I go back to it, I'll find even more stuff. Greatest game of all time folks. If you haven't played it... do it now.

Ravenprose said:

Dragon Quest? Really? Ewww.

You were expecting Dragon's ....Lair?

Ravenprose said:

Damn straight! Dragon's Lair would have been a much better choice!

You raise a strong point. There's something to be said for a game that can be beaten by moving the joystick 12 times. That's pretty hardcore.