#super late to the dlc hype train but take this!

[eggo-tistical]

…she’s everything, and he’s just luis

[zerolympiustrife]

Favorite video games of all time?

Get ready for a LONG post, folks! However…allow me to break this down to my three favorite video game genres: Fighting games, RPGs/JRPGs, and Platformers/Action Platformers (both 2D and 3D). However! Since I feel like these posts are gonna take MUCH longer than I thought it would, I’m just gonna divide the genres into separate posts. But for now, let’s stick with the…

FIGHTING GAMES!:

Dragon Ball FighterZ: My number one favorite (traditional) fighting game of all time. My favorite ArcSys game of all time. My favorite Dragon Ball game of all time. This game is the reason how I got into the Dragon Ball franchise back when I’ve had to little to NO interest in the franchise, even when I’ve watched the ENTIRE Namek saga from the original anime back in 2009. The game’s GORGEOUS art style, every character animation’s (such as specials, supers, intros, victory poses, and ESPECIALLY the Dramatic Finishes) faithfulness to the original manga AND anime of Dragon Ball Z and other DB properties (such as GT and Super), the AWESOME soundtrack (courtesy of ArcSys theirselves, who’re known for awesome music in their games), the 3v3 gameplay, the character roster (though I’ll admit that having five Gokus and Three Vegetas is rather silly), having a new character design by DB creator Akira Toriyama himself, and lastly, being a breath of fresh air to those new to the fighting game genre (since the genre itself is notorious for its high learning curves) AND to Dragon Ball fans who were sick and tired of having the story of DBZ recapped over and over and over AND OVER AGAIN is a fucking sight to behold. This game FUCKING RULES (and a million times better than MvC:I). However, I wouldn’t call it perfect. I’ll admit that the Story Mode is rather lackluster, Arcade Mode is rather lacking, the Shop is completely randomized, and the Online Mode, much like every other fighting game, suffers from lag, spammable players, or just outright ragequitters. That, and the fact that, unlike MvC3 and BB:CTB, every character assist only sticks to ONE attack (meaning that more than one character is gonna have a Kamehameha assist), and that MOST PLAYERS you’re gonna run into is gonna main the likes of Cell (who ENJOYS dragging out combos for as long as possible), Adult Gohan (like Cell, also drags out long combos), and Vegeta (Super Saiyan, because of his assist. Need I say more?). But aside from those flaws, it is hands down the BEST fighting game I’ve ever played, next to…well, below.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: My number one favorite (unique) fighting game of all time. My favorite Nintendo game of all time. Series creator Masahiro Sakurai is a man that I’d like to describe as…well, not only doing the impossible and HIGHLY respected, but also putting those filthy naysayers about certain characters in their place. The fact that the whole point of Smash Ultimate was to include EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER FROM SMASH 64 TO SMASH 4 (Wii U and 3DS), INCLUDING EVERY THIRD-PARTY CHARACTERS DESPITE THE LICENSING AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES THIS WOULD CAUSE is another sight to behold. FUCK Melee, THIS is hands-down the best Smash game of all time! The inclusion of Spirits, the Adventure Mode, the Boss battles, the gameplay, the kind of chicanery you can pull, the game’s main theme “Lifelight”, the roster, the soundtrack…there’s just ALOT about this game that I just fucking adore. What can you make folks more hyped about this game? Oh, I don’t know…why not shock everybody with JOKER (from Persona 5) AND BANJO & KAZOOIE (who’s still owned by Microsoft) being in the game. What I love about Smash Bros is how Sakurai is just outright defies those say certain characters can’t appear in the series for silliest (or justifiable) reasons. Cloud can’t be in Smash because his game was never released on a Nintendo console until 2019? No problem! Ridley’s too big therefore he can’t be playable? Fuck that! Banjo & Kazooie can’t be in Smash because they’re owned by Microsoft of the Xbox brand? It’s fine! Why? “Because I AM HERE!” -Banjo (JK, but seriously, the fact that Banjo’s in was quite a surprise.) Smash 4 is the reason how I got into Final Fantasy VII, and I hold the entire Smash series in high regard for doing so. Goddamn, do I love this franchise! But! Again, it’s not perfect. The Online Mode is MUCH worse than DBFighterZ (to the point where you’re more than likely to end up in a battle with Items TURNED ON or stages with distracting hazards, OR end up fighting the SAME fucking characters I hate fighting against, such as Little Mac, Falco, Inkling, Incineroar, etc.), and that fighting against EVERY single spirit in the Adventure Mode to get 100% can get rather tiring (not to mention that you gotta get BOTH bad endings from fighting Galeem solo AND Dharkon solo), lack of additional content upon release (Stage Builder and Home-Run Content weren’t even implemented into the game at first), and lastly (although these two complaints are one of more personal matter and one towards Square Enix), the fact Zero from Mega Man X, my favorite video game character is ASSIST character instead of a playable was really heartbreaking to see (but hey, I’m not complaining TOO much since I enjoy interacting with him in my free time in Training), and lastly, the fact that Cloud, and to high extent, Final Fantasy VII AND the FF franchise as a whole has LITTLE TO NO representation in this game whatsoever (again, I feel like this was more of SE’s fault than Sakurai’s). No spirits, no “Fighter Spirit” artwork from the original FFVII, no Assist characters, not being dubbed in English AGAIN (though this was more of a contract issue with SE), no additional music on Midgar, NOTHING. But, nonetheless…this game is fucking awesome.

Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle: Ahahahahaha! Ah…Oh, Blazblue…I love this franchise oh-so much, but the fact that it hasn’t received the same treatment as Guilty Gear lately (not to mention the mainstream Blazblue games, aka the C-series, has pretty much came to an end) is a rather sad sight to see…depression aside, I love Blazblue. I REALLY do! I love the characters, I love the stages, I love the music, the story is confusing as FUCK, but it’s a fighting game franchise I’ve discovered WAY back 2012 and I still love to this day, even more so than Guilty Gear (don’t @ me). So…what to do now? Could there perhaps be another Blazblue game? A game that just so happens to be a crossover? One just as awesome as Smash Bros? Ooh! How about…PERSONA 4?!? UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH?!? A FRANCHISE THAT, LIKE DRAGON BALL AND FFVII, I’VE HAD NO INTEREST IN UP UNTIL 2018 (aka RWBY)?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA- Fangasm aside, the fact that this game even EXISTS is an achievement in its own right. As stated before, this game is the reason how I got into RWBY. What I really love and adore about the game are the interactions among the characters. That, and I was SO HAPPY to hear that the game would be dubbed in English, after GG:Xrd Revelator and BB: Central Fiction lacked a dub. I was not only excited to hear the likes of Ragna, Noel, and Hazama voiced in English again, but I was also happy to hear that any characters who’ve never been dubbed in English in the past (characters from UNIB, newcomers in BB:CF, etc.) would be dubbed in English as well. Hell, the fact that the characters from both Blazblue AND Persona 4 (two franchises/games I really love) being in the EXACT same game together was enough to make me be all like “Shut up, and take my money!”, considering how crazy excited I was in the past to see them interacting with one another via fanart and fanfiction (thanks to the Persona 4 Arena games being developed by ArcSys). And if you thought having only THOSE four franchises in the game was enough, you’d be wrong! Here’s Arcana Heart! Here’s Senran Kagura! Here’s a FIFTH character from RWBY: Neo Politan! This game, much like DBFZ and Smash Ultimate, is awesome. However, complaints I do have towards the game are the Online Mode (although the chibi interactions are cute and adorable and I will praise the Online Mode for that, and ONLY THAT), Gordeau from UNIB is still a problem, the rest of the half of the roster is entirely DLC, lack of additional content upon release, the control scheme is WAY too simplistic (even moreso than DBFZ), and lastly, while I love the sprites ArcSys did for RWBY, the reused sprites from Blazblue, Persona 4 Arena, and UNIB is also a complaint I have (but a minor one, mind you. They could’ve just easily redone the sprites specifically for this game, but…no). And while this game isn’t exactly in my top two favorite fighting games, it’s definitely in my top THREE. Also, I have yet to actually to play the Story Mode of this game, but I haven’t yet, therefore, I hold no opinion on the story as of currently. Marvel vs Capcom-styled traditional fighting games are hands-down, my go-to preference for traditional fighters.

Dissidia (and Dissidia 012): Final Fantasy: Forget Dissidia NT, THIS game (mostly Dissidia 012) is what an awesome 3D Action Fighting game is about! Much like how Smash Ultimate’s a unique fighting game (a Platform Fighter), this game is also a unique type of fighting game, possessing RPG elements and just having a blast with its awesome combat system. Cloud and Sephiroth were just so much fun to play as, with Terra, Squall, and WoL being my other favorite characters in this awesome game. This game is also essentially a HUGE homage to Final Fantasy as whole. From the ongoing conflicts between Cosmos and Chaos, to MULTIPLE references to the character’s original games, to additional modes that involve unlocking the likes of Gilgamesh from FFV, or fighting against the most frustrating secret final boss I’ve ever had the displeasure of fighting against (Feral Chaos), these games are awesome! Also, the reason why I’m addressing both games as a single installment here is because technically, while Dissidia 012 IS a prequel, it pretty has the same content (no, scratch that, MORE content) from the first Dissidia game and it’s pretty much an updated…well, not a “port”, per say, more like an enhanced re-release, much like Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 or any of the Blazblue EXTEND re-releases. However, complaints I have for Dissidia is that certain characters are annoying to fight against (such as Jecht, FUCK that character), the RPG system takes a while to build up until your favorite characters are FINALLY at Level 100, trying to get the rarest Equipment is rather difficult, and lastly, the action commands for certain character’s EX Bursts can be retooled for the sake of a proper fighting game, but then again, Dissidia ain’t a “traditional” fighting game. But aside from that, not only is this my favorite Action RPG/Fighting game of all time, but this is also my favorite Final Fantasy Spin-Off of all time.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars: What’s that? You were expecting a Marvel vs Capcom game to be on this list, let alone my top 5? Too bad! It’s Tatsunoko, baby! This one definitely holds a spot in my heart as this game stands as my number one favorite “Capcom vs Whatever” game of all time (yes, even moreso than Marvel vs Capcom itself OR any of the SNK vs Capcom games, don’t @ me). I love this game. I love its soundtrack (ESPECIALLY its main theme, “Across the Border”), I love the roster (despite being small), I love the final boss of the Arcade Mode (Yami, from Capcom’s Okami), and I love the gameplay. My complaints goes towards the lack of additional content outside of Arcade and the Gallery (although the top-down shooter minigame is rather fun), and, as stated before, small roster. But other than that, this game was really fun to play.

OTHER FAVORITE FIGHTING GAMES:

Sonic Battle, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, SvC: Chaos, and Blazblue: Chrono Phantasma.

Coming up next: My favorite RPGs/JPRGs!