"Pick Me The Series' Must-Play Game", the game

[nightdreamer]

In this thread the person above names one series, and the replier pick its best, most important, or defining game. Explanation recommended, but not required

So for example, someone says Professor Layton, I reply with "'Professor Layton and the Unwound Future' because it worked out all the minor annoyance from the previous games (i.e., incomplete note-taking feature), had a really intriguing premise (time travel!) and had the most emotional story". Then I ask 'Mega Man' and someone replies with their choice, creating a chain. If this goes well, we can even expand this to 'concepts' or 'genre' or 'on a particular console', but let's do game series first.

All good? Heaven of hell? Let's rock!
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I'm gonna start with Silent Hill. Pick the one best Silent Hill game.

[GamerL]

now that's a tough one, objectively I would say Silent Hill 2, but my personal favorite is Silent Hill 3

however if I had to pick one that is a "must play" for everyone I would have to go with Silent Hill 2, seeing as how it's possibly to greatest story ever told in the medium of video games, it's also a pretty standalone title that does not require previous knowledge of any of the other entries (it was the first one I played for example)


next series: Castlevania, I know my personal favorite is Aria of Sorrow, but considering just how huge that series is, it's hard to pick which one is the "must play"

[moran]

Simon's Quest

It's not my favorite but I think it sets the tone for the series better than the previous one. Great music, setting, atmosphere, and mechanics. If it wasn't for such a poor translation I think it would rank much higher on a lot of people's lists.

Up next: Final Fantasy

[Jave]

Final Fantasy VI

Seven is probably the more influential and important game in the series, but six has aged so much more gracefully. Most of the core concepts of what makes an Final Fantasy game are intact and fully realized, in terms of the story, mechanics, and underpinning ideas and philosophies. Final Fantasy VI is the perfect balance between ambitious storytelling, playability, and not shoving its head up its ass.

next: Tekken

[ommadawnyawn2]

Tekken 2 mainly for its character designs, soundtrack and overall presentation. It was the first sufficient 3D alternative to Street Fighter for me as no game that I'd played before it (which wasn't many tbh) had enough personality or differed enough in style while also having solid enough mechanics and controls. I do think it demands too much to actually be good at, requiring a ton of practice and memorization it seems, but I'm more of a casual fighting game player anyway.

I was almost done with the last one so I'm posting it too: I'd go with FFV. IV set a new standard in storytelling and characterization for the series, but V innovated and modernized aspects that made me continue just for the gameplay and that's what you spend the most time on. Its dungeons are a big step up from before, featuring puzzles, non-random encounters, timed escape sequences and the option to sidetrack and find new summons to convert to your cause. The interface is improved in a number of ways, most importantly adding a time gauge to battles, and control over character development is increased. The job system while not that well balanced and a tad inflexible is addictive and fun to mess with, and arguably more of a draw than the story (which to be fair does have its moments like the Gilgamesh encounters, or the faux ending and is set in an interesting universe). I also think the sound design deserves mention, with its cleaner and more vivid sounding samples and punchier drums (just listen to that intro to the final boss music). In comparison to VI, maybe it's because I played this first and in quick succesion with IV and VI, but I found the pacing better here and VI clearly owes a lot to it in terms of what I mentioned before.

Next up: Aleste series

[Snarboo]

Musha Aleste

A fantastic, fast scrolling shmup with a rocking soundtrack! Sure, the weapon system is simpler when compared with other games in the series, but it makes up for it with great level and boss design. It's also very easy to pick up, making it a good introduction to the series overall, although it will take you a while to master it.

Next Series: Shinobi

[Allie]

Jul 22, 2014 9:28:46 GMT -5 Snarboo said:

Musha Aleste

A fantastic, fast scrolling shmup with a rocking soundtrack! Sure, the weapon system is simpler when compared with other games in the series, but it makes up for it with great level and boss design. It's also very easy to pick up, making it a good introduction to the series overall, although it will take you a while to master it.

Next Game: Shinobi

I'd go with Shinobi III (unsure of the game's Japan and PAL name) on this one. It came along late enough for developers to be intimately familiar with how to get the most out of the Genesis hardware, and though maybe it's not as 'hardcore' as the PS2 game (what with all the 3D pits and the constantly draining life and the TATE system), it certainly feels more like a "signature" title.

Next : The King of Fighters

[nightdreamer]

That's easy: King of Fighters '98. It balances 'SNK fighters from other properties' with 'KoF exclusives' and doesn't lean heavily on some weird, annoying new Akibahara-fashion pretty boy designs that the recent entries suffer from, and it's a blast to play while not yet having overcomplicated combo mechanic. The dad team is overpowered but really fun to use, and the boss, while tough, is fairly beatable. Besides, Shingo rocked in this game.

KoF98 is the KoF game that, if you play it well, you'll manage to be good at the other games too.

Next: Disgaea

[Weasel]

For Disgaea, I'd have to go with the PSP port of the first game, Afternoon of Darkness. Later entries in the series just add too much stuff to complicate matters, and you'll have a tricky enough time figuring out how the Geo Symbols, group attacks, and Item Worlds work. Plus, you can play it on a bus or train, and it's a pretty good time-waster in that regard.

Next: Devil May Cry.

[derboo]

DmC: Devil May Cry, because it's the only game with a tolerable (yet still pretty obnoxious) main character.


Next: Yakuza

[mainpatr]

Yakuza 4 ,because of 4 different characters to play as. Alternatively,Yakuza PSP.

Next series,Dynasty Warriors

[Deleted]

Hokuto Musou 1, the only DW game I can actually say I enjoyed. The combat feels a hell of a lot crunchier and meatier than in any other DW, almost approaching God Hand levels. Of course it doesn't play nearly as well.

Shin Hokuto Musou is a travesty on every level and one of the most button-mashy DW games of all, though.

Next: Donpachi

[Vokkan]

DoDonPachi, because 1: it's incredible for it's time 2: everything that came after have been harder and harder and had more and more complicated scoring systems. The series is basically the birth and death of a genre.

Next: Tales of -series

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2014 5:19:48 GMT -5 Vokkan said:

DoDonPachi, because 1: it's incredible for it's time 2: everything that came after have been harder and harder and had more and more complicated scoring systems. The series is basically the birth and death of a genre.

That's not quite true. DFK is one of Cave's easiest 1CCs, thanks to the very generous autobombs and excessive bullet canceling. (Akai Katana only gives you a single autobomb on your last life, and SDOJ encourages you to disable them completely.) Scoring in DOJ is only marginally more complicated than in DDP, though the entire game is much harder.

[Deleted]

Jul 22, 2014 11:43:58 GMT -5 derboo said:

DmC: Devil May Cry, because it's the only game with a tolerable (yet still pretty obnoxious) main character.

Nice trolling! :-p