Playing My Role
Anyone who dislikes my rambles about video games…..leave now. That’s all this is going to be. My lime green and black corner of the internets is in need of a little light-heartedness these days. So here some goes…
A few months ago, right around the time I finished Skies of Arcadia Legends and Grandia II, I made a list of all the RPG’s I’d ever finished, then started to rank them in several different categories. What follows is a list of those lists…
To begin, I suppose I should name all the games I have finished so there’s a basis for everyone to know what list I’m going off of here. That list is as follows: Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean the Second Story, Chrono Cross, Grandia II, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: KOTOR II: The Sith Lords, Baten Kaitos, Tales of Symphonia, Skies of Arcadia Legends, Grandia III, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Tales of Legendia, Beyond Good and Evil, Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Admittedly, the list is short, and quite lacking in many noted "classics." For the record, let me say that I have not been a fan of the Final Fantasy series. I tried playing FF7, but couldn’t get into it. Same with FF1, FF4, and FF6. I’ve played about halfway through FFX and FFX-2. I like them okay, but they’re not great. I’ll get around to finishing them someday. Other incompleted games not on this list (which includes the two I’m currently working on): Tales of the Abyss, Baten Kaitos Origins, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Legend of Legaia, Jade Empire, Tales of Phantasia, Fable, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. And there’s probably more I’ve started and never really finished that I’m not even thinking of. Anyway…. On with the show.
Best Story
1. Tales of Symphonia
2. Star Ocean 3
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Grandia II
5. Tales of Legendia
Best Battle System
1. Star Ocean 3
2. Tales of Symphonia
3. Star Ocean 2
4. Grandia III
5. Baten Kaitos
Boss Fights
1. Star Ocean 2 – Indelacio (with his limiter off)
2. Tales of Symphonia – Abyssion
3. Grandia III – Emelious
4. Skies of Arcadia Legends – Fake Vyse and party
5. Chrono Cross – Dark Serge
Plot Twists (SPOILERS…obviously)
1. Star Ocean 3 – Game within a game
2. Star Wars: KOTOR – Darth Revan is YOU
3. Chrono Cross – Serge/Lynx body switch
4. Baten Kaitos – Evil Kalas
5. Chrono Trigger – Crono dies, Magus turns good
Stand Out Non-Main Characters
1. Kratos Aurion – Tales of Symphonia
2. Elena / Millenia – Grandia II
3. HK-47 – Star Wars: KOTOR I and II
4. Dias Flac – Star Ocean 2
5. Frog – Chrono Trigger
Unique Game Mechanics
1. The Influence System – Star Wars: KOTOR II
2. Item Creation / Invention System – Star Ocean 3
3. Airship Battles – Skies of Arcadia Legends
4. Evolution of Magnus – Baten Kaitos
5. Two games in One – Tales of Legendia
Overall Favorite Games
1. Tales of Symphonia
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
3. Star Ocean Till the End of Time
4. Grandia II
5. Tales of Legendia
And there you have it. A nice little exercise in subjectivity. There are probably several changes that will come by the time I finish Tales of the Abyss and even Baten Kaitos Origins. But I’ll do them the favor of reserving final judgement on both for when I’ve actually finished them. Any gripes with the list can be placed below. And I offer a hearty congratulations to anyone who actually bothered to read this whole pointless thing. Cheers! (Did I really just say that? Ugh…Kill me now…).
Now Playing in Dave’s Mental Jukebox: "All That I’m Living For" by Evanescence, "So I Thought" by Flyleaf, and "Cold" by Static-X
Sayonara.