VashTheStampede
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Top 10 Favorite Game Franchises
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VashTheStampede
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VashTheStampede
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I don’t think I could do this in order… each game earns its place for a different reason.
First there’s Final Fantasy series that comes to mind… my first legit RPG exposure, thanks for FFVII. I never played the older versions until later on down the line, and can barely remember anything about them… but from VII on, I have good memories of each one that I played (excluding the MMO’s).
Then I’d have to mention the Grand Theft Auto series. Man… those games entertained the hell outta me when I was a teenager, and I can’t wait for VI to come out.
I’m going through thinking about all the usual criteria, duration, replay value, etc. Then, I get to time spent… the later entries into the Fallout series come to mind. Admittedly, I never played anything before 3. But… have I played the shit out of 3, NV, and 4? Absolutely.
That got me thinking about dystopian shit I’ve played, which fed right into the BioShock series which I don’t think I could ever get sick of.
Then, I started thinking about how unique of a setting Rapture was, which made me start considering settings… Red Dead Redemption series come to mind, one of the most brilliant era-specific games I’ve played.
Eras… that got the gears turning. Horizon series comes to mind, since the dystopian future bullshit is already fresh in my mind. I’m not nearly as hardcore a gamer as some of y’all are, but the first two entries were refreshing to see in a landscape of FarCry copy/pastes I’ve played in recent years. The setting, the premise, the enemy concepts, all very imaginative and interesting.
Of course, thinking about how disappointing some games have been made me think about the good ol’ days. It made me think of the Sonic series because as a kid… there was no other game that got my attention like that back then. Each level still looks cool to this day.
While I’m back in my youth, the Pokémon series comes to mind. My friends and I spent so much time playing with the link cables and stuff, lot of fond memories playing a lot of the early Pokémon stuff with my friends and then the N64 stuff with my little brother.
Straying a little later, into the early teen years… the Need for Speed series comes to mind. I never cared for Gran Turismo, but NFS was easy enough for me to get the hang of and enjoy enough to buy every single one from Hot Pursuit through the original Most Wanted.
…and while I’m thinking back to my teens, the Metal Gear Solid series pops up. Talk about frustratingly fun. I loved all of those games going back to the PSX.
First there’s Final Fantasy series that comes to mind… my first legit RPG exposure, thanks for FFVII. I never played the older versions until later on down the line, and can barely remember anything about them… but from VII on, I have good memories of each one that I played (excluding the MMO’s).
Then I’d have to mention the Grand Theft Auto series. Man… those games entertained the hell outta me when I was a teenager, and I can’t wait for VI to come out.
I’m going through thinking about all the usual criteria, duration, replay value, etc. Then, I get to time spent… the later entries into the Fallout series come to mind. Admittedly, I never played anything before 3. But… have I played the shit out of 3, NV, and 4? Absolutely.
That got me thinking about dystopian shit I’ve played, which fed right into the BioShock series which I don’t think I could ever get sick of.
Then, I started thinking about how unique of a setting Rapture was, which made me start considering settings… Red Dead Redemption series come to mind, one of the most brilliant era-specific games I’ve played.
Eras… that got the gears turning. Horizon series comes to mind, since the dystopian future bullshit is already fresh in my mind. I’m not nearly as hardcore a gamer as some of y’all are, but the first two entries were refreshing to see in a landscape of FarCry copy/pastes I’ve played in recent years. The setting, the premise, the enemy concepts, all very imaginative and interesting.
Of course, thinking about how disappointing some games have been made me think about the good ol’ days. It made me think of the Sonic series because as a kid… there was no other game that got my attention like that back then. Each level still looks cool to this day.
While I’m back in my youth, the Pokémon series comes to mind. My friends and I spent so much time playing with the link cables and stuff, lot of fond memories playing a lot of the early Pokémon stuff with my friends and then the N64 stuff with my little brother.
Straying a little later, into the early teen years… the Need for Speed series comes to mind. I never cared for Gran Turismo, but NFS was easy enough for me to get the hang of and enjoy enough to buy every single one from Hot Pursuit through the original Most Wanted.
…and while I’m thinking back to my teens, the Metal Gear Solid series pops up. Talk about frustratingly fun. I loved all of those games going back to the PSX.
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VashTheStampede
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I can't wait. Although I'm not a fan of the new look they're going for with it. I really hope they decide to finish off the Prince of Persia Sands of Time Remake.
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Needs me a sequel to the 2008 version. I got a shitty cliffhanger and nothing.
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VashTheStampede
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So is it just like.. generic teams and players now?
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I'll chime in:
1.) Bioshock -- I'm a sucker for the entire series, and the System Shock games, as well. Such great storytelling, I love the Plasmids and the Vigors, the Big Daddy's, the Handymen...love it all! Great world building.
2.) Mass Effect -- Epic gameplay, great storytelling, enticing exploration and an absolutely flawless ending that in no way went wrong at any point...ahem...fantastic series of games!
3.) Mario -- I'm a sucker, I can't help it. Who doesn't love SMB3, SM64, Odyssey, etc. Mario has been a staple of my gaming life and will continue to be.
4.) Pokemon -- Sorry, the mainline games hooked me as a kid and I'm still on board. They're fun games. Even if I don't know most of the creatures anymore, the games are still fun to play!
5.) Sonic -- I admit I haven't played many of the newer games, but classic Sonic games are incredible They just are. (Honourable mention to Alex Kidd, the buried Sega mascot...LOVE the Alex Kidd games)
6.) Final Fantasy -- A must, truly a must, Final Fantasy has had some absolutely epic games in the series!
7.) Saints Row -- I know, not everyone's thing, but I adore the humour, I love that they basically cloned GTA and then made it so over the top that it became its' own thing.
8.) Panzer Dragoon -- Yeah, I know, expensive game in the list with Saga, but BECAUSE of Saga being a truly amazing RPG, even by today's standards, Panzer Dragoon has a place in my top list forever.
9.) Mega Man -- The classic Mega Man games, so much fun! Mighty Number 9 was...eh...and some of the later releases have been a bit of a letdown, but those early titles have my heart.
10.) Legend of Zelda -- Just another series you can't overlook. Whether it's the classic NES games, OoT, MM, Wind Waker, or even Breath of the Wild, there have been so many good Zelda games it's hard not to put Zelda on your list.
1.) Bioshock -- I'm a sucker for the entire series, and the System Shock games, as well. Such great storytelling, I love the Plasmids and the Vigors, the Big Daddy's, the Handymen...love it all! Great world building.
2.) Mass Effect -- Epic gameplay, great storytelling, enticing exploration and an absolutely flawless ending that in no way went wrong at any point...ahem...fantastic series of games!
3.) Mario -- I'm a sucker, I can't help it. Who doesn't love SMB3, SM64, Odyssey, etc. Mario has been a staple of my gaming life and will continue to be.
4.) Pokemon -- Sorry, the mainline games hooked me as a kid and I'm still on board. They're fun games. Even if I don't know most of the creatures anymore, the games are still fun to play!
5.) Sonic -- I admit I haven't played many of the newer games, but classic Sonic games are incredible They just are. (Honourable mention to Alex Kidd, the buried Sega mascot...LOVE the Alex Kidd games)
6.) Final Fantasy -- A must, truly a must, Final Fantasy has had some absolutely epic games in the series!
7.) Saints Row -- I know, not everyone's thing, but I adore the humour, I love that they basically cloned GTA and then made it so over the top that it became its' own thing.
8.) Panzer Dragoon -- Yeah, I know, expensive game in the list with Saga, but BECAUSE of Saga being a truly amazing RPG, even by today's standards, Panzer Dragoon has a place in my top list forever.
9.) Mega Man -- The classic Mega Man games, so much fun! Mighty Number 9 was...eh...and some of the later releases have been a bit of a letdown, but those early titles have my heart.
10.) Legend of Zelda -- Just another series you can't overlook. Whether it's the classic NES games, OoT, MM, Wind Waker, or even Breath of the Wild, there have been so many good Zelda games it's hard not to put Zelda on your list.
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In no specific order:
1. Mario (platforming) -- Mario platformers have almost NO misses. I wasn't a huge fan of Doki Doki Panic, and Lost Levels is the original troll game, but apart from these, every Mario platformer is at least "good". The NSMB games get a lot of hate, but every single one was better than the previous (except for NSMB2, which was just meh). Every 3D Mario game is at least great.
2. Paper Mario -- It's just different, okay? I know this hasn't been the most consistent series, but some of the less popular entries get more hate than they deserve. Origami King was charming, Color Splash was pretty good, and of course 64 and TTYD are legends.
3. Mega Man Classic -- not a single miss in the entire series. Even my least favorite in the series, MM7, gets a lot of love. I genuinely enjoyed MM8, the other least popular. The pixel reboots were EXCELLENT, with MM9 being one of my favorite games ever, and though I was sceptical of MM11, it ended up being an incredible game. Unlocked all achievements for MM9, 10, and 11.
4. Zelda -- VERY inconsistent series. High highs, low lows. Never cared for the NES games, but the Gameboy games all slap, LttP is one of the all-time greats, and OoT helped to redefine video games. BotW and TotK are also two of my favorite games ever. MM, TP, and SS all sucked IMO but they're still loved by many.
5. Dark Souls -- each game in the series is unique in its own way. I still can't decide whether I like 1 or 3 more -- the atmosphere and environments of 1 can't be beat, but the action and bosses in 3 are incredible.
6. Uncharted -- the best "action movie as a video game" ever. Beautiful set pieces, fun, varied gameplay (UC1 need not apply), and great pacing. Just so over the top and fun.
7. Metroid -- no misses, apart from that awful Wii game I can't even remember the name of. Prime 1 is one of my favorite games of all time, and Metroid Dread soared way beyond my expectations and also became one of my favorites of all time.
8. Donkey Kong -- Is there a single bad Donkey Kong classic platformer? Answer: no. Incredible music, varied gameplay, visuals, and mechanics, fun levels. Just tight-ass games all-around. But I'm a whore for platformers, clearly.
9. Ratchet and Clank -- haven't played all the games in the series, but the four I have played were excellent.
10. Smash Bros -- good games. So much care and effort and fan service put into them. Gotta love'em.
I'd like to say Pokemon but I didn't really care for any games except Gens 1, 2, 4, 5. The series has gone so downhill since.
Also I find it weird to choose games with only two entries in the series. Otherwise Curse of the Moon would be up there.
1. Mario (platforming) -- Mario platformers have almost NO misses. I wasn't a huge fan of Doki Doki Panic, and Lost Levels is the original troll game, but apart from these, every Mario platformer is at least "good". The NSMB games get a lot of hate, but every single one was better than the previous (except for NSMB2, which was just meh). Every 3D Mario game is at least great.
2. Paper Mario -- It's just different, okay? I know this hasn't been the most consistent series, but some of the less popular entries get more hate than they deserve. Origami King was charming, Color Splash was pretty good, and of course 64 and TTYD are legends.
3. Mega Man Classic -- not a single miss in the entire series. Even my least favorite in the series, MM7, gets a lot of love. I genuinely enjoyed MM8, the other least popular. The pixel reboots were EXCELLENT, with MM9 being one of my favorite games ever, and though I was sceptical of MM11, it ended up being an incredible game. Unlocked all achievements for MM9, 10, and 11.
4. Zelda -- VERY inconsistent series. High highs, low lows. Never cared for the NES games, but the Gameboy games all slap, LttP is one of the all-time greats, and OoT helped to redefine video games. BotW and TotK are also two of my favorite games ever. MM, TP, and SS all sucked IMO but they're still loved by many.
5. Dark Souls -- each game in the series is unique in its own way. I still can't decide whether I like 1 or 3 more -- the atmosphere and environments of 1 can't be beat, but the action and bosses in 3 are incredible.
6. Uncharted -- the best "action movie as a video game" ever. Beautiful set pieces, fun, varied gameplay (UC1 need not apply), and great pacing. Just so over the top and fun.
7. Metroid -- no misses, apart from that awful Wii game I can't even remember the name of. Prime 1 is one of my favorite games of all time, and Metroid Dread soared way beyond my expectations and also became one of my favorites of all time.
8. Donkey Kong -- Is there a single bad Donkey Kong classic platformer? Answer: no. Incredible music, varied gameplay, visuals, and mechanics, fun levels. Just tight-ass games all-around. But I'm a whore for platformers, clearly.
9. Ratchet and Clank -- haven't played all the games in the series, but the four I have played were excellent.
10. Smash Bros -- good games. So much care and effort and fan service put into them. Gotta love'em.
I'd like to say Pokemon but I didn't really care for any games except Gens 1, 2, 4, 5. The series has gone so downhill since.
Also I find it weird to choose games with only two entries in the series. Otherwise Curse of the Moon would be up there.
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1. Counter-Strike: it's where my heart will always lie.
2. Mario: what started it all.
3. Portal: one of my favorite single player experiences ever.
4. Grand Theft Auto: GTA, Mario, and Portal could all easily be tied for me.
5. Red Dead Redemption: one of the best single player experiences ever.
6. Battlefield: it's just pure chaotic fun. I miss BF3 jets.
7. Team Fortess: I didn't play a ton of TFC, but TF2 is just that good to make up for it.
8. The Division: speaks to me, guns and min maxing
9. Arkham Series: the best super hero game(s) ever.
10. Spider-Man: cheating a bit to add spider man 2 for the ps2, as well as the new ones.
edit: with a shootout to Tetris and PacMan. they are two of my favorites of all time, but I haven't cared about a modern one in years. BUT they both turned me into the gamer I am. reaction time, anticipation, on the fly decision making. all trained by Tetris and PacMan
2. Mario: what started it all.
3. Portal: one of my favorite single player experiences ever.
4. Grand Theft Auto: GTA, Mario, and Portal could all easily be tied for me.
5. Red Dead Redemption: one of the best single player experiences ever.
6. Battlefield: it's just pure chaotic fun. I miss BF3 jets.
7. Team Fortess: I didn't play a ton of TFC, but TF2 is just that good to make up for it.
8. The Division: speaks to me, guns and min maxing
9. Arkham Series: the best super hero game(s) ever.
10. Spider-Man: cheating a bit to add spider man 2 for the ps2, as well as the new ones.
edit: with a shootout to Tetris and PacMan. they are two of my favorites of all time, but I haven't cared about a modern one in years. BUT they both turned me into the gamer I am. reaction time, anticipation, on the fly decision making. all trained by Tetris and PacMan
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1. The Elder Scrolls
I just posted this on reddit so bringing it here: I started by watching the sitter play Morrowind on his Xbox in 2002. I didn't know it was part of a series of games or the third one, at that. I was completely fascinated by the ability to create a character, fuck with ordinators, do what you want, the journal - the whole thing. I never had an Xbox so I never considered playing. My hands were always too small for the OG Xbox controller (lol) so I just watched him whenever he came over. Once he stopped coming over, I kind of forgot about the game. 12 year old memory, among other things, pretty much disappeared from my thought process. Never even thought about playing it myself in the future.
Fast forward to 2006. I had just received an Xbox 360 for my 16th birthday with Oblivion. I had no idea what the game was, but it seemed like that old game from 2002 my sitter used to play, and it was a featured launch title on the back of the Xbox 360 box, so I went for that. I tried it, got stuck in the sewers, and then gave up. For months, it sat dormant and I regretted asking for an Xbox 360 - nearly trading it in for a PS3. At the end of 2006, I caught mono from someone at school, and was home for three weeks. I had nothing to do, my PS2 library was exhausted. I finally gave Oblivion another shot. Because I had no other option, I forced myself out of the sewers. From that point forward, I was completely immersed. I played only Oblivion for a year straight. I got all the DLCs, did every POSSIBLE thing on the console there was to do.
It wasn't until 2008 when I realized that Morrowind was the predecessor of Oblivion. At this point I was already obsessed with the lore, and I always knew it was "The Elder Scrolls 4" but never put 2 and 2 together. I found out about UESP and decided I had to play for myself. I played Morrowind on my own for the first time in 2008, and just like Oblivion, completely ran that shit into the ground. I mean, ran it. I found it to be more challenging than Oblivion, and definitely more gritty, but still a phenomenal experience. Once I was fully done with Morrowind, I went back to Oblivion. At this time, I had no idea of Fallout being a thing. (Didn't happen until 2015)
I waited with baited breath for Skyrim. I knew it was going to be huge. 11/11/11 still is ingrained in my memory. I likely put the most time in Skyrim out of any of the other TES games, easily over 5,000 lifetime hours. Granted, that's over a 10+ year period, and I haven't last played since 2018, but it also got ran completely into the ground. I was always a console player for TES games, so I never really got to mess around with modding any of the games until they allowed mods for consoles.
I tried ESO for the lore component in 2017 but really couldn't get into it beyond the Vaardenfell arc. I played that entirely and then stopped playing ESO. I just liked seeing Vaardenfell during a different era, it really felt nostalgic even though it was technically "in the past".
I'm excited for TES6 but I know we're a long way off.
2. Fallout
I was late to the show for Fallout. Being immersed in TES, I had no idea of Fallout's existence until 2012. My roommate played New Vegas and I had no idea it was a Bethesda game. Fast forward to 2015 - I received a PlayStation 4 as a Christmas gift from my parents, and it came with Fallout 4. Jesus fuck I had no idea how much I would love this game. Since this was my first Fallout game, I had nothing to compare it to and thought it was simply excellent. I ended up with over 2,700+ hours across my toons, until the 0kb bug on PS4 finally ended my long time playing career in 2020.
Still in 2020, I spent some time messing around with the PSNow feature that Sony offered and was able to play Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas over stream, which worked surprisingly well. I played these games more in full on my PC later down the line, but I was able to experience all the lore I had only been able to read about which was my primary goal. The one glaring issue was all of the lore contained in Fallout 76 that I had no way of knowing about, besides Wikis and LPs. So, in March 2020, I bit the bullet and tried Fallout 76 again. Haters be damned, this game fucks. I had issues in 2018 and ended up shelving it for two years, but I am so glad I tried again. I played it for the entire year and never got bored. I eventually even warmed up to playing with others and started joining public servers. It's still being improved on to this day, but I moved on once I soaked it all up. All in all, I ended on level 175 or so with my PC character. I miss it sometimes but I know I've done it all in that game.
I have never played Fallout 1 or 2, and I don't plan on it. I tried playing them at various stages in my life but I just can't get into it. I hate it. But I enjoy the lore and can easily talk about the games for hours without actually having played any.
Okay those are my top 2, so the rest of these won't have giant write ups. Also, no particular order:
3. Legend of Zelda
First one I played was OoT. Never cared for MM. Never played TP. I played all the other main line games, though. Out of them all, OoT and TotK are the best, followed by WW and SS. Not saying the GBA/NES/SNES are bad, but they aren't as high as these other ones. I like them all, there wasn't really a Zelda game I didn't enjoy.
4. Grand Theft Auto
Long story short, I was not allowed to play these games as a kid, but convinced my parents that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was nothing crazier than what I've seen in movies and TV. So in 2004 at 14 years old, they allowed it. I was able to watch friends play GTA 3, and I eventually played Vice City, but I have the most nostalgic memories with SA. GTA5 is still my favorite out of all of them, but before that, I was still a huge SA fan, and preferred it over the barren nature of GTA4. I didn't hate GTA4 but I was taken aback by everything they took away from SA. It still was a good refresh for Liberty City that I enjoyed either way.
5. Red Dead Redemption (specifically 2)
This is the only game that comes to memory that made me absolutely bawl my eyes out at the end. I felt such emotional pain from this game, and a video game's writing had never done that to me before. So, I made it a point to 100% it. To date, RDR2 and Fallout 4 are the only two games I have completed to 100% (besides various random Nintendo games). Nothing comes close. Fuck Thomas Downes.
6. Mass Effect (Not Andromeda)
It's been a while since I played this trilogy but it was by far one of the best space games I've ever played (and has little to do with space!) The story, continuation, fuckin Garrus, synthesis - it all hit for me. I never experienced the original ending, but I was quite please with the fix. The Leviathan DLC was very chilling and I still think about that kind of thing being real all the time. We would never know.
7. Bioshock (Prefer 1 & 2 over 3 by a lot)
I'm not an Infinite hater, I just think it changed up a lot of the gameplay - not a bad thing, but I liked under the sea better than in the clouds. The ending, paired with Burial at Sea, was one of the biggest "holy fuck" moments of any game I can think of. I spent months reading about the games and all the intersections. Yes, there is some mistakes and some weird retcons, but I believe it's one of the greatest stories of all gaming. And I don't think Andrew Ryan was inherently a bad man. (lol)
8. Half-Life/Portal (I consider this the same actual world)
Fuck Gabe. Mark Laidlaw let us know how Half-Life 3 was supposed to be and end before Valve went "nope, here's Half-Life: Alyx". I was obsessed with the original series but the steam really dies after years of waiting for an Episode 3. I read Laidlaw's poem and was content with the ending, but really wished I could experience it. Based on how HL: Alyx ends, I feel like they're trying to stoke the fire again. I am not falling for it until I see that VR crowbar in my hands for real.
Oh, I still make community maps for Portal 2. Love that shit.
9. Pokemon
Self-explanatory. From childhood to adulthood, I still keep up with the games. I found Arceus to be a pleasant rebirth of an old series. Scarlet wasn't as wild for me, but I still completed the Pokedex - something I was never able to do in the GB games.
10. Guitar Hero/Rock Band
I still play Clone Hero now, with all my favorite songs from Guitar Hero 1-5, and Rock Band 1-3. I think I'm better NOW than I was years ago. I bought a Wii guitar on eBay for $75, and a dongle from Japan for $45. It ended up working flawlessly. I play every day still, except Starfield will likely fuck that up starting..... in 5 minutes.
Speaking of Starfield, it's about to be 8PM. See ya!
I just posted this on reddit so bringing it here: I started by watching the sitter play Morrowind on his Xbox in 2002. I didn't know it was part of a series of games or the third one, at that. I was completely fascinated by the ability to create a character, fuck with ordinators, do what you want, the journal - the whole thing. I never had an Xbox so I never considered playing. My hands were always too small for the OG Xbox controller (lol) so I just watched him whenever he came over. Once he stopped coming over, I kind of forgot about the game. 12 year old memory, among other things, pretty much disappeared from my thought process. Never even thought about playing it myself in the future.
Fast forward to 2006. I had just received an Xbox 360 for my 16th birthday with Oblivion. I had no idea what the game was, but it seemed like that old game from 2002 my sitter used to play, and it was a featured launch title on the back of the Xbox 360 box, so I went for that. I tried it, got stuck in the sewers, and then gave up. For months, it sat dormant and I regretted asking for an Xbox 360 - nearly trading it in for a PS3. At the end of 2006, I caught mono from someone at school, and was home for three weeks. I had nothing to do, my PS2 library was exhausted. I finally gave Oblivion another shot. Because I had no other option, I forced myself out of the sewers. From that point forward, I was completely immersed. I played only Oblivion for a year straight. I got all the DLCs, did every POSSIBLE thing on the console there was to do.
It wasn't until 2008 when I realized that Morrowind was the predecessor of Oblivion. At this point I was already obsessed with the lore, and I always knew it was "The Elder Scrolls 4" but never put 2 and 2 together. I found out about UESP and decided I had to play for myself. I played Morrowind on my own for the first time in 2008, and just like Oblivion, completely ran that shit into the ground. I mean, ran it. I found it to be more challenging than Oblivion, and definitely more gritty, but still a phenomenal experience. Once I was fully done with Morrowind, I went back to Oblivion. At this time, I had no idea of Fallout being a thing. (Didn't happen until 2015)
I waited with baited breath for Skyrim. I knew it was going to be huge. 11/11/11 still is ingrained in my memory. I likely put the most time in Skyrim out of any of the other TES games, easily over 5,000 lifetime hours. Granted, that's over a 10+ year period, and I haven't last played since 2018, but it also got ran completely into the ground. I was always a console player for TES games, so I never really got to mess around with modding any of the games until they allowed mods for consoles.
I tried ESO for the lore component in 2017 but really couldn't get into it beyond the Vaardenfell arc. I played that entirely and then stopped playing ESO. I just liked seeing Vaardenfell during a different era, it really felt nostalgic even though it was technically "in the past".
I'm excited for TES6 but I know we're a long way off.
2. Fallout
I was late to the show for Fallout. Being immersed in TES, I had no idea of Fallout's existence until 2012. My roommate played New Vegas and I had no idea it was a Bethesda game. Fast forward to 2015 - I received a PlayStation 4 as a Christmas gift from my parents, and it came with Fallout 4. Jesus fuck I had no idea how much I would love this game. Since this was my first Fallout game, I had nothing to compare it to and thought it was simply excellent. I ended up with over 2,700+ hours across my toons, until the 0kb bug on PS4 finally ended my long time playing career in 2020.
Still in 2020, I spent some time messing around with the PSNow feature that Sony offered and was able to play Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas over stream, which worked surprisingly well. I played these games more in full on my PC later down the line, but I was able to experience all the lore I had only been able to read about which was my primary goal. The one glaring issue was all of the lore contained in Fallout 76 that I had no way of knowing about, besides Wikis and LPs. So, in March 2020, I bit the bullet and tried Fallout 76 again. Haters be damned, this game fucks. I had issues in 2018 and ended up shelving it for two years, but I am so glad I tried again. I played it for the entire year and never got bored. I eventually even warmed up to playing with others and started joining public servers. It's still being improved on to this day, but I moved on once I soaked it all up. All in all, I ended on level 175 or so with my PC character. I miss it sometimes but I know I've done it all in that game.
I have never played Fallout 1 or 2, and I don't plan on it. I tried playing them at various stages in my life but I just can't get into it. I hate it. But I enjoy the lore and can easily talk about the games for hours without actually having played any.
Okay those are my top 2, so the rest of these won't have giant write ups. Also, no particular order:
3. Legend of Zelda
First one I played was OoT. Never cared for MM. Never played TP. I played all the other main line games, though. Out of them all, OoT and TotK are the best, followed by WW and SS. Not saying the GBA/NES/SNES are bad, but they aren't as high as these other ones. I like them all, there wasn't really a Zelda game I didn't enjoy.
4. Grand Theft Auto
Long story short, I was not allowed to play these games as a kid, but convinced my parents that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was nothing crazier than what I've seen in movies and TV. So in 2004 at 14 years old, they allowed it. I was able to watch friends play GTA 3, and I eventually played Vice City, but I have the most nostalgic memories with SA. GTA5 is still my favorite out of all of them, but before that, I was still a huge SA fan, and preferred it over the barren nature of GTA4. I didn't hate GTA4 but I was taken aback by everything they took away from SA. It still was a good refresh for Liberty City that I enjoyed either way.
5. Red Dead Redemption (specifically 2)
This is the only game that comes to memory that made me absolutely bawl my eyes out at the end. I felt such emotional pain from this game, and a video game's writing had never done that to me before. So, I made it a point to 100% it. To date, RDR2 and Fallout 4 are the only two games I have completed to 100% (besides various random Nintendo games). Nothing comes close. Fuck Thomas Downes.
6. Mass Effect (Not Andromeda)
It's been a while since I played this trilogy but it was by far one of the best space games I've ever played (and has little to do with space!) The story, continuation, fuckin Garrus, synthesis - it all hit for me. I never experienced the original ending, but I was quite please with the fix. The Leviathan DLC was very chilling and I still think about that kind of thing being real all the time. We would never know.
7. Bioshock (Prefer 1 & 2 over 3 by a lot)
I'm not an Infinite hater, I just think it changed up a lot of the gameplay - not a bad thing, but I liked under the sea better than in the clouds. The ending, paired with Burial at Sea, was one of the biggest "holy fuck" moments of any game I can think of. I spent months reading about the games and all the intersections. Yes, there is some mistakes and some weird retcons, but I believe it's one of the greatest stories of all gaming. And I don't think Andrew Ryan was inherently a bad man. (lol)
8. Half-Life/Portal (I consider this the same actual world)
Fuck Gabe. Mark Laidlaw let us know how Half-Life 3 was supposed to be and end before Valve went "nope, here's Half-Life: Alyx". I was obsessed with the original series but the steam really dies after years of waiting for an Episode 3. I read Laidlaw's poem and was content with the ending, but really wished I could experience it. Based on how HL: Alyx ends, I feel like they're trying to stoke the fire again. I am not falling for it until I see that VR crowbar in my hands for real.
Oh, I still make community maps for Portal 2. Love that shit.
9. Pokemon
Self-explanatory. From childhood to adulthood, I still keep up with the games. I found Arceus to be a pleasant rebirth of an old series. Scarlet wasn't as wild for me, but I still completed the Pokedex - something I was never able to do in the GB games.
10. Guitar Hero/Rock Band
I still play Clone Hero now, with all my favorite songs from Guitar Hero 1-5, and Rock Band 1-3. I think I'm better NOW than I was years ago. I bought a Wii guitar on eBay for $75, and a dongle from Japan for $45. It ended up working flawlessly. I play every day still, except Starfield will likely fuck that up starting..... in 5 minutes.
Speaking of Starfield, it's about to be 8PM. See ya!
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Sounds like our GTA experience was very similar @Tommy Boy
- Messages
- 3,822
1. Shadow Hearts
2. Megami Tensei
3. Drakengard(/NieR)
4. Mario
5. Mega Man
6. Rock Band
7. Wolf Team (Tales + Star Ocean, yes this is cheating
)
8. Wild ARMs
9. The Legend of Zelda
10. Panel de Pon ("Puzzle League")
Honorable Mentions
Arc the Lad
Devil May Cry
Mystical Ninja/Ganbare Goemon
Series that should be in the running, but shit the bed
Assassin's Creed
Final Fantasy
Guitar Hero
Kingdom Hearts
Pokemon
2. Megami Tensei
3. Drakengard(/NieR)
4. Mario
5. Mega Man
6. Rock Band
7. Wolf Team (Tales + Star Ocean, yes this is cheating
)8. Wild ARMs
9. The Legend of Zelda
10. Panel de Pon ("Puzzle League")
Honorable Mentions
Arc the Lad
Devil May Cry
Mystical Ninja/Ganbare Goemon
Series that should be in the running, but shit the bed
Assassin's Creed
Final Fantasy
Guitar Hero
Kingdom Hearts
Pokemon
apocalypsepony
New Member
- Messages
- 6
Arc the lad, wow forgot about those amazing games...1. Shadow Hearts
2. Megami Tensei
3. Drakengard(/NieR)
4. Mario
5. Mega Man
6. Rock Band
7. Wolf Team (Tales + Star Ocean, yes this is cheating
8. Wild ARMs
9. The Legend of Zelda
10. Panel de Pon ("Puzzle League")
Honorable Mentions
Arc the Lad
Devil May Cry
Mystical Ninja/Ganbare Goemon
Series that should be in the running, but shit the bed
Assassin's Creed
Final Fantasy
Guitar Hero
Kingdom Hearts
Pokemon
MIND CONTROL! was by far my fav part, just hearing them say it when using the ability lol
apocalypsepony
New Member
- Messages
- 6
1 Romance of the Three Kingdoms
2 Cid Meier's Civilization
3 Elder Scrolls
4 COD Zombies ( up to BO2, I just lost interest in being locked into a game for 12 hours strait or more...)
5 Nobunaga's Ambition
6 Uncharted Waters ( the online one was a shitty cash grab, haven't tried the newest one...)
7 Breath of Fire but I never did beat number three ( rented as a kid and some sob stole the game from blockbusters so I never did get to rent it again lol
8 Final Fantasy
9 Lydia and the fortress of doom
10 Need for speed ( hot pursuit 2 for PS2 was where it's at, before they went all one player, when you could be the police against other people racing. ( Yeah I was online with my PS2
11 Socom US Navy SEALS ( if you beat the first one you are my hero lol )
SORRY BUT THERES MORE I REMEMBER COUNTLESS HOURS ENJOYING WITH BUDDIES SO ILL KEEP GOING
12 Conflict series ( Dessert storm 1&2, Global terror wasn't even close to as great but still not horrible... Ah before COD 4 changed the way fps were made )
13 Gran Tourismo/ Forza get almost equal love but I did prefer Forza more
14 Ace Combat
15 Kingdom Rush
Ok that's enough but there's more
2 Cid Meier's Civilization
3 Elder Scrolls
4 COD Zombies ( up to BO2, I just lost interest in being locked into a game for 12 hours strait or more...)
5 Nobunaga's Ambition
6 Uncharted Waters ( the online one was a shitty cash grab, haven't tried the newest one...)
7 Breath of Fire but I never did beat number three ( rented as a kid and some sob stole the game from blockbusters so I never did get to rent it again lol
8 Final Fantasy
9 Lydia and the fortress of doom
10 Need for speed ( hot pursuit 2 for PS2 was where it's at, before they went all one player, when you could be the police against other people racing. ( Yeah I was online with my PS2
11 Socom US Navy SEALS ( if you beat the first one you are my hero lol )
SORRY BUT THERES MORE I REMEMBER COUNTLESS HOURS ENJOYING WITH BUDDIES SO ILL KEEP GOING
12 Conflict series ( Dessert storm 1&2, Global terror wasn't even close to as great but still not horrible... Ah before COD 4 changed the way fps were made )
13 Gran Tourismo/ Forza get almost equal love but I did prefer Forza more
14 Ace Combat
15 Kingdom Rush
Ok that's enough but there's more
VashTheStampede
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Mr. Queen of the Dead
10K Post Club
Executive
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- Messages
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1) Legend of Zelda
- Can't understate how much fun I had with all these games growing up and still today thanks to the couple new ones.
2) Binding of Isaac
- I don't know how many hundreds of hours I got total in the series, but I love me some roguelite goodness.
3) Mario
- Again, grew up with these. Somewhat enjoyed the re-emergence of the 2D games from Wii onward, but the classics are still better imo.
4) Paper Mario
- Specifically the proper RPG ones. I tried to play the other ones that were more just platformers and they didn't get to me as good.
5) TF2
- Not sure if I ever actually touched the original, but literally thousands of hours spent on this bad boy.
6) MapleStory
- Technically a series now, as there was what was known as MapleStory 2 that didn't work out in the west, and there's some mobile and gameboy games. For some their first mmo was RuneScape, Ragnarok, Guild Wars, Everquest, or Ultima or something. For me it was this thing and it sucked multiple years out from me, made me new friends around the world, few relationships of which one is still going, as well as plenty of trolling, griefing, and general online drama nonsense. Wouldn't change it for anything though.
7) XCOM
- Specifically starting from Enemy Unknown. Love me some tactical strategy games with RPG goodies. Works 60% of the time every single time.
8) F-Zero
- Only ever played a couple, but loved them both. Some GBA F-Zero and then GX on GameCube.
9) Banjo Kazooie
- Super solid Rare amazingness right here. But only the first two. We don't talk about what happened after.
10) Pokemon
- I guess I do have to put this here too. Started already in elementary school and lasted nearly through my teens. At some point though, I did start losing interest in turn-based RPG games unless there was something else there too to keep me entertained. Not even some of the fan made ones, which are great on their own and all, can keep me amused anymore.
11) Final Fantasy
- Having played and beaten all of them from 1 to 9 (except 7 lmao) I do have to add this here as it's probably the series I've played the most games out of. Zelda is probably a close contender if I start counting. Mario... depends on how many of the spinoff ones you count as a "mario" game and not just a "sport" or "racing" game instead. Still though, 8 and 9 are ones I enjoyed the most and spend countless hours on playing and replaying to do new fun things.
Honorary mentions:
12) Risk of Rain
- It's just a fun solid game. RoR2 is also amazing on its own as they went from 2D to 3D, but between the two I enjoyed the former more. Thus I cannot wait until the remake comes out!
13) Rogue Legacy
- A very good roguelite series again. Fun, challenging, random, but rewarding.
14) Left 4 Dead
- I think Left 4 Dead was the first game I ever went and bought by myself with my own money. Before that I had been lucky enough to get all my games as either gifts or I went with my dad to buy something. That one I did on my own though so it kind of stuck as a random memory. Another really fun game
- Can't understate how much fun I had with all these games growing up and still today thanks to the couple new ones.
2) Binding of Isaac
- I don't know how many hundreds of hours I got total in the series, but I love me some roguelite goodness.
3) Mario
- Again, grew up with these. Somewhat enjoyed the re-emergence of the 2D games from Wii onward, but the classics are still better imo.
4) Paper Mario
- Specifically the proper RPG ones. I tried to play the other ones that were more just platformers and they didn't get to me as good.
5) TF2
- Not sure if I ever actually touched the original, but literally thousands of hours spent on this bad boy.
6) MapleStory
- Technically a series now, as there was what was known as MapleStory 2 that didn't work out in the west, and there's some mobile and gameboy games. For some their first mmo was RuneScape, Ragnarok, Guild Wars, Everquest, or Ultima or something. For me it was this thing and it sucked multiple years out from me, made me new friends around the world, few relationships of which one is still going, as well as plenty of trolling, griefing, and general online drama nonsense. Wouldn't change it for anything though.
7) XCOM
- Specifically starting from Enemy Unknown. Love me some tactical strategy games with RPG goodies. Works 60% of the time every single time.
8) F-Zero
- Only ever played a couple, but loved them both. Some GBA F-Zero and then GX on GameCube.
9) Banjo Kazooie
- Super solid Rare amazingness right here. But only the first two. We don't talk about what happened after.
10) Pokemon
- I guess I do have to put this here too. Started already in elementary school and lasted nearly through my teens. At some point though, I did start losing interest in turn-based RPG games unless there was something else there too to keep me entertained. Not even some of the fan made ones, which are great on their own and all, can keep me amused anymore.
11) Final Fantasy
- Having played and beaten all of them from 1 to 9 (except 7 lmao) I do have to add this here as it's probably the series I've played the most games out of. Zelda is probably a close contender if I start counting. Mario... depends on how many of the spinoff ones you count as a "mario" game and not just a "sport" or "racing" game instead. Still though, 8 and 9 are ones I enjoyed the most and spend countless hours on playing and replaying to do new fun things.
Honorary mentions:
12) Risk of Rain
- It's just a fun solid game. RoR2 is also amazing on its own as they went from 2D to 3D, but between the two I enjoyed the former more. Thus I cannot wait until the remake comes out!
13) Rogue Legacy
- A very good roguelite series again. Fun, challenging, random, but rewarding.
14) Left 4 Dead
- I think Left 4 Dead was the first game I ever went and bought by myself with my own money. Before that I had been lucky enough to get all my games as either gifts or I went with my dad to buy something. That one I did on my own though so it kind of stuck as a random memory. Another really fun game
VashTheStampede
Caterpillar Accountant
Mr. Queen of the Dead
10K Post Club
Executive
Moderator
GWF Sponsor
GW Elder
- Messages
- 10,292
Between @Christina and myself I'm scared to know how many hours of Isaac have been played in this house....
I played Rogue on my Tandy computer as a child and loved it but Binding of Isaac made me a roguelike fan for life.
I played Rogue on my Tandy computer as a child and loved it but Binding of Isaac made me a roguelike fan for life.
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- 1,737
- Messages
- 9,142
Yes you are, spread the word!
I tried Rogue myself, but couldn't get into it. Then again, it was very brutal in the beginning until you learn what to do and I think at the time I wasn't patient enough to learn what to do.
I still need to finish getting my platinum god in Isaac. Sigh. 90% of the way there with some easy check marks on some tainted characters, but I don't enjoy some of their mechanics and thus don't want to play them lol.