Another long silent spell, but I wasn't really lacking things to write about. Rather, the last few weeks there has been a great deal going on...good friends visiting, new home new location new feeling, new function at work, and so on. But the relevant thing is that I'm writing more and more...just not on my blog.
Story ideas: Spindy, City, The Pilgrimmage, and one about a monster. Of course, I haven't even finished a damn draft of any of them, but I've been scribbling away like mad my ideas and inspiration seems to bubble forth compared to the on and off trickle of before.
So what's this post about? None of the above. This post is about my favorite video games of all time ^_^.
In no particular order:
Eternal Daughter- This is a creation of a guy named Derek Yu and his friend Jon, and Indy platform game centering around the adventures of a slave girl, Mia, who's fate goes beyond even freeing her people.
The game incorporates beautiful character design, good graphics (for a free game no less), and most important: great gameplay and storyline. The atmosphere of the game is really awesome, with a twisting storyline and perfect music that really gets you into the world Yu has created.
The jumping and control, Mia's light sword, collision detection, powerups and new abilities all make the gameplay nearly flawless. And due to the level of difficulty of Eternal Daughter, this is even more important. The game is a real challenge, from fighting Hume in his drill machine to completing the Dark Tower stage, I was hitting restart and cursing at a volume level I would be ashamed of except for at the time I was living alone =). The difficulty is on par with almost any platformer out there past or present, and I had shades of Ninja Gaiden in my brain with each death (but rest assured ED is not as "cheap" as Ninja Gaiden with it's insane jumping puzzles like when you leap over a chasm only to have a little bat swoop from nowhere colliding with you and sending you to your doom yes that memory still gives my legs a little twitch of annoyance).
But the combination of difficulty and atmosphere will have you keep coming back; battling harpies while listening to the beautiful piano in the ice stage or making your way through the forest really gets you immersed in the world. I hate to spoil anything, but the chaotic falling action really reminded me of the Dark Festival in the anime Berserk, and seeing your comrades around you in battle against a common foe in a nightmare world is really powerful.
The ending is appropriately beautiful. This game is free, here (or just Google "Eternal Daughter"): http://www.download-free-games.com/freeware_games/eternal_daughter.htm.
Damn I want to play this one right now, go Mia!
Castlevania: SOTN- Must be the best platformer ever made. Awesome graphics on the PS, spawned indy hits like ED as wel as console platformers everywhere, non-linear gameplay, magic con StreetFighter style joypad motions, familiars, a seemingly never ending supply of weapons equipment and enemies, GREAT music and atmosphere, Dracula, a secret second half of the game (which if you don't get to and complete, well you just haven't really played Symphony of the Night) and PERFECT gameplay.
I would suggest not using the Shield Rod + Alucard True Shield combination as it is cheap and allows you to coast through the remaining third of the game.
I must have played through SOTN 3 times.
Cave Story- Japanese name is Doukutsu Monogatari. A platform/shooter where you control a nameless warrior robot. You know nothing in the beginning and almost everything by the end. The anime style graphics and chunky explosions are perfect, seriously in terms of presentation this one beats out ED or any other indy game i've seen by a long way. Engrossing dialogue and characters, this one is more polished than ED...indeed more of a complete game than I'd say 95% of games out there on any platform. It is simply a perfect game.
Cave Story has a unique weapons interface where destroyed enemies leave powerups that upgrade whichever weapon you have equipped when you pick them up. Conversely, everytime you get hit your equipped weapon will lose some ferocity. The variety in weapons is pretty sweet. This one is more Metroid compared to ED's Castlevania, you get missiles, lasers, and other modern ordinance while Mia fights nearly exclusively with her light sword.
The multiple pathways in Cave Story are subtle yet very important. You can miss a lot, and gamers will probably be going out of their way to find each and every character to talk to or retrace steps-and not just for that elusive powerup; the story and world created are so cool you will want to get every answer to every mystery.
Presented in a very classic, 8bit style mixed with modern graphics, Cave Story also has a huge optional ending that honestly I could not complete. The game's difficulty is not on par with ED, but this "extra stage" was something I still need to conquer. It's not just an extra stage, it's the world. Get this game here: http://www.cavestory.org/index.php
Final Fantasy VI (III in US): My first RPG, I remember playing it on my SNES in my basement Christmas Day, the snow falling outside mimicking the swirling blizzard of Narshe.
Best story.
Best characters.
Best Final Fantasy.
Play these games if you haven't!
