Zenith Nadir wrote:i'm okay with the random battles in tales of phantasia since i did actually enjoy the fight interface, and you can turn the battles off if you want to (well, in the snes version anyway, i don't know about the gba version since it looked horrible)
a translation patch for the psx version was released a while ago. the manual ring makes the game a lot more fun but you don't find it until halfway through the game, which blows.
Seventh Shade wrote:armored core series (mech combat game. less anime, more strategy. the customization options are rediculous.)
honestly the only real armored core game I'd recommend is the original psx one. none of the expansions or sequels add anything worth playing them for unless you're already huge fan of the series. anyway, here's some shit:
GOD HAND
Hard as fuck + it rules. Anyone who doesn't agree is a gay or a baby, possibly both.
Gitaroo Man
Still the best goddamn rhythm game ever made. The US version was incredibly rare until it was reprinted a while ago, I have no clue how difficult the PAL version is to find.
Parappa the Rapper 2
Some people do not like this game as much as the original because "buhh, noodles." Some people are retarded. Studies indicate a correlation.
Steambot Chronicles
A sandbox game set in a Miyazaki-inspired steampunk setting, with a wide variety of shit to do, such as busking, digging for fossils, acting as a taxi, or fighting in the giant robot arena. You can be a complete asshole to everyone and even join the villians. Warning: I think you're forced to play at least some songs during the main plot, and all of them are AWFUL.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Pretty much justifies the existence of the rest of the Metal Gear series. It's a prequel, so while playing the first two will allow you to catch references and in-jokes, it isn't really necessary. Make sure you get Subsistence and not the original edition, it has an improved 3rd person view and a bunch of bonus shit.
Way of the Samurai
A sandbox game that takes place over three days, you can join one of three clans or just go around slaughtering everyone if you feel like it. Your attacks are based on the sword you're using, and almost every character has a unique one you can kill them for. Part of a whole series of games, including Way of the Samurai 2, Samurai Western, and Shinobido: Way of the Ninja, which was released in Europe but not America.
Michigan: Report from Hell
A horror game by Suda51, the director of Killer7. It was only released in Japan and Europe so I have no clue how good it actually is, but it's probably worth playing.
Dynasty Warriors
This series is similar to Armored Core in that there are a SHITLOAD of them and there's no real reason to play them all unless you really like hitting the square button. Most people seem to prefer 3 and 5. There are also a bunch of spinoffs (Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam)
Adventures of Cookie & Cream
A puzzle/platformer game where you have to control two characters simultaneously, either by yourself or with a second player.
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
The only genuinely great Breath of Fire game, people tend to either love or hate it. Unlike the rest of the series, which are competent but unspectacular jRPGs, Dragon Quarter is a gloomy dungeon crawler with a heavily tactical battle system. Your dragon transformation can destroy enemies easily, but using it raises the D-Counter, and if that hits 100% it's game over. If you fuck yourself over by relying on it too much, you can restart the game, keeping the bulk of your equipment, special attacks, and experience. Starting over also gives you extra story sequences that explain the plot in more depth.
Dark Cloud/Dark Cloud 2
A dungeon crawler where you trawl through randomized floors looking for captured villagers and town parts, which you then re-assemble to your liking (or to the townspeoples' requests.) The sequel is better in pretty much every way, but the original has Osmond as a playable character and Steve the Talking Slingshot, so in my opinion it's a draw.
Dragon Quest 8
Pretty good, but still nowhere near as great as 5. Also, Bangerz and Mash.
Bangerz and Mash
BANGERZ AND MASH
BANGERZ AND MASH
Timesplitters 2
Probably the best first person shooter on the PS2. The story mode is nicely varied, and there are a ton of challenges, multiplayer modes (splitscreen or with bots), playable characters, and even a simple map maker. I never played the original or Future Perfect but those are probably great, too. The company that made them (Free Radical) recently closed because apparantly everybody hated Haze.
Katamari Damacy/We Love Katamari
The series wore out its welcome after the first two, but the first two still rule.
Graffiti Kingdom
A 3D platformer where you can draw your own character, or take an enemy and add on to it. The actual gameplay itself is merely competent, but being able to make whatever wacky shit you want makes it a lot more enjoyable than it should be.
Robot Alchemic Drive
I don't think this came out in Europe, but if you can manage a way to play it, do so. The voice acting is (intentionally) hilariously bad, and the controls are tricky but satisfying as hell. Uppercutting a giant green robot into the air, then punching it through several city blocks as it comes back down NEVER gets old.
Psychonauts (If you don't have it for PC or another console)
Alien Hominid (If you don't have it for PC or another console)
Games that people tell me are good but I haven't played myself:
The Shadow Hearts series
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time/The Two Thrones
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (also available for Gamecube)
The Ratchet and Clank series
Yakuza/Yakuza 2
The Burnout series
The Red Star
Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico
Naval Ops: Warship Gunner/Warship Gunner 2
Sky Gunner
PSI Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Mercenaries
Games that got decent reviews but you should probably avoid:
Odin Sphere
The 2D graphics are gorgeous, but the gameplay is shallow, repetitive, and unsatisfying, plus there's a ton of slowdown. Vanillaware is currently working on a Wii game, hopefully it turns out a lot better.
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Everything about this game is terrible except the battles - all of the characters are awful (excluding one that was added in the director's cut, but he only gets a handful of lines and has no bearing on the plot), the item creation is uninteresting, and has the most offensively bad plot of any game I've ever played.
Rogue Galaxy
A Star Ocean knockoff that does some things better, (slightly more bearable characters and plot, great graphics) and some worse. Too much emphasis was placed on eliminating load times, which resulted in uninteresting fights and repetitive dungeons.
Xenosaga
i have never played any of the xenosaga games but i am telling you to avoid them anyway as pretty much everyone i've talked to that isn't retarded hates them. i hope you appreciate this.