Blog Posts from "I Will Eat Your Soul"

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (5-1), Conclusion

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:13:01 -0500

It's time to conclude this thing. I hope you guys aren't let down. Please no comments regarding "oh thats cool my top 5 are X X X X X", because that shows you don't really give a crap :P

I'm posting this early today because...well, I'd rather it be out early for the readers in Europe.

Remix:

Song: Battle/Clash on the Bridge
Game: Final Fantasy 5 (OMG RITE?)
Composer: The Uematsu and his Nobuos.

It's been a long way down, and here we are at #5, what if you ask me is the best 16 bit piece of music to grace the SNES (technically the super famicom, but whatever). As well as probably the catchiest damn boss battle music in existence.

There's a reason this song is a fan favorite. And that is because it kicks loads off ass. It is not only an extremely good boss theme, but it's the main theme to one of the coolest badasses in Final Fantasy, GARUGAMESH! (Gilgamesh) Not only that, it just has an incredible intro.

I dare you to find a song like this one with a better beat to it. I mean this song is just amazing, that for a long time I was tempted to put it at an even lower number than 5. The only reason I didn't....well, probably nostalgia and the fact that I never got all that far in FFV.

Admit it, you were tapping your foot to this song. That intro outdoes TTFaF any day of the week, and it's just a really ******* cool song.

Remixes:

Song: DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMSDAY!
Game: Sonic and Knuckles
Composer: I believe it's the same guys as before.

Hands DOWN the most metal song of 16 bittyness in existence, this song comes with a big catch for me: I CANNOT ******* BEAT DOOMSDAY. It's such a freaking cheap zone that it still to this day kills me inside. And in the game too.

Still, this is the reason why I play it in the first place. It's got such a godly music track to it. I mean, come on, there's no way this song didn't get you pumping, and even if it didn't, one of the remixes did. I mean seriously, it's so damn awesome and in your face that your head asplode while you listen to it.

Admittedly, it's probably the fanboy inside me speaking, but I really freaking love this song. It's just got such a great beat to it that it just WORKS. It shows a time when 16 bit music could truly be nearly as amazing as any crap on the radio (if you ask me, it was better because radio in '96 sucked ass).

It is just one amazing final boss tune. (and the surprising thing is: it's only my 3rd favorite!)

Song: Maybe I'm a Lion
Game: FF8
Composer: This person has chosen to remain anonymous (too damn late).

Okay, chances are you've heard this one, if not in the game, then in yesterday's somewhat controversial armory.

But you know what, you gotta admit: it's freaking AWESOME. I guess it's status as "final boss" can be debated, but it is exclusive to Ultimecia's second of 4 forms. You know that the composer did a good job when the final boss has 4 freaking fight songs (2 of which are in my top 15), 3 of which exclusive to the boss itself.

In any case, this song is one of the most badass drum beats in existence. Just listening to it, you can paint a picture of a large room filled with people banging gynormous bongos while two guys in the front exchange guitar lines and bass lines with a keyboardist and a drummer in the back. That's why it's such a damn good song, because it sounds and feels like no other. It actually presents a feeling of listening to someone perform this in front of a lot of people. I almost feel tempted to applaud after listening.

This song just has such a great vibe to it, and it's a really great listen. I will now and forever consider this my favorite Final Fantasy music track, if not for the amazing composition but for that chilling percussion intro.

Song: Siege on Bowser's Castle
Game: Paper Mario
Composer: Yuka Tsujiyoko

Admittedly, it might be the nostalgia talking, but my last 2 tracks are both Mario-related.

This song enthralls me each listen through. It reminds me why I like the game in the first place, and that is the sheer effort that the development team put into making the dungeons of the game. Most RPGs have pretty short dungeons that if it wasn't for the fighting, they'd take maybe 10 minutes to clear. Paper Mario's, on first playthrough, take considerably longer than that.

In any case, as you might notice with this version, the coolest thing about this song is it truly builds up. Bowser's Castle in Paper Mario is the biggest final dungeon/Bowser Stage in all of Mario, so what the composer did is make the song more and more elaborate, almost interactive if you will, based on how far into the castle you are.

This song is still freaking amazing on it's own. It's got that tremendous final area atmosphere, and when it picks up, it get's really damn amazing, and even has some really damn amazing guitar lines.

Yes, this is my #2 song, from one of my favorite games, and it kicks more ass than any of my other 98 songs. It's just that freaking fantastic. It's got a great beat to it, and the pickup is not only flawless, but the song itself is next to flawless in it of itself, from how it begins from a lonely bass beat to the fantastic, speedy and groovy climax of the song.

So, what is my #1 song?

Song: Ultimate Koopa
Game: Mario 64
Composer: Koji Kondo

That's right, another #1 spot claimed by Mario 64. And I will admit it was probably one of the toughest decisions I've had to make regarding what goes into the #1 spot in all of my blogs.

This song gets by so well simply because it's so freaking haunting. There's no percussion gimmicks, no bass guitar, no nothing. It's just a synth/organ, playing an incredible and downright creepy sounding solo, that trying to justify it in words would be like trying to explain to someone why the Who are the most influential hard rock act in existence: chances are, you're probably preaching to the choir. If you don't know what makes this song so great, you need to find out, even if you disagree with my decision as #1.

Simply put, as soon as this song pops up, no matter how many of the 40-50 times I've heard it across my gaming life (and I've only beat the game twice), it sends chills down the back of my spine.

This song gets by with just one instrument SO damn well, that if given the choice, I'd like the song played at my funeral. To me, this is, one of, if not, the greatest pieces of video game music ever composed. It's just got such an INCREDIBLE rhythm for it that it would have made at least Top 5 any other way. Admittedly, my decision is not as firm as I want it to be, as the other songs in my top 5 made a great run for it, and music is always subject to time of day, opinion, mood, etc.

Still, I love this song so damn much, and it's hard not to enjoy it.

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And there you have it, 100 songs from video games that I enjoy, ranked in a rough order from 100 to 1, and today you have witnessed the end! I'd like to thank all of those of you who stuck with me as I almost hastily concluded the second half of my list, and those of you who rated my blogs so high. Thanks for the motivation, hope I didn't let you down.

(PS: I would like to say: DANG YOU ULTAMITE! I nearly misspelt my #1 entry because of your broken spelling of the word "Ultimate"!)

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (10-6)

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:40:42 -0500

Down to the top 10. Alright, predictableness, BEGIN! Time to reuse numbers.

Remixes:

Song: RIDLEY! (actually, It's not just exclusive to him, but It's been associated with him for awhile)
Game: Soopah Metroid
Composer: Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano

What a song to start off this top 10. Admittedly, I don't play Metroid much and haven't gotten into Super Metroid...but this games music kicks ass.

There's a lot that can be said about Ridley. He's a consistent villain in what is often considered one of the best franchises in video games. He's a freaking purple alien dragon...a GOOD one. And of course, there's his really pumping 6/8 tempo theme song.

Let's admit this much: This song is freaking awesome. It's just a fantastic piece that suits a boss theme immaculately. It's got a sense of urgency and a really great beat. It's freaking kick-ass.

My first experience with Ridley was in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His theme's awesome beat kept me constantly placing it on my crappy custom stages, hopefully making them better. The song suits a ton of situations, yet is such a magnum opus that words cannot do the song justice.

Again, simple, but really, would I have it any other way?

Song: Ghost Gulping
Game:...That one Mario game where he's all, like, paper and stuff, and it's for the N64.
Composer: That one chick who composes, like, all the games in the series.

Honestly, if you didn't expect this song somewhere high on my list, knowing my fanship of this series, then either you haven't played this game or you are just funny like that.

In any case, what can I say? It's the most epic chapter boss song in the history of RPGs. I know some people out there think that this song is overrated, and I do too (it's not the BEST video game song out there...but it's close). However...it's still really freaking cool sounding.

I mean come on, it's just so damn groovy and catchy! That haunting keyboard sound makes this one feel like it's straight out of a Tim Burton animated film IMO. That is certainly saying something

this is the type of video game song that makes you tap your foot and hum along to it. There isn't a better opera-style, upbeat ghostly song in video games. If you can find me one that is, please send it to me, as I always look for new video game music.

In any case, this is my #9 spot, and I stand firm, because this songs feel is just too good to pass it as anything less.

Original Game Mix

Full Version

Song: Four Brave Champions
Game: Castle Crashers
Composer: David Orr

"Wha...? How the hell did a song like this, from a downloadable title and composed by some guy at his computer make it to #8, ahead of The Extreme, Airship, One Winged Angel?"

Exactly. Part of the value of this song is simply the sheer shock of your first listen. You don't expect it. And that's why it's on the list: You download a 15$ game with only the expectations set by the high rating the game has, and BAM. This song plays on your title screen. Because of that, you know it's gonna be one insane adventure.

The menu theme to Castle Crashers is still one of the most awesome pieces of music in video games, that I don't care that it was done by some 18 year old with a sound studio on his computer. DavidOrr knows how to make classical sounding music.

In any case, this song is freaking brilliant. I continue to be astounded at just how amazing the soundtrack is, considering it's a collective sum of about 8-10 users on Newgrounds.com who submitted tracks for the final game. It came out wonderfully. It has that epic sound to it that not only sets up the game beautifully, but it's a worthy tune in it of itself.

I can't really describe it well, but I look forward to the day this guy gets hired to make music for bigger companies and bigger titles, because he has a lot of potential with songs like this one.

Song: Windy and Ripply
Game: Sonic Adventure (If you didn't figure that one out already)
Composer: Senoue and his 40's of Crushness.

Okay, I know I put the first part of Emerald Coast's music on here as well, but this song is so much different. It has a totally different feel to it. This is the definition of sea-side level merriment.

Let me put it this way: This is the best song in Sonic Adventure, and I will stand by that opinion. This is actually really saying something, especially considering it's coming from the guy who's put like 6 songs from that game alone on this very list.

That bassline has got to be one of the coolest in video game basslines. This song has such a relaxing feel to it, even if it's all fast paced guitar. Which is cool, because that suits both Sonic and his level perfectly. It's just a great song, a strange upbeat and catchy guitar song that really comes in unexpectedly.

Honestly, I don't care how easy it has become to beat, Emerald Coast is still my favorite level from pretty much every Sonic game, or at the very least the best for the adventure games. They need a sequel to those games, too. Hey, if they made a Sonic 4 they can sure as hell make an Adventure 3.

In any case, Windy and Ripply is just a fantastic song all together.

And now, it's time for the second-most obvious and predictable choice on my whole freaking list!

Remix:

Song: Dancing ******* Mad
Game: FFVI, (or III)
Composer: Once Again, Nobuo Uematsu

I figured I might as well get it out: THIS SONG IS NOT OVERRATED. That said, due to all that going on, I was wondering whether or not it deserved a spot in my top 10. In about 10 seconds, I came to the conclusion that anything less is insulting.

Really, I don't think describing a 12-18 minute song in depth will really justify the insanity of this track. It's just, hands down, one of the coolest final boss tracks evar. Not only that, it is quite possibly the deepest in existence. I mean for crimony's sake, when the song lasts 12 freaking minutes in a video game and still manages to come out this strong, you know it's a masterpiece. Most video game songs are about 3 minutes in length, and these are often loops.

Dancing Mad is so unconventional of a song that that ALONE would give it a spot on my list...but it has to be so freaking awesome and memorable. A perfect song to fit one of gaming's finest villains.

Honestly, what can I say to describe this song that truly gives it justice? I define it as a pinnacle in video game music, and if you think it's overrated, that's YOUR opinion, because Dancing Mad is just epic.

And let me tell you: The Black Mages version does a great job of re-capturing what made the song so great to begin with.

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I look forward to my next blog, when I'll finally be finished with this 3 month old blog.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (15-11)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:02:16 -0500

here is part 18!

Song: King of The Koopas
Game: Paper Mario
作曲家: 前にと同じ人

In any case, somebody in one of my previous blogs happened to message me about this song, and why it wasn't on here. Here's why: It's at #15.

Simply put, this song is amazingly well done. It has an insanely cool and deep, yet exhilarating introduction, before jumping straight into an awesome little dual guitar-synth solo. That is the kind of stuff I wanna see in video game music. Honestly, hearing this song in action flash cartoons never ceases to give me a wave of nostalgic feeling.

Nostalgia continues to play a big part on my list. I mean come on, it's the freaking final boss! This game has the tendency to use recognizable instrumental composition for a lot of its songs. However, this song can be recognized as a Paper Mario song, yet it sounds so distinct from the rest of the soundtrack with its insanely well done drums samplings and great mastering.

You just don't hear songs like this one on the Nintendo 64. It takes the great power of final boss tracks before it, and turns out what is in my opinion the 5th greatest final boss song of all time, and the 15th most awesome video game song in memory.

Remix:

Song: Angel Island Zone
Game: Sonic 3
Composer: Guitar Guy of Video Games, and possibly that guy who died last year although nobody knows that for sure.

In any case, we jump from last to first in a single entry. I included both acts (even though if you go for emeralds, you hear both in the first act), since each one is equally nostalgic and awesome.

You gotta admit, this is quite an awesome song to start a game. It may not have the power of Emerald Hill, the nostalgia of Green Hill, or the sound quality of Emerald Coast, but if you ask me, it takes the best of the first two and creates an insanely catchy and awesome song.

Act 1 is a far more upbeat and catchy song. It's just so jingly that you'll be humming it for years. Yet to me, Act 2 is where Angel Island really takes off. It's far more downbeat...and rightfully so. No song in history can ever suit an entire lush island forest burning to the ground that it stands on quite like act 2. It's just such a rush, yet it still kicks a ton of ass.

In seriousness, you can't have not expected me to include this track. I make it pretty apparent that 3&K is pretty much my favorite in the series, so it's gotta be the best first level song for me.

Remix:

Song: Gourmet Race!
Game: Kirby Super Star
Composer: Jun Ishikawa, Dan Miyakawa (according to google)

And here we have the last little "wasn't expecting that" song to go onto my list. Well, I think I have 1 more, but okay...

Certainly, while I may never have played a Kirby game until about 2003, and Super Star only last year...Well, I had Smash Bros. didn't I?

Admittedly, this song is a bit too simple for this spot on the list. But it's the simplest pleasures in life that are the best, right? I mean, you gotta admit, it's freaking catchy. It's just got such a brilliant melody to it, that it's impossible to leave the computer without every note in your head for life.

Kirby is so badass. He's a pink puffball blessed with some of the most downright awesomely unique songs in video games. That's what gourmet race is: it's different, but in a good way.

And let's not forget Brawl turning it into a blasting metal track. There's a reason the upload of that song has over 1 million views.

Remix:

Song: The Extreme
Game: Final Fantasy 8
Composer: ustameU ouboN

Trust me, don't listen to that intro with headphones on, it will scare the **** out of you.

Seriously, The Extreme reaks of so much epic win that it deserves a number no higher than 20, and for me it ranks at 12. It's just such a fan-freakin-tastic song.

This song is a testament to the awesome music of Final Fantasy. It's got some symphonic callbacks to the past music of the series, such as the intro bassline that started off many of the series' finest tracks, the ominousness of dancing mad, while maintaining its own brilliant and epic composition that stuns me to this day and makes me both proud and ashamed to be a musician, because it's so fantastic that it makes me appreciate it, while making me feel sad because I could probably never top it.

It's just so brilliantly awesome. Final boss tunes have that adrenaline rush to them, and this song maintains the tempo and beat to do so, while simeultaneously making what is in my opinion one of the most letdown-ish final bosses I know of (despite the epic factor...she's too easy, if you get that far, chances are you're not gonna die.) completely worth it and a once in a lifetime treasured moment in a video game.

The Extreme is just an amazing final boss tune.

Remixes:

Song: Airship
Game: Mario 3
Composer: Koji Kondo

Really, for the longest time, I felt proud to say that I was the only one on youtube who had uploaded the original mix to this song (I don't have it any more, but I did for more than a year).

This song is singlehandedly the most awesome 8 bit tune that's ever crossed my ears. I don't care how big a step down in is from a song like The Extreme, it's still a step up for me. It's one of the most remembered songs from one of the most legendary platformers in existence.

Seriously, is there a lot that truly needs to be said about the airship that hasn't been said by a million different fans of the series? This song is the definitive military music of video games. If you don't believe me, watch this video from about 6:30-8:30.

IT'S FREAKING AWESOME. I don't even need to say any more about it.

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Top 10 coming, and I assure you, it will be as amazing and predictable as...well, as I want. :P Thanks for sticking around guys.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (20-16)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:55:41 -0500

Remixes:

Song: Battle 2 (AKA Culex)
Game:...Okay, you need me to explain this one too?
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Quite possibly the most legendary standard boss theme, if you ask me, it's probably the best generic boss theme song in existence.

This song proved just the kind of hardware that the SNES was, and hit the ball out of the park in terms of quality composition. It's not only one of the most epic sounding boss tracks in video games, it's crazy awesome and catchy. In fact, there is no such thing as a true Final Fantasy fan who doesn't accept this as one of the series' greatest tracks :P

Seriously, just about every boss in video games could have this music playing in the background, and it would work perfectly! That's how amazing a theme it is. The crazy orchestral sounds were the pinnacle of its day, and that looming bassline is crazy awesome.

This song was so awesome, they included it in a completely unrelated game. Mario RPG had a similar song to this one for its special boss, as an homage to FFIV, another square developed game. You know when a company does something like that, they've made work to be truly proud of creating.

Simply put: Amazing boss theme. No more words truly have to be said.

Song: The Landing
Game: Final Fantasy 8
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Thump thump...thump thump...thump thump...

You have to admit, the first time you heard this song, you came in your pants. There's no way around it. This song is just that awesome.

This song, in a way, began FF8. It prioritized a strange new mission that began an incredible and lengthy quest, working in a similar way as Opening/Bombing Mission, another legendary song in the series. I still prefer this one by a long shot.

That opening heartbeat always captures me, then as the song slowly builds up, it quickly becomes more than some simple background music. It pulls you into the game, providing a musical experience of crazy orchestral brilliance. This song is why we play games on the playstation.

It's an amazingly well composed song, brilliant melody, and one I'm proud to own on my iPod. This was one of the very first songs to find its way onto my list, and I can still see why I put it there.

Song: Over Shiver Mountain
Game: Paper Mario
Composer: The one who composes pretty much all intelligent systems games.

See, half of my Top 20 centers around simple songs, the other being really complex ones. about a fourth of them are from this game as well :P

This one is probably the simplest of them all. The majority of the song is the same repetitive arpeggio with some stops and mutes and drum samples, etc. But this song shines as one of my favorites of all time, and my favorite of the stellar chapter 7's 7 songs of awesomeness.

It's just...so catchy. It makes an amazing snow jingle, easily the best I've ever heard (I hate christmas music. Same old same old for 100 freaking years). Not only that, it just oozes pure musical bliss.

It's kinda tough to really explain this song like others, because it's a simple song, and only clocks in at a minute and a half on most music downloads. But I really like it. It's just an incredible song despite the shortcomings.

Song: Teh Final Battellllll!!!!!!11 (Pokey Means Business)
Game: Earthbound
Composer: Suzuki and Tanaka

I was hesitant to place this one as high as I did for awhile...but simply put, I think considering quite the song it really is, it deserves a #17 spot.

That 8 bit jingle still to this day puts a smile on my face. It's so catchy and simple, especially because you don't expect music sounding like that, much less that awesome, in a 16 bit game. In a way, it's my favorite part of the song.

But the big, infamous shocker of the song is what happens about a minute in: it just goes from 8 bit tune to double bass, techno and rave with metal influences. This song is just so aggressive, which is why I love it so much. It works as a near-Final battle song just perfectly.

In any case, this is my last Earthbound song, and its certainly a doozy. You gotta admit the sheer originality of the tune. It's just such a fun yet angry song.

Song: Raphael Raven
Game: see #18
Composer: see #18

Yes, 2 songs of the same game in the same part is kinda bad...but oh freaking well, I stopped caring a long time ago. I did warn ya after all!

In any case...this song is just BAD-ASS, in that strange tribal kind of way. It starts with a badass flute solo, and builds up with a nice winding little jingle...but then it hits the fabulous main rhythm of the song, which is where it truly picks up.

This song is a rumble in the jungle, like none other. It's so freaking catchy and badass, that it's almost a shame it goes to such an insignificant character. This song simply reeks of epicness and awesome, that putting it any lower (technically, higher) on my list felt like an insult to one of my childhood favorite songs.

This song is simply an amazing song in so many ways. It works as a theme to just about everything, and it's so upbeat and uplifting that it's hard not to smile when you first hear it.

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Alrighty guys, I was kinda dreading todays blog, as I feel my Top 20 start to become more and more of a letdown to the big "hype" that was unexpectedly generated getting here. Hope you enjoy this, maybe my next entry will be even better.

Ghost's Top 100 Games Coming Soon!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:17:30 -0500

Alright, I certainly have done a top 10 games. But to me, that was all a test to see if I truly could do a top games blog. I've been contemplating this one for quite awhile, and was pretty much set back by my other top 100, which honestly I felt good making, but it slipped into predictability.

I've been itching to make one of these for awhile, even before my regular top 10. I do this for a number of reasons.

The first reason being that I wanted to truly define my status as a gamer. Since the majority of my Top 5s feature something or another from the same games multiple times, I've kinda stopped making top 5s because the ones I do slip into familiarity and unoriginality. I do not wanna be like Thunderbird and post the same game at least once in every Top list I do (which I'd probably do with this one, but that's beside the point). The fact of the matter is I've played a significant amount of at least 200 games in my lifetime, yet I only talk about 20-30 of them regularly.

The second main reason is somewhat of an inferiority complex. I joined the site in June 2009 and began blogging with a little bit of hindsight. I gained a sort of status on this site pretty quickly, since my earlier top 5s had fairly original concepts, and I slowly built myself up from scratch. But the thing was, I always had to live with there being a Silent Protagonist and a Jet Fire on the site, who pretty much defined how blogging and Top lists (respectively) were done back then. We've had a few Top 100s, but many people continue to call Jet Fire's one of the best blogs ever submitted. As a Top list writer, that's a tough act to follow. So I've had the determination to see if I could potentially outdo him. And the only true way I can see myself doing that is by besting him at his own game. Whether or not I can do that, especially since the majority of my Top 20 is already known about, is up to the reader. But I've noticed a few common complaints with his blog, most notably the paragraphing of the blog, something I've found myself to be a bit better about. I don't want this blog to be merely the next ginormous Top 100, but rather a completely separate entity and my attempt at that 1 major blog.

The third is similar to my first, but it's the feeling that my Top 10 was pretty...well, bogus. It was a solid blog, most certainly one of my best...but I've reviewed a Total of 7 games thus far (and have an 8th review in dormancy), and part of my top 10 was the idea that I would essentially do a pseudo-review of the games in that list. Well, I didn't wanna sound like a broken record by praising some of the games I'd already given good scores to. This time around, I'm not pulling any games out merely because of that. The games included in that blog, are in fact some of my favorites...however, they are not truly reflective of my true top 10 and my favorite games entirely, because since then I've played a few games that are good contenders, as well as including some of the games I've reviewed will change my Top 10 and 20.

In any case, I'm in the larval stages, expect the first part to be up within the next couple weeks or so (basically, when I feel like it), after I'm done with my Top 100 music. I look forward to writing it and seeing how the community reacts. I have my sights set pretty high for this one, so even if it isn't perfect or quite where I want it to achieve, I still hope it entertains somebody.

Appreciate you reading, currently I will be selecting 100 games from my past (expect plenty of RPGs, but also plenty of games you may or may not have heard of, played, etc.) in which I shall place into my Top 100. Now sure, expect there to be plenty of predictable choices (I'm sure you know by now what type of gamer I am), but apart from the PS3 (sorry guys, I don't own one either), I've played a crapton (which still weighs a ton) of games from consoles you may or may not even expect. So even if you say "knew it" to some, stick around, maybe you'll find something you weren't expecting.

Let me know what you think.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (25-21)

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:08:59 -0500

After my first little "tangent" blog in awhile, I'm gonna go back to my list.

Remix:

Song: Fisherman's Horizon
Game: FFVIII
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Songs on their own, let alone songs from video games, rarely make me want to cry. But Fisherman's Horizon is such a beautifully sad song, that it almost makes me.

It's just so mellow, so sad...Yet it's an amazing song. The idea behind this song truly fits Fisherman's Horizon, the location where it plays. The world can have peace where things aren't solved by violence. Considering this is coming from a FF game, it's just that much more saddening.

But it's so brilliant. It's just a downright sad piece of piano and flute, one that goes so well together that trying to fathomness the sheer emotion and quality recording that this song projects is very difficult. It's just that amazing of a song.

Every time I listen to it, I get a sense of emotional soothing, yet still feel a sense of a need to get emotional about it.

And the orchestral remix sounds almost like a movie song, it's just so amazing.

Song: Starborn Valley Trail
Game: Paper Mario
Composer: Yuka Tsujiyoko

Expect this game to come up a lot in the next couple blogs.

Here we have another truly sad song. This one, however, is more soothing and upbeat than Fisherman's Horizon. It's less technical but far more eerie and christmassy than FH, so that's why it's slightly above it.

Anyway, Chapter 7 of the first Paper Mario has hands down the best overall musical score to it. The 7 or 8 tracks that play throughout it are amazing. I've already included one, way back when in my second blog on this list.

Anyway, this song is very innocent, but yet provides a sense of the need to actually finish this game. Go on, 1 more chapter, you're almost there! It's still a tremendous song, and even if it only exists in 1 very far off location in the game you will only visit once in a playthrough, it will be some of the greatest moments of the game. And it's all owed to this beautiful, majestic, icy piece of music.

I don't care how repetitive it is, I could listen to this for hours.

Remixes:

Song: Chemical Plant
Game: Sonic 2
Composer: Again with the names!

Again, a very nostalgic song. However...there's WAY more to Chemical Plant than nostalgia. So much more, that to some of you, 23 might be somewhat of an insult.

Of course, I am influenced by a number of things. The greatness of the stage, the nostalgia factor of it, and of course, Xenogenocide's badass remix (remix #1. If you listen to 1 song I post today, make it that one. All the remixes are great, credit certainly goes out to them).

It's just such an easily remixable song, because the original mixing was so amazing. It's video game music in the truest sense, because quite honestly, I can't imagine hearing it anywhere else.

It's still a flexible song, one that gets stuck in your head and keeps you headbanging till your head comes off. I love the song for a number of side reasons, but the main reason comes from it being so insanely badass.

The Only Remix You Will Ever Need:

Song: Mute ******* City
Game: F-Zero
Composer: Yumiko Kanki, Yukio Kaneoka and Naoto Ishida

I guess technically I lied before when I say it was the last song from a game I hadn't played...although I did play F-Zero X and Super Smash Bros, which is where I know it from and where I love it from.

Simply put: FANTASTIC. It's just so downright insane, that despite the simple composition it's still a roaring 16 bit song. But what truly won the song over for me (and why it's here on the list) are its insanely well done Brawl remix and it's great Melee remix (though Brawl wins by a mile).

It's just so memorable, with that nice and slow build-up intro into that crazy rushing, thrashing main riff. This song has everything needed for a great video game song, and not only works amazingly in a racing game...but it's standalone an insanely good song.

F-Zero may not be my taste, but something tells me I really need to get into the series more. If the music can be this godly, who knows?

Song: Gusty Garden Galaxy
Game: Mario Galaxy
Composer: Kondo-minium.

(BTW I got in a mix up with this song and good egg. One of the two got double placed and I mixed up which song I was talking about).

This was a song that pulled me in from the get-go. It sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it. This song is just so damn amazing that Apollo himself probably arranged it.

Really, what's not to love about this song? It's a brilliant level song, so well composed, but its melodic, upbeat, catchy (am I starting to sound like a broken record? record? record?)...No, this song needs its own word to describe it. I'm gonna pull an AVGN and say this song is just down right %#*@! Oh yeah, it's that good!

Hell, there are many people who say this level is their favorite in the game just from the music! Hell, I'm tempted to say that and I haven't even gotten this far.

Really, I love this song. If I had to pick the most beautiful video game song in recent memory, it'd go straight to Gusty Garden.

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Listen to this music. Every time you do, I will save a song bird from captivity. And every time you don't, I'll kill one.

Top 5 Common RPG Items

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:55:09 -0500

(Star Hill, Mario And Luigi: PiT)

As a separate little blog for today, I have had a sudden momentuous, spur of the moment blog idea that I hope nobody has done thus far.

That's right: another RPG blog! As you may or may not know, said genre is easily my favorite genre of games, with the only other one coming even close being platformers. However, it will not be in any way like my "analysis" blogs; those were just some simple ideas that came to me awhile back.

No, today's second blog of the day is more about exploring a different common aspect of RPGs:

The items. Every RPG contains a billion and one items to be found, whether or not it be on the ground, bought, given, sold, bartered, obtained, found in a treasure chest or the head of a zombie goat, containing armor, gear, equipment, food, health, power-ups, or sometimes even FIREWORKS! They make up a highly underappreciated part of the game; the actual ROLE PLAYING.

Discovering items is a huge part of the role playing aspect, as not only does it increase your inventory of disposable goods, but it also encourages you to fully immerse yourself in the game and find all the goodies to be had.

Now, my top 5 isn't just limited to RPGs, as a ton of adventure games and even other types feature items such as these; however, these objects are particularly noteworthy for being staples in the genre. Without them, the genre, and gaming itself, would never be the same.

So here you go. Hope you enjoy reading this.

The Antidote
Notable Uses: Cures Poison
Usefulness: 4/10

Ah yes, the much treasured antidote. If you've played any RPGs at all, chances are you know exactly what an Antidote is and how it works.

Basically, imagine this: You're on the beginning of your adventure, a 1 or 2 party crew, ready to head off into the distance and face the world unknown! Unfortunately, on your way there, some ugly snake got in a bite on you! Now, every step you take, an annoying as hell red light flashes, and with each flash you lose health!

But there's no inns in sight and you've used all of your white magic healing your basic wounds. Now what? That's right, pop into your magic satchel and pull out one of these suckers! They're inexpensive and heal that wound in a jiff!

Basically, antidotes are there because the developers want to tell you, "You don't have any magic so we'll take pity on you and throw in a ton of these suckers!" The big problem with antidotes is they appear way too often on the world map, nobody wants them after the first 10% of the game, and all they do is take up inventory space! Worst of all, you can't sell them for much because nobody freakin' likes them!

In some games, antidotes do more than in others. They certainly do work well early on. But they start to become worthless after, what, level 9?

The Ether
Notable Uses: Restores Mana, MP, BP, PP, SP, I gotta take a P, etc.
Usefulness: 10/10

Ether is one of the most underappreciated items in most RPGs. Not only is it usually to find in stores, but it's SO rare that you'll almost actually find one of these in your inventory because they are so invaluable that you use it almost immediately.

In most RPGs, particularly JRPGs, Ether heals the points required to cast damage spells, healing spells, REVIVE, and do a ton of other useful things. Not only that, these specially designated points (usually MP but occasionally other things) are rarely healable. Inns can fill you back to full, but other than that, most items in stores don't recover magic points, making an ether a true commodity.

Seriously, tell me how many of you actually go a whole playthrough without using one of these things? Antidotes may be the bane of every dungeon treasure chest, but Ethers are the reason we open the chests in the first place. We need them to fight the boss, dammit!

These objects are almost crucial to nearly every game that features them, because sooner or later, you're gonna run out, and once they are gone from your inventory, you're gonna wish you never got that stupid mage in the first place.

The Potion
Notable Uses: HEALTH!
Usefulness: 9.5/10

These things will literally save your life on countless occasions. Who needs health insurance when I got 99x of these mofos in my inventory? Wait, hold on, I stubbed my toe. *applies potion*

Really, I have no idea how they work. Most people in video games just throw them up in the air and it magically heals them. The last time I tried doing that, I found myself in the hospital with blood leaking out of my skull.

Do the characters drink them? Or pour them over wounds? And why do enemies give them the time to do so? I don't know, all I know is that variations of the potion are hands down some of the most useful items in the game.

Simply put, potions are a way of trading items (and often times, money) for magic points. They allows for non-healers to heal themselves instantaneously! Quite a bargain for something so cheap. Sure, inns may heal more, but Potions are great for on-the-go slaughtering.

Nearly every RPG has a potion, or at the very least, Herbs (which all it takes is a pestle and mortar to be an ingredient in a potion). They are simply INVALUABLE...even if by late game you've already learned a cure spell that fully heals all your party.

The Key
Notable Uses: Do you really need me to tell you what a Key does?
Usefulness: 10/10

Sure, in some games, the Key is quite annoying. Hell, due to design limitations, you may have a spell that lets you summon a giant freaking dragon, and yes still you may not be able to open a door without one. Finding them can be a *****, and they even have the nerve to take up a precious spot in your inventory.

But without a key, nobody could get ANYWHERE in an RPG. These things are absolutely IMPERATIVE to an adventure. This is because everybody and their grandpa owns a door that is impervious to all elements, natural disasters, nuclear assault, blunt force, rust, and every physical thing physically capable of taking a door down. You just need a key.

And not just any key. The CORRECT key.

Keys basically work as a means of "unlocking" more content in the game. Hell, one franchise in particular uses one of these suckers as its iconic trademark weapon. The usefulness of a key, no matter what setback might come upon it, is infathomable.

In all honesty, how many games can you think of that don't have any keys to them? RPGs have them, adventure games have them, beat em ups sometimes have them...hell, even arcade machines have keyholes around them.

(Note: Chuck Norris most certainly does not apply)

Useless Party Members
Notable Uses: Meatshield, Dying
Usefulness: 2/10

That's right, they are so worthless, they don't even count as party members. To me, they are merely objects that occasionally take damage for your better party members. Hey, I never said it was a top 5 BEST RPG items, did I?

This item is particularly annoying for RPGs. Sure, it may be able to use items for you, but basically all they do is fill up space and occasionally act as a meatshield. I mean come on, really guys? You had to program this...THING into my game?

Eh, but I'm not ranting. These items are so common in RPGs, and make their presence so well known, that they simply could not have been anywhere else on the list. And for that reason, their utter uselessness and sheer waste of space, they are easily the Top (or, should I say, bottom) Item in video games.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go kill a spoony bard. Li'l bastard found his way into my party.

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Hope you enjoyed reading, I certainly enjoyed writing it. comment, etc.

(I own no images, all rights reserved, hotlinking is bad so I'm not gonna do it no more!)

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (30-26)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:11:35 -0500

I'm almost caught up with Thunderbird! Whaddya know, posting an entry a day really does work!

Remix:

Song: J-E-N-O-V-A
Game: Final Fantasy 7
Composer: Uematsu, AKA I ran out of jokes for the composer.

My personal favorite tune from Final Fantasy 7, the first one I heard, and most certainly worthy of being #30.

Let's put it this way: Jenova is better than One Winged Angel in numerous ways. It may be a bit simpler...but you have to admit that it simply sends shivers down your spine.

This song has been used in a ton of action flash cartoons, which is how I knew it first and how I'll always remember it. Oh and of course just how awesome it sounds.

The level of epicness in this song is not to be underestimated. It's downright memorable with that fairly-repetitive downbeat arpeggio and that upbeat bassline. And let's not forget that awesome horn! (...not phallic)

Really, Jenova makes for one insane boss song, one that might be simple, but is so well composed that it makes up for it. I love this song, as do I love the Black Mages version.

Song: Misplaced Revenge/Hustle For Pride
Game: Mother 3
Composer: Shogo Sakai

Battling with men in pink suits has never been more awesome! And yes, there are 2 variations of the song, made to mess with your mind. Personally, I prefer the off-tempo Hustle For Pride, but they are so similar I put both mixes in.

Chances are, you know this song from the SSBB Medley Unfounded Revenge/Smashing Song of Praise, but I didn't include that because while smashing song of praise is a really good song to put in the medley, and definitely deserves an honorable mention for it's awesomeness, I had to pick favorites here, as that is the point of a top 100...

But Hustle For Pride is still my favorite side of this medley...It's just so booming, so insanely catchy and memorable. It's got the power of a great boss battle, with the marching band style that the game makes numerous boss tracks out of.

But it's so damn awesome that trying to sum it up well is pretty tough. Just listen to it and try not to be in awe of all the crazy changes the song makes while still keeping up its core composition...which is also awesome.

This group of 10 will without a doubt be the most varied of the remaining 30% of my list, and so the last song from numerous games will start here. Here we have our last (but certainly not least) song from Mother 3, what I consider to have possibly the best GBA soundtrack.

Song: Metempsychosis
Game: Ikaruga
Composer: Hiroshi Iuchi

What a song this one is. It's just...so...awesome.

Metempsychosis, also the name for the 5th and final level of Ikaruga, is a brilliant song. It starts off with a memorable intro, one that fits both the epic and the eerie in many ways...

But then it gets into this thriving and fantastical piece of work with some insanely well done synthesizing. It's got a great tempo and a crazy awesome rhythm.

This song fits many moods, and it works perfectly for its level, because as soon as the song picks up from its intro, it jumps straight into the crazy heart of the level, which, if you observe this video, is one of the most insane final bosses in any shmup in existence.

This tune may not be perfect, but it kicks more than enough ass to qualify for my top 30.

Remix:

Song: Volcano Valley Act 2
Game: Sonic 3D
Composer: Jun Senoue

As I said, this'd be the last song from this game...but it's not a decision I take lightly from what is all around one of my personal favorite OSTs.

Yes, at this point I've featured a song from every zone in the game excluding Spring Stadium, which is fairly lackluster despite being one of my favorite zones in the game.

In any case, Volcano Valley is an incredible 16 bit song. It's got a really eerie sounding main beat to it. Really, it's sad to me that more songs like this one don't get remixed as often because this song isn't that complicated.

Still, it's an insanely good song, especially considering most games get lazy around their 5th level when it comes to video game music.

It's memorable, deep, and even sad at parts. That's why I love the song so much. It's got a ton of underlying goodness, but it's a great song no matter which way you look at it.

Song: Overworld 2
Game: Golden Sun The Lost Age
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba

As I stated with the first GS overworld song I put on my list, GS has some of the best Overworld songs in the history of JRPGs. However, OW2 is certainly the best of the bunch.

It's a brilliantly well composed piece, played after clearing Jupiter Lighthouse on the world map, and considering how much the world is doomed to change afterwards, this song gives a strange sense of urgency to finish the game.

I still think Overworld 2 is an amazing piece of video game music. I know I said Mother 3 was my favorite OST for the system...but Golden Sun 1 & 2 make a certainly valiant effort to beat that. And they do have amazing soundtracks as well.

It's a song with urgency, brilliance, power, sadness, and a ton of other emotions and feelings to go with it. And that is why it is up this high.

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Thank you for reading! I'll stop my daily run after my next entry, as I don't wanna take away from TB's glorious top 100.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (35-31)

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:56:47 -0500

It's time to play "Guess that song!" If you get this one right, you win the game!

Song: Diamond Dust Zone Act 2
Game: Sonic 3D
Composer : resopmoC

So here we go, the second to last song from this game, which has all but dominated my last several entrys. And believe me, I saved the best for the last.

Diamond Dust maintains similar background samples as the previous songs...but it's a far more upbeat song than the others. It's definitely the catchiest of the bunch, and has a unique sound to it, one that I can't quite describe very well, but it's definitely a great piece of 16 bit music.

Part of what I like about the Act 2 version more than act 1 is it has a slow melodic breakdown midway through the song, one that suits a snow level brilliantly.

Diamond Dust was a zone I usually didn't get to see in my childhood. Back when I was 5, I got this far in the game ONCE...so this song goes back pretty darn far. It's an amazing song now just as it was then, and I still love the composition, the melody and the overall feel of the song.

Put simply, DD act 2 is one hell of a jingle.

Remix: (and one hell of a remix, too)

Song: Fourside
Game: Earthbound
Composer: Suzuki and Tanaka

The last of the four towns in the game, Fourside certainly is the best one of all of them.

I'm sure you might know it more for the SSBM mix, but actually the original games music was more of a loungy, broadway type of song. It was certainly catchy enough to make it to my list...

But it's just so tremendously well done that it goes above and beyond catchy. It's, simply put, an amazing track.

But what truly nailed it for me for this song was not just how amazing it was, but the orchestral remix which found its way into my itunes when I first downloaded the song. Not only does it brilliantly redo the song, but it completely alters the feel of the song, while still maintaining that Foursideness that makes the song so awesome.

Song: Undersea Exploration
Game: Mario Sunshine
Composer: Koji Kondo and Shinobu Tanaka

Of all the ambient and melodic tracks that appear in this bracket of 10, this is definitely my favorite. Undersea Exploration is so awesome, it has its own individual shine sprite just for the purpose of relaxing and hearing this music.

It may not have nostalgia on its side, but what it lacks in age it makes up for in overall relaxing feel. This song is, in my opinion, one of the most calming tracks in existance, let alone in video games. It stays simple to aquatic ambient sounds and slow, wind instrument sounds.

This song is just so peaceful, a wonderful song to fall asleep to, work to, everything! Provided you don't fall asleep due to the sheer beauty.

I love Undersea Exploration; in a sea (pun) of good to average Super Mario Sunshine tunes, this one shines (double pun) above all the rest. It's such a shame that you only get to hear it in 6-8, which can occasionally be frustrating if you're not the patient type.

Song: Azure Blue World
Game: Sonic Adventure
Composer: This is the 12th song by this guy, you must know who he is.

By now, you must probably be sick of the Sonic tunes, but you know what...I certainly am not.

Let me put it this way, how many of you when you first popped the game in, kicked Chaos's ass and jumped into the first level and simply had your mouth drop to the floor when you heard this song? Not only was the quality among the best seen in gaming at that point...

But the tune was simply a jaw droppingly awesome surf rock tune. It's catchy as all hell, but there's more to it than just that. The overlayed tracks and the sheer amount of talent exhibited by the band are top notch, and the booming background of the song really suited a cliffside ocean beach level.

Also, I like how midway through the song, the guitar kinda develops into a bit of a guitar solo, then slows down with the synthesizer. Really, you don't see this in a lot of songs. It's strange how the song sounds like it could have been off an instrumental/surf rock artists album, yet fits the mood of the game perfectly.

Put simply, this is one of the best first level songs in existence, and in my opinion, only second to two others (and one of them...well, you'll see :P)

Song: Good Egg Galaxy
Game: Super Mario ^
Composer:...I certainly hope by now you know who composed this game.

I tell you now, just listening to the song...it's freaking INCREDIBLE.

Good Egg Galaxy has EVERYTHING for a masterpiece of a song. Every time I listen to it, I feel tingles going down my spine. It has a tremendous innocence to it, a really strong feel-good tone that lingers whenever listening to it, and a pure magical feeling.

It's insanely memorable...it's just hands down a magical song, one that almost reaches out of the speakers and tickles you. It gives me a real sense of emotion...just a great song.

If you really need me to explain to you why it's so amazing, just listen to it. It's in the name for crying out loud!

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You guys still lose.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (40-36)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:40:03 -0500

I will now recite the Estonian National Anthem!

Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm,
kui kaunis oled sa!
Ei leia mina iial teal
see suure, laia ilma peal,
mis mul nii armas oleks ka,
kui sa, mu isamaa!

Sa oled mind ju sünnitand
ja üles kasvatand;
sind tänan mina alati
ja jään sull' truuiks surmani,
mul kõige armsam oled sa,
mu kallis isamaa!

Su üle Jumal valvaku
mu armas isamaa!
Ta olgu sinu kaitseja
ja võtku rohkest õnnista,
mis iial ette võtad sa,
mu kallis isamaa!

...Well, that was pointless.

Remix:

Song: Act 2 Boss Theme
Game: Sonic 3
Composer: Jun Senoue & Pals! (Lol, Senoue is the only name from the list I remember, so...)

As we narrow it down to the last 40 songs, I again need to remind you that this is a very personal list...which is why there will be a significant amount of songs from the Mother, Final Fantasy, Mario and Sonic franchises, half of which are for nostalgia and the other for the limited experience of game music listening I have dating before 2000.

Regardless, let's not take away how awesome this boss theme really is. It's got quite a memorable build up, and that downbeat main rhythm kicks a boss fight into action. Well suited too, because unlike most other Sonic games which had relatively simple main boss fights, the ones in this game up were quite tense and epic feeling, and often lasted multiple minutes for those who weren't expert at the game.

It's got a really catchy build to it, but it has a genuine boss song feel to it. Act 2 boss is great.

Also, is it wrong to put 3 songs from the same franchise in a row?...No? Well hooray! Let me warn you, this group of ten is pretty heavy on Sonic-ness.

Remix:

Song: Stickerbrush Symphony
Game: Donkey Kong Country 2
Composer: David Wise

Well, this certainly throws a monkey wrench into my list. (Damn you puns!) This shall certainly be the last of my "haven't played but love the soundtrack" songs on my list.

As well as it will start a theme of slow paced, peaceful-esque songs on my list, as there are plenty of those in this group.

But Stickerbrush Symphony is a great song. I received it as a recommendation song (despite hearing it before reading the recommendation), and to whoever in the forums told me to put it on here, thank you very much.

Stickerbrush Symphony is an amazing song, with great ambient feel to it. It's very relaxing and loose, never feeling very serious, but never dull either. It's melodic and bliss, while still maintaining a bit of a tough edge to it.

Honestly, I'm depriving myself of this game just because I'm too lazy to download the ROM or get money for the VC. Donkey Kong Country games have great soundtracks, and this is no meager exception.

Song: Don't Stop, Just Go! (Green Forest)
Game: Sonic Adventure 2
Composer: Senoue the...guy with the guitar for that one band that makes all the Sonic music post-Adventure.

I have pretty much avoided Adventure 2 on my list, mainly because it doesn't have as good of a soundtrack as 1, although it is great in its own right.

Still, having 1 song on my list from this great game (remember, no audible lyrics!), is worthy, because Green Forest is basically all I really need.

Needless to say, the song is just a burst of energy, fitting to a level with a time limit on it before it explodes. Honestly, this song might as well be the explosion, because it's just pure speed.

Not only that, it's got quite a rhythm to it, even with it being all speed metal. It's mixed really well, and an example of a video game song that sounds like it could have been from an action movie rather than a video game.

It's nothing but pure energy turned into speed on the guitar. And really, is there any thing more to a game like this one?

Remix:

Song: Water/Dire Dire Docks
Game: Mario 64
Composer: Koji Kondo

this song takes me back a long ways. It's just so damn peaceful!

Dire Dire Docks (or on my soundtrack, simply "Water") is that track that plays in both the main water levels in Mario 64. It's a simple song, but it never goes quite to minimalism. There are plenty of background ambient sounds and changes throughout the song.

I could never tell what instrument that was playing the song. Something between a horn and a xylophone. Either way, it's well orchestrated.

What I like about the song though is some of the subtleties of it. After about a minute, the song begins playing a background percussion sound, which really brings some life to the song. Because we all know percussion is SICK!

Dire Dire Docks is not merely nostalgia talking for me. It's an amazing video game song, one that withstands the test of time with a fat A+.

Remix:

Song: Find Your Way
Game: Final Fantasy 8
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

My God, what a song to close off this list. I was reluctant to put it at 36, but I think it definitely works here. It's simply an incredible cave song. Period.

This song has a weird sort of shamelessness to it, meaning it doesn't feel depressing or anything. It's very downbeat, but more in an ambient, empty way than a depressed one. It's very ominous sounding, with music going from loud to quiet and constantly fading in and out.

It's by no means simple either. Can you imagine playing those arpeggios at that constant speed? Many parts of the song have quite some fingerwork to them.

And the overall composition uses multiple techniques. This produces one of the finest, most quality mystery and cave tunes in all of video games. An exceptional piece by an exceptional composer.

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No, I don't know a thing about Estonia, don't ask, it was a joke.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (45-41)

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:49:38 -0500

We're getting pretty far down here. only 8 more entries to go!

If you haven't checked out any of my previous entrys...

be sure to do so, I'm too lazy to hyperlink them.

Remix:

Song: Gimme Frog Coins! (Beware the Forest's Mushrooms)
Game: Mario RPG
Composer: Yoko Shimomura

This song will forever be etched in my memory due to that freaking video...You know exactly which one I'm talking about. If you haven't, go to youtube.

But what can I say about this song that the song doesn't already tell you? Once you first hear it, the beat will never leave your memory. However, it isn't like a crappy pop song, where it will forever be the bane of your existence. Namely, it's actually a good song (something more than I can say for a lot of the content of this overrated game).

Those mushrooms just make you wanna do something. It's an awesome song, strangely enjoyable, It's so damn awesome!

Forest Mushroom's is easily my favorite song from what is actually a pretty good soundtrack.

Remix:

Song: Doo liss
Game: Paper Mario 2
Composer: Look up a few blogs, slick!

This song is quite a fan favorite song amongst us PM fans. It definitely isn't the most perfect song out there, and most uploads of the song online aren't that great, but bear with me.

This song is just funky and catchy as hell, with a bit of an ethereal bell kind of feel to it, with crazy keyboards and deep atmosphere. And it makes sense, it is a ghost who steals your very entity in a very original and unique kind of way.

The boss battle is pretty easy, but the song makes it last forever. Honestly, you'll listen to this song plenty before actually wanting to fight, because it's just that awesome.

It sticks with you and steals your soul.

Song: Rainbow Road
Game: Mario Kart 64
Composer: Kenta Nagata

If there's one thing you might know from my liking for Golden Sun music, is that the pan flute is a very welcome instrument when it comes to video game music.

Anyway, Rainbow Road is a surprisingly well rounded song, one that can fit in both really happy settings and really sad ones. It's incredibly well composed.

And I love how the guitar parts and the flute parts go so well together. First the flute plays the song's main beat with a nice drum and percussion part. Then the guitar comes in and plays the same rhythm really well. Then, the two join together in 2 part harmony.

This is the definition of video game music. It's brilliant, suits its level well, and uses the technology available to make a truly great song.

And Rainbow Road for Mario Kart 64 is one of my favorite tracks. Luckily, this version has walls, so it's pretty tough to fall off the track. It's long, and works well as a final obstacle.

Such a great song, that not only fills me with glee but also great nostalgia.

Remix:

Song: Green Grove Act 1/The Air
Game: Sonic 3D
Composer: Jun Senoue

Don't worry, this game will stop appearing after my top 30.

Still, this song is a heavily nostalgic track for me, not only because it was part of not one, but TWO of my favorite childhood games, and played in the parts of the games I actually could do back then. It's very memorable for a first level type track, and catchy as hell.

It's very upbeat, and even with the heavy distortion of the Genesis version (I prefer Adventures more lively remix), it never loses luster. It's a heavily memorable song, with some nice sound changes and funky basslines.

Green Grove will forever be etched into my memory, both the level, which starts off one of my childhood favorite games, and the music, which plays constantly and deserves far more attention than Green Hill if you ask me.

It's still one of my favorite video game songs.

Song: Mechanical Resonance
Game: Sonic Adventure
Composer: See Above

I know it's a bit taboo to place 2 songs by the same guy and in the same game (sorta) in consecutive order...but it's how it works.

Fact of the matter, is this song is so distinct, so catchy...just so damn badass.

What I love about the song is it's heavy Instrumental rock influences (it sounds like something straight of one of Joe Satriani's albums) with the techno and funky kinda sound mixed with heavy chords to it. It's got a great lick to it, and feels very much like a factory type song.

Now, usually a song like this one wouldn't be expected coming from a final level (although "Crank The Heat Up" might. Honorary mention)...but it works really well.

Not only that, it even has a strange dance feel to it. Sometimes I feel like doing the robot or some slow dance move.

This is just one of my personal favorite game tunes. Not quite good enough for top 40, but it's still kick ass.

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Argh, was hoping for a more varied entry. 3 Mario & 2 Sonic...oh well, as I said at blog 1, don't expect too much variety, especially going down to the wire.

Only 40 more songs, boys n'...other boys! (and maybe one girl)

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (50-46)

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:16:43 -0500

Wtf is going on here? Spotlight? Sweet! Encouragement to continue!

Remixes:

Song: Dunun dunun dunun dunun dun dun! (Snake Man)
Game: Megaman 3
Composer: Yasuaki Fujita

So, to end the mark of being in the digit of 5x, we have what is to be the third last 8 bit song on this list, and the last one for quite awhile.

If I must be absolutely honest...I don't really like Megaman music that much. I think Wily Castle 1 is a good song, but overrated. Thus this is the only Megaman song you're gonna find on my list.

That doesn't mean it's bad, though. This song will get stuck in your head and coil around your sense of hearing. The infamous first 5 seconds of this song immediately set up a great sense of urgency, while the rest provides an amazing background for one of the best levels in the game.

Not to mention that stand alone it's a great piece of 8 bit music. Got a great beat and certainly makes up for the heavy compression and limitations of the NES.

And the remixes for this song are impressive.

Song: Story Theme
Game: Paper Mario 2
Composer: Yuka Tsujiyoko

You may have been wondering why it's been so long since I included a song from my favorite little Mario RPG series, and why I've yet to include any songs from the sequel, who many fans think has better music. It's not that it's not there, it's just most of the songs are in the top 50

This song is really quite amazing. It's essentially the games main theme, being played during the intro cutscene and after the final boss is defeated (in a different mixing of course), but it sets up well.

It's got a beautiful style to it, but not in a sad, beautiful way, but more of an innocence. It's one of the most innocent, peaceful little songs, one that makes you feel good to listen to.

the song is memorable and very well orchestrated. A brilliant way to start out in what is my opinion the 3rd greatest RPG I've ever played.

Song: Rusty Ruin Zone Act 2
Game: Sonic 3D Blast
Composer: The same guy from the last 10 blogs

Another song from the illustrious and highly misunderstood Sonic 3D Blast, this one is arguable the deepest of all of them. Tempo and rhythmically, this song is very upbeat, while the main melody is quite downbeat.

This song is one that I hold from my childhood quite deeply, as I usually didn't have enough time in the day (or enough lives) to beat Rusty Ruin Zone, because it was a fairly contrived level. But this music looms in my mind for ages.

It's got a really nice and funky background beat with the bass and the percussion, while the sitar-y sound and the keyboard provide a very temple like setting. It's a nicely designed zone, and some great music to boot.

And no, this certainly won't be the last 3D Blast song. That game has really catchy and cool sounding songs, and this one is no different. I prefer Act 2 because it's a slightly slower paced song than Act 1, even though they sound very much alike.

Remix:

Song: Underground
Game: Super Mario Land
Composer: Hirokazu Tanaka

This song might not sound like much...but it's quite catchy.

Although I've played little of Mario Land, this song really sticks to me (especially the Brawl version). That simple melody, while repetitive, is quite an amazing sound to the ears. It's a simple tune, but one that enthralls me to this day.

It's quite a song. Sure it might be light on percussion and atmosphere, but considering its time (before even Mario 3 here in the U.S.), it's an outstanding piece of work, and on the GBC none the less! White a jingle here, and listening to remade versions and remixes, this simple rhythm can really be expanded upon to make a masterful piece of work.

Hey, it's better than that damn 1-2 music that they throw into literally every Mario game since the original. I'm sick of it!

And now, for one of gaming's most well known songs in existence, the creme de la creme, that one song that everyone just KNOWS is gonna be on nearly every top XX music list in existence...

The song that needs no introduction.

Honestly, if you went this far not expecting this song to be on the list somewhere...then I really pity you. However, I hope that doesn't mean I have to go out of my way to justify it.

You have to admit that there's a reason it's on so many damn lists. And that's because it's freaking amazing. It's got that epic feel that truly sits atop so many other Final Boss songs, with the catchiness of a song that once it enters your head, you will never mistake it for anything.

It starts with that crazy build up, with that famous intro and the constant shuffling of rhythms and octaves.

But my personal favorite part of the song is when it all slows down, and has nothing but that loud boom while the choir repeats the same latin phrase (which translated means "come, come, oh come, do not let me die" By the way).

It's just an awesome song, and however overrated you might call it will not change my decision. It's #46, so if you're favorite VG song isn't on here, at least we got 45 entrys after OWA to do so.

But I stand by my decision to put it on my list, because it's just downright an amazing video game song.

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Thanks fo' da spotlight!

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (56-51)

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:56:13 -0500

Well, I tried pulling together all my blogs up until now...but then I found trying to load a page with over 100 youtube videos is not very safe for the bandwidth. TB, when you finish your list, make sure NOT to combine all your blogs into 1, because that will fry others computers and nobody will read it. Just a fair warning.

Anyway...

Remixes:

Song: Route 26-27
Game: Pokemon Gold
Composer: Junichi Masuda & Go Ichinose

This song holds a special place in my heart as the definitive victory song. Even if it's a generic route song from a sound processor that is probably less than even 8 bit, I still think it's an amazing tune.

It is quite the victory song, which is ironic since it appears right before a location known as Victory Road. It plays on the long road to the final boss of Pokemon Gold & Silver (and of course, that's in my top 5 favorite games), and brilliantly captures the essence of adventure and triumph.

And the Heart Gold remix is no laughing matter. While the first song was already great, it was primarily potential. The HG remix on the otherhand, now with the better sound equipment, is everything the song was but also what it couldn't be due to the GBC's 8 bittiness.

Still catchy to this day.

Song: Grand Master
Game: Pokemon TCG

For the record, the composer is unknown, considering the game is a spinoff, and I doubt Masuda or Ichinose worked on it.

I know, 2 handheld Pokemon songs in a row. It's unbalanced but oh well!

This song....well, basically, I wouldn't be surprised if the composer was somebody who worked for Capcom at some point, because it sounds like it would fit well in a Megaman game. it's got a really awesome ring to it, something I usually don't find in an 8 bit song.

The song has 2 main sections going for it, a slow, predictable upbeat jingle, and a very downbeat, heavier type sound. Each one truly suits the songs image as a final boss fight song. I really like it.

Too bad this is the only Pokemon TCG song on my list. It's again an underrated game, with quite an underappreciated soundtrack, especially considerin it's 8 bit. I'll leave this song representing this game at #54.

Remix:

Song: Panic Puppet Act 1/Twinkle Cart
Game: Sonic 3D Blast
Composer: Jun Senoue

Chances are, you probably know this song as either a racing song from Sonic Adventure or the title theme to Sonic 3D. Well, I like both versions equally, and for good reason too.

This song has a really techno funky kind of feel to it, one that greatly suits a racing environment, almost ironic considering Sonic 3D is not particularly fast when it comes to the series that it's sourced upon.

Still, I heard this song many times in my youth. I've whistled and hummed it countless times, and still to this day listen to it regularly on my iTunes. It's quite a catchy song with an amazing rhythm and beat to go with.

Killer song man!...And speaking of killer...

Remix:

Song: Vampire Killer
Game: Castlevania
Composer: Kinuyo Yama****a

This song and me have really weird ties. My friend one day bought the original Castlevania, a game I've never played (Curse me and my lack of video game history!. But as soon as he started playing this game, this song started up...and immediately, something really weird sprung up. I had heard the song a long time prior, but I had no recollection of it being from Castlevania or anything. Thing is though, my father owned the original game for the NES. I'm not sure, but he was probably playing the game and I wasn't paying attention, but this song stuck with me for so long.

Time to revisit old memories. What can I say? It's the most famous song in the whole franchise, arguably. I can't say...but I still think it's a fantastic piece of music. You whistle it, then you don't stop.

I really need to check more Castlevania out. I haven't played really any of the series apart from a SotN demo which I wasn't impressed by. Still, if it has as awesome music as this song, I'm definitely down.

This song is crazy addictive, memorable, and one that the gaming world must remember.

Remix:

Song: Emerald Hill
Game: Sonic 2
Composer: Masato Nakamura

And so we end this half of the list with one of gaming's most classic songs (although that last one was one as well).

I'd like to explain something: I don't like Sonic 1. Its boring and the levels are lackluster. The music's not that great either, which is why green hill zone is and will not be on my list.

Emerald Hill always tops it for me. It's far fancier, catchier, and overall more awesome. This was the premiere song for the earliest part of the franchise (though not the only one on my list). It's got an amazing melody and greatly suits the first level.

To me, Emerald Hill zone will always be one of my favorite first zones, only surpassed by Emerald Coast and Angel Island, and has one of the most amazing songs on the Genesis. It's funky and has a great beat.

I love it.

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50% there now! Yayz! let's celebrate with the non-existent cake!

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (60-56)

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:22:59 -0500

2: Electric Boogaloo!...You all just lost the game.

NOW! It's time for another entry in this blog series! Since they come in threes usually :P

Song: Space Junk Galaxy
Game: Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu, Mahito Yokota

The second of 3 Super Mario Galaxy songs on my list comes the one that was on my original, highly problematic first 100 draft which contained about 75% of the songs that are on my current draft.

Space Junk Galaxy has probably got to be my favorite galaxy in the game thus far. It's so barren and lifeless, that it has a really nice, empty feel to it. Sure, it's one of the most linear in the game, but to me, it was truly an outstanding Galaxy.

Space Junk Galaxy kind of has the feel of a song that appears in the credits of a brilliant drama type movie, the kind that plays the second half where they announce all the no name producers and stunt people and stuff. Strange analogy, especially since nobody sticks around for those, but it's got that kinda peaceful yet gloomy feel.

It's a brilliant piano piece with a great sound to it, suiting its level brilliantly, but making you set down your controller just to listen to it.

What a great song.

Remix:

Song: F-F-Fire!
Game: Mother 3 (2006)
Composer: Shogo Sakai

Sure, it's a remix of that same damn Pigmask song that plays throughout the game in at least 20 different mixes...but this one surpasses them all.

It's quite surprising, considering this song only lasts through about a minute of the game's 10-18 hr story mode, and only plays during one cutscene...but it's quite a kicker.

First of all, it demonstrates the great, diverse music this game has to offer. Second, it sets its moment up brilliantly, as you go straight from a simple, quiet evening in the mountains to a complete nightmare for Lucas's family.

It starts off, of course, with a fire. Brilliant track...and especially that remix. I gotta hand it to the guy who made it (a fan), because out of all the songs on my list, this one was probably influenced most by a remix.

Anyway, quite a fun little song here, certainly one of my favorites in the game. I still think Flint would win in a fight between him and Chuck Norris, but that's just me.

Song: Gene Gadget Act 2 (Genesis Version)
Game: Sonic 3D Blast (1996)
Composer: Jun Senoue

From one of the most underrated games in living memory (come on, worse than 06? Fail, Screwattack) come what I contest might be the Genesis's most well produced soundtrack. Hell, as far as I can tell, this game probably has more songs in my top 100 than many of my top games of all time.

But as for the first one in my list, Gene Gadget Act 2 (the game has 2 completely different soundtracks, one for the Genesis and Saturn versions of the game) is the funkiest bass track you'll hear in quite some time. It's got an amazing rhythm to it with quite an awesome techno feel.

Quite simply, the game is underrated. It probably didn't need to be a Sonic game, but it was still an important game of my childhood. Memorable visuals, fantastic colors, underratedly fun gameplay, and most of all, a stellar soundtrack.

The nice spacey techno tune is still one of my favorites in gaming, even if I couldn't exactly get to this zone as a child. Fantastic music.

Remix:

Song: Onett
Game: Earthbound (1995)
Composer: Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka

(whoever ripped the audio needs a lesson in proper recording, because it sounds really off from the game and official soundtrack versions of the game)

Chances are, if you've heard of Onett, you probably think this song:

Actually, the real song that the Super Smash Bros. Melee version has is a remix of the song, "Bein' Friends" from Mother, the original game in the series. Earthbound's version is quite different.

It's got a more of a walk-in-the-park feel to it, with a great bass beat and a whistling melody to it. it's really catchy and jingly, and composed quite well.

As one of the first songs you hear in the game, it flaunts great music potential which you will find plenty of in the game. Not only that, but it's debateably one of the best in the game.

Also, for the record, if you haven't realized by now, this group of 10 will be mostly dominated by 3 franchises, Sonic, Earthbound and...

Song: Miror B.
Game: Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Composer: Tsukasa Tawada

Tell me that when you first heard this song you didn't just put your controller down and start clapping and tapping your foot. Because if you can manage to do that, you have no soul.

Seriously, when I first heard this song in this also underrated Pokemon game, I was like 0_0, and immediately set my controller down just to listen...for nearly 15 minutes. No other song has gotten me to do the same for such a duration of time, and that's why it is #56.

Seriously...it starts all synthy and funky, then it just starts kicking in the Saxophone and the Guitar. What a song this is. Especially considering the chump you fight to listen to this music is a skinny disco hippy with the poofiest afro you will ever see (although not having the yellow jumpsuit is a huge plus).

Despite not being the best Pokemon song ever crafted (that would probably belong to the infamous guilty pleasure theme song...but that's not from a game), this one is certainly the most out there, unexpected song you will hear in the game if not in any game out there. It's just so damn funky! Makes me wanna dance!...Which makes me wanna kill myself too >_<

I always seem to have a habit of closing off my 5 of the day thinking "Ugh why didn't I put that higher?!" And this is a tough non-exception to make. I don't like talking about why it's not higher because it takes away from me even putting it on my list. But it's not that it's not awesome, it's just not as close to me or quite as amazing as the remaining 55.

Still kickass.

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Thank you again, and if it's been 30 minutes since you started reading the blog, please go back to the top of the blog and read the first 2 lines.

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (65-61)

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:57:27 -0500

Well, it's been ages since I actually did an entry here. Might as well proceed with the list since it takes up filler blogs and it gets me closer. I gotta stop editing this too...

Song: The Stage Is Set
Game: Final Fantasy 8 (1999)
Composer: The one and only

In what is to be my last Final Fantasy song for probably the next several entries is this catchy little epic.

The stage of set is a brilliantly mastered song, one that is neither fast nor slow, neither aggressive nor sad, and neither complex nor simple. It's rather somewhere in between. The brilliant sounding drum rolls in the background and that simple horn going off in the background.

This song is the perfect marching band song. It signifies an importance in arrival, even if its name more or less means the purpose it serves in the game (as it occurs during the early stages of multiple missions throughout the game). What a song.

My one problem with the song is how awkwardly it loops. It sounds amazing, is amazing.

Remix:

Song: Battle With Magus
Game: Chrono Trigger (1995)
Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

I know I said no more Chrono Trigger, but simultaneously with me finding a double entry and replaying the game, I realized it would fit in perfectly.

Is there really ANYTHING that needs to be said about this song? It's got the intensity and raw power of a final boss fight, which we all know is the best video game song type in history.

It starts off all quiet, and then the wind starts. then immediately, you start to notice that this is gonna be one tough battle. Especially considering you'll be too awestruck by the song to actually fight :P It's memorable, and has quite a terrific build up.

Chrono Trigger has recently climbed up my list of favorite games, and it's no wonder. with a song as downright amazing as this one, how wouldn't it? It pulls out all the stops without ever sounding like it's trying too hard. And that is why Chrono Trigger is one of the best OSTs of not just the 16 bit era but gaming as a whole.

Song: Ideal
Game: Ikaruga (2001)
Composer: Hiroshi Iuchi

Here's a name you haven't heard yet. And probably a song you haven't either.

Listen up, Ikaruga is one of the hardest ******* games out there. Even on the easiest settings it is incredibly punishing, and your ship drops like a freaking rock constantly. But with this incredible soundtrack, it's all worth it.

This song opens up like any first level song would, slow and upbeat...but then it sends you plummeting into the face of disaster mixed with one of the most epic synthesizer and percussion booms you will hear in video game music.

This music plays a really underrated part in making this game. It's a calamitous game, with bullets flying EVERYWHERE, and upbeat, fast music suits it perfectly.

I do in fact have another Ikaruga song remaining on my list. Which one, you'll have to guess, and even then, I can't assure you. But hopefully, if you think my list has fallen into predictability, then this song might throw a wrench into that.

Song: Final Boss
Game: Super Mario Galaxy
Composer: Mahito Yokota & Koji Kondo

Lo and behold the epicness that is the final boss. What is it with Mario games and final bosses? They've yet to disappoint me so far. Hell, I believe I have at least 2 more Final Boss tracks on the list.

But this one is hands down the one that paints the best picture. You know this music is epic from that first BANG to the funky bass that plays throughout the song. And nothing is more amazing than a choir (Choirs don't apply to my "no vocals" rule) backed by strong orchestral music, synthesizer and organ.

This is a masterpiece. Quite a way to end what I think is easily the best Wii game out there. Brilliant platforming and amazing music all around. This song takes the proverbial cake, puts a proverbial stripper in it then serves it to everyone who plays this game.

If only Bowser wasn't so damn easy

Song: Main Theme
Game: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2001)
Composer: Bill Brown

Shooters, when they do have music, often have downright incredible music. It's too bad I don't have many of those. Honorary mention to Uncharted 2's amazing theme.

This theme is downright freaking incredible. Which should come as no surprise to anyone considering Bill Brown's impressive resume. Not only that, it has kind of a sentimental value to my young childhood.

Ghost Recon doesn't have an awful lot of music, but what it does lack in quantity it REALLY makes up for in quality. And this main theme is no exception. It plays throughout the menu...and good thing too, because hearing this awesomeness in combat would lower its value to me.

What an amazing piece. It grabs your attention and never lets go. The brilliant orchestration is second only to 60 other songs on my list. In fact, there's only a few reasons it's not higher up on my list. The first being that it was a very late entry (like a number of my songs tend to be nowadays), the second of my decisions being fairly rough to begin with.

Still, this song is a great example of how video game music is supposed to be. Memorable, and maintaining numerous subtleties. After listening to it a couple times, I began picking out minor details of the song, such as the building up of background sounds, changes in tempo, instruments, and a whole bunch of little things that make every listen different. See, this is part of why I dislike most 8 bit music, and why I like music from 64 bit era and beyond.

The little things are a sign of brilliant work, and this song is no exception.

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Thank you for reading!

Ghostrider's Top 5 Hardest Bosses

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:27:55 -0500

(Stone Like ~ Ikaruga OST)

Hard bosses. Everybody has fought them at one point or another, and we all know just how hard it is to break them and defeat them. You get up to them and they are just way too sturdy to take down.

But there are a number of bosses throughout video games that truly stick out in my mind as the hardest, most toughest mofos around.

Here we go, the top 5 Hardest Bosses EVER!

Number 5!

Man At Legs (Pikmin 2)

Jeesh, this thing is bad to the bone! It's not only the hardest boss in Pikmin 2, but it's got quite a temper to boot!

The Man at Legs is built by one of the rarest elements in the galaxy: Pikmonium. This mineral ranks about a 7.5 on the Mohs scale, and is created by compacting incredible pressure on the carcasses of Pikmin and then refining it via extreme pressure.

Not only that, it has a machine gun! It's bad enough that it takes hundreds of hits to the bulb by dozens of your Pikmin, but it shoots at them with arguably the most deadly attack in the game!

Man at legs is one hard mofo.

Number 4!

Megaleg (Super Mario Galaxy)

If you thought that Man At Legs was hard, just take a look at Mega Leg! This towering behemoth is one of the hardest mofos in the game! Now sure, Steel isn't quite as tough as Pikmonium, but it far more plentiful. Plus, considering the size of this monster, it is probably made of hardened steel, a metal with a Mohs of 8.0, or possibly even a different alloy.

This beast is so hard that even its own missiles don't even leave a scratch! There is nothing on the game powerful enough to beat it. The only way to take Megaleg down is by removing his power source, thereby short circuiting him and busting him into short pieces.

No amount of jackhammers and chisels are gonna get you to break through this beasts enormous body.

Number 3!

Diamond Weapon

I think Diamond Weapon is a pretty cool guy. He destroys entire cities and doesn't afraid of anything.

The legendary beast from Final Fantasy 7, while being the only mandatory weapon fight, is arguably the hardest of all of them. Rubies and Sapphires have a MHS of 9.0, while Emeralds have a MHS of about 8.0.

Diamonds have an MHS of 10.0, the hardest natural substance on the face of the earth (or any planet bearing life). This sturdy monstrosity is the next thing up from invincible. But he can back his hardness up, because Diamond Weapon has the distinct ability to FIRE HIS LAZAR.

Now, what might be harder than diamond, you might ask? Well, see for yourself!

Number 2!

Lavos

Serving as Chrono Triggers final boss, Lavos is arguably the hardest creature in the whole Chrono universe. His shell is almost impenetrable.

This is probably due to the fact that most life forms are carbon based, and you know what happens when a creature like Lavos spends nearly 65 million years in the Earths mantle, enduring probably insane amounds of pressure. I wouldn't be surprised if his back was made of pure diamond, having a Mohs scale hardness of more than 10.

The only thing that kept me from putting him any further...well, you kill him by attacking the open mouth, which defeating pretty much causes this turtle to be destroyed from the inside out.

Still...Lavos is one of the hardest things in video games. Only 1 boss tops him.

Number 1!

Hard Man

I don't think I need to explain the hardness of Hard Man. The only thing that can physically hurt him is pure energy.

Oh, and Magnets.

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About damn time I attempt a joke blog!

Please comment, rate, etc.

Ghost Offers Some Advice: 5 Basic Things YOU Can Do To Make Your Top List And Reviews Get 11*D

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:02:46 -0500

Hello everybody. Today, I would like to help my fellow g1's get over one of the most constantly complained about aspects of today's blogging community.

That's right, the top 5s. Lately, many of my fellow g1's seem to be constantly complaining about the flood of top 5's list that make up such a huge percentage of today's blogs. Same thing goes for reviews.

See, a common thing I notice is that most people don't do anything to truly make their Top List or review special. They merely add choices, call it awesome/terrible, and then click the submit button.

So today, rather than ***** about it, I'd like to offer my fellow g1's a bit of a tutorial on how to get your top 5/review up from a 4.1 to a 9.1 or even better!

I hope to make this easy to understand, exploit and use to your advantage.

So let's get started.

Tip #1: Make your blog aesthetically pleasing.

This is a more subtle touch to a blog, but believe me, it means the difference between an okay blog and a great blog.

A very important touch to a blog is proper spacing and paragraphing. Take for example, Jet Fire's famous top 100. This blog is one of the most well known amongst v3 veterans, but I still see a few people mentioning about poor paragraphing. The blog contained a lot of passages of long text without any breaks. This might not seem like a big deal, but separating long passages when relevant. For example, you're describing a games music and then want to change into describing something about it's storyline. Cutting off where relevant is a good idea.

Likewise, don't double space your blogs. This makes it look like you're just trying to extend the length. Try to separate after every 3-5 sentences, or ever 4-5 lines. It makes a blog more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, while still making it look like you tried to make a good blog.

third, make sure to separate images and videos from nearby text. Adding an extra space in between the text above and below an image just makes it look a lot smoother. It would also be a good idea to make sure there is plenty of space in between images. seeing 2 consecutive images in between 1 line of text throughout an entire blog is not exactly the most visually pleasing either. Moderation is important too

Lastly, to add a little bit of garnish to the mix, add a link to a song at the beginning. to do this, click the icon above the blog's text box, the tiny little thing in between the small picture of a tree and an eraser. This icon allows you to place embedded media.

Follow these steps to inserting music at the beginning of a blog. Note: This is also how you insert an outside video into a blog.

Step 1: Select type of player you want people to use. Chances are, you're gonna take something from youtube, because that is the easiest to do. Youtube uses Shockwave Flash Player, so I'd recommend using Flash.

Step 2: In the box where it states "File/URL", paste a link to a youtube video.

Step 3 (Optional): Edit the size of the video. Most videos start with a 425x350 pixel size (width x height). If you just want the small box like this, the pixel size I use is 225x25. If you don't know what constrain proportions means, it means that the video size will be kept in ratio. If you have a video size thats, say, 500 x 300, and wanna cut it exactly in half so that the video is in the same definition, typing "250" for the width in the box where the 500 was would automatically turn the "300" into a 150. It's easy if you don't know what 186 divided by 3 is, but you probably won't need to use it much.

Step 4: click insert, or cancel if dissatisfied. After inserting, you will see an icon like this in your blog space. This indicates that a flash object is in your blog. (Note, the size is reflective of the dimensions you input for the video to be).

Congratulations, you've learned how to place embedded media into your blog! You can also use this throughout your blog for example footage, or just anything you can think a video might be put into a blog. you can also take links from other websites, but for now, this is how to embed a youtube video, and that's about all you need for most reviews and top 10s.

Using proper spacing and adding videos/music are great touches to a blog, and they are pretty easy to do. You can also Bold, Italicize and Don't merely call something overrated or amazing. There always has to be a reason.

Predictability is also choice, and being predictable does not dictate quality of the blog...but choosing unpredictable choices for any blog really help the originality factor of a blog.

Be Patient and Constructive.

The last big tip I can offer to any blogger is to be patient with their blogs.

The best blogs on the site take patience to craft. Many of the most well respected bloggers don't just craft a blog on a whim and have it up in 10 minutes. Conceptualizing and writing take time, sometimes even hours (hell, this blog alone has taken me at least 2). Don't just get lazy and walk away, and don't give up on your blogs. If you run into writers block or don't have the time in the day to devote into writing a blog, I'd recommend using the "save as draft" feature. If you have important ideas that you don't wanna forget, just jot them down on the bottom of the draft. Nobody's ever gonna see them anyway.

Test blogs and look them over yourself. Okay, I might be a bit of a hypocrite about it, almost never spellchecking my blog or looking over it for issues...but i still recommend it, especially if you have concerns over your blog. Use the preview to make sure your blog is spiffy and as good as you want it. This includes making sure videos are properly placed, images are correct, etc. Perfect grammar and spelling aren't completely necessary, but if you want front page, they do nothing but help the cause. Use the preview option and look things over firsthand.

I'd also like to instruct that you be constructive with your blogs. If you write a negative review about a game, don't just bash the game, specify what bothered you most and what could be done to improve said game. If it ruins the spirit of the blog and you try to be funny, then you don't need to do this...but it's usually a good idea (and even the nerd often makes suggestions) to do things to make your blogs content offer things that can be done to have made something better. Also, if you see a blog that you think needs a lot of improvement, be sure to offer constructive criticism as well.

Lastly, be patient with yourself. Don't expect your blog to be featured on the front page, and if your blog doesn't receive quite the reception you want it too, then be patient. If someone likes your blog, offer thanks and perhaps a friends request or a "hey thanks! why don't you check out this blog?" Be a little subtle about it, but make friends, especially with those who offer to help you. Accept peoples criticism (but if it's rude don't respond back, some people are always jerks). Also, if it gains good reception, might I recommend messaging the link to a Mr. Hybrid Rain?

Just be patient with your blogging, and try to improve your self, your writing capabilities and your subscribers. If one blog only gets an average of 5 or 6, listen to the people who say things like "elaborate more on this, explain, etc." However, be cautious about reposting old blogs. If it's like a really old blog that you wanna redo or update, then once or twice is good, but don't just take a blog and repost it just because only 1 or 2 people commented.

Also, don't be irrelevant. I don't see it happen here, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. If you're trying to promote a blog, for the love of god, don't go to someone else's blog and say "Cool story brah hey here check out my totally irrelevant blog".

Also, don't take yourself too seriously. This won't get you too far. If someone disagrees with you, offer something instead of flaming.

======================================================

So here all of you go, several tips I can offer to the blogging masses to help you guys produce better content for the site, and hopefully effect a few bloggers and help them produce better received content. Some of this might have come off as obvious, but I just wanted to be as thorough as possible, and I seriously hope I help some of you make better blogs and bloggers of yourself.

Good night everyone, hoped you enjoyed reading and maybe got something out of this.

GHOST USED TELEPORT!

Top 5 Cheapest War Inventions

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:05:53 -0500

(FFIV(DS) ~ Baron Castle)

Since the first man stole the second man's...ahem, coconut, us humans have been fighting in wars about resources, religion, and a whole other crock of **** we haven't needed to kill each other over.

since the 1600s, War has greatly been revolutionized to increase body count and civilian casualties. This is mainly due to a number of constant and new inventions created by top military specialists throughout the world devising of new ways to kill faster and kill more.

To me, war has become completely dishonorable. While I disagree with it, many wars are fought with true intentions and ones I understand why people go to war over. Okay, these are almost entirely wars fought before the true common era...but I'm gonna roll with it.

So here I have the top 5 cheapest war inventions; 5 devices that are now commonplace in war that are not only incredibly dishonorable but also very cheap, especially since there is no such thing as a respawn point.

#5: The Suicide Bomb

Created in Sri Lanka (from what I've read) and very similar to Japan's Kamikaze, the Suicide Bomb tactic is one of the most terrifying and dishonorable war tactics ever made.

Let me put it this way: how do you fight against someone who is willing to die? The best you can do to fight them is kill them before the bomb tries to kill you. Not only that, but it seems these days they are convincing younger and younger people to blow themselves up for their cause.

Not only is this an ineffective way to win a war, but it results in casualties of those who are not responsible. Why not just throw the bomb strap at the opponents, get away, and throw another one somewhere else?

Really, Suicide Tactics are ineffective, but very dishonorable and very noobish. If you need to blow yourself up just to get a kill, then you should go play the single player campaign instead.

#4: Submarine Warfare

It may not be much of a problem nowadays with the invention of radar, but back in World War I, the Submarine was one of the cheapest devices around. Not only could it sink ships without any fair fight knowledge of it being there, but the only way to sink one was to either use another Uboat or collapse your ship on top of it.

At least with a Tank most of them are weak in the back of the tank and are very loud and visible. But Submarines, especially predating radar, were very hard to detect.

They also had some really tough bombs. A torpedo owns the hell out of a cannon or a dropped bomb, because before you even notice it, a multimillion dollar ship is now fish food, and a thousand lives could be lost without anyone knowing exactly what happened.

This is why Submarines are for noobs. Although that kinda gets me wondering: just how many war games do we have that actually fight with Submarines, but not exclusively?

#3: The Atomic Bomb

I know, huge step forward from here. Probably the only reason this is only #3 is that it's a fairly new invention in history and that only 2 have ever been used to kill people.

Fact of the matter is: why lose a million men to capture and kill a city when you can drop 1 of these and it's all over in a matter of seconds? The nuke is the center of the whole world right now, and us imperialized nations have enough of these bastards to level half the planets in our solar system!

Thing is, they are SO cheap that the world, despite our war-tendencies, have been working for the last several decades trying to safely dismantle them and make sure nobody ever uses one again.

You've played COD6 right? (Good cause I Haven't) You know how cheap the tactical nuke is right? That's exactly what I mean. The nuclear bombs are way too overpowered. One can level an entire city in less than a minute.

#2: Propaganda

While not necessarily an invention, this bull**** starts wars and ensures that nobody ever questions them. Remember back during World War I when all of Europe went nutso over one guy being killed by an assassin? Propaganda pretty much got everyone to fighting a 4 year war over something that could have been resolved. 30 million dead.

Propaganda is used for everything. But it's such a common war tactic that it pisses me off. You can just lie to your own civillian population, get them nationalized, and then have them fight to the death.

Since even the 1700's, the usage of propaganda, LIES, to get people to join the war has led to countless deaths, most notably, trust in the media. Can we trust the media anymore? We're (the U.S.) constantly told by republicans, democrats, televangelists and news anchors that someone out there is doing something savagely and wants us all dead. During WWII, Japanese civilians were told that the U.S. raped little girls and then slaughtered them.

Propaganda allowed the Holocaust to happen. Seriously, do I need to say more about it than that?

#1: The Gun

No device in history has been so glorified improperly as the Gun. Not only is it a symbolic representation of wars being fought over who has the bigger dick, but it's the most dishonorable thing used to fight wars.

You know why that is?

Because it takes no skill to fire a gun. Even ones that do take skill such as long range rifles and snipers are cheap because you don't leave the opponent a fair chance to attack. And that is why guns are so cheap.

With sword fights, everyone stood a chance. We all knew where they were, and the better swordsman won. Since the invention of the gun, you just pull a trigger 8 times, and bam! 5 dead, 3 wounded.

Every war is about guns. It's such a cheap tactic! Ever since, Handguns and rifles are available to civilians. That's where it brings my piss to a boil. Anyone can kill anyone so long as they've bought the gun. We don't even need skill anymore, just a black dick-shaped contraption. It sparks fear in the hearts of way too many.

The gun is the most dishonorable, cheap and unfair weapon ever concieved of throughout the history of warfare.

My Thoughts on Religion

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:58:51 -0500

NO ARGUMENTS. I am trying to make this blog a simple discussion to make all of you think twice before you say something about others.

Alright, I would like to call you all to the stand. Now before hand, know my religious name: NONE. I have no set religion, because I wish the world to be purged of condemnation first and religious thoughts second. I am atheistic, agnostic and deistic all in one, and I can no longer be a part of organized religion which to me is a reason for war and violence, all of which come down to my central point about religion. There will be some bias here, but fear not my brothers and sisters! I do not condemn anyone for personal beliefs, I merely dislike when it blinds their hindsight of the world.

First of all, why do we need to sum up peoples beliefs with simple signs?

2 reasons: One, because we humans, as a fact, no matter what you believe, are simple people who like to categorize things. The other reason is because it sells more merchandise. I swear, it makes me sick how many people, quite literally, buy into religious symbolism.

It is my honest opinion that religion is neither wrong, nor right...it's based on the person's belief, because all religions relate to Xenophobia, fear of the unknown...or more specifically, what happens after death. People don't know what truly happens after death, and wonder what happens when you die. This very philosophy provides the basic outline for religion. Hell, even wars are fought over religious difference, which ironically results in death and violence, thus causing more hatred for eachother.

Arguments don't solve problems, thus there is no point to arguing, because all of this results in death and nobody ends up truly finding out whos right or wrong, and both sides live worse lives than before. The reason a set group of about 8 religions are popular in the world has very little to do with "spreading" of the religion, but going to a location with firepower, purging the nonbelievers, taking their land and raising generations of believers (I.E. America). The other main reason, especially for Christianity, is a bandwagon. For example, Constantine embraced Christianity, something that had previously been something people killed believers in, and within 300 years, Christians became so dominant in Europe that they killed Jews and Muslims with the intent of purging the non believers.

The man from the above image will be an example for imbalance in religion, that I will hopefully use to justify both my arguments against religion and for people who ARE religious.

This man, who the world recognizes by his eponymous Christian Bible television show, John Hagee ministries. He has been known for calling Hitler's anti-semitism coming from his Catholic Background and for stating that the Jews pretty much caused the Holocaust to happen on themselves. Forget how obligatorily WRONG and IMMORAL that statement is, this man has basically immersed himself in his teachings and resorted to stating such messed up statements. Oh, and don't even get me started on the laziness of America for watching a man build control over the minds of thousands on a television set. If you truly care about Church, go to one yourself. Most American towns, even ones with a population of only 2 figures have a church.

Straight from the horses mouth, I heard him saying that No matter what you believe, there is a God, Holy Trinity and Hell. That's called Ignorance for every other religion in existence, when he truly does not know.

I would like to ask those of you who believe that those who you believe are
wrong are condemned to a worse fate, whether it be a worse life or eternity in Hell, anything so long as it's through a divine hand, let me ask you something:

So, let's assume you believe "God" is both fair and omnipotent. And by the way I use this as another complaint, that we are simple and call the creator an easy to remember name instead of his real name, which he/she/it (I'll go with He) has never presented to us and is called something different in every other language, text and religion. But anyway...so, you're right, God is "Fair" and "All Powerful" and "All Capable". He is also the only God and condemns people who take other God's before him. Let's say a man is born on the other side of the world, to a different religion who believes in 30 seperate Gods, each of which are imperfect and limited in capabilities. Clearly, this guy is wrong. But he had no choice in his religion: His parents raised him to be this religion, he is an unchangeable believer because he was practically made to be his religion. He never knew of your religion, and once presented with the opportunity to convert, what do you think he will do? He will go against his parents, family and lifelong religious teachings for a philosophy he knows little about and has no reason to believe.

Long story short: Another person should be condemned for something they had as little a stake in as the very mother they were born to? And, fact of the matter is, most people aren't given much a true choice in their religious upbringings or anything. And yet, for example, John 3:16, the most quoted biblical passage of all time, states, He whoever believeth in him (referring to the holy trinity) shall not perish but have everlasting life. Basically, this states only believers in Christ and Christianity (easiest religion for me to pick on, I was raised it myself) will be blessed with heaven. Many deistic religions share this principle. But is it fair for God to condemn the wrong?

You know what else kinda grinds my gears? The way i've seen it, nobody in a religion ever seems to develop true INTERPRETATION. Namely, everyone in a Church nods their head and does the same thing the pastor does, and if you do something different, whoevers sitting next to you will snap at you. This technique is practically the same technique as brainwashing. Okay, that's also a technique of brainwashing, wrongfully comparing two seperate things from minute similarities...but you see where I'm going.

And what about the problem of evil? This is the most common argument against fair all powerful (I noticed this tends to stem from Abrahamic religions, which to me all believe the same God as every other religion, they just worship him differently and call him different things) gods. 2 things are assumed: God is Omnipotent and Evil exists. Okay...if god loves his people, why does evil exist and people do bad things? if he is able to stop bad things but not willing, than he does not love his people. If he is willing but not able, then he is not omnipotent. If he is both able and willing, it means he loves his people and can do something about it...SO WHY DOESN'T HE?

BUT WAIT! I'm not done yet.

Let me talk about reincarnation. Some believe that the soul moves on to another body after death, and as far as I know with hinduism, that the creatures own Karma affects what they become. Okay, what about animals? They reincarnate too, correct? Well, animals can't exactly control their actions or have opinions, or do wrong things...yet they still get eaten as eggs and everything. How do animals reincarnate? Karma can't work. I'm sure I'm missing something with my limited knowledge of Hinduism, but it's equally as flawed as Religion and Nontheism.

Now on to Atheism.

Okay, I had a short and greatly flawed passage on a different religion, but theres the thing, we all have limited knowledge of our brethren. I rebuke Organized religion as a whole because to me, it seems to have nothing to do with us as people, and is both propaganda instilled by a nations control or a family, and the tool people use to wage war. Oh, and I have no evidence of it.

But I have my arguments against atheism. First, you also can't disprove God. As a conscious being, how the hell do I even have knowledge of my existence? Do I even exist truly? The existence of consciousness theologically can not be explained merely by the synapses in my brain electronically controlling a series of functions. Honestly, my own consciousness is one thing that I hold greatly against the arguments of "chance", because I...am. It's incomprehensible, but something I don't think science can explain. Cause and effect...well, what caused there to be particles? Effects cannot happen without a cause, so if there was nothing there to cause why is our universe (the effect)? True origins can neither be explained with some big bang theory (if it's 14 billion years old and started small, how the hell did it expand more than 20 billion light years of distance in multiple directions? Or is the so called speed of light not real?), nor Gods (whenceforth does a god exist? where did it come from?).

Plus, to arguers...do you honestly think you're gonna get any point across with things like this?

Honestly, even if there is no God, there's no point in condemning the "crazy minded" people who think differently. They act like religions are trying to convert them...honestly, I see more atheists condemning the wrong than Christians being this douchy. Let's Go back to Mr. Hagee. Even with what he said, Hagee is also a splendid humanitarian, who has spent millions of dollars trying to strengthen the relationship between Jews and Christians, among several other things he has done to overall at least try to make the world a better place. He may even be doing that merely to enhance his reputation, but you know what, no matter what claims he has made, he is not an evil person and has done things to try and make the world a better place.

No matter how much I may scorn religious teachings, I NEVER think less of anyone for their beliefs about this. (unless they use it to justify wrong doing...which in the end they are violating their own rules which I think is just stupid anyway...but everyone does it so its limited to only extremism).

Back to my other argument. What if that same man who was raised as a polytheistic man who is supposed to be wrong was instead raised to be a serial killer? He had very little influence over what he did, so sure his parents probably deserve a punishment, but now this man has killed 200 people and commited the ultimate sin without any remorse. Again, should he truly be punished for what was kinda out of his control? This is faaaaaaar less likely, but it could be potentially true for someone...and it's something to think about. Should God forgive the unforgiveable sin? I've long thought no, but after thinking this through, I honestly don't know what to believe.

The fact of the matter is: THERE IS NO WAY, ABSOLUTELY NO EXISTENTIAL WAY TO PROVE THAT THERE IS OR IS NOT THE EXISTENCE OF ANY DEITY OR WHAT IT'S RESPONSIBILITY IS, NOR WHETHER OR NOT ANY RELIGION IS TRULY RIGHT OR WRONG. There are many religions and no one can be truly right. Being God would suck. Life isn't fair. What is the meaning of life on Earth? There are a billion factors and questions to it all that it's simply IMPOSSIBLE for any of anything to make freakin' sense. Religious Sects exist, apostasies exist, is anyone right?

It's all one huge, massive, universe sized, intangible, messed up cluster****, and guess what comes next?

You all believe something different and act like its the divine truth.

There is no divine truth, and if there is, is there any way to truly, hardcore evidence with a ******* doctors note that anything is truly right, wrong, existential or ANYTHING. Still, some people are trying to tear down a definitive part of the worlds culture, and in doing so, they are only separating people even more. It's a massive part of our culture, and believe it or not, with as many flaws as it has in the past, only a select few truly hate other people merely for their religion, it's just the media that controls how people view others. I know Christians who help the community of the world, and Muslims and Jews and Atheists and Buddhists and all of what's in between. Strong opinionated people from Osama Bin Laden to Pat Robertson to Richard Dawkins all have their own influence and grip on this bull**** we call reality, and continue to use their own methods of stating some are right and wrong...

There are a million different points and counter measures to everything I can make here, but I'm not going to. I would like each and every one of you, no matter what faith you truly believe, heritage you are from, imagine yourself, think deeply about yourself, and above all, love your neighbor, even if they might hate you. Religion is a personal matter, *****ing about it and ranting about it goes nowhere, and trying to influence others is pointless. No matter what I might have to say here, whether or not you take me seriously, I want you to stop complaining about what others say about your faith, or say something about another's religion. There is no proven right answer to ANYTHING, religion is a part of the culture of the world. Look beyond things, nothing is truly by divine intervention nor chance, because everyone believes something different. No matter what I say here or on the internet, deep down, I know I'm afraid and we're all afraid, of something or another. It's not something we can work out or truly comprehend, because we are simple creatures. It's a part of life that everyone thinks differently, so instead of assuming you're right, just assume nobody is wrong. You live much happier and respect others opinions a lot more. I do not condemn a single one of you for any fault you might have based on personal preference, because it's all an annoying mess. And most of all, judge by action.

Existentialism is something I don't think people should argue. If this is our one life, than why must we waste it on something so trivial? We only know of 1 existence, the other is through chance and everything is....Agh, why should I even be arguing. Nothing can be truly comprehended and somethings are outside the bubble of everything.

IMHO. I have no idea where I got with this blog anyway, as it was an opinion blog that I didn't write in order and probably left something unfinished and am too lazy to continue any longer. Just think for yourself. No matter what you truly believe. Do the right thing, and embrace those around you instead of rejecting them. You probably got bored reading this blog...so let me give you a little something to lighten your mood, whether or not you read it.

Review #6: Shadowrun

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:04:42 -0500

Rhythm of the Wind, Sky and Earth ~ Chrono Trigger

Developed by FASA Interactive is the above game known to the few remaining people who actually give a damn about it. Released under the same moniker as the 20 year old pen and paper RPG back in early-mid 2007, Shadowrun was destined to be something big. It was the first game using "games for Windows", a program that allowed console gamers on the Xbox 360 to play together with players on the Vista. It sold over 100,000 copies, and was supposed to be the next big thing in online console multiplayer.

Inspired greatly by predecessors such as Counter Strike, Shadowrun could have been a huge deal in gaming, being one of the first entirely-multiplayer games released for consoles (the campaign was cut from the game due to constraints and a feeling that adding one could bring the game down)

It turns out it was a huge failure. It garnered very mixed reviews and average scores all around, and quickly dropped off the map of Microsoft Developed games. It's strong opening sales quickly ended, with many criticizing its release at full price, considering there were only 9 Maps, and fairly limited options for weapons and abilities, and only 3 game types: Raid, Extraction and Attrition. Fans of the RPG were appalled by just how little it resembled the RPG, that it was entirely different. The game featured no relationship to the RPG, a very different timeline and the two main factions, RNA and Lineage, having nothing to actually do with Shadowrun.

Months later, developer FASA closed its doors and subsided. Since then, the game has almost entirely been forgotten and reduced to 10$ bargain bins, and considering I'd never have heard of this game without a little help from my friends, I doubt anyone even considers this game anymore. It no longer has dedicated servers (on average you might find at MOST 100 or so people playing this game at any given time), and...well, lets just say nobody gives a damn about it any more...

Except me. This game has not faded entirely from memory, as people still play it, and I have a few (thousand) words I'd like to say about this game. Everyone seems to have their head engrossed in COD6 right now, but not me. **** CoD, I'm playing a bargain bin game and probably getting a more wholesome experience than I've had with Infinity Ward's/Treyarch's overrated warfest.

Now, considering that control, graphics, storyline and sound can all be summed up with a single fragment (Works fine apart from a few notable and fun glitches; looks fine if not a bit too much purple; completely absent apart from minor details given at the bottom of the loading screen that nobody gives a **** about; silent apart from common FPS sound effects, the demo-video and the credits, which you have to manually go to to even notice), I'll narrow this review from my usual 8 categories to the 3 core things that matter:

My Review of the Gameplay, Why I Think You Should Own This Game, and Criticisms.

Grab your strangle and get ready to gust some smoking noobcakes.

Now if you'll excuse me, I got some trolls to strangle.

Top 5 Most Simply Awesome Creatures in Video Games

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:27:08 -0500

Snowman ~ Mother (The SSBB Remix is up there if you don't like 8 bit music)

First of all, I would like to say: GO TO THE REVIEWS SECTION. People tend to put a lot more work into reviews than top 5s and get significantly less comments. Support our reviewers!

anyway...

Simplicity is a truly defining force in the video game industry. Its why that damn Tetris game managed to sell so many damn copies. We all know some of the best games of all time were built around the premise that everyone could play them, and use them as a possible gateway into gaming. These days, gamers seem to condemn yet simultaneously praise simplicity in game design.

But I'm not talking about simplicity in games.

This is a list of my Top 5 Choices for the most awesome existential beings within video games that manage to kick major ass with a color palette of only 2 or 3. No gimmicks like crazy haircuts, muscles, or guns...they are just awesome being there.

To make my list, they must be artistically simple, easy to comprehend, yet be so damned awesome that they deserve a spot on this list. Before any Xbox fanboys or Sony fans whine about this list pretty much being nintendo dominant, you gotta think to yourselves: Those consoles base themselves around complex RPGs, FPSs, sandbox games, and came around the 5th and 6th generations, when gaming was looking to becoming more complex and intricate than the simplicity of what came before, while Nintendo tried to continue their success, carrying over many 8-32 bit creations with them, as well as maintaining what made them successful beforehand (sadly, that failed them apparently). So yeah, fair ye be warned.

So, let us begin!

Oooooh!...I'm a ghost now.........boo!

There's not much to these guys. They are little pranksters who like messing up everything around them. They lurk in dark castles and attack anyone who threaten them, are almost completely invulnerable, and like to toy with you.

Boo is just awesome. From that strangely appeasable yet still kinda creepy smile to their awesome Boo laugh, nothing about these guys says anything less than "I wish I had one or two of them as my friend."

Yet beneath their facade is an evil that has been dreaded for 20 years: Even if they are cowards when you look at them, they still manage to gank Mario more times than those stupid mushrooms ever could. Not to mention, in half the games, they are invincible and immortal.

In my very first Top 5, I named Boo my top Mario Baddie. 6 months later, I still don't think any different of this guy. And trust me, there are plenty of Mario Baddies that could have been on this list. He's been in many good games (gotta love the boos scaring the living **** out of Luigi in Luigi's Mansion), taken many souls, and has become one of the most iconic stepping stones in all of video games. Only, if you step on one you'll most likely lose your skin.

The slime. Not content with the common "Rats" that start off every RPG before it, Enix hired the famed Akira Toriyama to come up with a pool of slime for their archetypal first enemy back in 1987. He took the idea and worked it into what it is today: the small blue tear-drop shaped monster that just makes you smile. It makes you feel bad they call him slime because that's such a demeaning term to this little guy.

There is so little to The Slime. A pair of big beady eyes, a bouncy tear shaped body, and a wide smile that proves happiness can be contageous. I guess that can relate to how weak the standard slime is in battle (1 hit and down it goes.) Yet so many RPGs afterwards have created their form of slime or jelly to follow in the footsteps of Slime. None of them have ever even come close to matching the badassery of this guy.

Well, what makes him so awesome? Well, apart from being one the most adorable things in video games, he does quite a number for himself. For starters, there are tons of variations of the slime, making him quite possibly one of the only creatures in video games where a palette swap is permissible. Then, If you've played either of the Slime Spinoffs, then you'll know how powerful the slime truly is.

He can stretch out his own body, bash himself into his foes, then take them away as loot! Not only that, he can carry some really heavy things without being encumbered even slightly! Not to mention, In Rocket Slime...HE CAN PILOT A 10-STORY TALL TANK!

Never mock the Smiling Slime just because he only gives you 1 exp.

They're small, monochromatic vegetables with a leaf/bud/flower on their head. You throw them and they will do something with something nearby to where they've been thrown. They die really easy and are less than a millimeter in height.

I think this is the perfect design for the most awesome vegetable in the history of video games. Not only are Pikmin immune to their respective color elements, but they can pummel the hell out of things more than 100 times their size, all without ever criticizing their leader.

And of course, they've yet to be in anything but a great game (I don't consider Brawl a great game, but that seems to be the consensus so I'll roll with it). They are next to brainless, yet when they are grouped together, they destroy everything in their path...and then they use the bodies of whatever they've killed as nurseries and supplements for MORE PIKMIN. Check that out; to further their species, they need to kill everything in their path and take it to their mothership!

BAD.

ASS.

And they have a powerful drug addiction. Consuming nectar feeds the plant on their head, and you, as Olimar, can juice them up even further. And no matter what Olimar does with them, they never have an uprising against you. The perfect minion: can kill anything around them, self-reproduce, never conceive of betraying you.

The very inspiration for this list, Kirby was always conceived to be simple. Masahiro Sakurai came up with him at a very young age, and created him for the sheer concept of a simple game a new comer to gaming would truly enjoy. I guess you could say Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land were gaming's first true Casual Games...But dammit, they are fun, and Kirby is without a doubt, the least unlikeable character in any video game ever.

There is next to nothing to really fault him for except his...different control scheme. He is timeless and consistently makes solid games. Not only that, but each one pushes the way for innovation, such as the ability to take enemies powers at whim, using swallowed enemies as partners in superstar, and combining 2 powerups for an even better one in Crystal Shards.

All this, and managing to avoid seeming like a complete homosexual, which is quite a task for a Pink blob who's main power is sucking things up...Wow, I am sorry if I offended anyone

Aaaaaanyway...There's not much to fault Kirby for. He is cool, simple, and yet so unique at the same time. That's pretty crazy considering Kirby was supposed to be a placeholder sprite for his first game. He can Jump infinitely, eat an endless supply of food...and all of his games have the deepest plots of any game imagineable! Dedede stole Kirby's Cake? That's SO ORIGINAL!...and no, I'm not kidding!

Kirby always helps people out. He's simply the entity of amazing in gaming. Only 1 in my living memory can top the awesomeness that is Kirby.

Oh, and let's not forget: he has killer dance moves!

Boo is a total wuss in comparison to Gengar. Now, you might argue that he is probably too crazy looking to be on the list...To you I say: All Gengar is is a hollow shade of purple anthropomorph with some spikes and a tail. There isn't a lot when it comes to the design of Gengar, especially considering he's 80% Purple, 13% white, and 6% orange. As soon as you see him, you can conceive exactly what he his: A purple ghost who likes to **** with people.

Just by his design alone, he looks awesome. He's a ghost...Check. He's got a hilarious yet creepy grin...Check. Spikes on the back...Check. Tail...Double Check. Then, remember that he can float, cannot truly die and doesn't afraid of anything.

Then let's talk about usefulness. Every since the days of Red, Blue and Yellow, he has been the King amongst ghost types. He alone represented an entire type and has consistently been one of mine and all of my friends favorite Pokemon. He has a very versatile moveset, learning the awesome Shadow Ball and Psychic moves, the shocking Thunderbolt...and when he's been taken down to 1 health, He can use Destiny Bond to trick whoever dares drop his health to zero with him. He's faster and stronger than nearly every Pokemon out there, and his greatest weakness (Earthquake) is non-existent with his Levitate ability.

In honesty, there is only 1 flaw to Gengar: Having to trade to get him, which sucks if you only own 1 Gameboy or 1 cartridge. Other than that, Gengar is the biggest badass in gaming for his small color palette. He's Purple and He means business. Hey, somebody has to man up the Pokemon Franchise

So there you go, the 5 coolest most awesomest simplest creatures in video games...est. Please...Go to the other sections and give those authors a chance...but not before rating and commenting

Review #5: Custom Robo (Battle Revolution)

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:26:03 -0500

Well, after playing this forgotten Gamecube game at a friends house the other day, I've been inspired to actually write a review for it.

For those of you who don't know, Custom Robo is a Nintendo Franchise developed by Second Party Developer, NOISE, that never really gathered a whole lot of fame. The first 3 games were never released outside of Asia, so many would be fooled into thinking Custom Robo (Custom Robo: Battle Revolution in Japan) for the Gamecube would actually be the first entry in the series, while it was actually the fourth. This game has 2 international releases, one on the Gamecube, and the other on the DS.

For me, I'll review the lesser game of the series, the one I actually played. While the DS version sold more and received stronger reviews, Custom Robo for the Gamecube has become all but forgotten in a sea of Super Marios, Legends of Zelda, Metroid Primes and Resident Evil 4s, among nearly every other game Nintendo developed for the Purple Box. It's not that it's a bad game, persay, but it never matched up to the greats on the console, recieved review averages of 60-70% and unremarkable sales numbers.

I'd like to pull this game out of Pandora's Purple Box and give it my 2 cents.

As with all my reviews, I review storyline, music, graphics, controls/interface, gameplay, difficulty, replayability, and give a summary.

I have mixed feelings about this games storyline. On one hand, there was way too many deus ex machinas, and it sounded way too...cliche in some aspects. It felt forced on at times, and overall something I've seen before. On the other, the game has some pretty comedic moments and there are some decent moments that make it interesting enough to keep pursuing through the games disappointingly short story mode.

I'll give the majority of it, giving away most of the games deepest spoilers. If you care, please leave now.

So, except the main dome where the games events take place, the world has been utterly destroyed by an invisible force named Rahu (as for what created Rahu, I don't remember, I think it was an alien or something). Rahu could take many shapes and destroyed pretty much everything. Rahu one day took the form of a kids toy, a precursor to the "robos" of the game. It was this that the last remaining population of the planet needed to stop Rahu from destroying the planet, so the beast was essentially contained.

Cut forward many generations, your main hero is a twenty-something anime-style silver haired boy whom you name yourself. He lives in the dome, and you go to work at a special vigilante "business" named Steel Hearts, which assists the police force in taking down criminals, but is usually reduced to smaller work while the big guys take on the more serious stuff. Basically, you're there to assist kittens stuck in a tree most of the time. On your first day though, you get your robo cube, a brand new model from the fancy laboratory that's trying called Ray Mk (If you've played Brawl, perhaps you've heard of Ray, as he IS the mascot of the series), while the laboratory is being robbed by burglars. The cops and the scientists fail, so you beat them up yourself. The hero controls a small cube which they use to fight (rather than fisticuffs >_< ). By "diving" into this cube, they control a 12 inch tall monster (though it looks lifesized when controlling it)and beat the **** out of another 12 inch monster (more on that later)

As you progress through the game, strange things start happening. Your jobs get progressively more confusing, as one night you're called in to regulate an illegal gambling match at the cafe. There's one guy there using an illegal part, which by the way, means that losing the robo battle causes the loser to actually take REAL damage, despite it being merely a popular game. Another time, you wait inside the lab through the night for security, and it ends up getting invaded again. There, you find a girl using illegal parts and knocking the scientists unconscious.

But things get wierdest when at a restaurant, a man is found dead next to his cube. He was murdered INSIDE a robo battle.

Then you receive a notice that the back room of the cafe is being destroyed... once you go in there, you find out who killed the man: Rahu. Its now in a weakened, visible state, but it's still deadly.

Jump forward a bit...Apparently, the same guys who robbed the lab are trying to capture Rahu and use it for their own purposes. Eventually, the police force shows you the world outside the dome: a ravaged world...and 2 structures remain: the evil syndicates HQ, and an Amusement Park.

They've captured Rahu and build it up, so you must beat through their base. At the end, you beat the boss of the syndicate, but Rahu is still growing stronger, and now that it's on the loose...everything is ******.

Then pretty much everything is explained at the end of this place, where you learn the hero's father (who is mentioned throughout...and is dead) put a mind-erasing device in the hero's watch that made everyone outside of the highest ranked police force forget everything, and the Syndicate was once full of good guys who turned evil after. Now, this device can be used to kill Rahu.

So you go to the amusement part, fight tons of battles, and triple team the final boss. YAYZ.

Of course, I didn't really talk about everything that goes on or any of the characters, because I will admit it's not that bad, and It's a game I want you to form your own opinion about.

My huge problem with this all is half of the backing plotline is explained toward the end from an enormous monologue, right around the time when the games maybe an hour and a half away from completion. it truly feels forced on, and I guess they felt it was better that they tie up loose ends...but it kinda detracts from a more gameplay focused game. Again, it's an action game, it doesn't need this much friggin text. Here, let me give you an idea how long the closing monologue: you get the opportunity to save in the conversation...TWICE. They actually give you 2 chances to save your game and turn it off. I'm not even joking. I appreciate trying to clear any plot holes, but the games storyline isn't exactly why we're playing this game, and you don't need to go to this extreme! I swear to god, this whole thing took me probably more than an hour to read...though that was because I was interested.

There are some pretty funny moments. At one point, your easily-ticked boss just calls your coworker and just shouts an obscenity so bad that it had to be censored. I lol'd. And I found it quite funny that a guy actually named Evil (not kidding)...betrays you. How much less subtle can you be?

The dialogue in this game is overall pretty good I will admit. It flows fairly well, and there are funny moments to be had. Thank God the hero ISN'T completely silent. Not to mention, you can choose your responses, and its not just yes and no, and while they often result in the same thing, this results in some funny moments (The world is flat! Everyone knows it!)

All in all, if the game wasn't so short and paced itself better, I would probably have liked the main story mode a little more. Then again, perhaps them not spreading the story mode any longer was probably for the best. You can beat most of the whole game in 2-3 days.

The games soundtrack is actually pretty good, which is quite surprising. Knowing the game was the first in its series to be ported, with little marketing done or anything, I can't expect that Nintendo expected this game to be a best-seller, so I don't think they hired some big name video game composer to make the music from the game. Considering I haven't played the games story mode in a couple years, I didn't remember much of the games soundtrack beforehand.

That said, I went to youtube to check out some songs to post, and I found some pretty darn good examples, many of which I remembered hearing in the game. As each of the many settings of the game, as well as the various battle "arenas", have their own song, I might as well show you a few examples.

This song is in the games Icy Arenas. You know me and Ice music :P It's very funky and fast paced, with some really dramatic and slow background music to play. The opposites attract and make a really damn good battle theme. Too battles don't usually last 4 minutes.

VEEEEEERY ominous and creepy. I'm not 100% sure where this song was in the game, but I believe it occured in the games darkest moments...I think it's found when you go into the ruined world outside of the dome. Again, a style of video game music that I really like, the hollow and creepy music that supports the games most dramatic moments.

Lastly, the all important epicness of the calm before the storm, this song plays towards the end of the game, right before an all important encounter. I don't think I really need to say anything, the song speaks for itself.

I gotta say, as I was writing this part of the review, I had originally intended to call this games soundtrack just MEH. But I went back to check the games soundtrack on youtube, and I can safely say I was pleasantly surprised. I found this soundtrack plenty awesome, possibly even worthy of me going back and editing my top 100 music list and adding a few of these songs in there (damn, I keep finding new songs and soundtracks to swap for that thing and I'm not even half finished).

So it was all a pleasant surprise :P I'd recommend searching it on youtube for more, and if you use Galbadian Hotel, you can find the OST there too.

This game has quite some graphics. With maybe the exception of the overly anime style characters, the graphics make good use of the gamecubes limited hardware power.

The stage models are quite diverse. Each one has its own style, ranging from a lively nature, to a kiddie park, to a wintery snowland, to many other archetypes you can think of, fleshed out well. They are very smooth, and while not the most graphically realistic, there isn't much pixellation or graphical flaws around, and for a NINTENDO game, that's quite an accomplishment. (this said, I play on a small TV, so a larger TV starts to show some of this.)

The models on the robots are also quite cool. Not only does each one look fleshed out, they each have 5 colors that suit them, and they all look awesome. I seriously wish they made action figures out of these things.

Artistically, everything is colored well. Colors contrast properly, everything looks visually proper, and the main artstyle seems to be quite comical as opposed to pure realism.

Graphically, it's one of the better games on the console. There's accomplishment, and I don't think there were any moments I actually winced at the game.

Sure, it's not brilliant, especially by today's standards, but I'm no graphics ***** and I still find myself to think of this game as a cut above the rest for its time.

It's a pretty flawed game, not as much a sense of what it isn't but more of a sense of what it COULD have been. That said, I found the game to control very well.

A common **** up with games is that the camera is one of your greatest nemeses in a game. In this game, the battle arenas are so small that the only flaw I can really think of that ever happened to me was that the camera was too far out and I couldn't quite tell where my robo was in the holosseum (yes, that's what they call the arenas....I just found out) when I was playing with friends and we were all going crazy.

Other than that, there's really not a whole lot to say. Despite this game using pretty much everything on the gamecubes controller, you'll find yourself using
certain buttons more than others.

Okay, that may be a bit of an overstatement about just how much fun you might have...but with a title like Custom Robo...what do you expect?

The combat aspect is what I'll discuss...since that IS the game.

Before any fight, you're given a menu to choose what parts you want on your robot. You unlock them gradually through playing this games story mode and epilogue (which is just a bunch of battles in succession and stupid stuff...but you get the best stuff there.), and they range greatly.

You get 5 types: The body, which is your overall robots main...well, body. This determines their stats, which excluding the illegal models, are pretty balanced. Fast models have really low defense and get knocked down a lot simpler, while stronger models tend to be slow. Each model has its own stats for defense, speed, jump, and how well they play in the air.

The gun is obvious, it's your main attack weapon. Each of these have their own purpose, and while some are just simple types of guns, others get really creative and fun to use. You get a weapon that fires a fiery dragon at an enemy, a drill that instantly knocks enemies down, a gun that fires hornets at a foe, and many other weapons also inspired by Megaman. Fired with the B button.

The bombs and pods serve as your ranged attacks. Pods are deployed with the L button, and they shortly roam the field at various speeds, seeking out enemies to kill. Bombs are activated with R and are thrown. There's not much to say about them since you never really use either of them except in rare circumstances. They aren't that good, but they are nice to have

Lastly, the Legs. These provide other bonuses such as jump height and length, or speed of the robo.

You can jump, and depending on your model, you get extra jumps allowing for air time. Some models get like 5 jumps, some others get like 2 but the second one allows for hovering.

Each robot has a shield, indicated by 3 bars above each robots health. Once all 3 are gone, the robot is down. While down, a robot can be attacked (although the damage they take while down is greatly reduced), before getting a "rebirth" and temporary invincibility. While these aren't realistic in combat, the shield system greatly balances combat.

The robots also get a dash attack unique to the robot. These can be straight forward, slow, fast, diagonal, etc...but they do a crap ton of damage and instantly break shields. That said, you have to get real close to use them, which makes you vulnerable. Fast models always have weak shields and big models have slow charges, so use these cautiously. They are activated with X.

Overall, the games main combat system is straight forward when you get into a battle. Each robot has 1000 health, and your goal is to knock theirs to 0 first. I found this to be a really unique way of robot fights to be implemented, and it makes for fun games. My only complaint, and this goes with the awesome customizability of the game, is that you'll often spend more time in the menus customizing your robot than you do actually fighting with them. I wish they gave the game the ability to increase the robots health in multiplayer.

Speaking of multiplayer, this is where the game shines. Each player customizes their robots, and fights begin. These can be really, really fun and captivating, especially with 3 or 4 players.

Then the game modes get better. There's plenty of stages to play on. And you can also put team settings on to do awesome 2 vs 2 matches or, if you think you're so godly, 3 vs 1 games.

Simply put, the games combat has many options, hence the games name, and I gotta love that. Again, it felt a bit lacking, and most fights have the same ultimate structure (do this this and this), but yet, for what it offers, it's really fun and doesn't get boring very quickly.

Biggest flaw of this game. Honestly, it was too easy. I guess they made it intended so you wouldn't spend much time frustrated at the game...but while some things can tend to be difficult, whenever you lose a fight, you just read some dialogue and then the game takes you back to before you lost so you can do the battle again.

Too short + Too easy make a sad combination that has lately been the bane of the industry.

That said, this is one of the few games the difficulty actually can work in favor of the game. While it may be a tad easy, that kind of means a good thing. Like I said before, It's actually quite hard to be truly frustrated by the game (minus the occasional overabundance of text...but that leads it to being more boring than actually frustrating. As I recall, you can pretty much skip through text pretty fast.) It's also very easy to get the hang of the mechanics of the game, which is quite a statement considering it's a game based around the selling point of being able to customize, a mechanic that not many games are able to make simple.

It's easy to get into, and still fun at the same time.

Replayability-wise, if you find yourself enjoying the 1 player mode, it's very linear, but it's still okay to play through it again. Here's where it being short works in its favor. Custom Robo is a game that doesn't take long to beat, so maybe a while after your first playthrough, a couple days filling time in between boring periods of games, it can pose a good filler game.

As I was writing this review, I got the strange urge to play this game again, which surprised me, considering I've played it twice through and sold the game.

As a multiplayer game though, it's actually pretty good for a weekend with friends. It's surprisingly easy to pick up and play the game considering the complications that come with customizing a robot. Sadly, it's not too often you'll find a friend who has a copy of the game anymore. Nonetheless, it works. me and my good friend were just playing some multiplayer games and I suggested we play it one day. Later that day, my friend who'd never even heard of the game came over, and we got him into playing

There is an imbalance among parts, so its great multiplayer can't compete with something like Street Fighter 2, COD or Smash Bros Melee as a tournament style "Pro" multiplayer game...but it's debateably the games best aspect, and it's a pretty fun multiplayer game.

Overall, I'm not quite sure WHERE I got with this review. It's a game that's kinda hard to review. It's very much so a like or dislike game, but one that's hard to either love or hate. While much of my review was talking about the games positive aspects, it still felt a bit lacking. There's only one thing I really can say to summarize this game: Its fun on multiplayer, and quite accessible, but it could have been so much more for me. Thus, I don't think it's worth a 50$ price tag...but it's completely forgotten from the gaming world and considering how cheap Gamecube games are these days (and for that matter, Gamecubes themselves), I'd suggest picking it up. It is one of the best "rental" games out there, meaning for its time it was a great game as a rental but not so much as a buy. If you can find a gamestop that still sells gamecube games, you can probably find it for a reasonable price, and it's well worth it, especially if you have friends. It's a really fun game...but it just doesn't last.

From a personal score, I give this game:

4 Seal Heads out of 5.

But...as an overall recommendation score, I'd probably give it closer to a 3...for its price though definitely try it for yourself.

Ghostrider's Top 10 Games CONCLUSION!

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:59:19 -0500

Well, it's been more than a week since I began making this list, a cliche list that to me managed to defy the odds and actually gain a tremendous reception! The blogs have been viewed a total of over 1,000 times, and have each gotten a rating of over 10 (The first one got a 1 because some jerk was mad at me and unfairly reviewed it). I am thankful for that.

Here is the conclusion to my top 10 games. Keep in mind this is all personal. Here are all 5 blogs, and I divided them up into sections to make them easier to read so I didn't have this big giant blog nobody would want to read.

If you have already read the other 4 blogs, hit ctrl-F, enter in [f430a2] and it should jump you straight to #2 if you're too lazy to skip down. Dont ask what f430a2 is, because I have no answer.

And one last thing:

this list is also relevant to games that I HAVEN'T done a full fledged review. Mother 3 and Super Mario Sunshine make great Honorable mentions, so check out my reviews of those games here.

http://screwattack.com/blogs/I-Will-Eat-Your-Soul/Review-2-Super-Mario-Sunshine

http://screwattack.com/blogs/I-Will-Eat-Your-Soul/Review-3-Mother-3

With that said, I hope you enjoy my final top 10 of the year!

I can hear the Final Fantasy fans typing angry hate messages about my mother already.

The fact of the matter is: This is the only Final Fantasy game I've ever finished. Just because it took a huge leap away from the previous games does not make it a bad game. And yes, I know of The Spoony Ones review of the game, and I found it to be hilarious (although far too nitpicky), because I understand many of the complaints for this game. Still yet, Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite in the series, EVEN though I'm willing to admit 7 is better overall.

Why do I love a game that is so bashed by reviewers? Well, reviewers aren't everything. Remember: critics are never RIGHT, they are merely voicing their opinions, just in a fairly "professional" manner.

Let's get some of my complaints about this game out of the way first: After about halfway through the games 3rd disc, it's open hunting season. You're free to talk **** about disc 3 and 4 all you like, because games just shouldn't be 4 discs long. I agree just as much as anyone that there is a sheer mass of bull**** involving the whole time compression nonsense and the poorly worked love story.

Then comes dependence on limit breaks or summons, which start to take away from the fun of the game right around late second-disc. It gets downright sad for the final boss, even if the boss is awesome in itself. The carbon copies issue (each character is mostly the same excluding limit breaks because you can exchange junctions and stuff) is slightly exaggerated, but still prevalent. In all honesty, the games mess of problems starts to become most apparent after the second disc, and there is incontinuity throughout with the whole "matron sorceress" deal (In case you cant tell, I'm keeping my review fairly spoiler free). I honestly think the game should have ended at about the second disc, because the third and fourth disc are practically their own game, and they fail to live up to much.

The characters....Well, Squall is an introverted douchebag, but they develop him enough to actually explain WHY, and he starts to change throughout the game, so I'm willing to forgive him to an extent. As for the others, Zell is often seen as the best character in the game, and I will agree that he isn't as good of a comic relief character as perhaps Gilgamesh, Orthos/Ultros or the Turks, but his actions on the first Disc are quite funny if you ask me. But outside of those two, Irvine and Quistis are barely passable (and pretty much get forgotten) and I HATE Rinoa and Selphie. We all know that FFVIII's lead group of 6 is one of the worst in the series, let's just leave it at that.

Now, after that, why would this game be #10 on my list? Well, the only 2 aspects I covered are the games later story, half of its characters and one relatively small complaint about the battles. Let me explain for you why it's so good in my opinion.

The junction system, while is does lead to carbon copies and is slow to pick up, it allows for an insane amount of customization, and when you master how to junction things properly and work your Guardian Forces properly, it allows for limitless possibilities and it's pretty fun fiddling with it all. The Draw system becomes fairly obsolete before it became a significant problem for me.

The battles are some of the most active I've seen in a JRPG. The games Active Time system has been tweaked to where you actively feel like you're in a battle and not just merely imputting commands. Hell, I even got to the point where I had so many things I could do I didn't know what to do when I was facing bosses, which is kind of a complaint but it's still a plus for me.

You unlock a lot of commands throughout the game, ranging from godly to useless, and you can even choose what you want to invest your stats in, and gain bonuses. There's a lot of choices you can make towards what you want to do, and if you do like this game, that gives plenty incentive to replay it. I've cleared through it twice thus far.

The storyline is way too bashed. The plot involving Deling and the overtaking of an entire empire by the Sorceress and the underlying story involving Laguna are actually interesting stories. Around mid disc 2, there is actually a really interesting plot twist (Not the 1 with the Matron and the Orphanage thing) that I personally thought made me mad...but for all the right reasons.

Laguna and his trio are interesting characters, to the extent that I agree with the people who say the game should have been about him, and it's too bad they reserve him for secondary background story. His rise from a mere soldier to...well you know...is far more interesting than the bull**** story of Squall the introverted "...whatever..." and Rinoa the Ho.

The games villains really shine though. Seifers gradual change toward insanity would probably make him the FF villain that gets the most character development out of any of the villains of any Final Fantasy I've played. Edea steals the show though, taking over an entire nation in an instant and making for some awesome boss fights.

As for the other 2, Ultimecia was bull****, but you know what? Despite my hatred for actually playing it, her final dungeon is really nicely designed. The final boss is also pretty darn epic. Adel could have used more development, but he/she/it (srsly) made for a darn good boss fight.

Triple Triad is also a very well fleshed out minigame, offering great rewards and plenty of fun. It's not for everyone, but I think it is really fun.

These are personal ideas, and I can see why people would dislike them for it, but I gotta say: this game is no where near as bad as some of these reviewers let on about.

There are also aspects of the game which I think not many people should disagree about.

The world of Final Fantasy 8 is absolutely GORGEOUS. Apart from the characters being the most fleshed out in any FF of the time, they looked far more realistic. The usage of FMVs greatly improves upon FF7, making everything look absolutely beautiful, with graphical cutscenes that in some ways, still stand up today.

The environments are nice, bright and colorful. Prerendered backgrounds have limitations, but they still do a great job serving their purpose. Just take a look at some of these screenshots from the game.

I could show plenty, but this game has some amazing graphics. Although they are annoying, the Summons are still some amazing graphical animations too.

And don't get me started on the games music. While it's debateable which is Uematsu's best score, FFVIII still has many amazing songs to offer, and it's my personal favorite of his, though you probably already know that from my top 100.

From the depressing:

Drifting

to the Bewildering:

Find Your Way

to the Bittersweet:

Where I Belong

to the Intense:

The Mission

to the Epic:

The Landing

and everything in between. I can't give you enough good songs from this game because every one of them is memorable and musically brilliant. Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite video game soundtrack ever made, and a key reason why it is on this list in the first place. Eacho song had an unheard of amount of emotion.

With the exception of Eyes on Me, of course.

Final Fantasy 8 is my first and still my favorite game in the series. I've had plenty of fun with it over the years, and if you have a problem with me putting it on here, please leave now. There's plenty to dislike about this game, but it's still my all time favorite PS1 game.

As I have stated before. No GRAW, just the first TC Ghost Recon, which I played on the PS2 (but I couldn't find much on it because it's been overshadowed by GRAW).

This game is my main exception to the FPS rule I have (put simply: I don't want anything to have to do with the genre). It's one of my favorite games of all time, and the only entry on here that I played on the PS2.

I'll start with the music first. The above song is the games menu theme, which is awesome, but sadly there isn't a whole lot of music in this game. I guess that's to capture the mood of the game, but I still wish they had more tracks. I could only find like 6 on youtube. As for other aspects of sound, there is voice acting in the game, which is done pretty well for a war game if I remember right (haven't played it in years).

The single player campaign is memorable. I have a feeling this game inspired Modern Warfare, because it takes place in a very modern setting, with some damn cool weapons. The campaign had some very memorable missions, and even though it could all be completed in a day or two, you had plenty of incentive to go play those great ones through again, because they were so damn good. My favorite ones were the tank missions, because I loved the tank bazooka.

The environments, while they were fairly bleak, were distinct and visually great, especially for a game released early in the 6th generation. Maybe not as colorful as I'd hope, but still better than Gears of War.

Straight up, this game was really fun to play. It got me onto the Playstation 2's controller pretty well, had plenty of distinction, and the missions actually had some emotion to them (I felt suspense! Whaddyaknow!). The game's 2 party system was pretty nice, allowing you to send one team to a location, and you could switch between members of each team with ease, allowing you to complete the mission objectives in a timely manner. The combat is rock solid, and the multiple difficulties really amps up replay value. I also felt genuinely sad when one of my team died in a firefight.

The multiplayer is amazing, and unlike most games these days, it was more or less an add-on to a great 1 player game. I remember getting into extremely fun hour-burning battles with my dad and my cousin, and teaming up with them to replay all the missions in multiplayer.

While I never fully owned this game (It was my dad's), I had a hell of a lot of fun with it, and still play it from time to time. It's hands down my favorite First person Shooter...although there aren't very many other games it has to compete with. Don't let the fact that it has less writing than FFVIII fool you, I think it's a better game, an outstanding game, and unlike the game before it, not all that many flaws about it.

Remember when Harmonix and Activision/Neversoft actually WORKED on music games? I know Harmonix has a fairly clean track record with The Beatles Rock Band, the first 2 Guitar Heroes and The Rock Band Series, but they are getting annoying (now there's a Green Day Rock Band coming up? TAKE A BREAK!). As for Activision and Neversoft, excluding DJ Hero, we all know the mounds of rushed music games that apparently enough people buy that it keeps more of them coming out.

As for me, I stick to my favorite music game, Harmonix's sophomore effort with MTV, Rock Band 2. This game is one of the few examples of reasons MTV does not blow ass chunks through a **** straw.

I know there's the common perception of "WHY DON'T YOU JUST PLAY A REAL INSTRUMENT?!?!" And to respond to that, at least for the general public, I wanna tell them: Instruments are expensive and incredibly disruptive. Music games help get people into certain music (as it has for me), and are affordable, fairly quiet, and an absolute blast with friends. Trust me: I'm in a real band and set up takes way too much time and after that there's a lot more work to it.

Rock Band is the ultimate party game, with songs of every genre and downloadable master tracks being released every Tuesday still to this date. There's so much available that it practically prints money and fun.

The visuals, while the games character models kinda suck, are still vivid enough to accomplish everything you need to do.

The gameplay is a simplified version of all the instruments that make the sum of its parts, but it works better that way. There are some songs that will make your hands bleed, while at the same time there's a no-fail mode, which balances it out for both the most skilled players and the suckiest noobies in existence.

On your own, there's plenty to do, and while it sucks having to replay songs within the game, the main setlist has plenty of gems (and crap), but the DLC will keep you coming back for years, provided you have an internet connection. I got good enough to play expert on 3 instruments, and trust me: it keeps getting better as you get better in the game. Acquiring the skill to beat the games toughest songs on expert gave me, at least, a good sense of accomplishment that I haven't felt in too many games any more. Call me a "no-lifer" if you want, I'm the one playing in a real band :P

This game is really fun when you have buddies to play with, and with an online mode, you don't even have to schedule weekends and make those dreaded phone calls! Provided the guys online have DLC. DLC OR DIE! (haha)

There's a lot of game modes to play here, and while generally they are about the same thing, it's still nice to have something else to try.

One of the key reasons this game is one of my favorites though is because of the extensive soundtracks available. I found so many bands out of game, and many of my other favorites I got to liking because I liked a band in this game. There's music for everyone, although Pop tends to be piss easy and Metal tends to be brutally hard.

Rock Band 2 is the ultimate party game, and has consistently remained quite fun for the last 2 years. The only other game that's captivated me that long consecutively is WoW, and that game has too many boring parts to make it onto this list.

Haha, this one was a tough decision between the Adventures and Sonic 2, but as a whole, I gotta choose Sonic 3&K as my favorite game in the series. It's level design is simply the most extensive in the series, and there were so many things they added to the gameplay mechanics that I simply couldn't put any other game in the series quite in my Top 10.

If I recall, Sonic 3 was the first game that Tails actually could fly to get through the levels, and I guarantee each and every one of you who still play this game choose him first EVERY time you pop in this game.

And I love the way the games accessory was so innovative: You add Sonic 3 (or 1 or 2) to the S&K cartridge and you could play as Knuckles to get to all sorts of new places, and fight the bosses in a different chain. The 3 characters were no longer the same, but each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Tails could fly (which, again, makes him the godliest of all 3), Knux was slow and didn't jump as high, but could glide across gaps, and Sonic could use shield abilities, the bounce, double jump and fireball, which are quite useful and make for some damn amusing speed runs.

The games special stages are the best in the series, and have yet to be topped. Hell, Blue Sphere is its own damn game (put the Sonic 1 cartridge on S&K)! The special stages are just so fun.

Then lets discuss level design:

Maybe a bit long, but each level is fleshed out beautifully, and they take patience and skill to beat. There are also multiple pathways, which although the game is a tad more linear than its predecessor, still makes some amusing and "Whoa!"-type reactions when you find the shortcuts and secrets.

Angel Island, Hydrocity, Ice Cap, Lava Reef, Death Egg and Sky Sanctuary are some of my all time favorite levels in any platformer ever.

And the pacing of the game is what truly separates if from other platformers. No other platformer really ever was able to balance the speed of this crack enduced group of furries with the precision required for a decent platformer to be fun yet not exceedingly frustrating.

This game was made for speed runs. Even though the majority of the game isn't that difficult (I ******* HATE YOU DOOMSDAY ZONE), it's always interesting to come back and play through it to see how much faster you can beat it.

The bosses are epic. I honestly think Bowser could learn a thing or two from this game, because despite the fact that the act 1 bosses are pretty average, the Eggman battles get progressively better and better. They range from a battle in the sky, to a giant pyramid statue, to my personal favorite, the Death Egg Act 2 battle, with the gravity changes and the giant laser machine. They each have a special way to be defeated, and range in creativity, but nearly all of them are quite fun.

The soundtrack is debateably the best on the Genesis: Every level has its own unique theme (and often a slightly remixed version for the second act), and I still remember how each track in Sonic 3 goes (I haven't had much access to the conjoined pair of the games until I got them on Xbox Live). The game's soundtrack is incredibly memorable and each song fits their level beautifully.

You'll notice that apart from the RPGs, all my games on this list are my favorite of their respective genre. I'd have to say, as a platformer fan, it's tough to pick, but when it gets down to the bottom, Sonic 3 & Knuckles comes out on top.

As I recall, Castle Crashers has reached the top of at least 3 of my Top 5 lists. You might be wondering (especially if you haven't read many of my previous blogs) why I'd put a game that's only a year old this high in my library. You might be wondering why a game that has no case, disc, or cartridge in my top 10. You might be wondering why a game that only costs 15$ is on my list. You might even be wondering why a game with a story mode length of only 3-5 hours is on my list at all.

Let me put it this way. When I first downloaded the trial, I knew I had to buy it within the first 5 minutes of playing it. Haven't looked back since. There's so much to like about this game, that it was all me and my friend talked about (and played) for nearly a month. It was what got my (other) friend into getting Xbox Live.

Castle Crashers is the best example of why a big name publisher or developer isn't required to make a big name game. Hell, the game was developed and designed by the geniuses who brought us Newgrounds.com (A website I've been going to for years), and they bring a lot to the table.

Castle Crashers is like a classic beat-em-up, but unlike so many beat-em-ups (I don't like very many of them), this game has a lot more than a mere jump button and an action button. Its easy to pick up and play, yet the game gets very challenging fairly quickly, even when you have 5 potions. You have a lot of weapons in your arsenal, including a bow, a plethora of weapons, animal orbs that offer help and bonuses, a shovel, several magic spells, and some other things you unlock throughout the game.

Action is almost always oodles of fun. There's nothing quite like getting a random decapitation with a steak. Speaking of that, you can tell the newgrounds influence throughout the game, as it is laced with silly humor (bosses getting brutally crushed by a giant treasure chest, deer with irritable bowel syndrome, and the games "shocking" reveal about the orange princess). This keeps the game with a nice, light hearted feel to it. The visuals enhance this, because they have a really nice, comic feel to them, ensuring the game has, guess what:

COLOUR? REALLY? NAW, NO WAY! CAN'T BE!

This game is downright fun, too. A nice little RPG system allowing you to level up and add bonuses to your stats, and millions of combinations of animal orbs and weapons makes sure the combat is always fresh, and no matter how repetitive it gets, it never feels boring.

The soundtrack is exceptional, which is admittedly saying something, because so few games have a soundtrack that brings the game to life any more. Each song fits its respective location, and considering just WHO was working on the soundtrack (just people with their computers, nobody famous), it makes this one of the most impressive soundtracks around. From the moment you hear "Four Brave Champions"...

(Who the hell expected THIS from an independent XBLA game?!)

...to the end credits, your ears will be blissfully pleased.

Lastly, I wanna talk about replayability. This game has more replayability than probably 95% of any game I've ever played, and the most replayable considering how linear the route through the game is. Many of the levels are so unforgettable, you'll wanna play them again and again. Who could forget their first encounter with the cat fish?

With so many characters, secrets, and plenty of treasure to collect, you'll play this adventure more than once. The sheer replayability of this game is why it's on the list most of all. The combat does start to become gradually less and less fun, but it never gets boring, and progressing through the levels again and again never becomes a chore.

There's also the Arena, which is surprisingly competitive for an arcade game, and All You Can Quaff...which you'll probably just play for the achievement. It's too bad the Arena is so broken, and it's not because its imbalanced, its because it doesn't work that often.

It's very fun on 1 player, but it truly shines best with friends. The Multiplayer will keep you coming back for more.

Then there's insane mode.

I still love this game. It's my all time favorite arcade style beat-em-up. With so many modes and options, this is a game I'll be still enjoying 5 years from now.

(As a note: My personal Top 5 are all Nintendo games, don't be hatin on me :P)

Now here is a game I AM still enjoying 5 years later.

I'm not gonna mention Brawl throughout this entire blog, you know how I feel about the game, and I'd rather not complain about a game that let me down in a top 10 about my favorite games. I will also not refer to the competitive side of the game, because we all know that wavedashing and **** like that ruin the fun and purpose of this game.

But as for Melee itself, WOW is it an awesome fighting game. Forget about health bars, Melee is a fighting game unlike any other, with insane skills you won't find in many other fighters.

The game takes the format of many old NES games, being in 2.5D, or 3D graphics on a 2D axis, and your goal is not to knock an enemy's health down to 0, but to knock them off the screen. However, hitting an enemy, increases their "damage" percentage, which as a character is hit, the % goes up and they fly farther. The game combines fighting game aspects with the platformer, as the idea is to stay on the field while at the same time knocking another off. Like platforming, you get extra jumps to try and get back on the platform after you've been knocked off it. This is where your character selection matters most. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, including how they rack up damage, how fast/slow they are, and how good their recovery is (put simply, Yoshi has 1 extra jump, Kirby has 6, most have 2). This game is a lot more about insane aerial combat combined with powerful ground combat than mere ground combat with a little stuff in the air, and that's why I like it more than other fighters.

The concept is simple: A bunch of nintendo characters beating the hell out of eachother. Considering the cast, thats AWESOME!

This fighter is another game that works well for 1 player (suck on that SSBB!) as well as 2 player, with a lot of things to collect in your fights and a cast of 25 characters to balance, half of which need to be unlocked, which can be done in quite creative ways (leave your console on overnight with 3 controllers plugged in to get Mewtwo? WTF you tawkin bout!). Plenty of game modes make this one to keep coming back to for years to come.

The one complaint many seem to have with this game and prefer its sequel for is because the game has a difficult learning curve and is a bit to frantic. While I will agree a tad about the learning curve, this game isn't too hard to learn the basics, which are pretty much all you need to get the majority of the unlockables and still have fun multiplayer battles. When you get good, matches get pretty darn intense.

The games soundtrack consists of many very well mixed versions of old songs and new ones alike. While it certainly isn't the best soundtrack on the system, it's very nice to hear all that old nostalgia.

Smash is a load of fun, and there is a hell of a lot to the game. Not too many multiplayer games still captivate me to this day like Melee, and it's about the only fighting game I truly like, particularly because it doesn't use a nonsense combo system or health bars or combat that is the same as nearly every other fighter.

I remember my first time with Smash...So many years ago. This game is just so nostalgic, while at the same time, very original and contemporary. A must have for any gamecube owner, even if you don't know anyone who's any good at the game.

Let's forget the fact that this game's box art isn't that good (which is why there is only a render of Mario) and the writing makes it seem like a game merely for kids. Let's forgive the fact that the games first 2 chapters aren't particularly grandstanding. Let's even forget the annoying subtitle, because I first played this game as "Paper Mario 2", and that's how I'll remember it.

Now that you leave out the trivial nonsense...

This game is one of the most fun and unique RPGs that I've ever played in my LIFE. It strips RPGs down to roughly the bare minimum, yet the Mario influence on the game makes it one of the best ever made, in my opinion. I may only have played a small fraction of the truly "classic" games, but I can almost guarantee none of them will knock this game off this pedestal. This game makes RPGs simple enough that anyone will enjoy them, yet improves greatly on its predecessor, and adds some mechanics that I'm just DYING to see another RPG franchise incorporate (or improve upon).

The only other Mario game that has a better storyline than this one would have to be the next game in the series, the Platformer/RPG Super Paper Mario (Not on this list). Despite there being a huge gap, this game add quite a host of likeable characters, and the plotline, while fairly cliche (the princess gets kidnapped go find artifacts), has a number of actually good plot moments (Bobbery's story is quite sad) and some twists, as well as some really strangely placed yet still funny jokes and 4th wall breaking moments. It balances light-hearted moments and fairly serious moments pretty well, and for that I enjoy it's storyline. It's not the most captivating, and you see many events coming a mile away, but other ones are quite shockers, including the shocker of even finding a "WTF?" moment in a game from a series known for its 1 dimensional storylines. My best examples are in Chapter 3 when things start to get almost creepy, the strange events of Chapter 6 and finding out the big mystery of the 1000 year old door.

But that's only a small factor. Where this game truly excels in...is a hell of a lot of things.

The art style has greatly improved since the last game. before, environments and characters were quite nicely rendered, but very chalky and sometimes a bit rough. With this game, everything is smooth, the Paper-y style is now more in effect (before, there wasn't really any need to make the game paper, now, Mario does things that he couldn't if he wasn't completely flat). And the environments are so varied and incredibly colorful, Particularly in Chapters 3, 5 and 6.

Each of the games 8 chapters were greatly worked on to make each one important, diverse, insanely memorable, and unique. While it can at times be slow to pick up, that's forgivable because I never felt through the entire game that the developers truly got lazy. You may feel like chapter 6 might have been a bit lazy because, if you know what to do, it's quite short...but it's also the chapter I noticed most people on online forums and polls say is their favorite (behind Chapter 3 of course).

The characters, even the recurring cast, are some of the most vibrant you'll ever see in a Mario game. The games partners are now a lot more detailed, developed and vivid than those from the first game, and now most of them have an actual backstory, making you actually care a bit more when their health reaches 0.

Let's not forget the villains. Bowser has been reduced to side villain, and for this, he's in one of his funniest roles yet. The X-Nauts, while easy to make fun of, take over for Bowser in quite an interesting way, and unlike Bowser, have a far more sinister plan than just stealing the princess.

And let's not forget the supporting cast. One thing I always loved about the Mario RPGs is the amount of character and life that is put into the supporting characters. So many of them are quite funny, even the ones that are just there for background. Considering the HUB town is a town full of thieves, that means plenty of misfits and funny ******** around. Luigi also has a side story in the process of your game, and it almost makes you wish they would make a game based solely on that. Throughout the game, after you finish a chapter, you can find Luigi and he'll tell you an abridged version of his story...and his cast of partners behind him will often tell you a different part of the story, which leads to some awesomely funny moments (Luigi fried a squid? LOL. Luigi in a dress? DEAR GOD!).

I'm certain you can name a game that does characters better, but considering Paper Mario is made by the guys who make Fire Emblem, I think they know a little something about it. Paper Mario 2 has a lot of charm to it, and that's why I like it.

A beautifully cartoony and funny game can only be made better by something Mario always does brilliantly: the soundtrack is a-mayz-eeng. Rather than spend 3 more paragraphs talking about how well each song fits each location and adds a signifigant subtlety to many moments as well as the vastly diverse and unique yet awesome boss tracks make this games soundtrack the best on the Gamecube (in my humble opinion), let the music do the talking.

(File Load)

(What's His Name?)

(Poshley Sanctum)

(Pennington)

(Mystery of the Glitz Pit)

(Keelhaul Key)

And how could I put a game on this list without the 3 most important aspects of the game?

Difficulty: Good

Replayability: Insane

Gamplay: What do you think?

This game is about as difficult as you want it to be. I'll admit to an extent it's easy, but trust me: unless you like to overlevel, you'll game over to at least 1 battle, and the bosses can be quite frustrating. Even if you get good enough at the game not to die, like, EVER again, it's still really damn fun to play.

It's RPGs at the core. The games main map works as a pseudo platformer/RPG crossover, with some dungeon crawler and Puzzle solving elements involved. It was pretty tough to figure out just how some of the damn puzzles were accomplished, but there was always a way to keep the game flowing. The developers chose quality over quantity, and many of the games secrets stick with me today.

The game also comes with a nice tip section where if you head back to Rogueport and pay this fortune teller the right sum of money, she'll tell you what you need to do to get farther. Unlike the first game, this fee rises as you get farther in the game, as opposed to PM1 only requiring 5 coins per tip. Same goes for heart blocks and inns, which used to be free. This adds to the overall difficulty while adding incentive to balance out your money.

When in battle though, it rarely feels like a chore that you need to do, because the game can be beaten at nearly any level, the battles are always fun and fresh, and you can always run away and/or avoid battles. Random encounters are NOT here, thank god, and enemies can be fairly easily avoided.

Battles are turn based, but with added "microgames" for attacks, defense and special moves. These start off simple (Press A at the right time for 2 jumps and extra damage), but get gradually progressively more complex, such as the games superguard (COUNTERATTACK!) and many time-precise button presses and mashing. These action commands, as they are referred to by the game, make all the difference in bringing battles into actual RPG fights as opposed to an exchange of numbers which are considered the freaking plague of RPGs by people who aren't fans of the genre. DJ, this is probably a game you'd enjoy.

The level up system is how you want it. Instead of there being stats that randomly go up, you have 3 stats the entire game. Damage is only based on the individual ability or attack itself, and there's no agility, dexterity, and other BS. You can level up your own Health, FP (Points needed to execute more powerful attacks), and BP (Points which allow you to equip more badges). The special attack system, the badges, and the level ups, as well as the way Partners work are all quite simple to work (albeit somewhat hard to explain), and add a great breath of fresh air to the genre. It plays like no other game, and it's a damn fun one. You can pick favorites among badges and partners, and it makes every playthrough a bit different.

It's pretty tough to find any true complaints about the game apart from occasional writing issues, so the only one I can say is the palette-swaps, which aren't much of a problem to begin with. There are many unique enemies, New and Old alike, that the occasional recolor doesn't really bother that much.

Replayability wise, this game has plenty. You choose your stats and badges, and you can pick and choose which partner to upgrade with your shine sprites. While some are obviously bad and others are awesome, due to the absense of the Mega Jump and Hammer Badges, you're free to choose the set you think mostly would benefit you. To balance it, better badges take more BP to use.

You can also set numerous restrictions for challenge playthroughs, to the extent that I've yet to see any game with as many different ways to play the game considering how relatively simple it is to play. It's easy to pick up and play, yet has enough sidequests and is so progressive in its gameplay, that despite it's story linearity and lack of content after clearing the game, it's an adventure to return to. I still go back to play this game again regularly.

My top 4 were so close, and I can hardly imagine myself writing as much for Pikmin 2 as I did for PM2, but the decision was so close, it pretty much came down to 2 things. 1: Pikmin 2 is a more mature game and felt like one I was a tad more proud to say I like to an average friend than Paper Mario 2, and 2: It's a more original concept of a game.

Pikmin is quite possibly the only console RTS I've ever seen work, because it incorporates the action-adventure style of a 3D adventure game with the minion control that put RTS's on the maps. Combine that with some of the most deceptively cute vegetable creatures in existence and my personal choice for Best Bosses In a Video Game (among everything else Pikmin 2 seems to top...It's been in at least 5 of my lists by now)

Pikmin 2 is an amazing game, with a great improvement over the first game (NO TIME LIMIT! TWICE THE PIKMIN BREEDS!), adding so much more to what was already a good game. Throw in some stellar multiplayer co-op and a decent competitive multiplayer game, and quite possibly the most amusingly charming yet secretly monstrous game in existence...and you have Pikmin 2.

If you don't know, is a Pikmin:

They are small, happy and curious vegetable-like creatures that inhabit the world. Looks innocent enough, right? I mean, they are only about this big in retrospect...

But deep beneath their small cutesy exterior, lies one of these guys:

Pikmin are mindless killing machines, who's only goal in existence is to kill every other organism around it and use their carcasses to further the population of their species.

On the other hand, they are small and unorganized.

This is where you come in. This game is the direct sequel to Pikmin. As your protagonist, Olimar, returns to his homeplanet from the Pikmin world, he finds his company is in incredible debt. His only chance now is to return to the Pikmin world and find treasures (PRODUCT PLACEMENT FT...I Don't Know if its win or loss), junk, which is worth lots of money on his home world.

Here's where the improvement starts. You now have 2 characters to play as, since Louie, the retard who got you in this whole mess, is going with you to help find enough treasure to save your business. Upon arrival, the Pikmin greet Olimar and repay you by helping you out of a jam. From there on, story becomes second nature to the gameplay of not only one of the few console RTS's that ever worked, but one of the best in the genre, period. You can control Pikmin simply by pressing A to throw them, X to get them to stop following you (more helpful than it sounds), C stick to get them to march in an order (required for swarming enemies), and B to whistle them back. You get a whole bunch of abilities throughout the game, and places to explore. You can control 100 pikmin on the field of up to 5 colors (another 1 is exclusive to dungeons) each, quite literally, with their own strengths and weaknesses. This is where the strategy element of the game is. You have to balance collecting stuff (plenty of fun) with avoiding and battling perilous monsters, bugs, and even fish, all while balancing which Pikmin to use when and where and how to divide your 2 characters.

The main highlights of Pikmin 2 are in the dungeons. Here, the clock stops and a number of enemies are located here. You find most of the games treasure in here, as well as the toughest enemies, which only get tougher throughout the game, which adds to the high-risk-high-reward feel of the game. The bosses are some of the most gargantuan behemoths you'll ever encounter in a game (despite the fact they'd naturally be no bigger than the round part of a spoon) outside of Shadow of the Colossus, and they all want you dead. It's a natural struggle for survival, and the Pikmin are basically ants: the only thing they have to their advantage are their vigor and their numbers. That's all you need, as figuring out how to control a mass of anthropomorphic antsized vegetables to take down giant worms, spiders and bird-snakes is the main fun of the game. The bosses are all spectacular, leading to the games final boss, which is my personal favorite final boss EVAR.

Graphically, this game is one of the best on the Gamecube. The environment and enemies are unique and clear, while still having some darn good visual flair to them. There is a great light hearted feel to the game, but even with that, I still wonder how it could be E rated, considering it's a giant battle for survival, and both foes and Pikmin will die ALL THE TIME. And it's so sad to see the ghost of the Pikmin rise and disintegrate whenever one of the little guys die. I don't know any other game where I cared so much about the little minions.

Musically, it's acceptable, but as I stated in my top 100 music list, there are some hidden Gems, such as the Wistful Wild theme, and the catchy End of Day song.

The adventure is just amazing, and yet incredibly fun to play. Replayability wise, I'd say it's about a medium, so you'll play it multiple times, but it is a tad on the linear side.

There are so many great moments...Yes, this game is worthy of being #3. It's not like any other game out there, and the multiplayer modes are some of the most occupying I've played. The challenge mode is quite an adventure, especially if you try to get all purple flowers with a buddy...ah, so many memories.

This is my favorite Gamecube game, because while it's a tie between this and Paper Mario 2, it edges out for the sheer concept. Nintendo needs to make more games like this one, because Pikmin was successful. and thank God they are making a Pikmin 3.

[f430a2]

The fact of the matter, is that apart from WoW, I can't think of any other games that sapped literally weeks out of my life and still never ceases to be fresh. I only slightly prefer Gold over Silver because it's a cooler color and Ho-Oh is a lot cooler than Lugia.

Pokemon Gold barely edges itself above the other two games before it. I know we all should think by now that Pokemon is a child's game...which i disagree with, but considering how Pokemon peaked at Gold version, I gotta go with the older titles.

So what makes Pokemon Gold so special?

Well, take the already working, life sapping formula from Pokemon Red, smooth out the edges, add the whole world of the prior game, improve the storyline, fix glitches, add 100 badass new Pokemon, 2 new types, COLOR, A classic Soundtrack that defies my 8 bit rule (I don't USUALLY like music of this sound quality), hold items, a new stat...I think I proved my point.

It's the cliche favorite in the series, but come on, you gotta admit Gold made several improvements. Let's just tackle them in my usual order for my reviews.

Storywise, the series has never been known to really care that much, but I honestly thought that Red Version had absolutely NO life to the plot of the game, while Gold game much more life to Team Rocket, actually making them seem evil instead of petty thieves. They accomplish far more in the game. Throw in a few more stories and details (see: the lighthouse, the story of the Red Gyarados, and the tale behind the burned tower).

Sure, there's nothing suspenseful or unpredictable, but you gotta admit, they tried a little harder with making the storyline seem more interesting.

Musically...Junichi Masuda is one of my personal favorite VGM composers. So many of his songs brought Pokemon Red to life. For Gold Version, there was a second composer, bringing even more brilliant songs to the mono sound processor of the Gameboy color. Some of these songs have gradually become among my favorite video game music. Not bad considering how choppy they actually sound.

(Route 27)

(Rival Battle)

(Trainer Battle)

Sure, these songs may not stand up that well today, but back in 2000, I had no idea of percussion, rhythm, melody, nor did I know the names of any band out there. Hell, I didn't even know the composer for these games. All I knew, is the songs were catchy and I often felt reluctant to turn the sound off just because my batteries were low.

It was nice to see Pokemon get some real color on a handheld. Sure there was Stadium and Snap, but those were console iterations, which, lets be honest, while both are good games, they don't hold a candle to the handhelds games. Compare these Blastoise Sprites:

Naturally, the new hardware of the GBC would be better, but it's still a noteworthy feature. Visually, Gold Version was one of the best looking handheld games of its time, and were polished enough to where they still stand strong today...Okay, not quite, but they aren't a migraine.

The game took the concept of RPGs (turn based strategy) and simplified it for everyone, while simultaneously making one of the most deceptively complex games ever. The game requires you to think about what you're gonna do and strategize...or if you're lazy, pick Cyndaquil and blast that ****** through the game. That's another thing I like about Gold: It has something for every type of gamer, from the strategic people who raise a balanced team and like to play the games incredibly fun multiplayer, to the casual gamer who just wants to see the game through the end. And of course what would a game with a tagline of "Catching them all" be without hours of collecting? This game is a perfectionists best friend and worst nightmare at the same time, because YOU GOTTA BUY BOTH GAMES TO GET THEM ALL!...or have good friends. 251 Pokemon take AGES to collect, and that adds a whole new world of entertainment to the game.

Sure, not enough people still play Gold and Silver Version anymore, so the multiplayer side of it all has aged the worst...but the rest of the game has not aged at all. It's still so much fun to build a custom team of Pokemon to clear through the game.

And they finally fixed the "Special" stat. Thank GOD! I would go more into depth of the games mechanics, but there are at least 5 wiki's with a page devoted to that, and chances are, you've played this game before.

The main game is a tad shorter than Red Version, but that also means less hours wasted grinding to get a team strong enough to beat the L33t4. And this is where we get into Pokemon Gold's most popular mechanic:

You can go back and visit the world of Pokemon RBY upon clearing the game. Talk about innovation! After you clear the Elite 4, you can go back to the world of Hoenn, solve some problems there, and re-fight all the Gym Leaders from the first game! And this time, they are more challenging. Sure, Kanto doesn't take all that long to clear through, but it allows so many more options, much more fun to the gameplay, and an innovative concept to be brought to the table which I've yet to see done the same in any other game.

But even with all the additions to the game, Pokemon Gold is incredibly fun. So many hours spent...and I have yet to feel like any of them are wasted. It's the best in the series, but there's more to it. It's amazing formula ensures:

1: The game never dies
2: ?
3: Profit!

Pokemon Gold is an amazing value, because there's so damn much to do, and after that's all done, I turn to the new game feature and start over. The replayability is next to limitless.

As a whole, Pokemon Gold is my second favorite game. everything about it is improved from its predecessor, which was already one of the greatest games that ever came out. SO much fun...and it never seems to truly expire. If you haven't touched this game in awhile, I suggest playing it 1 more time.

NO. NO. WRONG.

Oh come on now, you already know what my favorite game is!

(Yes it's a dark track unsuiting to this blog but I gotta go with a track extended as long as this one)

To be fair: This game is not perfect. This game is not even the best game on this list. Hell, I'm even willing to say that it's sequel, my #4 choice, is a better game overall. It's probably even cheating to include 2 games of the same exact sub-franchise in my top 5.

Even with my addressing of why this game should perhaps not be at the zenith of this list, I have yet to play another game as captivating, brilliant, diverse, unique and downright FUN as Paper Mario for the N64.

As the ONLY (and I stress that) turn based RPG on the console, and it was released after the 6th generation of consoles had started, Paper Mario came out with strange expectations, made only that much more ambiguous by its highly deceiving commercial. I at first thought this game was some sort of joke.

Oh, how wrong I was. I at first rented it (you know, RENTING? at a Blockbuster?) and played it to maybe about halfway in the game where I got stuck. I could not believe my eyes. This game was ******* brilliant. I rented it at least 3 more times before finally getting a copy for Christmas. Within a month, I had beaten it.

Even if that first playthrough, the best one of the game, was so long ago, that memory of playing through the games incredible 8 chapters sticks with me today like no other game has. I have since played through it more times than I can count, and regularly listen to the soundtrack and talk about it.

This game was the sole reason I never sold my n64. I was very tempted to at one point...but then I couldn't play Paper Mario again! I had no idea about the Virtual Console (it was 2003!), and I couldn't part with this game.

To this day, I remain waiting for a third game that remains as amazing and unique as Paper Mario 1 and 2. The second game was such a worthy sequel. But the first in the series is my #1 for truly defining my status as a gamer, as well as making RPGs my favorite genre of games.

So, what is it that puts this game at number 1?

EVERYTHING.

The aesthetic, the music, the visuals, the characters, The uniquity, and the gameplay all form a game which in my eyes stands above all else. Sure, it might not be my favorite FOR all time, but I've yet to see a game that could truly knock it off #1.

The game may not be the most amazing looking on the N64, but it's got a unique flair to the visuals. Everything looks defined and pretty, incredibly colorful, and only at few moments does it look ugly. Some of the levels in this game are so visually different and memorable (even if most of them are similar archetypes from Mario 64), they inspired me to do an entire top 5 just from this 1 game (my Top 5 Level Archetypes).

The soundtrack is my personal 3rd favorite of all time. I've heard some critics thought the music was boring filler, and while there is a bit too much of some sort of Xylophone or Glockenspiel or some percussion instrument in a number of the songs, I have way too many favorites to list. This game has 12 boss themes and a whole bunch of other magnificent tracks for each of the settings throughout the game. The composer is the same as the one who composed for the Fire Emblem games: Damn good sign right there.

let me just give a few examples:

(Raphael Raven)

(Shy Guys Toy Box)

(Over Shiver Mountain)

While this games plot might be 1 low point, being relatively simple and 2 dimensional (like the characters), I'll repeat myself from game #4 when I say that what the story lacks in depth it makes up for with its strong cast. Even 1 time extras always have something to say, which is something I don't notice in many games. Your 8 Partners all have something to contribute to the table, and each are quite different and interesting. They help you through the game, both in battle and in the puzzle solving aspect of the world outside of battle. There are so many tricks and collectibles to find, and plenty to do. These collectibles can be found by searching, or if you're lazy, you can pay someone in the game to tell you where pretty much everything is!

One of my favorite parts of this game is its accessibility. Anyone can enjoy it. It's not extremely difficult, but it can be very challenging. And there's plenty of ways to make it easier (or harder, if you prefer).

But why it's number one is pure and simple: it's fun. Gameplay wise, it's deceptively simple: a simple, small calibur RPG...and all that's added to it is the Mario template and the action command, a simple button mechanic that let's you time button presses for extra damage.

On paper (>_< this doesn't sound like anything special. But you'd be surprised. This simple ability livens combat up tremendously. You'll always be actively in battles, trying to time your button presses and joystick waggles as the commands get more complex and difficult throughout the game to ensure you get through each battle as best as you can, but yet never feel after a battle "I don't wanna do that again!" Mostly, encounters in the game are however many you want. Sure, it's impossible to avoid all of them, but it's pretty easy to evade them, and like all other Mario RPGs, there are no random encounters!

While combat is lively, and every encounter is fun, the bosses are the ones who truly steal the show. Each one is lovingly crafted to be truly likeable 1 time encounters, each with their own weakness and boss theme. It's things like these that truly make Paper Mario excel as a game.

This game has supplied me with many, many memories. I still find it a blast to play, and have played through it probably more times than any other game I own. It's got a decent length, but that is only greatly increased by its strong replayability (what the hell you talking about, Thunderbird?). While the sequel has more badges and diversity, this game is still more simple, and you can play it in so many ways, since you can choose your stats and special abilities.

Paper Mario is my favorite game, and perhaps for all time it shall remain that. It is not the best, but it is simply the most fun experience I have grown to love, and is all around the greatest experience I've ever had with a game. The world of Paper Mario is riveting, and the gameplay is one of the most enjoyable out there. This is why it is #1.

And so it is written.

Ghostrider's Top 10 Games Part 4: #4 and #3

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:17:53 -0500

Sorry, but this blog is a lie.

Okay, I'll do it!

Well, it's been 4 days since I started this blog, and I'm astounded that I got more than 50 comments for my first 3 entrys! You people really do care! *sniff* Well, like 20 of them are mine, BUT STILL! 800 views is enough for me

And no, before you assume anything from the above image, Portal is not on this blog. It's still a good game.

Well, by "popular demand", or enough high reviews to encourage me to finish this short series of blogs, we are but 2 parts away from the finale!

Let's forget the fact that this game's box art isn't that good (which is why there is only a render of Mario) and the writing makes it seem like a game merely for kids. Let's forgive the fact that the games first 2 chapters aren't particularly grandstanding. Let's even forget the annoying subtitle, because I first played this game as "Paper Mario 2", and that's how I'll remember it.

Now that you leave out the trivial nonsense...

This game is one of the most fun and unique RPGs that I've ever played in my LIFE. It strips RPGs down to roughly the bare minimum, yet the Mario influence on the game makes it one of the best ever made, in my opinion. I may only have played a small fraction of the truly "classic" games, but I can almost guarantee none of them will knock this game off this pedestal. This game makes RPGs simple enough that anyone will enjoy them, yet improves greatly on its predecessor, and adds some mechanics that I'm just DYING to see another RPG franchise incorporate (or improve upon).

The only other Mario game that has a better storyline than this one would have to be the next game in the series, the Platformer/RPG Super Paper Mario (Not on this list). Despite there being a huge gap, this game add quite a host of likeable characters, and the plotline, while fairly cliche (the princess gets kidnapped go find artifacts), has a number of actually good plot moments (Bobbery's story is quite sad) and some twists, as well as some really strangely placed yet still funny jokes and 4th wall breaking moments. It balances light-hearted moments and fairly serious moments pretty well, and for that I enjoy it's storyline. It's not the most captivating, and you see many events coming a mile away, but other ones are quite shockers, including the shocker of even finding a "WTF?" moment in a game from a series known for its 1 dimensional storylines. My best examples are in Chapter 3 when things start to get almost creepy, the strange events of Chapter 6 and finding out the big mystery of the 1000 year old door.

But that's only a small factor. Where this game truly excels in...is a hell of a lot of things.

The art style has greatly improved since the last game. before, environments and characters were quite nicely rendered, but very chalky and sometimes a bit rough. With this game, everything is smooth, the Paper-y style is now more in effect (before, there wasn't really any need to make the game paper, now, Mario does things that he couldn't if he wasn't completely flat). And the environments are so varied and incredibly colorful, Particularly in Chapters 3, 5 and 6.

Each of the games 8 chapters were greatly worked on to make each one important, diverse, insanely memorable, and unique. While it can at times be slow to pick up, that's forgivable because I never felt through the entire game that the developers truly got lazy. You may feel like chapter 6 might have been a bit lazy because, if you know what to do, it's quite short...but it's also the chapter I noticed most people on online forums and polls say is their favorite (behind Chapter 3 of course).

The characters, even the recurring cast, are some of the most vibrant you'll ever see in a Mario game. The games partners are now a lot more detailed, developed and vivid than those from the first game, and now most of them have an actual backstory, making you actually care a bit more when their health reaches 0.

Let's not forget the villains. Bowser has been reduced to side villain, and for this, he's in one of his funniest roles yet. The X-Nauts, while easy to make fun of, take over for Bowser in quite an interesting way, and unlike Bowser, have a far more sinister plan than just stealing the princess.

And let's not forget the supporting cast. One thing I always loved about the Mario RPGs is the amount of character and life that is put into the supporting characters. So many of them are quite funny, even the ones that are just there for background. Considering the HUB town is a town full of thieves, that means plenty of misfits and funny ******** around. Luigi also has a side story in the process of your game, and it almost makes you wish they would make a game based solely on that. Throughout the game, after you finish a chapter, you can find Luigi and he'll tell you an abridged version of his story...and his cast of partners behind him will often tell you a different part of the story, which leads to some awesomely funny moments (Luigi fried a squid? LOL. Luigi in a dress? DEAR GOD!).

I'm certain you can name a game that does characters better, but considering Paper Mario is made by the guys who make Fire Emblem, I think they know a little something about it. Paper Mario 2 has a lot of charm to it, and that's why I like it.

A beautifully cartoony and funny game can only be made better by something Mario always does brilliantly: the soundtrack is a-mayz-eeng. Rather than spend 3 more paragraphs talking about how well each song fits each location and adds a signifigant subtlety to many moments as well as the vastly diverse and unique yet awesome boss tracks make this games soundtrack the best on the Gamecube (in my humble opinion), let the music do the talking.

(File Load)

(What's His Name?)

(Poshley Sanctum)

(Pennington)

(Mystery of the Glitz Pit)

(Keelhaul Key)

And how could I put a game on this list without the 3 most important aspects of the game?

Difficulty: Good

Replayability: Insane

Gamplay: What do you think?

This game is about as difficult as you want it to be. I'll admit to an extent it's easy, but trust me: unless you like to overlevel, you'll game over to at least 1 battle, and the bosses can be quite frustrating. Even if you get good enough at the game not to die, like, EVER again, it's still really damn fun to play.

It's RPGs at the core. The games main map works as a pseudo platformer/RPG crossover, with some dungeon crawler and Puzzle solving elements involved. It was pretty tough to figure out just how some of the damn puzzles were accomplished, but there was always a way to keep the game flowing. The developers chose quality over quantity, and many of the games secrets stick with me today.

The game also comes with a nice tip section where if you head back to Rogueport and pay this fortune teller the right sum of money, she'll tell you what you need to do to get farther. Unlike the first game, this fee rises as you get farther in the game, as opposed to PM1 only requiring 5 coins per tip. Same goes for heart blocks and inns, which used to be free. This adds to the overall difficulty while adding incentive to balance out your money.

When in battle though, it rarely feels like a chore that you need to do, because the game can be beaten at nearly any level, the battles are always fun and fresh, and you can always run away and/or avoid battles. Random encounters are NOT here, thank god, and enemies can be fairly easily avoided.

Battles are turn based, but with added "microgames" for attacks, defense and special moves. These start off simple (Press A at the right time for 2 jumps and extra damage), but get gradually progressively more complex, such as the games superguard (COUNTERATTACK!) and many time-precise button presses and mashing. These action commands, as they are referred to by the game, make all the difference in bringing battles into actual RPG fights as opposed to an exchange of numbers which are considered the freaking plague of RPGs by people who aren't fans of the genre. DJ, this is probably a game you'd enjoy.

The level up system is how you want it. Instead of there being stats that randomly go up, you have 3 stats the entire game. Damage is only based on the individual ability or attack itself, and there's no agility, dexterity, and other BS. You can level up your own Health, FP (Points needed to execute more powerful attacks), and BP (Points which allow you to equip more badges). The special attack system, the badges, and the level ups, as well as the way Partners work are all quite simple to work (albeit somewhat hard to explain), and add a great breath of fresh air to the genre. It plays like no other game, and it's a damn fun one. You can pick favorites among badges and partners, and it makes every playthrough a bit different.

It's pretty tough to find any true complaints about the game apart from occasional writing issues, so the only one I can say is the palette-swaps, which aren't much of a problem to begin with. There are many unique enemies, New and Old alike, that the occasional recolor doesn't really bother that much.

Replayability wise, this game has plenty. You choose your stats and badges, and you can pick and choose which partner to upgrade with your shine sprites. While some are obviously bad and others are awesome, due to the absense of the Mega Jump and Hammer Badges, you're free to choose the set you think mostly would benefit you. To balance it, better badges take more BP to use.

You can also set numerous restrictions for challenge playthroughs, to the extent that I've yet to see any game with as many different ways to play the game considering how relatively simple it is to play. It's easy to pick up and play, yet has enough sidequests and is so progressive in its gameplay, that despite it's story linearity and lack of content after clearing the game, it's an adventure to return to. I still go back to play this game again regularly.

My top 4 were so close, and I can hardly imagine myself writing as much for Pikmin 2 as I did for PM2, but the decision was so close, it pretty much came down to 2 things. 1: Pikmin 2 is a more mature game and felt like one I was a tad more proud to say I like to an average friend than Paper Mario 2, and 2: It's a more original concept of a game.

Pikmin is quite possibly the only console RTS I've ever seen work, because it incorporates the action-adventure style of a 3D adventure game with the minion control that put RTS's on the maps. Combine that with some of the most deceptively cute vegetable creatures in existence and my personal choice for Best Bosses In a Video Game (among everything else Pikmin 2 seems to top...It's been in at least 5 of my lists by now)

Pikmin 2 is an amazing game, with a great improvement over the first game (NO TIME LIMIT! TWICE THE PIKMIN BREEDS!), adding so much more to what was already a good game. Throw in some stellar multiplayer co-op and a decent competitive multiplayer game, and quite possibly the most amusingly charming yet secretly monstrous game in existence...and you have Pikmin 2.

If you don't know, is a Pikmin:

They are small, happy and curious vegetable-like creatures that inhabit the world. Looks innocent enough, right? I mean, they are only about this big in retrospect...

But deep beneath their small cutesy exterior, lies one of these guys:

Pikmin are mindless killing machines, who's only goal in existence is to kill every other organism around it and use their carcasses to further the population of their species.

On the other hand, they are small and unorganized.

This is where you come in. This game is the direct sequel to Pikmin. As your protagonist, Olimar, returns to his homeplanet from the Pikmin world, he finds his company is in incredible debt. His only chance now is to return to the Pikmin world and find treasures (PRODUCT PLACEMENT FT...I Don't Know if its win or loss), junk, which is worth lots of money on his home world.

Here's where the improvement starts. You now have 2 characters to play as, since Louie, the retard who got you in this whole mess, is going with you to help find enough treasure to save your business. Upon arrival, the Pikmin greet Olimar and repay you by helping you out of a jam. From there on, story becomes second nature to the gameplay of not only one of the few console RTS's that ever worked, but one of the best in the genre, period. You can control Pikmin simply by pressing A to throw them, X to get them to stop following you (more helpful than it sounds), C stick to get them to march in an order (required for swarming enemies), and B to whistle them back. You get a whole bunch of abilities throughout the game, and places to explore. You can control 100 pikmin on the field of up to 5 colors (another 1 is exclusive to dungeons) each, quite literally, with their own strengths and weaknesses. This is where the strategy element of the game is. You have to balance collecting stuff (plenty of fun) with avoiding and battling perilous monsters, bugs, and even fish, all while balancing which Pikmin to use when and where and how to divide your 2 characters.

The main highlights of Pikmin 2 are in the dungeons. Here, the clock stops and a number of enemies are located here. You find most of the games treasure in here, as well as the toughest enemies, which only get tougher throughout the game, which adds to the high-risk-high-reward feel of the game. The bosses are some of the most gargantuan behemoths you'll ever encounter in a game (despite the fact they'd naturally be no bigger than the round part of a spoon) outside of Shadow of the Colossus, and they all want you dead. It's a natural struggle for survival, and the Pikmin are basically ants: the only thing they have to their advantage are their vigor and their numbers. That's all you need, as figuring out how to control a mass of anthropomorphic antsized vegetables to take down giant worms, spiders and bird-snakes is the main fun of the game. The bosses are all spectacular, leading to the games final boss, which is my personal favorite final boss EVAR.

Graphically, this game is one of the best on the Gamecube. The environment and enemies are unique and clear, while still having some darn good visual flair to them. There is a great light hearted feel to the game, but even with that, I still wonder how it could be E rated, considering it's a giant battle for survival, and both foes and Pikmin will die ALL THE TIME. And it's so sad to see the ghost of the Pikmin rise and disintegrate whenever one of the little guys die. I don't know any other game where I cared so much about the little minions.

Musically, it's acceptable, but as I stated in my top 100 music list, there are some hidden Gems, such as the Wistful Wild theme, and the catchy End of Day song.

The adventure is just amazing, and yet incredibly fun to play. Replayability wise, I'd say it's about a medium, so you'll play it multiple times, but it is a tad on the linear side.

There are so many great moments...Yes, this game is worthy of being #3. It's not like any other game out there, and the multiplayer modes are some of the most occupying I've played. The challenge mode is quite an adventure, especially if you try to get all purple flowers with a buddy...ah, so many memories.

This is my favorite Gamecube game, because while it's a tie between this and Paper Mario 2, it edges out for the sheer concept. Nintendo needs to make more games like this one, because Pikmin was successful. and thank God they are making a Pikmin 3.

===================================================
So, 1 more blog to go! My next blog will be the entire top 10, edited for spelling and grammar with maybe a few notes or things I want to add to it, as well as my conclusion.

Ghostrider's Top 10 Games Part 3: #6 and #5

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:09:48 -0500

Time to divulge into the top 5! I was surprised with some of the feedback on my previous entries, because really, I didn't exactly write my previous entries with any spellcheck nor proofreading, nor any real intended structure. But I suppose it warrants a third entry. (I intend to merge all the blogs for Part 5, I just couldn't put all of them in 1 entry because that would be murder on the readers if some random blog suddenly had like 60 paragraphs, and they can just skip down. Perhaps that's where I'll do my proof reading and spellcheck)

As I recall, Castle Crashers has reached the top of at least 3 of my Top 5 lists. You might be wondering (especially if you haven't read many of my previous blogs) why I'd put a game that's only a year old this high in my library. You might be wondering why a game that has no case, disc, or cartridge in my top 10. You might be wondering why a game that only costs 15$ is on my list. You might even be wondering why a game with a story mode length of only 3-5 hours is on my list at all.

Let me put it this way. When I first downloaded the trial, I knew I had to buy it within the first 5 minutes of playing it. Haven't looked back since. There's so much to like about this game, that it was all me and my friend talked about (and played) for nearly a month. It was what got my (other) friend into getting Xbox Live.

Castle Crashers is the best example of why a big name publisher or developer isn't required to make a big name game. Hell, the game was developed and designed by the geniuses who brought us Newgrounds.com (A website I've been going to for years), and they bring a lot to the table.

Castle Crashers is like a classic beat-em-up, but unlike so many beat-em-ups (I don't like very many of them), this game has a lot more than a mere jump button and an action button. Its easy to pick up and play, yet the game gets very challenging fairly quickly, even when you have 5 potions. You have a lot of weapons in your arsenal, including a bow, a plethora of weapons, animal orbs that offer help and bonuses, a shovel, several magic spells, and some other things you unlock throughout the game.

Action is almost always oodles of fun. There's nothing quite like getting a random decapitation with a steak. Speaking of that, you can tell the newgrounds influence throughout the game, as it is laced with silly humor (bosses getting brutally crushed by a giant treasure chest, deer with irritable bowel syndrome, and the games "shocking" reveal about the orange princess). This keeps the game with a nice, light hearted feel to it. The visuals enhance this, because they have a really nice, comic feel to them, ensuring the game has, guess what:

COLOUR? REALLY? NAW, NO WAY! CAN'T BE!

This game is downright fun, too. A nice little RPG system allowing you to level up and add bonuses to your stats, and millions of combinations of animal orbs and weapons makes sure the combat is always fresh, and no matter how repetitive it gets, it never feels boring.

The soundtrack is exceptional, which is admittedly saying something, because so few games have a soundtrack that brings the game to life any more. Each song fits its respective location, and considering just WHO was working on the soundtrack (just people with their computers, nobody famous), it makes this one of the most impressive soundtracks around. From the moment you hear "Four Brave Champions"...

(Who the hell expected THIS from an independent XBLA game?!)

...to the end credits, your ears will be blissfully pleased.

Lastly, I wanna talk about replayability. This game has more replayability than probably 95% of any game I've ever played, and the most replayable considering how linear the route through the game is. Many of the levels are so unforgettable, you'll wanna play them again and again. Who could forget their first encounter with the cat fish?

With so many characters, secrets, and plenty of treasure to collect, you'll play this adventure more than once. The sheer replayability of this game is why it's on the list most of all. The combat does start to become gradually less and less fun, but it never gets boring, and progressing through the levels again and again never becomes a chore.

There's also the Arena, which is surprisingly competitive for an arcade game, and All You Can Quaff...which you'll probably just play for the achievement. It's too bad the Arena is so broken, and it's not because its imbalanced, its because it doesn't work that often.

It's very fun on 1 player, but it truly shines best with friends. The Multiplayer will keep you coming back for more.

Then there's insane mode.

I still love this game. It's my all time favorite arcade style beat-em-up. With so many modes and options, this is a game I'll be still enjoying 5 years from now.

(As a note: My personal Top 5 are all Nintendo games, don't be hatin on me :P)

Now here is a game I AM still enjoying 5 years later.

I'm not gonna mention Brawl throughout this entire blog, you know how I feel about the game, and I'd rather not complain about a game that let me down in a top 10 about my favorite games. I will also not refer to the competitive side of the game, because we all know that wavedashing and **** like that ruin the fun and purpose of this game.

But as for Melee itself, WOW is it an awesome fighting game. Forget about health bars, Melee is a fighting game unlike any other, with insane skills you won't find in many other fighters.

The game takes the format of many old NES games, being in 2.5D, or 3D graphics on a 2D axis, and your goal is not to knock an enemy's health down to 0, but to knock them off the screen. However, hitting an enemy, increases their "damage" percentage, which as a character is hit, the % goes up and they fly farther. The game combines fighting game aspects with the platformer, as the idea is to stay on the field while at the same time knocking another off. Like platforming, you get extra jumps to try and get back on the platform after you've been knocked off it. This is where your character selection matters most. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, including how they rack up damage, how fast/slow they are, and how good their recovery is (put simply, Yoshi has 1 extra jump, Kirby has 6, most have 2). This game is a lot more about insane aerial combat combined with powerful ground combat than mere ground combat with a little stuff in the air, and that's why I like it more than other fighters.

The concept is simple: A bunch of nintendo characters beating the hell out of eachother. Considering the cast, thats AWESOME!

This fighter is another game that works well for 1 player (suck on that SSBB!) as well as 2 player, with a lot of things to collect in your fights and a cast of 25 characters to balance, half of which need to be unlocked, which can be done in quite creative ways (leave your console on overnight with 3 controllers plugged in to get Mewtwo? WTF you tawkin bout!). Plenty of game modes make this one to keep coming back to for years to come.

The one complaint many seem to have with this game and prefer its sequel for is because the game has a difficult learning curve and is a bit to frantic. While I will agree a tad about the learning curve, this game isn't too hard to learn the basics, which are pretty much all you need to get the majority of the unlockables and still have fun multiplayer battles. When you get good, matches get pretty darn intense.

The games soundtrack consists of many very well mixed versions of old songs and new ones alike. While it certainly isn't the best soundtrack on the system, it's very nice to hear all that old nostalgia.

Smash is a load of fun, and there is a hell of a lot to the game. Not too many multiplayer games still captivate me to this day like Melee, and it's about the only fighting game I truly like, particularly because it doesn't use a nonsense combo system or health bars or combat that is the same as nearly every other fighter.

I remember my first time with Smash...So many years ago. This game is just so nostalgic, while at the same time, very original and contemporary. A must have for any gamecube owner, even if you don't know anyone who's any good at the game.

===================================================

So, there's the start of the top 5. Maybe I might have this all done within the next 2 days! If you wanna see me finish it soon, be sure to comment!

(next time: Moar Gamecube)

Ghostrider's Top 10 Games Part 2: #8 and #7

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:52:30 -0500

Since I got enough Positive reception on the first part within 24 hours, I think I'll post the next part nao.

Remember when Harmonix and Activision/Neversoft actually WORKED on music games? I know Harmonix has a fairly clean track record with The Beatles Rock Band, the first 2 Guitar Heroes and The Rock Band Series, but they are getting annoying (now there's a Green Day Rock Band coming up? TAKE A BREAK!). As for Activision and Neversoft, excluding DJ Hero, we all know the mounds of rushed music games that apparently enough people buy that it keeps more of them coming out.

As for me, I stick to my favorite music game, Harmonix's sophomore effort with MTV, Rock Band 2. This game is one of the few examples of reasons MTV does not blow ass chunks through a **** straw.

I know there's the common perception of "WHY DON'T YOU JUST PLAY A REAL INSTRUMENT?!?!" And to respond to that, at least for the general public, I wanna tell them: Instruments are expensive and incredibly disruptive. Music games help get people into certain music (as it has for me), and are affordable, fairly quiet, and an absolute blast with friends. Trust me: I'm in a real band and set up takes way too much time and after that there's a lot more work to it.

Rock Band is the ultimate party game, with songs of every genre and downloadable master tracks being released every Tuesday still to this date. There's so much available that it practically prints money and fun.

The visuals, while the games character models kinda suck, are still vivid enough to accomplish everything you need to do.

The gameplay is a simplified version of all the instruments that make the sum of its parts, but it works better that way. There are some songs that will make your hands bleed, while at the same time there's a no-fail mode, which balances it out for both the most skilled players and the suckiest noobies in existence.

On your own, there's plenty to do, and while it sucks having to replay songs within the game, the main setlist has plenty of gems (and crap), but the DLC will keep you coming back for years, provided you have an internet connection. I got good enough to play expert on 3 instruments, and trust me: it keeps getting better as you get better in the game. Acquiring the skill to beat the games toughest songs on expert gave me, at least, a good sense of accomplishment that I haven't felt in too many games any more. Call me a "no-lifer" if you want, I'm the one playing in a real band :P

This game is really fun when you have buddies to play with, and with an online mode, you don't even have to schedule weekends and make those dreaded phone calls! Provided the guys online have DLC. DLC OR DIE! (haha)

There's a lot of game modes to play here, and while generally they are about the same thing, it's still nice to have something else to try.

One of the key reasons this game is one of my favorites though is because of the extensive soundtracks available. I found so many bands out of game, and many of my other favorites I got to liking because I liked a band in this game. There's music for everyone, although Pop tends to be piss easy and Metal tends to be brutally hard.

Rock Band 2 is the ultimate party game, and has consistently remained quite fun for the last 2 years. The only other game that's captivated me that long consecutively is WoW, and that game has too many boring parts to make it onto this list.

Haha, this one was a tough decision between the Adventures and Sonic 2, but as a whole, I gotta choose Sonic 3&K as my favorite game in the series. It's level design is simply the most extensive in the series, and there were so many things they added to the gameplay mechanics that I simply couldn't put any other game in the series quite in my Top 10.

If I recall, Sonic 3 was the first game that Tails actually could fly to get through the levels, and I guarantee each and every one of you who still play this game choose him first EVERY time you pop in this game.

And I love the way the games accessory was so innovative: You add Sonic 3 (or 1 or 2) to the S&K cartridge and you could play as Knuckles to get to all sorts of new places, and fight the bosses in a different chain. The 3 characters were no longer the same, but each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Tails could fly (which, again, makes him the godliest of all 3), Knux was slow and didn't jump as high, but could glide across gaps, and Sonic could use shield abilities, the bounce, double jump and fireball, which are quite useful and make for some damn amusing speed runs.

The games special stages are the best in the series, and have yet to be topped. Hell, Blue Sphere is its own damn game (put the Sonic 1 cartridge on S&K)! The special stages are just so fun.

Then lets discuss level design:

Maybe a bit long, but each level is fleshed out beautifully, and they take patience and skill to beat. There are also multiple pathways, which although the game is a tad more linear than its predecessor, still makes some amusing and "Whoa!"-type reactions when you find the shortcuts and secrets.

Angel Island, Hydrocity, Ice Cap, Lava Reef, Death Egg and Sky Sanctuary are some of my all time favorite levels in any platformer ever.

And the pacing of the game is what truly separates if from other platformers. No other platformer really ever was able to balance the speed of this crack enduced group of furries with the precision required for a decent platformer to be fun yet not exceedingly frustrating.

This game was made for speed runs. Even though the majority of the game isn't that difficult (I ******* HATE YOU DOOMSDAY ZONE), it's always interesting to come back and play through it to see how much faster you can beat it.

The bosses are epic. I honestly think Bowser could learn a thing or two from this game, because despite the fact that the act 1 bosses are pretty average, the Eggman battles get progressively better and better. They range from a battle in the sky, to a giant pyramid statue, to my personal favorite, the Death Egg Act 2 battle, with the gravity changes and the giant laser machine. They each have a special way to be defeated, and range in creativity, but nearly all of them are quite fun.

The soundtrack is debateably the best on the Genesis: Every level has its own unique theme (and often a slightly remixed version for the second act), and I still remember how each track in Sonic 3 goes (I haven't had much access to the conjoined pair of the games until I got them on Xbox Live). The game's soundtrack is incredibly memorable and each song fits their level beautifully.

You'll notice that apart from the RPGs, all my games on this list are my favorite of their respective genre. I'd have to say, as a platformer fan, it's tough to pick, but when it gets down to the bottom, Sonic 3 & Knuckles comes out on top.

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Thank you again for reading my blog!

(Next Time: Another 2 genres get crossed off the list)

Ghostrider's Top 10 Games Part 1: #10 and #9

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:32:05 -0500

Well, we all gotta do it some day or another. Our top 10 favorite games of all time. Simply put, the most simple and cliched top 10 ever made, just below top 10 movies, top 10 songs and top 10 reasons why MTV blows ass chunks through a **** straw.

Why would someone like me, one who tries to make top 10's as not-cliched as possible, desire to make a top 10 Favorite Games?

Because I want to express why I love these games so much and why I want them to be in other peoples top 10 list. These are 10 of my personal favorites.

But rather than put it all in 1 list, I decided to go a bit deeper than that. Rather than make each entry seem like it's merely part of a list (because you only really care about #1 right?), I wish to go into detail why these games are so great to me, and do a pseudo-sort of-review of each of them. Now, 10 parts leads to the loss of peoples attention as well as my own will to write about them, so I'll squeeze 2 into 1 blog for each part.

Oh, and for the record, I believe that Super Mario Sunshine and Mother 3 fit in my top 10, but i've already reviewed those games and whichever game makes it through the first 5 (10-6) isn't certain, because I'm not completely limited to 10 games.

So, introduction aside, I hope you enjoy reading these!

I can hear the Final Fantasy 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 fans all typing angry hate messages about my mother already.

The fact of the matter is: This is the only Final Fantasy game I've ever finished. Just because it took a huge leap away from the previous games does not make it a bad game. And yes, I know of The Spoony Ones review of the game, and I found it to be hilarious (although far too nitpicky), because I understand many of the complaints for this game. Still yet, Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite in the series, EVEN though I'm willing to admit 7 is better overall. And yes, this is the only Final Fantasy on this list.

Why do I love a game that is so bashed by reviewers? Well, you gotta remember: critics are never RIGHT, they are merely voicing their opinions, just in a fairly professional manner.

Let's get complaints about this game out of the way first: After the whole thing with Ragnarok, the Lunar Cry and the whole Lunatic Pandora thing, which is mainly everything after about halfway through the games 3rd disc, it's open hunting season. I agree just as much as anyone that there is a sheer mass of bull**** involving the whole time compression nonsense and the poorly worked love story.

Then theirs the dependence on limit breaks or summons, which start to take away from the fun of the game right around late second-disc, and get downright sad for the final boss, which is still an amazing boss though. The carbon copies issue (each character is mostly the same excluding limit breaks because you can exchange junctions and stuff) is slightly exaggerated, but still prevalent. In all honesty, the games mess of problems starts to become most apparent after the second disc, and there is incontinuity throughout with the whole "matron sorceress" deal (In case you cant tell, I'm keeping my review fairly spoiler free). I honestly think the game should have ended at about the second disc, because the third and fourth disc are practically their own game, and they fail to live up to much.

The characters....Well, Squall is an introverted douchebag, but they develop him enough to actually explain WHY, and he starts to change throughout the game, so I'm willing to forgive him to an extent. As for the others, Zell is often seen as the best character in the game, and I will agree that he isn't as good of a comic relief character as perhaps Gilgamesh, Orthos/Ultros or the Turks, but his actions on the first Disc are quite funny if you ask me. But outside of those two, Irvine and Quistis are barely passable (and pretty much get forgotten) and I HATE Rinoa and Selphie. We all know that FFVIII's lead group of 6 is one of the worst in the series, let's just leave it at that.

Now, after that, why would this game be #10 on my list? Well, the only 2 aspects I covered are the games later story, half of its characters and one relatively small complaint about the battles. Let me explain for you why it's so good in my opinion.

The junction system, while is does lead to carbon copies and is slow to pick up, it allows for an insane amount of customization, and when you master how to junction things properly and work your Guardian Forces properly, it allows for limitless possibilities and it's pretty fun fiddling with it all. The Draw system becomes fairly obsolete before it became a significant problem for me.

The battles are some of the most active I've seen in a JRPG. The games Active Time system has been tweaked to where you actively feel like you're in a battle and not just merely imputting commands. Hell, I even got to the point where I had so many things I could do I didn't know what to do when I was facing bosses, which is kind of a complaint but it's still a plus for me.

You unlock a lot of commands throughout the game, ranging from godly to useless, and you can even choose what you want to invest your stats in, and gain bonuses. There's a lot of choices you can make towards what you want to do, and if you do like this game, that gives plenty incentive to replay it. I've cleared through it twice thus far.

The storyline is way too bashed. The plot involving Deling and the overtaking of an entire empire by the Sorceress and the underlying story involving Laguna are actually interesting stories. Around mid disc 2, there is actually a really interesting plot twist (Not the 1 with the Matron and the Orphanage thing) that I personally thought made me mad...but for all the right reasons.

Laguna and his trio are interesting characters, to the extent that I agree with the people who say the game should have been about him, and it's too bad they reserve him for secondary background story. His rise from a mere soldier to...well you know...is far more interesting than the bull**** story of Squall the introverted "...whatever..." and Rinoa the Ho.

The games villains really shine though. Seifers gradual change toward insanity would probably make him the FF villain that gets the most character development out of any of the villains of any Final Fantasy I've played. Edea steals the show though, taking over an entire nation in an instant and making for some awesome boss fights.

As for the other 2, Ultimecia was bull****, but you know what? Despite my hatred for actually playing it, her final dungeon is really nicely designed. The final boss is also pretty darn epic. Adel could have used more development, but he/she/it (srsly) made for a darn good boss fight.

Triple Triad is also a very well fleshed out minigame, offering great rewards and plenty of fun. It's not for everyone, but I think it is really fun.

These are personal ideas, and I can see why people would dislike them for it, but I gotta say: this game is no where near as bad as some of these reviewers let on about.

There are also aspects of the game which I think not many people should disagree about.

The world of Final Fantasy 8 is absolutely GORGEOUS. Apart from the characters being the most fleshed out in any FF of the time, they looked far more realistic. The usage of FMVs greatly improves upon FF7, making everything look absolutely beautiful, with graphical cutscenes that in some ways, still stand up today.

The environments are nice, bright and colorful. Prerendered backgrounds have limitations, but they still do a great job serving their purpose. Just take a look at some of these screenshots from the game.

I could show plenty, but this game has some amazing graphics. Although they are annoying, the Summons are still some amazing graphical animations too.

And don't get me started on the games music. While it's debateable which is Uematsu's best score, FFVIII still has many amazing songs to offer, and it's my personal favorite of his, though you probably already know that from my top 100.

From the depressing:

Drifting

to the Bewildering:

Find Your Way

to the Bittersweet:

Where I Belong

to the Intense:

The Mission

to the Epic:

The Landing

and everything in between. I can't give you enough good songs from this game because every one of them is memorable and musically brilliant. Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite video game soundtrack ever made, and a key reason why it is on this list in the first place. Eacho song had an unheard of amount of emotion.

With the exception of Eyes on Me, of course.

Final Fantasy 8 is my first and still my favorite game in the series. I've had plenty of fun with it over the years, and if you have a problem with me putting it on here, please leave now. There's plenty to dislike about this game, but it's still my all time favorite PS1 game.

As I have stated before. No GRAW, just the first TC Ghost Recon, which I played on the PS2 (but I couldn't find much on it because it's been overshadowed by GRAW).

This game is my main exception to the FPS rule I have (put simply: I don't want anything to have to do with the genre). It's one of my favorite games of all time, and the only entry on here that I played on the PS2.

I'll start with the music first. The above song is the games menu theme, which is awesome, but sadly there isn't a whole lot of music in this game. I guess that's to capture the mood of the game, but I still wish they had more tracks. I could only find like 6 on youtube. As for other aspects of sound, there is voice acting in the game, which is done pretty well for a war game if I remember right (haven't played it in years).

The single player campaign is memorable. I have a feeling this game inspired Modern Warfare, because it takes place in a very modern setting, with some damn cool weapons. The campaign had some very memorable missions, and even though it could all be completed in a day or two, you had plenty of incentive to go play those great ones through again, because they were so damn good. My favorite ones were the tank missions, because I loved the tank bazooka.

The environments, while they were fairly bleak, were distinct and visually great, especially for a game released early in the 6th generation. Maybe not as colorful as I'd hope, but still better than Gears of War.

Straight up, this game was really fun to play. It got me onto the Playstation 2's controller pretty well, had plenty of distinction, and the missions actually had some emotion to them (I felt suspense! Whaddyaknow!). The game's 2 party system was pretty nice, allowing you to send one team to a location, and you could switch between members of each team with ease, allowing you to complete the mission objectives in a timely manner. The combat is rock solid, and the multiple difficulties really amps up replay value. I also felt genuinely sad when one of my team died in a firefight.

The multiplayer is amazing, and unlike most games these days, it was more or less an add-on to a great 1 player game. I remember getting into extremely fun hour-burning battles with my dad and my cousin, and teaming up with them to replay all the missions in multiplayer.

While I never fully owned this game (It was my dad's), I had a hell of a lot of fun with it, and still play it from time to time. It's hands down my favorite First person Shooter...although there aren't very many other games it has to compete with. Don't let the fact that it has less writing than FFVIII fool you, I think it's a better game, an outstanding game, and unlike the game before it, not all that many flaws about it.

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Well, thank you for reading thus far! I had a hell of a time writing this. Please comment, rate, subscribe, etc.

(Next time, a Music Game and one of my favorite Childhood Platformers)

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (70-66)

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:59:03 -0500

Oh god, the anticipation until when I reach #1 is killing me inside!

Song: Battle Against The Masked Man/Memory of Mother
Game: Mother 3
Composer: Shogo Sakai

(These two go hand in hand with eachother)

The first thing you'll notice about this song is IT ***** WITH YOUR MIND. That said, the use of all the sound effects and ominous choir/organ sounds mixed with funky percussion and that looming bassline...will also **** with your mind. I sent this song to a fellow g1 awhile ago and he was like, "Was [Sakai] on crack or something?"

This song mind***** you in different ways than Giygas, the other Final Boss tune (Giegue from mother 1 didn't really have a song, it was just screeching sounds), rather than creeping the **** out of you, it clusters so much into a song that you hardly know what's going on. And that is how it is one of the best video game songs of all time. It completely screws your perception of what to do and whats going on. Your party is dead and you're fighting one of the toughest (and not in difficulty because it's not that hard of a fight) bosses out there.

About half way into the "fight", Memory of Mother kicks in and takes over...so you have an epic 32 bit battle themed bassline and the relaxing yet gloomy sunflower music of the games 6th chapter...Dark and light...Okay Sakai, we get it! It's a sad fight, what the **** are you trying to *sniff* do?!*sniff*

I'm gonna need a moment...

Song: Wistful Wild
Game: Pikmin 2
Composer: Hajime Wakai

Back now.

Pikmin isn't really noticed for that music. Hell, even I didn't notice it for awhile. Yet I listened to this Wistful Wild theme, and within minutes, it was in my top 70. Just listen to how mood-setting it is. You're in the final area of the Pikmin world, and the games deadliest foes await you. Will you rise to the challenge?

Well, that is if you're willing to put up with wasting half a day carrying a 1000 pound dumbell!

You'll notice this mp3 of the song has multiple variations, well thats the variations for the times of day in the game and such. Each mix has a varying significance making this song all that much more awesome.

Pikmin 2 is an amazing game, and I wish more people appreciated it, especially for it's music, which is littered with a few hidden gems like this one. A great theme to a wilderness-like final area of the game, and hopefully the best song choice for this spot (no 69 jokes please).

- 1

- 2

- 3

Remix/Variation:

- 1

- 2

(Yes it's a weird way of sorting them)

Song(s): The Melodies
Game: Mother 1, 2, 3
Composer: Mother 1 & 2: Hirokazu Tanaki and Keiichi Suzuki, Mother 3: Shogo Sakai

I honestly couldn't decide which of the melodies songs I liked most. They are all a collection of very simple melodies with not only a childlike sound to them, but a huge significance in their respective games. Each one has its difference, but the core remains the same: a simple and memorable rhythm to captivate the player and develop a strange feel for the player.

I love how simple they were. Hell, I read somewhere that the idea behind Mother's melodies was the idea of a young child playing piano for the first time and, not knowing what to do, plays a bunch of notes in sequence with one finger, which explains their low tempo. Yes, 16 melodies is essentially a remix, but it combines both games 8 melodies and does a whole bunch more with them, so I'm featuring all 3.

Hell this song was so important, that the original Mother 1 has a famous vocal version.

(Sorry Brentalfloss, Earthbound already gives its games lyrics)

The song that beats the final boss and ends the game, no matter which melodies song it is, I like it ever so much more. They prove how simplicity can work so well in expressing pure beauty.

Remix:

Song: Overworld Theme 1
Game: Golden Sun
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba

Words cannot describe how awesome an overworld theme this is. I guarantee, when you first heard this walking out of Vale you turned the volume all the way up. It's an amazing theme, and guess what? It's not 1 time only, it follows you through almost the entire game!

I'm amazed at how symphonic the song was considering it was on a mono Gameboy Advanced console. This game proved how the handheld could make music, and created an awesome theme.

Thank god for GS3! Maybe, just maybe, they'll use this theme again in the game. And if not, Sakuraba has been making Camelot music since Shining Force back in the 90's, so maybe he'll top his amazing overworld masterpiece.

Damn, why am I getting all the epic songs NOW!

Remixes:

Song: Gym Leader Battle
Game: Pokemon Red & Blue
Composer: Trace back a few blogs :P

And we end this RPG cluttered segment with quite possibly one of the most famous boss themes in existence, as well as the first song thus far today that isn't some orchestral epic song. It's a rush.

you cannot tell me you didn't get a rush fighting the big guy the first time you heard it. And you've all heard it before. This song is an 8 bit masterpiece, something that in my mind is hard to come by. Battling the toughest guy thus far, if you chose a Charmander, expect to hear it A LOT.

But that's perfectly okay! Because it kicks AAAAAAAAASSSSS! Such an awesome song.

To end this part of the list, I end with a bang!

*Squirtle used bubble. Onix died.*

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Wheeeeewie! No Final Fantasy today!

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (75-71)

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:53:11 -0500

If you missed 80-76, check them out here: http://screwattack.com/blogs/Damn-man-this-blog-be-trippin/My-Personal-Top-100-Video-Game-Songs-80-76

If you missed anything before then, SHAME ON YOU!

I advise you take caution before clicking play on #75.

Song: Heresy
Game: Final ****in Fantasy 8
Composer: Forget it, I'm not gonna do this again.

I bet by now you might be sick of Final Fantasy, so I threw in this ominous song. Dear lord, this is one of the most ominous and scary songs you will probably ever hear. You know how ****in' serious it is! Even if the game fails in it's later story aspects, Heresy is right at about the pinnacle of the game in my opinion, when you discover everything you've been working towards is now completely changed. It's an actually decent twist in a game that is infamous for having massive plot twist disfunctionality.

That organ is so damn hollow and creepy...this is the kind of music we torture prisoners with! I don't care if you like the game or not, you gotta admit, this song means one thing and one thing only: **** is about to go down. Theres no other explanation.

And yet I like it so much. It captures its point beyond perfectly and rips your emotions to shreds. And thats what I like about FFVIII's OST. The songs do a great job at capturing emotions, better than the actual storyline.

Remixes:

Song: Red Wings
Game: Final ****in Fantasy 4

To balance off the creepy as hell FF song, we have our first entry from FFIV. And you know what, it's one of the most underrated tracks in the soundtrack if you ask me, and that's saying something considering I think FFIV's soundtrack isn't nearly as special as the ones of the later games in the decade.

Also known as Cecil's Theme (Probably my favorite FF character...as a character :P), Red Wings may not be the most suiting theme IMO, but it's a darn catchy theme song anyway. I'm surprised there arent all that many remixes.

Catchy, unerappreciated, and quite adventurous, this is a great theme all around, and most definitely fitting of being on this list. FF's jump to the 16 bit era proved just how Uematsu would define video game music. The second tune you hear in the game, and one of the best in the game.

Remixes:

Song: Ice Cap Zone
Game: Sonic 3
Composer: Supposedly, Michael Jackson

Theres a strange history about this song and this games music. There's a whole bunch of videos of people reasonably claiming that this song is very similar to a Michael Jackson song, and MJ was actually known to have worked on the song. There's no known fact about it except for a select few, but there's a lot of rumors.

As for the actual song...Come on, do I need to repeat myself about Ice Tracks? I named Ice Cap my second favorite level from the original 4 Sonic Games, and the music had a huge deal to do with that. Regardless of whether or not MJ composed it or not, you gotta admit it's an awesome song, and very fitting to the level.

Such an awesome level. The mix is just awesome and I'm sure I'll remember those rhythms for many years to come. And hopefully, with the remixes people seem to like to make for this fairly simple yet complex song, I'm sure new life will continue to be brought to this song. If only I could say the same for the franchise.

Now onto two more awesome songs!

Song: Fear of the Heavens
Game: Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana)
Composer: Hiroki Kikuta

Screwattack knew what they were thinking when they put this song on their top 10. I haven't played Secret of Mana in a long time, but I still remember this tune as a 16 bit masterpiece. It's got some really weird echo effect going on, but it remains an amazing title theme.

My first experience trying this game out on a ROM was one of the few times that as soon as I started the game, I just left it to show me the intro because I loved the song so much. To this day, it of course isn't my favorite, but it's a damn good title theme, with that echoing piano and that catchy.

I love how it picks up later in the song. I can just imagine this song playing while I go hanggliding or something like that, because it's neither sad nor happy, just pure bliss.

It's a shame this game never got the recognition that it did for its music and gameplay, being (of course, i'm a hypocrite) overshadowed by the other square games, FF and Chrono Trigger. It's a good game and a great soundtrack, especially for the time of MIDIs.

Remixes:

Song: Snowman
Game: Mother (Series)
Composer: Keiichi Suzuki & Hirokazu Tanaka (and a whole bunch of other people :P)

Another song that managed to creep up on my list and jump 30 places at the last minute, Snowman wasn't initially put on my list but I liked it so much hearing it later in all the incarnations through the game and fan made remixes. And there are many remixes, both official and unofficial.

I've said it in the past: I love Ice World themes. They kick ass. and why? Because they all have an interesting quality to them. I also wanna make it clear: I don't really like 8 bit music. I grew up on it, never liked it that much because there were few tracks that ever stood out from the same exact sound 95% of them used, just in different rhythms. It's also very repetitive, and we all know how that works out with me, the guy who's favorite genre of musix is progressive metal. I know it's the limitation of the hardware, but still...that's why there hasn't been any Megaman music on here (...yet :P)

But theres something magical about Snowman, whether or not its in Mother, Earthbound, Mother 1+2, Mother 3, Brawl or when remixed by fans. Something about the song defies 8 bit music and comes out to me as a true exception. And no matter how many times it gets redone (I have 9 remixes up there :P), that same classic melody and rhythm is there, and it is just so amazing.

I love this tranquil song, no matter which game it is in. It's a shame I didn't put it in sooner. It's beyond catchy and awesome, and every time I hear it, I get more persuaded to put it higher up on the list. Who knows, maybe when and if I post a final version, it might be top 30. For now, I'll leave it here at #71.

And thats it for today! Hope you enjoyed my long-ass description of a song with 10 posted variations only 30% into the list :P

My Personal Top 100 Video Game Songs (80-76)

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:12:03 -0500

Haha. Well, until my random blog generator clears up, it's about time I got back to adding onto my list. After having not worked on it for the last month, it's about time I work towards finishing this probably predictable list. Hope you enjoy it!

Remixes:

Song: You Can Hear The Cry Of The Planet
Game: Oh Come On, Take a freakin guess. (FF7)
Composer: Redundant Redundancy is Redundant

I remember my first venture into the forgotten city. I have to say...it was nothing shy of WOW. The environment was just...DAMN! Just look at this image:

You gotta admit, this place looks bewildering. And forget what actually goes on in this freaking place, because that cutscene is beyond overrated. Still, I have a hardon for things in the North, and the northernmost location in the first disc shines above all else. The forgotten capital remains probably my favorite setting in the whole game for its ethereal landscape, incredible ominousness, and this song.

As repetitive as it is, you gotta admit: there aren't many video game songs that sound like it. that weird horn and that melody...this place is so...vacant. I can't use any other word to describe it, because it's not completely gentle nor is it exactly creepy. So, it fits in the emptiness category.

I noticed the music immediately, to a greater extent than nearly every song in the series. Uematsu pumped song after song of brilliance, and this is no exception to his work. There's a reason practically a quarter of this list is FF music. It captures the mood of the ancient Cetra City beautifully, and this strange place and music are some of my favorites of all time.

Surprisingly, the amazing remixes people perform on this song didn't influence me putting YCHTCOTP on this list. I was astounded by some of them. I might have actually placed it higher on the list :P

Song: Twilight Realm
Game: LoZ: Twilight Princess
Composer: Koji Kondo, Asuka Ota, Toru Minegishi

I honestly don't know why I like this song. I guess because it's friggin' creepy and those songs tend to stick out in my mind. Appearing early on in a game I never finished, I remember this song probably the most and the downright creepy atmosphere that it set. Even if I dislike Twilight Princess, I still remember my venture into the gloomy (seriously, why do they need so dim of a graphical effect) Zora world in the lake and beating up that giant bug as wolf link, to this "song."

That's the thing, it's got some really strange music going on. The entire song is a bell chiming, some weird 16 bit ish rhythm, and that loud drony hollow sound. But I dare you to find a more creepy song to fit a bunch of fish people frozen in ice. this song sets a darn creepy atmosphere and you know it. That game liked to toy with it's players.

It sets a strange atmosphere, and I wish it played more often in the game. Now, it won't make me buy it again, but oh well. Twilight Princess had some pretty darn good songs.

Remix:

Song: Battle Against A Machine
Game: Earthbound
Composer: Keiichi Suzuki & Hirokazu Tanaka

About time we got a more upbeat song in here! While this song did not originally make it to my list, I found it, learned of the title, and loved it so much I just had to put it on the list. Again with the "I don't particularly like the game" song, I still love Earthbound's music, and this is a damn good example of what it did.

As the name might suggest, or should anyway, Battle Against A Machine plays whenever you fight a machine like enemy, such as a UFO. It's a really cool and funky techno beat, suiting its purpose beautifully, and provides yet another diamond in the amazing soundtrack of Earthbound. The funky and memorable beat sticks out amongst the rest, and gets to #78 on my list for it.

What a funky song. Again with the uniqueness, this song fit's the game beautifully and has a memorable arrangement that will make this one to whistle for years to come.

Song: Don't be such a *****! (Frog's theme)
Game: Chrono Trigger
Composer:

Ain't this some awesome galloping music? Crono can jump off a boat, Frog's the true protagonist of Chrono Trigger and we all know it! And he's got a badass theme to prove it!

I'll admit, I didn't actually hear this song in the game, I was inspired to put it on here by someone else, and I can safely say I'm glad I did. This is 16 bit music done right. That catchy as hell horn and that flute thing make this one of the great victory themes of the 16 bit era, and makes me wonder why the hell Chrono Trigger didn't sell like hotcakes. Frog's amazing story (I wish he didn't have to be called Frog though...no spoilers though) is captured through this theme fairly well (even though his story is a bit less up-beat), and makes the character all that much more likeable.

I wish I had a bit more to say, but I've yet to fully complete Chrono Trigger or turn my volume button on while playing it. It's a great theme, and the only reason it isn't higher is because of its competition and how limited my experience with it is. Oh well, 1 more song to go for today!

Remixes:

Song: ...Seriously... (Grabbag)
Game: ...Seriously?... (Duke Nukem 3D)
Composer: Lee Jackson

Pure testosterone in a bag (which you grab of course :P)...and yet I've never played it. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't like FPS's. If theres one thing I do like in my video game music, it's an awesome theme to get you pumped. And this is the king of all of them.

When a world famous multiplatinum thrash metal band covers a video game song, you know you did something right. I've yet to touch a Duke Nukem game, but he is nothing shy of a badass. And so is his character theme. What a riff this one is...GET ME A CHAINSAW!

Well, We close it off with probably a controversial choice. I love this song, just not enough to put it any higher. No *****in! You left that at the door as soon as you read the blog, so any complaints and I get Duke in here to chew some bubble gum. You wouldn't like that now would you?

As a metalhead, I approve of this song. Lee Jackson's Grabbag has turned the world over with an amazing riff and one of the heaviest and most badass themes ever to grace both video games and music. For this, I approve:

Note: No Seals Were Harmed In The Making Of This Blog

Glad to finally get this blog out! I don't feel it's up to standard, but it's good enough that I like it enough to post it. 1/4 the way there!