User:Aidanzapunk/Favorite Games

Everyone has their favorites. So here's some of my favorite video games.

Game Description
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Baten Kaitos Origins (2006)
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I actually emulated this game onto my computer. I was searching for more GCN games to get, and I saw Baten Kaitos Origins. I recognized it from the Gaur Plain stage in Smash 4, and so I figured, why not? And holy shit, did I make a good choice. I'm not one who's normally into RPGs, but this game honestly has the best combat system I've seen in any RPG I've played.
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Celeste (2018)
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You ever have a game hit you right in the heart? Celeste did that to me. It's such a beautifully crafted game, with a phenomenal soundtrack, and Madeline actually has anxiety and the occasional panic attack, so she becomes a character you genuinely care about. The level design is also unique, and while it can be a bit challenging (as in, by the time I beat the game, I had over 1700 deaths), it's still a wonderful game that deserves all the praise it gets.
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Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012)
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I was late to the party with this game (by a long shot), and I think finally playing it was when that regret hit me the hardest, but this game was incredible. The cutscenes are beautiful, the soundtrack fits everything, and the dialogue is easily the best part about the game.
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Kingdom Hearts (2002)
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While not quite as good as the sequel, in my opinion, there's still so much that this game has to offer. It plays fairly differently from future games, its plot is way more simple and clean than any other game, its world design is immensely better than the sequel, and it has a unique charm to it that I think hasn't been replicated in any other game in the series. Sure, there's some good quality of life improvements as the series goes on, but it's always nice to go back to where it all started.
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Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
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In the past, I rarely replayed games, primarily because I knew what's coming, and I felt there wasn't really that much more for me in terms of what the game could offer beyond the initial playthrough. The Kingdom Hearts series helped prove me wrong, though, because even if you know the story, there's still so much you can do in the game that makes it worth reliving. I don't think there's a better example of this than Kingdom Hearts II: by itself, it's already a fantastic sequel by both expanding on the story established in the original Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories, refining the gameplay of the first game by creating one of the best combat styles of an action RPG, and integrating the characters into the Disney worlds in a way honestly not seen in any other game, but it's an even more fantastic individual game by just how much it offers, with its collectibles, Drive Form abilities, character-specific Limits, numerous side boss battles, and everything else.
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Life Is Strange (2015)
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I'm bad at on-the-spot decision making (unless I know what I'm doing), so I don't really play a lot of decision-based games, especially when those games are super stingy about it and certain things can affect what happens next. But Life is Strange handles it in such a good way. You can rewind time to see the outcome of a different decision, or you can let it play out and see how things go. A big thing is you can also take time to think it out, unlike 90% of Telltale's games. I also adore the alternative genre of music that the game uses, and I have a lot of those songs on my music.
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Octopath Traveler (2018)
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I'll admit it: I'm terrible at RPGs. But this one really intrigued me, all the way back when it was revealed in that Direct in 2017. I downloaded the demo, and enjoyed it completely. I was sure to stay on top of everything about the game as time went on. I also downloaded the second demo, and enjoyed that fully as well. And I was definitely sure to preorder the Wayfarer's Edition, which was absolutely worth the cost. It looks amazing, it sounds amazing, and it plays amazing.
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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations (2004/2007)
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Of the three games in the original trilogy, this one has to be my favorite. The way everything was handled beautifully made it easily the best game of the three, and the last case is, hands down, my favorite case out of all of them. The very last scene was also a very nice and badass callback to the first game in the series.
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Pokémon Black (2010)
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Pokémon has been a franchise that's always stuck with me. Ironically, I was scared of it as a very young child, but after being properly introduced to it, it has remained one of my favorite franchises since I started playing Emerald for the first time. But of the games I've played, Black has to be my absolute favorite of the bunch—it is extremely memorable as a whole, has an engaging story, has an impressive visual style (especially for a DS game), and so much more.
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Portal 2 (2011)
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I am not a huge fan of first-person shooters, especially on PC. I don't like moving the camera with a mouse, and I don't like using the keyboard as a "controller", and as a result, I don't really have a lot of fun playing them—it's why I didn't want to play either Portal game for so long, because, as intriguing as they were, I didn't think I'd enjoy it as a game (which is also the reason why, to this day, my only experience with Majora's Mask is playthroughs by Chuggaconroy and the Game Grumps). Boy, was I wrong. Both of these games are fantastic, but the second one amps it up by a ton in terms of both mechanics and story. Very few sequels end up being better than the original, and Portal 2 is definitely one of those.
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Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (2008)
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Oh god, the Professor Layton series. It's a fantastic video game series that I hold very dear to me. Every game throws you on a rollercoaster of emotions and plot twists, and I love every game in the series, but this game honestly does it the best, and, as a result, is my favorite in the series.
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Shovel Knight (2014)
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This is a really great platformer. It's a nice shoutout to all the NES-era platformers, with its gameplay, level design, and soundtrack, while still keeping things fresh, with its storyline and characters. And I love just how much is in this game, making you want to come back and enjoy levels again and again.
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Skullgirls (2012)
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This one was bought solely because I happened to stumble upon the wiki for the game, but I'm glad I did find it, because it's easily one of the best fighting games I've ever played. Solid gameplay mechanics with an incredible roster, a story that intertwines with itself every which way to create some incredible lore based around the series, and don't even get me started on all the great music this game has.
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Sonic Advenutre (1998)
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The running joke is that Sonic had a rough transition into 3D, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, there are bound to be some issues in a game from the era of the transition into polygonal graphics, but a lot of the issues that people say about Sonic Adventure have to do with the ports that released after the fact. The actual Dreamcast version of this game is phenomenal, and still holds up to this day, with a great story, a banging soundtrack, and, frankly, a pretty solid adventure. Also, it's better than Sonic Adventure 2, fight me.
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Sonic Colors (2010)
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I don't even know where to begin with this game, to be honest. It was just so...colorful. The Wisps were enjoyable, the level design was great, and the soundtrack is just phenomenal. Sure, others can argue that there are other Sonic games that are better than Colors, but for me, Colors will always have a special place in my heart.
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Sonic Frontiers (2022)
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In the lead up to the release of Frontiers, I, like almost every other Sonic fan, was skeptical. The fanbase divided on what they wanted to see in a game, it definitely seemed like the game was headed in the right direction with Sega deciding they wanted to make the game that they wanted—however, it also looked like Sega was repeating some mistakes that they made with Forces, especially in terms of marketing. And then the game came out. This game is beautiful. The gameplay is some of the best it's ever been, the soundtrack goes absolutely insane (which is to be expected), the story is phenomenal, and this very easily has become a contender for one of the best Sonic games of all time.
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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012)
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I love Mario Kart 7, it's a fun game. I like the way the courses integrate flying and underwater segments. But Racing Transformed does it a lot better, and with a much better roster and courses. I originally had the Wii U version, but years later I'd get the Steam version as well, and I fell in love with the game all over again. Pulling from different corners of Sega's history with both its characters and race tracks (even including a few unexpected guests), offering tons of unlockables and collectibles that make it worth coming back to the game, and overall just being one of the most solid racing games I've ever played, it's not just racing: it's Racing Transformed.
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
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I'm an absolute sucker for crossovers. And this game has all of it. With popular franchises like Mario, Kirby, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon, not as well known franchises like Game & Watch and EarthBound, iconic franchises like Metroid, Castlevania, and Banjo-Kazooie, and third-party franchises like Metal Gear, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Persona, and Dragon Quest, Ultimate is definitely one of the greatest games of all time, one of the greatest crossovers of all time, and deserving of the name "Ultimate".