Your Favorite Games of All Time - (AKA the Throughly Fanboying Thread)

[Kreekakon]

Heyheyhey everybody. So AMFP is out, and I'm very happy to see so much people ramble on, and on about that game!

BUT...how about now we take the opportunity to step away just for a smidgen to talk about other games...in this case your own personal favorite games of all time.

How this thread works:

1. Share with everyone here your personal favorite game(s) of all time, and preferably why. If you forget something in your first post, you can come back, and add it later!

2. There is no limit to how many games you may share although it is preferable that you only share the ones highest ranking in your list.

3. REMEMBER! This is the personal favorite games thread, not the best games thread so just post whatever games you just love, love, loved even if you have no idea why you liked it so much. You enjoying it more than any other game in your life is reason enough!

4. You can post mods, and free games if they hold up as the best experience you've had when playing a game.

5. Feel free to lose all control, and praise a game to the high heavens venting out all your suppressed emotion for it. There's a reason for that alternate name in the title. This thread is basically going to be love letter central.

6. Respect opinions. You can disagree with someone, and have discussions, but respect above all. Ok? Hallelujah.

7.You must have Amnesia in your list lol


Alright now that that's out of the way let's kick it off with my own personal favorites! Here are my three favorite games of all time in no particular order:

Spoiler below!

1. Fire Emblem Awakening




Yes, I am starting off my list with a portable game. A portable game that I have no shame in saying that I've had infinitely more fun with than almost any other full release big platform titles.

Fire Emblem Awakening for those who do not know is a turn-based strategy game, and the latest in the Fire Emblem series. there are no generic units, and all the units you get throughout the story are all individual characters.

I really don't know where to start with this game since it's so flat-out amazing, but I guess I'll start from the characters. Each of the characters all have various personalities, and backgrounds. By fighting together, units can build support with one another which in turn unlocks support conversations with one another. These support conversations are filled with things that help flesh out many of the characters backgrounds, likes, inner struggles, and basically anything about them.

ALL of the characters have access to them, and many can support with various different characters. Almost every conversation save for just a minor few are completely unique to each pairing resulting in a staggering amount of conversations to be heard. You can even pair two characters together to be married, AND have children who will join your party. I'm well over 110 hours into the game over three runs, and I don't think I've even unlocked half of them yet.

Perhaps the best thing about them, and something that I think even works in the game's favor is that well most of the character interactions are never meant to be taken 100% seriously. There are plenty of goofy moments, ludicrous lines, and completely exaggerated happenings. I think it just helps strengthen the already extremely colorful characters, and just makes it fun to watch them banter around. It could never be done, at least not as well, if everything was done realistically.

I could go on about the characters forever, but next up I'll talk about the storyline. The story I think is perhaps the weakest aspect of Fire Emblem Awakening. Some parts of the story just aren't very interesting in its core although I still believe it is done very well. This may sound confusing, but I'll sum it up in what I think in a nutshell: Mediocre story which is masterfully executed. The story has it's share of great moments, and succeeds in delivering sadness, happiness, goofiness, epicness, despair, and much much more all in one great package which is only amplified by the amazing characters I mentioned earlier.

Gameplay is rock solid. A wide array of skills, classes, perks, effectiveness against certain unit types make for an extremely deep gameplay system that I absolutely adore. You'll constantly find yourself deciding how to level your characters, and how to reclass them for different skills, and perks. Some characters can even turn into dragons! There IS luck involved, but at no point did I ever feel that it was luck that completely screwed me over at any point.

The best part is that the gameplay will integrate character interactions in as a factor to combat. Units gain support as they fight together, or pair-up which in turn will improve their relationship unlocking support conversations, AND let them perform better in battle with each other. Children will also gets stat growths, and skills carried over from their parents affecting how they will turn out, and their overall playstyle.

The only thing I think I don't like about the gameplay is that inventory management can be incredibly messy. You cannot re-arrange anything, or sort items according to different factors. You also can't compare items which can be quite frustrating until you get good enough at the game to memorize different weapon stats.

Next up is the graphics. The graphics are gorgeous especially considering that this is a 3DS game. They have pushed everything to the best of their abilities. Art is amazing, and while the battlefield will be observed from with sprites, actual combat is watched from with fully made 3D models...all with unique weapon models for every weapon depending on what the character is using. There is also no shortage of particle effects for magic attacks, and otherwise. Sprites also take nothing away from the game either as they have a very unique charm to them. Occasionally you'll be treated full cinematic which are very pretty that I wish there were more off.

Audio for the game...I'm placing not as a part of soundtrack for a very good reason that you'll soon learn. The voice-acting in the game is good, but suffers from sometimes characters sounding too hammy which can be a bit jarring. Sound effects on the other hand I thought did a very good job with what it did.

Last, I'm saving the best for last...the soundtrack. That. Freaking. Soundtrack. It is literally the best soundtrack I have heard for anything ever. Television shows, movies, other games...NOTHING surpasses this game's soundtrack for me at all. It really is that good. It has a mixture of all different sorts of tracks in its listing, sad, happy, epic, silly, you name it. There really is no other soundtrack in my entire life that I've ever had leave such a strong impression on me with how good it is. I've heard many amazing soundtracks before, but none have stuck with me so long months after I first heard it. It can single-handedly transform what would be a cheesy scene into something magical.

Whew, that's about what I have to say about the game without having gone into too much detail (Completely serious. I haven't.) That was about six times longer than I had expected it to be, but at least it's off my chest now. All in all calling Fire Emblem amazing is a complete understatement, and it is a game that proudly earns a spot in one of my favorite games of all time.

Spoiler below!

2. The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim



Next up is one that I feel more people will be more aware off. Unfortunately I seem to have blown all my steam writing all that about Fire Emblem Awakening, so this might turn out to be a bit shorter, especially since a ton of people already know what it's about. Doesn't mean I enjoy it any less though!

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is an open world game that you get you to explore as a character you've made yourself.

The reason why this is one of my favorite games of all time should be fairly obvious to anyone's who's played it before. There's just so much you can do in the world. You can run around, talk to people, and they'll likely have something for you to do.

You'll constantly be stumbling upon new things in the world to do also. You can sometimes find random caves, and you can head inside to loot it, and defeat the often residing enemies.

What else is so great about the game is that it has a sense of world, and this is likely its strongest aspect. There is a insanely detailed lore, and people you run across all have their own stories to tell...even the dead ones. It just makes so much sense, and makes the game better that you're not the only person in the world with an agenda, and things you care about.

Leveling is also designed around player choice. You can level up your character completely depending on how you want to play the game. You want to be a mage? Level up your mana, and use spells! Skills go up the more you use of a playstyle.

Really that's all I think needs to be said honestly. The game will pretty much speak for itself better than I ever can, and most people I think who've played it know it.

Spoiler below!

3. Starcraft 2



Here comes the last game in my list: Starcraft 2. It is an real-time strategy game created by Blizzard.

What I love about this game is actually really straight-forward, and simple: Three races, and different strategies on how to use each one in all the match-ups.

Each race employs their own unique playstyle that you have to change, and adapt depending on who you're matched up against. They all play somewhat differently so you can pick whichever one suits your liking. I personally favor Zerg for their reactive, and flexible nature.

Graphics-wise the game is gorgeous. Easiest way to say it is that each race's units, and bulldings fits the theme of each race. Zerg feels icky, and bug like. Protoss are shiny, majestic, and full of psionic power. Terran are straightforward millitary style. Maps, and background objects are also something that wasn't skimped on, and provides more subconcious appreciation of the game's visuals.

The single player campaign while I feel is NOT the main focus of Starcraft at all by a long-shot is still very enjoyable. It adds twists to the units, and playstyles so that you get a completely revamped experience when compared to playing multiplayer.

The plot of the story isn't something particularly interesting, but I feel is executed well enough to keep me invested in the story, and I look forward to how it will be concluded in Legacy of the Void!

Well that's that for all my own personal favorite titles! I'd absolutely love my ego stroked if anyone has the same ones as me. Now it's your turn to share what your personal favorite titles are, and why you think so! Post on peeps!