What makes your favorite games, your favorite?

[Link | 2,884]

2 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

Don't you lump NSMBU in with those freaking DS games!

 

Please forgive my ignorance. I played the Wii game mostly, and I have the first DS game. I haven't played U. 

2 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

I think what I'm trying to say is SMW is not great if you compare it to SMB3.

 

agreed!

[Strange | 1,731]

I’ve always been a fan of JRPGs and action RPGs. Kingdom Hearts 2 was a formative gaming experience for me, I loved the combat (Kingdom Hearts 3 probably has the best combat in an ARPG to date, honestly). As I’ve grown older I just can’t do turn-based RPGs anymore, I don’t have the time and energy anymore. But Final Fantasy 6 was probably my favorite for a long time.

I can still do action RPGs though, and by some dumb fluke I hadn’t played any Souls games until recently. I got a PS5 and downloaded Demon’s Souls and I’m hooked. That remake is a personal 10/10 for me and now I’m going back and playing the rest of the series. In any type of game I play, I value the ability to customize my playstyle. Souls games thrive on that aspect. I love the combat, I love the customization, I love the level design, how these games encourage you to play different ways, to explore off the usual path, to approach situations in an unorthodox way, and to replay the game with different tactics. I haven’t enjoyed a gaming experience this much in years.

[DarkTone | 1,015]

Great question. Going from games like SMW and DKC, to my Favourite was crazy. At first I hated it. I wasn't into puzzles in games but they eventually made me smile. The bosses, the music, the Easter eggs were amazing. 

And to this day. Its the ONLY game I had to use a walkthrough guide for. 

[AirVillain | 534]

Excellent discussion...

I judge all games using a few pretty basic parameters:

*Good Gameplay
*Good Music
*Neat Graphics
*Fun/Challenging bosses

If it checks all those boxes then we can start to discuss favourites...

[Sumez | 3,165]

17 hours ago, final fight cd said:

I don’t think too many 8/16 but shmups to do this.  Only ones I can think of, which may not even do it, is the sfc parodius series.  Unless others do it to a degree that I wasn’t able to pick up on. 

Generally most arcade games do it, and shooters are inherently an arcade genre. In terms of 8/16 bit shooters, I'd say it's probably more likely to see in games that were ported from the arcade - such as the parodius and gradius games of course

I also don't think it's an absolute evil. There's a delicate balance to it - when you get better at a game it's generally fun to be challenged more as well. And of course, there's the really oddball examples like Battle Garegga where managing rank (ie. the dynamic difficulty adjustments) is a straight up intentional(?) metagame that adds an crazy amount of depth and on-the-fly tactics for the people willing to delve into the mechanics. Reading about it sounds insane at first (especially when you get to the point where you start incorporating intentional suicides), but it's actually a ton of fun.

But more likely to stand out I guess are the more offensive examples. I really love Parodius Da, but the rank in the orignal arcade version of that game is just too much off the charts. Even if you manage it perfectly, it will completely max out a few stages before the end, and if you get to the final stage without using continues it becomes pure (bullet) hell.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Sumez

[Sumez | 3,165]

15 hours ago, Strange said:

Kingdom Hearts 3 probably has the best combat in an ARPG to date, honestly

 

[T-Pac | 7,951]

The biggest factors for what makes my "favorite game(s)":

Aesthetics
(As a visual artist myself, how a game looks and sounds has a disproportionate influence on how much I enjoy it. My favorite game visuals are 8-bit renditions of biomechanical or cutesy, pastel imagery.)

Simplicity
(My favorite games tend to follow a pick-up-and-play philosophy. I prefer gameplay that capitalizes on simple mechanics rather than adding unnecessary bells and whistles for perceived depth. And obviously the controls have to be intuitive and well-implemented.)

Era
(There’s a certain appeal to games from the 8-bit / 16-bit era that’s missing from more modern releases. Even aftermarket games that mimic the classic-style don’t scratch the itch for me - so my favorite games tend to be authentic late-70s to early-90s titles.)

Accessibility
(I’m part of the zillenial generation who likes hand-holding in games. I can’t fully enjoy a game if it's too much of a struggle for me to clear. And if I want to replay a game to the end, I like knowing that I can do so without a tremendous effort.)

Obscurity
(For better or worse, I’m a nonconformist - and my taste in games reflects that. As much as I might like some universally-praised games, my brain refuses to accept them as my favorites.)

Nostalgia isn’t a significant factor for me, considering I discovered my current favorite game in 2017. Replayability isn’t a high priority either - sometimes one playthrough is all I need for a fulfilling gaming experience.

-CasualCart
 

[Nintegageo | 583]

On 8/30/2022 at 9:09 AM, RH said:

The realm of Final Fantasy Adventure, even though experienced on a pee-green Game Boy screen gripped me and pulled me. 

What do you eat??

[CMR | 544]

My favorites are my favorites because I keep going back and playing them, or I've already played them to death.  I can go for years without playing Zelda alttp, but I'll still remember where all the heart pieces are.  I'm not talking about games I just do quick casual plays of either.  Some games I won't beat, but will just play with the idea of meeting some arbitrary challenge or goal in mind.   In Double Dragon for example, I don't knock Abobo off the conveyor anymore but will fight him instead, or in the cave I'll jump down into the first pit just to fight the Ropers with the boulder.  The best part is the wall.  These days I just think it's hilarious when it soaks up all my lives ending my game.

[Sumez | 3,165]

2 hours ago, CMR said:

My favorites are my favorites because I keep going back and playing them, or I've already played them to death. 

I think the question this thread is trying to aim for here is... why do you keep going back to those games and play them to death?  What shared trait makes them better than the rest.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Sumez

[PII | 2,040]

In essence it usually boils down to a game having some unique quality in the control or game play that sets it apart and makes it fun and interesting enough to inspire me to return.

A good counter example though would be Chrono Trigger.  Although the active battle system was unique and made the game quick and fun it's really the story that has brought me back to it so many times.

Ghosts & Goblins: It's the enemy behavior.  Although there are patterns to be deciphered and relied upon there is a great deal of variability in how an enemy will move and attack and no matter how many successive play-throughs one gets into it, that behavior continues to change and thus offers seemingly no end to new flick-of-the-wrist situations that require quick thinking and improvisation.

I often like games that have, for lack of a better way of putting it: "bad level design" because this tends to allow for unusually awkward situations in navigation, enemy avoidance/killing etc.  A couple of NES games like this (off the top of my head) would be Stanley and Cool World.

Games like Snake Rattle N Roll or Mario 64 offer 3D structures in which common movements like running, jumping, climbing, turning in mid air, wall kicks, flips, sliding and so on offer something comparable to limitless possibilities.

I consider the WipEout Franchise to be the premiere racing experience in part because of the fact that you are piloting a hovercraft which means that you've got 360˚ of subtle variability (in theory if using a d-pad)[in reality if using an analog joystick such as the one on the N64 Controller] coupled with Left and Right Air brakes for more substantial maneuvering and this (additionally coupled with a timer) makes for the sort of experience that can be eternally honed into something like perfection.  I used to play different types of music a lot while playing a given course over and over to get into a zone where navigating the track feels like practicing a dance over and over. 

And that, my friends is what it is all about as far as I'm concerned.

Even my oldest favorites "H.E.R.O." and "Toy Bizarre" are like that.  In either case you're given successive screens to play through that are really just the beginning of endless possible variations on a relatively simple theme.  They are Never not fun to play.  There is always room to improve speed, efficiency and maneuvering.  And there are always new situations to discover.

Speed, Timing, Delivery, Pattern Recognition, Improvisation.

And The Dance.  Always, The Dance.

[themisfit138 | 523]

Recently my go to games have been PS2 era RPGs or Elderscrolls/Fallout. Games that have a story but not overly long cut scenes. Unlike a modern JRPG that has a 15+ minute scene about how the cooking mechanic works like Xenoblade 3. 
 

The PS2 era games still had an older feel but with more conveniences, better save systems. So I can play in shorter chunks. 

[Link | 2,884]

10 hours ago, PII said:

I consider the WipEout Franchise to be the premiere racing experience in part because of the fact that you are piloting a hovercraft which means that you've got 360˚ of subtle variability (in theory if using a d-pad)[in reality if using an analog joystick such as the one on the N64 Controller] coupled with Left and Right Air brakes for more substantial maneuvering and this (additionally coupled with a timer) makes for the sort of experience that can be eternally honed into something like perfection.  I used to play different types of music a lot while playing a given course over and over to get into a zone where navigating the track feels like practicing a dance over and over. 

And that, my friends is what it is all about as far as I'm concerned.

Even my oldest favorites "H.E.R.O." and "Toy Bizarre" are like that.  In either case you're given successive screens to play through that are really just the beginning of endless possible variations on a relatively simple theme.  They are Never not fun to play.  There is always room to improve speed, efficiency and maneuvering.  And there are always new situations to discover.

Speed, Timing, Delivery, Pattern Recognition, Improvisation.

And The Dance.  Always, The Dance.

Have you played any Tony Hawk Pro Skater games? This description makes me think you would like them.

[PII | 2,040]

41 minutes ago, Link said:

Have you played any Tony Hawk Pro Skater games? This description makes me think you would like them.

I had a girlfriend once upon a time, who was crazy about that game in spite of the fact that she was otherwise totally uninterested in video games and had me play it with her once, briefly, when the opportunity was there.  At the time I wasn't really gaming and didn't have the opportunity to keep on with it, but remembering the experience now, you're probably right.  I'll have to keep an eye out for either a PS or N64 Copy of it.   

Edited September 2, 2022 by PII

[Ankos | 553]

One thing I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning is how much fan made content a game has. Games like Doom and Super Mario World have loads of that. I would say that my absolute favorites are not really affected by this, but there are some games that come close that do. The ability for a game to become greater than it's original release seems important to me

[Astro Bot | 98]

That's an interesting question. LIke what is the difference between a game you like and a game you love, or the difference between a game you enjoy and then eventually forget about and a game that stays with you forever? Having given it some thought, a few things stand out in my mind. 

I really like POLISH in a game. It's one thing that makes me love some games more than others. When every aspect of a game feels like it was play tested thoroughly, and honed and refined to perfection. Everything about the level design just works and makes sense. The controls are immaculate and intuitive. The boss battles are smartly designed and never frustrating. The puzzles make sense and don't feel like they were thought up by a crazy person. The camera is smart and always knows where it needs to be. Checkpoints are spaced out perfectly. The difficulty of the game is perfectly balanced to not be too easy or too hard. You feel like no part of that game wasn't thoroughly thought about.

Games like that make me feel like I'm playing something from a master craftsman, like a painter who has spent several days or weeks trying to make a masterpiece painting. If someone asked me what some of my favorite games of all time are, a lot of the games on that list are games that I think are perfectly designed or very close to perfectly designed. Off the top of my head, Mark of the Ninja is one such game. It's on my list of GOATs. The amount of thought and care that went into every part of that game's design is impossible not to appreciate. One of the developers mentioned a time when someone play testing the game got past one obstacle in a way that the developer didn't expect, and the dev didn't change anything in the game because he WANTED players to have that kind of freedom. He viewed that as a success. Stealth games have a tendency to be very restrictive and he wanted Mark of the Ninja to NOT be that. Speaking of which...

I also like games that go against the status quo, or show someone thinking outside the box. The game industry has a LOT of conformity. One thing succeeds and suddenly EVERYONE is doing it. So when a game comes along that just has its own vibe and doesn't feel like anything else I have played before, that impresses me greatly. Some of my favorite games have given me an experience that felt different at the time that I played them, and some of them still feel unique to this very day. Like I can't think of anything I have played that is quite like Viva Pinata, or some of the Tecmo Deception games like Deception IV Blood Ties/Nightmare Princess. Those games stay with me year after year for that reason because I can't find another similar experience. Meanwhile I can find tons of first person shooters, beat 'em ups, and other types of games where its different developers just repeating the same formula over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I may really enjoy some of those games, if it ain't broke don't fix it as they say, but the games that just did something very different are more likely to be remembered by me over the years and they are also the games I will likely revisit and replay over and over again. 

Emotional connection is another. There are games that actually make me FEEL something like an emotional connection to a certain character, or a poignant scene that makes me remember the game for a long time. A game that made you cry is one you'll not likely forget. I'm sure many of you are familiar with a certain scene in Final Fantasy 7 that forever connected people to that game.  

Lastly, I can't discount the power of nostalgia and how it can make you love something maybe more than you should. Sometimes a certain game can just connect you to a certain time or moment in your life and you forever love it as a result. 

 

Edited July 5 by Astro Bot

[NostalgicMachine | 328]

My honest answer = nostalgia bias, lmao .

[MegaMan52 | 2,574]

The answers are in my blogs.  

Edited July 5 by MegaMan52