Completion List 2018

[Arvis]

I am playing through Secret of Mana, but grinding for equipment drops has been a fucking chore.

You should stop then! :)

[MonCapitan2002]

I want the shiny platinum trophy, though. ;_;  I like collecting them.

[Arvis]

No one will judge you if you don't get the Plat.  And you can move on to another game sooner, too.

But if you are having fun, keep going!  :)

[Rook]

No one will judge you if you don't get the Plat.

I will take the job. I am tough but fair.

[Frostillicus]

1) Wild Arms 2
2) Pac Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2
3) Mario Galaxy 2

4) Suikoden 2 - 55-ish hours. Right around level 60. Around 85 stars.
Great game all around. Totally deserves all of the praise it gets. Glad I finally got the chance to play it.

[Arvis]

1. Tales of Xillia 2

2. Trails of Cold Steel 1
Easily one of the Ten Best Games I Have Ever Played.

I'm not sure what more I can say beyond that.  At 125 hours, I've finished it without a guide, 4 points shy of max AP rank, and every single moment of it was pure RPG bliss.  Superlative story and world-building, great cast of characters, addictive customization and gameplay.  True the graphics and music weren't the best, but they didn't detract at all from the pure joy of playing this game.

Playing around with character builds really never got old.  And I still want to do more of it.  I love the addition of Master Quartz to the Trails formula.  While quartz setups weren't as strategic as the Sky trilogy's, they rewarded experimentation moreso and made each successful build feel intensely satisfying.  And unlike many other RPGs, using status effects is not only effective, but it's one of the best ways to go after most of the enemies in the game!  Even a lot of bosses!  That never got old either.

Even if there wasn't a sequel to this game, the cliffhanger ending still wouldn't lower my score.  By far the best RPG I have played in ages.  Honestly, I can't even think of the last time I played a better one.  I would even put this on equal footing with my all-time favorite Final Fantasies and above the Trails in the Sky games, despite that series having better writing and plot.  Some of the too-broad themes and anime tropes, as well as the low-budget feel, are honestly the only flaws in an otherwise perfect RPG, and when taking the game as a whole those are nitpicks.  All RPG Fans owe it to themselves to play this.

Final Score: 10/10

Up Next: Ni No Kuni 2

[Frostillicus]

1) Wild Arms 2
2) Pac Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2
3) Mario Galaxy 2
4) Suikoden 2

5) Ratchet & Clank Future: A Butt Crack in Time - Roughly 15 hours. First R&C game I've ever played. Lots of fun. Great sense of humor. I can see the series' appeal.
However, I feel the game is a bit too short, and some of the many weapons were almost useless compared to others. I buzz-bladed my way through the last 3 boss fights alone. Pretty sure I'll be picking up R&C on PS4 soon.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Oh, sweet. I gotta get in on some of this action. Excluding previously beaten games...

1. Final Fantasy IV (kinda sucks)
2. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (kinda amazing)

I've also beaten Dragon Quest I SNES version and Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope and I'm SO CLOSE to finishing up a years-in-the-making platinum trophy for that game. It's an 800-hour platinum yo!

[Arvis]

1. Final Fantasy IV (kinda sucks)

Original SNES version?

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Original SNES version?
[/quote]

Yeah. I can understand why people like the story, music, maybe even the graphics. . . And maybe even the dungeon design. But the overall gameplay system feels really bad to me so I couldn't get into it. And the translation was a serious detriment. I know there are better versions, but the original one is the one that everybody said was amazing as soon as it came out, so that was the one that I played.

[Arvis]

The original SNES version of IV is not great, and anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you their own nostalgia.

However, the Complete Collection version of IV is one of the best Final Fantasy titles ever.

[Frostillicus]

IV is my favorite FF. I get that it's restrictive gameplay-wise, but that honestly never really bothered me as much as it does most people, it would seem. The rest of the package is indeed great, and no, I'm not looking at it through rose-tinted glasses. If that were the case, I'd claim that Adventure is the greatest console RPG of all time. I'd box your ears for your condescending attitude if I could, @Arvis . =P
I'd love the chance to play the "complete" version, but I haven't been interested in portable game systems since the original Game Boy...

[Arvis]

Didn't mean to condescend, but I can definitely see how my post came off that way.  My bad.  Too much time on GFAQs, it would seem.

As a one-time experience it holds up despite the on-rails nature, because its setting and music are superlative and battles flow smoothly.  The characters are interesting enough at first, too.  It's just harder to go back to than its peers, is all.

I mean, this is all my own opinion, of course, but even on that level we're talking tiny tiny margins, here.  That's why I can look at SNES IV and see a "subpar" FF, and yet with the few tweaks to it in the CC version I'm looking at one of my favorites.  That said, The After Years is probably 51% of the reason Complete Collection is one of my favorite FFs.

[Frostillicus]

Didn't mean to condescend, but I can definitely see how my post came off that way.  My bad.  Too much time on GFAQs, it would seem.

As a one-time experience it holds up despite the on-rails nature, because its setting and music are superlative and battles flow smoothly.  The characters are interesting enough at first, too.  It's just harder to go back to than its peers, is all.

I mean, this is all my own opinion, of course, but even on that level we're talking tiny tiny margins, here.  That's why I can look at SNES IV and see a "subpar" FF, and yet with the few tweaks to it in the CC version I'm looking at one of my favorites.  That said, The After Years is probably 51% of the reason Complete Collection is one of my favorite FFs.

Sever the ties to GFAQs, brother. Pripyat has a more hospitable atmosphere than that place.

I completely get what you are saying about the game. While VI is much more varied in its game play, and I initially played it only a few years after IV, I just find myself going back to IV more often. I'll openly admit it's mainly for the story and characters (same reason I love Sega CD Silver Star). I just haven't cared about characters in RPGs as much as I do those games.  Well, aside from Vesperia. I was blind sided with how interesting the characters and story are after playing the infinitely more shallow Graces f and Xillia.
...It's like re-reading a favorite book. You already know exactly what's going to happen, but it's just so well done in relaying it's story, you want to read and experience it again.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Well, I'M gonna condescend to both of you guys! If you like Final Fantasy IV, you are objectively a worse person than I am. Hahaha. Just kidding. Of course it's all opinions. I'm a gameplay first story second kind of guy despite my favorite genre of game being JRPGs. I haven't played much of 5 but I get the feeling that if you've played 6, you just don't need to go back to 4 or 5. The Playstation FFs, on the other hand all feel different enough to play all of them.

Vesperia definitely had good characters and story. One of the best in RPGs in general.