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J's Top Video Games: 20-16
By J - 02.20.03
15. Final Fantasy VII
1997 - Sony Playstation
 Squaresoft returns for a third time on the list, this time in what has become probably its most famous game - Final Fantasy VII. Undisputedly the biggest RPG franchise in the video game industry, and the flagship series of Square, all Final Fantasies, and all turn based RPGs for that matter, are undoubtedly compared to this game. Playing through and completing this game is sort of a rite of passage on the RPG ladder. It may not the best RPG ever made, but it's pretty close, and certainly memorable for a number of reasons.
The most innovative part of Final Fantasy VII was a part the game player has no part in - the cinematic cutscenes interspersed throughout the game. It was an important development in games, especially those as story driven as the Final Fantasy series. No longer would players have to see dramatic moments in the game in sprite-rendered goodness. FMVs (full motion videos) are now a staple in modern RPGs, as well as numerous other games as well. This game was truly the first to make this feature memorable.
 Final Fantasy VII also includes some of the most memorable and revered characters in all of gaming. Cloud the quiet and troubled hero, Aeris the innocent flower girl, Barret the gun-armed badass, and Sephiroth - an evil antagonist whose heartlessness and pure evil is nearly unparalleled in the world of games. The games battle system actually takes into account the different appeal of different characters. In the game, you equip different "materia" to each character, which are little gems that give each character different spells, abilities, and summons. The materia also affects each players stats, lowering and raising some areas depending on what is equipped. In essence, each player is an empty shell without strictly predefined roles. This allows players to successfully navigate the game regardless of which team of three characters they decide to play with.
Final Fantasy VII also gives players a lot of freedom to explore, with a large overworld map to investigate, and numerous mini-games and sidequests to complete. The lengthiest of these being for the "holy grail" of all summon spells, The Knights of the Round (hahaha, holy grail, I kill myself…), which is really a long string of sidequests. Gold Saucer, the casino/arcade in the sky is a great place to kill time, and also provides relief from the heavy storyline. Chocobo racing, arm wrestling, torpedo attack, and the moogle house (none of this Mog bullshit) are some of the more memorable games housed here.
There's a ton to say about this game, and I've really just scratched the surface here (admittedly, I don't want to give away any part of the story on the off chance you haven't played this game). But in summary, it's fun as hell, it's long, it's engaging, and really set the standard for RPGs in the 3d world.
Oh, and if you can even come close to beating Ruby and Emerald Weapon, you deserve a fucking medal or something. These American-exclusive bosses are just impossible.
14. Super Smash Bros. Melee
2001 - Nintendo Gamecube
If I could count the time me and my friends spent playing both the original version of this game and the Gamecube update, it would have to be measured in days rather than hours. This series is the pinnacle of party games, combining great fighting game elements, tons of characters, excellent and easy to learn (but tough to master) controls, and plenty of Nintendo nostalgia, all of which make this game one of the strongest titles for the Cube.
 
There's a couple of single player modes for this game, including classic arcade mode, a survival mode, an adventure mode, tons of mini games and challenges, and these are all well and good and fun for awhile. But the part of this game you're going to be playing is the crazy fun multiplayer mode, which can easily be played for hours on end. The number of variables in the battle is crazy - tons of items (health, weapons, bombs, pokémon, etc…), free for all and team battle, tons of stages (which often fight back), and plenty of characters. While it is important to note that several characters have identical moves (Link and Young Link, Marth and Roy), the strength, speed, resilience, and other stats of the the characters have been changed (ex. Young Link is weaker and faster than straight up Link). It's just a lot to fun to tweak with the settings, play around with the characters, and eventually find and master your favorite setups. But no matter how you choose to play, anyone can enjoy the greatness that is Super Smash Bros. Melee, if for no other reason than the fact that you get to yell at your friends.
Oh, and it's both hilarious and disturbing that Princess Toadstool uses Toad as a shield. *Sniff*…poor Toad…
13. Earthbound
1995 - Super Nintendo
 No game breaks the mold of the traditional RPG storyline more than Earthbound. Set in the ambiguous "199X," it's a turn based RPG set in present day suburbia (of sorts). This creative tale of 4 children fighting to save the world from alien invaders is the best role playing game of the 2D era.
Earthbound mixes excellent gameplay, a quirky storyline, a challenging level of difficulty, and uncompromisingly funny elements everywhere in the game. Don't expect to fight dragons and orcs - you'll be pitted against the likes of The New Age Retro Hippie and the Happy Happy Cultists. There are no potions or elixirs or anything like that - you'll have to heal yourself with cookies, sandwiches, and hamburgers. Problem solving and progression in the game is also met with humor (pencil shaped statue in the middle of the road? Use a pencil eraser of course!).
But aside from all the inherent humor in the story, the gameplay is a very serious. One of the most creative gameplay aspects is the rolling health meter. If you take enough damage to die, your character is not instantly dead. If you can heal them before their health "counts down," their heath just starts counting up from there. Also, there's always a slight chance that a death dealing move will merely reduce their health down to zero (if they've got a lot of guts). There are also no random battles in this game - you initiate fights (or sometimes enemies run at you) on the world map, and the way you're facing determines who gets to go first.  If you both fight head on, the battle is normal. If the enemy catches your flank or back, they get first strike. And if you're lucky enough to sneak up on them, first strike goes to you. Don't let these innovations make you think this game is easy though - you'll fight some crazy aliens, strong bosses, and even yourself at one point (well, yourself with more hit points :).
I dunno what else to say, it's just amazing. Get yourself a cart (or ROM) and find out for yourself how awesome this game is.
Oh, and can anyone tell me why the hell Earthbound 64 was cancelled? I definitely think the N64 could have benefited from a decent RPG if you know what I mean...
12. Dance Dance Revolution
1998 - Arcades (later on Sony Playstation, Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, PC, and probably more in the future)
 To say this game is a revolution is an understatement. It is the first truly unique genre of game to come out in awhile, spawning countless sequels, and an explosion of interactive rhythm games the Japanese have dubbed "bemani." DDR changed the arcade scene, changing it from a dark, creepy place where people played fighting games and classic 80s games (ah, memories…) to a place where people could perform, and ordinary mall patrons would look inside with wonder, awe, confusion, or sometimes just to laugh. But weather you've played it or seen it, most have encountered this phenomenon at some point, and it remains one of my favorite pastimes.
Here's how the game works: players stand on a pad with four arrows labeled and set up in an up, down, left, right pattern. A song comes on, and arrows start crawling up the screen. When a moving arrow matches with the corresponding arrow set in place at the top of the screen, the player then puts their food on that directional arrow. But the concept isn't as complicated as that last sentence may have made it seem - the arrows match up in time with the music, so if you listen to the beat of the song, it's pretty simple matching up the two arrows. Most people get the hang of it after a couple songs, and can start dancing to some basic tunes. But it takes a whole lot of playing to be able to tackle some of the heavier songs, and an inhuman amount of practice to be able to conquer any song thrown at you (I worship these people).
It can be played single player, but the most fun comes from playing with a big group of people. The appeal of the game is remarkable, and you can eventually coerce even your most skeptical of friends into checking it out. Once they play a couple rounds they'll be sucked in for life - then they're yours to mold and have do your bidding! It's the greatest.
This game changed the face of the arcades, especially in Japan. Konami went crazy after the success of this game, making games like Para Para Paradise (hand hand revolution), Beatmania (turntable turntable revolution), Guitar Freaks (guitar guitar revolution), and a plethora of others.
Oh, and if you think you're good at DDR why don't you hit up an anime convention sometime. You'll see people with crazy robot legs doing shit you didn't think a human being was supposed to do.
11. Street Fighter II: The World Warriors
1991 - Arcade
 If I could own one arcade cabinet, it would be the one for this game. This game represents childhood memories of the arcade. Some prefer the old school goodness of Pac-Man, Galaga, Centepede, or any other of the countless games that made arcades big in the early and mid eighties, and that's definitely respectable. But this game (like DDR a couple years ago) revitalized arcades and brought them out of the slump they fell into in the late 80s/early 90s. Nothing symbolizes the arcade experience like a good one on one fighter - 2 people battling for honor, respect, and getting to play the next round on the same quarter.
There are about 3,000,000 versions of Street Fighter II (trust me, I counted), but I have chosen to put the original version on my list. I did this because this game had by far the most impact on the world of gaming, and while additions were made on to later version (new characters, a few new moves), the changes were not overwhelming enough to outweigh the importance factor (see my list of reasons for picking for reference). Plus I'm not a big fan of some of the later series - Akuma is cool but just way way way too powerful.
Anyways, on to what makes this game great. Like DDR (funny how the similarities keep popping up…historically only I mean…but damn, wouldn't Fight Fight Revolution be fun), it is what all other games of its genre are compared to. Few other fighters can boast the character variance, elaborate (yet simple) controls, and badass names for moves (the Hadoken is right up there with the Tanuki suit for cool random ass shit from video games). The character variance was incredible, with lots of different personalities to choose from, and each character had a very different set of strengths, weaknesses, and moves (with the obvious exception of Ryu and Ken, and to a lesser extent Sagat). You want an all American blonde-haired stereotype - go no further than Guile. Or how about an Indian guy with stretchy arms - Dhalsim's got that department character. A cute Chinese anime-esque character who loves to scream yatta - Chun Li is the one for you. And if you just want a character that sucks ass, the U.S.S.R.'s Zangief definitely sucks it up real nice. Any character for any mood is a Street Fighter II promise - it says so right on the side of the cabinet.
I didn't really talk a whole lot about this game because I know you've played it. So go dust off that copy for your SNES, or Genesis, or Playstation, or Saturn (hey, Sega sold like four of them), or GBA, or just play your arcade version (you fucking bitch). Isn't it about time you kicked just a little bit more ass?
Oh, and there was just something strangely satisfying about beating the fuck out of that car.
We enter the top ten next update, and the games can only keep getting better. We promise we'll put it up sooner next time…probably…
J
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