My Top 5 Video Game Experiences · 11:37pm Mar 24th, 2014
Have you ever felt the need to make a list of things, even if there's no particular reason to make such a list? I have, and the following list is the result. As the title indicates, this list is hella subjective, and it's limited to experiences I've actually had, rather than, say, ones I've witnessed while watching an LP. I've limited the results to five mostly so I don't spend all evening doing this, though I'm fairly certain that about an hour after I post this, I'll think of something else that ought to be here.
5. Beating those #%&! Luca Goers in the first blitzball game in Final Fantasy X after who knows how many attempts.
I don’t know about the HD version, but in the original PS2 version of this game, the Aurochs can’t use any techniques until the second half, and I’m all but certain that the Goers have stat boosts in that game that disappear once blitzball becomes completely optional, because they’re always total chumps after that. I must have reset my PS2 dozens of times on my first playthrough, because dammit, I did not want those assholes to win. My eventual victory was absolutely delicious, and it would probably be higher on the list if I wasn't so sure that the game's developers didn't actually want that victory to happen at all.
4. Ashe rejecting the Occuria in Final Fantasy XII.
I don’t think I have ever loathed a video game villain more than I hate the Occuria. These beings, with the arguable exception of one who is allied with the nominal Big Bad, are elitist scuzzbuckets of the highest order, interfering with events on Ivalice as they see fit, simply because they believe that their superiority is self-evident. In any other JRPG, they probably would be the Big Bads, which is why it’s so wonderful when Ashe dashes their plans (and their ability to make any more such plans in the future) to smithereens about three-quarters of the way through the plot. Sometimes, it's good to watch manipulative bastards just outright failing at bastardry.
3. Fingering the serial killer in Persona 4.
Throughout this game, in addition to to the usual tasks of living as a stereotypical Japanese teenager in a stereotypical Japanese small town and defeating bizarre creatures which are apparently the physical forms of humanity’s collective neuroses, the PCs are also busy investigating a series of murders around town, and eventually, the time comes for you to evaluate all the clues you’ve gathered and figure out whodunnit. Admittedly, as far as mysteries go, it’s not too difficult, especially since the other characters conveniently recount all the pertinent information for you in a concise, easy-to-follow manner, but still, the fact that I figured it out without recourse to GameFAQs or any other source on the internet filled me with immense pride.
2. Suddenly losing my anonymous companion on the side of a mountain in Journey.
Because one of the key selling points of Journey is the anonymous multiplayer feature, in which you spend parts of the game with sprites controlled by other players whose interaction with you consists of assorted notes created by hitting a dedicated talking button, every game is different, so perhaps not everyone who’s played the game can relate to this. That said, the first time I played through the game, I had one companion for most of the game, and we seemed to be working well together. Teamwork, and all that. However, in the final, snow-covered level, my friend got him- or herself blasted into oblivion by a really large nastie because she/he didn’t get under a shelter in time. I’m still stunned at how utterly alone I felt when I realized my friend hadn’t made it, and I wouldn’t have anyone else around to recharge my magic scarf--possibly for the rest of the game.
1. Rolling up the moon in Katamari Damacy.
This is one of the weirdest games ever made, and I can only assume that the fact that the weirdness turns off some gamers is the reason I don’t regularly see Katamari Damacy on “Greatest Game of All Time” lists, because the final level is quite simply the most perfect video game experience ever. You are given the task of rolling up the moon, and you have 25 minutes to do it, and every second is wonderful. It’s not just the fact that you’re rolling up everything (no, that’s not an exaggeration) into your katamari, nor is it the fact that you’re basking in the game’s off-kilter sense of humor while you do it. No, what makes this experience perfect (and what had a smile on my face the whole time) is the music, which is nothing less than a 25-minute remix of the game’s theme song, which already kicked tremendous amounts of ass in its own right. It's been several years now, and merely reminiscing about it still gives me the warm fuzzies. I suppose that in theory, something might come along that tops it, but quite frankly, I doubt it.
I'd bet that, while you were doing that, you had... a ball.
That sounds dirtier than I think you intended it...
I assume you've never played EarthBound, then.
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That made me pause, then laugh out loud when I realized the typo.
1952962 - Perhaps it does, but I have heard the word "fingering" used to mean "identifying" before.
1953072
Yep, it can mean either.
Which makes it a perfect word for a double entendre, and prone to create unintentional ones when the two meanings are possible
The only one of these games I've ever played is Katamari Damacy, and I agree with absolutely everything you said there. It's an amazing 25 minutes.
Please feel free to never remind me of blitzball and those damn Luca Goers ever again. They cheat. I swear to God they cheat.
Erm, I don't think you can actually die in Journey, only lose your scarf. Sounds like he ditched you...
The reason Katanary Damacy doesn't show up on many Greatest Games of All Time lists isn't the quirkiness, it's the damned time limit, aka, the bane of all video game players ever. Also because it sort of fell apart as a franchise as it went along.
Cool list.
For me I would say...
The sanity effects in Eternal Darkness.
The amazing graphics of Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast.
Beating Contra on the NES with no deaths. (Or was it just no Konami Code?)
Seeing a Fatality in Mortal Kombat for the first time.
And figuring out how to game Dirge of Cerberus so that the game was brokenly easy.
NANAAA NANANANANANANAAANAAA
KATAMARI DAMACY
NANAA NANANANANANANANAAANAAA
KATAMARI DAMACY
Beating Braid. The whole last sequence.
Finally beating Out Of This World for the first time, flying away on the back of that weird gryphon... thing with your monkey friend? or whatever and feeling totally free, and god, why is it raining in here all of a sudden.
Destroying the Weighted Companion Cube in Portal. Nuff said.
Walking out of the intro cave in Skyrim and seeing a whole grand landscape laid out in front of you, a world ready to explore, and feeling like it's the start of a Tolkien story and you're along for the ride...
Actually, I'm going to go play Skyrim now.
Beat Dark Souls 2 today. Feels good man.
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Oh Eternal Darkness and your relentless mindfuckery, good times.
1953194
It isn't a matter of being "ditched". I remember the sequence KwackerJack's describing. It was entirely possible to get blasted back so hard you got irrecoverably separated from your partner. I lost track of one of my partners in a similar way. Despite my best efforts to catch up, I never saw them again.
You mentioned Fingering The Serial Killer. Which, normally for me, just means you identified the culprit.
But then, most normal times, those words aren't followed up with "Persona 4.
I haven't gotten to that one yet and somehow I thought that was actually a SPOILER.
Yeah, somehow I didn't take a moment to even question it not being a literal fingering.
I think I need some brain bleach.