Top Ten of the Week #8 - Does this battle make my butt look fat?

[Jermungandr]

Hey guys, I had an idea for a game ... well not really a game I guess; and "activity" we could do, since it's really more of a thought-evoking exercise with no winners.

I'm sure you guys are well acquainted with the concept of Top Ten lists, right? I mean, Youtube and various journalistic sites are flooded with them. So basically, in this thread I will pose a new video-game related topic at the beginning of each week (probably Sundays) for you guys to think about and give your Top-Whatever responses for (they won't always be Top "Tens" specifically).

With the exception of this first one, I'm going to try to avoid doing the really cliche topics that everyone on the internet does, except maybe once in a great while. I feel that I have some unique ones lined up, and if you have any ideas for some that I should do, feel free to send me a PM about it, but I warn you if I have a lot lined up it might be a while until I actually post your idea (unless I think your idea is super awesome in which case I might skip the line).

Anyways this first question is kind of cliche but I feel appropriate considering it's the beginning of the year and I surprisingly haven't seen this topic breached in the forum as of yet:


What are your Top Ten favorite games you purchased in 2014?

The games don't necessarily have to have been released in 2014 (for example if you're like me and you're too poor to buy games as soon as they come out), but try to stick to relatively recent releases; I'd say 2010 and forward are okay. Re-releases count, as long as they aren't games you'd played before. You don't have to have personally purchased them, if your parents bought it for you or you received it as a gift, that's okay too.

By the way a general rule for all of these: Don't feel obligated to list exactly ten. That's really more of a suggestion. You can post only five if that's all you can come up with, for example, or you can post twenty if you're feeling ambitious.

[MrYoshbert]

2014 was a pretty great year for games on my end.

1) Mario Kart 8
2) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
3) Kirby Triple Deluxe
4) Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U
5) Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
6) Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
7) Shovel Knight
8) Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
9) Guacamelee: Super Something Turbo Edition
10) The Denpa Men 3: The Rise of Digitoll

[Kriven]

Oh geez, let's see...

Pikmin 3
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Shovel Knight
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Hyrule Warriors
Super Metroid
Super Mario 3D World
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Mario Kart 8

[Goemar]

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
Child of Light
Pix the Cat
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Velocity 2X
The Wolf Among Us
Everybody's Golf (International Tour/Vita PS3 port)
The Last of Us: Left Behind (I'm counting it...)
Destiny
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

To be fair, most of my favourite games were downloadable ones...

[[robo9]]

1)Tomodachi Life
2) Smash Bros for the 3DS
3)Omega Ruby
4) Animal Crossing: Wild World
5)BattleBlock Theatre
6) Pokemon LeafGreen
7)Pac Attack
8) Mega Man 2 (GBC)
9)Pokemon LeafGreen
10) Pac In Time

I just realized that you said recent releases, but I have only bought 10 games this year. Literally

[Gwen]

1). Sportsfriends
2). Titanfall
3). Mario Kart 8
4). Dragon Age Inquisition
5). Sunset Overdrive
6). Far Cry 4
7). Transistor
8). Super Smash Bros
9). Alien Isolation
10). Destiny

Just missed the cut:
Depth - fun as heck game that one of my teachers did the audio for, but until I get more friends to play it with me, I haven't put too much time into it unfortunately
Shadow of Mordor - Super fun game, but it was hard to remove anything else from the list.
Pikmin 3 - Still need to finish this game, it's a blast though, and absolutely gorgeous
Super Mario 3d World (wii u) - one of the best Mario platformers not only in quite some time but ever.

[Omega]

The Binding of isaac rebirth
Donkey kong Country tropical Freeze
Kingdom hearts 2.5
Super Smash bros. For Wii U
South park the stick of truth
Spelunky
Captain Toad
Mario Kart 8
Kirby triple deluxe
Pokemon Omega ruby

toomuchNintendo

[Maxpphire]

Stanley Parable
Saints Row 4
Skyrim
IIDX SPADA
Pop'n Sunny Park
Sonic Generations
Sonic All Star Racing

[puggsoy]

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (we actually bought this in 2013 but only played it in 2014 iirc so I hope that counts)
BattleBlock Theater
Papers, Please
Organ Trail (got this for free but oh well)
Hearthstone (F2P but oh well)
Runner2 (bought this last year but only started playing this month, hope that counts)

Yeah I didn't really buy many games last year to be honest (or at all, it's all been gifts pretty much), and most that I did I haven't played yet. But yeah whatever, I guess that's a reasonable list.

[Yawackhary]

This is hard since some recently purchased games are from 10 years + ago due to buying a bunch of original Xbox games/cheap PS3 games and the ones that I did buy that came out in 2014, some of them I only just got around of playing them and haven't had time to play the others (looking at Bayonetta 1+2, Far Cry 4, Freedom Wars, GRID Autosport, Gran Turismo 6) due a large backlog. Anyway:

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (2014 was for me the year of Ratchet & Clank)
Super Smash Bros. Wii U
3D Space Harrier [I know it is a 1985 game but on about the 3DS version]
Total Recoil
(Sort of counts) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare [Bought on December 2014 but only just played this month and finished it a couple of days ago due to was away from the country]

Not sure whether these counts [were purchased in 2014 but are oldish games and really did enjoy them]:
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
The Warriors
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

[Jermungandr]

Week #2: Favorite First Encounters


Ahh, yes; the humble first enemy of the game. Usually nothing more than helpless cannon fodder, but also the first spark of your campaign of mass destruction. While many people do not do much to even so much as acknowledge these simple peons, they almost always serve the important purpose of teaching you the basics of how to take down enemies in their respective games; such as Mario's Goombas teaching you that you can defeat enemies by jumping on them.

So this week's question is, what Top Ten "first enemy of the game(s?)" (not sure how to pluralize that correctly) do you consider your favorite or most memorable? Is it the classic goomba? The traditional RPG slime monsters? Or maybe something a little less common? And why do you like them?

(This list is for minor enemies ONLY; games that start with a "boss" fight do not count (for example, the original Paper Mario pitting you against Bowser first), although you can count enemies that appear after such bosses).


By the way! If you missed out on the previous week's list, you can still feel free to post your picks for that too if you wish.

P.S. Would you guys mind numbering your picks in the future? Not a big deal, but sometimes it's difficult to tell if you're counting down to your top favorite or listing your favorite first.

[Gwen]

Oh shucks, ten choices, okay, I will be updating this as I sort this out but for now:

1). Heartless *Kingdom Hearts Series* fantastic design, great enemies.
2). Chu Chu *Legend of Zelda* annoying, yet adorable little fucks
3). Draugr *Skyrim* What's not to love about fighting off Viking zombies?
4). Psychos *Borderlands* These guys are so rad
5). Red Coats *Assassin's Creed III* MURICA, MURICA, MURICUH
6). Enemies from Mario Sunshine, they were all pretty cool
7). Urahkai *Shadow of Mordor* Love the individuality these guys have
8). Enemies in Bayonetta
9).

[E-Man]

Nice choice! I've been a fan of guys for as long as I've been a Kingdom Hearts fan. You know, it be a cool idea if there are Heartless that serve as your ally or even a race of them.

Anyway, the first memorable game encounter for me would be the Deku Babas in Ocarina of Time. I thought I was good to go to see the Great Deku Tree to sort out his problem, so I went down the path to see him. Suddenly, these snapping plants with blue heads sprouted out of the ground without warning and the music turned menacingly just as quickly. Sure, they were firmly rooted in the ground and did nothing more than twirl about, but the way they moved was very unsettling to the point that I always dreaded walking down the Deku Tree's road until I got much older (I was eight when I first actually played that game). In fact, I preferred the normal Deku Babas over those guys for the reason that their movement was much more natural (and the fact that they didn't respawn after defeat also helped).


EDIT: Oh, whoops! It slipped my mind that I have to think of nine other first encounters! I only saw Gwen's original post and just thought I only had to state at least one.

Okay, let's see if I could make a full list out of this. These are in no particular order.

1. Shadows of the Kingdom Hearts games for acquainting me with a race as intriguing as the Heartless and being overall adorable.

2. Deku Babas of Ocarina of Time for the reasons I explained earlier.

3. Octoroks of the Zelda games since I can always count on those little beasties showing up. I like the guys so much that there are playthroughs that I try not to kill them at all out of respect.

4. Goombas in the first two Paper Mario games for being a little tougher than your typical Goomba and providing practice for a fun battle system.

5. Pidgey in the Pokémon games for being a useful bird to me as I got older (it even helped me defeat the Kanto Elite Four). Plus, I like the way it looks.

6. Koopa Troopas in any game they lose their shells. Their undershirt design always looked appealing to me and I thought the concept was hilarious!

7. Creepers in Minecraft for being a worthy foe. When I was first blown up by one, I thought it was very hilarious! Still, I typically turn off mob griefing to give my OCD a rest and challenge these blighters to my heart's content without any real consequences (even though a Creeper has done me in more than once). Besides, at least they're not as bad as Skeletons, who need to literally drop dead for those arrows they have.

8. Dwarf Red Bulborbs in the Pikmin games for not only proving good practice for Olimar's melee attacks, but also for the Pikmin squish trick that amuses me to no end.

9. Gnawtys of Donkey Kong 64 for making me terrified to approach them. Sure, they're cute and not very strong, but the fact that they chase me and their laughing-like noise always freaks me out. Also, before anyone asks, I have a love/hate relationship with Beaver Bother. Yes, it's a difficult game, but I like the concept.

10. Topper, Bawl, and Colliwobble from Banjo-Kazooie. To this day, they always amuse me due to the way they look and how mostly passive they are (i.e. not chasing me around and making any scary noises). I wish I could see these guys again.


An honorable mention goes to the Beehives of the Banjo-Kazooie games. As I got older, I felt sorry for them, so I always left them alone. It always terrifies me when I see the ones with red eyes in Banjo-Tooie since I'm not used to those guys chasing me out of malice.

[Goemar]

My list had no order and such numbers were banished.
As for this one...

1. Goomba

Like of course it's the freaking Goomba. If you grew up with Mario and the Goomba isn't number 1, then well, I guess it isn't your number 1 (but you'd be wrong...)

2. Giant Enemy Crab* (Metal Slug 3)

The soldiers in the other Metal Slug games are cool first encounters, not because they are creative, they're soldiers after all - but because of the detail into them. Mainly how they die and scream (wow that sounds really bad in writing - but trust me it's funny... (just making this worse dude...)). But well, having a giant crab as your first enemy - pretty damn awesome.

3. !!!! Ok I didn't think this far ahead. Will get back to this after some sleep!

*I am well aware it is not called Giant Enemy Crab - but if I used it's actual name no one would know what it is. Ha, look at you Googling it just to make yourself look cool, no one cares man, no one cares...

[Jermungandr]

#10: Witch - Final Fantasy Legend III

I'll be honest, I barely remember this game and I have no real intention of ever playing it again, but one thing that has always stuck out in my mind is the fact that the first enemies you encounter in the game are friggin' bunny witches.

BUNNY. WITCHES.

IMMEDIATELY.

I guess it's not really that odd, since there are a lot of games out there that love to throw bizarre shit at you right away, but this was my very first experience with a "real" RPG and I was expecting a lot more serious of a tone.

Oh, and guess what, your characters can actually turn into those bunny witches too. By eating meat. That's a thing in this game.

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#9 Waddle Doo - Kirby Super Star

Waddle Doo gets some credit in this game first and foremost for being one of the few Kirby games to not introduce Waddle Dee as the first enemy you encounter. Of course, Waddle Doo also serves an important purpose: allowing you to copy his power so that you can be joined by a partner player right at the start of the game. Thanks Waddle Doo, for not making my sibling feel left out for five minutes. That's more than I can say for some games ...

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#8: Motobugs - Sonic the Hedgehog

Just for the moment when I was all "Whoa, did an animal just pop out of that thing? What the heck?!"

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#7: Pidgey - Pokemon Red

I don't know about you guys, but Pidgey was the first Pokemon I ever caught. And that's good enough for me.

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#6: Pirate Goom - Wario Land II

Hey, you know what's cooler than a Goomba? Pirate Goombas. Of course, the Gooms in the Wario Land series are based more on the goombas from Super Mario World rather than their ordinary mushroom cousins, so you don't get the same satisfying squish when you land on one of these guys. But you CAN pick them up and splatter them against the wall with your mach-speed throwing skills, which is much more fun if you ask me.

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#5: Octorok - Link's Awakening

One thing I find neat about about Link's Awakening is how you're not just handed a sword right from the start. No, first you have to navigate around a bunch of enemies, using only your shield to bump them, deflect their projectiles, or even push them. It's neat because it teaches you all the proper mechanics of utilizing your shield, which you might not have picked up on as easily if you're the type to normally go straight for an all-out offensive-as-defense strategy. It's important too, because the Zelda games that came before this featured the hero simply holding his shield in front of him at all times, so they had to emphasize the fact that it was an item that actually had to be USED this time around. Brilliant game design; you can barely even tell it's a tutorial.

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#4: Shy Guy - Super Mario Bros. 2

Remember when you played Mario Bros 2 for the first time, and upon encountering your first enemy, went to crush it beneath your feet in traditional Mario fashion, only to go "Holy crap, I can just stand on these guys? Holy shit I can PICK THEM UP?!"

No? Well, okay then ...

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#3: Bonzo(?) - Bubble Bobble

Because they look like adorable little wind-up toasters. That's it, really.

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#2: Red Koopa Troopas - Super Mario World

Super Mario World has a neat aspect right off the bat that hasn't really been utelised in a Mario game prior or even since: An option between two different starting levels. So depending on which direction you choose to go first, your first encounter may not necessarily be the same. Personally, I prefer being immediately greeted by the swarm of Koopa Troopas found in the level on your right. First game of the first generation, and immedatly Nintendo is saying "Hey, check it out! Look how many enemies we can handle on screen at once!" What REALLY makes this encounter satisfying, however, is the empty koopa shell lain generously aside for you. Pick it up and knock the turtles down like dominoes, getting a sweet and satisfying 1up in the process. Awww yeah, feels so good.

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#1: Terrapin - Super Mario RPG

This is kind of an important one for me. When I rented Mario RPG for the first time as a kid, I hadn't the faintest clue what an RPG game was. All I knew from looking at the box was "Whoa, a 3D Mario game?! I HAVE GOT TO PLAY THIS!!". So after excitedly turning on the game for the first time, I instinctively went to jump on the head of the first enemy I encountered, only to have the screen wipe take me to a bizarre battle stage. Predictably, I was perplexed as shit. I had no idea what was going on in this game AT ALL. Incidentally, my first playthrough did not go well at all; I had absolutely no concept of Experience Points, and I spent most of the game running from battles because I honestly thought that was what I was supposed to do. But regardless, this enemy gets high billing because not only did he introduce me to a new game mechanic, but a new wondrous genre of games altogether.