Renewed Gaming Top 15 - Beat Em Ups

The Arcade Beat Em Up. Pick a character. Beat up enemies in an area, flashing "GO ON! ->", next area... clear the enemies. Boss at the end. Pretty simple. But nearly endless gameplay. Beat the game? Do it again with the next character!

Top 15 Beat Em Ups

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Kung Fu: Basic character beating waves of bad guys. It is the Karate Champ of side scrolling Beat Em Ups(to the point I almost put the wrong name).

Honorable Mention 2: Yakuza(franchise): I have not played this series much. But... I have played it enough to feel like the game plays much like a 3D Double Dragon game.

15. River City Ransom: One of the originals. Sets up a genre that is mindless fun.

14. Golden Axe: Sega brought us this now classic. Very Dungeons & Dragons. But I remember playing it in the Arcade, hoping that I can get that smart bomb lile potion to clear the screen.

13. Gauntlet(franchise): This almost made it on the RPG list, considering the 3D games in the series having more RPG elements... but... it doesn't do Gauntlet justice to call it an RPG. You pick your character... you defeat endless waves of enemies until you do. That... that is ALL the gameplay is.

12. Castle Crashers: I can hear the music now. A Beat Em Up with graphics that mimic retro gaming... simple but effective controls... and MASSIVE replayability. Finished kicking all the ass with this character? Well you unlocked a new one to do it with and new magic... that is Castle Crashers

11. Mystical Ninja starring Goemon: Ninja beats up baddie with a... pipe. Not like a lead pipe, but a smoking pipe. What more do you need to know?

10. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers(SNES): So... this game is built as a platform that is a Beat Em Up. You enter an area... defeat a plethora of Putties, and then you can move to the next area and putty all of those Putties. That is a Beat Em Up.

9. Spider-Man Separation Anxiety/Maximum Carnage: Both of these games are lumped together because they are ALMOST the same game(from different publishers). Co-op with Spidey and Venom with the ability to call on heroes like Captain America, The Punisher, and Hawkeye to get you out of tough spots.

8. Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks: Mortal Kombat tried to venture out of the fighting game genre... first try was Mythologies Sub-Zero. A terrible platformer(one of the worst games of all time)... then they tried Special Forces, starring Jax and Sonya Blade in a Metal Gear style outing(also one of the worst). Then... they tried Shaolin Monks. Players 1 & 2 play though a Beat Em Up version if the Mortal Kombat 2 story as Liu Kang and Kung Lao... and it was so much fun! They need to remake it(HD!!!!) or make more. And it had two bonuses... one, beat the game and you can play again with Scorpion and Sub-Zero... the other, a mode using the game's engine to make a 3D fighter with the MK2 characters(and it was better than Deadly Alliance).

7. Final Fight(franchise): Capcom's Beat Em Up franchise. There isn't anymore you can say about it. It did give us some Street Fighting characters(Guy is a personal favorite)

6. Death & Return Of Superman(SNES): Yes... this is an Arcade Style Beat Em Up. Single player. You get to play as the various versions of Superman from the comics story, based around levels where you control a Superman for a whole stage. The different styles would've been great for a 4 player Arcade experience. But it was still great. The fights against Doomsday were phenomenal. This is... the best Superman game ever made.

5. Scott Pilgrim vs The World: Up to 4 player, endless bad guy beat down experience. A game based on a book series that was derivative of video games. Meta? Yeah... Meta.

4. Double Dragon(franchise): Twin brothers trying to save one their girlfriends from the clutches of the Shadow Master. Input combinations to pull off better fighting techniques... work together to kick ass. 

3. The Simpsons Arcade/X-Men Arcade: I grouped these two together, but they were popular for different reasons. The Simpsons is the longest running cartoon in history. Their Arcade game was "pick a Simpson" and the X-Men Arcade game was "pick an X-Man". The X-Men machine was special, some places had 6-Player cabinets. It was pretty cool. They got grouped together because they play nearly the same(without the mutant powers).

2. LEGO(series): All of the LEGO licensed games are Beat Em Up. 1 or 2 players picking characters(or... story forced characters) exploring, beating up other LEGO Minifigs. Some of the LEGO games are aren't that great, but quite a few of them are so much fun. Personal favorites have been the Star Wars titles, the Batman titles, and the Marvel Superhero titles.

And the Number One Beat Em Up is...

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(franchise): Pick a Turtle. Kick some Foot Clan ass. Co-op fight the bosses. Simple. Yet so much fun, especially if you can get all 4 Turtles going. My favorite of the franchise is Turtles In Time for the SNES. So many hours playing this title. And it was so much fun.

-

-

-

-

-

What you think about the list? Did I miss one? Comment and share!

Until next time...

Renewed Gaming Top 15 - Fighting

Fighting Games. Pick 1 fighter or a team of them and go beat the hell out of your opponents, either against other human players, or traversing a giant tower of opponents to get to one final boss, whether it be a dragon God like Shao Khan or GALACTUS!

A way for some to get out frustration. A way for others to be mega-competive. Some can be so strategic, that casuals can't complete the tower... some can be so easy to participate in, but rewarding after mastering that one character(I'm looking at you Smash Bros)

Top 15 Fighting Games

Special Honorable Mention: Karate Champ: One on one fighting game. No special moves. Just... timing. The true "original" fighting game.

Honorable Mention 1: Clayfighter(franchise): Raunchy, gross, but fun Claymation style parody of the genre. Over the top... and then goes further.

Honorable Mention 2: Fatal Fury(series): A franchise from SNK that TRIED to rival Street Fighter back in the day. I liked it, but the controls scheme was always weird to me. They did what they could to not copy Capcom, but it didn't stop other franchises. Only as a series... I played the original, didn't like the original.

15. Primal Rage: Mortal Kombat with Kaiju. No other way to explain it.

14. Bloody Roar(series): A unique 3D fighting game which allowed the contestants to turn into animal humanoids. Almost like going Super Saiyan, but werewolves. Interesting, but a dead franchise.

13. Samurai Showdown(series): SNK developed a series based around 1800s Asian culture. The sword fighting, the monsters, the music. Most people haven't tried this game, because it was mostly on the Neo Geo systems. But a few ports here and there were great.

12. Mace The Dark Age: A sleeper from Atari in arcades, and Midway on the Nintendo 64. A unique 3D fighter, wasn't as good as some others, but it was still pretty good. And Lord Deimos looks bad ass!

11. Tekken(franchise): Speaking of 3D fighters... Tekken. Hand to hand 3D fighter, with combos, and precise countering.

10. Darkstalkers(franchise): Street Fighter with monsters. Legit. Made by Capcom... with monsters like vampires, succubus, werewolves, a Frankenstein, a mummy. You get the idea.

9. The King of Fighters(franchise): SNK's Ultimate Amalgamation Fighter. Characters from all of their IPs going at it and new characters in the mix. Depending on the version, you could be making your own teams of 2 or 3... or there might be premade teams based on the games they came from.

8. Killer Instinct(franchise): Arcade and Console rival to Mortal Kombat, but it was not a full on clone. Killer Instinct had a really weird cast of fighters and finishers, but Killer Instinct made waves due to the combo system. The bizarre, gonzo combo system. And the Xbox exclusive modern sequel gave away the "Fatalities", and put MORE focus on the combos. C-c-c-c-c-combobreaker!!!!!!

7. SoulCaliber/SoulBlade(franchise): A series that has evolved and devolved throughout the decades. 3D fighter that focuses on the weapons each fighter carries, and EACH fighter is unique because of it. Earlier games, the focus was so much on the weapons, they even included weapons breaking, adding more strategy.

6. Super Smash Bros(franchise): Nintendo's ultimate fighter. Each entry adding new events, functions, and fighters. Ever want to see Mario vs Kirby vs Sephiroth vs Simon Belmont? Well... you can. And instead of health bars, fighters have damage meters. The more damage you take, the further you fly. And eliminations happen when you fly off the screen.

5. Injustice(franchise): From the makers of Mortal Kombat, a fighting game series featuring DC Heroes and Villians beating the hell out of each other. And... it is GREAT! No finishing moves, but it doesn't need it. And a wonderful story to go with. Can't wait for Injustice 3.

4. Dragon Ball Z(franchise): DBZ had many different styles of games. But fighting games, the Boudakai series was a hoot. Learning the new fighters, adding new transformations, and just kick ass "easy to learn, hard to master" combo system. And then FighterZ was a gonzo team based fighter. DBZ deserves the spot.

3. Marvel vs Capcom(expanded franchise): So I'm going to expand on this one. Capcom started with games based on Marvel Properties called "X-Men Children of the Atom" and "Marvel Superheroes: War of the Gems". Then it led to "X-Men vs Street Fighter", keeping the style from those first two. Then we got to "Marvel vs Capcom". This series is exactly what sounds like. Marvel Characters vs Capcom Characters. Huge finishers, giant rosters, teams of either 2 or 3, and Infinite brought back the Infinity Gems for added strategy.

2. Street Fighter(franchise): The Fighting Game series that started the genre of fighting games. EVERY OTHER FIGHTING GAME SERIES OWES THEIR EXISTENCE TO STREET FIGHTER. The quarterturn forward punch motion shows up in nearly every series, and yes... it throws a projectile. And this series features two of my favorite video game villains of all time: M. Bison and Akuma. The 3D EX Street Fighter games were pretty epic too...

And the number one fighter game/series is...

1. Mortal Kombat(franchise): With all of the praise I can give Street Fighter, I can say that Mortal Kombat has BIGGER impact on the gaming industry overall. Hyper violent, pushing every envelope. And it forced the industry to create the ESRB ratings. It has had some ups and down, weird transition in and out of 3D, but one of the most successful reboots of any gaming franchise. And reinvented the idea of the guest character, with such mega franchise characters like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhies, Leatherface, Alien, Predator, Robocop, Terminator, John Rambo, The Joker, and Spawn.(Judge Dredd would've been perfect). Mortal Kombat is THE fighting game franchise...

-

-

-

-

-

There is the list, folks.

What did you all think? Did I miss one? Out of order? Comment share...

Until next time...

Renewed Gaming Top 15 - Puzzlers

Puzzle games. Games that are puzzle based. Sure, there are games out there that are puzzles mixed with other genres where the other half is more prominent(looking at you Zelda). But there are different kinds of puzzles and puzzle games.

So let's get puzzling...

Top 15 Puzzle Video Games

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Lumines: I like this one, but I don't have much experience with it. So... that is why it lands here.

Honorable Mention 2: Peggle: I don't... enjoy Peggle. But I play it for a moment to de-stress... and then lose an hour or two. That is what puzzlers can do.

15. Lemmings(franchise): A game where you guide little creatures from one location to another... and you have to work quickly, because they are STUPID and SUICIDAL!!! Stressful fun! Side Mention: Mario vs Donkey Kong: it's Lemmings, but with tiny Marios.

14. Picross(various): You have a grid. You have numbers to tell you what titles you must chisle out. When you are done, it makes a picture. Basic... but difficult sometimes.

13. Puyo Puyo(series): I was first introduced to this puzzle game with Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Little glob, when matched together in groups of four, would vanish. Pretty simple? Not against the AI. It is punishing. And fun.

12. Bejeweled(franchise): Normalized the match 3 or more mobile/touchscreen fad. And... I enjoy it more than Candy Crush.

11. Portal(franchise): A series of physics based puzzles with an interesting story backing it up. Why aren't there more in this series?

10. Myst: Traversing an island solving puzzles to unlock new areas of the island. Changed how third person exploration works in video games.

9. Pac-Man(franchise): It's a puzzle game. The Ghosts have specific patterns. Beating the game means beating the patterns. Puzzle.

8. Minesweeper: If you had a PC in the 90s, you had this pre-installed. And I like it even now. Simple to play... difficult to master.

7. Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo: Puyo Puyo style game, but instead of globs, it is gems. AND Chibi versions of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers fighting it out based on how good you play. Yeah, it sounds awesome! Cause it is!!!

6. Bomberman(franchise): It's a Puzzle game. You are strategically placing Bombs to defeat enemies before they beat you. Puzzle.

5. Dr. Mario: One of the first two games I purchased with my own money. Colored virus defeated by colored pills.

4. Puzznic: Tile matching puzzle game made by Taito. Not as famous here like it is in Japan, but I played the hell out of the NES version. Sliding tiles. Much more difficult than you think.

3. Pokémon Snap(series): Taking pics of Pokémon in nature. But the puzzle portion comes in the form of getting the best pics in the situations they are in. The quality of the pics, the environments, and multiple Pokémon in the same pic. It's puzzling.

2. Marble Madness: 2 players control rolling marbles through a course. Yes. It is an obstacle course. But it is top screen down. You don't usually know what is coming next, unless you remember the patterns. But with 2 players, you have to navigating while avoiding your opponent. One of my favorite sleeper hits on the NES. Wish Switch Online would add it.

And the number one puzzle game is...

1. Tetris: What else? People who know me know that Tetris is one of my favorite games of all time. You can play Tetris on almost any platform available in some form. And I bet everyone reading has playes Tetris before. Simple idea... varying shapes made up of 4 blocks being dropped into a grid. Make a complete line across the grid, and it vanishes. The more lines you complete at the same time nets you more points on your score board. Every 10 lines, the game speeds up. Different publishers has added spins on it, like EA who made leveling up in increments of 5(lvl 1 needs 5 to go to lvl 2, lvl 2 needs 10 for lvl 3, lvl 3 needs 15 for lvl 4...etc...etc... you get the idea...... I didn't like EA's version. Made it unnecessarily difficult/tedius to need to clear 50+ lines at lvl 10 & higher). It is... the quintessential puzzle game.

-

-

-

-

-

There you go, folks.

Did I miss a puzzler? Have a suggestion for one I should play? Comment and Share!

Until next time...

Renewed Top 10 - January Dump Month

If you read the title, you saw the term Dump Month. When it comes to movies, Blockbuster season stars in April(usually... sometimes mid-March). After the Summer, you get your horror season and feel good holiday season mixed with Blockbuster 2.0 season. But... the beginning of the year......

The beginning of the year(Jan - Mar) is the Dump Month Season. Most of the worst movies of the year are released during this time. Studios vying for good release dates... sometimes give up and dump them here.

But even with that, there are GREAT movies that release during this period. So... I'm doing lists for each of the Dump months. If you like them, them maybe I can do a month list for ALL the months this year.

Note: I hear the new Scream is really good. But I haven't seen it yet. That is why it is not on this list. Hope to see it soon.

So... let's do this first one...

Top 10 Movies Released In January

Here we go...

Honorable Mention: Scanners(1/14/1981): Telepathy and psychokenesis brought to war. Iconic scene where Revok uses his powers to pop some other Scanner's head. Simple sci-fi movie with Michael Ironside

10. The Book of Eli(1/15/2010): Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman star in this Post-apocalyptic story about a book(yes, it is more than that). Huge twist toward the end that makes M. Night Shyamalan blush.

9. The Grey(1/27/2012): Liam Neeson. Plane crash. Fighting the Wilderness. That really what this movie is.

8. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle(1/10/1992): Psychological thriller about a widow trying to ruin the life of the person who led to her husband's suicide after sexual misconduct allegations. Yeah... you read that right.

7. Taken(1/30/2009): Honestly, if you don't know what this movie is, then you might try to check out a different list. Taken has ingrained itself into Pop Culture.

6. Paddington(1/16/2015) & Paddington 2(1/12/2018): Cute family movies about the bear who loves Marmalade. 2 excellent movies. Hoping for a third movie.

5. Leprechaun(1/8/1993): The Original. Feature film debut for Jennifer Aniston. Short Irish monster searching for his stolen gold. Gave birth to one of the cheesiest horror franchises in film history.

4. Cloverfield(1/18/2008): Matt Reeves directed this movie. Someone who looked at Blair Witch Project and thought...... instead of witches, how about... KAIJU? Camcoder led footage of friends partying the night a Kaiju starts attacking their city.

3. Tremors(1/19/1990): Kevin Bacon... Reba McIntyre? Western style horror comedy about sandworms. Yeah... and... it is AWESOME! This is classic.

2. From Dusk Till Dawn(1/19/1996): Robert Rodriguez directed, Quentin Tarantino written move about a Bar built on ancient burial grounds. Stellar cast, funny premise, and a glorious payoff.

And the number one movie released in January...

1. Split(1/20/2017): Why James McAvoy didn't get an Oscar for this, I have no idea. Middle piece of M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable trilogy, McAvoy plays a "monster" with multiple personalities torturing hostages. The range in just the way the personalities are portrayed, make this one of the greatest psychological thrillers I've seen, and my absolute favorite role for James McAvoy.

-

-

-

-

-

Wow! Some really good ones in January!!

Did I miss one? What you think about this idea for this year? Comment and share...

Until next time...

Don't forget...

Renewed Gaming Top 15 - Platformers

The next line in the video games lists... platformers. What makes a game a platformer? Platforms. Ha!

No. What makes a game platformer? Where jumps from platform to platform, or enemy to enemy, or platform to enemy to platform... is the focus of the game. You can have other features that MIGHT put them in a different category, but the platforming aspect is what the player experience revolves around.

And there are MANY types of platformers.

So how about the list...

Top 15 Platforming Video Games/Series

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Dig Dug: A digging platformer. Making your own platforms. One of the Atari/Namco Classics

Honorable Mention 2: Mega Man(series): The core series starring the Blue Bomber. Stealing abilities, defeating bosses with the newly stolen abilities. One of the most difficult, yet rewarding Platformers that is STILL active to this day(side honorable mention to Mighty No 9 for being made my the Mega Man creators, reinventing the Mega Man formula)

15. Ghosts 'n Goblins: One of the most punishing platformers ever made. Think it is hard... wait until the second run hits. Death comes quickly... this... is 2D Dark Souls.

14. Crash Bandicoot(franchise): The Original Unofficial Playstation Mascot! Blend of 2D platforming with 3D platforming... with a witty humor, cartoonish style. And a new installment. It isn't PS exclusive anymore, but it doesn't matter.

13. Shovel Knight: Unique game with 16 bit style. When you talk about Modern Retro games, this is the first you should talk about. A love letter to 8 bit and 16 bit gaming.

12. Ninja Gaiden(series): Another series with precise platforming and PUNISHING gameplay. The NES era was just a more difficult era of gaming. But so satisfying. I separate the 2D and 3D games, due to the 3D Ninja Gaiden games being more of a Action or Beat Em Up style game instead.

11. Cuphead: Talking about retro... mix a platforming Bullet Hell with Max Fleischer era animation. It is a BEAUTIFUL game. And a hell of a good time.

10. Banjo-Kazooie(franchise): Nintendo 64 3D platformer with plenty of smarts and crisp gameplay. Rare truly was Rare back then.

9. X-Men 2 Clone Wars: Sega Genesis platformer with everyone's favorite mutant team. There were a few decent ones before this... but this game was fun. Something missing for Mutant Apocalypse and Arcade's Revenge

8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: The first reinvention of the Castevania formula... and the BEST game in the series. Exploration... RPG elements... but platforming hack n slash. Gone is the Whip... but the different swords and abilities just made it cool. The game that changed a term from Metroid Style to Metroidvania.

7. Sonic the Hedgehog(series): The rival to Mario on the Sega systems. It was fast, with multiple paths to get to the end. The beauty was that because of the different paths, its replayability was so damn high. Sonic was a beast in 2D, but his 3D outings have not been the greatest. So be careful. But overall, Sonic deserved to be Mario's rival. If you are want to test out the Blue Blur in 3D, I recommend Sonic Adventure 2. Outside of that, try at your own risk

6. Little Big Planet(franchise): one part level creator, one part unending platformer. Unending? How so? There have been 3 games in the series. The levels from each predecessor were compatible with the current. When LBP2 was released, that was a selling point. There were MILLIONS of unique levels online. New game... millions of levels. I want LBP4.

5. Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse: Yes, a Mickey game. On the SNES. But hear me out. A crisp platformer made by Capcom with Disney's designs. Exploration that felt rewarding. Great intuitive boss fights. And a difficulty curve. Lower difficulties for newbies and kiddos. And a higher difficulty for those needing a challenge. I beat it on the highest... and the final boss battle against Emporer Pete took nearly an HOUR(and that was AFTER I stopped dying). And it felt good to beat. If you haven't, and you can get it... do it. Worth it.

4. Donkey Kong Country(franchise): Rare is at it again. The DKC franchise has some of the best graphics and gameplay of any games in the 16 Bit era... but the graphics are so good, you forget it was on the SNES. But those damn minecart levels... and yes, I am declaring Donkey Kong 64 as a DKC title.

3. Mega Man X(series): Yes, I'm aware that Mega Man was an honorable mention, but I do not consider them the same series. X was Mega Man and more. Upgrades to abilities... new gameplay improvements, an ACTUAL storyline, and the introduction of Zero. Mega Man X was the first game I bought with my own money for the SNES. And I have vivid memories of beating Mega Man X4 on PC with a Keyboard... and now... I can almost beat it blindfolded on console. Word of caution... avoid X7. That game was horrible. But X8 made up for it... and with the core series still active, I want Capcom to finally give me Mega Man X9.

2. Kirby(franchise): Cute Pink Cremepuff. Eating enemies to copy their powers. Like a ameoba who just looooooves cake. On the Cusp of getting his first even 3D experience. Kirby is a bad ass. And you all know it. He is also the inadvertent antagonist of his series... yeah...

And the Number 1 Platformer game/series is...

1. Super Mario Bros(franchise): Seriously... was there ANY other choice? The OG NES Platformer innovator the genre. SMB3 did it again. Super Mario World did what 3 did, but in 16 bit. Mario 64 is what made 3D Platformers possible(the blueprint). Mario Galaxy innovated how Gravity works in a gaming. The 3D Land/World games took the Retro formula and brought to modern technology. Each Mario game sells MILLIONS OF COPIES! And even though the status quo does feel stale, it doesn't matter. The games are fun. If you are looking at a Mario platformer, wondering if you should buy it, odds are in your favor that you will get your money's worth.

-

-

-

-

-

There you go folks.

What did you think of the list? Did I miss one? Should Mario have gotten the top spot(of course he should've)?

Comment... share...

And stay tuned...

Until next time...

Renewed Gaming Top 15 - RPGs

My official gaming logo

I've been a gamer for a long time(since I discovered Mario when I was 5, so... 33 years). I enjoy platformers, puzzlers, fighting games. But if I had to pick a favorite Genre, I would have to go with Role Playing Games or RPGs. So I thought, let's do an RPG list.

So there are different types of RPGs. You've got Turn-Based, Real Time Action, Dungeon Diving, Hack n Slash, Adventure, Japanese(JRPG), Real Time Strategy, Grid Based Strategy. Basically, if there is either a progression bar, XP bar, or other kinds of progression... if it is a focal point of a major feature, I would classify it qs an RPG. And this list will have a mix of the subtypes.

Some of the entries will be individual games, some will be whole series, and some will be parts to the series. And you'll know as we go along...

This list also deserves 15 instead of 10... I loooooooves RPGs

So... let's get to it.

Top 15 RPGs

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Minecraft: Punching rocks, building stuff, exploring. And earning experience for defeating monsters. It doesn't go on the list proper because I have barely played the game itself. I usually do creative mode and build stuffs. But I can appreciate what Mojang created.

Honorable Mention 2: Quest 64: A game from the Nintendo 64(of course) that has NOT stood the test of time visually. The camera was garbage... and not knowing what your spells can do for you late game so you can be prepared is terrible. But... knowing what to do in this game, I loved it. It was so much fun learning the Elemental spell system. It was a cool concept. And I loved it.

Honorable Mention 3: Sacred 2 Fallen Angel: Underrated Diablo clone. Hack... slack... XP... skills. But the gameplay is fun. And HUNDREDS of character levels. It was great.

15. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: One of the best non traditional Star Wars game... and one of the best non traditional RPGs. Notable for the remake that is coming soon. And notable for the alignment system. Your actions and you dialogue choices determine whether you end up Jedi/Sith... and your color scheme change accordingly.

14. Two World 2: An Elder Scrolls clone, vast exploration, great combat. But... one of the coolest magic spell systems in any RPG. The card system. Not like "Magic: the Gathering spells" cards. No... you collect cards that represent spell parts. Like fire, earth, summon, etc. And as your skill grows, you can make more elaborate spells and stack cards. For example... I made a spell that looks like I'm throwing rocks... but they explode into fireballs on impact. One... the one spell for emergencies, where I throw multiple rocks onto the ground, and they all spawn Level 41 undead soldiers. Want a water ballon that turning into an icicle as it is flying through the air? You can do that. The spell system is unlike any others.

13. Fallout 4: So, 4 was the first Fallout game I ever played. I honestly didn't know about the series, and I play Elder Scrolls. The story is great. The gameplay is fun. The humor is... out there. The lore is frightening. And replayability is really high. Post-apocalyptic... but looks like the 50s? Still cool...

12. The Witcher 3: It is the only Witcher game I've played. And I loved it. The lore is amazing, the action is fun and engaging, the crafting is vast... but nowhere near the vast size of the world you are in. Monster hunting never looked so cool.

11. Borderlands(franchise): It is a looter shooter. THE looter shooter. But I like to refer to it as a FPS Diablo. You want that perfect gun with the right prefix? You farm. You need to be stronger? Grind. Want to work together to kick ass? Queue up. And...... you want to kick the most ass? You need to make the best build for you. Plus, the Pop culture references are great.

10. Final Fantasy(series): So, not ALL of the Final Fantasy games. But most of them. The gold standard of turn based RPGs. And innovators of the story driven action based RPGs. Job systems... iconic spells. And everyone that plays the games have a favorite to tell you all about. Mine is FF7. Iconic moment in gaming history when Aerith dies. Only game in the series to have a MOVIE sequel. Get those Crystals, ride those Chocobos, and summon that Bahamut variant.

9. X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance(franchise): 5 games. X-Men Legends 1&2 and Marvel Alliance 1,2,&3. Diablo style isometric hack n slash style RPG. Make a team of 4 heroes(sometimes villains). Mutants in the X-Men games, Marvel Heroes in the MUA games. With the latest being a Switch exclusive and a new developer, the game has DOZENS of characters that you can make your team of 4 from.

8. Stardew Valley: I've been playing this way too much lately. It is a farming simulator... mixed with a fishing simulator... mixed with a social simulator... mixed with a dungeon crawler. Play it how you want. And with XP for doing what tasks you want to do. All in a classic graphic style. One person made this game. Now... he is working on a follow-up about a Candy maker in a haunted factory. I'm in.

7. Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars: The last RPG Square made with Nintendo before they focused on the new Playstation 1(yeah...). A turn based RPG starring Mario, Peach, Bowser, and a slew of new characters. Paper Mario became a successful successor, but it never made the kind of impact for me that this game did.

6. Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning: When this game came out, I was sold. R.A. Salvatore + Todd MacFarlane. Why wouldn't I be? The lore building was awesome, the plethora of content was amazing, the combat was deep. And you could build your skill tree however you wanted. A deep crafting system. I was able to make equipment that was better than any Legendary in the game. Because I wanted to. The studio mismanaged their finances... and folded... after this ONE game. It did just get the HD remaster treatment from new IP owner, THQNordic. So I have hope we will get more.

5. Diablo(franchise): A series so great, it is its own subgenre. Diablo-clone. A term that fits the style. Isometric... Dungeon crawling... mindless monster slaughter. Loot drops, boss smashing. And a really good story. Diablo is Diablo. And with the "recent" Remaster of Diablo 2, the Dark Wanderer never looked so good.

4. The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim: The inside joke is that Skyrim will be released on everything. So far... so good. But there is a reason. As awesome as Morrowind and Oblivion are, Skyrim is one of those games that just oozes replayability... if you ever finish the first time. You can get lost doing the same thing... or nothing. While earning XP for doing the actions you want to use. Wanna be a hero? Do it. Wanna be a thief? Go steal. Wanna be an assassin? Be prepared to get locked in a coffin. Freedom in a franchise filled with freedom. So... Empire or Stormcloaks?

3. Pokémon(core series): 8 Generations of Pokémon games. Released in pairs. Remaster and re-released in pairs. Encouraging players to interact with each other to complete that Almighty PokéWiki known as the Pokédex. I don't care about most of the spinoffs. And I didn't watch the anime much. But the core games are the GREATEST fully customizable Turn based, one on one, RPG ever created. There are 900 Pokémon. You get to use... 6. What is your team?

2. The Legend of Zelda(franchise): THE definitive Action RPG series. Link. Zelda. Ganon. Triforce. If you are a gamer, you know at least one of those terms. And each new innovative title is innovative for the INDUSTRY, not just the series. The original had one of the first batteries for save files. Link to the Past innovated the style for 16-bit. Ocarina of Time set the standard for 3D ARPGs. Oracle of Ages/Seasons changed how the handheld games can work with connectivity. Wind Waker changed how the genre looks. And Breath of the Wild changed how open world exploration feels. Zelda is the Triforce Standard of ARPGs.

(Zelda... 2? What is 1?)

And the number one RPG game or series is.......

1. Persona(franchise): My first Persona game was Persona 3. The PS3 was already out(for a while), but here was this $20 game for PS2 at my local Wal-Mart. It was a $20 bet. What I got was a massive turn based JRPG mixed with a life SIM. A mature rated Final Fantasy game. And I was hooked. Persona 4 was PS2 as well, and I grabbed it. Improved every aspect of P3. And the story was more relatable. And then Persona 5/P5R came out... perfected everything. A group of protagonists that life kicked around... fighting against the world that kicked them down. New Elemental types. New combat system. And yet... the Reaper still freaks me out. I've been able to go back and play Persona and both parts of Persona 2. Great games. The two spin off games Persona Q and Q2... blends the feel of Persona with the original series(Shin Megami Tensei)... and worked so well on the 3DS. And Persona 5 Strikers was great massive hack n slash Dynasty Warriors style game that gave us more from that wonderful P5 cast.

-

-

-

-

-

In Memoriam: Marvel Heroes Omega: Online MMO with Marvel Characters that played exactly like a Diablo game. I miss it. So much. I MISS THIS GAME!!! Would've been number 3...

-

-

-

-

-

Folks, there you have it! I favorite RPGs/series.

What do you think? Did I miss one? Those of you that know me, the list have qny surprises?

Until next time... don't forget...