Board 8 > KP's Top 100 Games (Win $5 For Guessing Right)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Also known as GameFAQs Contests at home.

This was actually spurred on by the 99% confirmed death of contests. Lists like these are a B8 classic, and contests are our lifeblood, so here's my attempt to keep the torch alive and have some fun with it. The rules are:

1. I'll be posting my Top 100 series in chunks of 10. At the start of a 'round', I'll provide hints for 10 games. These hints can be anything from obscure references, to B8 references, to something that can be solved with a google search, to something that will straight-up require some luck.
2. If you feel like participating, PM me your guess of what those 10 games are. After a period of three days to a week, depending on how many people are participating, I'll end the round, and whoever gets the most right will win $5. I'll also post writeups for the games after revealing them. If multiple people have the same high score, I'll hold a tiebreaker of some sort.
3. Prizes will be sent over Paypal, so you'll have to be comfortable giving me whatever info is necessary (should be just an email.)
4. Don't post your guesses in this topic. And while I can't exactly police people, don't share your guesses with each other. Just be cool about it.
5. If no one participates, I'll scrap the idea. If one person participates, they're gonna auto-win some money even if they guess everything wrong. Which would honestly be pretty funny.

I'll start this off with 25 games that didn't make the cut. The writeups may provide some hints for future games on the list. Writeups will be longer for the Top 100.

101. Starcraft
My favorite Blizzard game. Also the only Blizzard game I've played. Fun main campaign.

102. Control
Great SCP vibe, although the gameplay gets repetitive.

103. The Walking Dead: Season 1
Lost its luster over time, but still had some emotional highs.

104. Batman: Arkham City
This game makes you really feel like Batman. Liked it more than Asylum.

105. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Too easy, but the atmosphere and soundtrack are top notch.

106. Metal Gear Solid 4
Proof that a game can oscillate between a 10/10 experience and total nonsense at the drop of a hat.

107. Code Vein
Half Dark Souls clone, half character creator. Pretty fun.

108. Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door
My favorite Mario RPG

109. Vampyr
Fantastic atmosphere, story, and voice acting. Kinda ruined by repetitive combat a lack of fast travel.

110. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
A very flawed game, but still a return to form after Fates.

111. Team Fortress 2
Phenomenal online multiplayer experience.

112. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Not a fan of the ending, but great up until then.

113. Zero Time Dilemma
Not a fan of the ending, but great up until then. Wait...

114. Shadow of the Colossus
Other games have stolen some of its thunder by including extremely huge boss fights, but they haven't recaptured its tone.

115. Elite Beat Agents
Fun, lighthearted rhythm gameplay.

116. Fire Emblem: Awakening
Doesn't hold up under scrutiny after a first playthrough, but the characters are very charming. Bonus points for saving the franchise.

117. Half-Life 2
Not as big on this as some, but it really did move gaming forward as a whole.

118. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
My favorite Prime game. Love the boss fights.

119. Fallout 3
Feels a bit shallow compared to what came after, but that first playthrough has incredible exploration.

120. Tomb Raider (2013) / Rise of the Tomb Raider / Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Not bothering to separate these. Probably the worst games that I really like. Lara is a lunatic and it's great.

121. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
My favorite Advance Wars. Loved the vibe! Shame it killed the series.

122. Kingdom Hearts / Kingdom Hearts 2
These games feel a little worse with every year I get older, but they still hold a place in my...heart.

123. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
While preferred the atmosphere and story of the original, it still has a unique vibe.

124. Jet Force Gemini
I can never play this game again, but when I was a kit it ruled.

125. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Mashes several genres together and...mostly works. Cal Kestus is cool.

And now for the Round 1 hints:

91. Phoenix Wright kills you by sneezing
92. Deus Ex: Safety Dance
93. A Dragon Quest game where I skipped the third act
94. This is an obscure one...you might be in a tight spot
95. My 2nd-favorite N64 Zelda
96. Be careful with this guess you've only got one shot
97. Take a bunch of cheesy horror tropes, stick them in a blender, than add actual production values
98. PARGON MANTOROK PARGON XEL'LOTATH PARGON
99. The first of a B8 darling JRPG series that originated on the PS2
100. The only 2D Zelda I actually care about

Remember to PM your guesses - don't post them here! I'll notify the topic 24 hours before ending the round.

Tag

I don't know most but I know 91 at least

up

Not gonna guess on all of them, but I PM'd you the ones I could at least reasonably guess.

Leon is currently in the lead (by default)! Can he hold on?

One general tip for the topic as a whole: if a hint doesn't make sense to you, google might have your back.

Eh, Google feels like cheating to me. I want to see what I can figure out on my own.

So congrats to everyone else who doesn't mind trying to Google the answer, I guess...!

Guess submitted

Guesses submitted. Had absolutely no clue on 4 of them lol

Four entries so far - very solid start. For the record, if anyone wants to amend their entry before the deadline, that's completely allowed.

Bump

Guess submitted

And up

Sent a list.

Sent

sent

Up to 10 submissions!

Sent

Sent my guesses! I feel pretty good about most of them, but some were definitely just "idk this feels right" situations.

KamikazePotato posted...

121. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
My favorite Advance Wars. Loved the vibe! Shame it killed the series.

It's truly heartbreaking, that game was sooo good.

despite 94 and 96 being more in your face tricky the guess I feel worst about is 97 lol

And up

sent

tag

Ok,I'll guess

Hup

I sent my guesses in.

I also submitted my guesses

We've got a good number of submissions, and they've started to slow, so I'm closing Round 1 submissions 24 hours from now.

.

Sent. Some of them were obscenely wild guesses

Round 1 Results

--

17 people submitted guesses.
The most common score was 5 / 10.
The average score was 5.24 / 10.

--

Hint:
91. Phoenix Wright kills you by sneezing

Answers:
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 8
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations 4
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All 3
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 1
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice 1

There was a clear divide between people with and without MvC knowledge here. In UMVC3, Phoenix Wright's sneeze is his combo starter, and one of the most integral moves of his kit. If you didn't know that, you were left to guess a random Ace Attorney game and call it a day.

--

Hint:
92. Deus Ex: Safety Dance

Answers:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution 9
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 3
Deus Ex: Invisible War 1
Saints Row IV 1
Project Snowblind 1

Adam Jenson doing silly shuffling animations to the song Safety Dance was the primier meme of Human Revolution when it came out...for people who played the game. I Never Asked For This is what entered the general public consciousness, but I figured that would be too easy.

Apparently they made a re-do of the original video for Mankind Divided, but I never finished that one.

--

Hint:
93. A Dragon Quest game where I skipped the third act

Answers:
Dragon Quest XI 14
Dragon Quest VIII 1
Dragon Quest V 1
Dragon Quest IV 1

The near-unanimous consensus for this one surprised me. I thought I was being pretty vague about it! I guess other people had issues with the third act as well? Or at least know that some others did?

--

Hint:
94. This is an obscure one...you might be in a tight spot

Answers:
Factorio 6
Killer7 2
Destroy the Heaven Smile! 1
Trapped 1
Tight Spot 1
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 1
AI: The Somnium Files 1
Perfect Dark 1

This one is kinda my fault. 'You're in a tight spot' is the most famous quote from Killer7, and I fully intended this one to be difficult. However, it was made even harder by me unintentionally making this a red herring. 'Tight Spot' is apparently a famous achievement from Factorio, meaning that google was not your friend in this instance. Only 2 people were able to read my mind enough to pick the correct option.

--

Hint:
95. My 2nd-favorite N64 Zelda

Answers:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 11
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 6

A straight 50-50 shot at getting this one. Although the real test here was: how much of a hipster do you think KP is? Most of you got it right.

--

Hint:
96. Be careful with this guess you've only got one shot

Answers:
OneShot 8
Goldeneye 007 1
SUPERHOT 1
Fortnite 1
Dead Cells 1
Dead Space 2 1

Potentially the most obscure game on my entire list, I tried to make it as easy as possible by including its most famous quote...which even has the name of the game in it. Even then, people did better than I expected.

--

Hint:
97. Take a bunch of cheesy horror tropes, stick them in a blender, than add actual production values

Answer:
Until Dawn 8
Resident Evil REmake 3
Alan Wake 2
Resident Evil 2 1
Resident Evil 4 1

A non-specific Hint with several valid options, so you had to do a bit of mind reading with this however. Even so, most people chose the right option.

--

Hint:
98. PARGON MANTOROK PARGON XEL'LOTATH PARGON

Answers:
Eternal Darkness: Sanitys Requiem 14
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 1

Almost perfect. That chanting is heard constantly in Eternal Darkness, so this was a freebie if you were familiar with it.

--

Hint:
99. The first of a B8 darling JRPG series that originated on the PS2

Answer:
Shadow Hearts 8
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht 3
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness 2
Nier 1
Persona 3 1
Kingdom Hearts 1
Drakengard 1

Props to the people who went for the big brain strat and opted for Nier/Drakengard, but you were thinking a couple steps too far ahead here. Despite some general confusion, Shadow Hearts ended up the decisive (and correct) guess.

--

Hint:
100. The only 2D Zelda I actually care about

Answers:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 6
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 6
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 5

It was a close three-way race, but in the end, the minority was correct.

--

With all that said...the winner of Round 1 is Kenri, with a perfect score of 10 / 10! The next-highest score was an 8 / 10.

I'll post actual writeups for these games a bit later, then post the Hints for Round 2 a little after that.

Man Phoenix in Marvel didn't even occur to me

I was thinking of 3-1 where he sneezed constantly

https://imgur.com/a/fH5qCHv

100. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
I beat this game in two days. Easily has the best gameplay out of the 2D Zeldas. It was very fun, and the writing was somehow charming. Lorule? Really? Sure, Nintendo, I'll bite.

99. Shadow Hearts
A PS1 game stuck on the PS2. Shadow Hearts' biggest issue is the slow battle pacing, was a problem even on release and a bigger problem nowadays. If you can get past that, though, the creepy/silly/dramatic atmosphere is wholly unique to any other game, including other games in its own series. Yuri Hyuga also remains one of the best JRPG main characters, and he's at his best in Shadow Hearts 1.

98. Eternal Darkness: Sanitys Requiem
Extremely unique when it came out. Less unique now that a bunch of other games have copied and iterated upon the sanity mechanic, meaning creepy hallucinations just don't hit as hard anymore. Still, what Eternal Darkness has over those games is how it's experienced through multiple generations of a single family. Watching the story evolve over the centuries leading you to unlock new things in the present-day is something so cool it's a shame more games haven't copied this aspect as well.

97. Until Dawn
Take a bunch of cheesy horror tropes, stick them in a blender, than add actual production values. The hint I gave is basically just the game. Until Dawn hits a sweet spot of fun scenarios and likable characters that few other horror media has. There's no real gameplay outside of QTEs, but I'm fine with that.

96. One Shot
Undertale before Undertale was Undertale. One Shot is a 2-D indie game that prioritizes vibes over gameplay loops. It's essentially a point-and-click adventure game without the pointing or the clicking. How much you get immersed in the writing and world will define your experience with this game. As for me, while I was mixed on the final act story content, I did get extremely invested in the main character. It made a certain decision stunlock me for like ten minutes straight as I stared at the screen, unsure of what to do. Very few decisions in gaming have done that to me. If all of that sounds vague...then I've written this right. Spoilers would ruin One Shot.

95. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
What could I say about this game that others haven't? While I was never as big on OoT as most, it's still a monumental achievement in gaming. Aside from reputation and influence, what makes it hold up to this day is the atmosphere. OoT flawlessly executes its transition from 'generic adventure' to 'oh shit I fucked up'. The dungeons also remain memorable the best examples from future games don't do a much better job than the very first 3D outing, which is kinda crazy.

94. Killer7
There's never been another game like Killer7. You can break it down into keywords like 'rail shooter' and 'horror' but that doesn't do the experience justice. It's a complete head trip from start to finish. While there's a story in there, the game is very much focused on making you FEEL a specific way, and it's all the better for it. Some of the characters and scenes live rent-free in my head to this day.

93. Dragon Quest XI
Dragon Quest for the modern era. It's easy to see why this one did better in the west compared to the rest of the series; great HD graphics, great voice acting, charming writing, and overall high production values. The sub-par soundtrack holds it back...as does the third act, which I dislike conceptually for spoiler reasons and ended up not doing.

92. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I love stealth-based immersive sims, and Human Revolution absolutely nails that aspect. The gameplay, while more straightforward than some of its contemporaries, is very polished and very fun. There's nothing quite like watching a patrol route for several minutes, picking out a point of failure, knocking out a guard, dragging their unconscious body to a corner, then salivating at how many new possibilities your expertly-timed maneuver has opened up. Where Human Revolution falters is in the writing, which while not bad and is honestly better than most western games doesn't meet the standards of Deus Ex 1.

91. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
My fondest fighting game memories are with this game. It came out while I was in college, and I made some good friends by bonding over MVC3. We started by playing matches in the public common room, then got the game for ourselves because we liked it for ourselves. It hit that sweet spot of us getting good enough at the game for it to be interesting, but not so good that we touch-of-death'd each other constantly. Then the Ultimate version came out and it just continued the fun by introducing Phoenix freaking Wright. Best moments were when me and my friend played Amaterasu so similarly that we used a super on the exact same frame, making us both swear off the character, and also when I told my friend I was going to do a button check and used the time to collect all three pieces of Phoenix Wright's evidence.

yeah I think that decision in Oneshot is the only time I've ever been paralyzed by a choice in a game

Round 2 Hints:

81. While I really like this Fallout game, it's partially because of mods
82. Turns out the black sheep of an all-time series is still really good
83. Leveling up Acrobatics was the most fun part, and it sucks that they removed it in the sequel
84. Obscene encounter rate until you get the Champion's Rune, but still a great story
85. A Visual Novel that won the Absolute Best Game Ever contest I ran like...12 years ago
86. A Shin Megami Tensei sub-series game with a bad sequel
87. Rayman: The Only One I Care About
88. A JRPG where the fan-accepted name for the main character is 'Guv'
89. The closest you'll get to playing as Stephen King
90. A Zelda game that the casuals seem to appreciate more than the diehards

Same deal as before!

Guesses sent

I never knew that Phoenix Wright attack was a sneeze, lol. I never played as him, so the hundreds of times I saw it, I guess I just saw it as him... doing something? I dunno.

TheKnightOfNee posted...

I never knew that Phoenix Wright attack was a sneeze, lol. I never played as him, so the hundreds of times I saw it, I guess I just saw it as him... doing something? I dunno.

It's definitely memorable to someone who played as him! Fun moveset. If only he was actually like...good, then we'd be in business.

Hmm

I was too lazy to submit for Round 1 (and also wouldn't have been playing for prizes; just love of the game) but the only ones I would have gotten were Eternal Darkness (because I remember all those names) and OoT lol.

Hardest R1 question was definitely Shadow Hearts imo because I always consider it as starting with Koudelka on the PS1. Definitely a case where I had to stop and go "I'm over-thinking this".

Funniest way I got an answer was randomly remembering Mantorok from some board vs topic thing back in the day. Mercenaries maybe?

I definitely overthought that one too. Shadow Hearts was actually my first thought but I overanalyzed the hint and talked myself into Persona 3 in the "only in my head" guesses.

I got the answer right with Shadow Hearts and was pretty sure on it, but "originated on" made me second guess myself since it kinda implied to me that the series kept going after the PS2...

Also not sure if the tight spot thing is the most memorable line from Killer 7. I would've gotten it if you said the game made you masturbate three or four times a day!

I actually considered the potential Koudelka confusion a few hours after posting the hints, but it was too late to change it, and most people were getting it right anyway.

Less submissions this time, so people's chances of winning have only gone up! Also, Kenri, PM me your email when you have the chance so I can send your prize.

Sent

sent last night

I got 5/10 on that set, which I'm quite pleased with. For a couple of the ones I got wrong, I was on the right track but came down on the wrong side of the coin toss. I was the Dead Space guess for the one shot clue. My logic behind one shot was games with permadeath modes, and since there were a couple of horror games among the clues, Dead Space came to mind.

Sent the next guesses.