#nijiyoake

Star Ocean 2: Star Ocean 2 was one of the first RPGs I ever played, and definitely the first one that I ever played in-depth - it sparked my interests in cooking (because the crafting system and Iron Chef-parody cooking arena were awesome and I totally wanted to make delicious things too) and translation (because the English version was, uh, not awesome). I wouldn't say it was a GOOD game - it tried to do a lot of things differently from your typical PS1 JRPG and didn't necessarily succeed at them (the storyline was laughable then and sort of cringe-worthy now, and the voice acting was atrocious) but it remains the game I've sunk the most time into and the game I'm most likely to pick up again whenever I feel the need to replay something.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant: I can't even remember why I picked this one up, though upon reflection it might have been one of those 'I didn't have enough money to buy the game I actually wanted and this says RPG on the back so WHY THE FUCK NOT' purchases but it is definitely my favorite impulse buy. The Gilded Age setting, Lovecraftian elements, and fine line between drama and humor (much better than in SH1, which was really really grim, and SH3, which was ZANY and not very substantial) really drew me in. Again, not the best game in the world, but who the fuck cares? A German army lieutenant, a guy who turns into horrorterrors, Princess Anastasia Romanov, and a pro wrestling vampire superhero go to Russia and beat up a demon-possessed Rasputin (among other things). Fun for the whole family.

Fallen London: Like half my followers are following me because I won't shut up about this game so I guess it's not surprising that it's on this list. It's probably the only action-limited game where I was able and willing to find things to do even while I was waiting for my actions to refresh - the refreshing sidebar that gives you little snippets of information about the setting is enough to keep me occupied for a while at least. The community is great, too. HI GUYS HI I LOVE YOU ALL PLEASE DON'T SACRIFICE ME TO A LORN-FLUKE THANKS. Also: Delicious words. Really delicious words. The writing is great. If you've played Sunless Sea and wanted to read more about the setting without being constantly set upon by bats, try this. Also send all social requests to Leraika and I will probably not poison you.

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors/Virtue's Last Reward (The Zero Escape series): I love me a good murder mystery, and I love it even more when the mystery is paired with some BATSHIT INSANITY. These two visual novel/puzzle games (one for the DS, one for the 3DS/Vita), are well written, lovingly translated, and critically underappreciated. Screw Dangan Ronpa, y'all, this is where it's at. I usually can't sit through visual novels without falling asleep (literally, in the case of Fate/Stay Night) so the fact that I straight up lost a couple of days of sleep to finish each of these should tell you something about how much they hooked me. If you haven't noticed a trend of excellently written games topping my list, then you might not have been paying attention.

Pokemon: Uhhh, I really don't have anything clever to say about this one. It's fucking Pokemon. YOU ALL KNOW POKEMON. My favorite Pokemon game is probably Soul Silver, and my favorite Pokemon is Gastrodon. And Goomy.

Trickster Online: Old MMO. The first I ever played, leading me to waste way too much of my life being a knife-slinging foxgirl commando. It was actually pretty terrible and I can't really bring myself to play it now, even though the option is there, but it holds a pretty special place in my heart - I met some of my best friends there, after all.

Odin Sphere:  I could just link to the Penny Arcade comic about Odin Sphere to sum up how I feel about it, but that is the lazy way and I am never lazy, except when I am. It's a beautiful, beautiful game - so beautiful it sends my PS2 into occasional spasms of what I choose to interpret as absolute joy at the privilege of rendering all those gorgeous sprites and not actual slowdown -  with an epic (a word I do not use lightly) story that manages to present a whole host of protagonist characters who all manage to be both sympathetic and compelling.

Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden/Hatoful Boyfriend: more like Vira is easily amused: gaiden amirite. But no, I have a soft spot for ridiculous premises, especially when accompanied with writing clever or ridiculous enough to keep the premise interesting and funny (or feels-y, I guess) until the end of the game.

Final Fantasy 14: can't sleep the fish will get away can't sleep the fish will get away aaaaa IN OTHER NEWS GUESS WHO SPENT THE TIME SHE WASN'T WRITING THIS POST FISHING yuuuup.

Ar tonelico series: I... honestly have a love/hate relationship with these games, which will probably surprise the half of you that follow me for being that one Hymmnos person. On the one hand, I absolutely love the lore, worldbuilding, music, and, well, Hymmnos - the setting of the game is incredible. Full stop, I've never seen anything like it. Everything I read about the history and mythology of Ar Ciel just makes me want to read more (a pretty far cry from 'there is only one myth in this world and it directly relates to whatever prophecy your party is going to fulfill' that seems to plague a lot of games).

Onnnn the other hand: the games themselves... are full of the sort of senseless bullshit fanservice that puts a really bad taste in my mouth. Not just AT3's 'strip to power up' debacle, but that's probably the most obvious example. Maybe I'll write a post about this sometime, but it seems kind of unnecessary to me.