40. Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Last Hope is a prequel of the series, which makes it the first chapter of the Star Ocean universe. The story follows Edge’s journey as a captain of a ship in search of a solution to several mysteries about an accident that led to the separation of his expedition group in several different ships. From planet to planet, you recruit one here and there until you form your pirate crew and go after One Piece.
The game found a great intersection between action and strategy in combat mechanics. You fight with a party of four and can freely switch between the characters anytime you want, as well as pause the combat to cast magic. If you prefer, you can put your allies in automatic mode while you wreak destruction on your side relentlessly.
39. Pokémon Silver/Gold
Pokémon Gold/Silver was considered by many the crown jewel of the series. It not only added 100 new monsters and 2 new types, Dark and Steel, but features of day and night that change the type and what Pokémon spawns in the area, gender to the little monsters (which allowed crossing between them), and last but not least, a new area, Johto.
Your goal is the same: to be the very best by earning 8 gym badges and defeating the Elite 4 while messing with your tiresome rival. But to the surprise of the fans, after defeating the Elite 4, you can explore Kanto, the region of the previous game. You can fight against all the old gyms and in the end, face yourself, the protagonist from the last game; Red. PLOT TWIST.
38. Final Fantasy VII Remake
After many prayers and requests from fans, Square Enix decided to relaunch Final Fantasy VII in an updated version for today’s technology. The result was a mixture of nostalgia with dazzle and a bit of confusion as some delicate elements of the plot underwent changes that, I eagerly hope, were for the best.
Once again you play as the mercenary Cloud, aiding AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group who wants to destroy Shinra Electric Power Company, claiming that they are sucking the planet’s life force for their financial benefit. Throughout the game, Cloud meets iconic characters while facing visions from his past.
The combat gameplay was completely revamped. The old ATB turn-based combat from the golden ages lost the battle to today’s frantic action rhythm. But while it fell into oblivion, a glimpse of light, (a.k.a players comments on the first combat trailer released), managed to keep some of the past lit and ATB returned. Not as we remember, but it’s there. You use it to cast magic, abilities, or use items. Not very practical, since you need to take a great risk at low HP to hit enemies to accumulate ATB so you can cure yourself. But it works fine.
37. Rogue Galaxy
Rogue Galaxy was released at the end of the PS2 generation, but that didn’t halt its success. You play as Jaster, a boy who dreams of going into space and changing the universe. One day, his enslaved city is attacked and he saves everyone, being mistaken for a legendary treasure hunter. With all the heat on him, he gets his chance to go to space and his intergalactic journey commences.
The game is an action RPG, but you have to pause to use abilities or command your party. You evolve your characters in a system called Revelation Flow, very similar to FFX’s Sphere Grid and FFXII’s License Board. Your weapons also gain levels and when they reach the maximum level they can be combined with others at maximum to create more powerful weapons.
36. Bloodborne
Another game from the SO U Like to Suffer series. Bloodborne takes place entirely in one night, The Hunt and coincidentally you play as the Hunter, a creatable character with predefined status. You wake up in Yharnam, a city poisoned by a blood plague. It will be up to you to reveal the secrets of the Paleblood, to hunt infected monster beasts, and unveil the secrets of the mysterious plague to finally escape this night of nightmares and return to the real world, the Waking World.
Although the gameplay is similar, it differs in some aspects, especially the pacing. All fights are faster, more dynamic, and aggressive since you can’t defend and you get healed if you attack as soon as you get damaged. Every weapon has two stances that change its attack and you have guns that can give you a nasty counter-attack if you parry the enemy attack at the right time.
35. World of Final Fantasy
If you like the Final Fantasy and Pokémon series, this game is a must-have. You play with the twins Lann and Reynn who mysteriously receive the mission to explore worlds known as Grymoire while capturing creatures known as Mirages and preventing the advance of the Bahamutian Army.
In your adventures, you cross paths with familiar figures from the entire Final Fantasy series, like most of the protagonists who aid you in your quest. The battle system is the great differential. You capture Mirages and take them into battle in a totem system. Depending on the size of the Mirage, you can stack at a max of two to each brother and their status are combined. The Mirages strengthen themselves in a system similar to the Sphere Grid and can even evolve into stronger, bulkier, and fearsome forms.
34. Vagrant Story
During the adventure, the player controls only the protagonist Ashley Riot, wrapped up in dark catacombs or abandoned temples while massacring every kind of evil being imaginable and trying to capture Sidney Losstarot, who kidnapped the son of a powerful duke. Meanwhile, you try to understand what is happening to you and the cursed city of Leá Monde.
The plot is very political and somewhat confusing, which encourages replaying the game. The battle system was, in its time, totally innovative. You can move Ashley during the battle, but by pressing command, a circle appears around, the range varying according to the weapon equipped, and you could choose which bit of the monster to hit, similar to what Fallout 4 does. With skills, if you press the right command, you could unleash combos.
33. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Bloodstained was a success on Kickstarter. When I found out it was the spiritual successor of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, I almost donated my car. Fortunately, I didn’t. I needed it to work.
You play as the orphan Miriam who was marked by alchemists with a curse that slowly crystallizes her skin. Your mission is to face a castle infested with demons and raised from hell by Gebel, your friend whose body was almost completely taken by crystals, which contributed to corrupt his mind.
The game follows the Metroidvania style, sidescroller gameplay. Miriam has several types of weapons, like swords, boots, and even firearms. Her magical powers come through shards, which you find exploring the castle or killing demons. There is a bit of grind because each shard increases the level of magic, so it is necessary to kill the same demon several times.
32. Super Mario RPG
SquareSoft (now Square Enix) and Nintendo made one state-of-the-art RPG for the Super Nintendo. The game astonished me because of the graphics, the entertaining gameplay, and the innovations in the lore of the Mario universe. Besides the princess not being kidnapped by Bowser, they both unite to help you in your quest. The story focuses on Mario and his group fighting against the main antagonist, Smithy, who stole the seven stars/pieces of Star Road, a place where all the inhabitants’ wishes become Wish Stars. Mario must return the pieces so that those wishes can be fulfilled again.
The turn-based battle is dynamic due to the mechanics of pressing buttons at the right timing. If you press at the exact moment of both attack and defense, you increase the damage done or decrease the damage received.
31. Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII was launched with the urge to make the same or more success as its predecessor. The game kept the mixture of fantasy and technology that started in FFVI. You play with Squall, a student who performs missions for his military school. After passing an elite test, you embark on a bodyguard mission, but end up getting involved in the task of protecting the world alongside your cast of students.
The mechanics of combat changed. You equip Guardian Forces, which allows you to allocate spells in certain attributes to increase their values. The system of acquiring magic is a bit boring but necessary. To level up, the amount of exp is always the same, 1000, but enemies scale with your level. Last but not least, the ATB turn-based remains the same.
