One Lovely Blog Award – Game Maker’s Edition: 7 Games You Loved

I won’t call myself a gamer because that would be an insult to the real gamers out there. But I did play some games, most of which I recall with my old PlayStation that has been my and my sister’s gaming buddy until May of this year when it gave its last breath and went to console heaven.

In memory of the good ol’ console and in light of the One Lovely Blog Award – Game Maker’s Edition by lucidmage, I’m tweaking its third rule for game makers and people like me who love games but aren’t gamers.

Nominees are to follow these rules:

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you.
• List the rules and display the award.
• Add 7 facts about yourself Add 7 games that you loved
• Nominate 7 other bloggers game makers & let them know via a comment.

Many thanks to lucidmage for nominating and including me in the list though I have yet to become a game maker myself. This fellow once reminded me of the importance of taking a step back to evaluate the core experience of a game and not getting absorbed in bloating it up with features.

7 Games I Loved

Tales of Destiny II

Tales of Destiny II (a.k.a. Tales of Eternia and not to be confused with Tales of Destiny 2) was my first and the only JRPG I’ve really loved since. I got this and an extra memory card from my cousin’s boyfriend at the time. It was 3 discs long which took me and my sister a month of summer vacation to finish. And boy did we have a great time! Boss fights with its real-time battle system were epic. Exploring the diverse worlds of Inferia and Celestia and looking for hidden locations from the ship were a joy. It told a compelling story of adventure and valor with an endearing cast of characters far from the whiny Cheria and snooty Hubert from Tales of Graces f. Unraveling the craymel artes by fringing and using them to kick monster butts and the Fake chest add up to the long list of what made playing it an incredible experience.

Spyro Year of the Dragon

When it comes to amazing worlds of fantasy, the original Spyro series by Insomniac definitely tops the list. Fun, exciting gameplay in a myriad of imaginative but carefully designed levels sets this game apart from those of its time. It’s that much fun to play and replay that I might even get a credit card so I can download it from the PlayStation Network.

I got a glimpse of the first title in the series from a demo cd and played some levels of Ripto’s Rage during visits to a friend’s house. Those brief moments of playing were enough to convince me that Spyro was a necessity in my library.

Year of the Dragon was the game that I always just nearly finished. Why I couldn’t was due to a glitch that only happened in versions that were distributed through the wrong sources. In my defense, I got mine at the age that I was too naive to tell what was original and what wasn’t. All I knew was that I had a Spyro game in my hand, and that made me happy. Up to this day, I still don’t know how it ended, and I wouldn’t want to know by any other means until the day I finally download it from PSN and replay.

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped

Coco at Level 3: Orient Express

Crash Bandicoot 3 was the game that didn’t need a strong narrative to keep us playing for long hours. Jumping, running, belly flopping and spinning through an assortment of 30+ levels was simply fun and entertaining. Boss levels were similar to Spyro’s. Lots of gems and relics to collect. I couldn’t get enough of Crash’s levels and antics, but playing as Coco in the Orient Express and Midnight Run is always the most satisfying.

Chocobo Racing

Chocobo Racing is the cute racing game that you’ll always give in to and won’t regret playing afterwards. Every detail of this game is adorable from its characters to the different tracks and music. Don’t be fooled though, multi-player races and the grand prix can get messy with every racer trying to steal power ups, shoot fireballs, set timed explosions, zap you with lightning and blast you out of the race.

Pac-Man World

Pac-Man at the first level: Buccaneer Beach

Pac-Man World was our go-to game whenever we wanted to play something exciting that challenged our reflexes. Most of the levels were designed with just the right level of difficulty to keep us wanting to play more, but Anubis Rex will always be an exception.

Tekken 3

Tekken 3: Eddy vs Ogre

Tekken 3 was our first game for the PlayStation, and the only title that was considered family entertainment because Dad bought it himself. His favorite character was Paul whose manliness surpassed that of Sylvester Stallone and Vin Diesel combined.

This is also probably the last fighting game that I’ll ever love. Tekken 3 stands out among those that came after it, including Tekken Tag Tournament 2, despite the more advanced graphics and bigger selection of playable characters.

Rock Band

The Rock Band series deserves a special spot here because it was the game that I played alone or with friends whenever things felt like a mess. Rock Band 2 was what made me decide to finally purchase a PS3 console. A year later I also got secondhand copies of the first title and The Beatles: Rock Band.

Nominated game makers

I nominate the following bloggers, whose games and written works have either inspired or supported me in my aspiration to become a game maker, for the One Lovely Blog Award – Game Maker’s Edition. I’m curious to know what games made them play ’til their fingers went numb and red.

Forty Winks
The Chi-Scroller
Mobile Game Development
My Inner Geek
Ascender
Retridemption
Megan Condis
Ver. Spot
Elias Daler | Re:creation