Grandia is a game I played over and over when I was younger, and now, nearly eight years down the line, I decided to give it another go for nostalgia’s sake.  Many of the flaws escaped my notice when I was just a wide-eyed kid, new to the RPG genre and still fascinated by the idea of a storyline in a video game, but what I loved about the game- the fun battles, the colorful characters, the sheer sense of fun and adventure- have all aged like a fine wine.

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With the recent release of Street Fighter IV, and with The King of Fighters XII and BlazBlue on the horizon, the next year is looking bright for gaming’s purest form of one on one competition.  The 2D fighting genre doesn’t garner the same respect as it’s 3D counterpart, but with the resurgence in popularity it’s sure to receive from the release of a new Street Fighter game, now’s as good a time as any to familiarize yourself with the high points in the genre’s history.  And they are, in no particular order:

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Street Fighter II is the classic that truly kicked off the entire genre.  HD Remix is a gorgeous update to the best version of said game.  As most gamers are aware, this game captured the arcade scene of the early nineties, devoured millions upon millions of quarters, and nearly made “shoryuken” a household term.  While the gameplay feels understandably dated (relying too heavily on a game of meaty attacks and reversals), it’s still the best fighter of its era and remains surprisingly playable to this day.  Whether you’re a SFII virgin or a seasoned vet, it’s certainly worth revisiting to see where it all began (in glorious HD, no less).

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The PS1 was arguably the best console for RPGs there ever was.  I would consider the Super Nintendo’s lineup to be different but equal, but the PS1 is the system I got my start in RPGs on, so it’ll always be the most-replayed era in my library.  So, just for kicks, and because people love top 10 lists, I’ve compiled what I think are the best examples of the genre the console had to offer.

I’ve excluded ports and remakes, and tried to limit myself to one game from each series.  So without further ado, here we go:

#10. Xenogears

Xenogears is a love it or hate it experience.  Plenty of people claim that it’s the greatest RPG ever made.  Others would call it an unfinished piece of trash.  I fall somewhere in the middle of that, leaning more towards the former.  It has its presentation issues, a few bugs, and worst of all, the infamous second disc (where, due to the the plot being larger than the budget allowed, the characters sit in folding chairs for ten hours and tell you the second half of the story).  But you know what?  Who cares?  The game still delivered sixty hours of fun, two battle systems, giant robots, colorful characters, and, issues aside, one of the most complex plotlines the medium has ever seen.  This is a game that deserves a remake to really do it justice.

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*WARNING: CONTAINS METAL GEAR SERIES SPOILERS*

After playing through Metal Gear Solid 4, I decided it was high time to give the full series another run-through.  So for the first time in years, I played the most controversial game in the series:  Metal Gear Solid 2:  Sons of Liberty.  You can imagine my surprise when I realized it’s actually brilliant.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, it catches flak for several reasons.  First and foremost, many fans of the first game were displeased with Kojima’s decision to replace Solid Snake with Raiden as the main playable character in the game.  Snake was and is a popular character, and Raiden seemed more like the main character of the latest Final Fantasy than a Metal Gear game.  He’s inexperienced, emotional, and shockingly pretty for a man.  His sappy dialogue with Rose is cringe inducing, and you’re asked to listen to it both at points in the story and every time you want to save. (continue reading…)