Emperor

1. Super Mario 64

2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

3. Final Fantasy 9

4. Portal 

5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

6. Bioshock Infinite

7. Streets of Rage 2

8. Rocket League 

9. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

10. Dead Space 2 

11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 

12. Shovel Knight 

13. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

14. Undertale

15. Persona 3

16. Sonic and Knuckles

RagnarokMike

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 

4. Persona 5 

5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 

6. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)

7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 

8. Borderlands 2 

9. Dead Space 

10. Jak and Daxter 

11. NFL Street 2 

12. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction 

13. The Punisher

14. Super Mario Sunshine 

15. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

16. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay 

1. Super Mario 64 - 9.5 
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 9.5 
3. Final Fantasy 9 - 9
4. Portal  - 8.5 
5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 8.5
6. Bioshock Infinite - 9
7. Streets of Rage 2 - 9 
8. Rocket League
9. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - 8.5
10. Dead Space 2  - 8
11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - 9.5 
12. Shovel Knight
13. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - 6 
14. Undertale 
15. Persona 3 - 9
16. Sonic and Knuckles - 8

Total = 112
Average = 8.61
High = 9.5 

1. Red Dead Redemption 2 - 9.5 
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night- 9
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - 10
4. Persona 5 - 9
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - 8.5 
6. Ninja Gaiden - 9.5 
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - 8.5 
8. Borderlands 2 - 8.5 
9. Dead Space - 8.5
10. Jak and Daxter
11. NFL Street 2 - 7
12. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction - 8
13. The Punisher
14. Super Mario Sunshine - 7.5 
15. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
16. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher

Total = 103.5 
Average = 8.62 
High  = 10 

1. Snake Eater
2. Super Mario 64
3. Skyrim
4. Red Dead 2
5. Ninja Gaiden

Mike takes it in a fantastic match. We definitely had two of the best lineups up against one another here. 

I already mentioned I thought Emperor’s list was personally the one I felt that was the strongest though one other person is pretty close to his.

I have played 9 of 16 from Emperor's list: Super Mario 64, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Final Fantasy 9, Portal, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Bioshock Infinite, Streets of Rage 2, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Sonic and Knuckles.

Super Mario 64 was the only game that made me want to buy the system to play the game. There are a few games Nintendo makes now that I would like to play but not enough to buy a system for it. Skyrim was probably one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. After I played that I couldn’t play other games for a while because they felt hollow inside. That may not make sense but it was a real feeling. FF9 was probably the last really good Final Fantasy. Between both of the GTA picks I liked San Andreas but driving around on motorcycles was a fun new addition. SoR2 still one of the best beat ‘em up to the day. Sonic and Knuckles was a very interesting game for its time that it could be played alone or as an upgrade.


I have played 7 of 16 from RagnarokMike's list: Red Dead Redemption 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Ninja Gaiden (Xbox), Borderlands 2, and Jak and Daxter.


Sadly most I haven’t actually beat. Ninja Gaiden was a lot of fun and my room mate thought I was going to struggle with it even on the normal settings but it wasn’t that hard. Entire Borderlands franchise is great played and beat them all. Though I had more fun with the others ones because I had more people to play with. The rest I never finished. RDR2 takes too long to do anything. It looks amazing, but I would start it up an hour has past and I felt like I haven’t did anything. Castlevania just played on a friend’s house. MGS3. I got to The End and that was The End of me playing that game. I know he is long dead now but that just were I lost interest. GTA was more about mindly destruction back then for me over actually beating them. I don’t remember the link between Jak and Daxter, Rachet and Clank, and Sly Cooper. But I like the other two series a lot more.

It seemed like this was very close at first. I removed the games I didn't care about and kept in mind Ragnarok had some negative points for selecting Borderlands 2, a series which I hate despite having worked on the remaster of the 1st one a few years ago.

I then started trading off the heavy hitters. Link Between Worlds for Majora's was pretty fair. Rocket League for Street 2 with a slight edge to Rocket League. Dragon Quest VIII for MGS3 are very close in quality. Andreas and Vice City were about the same level of enjoyment. Red Dead 2 for Crash 2 seemed like a fair trade. Symphony of the Night for Mario 64 with a slight edge to Symphony. Persona 5 for 3, sure, both pretty good. Lots of fantastic games. It seemed tight.

But then this is what was left:

Emperor:

2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Final Fantasy 9
4. Portal
6. Bioshock Infinite
12. Shovel Knight
16. Sonic and Knuckles

Ragnarok:

6. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)
10. Jak and Daxter
14. Super Mario Sunshine

And that was no comparison. Clear win to Emperor. Ragnarok just didn't have as many games that I know that well in the end. Not enough heavy artillery. Sunshine could maybe take out Skyrim and even if Daxter could take FF9...Gaiden against Portal and Infinite and the others on its own? No chance.

I think we should all vote for RagnarokMike.

May 2, 2020 5:43:52 GMT RagnarokMike said:

I think we should all vote for RagnarokMike.

I agree, that's the most logical conclusion.

May 2, 2020 5:44:16 GMT RagnarokMike said:

May 2, 2020 5:43:52 GMT RagnarokMike said:

I think we should all vote for RagnarokMike.

I agree, that's the most logical conclusion.

Those two are kind of pricks, but they do have a point.

Again, abandoning the cig System^TM because of too much math.

Dr. Emperor
- Super Mario 64
- Portal
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (countered by GTA:SA)
- Bioshock Infinite
- Streets of Rage 2
- Rocket League
- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
- Sonic and Knuckles

RagnarokMike
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (countered by GTA:VC)
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- Super Mario Sunshine

Let's break it down subjectively/semantically...

Grand Theft Autos cancel out. Maybe Lionheart or someone can school me on the subtleties that separate GTAs, but as someone who only ever played GTAs to wreak havoc and rack up police stars as a virtual cathartic release... missions and story never mattered, and I probably never explored all the various features that made each game unique.

After all the back and forth with Big Pete and others in various other threads, I'm now going back and forth on whether I played/watched my friend play OOT or MM (alphabits, bitches! right, @ness!?) -- and I'm honestly thinking it was both. I think my Zelda friend was so into OOT that picking up MM was a natural next move, and probably tried leveraging MM to convince me to keep trying to give Zelda a chance. Anyway, after only recently softening on my anti-Zelda stance, I'm willing to concede that these Zelda games were probably actually fun. But, that said, since I haven't delved into them firsthand in a way to develop my own love... MM isn't carrying a lot of weight here.

And then Super Mario Sunshine is a NEGATIVE, so it essentially cancels out any good will I would've been willing to lend to Link.

So RagnarokMike is essentially just left with his #1 pick: Red Dead Redemption 2. When I first got a PS4, RDR2 was the game I got with it. I was super excited based on all the hype and the subject matter. I thought, cool... a western! And GTAs has always been a favorite game standby, so if RDR2 was based on those mechanics... I figured it would be a win. I think I played it for a couple hours on Christmas 2018 morning. But then got bored. Seems very story heavy. So, as a GTA player who never bothered with the story or missions, I felt a little itchy under the collar. I hold nothing against RDR2 though. Seems super interesting and even fun, and would gladly come back to it... it just has to overcome by current Warzone addiction to get me to go find the disc and pop it back in the console.

Then, there's Dr. Emperor... that wily Australian physician, through his industry insider connections to Lionheart and his Outback walkabouts, has learned how to not only survive but thrive.

Streets of Rage... a fun, nostalgic, even if one-dimensional game in the vein of Double Dragon, X-Men, Contra, etc. Rocket League... a similarly fun but one-dimensional game mashing up hot wheels and indoor soccer. I only had exposure to Crash via an early PlayStation-adopter friend. Felt like knockoff Mario to me, so I never really gave it as much of a chance as it deserves. But perfectly serviceable as a game. Portal was a thinking man's game that came across my path too early in my mental development for me to fully appreciate, I think. But looking back, I think I (or at least Wife) would super dig the puzzle aspect.

Then there's Bioshock Infinite, which I didn't realize was Infinite and not the original... but this is the game I picked up for free the other month and played much longer than I thought I would. Feels no different or anymore special than say Destiny 2 or Fallout, etc. BUT I dug the Steampunk aesthetic and was digging the story before I randomly dropped it like a bad habit.

But then Doc Emp pounds two nails the size of telephone poles through the coffin lid with Sonic & Knuckles and Mario 64.

I was always a Nintendo kid over Sega, but I loved Sonic once they introduced the two-player co-play option. My friends were always better at Sonic, so I was usually the dead weight tag team partner... so it was fitting I was relegated to Tales at first. But then eventually Knuckles came around, and all of a sudden I had a more bad ass character to play as. It didn't change how much I sucked though, and I probably did more damage to Knuckles' reputation than anything with my generally poor performances. But whatever. Other random Sonic notes... 1.) Sonic totally fucked up my childhood expectations for what a real hedgehog should look like, and 2.) I dug the cartoon (Baker-man, you seen the Sonic cartoon!?)

And then. Mario 64. My introduction to perhaps the single greatest console ever. And what an introduction. Honestly, Mario 64 isn't THE greatest Mario game ever IMO. But it is GREAT. I always docked it points for taking Luigi and Yoshi away after Super Mario World. Always felt inexcusable to me. Being single player only hurt it's value as something to play with friends. But even so... me and my friends played the SHIT out of it together, and I played the SHIT out of it by myself. Essentially set the stage and paved the way for every epic to follow; i.e., Super Smash Brothers, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Kart, etc.

May 2, 2020 5:44:34 GMT RagnarokMike said:

May 2, 2020 5:44:16 GMT RagnarokMike said:

I agree, that's the most logical conclusion.

Those two are kind of pricks, but they do have a point.

Two of you guys really need to change your avatars.

May 2, 2020 13:15:27 GMT Emperor said:

Two of you guys really need to change your avatars.

I have avatars turned off. Whose do I need to see!?

HAHAHA
YES!!!

I turned avatars back on, and totally forgot mine was young aspiring CPA Brock.

So fucking good.

May 2, 2020 13:19:46 GMT 🤯 said:

HAHAHA
YES!!!

I turned avatars back on, and totally forgot mine was young aspiring CPA Brock.

So fucking good.

As if audits weren't nerve wracking enough.

May 2, 2020 13:15:57 GMT 🤯 said:

May 2, 2020 13:15:27 GMT Emperor said:

Two of you guys really need to change your avatars.

I have avatars turned off. Whose do I need to see!?

Three different people in a row posted with the same avatar. Really confusing.

May 2, 2020 13:33:50 GMT Emperor said:

May 2, 2020 13:15:57 GMT 🤯 said:

I have avatars turned off. Whose do I need to see!?

Three different people in a row posted with the same avatar. Really confusing.

Wait, you mean to tell me RagnarokMike hasn't ALWAYS (since old PW days) been a single account shared by triplets?

Emperor

1. Super Mario 64
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Final Fantasy 9
4. Portal
5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
6. Bioshock Infinite
7. Streets of Rage 2
8. Rocket League
9. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
10. Dead Space 2
11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
12. Shovel Knight
13. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
14. Undertale
15. Persona 3
16. Sonic and Knuckles


RagnarokMike

1. Red Dead Redemption 2
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
4. Persona 5
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
6. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
8. Borderlands 2
9. Dead Space
10. Jak and Daxter
11. NFL Street 2
12. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
13. The Punisher
14. Super Mario Sunshine
15. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
16. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

6 for RagnarokMike's list and 5 from Emperor's list for me.  Kingdoms of Amalur is a great RPG that I have plans to revisit in the near future as I'm not sure I ever finished it.  San Andreas is a classic, but I prefer Vice City over SA, I think.  RagnarokMike takes it for Red Dead 2, which is a modern classic and I'm not ashamed to admit made me cry like a girl.  

Emp's list appeals to me WAY more plus I would've voted for him anyways just to tie it up and fuck everything up.

May 3, 2020 17:39:38 GMT @ness said:

Plus I would've voted for him anyways just to tie it up and fuck everything up.

This is my favorite kind of voting.

Emperor should win because he is a doctor. A doctor of thuganomics.

Someone else vote please.

Ties are lame.

(Like Altered Beast. Am I right Lony?)

Emperor wins

Please select a game to steal and drop one of your own. 

Whoever broke the tie is a wank pheasant.

I forgot to vote but would have voted Emperor anyways.

May 3, 2020 20:31:24 GMT cig said:

Someone else vote please.

Ties are lame.

(Like Altered Beast. Am I right Lony?)

Nope.

I'll drop Rocket League and take Red Dead Redemption 2.

It's clear the sheer majesty of my list caused such pain to your lookermajigs that I had to be cast out. So, I'll concede gracefully, and not curl into the fetal position and cry myself to sleep or anything, certainly nothing like that happening offline, nothing like that at all. Anyone who says otherwise is lying, and anyone with any visual evidence is a Nazi propagandist with clearly doctored photographs and should be executed on the spot.