Crap!! I thought I was after Sputnik

Cool, I might have to give it another shot soon. Definitely think it'd help knowing some people from the jump.

And yeah, spreadsheet should be up to date. I originally was just going to slot in Krayz's pick numbers as if he picked in order, but Umcle Diddler joining this late and having to make his end of first/beginning of 2nd round selections seemed to necessitate dictating the actual pick numbers, so it should all be accurate now

I feel like the one issue with Video Game Drafts is how to treat Sequels or Series.

Like, for me, Halo as a series was awesome/influential enough to make it worth drafting, but none of the games as a stand-alone were that special/influential.

I feel like games that are spiritual successors to already drafted games should be off limits, but that’s such a subjective determination to make that it really has to be a case by case basis.

I think leaving it up to the individual is probably the way to go rather than coming up with arbitrary guidance that might influence people’s decisions. A lot of modern series are relatively iterative and it seems kind of silly to take them as separate games. Like, if you’re going to take Halo 3, does someone really want to grab the first game and make a separate point in the next couple of rounds? Otoh I wouldn’t be opposed to someone picking a different Elder Scrolls game since the two I’ve played were distinguishable enough. Yet someone might disagree with this entirely and take the opposite view.

Doing them as rosters adds an extra wrinkled, especially if you’re comparing them at the end. Like the entire Halo series is incredibly strong as a roster spot but just having one game in the series seems considerably weaker. Hence we just leave it up to the individuals and if there’s a point of contention we can work it out when it arises.

****, really wanted to pick RE4, or portal 2....

Good choices obv.

I've played so much halo 3 in my life its not even funny. I actually played some halo 3 today fwiw.


Also whose next? We've added people right?

Still working on my morrowind write up, unfortunately IRL has gotten in the way, but will have it up asap tomorrow.

Kafja is on the clock

Really strong run of picks today

Really great write-up, the passion really comes through. I'm not the biggest fan of 7 (although that said I have nearly 500 hours played on Steam trying to casually learn the speed run, so clearly I can't hate it too much :P), but your write-up really captures a lot of the great elements about it I think: how goofy it is, how much content is packed in, and just how mind-boggling it is when you leave Midgar and you realise there's a whole world out there.

Definitely also agree that it's the little character moments (like Cosmo Canyon) that really drive the story, and make it as memorable as it is.

That's a great remix of Dancing Mad. I find a lot of the covers/remixes struggle to do justice to the original - they either get the mood or instrumentation or the tempo wrong. This one really does its own thing though and it's stronger for it (also avoids going full prog-rock which is nice, given how prevalent it is in Uematsu soundtracks).

Love Golden Ivories of Gaia, that and Deliverance of the Heart are my favourites on Voices of the Lifestream:



I only played Chrono Trigger for the first time 4ish years ago and I was completely blown away. It's really the complete RPG, with no weak points - every single thing it does is at a high level. Even if it maybe doesn't hit the same highs as a FF6, it's just so consistently great. And it's so accessible too - imo it's the best JRPG to introduce someone to the genre. Honestly I expected this to go in the top ten.

The people who did the 'Reverse the Design: FFVI' also did one for Chrono Trigger, and it's probably even better than the FF6 one: http://thegamedesignforum.com/featur...sign_CT_1.html

Also Yasunori Mitsuda is a genius, and the melodies and leitmotifs he created for Chrono Trigger are absolutely phenomenal. Corridors of Time, Schala's Theme, Memories of Green, Decisive Battle with Magus; but I think my absolute favourite is Wind Scene (the 600AD world map theme), there's just something so nostalgic and sad about it:

i'll write it up in a bit but to keep things moving my next pick is:

I knew D2 was going to go soon. Definitely one of my top 5 most played games ever, maybe even the most for me. Amazing combination of replayability and simplicity. No other ARPG has ever hooked me like D2 did.

I remember a handful of years ago, there was some IGN or GameSpot bracket for best videogame of all time, and D2 ended up winning I think? Or making a very hotly contested run to the final vote. The internet went bonkers because it was suspected D2 voters wrote bots to vote or hacked the website to rig it. Great game.

my entire top 5 is still available

yeah other than Diablo 2 which would have been my #2 probably, most of mine is as well. That's what makes it fun.

Maybe you guys just have bad taste :shrug:? But one of the things that I think is interesting is how people balance their tastes vs what they think should be considered the best games. I mean I picked a personal favorite that a lot of people might not even have in a top 100 but I legit think it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played. However I wouldn’t think of putting my actual favorite game anywhere near the top 20 in a “best” games list.

possibly. i think my "favorite game" could be an overall #1 in a format like this and hold up fine to argument, and it hasn't been picked and we're in the 3rd round.

but again i largely think games like super mario 3 are extremely overrated in stuff like this, so maybe i don't have acquired taste.

Seems unlikely

McGlaven is on the clock.

Meh, I was mostly being facetious as all this stuff is pretty subjective and it’s actually more interesting when people’s tastes differ from consensus. That said I think it’s hard to deny the impact of older, classic games, even more so when they’re playable today. I would accept choices that are heavily skewed towards newer stuff because Technology is such an important aspect in making games but a lot of the older stuff truly is amazing and has a legacy we see in today’s games.

It seems like fully 1/5 of the games on the app store today are in some way inspired by Tetris, maybe it was underrated in this thing?

Do we actually have a clock?

I don’t think so but maybe we do need one. At least make a pick within...6 hrs, 12? from the last one, don’t have to write it up immediately. If not next person can go and you can make your pick whenever you come on. Maybe start after this round to be fair

I'd say a 12 hour clock on weekdays is fair.

I propose we start it after the last pick in the third round. People can have until then to voice their displeasure. Sound good? I really didn’t want a clock but this is kind of dragging now

Yep a clock definitely seems necessary at this point

Obv don't want spoilers at this point, but how is this possible.

No OOT in the top 5? I mean I get not #1 but not in the top 5?

OOT may not be a top three Zelda game