C.Jin's All-Time Favorite Games: Part II

I'm about to dig into ancient history here, but back in the day (a Tuesday), I made a post about my all-time favorite games. I was supposed to follow it up immediately with a part II, but I was like meh so I didn't. So, here we are, 5 years later. Here is part two of the list of my all-time favorite games.

I covered some of the more common and mainstream games in my first list, so I actually have a couple of less popular gems prepared for this one. What most of these games have in common is that I spent hundreds, and I mean hundreds of hours playing them. The gameplay absorbed me so deeply in the experience that at times, I found myself just standing around in the game's world so it wouldn't have to end. And that's what gaming is all about, right? Having fun? ...Right guys?

Top 5 Shields in Gundam

I've done the top 5 "big guns", and I've done melee weapons, so naturally it's time we moved on to shields. This one was a little harder to compile a list for because there are just so many shields; pretty much every mobile suit is equipped with one. Thus, I won't be looking as much into aesthetics or "significance" as I normally would. Instead, I'll be focusing on the shield's unique capabilities. "What sets it apart from other shields, and how effective are its unique features?" Also, I won't be counting barriers that are created via other armaments, like the Nu Gundam's fin funnels. This is a list specifically for handheld or wrist-mounted shields.

There were a ton of choices and I had to do a lot of leaving out, so I've even added an honorable mentions section for the shields that just barely missed the cut. If there's still something missing, give it a shout out in the comments section below! Anyhow, onward to the list~

Wii U; Super Mario 3D World

I'll admit; I haven't had a Nintendo home console in my possession since the Super Nintendo. I mostly grew up a Sony guy, and I still rely on the Playstation brand to bring me my gaming. That's why whenever people my age reminisce about how great the N64 and Gamecube were, I feel completely out of touch. It's not that I didn't like Nintendo; I just didn't grow up with it.

So I figured, "there's gotta be a reason why people love Nintendo so much." I mean, I do have a DS and 3DS, and the games on those handhelds are fantastic. So with the help of a little influence from a friend, I went out on a limb and bought a Wii U. I was aware of the limited game library at the moment, but I couldn't help but get drawn in by the quality of Nintendo's polish in 1080p.

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented [Now Playing]

I have a weird relationship with horror games. I really like horror theming and scary stories in general, but I'm also a candy-ass when it comes to actually playing horror games. Every playthrough is like a battle between my appreciation of the expertly crafted atmosphere and the shriveling that's occurring in my balls. In the end though, I do love playing them.

A particular favorite of mine is Fatal Frame III: The Tormented. This is a game I played a very long time ago, when I was in high school. At the time, I was merely trying to be done with it (because I was terrified) so I figured I'd give it a serious playthrough now that I've grown a few more chest hairs.

Top 10 Final Fantasy Girls

There's really no end to the amount of Final Fantasy top ten lists I can make, is there? This time, I'll be honoring the women of Final Fantasy and counting down the best female characters of all time. Now, before we start, I've got to make one thing clear: this is not a list based on appearances. I'm not making a ridiculous "sexiest girls in gaming" list.

Character design does factor into the placements, but the main thing I'll be looking into is their actual character. Are they well-written female personas? Are they appealing and likable in terms of personality? These are the questions I'll be asking as we run down the list. And of course, this is a list of my top 10 Final Fantasy girls, so if you have a different opinion, just share it in the comments below!

Now then, number ten...

The End of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

**Spoilers Ahead**

I finally got around to concluding the Unicorn OVA with a viewing of Vol. 7 - "Over the Rainbow". It was almost surreal to me that the years went by so fast, considering how long we had to wait between 7 different episodes. The final episode wasn't exactly how I pictured it, but I believe it was a fitting end to one of the best animated Gundam productions ever.

I was getting intense flashes of nostalgia throughout the episode because of its numerous references to the history of UC Gundam. The most notable moment, in particular, was the appearance of Lala and Char (and Amuro as well?). It was honestly gut-wrenching, seeing the heroes of decades past in spirit form. It was like seeing old friends again, but it came with a touch of sadness since it confirmed to me that Amuro and Char had indeed passed on to another existence.

Long time, no see

The entire episode felt like a wrapping up of the decades worth of Universal Century lore. It had the look of an anniversary or a celebration, with the franchise culminating in one of the most impressive and well-produced animations in recent memory. Seriously, those flashbacks of Chars Counterattack and the One Year War? And Banagher's epic conclusion with Full Frontal's Zeong-esque mobile weapon? Gundam gold, my friends.

I don't know what the general fan consensus is, but I sincerely do not care. I had a blast watching this OVA, and I think it will go down as one of the best in the series. Now, if we could just get a full length series like it...

Sony Trinitron KV-27FV310

A Link to the Past, muthafackas

When I first started my gaming collection a few months back, I had to hook up my SNES to an HDTV. Needless to say, I had a bad time. It looked plain awful. So I went on the web and did some searching, and found out that the best way to play retro games is through a CRT TV. But not just any CRT will cut it. Apparently, the best CRT's were made by Sony and Mitsubishi, with Sony's "Trinitron" product line being much more common. Thus, I made it my mission to find the perfect Sony Trinitron TV.

Yoshiyuki Tomino Directing New Anime 'Gundam: G no Reconguista'

Boom! Big announcement! Yoshiyuki Tomino, the man who created the Gundam franchise, is directing a new Gundam series! It's called Gundam: G no Reconguista, and it's set to air in the fall of 2014. Man, I'm always in for a surprise when I visit Gundam Guy every couple of months. Speaking of which, go to GG for the original article.

Now, here's the kicker though. At the 'Mobile Suit Gundam 35th Anniversary' event where Tomino announced this, he apparently stated that this new anime won't be the nectar that UC fans have been thirsty for. In fact, it'll be aimed towards children. I'm feelin' that deja vu...

I've made a fuss of this before because the last two Gundam series were also aimed at children. Looks like we'll be getting more of the same. I guess I'm kind of tired of caring anymore. Gundam Unicorn has been more than enough for me, and I'm honestly kind of excited for this since Tomino is directing it. I'm predicting that it'll be one of his light-hearted shows as opposed to his "kill em all" shows (I'd much prefer the latter).

As usual, we'll see how it goes. I skipped AGE and Build Fighters, but that's mainly because I hardly ever watch anime these days. Maybe this one will different. I dunno, what do you think?

Top 10 SNES Games of All Time

The Super Nintendo, or SNES, is my favorite video game console of all time. It's home to such an expansive library of incredible, timeless games that I wouldn't even hesitate to call it the greatest video game console. I think part of what makes it so great is its place in time. It was the pinnacle of sprite-based, 2D gaming. While the following generation had sprite-based games as well, they were too busy experimenting with primitive 3D graphics to give the kind of sophisticated polish the SNES gave to all its games.

This is going to be difficult, as there are so many great games, but I'm going to try my best to list the top ten SNES games of all time. The games I chose were at the top of their genres when they came out, and are still worthy of picking up and playing to this very day. As usual, note that these are just my opinions, so if you want to share your own top ten list, go ahead and let me know in the comments!

Super Nintendo [Game Collection]

So, what have I been doing these past few months? Well, my interest in Gundam has been waning for awhile now, but my interest in video game collecting has been growing exponentially. I'm out of college with a disposable income, so I've been dedicating a whole lot of my money to building a respectable collection of games, from retro to new.

You see, I don't just play games for fun. I look at them and appreciate them as one would appreciate novels as literature. I play each and every one of them for the unique experiences they provide. Consequently, I'm not just collecting games because I can or because I'm bored. I want to have and experience every game there is in order to absorb all of gaming history. That way, I can truly say that I'm passionate about this silly little hobby of mine.

I started my collecting journey with the first console I ever owned: the Super Nintendo (or SNES). This is the console that introduced me to video games. I pretty much consider it the best video game console of all time because of its amazing 16-bit game library that holds up amazingly well to this day. The number of classic games that are still considered great; there's just no end to them.

My original console died on me during my childhood, so I've been separated from a physical SNES for over a decade. Imagine my excitement when I finally got a hold of a new one. It's in pretty great condition, and the price wasn't too bad. I immediately bought some of my favorite games as well, including a few new ones I never got to play as a child.

Final Fantasy III (which is actually VI) is the crown jewel of my current collection. I've stated a long time ago that it's the best Final Fantasy in the series, but I'm still in awe at how they managed to produce such a masterpiece with such primitive hardware. It was pretty great getting to replay the game on a real SNES.

I managed to get a few other 16-bit masterpieces, like Diddy's Kong Quest, Yoshi's Island, and Super Mario World. It'll probably take a lot more time (and money) to get the rest of the Super Nintendo library, but the day will definitely come when I'll be forced to clear more space on my bookcase.

It's a tiny collection (for now). I just love how these things feel in my hand

Top 5 Opening Themes in Gundam

Here's the next in my series of music-related Gundam Top 5 posts. My first list focused on battle themes, so I thought it would be interesting to move on to actual songs. We'll be counting down the catchiest, most memorable opening themes in Gundam animated history.

Naturally, it's hard to be objective about music so think of this list as more of a fun project rather than a serious, thoughtful post. The main decider will be personal preference, but I definitely won't be picking the songs mindlessly. These are the opening themes I see as being timeless and enjoyable no matter what your taste in music is. They flow seamlessly with the shows they're presenting, and they never failed to get me in the proper Gundam mood.

Now, to start with...

MG Gundam X, MG Proto Zero

My god; a lot has happened since I've been out of the loop. I rarely keep up with gunpla news, so whenever I decide to check up on it, I find a ridiculous handful of good news. Let's see...

The oddly named "Proto" version of the Wing Zero has already been released as a Master Grade. There goes that spot on my MG wish list. YellowSubmarine blog has an out-of-the-box review of the model, so check it out here.

Looks great. It love that it has a few quirks whilst being true to the TV design. It's not what I was expecting, but it's satisfying nonetheless. Take a look at some of the other pictures in the review. There's a lot to love about the small intricacies in this model kit.

Anyway, the other news (that I'm actually way more excited for) ...

Fire Emblem: Awakening [Now Playing]

It's been a long time coming, but I finally got myself a 3DS. Now, to be honest, I actually thought very poorly of the 3DS when it was struggling during its launch. But as the years went by, the library of games started stacking up and I found that all of the games I was interested in were on the 3DS. As soon as I got money coming in, I confident enough to buy the device and a handful of games immediately.

My first game? Fire Emblem: Awakening. I was intrigued by the enormous amount of praise it was getting, so I bought into the hype and let this be my introduction to the 3DS. I've actually never played a Fire Emblem game before this, but I'm a huge fan of strategy RPG's so I knew I would click with the series immediately. Now, I recently completed the game...

Top 5 Epic Battle Themes in Gundam

For the first time, I'm going to be celebrating the music in Gundam. The idea came to me from one of the suggestions in my Suggestions for Gundam Top 5 post. Though it's not the exact suggestion, it'll definitely be the first in a series of similar lists. This time around, we'll be looking at the most epic, exciting, heart-pounding battle themes in the Gundam animated universe. It wasn't easy labeling "battle themes", so basically anything that plays during a battle scene qualifies.

This may be the least objective list I've made thus far, so as usual, feel free to comment on your favorite battle themes. I had to leave plenty of great songs out too, so there's plenty of room for honorable mentions.

Now then...

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen [Now Playing]

I've been home doing nothing for the past few weeks, so out of an intense need to keep myself busy, I decided to look for an addictive RPG to play. My choices ranged from Skyrim to Dark Souls, but for whatever reason, I ended up buying Dragon's Dogma. I ignored the original release, so Dark Arisen (the expansion) ended up being my first taste of the game.

I've played through the game once already, and I've got to say, I really like this game. I'm close to platinuming it, and I wasn't even trying to. I was just having fun trying out different things and completing all of the quests. I think the main thing I love about this game is its replay value. You're able to replay the game via New Game Plus an infinite number of times, so you're able to enjoy the game exactly how you want to each time whilst retaining your level and all of your gear.

The boss battles are also amazing. I'd say they're the best in any game of this genre. Like many people have said, it's like a cross between Dark Souls and Shadow of the Colossus. The way you climb up on giant monsters while epic music is playing is just exhilarating, to say the least.

A lot of people disregard this game as being "not quite as good as Skyrim", but I'd rather avoid comparisons like that. Dragon's Dogma has its own list of merits and charms, and I'd recommend it to anyone with a love for fantasy rpg's (and a lot of time).

Suggestions for Gundam Top 5

I recently realized that my priority should be creating more Gundam Top 5 content, considering its the main source of traffic for my blog. But as I got around to starting a new one, I realized that I was fresh out of ideas. There are plenty of easy lists I can make, but I want something unique. Something that's not entirely objective.

So, if you don't mind me asking, I'd like some suggestions for a new Gundam Top 5 list. I'll seriously consider every suggestion (as long as they're good).

New TV Series: Gundam Build Fighters

You may have noticed all the reports in the last few days, hinting at a big new Gundam announcement. Well here's the news: a new TV series has been announced. It's called Gundam Build Fighters, and it seems to revolve around gunpla. For more information, go here.

Now, I'm going to be honest: I'm a little disappointed. I skipped AGE precisely because it seemed a bit too kid-friendly. While I do plan on giving it a chance in the future, I didn't expect the next full series to be more of the same. Gundam Build Fighters looks to be a Gundam toy commercial in its absolute purest form. That's as much as I'll say since I don't want to judge too quickly.

Anyway, Gundam Build Fighters seems to be working off of the concept introduced in Beginning G, though it's been noted that the two are unrelated in any other regard. The one thing I do appreciate is the reappearances of several classic designs. Look, the Wing and GX are back (albeit slightly modified)! Other classic mobile suits are going to be making appearances as well, so that should be interesting.

So, as the Gundam franchise continues to look after a young, new audience whilst selling massive amounts of merchandise, I'll be here waiting on the last episode of Unicorn~

Best Gundam Protagonist?

Just like I did with my Top 5 Gundam Series post, I want to poll people on what they think about the question of who the top Gundam protagonist is. I actually made a Top 5 Gundam Protagonists post in the past, but it was awful and I've since gotten rid of it. Considering how difficult and possibly meaningless this question is, I thought I'd just ask people instead of attempting to create a new list.

As usual, this question is almost impossible to answer objectively. People have their own opinions on what "best" means, and personal bias is going to play a big part in it. Still, there's got to be a general consensus for certain characters.

So, who is it? Amuro Ray? Garrod Ran (who actually seems to get a lot of love)? Kamille? Setsuna? Who is the best Gundam protagonist in the meta-series?

Songs of Final Fantasy: Top 10 Battle Themes

Here's a shocker: I'm a huge fan of Final Fantasy. I absolutely love the series, and I've been a fan since Clinton was in office. I've played every title in the series several times, and the one thing that always sticks with me is the music. The various themes in each game come to define that particular game. Most of it is owed to the mastery of musical genius Nobuo Uematsu, but other composers have produced some memorable themes as well.

In this top ten list, I'm going to be ranking the best battle themes in the Final Fantasy series. Battle themes are usually the most memorable and definitive songs in the games, along with the overworld themes. Therefore, I think it's only proper to do them some justice. I'll be including all of the main series titles and all related spin-offs. As usual, these are just my opinions so feel free to disagree and share your own thoughts in the comments. Now then...

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero EW Announced

This is sort of amazing news. The long awaited Master Grade Wing Zero has finally been announced. Now, to be honest, I was waiting for the TV version to get the MG treatment so this announcement disappointed me for a split second. Still, I think this is about as good as it'll get for now.

Keep in mind that this is the Endless Waltz version of the design. The Tallgeese, Epyon, and Heavyarms had similar releases in this fashion. I'm not exactly sure what "Proto Zero" is supposed to imply, so if anyone has any guesses on that, that would be great. But yeah, the design is sure to look great so I definitely can't wait!

As usual, Gundam Guy is my source. Find the original article here.