Top 30 Favorite Video Games

In my attempt at the impossible task to rank down my top 30 current video games, criteria is used for one title in an entire franchise only, to allow for a more fair overview. The video game industry is bigger than ever, hundreds of titles come out every day, and there is only such an amount of precious time.

This subjective opinion of mine is equal to others, and it took a bit longer for me to assemble this. Some of the previous entries in the previous related blog post: https://flow-rush.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-25-video-games.html  have been replaced by upgrades, others have vanished, and new ones have risen. My reviews back then still apply to the entries that remained on this 2019 list:

#30.La-Mulana

#29. Sin & Punishment 2: Successor of the Skies

This sequel is everything the original was, but so much more, and the Star Fox developers should take note on how to get successful once again by looking at Treasure's Wii treasure. THIS is how you do an arcade style hybrid on rails shooter with excellent bosses, satisfying longevity and brutal difficulty.

#28.Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is a magnificent video game with balancing and varied gameplay which includes enemy design, presentation and features, and is an absolute must play for any Metroid, Castlevania or Metroidvania/Castleroid fan. 

#27.Silent Hill 2

#26.Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

#25.Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

 

While Snake Eater has the best boss line up, the most charming atmosphere and a killing Cold War setting, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Substance has in my opinion the best story in the overall series, with twists at the end that reflect back onto some of society's current structures.

#24.Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

#23.Punch-Out!! 

Fantastic re-imagination of the original NES version where Little Mac must once again start at the bottom and eventually reach the top to become the world champion. Only this time, He must also defend that dear title. Featuring pretty much all of the favorite boxing opponents from the original except for the licensed character, Punch-Out!! plays similar, yet feels fresh on the Wii. The opponents get a little bit more personality because they can talk now, and some of the graphic animations are funny. 

#22.Deus Ex

#21.Final Fantasy VII

#20.Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

#19.Wario Ware Gold

A best of edition of all of the previous Wario Ware games, Gold has the largest amount of micro games availlable, either with buttons, rotation or touch controls. For the first time having voice acting too, the presentation, humor and of course the gameplay are still shiny, and it's excellent as a pick up and play kind of game.

#18.Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals

 The sequel improves in every way. Factors such as presentation, the emotional storyline, smoothened combat and a bigger world make it a greater time to return towards this. The Sinistrals are primarily remembered the most for featuring one of the best boss battle songs in any video game.

Aside from being a lengthy journey, Lufia II is also filled with other content, such as a somewhat hidden casino town, an awesome randomizing particular dungeon and the very unique ability(1 year before Pokémon) of raising monsters who will assist you in your struggles.

What arguably made Rise of the Sinistrals the most outstanding is most likely how it's puzzles are designed that are each scattered throughout the dungeons, temples and towers. The developers of Neverland really got creative with them and could easily rival any The Legend of Zelda puzzle and sometimes even surpass them, another unique treat amongst SNES RPG's.

#17.F-Zero GX

#16.Warcraft III

#15.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The fifth edition is the definitive, most ultimate based entry.

The multiplayer scene lets you create custom rule sets per match, which is nice, and you can play locally or wireless using the Switch. The online experience seems to have improved, letting you play through matchmaking, or get into arena's with friends.

After the whole roster is available, perhaps then we could have an objective based analysis using tournament statistics. Anyhow, like any part in the franchise, the best thing about these games for me is the celebration aspect of representing each franchise fairly. 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a massive undertaking, and the replay value is immense. it's not perfect, but it's the best that's available!

#14.Batman: Arkham Knight

 Marvelous and rich finale towards the Arkham Batman games, Arkham Knight is the first next generation entry and for the first time, you will be able to control the Batmobile and perform neat tricks with it. 

With a huge city to explore comprised of 3 main islands, the adventure has never been bigger. The excellent gameplay variety includes stealth, combat, detective work and now also road action. The majority of Batman's gadgets return alongside newer ones, and the cast is rich, huge and it contains the perfect excuse to bring Joker back, deepening his relationship with the Bat even further.

Arkham Knight is a great closure for the series, but considering that Batman is more popular than ever arguably, I am sure that he will return when speaking of video games, it's just that the story ought to be approached differently then.

#13.Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

#12.Xenoblade

#11.Perfect Dark

#10.Chrono Trigger

#9.Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

 My personal favorite of the trilogy is Echoes. After Samus's previous adventure, she once again discovers the substance known as Phazon on the planet Aether, a weird world that is split up into a light and a dark dimension, very similar to the concept found in A Link to the Past and Ikaruga as well. With interesting locations, new visors and an immersive soundtrack, as well as the introduction of Dark Samus, they all keep Metroid Prime 2 my favorite 3D based Metroid part.

#8.Secret of Mana

#7Killer 7

#6.Advance Wars: Dark Conflict

#5.Resident Evil REmake

#4.Dark Souls

I have said so much about From Software's franchise already, they are arguably the best games I have played to an extent during my late 20's.

I have beaten Dark Souls about 10 times now, and the only other game that comes close to that amount is the previous entry. While each of the titles brings something and enriches more, I keep coming back to the original Dark Souls, because I love the atmosphere.

The methodical combat, the difficulty, the beautiful dark medieval fantasy, the few music songs, the online multiplayer experience, the lore, the gameplay, the secrets and so much more...Dark Souls really is a masterpiece for me. And so many agree with me.

#3..The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

#2.Paper Mario

#1.Mega Man 3

Samsung Galaxy S10

Almost 2 years later, I couldn't resist but to get a subscription for the tenth edition of the Samsung Galaxy brand known worldwide.

This is my 4th and perhaps final smartphone I will get in it. From S2 to S4, and from S8 to S10, these smaller generation gaps mean that specification wise, there won't be much of an improvement from a consumer point of view.

There is a new biometric way of using your finger print in order to unlock the Android OS, and although it doesn't always work, I registered two of my thumbs and also registered a PIN code just in case I lost both of my fingerprints, and/or it happened to be heavy raining.

After foolishly discovering late last year that my S8 was able to record in 4K resolution all the time, this time I was curious to compare my GoPro Hero 6 Black's wide shot imagery with the S10. It turns out that the S10 can shoot pretty wide shots, but the Hero 6 Black can do just that a bit further.

I was considering selling it, but that result, alongside the mounts being available and it's compact size makes me want to keep it for action moments. Back to the S10 though, alongside having 3 camera lenses on the back, at the front there are 2 camera lenses so that the fanatic among us can do selfies and tweak with filters even further.

By they way, I got the S10+ version, which means similar to the S8+, a better battery, and it's size is the same format. Migrating my data, my apps and my media from the two devices happened swiftly and easily, and within an hour or 2, using my new phone felt instantly familiar.

5GHz is supported for the upcoming future, it's storage can go up to 1 Terabyte, it's processing power is agile and not entirely on-topic, but I love the GPS technology. It is so vital towards navigating to new destinations, and it's crucial to use during my travels!

I did not really need this tenth edition as far as specifications go, but I couldn't resist, which makes me part of the smartphone zombie army which has been going on for years...at least I'm not buying them annually, as with smart phones I'm used towards using subcriptions instead.

And with a new pretty book case and a screen protector shielding it, as well as having bought a compatible car mount for my Spotify and navigation sessions while driving, and I am made whole again with this powerful part of mobile life.

Game of Thrones Concluded

 

 

The world recognizable TV series is finally over after about 8 years and 8 seasons, and I am utterly satisfied by it from the beginning to the end.

Traditionally, I had watched all of it with my buddy Rene, and for several years and weekend, we would discuss the direction, cliffhangers, sub plots and scenes alongside of cheering for our favorite characters.

Ambiguously, we would speculate what would happen next, and sometimes we guessed right, with me for example answering the question of where the hell Tyrion's father was during that particular dark scene; that he was s(h)itting on a toilet.

After about 2 or 3 seasons, I established that my top 3 favorite characters were Ygritte, Tyrion and Lord Varys. Ygritte for her sexy voice, Tyrion for his witty remarks and Varys for being the most rational.

Before the start of this final season, we would guess who would finally sit on the Iron Throne. My money was on Varys, and my buddy voted for Arya. We both got it wrong. In the very finale, after some very dramatic deaths full of retribution, vengeance and emotion, it turns out that Bran would rule next.

Not to mention that 2 chapters had amazing buildup, battlefields and war cries happening on epic scales in this last season, and before that, so many cruel deaths, betrayals and political mind games were happening to secure family, control and power, I lost the count.

Game of Thrones as the television series is finally over, but the stories of George R. R. Martin continue inside the novel books, and it has been said the prequels and spin-offs would also serve as extensions towards this world.

I was not disappointed, at all. Furthermore, GoT will serve as a majestic example for bringing out greatness towards the cinematic medium.

Avengers: Endgame

 

10 years of cinematic buildup and the previous Infinity War gives us the definite Avengers: Endgame arc, as the remaining heroes recover and reassemble their forces in order to undo Thanos's terrible yet balanced victory.

Clocking as the longest running Marvel movie with 3 hours, this final part of a massive project and overall storyline is a very fine conclusion that like the previous entry, marvelously manages to keep such a large cast full of super powers engrossing.

Avengers: Endgame says that the end is part of the journey, and thus, major characters will permanently die, and sacrifices will be made. Although it does not have as much action as the previous Avengers flicks, it compensates with more drama, more dialogue and more closure.

The timeline quest of snapping the Infinity Stones through a gauntlet crafted by the heroes in order to rewind the victims is an extension of what Thanos already did with the Time Stone. It offers for some interesting parallel realities to happen and gives a good excuse to see previous settings and characters  again.

As Hawkeye has a larger role and Ant-Man return, some other characters almost have no screen time, such as Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel. It doesn't really bother me considering this huge cast, but it is noticable.

Even with this entry, the traditional humor is still present, and my favorite scene is easily where it turns out that Thor has become The Big Lebowski, hanging together with his buddies from the Ragnarok arc while he gets trashed online with Fortnite.

Beyond the credits, there is no post-credits scene. It implies that the future movies will not be interconnected, or not at least as the previous 21 entries were. With Spider-Man: Far From Home being on the horizon, will Marvel Studios and their overlord Disney slow it down afterwards, or quickly continue on with filming other story arcs from the comics?

Avengers: Endgame is the end of the Infinity Saga. But it's not the end of being a (Marvel)superhero. In some form or another, the superhero movie genre is here to stay, as key movies such as The Avengers(2012)and The Dark Knight(2008) have proven already.

The future is unclear, yet bright.

Rating: 8.0

On Liberty

The Fifth of May has come and gone, and here in The Netherlands, we celebrate liberty and freedom then.

Saving us from occupation by Nazi Germany, the Allied forces did just that back in 1945, and since then, we, and other countries, have celebrated it. A major amount of countries are experiencing freedom right now, another major amount still suffers.

But what does it mean? Liberty lets you do as one pleases, although in a govern way, while it is said that freedom is a more raw form, with extreme prejudice, anarchism and such coming along the way if unchecked.

Freedom of speech, free will and similar concepts are forms of philosophy dealing with this subject. From a world perspective, the interpretation of these and also the primary terms can vary wildly, and the discussions continue.

Liberation Day, at least for us, is also broadly meaning about remembering the victims of the wars since WWII, and being glad that we are surrounded by virtues, nationally. It's an excuse to celebrate it annually, but more importantly, to remember and learn from history.

Arguably, capitalism enslaves us with materialism and consumerism for starters, harming liberty in a way,  but since that is the zeitgeist we are living in today, it's very hard to resist it. On the other hand, we wouldn't want to see other kinds of "ism's" globally acting extremely either, such as fascism,communism and anarchism.

To be liberated is to be saved from negatives. To have freedom is to move and act as you wish, if you ask me.