Rate the Game: Week 114

[M-A-G]

Fuck my ass, another late start on this mofo. What is wrong with me? Anyways, welcome to all who dare tread these waters with me. It's Rate the Game time! Last week, the harrowing adventures of one Guybrush Threepwood were put under the microscope as we looked back at his game, The Secret of Monkey Island. Let's not waste any more time in divulging the secret of how well it did among us on TPWW. We go to the leaderboard....

<select><option selected="">Rate the Game Results

<option>1. (TIE) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (4.8)</option>
<option>3. (TIE) Hitman: Codename 47, Mass Effect (4.75)</option>
<option>5. Goldeneye 007 (4.72)</option>
<option>6. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)</option>
<option>7. Silent Hill 2 (4.66)
<option>8. (4-WAY TIE) Chrono Trigger, Portal, Red Dead Redemption, Silent Hill 3 (4.5)</option>
<option>12. (3-WAY TIE) Mega Man 2, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (4.44)</option>
<option>15. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)</option>
<option>16. God of War (4.4)</option>
<option>17. Mega Man X (4.36)</option>
<option>18. (TIE) Metal Gear Solid, BioShock (4.33)</option>
<option>20. Perfect Dark (4.3)</option>
<option>21. (TIE) Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us (4.28)</option>
<option>23. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)</option>
<option>24. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)</option>
<option>25. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>26. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>27. (TIE) Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>29. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>30. (13-WAY TIE) Super Mario Kart (4.0)</option>
<option>- Sonic the Hedgehog 2</option>
<option>- Super Metroid</option>
<option>- The Simpsons</option>
<option>- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night</option>
<option>- Donkey Kong Country 2</option>
<option>- Resident Evil 4</option>
<option>- Super Smash Bros.</option>
<option>- Banjo-Kazooie</option>
<option>- EarthBound</option>
<option>- Fallout 3</option>
<option>- Mirror's Edge</option>
<option>- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3</option>
<option>43. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>44. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (3.92)</option>
<option>45. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>46. (3-WAY TIE) Contra, Castlevania, Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>49. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>50. (TIE) Half-Life, Infamous (3.83)</option>
<option>52. (TIE) SimCity 2000, Final Fight (3.8)</option>
<option>54. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>55. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>56. (TIE) Double Dragon, Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>58. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>59. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>60. (3-WAY TIE) Diablo, F.E.A.R., Alan Wake (3.66)</option>
<option>63. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>64. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>65. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>66. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>67. (4-WAY TIE) Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, Burnout Paradise, Dark Souls (3.5)</option>
<option>71. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>72. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>73. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>74. (6-WAY TIE) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Crash Bandicoot, Wolfenstein 3D, Left 4 Dead, Dead Island (3.33)</option>
<option>80. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>81. (TIE) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>83. (3-WAY TIE) Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Darkstalkers (3.2)</option>
<option>86. SoulCalibur (3.16)</option>
<option>87. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>88. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>89. (TIE) Virtua Fighter, Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>91. (6-WAY TIE) Time Crisis, Tekken, Earthworm Jim, Metroid, Halo 2, The Secret of Monkey Island (3.0)</option>
<option>97. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>98. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>99. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>100. Bayonetta (2.75)</option>
<option>101. (3-WAY TIE) Dead Rising, Gauntlet, Assassin's Creed (2.71) </option>
<option>104. Saints Row (2.66)</option>
<option>105. (TIE) Silent Hill, The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>107. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>108. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>109. (TIE) Twisted Metal, Crackdown (2.42)</option>
<option>111. Golden Axe (2.33)</option>
<option>112. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>113. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>

Well, solid 3s all across the board can only mean one possible overall average. A 3.0 overall rating puts the Secret of Monkey Island in OK-ish territory but nowhere near the elites. Can any of the remaining games break through that upper barrier? We can begin to answer that question with only way. Bowl, let's do this thing!

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/K36zTj7i51EvCxWwj7" width="480" height="222" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/K36zTj7i51EvCxWwj7">via GIPHY</a></p>

The pickings are getting slimmer by the week. Our 114th game to rate takes us back to the Super Nintendo's days of epic RPGs. It's Square's Final Fantasy 3! Or if you're a Japanese purist, Final Fantasy 6! Who can really make sense out of all that? That's not our job. Our job is to rate this sucker and share our thoughts on it, if any. Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG have already received stellar praise from us but how does this title fare in comparison? Does it deserve to outperform Final Fantasy 7? It's all up to you now. Until next week!

[Big Vic]

Played 5 minutes of it, couldn't get into it.

[ClockShot]

C'mon, MAG. Give that cup a stir!

Never played.

[M-A-G]

I did stir it but I can only make the .GIF so long. At this point, though, with so few games left, stirring seems a bit unnecessary.

[M-A-G]

Also, I guess I lied a few weeks ago when I talked about the remainder of the games. I actually haven't played this one. I was never a Final Fantasy guy.:-\

[Destor]

is this FF3 or FF6

[Destor]

oh i read the thing. ff6.

[Destor]

well thats easy. its a 10. its easily one of the best games ever made.

[Destor]

ff3 is shit though

[Destor]

ff6 pixel remaster is fire. that needs a switch release asap

[Destor]

also its super weird calling this ff3 since square has released it as ff6 like 5 times in all regions.

[M-A-G]

is this FF3 or FF6

This one...

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91wiDVQ0fJL._SX425_.jpg

Not this one...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Ff3cover.jpg

[Destor]

ff6 yeah

[Lock Jaw]

Played the F out of it

One of the best, if not the best, Final Fantasy games. The music, the characters, the moments/story... this one had it all. Loved this game.

Easy 5 from me.

[Destor]

i love the job system of 5 but objectively this has to be the best of the sprite era and its got to rival everything after too. i know most are ff7 stans but to me 6 is light years better. its not even partially close.

[OssMan]

One of the best games ever... the actual final fantasy 3 is a real ass pain though

[Destor]

i hate ff3. my pick for the worst in the series

[M-A-G]

i love the job system of 5 but objectively this has to be the best of the sprite era and its got to rival everything after too. i know most are ff7 stans but to me 6 is light years better. its not even partially close.

I think people are blown away with technical aspects of Final Fantasy 7, which are impressive, all things being fair. Plus, there are moments like the death of Aerith. Is there anything like that in this game?

[Lock Jaw]

The whole world getting devastated is pretty memorable.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Haven’t played it. Was never interested in the series.

[Destor]

I think people are blown away with technical aspects of Final Fantasy 7, which are impressive, all things being fair. Plus, there are moments like the death of Aerith. Is there anything like that in this game?

The whole world getting devastated is pretty memorable.kefka destorying the world. celes' suicide attempt. several deaths are possible depending on your choices. shadows most notably imo.


ff7s legacy is its the first ff to get mainstream appeal. psx marketed the shit out of the game and many were introduced through it. i think most who had been along for the ride prefer 6 over 7 though.

[Lock Jaw]

Shadow does die in the original Japanese version. Only on the port did they add the option to go back for him cause they didn't want a character to die....

[Destor]

i think thats an old wives tale. can you link me ti something confirming that?

[Lock Jaw]

Nope. Just going by what I've heard, but maybe it has been an old wives tale all these years. If I remember I'll google around about it later....

[Fignuts]

i hate ff3. my pick for the worst in the series

Job system puts it over 2 for me.


That fucking final dungeon though. Jeeeeeezus

[Fignuts]

Like the run back to Seath the Scaleless times 1,000

[Destor]

i liked the leveling system in 2. a rudimentary form of what elder scrolls wpuld later refine. want to be better at a thing? do the thing.

[Destor]

the late game encounter rate is fucking criminal

[drave]

Yall ever play this game called Brain Lord on SNES.




Love the hell outta that game.

[M-A-G]

That sounds like a title that would have grabbed my attention as a kid so that's going to have to be a no on my part.

By the by, if either you or Fignuts have a rating for this week's game it'd help if you mentioned it so I can count it for when I do the match.

[OssMan]

I think people are blown away with technical aspects of Final Fantasy 7, which are impressive, all things being fair. Plus, there are moments like the death of Aerith. Is there anything like that in this game?

The opera scene is the big memorable moment from this game, which highlights how important the game's soundtrack was. Uematsu was at the top of his game here, the score he composed is completely unrivaled, just absolutely nothing like it ever. The other big one is the final boss theme Dancing Mad, a 16-minute, three movement piece, just completely insane sounding, which composing on the Super Nintendo hardware is equated to basically painting the Sistine Chapel with crayons.

[OssMan]

i liked the leveling system in 2. a rudimentary form of what elder scrolls wpuld later refine. want to be better at a thing? do the thing.

It's good in theory but the execution was way off, the progression was way too slow and enemies were too overpowered, much easier to just bash your teammates over the head for long periods of time

[Lock Jaw]

Love the opera scene.... I hear they put in real voices in later releases? Feel like that ruins it....

[Fignuts]

It's good in theory but the execution was way off, the progression was way too slow and enemies were too overpowered, much easier to just bash your teammates over the head for long periods of time

Yeah I at least enjoyed many parts of 3. I was miserable playing 2.

[Fignuts]

kefka destorying the world. celes' suicide attempt. several deaths are possible depending on your choices. shadows most notably imo.


ff7s legacy is its the first ff to get mainstream appeal. psx marketed the shit out of the game and many were introduced through it. i think most who had been along for the ride prefer 6 over 7 though.

6 easily had the better story and characters. 7 was just far more marketable for a number of reasons.

[DAMN iNATOR]

All I know of the series is because of this dude who was in the same separation company as me in the US Army and we could actually buy whatever we wanted at the PX on our smart cards as long as we still had $ on them. He got a PS and FF VIII and I watched for a few minutes as he played it in the rec room one night on watch duty.

I bought a Playboy (this was Oct. ’99, so magazines were still a thing) and the Fan Mail TLC album and CD player. Good times. Just had to dispose of the magazine before the sergeants saw it and chewed me out over it. Had plenty of time to read it on watch duty though HAHA.

[Destor]

It's good in theory but the execution was way off, the progression was way too slow and enemies were too overpowered, much easier to just bash your teammates over the head for long periods of time

Yeah I at least enjoyed many parts of 3. I was miserable playing 2.
no doubt it was far from refined but i can see the idea on the 8 bit system and value it for its ambition. its the 2nd worst ff imo. and very easily. im not saying it was good at all.