What is your most pleasant gaming surprise

[jlarlee]

I'm talking about a game you heard little or no hype about that you happened to play and it just blew your socks off I have two.

I had taken sometime off of gaming in 1996 due to joining the military only to catch the habit again when i visited my folks and played my brothers N64.To say the least I had fallen out of the loop of gaming news and gossip and what games were good. So i bought a PS1 and FF 7 and really enjoyed it. After I beat 7 a little game named FF Tactics came out. I was like it has the FF label why not? Now I had never even played a strat RPG game so it was the first game of that genre for me. And boy was I blown away it still stands in my gaming top 5 although in some ways i think the GBA tactics improved on the formula.
My second surprise was the Illusion of Gaia. my folks hated me knowing everything I was getting for my birthday so they would always throw in some gifts they picke don their own and this usually ended in disasterous results. Like for example when they got me the Nelson tape (Hey he loves music played by guys with long hair he'll play the crap out of it) Anyways the following year they got me Gaia and I was to say the least a little scared of how bad it would be. Needless to say I playe dand loved it and am still wishing someone would give it a sequel.

[jlarlee]

Is my post really that bad? Silent folks today

[nachzeher]

Shadow Hearts was overshadowed (no pun intended) by the release of FFX, but it came highly recommended by my cousin. Played it, beat it, twice! Gonna go for a thiird time soon. I rate it above FFX, which i got bored just five hours into the game. I might just give FFX another chance if I had time to spare. But right now Shadow Hearts is my favorite RPG for the PS2, and my second all time favorite.

For those who've never heard of it, I highly suggest you pick it up. You could probably get a brand new copy off ebay/half for $20. Though it is kinda short (clocked in 40 hours with sidequests), if you like RPGs, games with a dark atmosphere and well...originality, do yourself a favor and pick this up.

Here's hoping the second one sees an NA release. *crosses fingers*

[DenisDFat]

Clash at Deminhead

Super Ninja Boy

[repetske]

I fell in love with the game Silent Bomber on Playstation. It's one of my top 5 favorite games on any system. If you like action games at all, it's a must try. I even own 2 copies. One to keep and one to let people borrow.

[Sea Dragon]

Hmm... I looked at that Shadow Hearts. Gamespot's review had me piqued for pork until it mentioned that 'judgement ring' - is there a way to turn that thing off, or do you have to use it for every attack you make?

Also, even if it is timing based, will it let you keep it spinning for as long as you want until you decide to stop it? Or do the enemies get to attack you while you're waiting for the opportune moment to stop the spinny wheel?

[jlarlee]

I have not thought of Super Ninja Boy in a long time and clash at demon head wa sone of those elusive games that i wanted to play but never got the chance

[nachzeher]

Hmm... I looked at that Shadow Hearts. Gamespot's review had me piqued for pork until it mentioned that 'judgement ring' - is there a way to turn that thing off, or do you have to use it for every attack you make?

Also, even if it is timing based, will it let you keep it spinning for as long as you want until you decide to stop it? Or do the enemies get to attack you while you're waiting for the opportune moment to stop the spinny wheel?

Can't turn it off, that's how you attack. The needle will only spin once. So you must get it right during that spin. It's a turn based type combat, each turn you get one spin. If you miss it, you don't deal. It's really simpler than it sounds though. As long as you got the timing down, you don't even need to look at the ring.

[st0neface]

Well, back when I was only a little into gaming, my cousin asked if I wanted a couple of games he didn't like. Thinking they were just crappy ones I could get a bit of enjoyment out of, he hands me Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana. Needless to say, these are some top-notch RPGs, and they recieved regular play until about a year ago, when I beat them for the billionth time. Even now, I somewhat regret trading them.

[msdmoney]

I remember renting Chrono Trigger back in the day, and I couldn't put it down. I just rented it randomly not realizing it was supposed to be really good.

I had heard good reccomendations for BG&E but never really cared to play it. When it dropped to 15 I picked it up and man was I surprised. I was in the middle of Metroid Prime, but stopped and played all the way through BG&E for a couple days straight.

[jlarlee]

Didn't Chrono trigger and FF III come out at about the same time? Both those games were so far ahead of their time

[ilovemyapplesduh]

Defently the first Harvest Moon for sure.

[eurenix]

The first christmas after I got my NES, I was given Dragon Warrior. At nine years old, I was really disappointed when I saw what kind of game it was, since I had never played an RPG. After a few days spent playing without sleep, I can safely say I got past my disappointment.

[jlarlee]

The first christmas after I got my NES, I was given Dragon Warrior. At nine years old, I was really disappointed when I saw what kind of game it was, since I had never played an RPG. After a few days spent playing without sleep, I can safely say I got past my disappointment.

That game brings back fond memories of turning my tv way down and trying to muffle the clicking of my controller so that my folks would not make me turn it off becaus ei wa splaying it at 4 a.m.