Games I want Draco to at play/try/watch

[Deck]

SORRY DRACO BUT I HAVE A REASONABLY LARGE LIST SO I'M PUTTING IT HERE.

Dragon Warrior VII:

Recommendation Level: High
Watchability: Low
Playability: Medium

It's probably my first Dragon Quest/Warrior game not counting #1. And I fell in love with the series with 7. It was released late in the PSX's lifespan so it's lack of 3D GRAFIX BLOOM was odd for a lot of people. But what it lacks in graphics it makes up for in story and features. This game is the reason I got 8, and I feel this one is better than 8. The battles use 2D sprites but they animate well when they attack.

I don't want to spoil too much because of how the game unfolds, but you will be encountering a lot of stories that don't feel cliche' and are genuinely unique and interesting. Think of the town from Dragon Quest 8 (>>Spoilers<< You've told me you've played #8 before Draco) where a king who is so sad from his wife's death that the entire kingdom is in a constant state of law enforced mourning. Lots of unique stuff like that.

I remember the game being hard but it's been a long time since I've played it. There's a difficult secret boss I think you'll find a reasonable challange. The game takes quite awhile to complete since the lack of 3D makes a lot of room for other things, so it'll take a bit of dedication. I enjoy the Class System in 7 a lot better than the point system in 8. There's also an optional collection aspect to the game. IT'S A GOOD GAME from what I remember.

Phoenix Wright 1 to 3:

Recommendation Level: High
Watchability: High
Playability: Medium

You've been mentioning how you've been wanting to play sum visual novels, this prettymuch is one, though it is a lot more interactive than most. Sometimes the game logic might make you go "wtf" and you have to really get into the minds of what the court/game designers expect from you in order to progress. But after the first two games it will become second nature. (I actually found the final case in PW3 easier than most.)

The game usually feeds you each part of a complex Rube Goldberg level of complexity plot one spoonful at a time, so you aren't too overwhelmed (most of the time.) And there are a lot of intense moments that make you go "HOLY!"

Be warned that the game is a huge time sink, each case goes on and on, and there are often relations between the three games so it's good not to wait too long between playing each game. It is imperative that they are played in proper order.

PW: Ace Attorney > PW: Justice for All > PW: Trials and Tribulations.

I haven't played all of Apollo Justice yet, the 4th game.

If you get stuck, use http://www.uhs-hints.com/ or just ask me and I'll give you a hint (if I remember the case.) If you really want you can probably watch this one on youtube to get through it faster, but when you figure stuff out for yourself you feel like a real smarty.

Misadventures of Tron Bonne:

Recommendation Level: Medium - High
Watchability: Medium
Playability: Medium

I think this one came after MM Legends 2, you control Tron Bonne doing various tasks to earn/steal money. You can play mega-man style missions searching ruins for treasure or robbing cities and villages. She uses her Serv-Bots for special tasks like sending them into a house to loot or up a tree to steal apples or attack enemies. There are also other game modes where you solve block puzzles (funner than it sounds) and go into a first person RPG-Like mode in search of treasure and talking to people.

I remember this really annoying mission where you have to wrangle horses, but it's skippable.

Robotrek:

Recommendation Level: Low
Watchability: Medium
Playability: Medium

Not the best SNES RPG out there, but it's unique in it's invention and robot customization systems. Well... it had a lot of depth for SNES RPGs at the time anyway. Combat is semi-realtime, I forget. I don't have too much to say about this one, but it's interesting.

The Neverhood:

Recommendation Level: Medium
Watchability: Medium - High
Playability: Medium

If anything you HAVE to at least watch a playthough of this one, but it has really touching moments that may be best played yourself. It has both first person MYST style sections and walking sections on a platformer-like plane (with no platforming.) The music is either minimalistic background sounds when you're outside in the MYST-like sections, to really catchy tunes here and there, I forget actually. Great if only for the setting/story/style.

The puzzles though? I don't remember how intuitive they are.
Try http://www.uhs-hints.com/ again.

Shadow of the Colossus:

Recommendation Level: High
Watchability: High (But I advise playing it)
Playability: High

Short game, masterfully made and minimalistic outside of the actual boss fights, there isn't much to find or discover. (Though I have heard there is one hard to find secret location.) As I mentioned it is a little BAD END but talk to me when you're done and we can talk about the ending.

Not exactly an exploration game on par with Elder Scrolls or Yume Nikki, but still a must play.

Loom:

Recommendation Level: Low - Medium
Watchability: Medium - High
Playability: Low - Medium

This is an Adventure game by LucasArts, really beautiful. The game doesn't use an inventory system, you solve puzzles with musical tunes, you'll have to write down the tunes.

I believe there are various versions and other things that will help you to know before playing. I recommend the version with speech, but note that wikipedia says:

"The DOS CD-ROM version has retouched graphics, greatly shortened dialogue, and lacks a number of features found in the floppy version, such as alternate solutions to puzzles. The game is also missing close-ups during dialogues."

The physical game was also meant to come with the following that would enhance your experience:

"The original package offered an audio tape with a 30 minute audio drama that explained the nature and history of the Loom world, and the circumstances of Bobbin's birth. The game is a direct continuation of the story."

"The package also offered an illustrated notebook, The Book of Patterns, supposedly belonging to apprentice weavers in the game world. Its purpose was to optionally note there the drafts that could be learned, as well as describing some that were not seen in the game, with interesting tales related for each draft."

Keep these in mind when trying to play the game, perhaps there is a .pdf of the book of patterns?

Sadly the game ends on a cliffhanger and never gets a sequel.

Wonder Project J:

Recommendation Level: Medium
Watchability: Medium
Playability: Medium

I probably haven't played this since the 1990's, only available as a rom translation for english. It's a game that tells a story in the future similar to Pinocchio. It's sort of a pet game RPG where you teach the boy robot proper actions and build stats. It's been too long since I've played this to tell you much about it.