5. Metal Gear Rising
I so remember first hearing about Metal Gear Rising. I did
know of Metal Gear around this time, but to be honest I only knew of the fourth
game. Hell, I never even played any of those games after Rising. So, Rising was
my first Metal Gear game and I am so glad I did. I felt it was a great way to
introduce me to the overall franchise. The story was focused on its own path
and did not really spoil anything about the past games either. The amount of
humor and political satire was strong and on top of that it has some great
action with amazing characters. At times, I will always find that one person
saying the characters are not memorable and yet I just cannot see that. Ever
since Armstrong was introduced, the internet was full of “Nanomachines son.”
Even to this day I love using Monsoons quote about memes. Then Jetstream Sam is
possibly tied with Raiden for my favorite Metal Gear character. So, one of the
few gripes with this game is that it is quite short compared to other action
games. The development of this game had to be quite fast since Platinum was
just brought on so late into it. It is amazing how much they got done though
and what a polished product it is. The parring system is by far one of the best
mechanics in action games, this is up there with Nero’s grappling abilities and
Dante’s style changes. It is precise all the time, it can be a bit overused,
but enemies and mostly bosses will have attacks where that will not work. Also
parrying is just blocking the attack you are going to get nowhere fast if you
focus on a defensive stance for too long. Even the engine with how anything can
get cut is beyond mind blowing to me and then we have the nice visuals when you
cut through those annoying foes. Mostly because you can rip out electronic
spines out from them or just make them into mush. The game even has a great
challenge mode and the great DLC which is free right now if I am correct. You
get to play as two of the bosses from the game and they play incredibly
different from Raiden. Then there are even challenges for those two characters
and one gets a new boss fight. This is then also by far one of the best
soundtracks in an action game as those rock tracks with intense vocals and well
written lyrics just give many fights the additional amount of excitement. Metal
Gear Rising is a smaller package compared to other games on this list, but it
just shines brightly just like the others.
4. Devil May Cry 3
Now we are getting to where Dante has been fully revived
after the abysmal second game of the franchise. Dante in the second game barely
ever talked and it killed his cool yet goofy persona. Then comes the new game
in the franchise where we start at the beginning of Dante’s story and how does
it start? With Dante eating pizza like a glutton, breaking jukeboxes, using his
foes as a skateboard, breaking ceiling fans, and then finishing things off with
billiard balls. I do love the fourth game’s opening sequence more, but this is
a close second. Not only was this a change for the better, the series pretty
much helped out the genre in general. We had a huge arsenal of weapons that
could be switched around, but you could only carry two at a time for both
physical weapons and guns. Personally, I like that for a sense of challenge,
but in the fourth game just having all the weapons is forgiving. That is a big
reason why I do love the third game the most, it is a challenging game and the
special edition proves how harder the game could get. This is then the game
that got to showcase the beginning of Dante facing off with Vergil which is
still my all-time favorite rivalry. Vergil has a character to overcome really
meant a lot in both story and how it felt as a gamer. Vergil has always been a
tough boss and then you get to play as him in the special edition! There are
also ton of other bosses that are incredibly tough to beat if you are going in
blind. This was also the introduction of different styles you can use to play
leaving tons of freedom for your personal style. I was a trickster user for
most of the time as dodging was extremely helpful in that game. Meanwhile I can
see a weapon master dominating a boss through aggressive play. Other fun
features were the exploration in this game, I felt it did better than the first
game with some tricky rooms that will punish you for messing up, but at the
same time if you want to risk it, you can farm for orbs there. The overall area
felt large, but easy to explore at the same time. With the original game and
four it felt a bit too linear which is not bad if you give a great amount of
fights, but with the third game I felt like one of the challenges was finding
the fastest way through the level. Overall this game is hard and yet so
satisfying to defeat. So get yourself a pizza and have a blast.
I got a poster of this in my room!
3. Bayonetta 2
Now we finally get to Bayonetta! Now I will admit that the
first game is another one of those fun challenges. At times though it can be
out right unforgiving with those quick time events that lead into instant
deaths all the time! Some of them even had awkward timing just making that even
more of a hassle. Still Bayonetta one is pretty much the eleventh spot on this
list. What makes Bayonetta two greater though? Well many things have been
changed to be a bit more forgiving, but at the same time it leaves more of a
challenge surprisingly. This time however the challenges are a bit more fun to
do. What also helps is how the weapons feel in this game. I personally like
some of the varied weapons and by that, I mean the ones that act differently
than the first two weapons. In the second game, you had the Kafka which was an
awesome poisonous bow and arrow. The whips were great for grapples and could
lead to some bigger combos. Then there was the giant hammer which could do
massive damage. My personal favorite was the Rakasha blades and having them on
both hands and feet just made me ecstatic. Having some weapons being for both
hands and feet was a strong idea and Bayonetta 1 only had that for the default
weapons. There was even the new Climax Mode that replaced the wicked weaves that relies on how you can build meter. Bayonetta 2 also had more to do in terms of gameplay. There were more
outfits to have that could have you play as different characters like Jeane
(just like Bayo 1), Rodin, and even Rose! Bayonetta 2 also has one of the best
boss fights of all time! The fight against the Masked Lumen in chapter four was
beyond amazing. It was fast and chaotic and yet I could tell what was going on.
What also improved this game from the original was how it spliced in minigame
sections, it reminded me of how Wonderful 101 did it where it just felt
natural. One of those moments being a fight where you play as Madama Butterfly
and even have a Star Fox like shooter section (if you got the Star Fox outfit
on, you get to control an Arwing!) The other big factor to me was how Bayonetta
was in this game, back then she had no memories and to be honest the amnesia
cliché gets annoying at times. With the second game, Bayo had all her memories
and with that had all of her attitude and the new design just felt better for
her. Bayonetta 2 is easily just one of the best games ever and to be honest is
better than what my number two and one on this list. Still this is a personal
list and if you know me, you know what I have for my top two.
Still one of the best fights ever!
Honorable Mentions
Before getting to the top two of this list I want to give
honor to some other titles that deserve some love.
God Hand
What an insane game this is! If you want to see how a speed
runner plays an action game, then God Hand is that title. God Hand really gets
rewarding if you remember the level design and how you use the combat
abilities. On top of that it is easy to remember thanks to a fun presentation
and crazy boss fights. It may not be special in its story, but this game sure
is wacky and fun with it.
Transformers Devastation
This is the game my childhood always wanted and to top it
off, it actually has some strong mechanics as well. Metal Gear Rising’s
director helped out with this title so there were similar mechanics like
parrying and this game even uses a Witch Time like function. Along with that
all playable characters felt different and leaves room for freedom of how to
play. The different weapons and upgrading them with stats or simply making them
into stronger weapons was a great system. There were some great boss battles
like the ones with Devastator and Shockwave. I do wish there was a Decepticon
version where you get to play as Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave,
and maybe someone like Cyclonis or make minigame sections with Soundwave’s
little robots or a giant section with Devastator. Either way what we got so far
was a strong title and I cannot wait for the sequel.
Pandora’s Tower
Even if this title is a bit more of an action RPG, it still
counts as an action game none the less. To me this is how a good 3D
Castlevannia can be done. It has a great area to explore with multiple levels
and nice puzzles that remind me of DMC in some ways. The chain mechanic which
could easily be a whip was strong with how it clings to the environment and the
monsters’ skin. That with the boss fights were incredible as you have to find
their weak points and literally rip their flesh off can be a nice challenge.
Along with that there is a time limit that is fair, but none the less does give
you a sense of caution all the time. Overall it is a fun and unique title to
experience and this was another game saved by Operation Rainfall, so thank you
again for that.
2. No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle
So, if this is the first time reading any of my articles
regarding No More Heroes, this is possibly my favorite franchise. Sure, there
are only two games with the first game being ported to the 360 and PS3, but
anything that continues is a franchise. There is actually a bit more to No More
Heroes as well as there is a short-animated feature for the series and a unique
music collection that does continue the story in an odd way and that is saying
something. To start off my love for No More Heroes I am going with the sequel
and I can admit that the second game has some better mechanics than the
original. First is the function of being able to change weapons on the fly and
not just dealing with getting a more powerful Beam Katana after the other. This
leaves room for a bit of freedom on how to play as there is the standard Blood
Berry which is average in all categories. The previously strongest sword gets
downgraded for the sequel and is now called the Camellia as it may be weaker
than the standard, but the speed of this blade and combo potential is higher,
the blade also has a better chance at making people dizzy and lifting them in
the air. The Peony is a large and slow weapon that grows bigger as the Ecstasy
Meter gets filled, you can go to some insane lengths with that blade. Then we
got the Rose Nasty which is the fastest, but it will lose charge quickly, no
worries though as it is fast to recharge. Other than that, some of the level
design is stronger than the first game with one being this huge mall level where
you start out clearing out a gauntlet of men in the parking lot and then
climbing up the mall with many people hiding in the isles. Now there are
certain things that hold this game back though. The sequel tried to use
different playable characters with Shinobu for two levels and Henry Cooldown
for one boss fight. Personally, I think Henry should have more to do mostly
because playing as Shinobu can get annoying. Also, her boss fights did get some
hindrances because of that as well. Then there is the ending of the second game
which has one annoying final boss fight with the second form being ungodly
evil. The first and third forms are too easy though and really kills the
momentum. I will say the build up to the final boss was strong with three of
those bosses being some of my favorites for games in general. The mini games
got better in the second game by doing 8-bit inspired games, except for the
scorpion mini game which got worse in this title. Then getting stronger had a
bit more of a challenge with a rhythm styled game which is fun, but those
higher levels are brutal, at least the game is forgiving about how many times
you can screw up. Then there were Revenge Missions which are okay I guess, just
kind of felt flat, especially we were killing the men who killed an important
friend to Travis and they just get side content. The music is also stronger in
this title with Kill or be Killed and Philistine being songs I just listen to
on a daily basis. Then the story is still as silly as ever, but it surprisingly
had some dramatic moments which actually worked for what this game was doing
over the original. One of the final factors to this title is how it looks. The
game looks fantastic considering it is a Wii title and has some lovely areas to
look at. It goes for this semi HD look as the character models are strong as
well. Overall, No More Heroes 2 is a close second, but the original title to me
is stronger.
Still to this day my favorite boss character.
1. No More Heroes
I have gone into the depths of hell for this game. I
literally have done a nine-page essay and even extended it for this game. There
is no doubt that I love No More Heroes. While the second game has some lovely
features to it and looks gorgeous. The original No More Heroes feels better as
a complete package. There are less boss fights in this game, but there is only
like one that is boring. Then there is even like one or two others ones that do
feel easy and yet they are still well designed fights. The second game easily
had more flubs with some of their boss fights or just add in some horrible
mechanics like the motorcycle fight! The original game did play it a bit safer
compared to the sequel and that is only because the first game was a pretty
risky title already. No More Heroes 1 or 2 still keeps a strong unique taste to
them. Liking one or the other more is quite fine it is up to how you taste the
product itself. I enjoy the first title because of how complete this one feels
compared to the sequel. First there is the city which you can explore and while
not being the best I still prefer exploring that area for some odd reason. I am
completely fine that it was gone in the sequel and yet I still love the oddly
designed town of Santa Destroy in the first game. The level design in the first
title is still strong as this title knew on how to vary things up. The good
thing with the variations is that the controls were good and did not function
like that terrible motorcycle fight in Desperate Struggle! Sorry, I just really
hate that moment. Along with that the story felt more compact and rich thanks
to each boss having something to do with a theme, while the second game did
have some filler bosses. Then I do love the buildup in the second game more
than the first, but the final two battles in the first game and leagues above
the final fight in the sequel.
Another aspect I do love in this game is that is
a great challenge game. In the first game, you would buy newer and stronger
weapons, but you can always go back to the weaker ones. I did a challenge with
this game on the hardest difficulty which is only unlockable through new game+
and I went through the game with the fewest upgrades possible. There are some
limits to that as you are forced to start and end the game with the strongest
beam katana, but with no other equips to it, it will be losing charge a lot so
that is still a risky weapon right there considering who is at the end of the
game. Still I accomplished that and felt great for it. In the second game, you
can literally go no upgrades, but as I said before that final boss is so brutal
with that, that it stops being a fun challenge. I did that once for Desperate
Struggle and I had some leftover rage to deal with while in the first game, it
felt accomplishing. One of those big reasons is how the combat felt in the
first one. There is an ability called side step where in the middle of blocking
attacks you can slide out and get more hits on any foe. This lead to reading
the bosses movements and kind of expose weak points in how they fight. Some
bosses will still dodge that though so be careful. While in Desperate Struggle
it was harder to do that and when you did it did not have the payoff like it
did in the first game. Then with the mini games I personally like them more
because of the joke they imply. For some reason just standing around filling gas
is just funny to me while I play No More Heroes. Then there were Assassination
Missions which were just fights with bigger pay and then there was a challenge
mode where you had special levels where you cannot get hit at all. I really did
miss those from the sequel and I did all of them even with the challenge I was
doing. To this day there is one gold medal I cannot get and that is the Old
City mission because you need to kill tons of dudes to get that and the Blood
Berry is not designed for that. Overall, No More Heroes as a game felt more
complete as it has many modes and still a better ratio of bosses compared to
the sequel.
Well this is a huge reason why I split this list because of
my love for No More Heroes. Again, both the first and second games are not the
greatest and I can admit the likes of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are better
games. Yet I will always put No More Heroes at the top because of the personal
value I have with it. To me it is one of the most unique games out there in
terms of story and game play. Then for how much I love Bayonetta and Dante,
Travis is still my second favorite character of games. Suda 51 is my all-time
favorite director and designer for video games because of how unique all his
titles feel. Not to say anything terrible about Bayonetta, but it was being the
successor to Devil May Cry while the series was on hiatus. Did Bayonetta do
many things new, yes. Still that series was mostly created because of Devil May
Cry 4, so the uniqueness is a bit lower. Then there are many other action games
that just try to be Devil May Cry as well and yet I know of nothing else that
feels like No More Heroes, hell even the sequel does not feel like the first
game which is because Suda was not the head director of that title, but I still
feel that he would have changed it up regardless since that is how he is. So,
the unique flair is why I put No More Heroes at the top, but this is also why I
love action games. There are many unique action games being made even now. As I
said before the new Nier is taking on more of an action game approach and
Scalebound is working with the idea of a semi-controllable partner in the
middle of real time action. There is even Let It Die coming soon as it takes
Dark Souls and makes into the crazy action game genre that I love. Even the
reboot game called DmC still feels different from the main series which is why
I still like the title and it is not the disaster Devil May Cry 2 was. That is
why I love this genre, it still has the most unique titles and there are so
many new things being done by the top developers for this genre. Hopefully
Devil May Cry 5 will come soon.
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