"must play" games?

[Wools]

I'm going to name some of my favourite games ever made. Not niche stuff like P.N.03 but brillant examples of the form

Metal Gear Solid 3
Has the most adult story line in a game and the atmosphere is overwhelming.

Resident Evil 4
Epic stuff and made a lot of my friends who where getting tired of gaming get back into it.

Super Mario 64
As above but almost 10 years ago. Still the most fun game ever designed.

Ico
Personal, emotional and beautiful. It'll change your outlook to gaming.

Super Monkey Ball
No faff, no nonsence, just pure gameing.

Almost all of the games mentioned above has changed some of my friends outlook on gaming. A lot of people where getting bored and contemplating giving up then one of the above was released. There are even better games out there but they were to me what GoldenEye was to me and a friend nearly 10 years ago.

[Xephon]

Some others that haven't been mentioned yet:

PlayStation 2:
Kingdom Hearts/Kingdom Hearts II
Ratchet and Clank (the first and third are the best, but they are all quality platformers)
Silent Hill (PSone)/Silent Hill 2
SOS: The Final Escape (if you can find it)
Tekken 5
Timesplitters 2
Under The Skin

GameCube:
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Pikmin/Pikmin 2
Viewtiful Joe

Xbox:
Fable
Jade Empire
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Thief: Deadly Shadows

[AdamJW]

Have you ever considered SRPGs. Its not everyones favourite Genre, but there are some real undiscovered gems. Most people who I talk to seem to be anti SRPG so I'm probably barking up the wrong tree any way as patience is most definitely required, so forget I said anything.

[Wools]

I guess you just don't like these types of games then, so why bother? I bought FF7 on the basis of a million recommendations, and was about 98% of the way through before I realised just how little enjoyment I was getting from it. Haven't touched any of these so-called RPGs since, and life has been great.

Excatly.

I've tried countless times to like JRPG's (Random battles, turn based? Ahh!) Ikaruga, Gradius (Memory test? Ahh!) Devil May Cry 3 (Countless bosses? Ahh!) and others with no success.

Experiment with games but if ou dont like a genre then dont bother. By all eans try a new game every so often but if you dont like the genre then dont worry about it. Play something else!

[112]

Go get yahself Sonic Gems (JAP) and unlock Streets of Rage 1, 2, 3! Alls i played for the past 2 weeks is Streets of rage! With all these games i have, i go back to the classic! An one of me all time faves!

It time less!

Dont think jus do!

BK

[Bleeders]

Beg, borrow or steal Ouendan on the DS.

[ezee ryder]

If you have a PS2 you must pick up Shadow of the Colossus (or as I like to call it, the reason I kept my PS2). Read reviews of it on IGN and Gamespot because what I say here just won't do it justice.

[NekoFever]

Try playing some of the best DS games. They're great fun and a lot of them are pretty unique which could go a long way towards rekindling a flagging gamer. I don't know anyone who's given them an honest go who hasn't thoroughly enjoyed them.

[hell10n]

Yeah, i've heard so much good stuff about FFVII that i'm going to force myself to play it and enjoy it..

Also, Beyond Good + Evil has been added to the list along with FFVII. Keep em coming!

Rossco: Played the MGS games, and they are truely awesome - However, I got to The Boss on MGS3, and gave up, without even fighting her?! I think there is something wrong with me... Going to pick that up on the cheap too.

There is nothing wrong with u. It's just that u like me have been playing games for so many yrs that u tend to get bored because its all been done b4. I do the same thing. I buy a game, play it a bit, then get bored & it sits on the shelf gathering dust (or I stick it up on ebay!!).
Also if you've got a job & have other interests like me it's hard to find the time to cram in a lengthy gaming session every night.

If u didnt like FFIIV the 1st time around u probably will like it even less now. I played it thru to the start of the 3rd disc but it just got too samey so I didnt bother.
Turn based RPGs just dont do anything for me anymore. When you've played 1 you've played them all so I'd avoid Advance Wars too. Also avoid The Godfather (yawn!).

The only RPG I could recommend is Grandia 2. In other RPGs when u battle u let your character do his thing, then let your opponent have his go etc etc & its turn based, but in Grandia 2 its time based meaning that all your characters can be battling at the same time. They even run past each other to their target. It looks fantastic when you've got everyone fighting themselves at the same time!!

God Of War is fantastic too!! It's everything the 3D Castlevania's should have been but werent.

I have to say that the DS has also rekindled my love of games again too!! Its such an original way of playing & theres some great titles out there. I was really sceptical os DS Mario Kart expecting it to be an N64 port (the worst ever!!) but it really surprised me & is fantastic.

I also want to mention GUN as it is 1 game that I just dont want to end!!

[dcmk]

Some others that haven't been mentioned yet:

PlayStation 2:
Kingdom Hearts/Kingdom Hearts II
Ratchet and Clank (the first and third are the best, but they are all quality platformers)
Silent Hill (PSone)/Silent Hill 2
SOS: The Final Escape (if you can find it)
Tekken 5
Timesplitters 2
Under The Skin

GameCube:
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Pikmin/Pikmin 2
Viewtiful Joe

Xbox:
Fable
Jade Empire
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Thief: Deadly Shadows

great shout out, i agree with every single one of them
my 'must play' titles are probably Katamari Damacy(either), Gitaroo Man, God of War and Prince of Persia all fab..especially as they all are just so immediate

[asnozz]

GameCube:
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Zelda: The Wind Waker
Viewtiful Joe/2
Animal Crossing

Dreamcast:
Shenmue/2
Skies of Arcadia


Xbox
KOTOR/2
Jade Empire
Grand Theft Auto Series (in my opinion better on xbox)
Amped 2
Halo/2

Xbox360
Oblivion
Ghost Recon

Playstation 2
ICO
Shadow of Colossus
Ryu ga Gotoku (if you cant wait until the english release)

[Stoise]

Don't know if you'd like it, because of the patience issue, both Shenmues are superb games

EDIT: like asnozz just said

[hell10n]

Yeah I agree both Shenmues are great. I dont really see that patience comes into it though as u dont feel like your constantly doing the same thing over & over like u do in other RPG's. Instead u actually feel like you're living & experiencing, & therefore this makes the Shenmue games a joy to play.

Oh, & I also agree that Prince Of Persia Sands Of Time is fantastic!!

[killerseven]

I almost gave up on gaming a couple of years back, I was still buying a load of games I just realised I never really enjoying playing any of them.

A friend recommended Ico and it reminded me of how I imagined games could be when I was younger. I would recommend this over anything else to someone who was getting sick of games, though if you do get it you must play to the end, as the very best is saved till last.

FF7 is a fantastic game, I havent played it for years though so Im not sure how well it has aged, especially as a big part of its appeal were its graphics.

[Stoise]

I dont really see that patience comes into it though as u dont feel like your constantly doing the same thing over & over like u do in other RPG's. Instead u actually feel like you're living & experiencing, & therefore this makes the Shenmue games a joy to play.

I know what you mean, I think exactly the same thing - but what I meant by that was there are quite a few bits where you have to quite literally wait for a certain time for something to open/someone to arrive. Didn't bother me of course, added to the whole atmosphere that the game created.