I'VE BEEN PLAYING FINAL FUCKING FANTASY IV AND ZEROMUS HAS BEEN KICKING MY ASS REPEATEDLY

GUESS IT'S GRINDING TIME

AND WHY IS THE SAVEPOINT SO FAR AWAY

Same. Or at least, new games haven't interested me since, oh, 2011 or so. I try and play catch up with old classics I've skipped though.

If games can be held up to some objective standard (which is an iffy concept in itself) than games have been pretty great lately. But for me personally, a lot of games have just gotten stale and nothing I've played in the last year has captivated me like in the past. Nothing I played in 2013 really wowed me. Most people know I'm a big Metal Gear Solid fan and even I don't think the new installment looks appealing at all.

I should go ahead and off myself for making such an obvious grammatical error like that.

I dug out my Sega Genesis yesterday and played some old gems, namely Castlevania Bloodlines which I hadn't beaten before yesterday. The whole experience evolved into me looking up lists of best Genesis games to see what I've missed out on, and I decided to give Phantasy Star IV a shot via Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. It's pretty good so far and definitely reminds me of classic Final Fantasies, while retaining its own personality and style. It's worth noting that I'm not really a fan of RPGs in the first place.

For anyone who's an expert in this area, could you list off some essential classic RPGs? I've beaten Final Fantasies IV and VI, EarthBound and Mother 3, and the Pokemon games. That's about it.

Any and all, hence why I listed non-Genesis RPGs that I've played (though I see how my wording was confusing since I started talking about Genesis games). But I am interested in that era because I guess that era is considered the golden age? Or maybe the PS1 era is. I'm not sure, again, I'd like to learn more though.

Also did you enjoy Chrono Trigger, Z? I have played a few hours of it but it didn't grip me (as with many RPGs), though I may just need to give it another chance. I only ask because it's usually the go-to game for these types of discussions.

Finished Phantasy Star IV, it was 8/10 perfect game.

I'm itching for a DS game. Can someone recommend me some "hidden gems" that you think got overlooked or under-appreciated? Most of what I've played are big titles and I know the DS has a reputation for some really interesting/niche titles.

I think you do miss out on some things if you just jump right into 2, because you carry over your character from 1 and some of the relationships with your crewmates won't be as strong.

I got a Wii U with New Super Mario Bros. U and Pikmin 3. I've started playing Pikmin 3 just a little while ago and it's really fun so far. My biggest complaint is that stylus mode is made exclusively for right-handers, which I am not. It doesn't make the game unplayable or anything, but it is annoying and doesn't make sense to me--especially since Shigeru Miyamoto is a lefty.

Anyways I haven't really played the Pikmin series before but I've watched my girlfriend play through Pikmin 2. I wasn't really expecting to enjoy it because strategy games aren't really my thing, but I'm pleasantly surprised by it. The graphics are gorgeous and it feels very polished. The overall feel of the game is exactly what I want from a Nintendo game.

I already have my eyes of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Mario Kart 8. I'm considering Monster Hunter as well, and someone on another forum recommended Super Mario 3D World. Any other Wii U owners have recommendations for me?

I just watched some gameplay footage of Final Fantasy XV. It sure looks like a world of difference from the Final Fantasies I've played. Are fans of the series still excited for this? It looks so far removed from Final Fantasy to me.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

I completed the first mansion so far. I underestimated how much I enjoy sp00ky stuff even when it's intended for little kids because I am finding this to be more fun than I expected.

I made it through with only one of my dudes dying and it was totally preventable. It was the black dude who fell off a cliff after an unfortunate altercation with some elk. I thought it was a pretty cool game, especially if you like bad horror movies (like me) but for me it's a one-and-done game so you probably want to find it cheap if anyone's considering it.

My recommendation if you're trying to keep people alive: don't split up or leave people behind if you can help it.