I’ll only list here here right now.
Civilization: Civ 2. THough Civ 4 might eventually dethrone it, Civ 2 had a lot to reccomend it. It expanded the basics of Civ 1 into a massively better game, with more units, tech, and strategies. It was not quite so easy to dominate, and the AI worked pretty well. At the same time, it upgraded combat immensely.
Unlike Civ 3 later on, it wasn’t freaking annoying.
FInal Fantasy: FF9.
Yes, you heard me, Nine. I have no idea why so many people like 7 or 8 or 10. They’re not bad, per se, and they have good points (10 is definitely up there with the best FF’s). But, at the same time, they’re childish. Characterization is either lacking or very spotty. The plots are relatively thin, and the games lack the feel of Final Fantasy. FF 10 in particular feels cramped, with no world map to explore. All are clogged with stupid minigames. Seven, stripped of the fact that it had rpetty good graphics when it came out, gets much less interesting the more you play.
Nine doesn’t do that. It does drop off a little bit, which is sad, but it holds my interest as much or more than other other FF. I love 4 and 6, but on any given day I’d rather pull and play 9. Disc 1 is a masterpeice, and the game’s only real problem is the endemic slowing of the plot common to most FF’s. The other issue is that the player feels like he’s pushing against the wind, since as in all FF’s, you don’t really accomplish a thing until the game’s very end. For some weird reason, in all FF’s, nothing you do apart from killing the last boss matters to the plot.
Besides, that, however, 9 has some great characters. Zidane is brave and decisive (Squall suck!). You can that see his womanizing is, at heart, amusingly inept. Steiner may not be Auron, but he’s fun and appropriately uptight. Garnet/Dagger is a great character: brave but somewhat confused and unsure. Vivi is wonderful, as the struggles to come to grips with his own mortality. Eiko is a charming little scamp in anyone’s book. Freya and Amarant, sadly, don’t get much characterization later on, but they they do get is good. There’s a feeling that these characters are, while archetypes, real and fun.
I will never forget some of the FMV’s in this game. I really want to visit Lindblum, see Burmecia in its soggy glory, take a soaring airship across the sea. This game’s FMV’s make the summoned monsters feel like something more than spells. I can’t say that for any other FF.
I love the skill system. It’s the most flexible than any other FF. Sure, you may not be able to change classes, but there are abilities here which you can actually use strategically. Poison monsters? get immunity. High defense monsters? Use MP Attack. Do they like to use magic? Pop in Vivi and Amarant and have them toss it right back. And many monsters have some weaknesses or speial tricks you can use to take them down. This opens up a lot of replay possibilities. Plus, leveling up is fairly quick; you can just play through, or beef up your party for extra firepower. Not every stage is easy, either. This game can put the smack on you even if you level up a little. And the weapons and armors have all kinds of neat properties; even FF9 didn’t use that a early and as constantly.
