A blog on my favourite game series'....sssss.

I was contemplating last night what my favourite game franchise is and i came up with a few. The problem with a lot of gaming series' is that they become lost over time, diluted and often clutching at straws - sometimes games companies will release a steaming pile of a game under the guise that it's part of say, the Resident Evil series, and so people flock to buy it.

That said, i believe for the most part that Capcom have always delivered with the Resi series...with the possible exception of Resi 3 "Nemesis" and Survivor. Nemesis because it's just a preference (or lack of) and Survivor because...well, it sucked. Sorry. But it did. Although it must've been popular because it spawned a sequel and i heard on the grapevine that they're releasing another one on the Wii.


A screenshot from Survivor. Kind of a poor mans House of the Dead, it was lapped up by lightgun fans but not so much Resi fans.

So yeah, for the most part i enjoy the Resi series but as always there are a few duffers *cough* Resi 5. But apart from that there are a few other games that when they come out i'm queuing outside Game with a 2 man tent and a thermos of coffee.

1) Phantasy Star: Ever since playing Phantasy Star III on my MegaDrive i've been addicted to this series. The second the PSIII title screen appeared and i heard the haunting music (which is in my head right now) i knew this game was going to keep my attention. Of all the games i've played this one probably invokes my most vivid memories of gaming - the first time i wandered into the woods outside the first town and met a lonely (hot) female cyborg named Mieu i instantly became hooked on the potential that PSIII offered me. I think of my favourite two characters in RPG's Mieu and Wren (the two cyborgs) are up there with the best of them - i mean, Wren could transform into two different vehicles and fit the entire team inside for christs sake!!


Mieu was something of a precursor to Lara Croft, probably the first hot female game character, she was more in proportion and had pink hair.

I thoroughly enjoyed PSIV as well although i found it to be a little on the short side but nothing could have prepared me for the enjoyment of Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast. What a game!!
Even though it was essentially a dungeon crawler the emphasis (and the hook) was definately on levelling up your character. I spent HOURS trawling dungeons looking for S-class weapons and equipment to make my character look the business and then i took him (a FORCE character) online which at that point was pure witchcraft.
This was back in the day when headsets weren't available so all the interaction was done using a pop-up QWERTY keyboard which you had to hastily type with before an enemy hit you. Good times.


The cover art to Phantasy Star on the Dreamcast. This is the US art but i remember the UK version being similar. Note the character in the jaunty hat in the background? That was me.


A screenshot from the game - the sense of comraderie was unparalleled as the Hunters steamed in with swords and the Rangers picked off stragglers with sniper rifles. This game was sweet.

Having recently just purchased Phantasy Star portable on the PSP i'm equally excited to start it but i have to wait until i've finished playing FF:Crisis Core. The fact that they made it Ad-Hoc only mode is a controverisal one but i can't imagine playing it with anyone but friends anyway so it's not the end of the world.

Also Phantasy Star Zero is due for DS release soon which i'll be all over - for anyone interested the new trailer is below, courtesy of YouTube: