We continue with the list and WOW has it been a little more difficult than I thought. Writing twenty paragraphs isn't so bad, but trying to remember things about this game to comment on was more challenging than expected. All of these games have gotten tons of play time, but there were some that I haven't played in years. While I was able to replay a good number of them, not all of them are readily available for everyone to re-experience. It's sad, but that's the game industry. Anyway, on with the last of the games before we enter the top 100! Onward!
#119 Virtua Fighter 4
When you want a great fighter on the PS2 and are tired of Mortal Kombat Deception, Virtua Fighter released a fantastic title just for you! You want to fight on a single player ranking system and fight in arcades? Then get ready to revisit one of Sega's most awesome franchises. They're all here, from Jeffry to Pai-chan! Its graphics only got better from title to title, and the controls never faltered. Virtua Fighter stood tall from console to console and PS2 is no different. You still get the fast pace punch, kick and throw action you want and that's how it's always going to be
While it is not as good as Mortal Kombat 9, this title still delivered on a lot of fronts. The storyline isn't anything to write home about and the idea of death in the series has become something of a joke, but the fatalities and a lot of the new characters added bring a lot to the table. The character designs on the women can be seen as a bit of a downgrade, thanks to some public outcry, but the graphics and the gameplay are still very solid. It's good to see a lot of these returning characters they brought back and a lot of the different gameplay keeps it fresh. A lot of good jokes came from this title and even some of the DLC characters are greatly appreciated, including Leatherface and even the playable Goro!
#117 Doom 64
Doom has gone through several different versions, moderations, and iterations, but none of them are quite as unique as Doom 64. This Doom does focus on killing monsters and demons, but it also has a strange quality to its puzzles and map quirks. The entire game was far different than people thought it would be, thinking it was just another port to another system, but it was different in so many ways. The monsters and tone were so unique, it's basically considered its own separate entity. Some people consider it the true Doom 3, but there are others who wouldn't consider it that, thinking it was far too different. Still, we here at Planet Virtua consider it a strong entry to the Classic Doom franchise. That should be good enough.
#116 Dragon Quest XI
Although the story is a bit taxing to keep up with, Dragon Quest 11 is a lot of fun, and the characters make up for a lot of its shortcomings. The graphics are quite strong and the setting is absolutely beautiful. It has that beautiful character design we know Toriyama for and that is enough to put it on this list as a strong entry. While it is quite linear, it's still a very dynamic and long run from beginning to end. It goes through many different places and you meet many different characters that decide to join you on your journey.
#115 Mega Man X
Perhaps the greatest followup to a thriving series. Mega Man 2 is the greatest of the original series, Mega Man X is unmatched in its own series of games. This game has an introduction that's actually fun, and the gameplay can be so wonderfully challenging. I had a lot of problems getting through some of these levels before I finally got better with the controls, which are easy to learn but hard to master. X is a character design marvel, who joins the Mega Man team as something of an upgrade, and the two of them take on the likes of Dr. Wily and Sigma. If you are a fan of the franchise, this title is obligated to be played.
#114 Doom 3
This was a divisive title, but it has many charms of its own. Not only does the BFG edition for consoles include Doom and Doom 2, but once you accept this as a survival horror, it's a lot more attractive as a game. This was the first game in the franchise to be fully rendered with all new 3D graphics compliments of John Carmack and what little remained of the original ID team. The look of this game was so advanced that it made PC's of the time cry constantly and the darkness that you explore has some very stylized horror elements that you just can't help but love. As a Doom game, it's lacking a bit. As a stand-alone offshoot of the series, it's more entertaining as a thriller along with being a slower shooter.
#113 Luigi's Mansion
So few consoles ever have such an amazing initial title. Luigi's Mansion is iconic of the Gamecube. While in the Mario Franchise, Luigi's Mansion is darker with completely different but equally enthralling gameplay. You need to use evolving and complicated techniques to defeat high level ghosts as well as ghost bosses. Seeing all of the different types of ghosts and boos is a lot of fun and Luigi became something of a great character on his own merit thanks to this series of games. Even after three whole games, this little spinoff series still retains its outward charm.
#112 Duke Nukem 3D
Both the Sega Saturn and PC version of this game are more than worthy of being your first ports to play. Even on the N64, this game keeps its great charm of being a "Doom Clone" done correctly. Duke Nukem is trying to save the women of the world from a bunch of different aliens invading the Earth. You can use both rocket and alien technology to take on these pigs and squids, and you steal one-liners while doing it. This is required playing for anyone who wants a good "Boomer Shooter" showing off the game engine's true capabilities.
#111 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Love the 80's? Love stealing digital cars from NPC's? Can't get enough crime from game crime bosses? Head down to Vice City and play a plethora of minigames and shootouts while you take it over! When it comes to the GTA series, this is one of the great titles. Playstation 2 was graced with this awesome title to great effect. The city is expansive and plays among the greats when it comes to a sandbox game. It's more of a great thing in the series and don't forget to take in those retro vibes of a bygone era. Rad.
#110 Batman: Arkham City
The peak of the Arkham series. Going through this entire cityscape of Gotham is an absolute joy as you ram your fists into the faces of criminals along the way. Two-Face, Catwoman, Clayface, Harley Quinn and an ever deminishing Joker. Thanks to taking too much Titan Venom in the first game, Joker finds himself trying to find a cure and he's going to have Batman help him whether he likes it or not. The twist in the final act is awesome and the gameplay is just Arkham Asylum with a wider scope. You are Batman, now go boot faces!
#109 Hrot
There are few games where I have poored so many hours into nothing but the Endless Mode. Hrot is one of those games because it just has a very addictive style to its gameplay. You're equipped with a lot of DOOM like weapons and amplifying damage/speed powerups to take down some very strange soldiers and creatures. All of the humans have gasmasks because it's a post-nuclear apocalypse. Everything is a shade of brown or dull gray and everything is also powered by PASCAL, which is a very difficult programming language. It still looks so old-school and Quake-like, but it also has such an interesting level design to each episode. If you're up for a great modern Boomer Shooter, this is your game.
#108 Mortal Kombat 11
This game fixes just as much as it destroys in the MK Lore. Mortal Kombat 11 takes everything from both MK9 and MKX while also adding a very disjointed multiverse/time travel plotline. Though there are some great playable characters, there's also some not-so-great new characters. Either way, the game mechanics are improved with a new way to do x-ray moves plus an awesome array of new backgrounds. The story mechanic of bringing back dead characters, though, is still unfortunately still here. It's a mixed bag, but what edges it onto this list is the great gameplay and controls in its fighting classical towers.
#107 Hogwarts Legacy
There are a lot of great things about bringing your own created character into the world of Harry Potter and being able to achieve a great deal of power along with all of the unforgiveable curses. This game's story is not great and its characters are more miss than hit, but the way you can explore the country side and take down dark magic users along with dark creatures is just a fantastic time waster. The ending when you achieve the OWLs is underwhelming, but the fact that you can play with dark magic and explosions in the arena mechanic is just beautiful. Creating your own Room of Requirement and customizing your own outfit is a lot of fun. This may be the Harry Potter fan talking here, but I will say this game is not for everyone. There's still a lot to explore and do in this beautiful world the devs created.
#106 Resident Evil 4
When you want to kill infected people who not only attack you but also put hoods on in order to do so with chainsaws, RE4 is your game! Fighting the different creatures, playing through the story and using your own weapons in order to survive this dangerous world will get you to clench against your seat. You go up against huge monsters and whole barrages of deadly, mindless villagers to the point where it is downright exhausting at times. Save the girl and bring her out of the danger zone, but do not expect to get out unscathed. This is definitely one of the best Resident Evil titles, period.
#105 Saints Row: The Third
Many will argue this point, but I consider this one of my absolute favorite Saints Row titles. This was when they really started to lean into the craziness of the entire franchise, which it was already getting into in the second installment. In here, you fight titans of other gangs as well as some extra powerful arsenals which include, but are not limited to grenade launchers, armored vehicles and high tech guns. While it still has the annoying obligated mini games and some annoying tasks here and there, it's still a fun game overall. The story is crazier and the Saints are hilarious sellouts, but they still come off as bad ass, as they should.
#104 Jet Set Radio
When the gameplay shines brighter than everything else, but everything else is still great, you've got an awesome game. Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio in the states) was one of the earliest games on the Dreamcast, and it brought the system out in a state of greateness. The mechanics are challenging but also a lot of fun, and the characters are just the 90's coming forth to show you how awesome it truly can be. The graphics are cell shaded and stylized in an anime form that is simple but still really cool. You can customize your own graffiti and you can make a name for your character as you spread the name all across the city.
#103 Resident Evil
Sometimes, you just need to go with the original. This title is great while also being flawed. The tank controls need a lot of getting used to and the voice acting was hysterically bad. The graphics did not age well, but that has never concerned us here at Planet Virtua. This is still a dark toned, crazy rendition of the survival horror genre, which was nearing infancy at the time. It set the bar high right off the bat. It wiped Alone in the Dark off the map and drilled its own name into the hearts of gamers all over the world. It also brought us zombie tropes and monsters that are still used and referenced heavily to this day. If you're brave enough and are sure you know what you're getting into, this game is highly recommended.
#102 X-men Origins: Wolverine
One of the very few examples of a game that not only was a great movie tie-in game, but even out shined its own film in every way. This game throws its source material out the window, as it should and showed its greatness in its own way. You are Wolverine and you are cutting through the baddies in gloriously gory combat segments while also figuring out your way through forests and rough turrains. The abilities you use make you feel like the killer himself and you do great feats of violence that are nothing less than therapeutic. If you doubted this game because of the movie it's based on, perish the thought. Give this game a try if you're willing and able.
#101 The Orange Box
Half-life 2 has had a very interesting history in its long, fabled release. For some reason, they packaged it along with Team Fortress 2 and Portal, which kind of makes this title a shining example of a compilation. Portal, even when it was basically a throw-away title that they just slapped on as an extra, became a fan favorite and still has a cult following to this day. As a Team Fortress Classic fan, TF2 was a lot of fun to come into contact with, because it was everything you loved about the original game with a new paint job and some very colorful characters on top of that. Half-Life 2 is everything you loved about the first game with a tweaked physics engine and a whole new slew of levels to power through. It all culminated into an amazing collection of titles that is still beloved to this day.
#100 Sonic Adventure
Sonic is one of the few success stories when it came to his debut in glorious 3D! This awesome title took Sonic and threw him into a completely new adventure with brand new villains. While it is far from perfect, it's just great to see how dynamic your control over the blue hedgehog is. This game is long and a lot of it can be rather challenging, but there is just that nostalgic luster all over the graphics and it can go so far as to make you fall in love with Sega's favorite mascot all over again. This game is just flat out fun and while it's obviously not perfect, the overall experience is more than worth it.
