Topic: The Universal Games Ranking Forum (Currently: Characters/Weapons/etc. You Hate Playing Against)

Right, I might as well get this out the way to get the ball rolling. Also I should've mentioned this, but since some mightn't be familiar, the seven main Crash games are the PS1 Trilogy, Wrath of Cortex, Twinsanity, Crash of the Titans, and Mind Over Mutant. I realize Crash isn't too explored here, so add any other Crash games you've played if it suits you. I know there's some big CTR fans in here.

7. Mind Over Mutant - I believe this is the only truly bad main Crash game. It's a really dumbed-down version of Crash of the Titans with far less combat depth, a terrible balance of gameplay styles, tons of backtracking, and just being really boring. The cutscenes all being different styles is cute, but not that many are that memorable or funny, with the exception of N. Brio as a whole, who was great fun whenever he showed up.

6. Wrath of Cortex - This game isn't bad, but not that great either. Most of the levels in the classic style of Crash are great, and the game has a wonderful soundtrack. Where the game falls short is with the story and bosses, having you fight a single character in four different forms, and with the awful gimmick/vehicle levels, which are either downgrades from Crash 3 or downright terrible with few exceptions.

5. Crash of the Titans - Much to my surprise, this game was actually pretty great. It's a big departure for the series, but it plays well and looks appealing. The combat is really fun (although having to unlock the spin wasn't ideal), the Titans were used well and added some decent depth to the game, and while some people really dislike them, I think the character redesigns are fine. Just an all-round solid game.

4. Crash Bandicoot - This game has seen better days, but even if it hasn't aged the best, it's still a damn fun game. Even without the improvements made in Crash 2 and 3, the game still controls very nicely, looks great, and while tough as nails at times, I found the overall challenge quite fair. The music is catchy as hell, and while the bosses were naff, beating the game 100% being a complete nightmare, and the game having a few 'questionable' moments, it's still a classic in my eyes.

3. Twinsanity - What this game lacks in content it more than makes up for in charm. This game is nearly on Conker's Bad Fur Day levels of just how good that first playthrough is, not just because of brilliant gameplay, but because it's so funny and self-aware the whole time. Crash and Cortex make an absolute pair, and the game had me grinning from ear to ear for almost the whole thing. Also the soundtrack is an absolute marvel, and one of my all-time favourites. It's a shame how much content had to be scrapped, and there is a lack of polish in some areas, but nonetheless this game is a joy to play.

2. Crash 2: Cortex Strikes Back - Crash 2 is almost better than Crash 1 in every way, it plays better, has better levels, looks better, removes some of the more questionable stuff and added an awesome move in the slide. My only issues are that the bosses are just as bad or worse than in Crash 1, and that the ice physics are horrific. (Seriously, go check it, it's abominable.)

1. Crash 3: Warped - This game is nearly perfect, and one of my all-time favourite platformers, or games in general for that matter. I can't say anything about this game that hasn't been said before, I don't care how you do it, just play this game at least once. You won't regret it.

Kinda glad Crash won. Wouldn't have to say all that much for DQ or Metroid and nothing whatsoever for Street Fighter.

As always, I'd like to start out with a little bit of my personal history with the orange Bandicoot - which is really kinda short and bare of nostalgia-tainted glasses. During my early days, I've been a Nintendo 64 kid through and through. I've had a PlayStation, judging from my around 40 games broad collection that I appear to have collected over the course of my early gamer days yet have little to no recollection of them and where I got them. They are just kinda there and haven't left their spot on the shelves for well over a decade now. Anyway, the original Crash trilogy has never been part of them and it wasn't until well into the PS2/PS3 era that I played them. My introduction to Crash, however, came in the best racing game that's only rivaled and beaten by Mario Kart 8: Crash Team Racing. But I only rented it a couple of times, I didn't own a copy until 2010 or so. That doesn't mean the other Crash games passed me by by any means, it just took me a while to muster up the interest in revisiting the originals. Anyway, Crash isn't one of my favorite franchises and I really do enjoy Spyro a lot more but with that said, let's rank!

1. Crash of the Titans/Mind over Mutants: I put them in the worst spot together because they are pretty much the same game with the former being slightly, very slightly better than the latter imo. I may not by Crashpert (Crash and Expert) but even I could tell you that this was betraying the originals. And those redesigns are hideous! Especially what they did to Tiny!

2. Crash Boom Bang: Anybody know why I bought this? No, this is a serious question. I have no idea how I came to buy this piece of crap. All I can say about this game is - BORING and completely forgettable!!!

3. Crash Bash: While Boom Bang was absolutely forgettable, at least Bash's minigames, the few that are there, are memorable and fun. But since these minigames are all that is to this game, I'll leave it at that. But seriously, Rilla Roo? You could've gone with so many other characters but you made this guy up. And he doesn't even show up ever again!

4. Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex: Thinking about it, this game might be to blame for the long time it took me to check out the original Crash trilogy. I remember wondering if this was truly a Crash game, what was all the fuzz about. The levels are boring, the boss(es) (since it's always Crunch) are terribly unimaginative and it's as ugly as only early PS2 games can get.

5. Crash Tag Team Racing: I must admit it and I have no shame: I laughed so hard at that game's loading screen and the fart and barf buttons as a 12 years old. Plus, I love that the game has such an expansive world to explore. There are a bit too few tracks for my humble tastes and the roster of racers could have been expanded as well but at least the eight that are there receive ridiculous costumes! I also found the car merging system a bit too boring. Just merge with a CPU, destroy your competition and split up meters before the finish line. Worked every time.

6. Crash Twinsanity: Ah, the first Xbox game I've ever owned! Yes, I know it also released on PS2 but you get a new console, you wanna have games to play, too, right? Anyway, this game is alright, pretty imaginative from a story and gameplay perspective. The art style for the artworks is a bit ... eh, bad. But other than that, this is pretty much the middle child of this ranking.

7. Crash Bandicoot: I admit it, I broke my own rule - I've never finished this game and even have yet to do so in the N Sane Trilogy. It's just the lack of a true saving system, some of the later levels (cough Road to Nowhere cough), the lack of control stick support (yes, I'm aware that this came out when the PS1 Controller had no Control Sticks, but it still felt weird).

8. Crash Nitro Kart: I admit, I've always had a sweet spot for Crash racers, or any mascot racer in general. This also was a sort of compensation for never owning CTR up until 2010. So when I saw Crash Nitro Kart on store shelves and my parents refused to buy it for me, I cried and screamed so loud every one could hear it throughout the store until I got it. It's the only game I've ever had to do more than just say that I wanted a game. Anyway, I have fond memories of this game. The imaginative tracks and bosses, all the unlockable characters, the two Adventure Mode campaigns, the long way of unlocking Tropy and Velo.

9. Crash Bandicoot: Cortex Strikes Back: Crash 2 and 3 are pretty much on par in my book except for two minor things that give Warped the edge over CSR: 1. The story is that Cortex pretends to have turned good so Crash would collect the Crystals for him, right? So why would they name the game 'Cortex strikes back' then? This gives away the entire plot! Plus, the final fight against Cortex is just plain BORING!

10. Crash Bandicoot Warped: An excellent game all around. Great levels, great bosses, a great theme and all wonderfully recreated in the N Sane Trilogy. I have no more to say.

11. Crash Team Racing: I've mentioned how I rented this game a couple of times and haven't owned a copy of myself until 2010. And despite only renting it a few times during my childhood, I still have very fond memories of this game and it still holds up wonderfully. Even moreso than Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash. All I can say is that this game is amazing all around and I'd love to see at least a remake in the vein of the N Sane Trilogy if not an all-new sequel.

Overall, I hope that the N. Sane Trilogy's success will lead to new Crash games but also a remake of the original Spyro Trilogy.

Also, I'd love to see Final Fantasy as a topic sometime.

1. Crash Bandicoot 2: wonderful graphics, overall very fun and intriguing game, it was very cool back then and it is still enjoyable now

2. Crash Team Racing: I had a lot of fun with this one, it was very good but I prefer platformers so it's only in second place

3. Crash Bandicoot 3: cool game that was very fun but graphics were more pleasant in the second one and in the second one there were some stages that I liked much more so it gets third place

Crash Bandicoot 1: it was the first so it is quite basic. There was nothing really remarkable about this game imho. It was ok but the sequels were much better.

Don't have too much experience with Crash. Own the first one, and while it's a fun platformer at it's core, I've never been able to complete it thanks to it's archaic as heck save system.

1: Crash Bandicoot XS (GBA)
2: Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (GBA)

The only Crash that I've played are two of the GBA games, so it'll be a quick post from me. I rated XS higher than N-Tranced because the different areas were more memorable to me in XD.

I forgot how much I enjoyed these two games until recently. I'd like to grab the N-Sane trilogy at some point.

@Octane: I get what you're saying about the controls. I know some had issues with the calibration and such, but after the initial calibration on start-up (or whenever I had to change the batteries), I never had a problem afterward. I only had two problems with the controls, one that was easy to overlook. 1. I mentioned thrusting as a flaw in my ranking of SS. This action was finicky at best, and made Moldarach (or the scorpion, as you addressed it) a royal pain that actually took me a couple of tries in Lanaryu Mining Facility. It's crucial for other points in the game, but not normally for combat. I don't really recall having hardly any other problems past that. 2. This was more of a personal/aesthetic thing that I don't count when judging the game, but how Link would sometimes hold the sword at certain angles was just...weird. A lot of this was on me though since I wield my Wiimote left-handed. Link is normally a leftie in much of the series, and I've read why this was changed in SS's case. Still, I wish that you had an option to flip which hand Link uses. Just a petty thing though.

SS could have used a larger overworld, but I did enjoy what was there. The world (to me) was vibrant and full of life. While you would visit the same three areas over time, to the game's credit these did change and evolve in (mostly) interesting ways over time. I think there should have been some sort of transition areas between the three, but it's an oversight I'm willing to ignore. I fully agree that the sky (cool as it initially was) could have used places with more substance and personality besides Skyloft and The Lumpy Pumpkin.

I'd probably rank Skyward Sword as my least favorite 3D Zelda (still need to play MM, WW and BotW though) but I still like it better than some of the others. Even with flaws, I by no means think it's a terrible game.

BTW I would like a Street fighter ranking but I think many people would find it rather uninteresting since Street fighter 2 is so overwhelmingly popular compared to other entries. I would put Street fighter alpha 2 on first place but still I think SF2 would win and I myself consider it a lot more important than any other SF game out there. It probably is one of the most important games in general not only in its own series! This could make the ranking of those games a bit boring probably...

Glad to see some good stuff here, I was worried since Crash is the most obscure topic we've covered so far, but nonetheless it's still busy enough. I'm debating finishing this topic a little earlier, but either way I'll have the poll up soon.

@LuckyLand I'd love to see Street Fighter, but I think I'll wait for the fourth poll to bring it back, as I've a feeling Metroid and DQ will dominate again. I started with SSF4 on the 3DS, and enjoyed it for what it was, but it wasn't until Street Fighter 5 that I began to really love the series. SF5 is still my favourite, but I was pleasantly surprised by USF2, I agree that Street Fighter 2's gameplay is really fun.

New poll live and reloaded!

http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5995599be4b0284c287ab3d5

Our options are:
Mainline Metroid Games
Mainline Dragon Quest Games
Mainline Final Fantasy Games
Underrated 3D Platformers

Street Fighter will make a return next time, I'd be afraid it'll get dominated again. This'll be open for a while, so keep the votes coming, we'll see if it'll be as interesting as last time. By the way, just crossed my mind, if you're someone who's just browsing here, you don't have to be logged in to vote, Easypolls is separate from Nintendolife, so anyone can vote.

I also think I might leave the link to the poll at the end of all of my posts here, as the repost really helped the last poll, and it's just a nice convenience.

@Tyranexx I still don't know why they didn't switch to the pointer controls whenever that little hand was on screen in the menu screen. The gyro was just sluggish compared to the IR pointer. I also remember having to calibrate the controls a lot, because they were just a little off most of the times. I dunno, I'm just glad they returned to regular controls. It was an... interesting idea, but I don't think it worked in the end. When I think of Skyward Sword, the first thing I think of isn't a great Zelda game, it's the Wii Remote.

Moldarach was easy because there wasn't really a punishment if you missed the eyeballs, you could just flail around hoping for a good hit. I don't remember having any problem with him, and I was a little surprised to discover that was all there was to the fight. I completely forgot about the Scaldera fight too...

The world was vibrant, I'll give you that (although it looks pretty rough in 480p these days), but it was too fractured in the end. The thing I like about Zelda games is how it all takes in one big world. Skyward Sword had a Mario thing going on where all the worlds may as well have been separate levels. Actually, I'd even argue that Sunshine has a more coherent world than Skyward Sword. I get that they were trying to implement the dungeon design on the overworld, but without the lack of memorable characters, towns, and any form of coherency between the overworld levels, it felt a bit lacklustre to me.

And I completely forgot about Fi... Well, let's just leave it at that, because I think that topic deserves an entire wall of text on its own

1. Crash 2: Cortex Strikes Back: My favorite soundtrack, level design and sets of levels in the whole series. (Really like the ice/ruin levels).

2. Crash: Warped: Relies a bit too much on "gimmick" levels like the ski/airplane/bike levels but it's still pretty interesting. I liked the boss fights in particular.

3. Crash Bandicoot: Too basic for me in terms of levels and platforming. Not a fan of the save system also.

Crash Wrath of Cortex: Not sure where I would rank this one. It tries to replicate the originals but it ends up feeling artificial. Also, there even more
gimmick levels than Warped.
Other than that, I had fun on some levels. I guess that's because I was feeling nostalgic for the original games when I played this one.
I'd say I kinda like it...

In regards to the current topic, it'll be interesting to see the rankings. I'll have to sit out until next time since I've never played a Crash game. I've heard it's a good series, I've just never owned a console with a Crash game.

@Octane: "Interesting idea" is a good way of putting it. Motion controls are all well and good when they work (And apparently I had better luck with SS than many), but I do prefer classic button controls.

Like I mentioned, my main problem with Moldarach was the stupid thrusting mechanic needed for the last phase. The fight was relatively easy before that, but I burned through a ton of health before downing it because I couldn't pull off poking that one crucial eye in a timely manner. I had few problems by the time I faced the miniboss version, though.

Personally I think the main overworld could have used a Goron trading post or something as a central hub. That would have spiced things up a bit; I feel like the Goron race in general could have been explored a bit more in SS.

As for Fi, this video sums her up quite well....

@Tyranexx The thrusting mechanic was pretty annoying. I still remember the last fight with Ghirahim, I think that involved thrusting too, or something along those lines. All I remember is that it was pretty annoying.

Right, quick update before I toddle off, I'm thinking of closing the poll and moving onto the next topic tomorrow. If you want more time on the topic, lemme know, it's no bother.

Results are pretty balanced right now, so here's the link to the poll if you fancy voting still.
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5995599be4b0284c287ab3d5

I prolly should've said this ages ago, but my Fightstick got here today and I'm busy ascending. Also it's amazing for PC but for my Switch in Tabletop Mode the cable has to go in the bottom so I took the time outta my life to build a Lego stand for it.

Ready for EVO baybeeeeeeeeeeeee

Right, I think I'll close the poll in around 5 hours.
Get your votes in while you can, one option is running ahead currently.

Edit: One hour left, currently 16 votes.

1 hour = 2.5 hours in Irish time.

Right, poll is now closed! We're onto our next topic, here are the results.

1st - Underrated 3D Platformers - 53% (9 Votes)
2nd - Mainline Dragon Quest Games - 24% (4 Votes)
3rd/4th - Mainline Metroid Games - 12% (2 Votes)
3rd/4th - Mainline Final Fantasy Games - 12% (2 Votes)

Right, so Underrated 3D Platformers is our new topic!
Once again, Dragon Quest is guaranteed on the next poll as it came second, the last two might if there is demand.

I'll do my list in a bit, but until then, Happy Ranking!

Going to say this right now; Vexx. Probably the most refined, and highly underrated for its edginess, third party game to have tackled the 3D platformer genre.

Hell, it was also the only one I sat down and played straight through without breaking to other games, similar to how I do Mario games.

Other ones worth mentioning; Flip's Twisted World (got a lot of flack for being "horrible" right when Galaxy was present when the game was okay at best, definitely felt rushed), and Billy Hatcher (by far Sonic Team's greatest game since going 3D).

One I'll give a mention to would be Psychonauts, absolutely fantastic game with awesome characters and story but I'll mention it off my list as it's more underplayed than underrated.

1) Sonic Unleashed: The Wii version is my favourite. This game was in my opinion extremely good. It is absolutely not as good as the 16 bit classics as a Sonic game (it is not bad as many other 3D Sonic games either however) but it adds so much new content, so many new and interesting ideas and is also very polished and pleasant to look, that it can stand up for its own merits. I also like a lot the song "Endless possibilities" featured in this game. It is a game I'm really fond of.

2) Billy Hatcher and the giant egg: many people bashed this game back then but it is absolutely not bad at all. The concept of the game was fresh and the presentation was polished but also reminescent of classic platformer games in its style. It was a very fun and pleasant experience, much better than many people think imho

3) Kao the kangaroo 2: this game was very good too. Good graphics, good gameplay and very fun overall. Honestly I think it is more or less at the same level as Billy Hatcher, I like both so... I'd say #2 and # 3 are very close in this case.

@BigYellow Are 2D platformers with 3D models included in this?