Better Late Than Never Reviews: Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita) Review

Time for the first review of 2016... and it's for a game that released in 2013! Okay, just two years and two months late. That's why this is a Better Late Than Never review! I adore the Ys series, and have been playing through them when I get the chance. While I like the Oath in Felghana platforming-heavy approach more when compared to this Ys Seven-style, Ys: Memories of Celceta is still a well done game. See my complete thoughts with this review.

A wondrous stroll down memory lane

With information that the eighth mainline game in the Ys series is receiving more news this year, it seemed like an appropriate time to finally dig into the PlayStation Vita entry of the storied Ys franchise, Ys: Memories of Celceta. Considered a remade version of the fourth Ys entry from long ago, Western gamers finally get another chance to take over the role of famed adventurer Adol Christin in another epic action-RPG adventure worthy of taking a walk down memory lane for.

And that is literal too. Memories of Celceta begins with an extraordinarily weakened Adol Christin slowly strolling into a town with no memory of who he is or where he's from. He happens upon Duren, an information dealer, and someone who knows Adol. After taking it upon himself to rescue workers trapped in a mine, an impressed general hires Adol to chart out the unknown that is the Great Forest. With Duren in tow to guide him, Adol ventures into the Great Forest, coming across memories along the way to find out what he was doing when he lost his memories, how he lost his memories, and what his role is in Celceta's future.

Ys: Memories of Celceta features the cliche anime trope of the main character having amnesia, but how the story pieces things together, revealing Adol's encounters with people before losing his memory, is pretty interesting. These memories are gained through touching special glowing objects in the world, and the scenes themselves don't reveal too much as they are context-free. You only learn the situation behind Adol's past encounters later in the game. What it all ends up being is an engaging story from beginning to end with plenty of twists to keep players involved with Memories of Celceta's tale.

It is this town that the story of Ys: Memories of Celceta begins.

Memories of Celceta plays more similarly to Ys Seven than games like Ys Origin and Oath in Felghana. Unlike the latter two games, there is no platforming to be found in Memories of Celceta, which is disappointing but expected since this game follows Ys Seven's gameplay to a "T", Combat is party-based with up to three party members on screen at the same time that can be switched between at will via the Circle button. In total, there are six party members in Memories of Celceta, and outside of specific event battles, party members can be shifted in and out of the active duty members via a pause menu.

Party members in Memories of Celceta each possess an attack type that can be organized into one of the three types: either Slash, Strike, or Pierce. Certain enemies are weaker against one type than they are another, with some being strong against specific attack types. While Adol uses Slash attacks, Duren utilizes Strikes. Defeating an enemy with an attack type they are weak against will award you with an Excellent Kill, having the foe let loose rarer materials than they would otherwise.

A yellow number means your type of attack is strong against this enemy.

There's more to Memories of Celceta's combat system than basic attacks. As you defeat monsters and enemies, you're bound to unlock new moves called Skills. Through holding the R button and pressing one of the face buttons, you can unleash one of these Skills at foes. As you continue using Skills, they level up in power, much like Adol and friends level up from defeated foes. However, despite there being so many Skills that can be learned, you'll find yourself using a few favorites most of the time, as not every Skill is as useful as you'd like. Skills can't just be used willy-nilly. Each Skill used costs points to use, and while points quickly regenerate, you can't just spam a Skill twenty times in a row, which is a good way of keeping the player honest.

Use Skills to dish out more damage than you would otherwise.

The last form of offense for Adol's party is the EXTRA ability. Through delivering attacks and taking damage, a meter fills on the bottom right corner of the screen. Once it has been filled, a press of the L button will unleash a devastatingly powerful series of attacks that will stop all enemies in their tracks and allow your party to attack with tremendous ire.

While a good defense is a oftentimes a good offense, sometimes a good defense is simply a good defense. Adol and friends can dash not just to sprint across areas of the world quickly, but also to evade certain attacks. In addition, they can put up their weapons and guard attacks to lessen the damage received. However, even better, if either a dodge or a guard is activated with perfect timing, just as an enemy makes contact with them, either attacking for double damage for a temporary amount of time or slowing down the enemy immensely will take place. In later difficulties, these types of guards and evades done smartly will make the difference between a victorious battle and a game over. These defensive abilities might make it easy to cheese certain battles and scenarios, but overall, they're nice to have, and one feels like a defensive god if they can continue doing well timed guards and evasions one after another.

Duren gets up close and personal with this killer crustacean. 

Around the land of Celceta are material spawn points such as rocks and plants. They also are dropped by defeated enemies. Materials can be used to reinforce equipment to make them stronger, can be used to create rarer materials through synthesis, and can be used to make new accessories. Accessories range from equipment that raises a party member's base health to holding off various status ailments like poison and paralysis. The crafting system in Memories of Celceta is very easy to learn, but it can occasionally require some serious grinding to get the materials you want, especially the rarer ones.

Speaking of the land of Celceta, the world of this Ys game is quite large. Many times you'll just want to forgo your current objective and explore different areas, searching for material points or hidden treasure chests. Unfortunately, until about halfway through Memories of Celceta, the game's fast travel system is a proverbial pain in the butt. Before you gain the ability to transport instantaneously to any warp point on the map, you are only able to use warp points directly from their locations, and even then, you can only transport to a warp point of the same color as your current one. Many areas are segregated greatly, requiring some nasty backtracking if you wish to return to past areas.

A postcard view from Celceta.

Ys: Memories of Celceta is a 20-25 hour game the first time through. Upon beating the game, you can start a new game with all of your current levels, stats, and most of your items and equipment. This makes the hardest difficulty, Nightmare Mode, much more manageable. There are also Boss Rush and Time Attack modes, one that pits you against a steady stream of the game's bosses all one after another, while the other allows you to select a boss and see how fast you can relinquish them.

In addition to all that, there are quests within Memories of Celceta that consist of various tasks like defeating a certain monster, delivering a specific material or accessory, and so forth that can be completed. Though some of these have time gates applied to them, meaning that if you don't complete them before you reach a certain point in the game, you fail them automatically. Not very cool if you're trying to complete all quests and happen to save. That then equates to having to try to do all the quests again on another save file.

Memories of Celceta is a strange beast in the graphical department. While the environments and backgrounds are quite beautiful and impressive, the character models are much less so, almost a couple steps away from last gen PlayStation handheld quality. Still, this is only really noticeable in scenes where the camera closes in on a character, which happens more than I'd like. Meanwhile, the voice acting, though very sporadic and very rare in where it gets delivered in the story, is done well. The music, while not reaching the highs of Oath in Felghana, my favorite of the Ys soundtracks, impresses with plenty of hard rock, orchestral, and catchy tunes and themes.

The environments aren't too shabby. The character models? Could be better.

While not at the top of my list of Ys games that I've played, Ys: Memories of Celceta managed to engross me throughout its entire 24 hour duration. The story, though initially coming across as cliche, brought enough freshness and twists to keep me interested, the gameplay was as fast-paced and intense as ever, and the Vita's touch screen features didn't feel all that forced. With some issues with presentation, fast travel, and backtracking, Ys: Memories of Celceta is not a game without some pertinent flaws. However, much like Adol Christin himself, sometimes with these kinds of things it's just better to forgive and forget. Emphasis on the forgetting part.

[SPC Says: B+]

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Onward to 1100 Edition

With this edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, we have passed the midway point, making us closer to 1100 VGM volumes than 1000 volumes. The music keeps coming week in and week out, and I'm tickled pink that you guys and gals continue to listen to my video game music volume choices and writings.

This week is no different. We start off with a classic song from Final Fantasy IV. We then get a duo of Nintendo games with Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and Pilotwings Resort. Following that is a trip to Mount Mayhem with Beetle Adventure Racing. Finally, we take on Lex Luthor with LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

As always, if you'd like to check out a past VGM volume that was spotlighted on this very weekly segment, check out the VGM Database for your fix. Now, on to the music!

v1051. Final Fantasy IV (SNES) - Troian Beauty

This week's edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs begins with one of my favorite tracks from Final Fantasy IV, the castle theme of Troia, The setting is home to women of all strengths and sizes, taking on roles both traditionally for women and traditionally for men. The song Troian Beauty is a beautiful romp that continued Nobuo Uematsu's trademark style and extraordinary gift of creating memorable melodies.

v1052. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U) - Great Cave Escape

The third level in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, the Great Cave Escape, has players drawing lines to guide the pink puffball around its innards. One clever gameplay mechanic has players drawing lines to stop the flow of water from a waterfall for Kirby to progress through the level. The song for the level is a catchy jazzy ditty that further shows why I chose this game as my favorite soundtrack of 2015 in the SuperPhillip Central Best of 2015 Awards.

v1053. Pilotwings Resort (3DS) - Turbo Jet

One of many vehicles pilots could take control of in Pilotwings Resort, the Turbo Jet could soar through the sky, shooting bullets at targets and performing ace flight maneuvers. Pilotwings Resort wasn't the most exciting launch title for the Nintendo 3DS to have, but it was a shining return to form for the franchise that was last visited on the Nintendo 64.

v1054. Beetle Adventure Racing (N64) - Mount Mayhem

Speaking of the Nintendo 64, a game that desperately needs a sequel or revamp of some type, with or without Volkswagen's iconic cars, Beetle Adventure Racing was an Nintendo 64 racer, a genre that had no shortage on Nintendo's 64-bit machine, that allowed players to take one of countless shortcuts to smash point boxes. This was all the while gunning for first place. Mount Mayhem was an icy track with crystal caverns, mountainous roads, and even a downhill ski jump for the exploring types.

v1055. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Multi) - The Brave and the Bald (Final Boss)

Using the leitmotifs created by Danny Elfman for the 1989 Batman movie as well as some original ideas, composer Rob Westwood created this intense final boss battle theme for the great fun that was LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. No longer being limited to just the Batman mythos of the original LEGO Batman, the sequel saw a profusion of DC superheroes and villain in one terrific open world game.

16 in '16: Most Wanted Games

It's a yearly tradition here at SuperPhillip Central for me to list the games that most excite me in the upcoming year. Last year I wrote the 15 games of 2015 that most interested me, and the year before that I wrote up the 14 games of 2014 that enthused me. Here's hoping I'm not still writing this blog in 2040, or I'll have to come up 40 games on a list!

Regardless, many games that were on my 2015 list are on my 2016 list, funnily enough. Let's just hope that most of the games on today's list remain with us in the year 2016 and aren't delayed. From the big consoles to handheld releases, today's list is nice and varied with the big and small releases that 2016 will hopefully see.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)

After being delayed a couple of times, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is finally set to release this year, April to be exact! Set to be the final entry developed by Naughty Dog, Uncharted 4 will be Nathan Drake's ultimate journey, making for a lot of predictions from fans as to what we'll see. No doubt the excellent gunplay of the past Uncharted games will be making its appearance known, updated and upgraded to great effect. No doubt we'll see the most incredible set pieces, gunplay, battles, and narrative ever seen in an Uncharted game with the increased power of the PS4, and that has me excited beyond words... except for the ones I just typed out.

Ratchet & Clank (PS4)

My favorite PlayStation franchise finally receives a full-fledged adventure, the type of full-fledged Ratchet & Clank game that hasn't been seen since 2009's A Crack in Time. Simply titled Ratchet & Clank, this new game is a reboot of sorts for the franchise, a remake of the original Ratchet & Clank to tie in with the new CG film releasing this year. Looking as great as a Pixar film in graphical quality, Ratchet & Clank is certainly one game that will get me hyped about getting a PlayStation 4 in the future.

Gravity Rush 2 (PS4)

Not much is known yet about this next game, besides being set for release in 2016 sometime. It's the sequel to the PlayStation Vita's Gravity Rush, a game that starred a girl named Kat that could use the powers of gravity to move through the areas of the game. A remastered version has already released of the original game onto the PS4 in Japan, and the West will be receiving it this February. It'll give PS4 owners a chance to see what they missed out on with the original Vita release, as well as get a taste of what's to come with the much awaited sequel.

Final Fantasy XV (PS4, XONE)

This next game takes a much different route than previous Final Fantasy games. Its history is one that span ten years already, formerly known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Final Fantasy XV is set to be an open world game that forgoes the traditional turn-based combat the series is known for, instead utilizing a battle system more akin to the Kingdom Hearts series. Vehicle-based exploration is available to explore the immense world size of the game. Here's hoping 2016 is the year that Final Fantasy XV gets released, as a lot of us have been waiting a long time for this game!

Kingdom Hearts III (PS4, XONE)

This might be a fool's errand to hazard the guess or assume that Kingdom Hearts III will be releasing this year, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the game. Kingdom Hearts III takes place after the Nintendo 3DS spin-off Dream Drop Distance, and it will feature a host of returning and new characters. New worlds are planned, such as Rapunzel's Tangled world and a setting from Disney's Big Hero 6. New Attraction Flow moves take famous Disneyland theme park attractions and turns them into special attacks. It's been a long time coming for Kingdom Hearts III, and it's safe to say that fans have been ready for a loooong time for this third numbered entry.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (PS4)

The fifth game in the mainline series, following the PS3 and Xbox 360 game The Last Hope, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is due out in March in Japan with a TBA date for Europe and the Americas. This sequel brings the similar action role-playing fun the series is known for into the eighth generation, set on a world thousands of light years away from the planet Earth. Tri-Ace, developer of the series, returns for this sequel, showing that Square Enix is committed to the quality of the Star Ocean franchise. As a huge fan of The Second Story on the original PlayStation and as one who liked Till the End of Time on the PS2, I'm quite thrilled to see this fifth installment happening.

World of Final Fantasy (PS4, Vita)

Take control of twins Lann and Reyne in the wondrous world of Grimoire, full of characters from the Final Fantasy world in chibi form. Meant to be a game for fans of the Final Fantasy franchise as well as younger players, World of Final Fantasy is meant to be modeled after earlier Final Fantasy games. The game utilizes the ATB (Active Time Battle) system of earlier games, and it features characters from various Final Fantasy titles as well. As a dual release on the PlayStation 4 and the Vita, this intended 2016 release excites me as a fan of old school Final Fantasy games. No doubt it excites other Final Fantasy fans as well.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst (PS4, XONE)

Once again we find Faith Connors as the star of this greatly desired sequel to the cult classic Mirror's Edge. This time she's taking on a myriad of corporations taking control of the city of Glass. Along the way, Faith uses her tremendous parkour style to get around areas, stealthily subdue enemies, and jump across large chasms in the city sky. This time around cooperative multiplayer is available as well as a competitive multiplayer mode. Whether you want to play alone or with/against others, Mirror's Edge Catalyst will have something for everyone when it releases in May.

Mighty No. 9 (Multi)

While this next game has received a lot of controversy with how funds with the project have been utilized and how project lead Keiji Inafune has asked for more money over the course of the project. However, I can't say no to a Mega Man spiritual successor that doesn't look bad to me at all. Containing a mix of 2D gameplay and 3D models, Mighty No. 9 is pure fast-paced platforming in a variety of locales and locations. The main gameplay mechanic, hero Beck's dash ability, allows players to rush into foes, scoot across gaps, and much more. After seeing many major delays, Mighty No. 9 finally releases next month. Here's hoping the wait has been worth it.

The Legend of Zelda (Wii U)

Announced several two E3s ago, we have only seen about five minutes of footage for the newest adventure in The Legend of Zelda series. What we do know is that the game will be much more open-world focused than past games in the series. Whether this Wii U exclusive Zelda will remain Wii U exclusive (i.e. released on Nintendo's next system as well as the Wii U) is at this point unknown, but that hasn't stopped people from speculating. Regardless, in whatever form we see the latest Legend of Zelda, history shows that the game will probably be fantastic.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)

(Note: GameCube screen shown.) It's quite surprising to me that Nintendo hasn't done more HD remasters of classic games as a way to pad its lineup on the Wii U. We've seen in the past The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, a marvelous remaster, and now we see The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess receiving the same treatment. What additions this time around will be seen is unknown, but there's plenty to speculate about. It'll be nice returning to Twilight Princess' version of Hyrule when the game releases this March.

Star Fox Zero (Wii U)

The Wii U is winding down, but it has delivered a lot of excellent exclusives in its short life, both retail form and digitally. 2016 may be a slowing down period for the system, but the Wii U isn't totally finished yet. Star Fox Zero looks to bring a lot of the fun of the series to the Wii U with optional two-screen GamePad usage. The game was delayed from its November 20th date to April 2016, and here's hoping this Platinum Games developed title has received even more TLC to make it more impressive than it was early on. If more enemies get added, the excitement will be palpable for me, as that was really my only complaint with past demos and footage. Here's hoping Star Fox's return is a grand one and not just a blip on the radar.

Fire Emblem: Fates (3DS)

Another system that is winding down, the Nintendo 3DS still has a LOT of titles releasing in its twilight years. Fire Emblem: Fates is just one of these, and this strategy RPG is set to deliver intense battles requiring smart strategy, character relationships, and even online multiplayer this go around. With three versions to choose from, each offering a different side to the same story, Fire Emblem: Fates is going to be a game that players will dive into and remain with for a long time.

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)

After more than three years of waiting for a localization announcement, last month Nintendo delivered with the word that Dragon Quest VII would finally be hitting the West. Given the subtitle Fragments of the Forgotten Past, this Nintendo 3DS remake of the original PlayStation game features fabulous 3D worlds, on-screen enemy encounters, and much, much more. This intended summer release seems like the perfect cure for the dog days of summer. Now, excuse me while I catch up on my Dragon Quest by playing the DS remakes!

Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS)

With over a year's wait in tow, Final Fantasy Explorers will finally hit North America and Europe. The game is an action role-playing romp where custom characters can enter one of many job classes based off of early Final Fantasy games. Combat features battles against foes like monsters like Behemoths and Malboros, and summons like Ifrit and Shiva. Both offline and online quests are available, as is local play. I tend to enjoy the spin-offs of the Final Fantasy series more than the mainline games, besides a select amount of examples, so I eagerly await Final Fantasy Explorers when it releases at the end of the month.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (3DS)

Releasing in the middle of the month, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam puts the worlds of Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario together for one (most likely) very humorous adventure. The team of Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario venture through colorful worlds, solving puzzles, and use each character's unique abilities to access new areas otherwise inaccessible to the player. Battles continue to contain the timed-button system of past Mario RPGs, making for more involved combat than simply mashing on a button and going through the motions. Note that Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is already available in Japan and PAL territories, so this game on my list refers to the North America version.

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - The Final First Edition of 2016 Edition

Can you believe it's already the final first edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs of 2016? Time surely flies. Don't worry, though. SuperPhillip Central will continue to deliver VGM goodness to you every Monday all 2016 long! Let's start the new year right with some great video game music!

This year of SuperPhillip Central's  Favorite VGMs starts things off right with music from a wide range of games, from the bright and colorful to the dark and macabre. There's some Darksiders II to start this edition off on the right foot. We then go full mascot with music from Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and Crash Nitro Kart. Following that, we learn the concept of love with Jet Set Radio Future. Finally, MadWorld raps us back home.

If you're still interested in looking back on the past before moving towards the future, check out the VGM Database for all past VGM volumes spotlighted during this segment.

v1046. Darksiders II (Multi) - Guardian Boss

We start this new year of VGMs off with a tense orchestral theme, perfect for a boss encounter. This theme comes from Darksiders II, a game that recently saw a "Deathinitive" edition release on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. I played a lesser version on the Wii U, but overall, if you like an enjoyable mix of God of War-style combo-based combat and Legend of Zelda-esque dungeons, puzzles, and exploration, then Darksiders II might be worth checking out.

v1047. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (PS2, GCN, XBX) - Bridge on the River Ty

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger was one of the games on my backlog that I went through on my holiday vacation. Going back to that collect-a-thon style platformer was quite a trip, but other than the quality of the game (which was good), the one thing that surprised me most from my time with the game is how nice the soundtrack is. This theme plays during the eponymous level, taking place under a nighttime sky with spiders, cockroaches, and a frog you need to escort to his home.

v1048. Crash Nitro Kart (PS2, GCN, XBX) - Main Menu

My adventure in backlogging stayed around the PlayStation 2 generation of game platforms, as you can see with last month's Review Round-Up. After playing some of Crash Nitro Kart, the Vicarious Visions-developed Crash Team Racing sequel that pretty much takes everything from Naughty Dog's fantastic PS1 racer and just reiterates on it, I see myself really liking the game for what it is. By no means does it surpass Naughty Dog's effort, but it does indeed deserve more praise for getting what Crash Team Racing offered and delivering it well.

v1049. Jet Set Radio Future (XBX) - Concept of Love

When SEGA went third-party after the underachieving Dreamcast, the company released games on all three then-current platforms, the PlayStation 2, the GameCube, and the Xbox. The latter received some of the most striking content from SEGA, games like Shenmue 2, Crazy Taxi 3, and yes, Jet Set Radio Future. With SEGA releasing the original Jet Set Radio digitally, it makes sense to have the hope that the Xbox-only sequel will finally get to be played by more people with a digital release on current gen consoles.

v1050. MadWorld (Wii) - Survival

Platinum Games turns ten this year. Now, that's more of an achievement than posting the final first edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs of 2016, I'll admit. The company of former Capcom/Clover Studio devs has made some truly fantastic titles in their tenure, and while MadWorld isn't the studio's brightest work, it does offer an absolutely sensational soundtrack. When a soundtrack can turn me onto a genre I don't normally listen to, that's also one heck of an achievement.

Top Ten Best Second Entries

It's January 2nd still in most places in the world, so why not do a special list commemorating the day? SuperPhillip Central is once again entering the numbered spirit with a look at the best second entries in gaming history, much like I did with fourth games last August. These are my personal picks for the best games with the number "2" in the title. After you've perused my selections, go ahead and list yours in the comments below!

10) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1, N64, DC)

The original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was a revolution and brought back the excitement for extreme sports games, leading the way for titles involving snowboarding, biking, and much more. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 took everything great about the original and made it even better. This game introduced new gameplay and skateboarding mechanics to further chain combos more easily like the manual. With new additions to the series like a Create-A-Skater and a park editor to create your own skateboarding havens, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is still one of the higher regarded games in the series and a favorite of many fans.

9) God of War II (PS2)

Everything about God of War II was bigger and better. The same types of combo-focused combat was a part of Kratos's journey to seek revenge out of the betraying Zeus, the quick time events were there and accounted for, adding to the much more intense set pieces and amazing action, and the boss battles were much more plentiful than what was seen in the original God of War. Missing most of the flaws of the same game, God of War II capitalized on a great thing, making for one of the most satisfying action games of the PlayStation 2's colossal lineup, an it remains a fantastic game to play through, offering a steady level of challenge, interesting areas, and impressive set pieces.

8) Resident Evil 2 (Multi)

The Resident Evil series has seen many metamorphoses in it, much like the humans turned into zombies and other macabre monsters seen in the series. Resident Evil 2 brought the Resident Evil series to new heights, presenting players with two playable characters, rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, as they encounter creatures while they explore the hellish Raccoon City. Outside of the characters, the setting of Raccoon City itself was a star of the show, presenting an amazingly creepy atmosphere and several frightful moments. While the controls and some puzzles were the center of some criticism, there is no denying that Resident Evil 2 was a success and helped shape the series's future.

7) Halo 2 (XBX)

After the sleeper hit that was the original Halo: Combat Evolved, the second installment in the series was given huge expectations by fans. Thankfully, most of the expectations were met outside of the game's cliffhanger ending that was brought about by time constraints. Regardless, the campaign otherwise heralded plenty of positive feedback, allowing players to control both Master Chief and Arbiter within the duration of it. However, the big selling point was the online multiplayer, something that the original lacked, only allowing for local couch multiplayer. Halo 2 became the most played Xbox Live title for over two years before Gears of War on the 360 took its crown. A massive achievement, and quite deserved for this fantastic first-person shooter.

6) Street Fighter II (Multi)

An important game to the fighting genre if there ever was one, Street Fighter II was a revolution for the genre. Surpassing the original in more ways than one with many basic moves like throws and grabs being available in any stance, more characters, and more options, Street Fighter II and its multitude of ports on everything from the Super Nintendo to the PlayStation Portable remain popular to this day. It's for good reason, as the game balance is so well done, delivering action-packed 2D fighting with multiple moves, light, medium, heavy, and special attacks, and combos-- the latter being a first for the series. As you can see, Street Fighter II evolved the fighting game genre immensely.

5) Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Multi)

Whether you consider it a great example of storytelling and postmodernism in the gaming industry, or just a damn good game, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was a benchmark for complex narratives in gaming and great stealth-based gameplay. Offering a complicated story to invest yourself in, a new and super helpful first-person perspective for sniping and taking out enemies, a colorful cast of characters with shifting loyalties and attitudes, enemies that work in squads, a more impressive cover mechanic, and so much more, Metal Gear Solid 2 was an improved sequel in every sense of the word. Perhaps the biggest criticism came from taking control of Raiden, a character not as beloved as Solid Snake, to put it in friendly terms. Still, there are several reasons why Metal Gear Solid 2 remains a compelling and engrossing game despite this much contested flaw.

4) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)

Many games on this list do things bigger and better than their originals. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest made the original Donkey Kong Country pale in comparison to it. With its much more articulated and complicated levels, offering an abundance of secret bonus rooms and DK Coins, Diddy's Kong Quest offered several improvements and advantages over its predecessor. Whether it's the near perfect level design, the sensational soundtrack (one of my faves of all time), the unparalleled atmosphere, beautiful visuals, the enjoyable level gimmicks, the improved boss battles, the secret Lost World area, or many more terrific things about the game, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest remains one of my favorite Super Nintendo games on the system, and a superb platformer in its own right.

3) Mega Man 2 (NES)

Like Donkey Kong Country 2, Mega Man's second outing on the NES was a much improved title over its predecessor. Mega Man 2 is still regarded as one of the best Mega Man games in the Blue Bomber's storied existence. This is after dozens upon dozens of games released after the fact. The reason why? Sublime level design, creative Robot Masters (now eight instead of Mega Man's six, a tradition that would continue throughout the series and into the X sub-series), and an astonishing soundtrack are just a few of the reasons. Though not without its issues (one of the Dr. Wily stage bosses requires the use of the Crash Bomb, and if you run out of ammo before the boss has fallen, you have to kill yourself and resupply), Mega Man 2 continues being loved by fans of the Blue Bomber and gamers in general for obvious reasons.

2) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

While the original Uncharted had many niggling issues that kept it from universal praise, it's hard to make a dent in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' deserved reputation of being a well loved game. Whether it was the mega memorable and elaborate set pieces like the train, for instance, the amazing character design and personalities attributed to them, the fly-by-the-seat-of-its-pants story that kept players moving from jaw-dropping area to area, and the satisfying gunplay, Uncharted 2 delivered lots of excitement from its entire package. I hadn't enjoyed a Naughty Dog game as much as Uncharted 2 since the original Jak and Daxter and earlier than that, Crash Team Racing. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a beast of an adventure, and well worthy of its playful comparisons to the Indiana Jones series.

1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

How could I not list one of my favorite games of all time as the number one best second entry? The sequel to the already tremendous Super Mario Galaxy brought forth several ideas and concepts that didn't make it into the original. Essentially, Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a compilation of all the ideas held over from Super Mario Galaxy. New power-ups like Cloud Mario, Rock Mario, and more, amazingly crafted levels and galaxies, tight, responsive controls, and a myriad of other gameplay goodies provided me and millions of other players hours upon hours of enjoyment. There aren't too many games that I can say have put a smile on my face each and every time I've popped the game into a system, but Super Mario Galaxy 2 is indeed one of them. Without a doubt, in this writer's opinion, one of the best games to have ever been created.