So in my pretty low-effort, vibes-based rankings, Löwenherz and Padrino came out at #1 and #3 respectively (I'll keep my mouth shut and allow each and every fellow drafter the privilege of believing that they were #2...) But it's only fair to give a bit more consideration to the final matchup, even if the rumor is that the result is already decided. Besides, maybe it's interesting to see what a near-non-gamer thinks about the selections!
Of course, since I've only played three of these games, most of this ranking is going to be on the basis of whether I
think I'd like to play them or not.
(1) Löwenherz - Super Mario Bros. 3: One of three games I've played on the lists. What do I have to say? Great franchise (I drafted the flagship) and better gameplay than the second installment. I loved the leaf-raccoon element and thought it brought a lot to this side-scrolling platformer. Pretty easy #1 for the Finals.
(2) Padrino - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: "Link" to the past! Get it?!? OK, fine, I'll get over it. I picked the first two games in the Zelda franchise! The gameplay video shows that this is basically the original Zelda on steroids. Would I play? HELL TO THE YES!
(3) Padrino - No Man's Sky: This pretty much goes down as the game with the best TITLE in the round. Maybe the draft. I have almost no idea what this game is about, but it looks cool as all hell. I'm pumped.
(4) Löwenherz - Super Metroid: Another franchise for which I took the flagship! Seems to have retained the classic 2D side-scroller action with a world map that - if anything - outdoes the original. I would always be down to give Samus Aran another shot!
(5) Padrino - Elden Ring: This is another of the three games on these two lists that I've played, so to answer the question "would I play it?" Well, yes! I would! I love the graphics, but it turns out that I'm not strong at the Souls-type mechanic. Ultimately I gave up on this one having cleared only the first world (Limgrave) after sinking more than 100 hours in, a lot of that farming to level up. In the end, the game was just better than me, and I let it win. Still, it gets pretty high marks because I WOULD play it!
(6) Löwenherz - Hollow Knight: I should honestly be scared off by the sound of "grinding difficulty". (See: Elden Ring) But the graphics really draw me in, and I love the idea of the wistfully contemplative enemy who will ignore you unless you actually attack him. This game just asks me to try it.
(7) Padrino - Mass Effect: Not really sure what the game play is like, but a beautiful 4K space adventure sounds like exactly what I need right now. Maybe there are too many dragons and not enough spaceships in the video gaming world.
(8) Löwenherz - Super Mario Kart: I played a lot, like a LOT, of Rad Racer and Rad Racer II on the NES. This looks like way more fun. 10/10 would try.
(9) Padrino - Citizen Sleeper: The idea of a modern video game depending on digital dice rolls seems a bit antiquated. But the graphics on this game draw me in hard core. I just want to see what's going on here. That's not too shabby, for a dice-roll game.
(10) Löwenherz - Chrono Trigger: This appears to be a game right in keeping with a style of games I've played before (e.g. the original Final Fantasy), turn-based strategy with a slight jump in graphics design relative to my
alma mater NES. Never heard of it before this (despite the apparent accolades it gets) but yeah, I'd play.
(11) Padrino - Control: The trailer for this game has the distinct advantage of actually *increasing* my desire to play this game. Many of the games listed here sound kinda cool and then I watch the trailer and it's a bunch of cut scenes, and I'm like..."Eh..." But this trailer took a writeup that didn't thrill me and drew me right in. I'm intrigued.
(12) Löwenherz - Odin Sphere: for as much as Greek and Roman mythologies draw me in, the Norse versions have never really been my thing. Still, the idea that you play this game in turn as five different protagonists (who are not all necessarily allies) is pretty intriguing. I'm sold.
(13) Padrino - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dude, stop picking games with a colon in the title. Seriously! That's four in a row! This one is another open world game. Looks pretty cool, it's got that same D&D feel that something like Elden Ring does. I'd give it a shot.
(14) Löwenherz - Hades: I kind of wish Löw had included a game-play video in the writeup, because I really don't have a feel for how this game works. But the graphics look cool, and I'm always down for some Greek mythology, so I'm going to be reasonably optimistic on this one, given how little I understand about it.
(15) Padrino - Illusion of Gaia: OK, this looks pretty cool. The dude that only fights with a flute must be a hoot and a half. The graphics do sit in the uncanny valley between the terrible 8-bit stuff I grew up on and "real" graphics, so they seem to have the goal of trying to introduce shading and the like to the characters when it doesn't really work. But yeah, I'd give this a real shot.
(16) Löwenherz - Mega Man X: Oddly enough, despite being stuck in NES land for most of my gaming life, I've never played so much as a single Mega Man game. I don't know why. Just strangers passing in the night, I suppose. It's the kind of thing that's right up my alley, and I never went there. But hey, I'd try it, even if there's (oddly) little enthusiasm.
(17) Padrino - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition: I guess I really don't understand how this game works. It sounds like a turn-based RPG, but not quite. I'm not exactly sure how that plays, but I do feel like modern graphics are a bit wasted on the simpler game styles. Could be fun, though!
(18) Padrino - Castlevania: And we've reached the third of the three games on these lists I've actually played. Castlevania is definitely up my alley, in terms of being a classic NES side-scroller. But this was a game I never played much. The music was fun, but the graphics were clunky even for 8-bit, and I didn't like the whip mechanic at all. Sure, on the Desert Island I'd probably play it, but only after I got real good and bored with Super Mario Bros. 3.
(19) Löwenherz - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Obviously the fact that this is a Zelda franchise gives it some extra weight in my eyes, but the early 3D graphics really don't resonate with me. It's funny that I can live happily in a 2D, 8-bit world, but if you jump to the next level, I want a lot more. It is what it is. It's a Zelda game, I'd try it out, but the enthusiasm isn't there.
(20) Padrino - Disco Elysium: The Final Cut: Seems like a murder-mystery with, as described, little action and a lot of dialogue tree. I mean, I've played that kind of game, even drafted one (Stray). I'm not sure the graphics on this one suit me, but I'd give it a shot.
(21) Padrino - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: So the cut scenes have nice art, but I don't really get a feel for what the gameplay is like. Obviously this game has a bit of exploration, but in the end, this didn't get a great sales pitch. "Combat is a bit samey", "stops being novel very quickly", "Traversal seems clunky", "rough edges"...not really drawing me in.
(22) Löwenherz - Skies of Arcadia - OK, it's kind of a steampunk flying-ships thing. I can see it being kind of interesting, but maybe it doesn't fully float my boat. At least it will get me to muse on "Et in Arcadia ego" over and over...
(23) Padrino - Dark Souls: Remastered: I've already hit upon the problem with "Souls" games. I'm terrible at the mechanics. And didn't Padrino say that he didn't want to take multiple entries from the same franchise earlier in the draft?
Ahh, yes... So I've got two reasons to downgrade this one...
(24) Löwenherz - Cyberpunk 2077: "Blade Runner" good. But - even if fixed - the idea that the game is buggy: bad. Also, with no real way to gauge the game play, I'm left with the graphics, and the zombie Hammer-pants girl is not impressing me. This looks like less smash and more pass.
(25) Löwenherz - XCOM: Enemy Unknown: Löw threw me for a loop here, because the first half of the writeup is talking about a turn-based tactical game and evidently...that's NOT what this is? This is a first(third??)-person shooter? That's too bad. The turn-based tactical game probably would have gotten a better ranking.
(26) Padrino - Goldeneye 007: It may be one of the greatest film-to-game adaptations ever, but that's not enough to excite me - especially if I didn't have any particular affinity for the film in the first place. And again, these graphics look clunkier than 8-bit graphics to me just based on expectations of 3D games. Not super interested.
(27) Löwenherz - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge: I was born a few years too early to get into TMNT. It was one of those things that the kids 3-4 years younger than me thought was awesome so I knew it was obviously juvenile crap. That is going to weigh pretty heavily into my ranking here, regardless of the fact that i know it shouldn't. I just have no interest in playing this at all.
(28) Padrino - Mortal Kombat II: Fact of the matter is, the Mortal Kombat genre just doesn't thrill me at all. (I was notoriously the biggest detractor among my friends of Mike Tyson's Punchout as well.) So basically this game is going to be the line between "might be tolerable" and "is obviously going to pee me off" in these rankings.
(29) Löwenherz - Persona 5 Royal: I'm not sure how a "turn-based dungeon crawling" game manages to have a menu screen so incredibly off-putting, but here we are. I'm pretty sure this one would irritate the crap out of me.
(30) Löwenherz - Bioshock: Infinite: "You got your politics into my video game!" "You got your videogame into my politics!" Damn, this thing doesn't at all sound as good as a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I want to play video games to relax, there are plenty of other outlets for that crap. No thanks.
Padrino: 218
Löwenherz: 247
(Low score wins)
Welp, looks like my low-effort vibes-based rankings didn't hold up when I took a close look at every game. Sometimes, it goes like that. But congrats to both players on interesting lists. You'll note that the cutoff between "I want to try this game" and "pass" is in the low 20s, so all told you've definitely both got my attention!
