Desert Island Video Game Draft Playoffs - FINALS (#1 Löwenherz vs. #2 Padrino)

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Given your affinity for the NES, you should probably go Classic before X. Start here:

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It’s where most people of our age began their Mega journey. Oddly, Slim and I both played MM3 first, which is another fantastic option.

Mega Man 11 is the latest “classic series” entry with updated visuals and is available on more modern consoles, but it has a much different feel than the original series. MM9 is amazingly good too, but don’t start there. It is middle finger hard, especially for newcomers.

Although I have played the entire X series, I can't say that I've played all of the Classic series, though I have watched my son play them all. And yes, I did play 3 first: I borrowed the cart from a friend, and then rented 2, when I got the chance. 4 was the first one I bought with my own money. In fact, I played the Classic series in this order:

1. 3
2. 2
3. 4
4. 1
5. 5
6. 7
7. 8
8. 6

And I played the X series in this order:

1. 4
2. 5
3. 6
4. 1
5. 7
6. 8
7. 3
8. 2

My son has played every Mega Man game, across every platform, and he's neck-and-neck with Sonic for being his favorite video game character. Much of our father/son bonding during his pre-adolescent years came thanks to the Blue Bomber.

 

[Löwenherz]

Although I have played the entire X series, I can't say that I've played all of the Classic series, though I have watched my son play them all. And yes, I did play 3 first: I borrowed the cart from a friend, and then rented 2, when I got the chance. 4 was the first one I bought with my own money. In fact, I played the Classic series in this order:

1. 3
2. 2
3. 4
4. 1
5. 5
6. 7
7. 8
8. 6

That’s a little eerie. About the same order I played them in, except with 6 and 7 swapped and 8 out entirely.

MM8 and MM&Bass are my only blind spots in the classic series. I’ve watched videos of them, but never played. Didn’t own a PS1 or GBA and didn’t even know either of those MM titles existed until 9 came out. Played 9, 10 and 11 in release order.

I’ve never played an X game outside the SNES trilogy.

My son has played every Mega Man game, across every platform, and he's neck-and-neck with Sonic for being his favorite video game character. Much of our father/son bonding during his pre-adolescent years came thanks to the Blue Bomber.

That’s adorable. I hope my daughter and I can have something like that once she’s older.

Every Mega Man Game?! Wow, I’m not even about to count how many that is. Impressed by the dedication.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

That’s a little eerie. About the same order I played them in, except with 6 and 7 swapped and 8 out entirely.

The reason why I played 6 last is because, by the time it came out, I had already gotten rid of my NES. I didn't get around to playing it until the Anniversary Collection came out, which is also when I first played 8... Why I played 8 before 6, when I got access to both of them at the same time, I couldn't tell you.

Every Mega Man Game?! Wow, I’m not even about to count how many that is. Impressed by the dedication.

All 'em. The Zero series, the ZX series, the Battle Network series, the Legends series. Even the Command Mission RPG. Mega Man is more over than Coca-Cola in this household. It made gift buying pretty easy for a couple years, too: I just had to find something with Mega Man on it, and... Happy Kid!

 

[hrdboild]

Just out of curiosity, if everyone could only keep 1 video game on their island.... do you all know what it would be?

Re-playability / length might be the biggest factor at that point but maybe not. I'm not really in the habit of re-playing games a lot so I might be tempted to take something I haven't played yet. This might be the ideal situation to finally play through Metal Gear Solid V, for instance. Or one of the Assassin's Creed games I barely started like Assassin's Creed Unity.

Practically speaking, RollerCoaster Tycoon seems like the easy pick for me to make -- I still had a lot planned that I never got around to making and that one would keep me occupied for infinite time, theoretically. But I also got a little burned out on that game due to my inescapable perfectionism so perhaps not. The answer I feel best about right now is Uncharted 4. It's a more recent entry into my gaming pantheon and that one title gives me a good mix of exotic locales, stealth sequences, Tomb Raider style climbing/jumping puzzles, guns blazing action, and whatever you want to call this...

Eventually, with enough playthroughs, I could probably get good enough at this game to breeze through those madcap Jackie Chan cribbing action sequences with John Wick levels of precision.

Anyone else?

 

[SLAB]

I think if I’m limited to one choice from my island, I go with functionality over just playing a game… I learn to play guitar with Rocksmith.

Binding of Isaac and its neverending replayability is a pretty close second. And PoGo was also in that race.

 

[whitechocolate]

Just out of curiosity, if everyone could only keep 1 video game on their island.... do you all know what it would be?

Battle Garegga. Outstanding music, great graphics, goated gameplay and stage design, and a skill ceiling so high there's always room to expand on scoring opportunities while pushing that rank and using increasingly risky strategies.

 

[Spike]

Just out of curiosity, if everyone could only keep 1 video game on their island.... do you all know what it would be?

 

[Löwenherz]

Too easy for me. It’s Chrono Trigger. Combined with two I didn’t take this time, Civilization II and Mega Man 3, they’re the only ones I’ve come back to consistently for the past 30+ years.

Would be more exciting if this question was hard for me. Looks like I have to play more games.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

 

[Löwenherz]

Congratulations @Padrino

A Winner Is You!



We have a new Video Game king.

May his reign span the console generations.

 

[Padrino]

Thank you, everybody! This was a really fun Desert Island Draft! I'm happy to have "won", of course, but beyond my victory, these exercises in examination of non-basketball-related media are always my favorite KF.com experiences, particularly when things are bleak in Kingsland.

Just out of curiosity, if everyone could only keep 1 video game on their island.... do you all know what it would be?

This is a fun one! For me, it's probably Skyrim. It just feels like coming home. As good as every game on my list is, none of the rest of them quite have the feeling of being wrapped in a blanket and knowing you belong there, except perhaps for A Link to the Past. It would be a tough choice between the two, but Skyrim's flexibility (and moddability) give it the edge.

Elden Ring is amazing, and it's quite possibly my favorite video game of all time. But it's also a mood. The same is true of Disco Elysium. These are games I absolutely adore, but they require the player to adopt a particular mindset to enter them and embrace them on their terms. They're not really games I would feel comfortable booting up at any moment on any day. There would be a good argument here for No Man's Sky, since it just offers the player so many things to do, but playing it is also a very lonesome experience (and beautifully so) if you engage with it the way I do by ignoring the multi-player possibilities (I simply do not have any interest in playing video games with others online).

Skyrim, on the other hand, is a game that I can always go back to, and it's a game that always feels welcoming, because of Bethesda's very particular approach to game design. I've modded it within an inch of its life and managed not to nuke my ability to play it, and for that reason, as well, it just feels like it belongs to me. Every Skyrim playthrough is uniquely mine, so if I could only keep one game from my island, it would be that one.