PixlBit

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Mirror B Theme (Pokémon Colosseum)- Yes, Mirror B has another game! While I prefer his XD track, there's nothing wrong with a salsa mix!

Kreia's Fall (Kotor 2)-Kotor 2 has one of the weirdest soundtracks because while it fits the SW universe, it entirely embraces the more melancholy tracks to the point where hearing the signature SW theme at the credits feels like tonal whiplash. The best pick of this is the rebuilt Jedi Enclave IMO, showing the pain the Jedi went through during the war with a slight hint at hope. A hint that inevitably gets crushed because this is one seriously depressing game 

Cage Match: I hate FFVIII. I hate it with a passion. I hate it so much I don't even want to come up with a fake scenario where the FFVIII party fights the Chrono Cross party I blame it for me bpuncing off the series since it was one of my early experiences with FF. So Chrono Cross wins. I haven't played it but I'm sure I'd like it more than FFVIII.

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3. Mario Brothers- Specifically from the Mario and Luigi RPGs. It's the best portrayal of brothers I've seen: Yes they hit each other with hammers, light each other on fire, and shock each other while Luigi is constantly disrespected for not being his older brother but they always have each other's back and their trust never waivers for one single second.

2. Shepard and Grunt- Shepard was there for Grunt's birth, taught him how to control his emotions during puberty, and paid bail to Citadel police and after hearing his story on why he got arrested only said "I love you Grunt." That's a dedicated parent! Hell Grunt was more excited to see Shepard than anyone else from 2 including the characters about to be killed by Cerberus or Reapers.

And its also really nice to see a healthy parent/child relationship in Mass Effect. Take a shot for every time yo play a mission centered on daddy issues in Mass Effect 2 and you won't make it through the night.

1. Rio and Miles Morales- Yes she's not an original game character but every version of Miles' parents are different so I'm counting her. And this is a single mother who just lost her husband, is running for public office, and yet still is always there for her son and his dweeby friend. If that isn't mother of the year, I don't know what is.

Cage Match: 

Castlevania 64 has skeletons on motorcycles and a Frankenstein monster with a chainsaw for an arm. Castlevania 64 wins.

Pokémon Conquest is my favorite by far. Put over 100 hours into it and I'm still nowhere near done. My favorite Pokémon are Dragonite, Heracross, Rockruff, Bulbasaur and Rowlet.

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3. Batman Arkham deaths- I already brought it up for best Game Over screens, but once again, these are perfect

2. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney- "How many panties do you have in your pocket Herr Forehead?" No, I'm not giving any context.

1. Dragon Age Origins- Anything Shale says. I can't think of a single quote from her that isn't a burn and they're all gold. My favorite is "I hope that is someone being murdered and not simply singing."

Cage Match

Mario Golf Toadstool Tour. I don't even like golf but I love Mario Golf. I have no clue why but I put just as many hours into Mario Golf as Mario Kart. Sonic Adventure 2 meanwhile is the first big Sonic game I didn't like. I don't even like the Sonic levels, they have lots of cheap deaths, discourage exploration, and punish the player for experimenting. Shooting segments blow too with a clunky, unintuitive control scheme. Knuckles' emerald hunting is fine even with the game forcing you to find them in a set order. I had fun there at least. Also can we just acknowledge that the plot is based on:

1. The US government not being able to tell the difference between a blue hedgehog and a black hedgehog

2. The perfect life form being a four foot tall hedgehog then later a giant lizard.

3. Said ultimate life form's last memory being a girl getting murdered by gunpoint from a secret government agency but forgetting she told him there's good in humanity immediately after

What is this nonsense?

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Mass Effect 2- It's a really close call between 1 and 2, but I give 2 the edge since it took a lot of chances and did something really different with the BioWare formula after it began to feel a bit stale for me with Dragon Age Origins. The irony now being that I hate how Bioware's changed since ME2 and would give anything for a return to their classic style RPGs, but none of that changed that ME2 is one of the most fun, compelling games I've ever played.

Crash Bandicoot Warped- Crash is still my favorite gaming mascot and Warped was everything I loved about his games perfected. There's a ton of variety, replayable levels and a perfect level of challenge for getting all the gems and relics. I replay Warped every year and have just as much fun getting 105% in the remake (or 108% if I'm playing the remake).

1. Star Wars Kotor 2- A game that changed my view on the world forever. While a lot of it comes from Kotor 2 being a Star Wars game, it's because I was so attached to Star Wars that Kotor 2 had such a huge impact on me. It showed me what a bleak, messed up world the Star Wars universe is when you truly analyze it and caused me to question everything from then on. Add in one of the best video game parties, an addicting influence system, infinitely customizable characters and fun combat and I'll be replaying this game until the day I die.

Cage Match

I haven't played either of these games, but voting for Chex Quest. Because I love me some Chex Mix, especially the bold party blend and the sweet and salty flavors

3. Banjo-Kazooie- The villain wins, gets everything she wants, and Banjo's sister suffers the consequences. The game is basically telling the player that they WILL complete this game and get all the jiggies. Unless they're an asshole.

2. Batman Arkham series- The first person view giving each villain lines while standing over Batman's beaten body did so much to add to the atmosphere of the game. I found myself dying on purpose to get all the lines from each new villain.

1. The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask- The only time a video game gave me nightmares. The game is relentless in showing the destruction of everyone and everything while Link makes his suffering noises. And then the Mask Salesman asking "You've met a terrible fate haven't you?" with his creepy smile for those planning to sleep that night.

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I haven't played either but I can say this: We have a DMC3. We have a DMC 4. We have a DMC V. We even have a DMC reboot that tried way too hard to be hip with the kids. Kain has been MIA for almost two decades. So DMC2 wins.

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3. Garrus Vakarian (Mass Effect Trilogy)- The way BioWare used him as your go to guy in the Mass Effect trilogy felt so unique and made the series more special. I cheered when I saw Archangel take off his helmet revealing his friendly face, I was horrified at the thought of him getting killed by a rocket to the face, and when we reminisced on the "good old days" in 3, they actually felt like the good old days. And yes, my FemShep banged him. Several times.

2. Rockruff/Lyranroc (Pokémon Sun/Moon)-I'm not sure if I'd call this my favorite Pokémon but it was definitely the one i needed the most. I was really missing my dog Rocky so seeing a Rock type dog Pokémon felt like one of my favorite series and developers were looking out for me. Also Lyranroc getting different forms depending on when you evolve Rockruff (wolf/werewolf/other wolf) means I can keep adding Rockruff to my team while getting a different experience each time.

1. Kreia (Kotor 2)- No other character has impacted me as much as Kreia. She even changed my religious beliefs. I question everything, consider the impact of all my choices, and try to figure out everyone else's motives for their choices before judging them because of Kreia

Cage Match

The match has Mario break Tetris blocks strategically until he carves a path out. However, at the last second a Tetris block appears right above him, crushing him. The camera zooms out of the screen revealing this is a Mario Maker level made by Nick Dimola for insane people like himself. Tetris wins

The first two Tak games are actually really good. Not on the same level as Jak or Banjo but you can do a lot worse for 3D platformers. Think the series could have lived if they stuck to that formula every two years instead of shaking things up every year. And the cartoon was abysmal. One of Nick's worst which is really saying something

Shame a game with Phil Hartman (RIP) turned out bad. But at least Ratchet and Clank is keeping both the gameplay idea and character idea (Qwark) alive so no huge loss here

Ripping off Sonic on The SNES/Genesis could always only end so well. Ripping him off on the PS1 though, that's a new level of sad. Also if you want a cartoon animal to be cool, don't have his name rhyme or this weird psuedo rhyme.