Top 5 tribute thread

[Barbas]

So, apparently Top 5 With Lisa Foiles is now done, over and gone for realsies. 'Tis a sad day in Escapington Town.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.860926-What-happened-Top-5-with-Lisa-Foiles

I thought it'd be a nice idea to sit down and have our own Top 5 as a tribute to a show that put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces. Give us your top five of anything and explain why you love 'em more than Coke floats and kittens!

* * *

[HEADING=2]The Top 5 badass musical tracks in films![/HEADING]​

Whether they be original compositions or music from an existing band, everyone's got a handful that hold a special place in their heart.

5 - The Matrix
Aw, come on, who doesn't remember that lobby shootout [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAzUi0YCOjc] scene in all its bullet-hosing, physics-defying glory? Or the subway fight scene, for that matter? 'Spybreak!' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCBL33NKvPA] by Propellerheads is probably the first thing to come to the mind of every bored office drone as they pass by the lobby security guard on a dreary Monday morning.

Spoiler

[HEADING=3]"Ah ha haaaaa, DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!"[/HEADING]​

4 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Ah yes, 'Bad To The Bone' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9FyQNx8oyU] by George Thorogood and The Destroyers. I'd tell you why this one made the list and detail the scene it played in, but, uh...you forgot to say please.

Spoiler

[HEADING=3]"ಠ_ಠ."[/HEADING]​

3 - Conan The Barbarian
Basil Poledouris was a composing powerhouse with quite the list of musical achievements to his name, but few stand out like the ridiculously overly-bombastic 'Riders of Doom' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKUYAnqxjU&t=90]. The accompanying scene could never hope to match its sheer bodacity.

Spoiler

[HEADING=3]"[Annoyed grunt]."[/HEADING]​

2 - Gladiator
Hans Zimmer gets a lot of criticism for how eerily similar some of his film scores sound to the human ear, but there's one piece that draws all his detractors together with the statement "Hot diggity-doodle, this is F**KING AWESOME!" 'The Battle' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFpZPZ_g4Hw] is that piece - a fine ten minutes of music from one of the greatest films Ridley Scott made before he Prometheus'd in his directing chair.

Spoiler

[HEADING=3]"Stop staring at me. It had to be done!"[/HEADING]​

1 - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Anybody who saw the film remembers sitting in front of their old Star Wars VHS tape, punching the air and singing along when the TIE Fighters attacked [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzU9UkVL1QA&t=92] the Millennium Falcon. Well...probably.

...Shut up!

Spoiler

[HEADING=3]"...Neh neh neeeh neeeh neeeh..."[/HEADING]​

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I'll definitely miss Lisa's listage. They were an irreverent, endearingly inoffensive oasis amidst the [glorious] cynicism of folk like Sterling and Yahtzee.

Top 5 Joss Whedon Things

5 - Dollhouse - arguably the smartest, weirdest, and most twisted thing Joss has penned so far. Definitely his flawed masterpiece. It was put down like a dog as Firefly was, but it at least had the chance to [hurriedly] conclude its story. Great story, great character, and one hell of a fucked up resolution to the central romantic duo...

4 - Fray - Melaka Fray - dystopic future Slayer - is one of my favourite characters created by Joss, and probably my favourite Slayer to boot. Cracking art, ballsy lead character - it damn well needs a follow-up.

3 - Firefly - ...well duh.

2 - Buffy The Vampire Slayer - for me, it set a benchmark for genre TV that I don't think anyone else matched (Joss got pretty close with Firefly and Dollhouse... ), and trod the line between pulp cheese, humour, tragedy/pathos, character narrative, balancing long form arcs, and--- well, I don't think it had a bad season across seven years (the very best episodes are arguably in the last season). I'd like to see Buffy come back, recast, preferably on the bigscreen. But it's secured its place in pop-culture history. And my heart. Darth Rosenberg makes an appearance in Season 6, too, so there's that as well...

1 - Astonishing X-Men - 1 and 2 pretty much tie, as they both represent Joss getting to tell a full, long form narrative without too much meddling from the outside. Smart, funny, touching, his run is respectful of the characters whilst still playing around with their perceived roles and traits. Joss writing for Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde is just about perfect. The only downside is that re-reading it just reminds me how godawful the current X-Men films are.[footnote]no, I've not seen Days Of Future Past. I gather it 'fixes' some of the series' issues, but I don't believe anything can really undo the damage they've done after this many films.[/footnote] I am a bit of a Whedon nut, and think his Astonishing run is him at his very best, from start to finish. Utterly beautiful art by John Cassaday, too (trivia: he directed a cracking episode of Dollhouse); Scott's never looked more badass, Wolverine more [adorably] ridiculous, or Emma as complicatedly sympathetic.

He has his hands full with Marvel's films right now, but I'd love to see Joss back writing for X-Men sometime - he was a perfect fit.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm too heartbroken to concoct an interesting Top 5. She was the only content creator other than Yahtzee that I always looked forward to and always enjoyed her work.

 

[Auron225]

Top 5 Final Fantasies;

#5 - Final Fantasy 4

For me, this was the first FF game that really cared about plot. FF3 was a big step in the right direction but it wasn't quite there yet. Great gameplay, good story, nice music - overall, very good.

#4 - Final Fantasy 6

Terra and Kefka are both fascinating characters, along with several others (Cyan, Locke, Celes, Shadow, Rem). I loved especially that

Spoiler

Kefka actually succeeded (somewhat) in destroying the world

.

#3 - Final Fantasy 7

The Materia system was fantastic, some great characters again (Tifa, Vincent, Red XIII, the Turks) and another legendary villain! Beautiful OST as well!

#2 - Final Fantasy 9

Features my all time favourite character from fiction (Zidane Tribal). The story is amazing, the characters are wonderful and the gameplay is good fun. I find it difficult to criticize this game about anything at all.

#1 - Final Fantasy 10

Also my favourite game of all time - the soundtrack is beautiful, the characters are inspiring, Spira is breathtaking and the story is captivating. Admittedly the gameplay could be faster paced but I enjoyed the high strategy often required for late-game battles.


There - now don't you all miss Lisa a bit more? Did anyone even bother to read all of that?

P.S. I just noticed that my list is in chronological order In-case you're interested, I never played FF5 and FF8 loses out big time because of the moronic junctioning system.

 

[Malbourne]

[HEADING=1]Top Five Most Adorable Antagonists in Games[footnote]Of those that I have played.[/footnote][/HEADING]​

[/left]

[HEADING=3][b]Number 5: Tom Nook - [i]Animal Crossing[/i][/b][/HEADING]
What? He's not a villain? But my sources told me...Oh, okay. Nevermind! I've been informed that Mr. Nook is just an upstanding businessman who's trying his best to help out of luck townsfolk get back on their feet. He's not guilty of anything nefarious.
[small]What an oddly specific thing to say...[/small]


[left][img src=http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110124141736/supermeatboy/images/5/5b/Dr_Fetus.png width=240 height=150][/left]
[HEADING=3][b]Number 4: Dr. Fetus - [i]Super Meat Boy[/i][/b][/HEADING]
Yeah! Who doesn't love babies! Dr. Fetus takes that love to the next embryological step. How can you not adore his wittle monocle, that cute remote, or those charm-laden expressions he makes? But all of his cutesy belies an evil intent: to kidnap Meatboy's beloved Bandage Girl! What a villain.

[right][img src=http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110729032151/kirby/en/images/d/d4/Kingdedededetail.png width=150 height=150][/right]

[HEADING=3][b]Number 3: King Dedede - [i]Kirby[/i][/b][/HEADING]

When you need to make a rival for a cute pink puffball, you create an imperious penguin wielding a giant rocket-hammer. Obviously. Whether it be by possession or greed, Dedede seems to butt heads with Kirby at every turn. Anybody who doesn't enjoy Dedede's antics or main him in [i]Smash[/i] can go suck up a Gordo.

[right][img src=http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101212015712/okami/images/6/64/Tobi.jpg width=200 height=200][/right]
[HEADING=3][b]Number 2: Tobi - [i]Okami[/i][/b][/HEADING]

Tobi's one reason to live is racing. Well, not literally his reason. That would be guarding the gate to Oni Island. Otherwise, he'll race his demonic heart out when facing down Amaterasu, and boy is he smug about winning. Personal faults aside, Tobi is charmingly cute in his own way.

[left][img src=http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110419002528/klonoa/images/4/40/Kanashimi.png width=200 height=200][/left]
[HEADING=3][b]Number 1: The King of Sorrow - [i]Klonoa: Lunatea's Veil[/i][/b][/HEADING]

I was reminded of this villain from discussing Klonoa on Frappe's recent thread. Good thing, too, because the King of Sorrow is so adorable I could just squeeze the happiness out of him for hours! Probably one of the least-involved villains I know, but his design's still pretty distinctive. It mirrors Klonoa's in a rather perverse way, not unlike a warped mirror revealing similarities neither would want to admit (headcanon). That, and he's also blue! Get it? Cuz' he's sad, but also-ah, it's the end of my list, so whatever.​

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

In memory of the great lady herself, my tailored Top 5 in accordance with my interests is:
[HEADING=1]Top 5 most fun Final Fantasy sidequests [small](as played and voted by me!)[/small][/HEADING]

Final Fantasy is one of my favourite franchises, and I played them since I was young. I loved the gameplay, the characters, the worlds and stories and I loved the side quests. Side questing for me is my favourite part of gaming. Being rewarded for doing things outside the ordinary, thinking outside the box, or just for being a persistant bastard, all of which I found damn fun!

So here is my top 5...

[HEADING=2]5. Obtaining Yuffie, and getting her village treasure/materia[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]Final Fantasy VII[/HEADING]

I start with this, and I know it's probably a controversial choice too. No matter whether people liked Yuffie or not as a character I would hope that I am not alone in the fact that I liked the sidequest linked to her.
You start by recruiting her as a mysterious ninja that attacks you in the woods. If you answer her questions correctly then you recruit her to your team... that's not where the fun ends though. Head near Wutai village, her hometown, then you suddenly find yourself robbed of your hard earned Materia after fighting some Shinra soldiers, and you have to complete an optional story arc in order to get them back. This story entertained me greatly the first time I played it all those years ago, and I loved how it intergrated with the plot, but was totally seperate. I also liked the tower fights afterwards that allow you to unlock Leviathan as an optional summon! Good stuff FFVII!

[HEADING=2]4. Namingway[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]Final Fantasy IV (DS)[/HEADING]

This one surprised me the first time. The early Final Fantasies, along with the spin off series, didn't have many sidequests besides optional dungeons, so I was delighted when this popped up in my DS version of Final Fantasy IV. I had played IV years before, and remembered Namingway for his ability to rename the characters, even the ones that came with names to begin with. I also enjoyed that Namingway with his original sprite appeared in FFIX as a card in the Tetra Master game that when shown to a specific character allowed you to rename characters again. The surprise came in as the DS FFIV was voice acted, and therefore names were set and could not be changed. This meant that as a self referential joke Namingway now had to find a new job. In certain locations in the game whilst on your travels you will come across Namingway (who comically has a new name every time you meet him) who is trying to find a job, a girlfriend, some heart ache and finally a wife. I enjoyed these encounters, and everytime I saw his little bunny ears I jumped at the chance to find out what he was up to! Well played DS port!

[HEADING=2]3. Triple Triad[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]Final Fantasy VIII[/HEADING]

I had to put one of the minigames in... and after Tetra Master, Golden Saucer, Blitzball and Hunts it was the card game from FFVIII that had the upper hand. It was a simple game of arrows and numbers which with the regional rules, elemental boosts and randomly generated game boards it could be surprisingly deep at times and was the first minigame type sidequest that compelled me to complete it. It also impressed me how the game was implemented into the world. You would often find people who obsessed with it, members of card clubs or were using it as an escapism tool to keep their sanity after a disaster. It was fun finding who in the world had rare cards to win, or which monsters you could use the Card command on to boost your decks. And getting a rare powerful monster card, with a good ammount of arrows was a great feeling... and soft-resetting so many times after losing a rare card so you don't have to try and win it back was also cool. In fact, the simple way characters would use cards won from you was a great feature in itself! Bring it on Card Queen... I am after you! (And why do you weirdly look so much like Aeris?)

[HEADING=2]2. Rat's Tail[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]Final Fantasy[/HEADING]

The original Final Fantasy... and a sidequest that can be easily overlooked, but is such a shame if you do. Having no real characters, the original FF had you controlling the 4 Heroes of Light who's job classes you chose at the start of the game. Progressing though the optional Citidel of Trials later in the game will eventually allow you possession of the Rats Tail which when presented to Bahamut in his lair will upgrade all your heroes to ultimate versions of their starting classes. Not only does this give you great stat boosts and new abilities significantly enhancing the classes abilities (warriors with white magic anyone?), but it also changes the look of your characters to badass versions of their former selves... no playthrough should ignore this relativly easy, but oh so worth it, character boost! The original FF side quest in all it's glory!

[HEADING=2]1. Chocobo Hot & Cold[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]Final Fantasy IX[/HEADING]
Probably due to bias from the fact that FFIX was my favourite of the series (before the obsession with rainbow coloured floating things being part of the art, and with my favourite characters) the Chocobo Hot and Cold sidequest was my favourite of all sidequests in a Final Fantasy. It comprised of a fun little minigame that was performed in different areas as you progresses, starting in the returning classic: The Chocobo Forrest. This, as the name implies is a Hot and Cold game where you have to peck at the ground and hone in on buried items by comparing the different reactions from your chocobo. There are different levels for your chocobo's beak and this unlocks more time and better items as you play. Better than that though you unlock Chocographs (see pic) that allow you to find hidden chests on the world map. You have to locate them by decifering the clue and picture and finding where that is on the overmap, then playing hot and cold when you get there in order to unlock the prize. It's a lot of work, but it unlocks relatively early on and the prizes are really worth it, and can boost your characters at the 2/3 game point significantly! The whole bit is worth doing in terms of rewards and the progression availiable, and it even unlocks areas and equipment in the game which cannot be unlocked any other way, including a Chocobo's Paradise at the end which completes a Chocobo story arc only availiable through this quest. 10/10, would Kweh! KWEH!! KWEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!!! again!

 

[Someone Depressing]

I'm going to miss Lisa's videos. I should probably work on catching up.

I don't have anything to do, so I supposed I shall have to indulge in your petty, futile attempts at listing various thingies.

[HEADING=2]Top 5 Art Styles In Anime and Manga[/HEADING]

#5 Nichijou
Nichijou is one of those weird, obscure manga by an author you've never heard of, even though their library is fairly extensive.

Nichijou is a manga about Yuuko Aioi, and her generally horrible life, in a bizarre shounen world with robots, talking cats, snooty Japanese people, and hammer-space-gun-weidling tsunderes. Seriously.

It was picked up and animated by Studio Kyoto. And as expected, the art is gorgeous.


#4 The Bride of The Water God

Technically not a manga as it's Korean, but it's art style is very obviously rooted in anime and manga; the backgrounds are ridiculously detailed, and rarely for an eastern art style, the characters are insanely animate and expressive. It doesn't resort to its cheap tricks, and manages to find its own gorgeous, ridiculously pretty style.

#3 Hayao Miyazaki. As in, Miyazaki in general

This goes without saying - after all, it's Studio Ghibli, but Miyazaki's style in particular is just brilliant, from the detailed backgrounds to expressive characters and borderline pornographic fluidity.

[sub]A fish eating ham has never been so beautiful[/sub]

#2 Gregory's Horror Show

Gregory's Horror Show was an obscure, very weidget-y anime about a nameless, featureless protagonist, one male and another female, trapped inside a haunted mansion. It was silly, ridiculous, funny, and scary, all at the same time, and it used an interesting, blocky art style. A video game was released for the PS2. It was basically like Resident Evil except with no self defense. It is much, much more awesome than that description makes it sound.

That doesn't mean it didn't get serious, though. Some of the things it talked about was the "salaryman" stereotype, and other Japanese social issues and controversies, usually spoofing for and against arguments that politicians tend to sling at each other.

The art style was without a doubt the most interesting thing Gregory's Horror Show, aside from the characters. It was sleek, blocky, simple, and best of all, got better with time. See for yourself.

#1 Windy Tales

Windy Tales is an anime about a bunch of girls who wake up to find out that they have control over the wind.

And that's it.

A 13-episode-anime from 2004, this one got swept under the rug by much more popular and hyped up series at the time, but it remains one of my favourite anime to day because of its experimental art style that avoids slender girls with big eyes and triangle mouths, the fact that it doesn't try to be dark or story heavy but would just rather be amazing and adorable in its own way, and because, well, it's just pure, unfiltered cuteness. It did occasionally get gritty, but that was always appreciated to give you a chance to recover from your diabetes.

The

art

is

gorgeous.

Also, did I mention that there were cute cats.
Flying cats.