Metaplanar Babel

Podz recently mentioned an article about game replayability that I found interesting. It seems everyone has such different ideas of the kinds of games that can be played over and over again, though there were certainly some titles that kept showing up in the comments. Anyway, I felt like a bit of a stroll down memory lane, so here is a list, in no particular order, of games that I can play over and over again.

Suikoden I & II (definitively not III)

I love these games. I’m a little sad that the series went in the directions it did with III and what I’ve heard of IV, but the first two are definitive keepers. Even though I’ve maxxed out characters/castles in both games, I can still go back and play through over and over again for the story and characters.

Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Who doesn’t love the Zelda series? Seriously. OoT just happens to be the best of those currently available (though I await Twilight Princess with much much anticipation). Link is so lovable, especially as a little boy. This game has it all: great story and characters, puzzles that are fun and challenging, and the ability to ride a horse!

Soul Calibur 3

You would not believe the time I spent playing this game. Easily my favorite of the fighter games, though Tekken has its merits for unarmed combat. The new character creation system has certainly added a bit of replayability for me, but I always come back to some of the base characters anyway.

Jade Empire

This one is purely speculative, but I think it’s going to be a winner for me. I had a whole lot of fun playing through the first time, and while I’m not quite up for a replay just yet, I feel certain that I will be at some point. Great story, great setting.. if only it had been a little longer (only about 11 hours of playtime, which is low for an RPG).

Planescape: Torment

The computer RPG. So many options for character class, alignment, etc, that you could probably play this one over 10 times and never quite play the same game. Just found my discs the other day while looking for something else, so this may be my next non-WoW timesink.

It’s really hard to find games these days that are worth replaying. I do usually play through Final Fantasy games a couple times, but after that I often can’t bring myself to play again. That’s often the case with others as well. Once upon a time, I could play through Quest For Glory (I, II, III, or IV) over and over again, but I can’t seem to locate my disks for those any more (much to my dismay). Honestly, though, these days I’m just happy to have a game that’s worth playing through once, much less multiple times.