Gaming is one of my favorite hobbies. I love RPGs and the strategy I must use to survive. I also enjoy the ability to explore a brand new world with every new game. These here are some of my favorites.
Tales of Symphonia
An Action/RPG combo. You play as Lloyd Irving, who is trying to regenerate the world from a mana shortage (clichéd, I know). In battle, it plays like a fighting game, with regular attacks set to A and specials set to B. However, you can pause during battle to change the specials you are using, command an ally, use items, flee, and many other things. Outside of battle, you have the sorcerer's ring, a charm that changes function depending on the area. This serves to create many interesting puzzles. This game is huge, and I have already played it for over 130 hour. It also has incredible replayablility due to the GRADE shop, which allows you to purchase bonuses when starting new games using GRADE you have earned in battle.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
This is the sixth entry in the Legend of Zelda series, and my personal favorite. The game takes place in the land of Termina, which is threatened by the impending impact of the moon. You have only 72 hours (equivalent to about 30 real-world minutes) before the end of the world. To help you complete your quest, you have a magical, time-traveling ocarina, which you use to repeat the three days over and over. The gameplay consists of going through dungeons and finding special tools, then taking them back in time to access new areas. The highlight of the game is the mask system. The player can wear 24 different masks, each with a special effect, like enhanced speed or the ability to explode. The main quest is rather short, but there are many sidequests, several of which give you masks.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
A crossover fighting game by Nintendo. This game contains 33 classic Nintendo characters; from the well-known Mario and Zelda, to the obscure Mr. Game&Watch. It also contains Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and Konami's Solid Snake. The gameplay is a combination of fighting, platforming, and a little bit of sumo wrestling. Fights are done on 2-D stages with made up of floating platforms and environmental hazards. Attacks raise the foe's damage meter and knock the foe away. The higher their damage, the farther the foe flies. The objective is to knock the opponent off the stage, where they lose a life. Characters' regular attacks are used with the A button, while special attacks, which are unique to each character, are used with the B button. Each character also has a final smash, a devastating super-attack that can only be used after obtaining a smash-ball.
The game has a lot of things to do, with a side-scrolling story mode, the arena, thousands of things to collect, and online multiplayer. This game never gets old.
Metroid Prime
A sci-fi FPS with an emphasis on exploration. You play as Samus Aran, an intergalactic bounty hunter, who is navigating the planet Tallon IV. You oppose the Space Pirates, and fight them many times, and ultimately battle their greatest creation: the ultimate parasite, Metroid Prime.
This game is one of the few shooters I can play, due to the lock on system and lesser emphasis on combat. The world is huge, and very fun to explore, especially with the hundreds of secrets strewn about.
Final Fantasy VI
My favorite in the Final Fantasy series. This game follows the Returners, a rebel group opposing the Geshtahl Empire. This game is unique in the fact that, halfway through the game, Kefka, one of the emperor's generals, manages to overthrow the empire and destroy the world, and then puts it back together the way he sees fit and rules over it ruthlessly. At this point, the player's group is scattered, and must be found once again before they can rejoin. It is possible to face Kefka soon after this, but he is very powerful. This is where the best part of the game comes in. While there are very few required quests in the second half, there are many, MANY sidequests to partake in.
The battle system is very interesting. While the battle is controlled by a menu like most RPGs, it take place in real time, so if you just wait around, enemies WILL attack you. Commands consist of normal attacks; specials that vary by character, like theft, mimicking foes, using tools (even chainsaws), or even dancing; using items like potions; and using magic learned by equipping magicite, the remains of magical beings call espers.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy
A fighting game based on the Final Fantasy franchise. This game has a hero and villain from each of the first ten games, plus one character each representing XI and XII
The game has an interesting battle system. Each character starts with a set amount of BRAVE points and hit points. The goal is to reduce your opponent's hit points to zero. Each character has two types of attacks: Brave attacks and HP attacks. Brave attacks steal BRAVE points from the opponent, while HP attacks reduce the foe's hit points. The amount of damage done by HP attacks is equal to the amount of BRAVE one has, so the more Brave attacks done before an HP attack, the better.
Additionally, EX force and EX cores can be found on the battlefield, and collecting them fills the EX gauge, allowing the character to go into EX mode, an enhanced form with bonuses unique to each character, like stronger attacks or special abilities.
The most interesting part of the game is the player's ability to heavily customize their characters by using different equipment and configuring their attacks, a feature normally only seen in RPGs. But hey, this is Final Fantasy.