…For the role-player: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
If there was ever an RPG series stuck in its goth phase, it would be this turn-based beauty. Most of your time is spent hunting occult monsters in a massive, demon-infested tower. You fight them by using a magical gun to commit some kind of spiritual suicide, by shooting yourself in the head, which summons your own demon form. The rest of your time is spent surviving the real hell: high school.
Second option: Rogue Galaxy
The majesty and beauty of a Dragon Quest game transplanted into a sci-fi setting with robots, aliens, and pirate ships that sail through space? Yes, please.
…For the nostalgia hound: Metal Slug Anthology
The Metal Slug games may have the simplest concept in history: run constantly from left to right, and if something gets in your way, either ride it, jump over it, or blast it into a million pieces. But they’re still fantastic thanks to the amusing, hand-drawn art style; the chance to play every game co-operatively with a buddy, and the tendency for things to explode. It also helps that you never know what to expect next: you might find yourself riding a camel with machine cannons in its saddlebags, or turned into an acid-vomiting zombie.
Second option: Sega Genesis Collection
We get that old games are graphical throwbacks; but with a lineup of hits including three Phantasy Star RPGs, two Sonic games, Altered Beast, and a previously Japan-only Golden Axe III – this horse may not be pretty, but she won’t tire easily.
