Oh yes izzy, Ken's Rage and its sequel are not...good. Definitely not good Musou style representations. Fist of the North Star as a whole is still baller and I love it but to be perfectly honest, the only game I ever loved from the license is Lost Paradise. They really nailed the tone and tenor of the license and paired it with the Yakuza model in a solid fashion. The special moves are just so well implemented. It really is a special game. It's a greatest hits title (somehow) so if you don't mind a digital version, it goes on sale for $10 every so often.
Now onward with The Games I Gave the Most Chances I Finally Had To Admit Just Are Never Going to Jive With Me:
FF9
I really want to love this one. I really, truly do. The music is so good, it looks amazing. I actually really dig Kuja and the theatrics. And then I just bounce off every time. I don't like getting the abilities from equipment I have to keep wearing to master, feel restrictive. I don't like the mingames. I just needed to realize it's not for me and move on.
FF12
This was apparently not a good year to be an FF that I haven't finished but tried to given the pandemic and having the time. I love so much about FF12. I hate the combat. I now can see what it is that I don't like about it because (oh my God Argyle, I am so sorry) I played Xenoblade. I would have hated The Last Story too but they gave me the option to have direct control or just position with auto attack. I HATE AUTO ATTACK! It is a mechanic I cannot get behind. This whole waiting for cool downs and being in position (I don't even think you have to worry about position in FF12), it's just not engaging for me. I just zone out and become immediately bored. The other thing that FF12 had going for it was the Gambit and Licenses but having to buy everything is a drag. I don't mind setting the gambits but it got to be time consuming even looking at a few guides. I made it about 30 hours in and unlocked the second job class thinking that would rekindle my interest by mixing and matching but it just meant more babysitting. Ugh...shame, I remember liking this a bunch more back in the day.
Star Ocean 4
I don't know why I bought this. The battle system is too complex for how actively stupid this game is. Feyt Leingod is a lot for a name so now they went with Edge Maverick? Geez...I really don't like this game but I keep buying it...
ALL SAO GAMES
...like these games. I have never even seen SAO. But every time these games go on sale for like $10-15, I buy it. And every single time, I bounce off. They aren't well made and apparently devolve eventually into super softcore waifu dating sims (there's literally a mechanic called pillow talk where you lie in bed with the girls. That's it.) and there are so many visual novel scenes. Fatal Bullet has like over an hour of these before you have to meet the ENTIRE SAO CAST in one character's room and they introduce themselves and their backstory one by one. I never know where to go or what to do since I don't play MMOs and they sim MMOs but have terrible tutorials given how much they talk. I'm not buying these anymore. I swear...seriously, God as my witness..
Nier Automata
I don't get it. I am never not lost in this game. I LOVE the combat (more Platinum izzy!) but the getting around is ugh. I find it awkward. Like PS2 awkward with the invisible walls. I also hate the when you die, you have to get back to your body thing. Dark Souls ain't my jam (I am so sorry izzy!) and I don't like when it shows up elsewhere. I find it frustrating. Easy is more for combat and so it still doesn't solve the knowing where to go thing. Looks great. Sounds great. Great combat. I just don't like it no matter how hard I tried. After 2 years, I gave up and deleted it.
Now we have the number 5 pick...oh my god, it's a tie!!!
5: Tales of Vesperia and South Park The Fractured But Whole
Tales of Vesperia:
SON, BALLER ASS HATS!!! I gave this another go after bouncing off it in summer 2019. I have no idea why I stopped, I ADORED this game. I am teaming this up with South Park because the end goal was inconsequential for both. But I loved getting to those nothing endings. It was nice that this was a series of vignettes, like some kind of series of tales, that meandered and was mostly about a misunderstanding than anything. But that doesn't matter. The dynamic between Yuri and Flynn and Yuri's super straightforward, not at all nuanced but entirely relatable arc was stellar. They went places with that character and I appreciated it. The fact that Yuri and Estelle had an entirely platonic relationship that didn't have unrequited love or have love triangle nonsense was so, so welcome. We need more of that, men and women can coexist without having the need to bone each other and just be friends. The various character beats rang true to what was presented and was consistent. That battle system was stellar and simple (Rita kinda breaks it though...sis was a BIT overpowered). And those costumes. I had so much fun playing dress up. I think early lockdown fever got to me and It was just something silly and fun to do. Who knew I was this much into fashion? I cannot say enough good things about this game. I came out what 13 years ago and still looks, sounds and plays amazingly well. Hell, they had the same basic system as FF9 with taking skills from gear but it didn't feel nearly as restrictive here because grinding wasn't a grind. I really, really loved this game and if you haven't tried it, Vesperia is well worth the time and effort. Not for the payoff, it's not the point. I could barely coherently tell you what the point from a plot standpoint was if I tried (the environment? I think? Maybe?). But the journey is so well done. It really is about the friends you make along the way with this one.
South Park:
Another one I bounced off and came back to. I want to say I bought it, then a week later Kingdom Heart Re:Mind hit, the bros were here so I definitely couldn't play in front of them and then I forgot it existed. I dusted it off as it's one of the few physical PS4 games I own and gave it a go after beating Like a Dragon. I proceeded to laugh my ass off for the next 25 or so hours. I really shouldn't have bounced off this game. Like Vesperia, the capital P Plot is wholly unimportant. It's just a vehicle to get you from ridiculous scenario to ridiculous scenario. The battle system takes a minute to adjust to but is really, really solid. The pacing is great and they dole out new powers fairly regularly and allow you to mix and match (and the vehicle of revising the origin of your character each time is hilarious). You get new party members regularly, side quests are implemented well (except for one...) and there is exactly one battle where they got a little too ambitious. Other than the small quibbles, this one really works, especially as a follow up to Stick of Truth (which it ties into surprisingly well). While the capital P Plot and ending are really stupid, that's the point. Have fun with the game a couple hours at a time, see what nuttiness they throw at you next and then move on. I highly recommend it. Not only is it a more about the journey than destination like Vesperia, there are so many clothing options!