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 My Favourite Games #16: chocolatecake5000

Posted by hb on December 7th, 2017 @01:59AM

‘My Favourite Games’ is a regular MossRanking feature which gives us a chance to get to know our fellow Spelunkers a little better. In each edition, we put the spotlight on one member of the community, as they pick three of their most treasured video games ever and give their reasons why. Featured members are allowed to pick whatever games they want... except for Spelunky.

 

The 16th entry goes to chocolatecake5000, a relatively new member of the Spelunky community who deservedly snagged a Newcomer of the Year nomination at this year's Spelunky Discord Community Awards. Here are his three games...

 

 

Tales of Symphonia (GameCube, 2004)

chocolatecake5000’s first pick is Namco’s popular GameCube role-playing game Tales of Symphonia. With a vibrant world and a hugely entertaining battle system, Tales of Symphonia delivered a truly memorable experience. “I like how it rewards exploration so well, with items and cutscenes on the overworld,” chocolatecake5000 says. “It has so many areas to find.”

 

Tales of Symphonia incorporates a fast-paced real-time battle system. The player selects a party of four, but can only control one character at a time; any character not under your direct control is taken over by the AI, which follows instructions you can set beforehand. Each character has their own unique skills and quirks, contributing to give the battle system a brilliant mix of action and strategy. Combat remains fresh throughout the lengthy story.

 

“The real-time-combat is a big part of why the game is so interesting,” chocolatecake5000 explains. “You can use a lot of different strategies especially in choosing party members. One boss I remember pretty well is this guy in a prison area that I tried to fight for an hour and couldn’t do it. So I grinded for a couple of hours on soldier enemies. When I finally beat him, it was very satisfying.”

 

 

League of Legends (PC, 2009)

For chocolatecake5000, the global phenomenon from Riot Games that is League of Legends stands as one of the best video game experiences with friends. He has spent a staggering 2,000 hours on the game in total -- which is more than 83 days.

 

League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) title which sees two teams of players do battle in a bid to destroy each other’s Nexus. “Playing with friends is really fun, because you can try out different team compositions,” chocolatecake5000 comments. “My favourite character used to be Shaco, but now it’s either Bard or Blitzcrank.” There are a great range of champions at the player's disposal; for example, Bard is appealing to chocolatecake5000 because of the character's flexibility. "You can build him however you want," he shares. "Attack damage, magic, support, or full crit."

 

He admits the fact that Shaco was 'nerfed' via balance tweaks, reducing the character's effectiveness, has slightly dampened his interest in League of Legends nowadays (as well as having a slower internet connection) -- but matches are always varied, particularly when new techniques and strategies are discovered. "There is always something new to try," chocolatecake5000 says.

 

 

The Binding of Isaac (PC, 2011)

chocolatecake5000 chooses The Binding of Isaac as his final pick, which is probably not surprising given how he has achieved 100% in the game. chocolatecake5000 explains that -- despite The Binding of Isaac’s well-documented roguelike aspects -- it was the sense of progression that drove him to continue playing and to master the title.

 

“I wanted to 100% the game because I wanted to see if I could do it, to push myself,” he explains. “Seeing the item sheet build up is a great feeling. I really enjoyed how you have to beat Mom ten times to even unlock the next level. It’s great to see what you unlock for beating each end boss with each character, and seeing a newly-unlocked item on your next run is always a great feeling of progression.”

 

chocolatecake5000 credits YouTuber and streamer Nothernlion as a major influence for his love for The Binding of Isaac. “Northernlion is a big part of what made Isaac so much fun for me,” chocolatecake5000 says. “It was like watching someone learn the game at the same pace that I learned the game. I watched, like, 100 episodes [on his channel].”

 

 

Honourable mentions: Luigi's Mansion (2001); Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001); Super Smash Bros. 4 (2014); Risk of Rain (2013); Chibi-Robo! (2006); Super Mario Sunshine (2002); Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004); Hot Wheels Velocity X (2002); Phantom Brave (2004); Kingdom Hearts (2002); Kingdom Hearts II (2006).

 

Previous 'My Favourite Games' entries

 

Season 2:

JakeYoshimitsu (#15), Stuoid (#14), GreatStriker (#13), ix (#12), TNF (#11)

 

Season 1:

saturnin55 (#10), SAIBOT (#9), MrEikono (#8), Kazzy (#7), Konato_K (#6), ShinGraywords (#5), Meowmixmix (#4), MikeIsMyIke (#3), Twiggle (#2), Kinnijup (#1)