My Favourite Games #12: ix
Posted by hb on November 5th, 2017 @10:02PM
‘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 12th entry goes to ix, a terrific all-around Spelunky speedrunner and meme trendsetter. Here are his three games...

Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
For ix, the best role-playing game of all time is Chrono Trigger. When asked about what makes Chrono Trigger a cut above the rest, ix talks passionately about the game and lists several reasons why it is special for him.
One of the things that stands out is the fact that decisions have consequences, ranging from altered fates of significant NPCs to the story’s numerous endings. “There’s a scene about two hours into the game where Crono is on trial for kidnapping Marle,” he recalls. “What blew my mind is that choices and actions I made in the first five minutes of the game were being brought up as evidence for and against my guilt. The game is full of far more consequential decisions, but this is the moment it becomes clear Chrono Trigger is a very different type of game.”
You can even decide to stop certain characters from joining your party, if that’s what you want.
The decisions, especially when combined with the game’s nonlinear aspects such as side-quests, create a truly immersive experience.
“The most poignant side-quest is the story of Lucca, who devoted her life to science and inventions only after her failure to understand these as a child contributed to her mother's permanent disability,” ix shares. “The side-quest lets her go back in time and avert the lab accident. If successful, the mother appears in the present without the disability.”
It’s one thing for the game to engross a player. But Chrono Trigger also succeeds in being a joy to actually play. In particular, ix compliments the double and triple techs, which are dictated by your party line-up. The party members you select alters the dynamic of the combat. One of the most memorable triple techs for ix is Dark Eternal, which is used by Lucca, Marle, and Magus. “Dark Eternal is probably the flashiest of the triple techs: it combines ice, fire, and dark matter to inflict some form of galactic damage to all enemies,” he explains.
Chrono Trigger tells a good story and plays a good game. So it is not surprising that ix has completed numerous times.
Bonus: Final Fantasy IV and VI are also very highly-regarded by ix.

Dota 2 (PC, 2013)
Valve’s Dota 2 has become a phenomenon since the beta launched in 2011, and ix believes it is for good reason.
The multiplayer online battle area (MOBA) game has 115 heroes, which are constantly reworked and rebalanced. It is not uncommon for players to spend hundreds -- thousands, even -- of hours on, and a large part of that is that the gameplay remains fresh through regular updates and new additions to the core game. As ix explains: “[Lead designer] IceFrog continues to think up new heroes, items, and gameplay changes, and rebalances everything every couple of months. So it's an endless cycle of learning, re-learning, perfecting.”
ix’s favourite hero, for instance, used to be support Gyrocopter until he was “reworked and nerfed back to his old carry self” in April 2015. Nowadays? “For the offlane, my preferred position, I would pick Tidehunter against a greedy line-up, but Batrider, Magnus, and Dark Seer are very stable and enjoyable back-ups.” As ix explains, with so many characters available to take control of free of charge, there is plenty of incentive for players to branch out and not slavishly stick with just one hero.
Of course, Dota 2 also took off in a major way from a spectator point of view. The competitive scene is incredibly active, with teams from around the world coming together to participate in tournaments for big money.
ix is a huge fan of watching Dota 2 as an eSport. “From very early on, the game has been designed with the highest-skilled, most addicted players,” he comments. “Nowadays, it's balanced around the competitive, professional scene. The major negative for this approach is it makes the learning curve for the game insanely steep.”
ix even went to TI6 (The International 2016). “My favorite team, Alliance, was knocked out early, but it was hype to watch a couple of NADota teams -- Digital Chaos, Evil Geniuses -- and also another team lead by an NADota legend, Demon on TNC, go very deep into the tournament,” he says, of his time in Seattle, before adding that he would totally be up for going to another TI event again if he can find someone to go with.

Super Metroid (SNES, 1994)
Nintendo has released plenty of genuine classics over the years, but for ix, the one that stands out the most is Super Metroid.
According to ix, Samus’ SNES outing is “simply the best exploration platformer of all time, with exactly the right amount of handholding”. Super Metroid guides players along, communicating that certain items opens certain doors which open up new areas. An intuitive grid-based map also nudges players along the right path, while also motivating them to seek out secrets.
In particular, the speed booster item blew ix’s mind as a kid. “When you first acquire the speed booster, the room you are in starts to shake and lava begins to rise,” he explains. “The only way to escape without damage is to run. A second or so into running, Samus turns blue and increases in speed dramatically, running through and killing a gauntlet of enemies you would normally have to defeat with beams. Very satisfying!”
The speed booster is also essential to execute the shinespark technique, which allows Samus to store energy from the speed booster and release it to launch herself horizontally or vertically. It is an important technique for speedrunning.
In fact, ix calls Super Metroid the “best speedrunning game to watch”. “The game has gone through a seemingly endless cycle of routing and optimisation, with new mechanics continuing to be incorporated into the game,” he comments. “It's to the point where every time you see a runner like Zoast, Oats, or Behemoth make a mistake that looks like an error, it's really a set up for a damage boost that increases the risk of the run to save 0.3 seconds.”
ix says it is a “tragedy” that Super Metroid never got a “proper console sequel”.
Honourable mentions: Counter-Strike (PC, 2000); Portal/Portal 2 (PC, 2007/2011); Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007); The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U, 2016); Mega Man 2 (NES, 1989)
Previous 'My Favourite Games' entries
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