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Ack wrote:I have a few more additions to AJ's lists.

Comix
XIII
Chakan: The Forever Man
Sam & Max

These are some excellent shouts. I'd love it if people played games based on comics outside of the obvious Marvel/DC choices.

these are all super interesting choices... which means I'm having trouble voting.

Question: would Phantasy Star III be considered a 'time travel' game?

EDIT: Alright fuck it, I voted Time Travel because there's actually a pretty great pile of interesting options there; and Comics because, well, comics.

I haven't seen anyone mention Time Gal for "Time Travelers Never Die" yet. So yeah, Time Gal.

Another game that could fit that concept, would be Again: Interactive Crime Novel. This is a game that I'm pretty sure only I have played (and beaten) around these parts, so I'll explain. Again: Interactive Crime Novel is a DS adventure title, originally released in 2009 in Japan, and 2010 in the USA. The player takes the role of J, an agent of the FBI and sole survivor of a past string of murders. J has a special ability called "past vision" to solve puzzles, which he uses as he investigates the murders committed by the serial killer known only as "Providence". Basically J can psychically transport himself into the past, letting him explore crime scenes in an unusual way. For handheld gamers, Again: Interactive Crime Novel is a good choice if they enjoy serious stuff. (Here's the original trailer.)

Well, I have officially voted for Westerns and Comix. But no matter what wins, we win.

I voted comics and time travel. I loved the other 2 options aswell, but I couldn't think of as many options I wanted to play for them that I hadn't played already.

alienjesus wrote:Here's a list of interesting options for each of the themes below. Feel free to add it to first post if you feel like it CFFJR!

Done! Thanks to you and Ack for compiling the lists. I really should have done so ahead of time, so I'm sorry for slacking off there.

alienjesus wrote:It's Archaeology, I Swear! - Does this have to have a modern kind of setting? There's lots of fantasy games involving exploring old ruins, but I figured those didn't count.

I'm late answering this question, but yeah, modern-ish. I think fantasy settings don't really fit the mood on this one. I'm happy to talk about any specific games though, I'm sure some straddle the line and we can make a call.

noiseredux wrote:Question: would Phantasy Star III be considered a 'time travel' game?

Mmm, not really, no. I see why you'd ask, and with the generations mechanic you certainly do spend time in different eras, but I don't think it has quite the same feel. I'd also still be inclined to say sure just because I quite like PSIII, but that's me being wishy washy. I'd say no, but if you and other folks feel it should count, as said above we can make a call.

No matter which choice wins the poll, I’m going to play Turtles in Time.

samsonlonghair wrote:No matter which choice wins the poll, I’m going to play Turtles in Time.

haha, always a wise decision.

CFFJR wrote:Mmm, not really, no. I see why you'd ask, and with the generations mechanic you certainly do spend time in different eras, but I don't think it has quite the same feel. I'd also still be inclined to say sure just because I quite like PSIII, but that's me being wishy washy. I'd say no, but if you and other folks feel it should count, as said above we can make a call.

Yeah, I was sort of on the fence about even considering it myself. Mostly I thought of it because I love Phantasy Star. But yeah. It doesn't really count as 'traditional' time travel. No worries - there's plenty of quality choices in that category.

Since "Time Travelers" is still winning (to my surprise, admittedly), I figured I'd mention a few more time traveling games I've not seen listed yet:


Shadow of Destiny was well received during its time. It was released on PS2 in 2001, Xbox in 2002, and PSP in 2009. Released in all territories, this game was called Shadow of Memories in Europe.


Time Hollow released in 2008 for DS. It's kind of a spiritual sequel to Shadow of Destiny, sharing the same writer and director as that game. Time Hollow was released in all territories.


Glass Rose released in 2004, in Europe and Japan. I've beaten this game myself. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but who knows somebody else might love it.

There's also the Blinx games on Xbox. Though that's more about time manipulation than time travel, not sure if they count.

Another nice choice for time travel (IMO) would be Prince of Persia: Sands of Time in which the time travel element is not only central to the story but also baked directly into the gameplay mechanics. In the event of a Time Travel win, I think I might have another go with that; it's been quite a number of years since I last played it.