Games I Play

I have always liked playing board games, and was rather serious about chess in high school. Though I became involved with computers in the early 1970's, I avoided video games because they take so much time to play and because programming that era of computers was game enough in itself for me. After I retired and had the free time, I began playing console games and am kind of glad I waited, as it gives me something new to do by myself in my old age.

Most of the games I play are story-oriented role-playing games of Japanese origin (J-RPGs) with good stories, significant character development and ideally with strong female characters.

My fan art of Selphie Tilmitt from Final Fantasy VIII

I am in my seventies, with poor eyesight and hands damaged from too much non-ergonomic use of keyboards and lately arthritis, so I may play games differently. But I still have a lot of fun!

Factors I consider when evaluating games.
I own and use many alternative playstation controllers.
My idiosyncratic game playability reviews.
Games in which the battle system is easier on the hands.
Extensive comments about the Star Ocean games.
Unannotated list of all video games I own.
Non-digital boardgames further down on this page.

Favorite video games

These are games I have finished or am actively playing; I own many more that are waiting to be played, and not a few that I've given up on or decided are not for me. The games I have replayed are in bold. Updated: April 2024.

PSP *
- Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- Harvest Moon: Back to Nature for Girl
- Jeanne D'Arc
- Star Ocean: First Departure (also PS4)
- Star Ocean: Second Evolution
- Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Vita TV
- Tales of Hearts R
- Ys: Memories of Celceta
PS2 slim w/multitap
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance I & II **
- Champions of Norrath & Call to Arms **
- Dragon Quest VIII
- Mana Khemia
- Rogue Galaxy (also PS4)
- Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
- Tales of the Abyss
- Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
- Xenosaga I, II, II
PS3 slim
- Eternal Sonata
- Final Fantasy X, X-2, XIII
- Ni no Kuni
- Star Ocean: The Last Hope (also PS4)
- Tales of Graces f
- Tales of Xillia, II
- Tales of Zestiria
PS4
- Atelier: Dusk DX (3 games)
- Cosmic Star Heroine
- Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age
- Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
- Tales of Berseria
- Trails of Cold Steel I, II, III, IV
- World of Final Fantasy
- Ys: Lacrimosa of Dana
Playstation games ***
- Final Fantasy I, II, IV, VII, VIII, IX
- Parasite Eve, 2
- Star Ocean: Second Story
- Valkyrie Profile
Windows PC via Steam
- Chrono Trigger
- Final Fantasy I-IV Pixel Remaster bundle
- For the King
- Fury of Dracula
- Sea of Stars
- (new) Ticket to Ride
- Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC, SC, 3rd
Xbox via Steam
- Tell Me Why

My fan art of Rena Lanford from
Star Ocean: Second Evolution.

My fan art of Peppita Rossetti from
Star Ocean: TEOT.

* Many PSP games are available from PSN for play on the PS3, or the Vita TV, allowing use of an alternate controller. So it's rare that I actually play a game on the PSP any longer.

** These are games I have played repeatedly with my two grown children. (That's why I own the multitap.) They are PC gamers, and well familiar with Baldur's Gate. We are rather less fond of the EverQuest universe, and hate Firiona Vie with burning passion.

*** These are original Playstation games played on one of the other Playstation systems, with using physical media on a PS2, or a PSN download on PS3, PS4 or Vita TV.

Non-digital boardgames

This is by no means a life list, but games I currently play with family.

Heavy rotation
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Chicago Express
- Chinatown
- Cut†hroat Caverns, plus expansions
- Forbidden Island
- Garibaldi
- German Railways
- Kansas Pacific
- Letters from Whitechapel
- Locomotive Werks
- Merchants and Marauders
- Metro
- Mister X: Chase through Europe
- Mystery of the Abbey
- Scrabble
- Scooby-Do!
- Scotland Yard: Hunting Mister X
- Shadows over Camelot
- Ticket to Ride: U.S., Europe, Märklin base games; maps for France, Italy, Japan, Old West, Pennsylvania, U.K.
- Wrath of Dragons
- Xia: Legends of a Drift System +
  Embers of a Forsaken Star

Occasionally played, or played-out
- Arkham Horror, 3rd edition
- 221B Baker Street
- 221B Baker Street: Time Machine
- Chess, 3 Man Chess
- Firefly, with expansions
- Fury of Dracula (use Steam now)
- Go
- Munchkin (various) & Quest
- Quirky Circuits
- Settlers of Catan
- Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
- Silber Zwerg
- A Study in Emerald
- TMNT Pizza Power Game
- Yggdrasil
- misc card games: Hanabi, Poker

Trivia games

About Time, Chronology
Matter of Fact, Mind Trap
Pop Trivia, Totally Trivia, Timelines
Smart Ass (use cards with Wits End)
Trivial Pursuit (various games and decks)

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risa at lisalees dot com