The SEGA Five: Best SEGA games on Playstation 3

Today is the launch day for the Playstation 4 in America, many people are grabbing up the ‘next generation’ consoles and soon Playstation 3 will be a relic like the Playstation 2 before it. So I think its the perfect time to remember SEGA’s best Playstation 3 games. This is my personal list, if you want to share your favorites let us know in the comment section!

5. Vanquish

It was hard putting Vanquish over the amazing Bayonetta, but since this is a Playstation 3 list I had to go with Vanquish. Why? Simply because the Bayonetta port wasn’t that great. Thankfully Platinum Games delivered in aces with Vanquish, which in my opinion is vastly underrated game. Vanquish might look like some sort of Gears of War clone, but it really isn’t.

Imagine a bullet hell game that is all about moving, taking cover actually punishes you by reducing your score.  This makes the game fast pace and fun. Sure it had its flaws like no multiplayer and some cheap shots (one hit kills), but it is differently worth playing.

In case you missed it:

• Our Vanquish review
• Vanquish gets re-released on PSN, bundled with DLC
• Cliff Bleszinski: Vanquish was handicapped due to lack of multiplayer
• Why SEGA should stick with Platinum Games

4. Binary Domain

The people behind Yakuza deliver a new IP since… well since Yakuza! It was hard for me to be excited for this, especially considering the terrible box art, trailer and other assets that SEGA released online. It just seemed so generic and terrible, but boy was I wrong!  The game featured a character that will now be on my list of favorite SEGA characters, Cain. It also had some really big box fights, pretty well done single player mode and had multiplayer.

Though the game did have its faults, mostly their much advertised voice recognition system they promoted was hit and miss. If you do go out and get it, just turn it off!

In case you missed it:

• Our Binary Domain review
• Binary Domain Interview With Toshihiro Nagoshi
• Sequel Saturdays: Binary Domain
• What’s Wrong with Binary Domain’s Box Art?

3. Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown

Virtua Fighter 5 came to the Playstation 3 exclusively, but was later released on Xbox 360 (with online) making many Playstation loyalist angry. Especially in Japan. After awhile even the Xbox 360 version was ancient, considering that Virtua Fighter 5 got both R and Final Showdown updates released, console gamers wanted a new version of the game. After years of waiting, we finally got it and even got a bargain, since it was released digitally.

Even though I don’t think Virtua Fighter 5 is my favorite in the series, it is still one of the best fighting games this last generation and if you haven’t picked up a digital copy of the game… what are you waiting for?

In case you missed it:

• Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown has exceeded sales within the first week
• New Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown trailer has AM2 talking franchise history
• Virtua Fighter 5 soundtrack up on iTunes in three flavors
• Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown wins “Best Fighting Game of 2012″ by G4TV’s X-Play

2. Yakuza series

I decided to make the Yakuza series only take one spot, if I didn’t then Yakuza games would make up the majority of the list and that’s no good. Even though we didn’t get all of the Yakuza titles here in the United States (No Kenzan or Yakuza 5 sadly), we did get three full package titles and that’s with fans begging for them. Was it worth it? Yes! These zany off the wall brawling games with RPG elements will keep you occupied for hours and hours.

Since the series is going to continue into the next generation with Yakuza Restoration, it would be a great time to pick up the games in the series and catch up (even though Restoration has nothing to do with the main game’s story lines..)

In case you missed it:

• Our Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4 reviews
• Sony’s Third Production Team receiving many requests for Yakuza, Shenmue
• Yakuza Fan launches his ‘Bring Yakuza 5 West’ Facebook campaign
• What does SEGA’s Yakuza team think about the Playstation 4?

1. Valkyria Chronicles

There is just something about Valkyria Chronicles that really resonates with me, the game has an incredible style, goofy characters, and a well thought out SRPG fighting system. If you are fans of Shining Force and other SRPGs, especially ones from Japan, you have to pick this up. Sadly the sequels ended up on the Playstation Portable due to lack of sales on the Playstation 3.

Sales, why SEGA fans can’t have nice things!

In case you missed it:

• Art of SEGA: Valkyria Chronicles
• Selvaria Bles from Valkyria Chronicles to cameo in Project X Zone
• Valkyria Chronicles Duel announced as a web browser game
• Valkyria Chronicles 400 page design book coming to USA
  

Stay tuned for next week’s The Weekly Five where we will look at the best SEGA games on the Xbox 360, because you know, the Xbox One is just around the corner!

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