FRUA: Neverwinter Nights, Chapter 8: Release the (Baby) Kraken!

The stern of the Gallant Prince loomed above them as the party rowed into the large vessel's shadow. The quiet was broken by the sloshing of water, as black tentacles rose from the water to rock the already precarious boat! The party fought the beast with oars and swords, but as they neared the far pier, the boat was tipped, and Ranzo found himself in the water! August and Marcus feared their heavy armor would sink them to their deaths, so they remained in the boat. August began removing his magical chain mail hauberk as Adon dove into the water, his short sword in his teeth.

Somewhat worse for wear, Ranzo and Adon emerged from the water just as the rest of the party arrived with the boat. As the last of them crawled from the rocking boat on to the far dock, the tentacles gripped tight around the little boat, crushing it and dragging it to the depths below. The drawbridge was now their only option to return to Port Llast. "Never a dull day in this line of work is there? That's why I signed up, though." Ranzo quipped as he chuckled and began to wring out his clothing.

The Company found the nearest building they could find that seemed relatively safe, planning to set up a fire and dry themselves off after their ordeal. The building was an old ship repair shop, with a roof still perched on it, that they hoped would hide their fire somewhat from whatever creatures haunted this place.

I think I know who this is referencing, any guessers?

Being as they had recovered a horde of platinum coins and magic items in their recent quests, The Company had a healthy amount of food to prepare over their fire. There was hearty soup, and salted beef. Although dangerous, the life of the successful adventurer was not without its luxuries. Once they were all comfortable, Ranzo spoke a bit about his past. "This is why I'm doing this," he began, "I'd see a meal like this maybe once a year when I was a sailor on the Moonsea, and certainly not while we were on the water. It's worth tangling with a kraken for this," he paused as he took a sip of soup.

"That was no kraken," observed Marcus, the ranger, "My cousin's ship was taken down by a kraken up north, he said it was as big as Lord Nasher's castle. A single one of its tentacles could have crushed that little boat. More likely it was a squid."

"Perhaps it was a baby?" asked Ranzo.

They all had a good laugh at that, and traded tales into the night, thankfully being able to rest uninterrupted.

The next day they found an adversary who they could only assume was some sort of mastermind of the local trouble makers. He was having a meeting in a hidden room behind a shop whose sign said simply "fish." This harbor was littered with hidden rooms, probably because shady operations were the norm here.  Strangely enough, he was not a Luskan pirate. The man was a cleric cloaked in black, with the holy symbol of Bane, a black hand, about his neck. Flanking him were two warriors of the Zhentarim.

They proved little match for the The Company, however, all were worried these foes could be a sign of an even greater threat.  The presence of the Black Network here could mean there was an alliance between the Zhents and Luskan, a prospect that would be quite dire. There was only one way to find out, to push on towards the city of Luskan.

Avrilenne used her divine power as she waved her hand over their foes equipment to detect magic. Her eyes widened as almost all of it began to glow with various colored auras. They would need to return to Neverwinter, to put all those valuable items in safe keeping at the city's vault.

Look at all the loot! There are no +2 weapons though, so I still can't harm elementals.

As they had also now found all three switches and put them in their proper position; they crossed the drawbridge and made their way back to the City of Skilled Hands.

I wanted to picture what this thing might have looked like. Source.

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FRUA: Neverwinter Nights, Chapter 7: The Llast Spider Fighter

While exploring the tattered shell of the Gallant Prince, The Company had discovered a pile of brass buttons that seemed to have been dislodged from a uniform in battle. The man they had found, who had turned to stone in front of their eyes, had mentioned that he had seen the coat of arms of Luskan on the pirates who boarded the Prince. After examining the buttons, Aria Darkstar, the raven-haired sorceress observed, "I'm not completely sure, but this emblem is tugging at my memory, I bet its the Luskans. Perhaps we should take them to Lord Nasher to be sure?"

After a short discussion, it was agreed they would do so.

Lord Nasher was supposed to give a reward for finding the buttons, but it wasn't implemented correctly in the module.

Showing the buttons to Nasher's retainer, they were immediately granted audience. "This proves it," Nasher said, examining the items, "The pirates of Luskan are indeed the culprits in the looting of the Prince. You have done a great service to the North by defeating the monsters that had taken up residence in the Gallant Prince. I wonder, would you be willing to explore the rest of the harbor? It has been closed down for years and generally assumed abandoned, but it could make a suitable hideout for the Luskans. Once that area is safe, move north towards the city itself, and see if you can find anything that might help us combat this menace."

"Aye, it would be our honor, my lord," said August Star, bowing.

It was late evening when they arrived at the gate to the harbor, the chill bite of the ocean was in the air, and all was silent besides the gentle lapping of the harbor waves. "Why did we come here at night?" asked Avrilenne, "It looks like we're headed into a ghost town."

No one answered her.

Lord Nasher's instincts were correct, the "abandoned" harbor indeed had plenty of occupants. While exploring the abandoned buildings The Company was attacked by roaming bands of cockatrices and margoyles. The cockatrice, a combination of rooster and snake, would be humorous, if it were not for  their ability to turn the victims of their touch to stone! 

Avrilenne was stoned, but spontaneously healed with 1hp afterwords. A character can't die in random encounters, to emulate the original game.

There were two strange figures they encountered on the south shore of the harbor, who alluded to a group of three switches that would allow them to cross the water. The first was an orc, who sat with his sword across his lap. He was no typical orc, as he did not wish to dive into battle immediately and give up his life. He offered information about the switches for a piece of jewelry, but the party had only gems to offer. The orc declined.

A friendly orc! (F)ight (L)eave

The other was a woman, who asked them fervently to succeed where her protector had failed. She told them they must find three switches to allow them to "walk safely." Ranzo noticed the sound of footsteps behind them, which was followed by a dagger in the dark! He turned to see if the woman was alright, but she was gone. The thrower of the dagger was not to be found, all in all, it was a very eerie experience. "I believe she was a ghost," said Avrilenne, "thankfully not of the malevolent sort."

Continuing on after their encounter with the assumed ghostly visage, there was no time to relax, as they found out while exploring a long abandoned building labeled as "Colwyn's Fish Emporium." The place thankfully no longer smelled of fish, but it was covered wall to wall in thick, dusty, cobwebs. "Uggh.." Aria shuddered as they slowly cut their way through the webs, "I hate spiders."

"I don't mind them if the're not of the giant variety," answered Ranzo.

No sooner had he finished, then a group of large, hairy web spinners descended from the shadows all around them. Both Ranzo and Aria yelled in fright at their sudden appearance. Before the party could settle themselves, three of their number had been bitten by the monstrosities and fell unconcious from poison. It was only due to Aria's and Ranzo's covering the whole area in stinking clouds that they made it out alive. After setting up make-shift litters, it was time to head back to Tyr's temple, The Hall of Justice, in Neverwinter to cleanse their bodies of the deadly poison.

It looked something like this. Source.

Upon their return from that endeavor, they all promised to be a little more wary of spider webs. The last area the party found to explore on the southern side of the harbor held a drawbridge, which was currently useless to them, as it was in the "up" position. It didn't take a genius intelligence to realize lowering this bridge must be the function of the switches they had been told about. Although the bridge was impassable to them at the moment, there was a boat tied to a pier nearby. It was barely seaworthy. A substantial puddle in its center was a testament to its leaks. Lacking other options, the party reluctantly boarded it, and paddled through the shadow of the Gallant Prince to the north side of the harbor. The gentle waves were comforting, in this otherwise very dangerous place.  

  

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FRUA: Neverwinter Nights, Chapter 6: Hurts So Good?

Here I am, starting Neverwinter Nights with a new party again! This is my third time, possibly even fourth. This all comes about from my obsession with having the "perfect party." Every time I come up with a new party arrangement, I'm compelled to start from the beginning again, to "get it right this time." I know I'm not the only one who suffers from this affliction, as it gained a name in an old post at CRPG Addict. After getting distracted by digging through old posts on CRPG Addict, I can't seem to find that particular one. 10 Gil to the first to do so!

Aw, the ol' wolf in the sheep shearing shop.

My experience with Neverwinter Nights has been a love-hate relationship. I love the variety of tactics that come in to play with the encounters, and I get excited when I see the beginnings of a quest. The quests have yet to shake out to anything much though, and most of the encounters are brutally difficult.

I can't say what the original online experience was like, that is, besides my very limited time with the game. I remember getting killed constantly, which I understand now having played the game more. The chances of a single character surviving are very, very low. I know the game was wildly popular and crowded in it's day, so perhaps this was never really an issue. I do think the practice of "grind to max-level then start role-playing," as is the case with some modern MMOs, was prevalent though.

If Lord Nasher actually gives any missions, I haven't received one.

So, I think in the end I've been let down, as I expected a huge open-world Gold Box experience. The game does deliver this to an extent, but I don't understand why the combats are so difficult. Even with a full party I think I probably lose the set combats more than I win. Some encounters I had to play 10 or more times to pass. In a typical game, I would just move on to a different area, but everywhere outside of the confines of Neverwinter is just as difficult! Grinding near the city isn't an option because the easy encounters hand out pitiful experience.

He did eventually acknowledge an item I picked up!

I assume my own expectations are causing more than a bit of my distress though. After-all, how much can I fault the first MMORPG for being like an MMORPG? Just because it's a Gold Box game didn't save it from the pitfalls that come with that genre. 

I've also been operating under my own assumption that the encounters get harder as you move further from Neverwinter, but this is only partially true. While the overall difficulty does increase, I don't think you can "clear out" each section before moving on, like I have been, without ending up in some seriously difficult encounters. I've been taking the "lawnmower" approach to exploring. As I return to the game, I think I'll continue exploring that way, but I'm not going to expect to defeat every encounter before I move on to the next area. Some of the encounters have been well-nigh impossible at my level, and I only got by through the luck of the stinking cloud. Bulettes, I'm looking at you! Those "land-sharks" could down or kill my characters in one round. The good side of the difficulty is that it has stretched my tactics to their limits. As you know, I prefer balance to my challenges, though.

Just as I was about to give up on beating this set battle... three clouds disabled all four bulettes.

In Port Llast, I encountered a veritable army of goblins, but they were relatively easy to defeat with good tactics. Something I've been trying to remember to do more is to back into doors to use the terrain effectively. In my youth my tactic was either to charge or wait. With my age and wisdom (har har), I've learned that the best defensive position sometimes requires moving backwards from the starting deployment.

Neverwinter Nights tactics!

So far Neverwinter Nights has pretty much been a Gold Box combat simulator. This is certainly not without its rewards, but it doesn't easily fit into my vision for the blog. I'm going to keep at it though! Perhaps perseverance will yield more ways to get some role-playing involved. I do want to complete this game and get it off my list.

F:NWN does have its moments of immersion.

Speaking of the list, Forgotten World is tabled because of technical difficulties. Also, Although I was going to playthrough the original game "offline", I don't see that happening. Playing NWN with a single character requires more patience than I have. However, I have jumped into it to check some things in the FRUA port against the original.

For example, there are a few things in the Gallant Prince that seem to have not been programmed correctly. Exits not leading to the correct entrances is a simple way to put it. I loaded up oNWN to see what was really supposed to happen, and found that the area in question was not in that version! So, I'm just going to move on from Port Llast and it's harbor for the time being.

Using my GM powers to walk through the walls of the Gallant Prince, only to see that Port Llast harbor does not exist!

You'll find out soon how my new approach to Neverwinter Nights goes!

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FRUA: Neverwinter Nights, Chapter 5: Beginning Anew, Again

Sit down, make yourselves comfortable. Tonight I will spin you a tale of a place we've been many times before. That is, the great city of Neverwinter. Although the city is a safe haven for many folk, including the crafstmen it is known for, Neverwinter also always seems to be in a fair bit of trouble. This trouble is just what our intrepid party of adventurers seeks.

Once again this is not the Neverwinter I'm playing. Maybe in ten years? Source.

They grew up far to the east, in the besieged city of New Phlan. Their heroes were a small party, not unlike themselves, who came from nothing, but eventually overthrew the evil warlord who sought the dominance of Phlan, Tyranthraxus.

Spoiler alert! Actually, if you're reading my blog, I assume you know about this already. Source.

New Phlan was experiencing a time of prosperity and peace, hardly suitable for adventure, so our party moved west, to Neverwinter. News had traveled on the lips of merchants and refugees that the City of Skilled Hands was besieged on all sides by evil humanoids, pirates, and worse... dragons!

Our party, who had named themselves "The Company", was led by the paladin August Star. He was a patient man, especially for a holy paladin, who had begun losing his dark hair at a young age. His patron was Lathandar, the Lord of the Morning. 

Avrilenne was August's hard headed sister, a warrior cleric of Tyr, the god of justice.

Marcus Heartshield was a ranger. While he felt at home in the wilds, as a devoted follower of Chauntea he also cared dearly for civilization. However, he believes in striking a harmony between the order of civilization and the wilds of nature.

The suavest member of our party was certainly the swashbuckling elf Ranzo Ray. He was multi-talented, a former sailor who had tired of life at sea. In addition to his skills learned at sea, he learned magic as a youth among his people.

Adon Sapphire was a dwarf who grew up on the mean-streets of New Phlan's slums. His hard living has given him a number of skills, including those of a somewhat less than legal nature.

Last of all was Aria Darkstar, a mysterious woman with long, shining black hair. She was an often quiet magic-user. Although the others had known her long, they never could tell her motives.

I used Wizard's Character Name Generator to get some inspiration for the new names.

You may notice a similarity to our last heroes, but it is simply coincidence, before you is a whole new group of adventurers ready to test their mettle in Neverwinter.

They entered the gates of Neverwinter with a glint in their eyes, and payed their respects to Lord Nasher, as the guards suggested they do.

I believe it is a nod to Gateway that this game has a boat rental shop, but you can't use it! Renting boats plays a big part in Gateway to the Savage Frontier.

I won't bore you with the details of our new heros' cleaning out of the immediate surroundings of Neverwinter. Just like the adventurer's I've told you of before, they systemically searched the wharves and warehouses. Through sheer determination, they defeated both the menacing minotaur and troll of Southwall, hidden behind their secret doors.

They headed north to Windycliffs, where they faced their greatest challenges yet. Kraken spies led a trained mammoth. A harpy sang songs which could charm the listener into turning on their allies, and a banshee's screech could cause instant death to the listener! They braved all these hazards, and reaped piles of gold and gems as a reward.

The aftermath of one of the battles with the mammoth. I thought I was going to sneak away with Aria getting the 4,222 XP. However, Ranzo had been killed during the battle. Even if I had the coin to raise him, this game implements the pnp rules accurately; elves cannot be raised from the dead.

After their adventures in Windycliffs, they headed north, on to Port Llast. They had heard many rumors that the pirates of the north, from Luskan, were the source of many Neverwinter's troubles. Perhaps they could find out more in Port Llast. The talk of the town was the Gallant Prince, a ship that had left the harbor, and then returned most mysteriously, apparently absent of crew.

Nothing could guarantee more that the adventurers most certainly will check below decks! 

No one in The Company was at all surprised when they found that the tattered Prince was indeed occupied. It was not sailors they found though, but hellhounds, skeletons and zombies. The captain's quarters were ransacked, but they did find some clues on the upper levels of the ship.

Our party stepped onto some sort of levitation circle, raising them to a hidden mezzanine above the captain's room. They were immediately assaulted by humanoids with green, taught skin and loincloths. Avrilenne immediately recognized them as flesh hungry ghouls, and used the power of Try to turn the hungering dead away.

At the end of the passage was a disturbing sight, a man was there, chained up. He said he was the last of the sailors who had left on the ship. He was no ordinary prisoner, though, as he appeared to be very slowly transforming into stone.

"They... they... use magic to keep me like this," he began, "The pirates from Luskan, I saw their insignia. They brought with them hideous women, medusa... they, used their magic to make me like this. Then, the pirates..." he was then silenced as he turned to stone completely before their eyes.

A guy like this was on the Gallant Price in Gateway as well, another connection.

"This torture is inexcusable," said Avrilenne, "Justice must be brought to these pirates and their minions, in the name of Tyr."

Adon nodded,"Why not? We haven't any other leads." 

Gateway to the Savage Frontier: Rankings

Given the "U.S. Gold" stamp on this,  I believe it is the UK release. Source.

Gateway to the Savage Frontier
1991

I can just post this instead of typing it out myself! Linwood Taylor is also credited with music production. Source.

For the Final Fantasy games I got my summary information from Wikipedia. I don't trust what's up on Gateway's page though, and it doesn't site any references anyway. The reason I don't trust it is it seems to imply that Gateway was developed first, and then Neverwinter Nights followed due to it's success. Since they were both released in 1991 though, I have to conclude that they were developed together. Another source says they were set in the same area so that they could be cross-promoted in a sense. I was surprised that the Neverwinter in Gateway closely resembles Nights in layout, lending some credence to this.

The head designer is Don L. Daglow, who was developing games for AOL, and upon discovering that it was conceivable to create on online Gold Box game, secured the rights to do so. A while back while I was playing F:NWN an inn called "Daglow's Inn" caught my eye for a moment, it rung a bell as a developer. True enough, I had made the connection because of a post at CRPG Addict. He's been a name in the business for a long time. He is mentioned in the post as the creator of the tutorial to The Adventure Construction Set. He was at EA at the time.

Although the title screens of the Savage Frontier games advertise "Beyond Software", the games seem to be credited to Stormfront Studios most of the time, which is the same company after a name change.

I think, and this is purely conjecture, that Gateway was the first Gold Box game released in VGA. It overall looks and sounds pretty nice, I especially like the sound effects in battle; it really sounds like swords clanging and swooshing in the air. Graphically it seems to occupy an interesting limbo between EGA and VGA. Some of the pics are very nicely drawn in detailed VGA resolution, while others look like slight up-scales of EGA work. Most of the wall sets don't look much different than they did in the EGA games.

The way purple is used on the boat especially hearkens back to EGA for me.

The game spawned a sequel, Treasures of the Savage Frontier. There may have been further games in the series, except that the Gold Box series was a bit too "long in the tooth" as some reviewers like to say, at that point in time. I believe FRUA: Magic of the Savage Frontier is a fan made third game in the series, so I'm treating it as such. Although not technically so, I consider Neverwinter Nights to be associated with the Savage Frontier series, because they have the same designer and are set in the same part of the realms.

I have fond memories of playing this game in my childhood, from my experience, I consider the first games in each of the Gold Box series' to be the best. However, my experience playing it "legit" (without stat modifications or using the clue book) was much different than I remember; much tougher and I even got stuck on some puzzles. The downside of this is that by not using the clue books I was exposed to some, in my opinion, somewhat boring dungeon design. The game seemed to have a couple gimmicks and used them repeatedly. One-way doors were ubiquitous.

"Shame on you for skimping on combat design with this fantastic tactical engine at your fingertips!"

The game must be given credit for its story and use of NPCs, though. Gateway surpasses the previous Gold Box games in these areas big time. With this engine though, by focusing on story more so than gameplay, Gateway was held back from being a great game to a simply good one.

Let's get to the fun part.

Mechanics - I love the Gold Box engine, but it is kind of hard to compete against some of the modern Final Fantasys. However, I definitely prefer it over the lame-duck combat of FF13 and 13-2.

2. Final Fantasy 10-2
3. Lightning Returns: FF13
4. Gateway to the Savage Frontier
5. Final Fantasy 13-2
6. Final Fantasy 13

The trollmoors was not a misnomer.

Storyline - Especially as the Gold Box series goes, Gateway gets mad credit for the effort it puts in to story telling. It's not amazing, but the Final Fantasy games below it are just so wack in this area, that it does pretty well here.

1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Lightning Returns: FF13
3. Gateway to the Savage Frontier
4. Final Fantasy 10-2
5. Final Fantasy 13

Even great wizards can be a bit absent-minded.

Atmosphere - The designers didn't have any problem inserting real-world references into shop names, and occasionally breaking the fourth wall, so I don't think full immersion was high on their list. They are okay with the player being aware they are playing a game. It's not my favorite approach, but also not a total deal breaker for me. I'm ranking 10-2 lower because that game is just way beyond goofy.

2. Lightning Returns: FF13
3. Final Fantasy 13
4. Final Fantasy 13-2
5. Gateway to the Savage Frontier
6. Final Fantasy 10-2

I suppose you can get a scimitar shave as well?

End Game - The end game combats were very tough, and the maze mechanic didn't excite me too much. It's definitely a good ending for a game of its era, but only topples one of the FFs.

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Final Fantasy 10

4. Final Fantasy 13-2

5. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

6. Final Fantasy 13

If the base has five sides is it still a pyramid?

Difficulty - Overall, it was a pretty tough game, in my opinion.

1. Final Fantasy 13

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

4. Final Fantasy 13-2

5. Lightning Returns: FF13

Balance - The Gold Box games, and older games in general, certainly aren't known for game balance. Hell, I'm not even sure the term had been coined back then. Gateway didn't blindside me too many times. I'm willing to say it did so less than a fair amount of the games I've played so far.

1. Final Fantasy 10

2. Lightning Returns: FF13

3. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

4. Final Fantasy 10-2

5. Final Fantasy 13-2

The rejoicing of the monsters was sorely missed.

Music - Given that Gateway only has a singular tune, the intro, it would have to be pretty amazing to get ranked above a game with an entire soundtrack. Before you cry fowl, the hallowed Gold Box tunes will end up being rated against each other as I play them!

2. Final Fantasy 13

3. Final Fantasy 10-2

4. Final Fantasy 10

5. Lightning Returns: FF13

6. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

Art - The game's art assets are respectable for the time, I also always enjoy the realistic style of the D&D paintings of the era. Final Fantasy 10-2's goofy style once again puts it at the bottom of the pile.

2. Final Fantasy 13

3. Final Fantasy 10

4. Final Fantasy 13-2

5. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

6. Final Fantasy 10-2

I always thought maybe this was supposed to be Ceptienne, but I don't think any of the Gold Box games had paintings commissioned for them specifically. Source.

Best Villain - I like Broadhand the merchant, because he is an evil worshiper of Bane, but instead of being a simple foe to be beaten, he helps the party along in their quest. It's hard to say whether he is a villain or ally, but I find the former more intriguing. I thought about putting him above Shuyin. Shuyin is interesting enough, but barely.

2. Yunalesca (FF10)

3. Barthandelus (FF13)

4. Gilgamesh (FF13-2)

5. Shuyin (FF10-2)

6. Broadhand (GttSF)

I put "Broadhand" into an image search. I thought the internet couldn't surprise me anymore. These men's half-thongs showed up. Bravo internet, you have proven me wrong! Expect to see one on a Final Fantasy villain soon.

Worst Villain - The game's main antagonist gets this one. He's not terrible, but he comes off a bit cartoony, and breaks the fourth wall before the final battle. I wonder if he was inspired by another horned villain from a certain 80's cartoon.

2. Alyssa Zaidelle (FF13-2)

3. Leblanc (FF10-2)

4. Vaalgamon (GttSF)

5. Jihl Nabaat (FF13)

6. Caius Ballad (LR:FF13)

A face only your mother could love.

Best Ally - I thought Krevish was great. He's very creative in that his stats are "off-class". He has the stats of a wizard or cleric and carries around a book, but is a fighter. His interjections throughout the game are pretty funny, and are helpful too. I had him penciled in as the best ally even before he revealed his secret identity at the end of the game, which just added to the mystique of the character. 

2. Auron (FF10)
3. Sazh Katzroy (FF13)
4. Rikku (FF10-2)
5. Krevish (GttSF)
6. The Angel of Valhalla (LR:FF13)

This is the only Krevish line I had left in my screenshots.

Worst Ally - Jagaerda, because she is really snooty, and doesn't add much to the story. She kind of shows up, says a few b*y things, then is gone. The good thing about playing one of these older games, in this case, is that she isn't around to annoy you long!

2. Dona (FF10)
3. Beclam (FF10-2)
4. Chocolina (FF13-2)
5. "Hope Estheim" (LR:FF13)
6. Jagaerda (GttSF)

Best Enemy - I remember the Zhentarim really captured my imagination when I was a young'un, and I still think the're pretty cool. The Zhentil fighters, with their black crusader inspired look, I always loved, and still do.

2. Yojimbo (FF10)
3. Dahaka (FF13)
4. Angra Mainyu (FF10-2)
5. Jihl Nabaat (FF13-2)
6. Zhentil Fighter (GttSF)

Worst Enemy - No doubt about it, shambling mounds. These seem impossible at times, if it weren't for the fact they are susceptible to stinking cloud I think they would be. The only other ways to really beat them are a wand of ice storm and wand of defoliation you find during the game. I do want to give the game credit for not having any level draining monsters!

1. Gilgamesh (FF13-2)
2. Cid Raines (FF13)
3. Shambling Mound (GttSF)
4. Meonekton (LR:FF13)
5. Guado (FF10)

This is amazing.

Best Mini-Game - I've decided puzzles fit in this category, even though they aren't optional. I thought the Kraken puzzle was neat and creative, and it didn't even rely on anything onscreen.

1. Blitzball (FF10)

2. Kraken Code (GttSF)

3. Cavern of the Stolen Fayth (FF10-2)

4. Hold 'Em (FF13-2)

5. Bakti (FF13)

Worst Mini-Game - In Ascore you can find a map of the final area that must be held up to a mirror to see properly. It looks so weird that even knowing this I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

1. Slot Machine (FF13-2)

2. Lightning Dodging (FF10)

3. Spherebreak (FF10-2)

4. Mirror Map (GttSF)

5. Hide-n-Seek (FF13)

Side Quests - The game has a lot of optional area to explore, and a few side quests per-se, but the only ones I've found that are acknowledged upon completion were on the isle of Tuern. So, Gateway is pretty average in this area.

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Final Fantasy 13-2

4. Final Fantasy 10

5. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

6. Final Fantasy 13

Another sinful fourth-wall breaker!

Overall - When all is said and done Gateway is a pretty good game. To me it beats out the lesser of the Final Fantasy games I've played. The FF sequels were a little out there, and 13 is... well... 13.

1. Lightning Returns: FF13
2. Final Fantasy 10
3. Gateway to the Savage Frontier
4. Final Fantasy 10-2
5. Final Fantasy 13-2

Source.