Favorite Myst-serie age

[MdaG]

In light of End of Ages I thought it might be fun with a poll where you vote on your favorite age. I'll only include the ones from Myst 1 through 4. I'm excluding Tay, 233'rd and Tomahna due to the 15 options limit (Tay and 233 aren't explored enough in my opinion and Tomahna isn't really an age.).

So which age did you enjoy the most? Suffice it to say that voting in this poll is pointless unless you've played all four Myst-games. :P

*edit*
For me it was Spire. I just love that age. I love the cold atmosphere of it and seeing all those flashbacks of Sirrus' makes me cringe. Just imagine being trapped there! *shivers*

*edit*
I enjoyed Riven too, but as an age Spire was more exciting for me. Riven is more thouroghly created though with its own people, language, numbering system etc.

[Fien]

A poll...?

Where, where?

PS: Heh. There it is. I was too quick. Voted for Riven. Of course I did. :) But Haven and Channelwood were pretty good too.

[MdaG]

Voted for Riven. Of course I did. :) But Haven and Channelwood were pretty good too.

I see a pattern... :D

[squarejawhero]

I voted Riven, but would've voted Tay. You only see a small amount of it, but it's the one age that every really sent chills up my spine. I think every person who played Riven wanted to explore that mystery place more.

[simpson_yellow]

Channelwood, Amateria and Spire are my favourites (Riven too, of course, but that has an unfair advantage so I won't vote for it).

Channelwood because it was such a haunting Age and really blew me away, back when I first played it.

Amateria because, although it felt a little contrived in the build up, it culminated in the single most rewarding Myst moment ever.

And Spire, as you said, for the chilling atmosphere and incredible feeling of isolation.

If I've got to pick one, Channelwood gets my vote for the nostalgia

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Channelwood because it was such a haunting Age and really blew me away, back when I first played it.

If I've got to pick one, Channelwood gets my vote for the nostalgia

Have you experienced Channelwood in realMyst? It's so entirely different in real time 3D with stereo surround sound and frogs jumping in the water.

I didn't vote because it only lets you pick one Age. My favourites were realMyst's Channelwood and Stoneship.

[kitzingmarko]

I voted for Serenia. I like it because it's so calm and mystic.
Would have voted for one of the Uru Ages, if they were included in the list.

[oerhört]

Apart from Riven, which, as pointed out, does have an unfair advantage, I'd say Kadish Tolesa from Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and Serenia from Myst IV: Revelation. Also, the age surrounded by water in Uru: Path of the Shell made an impression, even if it wasn't as well designed puzzle-wise as I'd prefer.

But Kadish Tolesa takes the prize for me. I know it's not anywhere near as coherent and interesting as Riven, but on the other hand, it's the most captivating and beautiful 3D world I've ever seen. Well, you've got Ico and Killer 7, but still. Cyan got it all very, very right with that one.

[squarejawhero]

Unfair advantage - top Disney animation artist, methinks.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I also fell madly in love with Rime, the bonus unlockable Age in realMyst. Nothing can compare to its frigid beauty, cascading snow, and the soothing distant sounds of whales in the sea (I spent too long a time watching them frolic in the waters). I can almost feel the chill of its winter just thinking about it now.

[simpson_yellow]

Have you experienced Channelwood in realMyst? It's so entirely different in real time 3D with stereo surround sound and frogs jumping in the water.Yeah, I played realMyst last year and loved every bit of it. And I'm with you on Rime - I just stood there and looked around for what seemed like forever. :z

[DustCropper]

I voted for Riven, but I also enjoyed Edanna from Myst 3. I thought that the concept of a huge inverted tree in the middle of the ocean was pretty cool. Also seeing those massive birds was a great experience. When I first played that age, the music was timed perfectly so that the female vocal started singing right when that massive bird swoops over you. I also liked Amateria, simply because that ending sequence was so much fun, and felt so rewarding.

Also, this poll is missing Tomahna! Exploring Atrus's age was my favorite part of Myst 4.

[Fien]

Also, this poll is missing Tomahna! Exploring Atrus's age was my favorite part of Myst 4.

Right! I knew I was missing something... Tomahna was wonderful and beautiful but not very big. I can't choose between Haven and Tomahna. ;)

[Melanie68]

I voted for Riven, but I also enjoyed Edanna from Myst 3. I thought that the concept of a huge inverted tree in the middle of the ocean was pretty cool. Also seeing those massive birds was a great experience. When I first played that age, the music was timed perfectly so that the female vocal started singing right when that massive bird swoops over you. I also liked Amateria, simply because that ending sequence was so much fun, and felt so rewarding.

Also, this poll is missing Tomahna! Exploring Atrus's age was my favorite part of Myst 4.

I loved Edanna as well. It was hell to navigate but the scenery made it worthwhile. And the payoff at the end was great (as was that at the end of Amateria - I saved my game right before and replayed it a few times. That would be a hell of an amusement park ride!)

[Boneho Chane]

I turned down Myst many, many years ago. I'm willing to give it a chance. I loved the artistic style of Riven, judging from the screenshots. Should I start off with that?

[squarejawhero]

I would. Myst has it's place in history, but it's not the best game - my opinion naturally. Riven is difficult, beautiful and oblique, features one of the best puzzles ever and stands as one of the best designed games/adventure games (in looks and gameplay) ever made.

[Ninth]

Riven.

But Haven and Tomahna and close second.
Tohmana has some great night and day visuals, and Haven is really creepy and cool. And the boat is pretty impressive.

[MdaG]

I didn't include Tay, Tomahna and 233'rd since both Tay and 233'rd are explored only briefly in Riven. Tomahna is (at least according to people at the Myst community) not an age, but is located in New Mexico (which in turn explains how you can visit Atrus in the beginning of Exile). I assume that is somehow explained in the Myst trilogy novels.

*edit*
Corrected some grammar...

[SamNMax]

Blowout.

I've only played Riven, and as much as I hate to admit it, I love it.

[Fien]

Blowout.

I've only played Riven, and as much as I hate to admit it, I love it.

Eh... real men are supposed to hate Riven with a passion, something like that? :pan: :

[Fien]

Riven.

But Haven and Tomahna and close second.
Tohmana has some great night and day visuals, and Haven is really creepy and cool. And the boat is pretty impressive.

How come I always agree with you when it comes to game preferences. :D

[Eleri]

Serenia... because I had way too much fun playing with bubbles.
Followed closely by Eder Kemo, just for sitting and mellowing out.

Scenery wise I'm findest of Tomahna, though.

[DustCropper]

I didn't include Tay, Tomahna and 233'rd since both Tay and 233'rd are explored only briefly in Riven. Tomahna is (at least according to people at the Myst community) not an age, but is located in New Mexico (which in turn explains how you can visit Atrus in the beginning of Exile). I assume that is somehow explained in the Myst trilogy novels.

*edit*
Corrected some grammar...Doh! I didn't know that. Very interesting! :)

[kitzingmarko]

Tomahna is (at least according to people at the Myst community) not an age, but is located in New Mexico

A little off topic, but why does it matter, that Tohmahna is on Earth. From the D'ni point of view Tomahna is as much an age as all the other ages.

[MdaG]

A little off topic, but why does it matter, that Tohmahna is on Earth. From the D'ni point of view Tomahna is as much an age as all the other ages.

I had to exclude three and Tomahna was one of the chosen :D (Poll limit is 15)

[natalia]

I loved Spire -- it was just so cold and beautiful. I also liked Amateria. I thought Riven was gorgeous, but I'm too much of a dunce to appreciate the perfectitude of the puzzles and the age design, since I went through most of it using a walkthrough.

[SirCarcass]

Stoneship, the RealMyst version in particular, followed closely by Spire and Rime. I loved sitting in the lighthouse watching the rain. Too bad you can't swim in it. I also liked the shifting age in PotS.

The library in URU gets honorable mention, just because of the incredibly awesome song sung by Tasha Koontz.

[Ninth]

How come I always agree with you when it comes to game preferences. :D
I loved Still Life. :D (damn green smiley)

[portabello]

Riven is as close to perfect as a first person adventure game can be (in my opinion) so it got my vote. A close second would be the age in path of the shell with all the water and such.

This is why the water age in POTS is so great:

First off, each progressive leap forward in time just makes the age look increasingly cool. The last one where there is nothing left but floating chuncks was amazing. Second: that moment when you first swim towards the rocks in the distance only to discover that they are an illusion left me speachless. Finally, at the end of the age when you finally get to see the rotating mechanism and the seperate the spheres was just amazing. The whole concept behind this age was brilliant, its a shame that the puzzles were pretty lame.

[Ninth]

Riven is as close to perfect as a first person adventure game can be (in my opinion) so it got my vote. A close second would be the age in path of the shell with all the water and such.

This is why the water age in POTS is so great:

I just wish I could have found some puzzles after 2 hours or swimming and jumping around. :shifty:

[MdaG]

How's the URU series compared to the Myst series?

[pinkgothic]

I realise people are probably going to stone me for digging this back up (not only is it an old topic, good grief, it's a topic about that franchise that doesn't want to die, GUAGH), but I can't resist, as this is the most appropriate poll for me at the moment.

I'm currently playing Myst IV: Revelation and Spire did something to my emotional landscape no other Age - or game, actually - has ever invoked. It stuffed so much awe down my throat that after walking through that Age, I went to bed thinking that winning the game would feel really inappropriate.

Sirrus' whole initial plans of harnessing electricity and his ploy to destroy the Nara safe room, along with managing to pull it off with cunning manipulation, made me think, "What, I'm supposed to matter in this storyline?".

Very chilling. I'm now in love with that Age, even if all it makes me want to do is give up. :9

Also worth noting - my second favourite Age is Amateria (in Exile), because it has a solution to die for. I still adore replaying it, even if there's nothing new about it, just because it's such an incredibly fun ride!

[tsa]

I chose J'Nanin, because it has everything: sea, lush green stuff, fresh water and a nice little house in the middle. A great place to have a vacation in.

[Havrepus]

Does it take some time for the poll results to update? I also chose J'Nanin, but the poll only says that age has only one vote...

[tsa]

Oops maybe I misclicked...
Yes, for some reason I clicked Narayan :(. Well I meant J'Nanin.

[Havrepus]

Well, it's the thought that counts. No worries.

[Jelena]

It is just too difficult to pick one age only. I've recently replayed both Myst and Riven and I like all the ages in those games.

[Havrepus]

Same for me. There are too many ages out there that I would like to go on vacation to.

[AprilLives]

Riven without a doubt!!

[Melanie68]

I realise people are probably going to stone me for digging this back up (not only is it an old topic, good grief, it's a topic about that franchise that doesn't want to die, GUAGH), but I can't resist, as this is the most appropriate poll for me at the moment.

I'm currently playing Myst IV: Revelation and Spire did something to my emotional landscape no other Age - or game, actually - has ever invoked. It stuffed so much awe down my throat that after walking through that Age, I went to bed thinking that winning the game would feel really inappropriate.

Sirrus' whole initial plans of harnessing electricity and his ploy to destroy the Nara safe room, along with managing to pull it off with cunning manipulation, made me think, "What, I'm supposed to matter in this storyline?".

Very chilling. I'm now in love with that Age, even if all it makes me want to do is give up. :9

Also worth noting - my second favourite Age is Amateria (in Exile), because it has a solution to die for. I still adore replaying it, even if there's nothing new about it, just because it's such an incredibly fun ride!

I remember playing through Spire (and I thought is was incredibly cool as well) and thinking it reminiscent of Amateria. :)

[pinkgothic]

I remember playing through Spire (and I thought is was incredibly cool as well) and thinking it reminiscent of Amateria. :)

The Spire crystals are hexagonal, so I have the same association, actually! :D And of course the thunderstorms match - even if there were significantly more lightning bolts in Spire. I'm a great fan of thunderstorms - they have the ability to completely energise me. And as the last aspect that Amateria and Spire share that I can come up with off-hand: fun rides! :D

...sometimes I wonder if I'm too easily pleased. :crazy:

[Melanie68]

The Spire crystals are hexagonal, so I have the same association, actually! :D And of course the thunderstorms match - even if there were significantly more lightning bolts in Spire. I'm a great fan of thunderstorms - they have the ability to completely energise me. And as the last aspect that Amateria and Spire share that I can come up with off-hand: fun rides! :D

...sometimes I wonder if I'm too easily pleased. :crazy:

It was definitely the weather and the hexagonal shapes that did it for me too. And there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with being easily pleased. :)

I am also one of those when I replay Exile, I save right before the end of Amateria and replay the end scene! I want go on that ride in real life.

[Terramax]

I would've voted Tomahna if I could have. I remember wondering around it in Revelations for the first time. I remember going out and spending £150 on an F-ing new graphics card for that world.

Every time I show it to a friend for the first time they don't say a word for an hour. They just silently watch in awe...... DAMN you Cyan for changing to 3D in the 5th installment!!!

[Lee in Limbo]

I've been an inveterate fan of the Myst franchise for over a decade now, and I can honsetly say that it's the only 'puzzle game' franchise I have any empathy for. I prefer my AGs to be story-centric, but the Myst games come very close to straddling the line between puzzle and plot perfectly, even if most of the plot is past tense.

And I couldn't choose a particular age, or even game. Frankly, I enjoy them all too much. However, I have a definite attachment to Kadish Tolesa in Uru. I'm probably a fan of the Uru series even moreso than Myst, and that takes some doing.

Edit To Add: It's ironic that my 200th post on this forum is about Myst, the first AG that really convinced me of the power of AG's as a storytelling and artistic medium.