I think giving the antagonist a realistic way to have become evil that might have befallen the protagonist if he was in such a situation gives the conflict more relevance. Or, make the protagonist be forced to do immoral things that bring him closer to the antagonist, or show where the Protagonist draws the line.

I think the Portal example is weak, since GlaDOS is a 2-dimensional character (stereotypical evil AI), Chell is a silent protagonist and the whole exchange is completely one-sided. Valve upped the ante in the sequel by making the AI more 3-dimensional, since he was once a person and has legitimate reasons for going crazy.

Her facial features are friggin' huge!
I did some plastic surgery to demonstrate:

It seems like you have a general grinding problem then. What modern games often do is drastically decrease the benefits of grinding after the player reaches a certain level relative to the enemies so you have no choice but to move on or spend an inordinate amount of time for less benefit. And when the player moves on, they must face faster monsters or whatnot.

I approve of this thread resurrection! (or should I say, re-activation)

I made this a while ago, it's some kind of mechanic-bot for menial tasks. It's also a free Wi-Fi access point!  

Son of a...! I completely forgot Mother 3. I also forgot to mention Valkyria Chronicles. And Baten Kaitos Origins. So, mostly jRPGs and the like. I felt absolutely nothing about destroying the Companion Cube besides being pissed off at GlaDOS and slightly amused.

Why is there always a bandwagon for M3 being a sad game? Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't cry from media.

It's not necessarily a sad game but some parts are really emotional.

I define crying as making me tear up, not "wailing" or sobbing all over the place. I haven't done that since I was a little kid. Maybe it's because of a lesser suspension of disbelief.

Despite personally liking RPGs, I am opposed to the idea of stop-and-go narrative grinding. There should be more narrative in between, and while you are in control, to take the importance away from cutscenes instead of baiting the player along to the next one.

Disgaea made me cry.

The end of Disgaea is great! MANLY TEARS Also, certain parts of Lost Odyssey are emotional. But, I have noticed that the most emotional moments for me are cutscenes, so it's not much different to how a movie makes you emotional. I was simply surprised at Curly's death in Cave Story because the game had a bare-bones story. In my opinion a game needs a strong story and has to show detailed character interaction to merit strong emotion, regular gameplay just doesn't cut it for me at this point. That's why Western RPGs are weaker at it, since they put the focus on gameplay being customized at the expense of a more detailed story.

Just from playing a few games of this, the Queen is like a friggin' a-bomb. You can singlehandedly destroy the entire enemy team from the sides with just a Queen.

Dude  That's like reading a novel. But it sends your IQ in the wrong direction. 

Your sprite looks way better than before, you'll probably need a sprite artist to tell you what's wrong with it.

Oh, now it makes more sense. While we're at it though, the left leg is a perfectly straight line which seems unrealistic, even for a tiny pixel drawing. It should have SOME bending at least. Even standing straight, a leg is curvy.

[Adventure Game + Racing Game]

Adventure Game + Racing Game

The race unfolds in a series of static screens. You click a lane to move to the next one. If you happen to click the same lane as your opponent on the same screen, you crash.

I don't see breasts, which makes it look more like a thin man, the hips look too angular and the legs are really small compared to the body. Due to the knee being too far up the leg, it seems like a table leg rather than a human one. The arms seem to be a bendy straw and should have more definition.

For the green and yellow, I see a color that seems like a teal-purple gradient. So, I guess that's it? 

The perspective seems wrong, as if it's flying off to the upper right. I think they should be of a similar size unless there is some background to show the perspective of the "camera" as it were.

After posting yesterday I had a similar idea for a sneak 'em up Metroidvania, where you are an escaped convict who must break out of a prison by sneaking past the guards and sabotaging stuff.

I think most settings for these type of games tend to be fantasy/sci-fi, so it would be cool if your abilities were not superhuman, for example, you get a grappling hook or a knife, and you have to sneak around or people will overpower you.

How about a "reverse Castlevania"? You are a Dracula-like ruler of the demon castle, but your servants turn on you and you have to escape starting from your throne room at the top while dodging your own precisely-placed traps in order to find out who exactly is manipulating them.

Or, how about a Metroidvania that takes place using a vehicle, Blaster Master-style, where you can board and disembark in order to get past places? Maybe you could be some kind of future miner (space miner?) who has to save his fellow men from a cave-in. Or, it could be a mech trying to infiltrate an enemy base.

I think the art style is a little too different though. If you look at the Bender-like robot on the upper right, you would expect a game full of bendy robots, possibly chrome-plated. The cartoon-character looking one simply doesn't jive (unless you are going for a Toy-Story feel where every robot is radically different).

[Barfight + FPS]

Barfight + FPS

It doesn't end well.

It seems to me as though the glasses are literally curling around his body when they should be only slightly curved.

It also seems as though he is walking while facing sideways, since the right side is always in the player's view. If he is going straight, he should move equally in both directions.

[RPG + Twisted Metal]

RPG + Twisted Metal

After the apocalypse, the only way you can survive is by fighting in car combat arenas, gladiator-style. Cross the wasteland and gain experience by fighting off raiders and mutants, then compete in the arena for food and valuable materials.