Call me crazy, but God of War III is the pinnacle of the original God of War series. It impressively iterates on the foundation created by the PlayStation 2 God of War games and elevates the series stylistically and in a game design sense. I'd been feeling like both the PS2 games and the PSP games were too similar, perhaps from fear of deviating from a winning formula, but God of War III manages to take the series in some new directions. Tweaks like making certain enemies less frustrating by adding new moves for countering them, tying magic to weapons, and having a host of items all aid to make the combat feel fluid and free-flowing. The game's story is still a little juvenile with its treatment of women and its dialogue, but there are hints of the maturity seen in 2018's reboot. This was a wonderful conclusion to the original trilogy, and I think it will remain my favorite as Ascension's reception appears to be more mixed.