Blog Posts from "Jet Fire's blog"

Jet Fire's Farewell

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:06:38 -0400

Hey everyone, Jet Fire here. I never thought that I would be writing this kind of post when I came onto Screwattack to blog, but for reasons completely beyond my control, I don't think that I will be able to return here to blog anymore. Now, I'm not writing up this post for anything like gaining attention, as I just want anyone to know who's been keeping tabs on me, about what's happening with me. It's just that in the last few weeks, I haven't been able to come back here, and it's been eating away at me from the inside that I haven't been able to contact anyone about why I'm leaving. To get you to fully understand what I'm talking about, I'm going to take you back a few months ago. Well, actually, it's kind of like two years ago. I had gotten a new HP Pavillion laptop computer for my graduation from college. The thing and I had never really connected. Throughout my whole life, all of my computers had seemed to get infected with viruses through one way or another. I've always hated computers for that reason. The Pavillion was no exception, since it didn't last that long after I had moved out. A few months after starting my Top 100 List, the thing had crapped out, and died for good. Being really pissed at the time, I decided on that very day to go to the store and put down a ton of my cash on a new computer...one that I heard that was less prone to getting infected with viruses...an Apple MacBook. After getting it, everything was perfect. I never had any fear of ads from any of my bookmarked sites, and at this point I had decided to only stay on the safe sites that I already had, without trying to find new places to go, since I was already happy with what I had. I really wanted to play it safe, just in case, as I heard Macs weren't 100% virus-proof. So fast-forward to three weeks ago. I was sitting at my computer one morning, reading through the pages of blog entries on Screwattack (which I had even put as my home page because I love it so much). Even though I was problem-free for two months straight, all of a sudden, the page automatically switched to a page that told me that my computer has already been infected with malicious viruses, and that I needed to perform an immediate scan to get rid of them right away, by clicking the "OK" button. Now, you see where I'm going with this, and even I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake. When seeing something like that, especially after my previous circumstances and spending so much money on this MacBook, as well as this warning coming up when I was only on Screwattack, panic struck me, and I immediately hit the "OK" button, and realized a second later that it was a fake ad...a virus so powerful entered my Mac through that way, and it was strong enough to nearly destroy it. Afterwards, I couldn't even turn the damn thing on anymore. That morning we phoned our local tech support business, and they offered to arrive in three days to fix the Mac for $200. It took the guy awhile to work with the computer, and he finally fixed it with his last idea. That was too close of a call. I absolutely cannot afford another computer at this point, and this soon after getting the Mac, for reasons I'll list soon. With the Mac fixed, I figured that the incident was only a one time fluke, and if that ad ever came up again, I would just hit the "back" button on the internet browser to bi-pass it. Two days after the Mac was fixed, I was browsing through Screwattack again, and that damn ad came back. I hit the "back" button and escaped it's clutches. At this point, it really made me think. The problem is coming from Screwattack, and only Screwattack. Every other site that I go to is absolutely fine. I was getting a little cautious and nervous at this point. Just seeing the ad that cost me $200 is nerve-wracking, since with any slight mess-up, I could be paying tech support another $200 for making the same mistake. Because of this, I can't go back on Screwattack...but my story isn't over. That day, I sent a quick PM to Stuttering Craig, notifying him of the issue and if he could get back to me as soon as he acknowledges this PM or figures the problem out, since I need an answer straight from the horses' mouth in this case to know if it's safe to come back. After that, I quickly sent one more PM to falconpunch3 about an interview that he wants to have with me (I'm incredibly sorry falconpunch3, but unless it's through email, I won't be able to send you my answers). Immediately after sending that PM, the ad came up again! But this time, the screen looked different. Instead of a grey background with a red strip on the top, it was a regular small white window. That gave me a bad feeling the second I saw it, and I hit the "back" button right away...and nothing happened. The screen was still there. I hit the "cancel" button which was the other option than "OK" and another window which looked like the fake virus scan screen popped up in the background. I freaked out and held down the power button and shut the computer off. Luckily, when I turned it back on, there were no problems, as the computer didn't start to download anything malicious yet. I checked my "Downloads" window, and there was nothing in there (that's where the malicious files had appeared before). I was safe...but just barely. I almost fell to the problem yet again. For the last few weeks, I've been away from Screwattack because of that incident, and I've been waiting for today, to get on my parents-in-law's PC to quickly copy this post from the Word program (I sent it to myself through email), paste it in my blog window, and then hit send, not looking back. I'm actually thinking that this ad may have a virus relating directly to Mac OS X's system, so that's why I haven't heard any news regarding this virus in my very short trips to Screwattack during that incident. A few days ago, I had also checked back incredibly quickly to view my inbox, but it currently has no new PM's, meaning that I haven't heard back from Craig on the issue, and possibly never will. If my parents-in-law's PC is safe to go on Screwattack with, I may send a few more quick PMs to the other Screwattack Crew members, in hope of this problem being fixed...but aside from that, I just can't come back guys...I'm sorry. Money issues with me right now are far too unstable to be worth taking giant risks such as going to my favourite site that has this potential virus on it. I'm not doing horrible, money-wise, but I certainly can't afford to get tech support over here again...and I can't afford to get another computer, only months later of getting my last one. Everyone, I just started living on my own one year ago, and am trying to build up my finances. I'm also getting married in the summer of next year to the coolest gamer girl I've ever known (in fact, the only one I've ever known). She's the love of my life, and I want to make sure that I'll have the money to support the wedding, and that I'll always have the finances to support her. I can't afford to take such risks, just because of my favourite site, when I have a life to really start. I want to get married, and as life goes on, I want to get things like a car, a house (or at least a townhouse), and to have children. It's going to take a ton of money to get there, and I'm currently working with only two part-time jobs right now. I just need to build myself up as time goes on, and there are always finances in between, such as rent, credit card bills, cable/phone/internet bills, groceries, birthdays, Christmas, and so forth...I can't afford to take one more risk with this computer, since if it dies, I won't be able to get a computer again for a very long time. So there's the problem...so I should get going soon. Everyone...I'm sorry about this. I'm really, really sorry, as I've been lurking on Screwattack for a couple of years, loving the hell out of the videos and blogs, and just in April, I was able to join you guys as a blogger. I put my heart and soul into the few works that I had made, and just producing them alone made me truly happy. But then you guys also supported the hell out of me on top of that, and I had obtained goals that I could only dream of...and they became a reality. I got to put everything that I had into my Top 100 List, and had not only received overwhelming support, but 4000 G1 points as well. The amount of points put me into 15th place on the Top Blogger Leaderboards. I had never been supported so much before in my whole life in the matter of other people telling me that I was that talented in a certain field. My complete list had also been Top Posted (with no points, but I asked for it to be that way anyways), and then the unthinkable happened...I had my blog featured on the front page of Screwattack, eventually getting over 250 comments. The support for all of my hard work was incredible, and to whoever is reading this, I have to thank all of you, whether you left a comment or a digg...or had just plain read it and enjoyed it...thank you! But there are more goals that I've accomplished and more people to thank. Thank you Thunderbird, for the inspiration of making my list, the wonderful comment you left at the halfway point through my list, and for the interview that you had with me. Thank you HybridRain, for including my article about collecting in your new blog-like magazine. Thank you Elmo, for all of the support you had given me throughout my blogs, as well as that awesome Room 101 I was in (I was really happy to get all 5 subjects in that vault). Thank you Silent Protagonist, for being my first commenter, supporting me in your Overlooked and Underrated blogs (if it's not too much to ask, if this particular post doesn't get much exposure, could you please include me in your newest O&E, just so people who enjoyed my work will be aware?), as well as just giving great, inspiring comments all around. Thanks Srassy, for always being there over the course of my Top 100 List, supporting me all the way. Thanks Milkymagic and Zelyhon (you know who you are), for supporting me on Anime Academy (It's a great site that really got me into watching anime. I suggest checking it out, as we can always use new people. I'm always there in the forum/lounge in the Arcade section if you want to talk to me) before I even got started with my list. Thanks Ultimate-Ninja, for the kind words you had given me in return since you were inspired by my list. Thank you falconpunch3, for including me as #1 on that best G1's blog that you had made (I'm only sorry if I can't live up to those standards by possibly not finishing that interview that you wanted. I'll try to remember to send you my email through a PM when I get to my future inlaws house tonight), and thank you for wanting to include me in that interview. Thank you ThatAussieGuy, for including my articles on ControlFreeks.net. If you see this message by some chance, my images have been in working order for quite some time, so you can upload them on your site. Also, I know that there's not enough time to thank each and every one of you guys, but trust me, if there was enough time, I absolutely would. Your support meant a great deal to me, and it still does. So here I am...at my closing paragraph...what more is there to say everyone? Well, I am going to try and create my own blog on Club IGN soon. You'll be able to find my blog by going back to my "True Value of Collecting" article and finding the link that directs you to my videogame collection. Right on that site, there's a tab that can direct you between Lists and Blogs, so just click on the blog tab to find my blog page. I'll start blogging pretty soon, and you guys have let me know that I have such a talent for the art, that I shouldn't let it go to waste, and I absolutely won't, by keeping it going through Club IGN. If any of you guys could leave a comment there someday, I would fully appreciate it, and it would make me feel a little bit like I'm part of Screwattack again. If you want to keep tabs with me, please bookmark me, so I won't seem like an ocean away from here. I haven't started blogging there yet, as I'm reformatting the code of my Top 100 List to be suitable for Club IGN's format right now. Also, I don't want it to seem selfish or anything, but if there's anyone who has enjoyed my Top 100 List a great deal, and hasn't digged it, but knows how to give a digg to someone, I would appreciate it if anyone could do so for my list. It's at 58 diggs at the moment, and one other goal that I've always wanted to achieve here was the 100 diggs achievement. I can still find my article and how many diggs it's gotten through digg's site, and I hope that I can see it reach 100 someday. Anyways everyone, I have to go now...I'm incredibly sorry that this has to happen, but the situation seems beyond my control and it's too risky to come back...if I could, I would be blogging here on Screwattack for the rest of my days. If anyone wants to talk about it further with me, send me a PM to me in the forums (called the lounge) at Anime Academy. My gamertag for XBOX LIve is also Jet Fire888. Also, of course, is my Club IGN blog. You could even send comments on my article's page on Controlfreeks.net, if you want me to see them. However, it's most likely that I won't see any of your comments on this Screwattack blog page, unless I check it out again in a few weeks when I come back to my inlaws house. Thanks everyone, for the incredibly good times. Screwattack really is the largest, likable community that I've ever found on the internet, and it really tears me apart inside to have to leave, as well is writing this...goodbye to everyone at Screwattack. I'll miss you guys. P.S. I believe that one of my comments on my Top 100 List said something along the lines of "After writing this, Jet Fire turned into a ball and careened back towards the sun, never to be seen again". I just never thought that would be true to some extent.

Jet Fire Takes on: The True Value of Video Game Collecting

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:24:04 -0400

Hey everyone, it's your friendly, neighborhood elaborator, Jet Fire, back after a long rest from my recent Top 100 List. I apologize for the wait on my first actual blog "rant", but through the last couple of weeks, my Photobucket accounts have been consistently crashing due to the overwhelming amount of people checking out my Top 100 List that was featured on Screwattack's front page. I've spent hours upon hours on end, fixing all of the code for all of my images multiple times, as well as taking the time to do an interview with Thunderbird, a Room 101 with Elmo, possibly another interview with falconpunch3 later, answering as many comments as I could on my Top 100, and getting my work posted on controlfreeks.net as well. Needless to say, I've had my hands quite full. But enough with introductions. What I'm actually here about today is to talk about a subject that is very near and dear to me, and that is the art of video game collecting. I'm going to be talking about my own collection, my personal experiences as a collector/gamer, and the most valued aspects of video game collecting that we shouldn't take for granted. Just to note, I'll be showing some pictures of my video game collection. A warning though, as the only way I could take the pictures was with my computer's internally built webcam, which resulted in lugging the thing around the apartment. The pictures may look like I don't have that many games at first glance, but trust me. There's a lot. If you want to know exactly what I have, check my link at the end of the article to my club IGN page below, which shows my full collection. On a final note, I'm not using this article as an excuse to brag, but to express my own values on collecting. The Issue: As gamers that are serious about our hobby, what do we all aspire to be? There are some people out there who don't mind owning very few games...usually the newest ones, and sticking solely to them while being highly competitive with their multiplayer modes. There are some people that have to always move onto the next generation, selling all of their previous games and consoles to stay with the times, without having any regrets about leaving the past behind. There are also collectors that need to collect everything under the sun, whether it be good or crappy, they strive to obtain the complete collections of certain consoles libraries, or they will even start up their own small business as a buying/selling collector on the side of their hobby. And then there's me. I'm a somewhat obsessed video game collector that never forgets my roots. Some people collect games to buy and sell, making themselves extra cash on the side, without feeling any remorse for selling quality titles that they could play themselves. Some people collect mass quantities of games, regardless if many of them are horrible, just to show off. For me, I collect games, merely because I love the medium, much like you all. However, I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, only wanting to own the highest quality collection of new and classic games out there. The quality of the games I have aren't based on how universally praised they are though, but they're based off of my own personal standards. By now, the readers of this article may be thinking "So? Jet Fire is saying that he likes collecting video games for himself that he enjoys. What's the point of posting this?" Don't worry, it gets deeper. Have patience, my friends. You see, the point of my article that I'm getting to, is that finding your own true sense of value when collecting video games may take a while to form/achieve, as our standards and money issues are always changing throughout our lives. Throughout time, our priorities change, and I'll give a small, personal history on how my video game collecting habits have changed throughout my life, and the mistakes and rewards I had gained. 104 PS2 Games The Timeline: 1986 - 1993: From the point of which I was a couple years of age, I was exposed to playing video games through the NES my parents bought. At the point of which the NES generation ended, I was tempted by the Sega Genesis over the Super Nintendo (don't question me, that's just the way it was. I think it was partially due to that everyone I knew owned a SNES and I wanted something different). When I obtained my shiny new Genesis (my first console that I actually owned. The NES was shared between my brother and I), my parents sold our NES and all of it's games in a garage sale (on the commonly assumed basis at the time that old things should be discarded when newer versions were bought). Even though it wasn't our choice, I felt that it was a grave mistake at the time, since I may want to come back later and play some of the classics. However, it was my parents' cash that bought the NES and Genesis, so I guess they wanted a bit of a return on their original investment (the NES). 1993 - 1996: I enjoyed my Genesis for the years to come, but at the end of 1996, the N64 became apparent, and needless to say, I was pretty much drooling all over it. My parents were so stingy with money at the time, that even though I had $800 saved up in the bank throughout my life (I never got to spend any of it), they wouldn't let me buy that N64 (which ended up being my favourite console of all time). I remember getting so upset at the time that I couldn't spend my own money out of my own bank account, and eventually, my mother broke down and convinced my father to let me buy it. However, this time I learned my first lesson about video game collecting for myself. I didn't sell my Genesis. I didn't care that it was older, as I absolutely loved my library of games for it. That was two systems obtained for me. 1998: Oh, but how quickly I forgot my lesson. A couple of years later, my parents bought me an original Playstation for Christmas. While I didn't sell any of my other consoles at the time, I eventually had my Playstation mod-chipped, so it could play anything. Years later, due to not having a job yet or any money, I wound up selling that Playstation for a new pair of rollerblades that I desperately needed. That was my own personal first mistake with video game collecting. I regretted my decision. Sure, those new rollerblades were great, and blading was my second hobby, but I lost some of the classic games that I had obtained (never to be found again), as well as my console. A year or so later, I made the worst mistake and obtained one of the greatest rewards that I ever could have in terms of collecting. 1999: I sold the N64. Yes, I know. I have no clue what I was on, because it was my absolute favourite console, which brought the best years of gaming to me that I had ever had. But you see, I had no money, so how else was I going to pay for that shiny new Dreamcast? And the Dreamcast, is one of my greatest rewards, because the console and games are impossible to find around town now, so I was in the right place at the right time in video game history to build up a great library of Dreamcast games. Still, I lost my best console in the process. Mistake #2 right there, but I was rewarded at the same time, which made it less painful. At that time, I realized something extremely important as a gamer, and I vowed from that point on, that I would never sell an old or current working console or a good game of mine ever again. This was a case of keeping the good, and working hard to obtain more good products. Hence, I started to become a collector. 2001 - 2009: Throuhout the years, I ended up obtaining a PS2 from my brother, receiving an XBOX for Christmas, got my grandparents' old NES, and when I got a job, over time I bought the GBA, DS and PSP with my own cash, as well as eventually buying an old SNES and Retro Duo Machine (that played both NES and SNES). I also bought a cheap PSone and N64 later on (with an expansion pack this time!) and built my library back to it's former state. I did buy an XBOX 360 when it first came out, got the RROD six months later, and because of Microsoft's crappy customer service at the time, and the fact that the RROD problem wasn't as apparent here, since most stores mostly heard about it in the first few weeks of the console's life, I ended up selling it back to EBGames for the money to buy a Wii. Years later, I bought another, better 360 (limited edition Halo version. I figured since it's limited edition, Microsoft may have taken their time in making them, since they can't replace limited edition consoles with the same type). So from the point of selling my N64 and forward, I had never sold a working console, and I was proud of it. So that's my consoles, but what about my games? Let's just say that when I got my Genesis back then, I had about 8 to 12 games before the N64 (all of my NES, N64 and PSone games from the past were eventually sold, so I can't count those ones, although I can include the copies that I had bought in the future after I re-obtained the consoles). By the point that I got my first job when I was 16, I may have had about 30 - 50 games on average between all of my consoles. Fast forward to the current day, where I'm 25 years old, and I've just hit the 450 games mark. 29 XBOX games, 9 XBOX 360 games (11 XBLA games), 23 Genesis games 42 DS games, 27 PS1 games, 24 DC games, Donkey Kong Jenga! The Result: Holy crap, I'm insane, right? Not only had I written a Top 100 List that's longer than Return of the King in 3 months, but I had obtained around 400 games within 9 years. Well, now we're coming to the real reason for this article. I've hit the perfect stride when it comes to my own values for video game collecting, and I was smart about it to obtain my own goals. You see, when I was 16, I had made a lot of stupid mistakes with selling my video games and consoles. I can't blame myself 100% when I was younger, before I had a job, because I wanted to experience new games, and I needed money to do that. Selling consoles is usually the best way to make a decent amount of cash. However, as soon as I obtained my first job, I realized that I didn't have to do it anymore. That age was the golden age to start collecting for me. I still had high school and college to go through, and I had a long time ahead of me until I was living on my own (where I would have to frequently use cash to pay bills and living expenses). No one was expecting anything of me cash-wise, so I started collecting. But I had one thing in mind. Money is valuable. I've lost a lot of cash in the past by selling games and consoles, regardless of needing the money. I had to make sure that the games I was buying were going to be quality, and will sit proudly on my shelf until the day I die. Aside from building up my collection, I've been constantly researching and building up my researching skills to buy as many games that suit my tastes as possible. Now, it is impossible to be 100% correct in enjoying all of the games that you buy due to only using good researching skills, but it has paid off for me far more than it's been a waste. Every game that I end up enjoying, I keep on my shelf to never end up selling. Any game that I know that I didn't enjoy, I'll obviously sell and try to get something better. I keep every quality game that I own. Why? Because even if it seems that I won't end up touching the game ever again after I beat it, regardless of liking it, that will be just the time where 10 years later, I will crave to play that game, but it will be so rare, that I'll never find it in stores or hock shops anywhere. I make sure to make well-informed decisions on quality games to buy, with the intent on keeping them in the long run. With this frame of mind since I was 16, in nine years I've amassed 400 games. There's a lot of games in my collection that I've played, and a lot that I haven't played. Now that I'm 25 and I have to dramatically slow down my purchasing habits, I still have a huge library of games to play for the rest of my life. My collecting skills have paid themselves off. If I can't ever buy a new game from this point on, I'll most likely have something new to play at any point for the rest of my life (life is only going to get busier from this point on, so there's even less time for gaming). All of the games that I haven't played on myself, are concepts/genres/franchises that really interest me, that have mostly received good reviews, and that are praised by many through word of mouth. If a game winds up as disappointing, I can always sell it (however, most of the games that I've played with my whole collecting concept in mind, I have mostly enjoyed). In terms of the point of my life where I could spend more freely before now, I've never been the type of person with the kind of personality that likes to go out and spend all of my money getting wasted at bars like many of the people in my town. Of course, I like to go out every now and then to be social, but not at the bar scene, as I find it as such a waste to just throw away all of your money for booze which you'll just piss out at the end of the night (which is basically consuming and pissing out cash), when you could still go out for a great time sober, and spend a whole lot less money in the process. Now don't get me wrong. Despite amassing a bunch of games, I've always set my priorities right, and I know when to slow down my spending habits. Throughout the years, I've had a girlfriend (who I'm going to marry next year), finished college, moved out on my own, and have been saving up a bunch of money as backup funds. Throughout that time, my gaming expenditures have decreased until the point that they are at now (I still buy a game every now and then occasionally, and my fiancee doesn't mind, since she's a gamer too). My 21 SNES games (one is in the console), as well as 25 N64 games It may not look like it, but there's 44 NES games there The Conclusion: All in all, my true value of video game collecting has been all about my love for the medium. I buy, and play games for the pure sake of fun (not purely for earning cash, obtaining rarities or to only play the newest games). I take great care of my games, and hold onto them because I absolutely enjoy them, and I know that I'll often want to experience the classics in the future, whether it's tomorrow or 50 years from now (and even if I don't re-experience some games, my children and grandchildren could always enjoy them). I buy new/used games with the full intent of keeping them if I enjoy them, and I believe that good memories are far too valuable to throw away for a couple of dollars to buy something that could provide you with a new memory (and if I really want something new, then I'll just work to earn it, if I desire it enough and it wouldn't hurt my financial situation in anyway to purchase it). What's the point of me talking on like this? Well, I guess all I can say is to take out of it what you can get from it. If we share similar values, you might learn something that you haven't realized before. If I can write out a direct message, all I can say is that if you purely love gaming, whether the games you try are old or new, and the concept of games aging over time means nothing to you, I would really advise everyone here to hold onto their old games...especially the ones that really make you happy. New games may come and go, but it's the classics that you already know that you know and love, that will be the games that you come back to and treasure the most in your life. I realize that not everyone who doesn't have a job can't exactly do this, and that's perfectly understandable, as I've been down that road too. But whenever possible, try to hold onto the things that give you great value. For example, Suikoden II is an incredible game for me, and it's a huge rarity going for around $150 - $200 on Ebay. It would be easy to earn some cash by selling it, and I've already completed it...but what if I want to play it again someday? If I sell it, I'll most likely never find it again, and by such a further point in my life, I absolutely wouldn't be able to afford it again. I would have to kiss that game goodbye forever. Sometimes, it may seem like a simple solution to just sell your games to obtain new ones, but sometimes, the result isn't that satisfying if you're throwing away value to obtain a possibility of gaining value from something new. Not only have I obtained a quality library of games by using this philosophy, but my quantity keeps increasing all of the time, as long as I'm not buying a ton of crappy games that I put no research into. Another thing that I normally do, is switch up what games I play on what console, so that I'm always experiencing my games from all of the different generations, so no certain library ever goes stale (for example, if I only ever played this generation's games, then why would I need a huge pile of my previous generation games sitting around?). Also, my philosophy doesn't only encompass video games, but my movies, anime and TV box sets as well. So that's my philosophy. Trying to maximize quality while minimizing the chance of lowering that quality obtaining crappy games by researching. The less crappy games that I buy, is the less I'll have to sell. With the less I have to sell, the more games that I will build up. With the more games that I have, it maximizes the chances that I will have good things to play for the rest of my life, especially if all my expenditures in the future have to go towards family, housing, etc. Add in a dash of balancing my spending between games and real life, and it all creates a formula for success for myself. I want to have as much fun throughout my life as possible and to build up a supply of good memories, whether it be in games or real life moments. My meaning of life is defined by the amount of enjoyment that I get out of it by the end, and not about how much money I've accumulated (although I still always focus on doing well to be financially stable). My philosophy on life and my philosophy on games intertwine with each other. Therefore, in terms of gaming, I've obtained my own true personal value as a gamer and a collector. My 12 PSP games & Wii My 29 GBA Games in the small cases, as well as 8 Game Boy Games and 2 Game Boy Color Games. My Wife and I's DS handhelds, we also have 3 GBA SPs and a PSP I have some Gamecube games (20 of them) and Wii games (11 of them) on the white shelf on the left. My anime collection covers the rest of that shelf as well as the tall shelf P.S. If anyone wants to see what my actual collection is composed of, check it out here: http://club.ign.com/b/list/custom?&owner=JetFirebeam&mode=view&&lid=100018 Well, enough ranting on about myself and collecting. I guess what should be focused on is you. What is your attitude towards collecting, and how do your values shape what you collect? That's all for me today. I hope that I've kept up some form of quality after my Top 100 List. It was really different for me writing on about a personal experience rather than listing off my favourite games, so I hope that it was enjoyable. Until next time people, keep reading, keep writing and keep gaming!

Jet Fire's Honourable Mentions That Didn't Make it into the Top 100

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:37:02 -0400

Hey everyone, I'm back after a good rest from my Top 100 List to bring you somewhat of an epilogue to my epic post. As with any list, there are always games that come close to making it, but sadly, get bumped off due to the list being limited. Aside from my Top 100 Games, I've played plenty of games, and while my honourable mentions were close to making it onto my list, that doesn't render everything else that I've played as obsolete. Still, the titles I am about to list do deserve honourable mentions, and if I hadn't played so many great games, these gems would have made it onto my list. Also, to note, these games aren't ranked in any particular order, so have fun reading what was close to making my list, but just fell short. Also, I've decided to write only one paragraph per game. These are only honourable mentions, so I felt as if I didn't need to go into as much detail. It also makes for an easier read, right? P.S. For anyone who hasn't read my Top 100 Games of All Time List, here it is: http://screwattack.com/node/26674. Keep in mind that I had recently updated it as well, with a new #100 entry, new crisper pictures, and little tidbits of info after each game title. Moving on, let's look at the games that were close to making my Top 100 List: Jeanne D'Arc Developer: Level-5 Released on: PSP Release Date: August 21, 2007 Jeanne D'Arc was one of the closest games on my Honourable Mentions List to prying it's way into the Top 100, but just fell a little short of obtaining a spot of glory. It wasn't the first Strategy RPG that I had ever played, but because I'm not that smart at these types of games, I've never been able to complete any of them...except Jeanne D'Arc. This gem may not be the most complex of SRPGs, but it's a great one for beginners, with an easy learning curve, pick-up-and-play gameplay (due to being able to turn the PSP on and off whenever you like without losing progress), and an amazingly told story that uses actual real-life history themes (note that I said themes, not 100% concrete facts) based on the Joan of Arc tale to really tell something original. There is some complexity to the game, with some unique game-specific mechanics, like placing troops one square away from each other to increase everyone's defense as a group, to creating your own magic gems (similar to FFVII: Crisis Core's materia fusing system), to the objective-based victory conditions, to being able to transform a few key story members in your party into magic armoured knights that wreak havoc by doing devastating damage and by receiving a free turn whenever they defeat a foe (allowing you to chain kills together, if you keep moving between different enemies and defeating them one after another). There's a lot packed into this PSP game, from the bright, colourful, sharp, cel-shaded visuals, to the great voice acting (in most cases),to the long amount of play time if you're a beginner like myself (it took me over 40 hours to finish the game). Jeanne D'Arc accomplishes everything that it should for a portable SRPG for me, so why didn't it make my Top 100 List? That's pretty much to do with me not being the largest SRPG fan...yet (sometimes, I can find the gameplay of the overall genre to be pretty tedious, with fights dragging out too long, with the possibility of losing and having to replay the same battle for another hour). Jeanne D'Arc did get my feet wet in regards to the whole genre though, and I do own quite a few SRPGs that I intend to play down the road. Still, I do have to say that Jeanne D'Arc is an amazing SRPG for first timers who haven't fully grasped the genre yet, and is one of the best PSP games that I have played so far. Rockin' Kats Developer: Atlus Released on: NES Release Date: 1991 Now here's a game that I'm sure many of you haven't heard of before. It's a treasured memory of my childhood, when I would spend hours upon hours, playing games on my NES. Even though Rockin' Kats doesn't have anything incredibly special about it that distinguishes itself from a lot of other platformers, it's still a ton of fun to me. The game is a cross between Megaman and Bionic Commando. In comparison to Megaman, you can select any of the four TV channels to play a stage on (you're playing through different Hollywood sets that are being filmed on TV), before you can take on the final, fifth stage (yes, it's a pretty short game, but it can be really challenging too). In comparison to Bionic Commando, your cat's main weapon is a punch gun (a gun that shoots an extending hand out of it to punch enemies, grab onto structures and to grab objects). The gun can be shot in any of eight directions, which gives plenty of flexibility (unlike Bionic Commando, you can jump), and you can also use it to punch the ground just before you land after a jump to propel yourself into the air. Aside from the main stages, there's a mini-game channel (containing 3 types of games) that allow you to spend the money that you have collected in the stages in order to win extra lives. There's also a shopping channel that allows you to purchase new upgrades for your gun and yourself, such as getting a spiked ball instead of a hand, as well as hover boots that let you glide for a short while after a jump. As with most good NES games, the stage design is good and challenging, the bosses are memorable (and challenging too), the music is upbeat and catchy, and for an NES game, it doesn't look bad either! I've never seen Rockin Kats for sale in any hock shops around town, so it's somewhat of a rarity, but it certainly doesn't cost much, especially on EBay (where I got my copy). If you're out of NES games to play, I suggest giving this one a go. It's a good game, but unfortunately, nostalgia alone can't propel it into my Top 100 List. Megaman 3, 4, 5 and 9 Developer: Capcom Released on: NES (Megaman 3 & 5), XBLA, Virtual Console and PSN (Megaman 9) Nov 1990 (Megaman 3), Dec 1992 (Megaman 5), Sept 22, 2008 - Oct 1, 2008 (Megaman 9) Ah yes, Megaman. While Megaman 2 was the only one that made it onto my list, it was really only because it was the best entry to me in the series as a whole. Since all of the Megaman games play so similar to one another, I really have to list all of the ones in the original series (as well as Megaman X, from what I've played of it) in my Honourable Mentions List. However, the other most notable games in the original series to me would be Megaman 3, 4, 5 and 9. There's nothing to note that's much different about each game. The inclusion of the slide in Megaman 3 was there, the inclusion of the charged buster shot arrived in Megaman 4, and even though Megaman 5 never really contributed anything special, I still have fond memories of constantly renting it, and spending two whole days playing it in bed when I was sick as a kid (my parents moved the TV into my room for that time, and it was as fun as hell). All of these three games had great stage designs, as well as so many classic themes in terms of levels and bosses, such as Snake Man, Skull Man, Shadow Man, Drill Man, Gemini Man, Magnet Man, Napalm Man, Gravity Man, Star Man...the list goes on. To note, Megaman 3 was the only other Megaman game that I've beaten other than the second game. Finally, we come to Megaman 9, which is such a great revival of the original series, as Capcom limited themselves to the NES engine, while pushing it as far as it could go to offer some unique effects and challenges in it's stage design. Even though the game is as hard as nails (in fact, all of the previous games are as well), every single stage and boss was well designed, challenging, and rewarding. Whether it's being held by an ascending robot and having to use your gun to propel yourself backward in the direction that you need to go to avoid obstacles in Galaxy Man's stage, or running back and forth on the swinging platforms to generate momentum in Jewel Man's stage, each stage offers up something new and fresh. To end this entry off, all of the Megaman games (most notably the NES ones and Megaman 9) have amazing music, as you all know, and I think even the soundtracks alone would give these games an honourable mention. Thankfully, there's good gameplay to go with it. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Developer: Bethesda Softworks Released on: 360, PS3, PC Release Date: March 20, 2006 (360, PC), March 20, 2007 (PS3) I'm not the biggest fan of western RPGs, and I admit, that I haven't played many of them. The only ones that I have played are Fable (great), Fable 2 (ass), Silver (decent, at least at the time), and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Now, I know that many people are wondering why I would add Fable to my list, and not Oblivion, when Oblivion happens to be much more expansive and in-depth than Fable...and I think that's why the game is a double-edged sword. The amount of complexity and the grand, epic scope of the game's landscape and atmosphere are more than enough to make Oblivion a completely memorable experience. However, the problem lies in the fact that there is too much to do. Now, if you don't happen to own many games, and need one that will last you for hundreds of hours on end, Oblivion is right up your alley. However, I own just about 450 games, and want to complete them all in my lifetime, and because of that, Oblivion is a little hard to get back into. Get back into, you say? Well, let's just say that I owned the game and a previous 360 before. I must have played Oblivion for about 80 hours, without even really scratching the surface on the game. The game was enjoyable as a whole, but it was also hard to find a sense of progression with. I'll admit that it is very relaxing to play though, as you can just lose yourself within the vast world for hours on end, even if you hardly accomplish anything. Getting back to my story though, at that time, my 360 eventually broke down and I wasn't able to play Oblivion anymore. I traded my red ringed 360 in for a Wii before the whole red ring fiasco started to get really heavy (hey, the people at Microsoft were being jerks to me, and wouldn't fix it at the time), and a year or two later, I purchased a new 360, and another copy of Oblivion. After all of the time I had put into the game previously, I've found it hard to find the incentive to jump back into the game. I'm sure that I will someday, but the lack of accessibility puts Oblivion below my Top 100 for me. Still, I fully recommend that gamers try it out if they are looking for an RPG that focuses more on immersion, customizability, atmosphere, stand-out visuals, as well as an epic scope that will take hundreds of hours to complete the game, instead of a high emphasis on story/character development. I know that I'll return to Oblivion's world someday. Just not right now. World of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Developer: Sega of Japan Released on: Sega Genesis Release Date: Dec 17, 1992 In my Honourable Mentions List, I'm bound to have a few games that many gamers out there won't recognize, and World of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck is one of them, which just happens to be one of the best Disney-themed games that I have ever played so far. The premise is simple. Mickey and Donald are practicing a magic act, they stumble upon a magic box behind the stage curtain. Donald goes into the box, and disappears, and Mickey follows him. Both are transported to another world (of illusion), and are challenged to escape by using their magic capabilities to find their way back. The game is an easy platformer, and it is a little slow moving. However, everything else about it is gold. It has one of the best cooperative games that I have seen in a videogame, since Mickey and Donald will need to rely on each other's help to reach new areas. Can't reach that platform above you? Then jump on Donald's head to get up. If the platform is too high, jump on that nearby see-saw together to propel one of you to a high ledge, and then have the player who was propelled onto the ledge, lower a rope down to pull the other player up. The gameplay really relies on both players physically helping each other, and displays some great acts of teamwork that I wish I would see in more games today. Combined with stunning visuals and music for the Genesis age, as well as unique and varied stage designs themed after various Disney Worlds, World of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck may be an easy playthough, but it does fulfill it's purpose. It's fun, and I could not think of a more overlooked Genesis game even if I tried. The only reason that it doesn't make my Top 100, is that there are honestly better games on the list, and this game just got barely edged out. Devil May Cry Developer: Capcom Released on: PS2 Release Date: Oct 17, 2001 Stylish. Action-packed. Addictive. Those are some the best words to describe Devil May Cry. Keep in mind, that I've only played and completed the first game (and the first level of the third game, but I got my ass horribly kicked, as expected), and even though I can't remember much about the whole game, the experience still left a strong impression on myself. How can I describe it? I guess I would say that it's the most akin to Ninja Gaiden on the XBOX...with guns...and demon transformations. Devil may Cry does stand as one of the most action-packed games that I've ever played, and it rewarded me with a challenge as well. It may have had the old static camera system of the original Resident Evil games, but it's fluid movement, enemy-saturated, combo-heavy gameplay made up for it. More points were awarded to Dante by pulling off more stylish moves, getting hit less, and just being more skilled overall. A ranking would be applied to you at the end of each level, and the game rewarded skilled players with better powers. It does sound a bit unbalanced, since the more skilled players really don't need as much to survive, but it works as an incentive to play the game better. Dante also has some of the best weapons and combo sets that I have seen in a game, such as knocking an enemy into the air with your huge sword, then juggling them in the air with your giant dual handguns, and then jumping up and smashing the enemy into a wall with your sword. I would encourage any fan of Ninja Gaiden to check these games out (the third game is even much harder). Why didn't it make my list? Well, it might have been at least near the very bottom of the Top 100, if it wasn't for the fact that I had played it around 7 years ago, and other than the fact that I remember that it was really action-packed, there are no real moments that I really remember in my head. It's still great though. Burnout: Revenge Developer: Criterion Games Released on: XBOX, PS2, 360 Release Date: Sept 13, 2005 (XBOX, PS2), March 7, 2006 (360) As you may know from glancing at my Top 100 List, I'm not the biggest fan of racing games. Sure, I love Mariokart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and can even enjoy most of the games in the Mariokart series to some extent...but they're all kart racing games on my list...that's right. Not one actual car-based game has actually cracked my Top 100 List. However, Burnout: Revenge was close, and is everything that a car-based racer should be to me. Burnout: Revenge has it all. Incredibly fast racing, collision damage and intense crashes with cars, ramps, tons of fun modes, and just an overall arcade-like feel that never takes itself so seriously, like slow-paced, mechanical car sim games. You pick a car, you go fast, you run people off the road and cause them to crash, and you can get run off the road as well, exploding in such a marvelous crash that it's hard to get too frustrated at the game. The game has a career mode in which you tour the world, taking part in 169 events, with the simple race modes where you try to come in first, but it also throws in many other types of challenges, like Road Rage (where you try to run as many people off the road as possible in a time limit), a Crash Mode (where you have to send your car careening into a highly traffic-populated area to try to chain as many explosions as possible to achieve the highest amount of dollars possible that it would take to fix all of the damage), an Eliminator Mode (every 30 seconds, the car in last place will explode, until the car in first place remains last), and the Burning Lap mode (which requires you to beat a set time limit for one lap). There's also two player modes/races (not career related), as well as a mechanic in the game that revolves around causing other cars to crash, which will fill up your boost gauge (giving everyone incentive to race aggressively). There's so much variety in this racing game, with a high focus on speed and carnage, that it makes Burnout: Revenge to be my favourite racer that revolves around you being in a car instead of a kart. This is yet another game that barely got edged out of my Top 100. Snowboard Kids 1 & 2 Developer: Racdym Released on: N64 Release Date: March 15, 1998 (Snowboard Kids), March 2, 1999 (Snowboard Kids 2) Speaking of kart racers, Snowboard Kids deserves an honourable mention. Well, it technically isn't about karts. Snowboards to be exact (well, duh). However, it shares all of the similarities of kart-based racers, due to the cartoonish looks and weapons and racing-based gameplay. It's quite similar to games like Mariokart, but with a few tricks up it's sleeve (damn, that's a bad pun, and I didn't even intend for it). For one thing, instead of being on a track, you're racing downhill the whole time, but the courses aren't based on one lap. You'll have to take the ski lift to get back up. It's too bad there's only one ski lift, because people who are seconds away from each other will be fighting furiously for it, or suffer crashing into the gate. The overall control takes a little more skill than Mariokart, since your snowboard actually controls like a snowboard. As far as I can remember, I think that you have to tilt the analog stick backward and at a diagonal angle to turn, which seems messed up at first, but actually makes more sense the more that you play. Each racer also has their own statistics and boards that they can buy, and each track is varied with plenty of obstacles to overcome. The items do happen to be pretty damn cheap, but now that we're further in the Mariokart timeline, I have less complaints in regards to the items in Snowboard Kids. There are some creative items in there that have some different effects than what is found in many kart racers, such as the one that shoots snow at people to turn players into snowmen for a brief time (as they'll careen down the hill without being able to turn), the parachute (which lifts players into the air as they slowly hover down [luckily while still moving forward]), hovercraft-like fan on the back of your board to boost you (it isn't original, but still feels great), Ice shots to freeze people in place for a second, frying pans that you can rain down from the sky on people if you're in last, ghosts that slow people down, invisibility that shields you from attacks, and so on. There's also a trick system incorporated for earning money to buy new boards. Snowboard Kids isn't as fun as the Mariokart games or Diddy Kong Racing, but it still is one of the most enjoyable kart/snowboarding games out there, and I found that it was an overlooked gem. Shenmue Developer: Sega AM-2 Released on: Sega Dreamcast Release Date: Nov 6, 2000 Shenmue makes my Honourable Mentions List, because it's an acquired taste, which I believe can probably be the most appreciated by people who had played it at the time of it's release. I don't think that Shenmue has aged particularly well, due to the fact that the control in the game is a little stiff and clunky, the story seems to move on at a snail's pace, the voice acting is pretty damn bad despite it being one of the first games that I've seen with so much of it, and the game isn't very action packed, as you'll mostly be exploring, living a day-to-day life, working, interacting with thousands of objects, and playing detective to move the story along. Still, despite all of that, Shenmue has had a lot of heart put into it, and it can be rewarding to anyone who has an open mind. The visuals aren't as grand and epic as they first were when I played it at it's release, but they still look very nice and detailed nonetheless, as it's pretty much on par with a late PS2 or early XBOX game. The soundtrack is also done beautifully, and even though the voice acting is pretty bad, it still makes the experience more immersive. In the game, you play as Ryo, who lives at a local dojo, as a mysterious man named Lan Di enters the place, asking Ryo's father to hand over an ancient mirror, called the "Dragon Mirror". Ryo's father refuses to hand over the important object, fights Lan Di, but loses and gets killed by him. Lan Di leaves with the mirror, and Ryo, feeling partially responsible for his father's demise, goes on a quest to track down Lan Di himself, and to avenge his father. The whole game takes place in Ryo's town, and is quite story heavy, as you'll be interacting with citizens, and asking for clues to track down where Lan Di is, where he went, and how to get there. There's some combat involved (which plays like Virtua Fighter, as it's very technical), but it only happens at key story points (although there is an exciting 50 - 100 man brawl at the end). As I've stated, throughout most of the game, you'll be playing detective, earning cash, learning new combat moves, and living out your day-to-day life as you search for your father's killer, so keep in mind that the game plays very passively, but it is very immersive. The biggest downside to Shenmue though is that it was supposed to come in three parts for it's story to reach the conclusion. We got Shenmue 1 and 2 (I own the second, but haven't played much of it yet), but due to poor sales and high development costs, Shenmue 3 may never see the light of day. Shenmue may always remain as an unfinished story, but it is a good one while it lasts. Virtua Tennis & Tennis 2K2 Developed by: Sega-AM3 (Virtua Tennis), Hitmaker (Tennis 2K2) Released on: Sega Dreamcast (Virtua Tennis), Dreamcast & PS2 (Tennis 2K2) Release Date: 1999 (Virtua Tennis), Oct 24, 2001 and July 30, 2002 (for the Dreamcast and PS2 versions of Tennis 2K2, respectively) A classic fun game is Pong. Everyone knows about it, but it certainly hasn't aged well (and how could it? It's only 2 paddles and a ball). I've tried out a demo of the PS1 version of Pong, but it just wasn't the same. That's why I believe that the proper evolution of Pong is tennis games (who would have thought?). I haven't tried any tennis games other than Virtua Tennis and Tennis 2K2, but it's really all that I need to play, because it's just tennis, and I don't think that future installments will change much. While I only do own Tennis 2K2 now, the Virtua Tennis games are my favourite sports games out there. Why? Because they're incredibly easy to pick up, but are insanely difficult to master. When playing against friends, pretty much anyone can pick it up and have a great time with this evolution of pong, regardless of skill level. But if you play the campaign mode, you can get destroyed. Even on the last matches on Easy mode, if you're not skilled enough. Aside from competing against friends, completing a campaign mode with someone else is extremely rewarding by taking down the computer opponents together in doubles matches. There's so much teamwork involved, and even if we lose by the end, it's just so damn easy to pick right back up and play. Simplicity is the key with sports games to me, and it doesn't get any more simple and addictive than Virtua Tennis/Tennis 2K2. New Super Mario Bros Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: DS Release Date: May 15, 2006 From my Top 100 List, I'm sure that you can tell that I really love the Mario games. So why didn't the New Super Mario Bros make it onto my list? Well, it was close, but the fact of the matter to me, was that I couldn't find anything rather special about the New Super Mario Bros that made it a unique experience of it's own. For example, Super Mario Bros started it all and brought a great challenge, Mario 2 was a clone of something else and brought different gameplay elements to the table. Mario 3 had the map and item system. Mario World brought Yoshi and secret exits into the fray. Mario 64 brought it all into 3D and brought the World HUB system. I haven't played Sunshine yet, but it at least brought FLUDD into the mix for different abilities. Galaxy also brought the gravity element into Mario. But The New Super Mario Bros brought...um...2D back? Large and mini mushrooms? 3D visuals on a 2D plane? Catchy music? Wall kicking and butt stomping into 2D? So for me, even though Mario didn't bring anything new to the table, it's still a fun game (although there are 2 worlds that I can't figure out how to get to for the life of me), and brings Mario platforming goodness all around. It just doesn't have much of an identity, but it does deserve an honourable mention, because it's still one of the most fun platformers on the DS. Rocket Knight Adventures Developer: Konami Released on: Sega Genesus Release Date: Aug 5, 1993 Damn is this game hard! I don't know why everyone I see calls it easy, but I can't make it past the fourth or fifth stage before losing all of my lives and continues. I guess that's Konami for you. Still, Rocket Knight Adventures is incredibly fun while it lasts. The inclusion of a sword and a jet pack in a 2D platformer only makes the game that much better, as you can propel yourself at blinding speeds in all eight directions. The move functions as an attack and as a mode of transportation/staying in the air longer at the same time. The environments and environmental challenges are creative, the flying segments are like an old-school 2D shoot-em-up, the bosses are epic and challenging, and the soundtrack is one of the Genesis' best. Sure, you're a possum with knight armor on (which can also hang onto things with his tail) that is fighting a bunch of pigs, which may seem a little weird or lame nowadays, but it's still really fun. It may have made my list if there weren't so many amazing games out there. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure Developer: Capcom Released on: Wii Release Date: Oct 23, 2007 As I've said before, I do like to dab into a bit of each gaming genre, and Zack & Wiki was my first real dip into the Point n' Click Adventure genre, and it was fun, for the most part. To get the bad out of the way first that kept it from making my Top 100 List, I found that some of Zack & Wiki's puzzles were downright frustrating, where no amount of thinking could have possibly helped me in completing some puzzles (I blame that on my own stupidity and noobiness of course). Also, there's so many frequent deaths in the game, that you'll be finding yourself treading old ground over and over and over, since you'll usually have to start from the beginning which gets tedious after awhile (you can buy these tickets to bring you back to the point just before you died, but it's hard to save up cash in this game). Finally, while the motion controls are great and intuitive for the most part, there are a few times where they are downright frustrating or almost impossible to use (usually during boss fights, like swinging your arm in a lasso motion at the end, or sword-fighting with the pirates on the second last stage). Apart from these flaws though, I would say that Zack & Wiki is pretty much perfect. Most of the puzzles are really compelling and interesting, the presentation makes it look like a Saturday morning cartoon with vibrant colours/fun character designs/a great soundtrack, the motion controls normally do put you right in the action (sometimes it's a puzzle of it's own to discover multiple functions that just one object has), and it's normally a very relaxing game to play, as you can just sit back however you want, and mostly point and click. It may not have made my Top 100 List, and only gets an honourable mention, but I know what would propel it into my Top 100...a DS version. Hell, yes! Amped 1 & 2 Developer: Indie Built Released on: XBOX Release Date: Nov 20, 2001 (Amped), Oct 28, 2003 (Amped 2) As I've said, I'm not really into the whole sports genre, and that goes for extreme sports too. While I do like Jet Grind Radio/Jet Set Radio Future, Sled Storm, the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and um...Snowboard Kids, Amped 1 & 2 for the XBOX have to be my favourite realistic extreme sports games out there. What I enjoy about Amped, is that there are no racing modes at all in this game. It's all about out-tricking your opponents and building up the highest scores by the end of each round. A unique aspect about the games, is that you can take whatever path you please down each mountain. There are different starting points that you can pick (I always choose the top of each mountain...why not?), but you can choose to go down the slope in any direction from that point on, discovering the best trick areas to hit along the way. There's lots of opportunities to build up insane trick combo scores throughout the game, but it never becomes so unrealistic that you can stay in the air seemingly forever (but it never becomes so realistic that you're just plodding along through the snow, making wimpy, lame little jumps). Both games offer up extensive career modes that give a variety of different challenges to complete, much like Burnout: Revenge does, except that in Amped's case, the challenges will eventually get so extremely hard, that they are nearly impossible to complete (but actually completing one is one of the most rewarding feelings I know). The brutally hard challenge can be frustrating sometimes, but it ups the replay value on the game, and really gives you incentive to try harder and to do better. Amped 2 also comes with a 2 player mode, so players don't have to sit around and take turns like the first game. Sports games take a lot to compel me, and Amped does more than just getting the job done. Conker: Live and Reloaded Developer: Rare Released on: XBOX, N64 (original version) Release Date: June 21, 2005 I love platformers, and in my recent interview with Thunderbird, I forgot to mention that one of my favourite characters is Conker. He's funny, rude, vile, a smart ass, and has an awesome accent. Conker: Live & Reloaded is the XBOX remake of the N64 game, Conker's Bad Fur Day. I never had the chance to play the N64 version, but I do really like the XBOX one. One thing that I commend this game for is having one of the best stories for a platformer. There's a panther that rules as king throughout the land, and his table leg just broke, spilling his milk. He asks his scientist to find out a way to fix the broken leg, and what kind of ailment is needed? A red squirrel is needed to replace it. Note that. A red squirrel. Not a brown one. Not a black one. A red one. The sheer stupidity of the humour makes the game really compelling if you're into that sort of thing, and the game comes with plenty of swearing and potty humour to boot (like a level entirely made out of poo, as you fight "The Great Mighty Poo" at the end). The platforming as a whole is decent, but it's the game's presentation that makes it worth experiencing. Every level of the game is fresh, doesn't feel like I've visited it before in a platformer, and parodies many different forms of media, from The Matrix to Aliens. The voice acting in the game is top notch, and the Grim Reaper's name is Greg! Just like me! Badass...we never get enough cool people with the name Greg in stories. For that reason alone, it makes it worth taking the title of an Honourable Mention...and it's a good game as well. Ikaruga Developer: Treasure, G.rev Released on: DC (import), GC, and XBLA Release Date: Sept 5, 2002 (DC), April 15, 2003 (GC), April 9, 2008 I've just been getting into the whole shmup scene recently, and while Life Force is my favourite, and the Gradius games are amazing (you might as well include them in with Life Force, as they all play almost the same), Ikaruga is the next stand-out shooter that I've played, and damn is it hard. It's bullet hell. Constant bullets will be raining on you from every direction, and your ship has the ability to switch between two colours (which just happen to be the two types of bullets in the game), to absorb them, and to use against foes that shoot out bullets of the opposite polarity (ex. if they shoot white ones, shoot black ones at them). Like Life Force, I really like to have a cooperative feature in my shmups, as getting past really difficult trials and challenges can be really rewarding when passing them together. The whole experience gives off a great sense of teamwork, and the game is addictive as hell to try over and over again to best your last efforts. It may not make my Top 100 List, but it's still one hell of a ride. Wii Sports Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Wii Release Date: Nov 19, 2006 Wii Sports may be a game for the videogame-challenged person, but even as a veteran gamer, I can appreciate it's pure, simple fun. I may not play it constantly, but it can really bring gamers and non-gamers together for some really entertaining times. Wii Sports does have some flaws though. The boxing isn't precise, the golf is pretty boring, and baseball is pretty pointless. For the Tennis and Bowling alone though (especially the bowling. The bowling alone would give it an honourable mention), this game is a keeper. Tennis is a simple game to demonstrate the capabilities for the Wii, and I can never object to playing a round or two of it, since it's pretty fun. However, the bowling in this game is fantastic. There's something special about playing a game at an actual bowling alley, and Wii Sports bowling really recreates the experience in your own living room. Just like bowling, it doesn't matter if you suck at it when playing, as everyone can have a fun time regardless. The ball physics are really great, and it's a perfect pick up and play game that creates a social experience on par with Rock Band. The only reason that Wii Sports only gets an honourable mention is because one minigame alone (possibly two when you include tennis) isn't enough to propel a game into legendary status for me. It's still a great game though. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Developer: Konami Released on: DS Release Date: Dec 5, 2006 Castlevania: POR used to be in my Top 100 List, but got barely edged out by Beyond Good & Evil, so this will be the longest entry in my Honourable Mentions list, since I had already written up a lot more on the subject. So why aren’t Symphony of the Night, Castlevania, Castlevania III, Order of Ecclesia, and many others not present? Well, it’s mainly because I’ve just started getting into the series, with me only playing and completing Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia. For me, Portrait of Ruin had a larger impact on myself since it was the first Castlevania game that I’ve played. While Order of Ecclesia was excellent with it’s new features, and in some cases, being harder than Portrait of Ruin; what drew me into PoR more was the direction it took. While OoE started out with Shanoa hunting in areas outside of Dracula’s Castle, and then arriving at his place for the ultimate showdown, I found PoR’s castle to be more intricately designed and complex than OoE’s. Arriving at the castle at the start of the game gave me a greater sense of danger, and jumping into paintings within the castle’s structure to enter other worlds from time to time gave a refreshing take on the game, whenever I started to get a bit bored exploring the massive castle. In OoE, I explored Dracula’s castle within a day, and since I was quite overpowered by then, I easily tore through it. Portrait or Ruin’s castle had a steady rising difficulty, as well as plenty of variety with the paintings, which made it seem as if my stay at the castle lasted a lot longer. Another aspect that I enjoyed was the character switching mechanic. While it wasn’t used to solve that many puzzles and took some getting used to, I enjoyed switching between Jonathon (for my short ranged attacks) and Charlotte (for my long ranged attacks). It was also enjoyable to call in your partner for backup support, and while they could also get hit, you could dismiss them with the push of a button, providing some strategy in knowing when to call and dismiss your backup. The dual crush mechanic had some very devastating attacks as well, in which Jonathon and Charlotte would team up to cast a massive spell to wipe out enemies or take decent chunks of damage from bosses. And yes, the bosses. This is where the game stood out from OoE for me. While the typical enemies around the castle could provide a decent challenge, the bosses in PoR required a lot of strategy to defeat, and could crush you in several blows if you weren’t careful. While this is similar to Ecclesia, and probably most Castlevania games, as a first time Castlevania player, I found the bosses to be more original and deadly than it’s sequel. Remember the giant ball of dead bodies that you had to hack at, in which the ball would gradually fall apart as the bodies fell to the floor, and got up to start guarding the floor level of the boss fight, as you had to stay on the platforms to hack at the exposed bosses nerves while avoiding the sprays of acid that it shot out? The final battle with Dracula was also one of the most epic boss battles that I have encountered. This wasn’t because Dracula was so intimidating. You also had to fight Death at the exact same time, in a two-against-one final boss fight. Forget phases. Konami just said “Screw all that” and threw everything they had at you. I couldn’t have beaten it without all of the pattern memorization, quick reflexes, highly upgraded stats and the amount of restorative items I had held onto and stocked up on near the end. After dispatching Death, I defeated Dracula while I was low on my health bar with no healing items of any sorts left. Absolutely epic, and from that point on, I knew that I had to play more games from this series. Symphony of the Night is next for me. --------------------------------------------------------------- I hope that you all have enjoyed reading my honourable mentions, as well as my Top 100 List. Just to let you all know, the fun doesn't end here with my list, as I've recently been handed over the opportunity to have it posted on: http://www.controlfreeks.net/. Portions of my list are being uploaded onto the site's main page every now and then, so if you want to offer up some support, check it out, as not only my Top 100 will appear there, but maybe future articles as well (don't worry, I'll still be blogging at Screwattack). On a side note, if you really enjoyed this article, and if you don't mind, please Digg it! Well, until next time people, keep reading, keep writing, and keep gaming!

Jet Fire's Personal Top 100 Games of All Time (Complete "Longest List in History" Version)

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:11:16 -0400

Hey everyone, it's Jet Fire, back once more to give you my final, ultimate, longest list in history of my Personal Top 100 Games of All Time. It's been a long, long road throughout the last three months of writing this gigantic list, and despite the amount of time it took to produce, I enjoyed every second of writing it. Also, I have to thank everyone again for the overwhelming support that they have given me. I don't think that my list would have turned out half as good without the confidence that everyone gave me. This list is insanely long, so I would suggest bookmarking it so that you can read it at your own pace until you're finished. I thought it would be worth compiling all 100 entries into one list to make it easier to browse through for you all, so with that, I did, and I'm surprised that my computer didn't explode my loading it all up. On another note, I've revised my #100th entry with a new game that's barely cracked my list, so sorry Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, but there was a better game out there. Also, check back later for my honorable mentions list, as well as Thunderbird's next interview, since I'm the interviewee. Well, there isn't much to say beyond this point, only for readers to keep in mind that this purely a personal list and in no way am I speaking on the behalf of everyone else with my entries. It's quite a wall of text to read through, I know, so please treat my 100 entries as 100 reviews as well, as sit back, relax, and enjoy! P.S. If anyone enjoys this article, please Digg it, as I'm going for the achievement as well! WARNING: Due to me not having the financial resources to own these machines, there will be no PS3 games or PC games (there is one DOS game though), on my list. I am interested in the PS3, but due to having more important things to spend on (wedding, bills, living expenses) I probably won't be able to obtain one until it's dirt cheap. As for PC gaming, sorry folks. I'm just not used to PC control schemes, and I can't afford to constantly upgrade a rig all of the time to play the newest games (in fact, I've always been in this situation, since I've never owned a computer until I moved out a year ago, and I never had the money or permission to upgrade my parents' PC or to buy and constantly upgrade my own PC). Plus, I only own a MacBook, so I couldn't play PC games even if I wanted to (and no, I can't afford to get a gaming PC, for the same reasons as the PS3). With these factors in mind, please take into account that this list is 100% personal, based only on the games that I have played throughout my life. I won't include games that I haven't played, and I certainly won't include games that I personally do not enjoy, just to please others. So please, read on, and don't take it too seriously. Enjoy. 100. Beyond Good & Evil Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier Released on: Playstation 2/XBOX/GC/PC Release Date: Nov 11, 2003 (PS2) Dec 2, 2003 (XBOX) Dec 11, 2003 (GC) Nov 19, 2003 (PC) Starting off my Top 100 Games of All Time list with a revision from my original list, Beyond Good & Evil just barely cracks my list, and pushes Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin just barely out of my Top 100 list. That's right everyone, I'm giving you a bonus (and I'm not just putting the game here for the sake of doing it. I played it while writing up my list, and in my honest opinion, it was good enough to just barely enter it)! What makes this game so worthwhile of entering my Top 100? How about a great story with amazing presentation, possibly the best female protagonist that I have ever seen, and gameplay that is a mixture of The Legend of Zelda, Metal Gear Solid and Ratchet & Clank. Beyond Good & Evil takes place on the planet of Hillys (a planet composed mostly of water with many islands), where an insect-alien race known as the DomZ that abduct residents of Hillys whenever they can to drain them of their life force, or to convert them as one of their own. At the time of this pandemic, a sudden military squad known as The Alpha Sections, takes charge of defending the residents of Hillys, but they never seem that proactive about preemptively attacking and stopping the threat, rather than just sitting around defending the populace, in which they are not always successful. You play as Jade, a young photographer/reporter who lives and protects a local orphanage at a lighthouse. Alongside her guardian figure, Pey'j (a pig-like human [there are lots of non-human races on Hillys too]), they join and underground network of journalists called the IRIS network, as there is suspicions that the DomZ and Alpha Sections may be related to each other, and it's Jade's new job to expose the truth of the matter. The game is quite cinematic, often conveying strong emotions within the characters and a nice, strong, presence of mystery throughout the game as Jade unravels the truth. The whole game feels like a mature, 3D animated movie most of the time, not only through the expressive and well-acted cutscenes, but even through the use of the game's camera quite often in order to make the experience feel more movie-like (most notably the stealth scenes). Overall, while the story isn't the most deep and complex that I have ever seen, it genuinely made me care throughout the whole game, and gave me a sense of devotion and urgency when key moments happened in the story for me to see the game through to the end. Like I said before, Jade makes for an extremely good female protagonist in this game, by being responsible, confident, a good leader, talented, and athletic (but not in a stereotypical ass-kicking chick sort of way. She can kick ass, but she's not overpowered just so that the game can supposedly remain as far away from being sexist as possible). Even her attire is tasteful and has a lot of character to it. The story also moves along at a brisk pace, right up to an epic presented final boss fight that relies on reflexes rather than whittling down a life bar. Gameplay-wise, it's really addicting. Beyond Good & Evil has an over-world and dungeon designs that are somewhat akin to The Legend of Zelda (not in how the world looks, but by how clever that puzzles and area progression works). It's addictive to explore, and solve puzzle after puzzle throughout dungeon/fortress-like areas, which gives a very rewarding sense of accomplishment when you figure things out that have been stumping you for quite some time. The game is quite a collect-a-thon as well, with you needing to constantly acquire currency and pearls in order to progress in the game (pearls are used to buy new devices to upgrade your hovercraft in terms of the abilities it can pull off, to eventually upgrading it into an aircraft, and then into a spaceship). Currency can be used to buy some of the pearls as well as upgrades for Jade's maximum health as well as your vehicle's health (currency can be earned as payment for sidequests, or by breaking open containers). Pearls can be earned by taking on certain challenges/sidequests (such as races or air hockey), by finding them in secret areas around Hillys or the main dungeon/fortress areas or taking pictures of every species on Hillys with your camera (by taking at least 8 new species photos, your data is transferred to your employer, who pays you with a pearl). Aside from the story, you're always in a constant state of collecting, earning and upgrading, which can be quite addicting outside of the story-related action sequences. It felt a little like Ratchet & Clank with the addictive-ness of it's collecting, but near the end of the game, collecting currency can be a pain in the ass, if you've already expended a ton of your cash and have done all of the missions and taken all of the photographs (leading to lots of crate-smashing). The main bit of the action and stealth in this game comes into factor whenever you're embarking on a story-related mission to a dangerous area (or sometimes stumbling on a dangerous soldier-heavy area in the world, who happen to be guarding pearls). There are a few missions within the game that revolve around teamwork with Pey'j, to fight against different enemies and bosses, and to solve different puzzles, but a quarter or third through the game, a lot of stealth elements are introduced (the previous elements are still there, but just not as strong as before). This leads into a little bit more of a Metal Gear Solid-like feel, without the radar. You'll have to use your wits, memorize enemy patrol patterns and create distractions or find safe places to surprise and pick off soldiers if you want to survive and progress (while solving various puzzles all the way). It's really fun and fresh at first, but I won't lie that it started to get a little tedious (and downright frustrating at a few parts) near the very end of the game. However, the tedium doesn't arrive too early that the game stops being fun, but I did feel as if the game could have ended a few hours earlier. Finally, going back to the presentation of the game, Beyond Good & Evil may be old, but it's world is extremely original and fresh, it's visuals have a unique and well-polished style to them (as well as being very well-animated and uses a great ambient colour scheme). The music, while not incredibly memorable, does suit each scene very well, and I can remember the tunes of the epic, orchestrated final boss battle music, as well as the powerful music that brings a lot of emotion to some important cutscenes. All of these factors makes it a cinematic experience. To end this entry off, Beyond Good & Evil is pretty short...possibly around 10 to 15 hours. However, you can find it dirt cheap nowadays, and I highly suggest picking it up before it's gone, becomes rare, and gets pricier (I got mine for under 10 bucks). Beyond Good & Evil provides a lot of value for your dollar. Just make sure that you're the patient type when playing this game (while being someone who values a well told story), and you should be satisfied. 99. Panzer Dragoon Orta Developer: Smilebit Released on: XBOX Release Date: Jan 14, 2003 Another first in a series for me, Panzer Dragoon Orta is one of the best on-rails shooters that I have ever experienced. Developed by Smilebit, Orta takes you on a Starfox-esque journey through beautiful landscapes, gunning down creatures and army fleets on the back of your transforming dragon. While this game will only take you a few hours to run through, it offers great variety in terms of multiple pathways to take in each level, the ability to shoot in front of you, to your sides and behind you while you’re locked on rails, the element of using strategy in battle to change between your three dragon forms (Glide, Base and Heavy) depending on your situation, as well as the ability to upgrade each form by touching experience orbs with your desired form that you would like to upgrade. The levels and atmosphere in particular was what drew me into this game the most. It has a certain charm and impact on the player just through it’s art and design that can’t be matched by many games (similar to the effect that Okami, Shadow of the Collosus, seeing Jet Grind Radio for the first time has on people). Orta will take you through an imperial city during a storm in which other dragon riders are trying to take you down, through forests and waterfalls, deep and complex canyons, fighting a bunch of imperial warships in the bright blue sky (as your dragon won’t just fly straight, but fly at all different altitudes while weaving around ships avoiding gunfire), running through a snowy mountain during a snowstorm, flying through futuristic tunnels and combating an epic multiphase boss fight during sunset. Also, as I’ve mentioned, the use of multiple pathways will ensure that you have new content to experience through multiple play-throughs of the game. Orta also contained a great deal of challenge and strategy. Even the easiest difficulty had some very tough moments, such as the final boss. The ability to change your dragon’s form on the fly was an excellent key element in this shooter. You started out in your Base Wing form, which is the medium size for your dragon, and is the all-rounder within your arsenal. This form contains a decent speed boost (and speed boosts are also used as a head on attack, aside from being used to dodge attacks), decent homing and regular fire capabilities. When you changed to your Glide Wing form, you could boost longer and use it more frequently, but lost your homing capability in trade for a higher rate to regular machine gun fire (which was essential for destroying volleys of missiles headed your way). Finally, the Heavy Wing had no boosting as far as I can recall, but still had a lock on ability (although it couldn’t lock onto as many targets as the Base Wing). However, it had the most damaging attacks, which was crucial for large enemies and bosses). Finally, you could also eventually build up a super attack, which depending on your form you choose, will launch it’s own destructive attack, easily wiping out enemies and taking chunks out of bosses. Using a fully upgraded Heavy Wing form’s super attack to decimate a boss was so satisfying. From a personal standpoint, Orta was a visual treat, and an addictive fast paced shooter that felt like you never stopped shooting. It’s one of those quick games that you can dive into, that you don’t feel like you have to give a large commitment just to beat it. You can even just beat a level or two, call it a day, and felt like you had fun and accomplished something. It also feels quite retro for an XBox game, giving a sense of nostalgia to the old shoot-em-ups on the NES/SNES. Sometimes, it’s just plain fun to play a shorter game that relies heavily on skill, strategy and reflexes, rather than a long game in which the only determining factor towards beating it is the amount of time, level ups, and the amount of resources you collect. After hearing about the disappointment known as Lair, I’m glad that there’s at least one series out there that allows you to ride a dragon and shoot the f*** outta things. 98. Odin Sphere Developer: Vanillaware Released on: PS2 Release Date: May 22, 2007 While were on the subject of artsy games, I cannot stress enough about how phenomenal the visuals are in Odin Sphere. Believe me, I’m one of the last kinds of people who would believe graphics make a game. Gameplay is the most important aspect. Luckly, Odin Sphere’s gameplay matches it’s original and beautiful visual design. The best of both worlds merge together, on top of a great story that is told Shakespearian-style. Describing stories is not really my strong suit, so I’ll briefly sum it up. The story starts off with a girl named Alice, sitting in her attic, reading books about the five protagonists in this game. Each book follows their individual stories, followed by a sixth book that will contain their final battles and the conclusion. The plot involves Demon Lord Odin and the valkyries in his realm, waging war against the forested realm of Ringford, which is home to the leader Elfaria and her fairy subjects. He wages war over the Crystallization Cauldron, which is the source that creates the Psypher Crystals (as shown attatched to the protagonists weapons). The stories take place from the points of view of the valkyrie Gwendolyn (Odin’s daughter), the shadow knight Oswald, the prince of Titania named Cornelius (who has a spell cast on him, turning him into a rabbit-like creature known as a Pooka), Elfaria’s daughter known as Mercedes, and an uncursed survivor of the ruined kingdom of Valentine, Princess Velvet. Since all of the characters come from different sides of the war, and some are caught in between, it creates a lot of interesting situations, and allows you to piece together how the story went inside your own head before the final showdown. I love the aspect of how the story is shown from different viewpoints, and seeing each character’s side of the story as well as how they interact with the rest of the cast, provides significant character development. You can even choose who will fight which bosses in the final battle (a word of warning, as only one specific combination of characters can unlock the true ending). In terms of gameplay, it’s mostly addictive with an interesting way of levelling up and managing your inventory, and has fast paced and frantic combat. However, it does have it’s small share of downs, such as some absolutely frustrating (and I’m not confusing frustrating for challenging) boss fights, as well as backtracking through many of the same environments and not having much in the means of the way of interacting with them. Starting with the good aspects, the way that you progress in Odin Sphere constantly encourages you to collect, absorb phozons, and manage your inventory. You can either choose to level up your max HP or your Psypher (your weapon with the crystal attatched), and balancing what you want to level up can mean the difference between life and death depending on your play style. Leveling up HP is critical to survive, but levelling up your Psypher not only increases your damage that you deal, but also gives you access to new spells/special attacks. Phozons are also the pink spirit particles left behind from killed enemies that you can absorb into your weapon to level up your Psypher, but phozons can also be used to grow fruit (that will increase your HP) that you can either buy or obtain from the plentiful amount of treasure chests around the field. When you plant a seed, the phozons on the battlefield will be pulled into the ground automatically to grow a fruit (or sheep) tree, in which you can pick the items from the branches, and choose to consume the item right away for the experience to level your HP, or to keep it in reserve to restore health when you need it, and gain the exp later. Since your inventory is limited (but your inventory space can be increased by buying a limited number of larger satchels to carry them in), you have to constantly manage your resources (ex. Choosing to consume a fruit for the exp, so you can buy/pick up that new potion that restores 200 HP). You can even use alchemy in this game to create new potions/items which are critical to survival, by combing two items together (also a good way to manage inventory space). Wow, that was a lot of talk about inventory management, but it seriously is a fun and addictive aspect of Odin Sphere, encouraging a frequent necessity to create/consume items to help your character grow. Since mentioning all of that took so much space to write, I’ll just briefly touch on everything else. The fighting engine is fast and fun, and feels a little similar to the “Tales of” RPG series, only with more emphasis on aerial combat and a larger amount of enemies. Also, each character has their own individual fighting styles, weapons, and have access to some spells/special attacks sooner than others. As for the negative aspects of the game, there are some insanely frustrating boss battles (I’m looking at you Skuldi), that seem next to impossible, even with a large accumulation of level grinding, HP potions and other helpful/critical items for the situation. Take for example, a wizard named Skuldi. The guy will summon two large shadow monsters that are impossible to injure, as well as jump over without getting hurt. He can call and cast away these creatures at will, and will constantly trap you between the two as they will close in and leave Oswald bouncing back and forth between them, constantly taking huge chunks of damage with hardly any recovery time. Meanwhile, Skuldi will send a constant wave on spells your way to hit you between the creatures, freezing you, setting you on fire, poisoning you, transforming you into a toad that you have to wait about 5 minutes for the spell to wear off). If you do manage to get out of this jam and rush toward Skuldi, you can’t hurt him by physically by attacking him. He will summon and throw a line of swords toward you (in which you will have to be standing at the exact right distance to have enough luck for him to actually cast it), which you must attack and send flying back at him to injure him, in which you must follow up with an attack right afterwards. Like I mentioned, if you stand too close to him, he’ll either teleport across the stage (making you try to avoid the damn shadows again), and if you stand too far back and he doesn’t cast the swords, the shadows will catch up to you and attack you again. Plus, the time frame between hitting him with the swords and doing a follow up attack is so small, you won’t do much damage, or the shadows will get summoned in front of you before you can get your follow-up attack on him. As AVGN said, “you’re really pressed between a bag of piss and a pile of **** on this one”. Anyways, there are at least three to four boss fights in total that are almost as annoying as Skuldi. Aside from those, all of the boss fights are challenging (even on the normal setting) and truly epic. Not only that, but the bosses and environments are beautifully designed, as if they were all painted right on the screen with bright, vivid colours. This is probably one of the most artistic games you will ever set your eyes on. On the audio side, it also has wonderfully orchestrated music and great voice work. Fans of RPGs/Okami need to pick this game up. Oh, and finishing up on the negative aspects…even though the environments are absolutely stunning, there is quite a bit of repetition in them. Since you play all of the five character’s stories separately, you’re going to cross all of the same environments with every character, as well as having to start from scratch, levelling each one up. The settings are also mostly a backdrop for the combat itself, often having little affect on your gameplay experience. Based on these negatives, Odin Sphere has ended up on the lower ranks on my Top 100 list, but that doesn’t stop it from being a very engaging and fulfilling game. Even though the environments may seem repetitive with not much interaction, the character growth system is absolutely fun and addictive, and I still haven’t even scratched the surface on all of the features yet. This RPG won’t be shown on store shelves for much longer, and I encourage anyone who is a fan of RPGs to pick it up. 97. Tales of Legendia Developer: Namco Released on: PS2 Release Date: Feb 7, 2006 Like Castlevania, so far I’ve only played two games from the Tales series (Tales of Legendia, and then Tales of Symphonia), and despite Symphonia being more popular among the masses, I’ve got to go with Legendia. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with being the first entry from what I’ve played in this series, but I found Legendia to be a more challenging and longer game than Symphonia, as well as a more complex and fluid one. To me, the plot was a little less cliché, and the characters were far more likeable and had better voicework. While the art style isn’t as powerful as Symphonia, I did appreciate the character design even more. And how much more fun is it to fight through a quest with your fists for your own selfish reasons, instead of the generic sword-wielding main character fighting for world peace? Legendia was also one of the first RPGs that I have played that featured such a large content of voice work in it, which really helped flesh out the characters. I also felt that this game had characters that had better dialogue between each other, creating stronger and more interesting character relationships than in Symphonia. Remember the little skits that play out on the field in Tales games? Legendia had great ones, and really got me caring about my party. Even though the story was a little generic, I find that a great game or show can truly stand out if the cast is an interesting one. Hence, this is a very strong point for Legendia. Two other things really made this RPG stand out for me than many others, which are the challenge and the length. It’s also kind of odd saying that, because in some RPGs, the creators can lengthen the game out to absurd levels by adding in too many useless plot points and fetch quests just for the sake of making their game longer. They can also add in an absurd level of challenge that requires you to do nothing but dwell in a boring battle system for hours on end as you try to level grind to beat that one particular boss. However, with Legendia, it never felt like a chore to me, because there was always so much to do that would actually benefit me. Quests wouldn’t only lead to extra items/ultimate weapons, but also to new skits and interesting plot points/dialogue for your characters. The battle system constantly encouraged you to use different skills in order to learn new ones. Workshops encouraged you to combine items to make powerful new ones and bakeries were around to create restorative items to use outside of battle so that you wouldn’t waste your good healing items. Best of all, after you defeat the final boss in the game and see the ending…it’s not really over. You can partake in a portion of the game which is pretty much like a second half of the game. What it involves is embarking on different character quests for each member in your party. Your team will embark on an added quest that revolves around each character, providing further development, as well as an added challenge. This part of the game is much harder than the main quest, and is much more satisfying to complete. After finishing your character quests, your final quest revolves around defeating the source of evil, which is the most challenging quest that will test all of the skill and effort that you had put into your characters, pushing you to your absolute limits. All in all, I can use one word to sum up the whole experience of Tales of Legendia for myself. Satisfying. 96. Kirby: Canvas Curse Developer: HAL Labratories Released on: DS Release Date: June 13, 2005 Possibly one of the most original DS games out there, Kirby: Canvas Curse relies completely on the touch screen to control Kirby around the environment, by drawing a rainbow-coloured pathway for him to roll on. Since Kirby had a spell put on him that turns him into a ball, it’s up to the player to guide him around with just the stylus. The most important and fun part of the game relies on it’s control. Draw a line under Kirby and slope it upward to make him travel along it upwards, or do it vice versa. You can send him through loops. Draw quick vertical lines in front of him to bring him to a halt. Draw lines in front of projectiles to block incoming attacks at Kirby. Tap on Kirby to roll him at enemies to attack them (when you don’t have a copy ability, you can just roll into an enemy that has one to copy it), or to activate your power-up that you already have. Last of all, while the game starts off easy, it can get ridiculously hard in the last few levels. However, there is a nice learning curve. Just don’t let the cute looks deceive you. There isn’t much more I can say about this game, other than it’s just pure, colourful, happy fun in it’s simplest form. Kirby: Canvas Curse is a perfect pick up and play handheld game that could only be accomplished on the DS, and is one of the least mentioned Kirby games from what I’ve seen. In case you’re wondering, “why does Kirby score higher than the other games, when the other games play mechanics are so deep?” Because games are supposed to be fun, and sometimes simplicity is the highest form of fun. 95. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Developer: Naughty Dog Released on: PS2 Release Date: Dec 4, 2001 As with many games on my list recently, I’ve only played the original Jak & Daxter, so the original’s place is subject to change if I enjoy it’s sequels more. Still, I believe Naughty Dog made a nice progression between their Crash Bandicoot platformers to Jak & Daxter. Instead of small, linear levels like Crash Bandicoot, this game provided you with a nice, big open world based on a large island, and unlike most platformers, Jak & Daxter always kept me immersed by having no loading times between levels. Everything flowed together so seamlessly, with the transition between areas, the constantly smooth animation, bright and colourful areas, and interesting challenges that contained lots of variety (such as the hoverbike moments). Speaking of transition a second ago, I also enjoyed how the game made sense as to how you got to the next area, by collecting power cells to fuel machines to get you past impassable barriers and locations. It makes more sense and is less generic than the whole “collect a key or magic crystal to open the magic door to another location that has a completely different climate on the other side”. On one more note about transition, you don’t have to worry about your work being reset if you only complete some tasks halfway. If you’re supposed to complete a task, like killing a certain amount of enemies and you only defeat half of them, and end up leaving to explore a different area, the enemy count won’t reset when you come back so you can just resume your mission. When you gain an orb, you won’t be sent back to the start of the level, so you don’t have to keep covering the same amount of ground. I know that some earlier platformers have some of the same aspects, but it’s the accumulation of all of these aspects that just makes Jak & Daxter so seamless. To be honest, I can’t remember that much about this game, other than the fact that it was extremely fun, held me in front of the television from start to finish, and gave me a reason to collect every single last collectible. While there are many more platformers with more innovative concepts and ideas than Jak & Daxter, this game almost perfects the concept with it’s spot on controls, interesting locations, fun characters and addictive nature. Even though there wasn’t much of a personality to Jak, Daxter was essentially the voice of the game, providing great commentary as I went along my adventure. I even liked how death itself seemed seamless, and Daxter would stand over your body, talking like a smartass all the while. If I can relate Jak & Daxter to an older game, it’s almost like Spyro the Dragon on the original Playstation. The game isn’t particularly hard (although there are a few challenges that will take a lot of tries to complete), but the bright colourful nature and addictiveness related to the aspect of collecting and using your wonderfully smooth control to nab everything makes it an easily accessible game. It’s really something that you can just pick up and play, knowing that not much frustration will exist…only fun will. It’s not groundbreaking (hence, why it is much lower on my list), but it doesn’t need to be as long as it plays really well. 94. Ratchet & Clank Developer: Insomniac Games Released on: PS2 Release Date: Nov 4, 2002 “Wow, another platformer!” you ask? Well, platformers and RPGs are my favourite genres, but trust me, this list will have a lot of variety going for it after a few more titles, so bear with me. The reason that Ratchet & Clank ranks so close to Jak & Daxter, is that it does everything that Naughty Dog’s creation does, and more. Ratchet and Clank amps up the difficulty, has better cinematics, story and more engaging characters, more awe-inspiring locales, and even though I thought it would be gimmicky at first, the weapons and gadgets are incredibly creative and fun to use. To begin, I have to elaborate on the cinematics. Even though this is the first Ratchet game on the PS2 (like, before, I’ve only played the first entry), the cut-scenes still look amazing, and have this Dreamworks-like style to it’s visuals and humour. It makes me feel like I’m watching and playing through a Saturday morning cartoon series. Captain Quark steals the show, giving the most laughs, but the rest of the cast is entertaining enough. Ratchet sounds like Michelangelo from TMNT to me for some reason. Also, since the cut-scenes rely on the in-game graphics, the transition between watching and playing is seamless (although watching my ship fly from planet to planet over and over did get a little tiring). The level of graphical polish and size of each planet’s world is astounding for such an early generation PS2 game. See all those buildings in the screenshot? They aren’t just backgrounds. You can go there, and uncover the game’s many challenges and secrets. There are so many paths to take in each world, leading to more bolts to obtain (to buy new weapons with), and challenges to earn new weapons/gadgets. I was always in a state of collecting, and was always looking forward to that shiny new weapon that was just within my grasp of obtaining, or what new, interesting world was waiting for me next. And how unique those weapons are! A gun that turns enemies into chickens, anyone? How about robot orbs that circle you, and will explode into anyone who comes close? One of my favourites has to be the Devestator, which is a guided missile that you can control from a first person perspective, similar to the Nikita Launcher in Metal Gear Solid. I know it’s not the most original, but is certainly fun to use, and will get you out of plenty of jams when you can’t expose yourself from cover due to too much enemy fire. The Mine Launcher is also a useful addition to set up an impassable field that will kill pursuing enemies, and the Telsa Claw can send out streams of lightning, locking onto all nearby enemies like a Sith’s force move. Another critical gun to obtain is the RYNO (Rip You A New One), although it costs way too damn much to obtain and is more of a chore to get than a reward. The gadgets also add more moves to Ratchet and Clank’s move set, like the magnetic boots that allow you to walk on walls and ceiling, the grind boots that let you grind on rails (Sonic Adventure 2 style), the heli-pack which gives Clank a propeller (allowing you to jump higher and further), and my favourite, the Swingshot, which allows Ratchet to grapple onto floating orbs, Bionic Commando-style). All of these items add so much more to Ratchet’s move set than about any other platformer out there, making areas very fun and variety-filled to traverse. What are my downsides to the game? Even though Ratchet & Clank offers up more variety than most platformers, some parts of the game can remain downright tedious and frustrating. On the tedious side of things, some weapons, like the RYNO are far too expensive. You see, through most of the game, you will collect bolts as currency, by defeating enemies, smashing crates, or finding them in hidden areas. Most of the time, by the time you have 100 percented a level in terms of collecting bolts, you can buy a new weapon from the store on the next planet (or shortly after you arrive). However, some of the last weapons to obtain, will require you to go back to the previous planet, and bolt grind until you have enough money to buy them. In total, the last weapons may take a few hours in total of just bolt grinding, and the RYNO in specific, took me over 2 hours straight from bolt grinding in the most bolt rich area in the game. If you want these coolest items, you’re going to have to suffer first. As for the frustrating aspect, there are a few moments in the game that are truly worthy of controller smashing. One requires swingshotting from buildings to hover cars, and you are under fire most of the time. The camera gets so devilish during this area, that it makes it difficult to see where you land, and sometimes, your swingshot won’t even grapple onto the orbs, while you have to change grapple points in mid-air, causing you to fall to your death, and repeating 10 minutes of the level again until you reach that point. By the time you make it back, these problems make you commit the same mistakes (as well as the lack of familiarity as to what to do, since you were concentrating more on how to get to this area). I literally wasted an hour or two just trying to get past this broken segment. If it weren’t for the chicken gun as a reward for this, I wouldn’t have bothered. One more tedious aspect that I can recall are the hoverboarding moments. Now, I don’t mind a bit of variety in my gameplay. Jak & Daxter had a hoverbike moment, and it was fun. And Ratchet & Clank even had some fun moments where you would either take control of Clank directly (and building up an army of little robots to unleash), or turn Clank into a Super Mecha Death Clank to compete with enemies of larger size. Still, the hoverboarding moments were almost like racing Wizpig in Diddy Kong Racing. If you make one screw up…One Screw up! Then you will have no chance of gaining the lead in front of your other opponents, causing you to replay it over and over and over. Now, I know I’ve been knocking on Ratchet & Clank’s downsides for a bit, but beyond those few points, the experience is a refreshing and interesting one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in a good platformer. The worlds are just so imaginative, the weapons and gadgets are a blast to use, the characters and story sequences are fun and have a good sense of humour, and aside from those frustrating moments I mentioned, the game’s difficulty is easy to moderate. I’m definitely going to play it’s sequels in the future, which are more chaotic than this one. Anyways, if there is anyone that is actually interested in starting to play the Ratchet and Clank series, I find that the first game is a perfect place to start. I played this in October of 2008, and it didn’t feel dated at all to me, which is a good sign of a timeless game, seeing as how long ago it was made. 93. Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil Developer: Namco Released on: PS2 Release Date: July 25, 2001 If anyone hasn’t ever given a Klonoa game a shot just because his name and character design are obscure and cute or because the game just isn’t mainstream, because there are so many more Resident Evils and Final Fantasies to buy, than I pity you…and your children for missing out on such a magical, dream-like experience. For those that aren’t educated as to what Klonoa’s about (which I am sure is about 99%) of the gaming population, it’s a 2.5D sidescrolling platformer that is more about puzzle solving and platforming than action. Picture it like Mario (even though Klonoa’s new design is a little Sonic-ish, don’t let it put you off), only with a higher emphasis on puzzle solving. Klonoa’s main ability to use to solve puzzles is by using his wind ring to inflate his enemies, and use them to interact with his environment. You can inflate an enemy and throw it to your sides (or into the background or towards the screen) to attack other enemies, or to activate switches. You can also use those enemies for double jumps (Klonoa will jump, and then will kick off of the enemy he’s holding for another jump), sending the enemy you were holding careening downward to hit an enemy/switch, allowing you to access new places. Some enemies cannot be harmed from the sides, in which a double jump attack is the way to go, or vise versa. Also, sometimes Klonoa will have to grab an enemy that is in the air, and do the double jump while still in the air, to reach an enemy that is even higher in the air to do the same thing. You can combo your double jumps together and even use your ears to hover in place for a moment if you need that last little boost of air time to reach a platform/adjust your position. The puzzles do mostly rely on the jumping/throwing mechanic, but there are always different enemy types/action sequences to prevent the game from getting stale. For instance, Bomb enemies will take about ten seconds to explode after you pick them up. You may need to throw that bomb by a certain switch to open a certain door, and then solve a small puzzle quickly to reach that door before the timer goes off, causing the door to quickly open, then close. There are some amazing action sequences in this game as well, by trying to escape a large enemy and raging fires on the rooftops of a rome/Venice style town. The enemy is constantly pursuing you, and will kill you if he reaches you, and you’re required to use quick thinking skills to assess an escape route to take on the fly. There are moments in the game as well, where you will fall off huge waterfalls, shoot from background to foreground from cannons, and surf down rapids while avoiding enemies/collecting gems. All the while, the game looks absolutely bright, colourful, vivid and cartoony with the cel-shaded look on the characters. Another neat feature introduced that was not in the first game is to allow a second player to take semi-control over the dog behind you. The second player couldn’t directly control the dog as it hovered behind Klonoa, but by pressing a button, the dog would fly under Klonoa and knock him into the air for a double (or triple if Klonoa already used an enemy) jump. It’s not really a groundbreaking feature or a full on cooperative experience, but it does allow someone else to jump in and make a little bit of a difference instead of just watching (like the second player in Mario Galaxy). All in all, Klonoa 2 is a fun, light-hearted platforming experience with a fairly easy difficulty curve. Although this game doesn’t even come close on my list to being as fun and challenging as it’s predecessor, it still offers up enough fun and variety to be deemed a classic in my eyes. Seeing as how the first game is impossible to find right now until Namco releases it’s remake of it in May this year, if you’re into sidescrollers and can find Klonoa 2 for the PS2 at a low used price, then jump at the opportunity. The Klonoa series is truly a hidden gem within the sea of more popular mascots and M-Rated games that is absolutely worth experiencing. 92. Sonic the Hedgehog Developer: Sonic Team Released on: Sega Genesis, PS2/PSP (Sega Genesis Collection), PS2/GC/XBOX/PC (Sonic Mega Collection), 360/PS3 (Ultimate Genesis Collection), XBLA/PSN Release Date: June 23, 1991 (Genesis), Nov 16, 2006 (PS2/PSP), Nov 10, 2002 (PS2/GC/XBOX/PC), Feb 10, 2009 (360/PS3), Aug 11, 2007 (XBLA) The game that started it all for Sega…was actually the second Sonic game I’ve played. Although the first game may seem like the most monumental Sonic game ever produced, I felt that pretty much all of his 2D Genesis games had surpassed it and left it in the dust. Still, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is a damn fine game in it’s own right, and can’t be blamed for not having the same elements as it’s sequels since it was the first game in the series, and the sequels themselves wouldn’t exist without it. I’m sure that every gamer here has played this game (or at least a Sonic game in general), so I won’t dive into the details on what it’s about or how it’s played. I’ll just explain what I like and don’t like about it. First of all, I’ll get what I don’t like off my chest. These factors keep the original from surpassing it’s sequels in my eyes. First of all, is the aspect of building up Sonic’s speed. While the original game is still fast in it’s own right, it would take at least 3 seconds to get the hedgehog up to full speed from a jog to a full out sprint. It may not seem like a long time, but there aren’t always long stretches of land to do so. If you get trapped in-between two hills or inside a half-pipe, it can take awhile for Sonic to build up momentum to get out of there…all because one critical move had not been developed yet, the Spin Dash. This dash arrived in Sonic’s sequels and allowed him to curl up in a ball and spin in place really fast, which upon releasing, would send Sonic spinning really fast in the direction you were facing. This move allowed Sonic to instantly accelerate to full speed without any build-up time, making his sequels much faster paced. In turn, this makes the original feel much slower by comparison. Also, that eliminates the spin dash as an attack, so all you’re left with is his roll attack when running, and his jump. Another small nitpick are that there are certain pits in the game containing spikes that will kill you instantly even if you have rings. However, small placements of spikes throughout the level will only cause you to lose rings (or die if you don’t have any). My other beef with the game is how useless the chaos emeralds are. I think collecting them all only nets you a slightly better ending (I’ve only done it once long ago), but the concept of Super Sonic hadn’t come into play yet, so there’s no transforming. This pretty much eliminates any incentive for me to enter the special stages. Plus, the bonus rounds were really annoying, random and confusing to me, and seemed more like a gimmick than anything. Yes, I’ve complained quite a bit so far, but aside from those two gripes the original Sonic the Hedgehog is still a blast to play, and stays in the spirit as the rest of the Genesis games. Even though acceleration can be slow at times, you’ll still be finding yourself careening through loops, bouncing around off of bumpers, vaulting off of enemies and rolling off of ramps and hills all the while. The stages have some nice variety, such as the classic Green Hill Zone (where you’re running through a grassy landscape with the chequered ground), the Marble Zone (which is a nice transition from grassy fields to lava filled ruins), to the Labyrinth Zone (introducing us to the panic-inducing underwater, drowning-risking sequences), to the Casino Zone (complete with bumpers and flashy lights) to Robotnik’s final stage (with many dangerous traps that could crush and buzz-saw you to death, forcing you to use some caution). I forget exactly how many stages were in this game, but those stood out as being very memorable. When pure level design can be so memorable to get you nostalgic about a certain game, you know the game has succeeded and withstood the test of time, and Sonic the Hedgehog is no exception. I also have to touch on the visuals and music very briefly. For a first year Genesis game, Sonic the Hedgehog has aged extremely well. Just look at all of the colour, and the animations and frame rate are super smooth and never slow down. The game always runs at a fast pace, and the stage variety always ensures that you’re never looking at the same colour palette for too long. The music is of course, absolutely classic. I played this game for the first time in years, and I could still recall every note from the Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, and Robotnik’s final zone. The Sonic games had the best music on the Genesis, in my opinion. Also, the sound effect of Sonic picking up rings is the best sound effect of all time in a game for me. It’s a little difficult to explain what made old Sonic games like this so good, but I think it’s also the simplicity in the controls and gameplay mechanics. All you need is a D-Pad to move and one button to jump. Anyone can instantly pick it up and play it, and a gamer can return to it over 10 years later and instantly familiarize themselves with the controls and flow of the game. You run fast, you pick up rings, you jump, you roll into stuff, and you dodge enemies and traps. That’s it, but it works so well and seamlessly, that I can’t help but grin with pure joy when I pick up the controller. For me, some of the simplest games can be the easiest to get into, and can retain their classic status for years to come. Mario, Sonic, Pac-man, Kirby, Tetris…they aren’t the most hardcore, challenging games like Ninja Gaiden, Contra (without the code), Castlevania, Metal Gear and the like, but their simplicity and easy-going nature makes them so much more compelling to re-experience again and again. Sonic doesn’t need gimmicks to make a great game. As the original shows, a pad and one jump button are all that it takes to whisk you away on a fun rollercoaster ride that is more fun to experience for the moment, and not for a mere end result. 91. Double Dragon II: The Revenge Developer: Technos Japan Corp Released on: NES Release Date: January, 1990 What importance does the second Double Dragon game hold on my list? It was the first beat-em-up game that I’ve experienced, as well as one of my first cooperative games. Not only that, but it was incredibly hard, and I still haven’t beaten it to this day due to this incredibly hard stage where the megaman-esque disappearing and reappearing platforms emerge. By the time I make it that far, I’m on my last life or two, and since the jumping is a bit sloppy, I never catch onto the pattern and timing and plummet to my instant death over and over until I lose. Still, that doesn’t stop the game from being a riot until that point. Considering that I don’t hold beat-em-ups in the highest light (I do enjoy them, but not enough for many of them to make it in my Top 100), only about 3 games, including Double Dragon II, have made it onto this list. Just to get it out of the way right now, River City Ransom is not on this list, but not because it’s bad or anything. I actually really enjoyed it. However, Double Dragon II had a larger impact on me for reasons I just can’t explain. Both games felt pretty similar to each other when I think about it (aside from RCR’s stat building), but Double Dragon II had a few things that made it very memorable for me. The first is the challenge. This is a game where you really have to value your life, and shows that if you attempted this in a real-life scenario, you were going to get seriously messed up. Getting the crap beaten out of you by people ganging up, being thrown off or falling off of ledges leading to instant death, and getting caught in traps that take precise timing to survive would stand in your way towards victory. For some reason, some games make it fun to be a sucker for punishment, just to see how far you will make it next time. Most NES games are like this, which make them a joy to play years later to see if you’ll beat the game or if the game will beat you before you die. Another aspect that I enjoyed was the enemy variety. You had the standard thugs with the spiked shoulder vests, and the kinky whip-toting chicks after you, but you also had intimidating bosses like the Abobos, the teleporting boss at the beginning that would grapple you and the Ninjas that dropped from the helicopter, along with their agents beforehand. I know there were plenty of others that had an assortment of weapons such as chains, flails, dynamite, knives, etc, that you could beat them up for. The stage variety always ensured that you were visiting new areas that weren’t only about beating people up, but trying to get past traps and pits in one piece. My favourite would have to be inside the enemy helicopter, knocking enemies (including bosses) out of the helicopter door when it would open. There was also a suction effect for the door that would pull you out of the chopper if you get knocked down, forcing you to stay on your toes. There are a few more things to mention. One is the absolute catchy music, which isn’t surprising, since most NES games offer great tunes. Still, I can always hum it, even if I haven’t heard it in forever, and the dinging of the hand sign that tells you to go will always be burned into my brain. It’s timeless. Second, is that this game makes it onto my list for the coop experience alone. Only when playing with a friend is when this game can be enjoyed to it’s fullest. It’s one of those few NES games that I can play with someone else to aim towards a seemingly impossible goal, having fun the whole time doing it, and improving along with that person as we play through it again and again. Double Dragon II was a game that I consider very challenging, but rarely frustrating. Like many other NES games, it took many tries, skill and memorization to get further in, but never once did it feel like a chore to me. Aside from having that ultimate seemingly unattainable goal for me at the end, it also had the form of gameplay that has you playing for the moment. Every punch, every kick, every enemy blown up by dynamite, every Whirlwind and Flying Knee Strike that sends your enemies off of cliffs to their doom and vice versa when you get thrown, and any lucky or ironic scenarios are just fun to experience for their own particular moments. In Double Dragon II, it didn’t matter to me if I made it to the fourth level or the very last one, because I would be having fun the whole time before that, and maybe someday I will see the end of it. 90. Road Rash II Developer: EA Released on: Sega Genesis Release Date: July 22, 1993 Road Rash II on the Sega Genesis is one of the very few games that I don’t own that is on my list. I really need to go out soon and obtain a copy though, because it’s one of the most addictive and hilariously entertaining racers that I’ve ever played. It’s also one of the few racers that I actually enjoy, and don’t see as a generic “me too” game. In this game you compete in road races on your motorcycle through different countries. Road Rash II requires you to place in at least 3rd place at the end of each race to move forward. The higher your rank, the more money you can earn to purchase faster bikes to keep up with the racers in later levels. However, you can lose money by wrecking your motorcycle or getting busted by the cops. If you can’t afford to do either, the game ends. If I remember correctly, you have to place second or first in the later races as well. All of that sounds like a decent concept for a normal racer on it’s own, but what makes Road Rash II so fun to pick up and play are it’s weapons, opponents, obstacles, twists and turns in the courses, high speed gameplay, long courses that don’t run laps, and of course the damage meter on you and your opponents. This game is meant to be violent, and it’s not just a gimmick to toy around with, since you’ll need to be an ass to survive. Other bikers will take awhile to catch up to, and every mistake you make brings the people behind you closer. In order to give you an edge when you catch up to someone, or if someone is tailing you, is to use force. You can punch and kick your opponents, and if they happen to have a weapon, you can steal it from them and use it on them and other opponents. You can also attack or ram your opponents into other obstacles, such as incoming vehicles on the road, or signs, trees and other obstacles. Doing so will cause them to go careening off of their bikes, in which they will have to physically get up and run to where their bike crashed to resume the race, which will ensure yourself getting way ahead of them (or vise versa if they do it to you). Since everyone has their own damage meters, your bike, as well as opponent’s bikes can be destroyed. So if you need to focus on destroying some pesky opponents instead of just outracing them, you can do so. Everyone also has their own health meter, so you can knock someone out of the race by simply beating the crap out of them, and vise versa. So you see, combat is just as heavy of importance as racing in this game, and the opponents aren’t simply punching bags, as they can seriously cripple you, sending you out of the race. All the while, you’ll have to multi-task by keeping an eye on the road and adjusting your speed and turns. If you take that one turn too fast, you may bash into that tree or cow on the side of the road, sending you flying or severely damaging your bike. If you’re focusing on beating an opponent too much, you may not realize that you’re on the wrong side of the road until a truck comes over a hill and sends you soaring (and in some countries, the right side of the road may change, causing you confusion). You may also end up speeding, passing a cop and getting their attention, causing them to run you off the road to bust or kill you. This element of multi-tasking may seem like a lot to handle, but it makes the races more exciting. Even when you crash, the outcome may be so funny and random, that your frustration of losing your place may pass for a few laughs. I found myself actually laughing through most of the races as my brother and I would usually alternate after each race and laugh at our misfortunes or lucky outcomes. There’s also a two-player mode, but it’s pretty disappointing, since it’s just the two of you on the road without any computer controlled racers to provide random craziness. Although you can pick out what weapon you want to start out with in this mode. I remember picking out a can of mace when I was playing with a friend and just as the race started, I sprayed him in the eyes with it before we accelerated, leaving his guy sitting there and screaming as he held his hands over his face, as I took off ahead of him. Good times. Anyways, the Road Rash games on the Genesis were simply amazing and fun to play through, and were constantly addicting to see how far you can get, how many people you can destroy, and what kinds of crazy situations you can get into. While all three were great games, all I can remember is having the best time with the second (I think I enjoyed the tracks more). Whether you’re crossing the finish line in first place, or running into an incoming car, which sends your guy flying face first off his bike into the windshield of an incoming cop car (resulting in him getting busted afterwards), Road Rash II is a joy to play. 89. Mortal Kombat II Developer: Midway Released on: Sega Genesis/SNES/Various Platforms Release Date: June 25, 1993 I have to get two things out of the way before I continue. The first is that I’m not that big of a fan of fighting games. Sure, I have a few that will be on my list, but most fighting games are either too technical for me (requiring me to memorize really absurd button combinations and combos in order to simply compete with others), and only rely on the multi-player aspect for entertainment (so if you don’t have anyone to play with that likes the game and fits your skill level, the game is pretty much pointless to own and play). The second is probably going to shock many. There aren’t any Street Fighter games in my Top 100 list. Don’t get me wrong. I find Street Fighter to be a pretty good series, but the move set and flow of the game just can’t grip me as much as Mortal Kombat II and the fighters I will list later, for some reason. Also, I don’t need blood and gore to make a game for me, as you’ve already seen on my list, and will see in the future. I simply had more fun with Mortal Kombat II. Now, I admit that the primary reason that I had to check out Mortal Kombat II on the Sega Genesis was for the blood and brutality of it all. I mean, what kid didn’t? I must have been somewhere between 10 and 12 at the time. However, once I got past that, I found that this game had a move set, flow and mechanics that I could really understand. I know that I didn’t play many (or maybe any) fighters to compare it to at the time, so it could have been my first fighter. Still, I ended up mastering pretty much every character at the time and was pretty much able to dominate anyone who stood in my way, from my brother to one of my friends that was such a poor loser that he would literally get right up into my face and laugh his head off when he won 1 out of 100 matches. Literally, we stayed up for a whole night playing that game, and I won every match and let him lose one near the end, and he acted like he literally owned the place. It’s kind of funny when I think about it, because he would literally freak out at me and tell me that I was being cheap whenever he lost (even when I used every single character, and sometimes stuck to using each move only once or twice per round). I can understand how fighting games can be addicting when you’re good at them and can dominate the competition easily, but I think my early exposure to such a poor loser subconsciously kept me distant from fighting games ever since. Anyways, back to the game. My two favourite aspects of the game were how interesting and varied the characters were, and how easy the move set was to learn. Each character seemed to have at least two projectile moves, and two special physical attacks. I found that this added a lot of balance to the game, since it pretty much didn’t matter what fighter you would use, since you would always have a chance to win. For instance, it’s not like one character can rely on projectiles and stand on the other side of the screen without fear of being hit by a projectile-less opponent. Everyone had a similar balance of attacks, but their attacks were varied enough to make all of them different. For example, you could block Scorpion’s spear, but Sub Zero’s freeze couldn’t be blocked. And yet, if Sub Zero tried to freeze someone twice, the effect would be reversed to freeze himself. I also liked playing mind games with people. I could hold the C Button down for Lui Kang’s flying bicycle kick, and all the while, use the A button combinations for fireballs, and the B button combinations for flying kicks, releasing that C button at the right moment when the opponent doesn’t expect it. Scorpion could use a combination of spear and uppercut attacks. Sub Zero could spam the freeze attack and wait for the opponent to jump over it, and then freeze the ground in front of him so the opponent would slip and fall. Everyone had moves that were to be feared, but those moves were also a weakness for players who would just try to do nothing but spam them, hence, making their play-style predictable for someone who could play a bit more defensively. I also preferred Mortal Kombat II’s battle speed over Street Fighter II. Now, I might have not played the Turbo edition at the time, but that was my mindset back then. However, when I play something like Street Fighter: 3rd Strike now, I find that it’s speed of combat is too fast for me, and I can never take defensive maneuvers against attacks, since I can’t see what they are before they hit me. I can’t ever think of certain moves to use at certain times as well, because I get hit before I’m able to think of it and pull it off. So I may be too much of a noob to handle faster fighters with complex move-sets at the moment, and that’s why Mortal Kombat II is such a perfect, fun fit for me in terms of fighters. It doesn’t run too fast, but it also doesn’t slow to a crawl. I can think of moves and strategies to take and then use them at the right times. And yes, it’s also satisfying where the moves I’m hitting opponents with actually look brutal and painful. I won’t lie, that blood and those fatalities do fit the mood of the game, even though I found many of the fatalities frustrating to try and do, resulting in the opponent just losing balance and falling to the ground. Just to let you know, I’m only a fan of Mortal Kombat II and Ultimate Mortal Kombat III (I do prefer the second game though, due to it feeling more balanced). The first game didn’t have much variety to the character list, and the instalments after the third game just seemed like soulless cash-ins. Still, even though Mortal Kombat plays second fiddle to Street Fighter, the second Mortal Kombat will always come out on top of the two in my books. It’s really all about play styles and the flow of each game, and Mortal Kombat II’s is engaging and entertaining enough for me to earn this spot on my Top 100 list. 88. Psychonauts Developer: Double Fine Productions Released on: XBOX/PS2/PC Release Date: April 19, 2005 (XBOX), June 21, 2005 (PS2), April 26, 2005 (PC) Why are all original game concepts seemingly destined to fail? Okami, Shadow of the Collosus, Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Henry Hatsworth, Mirror’s Edge, MadWorld…they all offer something that we haven’t seen amidst the endless sea of sequels and “me-too” games, and only receive decent to sub-par sales. It’s a shame on how all of the sales will go towards more Grand Theft Auto games and the like, which only limits the development of original content. Instead of embracing originality, developers normally fear it out of the concept that being original won’t net as much money. However, sometimes some developers will break that mould to blow gamers’ minds with something completely different and full of personality. One of those games is Psychonauts on the XBOX. If I could describe what Psychonauts is like, then the closest thing that I could say is that it’s like a playable Tim Burton movie. The writing is really sharp and witty, the characters and world are bizarre and original, the game has this weird, dark, mature sense of humour to it, and the whole experience feels pretty cinematic throughout. Your character, Raz, strives to be a Psychonaut (a member of an organization that’s able to use their psychic powers to enter the minds of people), stumbles upon a school camp that trains individuals with psychic powers, and decides to make his stay there. After being accepted into camp, a mystery starts to develop as the children there begin to be lobotomized, and it’s up to you to retrieve their brains, and enter the minds of residents at the camp in order to unravel the mystery. Psychonauts may seem like a typical platformer at first. The camp is your overworld at the start, and the aspect of entering people’s subconscious is similar to jumping in a painting to Mario 64. As with any platformer there’s plenty of tokens to collect, along with currency, but there are also additional objectives, such as collecting all of the mental baggage within a person’s mind (literally, you find luggage), clearing cobwebs that you can’t pass to access new areas (by clearing them, it also counts as an objective), solving the root of the person’s subconscious problem (whether it’s simply clearing a stage, beating a boss at the end or solving a series of problems), and obtaining new psychic powers. The star of Psychonauts though, is each person’s subconscious. Each level will reflect the personality and innermost thoughts of the people you have to help, and are some of the most bizarre, interesting, uniquely crafted levels that I have seen a game. One moment you’ll be going through a war zone in a drill sergeant’s head, then through a party/disco club stage, then through a Godzilla-like stage where you’re a giant called “Goggalor” (because of the goggles on Raz’ head) stomping through cities inhabited by fish, then through a friendly neighbourhood filled with spies as you solve a mystery about the milkman, then through a drama set, then through a mexican-like city about bulls and paintings, and many more. Some levels I mentioned may seem normal, but they are abnormally designed. For example, on the milkman stage, the streets will twist and turn so much, that the street will curve up above you so you feel like you’re on the ceiling when you traverse to it. The disco stage is the funkiest thing you may see, with bright colours all about, fans to make you float upward, and a large tunnel/pipe stretch to race down on a psychic mass of energy that you can create to roll and bounce on. The Mexican-like city will force you to stick near the rooftops, since a large painted bull will run in and out of paintings at ground level to crush you, and enemies will try to chase you back down to the streets. You’ll also have to fight a bunch of wrestlers in the ring that the person who you’re occupying couldn’t overcome. In the drama set, you’ll take part in a play, and have to find ways of altering the set to get to objectives. And the best of all, is the Goggalor stage, since you can climb large buildings as well as crushing them by doing a stomp move. You can step on the fish, wreck havoc on the town’s military and ride the subway trains (not inside them, but on top) to reach other islands. The psychic powers are also some of the most unique abilities I’ve seen in a game. Use pyrokenesis to set foes ablaze. Use levitation to create that ball of psychic energy below you to roll on or to use as a floatation device in midair. Shoot lasers with your mind. Use clairvoyance to see through the eyes of those closeby. Use your mind to create a bubble shield, or to go invisible for a short time. Telekenesis allows you to pick up objects and hurl them at people, and you can even cause Confusion to others to make them forget who they are to attack each other while you sit on the sidelines. Each power up is upgradeable and there are even some items that prove really useful, such as smelling salts to let you leave each world, or a piece of bacon that will summon an old man to stick his head out of your ear and give you advice. I can’t even scratch the surface on Psychonauts story and level design without confusing you, since it’s one of the most bizarre videogame worlds out there. All I can say is that it bursts with originality and colour, and with the help of a very talented voice cast, Psychonauts contains one of the most refreshing stories/adventures that I have ever experienced, and the gameplay and missions that you carry out are extremely compelling. Maybe I have a few more words that can describe it. Abstract. Twisted. An out of mind experience. I don’t know, it’s all F’d up, but in a good way. Just trust me when I recommended trying something original. I don’t think any game can ever be as creative as this one. 87. Dr. Mario Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Released on: NES/GB Release Date: October 1990 Ah, Dr. Mario. For me, this was the best NES puzzler out there, and don’t get me wrong. I’ll let you know that Tetris still makes the Top 100 list, but not for the NES version. Dr. Mario easily takes that title for me by creating a new spin on Tetris. In this game, the objective isn’t to just endlessly clear rows of blocks, but to kill the viruses in the bottle with the power of drugs. As the viruses sit in that jar, contaminating it, it’s up to Dr. Mario to throw pills of the corresponding colours to match each virus to send them back to hell. See the black line in the middle of the pill? Each pill is basically composed of two blocks. When you match 3 blocks (1 and a half pills) above or beside a virus, they die. And when you clear all of a particular colour of virus, you can even see it squirm before it vaporizes in the magnifying glass in the lower left hand corner of the screen, which is so satisfying and infinitely more badass then Tetris’ disappearing blocks. When you defeat all of the viruses, you’re clearly the man, and can move onto the next stage. All joking aside, Dr. Mario is a very fun and frantic game. With the inclusion of the viruses, it does increase the risk of the player accidently cluttering up the screen with pills. However, it offers a different kind of variety than Tetris since you have an actual goal, instead of infinitely playing for a higher score. Each round will present more viruses within the jar, and the dropping speed of the pills will increase. The final stage (I think there are 99 of them) is absolutely brutal, and I could swear that I was actually able to complete it once when I was a kid. Another interesting element is when you destroy pills, any leftover colours that you didn’t match will fall down the screen on top of something else, which adds a further layer of strategy. So if you’re not watching where your remaining colours could drop, you could create an uncurable situation resulting in your demise. Depending on your tastes for a challenge, Dr. Mario can be very rewarding and satisfying to keep at it, or incredibly frustrating if you can’t plan ahead. I believe that it has a steady learning curve, kickass music, and the adjustable stage and difficulty selection meter ensures that you don’t have to enter passwords or play until you reach the stage that you got to last time. Dr. Mario is just simple to play, but difficult to master and took over many, many nights of my early childhood. 86. Max Payne Developer: Remedy Entertainment, Rockstar Vienna/Toronto Released on: XBOX/PS2/PC Release Date: Dec, 2001 (XBOX/PS2), July 25, 2001 (PC) Max Payne for the XBOX is one of the very few third person shooters that I actually consider to be great, rather than just “okay”. Third person shooters just never seem to grip me, as I’m always finding the plots paper thin or generic, and controls and aiming are often very stiff and clunky. I’m basically an “FPS or nothing” kind of guy, even though I’m not FPS obsessed either. With Max Payne it’s different. The game’s narrative is a dark, film noir style of story told through cutscenes that are like reading a graphic novel with voice overs. At first, I didn’t like the style and wondered why they couldn’t just tell the story with cinematics, but as I played the game over and over again, it’s comic book style actually grew on me. Not only is the way the story is conveyed finely handled, but the actual story itself is gripping from start to finish, and even some parts of the story are told in-game as you play through them. It may seem like a typical revenge story, but in the way the story is told, and how it integrates seamlessly with the gameplay, it works. Speaking of seamless, so is the gameplay. While I don’t know how high the bar has been raised in terms of a TPS setting a standard for fluent control, I hardly ever felt myself wrestling with the controls in this game. You can move in all directions and you can strafe, as well as dive in front of you, backwards, and to the sides. Not only that, but you can shoot as you dive, as turn your body in midair to shoot in any direction before you hit the ground. If you bust down a door and dive inside on your side to shoot that guy hiding behind the right side of the doorway, you may notice shots coming at you from the left side of the doorway (behind you) that you didn’t anticipate. In that case, after dispatching the right guy, you could turn your body in midair before you land to shoot the people behind you. But how could you react fast enough to shoot those guys? With bullet-time, that is. Yes, I’m sure were all sick of hearing about bullet-time (a function in a game that allows you to slow down time to make yourself a harder to hit target as well as making it easier to target your foes that are moving in slow motion), but Max Payne was one of the first to utilize it, as far as I can recall. It made the gameplay much smoother when you used it, and if you found yourself in a case of extreme danger, you could slow down time, look around the room as you shot people, assess your situation and position as you may not have enough bullet-time left or have picked off enough enemies to clear the room, and get your ass out of there or behind cover before you’re overwhelmed with bullets. In the case of many other third person shooters, my character may have been to slow and clunky to look around, find a place for cover, slowly turn around, run to the cover slowly, get behind it, turn back around towards the enemies and finally duck. All the while, my character would be a bullet sponge, ending up in critical condition or dead before I make it to my desired location. In Max Payne’s case, you can slow down time to know what to do, and dive and shoot your way towards your cover/exit. Does it make the game easier? A little bit, I won’t lie (luckly, you have a meter, limiting how much you can use it, although you can refill it my killing enemies). However, it makes the game much more fluid and enjoyable, and gives the whole thing a John Woo-appeal. Other factors that come into play are the difficulty, weapons and immersion. Max Payne has a self-adjusting difficulty for the standard difficulty mode, which ensures that things never get too frustrating or easy. So the enemies may ease up on you a little if you’re ending up in a seemingly impossible situation, or the game will get harder if you find yourself breezing through it. Weapons include a pipe, bat, different kinds of handguns, uzis (you can dual wield handguns and uzis), assault rifles, different kinds of shotguns, grenades, molotiv cocktails, grenade launchers and sniper rifles. All of these weapons may seem like your standard fare, but they cover every situation you could fine yourself in. Plus, they looked pretty visceral and brutal when you use them against enemies, especially in slow-mo. For the immersion side of things, bullet holes will remain on everything after shooting them. Objects can break, such as bottles, and objects that can be used for cover can even eventually be destroyed. The game also remains cinematic with the visceral combat, which always makes you feel like you’re in an action movie, but the transition between locations also feels seamless. Some levels will take you in and out of multiple buildings (and the buildings themselves can feel like actual buildings. Not just one or two floors that you can access), on rooftops, and out on the street, all within one level. The graphic novel scenes always seem to flow in the right places at the right time, and never once did the game stop me off on any side missions or areas that had nothing to do with the story. The flow of the game constantly kept me immersed, moving forward, and shooting everything. On a side note, I have to share a funny little story about the game when I first played it. On the final boss where you have to destroy an escaping helicopter on top of a building, the game let on that I had to shoot out the cables that were supporting a metal tower on the building, so that the tower would lose balance and would fall on that chopper. I ended up shooting out all of the cables, but nothing happened. The tower simply would not fall. As my last few seconds were running out before the chopper escaped, I took out my rage on the stupid tower with my grenade launcher. With literally one second left, a cutscene activated, showing the tower fall over, crushing the helicopter. Talk about absolute, dumb luck. Oh, and don’t worry, I didn’t spoil much about the plot. So many action movies involve the villain trying to escape in a helicopter, and I probably did a favour for someone by mentioning what to do. In a nutshell, I can say that Max Payne was a very fluid, seamless, well-controlled cinematic gunfight through New York. Never once did I feel as if the control was getting in my way, or that the game was slowing down (except for bullet time), or that the combat was dull. I guess the closest thing I can compare it to is Metal Gear Solid in terms of being cinematic. If you liked the movie-like feel of that game then Max Payne could be right up your alley. Just replace the whole sneaking and stealth bit for diving head first into a hail of bullets with guns a-blazing. 85. Suikoden II Developer: Konami Released on: PS1 Release Date: Sept 29, 1999 Suikoden II is an incredible RPG on the original Playstation, as well as one of the rarest and most sought out RPGs out there. A used copy over Ebay can even be worth somewhere between the $100 - $150 range. Luckily for me, I picked up a used copy a few years after the Playstation had stopped producing games for $19.99 at a local video rental store (with the disk having hardly any scratches, as well as the case and instructions). The copy wasn’t even for sale and was only up for rental. Still, I asked the manager behind the counter if I could just buy it off the store, seeing as how the Playstation games didn’t seem to be getting rented out that much, and he ended up selling it to me. I’m assuming that he or any of the other staff weren’t hardcore gamers, or else that copy would have been held in reserve for an employee when it went on sale, as I see in most video rental stores/pawn shops around here. That must have been my lucky year since I also bought a used copy of Xenogears from the same franchise chain, only downtown this time for the same price. Even though I heard it was a great game and I wanted to try it, I ended up selling it to a friend for $200 (which I believe is hardly possible to do, even on Ebay with most used games). Best 20 bucks I ever spent. Anyways, back to Suikoden II. If you’ve never played a Suikoden game before, the series contains a lot of elements that make it original and separates it from many other RPGs. The most well-known trait that Suikoden games possess is the ability to recruit up to 108 characters in your party by the end of the game (although some party members are only supportive, and don’t actually participate in battle). This element can be incredibly addictive to work at, and can dramatically increase the overall playtime in a Suikoden title. You can find all sorts of party members to build up an exact combination of party members in battle (you can also have up to six people participating in fights) to cover any situation that you will find them important for. Use as many ranged, melee, technique-based or magic-based members as you see fit, as long as you’ve found them. Find blacksmiths, item vendors, a person who can teleport you around the world map, and so forth to use as secondary skills to make traversing the world more easily. Plus, in battles, putting certain characters in your battle party will allow them to do combination attacks together, making it more vital to strategize as to who you’re taking along. Another interesting element to these games is obtaining your own fortress. Somewhere along in the storyline for each game you’ll obtain your very own headquarters for all of the recruits you have obtained to reside in. As you gain more recruits, you gain access to more functions, like I mentioned with the blacksmith or item vendors, but also other features like magic shops, inns, detective agencies, etc…Even though you can visit other towns for some of these features, by the end of the game your base will offer the best upgrades, and seeing as how it’s your fortress, story events will often bring you back there anyway, giving you a good base of operations to prepare for the events ahead. Another quick aspect I’ll touch on are the strategic battles that take place. In certain situations a full on war-scale battle will develop, in which you must assign characters from your huge pool of recruits to take part in. There are three types of troops on Suikoden II’s field (sword/spear units, bow and arrow units, and units on horses) which work out like a game of rock/paper/scissors. It’s up to you to know where to place and engage other units with your strong ones, while keeping your units that are weaker to a certain kind of attacker away and covered by your strong ones. As a Fire Emblem-style feature, some of your recruits can die for good if they fall in these battles, in which it is critical to teach players to value the lives of their party members and not to just send everyone out into battle and hope they can win, despite making sacrifices. I know it seems as if I’ve only been talking about the Suikoden series as a whole so far, and not this particular entry, but I was just laying out a few of the bare elements that separates a Suikoden game from other RPGs. Suikoden II’s story alone is it’s greatest aspect, which pretty much defines it’s experience apart from other Suikoden games. I’ll have to say that it contains the darkest story out of the bunch, with plenty of wars, battle plans and strategies being played out against the other side, betrayals, backstabbing, tragedy, death…you know, the usual stuff. However, Suikoden II’s story is just so well written and properly paced (along with some unexpected plot twists), that you’re always wanting to see what happens next, and are never trapped in any useless sidequests that have nothing to do with the story. Any sidequests that do happen are usually devoted to obtaining new members. Speaking of new members, I found the cast to be very memorable. Your rival, Joey, who seems to be caught in between both sides of the war, never seems good or evil, and only takes action based on what he believes will help end the war and create peace, even if a few sacrifices have to be made (although he would prefer as few as possible). The villain Luca Blight, was more insane than Kefka from Final Fantasy VI in my opinion, so fans of the psychotic villain should be more than pleased. I would mention more of the cast, but I’m starting to draw out this game’s description a little too much (that and there are also too many characters to put in the spotlight), that I’ll have to get to the point. Great character development ensues, based on the actions of each side of the war. The plot and characters (as well as character design) really drove Suikoden II home for me, along with the amount of character and base customization, the fast paced and strategic battle system, and incredible music. All of these factors put together just creates an overall balanced and compelling RPG that doesn’t follow a typical hero tagging along with a few friends to save the world. It’s about someone gathering together a whole rebellion in order to overthrow a warring nation to bring peace to the country (I just realized how Star Wars-ish that sounded, but for an RPG it felt fresh). Suikoden II was an absolutely epic RPG that just happened to get overshadowed by some of the bigger name ones during the PS1’s lifespan. Even if you don’t like RPGs and you happen to see Suikoden II for a cheap price, pick it up! You just might find your next RPG obsession, and if not, then at least you’ve got about $150 bucks in your pocket when you sell it. 84. Ninja Gaiden Developer: Team Ninja Released on: XBOX, PS3 Release Date: March 2, 2004 Despite sucking at the original Ninja Gaiden games on the NES, I still had a lot of fun with them. Sure, I couldn’t get very far, but the gameplay was always entertaining to say the least. So when I booted up Ninja Gaiden for the XBOX for the first time, I expected to get my ass kicked, but maybe not as much as the NES games. Needless to say, I was close to the truth, but oh, so very wrong at certain points in the game. At those times the difficulty can seem legendary, and almost caused me to drop the game completely only a few hours in, due to one insanely cheap boss fight that involves beating some armoured guy on a horse with a spear. I’m glad and proud to say that I eventually returned to it a year or so later and persisted until I finally beat the game, and am I ever happy that I didn’t let one obstacle block away an incredible action game for me. As I’ve mentioned, Ninja Gaiden is incredibly hard, relentless, and won’t hesitate for a moment to hand your ass to you on a platter. Possibly the only negative about this game is the few moments of sheer frustration. The boss on the horse at the beginning will hit you so early on in the game that you will have next to no time to prepare for the encounter. Since you can only save up enough funds for possibly one upgrade before then, you’re basically left with nothing but your sword, reflexes, and a horrendous camera. Not only does the boss gain a height and speed advantage with his horse, but archers will continuously shoot at you and respawn until the boss is defeated. Since the camera is so awful at this particular point in the game (at any other time, it’s pretty much fine), you can never see where the archers are shooting from, and it’s hard to keep a bead on where the boss is. You have to keep moving, and hope that you have enough luck not to get hit or combo chained much, and pray that you kill him before he kills you. Once you make it past that point though, the game remains very challenging, but rarely frustrating (due to better camera control and upgradeable equipment and restorative items that you can save up for). However, there is an extremely frustrating segment halfway through the game where the camera is also so awful that you won’t be able to see the platforms that you have to jump on while at the same time, dodging sentinels that snipe you with lasers (knocking you off the platforms) in a warehouse. The sentinels would continuously respawn after they were killed, which makes the whole purpose of destroying them, pointless. Even though I’m putting Ninja Gaiden in a frustrating light, these few portions of the game are the only ones that will test your patience. Waiting beyond all of that is a rewarding, deep action game that I would recommend to anyone to stick with. The game always maintains a pace that forces the player to constantly move, strategize on which foes to focus on first and what to dispatch them with. Blocking and dodging plays a huge part within Ryu’s moveset, eliminating the boredom of a constant offensive with no other strategies to take. Enemies will constantly attempt to ambush, surround and backstab you as you’re fighting off others. This onslaught will always force you to run, jump, run on walls, use aerial combat, use projectiles to stop people from shooting you or to just slow them down before they surround you, rain down your Ninpo (ninja magic) on enemies/bosses during tight situations and switch weapons depending on the weight, strength or agility of your foes. You can even use an ultimate attack that requires standing still to absorb the souls of fallen enemies to release a powerful area clearing attack that puts you at risk to charge up with, but pays off when you use it. The combat is just so smooth, balanced and furious, running at a consistent frame rate, and incredibly varied, that it makes it a perfect game to play to rise up to such a high level of challenge. On a final note while I’m talking about challenge, the bosses require a lot of memorization, good reflexes and proper item/magic use in order to overcome. I found these bosses to be the absolute highlight of the game. Whether it was when I beat the first version of Alma within a sliver of my life (hitting her in the end with my huge fireball ninpo as she flew right towards my face, followed by a cutscene of the building we’re in exploding), or fighting the massive and impressive bone dragon, these bosses always instilled a sense of panic and peril, requiring you to fight calmly and rationally to overcome them. In my experience, whenever I defeated a boss, it was mostly within an inch of my life, which made the end result of defeating them rewarding, exhilarating, and satisfying. Also, at the end of each chapter you get graded/scored, which is great for multiple playthroughs. And all of this is coming from someone who has beaten it on Normal Mode. I would get absolutely destroyed in the harder modes. For an action game, Ninja Gaiden still holds up extremely well today. Even the graphics are still impressive since the game pretty much pushed the Xbox to full power. Right at a time when people said games were getting far too easy, this gem (and Devil May Cry 3) came along and punched that statement right back through their faces, and it felt right. 83. Worms: World Party Developer: Team 17/Two Tribes B.V. Released on: DC, PS1, PC, GBA Release Date: March 16, 2001 One of the most passively fun multiplayer games around, the Worms series is a perfect one to just sit around the TV, relax, eat some food, and talk with your friends as the next person takes their turn, and then swear up a storm that would even make God cry as half of your team of worms has just been sent into the stratosphere by exploding bananas. I’m sure everyone here knows what Worms is, and how it plays. Your worms sit on a landscape that can be randomly generated, and each player waits for their turn (much like a game of chess) to attack the other teams’ worms on the map with their inventory of weapons, while avoiding hazards on the map, as well as accidently killing themselves with their own weaponry if the player is not careful enough. 4 players can play with their own separate teams, or people can join the same colour, for 2 vs. 1 vs. 1 matches, 2 vs. 2 matches, 3 vs. 1 matches, and so forth. There are so many redeeming factors about Worms that make it an experience like no other. I love the design of each map in the game, as each will contain their own wacky theme and assortment of objects for the worms to fight on. While the map’s objects never move (like the squid in the screenshot), they’re still fun to fight on, and they offer plenty of advantages/disadvantages based on where your worms are standing. Some worms may have a height advantage, so they can easily shoot some other worms below, and then backtrack for a few seconds behind a barrier that any of the surviving worms can’t shoot past. Or if you’re the one with a height disadvantage, you may be able to hide in a deep hole in the ground that you’re opponent may miss throwing a grenade into. Players can shoot through any of the map’s terrain, making it fully destructible. This can be incredibly satisfying if you manage to blow apart all of the terrain they are standing on, when they can’t reach your landscape, causing them to drown in the murky ocean. Another great aspect about the maps, is how it isn’t always just an island that your worms are on. Sometimes, you’ll fight in caves with multiple floors and a ceiling at the top, making combat more cramped and hectic. You might also start on tiny little rocks above the water, while you’re below a floating mass of land that you must rope/jet pack up to before you drown. Also, just to note, the longer a match takes to finish, sudden death mode may arise, making the water level continuously rise until the last team is standing. I absolutely adore the level design, because no matter how many rounds you play, no match will end the same way twice. The worms are randomly dropped off on different points on the map, so no player will ever end up in a favourable spot by their own choice. While sometimes it can seem like some of your worms are placed in absolute horrible circumstances against your will, it still does keep things interesting. Especially if you’re able to escape from that place and survive, and it’s even funnier when you can knock your opponent into an impossible-to-survive spot, like an island too far from land, filled with explosive canisters. The whole degree of randomness in the level design makes the game infinitely replayable, along with the absurd weapon set. As for the weapons to destroy others with, they’re not only hilariously timeless in some cases, but almost all of them have their own usefulness, creating a wide balance of options to rely on. While you usually start out with weak weapons such as uzis, shotguns, uppercuts, mines, and regular grenades, you can find more powerful weapons on the field (sometimes you start the match off with them, depending on your weapon set that you choose), such as the banana bomb (a highly explosive banana that releases smaller explosive bananas like a cluster bomb, except more powerful), explosive sheep that will bounce along the terrain until you detonate them, the holy hand grenade (which is the most powerful explosive in the game), air strikes (useful for calling, to hit campers that you can’t reach), and so forth. You’ll even have an assortment of items to rely on to help you traverse the terrain quicker (since your worm only has a small time limit to move to where it needs to be on the map), such as ninja ropes (that will let an experienced gamer grapple and swing around the map like Spiderman), teleporters to instantly escape (uses up a turn just to teleport though), blowtorches to dig through terrain, and parachutes to sail over dangerous gaps with. Since the weapon sets are so balanced and that there are always crates of new weapons falling in random places, it always creates races and fights over each crate, and provides tons of choices as of how to unleash hell on your opponents. Sometimes you may build up the best assortment of weapons and rain down carnage on everyone for above, but if you turn the situation around, your worms could be near the water, in which you’ll be worrying about your own survival first and getting to safety (giving your opponents time to prepare or a chance to take you down while you’re occupied). As with the level design, the constant drops of weapons as well as the infinite amounts of situations that forces you to use your inventory in different ways, always makes each match a new, interesting one, keeping you on your toes and thinking strategically. As long as you have friends to play Worms with, it’s an amazing (and very humorous) experience. Unfortunately, I found the single player campaign boring to tinker around with, as you just have to lead your worms towards certain objectives with very limited resources. For this reason and a few others, Worms gets bumped down my list quite a bit. You can also set matches up against bots, and while they can be fun by yourself for awhile, they never match the fun of playing with another human opponent. Just watching the expression on your friend’s face as you send them to oblivion, or wondering how in the hell they managed to navigate the level over the huge ocean between you and him/her as they merely poke you into the depths below is priceless, that no artificial intelligence can recreate. I will say that the bots are useful though if you only have a couple players, and want an extra opponent on the map. Still, the bots and single player campaign don’t make Worms a very fun experience on it’s own, so the only time I can truly have fun with it is when I’m playing with others, which is sometimes a bit rare to have a party of friends who are familiar with it in my area. If you’re into multiplayer carnage, but you and your friends have a little patience, then a good Worms game is absolutely worth it. And why did I pick Worms: World Party for the Dreamcast? Because it’s one of the only Worms games that I own and have ever played. Plus, this is the only version of Worms that I can play on a TV (my other one is for the DS), and the weapon set is incredibly balanced and chaotic in my opinion. 82. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 (Xbox Live) / Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS) Developer: Bizarre Creations Released on: XBLA (Retro Evolved 2), DS and Wii (Galaxies) Release Date: July 30, 2008 (Retro Evolved 2), Nov 27, 2007 (Galaxies) Whether it’s Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 purchased from XBOX Live, or Geometry Wars: Galaxies on your Nintendo DS, you can’t go wrong with either if you’re in the mood for an amazing old school shoot em’ up to play in short spurts of time. Both versions of the game are very similar to each other, but have perks to owning each version. With the console version, you get prettier visuals, more kickass music, and a higher emphasis on multiplayer (up to 4 players) and a variety of cooperative and competitive modes. For the handheld version, this makes an incredible game to take with you to play in small increments, contains a 2 player cooperative mode to build up the highest score before losing all of your lives that requires only one cartridge, and even has a single player mode filled with various addictive (and challenging) objectives. Both versions of the game tie for the same place for me, because while they both have their own practical purposes and modes, they both revolve around the same simply addicting gameplay mechanic: flying around and shooting shapes while trying not to let them kill you. It’s really all about getting the highest score before you perish, and Geometry Wars may seem like it doesn’t have much variety to it’s gameplay on the outside. However, that’s what made these old school concepts so fun and addicting. You didn’t need a story, complex gameplay mechanics, vast roaming landscapes and hyper realistic graphics to make something fun. All you needed was that core gameplay mechanic that was compelling and impossible not to return to for just one more round. And even though it’s core gameplay mechanic is still good on it’s own, Geometry Wars still manages to provide so many different modes and multiplayer support on top of it. So yes, you’re just supposed to shoot shapes while you’re trapped in an arena, shooting as much as you can, trying not to die until you lose your last life. You start off in a basic, large square arena, and a few different shapes will slowly head towards you. That’s fine. Each shape moves in a different pattern, but they’re moving so slow that you can easily react and shoot them. Minutes later, more shapes and a higher number of enemies are moving into the field. Now there are more different patterns of movement to memorize, and space is starting to become a little cramped. Waves of enemies are flying in different directions towards you, but the waves are pretty much coming one at a time, so you can focus on blasting away while you retreat. A few minutes later, things are just getting insane. There are too many different shapes that you can possibly keep track of. A row of orange arrows will line up across on the screen and streak your way, forcing you to blow a hole through the wall. Those snake-like enemies are all twisting, turning and streaking towards you, and the orange head to them (their weakness) makes them hard to hit. Seas of tiny blue triangles are heading near you in packs of waves from every direction, and those triangles don’t stay in one solid formation, as some of them are swaying away from the pack, blocking any opening you might try to squeeze through. Those damn purple pinwheels keep multiplying and fanning out as you kill them. There’s so much **** on the screen, and you’re surprised that you’re shooting paths through them, and evading/weaving through all of the tiny openings on the screen. Then you hear that high pitched sound as a red homing shape comes careening towards you almost faster than you can react. You turn in a tight U-Turn and blow it away from behind as it barely misses you, but since you were focusing on it so much, there’s no more space to move, and too many enemies to shoot. The pack closes in from all directions, and BOOM! You’re dead. Oh wait, you have one more life left since you managed to get enough points to earn you one. That’s how Geometry Wars always feels. Fast paced and frantic, always encouraging you to try and survive to build up the highest score possible. Other modes also work their way in, ensuring that not all you’re doing is playing in an infinite survival contest. Take Retro Evolved 2 for example. There are modes like King where you only have one life and cannot shoot, except when you fly in the blue circles that appear in the arena. You can shoot from within the circle and enemies cannot enter it, until that circle turns red seconds later and disappears, forcing you to move from safe zone to safe zone while shooting a path to the next, as you’re defenceless when you leave. Pacifism gives you one life and takes away your ability to shoot, but you can destroy enemies when they’re nearby a gate, and you fly through it, causing it to explode. Sequence is a series of twenty levels with predetermined enemy patterns in each that requires you to defeat all enemies in each round in sixty seconds or you will lose a life. When you lose a life for that reason or are simply defeated by an enemy, you move onto the next round until you either win or lose all your lives. Waves will send a constant stream of those orange arrows that line up the screen horizontally and vertically your way, that gets faster and faster, while you have to shoot increasingly challenging groups of added enemies. Finally, there’s a mode that gives you infinite lives, but encourages you to get the highest score within 3 minutes. The DS’ single cartridge multiplayer only has one mode which is the standard survival mode. I haven’t played anyone else who owned a copy of the game, so I can’t say what additional modes may lay there. Still, it’s a great mode to play with someone else in short spurts for the DS. Retro Evolved 2 has a more complex offering for multiplayer. You can play all of it’s modes competitively or cooperatively with 3 other friends, and can even forms teams of all sizes for competitive and cooperative play. To touch back on the DS version, the single player mode (Galaxies) has the player advancing from planet to planet, completing series of challenges. For each challenge, you’re placed in a different shaped arena, with different enemy patters, and different high score standards to meet (bronze, silver and gold medals are awarded for different milestones). All the while, you’ll be collecting geoms to level up your AI partner ship to make things a bit easier. There has to be around 100 challenges to complete in the single player, and they are all challenging and satisfying to take on, and they record all of your high scores so you can keep coming back to particular challenges. Wow, it seems like I’ve written quite a novel for such a simple game, but deep down it offers so much more to players than a regular old school shooter, while still maintaining the familiarity of one. You can get Retro Evolved 2 for 800 Microsoft points on XBOX Live or Galaxies for around $20 on the DS. I say that you can’t go wrong with either one, or both if you enjoy it enough. As I say, it’s some of the simplest games in life that are the most addictive, which makes the Geometry Wars series such a good “in-between games” game and fun multiplayer experience all around. 81. Crazy Taxi Developer: Hitmaker, Strangelite Released for: DC, PS2, GC, PC Release Date: Jan 24, 2000 (DC), May 14, 2001 (PS2), Nov 17, 2001 (GC), June 28, 2002 (PC) I basically don’t like the racing genre. Any racing games that tries to keep things grounded to reality as closely as possible, usually bore the hell out of me. The Gran Turisimo series never clicked with me, as I found the gameplay to be too slow and technical, and for a series like Need for Speed, while it is a more fast paced game which makes it more fun, is still just another standard “drive to the finish line” game with cops placed in from time to time. When games come too close to reality, they start to lose me from what drags me into gaming in the first place, which is the part where it’s supposed to be a game and is just for fun. They’re supposed to enable you to do things that you can’t do in real life, and can parallel your life to the opposite end of the spectrum. While there are other racing games that are somewhat grounded to reality but provide a higher emphasis on furiously fast races/destruction of vehicles (Burnout: Revenge) and exhilarating driving techniques (drifting in Ridge Racer 4 and Project Gotham racing 3) which I find more fun, even they cannot make it into my Top 100 list (although they come a bit close). It’s the games that separate themselves furthest from reality that I enjoy the most. Road Rash II’s violence and obstacle-ridden courses were one gameplay mechanic that I found fun, hilarious and addicting, but Crazy Taxi’s (on the Dreamcast) gameplay is just simply…crazier. Crazy Taxi isn’t your standard racing game in which you have to cross a finish line at the end. It’s not even multiplayer. The point of the game is to navigate through one of two huge cities as fast as you can to pick up customers who need a ride to another point in the city. The whole structure is based off a whole “get from point A to point B” setup, but the route that you take to each drop off point is usually different. While you can try and memorize the best and quickest streets to tear down to drop your customer off, there are hundreds (maybe close to a thousand?) of different customers standing around who need rides to different locations. So you can pick which customers out of the hundreds to help, ensuring that you’re always having a different experience going to different locations each time you play. Customers will have three different coloured rings around them. Red means that their destination is close-by, so while these fares are easy to achieve, you won’t gain many tips by the time you make it to their drop off, as well as not much of a final fare. They are easy for a quick buck if no one else is around. Yellow means an average length trip for your customer, and green will result in a very long trip (sometimes taking you across a whole city), allowing you to build up tons of tips and to receive a very nice fare at the end if you get them to their destination quick enough. Speaking of tips, they allow you to build up an even higher fare during your trip to take a customer to their destination instead of just receiving a sum of money for a job well done. To earn tips, the customer encourages you to drive insanely without crashing your car into stuff. By driving very close to traffic, you will rack up tips, and you can gain a lot more tips even faster when you drive on the opposite side of the road, weaving slightly out of the way of incoming traffic. Also, by ramping off of stuff and gaining serious air, you gain more tips depending on how much hang time you get. It’s kind of funny about how virtually every customer in the city will support reckless driving and the possible endangerment of other’s lives, until their known life is at risk. Whenever you collide with an object you lose the multiplier on your tips, forcing gamers to play more skilfully (but not cautiously) to build up as much money as possible. At least when you run into other vehicles and obstacles, they’ll crash, fling out of the way, or fly over your car as you bowl over them. While you will slow down, just nicking a car won’t bring you to a complete stop, which always keeps the game at a constant speed. You won’t get to run over people in the game (they always dive out of the way), but let’s face it. If you could, after running over a few people, you would just get distracted from your overall goal and focus on killing people instead of gaining the highest fare possible before your 5 or 10 minute time limit runs out. All in all Crazy Taxi is insanely addicting because of it’s fast paced aspect and tight gameplay. It ties together a racing game and an old school arcade game about building up the highest score, and works perfectly. The two cities are so large and diverse with the amount of routes you can take, and placements of various obstacles and ramps, that you’ll pretty much feel like you’re on a rollercoaster. You’re always moving, weaving, crashing into stuff, finding secret locations and pathways to take (such as driving through train tunnels, underwater to reach the next shoreline, etc.) and are in a process of constantly gaining money as the time is ticking down. It may seem like a pretty mindless game, and in a way it is. But Crazy Taxi always rewards those who take the time to find all of the best routes and secrets in the game, and pays off for driving skilfully. My only complaint with this game is that they should have added a city or two more. While the two cities in this game are very large and it will take you a long time to learn the inns and outs of them, a little more variety couldn’t have hurt. But I guess that’s what the sequels were for. Anyways, if you can find this game for a reasonable price and have similar tastes to mine when it comes to racers, give it a try. A lot of racers nowadays may seem cookie-cutter, but this game is simply crazier than them all. 80. Life Force Developer: Konami Released on: NES Release Date: August 1, 1988 As the only 2D shmup on my list, Life Force on the NES really had to differentiate itself from others of it’s genre to make it here. Having just recently started getting into the whole shmup scene, I’ve realized that many of them play the same, only with different enemies/power-ups. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I find that most shmups actually play well, most of them that I’ve played so far are all too similar…and single player. With the exception to the single player scene being Ikaruga (which I’ve recently gotten into), there’s just something about working through a hard-as-nails shmup with someone by your side that you can strategize and grow together with, that just seems timeless and infinitely replayable (even if you’re using the 30 life code). One of the best parts about Life Force is that it uses the level design and power-up system of the Gradius series, and makes it cooperative. The Gradius games are stellar games on their own, and if Life Force didn’t exist, I would have added Gradius III in this spot on the list. However, since both games are so similar and I don’t want to waste two spots on this list talking about nearly identical shmups, I’ve got to pick Life Force for the sheer fun of playing cooperatively, on top of the awesome design based off of Gradius. First of all, I have to mention about how much I love the dark, difficult level design of this game. Whether you’re flying through a tunnel of body/brain organs that will spread out and form walls to destroy your ship, to a canyon/volcano that’s filled with gun turrets and that rains down rocks on you, to passing through a fiery, sun-like planet, akin to the Solar planet in Starfox 64 (which sends arcs of lava your way), to a moon-like surface that ends in a trip through an egyptian temple, to the enemies’ base with Stone Moai heads floating/spinning around shooting lasers at you (complete with the screen scrolling really fast at the end as you try to avoid crashing into the series of closing doors as you make your escape), Life Force has plenty of variety. Not only do enemies and enemy fire swarm the screen at all times, but the environment will often try to destroy your ship, putting an emphasis on good old NES pattern memorization/quick reflexes. While the game tends to be very short (it may take only 30 minutes or so to run through), it always remains very challenging. Beating it with the 30 life code made the game only moderately difficult, but despite that, it’s an intense 30 minutes. Without the code, this 30 minute game actually seems possible to beat with a ton of skill/practice, and is a lot more challenging with only 3 lives. If it were any longer, 3 lives probably wouldn’t be enough to keep most players alive to complete the game, and if Konami gave us a few more levels and a few more lives, it would only take much longer to get closer to the end, losing it’s accessible nature if the player loses and has to cover a lot more ground all over again. It’s a short, but challenging game, and rewards players for learning the ins and outs of the adventure, while throwing more casual players a bone by giving them access to the 30 life code (providing that they know about it). For those who haven’t played Life Force or a Gradius game in general, the power up system is the best I’ve experienced in a shmup. You’ll see seven blue bars at the bottom of the screen under your score. When you obtain an orange orb (usually from defeating certain enemies), you’ll see the first bar out of your seven, grow bigger, showing the name of the power up inside. For example, the first power up is to increase your ship’s overall speed. But if you don’t activate the speed power up, you can grab another orange orb, and see the next bar standing out instead (which shows a missile). After activating a power up, your bar will reset, and you’ll have to gain more orbs to activate a different power up. The best part is, if you’ve already gained the missile, you can grab a few more orbs and activate a speed increase, while still keeping your missiles. So in Life Force, there is no possibility of you grabbing a downgrade to your gun (unless you’re not paying attention and activate a certain gun on the lower bar to replace your current gun). The weapons/features include the two already mentioned (you can also keep upgrading the speed of your ship multiple times), a shot that has a circular ripple effect to hit a wider area, a laser that can pierce through any target ahead of you in one shot, a small partner ship that will fly along side you and shoot whenever you do, and a force shield that lets you sustain more damage than one hit before you die. Also, speaking of death, you do lose your power up, but the game at least puts you back to the first bar (speed), so that you don’t start out with nothing. I know that shmups are not much to write home about in terms of originality, and judging from the description I’ve given, one might wonder why this game is worth putting on my Top 100 List. All I can say, is that it’s straight up fun (and even way more so with someone else to play with), has smooth controls, a great power up system, interesting levels, and a difficulty curve that will tend to newcomers and veterans alike. It may be short, but it doesn’t take you ages to finish, which breaks the tedium and frustration and just provides the player with a good challenge. Not all games have to be long to make a Top 100 List. They just have to remain fun and very replayable, which is exactly what Life Force accomplishes. 79. Fable Developer: Lionhead Studios/Big Blue Box Released on: XBOX, PC Release Date: Sept 14, 2004 Sometimes more isn’t always better. Wait, am I criticizing Fable as soon as I added it to this list? No, I’m actually talking about the disappointment known as Fable II. The original Fable is awesome (and was on last generation hardware, no less)! The first Fable for the XBOX may not have had shiny next-gen graphics, a bigger world, jobs or cooperative play, but it’s world had a lot more character, balance and challenge than it’s sequel. I believe that Fable was my first open ended, western RPG. Even though it didn’t have that great of a story or any real character development, I felt that I was actually in the role of that character, due to the morality system and the way the townspeople interacted with you. You start out the game as a child, and the actions you make and deeds you do will affect how the townspeople remember/think of you in the future when you grow up after your sister has been kidnapped and the village has been raided. Yes, you’re guy is on a stereotypical quest for revenge, but the game isn’t about the destination. It’s about how you reach it. While it may seem typical about townspeople praising you if you’re good or running in fear/begging you to spare their lives if you’re evil, it was extremely innovative for it’s time to see such behaviour, and even now, it makes the experience more immersive. Your gestures (ex. Farting, belching, dancing, thumbs-up, etc…) will also determine what kind of person people view you as and how seriously they can take you. Even the clothing you wear will change reactions. Wear some holy armour and people will view you as a hero, have a tattoo and people will feel like you’re a bit of a shady person, wear women’s clothing and people will think you’re a complete fool. Your good-to-evil ratio can go either way depending on what food you eat (if you eat baby chicks, people will think you’re a bastard), whether you choose to help people or kill everyone in a town, as well as to what morality based choices you make during some quests. The good thing about the morality issue in the first Fable is that depending on your actions, people will really remember them. If you’re a good person throughout and decide to slaughter a whole town, your image will quickly be changed in everyone’s eyes throughout Albion, and if you’re horribly evil from the start, it’s going to take a lot of good deeds to change what people think about you. A system like this is actually believable, whereas in Fable II for example, you could be completely evil where people should not want anything to do with you, but you can just pull out a lute and play for minutes, make some thumbs up gestures, farts and pick up lines, and the whole town will flock around you, wanting to sleep with you. Not only that, but in Fable II, if you slaughtered a town, all you would have to do is pay a fine or do some community service to get off the hook. The original Fable took time and effort to build yourself up with the proper image that you wanted and people would react accordingly. This includes whenever you decide to slaughter a village, the guards will remember it for a long time based on the amount of carnage you caused. When you enter town, they’ll literally try to kill and rid you from town, which is more realistic. This adds some balance, since it gives you more incentive to be good if you don’t want to be hassled by the town when you arrive, but you can also be evil if you like the thrill of slaughtering whole towns or being able to kill people/steal from shops to get what you want. This made the whole experience immersive and fun, since it really puts the player in a believable environment as you progress through the story (which is also miles longer, challenging and more interesting than Fable II’s lackluster quest). Along with the sprawling world and locales, the way you improved on your character was compelling, besides the morality system. Although mentioning morality one more time, it’s nice to see your character look like a saint if he resembles a hero, a normal guy if he’s neutral, or like a devil with horns if he resembles a villain. Alongside that, your hero will also gain battle scars, can change his hair/wardrobe/weapon set to your liking, get married, own his own properties, and have a skill set that fits your exact playing style. These aspects really made Fable an immersive game to me, and were more balanced than it’s sequel. In Fable, you earned experience for your abilities out on the field by using them (in Fable II, you don’t even have to fight to gain EXP as long as you have a job to gain money, as well as access to a potion store that gives you great amounts of EXP). Hit people with ranged weapons and you get better long ranged attacks/stealth abilities, as well as maintaining a sleeker, thinner figure. Use magic frequently to gain experience for new spells (using magic also makes you age faster), and use physical attacks to get more buff (HP and toughness-wise) and to have access to more combos. You can also gain multipliers to boost your experience in combat, but if you’re struck, it gets taken back to zero. The upgrades to magic also feel more satisfying in the original Fable, as their effects are more apparent in battle (technically and physically), and that you actually have an MP bar. This brings me to the challenge element of Fable. Unlike it’s sequel, you can actually die and stay dead in this game, and you have a limited access to MP. This makes the game seem larger, as it will actually take time to make your way through the areas/defeat the bosses, and forces the player to use a variety of attacks instead of just relying on one or two magic spells over and over. The element of death actually makes the player use a bit of caution and strategy, not just in the way they fight, but play. For example, if you try to steal those goods from a shop, get caught and end up getting in a fight with the guards, you could die. All of this makes the combat more fun, and gives you a better reward for levelling up your skills. In Fable II when you couldn’t die, it didn’t matter what spells/attacks you used, but in the original, you can have a use for everything which has a purpose. There’s so much to explain about in Fable that it would take pages just to explain them all. Just on a few last notes, the spells are awesome and fun to play with (especially the Star Wars-style force push), you can take on a class of your own depending on how you level or use your skills (you could be a thief, a trader, a saviour, a tyrant), and there are so many quests (including awesome arena battles) to take over the course of the game that will not only benefit you (such as earning renown, which makes you more famous), but the people around Albion. Fable may seem like your typical western RPG-fare, like a dumbed down Oblivion. However, it was released long before the newer western RPGs that exist in this new generation, so it does hold a bit of a nostalgia factor to me. Still, it doesn’t stop the experience from being so enjoyable to me. There are so many secrets to find in Fable and the whole world of Albion has this realistic, yet comical-at-times charm that makes it so compelling. I’m not sure if this is a game that I can recommend to newcomers, seeing how dated it is, but it is definitely leagues better than it’s sequel, and despite it’s generic looking exterior, Fable has something magical inside it that I just can’t explain. 78. Doom Developer: id Software Released on: XBLA, PC, GBA, SNES, 32X/Sega Genesis, Jaguar, Saturn Release Date: Dec 10, 1993 Due to not having a very competent PC for running games, I’ve only been able to dabble in the FPS scene on consoles for my whole life. I’ve found that finding a good, original and smooth controlling console FPS game is usually few and far between, despite the increasing numbers of console FPS games being released today. While I could go and spend a truckload of money to update my PC and play new games, or try to shop around and find older, classic titles that could run on my crappy PC, another factor that keeps me from playing games on my computer is that I can’t get used to the control schemes for games. I just don’t have the precision when aiming with a mouse and using a keyboard at the same time for an FPS (or in the case of other games, like RTS, I don’t have the micromanagement skills/button memorization). Because of this, my options are limited for FPS games on consoles, as I’m aware that most of the older, classic titles were available on the PC. To make my point, because of these factors, I’ve only gotten into a few FPS games for consoles, because their control schemes were specifically designed for consoles from the ground up, making them play like a dream to me (combined with excellent gameplay and design of course). Even though I did enjoy those few console shooters, it made me sad on the inside that I may never get to experience some of the most important, classic ones. That was, until I saw that Doom (with all of the episodes included) could be downloaded off of XBOX Live. It’s kind of funny about how charming Doom is. FPS games have come so far along since Doom, that they now contain deeper stories, extremely immersive worlds, high definition/super smooth graphics, orchestrated soundtracks, alternate fire for weapons, leader boards, picking your own class of character, stat building systems, etc…And yet, all Doom involves is walking through fairly basic environments, with pixelated enemies in a 3D environment, listening to the midi music farting out of your speakers, not having an aiming reticule (you only need to line up your gun horizontally with the enemies’ position), and just blasting the hell out of everything in sight with whatever guns you can find. However, the graphics are very retro and classic to look at despite their age (and contains the awesome setting of fighting your way through hell, literally), the midi music sounds so ancient but has it’s own sense of character to it, and the aiming system is so simple that it’s never frustrating (and isn’t just simple for a PC, but also a console). Much like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, the overall package of Doom might seem a little too simplistic on the outside. Running through generic corridors fighting generic monsters from hell must get boring after awhile, right? Fortunately, there is much more to the overall package than that. First of all, Doom contains four episodes within it’s package. Each scenario will lead you through about 7 or 8 levels of increasing difficulty each (making for over 30 levels). Every time you start a new scenario, your weapon set also gets set back to normal, and on the harder scenarios, you’ll really have to use your ammo wise and sparingly in order to build up a worthy arsenal to tackle the final bosses with. Doom also contains 5 levels of difficulty for every episode (which would translate to very easy, easy, moderate, hard, and basically impossible). With this many levels and difficulty modes, it really stretches out the length of the game, but there is also another factor of gameplay that makes Doom more complex…the secrets. If you want to 100% the game, you’ll need to kill every enemy, pick up every item, and find every secret within each level. Secrets may involve using the action button against a random wall to discover that it opens like a door (leading you to more ammo, or possibly even more enemies), to activating switches to open a door/activate a teleporter somewhere else in a level, to navigating across dangerous areas such as lava/poison in hopes that you’ll have enough health left to make it to a secret area, to obtaining and using every keycard to open every door in the level. Trying to get full completion scores will really affect the amount of time you’ll spend with this game, and these objectives add so much more to the experience than simply getting through a level. The gameplay that requires getting through a level couldn’t get any better for this type of game. The weapon set is balanced and effective for taking out baddies, and the Doom just seems to know how to feed you ammo for these guns over the course of the game. You’ll always start off with hardly anything, and providing that you don’t waste the majority of your ammo, you can build up a high amount of inventory by sticking to the weaker guns, and trying to conserve your own health. If you think that you can go gung-ho and use your most powerful weapons throughout the game, you’ll be stuck with crappy ones when you really need them, forcing you to strategize as to what weapons to use on what enemies throughout the game. You could clear out a room of soldiers with the BFG in one shot, but why not take to some cover and blow them all away one-by-one with your regular pistol? Your shotgun comes in very useful for blowing away some moderately difficult enemies that can shoot projectiles at you (the shotgun still has a pretty powerful shot, even from across the level), the chainsaw can cut up those skinless hunched over monsters that charge you head on (since you’re not as at risk since they don’t shoot projectiles), and your plasma guns/rocket launcher/BFG are your best bets for taking out huge baddies like the plasma throwing devils, mechanical turret sporting spiders or a baddy that resembles satan himself. The minigun also works well for clearing out rooms quickly or taking down invisibly cloaked enemies and waves of flying, flaming skulls. Also, if you think you can risk it to save some ammo, you could punch your weaker enemies to death. You may have to change tactics if you don’t have the right gun for the job, but I found that Doom always encouraged and rewarded me to think ahead of the game. If I conserved ammo/health and constantly looked for secrets in hopes of finding more health upgrades, armour upgrades and weapon upgrades, I could truly end up as a force to be reckoned with. On a quick note as well, each gun feels incredibly satisfying to blast an enemy away with. It looks like it hits them hard, as enemies bodies will rip open and lay as bloody heaps on the floor. Because of these elements, Doom feels like a simple, primal game, in which it’s just you, your guns and the enemies. It’s a perfect game to vent with and to not take too seriously. While these primary elements of Doom are the meat and potatoes of the game, the secrets/difficulty options/amount of levels are the rest of the full course meal. And it only cost me $5 (400 Microsoft Points) for so much content and such a fun gameplay engine. It all sounds too good to be true, but are there any shortcomings? Only a few exist. For one, some levels left you with no clue as to where to go, and relied on some really obscure method or observation to proceed. I wouldn’t mind it if this action were taken for a secret, but to just pass the level, I had to find some solutions on YouTube. For example, there’s one level that has you getting on top of a tower, and the exit to the level is in a little box beside the tower, with the ceiling left open. Obviously, you would think that you’re supposed to run off the edge and fall in, but it’s not the case. It requires you to turn towards the wall of the tower, press against it, and shoot it with the rocket launcher in order to blow yourself backwards into the box. Now, knowing that hitting an object close to you is extremely dangerous to your health, and that you need to conserve health/ammo for the future, why the f*** would you consider the idea, when you never had any circumstances or hints previously on in the game to test that theory out? I specifically kept away from walls/objects when I used my rocket launcher through the game so I wouldn’t get hurt. Therefore, I never knew about the blow-back effect, so I would have never considered it. All the while, I was stuck in the level for over and hour, and when the whole level consisted of a bright, rich red colour, it literally made me sick, forcing me to shut the system off (so I couldn’t even sit there and contemplate it on my own). My other complaint consists of there being no way to exit back to the main menu if your console isn’t hooked up to Xbox live. The screen will literally freeze up, forcing you to restart. Not only that, but I’ve heard that if you complete an episode (as in the game cutting to the credits screen), it will also freeze up if you’re not connected to Xbox Live (also meaning no achievement for beating the episode). I haven’t personally experienced the episode-freezing glitch because I knew about it beforehand and kept myself connected. Still, it would be really annoying for those who no longer have a subscription and cannot gain the achievements. At least it only happens at the end of an episode though after you kill a final boss, so you’re not restricted from the rest of the game (you can choose to play what episode you want, whenever you want). I would recommend picking up any other version of Doom to avoid this, but at least I don’t have to deal with this issue until my Xbox Live runs out, and even when it does, I’ll have already achieved everything (I’ve already beaten Doom once), so I can just simply play for the experience until the end of an episode when that time comes. Anyways, with the few complaints aside, Doom is an amazing game and is worth experiencing, even if it’s for the first time in this day and age. It’s easily accessible for a variety of platforms, and chances are, it doesn’t cost much too. Oh, I also forgot to mention that the game (at least Xbox Live version) comes with up to 4 player cooperative play and multiplayer deathmatches, so it’s not only good as a single player experience. In the end, while many shooters today have gotten deeper and more immersive, the charm of Doom still stands strong today, and has the power to even grip players who had not experienced the good old days of FPS on PCs. I say, give it a shot, since it’s cheaper than a meal at McDonalds, and won’t turn into poo hours later when you’ve had your fill. 77. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Wii/GC Release Date: Nov 19, 2006 This here is pretty much the reason that all of us that bought a Wii, waited in a line for 4 or 5 damn hours until midnight for it’s launch, and it was worth it. While there is debate going around about whether Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time is the better game, since they’re made in a similar style, it doesn’t change the fact that both of them are very well made. Twilight Princess remains a worthy to Ocarina of Time, despite this game being the lowest Zelda on my Top 100 List (yes, I will admit that there are a few more of them). Even so, it’s still a stellar game that’s worthy of praise. I don’t care if it’s a Wii title that’s based off a Gamecube game, since I’m not some kind of lunatic that refuses to play or rate anything fairly that’s not next-gen. Twilight Princess may not revolutionize the Zelda franchise or have taken it in any new direction, but that doesn’t make it any less classic than say, Super Mario World is to Super Mario Bros 3, by popular opinion. It’s a little hard to point out about what makes one Zelda game so much better than another. While all of the games are similar in nature (you go from temple to temple, solving puzzles, fighting bad guys, gaining new items, getting relics, roaming the overworld, sidequesting, and using your new items to get to new temples), they each have their own styles, creative dungeon layouts, unique sidequests, items and overworlds, and their own features that set them apart. For one thing, I’ll get to the dungeon designs. While the first three dungeons may seem typical for a Zelda game (a forest one, fire one and water one), they have their own unique takes on them. The forest temple basically takes place in the treetops, which feels more organic and not much like a temple at all. The fire temple has amazing heat shimmering effects, goes between mountain and volcano locations, and has awesome upside-down/wall walking segments with metal boots. The water temple takes place in what seems to be some giant eroded mansion filled with water, by no surprise, involves controlling the water levels. Later temples though, involve finding your way through a Yeti’s icy mansion, the Temple of Time (a nice throwback to the Ocarina of Time), a desert temple that involves surfing on a cog that can click in and out of grooves on the walls, an island in the sky (which kind of reminds me of the Sky Sanctuary stage from Sonic & Knuckles) that involves the use of your double hookshots to get around, and a dark temple filled with emerging hands coming out of the walls, trying to make your life miserable. The themes for some of these dungeons are very refreshing (since I haven’t seen designs like them in any Zelda game) and the ones that aren’t as original, are still very well constructed and thought out like all of the other dungeons in the game. For me, the dungeon designs can be a huge contributing factor in the overall success of a Zelda game to me, but so are the items and bosses. If they can’t all coexist and work together naturally in the same universe, the whole experience falls apart. And I love Twilight Princess’ items and bosses, which bring something new to the table almost every time. The Gale Boomerang is a different take on the old kind, as it now can suck up enemies into one tornado, and activate windmills/switches from a distance. The Iron Boots are no longer only iron, but magnetic, as I’ve mentioned before. Of course you still have the classics like the bombs and bow, but other items added into the fray are a giant ball on a chain (for smashing barriers), a rod that controls the movement of statues, the cog that I mentioned earlier, as well as the double hookshots that allow you to climb from wall to wall, making you feel like Spiderman. I’ve also found that Twilight Princess has the most amount of memorable boss fights that I’ve seen in a Zelda game. Whether it’s the tactics you use to take down the crazed Goron in the fire temple, acting out a shadow of the colossus-like scenario under the sea in the water temple as well as in the sky temple, or my personal favourite, using the mechanical cog to grind upwards a giant pillar (in which the track you can connect to will spiral upwards), jumping from between the pillar and the wall of the circular room housing that pillar (both the pillar and wall are close together), while fighting the epic boss at the same time. The fights are simply more massive than any other Zelda game I’ve seen, and while they weren’t incredibly hard to figure out, I already had some previous experience from the Zelda series, giving me a bit of a clue of what to expect. And what about the rest of the game, you ask? It’s absolutely huge with a large sprawling world filled with plenty of sidequests to engage in (just try to find all of the tiny bugs for one quest). The only thing that I wasn’t quite sold on was the addition of the Twilight Realm and Wolf Link…well, I do like the concept, and the Twilight Realm/Wolf Link for the most part, but killing those bugs to get to a new area is tedious and is just a form of busy work to make the game longer, as well as those certain enemies that keep respawning unless you kill all of them at once with Wolf Link’s homing attack. Other than those parts, I did like the whole theme of the Twilight Realm, and how much darker it made the series (complete with a great ending). Midna was also a great supporting character, although I’m going to be in the minority when I say that Navi never bothered me once. I never heard that whole “hey listen!” annoyance over the internet until I saw it as a joke on vgcats. Either that, or I tuned Navi out completely, so it never bothered me. Ranting aside, I like them both. One other annoyance is the damn fishing game. The instruction booklet did such a poor job of explaining how to fish, that I was stuck in the first village for two to three hours when I started. It almost made me give up on the whole game if I didn’t get lucky right when I was about to break. To conclude, like most other Zelda games to me, Twilight Princess is still an amazing entry even though it’s the bottom tier Zelda on my Top 100 list. I’m not the kind of blind fool who will love every Zelda game that comes my way (I’m looking at you Majora’s Mask, and I don’t care about what others say. I went into that one with an open mind, but it ended up as one of the most tedious endeavors that I’ve ever pursued). I also know that this particular Zelda isn’t even that innovative. But it’s still an incredibly fun experience that I’m glad I stuck around for. 76. Radiata Stories Developer: Tri-Ace/Enix Released on: PS2 Release Date: Sept 6, 2005 I believe that Radiata Stories was one of the most underrated RPGs on the PS2, despite having the Square-Enix label on it, and developed by Tri-Ace. It didn’t have a particularly deep combat system, dark serious story or an age-old franchise logo like Final Fantasy, but it did have a good light-hearted story, fun/memorable characters (some actually being very funny, like the main character), an extremely well designed world (especially towns) with a huge emphasis on a beautiful pastel/watercolour paint art style, recruitable characters depending on which side of the war you stood on, multiple endings, and a simple, relaxing style of gameplay. To elaborate, the story is about a war between man and beast. The land has it’s share of human kingdoms and beast kingdoms, and there lies a tense coexistence between man and beast based on a spreading disease that was developed by a human woman and a light elf king that fell in love and mated. The disease causes humans to go crazy (acting irrational and violent) and causes elves to die permanently instead of being reincarnated. Thus, war basically erupts, and midway through the game, based off your beliefs of the situation, you can choose to fight for the humans or beasts/elves. The story may seem basic, and it kind of is, but it’s also refreshing since playing for each side will offer more story branches and different endings. Story aside, it’s the characters that really make Radiata shine. It’s not just how well developed they are, since most characters in the game tend to have a backstory or some depth of character, but the fact that out of all of the characters in the game, 177 of them are recruitable in total (with the number being split depending on what side you take). The overall number even exceeds Suikoden, making Radiata Stories the most characters I’ve ever seen recruitable in an RPG. The best part about it is how fun they are to scout out and recruit. I spent many nights until 2am - 4am, just questing around for more characters, waiting for the opportune moments to recruit them. It’s not as if they are an absolute necessity for variety in combat (although more variety means that it’s easier to find a team that works for you), but all of the characters are so well designed and interesting, that you’ll want to recruit as many as you can. On top of all of that, Jack Russel (yes, that’s his name, but kind of for a reason) is a funny, somewhat dimwitted, energetic main character. I know that in other RPGs, there are the energetic, adventurous, hard-headed and kind of stupid heroes, but Jack often stays optimistic, and is a bit more stupid (while I had my doubts at first, he’s thankfully stupid in an actual funny way). When looking around for recruits and advancing the story, I was never bored for three reasons. As I’ve just stated, it’s absolutely addictive to look for new members. The second is that the environments are so beautiful, colourful, complex and artistic (they even still look great on the PS2), that they are a joy to explore. The main city especially, is absolutely huge, and littered with potential party members, secrets, and serves as your general base of operations. The land outside is vast and rich, also being littered with places to explore and people to meet. The third reason is that the story moves along at a brisk pace, but never feels too long or frustrating. I never felt as if I was doing one thing for too long. There wasn’t too little story involved, but there wasn’t so much of it that it would restrict your freedom to sidequest. On top of that, while the game may be a very easy one, it’s the perfect RPG to just sit back and chill with and soaking in the overall experience without worrying about when you’ll have to sit around and level grind for a few hours just to beat the next boss. It’s not so easy that you can sit back and only have your hand on the attack button. There’s enough to keep you engaged and to make things interesting, but it is on the easy side. Overall, it’s not hard, but not so easy that you won’t even have to try. Everyone needs a relaxing game at some point, that isn’t filled with a dark, brooding story or emo characters with huge swords and zippers on every article of clothing. To me, Radiata Stories fills in that gap perfectly. It’s fun, relaxing, artistic, funny, and downright addictive at times. I consider this as a very important addition to my Top 100 List, amongst the more challenging/epic RPGs that I love. 75. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Developer: Capcom Released on: DC, PS2, XBOX, XBLA, PSN Release Date: June 29, 2000 (DC)/Nov 19, 2002(PS2)/March 30, 2003(XBLA), July 29, 2009 (360), August 13, 2009 (PSN) One may wonder as to why I have added Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the Dreamcast on my list, after noting in my Mortal Kombat II addition that I couldn’t get into fighters that are too fast paced for me. It’s true that this game is very frantic, and unlike Mortal Kombat II, it does give you less time to think and strategize as to what moves to use. Still, the controls are spot on, the move sets are easy to grasp, there’s more of an emphasis on aerial combat (you can super jump about the length of two TV screens) which gives you more evasive and attack options, and the character switching mechanic is so seamless that it grants you access to different fighters/movesets, which helps if you find your attack patterns are becoming predictable. The game does require you to think on the fly quicker, but since the moves are simpler to remember and you have more options for evading and switching up your attack patterns quickly, the matches always end up feeling so much more hectic and unpredictable than many other fighters that I’ve played. I also think that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has some of the best looking 2D art work that I’ve seen in a fighter. The character models are sharp, the colours are vibrant and eye catching, and the animation is super smooth, which really helped immerse me with the combat. Even though it wasn’t the sequel, I remember when I was a kid, that my family would sometimes take me to this restaurant that served crappy food (the ribs were so awful that you could bite right through the bone, tasting the marrow on the inside), and my only comfort would be sneaking away to play the Marvel vs. Capcom arcade machine in the game room. That game absolutely floored me with the visuals and combat, and it’s sequel still manages to kick it in the nuts and make it it’s *****. Stating the obvious which I’m sure everyone knows, the roster of 56 characters gives so much variety, allowing you to play as a ton of Marvel’s superheroes, Street Fighter characters, and various other Capcom characters, like Strider and Megaman (also known as the Blue Bomber who could shoot the legs off Jeffery Dahmer…damn you, Brentalfloss! That song’s been stuck in my head for a week straight!). Anyways, the character roster and character switching mechanic adds a lot of depth and strategy to the game. Each player can choose to take three fighters each into each fight, and you can have one player jump off the screen at will, being replaced by the next character that you chose (each with their own health bars). With the massive variety in choices for characters, you can have a setup of fighters that appeals to your exact playing style/strategy/strength. Should you go with a close range fighter (Wolverine), mid-to-long range fighter (Iron Man) and a long range fighter (Mega Man) for diversity, or go for all close-up tank-like characters such as The Hulk, Juggernaut and Sentinel to overwhelm your opponent with pure power? The choices seem endless and the setup is more fun than a simple one-on-one match like most fighters do. I’ve found in many fighting games, that you can often choose a character that has a better advantage to your opponent if you wait for them to select their character first, but in this game you can reverse the effect by calling in another fighter when you’re in trouble. Is Iron Man sniping the crap out of Strider with his laser? Then maybe it’s time to call in Cable to shoot back at him, and then close the gap, switch characters again, and finish him off with the Hulk. Finally, aside from the regular combat moves, aerial combat and super jumping assures that players can’t just hold back on the ground at the other side of the screen to spam the long range attacks, making for more dynamic and flashy matches while giving players some versatility in approaching their opponents. Super moves can also be activated when your gauge at the bottom fills up. If you let it fill up multiple times to a higher level, you can save up multiple super attacks to unleash, as well as having the ability to let your other fighters all jump on the screen at once to let loose all of their super attacks at the same time (which basically fills up the screen) for devastating results. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is probably the fastest paced fighter that I can enjoy. While I’m not exactly a pro at it, it’s still undeniably fun, even for newcomers (AKA, button mashers). It’s not a button mashing-fest, as skilled players will definitely know the ins and outs (and will take advantage of blocking, super jumping and super moves), but the matches will always remain frantic and most importantly, unpredictable. The only downside to this game is the odd choice of background music, but players will most likely wind up too absorbed in the matches to even care. 74. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Developer: Capcom Released on: PS1, DC, GC, PC Release Date: Nov 11, 1999 (PS1), Nov 17, 2000 (DC), Jan 14, 2003 (GC), June 16, 2000 (PC) I haven’t played any of the games from the original Resident Evil trilogy in over a decade, but the impact that each one had on me was unforgettable. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is the only title out of the original three that I do not currently own, but I really wish that I bought it when I found it in the bargain bins for $20. The original trilogy were the best Resident Evil games in my opinion, and the third game was a perfect send-off from Raccoon City that contained one of the most memorable/scariest villains in videogame history that I have ever experienced. Through the game, you take control of Jill Valentine as you fight your way through legions of the undead in Racoon City, in order to escape before the place is bombed to hell. An interesting aspect is that the story unfolds with the first half of the game taking place before Resident Evil 2, and the second half taking place two days after. So in a way, it’s almost like a Resident Evil 1.5 as well. The game also had a larger emphasis on placing you in the actual city, and not so much in confined buildings like the second game did. In a way this felt like a breath of fresh air, and while the claustrophobia of remaining indoors was less apparent, remaining outdoors was almost scarier since the hulking Terminator-like zombie called the Nemesis was lurking outside in the shadows, waiting to violently dispatch you. This monstrosity would show up in pre-scripted scenes in which you had to battle/escape him, but sometimes he would show up around the city at random when you least expected it. The Nemesis was often the biggest threat in the game, and everything about him was absolutely badass and dangerous. From hearing him moan “Staaarrrsss…” from somewhere off-screen and to him using his rocket launcher when you stray too far away, to dealing physical blows, using extendable tentacles to pierce and kill you, to grabbing you by the throat and holding you above his head while strangling you, then smacking you into the pavement, he was a force to be reckoned with. Normally, the wisest strategy is to run from this guy, but when you have to fight him (or if you just choose to), he takes a ton of ammo to take him down. Even after you take him down, he’ll still manage to get back up on his feet over and over, until the end of the game when you can finally give some payback to the bastard. The Nemesis stalks you, constantly. If you think that you can run through a door to escape him, he’ll still follow you. Zombies can be scary on their own, but when you have a boss-like creature that can pretty much follow you anywhere and is nearly impossible to kill, it’s panic-inducing. Even Save Rooms aren’t safe. Well, technically they are. The Nemesis can’t enter a save room, but one time when I was playing, I was running for my life from him. I managed to find a save room in an alleyway, so I saved, and grabbed a few guns out from the weapons chest. I exited the room, and the Nemesis was nowhere to be found. At this point, I realized that I forgot to take an important weapon with me, so I went back into the save room, opened the chest and added it to my inventory. I walked back outside the save room door to find the Nemesis literally standing right in front of me, moaning “Staarrrrsss…” I almost shat myself as he picked me up by the throat, choked me and threw me to the ground. I got back onto my feet with very little health left and ran for my life as I heard rockets exploding behind me. Now that’s scary. Just the randomness of such a random enemy presence can add such an overwhelming element of fear, panic and paranoia. There’s not much left to say about a Resident Evil game that the general public doesn’t really know about. They have a scary atmosphere, surprising moments, make you fear for your life and make you not want to see your character get eaten, and have kickass weapons to take your enemies down with. However, with the third game, aside from all of the other normal weapons, there was also an ammo creation system, which I found to be memorable. Where else can you create acid-contained rounds for your grenade launcher to burn your foes faces? Flame rounds were also fun to make, which spreads the flames through your environment and leaves lasting burning damage which is useful for enemies that are harder to take down. Every weapon in the game is vital to your survival, and with the random item placement in the game, it ensures that each playthrough will always instil some fear and panic within players. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was the perfect finale to the series for me. Yes, I’m aware that there are many other games in the series, but none of them drew me into the experience unlike the first three games, no matter how much I wanted to like them. Code Veronica was pretty good, but I never got around to finishing it. Resident Evil 4 frustrated me with the “protect Ashley” theme and just didn’t have the unique atmosphere of previous games. Now I feel so lost with the series, that I can’t bring myself to try the fifth instalment, unless I end up playing it at my friends’ house cooperatively. Still, if you’re a fan of the first two games and can get used to the weird control scheme, there’s a lot to like about this instalment and it has enough content to really make it feel original within the whole Resident Evil timeline. 73. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back & Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Developer: Naughty Dog Released on: PS1 Release Date: Oct 31, 1997 (Crash 2) / Nov 3, 1998 (Crash 3) It’s kind of odd about how some games work their way into your life when you never expect to ever experience them. Near the end of the N64’s lifespan, I managed to get a Sony Playstation as a complete surprise gift on Christmas. I had never asked for it, and honestly, had never really looked into the Playstation or had that much interest in it. I don’t even think that I had ever mentioned it to my parents, and they were some of the biggest anti-gaming freaks that I have known. The purchases of consoles for me in the household were a rarity, and anytime I had shown interest in something that I actually wanted as a gift, it was quickly thrown to the side. So how in the hell did I come upon such a coincidence that not only would I receive a console as a gift that I had never asked for, but also the fact that it became one of my most cherished systems, and that it came packed in with such an incredible platformer (just when I thought Sony couldn’t do what Nintendo did in terms of those types of games). Crash Bandicoot games may be atrocious right now, but the original trilogy was so memorable (the latter two even more-so). Crash Bandicoot 2 & 3 are pretty much a tie, as they both play very similar to one another, and I think both experiences pretty much coincide together as one. However, I do think that Crash Bandicoot 2 just barely wins, but both games are so great, that I may as well mention both in the same place. Just when I was getting used to the frequent addition of life bars in games, the one-hit kill system returned in the Crash Bandicoot games. Two hits if you count grabbing a mask that gives you protection from one hit. Although the games are fairly easy and linear like your typical 3D platforming fare, the quick deaths can actually make this game moderately hard, which puts it in the perfect difficulty spot. Speaking of being linear, these games are so linear that it’s almost as constricting as a 2D game. This isn’t annoying through, as I actually found it pretty charming. You can move in three dimensions, but as you can see from the screenshots, the path always keeps you moving forward. You can backtrack, but the camera won’t flip so that you can see the path you’ve already traversed. It really gives the closest feeling that I’ve ever seen of a 3D platformer resembling a 2D one (and 2.5D platformers don’t count, as they’re essentially platfomers on a 2D plane with graphics resembling a 3D one). The main goal of each level is to find a pink crystal within each one to activate the warp room (in the main hub) that leads to each boss. There are also secret levels that you can gain access to by exploring levels in an unorthodox way that encourages exploration and some trial-and-error situations, such as falling into a pit that won’t actually kill you. Within these secret areas are hidden gems that will unlock these levels, and finding them all without a strategy guide does take a lot of time, but every secret you find is absolutely rewarding. Some gems are also awarded to you in some levels for beating it under a strict time limit or by traversing through a dangerous route that you can travel to by activating a skull & crossbones hovering pad. So what separates Crash Bandicoot 2/3 from other series? Honestly, there’s nothing too original about these games (especially by today’s standards), but that doesn’t change the fact that they are pure, simplistic fun. Good notes include the colourful graphics, the wacky/funny characters/character animations, smooth controls, great level design and hazard placement, and the secrets which I’ve just mentioned are very addictive in nature to discover. The third game also has some vehicle segments thrown in, and while I originally almost passed over the game because of this gimmick, it still turned out to be a fun experience. To be frank, there’s nothing that I can really say that will make the original Crash Bandicoot games seem like a very compelling experience. To me, that’s how they looked before I got my Playstation, in which I probably wouldn’t have given the series a chance, due to the enormous quantity of games that already exists in the world. Still, I’m extremely grateful that I did receive it as a gift that one year and was able to try one of the most fun and smooth platformers that I’ve ever played. Like I say, it doesn’t have to be original to be pure fun. Being original always helps, but every game always comes down to the same thing: The gameplay. 72. Bubble Bobble Developer: Taito Released on: NES Release Date: 1986 Ah, Bubble Bobble. My first ever cooperative experience in a videogame…and it was awesome. I remember going to a Chuck-E-Cheese-like restaurant when I was a kid and saw this arcade machine just calling to me. I begged my Mom for quarters, and she gave me eight of them. Literally, about less than two minutes later I came running back to her. I already lost all of my lives and needed to play more. I didn’t really understand the concept much about the value of one life, as I could just infinitely waste lives in games on my NES without much of a consequence except starting over. Obviously, she didn’t give me any more money, and I had to say goodbye to that machine forever. That is, until I found out that Bubble Bobble was available for rent. When I rented that game, the first thing I realized was that it had a two player option. I thought it was going to be the standard Super Mario Bros fare, where two people would take turns, depending on if the other player died. But when I booted it up, I was filled with glee and excitement as I realized that my brother and I could play on the same screen at the same time. With 100 stages to the game, my brother and I played for hours on end until we reached that infamous near-midgame level that requires you to jump on your own bubbles to reach the top. We never figured that out. Still, that didn’t stop us from trying, by playing it over and over. Bubble Bobble is simplicity at it’s finest. You play in a boxed area littered with different platforms and enemies as you progress, and the object of each level is to spit out bubbles, trapping your enemies inside of them, and then popping them by jumping on them to defeat them. Now that’s badass. Also, by defeating enemies, they leave behind food to consume for more points and eventually, lives. You can get killed in one hit, and if you take too long to catch an enemy in a bubble, it will turn orange, become enraged and move around the screen twice as fast to kill you. The game seems very simple, but it becomes very challenging after about 20 levels, and the chances of seeing all 100 levels, is pretty slim. Bub and Bob also move a little slowly and when they drop off ledges, they drop straight down (you can’t control them in mid-air), so when the enemies are fast moving, it forces you to work together if you’re playing cooperatively to cover each other while trying to make every bubble shot count. Bubble Bobble is a perfect, simple arcade experience ported over to the NES. It’s easy to get into, but provides a significant challenge for those who have hours to kill, if they want to see the end of the game. It even gives you a password for the stage you happen to die on, so you can continue at a later time, and while there is only one music track, it’s one of the catchiest themes I’ve ever heard on the NES. I’ve heard that Bubble Bobble currently exists on the Virtual Console and that it’s only $5 to pick up, and like Doom (I can’t believe I’m putting Bubble Bobble beside Doom here), it offers an infinitely replayable experience for only the cost of a couple of tacos. Yes. I’m picking tacos now. 71. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: DS Release Date: Oct 1, 2007 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is one of the best DS games I’ve played to date. In fact, it’s probably the most complete adventures that exists in my DS library. It almost has the same wow factor on the DS that the Wind Waker gave me on the Gamecube, with it’s wonderful, colourful cel-shaded graphics and cutscenes. While not as good as the Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass does have it’s own unique charm to it, even if it is an easier game than it’s predecessor. The game starts off after Wind Waker, with Link and Tetra on the high seas, sailing on her pirate ship. A ghost ship attacks them, Tetra gets kidnapped, Link falls overboard and ends up drifting to an island where he begins his adventure to find Tetra. Along the way, he meets another fairy, as well as a captain of a ship named Linebeck (who I find to be one of the most entertaining characters in a Zelda game so far), in which you sail on his ship to find Tetra. It’s all pretty basic stuff, but the cutscenes are remarkable on the DS. Screenshots just do not do the game any justice, as these scenes are filled with so much expression and animation, that they look a lot like the Wind Waker, except with less detail on the character models, which is to be expected. The cutscenes also have a great sense of humour to them, and is the first Zelda game to actually make me laugh a little. Phantom Hourglass is your typical Zelda fare, but has a few changes that make it stand out on it’s own. The first is that the control is all touch-based, and for the most part it really works. The only move I had trouble executing was the roll, since you have to quickly draw in a “V” pattern while Link is moving, sometimes sending you in an opposite direction. It isn’t critical to survival though. You can also draw on your map to make notes of where to go and what to do, as well as plotting the course on the map for your ship to sail. You can make slashing movements for your sword, obviously, but you can also do things like plotting out the path that your boomerang will fly in, to drawing ropes from one end of a gap to another to make a makeshift bridge. While the temple design in Phantom Hourglass can be really fun (although pretty easy), it’s the bosses that really stood out in this version. Wind Waker had better temples, but Phantom Hourglass simply had better bosses. From the two tiered (filling two DS screens) golem, to the Hydra-like boss, this game didn’t only have it’s own creative ways to defeat bosses with your items, but the simple act of using them on the bosses felt more fun and interactive than most Zelda titles. While the bosses can be easy once you figure out the strategy to take them down, they’re better than almost all of the 2D Zelda boss battles that I’ve played so far, and even some of the 3D ones. I think that anyone who has played Phantom Hourglass may have been enraged when they heard me say that the temple design is really fun. Okay, so there’s one horrible temple, The Temple of the Ocean King. This temple requires you to play it in between other temples, getting a little further each time as you gain new items. The thing is, you have to start the temple pretty far back each time (somewhere around 5 or so floors back from where you started on your last visit I believe) and get past the old sections as well as the new section of temple before the time runs out in your Phantom Hourglass. If the time runs out, your protection from the poison in the temple is gone, and you’ll die very quickly. You can gain items that increase your time, but the temple requires a lot of memorization and fast acting to get through. Tedious is the word I can use to describe it. However, if it’s any consolidation, the Wind Waker had it’s own very annoying Triforce pieces fetch quest, so both games will rank fairly low on my Top 100 List because of these aspects (yes, I will be adding the Wind Waker soon). They just use tedious quests to expand an otherwise, nearly perfect experience. Aside from that bit of tedium, Phantom Hourglass provides a lot of adventure and exploration, which is typical of the Zelda franchise, and is basically a version of Wind Waker in your pocket. It isn’t the most original Zelda title, but it really works and contains all sorts of puzzles and challenges to keep you occupied for some time. To me, it actually has my favourite ending for any Zelda game as well (even though Zelda games don’t usually contain spectacular endings, this is the best it’s gotten for me). Fans of the Wind Waker will probably love this title. It doesn’t deviate from Wind Waker’s concept, but I was more than eager to explore this version of Hyrule some more. It also may not be the powerhouse that it’s predecessor was, but for a current handheld game, it’s stellar. 70. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: GC Release Date: March 24, 2003 Speaking of the Wind Waker in my last entry, it comes up next on my list just before Phantom Hourglass. It just simply had more of an impact on me, but it’s so similar to Phantom Hourglass, that I had to put both games side by side. Now, when two games in a same franchise are too similar to me, I will usually put them in the same spot on my list as a tie. However, while both titles share extremely similar themes, they’re both very different in the way they are played and presented. First of all, the easiest thing to recognize right off the bat, are Wind Waker’s visuals. The graphical style is absolutely phenomenal for a Gamecube game, giving off the same vibe as a hand drawn Disney movie. It’s simply one of the most eye-catching, colourful, smoothly animated games that I’ve ever played in my entire life. Everything from the environments to the enemies, to even Link and the other characters themselves, convey so much expression, that it really sets the bar for how games can be conveyed as an art form just as much as simply being a game. I actually appreciate The Wind Waker’s style much more than Twilight Princess’ style because of how different and beautiful it is. It showed me that while Ocarina of Time is a legendary game in it’s own right, it didn’t need it’s next-gen sequel to be a carbon copy of it. It makes me wonder as to why many fans couldn’t accept the change. In fact, the closest thing it resembled at it’s point of release was a 3D “Link To The Past” style of art. To go along with the graphical style, Wind Waker had a large, expansive environment to explore, that took place over the great, open sea (peppered with many islands of course). Trekking by foot for long segments or riding on your horse was replaced by sailing, and while I didn’t enjoy the sailing as much as the means of travel provided in other Zelda games, it was a very nice change of pace which made it original and gave it it’s own identity. I really felt like part of a much bigger world, and the whimsical music that accompanied me, gave myself an exciting feeling of being an adventurer on the open seas. Like other Zelda games I’ve mentioned, I have to talk about the dungeons/bosses/items of the game. I’ve always considered these parts to be the meat and potatoes of the series, since they usually contain the most thought provoking/mind bending challenges within the games. The Wind Waker doesn’t seem to have as many dungeons as most Zelda games and are basically easier than most as well. This doesn’t stop them from being really fun though, as each dungeon contains plenty of diversity, and some ones in particular, such as the Earth and Wind Temples, have some absolutely genius level design. In fact, I would consider Wind Waker’s Earth Temple to be my favourite dungeon in a Zelda game so far. This temple (as well as the Wind one), encourages you to work together with another story-related character to clear the challenges, and you can take control of these characters along with Link in order to get through the temple using teamwork-related techniques/strategies. The bosses are pretty easy to figure out but like Phantom Hourglass, are just really fun to fight, and Ganon is downright frustrating due to Zelda being a teamkiller, but defeating him gives off a huge sense of satisfaction as you deal out the best finishing blow to him ever dealt within a Zelda game. The items are pretty varied, and although you have the usual stuff in this game such as a bow, boomerang, bombs, etc…you do gain a Deku leaf to use as a parachute/fan for making gusts of wind, a grappling hook, mirror shield, and a cannon for your ship (by setting the bombs to your menu while on your ship). The item selection isn’t the most complex, but it does work, and the Deku Leaf was a great addition that I wish would return in future Zelda titles. Finally, I have to note that there are a lot of interesting sidequests, which gives the player a lot of room for extra exploration, but as I’ve noted, halfway through the game, there’s a near-game-breaking Triforce piece fetch quest that involves a really tedious method of obtaining eight Triforce pieces to advance. It’s nothing more than an excuse to lengthen the game, and when you finally obtain the whole Triforce, you’re not even granted with any new powers. You’re simply told that you’re now strong enough to face Ganon. Plus, this whole bit introduces Tingle, which is one of the most horrible character abominations of all time in a videogame. If you can get by this lone aspect though, the Wind Waker is an absolutely memorable gaming experience. So what sets the Wind Waker apart from the last two Zelda games I’ve mentioned? It’s style impacts the game so heavily, that it’s akin to playing through an animated feature film. It’s the same old Zelda that we know, but with it’s own little twists, such as the more open world, great sea setting, bigger emphasis on plot/characters, graphic style, and unique dungeon designs (with some focusing more on teamwork). Am I an absolute Zelda fanboy for already mentioning three Zelda games on my Top 100 List? Not really. For one, the three games I’ve mentioned haven’t gotten past #70. For another aspect, I’ve only completed six out of the thirteen Zelda games released, and have tried eight of the games in total (of which two entries I wasn’t that fond of to make the list). Finally, I’m aware that all of the Zelda games play similar to each other, but the world/dungeon designs and interactivity/sidequesting is some of the best I’ve seen in games to date. All in all though, the Wind Waker is an enchanting experience that had a magical feeling that the other Zelda titles so far just didn’t have. It all just came off as being more epic than it’s sequel (which I can’t really blame it on, since it’s on a handheld), giving it the #70 spot on my list. 69. Grandia II Developer: Game Arts, Rocket Studio Released on: DC, PS2, PC Release Date: Dec 6, 2000 (DC), Jan 28, 2002 (PS2), March 10, 2002 (PC) Despite the original Grandia’s immense popularity, I’ve got to go with Grandia II for the Dreamcast as my only entry from this series on my Top 100 List. Having completed the three main entries from this series, the second stands on top for me by simply having better gameplay. Usually, the story factor will separate one entry in an RPG series from another for me before the gameplay becomes a factor, but Grandia II is simply more fun than it’s predecessor. The main reason why this game ranks so much higher for me, is because it’s gameplay and battle engine is much faster and smoother than the original Grandia. For those who haven’t played a Grandia title, they contain some of the most well paced battle systems out there in terms of RPGs. Battles are turn based, but the field is open and the characters move around it. You can’t control where the characters move, but you can control which enemy they will move to, in order to attack it. The interesting element of the game’s fights is the bar that shows which character’s turns are next. The turn bar is always active, so if you just stand there to think too long the enemies will keep getting turns. The neat thing is that if you time your attacks properly, you can cancel out your foes turns, and possibly end battles without even getting attacked by cancelling attacks properly if you’re skilled enough. If you wait for the right moment, and time it so that your character attacks the enemy just before it’s your opponent’s turn, their turn gets cancelled and gets sent back to the beginning of the time bar, putting it’s turn after everyone else’s. I mentioned before that the battle system is much smoother and faster than the original game, and is it ever. Everyone gets their turns quicker, characters/enemies move around the field and attack faster, and before and after fights, the game’s loading times are vastly quicker than the first Grandia. In the original game, getting into fights to grind, felt tedious as hell since I felt like I had to wait for an eternity between the combat and exploration sections. Also, just loading up the menu screens would take seconds to open and close. It may not sound that bad, but when you’re playing through a fifty hour experience, every second between battles and menus just feels so long and tedious to wait through, compared to most RPGs I’ve played. I can’t really blame this on the original game, due to hardware limitations, but by comparison the sequel is much more pleasant to play through, and the constant action is never interrupted by sitting in limbo between battles and menus. Other elements of battle and growth are mana eggs and special skills. Mana eggs give a variety of attack/support skills to customize your characters with, and by using magic coins, you can increase your spells up to a 5 star rating, which upon each increase, will decrease the amount of time each spell takes to cast, as well as increasing the power of the spell/duration of the status effect given. The same thing applies to the special skills, although they are all different depending on which characters you’re using, and can be levelled up in the same vein with skill coins. A layer of strategy is added, since weaker spells/skills can grow to be cast instantaneously instead of waiting for the small time between your command and action on the time bar. This makes weaker moves sometimes just as important as more powerful ones if you hope to cancel powerful enemy attacks. Also, multiple characters can chain attacks on single enemies one after another, or all together, to constantly stun it/deliver massive damage depending on your timing. As for the story and characters, they are pretty basic. You have the potty mouthed mercenary, the priestess to protect, the hot/badass chick, the child warrior, the beastman, etc…all on a quest to guide the priestess to use her holy magic against your enemy and to have the mercenary Ryudo become a true hero. It’s pretty cliché, but it has a few interesting quirks. Ryudo is entertaining to play as/listen to, and the priestess Elena has a split personality, in which she becomes Millenia, a piece of the god of darkness. Both personalities conflict with each other from one extreme character trait to the opposite end of the spectrum. The characters are also accompanied by pretty good voice work (at least at the time, when voice acting was just starting to emerge), except for Roan…god, I hate that kid’s voice. Grandia II does sound a bit like a typical RPG as I’m writing it out, and to be honest, I hadn’t played many RPGs up to that point at the time, so my expectations were a bit low in terms of story/characters. Still, for an RPG, it was flat out fun to play, grinding wasn’t a chore due to the fast battle system and levelling up/attaining new spells and techniques would occur at a constant rate, always ensuring that you feel like you’re advancing. Grandia II isn’t the longest RPG either. I think I finished it in about forty hours or less, but in this case, the fast pace was a plus, since it always felt entertaining and action packed, and wasn’t drawn out by meaningless fetch quests or too much experience between level ups. I found that this game is the classic RPG setup perfected, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 68. Skies of Arcadia Developer: Overworks Released on: DC, GC Release Date: Nov 13, 2000 (DC), Jan 27, 2003 (GC) On the same Christmas holiday that I bought Grandia II with my Christmas money, I also received Skies of Arcadia as a gift. What a great time to be fifteen years old. No job yet, and two fantastic RPGs for my Dreamcast to alternate between through the Christmas holidays, ultimately consuming over 100 hours of my life. Skies or Arcadia wowed me just a little bit more, due to it’s more original concept, epic overworld, and anime-style visuals. For it’s time, Skies of Arcadia sported a very original concept, and it still kind of does to this day. It’s Sky Pirate theme was the first of it’s kind from what I’ve played (the game was even released one day before Final Fantasy IX, which also had Sky Pirates ironically, but SoA relied more heavily on the theme), and it gave you access to your airship right from the beginning of the game (which also works in a far better way than the horrid Final Fantasy X-2). The whole overworld takes place above the clouds and the locations that you visit are composed of floating islands. Later on in the game, you can achieve a mechanism to fly above the upper or lower cloud layers to pass previously impassable sky rift barriers (to allow you to explore new portions of the world map), as well as being able to avoid random encounters (which you will fight on the deck of your ship). Other great features include ship-to-ship battles that occur in story-related events, an upgradeable crew and dungeons that resemble Zelda-like temples. The ship-to-ship battles (and sometimes ship-to-giant boss battles) and an upgradeable crew really go hand-in-hand in this game, somewhat akin to the recruitment aspect and war battles from the Suikoden series. As you roam throughout the overworld, if you look well enough and pick the right courses of action, you’ll be able to recruit new members for your ship. Doing so provides you with different shopping perks much like Suikoden, but they also do a few other things. When taking part in ship-to-ship battles, having the right crew members taking the right positions can mean the difference between life and death. Some may be better pilots than others. Some may have the right magic spells to take out certain ships on the field with a weak resistance to that particular crew member (your ammo for your cannons is magic). This adds a deep level of strategy before you take part in ship-to-ship battles, and when you have to disperse your party members over multiple ships, you’ll have to try and cover each others’ weaknesses as you go. Also, later in the game, you gain access to a crew attack action that costs a lot of skill points during regular combat, but allows every one of your crew members to attack your enemies in one huge flashy attack, somewhat like the Knights of the Round Table summon in Final Fantasy VII. All of these aspects places an important emphasis on crew support, which makes it addicting to hunt down as many people as you can find, along with Discoveries, which give you some kind of money/item bonus when you discover well-hidden areas on the overworld map. The graphical polish for this game was exceptional for it’s time, and is still pretty impressive today. Dungeons had this Zelda: Ocarina of Time-feeling to me, combat was very flashy with awesome camera angles (especially the special attacks), and the game was just very colourful overall. The soundtrack also had a whimsical, epic, adventure-like feel similar to Zelda: Wind Waker that kept me immersed the whole time. As for the story and characters, like Grandia II, they are a bit cliché nowadays with the whole stereotypical “villain hates the world but feels like he’s the only sane one left to rule it” and “group of heroes that need to travel the world, collecting ancient relics to set things right before the villains get to them first”. Still, it doesn’t have to be completely original to be entertaining. The whole Sky Pirate concept in itself keeps the whole quest very light-hearted, adventurous and fun. As for negative aspects, the only complaint that I have is that there are too many random battles, and the combat runs a little slowly. Still, there’s so much variety in it’s gameplay mechanics and original setting that I have to put Skies of Arcadia just above Grandia II. Both are incredibly fun and entertaining RPGs nonetheless, which I would encourage any fan of RPGs to check out. While most RPGs all wind down to the same goal and final confrontation to save the world, Skies of Arcadia is just fun to be along for the ride. I find that the overall journey is far more important than the destination. 67. Resident Evil Developer: Capcom Released on: PS1, GC, Saturn, PC, DS Release Date: March 22, 1996 (PS1), April 30, 2002 (GC), August 31, 1997 (Saturn), Sept 30, 1997 (PC), Feb 7, 2006 (DS) The original Resident Evil may not be the best survival horror game that I’ve ever played, but it’s certainly the scariest. I remember playing this game when I was around fourteen or fifteen years old and it was so damn scary and unlike anything that I had ever played, that I was literally afraid to go in each room. The first few rooms of the old zombie-infested mansion didn’t even contain any enemies, but I still proceeded extremely slowly and cautiously. It was only until I opened my first door that contained a zombie devouring on a poor teammate (and coming towards me next) that I hightailed it out of the room and wouldn’t enter for at least fifteen minutes. The moaning of the undead corpse and the thought of getting eaten alive slowly were situations that I had never faced in a game, and after clearing a few more rooms, my nerves couldn’t take any more, I ignored the game for a few days and I returned it back to the rental store. I thought it just wasn’t my kind of game at first, but weeks later, I manned up and rented the game again and pushed myself through the spookiest environment that I had ever traversed in a game, eventually beating it after multiple rentals. The things that make this game so much more creepy and scary than any other survival horror game that I’ve played through, is that it makes you feel lonelier than any other game. The mansion is pretty silent, except for the soft, haunting piano tones, the creaking of floorboards/moaning of zombies as you can hear them off-screen (the game also has fixed camera angles to create more suspense as you can only hear the enemies before you see them), and the sounds of zombies chomping on your flesh as they get too close and surround you. You’re literally trapped within this mansion, which gives off a huge sense of claustrophobia. Throughout most of the game, I kept checking and wishing that I could escape through the front door (or any other door that leads out of the mansion) to get outside, and possibly fight my way away from the mansion, and possibly out of the country to a bomb shelter somewhere. To add icing on the cake, your ammo is severely limited throughout your game, forcing you to make every bullet count (and when you’re left with nothing but a knife to defend yourself with, it instils more fear, making you beg the game to give you a break). For the cherry on top, even the save system is against you. If you think that you can kill a zombie, go back and save, then kill the next one and go back to save again, you’re in for a rude awakening. You need to collect ribbons of ink for the typewriter to save on, so you can only save a given number of times depending on how much you’ve collected. Since ink is limited, the game forces you to try and play as long as you can before saving, heightening the fear that you get as you try to survive until your next save point. Apart from the intense action of trying to survive through an incredibly creepy environment with limited ammo, there are a few flaws with the game. The tank-like control of your character has a huge learning curve, since you have to press “up” to move the character forward (so if your character is facing towards the screen, you need to press “up” to keep walking towards the screen). The dialogue in Resident Evil is also absolutely horrible, complete with terrible voice acting (although it does have this unique charm of resembling a horror B-Movie). Finally, the game has certain puzzles that really break up the flow of the game, and are pretty boring to complete. Nonetheless, it’s still a great survival horror title, and the only survival horror game that’s rivalled it in terms of scariness to me is the original Silent Hill (although I find that the Resident Evil titles play much better, earning them spots on my Top 100 List). I know that I’ve already listed the third game less than ten entries ago, but the original is an entirely different beast. Nemesis was more of an action oriented survival horror game, but the original was much more slow-paced. While a slower pace may sound more boring, it actually fits the survival horror theme better by adding more tension, suspense and fear, overall. While I haven’t played Resident Evil since I’ve completed it around ten years ago, it’s impact still weighs heavily on me, and hopefully somewhere down the road, I’ll give the Gamecube remake that’s sitting on my shelf a run through, if I can survive it. 66. The World Ends With You Developer: Square-Enix, Jupiter Released on: DS Release Date: April 22, 2008 I’ve been getting into a little bit of an RPG slump lately. It seems as if most RPGs released nowadays still don’t know how to evolve their settings, storylines and characters into something actually different. How many times do we have to see the same medieval settings, villains who aspire to be gods and generic heroes with swords who aspire to be the best hero that ever lived? That’s when The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS came by to give me something original for once. The whole game takes place within the city of Shibuya, and contains actual streets/monuments/stores from it’s real-life counterpart. It also takes place throughout three individual seven day-long scenarios that pair your main character, Neku, up with a different partner for each week. The storyline revolves around a game that puts players who die in Shibuya, in a position to compete in the parallel afterlife setting of Shibuya for a chance to come back to life. Everyone who enters the game has to give up an entry fee of an aspect of their lives which is most important to them, forcing them to complete the game without it, as well as being forced to partner up with another player to complete the game (or face being erased by the game’s moderators, The Reapers). Each week is a series of challenges that the players will have to complete, as other players will eventually be eliminated, shortening the number of contestants down more and more until the end of each week. Only the contestants with the strongest of wits, talent and physical power will survive until the final day. Now, on top of that, it may not seem completely original, as you’ll immediately start off with one of the most emo heroes in all of videogame existence, Neku. His initial emo level would even put Squall from Final Fantasy VIII to shame. However, unlike Squall, he actually grows over the course of his adventure into a very likeable person (and no, not in a goody-goody “friendship saves the day” person or even a silent badass that displays a heart of gold deep down underneath). Hell, even on top of that, there’s a bonus chapter that you can unlock after beating the game that has Neku self-commenting to keep his own emo levels under control, so it’s known that the storywriters obviously knew what they were doing with the character and weren’t afraid to parody the whole brooding emo hero. The other characters are also very well fleshed out in the same way. On their exteriors upon meeting them, they seem very stereotypical, but underneath, they show entirely different sides to them, and reasons for their actions that really make sense that you couldn’t see before. The story and character development alone for this game make The World Ends With You worth experiencing on it’s own, but there’s so much more than that to this game. The other compelling half to the game is, of course, the gameplay. It’s so varied from it’s exploration, to it’s battle system, to it’s level-up progression, so I’ll try and touch on everything lightly. First of all, the battle system does have a very high learning curve, and at first you might think that you can just barely handle it and won’t be sure if you can pull through until the end of the game with it. Combat takes place on both DS screens. You use the stylus to move Neku around the bottom screen, as well as to activate the pins that you gather to create psychic powers/attacks by scratching, tapping, drawing circles/lines, etc…As for your partner on the top screen, you enter a series of DDR like commands by using the D-Pad to tap along with the arrows onscreen to make your character attack (and selecting the right combination of arrow paths leads to a symbol at the end to activate. If you activate the right combination of symbols, you gain access to a screen filling special attack). Meanwhile, during all of this, a light puck will bounce between Neku and his partner, and attacking while having this puck in a character’s possession will keep multiplying their attack damage. For level-ups and character progression, you can gain over 300 pins within the game which are the sources of all of Neku’s different types of attacks. You have 4 different slots to put those pins in (6 if you meet some kind of requirement), so there’s a lot of customization in the way that you want to play. You can also buy food for your characters to eat (however, you have to fight a set number of battles to actually digest your food to receive a stat increase), which increases stats like HP, sync rate, attack, defense, bravery, etc…Speaking of bravery, the higher your bravery level, the more clothes will be available for you to wear, which also increases all of the stats mentioned before (and wearing different brands in different areas of Shibuya will give you numerous stat increases/decreases, depending on what you have on). Other elements for character progression include adjusting your own level and difficulty to the game. Let’s say you’re Level 40. In the menu, you can adjust the level slider to put you back at level 10 (don’t worry, it can be put back to 40 at any time). You can also adjust the difficulty slider to put you from normal to hard mode for example. By decreasing your levels or raising the difficulty, your drop rate after battle increases, netting you more pins and money. By making the game harder, you get more rewards. There’s so much customization to the game, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. Yes, I know I’m ranting, but I’m almost done. Lastly, I just have to say that the art style and music choice for the game is an absolute perfect fit for this kind of game. It has this Jet Grind Radio-feel to it, where all of the characters have really cool looking designs along with very funky and rocking tunes playing in the background. It has the best presentation that I’ve seen on the little DS, and is one of the most original experiences overall. My only flaw with the game is that there are Reapers guarding many street routes in the game, with some requiring you to pull off some absolutely pointless tasks, which are more out of the way than they are worth, just to get by them. Quite a bit of tasks are entertaining, but some tasks have virtually nothing to do with the story, and have you running around town, fighting with weird handicaps or clothes/pins selections that you can only buy from certain stores, just to clear a wall. Other than that little annoyance, The World Ends With You is one of the most complete DS games I’ve played, and even when you finish the main game, there’s still a lot more sidequests you can do to flesh out more of the story by revisiting any previous chapter at will through the menu screen. Now those things will last me quite a bit of time. 65. Power Stone 2 Developer: Capcom Released on: DC, PSP (Power Stone Collection) Release Date: August 23, 2000 (DC), Oct 31, 2006 (PSP) If there’s one fighter out there right now that I think deserves another sequel, it’s Power Stone 2, since it’s probably the most underrated fighter that I’ve ever seen. It was pretty much completely eclipsed by the Super Smash Bros series, and may seem like a cheap knock off, but rest assured, Capcom’s free-for-all brawl is a knock out (okay, bad pun, I know). As a release on the Dreamcast, the original Power Stone opened new doors to the fighting genre, giving you a full 3D environment (unlike Smash Bros’ 2D planes) to fight in, as well as using pretty much every item in the area as a weapon (as well as weapons themselves that get littered about). The only flaw that I found in the original was that the game really seemed as if it was meant to be played with four players instead of two. It just had this chaotic nature to it which seemed perfectly suited as a four player game, and luckily, Power Stone 2 was eventually released, not only just giving us more players, but literally more of everything. The interactivity with your environment is what sets apart Power Stone 2 from everything else. While most fighters, like Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Calibur, etc, rely on deep fighting systems with tons of moves and combos per character, Power Stone 2’s fighters are limited in the moves department. They have the standard punches and kicks, a jump kick and a wall vault attack that has your characters propelling themselves off of a wall/pole and attacking with the force of their momentum. Other actions include the ability to grab poles/ledges/ceiling, man vehicles/turrets, swimming, wall kicking, double jumping, and using the various items on the field (whether it’s picking up and throwing something like a crate, or using swords/guns/rocket launchers, etc. on the field. The combination of all of these factors, along with the four player support makes Power Stone 2 to be one of the most chaotic and entertaining fighters that I’ve ever played. It doesn’t need a deep assortment of moves per character to be fun and balanced. While each character has their own stats like speed/power, they all still fight differently and have access to different super attacks when all of the Power Stones on the field are collected. Possibly the most important aspect to the gameplay is those Power Stones. Remember how the Smash Ball (a floating ball that once broken, will allow your character to release a super attack) in Super Smash Bros Brawl was supposed to be this new and innovative inclusion to the Smash Bros series? The Power Stone series had beaten Smash Bros to the punch about a decade earlier. Aside from the items, the Power Stones are what everyone really rushes for on the field. You have to collect all three (or one or five if you choose to add more from the options menu) in order to transform into your super form, which can last for a good while. When fighting for the stones, if a character hits another who has a stone hard enough, they’ll drop it, so sometimes in a four player match, you may find yourself making short alliances with others to beat down the player who is one stone away from transforming. The interesting part about transforming is how you choose to use your special abilities. Your character will be faster, stronger and tougher, and they will have access to light special attacks, as well as more devastating ones similar to Smash Bros Brawl. The thing is if you use these heavy moves right off the bat, you’ll only be able to pull off a couple of them, and lose access to your super form quickly. It can also be devastating to you if you unleash these heavy moves right away and miss with them, and using them right away can be pretty predictable. Staying in your super form and unleashing some light attacks/good items first, building up a combo and following through with a heavy super attack can really rack up the damage to your opponents, so there’s so much more strategy than just grabbing the stones and getting easy kills because of it. On a final note, I have to mention a few more things regarding interactivity. Power Stone 2 has excellent stage design (possibly the best I’ve seen in a fighter). Not only are the stages very interactive, filled with many ways to beat down opponents, and varied, but they are also multi-layered. Imagine starting the match on an airship, with it exploding partway through the match. You fight each other in the air as you freefall for a couple of minutes, and then land on the stage below to resume beating the hell out of each other. There’s always something going on in this game. To make a quick note back to item use earlier, there’s over 120 different items to unlock in this game, and unlocking them is absolutely addictive. Whether you’re playing in the well constructed story mode or just normal matches, you’ll occasionally see new items appear on the stage. When you grab any item, it’s added to your inventory for item fusing. When fusing items in a different mode, you obviously take more than one item to fuse together to make new ones, and trying to find out how to make every item in the game is a rewarding process, since every time you create a new one, it only makes every match from there on just a little bit deeper. There’s so much that I can cover on Power Stone 2 that I could seemingly rant forever, but I think that I’ve explained the main concept well enough. As I’ve said before, I’m not into the whole fighting genre very much, and the non-technical fighters (Smash Bros/Power Stone) are just that much more appealing to me, since they’re easy to pick up and play with everyone else, and focus more on the overall fun experience without having to worry about technicalities. Oh, and the absolute carnage and randomness helps too to ensure that no two matches are ever the same and that the action never remains too static and grounded. For those who love the Super Smash Bros series, I encourage you to give this a try someday. It’s really the only franchise that I believe that can stand it’s ground next to the juggernaut series in terms of quality, and Power Stone 2 really deserves it’s place in the sun. 64. Banjo-Kazooie Developer: Rare Released on: N64, XBLA Release Date: June 30, 1998 (N64), Dec 3, 2008 (XBLA) I believe that Banjo-Kazooie is a love it or hate it sort of game. While it is regarded to be a classic, many also find that it just didn’t offer anything new or original after Super Mario 64. In a way, I agree with that. Running/jumping around and collecting stuff and completing objectives in various worlds that you can only access if you’ve collected enough stuff has been done before isn’t that original. However, Banjo-Kazooie does it so well by having interesting character designs, level designs and themes, along with solid control, and great music, that it offers up it’s own kind of atmosphere that just makes the overall experience seem magical. It’s hard to describe what made this game so good, since it pretty much does what all platformers today can do. Perhaps it has to do with the quirkiness of the game. Everything and every character in the game has a slight amount of silliness and character in it, whether it’s the characters that you confront themselves, or even just the objectives that you take on. Whether it’s taking on a sled race against a polar bear, transforming into a pumpkin so that you can flush down a toilet to grab a collectible, changing the seasons to help numerous woodland creatures prepare themselves for season changes (like helping a squirrel find his nuts), or playing on a giant trivia board game of life or death to advance, the game’s overall atmosphere has a ton of character and creativity to it. Everyone you help is entertaining to interact with, and the ways that you obtain puzzle pieces (akin to Mario 64’s stars) are always varied and fun to complete. On top of that, the world in general is just very fun to explore. Gruntilda’s Lair is kind of setup like Peach’s castle from Mario 64, but more varied and requires more exploration to find the right path to the next available stage. The place is simply massive, and has a “Teddy Bears had their picnic”-kind of melody in the background, which helps immerse you in the fairytale-style setting that you’re traversing in. The levels themselves are somewhat cliché. You’ve got the desert level, the snow level, the haunted mansion level, and so forth. However, there are some creative levels, like going through an industrial dock level complete with an oil tanker spreading toxic chemicals in the water, the level I mentioned earlier that takes you around a giant tree in which you have to access all four seasons to complete various objectives, and swimming around and through a giant mechanical fish in one level. Even some of the previous levels have their own spins to it. The snow level has a constant Christmas theme going on, which is fun to play around the holidays, the desert level has a great Egyptian theme going on, and the beach level was absolutely massive for it’s time. In fact, every level has great designs to them, and are absolutely littered with collectibles for the obsessive compulsive. Much like the 100 coin challenges from Mario 64/Galaxy, Banjo-Kazooie contains exactly 100 musical notes within each stage, and collecting them all (in one life) requires 100% exploration in each level. Let’s not forget about the element of transforming either. By collecting and paying enough skull tokens to a local shaman, he’ll transform you into different creatures depending on what level you’re in. You could be an ant, alligator, walrus, pumpkin, bee, and fridge (if he screws up your transformation by accident). Each one gives you access to new types of controls and allows you to complete certain objectives, but never feel gimmicky, and always fits with the theme of the game. Banjo and Kazooie also have a pretty deep moveset for a platformer, giving you all of the right moves to survive. Kazooie (your bird in your backpack) makes all the difference in the world, by sprouting legs through the bottom of the backpack and carrying Banjo so you can run faster and climb steep hills, to shooting eggs out of her ass or mouth to flying. The banter between both of them also keeps the whole adventure light-hearted and slightly amusing. For Banjo-Kazooie, I think that the level of enjoyment that you’ll receive playing it depends on when you’ve played it. At it’s time of release, it wasn’t ground-breaking, but it was a significant evolutionary step in the right direction for platformers. If you’re playing this game for the first time in this day and age, you may enjoy it if you’re expectations aren’t too high. Nonetheless, I guess I can describe the whole experience in one word: magical. Banjo-Kazooie has this certain atmosphere to it that makes it instantly charming the moment I start playing. It may not be the most original platformer, but I don’t think that I’ve seen many with more character than Banjo-Kazooie, and I really need to play it’s sequel someday. 63. Resident Evil 2 Developer: Capcom Released on: PS1, N64, DC, GC, PC Release Date: Jan 21, 1998 (PS1), Oct 31, 1999 (N64), Dec 15, 2000 (DC), Jan 14, 2003 (GC), Feb 28, 1999 (PC) Okay, okay. This is the last Resident Evil game that will make my Top 100 List, I swear. I’m aware that I’ve put them all so close together, but they’re all such different experiences entirely, and at the same time, they’re so damn good. Luckily, Resident Evil 2 happens to be the best Resident Evil that I’ve experienced. It just happens to have the most balance between the three games by maintaining some of the original’s scariness factor, as well as being more action packed than the original, which makes it a little similar to the third game. Therefore, it’s not too slow paced, but it’s also not so action packed that there’s no fear about going through the game with little resources. Really, there’s now very little to be said about Resident Evil 2 since I’ve covered a lot of the gameplay aspects when I talked about the third and first game in the series. I just have to say that the second game has incredibly level design and atmosphere with it. There’s just the right blend of scares and action, that you’re always in fear or flat out screaming one second (such as a licker smashing through one of those mirror interrogation windows just as you’re about to leave the room), and then blowing off the heads of a huge wave of zombies with your shotgun in a tight hallway the next. The boss fights are flat out awesome, such as a gigantic alligator that you have to quickly dispatch in a sewer or face a fast, violent death. I didn’t feel as claustrophobic in this game, but I felt a little more comfortable and confident, while still feeling a bit paranoid throughout. Possibly the best aspect of Resident Evil 2 was the replay value. Yes, like Resident Evil 1, you have access to two different characters, but in the sequel, who you played the game as first would affect the game as the character that you played after. That makes four different gameplay scenarios depending if Leon or Claire goes first, and that doesn’t even count the two secret character missions that you can unlock by meeting certain gameplay requirements. Resident Evil 2 didn’t break new ground for the series, but it did absolutely perfect it. It didn’t lay on opposite ends of the spectrum like the first and third games, but it was right in between them, achieving the perfect balance of what Resident Evil should be all about. I loved the scariness in the first game, but I felt severely underpowered, and sometimes it would feel so tedious that I wasn’t having fun. In the third, I was quite overpowered that the scares from the regular enemies wouldn’t affect me as much as they should have. The second game though, makes me feel scared, but ready to kick ass for the perfect amount of fun. Resident Evil 2 is the absolute peak of survival horror to me. 62. Tetris DS Developer: Nintendo Released on: DS Release Date: March 20, 2006 With all of my long entries so far, it may come as no surprise that my entry of Tetris DS will be particularly brief, as there’s not much to say about Tetris that no one knows about. What I can say, is that I find that this is the definitive version of Tetris. While I was introduced to the original Tetris by playing my brother’s friend’s Gameboy, and held the NES version as a classic in my heart, both of those experiences were blown out of the water when I booted up the DS version. The reason for that lies within the large amounts of modes in this game. First of all, is the Standard mode for all of the traditionalists out there that like to play Tetris the way it was meant to be played. Mission mode requires the player to complete the current objective shown on the top screen, which if completed in time, eliminates four lines of blocks from the bottom. Push mode requires the player to stack their blocks and clear two or more lines to push their opponents pile of blocks (that are pushing your blocks upward) back down the screen (which pushes their pile up). Touch mode requires you to slide blocks around with the stylus to fit them in the right places to clear rows. Catch mode starts you off with a block of tetris pieces in the middle of the screen, and requires you to rotate your block to catch the falling pieces in the right places to clear space. Puzzle mode has no time limit, but requires you to use a limited set of blocks to fill in all of the spaces to clear the field completely. Usually, I play Standard mode the most, but the other modes are all very compelling, and offer so much more to do in the game of Tetris than the originals ever could. A few other subtleties that lie within this version is the absolutely retro style of the game, which often displays different backgrounds of other NES franchises like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc…as you clear levels. It’s just more interesting to look at overall, as well as listen to, since the game also contains their classic 8-bit themes. A few gameplay mechanics included are the ability to hold onto one block for later use by using the shoulder button to put a block on hold or to select it. Also, you can infinitely keep rotating a block in place on your pile to gain a few more seconds to think about where to place your block. On higher difficulty settings where the game speeds up, this is harder to do, and if you’re playing against someone else, you can’t dawdle all day anyways, since they can gain the advantage if you stay in limbo too long. Also, possibly the greatest feature of this game that I haven’t even exploited yet (but sure hope to someday) is the multiplayer support. While I have played two player matches, this game can support up to ten players, with only one Tetris DS card! So if you’re out and have a large group of people with DS’es, then you’ll all have something to play together. All of these features combined makes this the definitive version of Tetris, and in my opinion, is an absolute essential in any puzzle fan’s handheld library. 61. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins Developer: Acquire Released on: PS1 Release Date: August 31, 1998 Whenever ninja games are ever brought up, what are the first things most people think of? Ninja Gaiden? Absolutely. Shinobi? At least the third Genesis game, that’s for sure. Naruto? Well, there certainly are a lot of those games, so probably. But how about Tenchu: Stealth Assassins on the Playstation? Not quite. Now, I’ve heard that many Tenchu games nowadays do indeed suck, but the original three were actually above average. Actually, above average doesn’t even do the original justice. It was, and still is a very fun game indeed, and is more ninja-ish than all of the ones I’ve listed above. Tenchu has you making your way through towns, forests, caves, temples, etc…sneaking around and killing your enemies on your way to your objective/assassination target. Much like Metal Gear Solid, the game places a heavy emphasis on not being detected. You have a gauge on the lower left hand corner of the screen, which increases in number the closer you get to an enemy. The little circle shows your enemy’s reaction. The colours and symbols change depending on the circumstance, such as not noticing you, hearing a sound and being confused, currently scouting/chasing you down, and attacking you. You can take part in traditional combat against your enemies, although they will most likely shout out and call for reinforcements, so the best course of action is to sneak around your environments, assassinating everyone as you make your way to your objective. Approaching someone from behind or the side and attacking them before they notice triggers a brutal kill scene that results in their instant death. You can also defeat some people in some pretty funny ways, such as jumping off of a 5 story building and slicing right through them with your sword, tossing a grenade and blowing them off the side of a cliff, dropping a landmine off a roof onto someone’s head or leaving poisoned rice cakes on the ground for stupid guards to pick up and eat so you can assassinate them easier. Part of the fun is how many items are available to you to take out your opponents with, but the other part of the fun is getting around the large maps and finding the correct route to defeat everyone while being undetected. For example, if two guards are standing next to each other, you may have to lure one away to pick them off one by one. You can also use your trusty grappling hook to hook onto almost anything, and literally pull yourself through the air in a line towards where you grappled, which can let you zip by people when they’re not looking. Unlike Metal Gear Solid, the environments require so much more than hiding behind a wall and killing someone from behind. Since the environments can be multi-layered sometimes, you can approach people from different heights and from many different angles to take them out. I know I’ve made this game out to sound like a simple kill sim, and it may seem like I’m some guy who merely plays it to giggle at the sight of blood, like Grand Theft Auto. First, of all, I hate Grand Theft Auto games, so no. Secondly, it just has an addicting stealth system like Metal Gear Solid. Even if there was no blood, I would find it very compelling. There’s just so many ways to approach every situation, and it can often be quite challenging as there are many times where multiple guards will be covering each other. Also, there’s a scoring system which is addicting to try and achieve perfect scores, since it keeps track of how many times you were spotted, your percentage of kills, the amount of time it all took, etc. Other than these aspects, Tenchu has more going for it. Boss fights are epic, and require a ton of strategy. Usually, you’ll fight them in the level you’ve been playing in, so you can use the full level to your advantage. I’ve knocked a boss over a 5 or so story temple, only to jump down onto a lower building and shuriken him while he was at ground level. Also, I hardly ever use cheats in a game, but if you’ve completed it, and want a full arsenal to take out your foes, you can set up some really interesting scenarios. Finally, I just have to say that the level design and stealth system combined mesh together perfectly. The original Tenchu remains as the number one stealth experience for me. I won’t lie, Metal Gear Solid is higher on my list as a better gameplay/story experience overall, but Tenchu takes the cake for me in terms of fun while using a stealth system. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is a bloody underrated gem in every right. 60. Super Mario Bros 2 Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: NES, SNES (Super Mario All-Stars), GBA Release Date: Oct 10, 1988 (NES), Aug 1, 1993 (SNES), June 10, 2001 (GBA) I really don’t understand the constant bashing this game gets for being Doki Dori Panic with skins of Mario Characters over the Japanese game’s characters. Sure, it really wasn’t the true Japanese Mario 2 (also known as the Lost Levels here, which was released not that long after on the SNES with Super Mario All Stars), but if you played the game as a child without that knowledge, it was still a fun game. Not as good as Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 3, but still a fun game in it’s own right. The whole situation of this game being bashed is like eating pears your whole life, thinking they were apples (which is already your favourite fruit). Regardless of what it was, that mystery fruit was still good. Then you’re actually told that those “apples” that you’ve been eating are really pears, and what do you do? Throw away the pear saying “yuck, I hate pears”. What sense does that make? Super Mario Bros 2 was good before, and just because it’s not the true sequel to Super Mario Bros, I’ve seen many shun this game afterwards. Who really cares if it was a lie if it was fun before? If my #1 game of all time was suddenly revealed that it was a clone of something else, it would still be my #1 game, as well as fun regardless, because the product is all about the gameplay itself, and not about the mere name of the product. Whew…that was a lot to get off my chest. Now let’s look at the game itself. I’m pretty sure that everyone and their mom has played this game at some point, so there’s no real point in going on about how deep that it plays. For those that haven’t though, it plays pretty close to a traditional Mario platformer, but has a different enemy set than the original, allows you to jump on your enemies but ride on them instead of killing them (you do get to pick them up, as well as various plants from the ground to throw at other enemies), doesn’t have Bowser (but a giant frog called Wart), gives you a life bar, and allows you to play as Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach with their own sets of statistics (ex. Luigi has higher jumps that give you more air time, Peach floats further than any character can jump, etc…) as well as the ability to pick who you want to use before each stage. It is your traditional platforming fare, but it just works so well, and the whole picking up/throwing mechanic was so new and interesting for it’s time. The stage design really made Super Mario Bros 2 stand out for me. Instead of just running from left to right the entire time like the original, the sequel focused more on exploration. At a lot of times it did require you to run to the right, but sometimes you would have to go left, sometimes you would keep platforming upward, sometimes it had you digging through the ground downward, and a lot of this was interlinked between various doors, as well as sometimes needing to find keys to open up certain ones, or to stack blocks to reach new areas. Aside from these, there were little twists in gameplay that gave plenty of variety in each stage. If you grabbed a key, a crazy phantom mask will float quickly around the screen trying to kill you as long as you held it, so it would wind up as a challenge of picking up, throwing and dropping the key as you traverse the level, trying to survive. Sometimes you would have to ride across various flying enemies to traverse huge gaps, use potions that you pull out of the ground and dropping them in certain places to create a magical door that may lead to a warp or hidden bonuses, or creating a barrier of blocks to not let enemies pass and then dropping off a block from the top of the pile to whittle them down. For an NES game, there were always little elements being introduced, which always kept things fresh and different. For a clone of a Japanese game, Super Mario Bros 2 has a lot of personality. So much, that even some enemies were carried over into other Mario spin offs, like Shy Guys and Birdo. Also, the music still kicks ass to this day and has been memorable since the first time I played it. Not only does the game’s style work, but it’s also very challenging, possibly the most challenging out of the first three Mario games. However, that doesn’t make it frustrating or any less fun, and if you suck at the game, you can always play the GBA version which has save points. All in all, I find that Super Mario Bros 2 is the most underrated game of the series. I do happen to find all of the other core Mario games better (except Mario Sunshine, which I haven’t played yet) than this title, but even as the least impressive one, I would still at least rate this game as an 8/10, as it was even better than most NES platformers at it’s time. So who cares if Super Mario Bros 2 isn’t the real Mario 2? We got The Lost Levels in Super Mario All-Stars not long afterwards, and Super Mario Bros 2 still remains a classic in my eyes. 59. Bioshock Developer: 2K Games Released on: 360, PC, PS3 Release Date: August 21, 2007 (360, PC), Oct 21, 2008 (PS3) With the flood of FPS games on the market today, it can really be hard for someone like me who's not that into the whole genre to find a shooter that's innovative, fun, and controls really well. While it may not be my favourite FPS game, Bioshock is definitely the most creative and atmospheric of the bunch. By working as a combination of survival horror and FPS, this game has had me glued to the screen for hours on end, as the captivating romp through the underwater city of Rapture only gets deeper and deeper by the hour, and not just in actual depth under the water, but as an experience too. The game starts off in 1960, with you crashing your plane into the Atlantic Ocean, and swimming up to an island with a lighthouse to safety. Upon entering the lighthouse, you'll end up entering a bathysphere that takes you to the underwater city of Rapture, which contains a collapsed society that used to rely heavily on order. Down under the sea, there's a man named Atlas that wants you to save his family, a man named Ryan who uses his pheromone-controlled crazy citizens and automated security systems to try to kill you throughout the game, and Big Daddies (the huge scuba suit-wearing guys with huge weapons like drills and guns) that protect the Little Sisters (girls who hosts a valuable ADAM mutagen that allows your character to upgrade himself and grow in abilities). The city is truly alive, very interactive, and often, freaky as hell, as you'll hear the screams of the crazy citizens down hallways, around corners, and in the darkness as they stalk you, wanting you dead. Rapture is a huge place for a single player FPS game, which has seemed to last me about twice as long as any typical FPS I have played through, and the story has a great sense of mystery to it, not only through the various transmissions that you receive from Atlas, but through all of the voice recordings that you pick up in the environment from the many citizens of Rapture that give detail on the messed up nature of the city, as well as Ryan. These recordings always seem to be picked up at just the right moments, relating to your tasks at hand, or just in plain relation to the current state of your environment, to give it some interesting history. Bioshock is a clever game that evokes a good range of moods during gameplay. There's creepiness and fear, which is especially apparent in the first few hours of gameplay, as you'll begin with very little resources and won't accumulate enough to make you feel somewhat powerful anytime soon. You'll be left wondering how in the world you're going to defeat this game, when you're almost using more resources than you save, whether it be health, ammo, or your plasmid powers (which I'll get into later). Through the whole early portion of the game, I felt incredibly weak and the enemies felt insanely strong at some points, as I was just scraping by. By no means was it frustrating though. In fact, it was thrilling, chilling, and really sucked me into the atmosphere that I was way over my head with what I was trying to accomplish. The constant quest for survival and the absolute need for smart thinking of managing my resources to eventually get more powerful was really fun in it's own way. This leads up to the next mood I felt: pure astonishment, awe and glee. Why? Because as I accumulated more resources (whether it be weapons, additional psychic powers, life upgrades, etc...), each new power and weapon was extremely exciting and useful in their own way, and it really paid off to buy the right power-ups that suited my playing style and that complimented taking advantages of the weaknesses that I had gathered from the enemies that I had encountered. Whether it's using your freezing plasmid (plasmids are your psychic powers) to freeze an enemy and then shatter them afterwards with your machine gun (making it so that you can't loot their corpses for money and ammo since their bodies are shattered to a million pieces), or using your telekenesis to pick up bodies and ramming them through electrical wires so they will be shocked instead of you (you can also use this ability to pick up all the health and ammo in a room before even going into it, so you don't have to face danger to get what you need), to my favourite, the incinerate plasmid that has you snapping your fingers (like Colonel Mustang from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist) to light up anyone on fire as you watch them running around the halls as they try to find a place with water to jump in before they die, each plasmid power has multiple uses, as well as conditions where you can't use some of them. For instance, sometimes I couldn't generate a spark with my incinerate ability due to the amount of dampness in the air. There's also just so much more to combat than your plasmids in Bioshock. Normally, I would use my plasmids first in battle to mess enemies up before I shot them with my weapons, whether it be distracting them by lighting them on fire, freezing them, sending a swarm of bees after them, stunning them with an electrical shock, or using telekenesis to chuck an explosive barrel at them (well, okay, maybe that last one would kill them). Afterwards, I found it really fun to finish the job with the useful and varied weapon selection. What truly makes these guns fun to use is that all of them have different ammo types (which you can come across by looting bodies and the environment, as well as inventing them at particular stations with what components you've previously acquired, or you can just buy some of the types of ammo at ammo vendors). There's just so much variety with these ammo types, such as for your shotgun (regular buck, electrical buck and exploding buck), your grenade launcher (which you can equip with grenades, proximity mines and heat-seeking rockets), your chemical thrower (which can spray napalm, liquid nitrogen or electrical gel at foes), as well as pretty much every weapon in your inventory. There's just so much versatility in your weapon set, combined with your plasmids and ways to interact with the environment to destroy your enemies, that Bioshock never feels like you're just strolling down corridors with the same old weapon in your hand, pulling off the same kill over and over just to advance. Also, the fun doesn't even end at the weapons for combat, as you'll need to upgrade your body plenty of times to harvest ADAM. In regards to ADAM, that mutagen that I mentioned that you extract from the Little Sisters, allows your character to grow, almost like a level-up, except that you get to choose which abilities for yourself that you would like to upgrade by spending that ADAM that you've obtained. For instance, you can increase your overall health bar, you can increase your EVE bar (EVE is your "mana" bar that fuels your plasmid use), buy new plasmids and abilities, you can grant yourself more slots to hold more plasmid, combat, engineering or physical abilities on hand (so for example, if you've bought that nifty new plasmid that sicks bees on your foes, but are already carrying too many plasmids that you need and don't have enough room for it, then just buy another slot to hold that bee plasmid) , and so forth. It's also interesting in how you obtain that ADAM. After defeating a Big Daddy, you can choose whether to harvest the ADAM from a Little Sister which would kill them, but grant you more ADAM to spend, or to rescue the Little Sister and only extract about half of the ADAM from them (although for every three that you rescue, you are left with a bonus reward). Choosing between the two presents a great ethical dilemma at first. I really wanted to rescue the Little Sisters, but I had already been through complete hell before I encountered the first one, as I was getting low on resources and drastically needed to be more powerful. However, I still stuck with my guns and chose to rescue them instead, throwing away my potential to become unstoppable to try to persevere to do the right thing in the end. Still, I didn't find it as a bad choice or that it made the game any less fun. It certainly made it more challenging, but that in itself provided a unique thrill and sense of accomplishment throughout the rest of the game. Speaking of Big Daddies earlier, they can truly be fierce (especially the first one that you fight that has a drill on it's hand, which in my opinion, is still the most dangerous kind), as they'll most likely deplete you of most (or all) of your ammo, first aid kits, and EVE vaccinations. Early on in the game, you may not want to engage in any fights with them if they are not accompanied by a Little Sister, since there is no reward other than money. They're so dangerous, that they are literally overpowered. Although, as the game progresses and you get more powerful, the Big Daddies remain as the same strength, so you'll be finding yourself better equipped to compete against them. In this respect, the game shifts a bit from survival horror to more of an action game. However, Bioshock will throw more Big Daddies at you, whether it's just fighting them more often, or engaging against two in an area at once. This leads to one of my only small complaints about the game. Sometimes, the Big Daddies (and even the various citizens of Rapture) respawn too often, as I'll often enter an area, clear the area of a Big Daddy, then proceed to kill a bunch of other people, only to encounter another Big Daddy that's spawned on my way back out the door that I came in from. When you have a lot of resources, it's not too bad, since you can gain quite a bit of money off of their corpses, but when you're low on resources, it's a pain in the ass to constantly have to sneak by them, and it's hard to feel a sense of accomplishment for defeating a "boss", when another one just spawns in it's place later anyways. Another complaint which I have just now after reading about it, is that the Vita-Chambers make the game too easy, since they will infinitely respawn you with half of your health, while any previous damage done to the enemies remains, so that you can finish them off. I guess it's a good thing that I always reloaded my last save whenever I died (because I always thought when you ended up in a Vita-Chamber, you're only restarting with another life, so all of the enemies would be back to full health again), because it made the game that much more immersive and difficult for me, when I didn't use the cheap tactic of technically having an infinite bar of life by always respawning in the Vita-Chambers. Bioshock should have never had the Vita-Chambers, and I would recommend to anyone who's going to play it to just reload from their last save if they die...but now that you know about it, you probably won't. There's just so much to mention in Bioshock, that I could easily spend at least five more paragraphs talking about the many elements about it, whether it be the hacking system that allows you to get discounts on vending machines as well as taking control of security robots, to the ability to use your camera to take research photos of your enemies before you kill them so you can gain new power-ups and deal additional damage to those enemy types, to the amazing looking artistic/graphical style in the game that conveys the best water and metal effects that I have ever seen (and also conveys a sense of time, with this game taking place in the 1960's), to the incredible use of music and sound effects that echo through the hallways and around you to creep you the hell out. Bioshock goes above and beyond with it's attempts to create an immersive experience, that it surpasses expectations in every single category. It took awhile for me to finally get the incentive to play Bioshock on the XBOX 360, since through screenshots and some descriptions alone, it just seemed like another FPS, with maybe a few unique twists, but the setting did intrigue me just enough to pick it up cheap and to give it a whirl (also, all of the praise about it motivated me to try it), and am I ever glad that I took the plunge into Rapture, as Bioshock really does offer up so much more than most FPS games. I should punish myself for not picking up this game earlier by buying it twice...or I could just wait for the sequel. 58. Meteos Developer: Q Entertainment, Sora Ltd Released on: DS Release Date: June 27, 2005 While I am sure that there are many puzzle fanatics out there would take it as a sin to place a fairly new puzzle game over the timeless classic, Tetris, to me, Meteos for the Nintendo DS is everything that is right about old school block-stacking puzzle games…even if it is a recent production. I just happen to enjoy the speed of gameplay, gameplay mechanics, touch control, and overall design and depth to the game. Considering that Masahiro Sakurai (Kirby & Smash Bros) was the lead designer for Meteos, it doesn’t surprise me that this game isn’t just a cheap Tetris knock-off. Where do I begin? Meteos resembles your classic “blocks fall down from the top of the screen” puzzler at first, but it involves so much more than that. You will have to match up coloured tiles by 3-of-a-kind to 5-of-a-kind, but you’ll have to move around the tiles individually with the touch screen to match them, rather than controlling falling shapes of blocks. You can only slide tiles up and down, and not side to side, so it takes a lot of foresight and planning to get the matches and combos that you need. The matched blocks can be put together in horizontal or vertical lines, and there’s a positive and negative element to doing each. You see, when you match up 3 or more blocks horizontally for example, that line you just formed will ignite and shoot up towards the top of the screen, carrying all of the blocks that are sitting on top of it. The goal is to get your piles of blocks towards the top of the screen to shoot them into the stratosphere. Anyways, when you match a horizontal line, obviously, you can carry a lot more blocks up to the top of the screen, but if you’re making a line near the bottom of your block pile, it’s going to weigh more and your pile will take a few more 3-or-more-of-a-kind match ups to reignite it to send it into space. Whereas if you make vertical lines, the thin pillar will shoot up into space much more quickly and further, but you won’t get rid of many blocks that way. It really acts as a double edged sword. If you have a block almost reaching the top, you may want to create a vertical match to send it up quicker. However, the more vertical matches you make, the less blocks you’re launching into space (plus the chance that you’ll leave an empty gap between piles that you can’t fix (since you can’t move blocks horizontally). One other aspect is that when you launch piles of blocks into the sky, you can intercept other falling blocks to push them upwards as well, although those falling blocks will slow your pile down. Also, if you’ve launched a horizontal pile for example, but it doesn’t go up quickly, then you can launch a vertical pile underneath it like a rocket to knock the horizontal pile into space. There’s really a lot of strategy involved, regarding weight, keeping your piles of blocks airborne (your hard work will be wasted if your launched piles eventually fall back down to the surface), and choosing whether to make horizontal/vertical match-ups. Finally, one more critical element is raised, which is the planet’s gravity. In Meteos, you can choose your stages, which are all different planets with different types of gravity. Some planets will have very weak gravities, which makes sending blocks into the sky incredibly easy, and some will have you reigniting each individual block pile over and over and over, trying to push it into space, since your pile will fall down to the surface quicker, or just may really slowly rise to the top of the screen. Also, some gravities will apply specifically to horizontal or vertical piles. For example, a horizontal pile of blocks may be easier to launch than a vertical one. Wow, that’s a lot of talk about launching blocks and messing with gravity, but all of Meteos’ little details like that make for a really deep and fun experience. The gameplay always remains fast throughout, and the elements of different planets make it more than just a simple block stacking puzzler, in which the blocks will do nothing but fall down faster over time. You’re always moving blocks (by sliding them up and down with the stylus), setting up combos, and trying to keep your piles of blocks afloat. If you make mistakes, they will cost you, but they won’t leave you as screwed as Tetris where you just have empty spaces with no chance of doing anything with. On a last note, for a puzzle title, this game has a ton of unlockables, namely in creating new planets. Each different coloured block represents a different element, and different planets have elements that others may not have. When you ignite a certain colour by matching it, you’re granted 1 point in that particular element, and in the fusion room, you create new planets by having the right amount of elements to do so. This makes for an addicting single player experience, where it’s not just about bettering yourself, but also about creating new planets to give you new gravity scenarios to play with. Aside from all of that, multiplayer (up to 4 players) is intense, and the game gives you at least four different planets to pick (everyone can pick their own planets) in the single card cartridge mode, whereas the whole game is unlocked if everyone owns a copy. It’s quite a deep experience for a puzzler, and the fast paced nature of the game makes it perfect for quick pick up and play sessions. For a new puzzle game, Meteos is pretty much amongst the best for me, except for one particular puzzler that you’ll just have to stay tuned for later on. 57. Portal: Still Alive Developer: Valve Released on: PC, XBLA Release Date: Oct 22, 2008 I’ll start this entry off by saying that I like Half-Life 1 & 2: Episode 1. They’re pretty good games from what I’ve played at a friend’s house and my XBOX respectively, but not enough to make my Top 100 List. So when Portal was first released, I was a little sceptical of buying The Orange Box, since I already own Half Life 2: Episode 1 on my XBOX, and I don’t play online multiplayer often (making Team Fortress 2 pretty much useless). The only thing on that package that truly interested me was Portal. I heard about it everywhere, it sounded like an absolutely original puzzle/adventure title, but I really didn’t want to cough up $70 just to play it. That’s why I’m so glad that I waited a year or so, since Portal was eventually released on XBOX Live, and not just the standard game, but with the expansion, called Still Alive. The game looks like an FPS, but is the furthest thing from one. The environment does present plenty of dangers if you’re not careful, and your portal gun is the only tool you’ll have to navigate areas and to defend yourself with. The portal gun can shoot out a blue portal and an orange portal (both which can be used to enter or exit from), and can create portals on just about every surface. You can shoot a blue portal on a wall across a huge gap, and then enter the orange portal beside you to end up on the other side of the gap. You may see a tall wall that you can’t jump over, but if you connect a portal from the ceiling to the floor, you can keep falling through them infinitely as shown on the screen shot, and shoot the coloured portal that was on the ceiling onto the wall beside you so that the momentum gained from the incredible speed you’re falling at, will vault you out of that wall and over the wall in front of you that you couldn’t pass earlier. You may ask “why can’t you just put a Portal on the ceiling on the other side of that wall that you can’t pass?” Because as I’ve said before, you can’t create portals on certain surfaces, and the developers really took this idea and ran with it, making sure that you think of the most creative, out-of-the box methods for clearing obstacles that you wouldn’t have even considered before. The whole experience relies on the use of physics, not just with your own body, but also manipulating objects in the environment with your portals, whether you have to physically toss items through them, or have to set up your portals to have a travelling ball of energy take the correct path that you need it to, to activate a lift. All the while, the game has this clean, sterile look to it’s environment that really makes you feel like a lab rat in a maze test, and the banter of the robot, GLaDoS, who is running this series of test provides plenty of humour in a particularly evil way. As with anyone else who has played Portal, I can vouch for the amazing ending which has one of the best credits songs that I’ve ever seen in a game, which is a great reward for completing the game. The only downside that some people may see in Portal is the length, which is about 3 to 5 hours. Personally, it’s not a problem for me, since I don’t want the developers adding +20 hours of more puzzles to complete if they would end up as generic, uninspired messes. If 19 puzzle rooms was all that Valve thought was necessary to cover every kind of mind game, then I trust them on that judgement. However, the whole experience isn’t just 19 puzzles, since the Still Alive expansion contains a bunch of all new puzzle rooms to complete. To be honest, I haven’t tackled them yet, but knowing that it’s there gives me plenty of incentive to return again someday soon. The whole premise of Portal may seem short and gimmicky to some, but it’s anything but a one trick pony. The short gameplay length also ensures that the whole experience is incredibly rich, deep, and never watered down. For 800 Microsoft points to download it on XBOX Live, Portal is an absolute must-have for your XBOX Live Arcade. Any version is great, really. Just make sure that you have patience, and trust me…absolutely do not use a guide for this game, or you’ll be watering down the experience yourself. You’ll only be able to experience these puzzles for the first time only once, so don’t waste the opportunity to Portal through these mazes yourself. 56. Sonic CD Developer: Sonic Team Released on: Sega CD, PC, GC Release Date: Nov 19, 1993 (Sega CD), Sept 26, 1996 (PC), Aug 16, 2005 (on GC in the Sonic Gems Collection) Having never owned a Sega CD, I grew up on playing the PC version of Sonic CD. I do own it for the Gamecube now as part of the Sonic Gems Collection, but I’ve put the bulk of my hours into the PC port, and despite playing on the PC, which is normally very uncomfortable for a platformer compared to using a controller, I still kicked ass at this game and loved every second of it. I would almost consider the game as a Sonic 2.5, since it has a lot more going on than Sonic 2, but graphically, hasn’t hit the Sonic 3 mark. The main grab for Sonic CD is the new time travel aspect involved. Other than that aspect, it does play like your standard Sonic game with a few new tweaks, but I’ll get into those later. To activate Sonic’s time travel ability, you have to build up enough speed and dash past a marker/sign (much like the checkpoints in previous Sonic games) that contains the words “past” or “future” on them, and to keep running at full speed for a few seconds to make the time jump. The neat aspect is that by doing things in the past, you can affect the future. For example, if you go into the past and destroy the robot generating machine within the level, you’ll get a good future when you time travel forward, which has fewer robots and obstacles than before. If you don’t destroy it and time travel forward again, you get a bad future, in which levels become harder, since they are more ridden with enemies and obstacles. To get the best ending in the game, it requires that the player travels to the past in every zone to destroy each machine (oddly enough, I enjoy the “bad” ending more than the good ending). The time travelling is certainly an interesting hook, since it provides four different level layouts per stage, depending on what time period you’re in, which adds 4X the replayability. A few other aspects really gave this game a personality apart from the other 2D Sonic titles. The slick hand-animated opening and ending sequences to the game were absolutely amazing, and really gave me hopes as to how Sonic should have moved in the 3D realm (which never came true, unfortunately). The music during these portions was incredibly catchy too, hyping me up to play the game, and leaving me satisfied after I beat it. Sonic now had a figure-eight dash which only arrived in this game, where he would stay in place and rev up his legs in a figure-eight pattern (somewhat like the spin dash, but standing) to release it in an incredible burst of speed. Instead of just fighting Robotnik every level (although you had to fight him in most), Sonic CD had one of Sonic’s most epic boss showdowns in a race against Metal Sonic. If you don’t pass him by the end, you get crushed by a giant metal door. The special stages were some of the best to grace a Sonic game as well, with a somewhat 3D environment to run around as you jumped into and destroyed UFOs under a very strict time limit. Finally, one of my favourite aspects about Sonic CD (or at least the PC version if this feature was only included in it) was the ability to select and play any stage after you’ve beaten the game. Yes, I know that this has been incorporated into future Sonic titles, but here’s the real kicker. The game saves after you beat a stage, and saves your fastest time of your completed run. Not only that, but it calculates the sum of all of your stage run times into one overall time for beating the whole game. I played the game to death, shaving off precious seconds on every level I could to get the lowest game completion time available. I know that overall, I had eventually reached somewhere between 19 – 15 minutes for the accumulated completion of the whole game (as I recall, there was some in-game reward the drove me to get a total time of under 20 minutes, although I can’t remember what that was). Sonic CD was a speedrunner’s dream. I even remember completing a level in around 15 seconds by grabbing the speedy shoes, ramping off a certain jump, bouncing off of several airborne enemies (which would send you incredibly far) and jumping from a few certain platforms to reach the goal in that insane time. Since the Sonic CD port is on the Sonic Gems Collection for the Gamecube, if you’re a fan of the old school, 2D Sonic games, I urge you to pick it up right away before it’s too late. The price is still pretty cheap if you can find a copy, but it’s honestly worth more than what people are charging for it for Sonic CD alone. 55. Sonic Adventure 2 Developer: Sonic Team Released on: DC, GC Release Date: June 18, 2001 (DC), Feb 7, 2002 (GC) Even though Sonic had never gained the sheer speed and agility as in that awesome Sonic CD opening, the Sonic Adventure series was still pretty sweet. I believe that Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast was the last truly great Sonic game to ever grace a console. I realize that there were parts to the game which certainly weren’t perfect, but compared to Sonic Heroes and everything else after it, Sonic Adventure 2 is god. Yes, the game was infected by the stereotypical Sonic syndrome, that more characters = a better game in Sega’s eyes, so that aspect did dilute the game a little bit. You could either choose to play the Hero or Villian stories (in which you would alternate between 3 characters for each scenario from level to level, which are Sonic, Tails and Knuckles for the Hero side, and Shadow, Robotnik and Rouge for the Villian side). Some of the characters worked, and some fell pretty flat. I found the Tails/Robotnik sections to play the worst, since the Sonic series is supposed to be about speed, and these two characters walk around in slow, hulking mechs, shooting stuff. To this day, I don’t understand why Sonic Team didn’t think Tails flying abilities were good enough to use in this game. I liked playing as Tails in the original Sonic Adventure, so why dumb him down for this one? Knuckles/Rouge had a whole treasure hunt aspect of gameplay similar to the first game. These sections were average and occasionally fun to take part in, but they did drag out to be the longest. Despite the other characters, the Sonic/Shadow portions of the game had enough content to make a game of their own, which is where I spent the majority of my time in. The stages are crazy fast, intense, fun, very well designed, and have many adrenaline pumping moments within them (such as surfing down the street on a sheet of metal or outrunning a transport truck that’s trying to flatten you on the first city stage). The controls for this game were as spot on as a 3D Sonic game could get, and you could get additional bonus points to your score for tricking off ramps and combo-ing off of enemies/grinding on railings. Getting high scores and completing levels as fast as you could with the most rings on hand would net you a higher grade rating (you could also go into a stage select mode to play any level that you’ve beaten in the adventure mode). Getting A rankings on every level with each character would open up an alternate costume in the multiplayer mode, but getting all A rankings for every character would unlock a hidden stage: The Green Hill Zone. I still have not seen this mythical stage, since the game is so damn challenging to get A rankings with everyone. It’s still really addictive to aim for these rankings, as they require complete mastery over every level and character, which dramatically increases the replay value. Sometimes I was able to find my own particular shortcuts to save time on some levels, so experimentation and exploration paid off considerably. Aside from having some of the best level designs in a 3D Sonic game, it also had some great boss fights. A race/boss battle between Sonic and Shadow at the end of their respective stories was intense, and the final Super Sonic/Shadow battle with the giant Biolizard in space was epic, giving you access to flying controls similar to the Super Sonic battle at the end of Sonic & Knuckles. The “Live & Learn” music track to the fight only managed to make it all the more epic. In fact, a ton of the music from this game was actually really good and memorable, the story was pretty solid for a Sonic game (not that I’m expecting much of a story from a talking, blue hedgehog) and the visuals are still very colourful and crisp to this day. Another aspect to extend the replay value of Sonic Adventure 2 was the Chao raising minigame, in which you would raise these cute little blobby things in order to eventually enter them in races. You could alter their appearance and abilities by having them absorb the genes from animals that you saved in the adventure mode by defeating enemies, as well as by feeding them and keeping them happy. They would even have good/evil alignments depending on how you raised them/who you raised them with. It was pretty deep for a tamagotchi-like concept, and somewhat addictive. So yes, Sonic Adventure 2 does kick ass. While some of his 2D Genesis games were the absolute cream of the crop, this particular game is one of the only 3D Sonic titles that isn’t just “okay” or “pretty good”. It’s great, and it gave me a lot of hope for the Sonic franchise in the future…until I played the atrocious Sonic Heroes…then Sonic turned into the biggest sell-out in videogame history. However, I’ll always remember Sonic Adventure 2 as Sonic’s swan song, and that’s all I really need, since I’ve basically wiped my mind of all of Sonic’s console games after this piece of greatness (and I pretty much haven’t tried any of them, except for Heroes and Secret Rings, which were terrible). 54. Bomberman 64 Developer: Hudson Soft Released on: N64 Release Date: Dec 1, 1997 Bomberman 64 is one entry on my list that many people may not agree on. When most people think of Bomberman, they usually think about Super Bomberman 2, Saturn Bomberman, or even in some small cases Bomberman DS. While those games are stand out titles, Bomberman 64 didn’t just make it on my list from pure nostalgia alone (it was the first Bomberman title that I’ve experienced), but I found that it had the perfect balance of single and multiplayer that I’ve ever seen in a Bomberman title. I went into this game knowing pretty much nothing about the Bomberman franchise. The only source of information that I got it from were some very small magazine articles. Despite reviews between 6 and 8 out of 10, I was still very interested, even though there were a lot of bigger name games coming out. I guess I just had some kind of weird intuition that it would be good, because when I received it that one Christmas morning, being filled with glee as I popped the cartridge into the N64, I pretty much played it for months on end, whether I had friends over or not. When I was alone, I spent all of my time solving puzzles and figuring out the overly complex ways to get to locations that kept all of the secret items as well as the costume pieces for multiplayer mode. When friends came over (or when I went to my friend’s house), I was the only one with access to this game, which gave me my own particular piece of gaming goodness to offer (which was rare for me, since I had a rich friend who pretty much owned every game I did, plus much more). Multiplayer mode was played for many hours straight at a time, as we fought in free-for-alls as well as team matches over the hectic stages. To go into more detail, the single player mode is better than any single player portion of any Bomberman title that I’ve experienced so far (yes, even better than Bomberman Hero). The planets that you explored felt like actual worlds, instead of just a bunch of random maze designs to get through like the older Bomberman titles. The worlds were more open, and while movement was a little slow, it all fell in place with the amount of puzzle solving in the game. While you could just solve the natural flow of puzzles throughout each stage to figure out how to get to the exit, the amount of collectibles was pretty immense. A total of 100 gold cards had to be obtained (5 hidden ones in each stage) to unlock the hidden sixth stage, the Rainbow Palace. Finding all of these without a guide at the time was a big challenge, and very addicting in it’s own right. The same can be said for finding the costume items, which were even more well hidden in various stages. Since Bomberman cannot jump in this game, you have to use many bomb jumping techniques to obtain a lot of the hidden items. Usually by the means of having remote bombs (so they don’t explode when you’re trying to stack them), you’ll have to arrange big and small bombs (you can actually “pump” up your bombs in this game, similar to making a balloon bigger over time) in the right places, creating bridges to where you need to go. Not only that, but you’ll have to find the right barriers to break, find out how exactly to get to where you need to go and to have the right timing on your bomb placement (if you throw one bomb on another, it will continuously bounce up and down instead of staying still. Having several bouncing bombs next to each other to reach a higher place requires great timing on when you throw your bomb on the pile). There’s really a lot of depth to such a simple looking game, and finding everything without a guide and just experimenting is immensely satisfying. To top off the single player, it houses some really great boss fights, which almost feel like a traditional multiplayer match of Bomberman, except for the fact that they are more powerful than you. Each boss has their own particular themed stages, attacks, and strategies to give them a lot of personality, as well as kickass names (ex. Sirius, Artemis, Orion, Altair). You could also deploy traditional Bomberman match strategies on them, such as stunning them with a bomb, picking them up, and throwing them off a cliff. Speaking of strategies, Bomberman’s moveset is far more advanced this time around than in his 2D games. Aside from the bomb pumping technique listed earlier, Bomberman can also, pick up, throw and kick his bombs without having to grab powerups to do so in this game. Not only does this control scheme make the game more user friendly, but I found that it always made multiplayer matches more fast, frantic, and balanced, since everyone has the same moveset. The power-ups made every moment in multiplayer a mad scramble for the newest items, as well as being invaluable in the single player mode. There were the standard items like the item that gives you the ability to place more bombs on the field at the same time, the one that increases your blast radius, remote bombs, hearts that let you take one more hit of damage, and a skull that will randomly either make your character really small, fast, and hard to hit, or really big, slow, and vunerable. The skull mostly seemed to give players a negative effect, so it was wise to avoid it. Effects were ones like your bombs exploding instantly (killing you) as you placed them, not being able to make bombs, your small bombs exploding like large bombs, a speed reverser that causes your character to run at full speed when you don’t move the stick, but stops when you move the stick all the way in one direction, and my personal favourite, being lit on fire and killing everyone you touch (although instant death occurs when you touch a bomb, and you’ll eventually fall over dead from the burns anyway). Another neat aspect is that most of these curses can be passed onto other players just by touching them, either purposely getting rid of your disadvantage, or accidentally losing your advantage. In multiplayer only, there is a blue mask power up that will affect everyone, such as making a tornado that will send players flying in different directions, giving everyone fully powered bombs (I’m getting to that one in a second), giving the screen a flashbang effect, having players instantly switch places at random, etc.). Possibly my favourite powerup was the one that made your bombs red and fully powered, creating a massive explosion, especially when the bomb was pumped up. When this is combined with remote bombs, skilled players are forces to be reckoned with. There’s so much emphasis on powerups in this game, and it works for single and multiplayer perfectly. I realize that I’m talking a little too much about this game, but I’ll just add a few more things before I wrap it up. Multiplayer mode is simply amazing, and I love the stage designs. Unlike 2D Bomberman games, these stages are multi-tiered, so you can drop bombs down from higher levels on other players. Plus, there’s a variety of different surfaces and obstacles that you can take advantage of that just makes every match different from the last. The visuals to this game are still colourful, simple, and easy on the eyes, and the music is extremely catchy and memorable. Overall, I’d say Bomberman 64 is one of the most overlooked games in the N64 library from what I’ve seen, and even though many people normally disagree with me, I find it’s slightly 3D approach to combat/multiplayer more engaging than his 2D titles. 53. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Released on: PS2, XBOX, GC, PC Release Date: Nov 6, 2003 (PS2), Nov 12, 2003 (XBOX), Nov 18, 2003 (GC), Nov 30, 2003 (PC) Back in 1997, I recall playing the original Prince of Persia for DOS. From what I remember, the game was pretty hard to beat, focused a lot on trial-and-error exploration and had amusing pixelated deaths to give my thirteen year old self something to giggle about. The game was really fun, and if I could remember much about it or at least re-experience it to confirm it’s awesomeness, it may have made it onto this list, or this spot as well. What I can remember though, is waiting for what seemed like an eternity for a follow-up to that game. Prince of Persia just seemed like an underrated franchise that just fell into obscurity, and was never placed in the right hands of developers (I do remember hearing about a crappy 3D PC version at some point). Eventually, the prince made it back to the PS2, Gamecube and XBOX in the form of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It wasn’t only an astrounding follow-up to the original, but one of the shortest and at the same time, sweetest adventures I’ve ever played. The high points that sell this game to me are the prince’s abilities/near-perfect controls and the incredible level design. Both of these features mesh together so seamlessly that it creates one of the smoothest and engaging action/platformers that I’ve experienced. I’m sure that many people have played at least one of the new Prince of Persia entries, but for those that haven’t, the prince’s controls are spot on. There’s wall running/kicking, shimmying on ledges, hanging from holes in the wall and jumping/dropping to other grooves to grab hold of, rolling, rope/pole swinging, and using your dagger that controls time, such as rewinding time from a death to give you another chance, or slowing down obstacles in your environment to give you a chance to pass through. Just note that you can only use your dagger’s powers depending on how many sand tanks that you have, which you gain by defeating enemies/breaking open objects. It may not seem like a ton of moves in your acrobatic arsenal, but there are no useless moves that you’ll only use once or twice, and completing a series of obstacles (which may require fast thinking, or facing death if you stop moving) by using every move that you have all within a very short time span can be immensely satisfying. All of the prince’s moves flow together perfectly, which allow you to gain momentum to clear challenges that do not really let you sit there to think about them. Of course, there is still plenty to sit around and think about in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, since the level design is nothing short of genius, as it will test your brain as much as your reflexes. Not only are there actual puzzles in the game to solve, but just getting around the massive palace is a puzzle in itself, and not a frustrating one. The game never holds your hand and marks a direct route on a map to take, but the puzzles push you along in a subtle way in the right direction that it’s never too hard to find out which direction that you have to go. It’s really hard to describe in words as to what makes the level design so good. All I can say is that the game’s palace feels like a series of acrobatic challenges and puzzles meshed together so well, that you’re constantly alternating between thinking and vaulting around all over the place. I was never too bored because I was almost always moving, and I was never bored mentally, because I was mostly thinking on the fly (and the “sit down and think”-like puzzles were actually very interesting). All together with it’s pretty short length (I beat it in two days after getting it on Christmas. However, I did play it non-stop), it makes for an entertaining experience throughout. Many might complain that it’s too short, but I found it to be the perfect length, since it never overstays it’s welcome by running out of new ideas that can be put to use. The only downside to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is it’s combat. It’s not bad, but it is pretty repetitive and breaks down the flow of adventuring whenever you have to fight someone. Thankfully, exploration takes up a much larger chunk of the game than combat, so it never gets too grating (combat is only really annoying when facing the stronger enemies that take too long to kill, since it’s tedious). Aside from that, everything about this game is pretty much spot on. The art direction is still nice to look at and the music is mostly kind of ambient which fits the mood better to calm the player down, and doesn’t make them panic. The story is also handled well, in a way that I could see it being animated for a feature film. Keep in mind that the only Prince of Persia games I’ve played are this one, Warrior Within, and the original. Compared to the Warrior Within, this game is god, and not bug-ridden, confusing and combat heavy. There may be newer Prince of Persia games out there, but for those who haven’t experienced The Sands of Time, I would really recommend it. It might be a short experience, but it shouldn’t be too expensive, and it’s so deep, interesting and well designed, that it would easily be worth the $5 or $10 price tag that it’s probably being charged by today. 52. Paper Mario Developer: Intelligent Systems Released on: N64 Release Date: Feb 5, 2001 I may as well come right out and say it and let the hate flow through, because I pretty much expect that I’ll be asked about it anyways. I really do not like Super Mario RPG, so it won’t be making my list. I went into the experience optimistic, expecting a light-hearted, fun adventure, but instead, I felt like it was a very slow-paced, tedious grind that I just couldn’t get into, no matter how much I wanted to like it (and I pretty much love all of the Mario games! Also note that I’ve experienced most of the game, both in the SNES age at a friend’s house, and last year). Super Mario RPG may be one of the messiahs of gaming on this site, and I’ve seen many people (not just on Screwattack, but everywhere) find Paper Mario as the inferior sequel, but I think Paper Mario perfectly captures the spirit of the Mushroom Kingdom and gives off a simple and fun form of charm that I found that it’s predecessor didn’t match in my eyes. I’ll note that this whole entry won’t be a Super Mario RPG vs. Paper Mario comparison, so with that out of the way, let’s just accept that even the most critically acclaimed games out there won’t always be everyone’s cup of tea. The first thing that I have to mention is a slight disappointment in my experience with Paper Mario. I probably would have placed it higher on my top 100 list if I wasn’t exposed to it about seven run-throughs before I finally picked it up. My wife is a huge Paper Mario fan, so before living with her, I would pretty much be exposed to the gameplay every time I came over to her house after I lent it to her. Because of this, it didn’t grip me with that all new “wow” factor of playing the game and having no clue about what’s behind each corner. However, on the up side, despite knowing pretty much everything about the game before playing it myself, Paper Mario was still a blast to play. I never felt as if I was “working” my way through the game like a chore, just to say that I beat it too, but instead, I revelled in the full experience, and even though I knew about most of the story and about where to go, it was simply fun to just play. So how does it play? You traverse a very colourful and well stylized version of the mushroom kingdom, completing story segments through places like Toad Town complete with Peach’s castle from Mario 64, a desert/pyramid, a haunted forest/mansion, an island complete with a jungle/volcano, a level inside a toybox littered with shy guys, a snowy mountain complete with a mansion full of mirrors/puzzles, and more. Being an RPG, you can interact with locales, take on sidequests, sleep at inns, buy items and badges (which grant you with extra abilities/stats in combat) and take part in turn based combat. It works like your most simple, typical RPG, but there’s so much personality packed into this game, that it makes for a perfect experience for people getting into their first RPG. Combat takes place from a side view with Mario and his current partner on the left and the enemies on the right. The fights are quite varied, since they require different kinds of strategy and timing to succeed. Mario has access to different jumping and mallet attacks. Jumping can have it’s uses, such as flipping over enemies, hitting airborne foes or jumping on them multiple times if your timing is good enough (I’ll get to that soon). The mallet can hit enemies that may be protected from the top (such as having spikes on them or being on fire), and can also create shockwave effects to hit multiple enemies on the ground. Apart from strategy, perfect timing is a must in order to conserve health and to deal more damage. Right before you hit someone or right before you’re about to be hit, if you hit the A button, you’ll increase or decrease damage respectively. This makes it so combat isn’t all about passively participating in order to get it over with. On one more note combat is that it never feels tedious due to the experience system. Each time you level up, the enemies in your current area will net you less experience every time until they eventually give you no experience (which never takes too long. You may level up around 5 times per area). It may seem annoying that you can’t backtrack to easier areas to keep farming for experience, but the game always makes sure that you’re moving forward and never dully sitting there, grinding for hours on end. By the time the end of the game is reached, you’ll be at a high level, and trying to max yourself out to Level 50 won’t take an eternity, since the game has built you up to a respectable level beforehand. This whole element gives Paper Mario a constant feeling of progression and moving forward, so it’s hard to get bored when you’re always experiencing something new. You can also see enemies on the field before you engage them in battle in this game, so the flow of moving forward is hardly interrupted if you want to see what’s next instead of fighting. Another creative addition is the inclusion of your partners. Not only do they have their unique specialties in combat (they all have different uses for attacks, different button imputing combos for moves, and different elemental/status abilities), but they take an active role in your exploration around the world. You’ll need your parakoopa to fly you over gaps, your bob-omb to blow up obstacles, your fish to help you cross water, your koopa to kick his shell into switches, and more for all of the other partners. There’s always variety in exploration of taking advantage of your partner’s abilities whether you’re using them for story or sidequest related gameplay. And does variety ever come in spades for this game. I think that’s the charm of Paper Mario. There’s always something to do in the world, and it’s always fun to accomplish. It’s really because it’s all about the mishmash of different elements. The player is given an active role in exploration/combat when it actually comes to playing the game, the atmosphere, light-heartedness and humour from the Mario universe make it a charm to explore the whole world (whether it’s interacting with locales and having fun doing sidequests for them), the cute, unique, colourful and eye catching paper style of the game never seems tedious or boring, the story is funny, entertaining and well written, and the music in Paper Mario is so downright catchy, that you’ll be humming it to yourself all day. There’s just so many big and small elements that all come together to make a very memorable experience. I could go on and on as to why the collaboration of so many ideas makes Paper Mario so fun to play, but it’s easier (and less boring) to find out if you actually play the game. My most important recommendation is to not take this game too seriously. The story may be well written, but this is not an epic Final Fantasy-like story, so like any Mario game, it’s all about the gameplay and charm of the overall world that’s the main hook for this title. This may not be Mario’s first RPG and may not take as much skill as Square’s epic Mario masterpiece, but I’ll just sum up Paper Mario for what it is: It’s just plain, simple, charming, fun in it’s purest form, and fun is what videogames are all about. 51. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus Developer: Sucker Punch Studios Released on: PS2 Release Date: Sept 23, 2002 The Sly Cooper series has been a confusing thing to me so far. While only having played the first and second game, it would seem as if both games could have been very similar, and in turn, things could only get better with the sequel, right? The sad case is not at all for me. Sly 2 traded it’s predecessor’s linear, level based platforming gameplay combined with only being able to play as Sly, for an open world, mission based, three selectable characters concept that just didn’t capture me like the first game did. This entry may be a little bit of a comparison between the two games, and I think it has to be to point out why a lower tech entry game is better than it’s higher tech sequel that just seemed too good to be true. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a platforming game much in the same vein as Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, except with a higher emphasis on stealth, more interesting characters, and smoother control all around. The control is so smooth in fact, that I think that it even outshines some of the most responsive 3D platforming controls of all time, such as Super Mario 64. Sly animates so smoothly and he’s so agile, that climbing, sliding, swinging, double jumping, rope walking, pressing against walls to walk around thin ledges, jumping from tipped objects (ex. Street lamps) are pulled off with ease. Not only that, but you gain access to more powers and stealth moves as the game progresses, such as attacking your enemies from close behind to activate a stealth “kill” that will defeat them before they can alert their allies, or activating a slow motion power that’s somewhat like bullet-time, but is useful for fast moving platforming segments where you need very precise control to complete. Even though Sly could only take one hit before dying (or two or three hits if you collected horseshoes), the control was so smooth, that it often felt like noone’s fault but my own when I died. This amazing control with Sly has made him one of the most fun videogame characters in existence to control for me. So when the sequel came along, Sucker Punch split the game up into three characters to control: Sly (the thief raccoon), Bentley (a turtle inventor with plenty of gadgets/weapons) and Murray (a big pink hippo that relies on brute strength). Now don’t get me wrong. I love Bentley’s and Murray’s personalities, and they were even pretty fun to control in the original Sly Cooper for the very short segments that you used them in. However, in it’s sequel there was too much emphasis on controlling Bentley and Murray. Both were slow and very hard to be stealthy with. Bentley’s weapons would often alert the presence of guards, and Murray was so damn big and clunky that it was so easy to get caught. All of this means that for only a third of the game, I was getting the enjoyment that I got out of the original. It’s like when Sonic Adventure came along. Did people really want to play as Amy, that robot or Big the Cat? Not at all. People wanted to play as Sonic and only Sonic (and possibly Tails and Knuckles if they absolutely had to). Compared to the original Sonic games, the Adventure series lost some of their luster because of this, and this was exactly how I felt about the Sly Cooper series (although I actually do like the Sonic Adventure games, but would have liked them even more with less characters). Now moving onto the level design, I liked the original Sly Cooper’s layout a lot. While it’s true that it’s very linear, stages had a Crash Bandicoot-like flow to them with the one or two hit kill mechanic in them. There were plenty of places to hide (under tables, hanging from things, etc.) within the stages to take out enemies with stealth (which forces you to value your life instead of charging in headfirst), and there were plenty of opportunities to get caught (through guards, trip wires, spotlights, etc). It created a whole game of hide and seek when engaging enemies that felt like a cross between Crash Bandicoot and Tenchu, and aside from that, the whole element of platforming and collecting like a Mario game existed within it. In each level and overworld (that joins all the levels together in each themed stage), there existed a certain amount of bottles with messages in them. If you collected them all in a stage, Bentley would translate the data into a code that could be used to unlock a safe in the stage that you collected the bottles in. Each safe contained a new ability for Sly, which can make the game easier because as you gain new moves, Sly’s overall control and versatility becomes so much smoother and fun to control. Also, going back to the stealth element once more, enemies behave like Metal Gear Solid and will actively seek you out if you’re caught, and the only way to escape is to find somewhere to hide for a few seconds when you’re out of range or to sometimes defeat all the enemies in the area (although sometimes it doesn’t work since they continuously call in reinforcements). Because of the great level design and gameplay that resides in the first Sly game, it’s sequel felt like a mess to me, when they opted to go for an open world design. Instead of having an overworld with individual levels to access, the player gets planted in a large area with multiple missions in each one. While this may seem interesting, since you can approach your objective points from any angle that you choose, the world just doesn’t feel as much like a platformer to me, and almost feels like a sandbox game, which I’m not a fan of. I liked using my stealth/platforming skills to clear a level in the first game, but in it’s sequel, some stealthy objectives can be insanely frustrating to pull off. Since each level is larger and more city-like, you can get caught from enemies from so many angles that you couldn’t even see. When the alarm goes off, it takes forever to escape from them, since each new area that you run to usually contains even more enemies, so that you have to pretty much run back to your safe house to escape, due to the huge angry mob shooting at you from behind. This leads to so much backtracking and tediousness as you’ll often go through ten minutes of a level, screw up your objective, and get chased around for five or ten more minutes until you escape or die. Then in takes about five or ten minutes to get back to your objective, only for the possible chance of screwing up again. Aside from all of that, Sly 2 was good, and I can respect Sucker Punch for trying something different, but the whole experience just didn’t feel as smooth and tweaked as the first game. Okay, ranting aside from the Sly 2, it’s predecessor is pretty much everything that I could ask for in a platformer. Aside from a great lead character to control, incredible level design, a robust stealth system and addictive collectibles/character growth, there’s a good story, funny and well written dialogue/characters, amazing voice acting, and cel-shaded visuals that still look like a cartoon to this day. All of this makes me so glad that I didn’t dismiss Sly Cooper as just another platformer, much like I could have done with Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. Out of the main three platforming franchises on the PS2, I would recommend the original Sly Cooper over the other two combined any day of the week. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is literally like playing through a Saturday morning cartoon, complete with titles before each episode (an episode being a new stage with levels contained within it), and it really needs a proper successor to the original’s gameplay. 50. Chrono Cross Developer: Squaresoft Released on: PS1 Release Date: Aug 15, 2000 Wow, Super Nintendo purists are probably going to hate me for this after hearing about my mention of Super Mario RPG. Don’t worry, I don’t hate Chrono Trigger. I had played it for a few hours on the Final Fantasy Chronicles collection on PS1 and I thought it was really good, and now I own a used copy for the SNES. The thing is, I haven’t played it in it’s entirety yet (although it’s pretty close up on my “to do” list), so Chrono Cross is going to be the only entry on my Top 100 List from the Chrono series. I believe that Chrono Cross was the first RPG that I had experienced outside of the Final Fantasy series, and the game had such a different premise, from travelling between two parallel dimensions, to being able to recruit 45 party members, to not having an MP bar, but at the same time, having a stamina bar so you can use several attacks in one turn as long as you have enough energy. It was also the only game that I’ve seen the main character get his body switched with the villian’s body, attempting to regain his own body for a good chunk of the game. Another great thing was that I went into this experience without any bias, since I didn’t play Chrono Trigger, so I could appreciate Chrono Cross for what it was, and I’ll still get the pleasure of playing the critically acclaimed Chrono Trigger later anyways. The plot for Chrono Cross is really confusing to write out and describe to someone who hasn’t played the game before (and even to some who have), so I’m not going to go into too much detail. You play as Serge, a seventeen year old boy who lives at a fishing village. He goes to the beach, gets hit by a tidal wave, and at the same time, gets sent to a dimension parallel to his own. In this dimension, the Serge in this universe had died ten years ago due to a drowning at the beach. Serge meets up with a thief named Kid, who happens to be the offspring of a character from Chrono Trigger, and you unwind a series of events and clues that explains how and why you ended up travelling through dimensions in the first place, and how to stop the overall reason that caused it. There’s a lot of plot weaved in related to the travelling between dimensions, much like a good time travelling story. Serge is a silent protagonist, but reacts accordingly to each situation, and your 45 other party members are full of dialogue, character, and diversity. I found that Chrono Cross had one of the most unique battle systems that I’ve ever seen in an RPG, and it’s strangely addicting, requiring you to really strategize as to what you equip to your characters before major battles. I’ve already briefly commented on the stamina bar, so you can use several attacks and then a spell in succession as I recall. The strategic element is that the more you attack, the less you have to work with. If your stamina gauge is halfway full on one turn, you could defend instead, and on your next turn, have full stamina so that you can combo a wide range of attacks with it. If you don’t have much stamina on one turn and you cast a magic spell, it will deplete at least seven stamina points, which could put your stamina points in the negative zone, so that on your next turn, you’ll have no choice but to defend to build your stamina back up. It may sound like a chore, but it really adds an element of strategy to work with what you have. Aside from that, as I’ve mentioned, there’s no MP bar in this game. Instead, you have to equip your magic spells to your character (as you level up, you’ll gain more slots to put magic in), and you can only use each spell once per battle. The good thing about this, is that each time you start a battle, you’re free to use all your spells again, eliminating the need for an MP bar. Since you’ll only have a limited number of spells to work with, there’s a form of strategy of saving certain spells for the right times, such as not spamming the hell out of your healing spells at the start of a fight. An interesting element here, is that each spell represents a colour. Red is fire/magma, blue is water/ice, green is wind/plants, yellow is lightning/earth, white is light/cosmos, and black is darkness/gravity. Each character in the game (both your party and every enemy) will have their own particular affinities to them. For example, Serge has a white affinity, so light spells do less damage to him but his own light spells do more damage (especially to enemies with a darkness affinity), and darkness spells do critical damage to Serge but if you have darkness spells equipped to him, they will be incredibly weak (especially to enemies with a darkness affinity). Every other spell does neutral damage. All of this brings another element of strategy about who to put in your party for particular battles. If you enter a hot environment composed of enemies with red affinities, it would be wise to assign a party with red affinities, equipped with blue spells to do good damage. If you take someone of a blue affinity in, they have a very high risk of being killed, but also, can do more damage with their element, as well as having a higher diversity of magic abilities. Take Serge again for example. There are many characters in the game that can’t use high level white magic if they don’t have a white affinity. Having an affinity for your colour, means that you can equip higher level spells of that colour, giving you access to more powerful attacks of that particular element. There’s a lot of variety and strategy involved in fights, especially when you have party members and foes on the field all composed of different affinities, forcing you to think really hard about who to attack first, who to protect/focus healing on, etc… Now we know that Chrono Cross has a pretty complex plot, and unique battle system, but what else is there? Like some other RPGs (ex. Suikoden, Radiata Stories), traversing the world looking for new characters to recruit can be addicting, but Chrono Cross has a strict time frame in which to do so. Some characters only exist in particular dimensions at particular times in the game, so some members can be easily to miss permanently. On the flip side, it gives the player incentive to always be exploring outside of the main story. Even though it happens to be an original Playstation game, Chrono Cross’ visual style has aged pretty well. Yes, the graphics are still kind of jaggy, but that’s what gives it that unique Playstation charm. Also, the game is very colourful and pleasing to the eye. It’s mostly composed of blues, greens, yellows, reds, and almost anything but the usual grey, black, brown and white that we see often today in games. The music is absolutely stellar, topping the graphics. The Chrono Cross intro alone is one of my favourite music tracks in any videogame to date, and it also contains the most satisfying victory theme that I’ve ever heard in an RPG. It’s weird how much flak I’ve heard Chrono Cross receive on the internet in comparison to Chrono Trigger. Yes, I’ve heard that Chrono Trigger is so much better, and it very well may be, but I can’t understand why RPG fans can never just look at two great games from the same series and call them both great, but instead, will defend their own particular game to the death. For one thing, if it was a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger, it probably wouldn’t have lived up to it anyways. For another thing, most RPGs that have multiple entries in a franchise have new heroes in each game, and the story is usually faintly linked to the last, if not linked at all. So for this reason, even if Trigger is better than Cross, it would still be so much easier to accept both for what they are without comparisons, because creating new RPG stories creates fresh experiences. There are so many franchises that have wars going on within their same franchise. Final Fantasy VI vs. Final Fantasy VII, and Zelda: Link to the Past vs. Zelda: Ocarina of Time for example make such big deals out of each other, when the truth that remains is that it’s good to be different from each other, or else the gems that we loved will just pump out more of the same and stagnate into crap over time. I do realize that some entries in a franchise can be disappointments compared to the legendary status of others, but most of the time, some of these weaker games are still better than most games out on the market, despite not living up to the expectations of their predecessors. Why am I typing all of this? Because going into Chrono Cross without bias taught me about that regarding games. They can’t all be worth diamonds, but sometimes getting gold instead can still be satisfying, and at least we’re not getting dirt. 49. Soul Calibur Developer: Namco Released on: DC, XBLA Release Date: Sept 9, 1999 (DC), July 2, 2008 (XBLA) I believe that if you’ve played one version of Soul Calibur, you’ve basically played them all. The franchise hasn’t exactly entered ground-breaking territory since it’s first game in the Calibur series (usually by only adding better graphics, different characters, different backdrops or online play), so I’ve only found the need to own the one version of the game that introduced me to the series: Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast. Back when it was first released, it was basically a perfect fighter in every sense, and even to this day, the original still really holds up. Part of the beauty of the original Soul Calibur was just how smoothly it played. At the time, I found that 3D fighters were usually slow, pretty clunky, moves were often unresponsive or delayed, and strafing around the environment was so slow that I would pretty much get hit any time I tried to use it to my advantage (I even felt this way with Tekken 3). However, in Soul Calibur’s place, everything was done with such speed and precision. Moves to hit high, medium and low portions of your opponents were quick to pull off, easy to remember, and very responsive (and you can tie in tripping and throws along with it). I could instantly strafe, block, cancel my own attacks to fake out others, and even parry attacks aside and counter them with my weapon as I practiced it (in any other fighter, I can hardly pull of these kinds of techniques, since they never feel as responsive as the smooth, tight controls of Soul Calibur). I practiced the game so constantly and religiously in fact, that I would often enter the practice mode and fight against a character that’s up to the highest difficulty level for hours on end, to learn the specific move style of that character, to practice on parrying/countering attacks and when to anticipate a high, medium or low move so I could take advantage and push their weapon aside. I learned how to fight every character with any character as well. The difficulty on the training mode was so high, that you could rarely get in a hit against the constantly blocking/parrying/brutally assaulting computer. It seemed about 95% perfect in the way that it fought, and finding little openings to exploit was very satisfying, since by comparison, human players would leave much larger openings since they didn’t play as precisely. Soul Calibur had all of these little technicalities which were very rewarding to learn and practice. For the first time, I felt like I was in total control of my fighter, and simply going all out and attacking relentlessly by knowing all of the moves wouldn’t be the only option I had to gain a victory. I didn’t have to button mash in hopes that I would defeat the other fighter before I was defeated. Playing mind games and being defensive gave me victory over button mashers for once. Don’t get me wrong though. You can still play Soul Calibur and be heavy on attacking and take zero defensive action and still have fun while gaining victories, but it has a hidden depth in it’s fighting system that rewards calm, calculative and precise players as well. All the while, the combat is pretty fast, but not so fast that you’re being hit with a flurry of crap with no time to react, and not too slow that your character will move around the field like a sloth. Adding one more note to the fighting system was the wide range of weapon choices/fighting styles that you could choose. While specific characters will get their own weapons/fighting styles, there was a wide variety of choice, including fighting with a staff, halberd, axe, giant broadsword, a sword that extends out like a whip, claws, daggers, nunchuks, and medium ranged swords (such as katanas, Chinese swords, or a combination or two swords at once, or a sword and shield). Also, you can win by ring-outs in Soul Calibur, by knocking players off the fighting arena’s platform, which adds another element of strategy in knowing where to position yourself. Aside from these amazing gameplay mechanics, Soul Calibur contained plenty of modes to keep me entertained, whether it was the mission mode (which takes you all around a map to different arenas, fighting with specific rules/objectives to gain points to unlock tons of unlockables, such as new costumes/concept art), the standard arcade and VS modes, the survival mode (that pits you against an endless onslaught of foes to see how far you can get), training mode (as I’ve explained), time attack and team battle modes (team attack allows you to pick multiple characters for your side, and you try to take out all of your opponent’s characters one by one while trying to lose as little of your characters as possible). For it’s time, the graphics were also incredible, and they still look solid and arcade-like to this day. The music of course, is rousing and epic, which really gets you in the mood to beat some ass. In the end, Soul Calibur remains as my second favourite fighter of all time. Yes, I’m only at #49 on my list, so as you can see, I’m not too crazy about fighters, although the ones that I do like, I enjoy a lot, or else they wouldn’t have even made it on this list. Soul Calibur played perfectly back then, and it still plays perfectly now. I’m sure that you can’t go wrong with just about any version of it (except the third from what I’ve heard), but until Namco can make a massive jump from their initial roster in terms of quantity and balance, as well as adding plenty of new features (how about using the environment, such as different breakable objects to injure others with, as well as use for cover or vaulting around your environment? Or how about having multi-tiered environments, so your settings are frequently changing? Or how about a Bushido Blade-like mode that involves having no real life bar, but damaging parts of your opponent’s body to slow them down as well as aiming for critical areas to instant-kill them?), then I won’t need to purchase another entry in the franchise. Until that game comes, I’m perfectly content with the original, and the soul still burns. 48. Ape Escape Developer: Japan Studio Released on: PS1, PSP (On the Loose) Release Date: May 31, 1999 (PS1), March 24, 2005 (PSP) Who doesn’t love monkeys? Now who doesn’t love a monkey with a personality that will dress up like a celebrity/fictional character, have personality traits of their own that will make you laugh your ass off and will taunt you from across the level? Now who doesn’t love running over there and finding a way to kick their ass and send them to hell (the monkeys disappear when they’re caught in that net. Lord knows where they go)? Not many, that’s who, and for those that don’t enjoy these things, have you even played Ape Escape yet? While the sequels still have some great gameplay involved and the trilogy is similar in nature, I’m mainly talking about the original game, as I feel it stands out the most amongst the three, winning out due to the original “wow” factor it had when it was first released. So yeah, the premise of Ape Escape is just to go into each world and to catch all of the monkeys that reside in each level. It’s an extremely simple concept, but the pure fun and joy just comes from how you do it, as well as from the zany personalities and actions of every single monkey. Ape Escape was the first original Playstation game to make full use out of Sony’s new, 2 analog sticks, Dual Shock controller. This game had a new control scheme that just wasn’t possible to achieve before, and even after the release of Ape Escape, I’ve never seen any games make use of it (except for it’s sequels). You can control Spike around with the left analog stick, of course, but the right stick is actually assigned to using your current item. The four face buttons are used to pick between your items, Zelda-style (which you can assign your assortment of items to), the R1 button is used for jumping, and the other shoulder buttons involve crouching and camera control, as I recall. The best thing about this game is that the controls differ depending on what item you’re using. They all control in such a way, that it feels perfectly natural, and blends in with Ape Escape’s puzzle solving elements/platforming segments/monkey captures seamlessly. You can move the right stick in the direction that you intend to swing your stun club (which looks like a lightsaber) and capture net, as well as moving the stick in a circular motion to do a 360 spin attack/capture. This circular motion can also be used to trigger your hula hoop’s power, which gives you a dramatic speed burst/ramming power. The same motion also trigger’s your Sky Flyer’s power (my personal favourite), which acts like a propeller that whisks you away into the air and allows you to hover down afterwards. There was a Monkey Radar that beeped faster when you pointed in the right direction of a monkey, a slingshot that you could aim around in first person mode (which also used normal ammo, explosive ammo and spreader ammo), and a Water Net device that was a machine that could boost you around underwater and shoot nets at swimming monkeys. One of the best gadgets was the RC car, which you could drive around with the right stick at the same time you moved around with the left stick. Often, you would have to multi-task in order to solve puzzles (and get the car through small gaps), as well as luring out and stunning monkeys. You could even pilot a tank and rowboat in some occasions, using both sticks to control each tread or paddle respectively. All of these controls felt like the Wii before it was even a concept. I actually felt like I was bashing those monkeys’ heads in with my club and scooping them up in a net. I felt like I was really driving an RC car, since I could actually move around and follow it as I drove it with the other stick, and the circular motions really made me feel like I was getting that hula hoop up to speed or keeping myself aloft physically with the Sky Flyer. I know that I’ve spent a lot of time talking about controls, but Ape Escape uses them so well that it makes the experience much more immersive and fun. As for the game’s layout itself, it does feel a bit like a typical platformer, but it has great puzzles that make clever use of the items you have, mixed in with the addictive and humour-filled nature of catching the monkeys. So why the hell are you catching monkeys? Apparently, a really smart white furred monkey named Spectre comes into the possession of a helmet that was invented to increase a creature’s intelligence, and he ends up giving all of the stupider monkeys’ these helmets as well as orders to time travel and run rampant on a quest for world domination for monkeys to become the greater species. You’re a boy named Spike that that has to time travel, catch all the monkeys, and also save your blue-haired friend from being brainwashed by Spectre. The story is of course, childish, but it is at least presented in a much better way than Ape Escape’s sequels. Since you’re time travelling, levels take place in all sorts of different eras/locations, so depending on where/when you’re going, the monkeys will usually correspond by dressing up according to their time/environment. Well, some of them anyway. There’s the traditional monkeys that are only dressed in a pair of shorts (different coloured shorts represent their different behaviours, such as being passive, afraid, smart, aggressive, etc.) which are still goofy and fun to catch, and then you have other monkeys dressed up as superheroes, disco dancers, and other amusing personas, which just adds another element of bizarreness. The monkeys aren’t “rolling on the floor” funny or anything, but it’s really hard not to crack a smile when catching these guys. They’re pretty damn hard to catch too, frustratingly so in a few instances. When using the Monkey Radar, you can see their statistics that gives you information about their speed, alertness, intelligence and power, as well as their names and amusing personality quirks that are written down. With some monkeys, you may be chasing them around for ages, trying to find the right way to slow them down or to intercept them, while on the other end of the spectrum, some are so aggressive that you may not want to even go near them, and you may need to employ some clever ambushes in order to catch them off guard. Once you catch enough monkeys in a level, you’ll have enough to reach the next, although the game is so downright fun that you’ll probably want to catch 100% of the monkeys (as well as to get the right ending). There are also five different coloured monkey bosses that all have the extremity of one particular monkey trait (intelligence, speed, aggressiveness, etc.), gauntlets that you’ll have to race your blue-haired brainwashed friend through (who also has the same gadgets as you) as well as an epic final boss fight with Spectre. There are unlockable mini-games and a monkey encyclopaedia to show all of the ones you’ve caught as well. For graphics, Ape Escape has aged decently by providing smooth animation, as well as a sharp look combined with bright and vivid colours to ensure that it’s always fun to look at, and music-wise, it’s simple and catchy, as I can still remember the main theme years later. This game is quite simple in nature, and may seem like a concept that insults your intelligence by making you run around like an idiot, trying to catch monkeys in a net. However, I say it’s fun to feel like an idiot every now and then in gaming by pursuing odd objectives, and Ape Escape delivers by being so absurd and flat-out entertaining, that I would take chasing monkeys over most mature, violent shooters/hack & slashers any day of the week. Oh, and your health is represented by cookies. It doesn’t get any better than that. 47. Suikoden III Developer: Konami Released on: PS2 Release Date: Oct 22, 2002 I’m sure that to a long time Suikoden fan, this entry may confuse people a little bit. Why is Suikoden III, 37 entries above Suikoden II? Isn’t Suikoden II largely believed to be the cream of the crop when it comes to the series? Aren’t all Suikoden games pretty similar in story and gameplay, so why are both included, and spread so far apart? To answer them all, I found that Suikoden III had perfected everything that Suikoden should be about, and was the highest point of the series, and I’m saying that with my experience of playing Suikoden II, III, IV, and V. It does share many gameplay elements from the second game, but there are real stand-out traits to this game, such as a very unique story, more compelling locations (including a better base of operations) and people to visit/recruit, crisp visuals with a better art style (yes, I didn’t include a screenshot, but I couldn’t find that nice of a variety online), no real time limits in recruiting characters (mostly ensuring that you can recruit all 108 characters if you try hard enough), battles provide more opportunities for teamwork amongst your party, and a story that really links to the second game. Out of all of those aspects in Suikoden III, the story/characters are the most important in differentiating itself from the other entries in the series. It’s also not just the plot itself (as all Suikoden games seem to deal with the topic of war), but in the way it’s told. Suikoden III introduced players to the Trinity Sight System, and at least for me, it was a great method of storytelling. Instead of having one main protagonist like a typical RPG, Suikoden III had three main protagonists, all coming from different sides of the current war between the Grasslands and Xexen. The protagonists are composed of Hugo (on the left) from the Grasslands, Chris (on the right) from the Xexen knights, and Geddoe (middle) who works as a mercenary that resides in the kingdom of Harmonia, which isn’t related directly to the current fued. All of this ensured that we got to see the story in multiple viewpoints from opposing and unrelated sides, and the three stories eventually converge into two final chapters in which you get to pick which protagonist out of the three that you want to control to reach the conclusion with. By picking a certain protagonist, you’ll be able to see a different story/dialogue sequences with that particular person, so there’s replay value in store to see the rest of the story from the other characters’ perspective for multiple playthroughs (or by starting from an old save at the turning point). The characters in this game had a lot more diversity, better design and more memorable character traits in this game than the second for me. I know that the main characters (heroes and villains) from Suikoden II were amazing, but I can’t remember any of the supporting cast. I know the supporting cast was great in II when I experienced it, but none of their designs gave me something to remember. Whereas in Suikoden III, the main characters are amazing too, but the supporting cast is not only well designed, but memorable. I also felt a stronger connection to my 108 characters in Suikoden III, not only for their designs, but battle tactics and supportive roles as well. For battles, they play out similar to Suikoden II with a key difference or two, so I won’t go too much into detail, since you can go back to entry #85 and learn about all of the different types of battles. However, while it may seem odd at first, you control your 6 members on the field in pairs, which accounts for only assigning 3 commands per turn. This requires players to strategize as to what pairs of characters should work together and who is more compatible with each other. Putting two archers together can yield immense damage and accuracy from a distance in one turn for example. Depending on your combinations, some pairs may be able to execute special attacks, which makes players think about who to level up and use in their party. A powerful special attack can be great, but if some of those characters have weak abilities according to your situation besides that attack, they may not be worth placing together. Also, as a new feature some pairs can work together as a mount and rider. Hugo can ride his pet griffon, Fubar, as a pair, which gives them increased mobility and special attacks. The support that you receive in Suikoden III is addictive as hell. First of all, you gain your base (castle) of operations like any other Suikoden, except that a chapter or two into the story, you can choose a brief couple-chapter story involving a boy named Thomas as a controllable character, where your story revolves around inheriting the castle, becoming the host for it (before one of the main protagonist’s arrive), and defending the castle from being taken over. All of this makes the origin and customization of your base that much more important, it blends in seamlessly with the story, and doesn’t feel like a tacked on sidequest/mini-game. The castle is nicely laid out, has a sense of character to it, and like Suikoden II, contains all of the resources that you’ll need for a base of operations. Aside from the base, this game has a lot of varied locations and kingdoms/towns directly related to the flow of the story, and contain plenty of new races and faces (recruitable characters) to see along your journey. The three protagonists will cross paths often in certain places, and you’ll get to see how every event came to be from all of the perspectives. All in all, all 108 characters (or hopefully close to that many depending on how many you find) as well as armies/races from every side of the war will constantly be intertwining their stories together until the epic conclusion is reached. On a light note to the story, it carries on 16 years after Suikoden II, and there is at least one major story sequence that links both games together. Suikoden III stands out as my favourite entry within the series. To be honest, part of it may have to do with it being the first game that I experienced in the franchise, so the concept was extremely fresh and epic. If I played Suikoden II first, then there may have been a possibility of it being my favourite, but I can’t ignore or blame myself in which game I played first. However, looking at both games side by side, I simply enjoyed the multiple-viewpoint story more in Suikoden III, as I found that it wasn’t only a fresher way for a story to be told than Suikoden II, but for RPGs all around. I thought the characters were more memorable, the pairing-up battle system was original, I felt a stronger connection to my base and characters, as well as more of a reward for levelling up my vast party and customizing that castle that I cared about. I’ve said all that I can say about the Suikoden series, and Suikoden III doesn’t only stand out on top in this great series, but as one of my favourite RPGs of all time. It was totally worth picking up new at a video rental store for what would seem like an overcharged $90 (I couldn’t find it anywhere else), and my +110 hours of gameplay speaks for that. 46. Alien Hominid Developer: The Behemoth Released on: PS2, GC, XBLA Release Date: Nov 18, 2004 (PS2 & GC), Feb 28, 2007 (XBLA) Ever since Contra, Metal Slug and Gunstar Heroes came out, I've never seen many franchises challenge the sidescrolling on-foot shoot-em-up genre for dominance. It seems as if the whole genre revolves around the big three, and it's a shame that it couldn't be more commonly known as a big four, because Alien Hominid from Behemoth Studios is such a slick, fun, humorous and difficult game that deserves as much recognition as the veteran franchises to the genre. Alien Hominid may not be Contra, but in my mind, it was the next big thing. The funny thing is that this game started out as a mere flash game on Newgrounds.com, and skyrocketed to such popularity, that Behemoth Studios decided to create the game for the PS2, XBOX and Gamecube for a budget price of $20 (Canadian). Alien Hominid revolves around your little cute yellow alien that was just innocently flying his ship close to Earth, and gets his ship shot down for kicks by the FBI. Your mission is to kill everything that stands in your way until you get your ship back that was confiscated by the agents. For a cute, cartoony-looking game, the violence becomes pretty extravagant as you mow down everything in your path, as everyone spills blood (as you shoot or knife them), gets caught on fire, and has their heads bitten off by your little alien (or if you want, you can dig underground and then pull enemies down with you if they walk over you, resulting in a bloody demise). The whole game has a somewhat sketchy hand-drawn look to it, combined with bright colours that really make the visuals pop out. On a downside, sometimes there is a little bit too much going on with explosions and gunfire flying everywhere, that it seems unavoidable to get hit by some stray tiny bullets. However, the amount of things going on also works in Alien Hominid's favor, as it's one of the most interesting sidescrollers that I've ever seen. Things are always exploding, catching on fire, lasers shoot across the screen, bosses are larger than life (such as fighting huge mechs and a pudding monster), high-intensity events always seem to be going on (like fighting on top of traffic by jumping from car to car on a freeway, while fighting helicopters), the characters on screen show constant body language and funny reactions, and even environmental damage (such as blowing up buildings/structures with grenades). I find it impossible to get bored with Alien Hominid since the visceral nature of the game falls hand-in-hand with it's intense "one hit and you're dead" gameplay. This game plays fast, and encourages old school pattern memorization, quick reflexes, the ability to abuse the power-ups given to you, using great hand-eye coordination and the urge to always keep moving. Since there is always so much **** flying around on the screen, it may seem overwhelming and chaotic at first, but there is always an opportunity to learn and predict about how enemies and bosses will approach you. Alien Hominid is a short, yet difficult game at heart, but it's wacky style and high energy action always ensures that it's fun, even if you die often. There's pretty much always something to learn from each time that I messed up in the game, which kept me coming back for multiple playthoughs (not only from using the tactics I learned to finish the game, but also to see how well I could beat it in the future). Alien Hominid is also meant for cooperative play, much like many NES games with the feature (would you play River City Ransom, Double Dragon II, Ninja Turtles Arcade game, Contra or Life Force by yourself? Well, some would, but not many). The shared experience with a friend just makes it twice as fun all around, since you can coordinate strategies, cover each other, ***** at each other when you steal each other's power-ups, and so forth, just like the classic NES games of old. Speaking of power-ups for a moment, it brings it's own unique flavours of destruction to the 2D sidescrolling shooting mix that are handed out to you by clueless fat kids. Fire shots light up enemies across the screen like a flamethower, ice rays freeze foes on the spot (complete with smashing them apart), acid blasts melt opponent's faces off, the photon burst is rapid-fire, a spread shot riding on the popularity of Contra, destructive quick red laser pulse blasts, grenades of three types (regular, napalm and pulse), as well as multiple vehicles to commandeer, such as mowing over people and vehicles with a bulldozer, blasting everything in sight with a tank and beaming up enemies with your tractor beam on your UFO. You can even charge up your gun like a good old fashioned mega buster blast. Alien Hominid basically humbles it's old-school brethren before it by adding in a bit of the traditional, the practical, and the insane, and when your foes attack you with weapons/vehicles of all shapes and sizes as well, the battlefield becomes a fun, fast-paced, epic, yet silly fight for your life. Basically, Alien Hominid does play like a traditional old-school sidescrolling on-foot shooter similar to classics on the NES/SNES, but was made to fit in with the modern times by souping it up with a unique hand-animated art style, random and insane humor, and quicker gameplay (combined with near screen filling attacks and hails of bullets). It's true that this game doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it's just such classic, timeless fun that doesn't take itself too seriously. From the wacky art, that last point is a given, but Alien Hominid shouldn't be taken too lightly either, and I would advise to have at least one experienced gamer in a team on cooperative mode if you want to see the ending. Because for those grizzled old-school veterans that laugh in the face of danger and are the type that can't bear to show their foes any mercy, there lies a reward at the end of the tunnel that will keep you demolishing your enemies for months to come. One that will leave a grin on your face as you spare no one, time and time again. Funny hats. Lots of funny hats. That's what gamers have always wanted in their shooters since the NES days, and now we have it. Rejoice old-schoolers. Rejoice. 45. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time Developer: Konami Released on: SNES, XBLA (remake) Release Date: April 12, 1992 (SNES), Aug 6, 2009 (XBLA) The Ninja Turtles have been a huge part of my life. When I was a kid, everything was about Ninja Turtles. TV, action figures, cereal, clothes, the movies (which I still enjoy even now, except for the third), and most importantly, the games. While I had played the original, as well as the third game (the Manhattan Project), I only owned Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game for my NES. I played the hell out of it, and it's cooperative beat-em-up gameplay was an absolute blast. So why am I mentioning it, when this entry is really about Turtles in Time for the SNES? Because it deserves an honourable mention, since both games are incredibly similar in nature. Turtles in Time just happens to be an evolution of the second and third games' gameplay on the NES. I would recommend the two last NES games to anyone, but for overall supremacy, I've got to go with Turtles in Time. While it didn't play as pivotal of a role in my life as the second Ninja Turtles game did for my childhood, Turtles in Time is one game that makes me wish I owned a SNES long ago. Even though I've only owned this game for a year, it's sheer gameplay and cooperative play beats the crap out of it's NES predecessors, and I can't stop playing it over and over. Turtles in Time is a very basic game in nature, so describing it shouldn't take too long, as I'm sure that most people here must have played a Turtles beat-em-up game at some point. You start off by picking one of four of the Ninja Turtles (the game also only supports two players. Four players is the only thing that could have made this game better) as you beat the crap out of various enemies from the series from stage to stage. The game starts off with city, alleyway, sewer and technodrome stages, but the selling point happens to be that the Ninja Turtles get sent back in time by Shredder, so you have to end up fighting from various time periods getting closer and closer to the future. There's the B.C. age, pirate age, cowboys and indians age, and several futuristic stages before you make it to the final confrontation with Shredder in the technodrome again. Each environment contains various environmental hazards, like stampeding dinosaurs in the B.C. age, falling cannonballs in the pirate age, etc... All four turtles of course, have their own weapon ranges and special attack, but they all control the same. Added to the SNES version is a new throw maneuver. By holding the attack button down when you're side-by-side with an enemy, your turtle will either hurl them towards the screen (resulting in them smacking against the screen) or will grab them by the feet and smack them into the ground repeatedly before throwing them. Multiple uses for the throw exist, such as throwing foot soldiers at the screen in a boss fight with Shredder (since the battle is taken place from Shredder's point of view), or gaining a kill each time your turtle slams the enemy against the ground (which is a good way to rack up kills, since defeating one foe with your weapon only counts as one kill, while bashing them on the ground over and over gives you three). Since your kill counter gives your turtle an extra life after 200 kills, it encourages players to defeat everything in sight, instead of letting their partners handle all the dirty work. For me, I attained a new level of play by playing defensively and learning enemy attacks so that I could stay out of the way of them, while at the same time, playing and throwing aggressively to rack up as many kills as possible to gain more lives. By the end of the game (on Normal mode), I made it to the end without even losing a continue (it's very easy to quickly die in this game, especially for newer players). So why am I mentioning all of this, along with my personal achievements? Because some people may misinterpret Turtles in Time as a short and easy button masher, and in a way, it is. I believe that pretty much anyone could complete the Easy mode without any trouble, which makes this game a must-play to experience with less skilled players, and even on the easier settings, veterans can still have fun by aiming for the highest kill count/accumulation of lives as possible by the end of the game. However, on the harder modes, there is more of a challenge, since you will have less lives/continues, and I think that enemies do a bit more damage as well. So even though the game may just be harder and even though the game plays the same, it allows players to take on advanced tactics learned from the easier modes to carry on to completing the hard mode, which is a more rewarding challenge. Also, even if there was no huge challenge, and Turtles in Time was at it's hardest on the Normal setting (hypothetically, if the Hard mode didn't exist), the game would still be an absolute blast. Challenge or not, this is the ultimate Ninja Turtles beat-em-up for the time being. It's just simply fun play, and like Alien Hominid, is an experience that's absolutely meant to be shared with others (in fact, the cooperative experiences of Turtles in Time and Alien Hominid is what boosts them so high on my list. Otherwise, they would be much further back). Whether it's stealing the other guy's pizza when you've only lost one bar of life, or leaving it aside for your critically injured friend, it gives plenty of opportunities to play competitively or cooperatively. Since the game is so short, it will only take between 45 minutes to an hour to complete, but don't let that aspect shy you away from the experience. Turtles in Time's length is one of it's greatest strengths. There's no monotony, and it never overstays it's welcome. It's a simple, shorter experience that can be picked up and played at any time with friends of any skill level, and great times are sure to be had. This makes it so replayable and perfect for a quick dose of fun between those long single player adventure games, and that's what makes this game stand the test of time...with horrible, horrible puns included. 44. Pacman: Championship Edition Developer: Namco Bandai Released on: XBLA Release Date: June 6, 2007 Before Pacman: Championship Edition for the Xbox Live Arcade came along, I don't think any version of Pacman would have made it onto my list for my Top 100 Games of All Time. Pacman is a classic, and it is fun to play every now and then for a round or two, but the games never had an addicting feel for me, and they didn't feel deep in any way. So I was incredibly surprised when I experienced Pacman: Championship Edition, not only because it was such a dramatic improvement over the old formula, but because it's so fun and addicting, that I couldn't believe my eyes on how high up it made it into my Top 100 List. The game is still Pacman at heart, but it's absolutely everything right about Pacman, and has been tweaked to near-perfection for the overall formula. The first thing that stuns me about this upgrade to Pacman is the overall improvement to the gameplay. The premise and control are identical to any classic Pacman game, but it's the maze layout, speed and timer that makes it so fast and random, making this game perfect to play for little spurts at a time. To start off, there are six different maze types in the game that you can choose from the main menu that have their own time limits set to them. Now, while only six mazes may seem especially lame considering how far we've come along with games and with how much we expect from developers, the hook is that each maze is constantly changing shape/layout in each game. You start off in a standard maze, and go about your Pacman ways, dodging ghosts, eating pellets as well as power pellets that let you eat the ghosts. Your speed is pretty slow (as well as the ghosts), but that gives you the opportunity to ease yourself into the game. As you eat the last pellet on the left or right side of the screen, a fruit will appear on the opposite side of the maze. When you reach that fruit and eat it, the side of the maze that you just cleared of all the pellets from will be wiped out in-game as you're still moving around, and is replaced by an entirely new maze layout. You can keep repeating this over as you clear each side of the screen and eat each piece of fruit, getting new maze layouts (and the layouts will greatly vary from what they started as by the end of your match) the whole time without a single break in the action. All of this ensures that the speed and flow of the gameplay will not slow down until your timer hits zero. As you're constantly eating pellets and going for that higher score, Pacman and the ghosts gradually increase in speed (and the tempo of the music gets faster and faster), with everyone eventually blazing around the screen so fast, that a small cloud of dust will travel behind Pacman as he zooms around. Going back to those six maze layouts again, each have their own shapes, sizes and time limits to them, which makes each one a different experience. You have your standard Pacman maze with a time limit of five minutes for quick plays, to a much larger map one-and-a-half to two sizes larger than the standard map with a time limit of ten minutes, to a stage consisting mostly of horizontal stretches of corridors than a balance between horizontal and vertical with a timer of ten minutes, to a maze that starts off extremely small and cramped (probably half to a third of the size of the standard map), but eventually expands if you're skilled enough to survive, etc. Other notable elements different from an average Pacman experience is the ability to chain combos of eating ghosts for point multipliers (if you can keep a good stretch going as you continuously eat ghosts within ten seconds of each other as well as continuously eating power pellets to keep that eating chain going, the points you get for eating them will double, then triple, then quadruple to insane levels), starting exactly where you left off if you die (the ghosts will reset back to their base in the middle though), and being able to see your replays (and save them) afterwards, so you can sit back and learn from your mistakes. Pacman has always been a classic game, and I've always found the concept interesting, but the original game really had a lot of elements that killed the fun for me. I hated only having three lives and how it was so hard to gain an extra one. I also hated how you had to complete the same maze twice just to see a new one. Because of those two elements, I've only ever found myself able to make it to the second stage in the second maze pattern before I lost all my lives due to the random ghost movements. You can call me a noob if you like, but even after twenty years, I still haven't gotten further, and I've always (and desperately) wanted to see something new. I wanted to see the rest of the stages, dammit! So with Pacman: Championship Edition, lives are easier to gain, there are always new maze layouts to traverse, the game is still challenging and unpredictable, the game just keeps getting faster as the timer runs out (making it fun, frantic, and very encouraging to go for a higher score), the point multipliers give strategy to killing the ghosts, the game has an awesome widescreen neon-lit art style to it that keeps it's retro feel (and is awesome to play in the dark, making you feel like you're in an arcade), and the techno-remixed music is classic, yet new to listen to (and speeds up appropriately with the gameplay). All Pacman games are extremely simple, but this version has a lot more depth to it. If anyone is questioning how a game with such a basic concept can top classics like Portal, Soul Calibur, Prince of Persia: SOT, Sonic Adventure 2, etc...just try downloading the free demo off of XBOX Live Arcade. It got me hooked instantly, and this installment is so high on energy, and is the absolute perfect arcade game to play in between full fledged single player games, that it has reinstalled my faith in the Pacman series, and is absolutely deserving of such a high spot on my list. Namco took a concept that stood the test of time, pumped it full of adrenaline, and basically perfected it. Good job Namco...good job. 43. DDR Extreme 2 / DDR Ultramix 3 Developer: Konami Released on: PS2 (DDR Extreme 2), XBOX (DDR Ultramix 3) Release Date: Sept 28, 2005 (PS2), Nov 15, 2005 (XBOX) When I first heard about the Dance Dance Revolution games, I thought that they looked like the stupidest games that were ever conceived. Either dancing on a mat like an idiot in an arcade or even from the privacy of your own home just seemed flat-out embarrassing, so I was incredibly skeptical and hesitant when a friend of mine told me that he was playing the games in the arcade and bought a home version (DDR Extreme 2 on the PS2), and he wanted me to come over and try it (or at least watch to see what it looked like). Even when I sat there watching him play it I thought he looked absolutely ridiculous, and after him constantly asking if I wanted to give it a try, I decided to give it a go, and am I ever glad that I did. I played it for the rest of the night, bought DDR Ultramix 3 for my XBOX a week later, and within a month or two, I was already playing on the Heavy setting (the second highest difficulty setting, where clusters of arrows jump seem to fly down to the bottom of the screen). DDR may seem completely moronic, and it kind of is if you're watching other people play, but playing it by yourself or with others puts it in a whole different perspective. The game starts off very slow on it's lowest difficulty settings (which is good and even fun for beginners, despite it being absolutely boring for veterans), but as you work your way up to a mode that has arrows scrolling so fast that it pushes you to your absolute limit, it's a great foot-eye coordination game and gives you tons of exercise. At the time, I even lost some weight due to playing it so much. Also, aside from the four difficulty settings, there's difficulty settings within the difficulty settings. Confused? Say you're playing on Light difficulty. For each song, there's a step rating for each. One step is the easiest, where arrows will pretty much drop down one at a time (literally, there's always pretty much one arrow on the screen), however, if you go to a three or four step song, then there will be a larger accumulation of arrows falling from the screen at once. The amount of steps will never exceed the difficulty though. So a four step song on Medium will fall at about the same speed as Light, but it will have more complex step patterns. DDR games are actually pretty similar to Guitar Hero, so instead of holding different notes and strumming, you tap your foot on one of the four directional buttons on the pad at the same time as the corresponding directional arrow falls onto the bottom of the screen. Like Guitar Hero which requires you to hold several notes and then strum, DDR requires you to jump on two directional arrows at once sometimes. Also, like Guitar Hero, you can hold down steps, just like holding down a particular note for a long stretch, and even similar to hammer-ons in Guitar Hero, DDR sometimes has an arrow right next to and slightly overlapping another arrow, which requires you to lightly tap the first arrow just before tapping the next (these are like half-beats, the arrows that occur in-between beats). Just like Guitar Hero as well, DDR games just get more fun as you play them more and get better at them. Fast-paced songs that have you moving quickly all over the mat are mind-numbingly intense, and surpassing songs that you couldn't even complete before gives off such a sense of accomplishment. To add to that, by the time I reached Heavy mode, I was pretty much playing subconsciously, and by that I mean that I would stare at the screen as a whole (more-so near the top to anticipate which arrows were going to fall), and I wouldn't look directly where the arrows were landing (although I would press the right arrow at the right time, due to knowing the duration of time from when I last saw it to when it reaches the bottom of the screen, in combination with pressing to the beat on time). This was because if I was only concentrating on the bottom of the screen, I wouldn't be able to anticipate and keep up with the complex future arrow patterns that were falling. More time is also needed to know what moves are coming so that your body can react in time by the time the arrows reach the bottom. However, at the same time when reaching advanced levels, the player shouldn't think too much or else they will focus too much on particular parts (gaining tunnel vision) and keep missing everything else. Not only that, but every time you press a note, the game rates that particular press' accuracy. If you get a "great" rating and up, your life bar fills up more, and you can keep your combo multiplier going, which keeps you alive and nets you more points. Thinking too much can sometimes mess up a combo, and doing so on a very hard mode can be very hard to recover from (or can instantly kill you and end the song). The amount of coordination, timing, rhythm, reflexes and stamina it takes to master the game is absolutely staggering. The beauty of DDR is that it's as complex as you want it to be (as I've just shown). Novices can just play casually for some fun and good exercises, but if you're really into the game, it takes up to a massive amount of stamina, coordination and persistence to better yourself. However, the real factor that can make one DDR game better from another is it's music selection. I believe I've played DDR Max, DDR Extreme 2, and all four DDR Ultramixes for the XBOX. Out of all of them, I've got to call it a tie between DDR Extreme 2 (the one I was introduced to) and DDR Ultramix 3 (the first I bought). DDR Extreme 2 contained a lot of fast paced japanese music which was a cross between techno and pop (it's more fun to play to than it sounds, since the songs are so fast and intense to play to, like "Butterfly", "Boom Boom Dollar" or "Captain Jack") and DDR Ultramix 3 contained the best batch of western songs I've heard in a DDR game, from "Istabul" from They Might be Giants to "I Just Wanna Live" from Good Charlotte (also containing great obscure tracks like "Colors" and "I Am Gothic"). Not only are the soundtracks fun to listen and play to, but they're all perfectly synched to the music, so you rarely feel as if you've screwed up a song because you couldn't get into the beat or that the steps weren't synched properly with the music. The only downside to the music in these games (and all DDR games) is that there are bound to be a few tracks here and there that you will hate and find cringe-worthy. However, for everything in between, even if some songs aren't exactly your cup of tea (but you don't hate them either), they're still fun to play to, and are just more songs all around to exercise with. I've just noticed that I went far deeper into DDR than I was intending to, but with good reason, since I could have missed such a fun, healthy and addictive game if I had remained misinformed. The only thing about DDR that isn't deep is the cut-and-paste job that Konami does with each installment (they basically just throw random, obscure tracks lists in, slap a new label on it, and call it a day), so most entries don't feel that different from each other. DDR isn't a series worth buying every installment for, but do some research on the song lineups of particular games, and maybe even demo some games at a friends' house, and see which versions are worth playing to (as listed above for me). DDR is the most energetic game I've played that benefits the mind and body, and all I can say is to not worry about looking like an idiot if you try it. It's an instant pick-up-and-play classic that offers up something different than just sitting on the couch and pressing buttons (not that there's anything wrong with that). 42. Final Fantasy IX Developer: Squaresoft Released on: PS1 Release Date: Nov 14, 2000 Finally, we're actually getting to a Final Fantasy game on this list (don't worry, this second half of the list isn't going to be littered with Final Fantasy games). In honesty, I do find the whole franchise a tad overrated since I've only seen a few entries in the whole series with actual stand-out stories, Final Fantasy IX happens to be one of the greats, with a really good story, deep and likable characters, a solid battle system, beautiful art style/visuals and environments, enchanting music, one of the best RPG endings I've seen, and a classic style that harkens back to the old days of Final Fantasy. I haven't played any of the original six Final Fantasies at the times of their releases, so I missed out on a bit of that old-school nostalgia factor that people share with the earlier entries. However, I find that Final Fantasy IX has a style to it that honors and resembles the older entries the most, so it's the closest I'll ever get to playing an old school Final Fantasy at the time of it's release. I can't remember the plot specifics of Final Fantasy IX, other than the fact that it revolves around themes of war and invasions of countries on a mist-filled continent. It's been awhile since I played this game, but the plot was still really well presented, and the characters had unique traits backstories that really fit in with their roles in the plot, instead of being assigned a generic role or trait, just because there wasn't a person with it in the game. For example, the main protagonist, Zidane (my favourite Final Fantasy protagonist so far), is a thief involved in a scheme to kidnap Princess Garnet at the start of the game, mainly for the reason of getting into her pants. It's a pretty funny and ballsy trait to see in a Japanese RPG, but eventually, Zidane's perverted nature starts to fall by the wayside as he falls in love with Garnet as his goals shift to being with her and helping her (he also takes a larger role further into the story, that I can't point out at risk of spoiling the story). Garnet is of course, a princess that's next in line to be queen, only to be the victim of abuse from her ugly, morbidly obese mother, Queen Brahne, which she tries to escape from, and at the same time, tries to convince her mother of not starting any conflict with the other countries. Vivi is your classic black mage (resembling one from the original Final Fantasy), that is later revealed to have come from a village of artificially created black mages, in which he ends up questing his own humanity and mortality throughout the game. Since there's five other interesting characters in your party (except Quina. That thing freaks me out), and that's not even including some important side characters/villians in the game, it would take too long to explain, but I love how the characters really tie in with their roles in this story. The characters aren't just given a tragic past just for the sake of having one, like a typical cliche. They have a believable sense of depth and character to them, and I never sat around rolling my eyes to cliches. Garnet wasn't always a damsel in distress and takes action on her own terms quite often. Stiener (Garnet's Knight and fellow bodyguard) comes off annoying at first with his persistence to guard Garnet from people who are obviously trying to help her (or to stop Zidane's lecherous ways), but by the end he grows some balls, gets rational, and even falls in love for himself. Vivi seems like your typical cute, clumsy partner, but ends up having the darkest problems to face out of all of the characters. On a side note, I also appreciated the super deformed look that the characters in Final Fantasy IX had, harkening back to Final Fantasy VII's style (but looking much better), as well as all of the other Final Fantasies before it. Final Fantasies VIII, X, X-2 and XII just never had the same feeling to them, and I felt that the realism really brought the fantasy out of Final Fantasy. Aside from a well told story and memorable characters, Final Fantasy IX contained a large, beautiful world to explore. While the overall world map isn't that eye-catching (it is a continent filled with a grey mist), the art style and color schemes really pop out when you enter towns and areas to explore, apart from the world map screen. The Kingdom of Alexandria is a colourful, huge town with castles, towers and shops (complete with airships constantly sailing overhead) that seems like it's always in the middle of a festival. It really reminds me of stepping into Disneyworld, which of course, gives a magical feeling that made me feel warm and nostalgic inside. Like Alexandria. the Kingdom of Lindblum feels alive, with townsfolk littering the busy town with tall structures, complete with a scavenger hunt that you have to partake in. It's hard to describe the overall feelings that the towns bring, but they always feel like the structures are towering over you, and the amount of detail within the environments just gives each place a ton of personality. Everywhere really seems like it was painted by an artist at his/her own whim, rather than someone who just came up with a basic layout of a town that you could get your crap from, then leave. There's so much atmosphere in not only the towns, but dungeons, forests, key story areas, etc...that it's easy to get absorbed, losing yourself in them, and caring where you are, rather than just racing ahead to get that area over with and onto the next. The whole art style even holds up to today's standards, and in my opinion, Final Fantasy IX is one of the few games on the original Playstation that really pushed it's graphical capabilities to the limit. The battle system was also a nice change of pace. Being the third Final Fantasy game I had played (I played VII and VIII beforehand), it was a nice addition as to how each party member had their own traditional job set (Zidane's a thief, Garnet's a white mage, Vivi's a black mage, Freya's a dragoon, etc...). While all of the characters were less customizable, this did make it so that you had to utilize most of your party members, also making it so that you just didn't stick with one specific team while ignoring everyone else (the story would also split your party up at many parts in the game, giving variety and forcing the player to play differently, instead of always relying on the same four character's perfect move-sets/battle strategies). Another interesting element, is that you learn your abilities by equipping weapons and armor. If a certain ability is assigned to a weapon, that character can use that ability as long as they have that weapon equipped. However, if the character accumulates enough experience with that weapon, they can permanently learn the ability, and will have no need to keep that weapon equipped, if it's not strong enough or if there are other abilities to learn with other weapons. Because of this system, the game encourages exploration and frequent shopping in order to achieve as many items to equip as possible to learn all of the abilities. All of these factors ensure that the characters aren't just characterized with the plot, but with their own fighting styles, giving them more depth to separate them from each other. Final Fantasy IX is one RPG that really makes me feel like I'm traveling along with a party that plays off each others' strengths, instead of all learning the same things to become an army of identical powerhouses where you need to do nothing but wail on the X button. Also, of a kind of funny and interesting note, my wife played this game a few years back, and a boss had an attack called "Jet Fire". I guess when I created my user name years ago, those two words were subliminally stuck in my head...and here I thought I was just creating it out of two really cool sounding words picked at absolute random. The game must have left an impression on me. Actually, it certainly did...not just for an odd coincidence just as explained, but as an experience. It's been around 10 years since I've played this game, but I felt the impact it had, and I hope that someday I can stop my habit of playing games that I haven't played yet, just long enough to re-experience this classic. 41. Guitar Hero II Developer: Harmonix Released on: PS2, 360 Release Date: Nov 7, 2006 (PS2), April 3, 2007 (360) ike DDR, the Guitar Hero franchise was something that I was skeptical on trying out at first, not due to it looking ridiculous, but at the justification of putting down around $120 for a game and plastic guitar peripheral. Again, I was introduced to Guitar Hero II by the same friend who introduced me to DDR, and like before, I was instantly hooked. So hooked in fact, that I couldn't think about much else other than shredding on that plastic guitar until I found a copy to purchase, and even following that, I had to purchase a second plastic guitar and several other Guitar Hero games until I was satisfied. Up until I bought the other versions, Guitar Hero II was, and still is the definitive version of Guitar Hero that defines the need to rock out on a plastic guitar, just to feel like I'm rocking out without having to learn the real thing. And don't get me wrong, I don't see the game as a substitute for learning a real guitar, or even think that it takes just as much skill. However, I've already tried learning the damn guitar throughout my late childhood and absolutely hated it, so it was fun to have the sense of rocking out with Guitar Hero just for fun's sake, and nothing else. Guitar Hero II's style of gameplay is similar to DDR as I've mentioned. I'm sure everybody knows how it's played: notes of up to five colours scroll down from the top of the screen, you hold the corresponding coloured fret note, and when it reaches the empty note circles on the bottom, you strum as soon as the note lines up. Just like DDR, the music is perfectly synched with the strumming of the notes, so it's very easy to get into a good rhythm of successfully combo-ing notes, which also builds up your multiplier to get a higher score/ranking by the end of the song (as well as to keep you alive so that you can finish the song). Various difficulty modes also exist to make this game easy to learn, but incredibly hard to master. Still, I do find the Guitar Hero experience to be more compelling than DDR. Call me lazy if you want, but it's much easier to sit on the couch and furiously strum notes than to dance up a storm and get an eviction notice from annoying the neighbors in the apartment below me. Besides, even though it takes less energy to play Guitar Hero, I believe that it at least takes about as much skill to master, giving it extraordinary replay value. Whether it's for the challenge factor or not, Guitar Hero has always remained fun, compelling and addictive for me to play. I love using the physical guitar peripheral which a normal controller could never evoke a similar feeling from, I love constantly bettering myself and playing on the higher difficulty modes (furiously letting my fingers slide from fret to fret, wailing on the strummer, and making huge note combos without screwing up), and the track list for Guitar Hero II is simply incredible to listen to as well as fun to play along with. How could you go wrong with Guitar Hero II's track list? Well, I suppose it does depend on your taste of music, and at first, the song list of Guitar Hero II didn't blow me away just by seeing the songs listed. However, once I got playing, every single track became very fun to play to. My personal favourites ended up being "Surrender" by Cheap Trick, "Beast and the Harlot" by Avenged Sevenfold, "Message in a Bottle" by the Police, and my absolute favourite, "Free Bird" by Lynard Skynyrd. Free Bird alone basically propels Guitar Hero II's track list to the top for me (although the general collection of tracks is better than I, III, and Rocks the 80's, from what I've played). Lynard Skynyrd's masterpiece is not the hardest song in the game, but it's so flat out fun in how it tests your endurance (the song is seven or eight minutes long), how it gets faster and faster as the song goes (it starts off incredibly easy, but then goes so fast that it doesn't give you a break until you've finished it), and how much variety it has with the notes (depending on what difficulty you choose, it's a completely different experience. I've only just barely completed the hard mode version once, and it was satisfying as hell). Also, Guitar Hero II contains the "Trogdor" song from Homestarrunner.com. It doesn't get any better than that. Not only are the songs a riot to play, but the Guitar Hero series is really meant to be enjoyed with a second player, and nothing beats the feeling of cooperatively playing through a song with someone else. One player gets to play the guitar, and the other gets to play the bass (which is much easier), but it's still fun to have that variety, since it's a different experience for each player, yet at the same time, both are collectively contributing towards the overall rhythm of the same song. It's really just a great pick-up-and-play party experience where anyone can jump in, play some songs, possibly accomplish something that they haven't been able to achieve before, nail some sweet parts of a song, and leave the session with a good feeling afterwards...only to pick up and play it five minutes later after a quick snack and bathroom break. On another note, I haven't played the competitive mode much, as I'm more of a cooperative gamer. Still, from what I had played, it was solid, and I believe that the Guitar Hero games are some of the best multiplayer/party experiences that I have ever had. Finally, one element of the Guitar Hero's series that I prefer over Rock Band's is the guitar segments themselves. The guitar is just always much smoother and easier to play in Guitar Hero (Guitar Hero's guitar peripherals help with part of that), and the round circular notes are just much easier to strum to than Rock Band's thin rectangular notes. Overall, Guitar Hero II is a fantastic game, and like I said in my DDR segment, if you haven't played the game yet, do some research and find the entries with the best sounding track lists that suit your tastes before you get into the series. With Activision completely selling out, and with all of the new entries each year that are being shat out of it's big, fat f***ing ass (sorry about the rip-off AVGN quote, but it suits the whole situation perfectly), stick to the ones with the best music selection overall, and only buy new entries if you simply need more songs to play. Just pace yourself with music games so that you don't get worn out from over-saturation, have fun, and don't take it too seriously as a whole. With that, Guitar Hero remains enjoyable through and through, and can be an experience that can be had simply for fun's sake, or for a rewarding challenge to rise up to (and even just working towards that is just as fun). 40. Super Mario World Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: SNES, GBA Release Date: Aug 13, 1991 (SNES), Feb 9, 2002 (GBA) Since i had never owned a SNES until a little over a year ago, my experience with the system was very limited. I had borrowed the system from a friend for a few nights over ten years ago to play Yoshi's Island and Super Bomberman 2, but between those times, my only source of Super Nintendo gaming was limited to ports on my Game Boy Advance SP. When I realized that there were some SNES ports available, the first game that I had obtained was Super Mario World, as I had been itching for years to play the only Mario game (out of the main, platforming series) that I had missed. Of course, being a Mario game and all made it a classic in it's own right for me, and it ended up becoming one of my favourite SNES games so far. So what is there to say about Super Mario World that hasn't been said? Nothing, really. The game is pretty much so self-explanitory, that I don't really even need to tell you what it's about or how it plays. But I will elaborate a little on what points were added to this entry in the franchise that set this game apart from it's other entries, and what I really enjoyed about them. The first is the amount of stages, and ways to get through them. There's a total of 72 stages within the seven worlds (and two secret worlds), but there are also 96 different exits that you can take within the stages. This means that in some levels, there is more than one route that you can take to finish it. These different exits can take you to secret levels, or will allow you to find a new path on the world map to help you advance. Quite a few of these secret exits are so cleverly hidden, that I was actually playing for months on end trying to find them all for that 100% completion rate, which was flat-out addicting. Each world is quite varied, like your standard Mario games, and they're filled to the brim with so much colour...so much that it's one of the most bright and happy games that I've ever played. Alongside the lighthearted graphics is an incredible soundtrack to match that tone, composed entirely by Koji Kondo himself, on an electric keyboard. I also enjoyed the additions of Yoshis and a new power-up that I feel should have been utilized more in future Mario games. While controlling a Yoshi is nothing new now, due to the creation of Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story, their addition in Super Mario World was still a welcomed one. It was fun exploring and finding the different coloured baby Yoshi's in certain levels of the secret Star World, in which they could be fed, turned into full grown Yoshis, and would have their own particular abilities, like flight, or shooting a spread of fireballs ahead of them, making stages more fun to run through. Even just the simple addition of them giving you an extra hit point without you losing your power-up (and you could jump right back on the Yoshi if you get knocked off, providing that it doesn't kill itself like an idiot by jumping off a cliff first), as well as the ability to eat your foes, was a new way to engage enemies without simply jumping on them or relying on a power-up. In addition to the standard mushroom, fire flowers and stars, was the feather that granted Mario a cape, which he could use to fly with, or spin to whack enemies with the cape itself. The power-up was awesome, but a huge gaping flaw with Super Mario World was that it didn't incorporate as many power-ups as Super Mario Bros 3. The SNES had so much more power than the NES, and the power-up system in Mario 3 was so popular, that it seemed ridiculous to me as to why the older power-ups weren't included (or at least why a bunch of new ones weren't made). At least we still got to fight the Koopa Kids again, as well as having an overworld map. Finally, the best element added to Super Mario World for me was it's challenge, as it still stands for me as the most difficult Mario game that I've ever played. Even with save points available, the stages themselves are still difficult (especially the secret stages), by being littered with more enemies, pits, and mazes than I've seen in any other Mario game (even the newer ones). Keep in mind that I haven't played Mario 2: The Lost Levels, so there's still potential for there to be one harder Mario game than this one. Still, the challenge was always motivating and never really frustrating, by placing so many creative and varied obstacles in my path. Other than the elements as I've just listed, there's nothing about Super Mario World that really stands out from the other Mario games. So what makes it capable of being ranked as #41 on my list? Because as a Mario game, it's just incredibly fun to play. It's not that deep in any way and it doesn't offer up that many things that are new to the series, but it is still part of a growing evolution in the Mario franchise, and is still even fun to play for the first time, ten years after it's release. Writing this entry for Super Mario World was pretty difficult, because the game lacks true innovation for me to talk about aspects that are different from other Mario titles. Regardless, some games can offer up little innovation but can still have such solid, fun, gameplay, that it's impossible not to hold the game in high regard. Innovation helps, but my Top 100 List isn't based purely off of that fact. Fun factor and replay value are other critical factors for me, and Super Mario World pretty much scores perfectly in those areas, making it a classic title that never seems old, even though it technically is. 39. Mirror's Edge Developer: DICE / EA Released on: 360, PS3, PC Release Date: Nov 12, 2008 (360/PS3), Jan 13, 2009 (PC) I can see some people saying right now, "Oh, come on! Why does an XBOX 360 game make the list? It hasn't even stood the test of time!", or "Why Mirror's Edge? Didn't this game only receive reviews in the 70% range, and wasn't it far too short too"? So does that mean that Mirror's Edge is unworthy of making it high up on someone's list? Absolutely not! Mirror's Edge is literally the most innovative game that I have seen this generation. Tests of time mean squat to me since my #1 favourite game was decided as my favourite at the moment of it's release (and all of these years later, it's still my favourite), and Mirror's Edge's short length keeps the concept from getting too dull and repetitive, while maintaining the pace of a blockbuster action movie. The best way to describe Mirror's Edge is that it's like a modern first person Prince of Persia title, that involves tons of platforming, wall running/jumping, climbing, etc, as you try and clear your sister's name from a crime that she didn't commit, all while running from your life constantly from the city's SWAT teams and police. There's a lot in Mirror's Edge that a lot of people don't see, that I see. But before I get into that, I may as well get the main complaint out of the way that is often associated with this game, which is the combat. I will have to admit that Faith's combat skills are certainly underpowered and not as smooth as console FPS games...but there's a reason why. Mirror's Edge is not an FPS. It's a first person action/platforming game. It's true that you can disarm foes for their current firearm (using a bullet time option to slow down time so you can grab their gun when they try to melee you at close range), but with the way the game is designed, it's meant to deter you away from using guns. Faith is a runner, and has no real experience with being a solider or using guns. Her agility is the focal point of the game, and since you're drastically weaker than your foes, you're encouraged to constantly run, platform, evade and escape to your destination (plus, Faith moves slower and can't really perform any acrobatics with a gun in her hand). The developers were polite to give you an option to fist fight, disarm foes and use guns when you're in a pinch, but like any inexperienced person with a weapon, Faith cannot take on a whole police force with her own brute force. Most hostile situations can be evaded in the game, and I will agree that there are a few frustrating, small segments that force you fight your way out of a situation, but I actually loved how the game gave you an emphasis on platforming and running for your life with the option of possibly getting yourself out of a jam by fighting if you wanted. It's something absolutely different than the wealth of FPS games out there that just place a bunch of guns in your hands, as you lumber around blasting everything in sight. Hunting for prey can be a blast in some games, but being the prey itself is a pure adrenaline rush. The combat itself though, is only a tiny part of Mirror's Edge. The first incredible aspect is how far it takes the first person genre, and combines it so seamlessly with platforming. For one thing, you'll mostly be running around without a weapon, so you can see Faith's hands and feet quite often as you grab and pull yourself onto ledges, climb pipes, wall run/kick, slide, roll, swing, and use martial arts. The first person view really keeps up with every single movement (it may make some people motion sick. I was fine), as you can feel a little dizzy as you roll, feel the weight of your falls (for example, the camera staggers more as you land, depending on how far you fall), and makes you feel helpless during the last moments as you fall off a building to your death (followed by a whistling noise as you fall and a sick "thud" sound as you hit the pavement, blacking out, making this the most realistic simulation of careening to your death that I've seen). It's a little hard to describe, but the way the first person view is handled (while realistically factoring in every sound your body makes against surfaces, and giving your character the feeling of having weight, balance and speed), makes you feel like an actual person, instead of just a tank with a gun. To give a really fine example of how it seems like you have an actual body in-game instead of being a moving camera with a gun, I once slid down a window of a building that was faced on a diagonal angle, as I could see my own body, hands and feet as I slid closer and closer to the drop-off to the street below (a SWAT team was in a helicopter behind me, shooting at me, all the while). To the right and below, I saw a tunnel structure composed of glass that people would walk through (the closest description I can think of is a greenhouse, only in tunnel form). The thing was, if I missed this structure, the fall would be too far and I would crack my head open on the ground below. I leapt for the structure and barely made it, with my in-game leg actually crashing through the glass (or the SWAT team's bullets may have shattered it before my leg made contact), hooking my leg on the framing (which slowed down my fall) and seeing myself falling down sideways with my hands breaking my fall and smacking onto the pavement below, ending up being within an inch of death if I had fallen a few more feet. Now that's actual body physics! The platforming in this game is as smooth as butter. The control scheme feels a little weird at first, using the top left bumper to jump, wall-run and to vault over objects, and using the bottom left trigger to crouch, slide, roll, etc. However, in time, it ends up making sense with the top button (bumper) being the jump option, and the bottom one (trigger) being the option for doing actions that are close to the ground. There's also an instant 180 degree turn button with the right bumper, as well as using this to look 90 degrees when wall running so that, for example, you could look in the direction of a platform on a wall that's parallel to you as you wall run, allowing you to kick off your current wall, straight for that platform. The right trigger is used for your melee attacks, firing weapons, and my personal favourite, bashing and kicking doors wide open as you run into them. With the smooth controls and previous abilities that I've explained, it's a joy to guide Faith around her environment, as sometimes if you can read far enough ahead as to where you want to go and what actions you want to take, you can combo moves all over your environment in a steady flow without stopping or losing momentum. You could run up a ramp, vault off a crate into a pipe on the side of a building, then climb it, leap from it to a structure on the side of a building, wall run, look to your side while running to kick off and to grab and pull yourself onto another ledge above you, run up the wall and climb onto the roof of the building, run, jump and vault over a fence (or you can climb it if you didn't have the momentum), land on the ground and slide (or roll) under some pipes, balance/or shimmy across some pipes connecting across the building you were on and the one in front of you, evade some SWAT team members on the roof as you make a mad dash for the rope connecting the other side of this building to the one far below you as you leap and zip-line down it, landing right on your ass at the bottom, escaping the SWAT. The levels are designed so well, that in encourages you to think of escape routes on the fly (often, there are multiple routes you can take, making you think about which is faster),and that there are plenty of options/paths to get to where you need to go, instead of putting a one-trick obstacle course in front of your face. Even when the game is linear at times, the obstacles ahead are cleverly constructed to look like a natural environment, so it's up to your own interpretation on what to platform off of (and when you do need to know where to go, you can trigger a button that makes some key obstacles to platform off of change colour to a shade of red). Not only is it fun to do all of this in the story mode, but there's also a time trial mode in where you don't have to worry about getting chased, while having a chance to tear through the levels as fast as you can. With every consecutive playthrough, Mirror's Edge just gets more and more fun, since having better skills and level memorization means that you can aim to finish each level in style, in a heart racing, non-stop race to the finish. The visual presentation of Mirror's Edge is absolutely stunning, and is one of the only current generation games that has captivated me so much, that I truly consider it as a next leap forward, graphically. I'm not in awe so much for this game in terms of being photo-realistic, although this game does have a lot of power put into it on a technical level. It's a combination of that and the game's art style that really makes it stand out for me. Mirror's Edge has a very colouful, bright, clean look to it. It's not colourful in a cartoony way, but it's much better than the amount of brown, black and grey games that I see a lot of developers produce in current games today. The colours and clean art style also compliment the game's setting and plot, where the government/police are so invasive to the privacy of it's citizens, that it constantly monitors everyone through surveillance and any form of electronic communication in order to reduce crime and maintain power. The sterile, clean environments represent the actions that the city is taking, and the use of so much colour just makes it a more optimistic experience to play. The white buildings, combined with the blue sky is a very serene setting, marked areas in red really stand out as to where you may need to go, and the insides of buildings can show many different painted colours on walls, like greens, oranges, yellows, reds, and blues, etc. The music also really ties in with the mood of the game. For example, when you're platforming on the high rooftops of the city's buildings without the police force chasing you, calm, serene, ambient music plays to relax you. When you're being chased, the tempo really picks up into a chase scene-like track to get your adrenaline pumping. Voice acting is also presented very confidently, and as I've said, the sound effects are a key element to immerse you in the game, whether it's from bullets whizzing by your head, glass shattering, your body making noise against the environments, and even with Faith's breathing patterns and grunts as she runs about the landscape. The only hit that Mirror's Edge's presentation takes is in the story. The visual style didn't keep up with the entire game, as some of the story scenes were contracted out to another company, making them look like the style of E-surance commercials. Personally, I didn't mind the style too much, although it would have been more immersive by seeing the entire adventure though Faith's eyes. Mirror's Edge story didn't even matter that much to me, as it could have made absolutely no sense and still would have been fun, due to the stand-out gameplay and immersion that it presents. Mirror's Edge is a game that I'm absolutely 100% glad to have experienced, and I'm glad that I wasn't swayed by reviewers opinions of it's somewhat bland overall 70% average. This was a shameful thing to see, since DICE had brought out so much creativity, heart and innovation into their game, and it was absolutely eclipsed by the vast sea of sequels that were being crapped out onto the market. It's true, Mirror's Edge is very short (somewhere between five and ten hours), doesn't have the best combat, and it's story's presentation is a little weak, but I can't believe on how much people focused on these minor factors instead of seeing the big picture. Mirror's Edge was innovative, had great controls, genius level design, platforming and atmosphere, and most importantly, it felt fresh. Yes, it is a short game and came with a $50 or $60 price tag. But I would take an incredible short, five-to-ten hour replayable experience, over a dull, long and drawn out eighty hour one any day of the week, and with Mirror's Edge currently being $20 new, and less used, it's still an innovative experience that's worth a try for anyone with an open mind that's not expecting a game that's in first person to be an FPS, and only an FPS. 38. Sonic Adventure Developer: Sonic Team Released on: DC, GC Release Date: Sept 9, 1999 (DC), June 18, 2003 (GC) Going through my life, Sonic and Mario always had an ongoing tug-of-war battle as to who won each generation of gaming. Mario, of course won the 8-bit war, then Sonic won the 16-bit war for me, then Mario won the 32/64-bit war, and just when it didn't seem like it could get any better for Mario, I believe that Sonic won the generation following that (until the developers of Sonic Team decided to murder him) with Sonic Adventure 1 & 2. Sonic Adventure was the better game out of the two, in my opinion. It wasn't perfect, but it certainly showed potential for what Sonic could have been in 3D if Sonic Team took the time to refine the gameplay by keeping the great parts in and weeding the average portions out. Sonic Adventure was a huge step in the right direction, since people hadn't seen a true Sonic game since Sonic & Knuckles / Sonic CD, and this game had me so captivated when playing it on a booth at Blockbuster Video, that I nearly pooed my pants. I absolutely had to buy a Dreamcast at this point. So much, that I even sold my favourite system, the N64 (and all of it's games) just to get one with Sonic Adventure. This was a purchase that I'll always regret and cherish at the same time. I should have never sold that N64 with all of those amazing games. However, I would have never been able to pick up such a rare gem of a console to experience the great library on it if I hadn't (luckily, down the road, I bought a used N64 with an expansion pack for $30, along with all of the games I used to own, so it worked out in the end anyways). Thank you Sonic, for motivating me to make one of the worst selling experiences and one of the best purchase experiences that I've ever had at the same time. So what makes the original Sonic Adventure much better than it's sequel? Well, there is the original "wow" factor of seeing Sonic in a true 3D game for the first time, and with it actually being good. However, I guess what makes it better are all of the little things. For one, I liked how the adventure mode was constructed better than it's sequel. Sure, it had an overworld and didn't have the quick stage-to-stage progression of Sonic Adventure 2, but at least you could stay as the character you had picked throughout the whole game. Nothing annoyed me more in the second game where you would blaze through a level with Sonic, your adrenaline would be pumped up, but wait...now you have to complete a slow moving mech/shooting segment with Tails, followed by a slow moving treasure hunt with Knuckles before you get to blaze through the next level with Sonic. In the original, you could be Sonic the whole way through. Sure, there's five other characters to choose from (some which had watered down the game a bit), but at least the choice was there so you could consistently play as one character. Not only that, but the overworld wasn't too bad, actually. I didn't like being in a city with humans, as it felt weird and out of place for Sonic's universe, but the overworld got the job done, and with Sonic's speed, it didn't take too long to traverse from stage to stage (plus, there was the option of a stage select to play every stage that you have already completed). As for the characters themselves, Sonic and Tails were fun to play as, Knuckles' treasure hunts were something new at the time (so they were pretty fun), Amy's whole "escape the robot trying to kill you" aspect wasn't too bad, and the robot that you play as (can't remember it's name. It's just a series of numbers and letters) had better shooting segments than Tails/Robotnik's shooting segments in the sequel. Let's also just forget about Big the Cat. Still, Sonic Adventure had three characters (Sonic, Tails, and to an extent, Knuckles) to play as that were entertaining, and two that were bearable (Amy and the robot). Sonic Adventure 2 had only the Sonic/Shadow segments as the best parts in the game, and the rest of the characters went from "okay" (like Knuckles/Rouge), to awful (Tails/Robotnik). Another great thing about Sonic Adventure, was that the main game really focused on Sonic, who had access to ten stages. The rest of the characters had five stages each, which downplayed the focus on them, whereas in the sequel, everyone basically had an even amount of stages. That made it so that there were fifteen "run fast" stages (for Sonic/Tails), five exploration stages (Knuckles), five "escaping" stages (Amy), five shooting stages (with the Robot) and five fishing stages (Big). In the second game, I believe there was ten "run fast" stages, ten exploration stages and ten shooting stages. Sonic Adventure had variety going for it by being able to choose who you wanted to be throughout the whole game, and the flow of playing as one character wouldn't be disrupted by jumping to another one. The next great thing about the game was the level design. The first level (Emerald Coast) revolved around Sonic racing around a beach landscape, through many segments involving loops, running on walls and the famous dock scene with him outrunning a killer whale. One of my favourites, Windy Valley, involved lots of segments of running incredibly fast over a blowing trail of leaves to cross big gaps in the stage (you're thousands of feet in the sky), as well as running through some track segments that constantly twist, turn and send you at full speed faster than you can imagine (it feels like one of the fastest portions in the game, like the Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic 2 on Genesis, where Sonic runs so fast, that the screen struggles to keep up with him). The stage, "Speed Highway" was also a little similar, being set up somewhat like a race track with tons of straightaways to gain speed, with plenty of loops and corkscrews, and also took place at nighttime with the city lights just creating a look that took me back to Casino Night-like stages from previous Sonic games. Other areas included snowboarding from an avalanche in the Ice Cap stage, the Red Mountain stage started on the mountain as you eventually worked your way inside a volcano with lava shooting everywhere, the Sky Deck Stage involved running on top of a windy airship with gun/missile turrets shooting at you from everywhere, the Lost World Stage took you through an Indiana Jones-inspired temple (complete with rolling boulder segment), and more. The great aspects about the level designs was the amount of variety in the locations you played in, and the game gave you tons of opportunities to really pick up speed and tear through your environments without putting too much emphasis on frustrating platforming segments. With the newer Sonic games out there, like "Heroes" or "Secret Rings", I never felt like I could run at a consistently fast speed, in fear that due to the sloppy controls, I would always fall to my death. The good thing about Sonic Adventure is that while the controls aren't perfect, they're certainly not as sloppy as the future games, making for a far more enjoyable experience...as akin to the 2D Sonic games as you can possibly get in 3D, anyways. Story-wise, I don't expect much from a Sonic game. The voice acting is pretty damn bad, but the premise was a little interesting, with the evil entity that you're facing being a creature composed of water (called Chaos) that feeds off of Chaos emeralds to grow to bigger and more menacing forms with each one it consumes (making it a race to get the emeralds before Chaos does). The visuals were consistently bright, colouful, crisp, and maintained a smooth framerate throughout. Music was a bit of a mixed bag. The in-game level music and main theme for the game were incredible, but some of the character-specific themes were grating. Also, on a side note, a really fun feature that I had found was having a second player control Tails in Sonic's game. While the camera wouldn't pan out for Tails or anything (forcing the player to let Tails catch up), two skilled players could really work together and tear though the levels. It takes a lot of cooperation, but some friends and I really had fun with this element of gameplay that I think no one else really noticed or appreciated to the extent that we did (the two-player simultaneous gameplay between Sonic and Tails was also a ton of fun in Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles). Also, on a side note, it really irritates me on how many defective Sonic Adventure GD-roms that existed out there (I went through two of them which eventually ended up failing, causing me to have to buy the DX version on Gamecube). Finally, I have to mention the final battle where the player gets to be Super Sonic. Personally, I think it's one of the most epic boss fights that I've seen in a videogame. After you complete all six characters' stories, the seventh option of Super Sonic's chapter opens. Chaos ends up absorbing the final chaos emerald, as he grows to a Godzilla-like form, demolishing and flooding the main city. Sonic ends up taking the seven emeralds that appear to be drained and harnesses the positive energy instead of the negative energy (yeah, it's a little lame, but bear with me). What is epic, is the chanting of Sonic's name as he transforms into Super Sonic, and how you're placed in the streets of the demolished city, floating on the water as Perfect Chaos unleashes powerful attack after attack on you, such as hails of energy bullets and giant laser blasts out of it's mouth. The hair-metal "Open your Heart" track plays, as you have to dash towards Chaos, picking up enough speed so that you can leap hard enough into the boss and have enough momentum to sail up through his watery body and to attack his brain as you spin out of his mouth back to the street below. If he hits you with his attacks, you lose speed and won't have enough momentum to attack his brain. Since you're Super Sonic, you are invincible, but you only have fifty rings to accomplish this fight, and there are a limited amount of rings on the field. Defeat him, and win the game, or run out of rings, and sink to the watery depths below. The music is so blood pumping, the speed and constant head-on charges that you have to make are teeth-grittingly intense, and Perfect Chaos is larger than life, making this boss fight a truly conclusive and epic one to experience. I think that this may be one of the largest entries that I've written for my list so far. Granted, I must have played this game at least ten times during the Dreamcast's lifespan, so there was a lot of ground to cover, especially regarding on the subtleties on how it differed from it's sequel, and how it was still a better game, overall. Sonic Adventure contained the smoother controls, better level designs, and an overall better concept that newer Sonic games today absolutely fail to bring. Believe it or not, there used to be actual great 3D Sonic games out there, and the Sonic Adventure series had a lot of heart put into it. Sonic was blazingly fast, and the controls and level design went so hand-in-hand, that gamers didn't have to constantly slow down to the pace of a snail just to survive through the levels. His games were an absolute rollercoaster ride that provided new thrills every second, and I wouldn't have his new games any other way... oh, and in case you're wondering who wins this current generation's war, it's Mario, hands down, for Galaxy, and it brings me down to know that next generation, there won't be a power struggle, as Sonic will stagnate further and further into mediocrity. At least we still have the Sonic Adventures though. 37. Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland Developer: HAL Laboratories Released on: GBA Release Date: Dec 2, 2002 Wow, I've sure come a long way, seeing as how my last Kirby game was ranked at #96, it would seem unbelievable as to why I'm placing this game so far ahead. By no means, does it makes Canvas Curse a bad game. I've played other Kirby games, and Canvas Curse's innovation and pure fun factor set it on my Top 100 list. The reason that Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland makes it so high on my list, is that to me, this is the classic Kirby formula at it's finest. Keep in mind that I haven't played Super Star Ultra or much of Kirby 64 yet, so I'm positive that when I get around to playing them, at least one of those games will make my Top 100 List from what I've heard about them. However, Nightmare in Dreamland for the GBA, is a remake of the original Kirby's Adventure on the NES. I own and have played both games, but there are just some little things that boast Nightmare in Dreamland ahead of it, that I'll get into later. First of all, I'll state that Nightmare in Dreamland was the first Kirby game that I've played, so like anyone who starts of with a certain game in a franchise that they get addicted to, the first usually remains as their favourite, due to the freshness of experiencing the concept for the first time. Kirby is incredibly mainstream in the gaming world, so there's no need to talk about who he is and how the game is played. I'll just list off what I love about this gem. For one thing, it's incredibly simple and easily accessible to get into. The game is very easy (due to a large life bar, plenty of extra lives, a save feature and the ability to float in the air infinitely), but it's nice to have an easy game between all of the difficult ones every once in a while, and when I need to relax, Kirby's always there for me. Despite being easy, it's just incredibly fun to play, with it's well-varied level design (in which each level is named after a type of food), cute and colourful visuals, happy and bippy music, solid controls, and numerous copy abilities (by eating enemies and stealing their powers, such as using swords, spitting fire, ducking and unleashing giant spikes from his back like a porcupine, etc.). Speaking of controls, I'm not sure if it's just me, but I found that Nightmare in Dreamland had tighter, more responsive controls than the original game, which made it for fun to play. I think that the improved animation that came with the new art style may account a little for that. I've also heard from a few voices over the internet that the music doesn't sound as good as the original, but I really can't tell the difference between the two, and it still sounds classic to me. It's really hard to go into detail with this game, because to be honest, just like Canvas Curse, it's not a detailed game. Kirby is simplicity in it's purest form. To add to what I like, the story has a cute, classic fairy tale story to it that doesn't tax the brain, but fits right in with Kirby's overall cute theme. The bright art style and watercoloured painting backdrops are very eye-catching, as well as Kirby's superb dancing skills when you complete a level. The copy abilities are fun as always to utilize on enemies and small puzzles in the environment, and I'm not sure if this is the only Kirby game that does it, but I think it's the only one that gives him the eskimo suit for his freeze ability. That thing is awesome! There's also a few mini-games included that are pretty fun to play, like a game of "Hot Potato" with a bomb, a race mode in which you grind across rails on your star platform, and the good old quick draw minigame that we saw in the original. Plus, it's Kirby on the go, and the style of gameplay is perfectly suited as a small handheld experience, which is coincidentally how Kirby started off anyways. In a nutshell, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland is a classic, and remains as one of my favourite handheld games so far. While there's nothing special to say about it, and I can't exactly make it's description that sounds too interesting, all I can say is that it remains as a solid, fun, pick up-and-play experience that doesn't get old no matter how many times I play it. It's kind of like describing something older and simple, like Super Mario Bros or The Legend of Zelda. The games are simple, and there's not too many moments or gameplay elements that you can go too into detail with, but as an overall experience, they can be captivating from beginning to end. Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland is the same way for me, and will always remain as a classic handheld experience that has to go in my travel bag wherever I go. 36. Yoshi's Island Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: SNES, GBA Release Date: Oct 4, 1995 (SNES), Sept 24, 2002 (GBA) With thirty six entries left to go after this one, I have to say it. Yoshi's Island is my favourite SNES game. I know it may seem kind of taboo to not have a SNES game at least be in a Top 10 portion of a Top 100 list, but the fact is, I never owned a SNES in it's prime (instead I owned a Genesis), and I only recently acquired the console a year ago, so I've had plenty of catching up to do. What I can say is that I almost played Yoshi's Island in it's prime...at least in the N64 days from the SNES that I borrowed from a friend. I absolutely loved it, and it certainly tops Super Mario World in about every way for me. Later on, I had to buy this game for my GBA, and although it's just a port, it's my favourite GBA game as well. Yoshi's Island is simple, cute, colourful, fun, and plays like a dream...with the only thing waking you up from it being Baby Mario's annoying screeching. This game really put Yoshi on the map for me, by having some of the best level designs that I've seen in a platformer. It's not really so powerfully done that I can differentiate it from the classic 2D Mario games, but everything works in it's favor. First, you have the brilliant pencil-crayon coloured environments that retain a timeless, personal look that has aged well after all these years. It also had some overlapping foregrounds and backgrounds that gave a sense of depth, such as simply running past bushes and flowers that are in the foreground. The levels and enemy placement were certainly built for Yoshi's move set, with tons of moving and floating platforms to time landing on with Yoshi's hover ability, to floating enemies that require the range of Yoshi's tongue to eat, to hitting all of the coins, flowers and enemies that are out of range with his eggs. Speaking of collectibles, Yoshi's Island has a ton of them, and while this may be a moderately difficult platformer on it's own, it can get pretty damn challenging when you're trying to 100% it by collecting everything. To 100% complete a level, you'll need to grab all of the yellow and red coins within it, as well as all of the flower symbols with smily faces (I know, manly, huh?), and still having at least thirty stars left (which are collected to increase your timer when you take a hit and you need to collect Baby Mario before it expires, or you die). Some of these items can be really well hidden, which encourages you to explore every single last corner of every level. Luckily, there's a great reward for all of your time spent if you get a 100 point perfect score in each level on a particular world, which is a challenging bonus level. All of this really extends the replay value of the game, since you're not just moving from left to right to your goal like most Mario-style platformers, and the emphasis on exploration makes the levels feel bigger, as each one lasts longer when you aim to collect everything. The bosses in Yoshi's Island are greatness, whether it's eating a boss that's a giant puff of cotton candy, to trying to get out of a giant frog's stomach that's slippery on the inside while it's eating more enemies and obstacles to harm you, to running on a circular planet Mario Galaxy-style to ground pound pillars that will shoot up out of the opposite end of the planet to damage the boss, to fighting for your life to kill a boss before it simply pushes you off a cliff, there's a ton of variety in this game's fights. Yoshi's Island basically has some of the most fun, creative and varied boss fights that I've ever seen. None are particularly controller-throwing hard, but they are cleverly designed, are a joy to play, and they always kept me in anticipation just to see what crazy thing I would have to fight next. As for the final boss battle, it's absolutely epic, and would probably make it into a Top 10 Final Boss fights list for me. I'm sure most people know of the giant Bowser that starts off far in the background and gets closer and closer as you have to chuck eggs at it while dodging giant boulders that create more pits in the ground, giving you less and less to stand on. The illusion of 3D is a nice touch here, and the fight only gets more frantic as you get further into it. It's an epic and satisfying boss to face to wrap the whole game up. Like Super Mario World, there isn't a lot to say about a 2D Mario themed platformer, since everyone basically knows about it. I'll top it off by saying that the music is fantastic and memorable. Sure it's as cute sounding as hell, but it's very catchy, and kept me in a positive mood throughout the game. The element of transforming into vehicles and gaining access to Super Baby Mario (in which Yoshi is turned into an egg that trails behind Baby Mario as he dons a cape and is faster than Yoshi, can run on walls, can float with the cape, and is invincible), gives some nice variety in regards to level exploration, as they're timed and force you use their abilities to uncover secret areas or advance in the level while you still can. A particular favourite part of mine was the skiing segments, as they reminded me of the short snowboarding segment of Sonic 3, and is fast paced and somewhat out of control since you can't stop until you've reached the bottom of the hill. In regards to Baby Mario, I really do like the fact that you can take an infinite amount of hits, as long as you can regain Baby Mario before your timer reaches zero, when he falls off of you and floats around in that bubble. But like anyone else, I agree, that crying is annoying as hell. Still, I dare you to play Yoshi's Island DS, as that atrocity will give you a nervous breakdown as the crying remains non-stop throughout that game. Why? Because you're always getting hit by crap floating all over the place (as well as not being able to see where it's coming from, since the action spans both screens, and you're constantly traveling between them), and then you'll have four to five crying babies to manage. Moving back to Yoshi's Island on one more note, the controls are absolutely tight and responsive, making it for a fun platformer throughout, since I could hardly blame my deaths on anyone but myself when I screwed up. To sum it all up, Yoshi's Island is one of the finest 2D platfomers that I've ever played, and it easily counts as one of my favourite Super Nintendo games with it's simple, bright, fun nature. But wait! Haven't I played Chrono Trigger yet? What about Earthbound? What about Final Fantasy III, Super Mario RPG, Super Metroid, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Megaman X, Contra III, Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Secret of Mana, and Starfox? I haven't mentioned them, right? I'll try and wrap this up quickly. I just beat Chrono Trigger, so it will be making my list. I own Earthbound, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, and Starfox, and haven't even played them yet, although it's a close goal of mine to do so. I'm still in the process of playing Secret of Mana and Megaman X, and I don't own Contra III and Super Mario Kart. I also didn't enjoy Super Mario RPG (if you absolutely need to know, see my Paper Mario entry, which is #53), Zelda: A Link to the Past (in this case, it was just "okay", in which I'll go into a bit of detail later) and Final Fantasy III, despite their immense popularity, and I'm sure that there may be quite a few SNES games that I haven't experienced yet that are worthy of making a Top 100 List. Despite all of those games, even if I do finish them all in the future, I believe that Yoshi's Island will always hold a special place in my heart, and it obtains that by being pure, happy, simple, replayable fun. When something like Yoshi's Island simply puts me in a good, positive mood just by playing it, it's impossible for someone like me to not be able to hold it in a high regard. This game is the one reason that I truly regretted not having a SNES, and it really showed me that there must be a lot of gems on this sixteen-bit machine (which eventually led me to building up my SNES library to 20 games in just one year) if there was at least one gem as great as this one. In terms of happy platforming though, the one that can dethrone Yoshi's Island is... 35. Yoshi's Story Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: N64 Release Date: March 9, 1998 Yes, Yoshi's Story for the N64 dethrones Yoshi's Island in my opinion. While they're both stellar games, I do think that Yoshi's Story has a little bit more going for it. Not so much as in terms of level design or the sheer amount of collectibles, but it's just more fun, accessible, and way, way, happier. Actually, speaking of level design, while Yoshi's Island may have had over 50 levels to complete, and Yoshi's Story only had 24 in total (and you can only choose from 6 levels each playthough, depending on what path you take), Yoshi's Story had a unique to it's approach for getting through levels. It's not all about simply running from left to right to get to the end goal while collecting stuff all the way through. In Yoshi's Story, level progression does happen mostly from left to right, but the levels loop from the end, right back to the beginning. Levels aren't completed by reaching a goal like so many platformers, but my eating 30 happy fruits to make those Yoshi's so happy, that their happiness shatters the very laws of physics, space and time to teleport them to the next stage. Collecting 30 pieces of fruit is an incredibly easy task, if you don't care as to which fruit that you grab, in which I think that the biggest group of complainers that had actually surrounded this game were the people who bought/rented it, played through it once by grabbing every fruit in sight, seeing the end credits, feeling shocked, and taking it back to the store without even giving it a chance to go in depth with it to discover it's real value. First of all, as I've mentioned, you can blow through only six levels to see the end credits of Yoshi's Story. However, there lies a pretty deep mechanic for multiple playthroughs that encourages players to explore more to find new paths to new levels, quite similar to Starfox 64. In each stage, lies 3 hidden giant hearts to grab. With each heart that you obtain, the difficulty of the next stage will increase. To go back a step, at the beginning of the game, you start off on a storybook page, in which you can select levels 1, 2, 3 or 4. If you grab no hearts in the first level, on the next storybook page, you'll be starting at level 1. If you grab one heart in the first storybook page, you start on level 2, with grabbing two or three hearts getting you to levels 3 and 4 respectively. The higher the level, the more difficult the stage is. The level count may be lower than Yoshi's Island, but I'm glad that this game is different in it's approach to make it stand the test of time, without being a "me too" sequel, that doesn't do anything differently than the first. There's a lot of reason to explore levels, and to play through it multiple times to see every level. Also, the whole "six levels to win" approach makes this game great for quick playthroughs, and Yoshi's Story only goes deeper than that. When I mentioned collecting fruit before, it's true that a level can end quickly when there's so much fruit abundant in each level, and in some cases, you can eat all of the fruit before looping through a stage once. Despite this, the game can be as long and difficult as you want it to be, making it accessible for newcomers and veterans alike. You see, depending on what fruit you collect, increases your overall score. If you eat a fruit that matches with the colour of your Yoshi (for example, the yellow one likes bananas), you can gain a greater health and score boost for that particular piece of fruit, instead of eating something like grapes. To get the highest score though, you have to collect all 30 melons that exist within a stage, and it's no easy feat. Not only are all of the melons very well hidden (some are even underground, in which you have to use your Yoshi's smelling ability to track them down like a metal detector, and using you ground pound to unravel them), but there exists the possibility that you may accidently grab a different nearby fruit with your tongue, and that to gain the max amount of melons in each stage, you have to complete each minigame (that rewards you with more melons based on how well you do) perfectly. Screw up, and you won't be able to obtain all 30 melons within the stage. Hunting for melons not only makes the game last longer, but it makes it more challenging, and gives a greater sense of reward for a much higher score by the end. That's not everything about this game though, as there is still another secret to uncover: The black and white coloured Yoshis. These two Yoshi's exist in egg form in two of the levels in the game. If you find them and complete the stage without dying, the eggs are hatched and you obtain a new Yoshi. Not only do these Yoshi's add an extra life for you, but their abilities are far superior than your other Yoshi's. They like any kind of food (the regular Yoshi's can't eat peppers for example, which causes them to lose health), they have a longer tongue reach, and their ground pound's vibration alone can defeat enemies from a better distance, whereas with a regular Yoshi has to ground pound directly on top of them. All of this creates a small level of strategy. If a Yoshi loses all of the flower petals off his life bar or falls into a pit, he gets kidnapped by Kamek's minions (in probably what amounts to the saddest scene of losing a life in a game, because while the game is normally so overly happy, the scene shows a dark and depressing clip of your Yoshi sobbing as they take him away from you for the rest of the game). Because of this, if your black and/or white Yoshi's get kidnapped, you basically lose them for the rest of the game, and upon starting your next game, you'll have to find them all over again. However, if your black and white Yoshi's don't die by the end of the game, your file is saved, and you can use these special Yoshis at the beginning of your next one. There is a way to get your kidnapped Yoshis back, and that's by finding a hidden white shyguy in a stage that will follow you to the end of a stage and will retrieve a kidnapped Yoshi, as long as you don't die while the white shyguy is following you. The whole life/death system in Yoshi's Story made me really value each Yoshi's life, not only to avoid the whole sad scene, but this game only gives you six to eight Yoshis (depending if you found the black & white ones or not) to complete the game. The game will save after each level depending on what Yoshis you still have, so apart from finding those white shyguys, your different coloured Yoshis are your lives. Depending how you look at it, Yoshi's Story can be as deep of an experience as you want it to be. Combined with the happiest, cutest, visuals (from the pop-up storybook level select screen, to a world that looks entirely made out of denim material, to a world that looks like it was made out of cardboard cutouts, to a world with amazing looking water that's supported by a forest that looks composed of inflatable trees/surfaces), positive, happy, uplifting music, to a simple and overly happy story (you're on a quest to get the Super Happy Tree back), this game is probably the happiest game ever created. It still plays like Yoshi's Island, and has great level design like the original, but was vastly underrated due to simply being shorter than Yoshi's Island, even though it was just as, if not more, fun. That's one thing that grates my nerves about reviewers. If a game is short, than more often than not, I hear that it sucks, which is never the case for me. Mirror's Edge, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, Yoshi's Story...they all share that common trait. But games don't have to be a chore to complete. They don't have to last eighty hours to get their full value. For me, I'm less apt to replay an eighty hour long quest, than a simple two to six hour long one, and in many cases, I end up replaying those short quests so repeatedly, that their accumulated time outweighs the eighty hour long quest eventually. It's true, games today are expensive, and based on what we pay for them, a short gameplay length won't give off immediate satisfaction. But I believe for a timeless experiences, games like the ones I have already mentioned will be ones that I can revisit again and again. For every shorter, fulfilling game I've bought in the past always calls me from my shelf (so much, that it's almost irresistible to ignore), and every super long game gives me a feeling that I may go back to it once more someday if I have the time, which hardly happens. Yoshi's Story is another case of simplicity at it's finest, and that's what makes it so accessible and fun to play over and over, and now that I think about it, I can officially name this as the happiest and most uplifting game ever created. 34. Kingdom Hearts II Developer: Square-Enix Released on: PS2 Release Date: March 28, 2006 I used to not be very fond of Disney in the past when I was a kid. For the longest time, most of their movies drove me nuts, with the constant unnecessary songs that just pop out of nowhere, the too wholesome humour that would never involve anything risky or vile, and the overacting that their increased animation budget presented (where characters would just flail their arms, jump up and down, and make the most overexaggerated faces when just having a simple conversation instead of just standing there and talking). I used to find Disney pretty lame, but even I could admit that there was a lighthearted magic within their films that just made them so timeless, that I could find myself appreciating them more and more as I got older and more mature (their hand-drawn content is much better than the sea of crap with their live actors and CGI films today). Luckily, their magic has been transferred to a lot of good, memorable games in gaming history. DuckTales, Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers, World of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck (on the Sega Genesis), and my personal favourite, the Kingdom Hearts series. While Kingdom Hearts II may not have as much of the Disney magic as their original game (due to the darker story and being pumped with more Final Fantasy nostalgia), it still is a magical, deep, and unforgettable experience as Sora (a kid with a keyblade), Donald and Goofy are back to travel across various Disney worlds to search for Mickey and Sora's friend Riku (who vanished at the end of the first game), in their quest to thwart the heavily Squaresoft-influenced Organization XIII. The story for the game is surprisingly well-constructed, with even a one-to-two hour prelude that may seem pointless at first (you play as a different kid named Roxas), but becomes an integral part of the story as his tale comes to a conclusion. Throughout Kingdom Hearts II, you'll travel through space to different Disney-themed planets to lock up gates that the Heartless are passing through again (Heartless are the dark entities that you fought in the last game). The Disney worlds are well varied, and contain story segments and their own particular movie-themed villians that relate to each film. This game has some great new worlds, including some of my favourite themes such as The Lion King, Mulan, Tron, Pirates of the Carribean, and my favourite constructed levels in the game, Beauty and the Beast (Beast's Castle) and a black and white-themed level that even changes the character model designs (including Sora) to an old black and white Disney cartoon, themed to Steamboat Mickey. My biggest complaint about the second game though, is that there are too many returning worlds, whether it be Aladdin, Hercules, 100 Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh), Hollow Bastion, or The Little Mermaid (which was actually a fun level in the first game, but is resorted to a horrible Quick Time Event singing game in the sequel). At least they made The Nightmare Before Christmas level drastically different than the first game, which was a nice touch. The best thing about travelling between all of these different worlds, is that the art styles are constantly changing, making the whole experience fresh and different right up to the epic conclusion. Also, while the game is still highly emphasizing on Disney by making most of the worlds themed off of it, there's a lot of Squaresoft-like storytelling in the mix with it's cutscenes, Organization XIII boss battles, and frequent cameos from Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, X and X-2 characters. Despite all of those lighthearted Disney Worlds, the story seems much darker and serious this time, and that's even reflected by the new black clothes that Sora wears (don't worry, he doesn't go emo, which was a fear of mine at first). As for the gameplay side of things, Kingdom Hearts II is an action RPG that doesn't rely on turn based combat, so the gameplay is always very fast paced, resembling a cross between a 3D platformer with the traditional sword based combat-feel of Zelda, combined with a little bit more style this time (due to a higher emphasis on melee combat), like Devil May Cry. This time around, Sora can sport up to wielding two different keyblades at once (which you can choose which ones you'll equip in your menu), so melee combat is much faster and combo-heavy. The good side to this is that fighting is always very stylish, being combined with some epic quick time events in boss battles (showing off some very impressive camera work) and different forms Sora can transform into (by fusing with a partner, Sora dons a new coloured outfit which gives him new powers, such as a Wisdom Form that allows Sora to glide around and shoot this keyblade like a gun, to his Final form which involves Sora's keyblades hovering around him and attacking his enemies while levitating around). However, there is a downside to the combat too, since the higher emphasis on using your keyblades to fight means that Square dumbed down the magic system in the game so that not only is it hard to use (since you can't select individual spells in your mini-menu during in-game action), but the spells themselves are just mostly too slow and ineffective to make them worth using. Therefore, the game can turn into quite a heavy "X button mashing fest" at some points, but at least it's still fun and interesting to watch (and the game can still be pretty damn difficult at times). Still, Kingdom Hearts II combat remained fun and very fast-paced to me at all times, and the epic boss fights (whether it be against classic Disney villians, the unique Organization XIII members, larger than life Heartless/Nobody battles, or even a certain battle that involves diving head-first into a literal army of 1000 heartless to face all at once (with the aid of some Square characters) were always a constant joy to encounter. Presentation-wise, Kingdom Hearts 2 is incredible, possibly trumping the first game. Everything from the story, to the character design, to the art styles, to the voice acting, and to the music is nothing short of breathtaking, making the whole game rival a classic Disney film. The ways that characters interact with each other, whether it's a recreation of a classic Disney scene from a movie, to Sora, Donald and Goofy interacting with the Disney and Square characters is always believable to watch, feeling like a natural take on timeless Disney films. The music always fits the mood of the game, and the opening song for the game, "Sanctuary" is catchy, well-fitting and beautifully sung. Voice acting of course, is top notch, as Square and Disney collaborated to make sure that the game maintained the professional standards of Disney films. Square and Disney must have put a blimp-full of money into Kingdom Hearts II's presentation, because throughout, the whole thing screams of Disney and Square nostalgia, and it's hard not to love it if you are a fan of either source. For me, Kingdom Hearts II may have not have had the impact and "wow" factor of the original game, but it stayed consistent, impressed me yet again with it's presentation (almost like I was experiencing it for the first time again), and offered up some new surprises here and there (like with some of it's new combat mechanics, new worlds and deeper story). The Kingdom Hearts series will always remain a favourite of mine. It's not technically the most deep or serious RPG, and those looking for an RPG that is much more mature will want to look elsewhere, but the Kingdom Hearts games are more fun to me than most RPGs. Why? Because they don't take themselves too seriously, they're lighthearted, they have platforming in them, and they aren't bogged down by tedious level-grinding and typical cliche environments/characters that water down most RPGs. Most importantly, Kingdom Hearts II accomplishes what it should for a sequel, by being a worthwhile continuation of a previously incredible game that meets expectations on practically every level. I only hope that if Square makes a Kingdom Hearts III, that they'll make it as new and fresh as the sequel did...and please Square...no more Aladdin/Hercules/Little Mermaid and Nightmare Before Christmas worlds! You have plenty of other classic Disney franchises! 101 Dalmations, Atlantis, Jungle Book, The Emperor's New Groove, various Pixar films, and many more! Go nuts with it, and don't forget the Final Fantasy cameos of games/characters that you haven't included while you're at it. On a side note, I know I've included three pictures, all from the same section of the game, but they just look so good, that I couldn't not put them. Anyways, moving on! 33. Chrono Trigger Developer: Squaresoft Released on: SNES, PS1, DS Release Date: March 11, 1995 (SNES), June 29, 2001 (PS1), July 28, 2008 (DS) There's a powerful thing about nostalgia. In many cases, it can guide people away from the bitter truth that the game that they once (and still) loved, has become horribly outdated, cryptic, and possibly boring in this day and age. While there are plenty of games that are still fun, regardless of being outdated, (because people that played them grew up in the time of it's release and can still relate to the game on the same level as when they first played it), there are some games that truly remain so timeless, that even fourteen years later, newcomers who have never experienced it can still pick it up, and find it as a classic that even holds up to today's standards...myself included. It's kind of funny, because I went into Chrono Trigger being somewhat skeptical. While I did really enjoy Chrono Cross and was still really open minded to giving Chrono Trigger a try, I wondered if it was really too good to be true, since the monumental praise that it seems to receive around the internet is practically unrivaled. Another factor that came into the mix, that I sadly cannot avoid (but am trying to), is that I just can't appreciate 2D RPG's as much as I would like to. So far, I've found any that I've tried to be horribly outdated and slow, but luckily, Chrono Trigger pushes the SNES to it's absolute limits, where it's speed of gameplay, and even graphical and audio capabilities can even rival some original Playstation RPGs (ex. Suikoden II and Grandia). Now that's being ahead of it's time. However, what impressed me the most about the game was the story, and how it's concepts, plot and dialouge aren't even considered cliche to me. Chrono Trigger didn't follow countless RPG and anime stereotypes at the time, and never once did I have a feeling of "been there, done that", because the time-travelling element was fresh (and ahead of it's time with the way it was incorporated into a SNES game, for a constantly changing world), and every single character that came into your party was likable (and useful) in some way. The plot has a steady "feel good" kind of vibe to it, with the game showing it's light and dark sides to it properly. The story starts off very lighthearted at your local festival, as you start off as Crono. Upon arriving at the festival to see your friend Lucca's new teleportation invention, you run into a girl named Marle (literally, you run right into her), making her drop her pendant (probably the only cliche moment, now that I'm thinking back). You pick it up for her, help her up, and decide to experience the rest of the fair with her. Upon arriving at Lucca's display, you test run the teleporter and come out of the second teleporter in one piece. Marle goes to try it, and due to the pendant, a time gate opens up, sending her through it to god knows where. From there, you take the pendant that was dropped on the floor to enter the time gate to go after her. After this point, the story stays lighthearted as you'll be passing through multiple time periods, solving a series of interconnected mishaps that would seem like filler at first, but they go into a good amount of detail to give some background information for many characters without sounding like a cliche tragic past. In fact, many of these backstories are interlinked between multiple time periods, such as a family/royalty squabble lasting for 400 years between 600 AD and 1000AD. The neat thing is that some of the solutions for some of these character's problems revolves around traveling through time and preventing the problem itself before it ever happens, whether it's by solving a problem for a previous generation to make them see themselves and others in a better light for the next generation, or whether it's grabbing something in the future so that you can use it in the past for a problem, that you can retrieve back in the future at the same location for added benefits, or whether it's to "right a wrong" that you've accidently created in a past era so that you don't screw up the future. After many clever time traveling quests, the real antagonist of the story begins to present itself, and the story gradually turns darker. The great thing about this antagonist (Lavos) is that it doesn't feel forced in any way. Lavos isn't a person. It's a natural occurence in the world as a giant meteor-like creature that slams into the planet in the prehistoric ages, which sleeps throughout many eras, gaining power, until it's meant to wake up in the distant future (the furthest timeline available to you), to destroy everything. The interesting thing about Lavos, is that you only hear about it at first, which builds up a sense of mystery until you actually see it, at least by mid-game. Why do I say "at least by mid-game?" Because one of the most unique elements of Chrono Trigger is that after a few hours into the game, you can choose to fight Lavos whenever you want (so you could actually choose to face the final boss, before the game actually enters a story point that shows you Lavos). By defeating Lavos at different points in the game, you can be exposed to multiple endings, and the earlier you face him, the harder he is, of course. You can defeat him after all of the story threads are wrapped up in the game when you're literally told, "okay, now you have to kill Lavos", or you could begin a New Game + (with all of your equipment, levels, etc, from the last game) to face Lavos with better resources/strength at the earliest point in the game. Now that is a complex form of storytelling for a SNES game, and I haven't even scratched the surface on Chrono Trigger's plot. It jumps around between different time eras just about as smoothly as Back to the Future 2, and even unique side-quests revolve around it, that involve doing something in one era to affect change in another era, so you can gain the rewards. Not only is the plot handled smoothly, but the characters that inhabit the world, as well as your eventual party members, are extremely memorable, which is funny because your party members will appear at first to represent extreme stereotypes out of every kind of era, but they just fit in with the plot so well and have so much personality to them, that it's hard not to enjoy controlling this party around. Not only that, but they're all very useful, and suitable for different playing styles. Also, I don't think I've ever done as much party member switching in an RPG as much as I did in Chrono Trigger, since I found most of the characters useful for different situations. I eventually ended up settling on Crono, Frog and Ayla, which was odd, since I usually always had a healer in RPGs, but the trio just kicked so much ass, whether it was with Frog and Ayla's highly damaging Drop Kick (characters can combine their skills together to use dual or triple attacks simultaneously), Crono and Ayla's brutal Falcon Hit (which would kill a horizontal line of enemies across the screen), the team's ass kicking triple attack, or even Crono's screen-clearing Luminaire spell by himself. The variety given with your team members and the constant switching around to find combinations that I liked made the combat feel very fresh. Not only that, most battles weren't random (except when someone ambushed you from behind an obstacle in the environment), the speed between entering and exiting battles was extremely quick (since you didn't have to go to a battle screen. You just fight on the area you're traversing), and the speed of the battles went by very fast with the active time system. Overall, battles are incredibly smooth, varied, have quick loading times, and level you up at a fast rate (so that you always feel like you're accomplishing something). My only complaint is that there are a few scripted ambushes in the game that you absolutely cannot avoid as you're passing by certain key areas, which can make things very tedious, since some of these enemies eventually end up being so weak that one hit will kill them, but it would be so much easier to just bypass it and get to where you need to go in a hurry. Aside from an epic story, memorable characters, events through the world that can be changed according to your time-travelling actions, and a slick battle system, a huge part that made Chrono Trigger, as I've said, is the beautiful visuals and music. I've already talked a little about the graphics and how they seemed ahead of their time, rivaling even original Playstation games. The developers must have used every single colour within the SNES' palette due to how detailed everything looks from the autumn seasoned forest when you first enter 600AD, to the amazing skyline of the bridge battle where Crono is escaping from prison, many scenes in this game have been burned into my retinas and implanted in my mind, with it's wonderful visual imagery and art style. No SNES RPG that I've played so far has been able to compete with Chrono Trigger's art and music...no, not even Final Fantasy VI or Secret of Mana. Speaking of music, the large amount of tunes can range in fitting the right mood, whether it's the sad lullaby music that plays in Chrono's room (if you win a doll at the fair), to Frog's theme which is rousing and hope inspiring, to even that absolutely classic battle track that has you ready to kick ass. There are so many tracks to speak of, that I can't even mention them all or know exactly where some of them came from, as there's also an incredibly epic theme that plays just before a crucial event/fight in the story. It just might be worth buying the soundtrack for, if I could, just so I can remember all of the track names to the amazingly composed songs, and to be able to listen to them whenever I want. Chrono Trigger was a really surprising gem. Usually, when I hear of universally-praised games on the internet, quite a bit of them fail to live up to those expectations for me (maybe 50% of them?). Whether it be Final Fantasy VI and XII, Zelda: A Link to the Past & Majora's Mask, God of War, Grand Theft Auto 4, Gran Turisimo, Tekken 3, Super Mario RPG, Resident Evil 4, etc, some of them, I just can't get into. I'm sure their good for their own particular audiences, but some games with such high expectations just don't live up to mine. So I'm absolutely glad that Chrono Trigger didn't only fulfill those expectations, but it literally blew them away. However, despite liking it so much, I do have one thing left to say about Chrono Trigger. It absolutely does not need a direct sequel with the same characters. For one, having one would dilute the timeless effect that the original had, and many would consider that the "Chrono series" is selling out, much like Final Fantasy X-2 did, and what others would be considering that Final Fantasy VII is doing with it's numerous adaptations. For another thing, there is virtually no room in the Chrono series timeline for another tale starring Crono. Chrono Trigger ended absolutely perfectly, and Chrono Cross' events happen only ten years later after Trigger, with Crono, Lucca and Marle being rumoured to be deceased at this time. Plus, their actions are carried into Cross' story a bit, with Lucca raising Kid through her childhood, and one of the villians (Schala) from Trigger, also plays a huge role in Cross' events. I believe that any game starring Crono would be tacked on, and it was nice to experience Cross as a story of it's own, with a few interesting connections to Trigger. Regardless of where the series goes in the future, as a standalone game, Chrono Trigger is truly timeless...a factor in which time itself will never change. 32. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine Developer: id Software Released on: DOS Release Date: 1991 With my entire Top 100 List almost being console exclusive, only one PC series cracks the list for me, with my particular entry in it being Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon machine, for DOS. While I did play Sonic CD back then on my computer, Commander Keen 5 is the only PC exclusive game that I will be covering on this list. This series is absolutely classic, and I'm often surprised to see that it doesn't make many (or any) favourites lists. Maybe it's because of the fact that it's only available on DOS and Steam downloads, and there is no current hard copy version of the games to play. This in fact, makes Commander Keen 5 my hardest entry to write, because I've once owned both versions. My DOS version (and means to play it on) are long since gone, and I did have the Commander Keen pack with the first five games downloaded on Steam...on my old Windows-compatible laptop that completely died on my weeks ago. In turn, I ended up purchasing an Apple MacBook so that I wouldn't have to deal with constant glitches and viruses on my computer. But it came at a cost...a $5 cost. Steam isn't Mac compatible. So in turn, that means no more Commander Keen for me, which is a little heartbreaking to be honest, since re-experiencing this series (namely the fifth game) has taught me about how great some of the oldest classics were, and every single time I played Commander Keen 5, it took me back to my childhood almost closer than any other single game that I've played. So what gameplay elements make Commander Keen 5 so special? How does it innovate? What does it do that no game can't? Truth be told, it doesn't really do anything to innovate, and in some ways, it really is just a typical platformer. However, it's such a solid, feel-good platformer that has many absurd and obsessive compulsive elements in it, that it makes it a joy to play, as well as being very addictive. Most levels in Commander Keen 5 are a series of interconnected rooms (you're on a giant space station) of many different sizes, with numerous hazardous obstacles, plenty of enemies, and various collectibles and key crystals to collect. The different coloured key crystals are spread out throughout each level to encourage exploration, as you'll be passing by their corresponding coloured doors often. Some backtracking is included, but it's in such a way that will make you say "ohhhh...so this is the crystal that's used to unlock that door in that really hard part that I just passed", instead of something like "ungh...more backtracking. I've only covered that past terrain like a thousand times". This is mainly due to the variety of obstacles and enemies that each room presents, as well as occasional surprises that will literally seem to pop out of nowhere, to scare the crap out of you, and possibly kill you. Yes, everything in this game kills you in one hit, but the obstacles and enemies are never overwhelming, and neither is there ever too few of them. The one hit kill system makes an otherwise fairly easy platformer relatively challenging, since you are often presented with new challenges every moment. Speaking of enemies (they're mostly different kinds of robots), they come in all shapes and sizes. There's ones that walk around that cannot kill you if they touch you, but if they grab onto nearby poles (which you will often have to climb on) they can zip up and down them, killing you in the process. There are larger, pod-like robots that will sense when you are near, and will run 3X faster than you to catch up to you and kill you. There are water-based blobs that look like people that will shoot electrical currents after you, as well as sending the currents through poles to reach you (they can't be killed in one hit like the previous robots), and water based blob dogs that will chase you all around the level, constantly leaping at them, making them very hard to kill and avoid at the same time. Adding to this, there are electrical currents with eyeballs that zip around and that revive themselves quickly after being killed, floating mines that will try to catch up to you and explode (and have a large blast radius even when they are killed), and my personal favourite (and hard to survive against, but it's purely badass), the Robo Red, which is a giant robot with a machine gun attached to it's chest that will blow you away if it sees you or hears any sounds. All of this amounts to probably my favourite collection of enemies to face in any game, and there's even more than what I've listed. There's really a lot of variety to be found. Despite being able to be killed in one hit, and dying fairly often in the game, Commander Keen 5 (as well as 4) has a very tight, smooth, control setup, a good variety of moves for Keen to perform, and the ability to save wherever and whenever you want (so in case you hate dying often and starting from too far away, saving often can lessen the gap of how often you have to repeat yourself). In terms of Keen's moves, he can of course, run, jump, and grab onto ledges like many platformers out there, but he can also triple or quadruple how high he can propel himself into the air with his pogo stick. Hell yes! I haven't seen many games out there get more innovative with a character's move set by incorporating a pogo stick, and not only that, but it's really fun to use. Keen also has a neural stunner gun, that shoots out bursts of energy to stun enemies. Some enemies can recover from the effect and start moving around again, which is even more apparent on the harder difficulties. Keen also isn't just limited to shooting from left to right, but he can also shoot up, as well as right below him when he's jumping (or coming off of a pogo stick bounce from really high up), as well as any direction for that matter, while jumping. As I've mentioned before, there's a vast amount of collectibles to be obtained within this game, some which are crystal keys and keycards, some which are ammo and vials that will give you an extra life after collecting 100 of them, and some which are various food products like bowls of cereal, pixie sticks, candies, and more, which increase your score. Plenty of these items are strewn about in plain view, but quite a bit of them are found in various secret areas, like parts of walls, floors and ceilings that Keen can pass through, which look identical to normal floors, walls and ceilings. Stumbling upon these areas is very satisfying, but what's more satisfying is hearing the incredible retro sound effects as you pick up items. The sound effects are so neat sounding, that I was collecting things just for the sake of collecting them (even score-increasing items) just to hear those awesome sounds. Also, not only are the item-collecting sound effects fun to hear, but everything else, from Keen's jumping, pogo stick and stun gun sounds, to the sounds of all the various enemies too. The closest common sound effect that I compare Keen's effects to is the sound effect in Super Mario Bros as Mario travels down a pipe. They all have a unique sound like that, which evokes a powerful sense of nostalgia, as well as the catchy retro music that plays in the background. The visuals are bright and colourful, consisting of the many colours of a basic computer paint program, like cyan, lime green, magenta, bright yellow, primary reds and blues, shades of aqua green/blue, etc, which are surprisingly appealing. Back when Commander Keen was more well known, the fourth game was more widely received than the fifth, which I disagree on, only slightly. Commander Keen 5 just had a little bit more going for it for me, such as the space station environment infested with robots which just seemed to be a better fit for Keen's image instead of exploring a random planet in the fourth game which was inhabited by animals. I also felt like the fifth game was more challenging overall, had a better flow to it, and had an actual final level with a conclusive "final boss". Well, technically, it wasn't a boss, but it was an important objective that put you in great danger and that fit in well with finishing the story, whereas in Commander Keen 4, the objective of the game was to find a bunch of elders, and when you found the last one, you would finish the game no matter what level you were on with no epic showdown (plus, you could finish the game without even completing some levels that didn't contain elders in them). In the end, the Commander Keen series as a whole is incredible, and even though Commander Keen 4 and 5 are the best in the series (keep in mind that I haven't played 6 and 7), I still find that the first three games are even fun. It's really a shame that Commander Keen's popularity never took off like so many other franchise characters throughout gaming history. Because of this, there are no actual modern hard copies of the game that run on any remote form of modern hardware, as I've said before. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to experience Keen's adventures ever again due to my hardware situation and with Keen's lack of ports and hard copies available, but I can only hope and dream that in the future, 3D Realms will throw their hardcore fanbase a bone. Until that day comes, I have to say this: See you space cowboy...someday, somewhere. 31. Contra / Super C Developer: Konami Released on: NES, XBLA, Various Platforms Release Date: Feb 2, 1988 for NES, Nov 8, 2006 for XBLA (Contra), April 1990 for NES, July 25, 2007 for XBLA (Super C) Contra or Super C...Super C or Contra...now that I come to think of it, who cares? I'll just include them both, as they both play incredibly similar and remain as one of the best old school multiplayer games that I have ever played. Running and gunning virtually everything in sight while relying on split second reflexes from perfectly placed enemies with a high emphasis on difficulty, is a rewarding experience that can never be forgotten. Especially when it's a successful playthrough that has been completed by two people in multiplayer. One of the hard things about talking about old NES classics like this, is that pretty much virtually all of the gaming community has played it. Therefore, I can't go too in-depth with it, since you already know the reason why I'm putting it myself. It's freaking Contra. All you do is run from the left to the right side of the screen, blasting everything in sight, trying not to get hit by the hail of enemies and enemy fire coming from everywhere (since you die in one hit), collecting power-ups, and most likely relying on the famous Konami code that gives you 30 lives instead of the standard 3 lives (and in Super C, I believe you're only given 9 lives for some reason with the code, instead of 30, making it even more challenging than the first game). For newcomers, they'll need all of the lives they can get, since Contra's high difficulty can be so brutal, that their standard 3 lives can be drained in a matter of seconds. Contra puts an emphasis on the complete mastery of dodging projectiles, while simultaneously trying to kill your foes in the process. Power-ups are also key to the experience, and like everyone, I prefer the spread gun to stay alive, although the machine gun is a close second for me, and I'll take a flamethrower or even a laser gun over the default pea-shooter that you have. Multiplayer is what the Contra series is really all about, since as I've stated before that these types of games are the ones that are truly heightened to a timeless status when they're played with friends. Having two people working together to destroy everything in sight, to ***** at each other for taking the power-up before the other person (or if the person already has a power-up and you don't, and they take the next one anyways, that can be maddening), to sharing each others' lives against each other's will (forcing people to work together properly if they want to make it to the end), to trying to platform through a level together in synch at risk of being pushed off the screen to their death, is an experience that's completely memorable. The range of moods that Contra can evoke is amazing. One moment, I'm laughing my head off at some crazy stroke of luck, then I'm killed and swearing the next second, then the person next to me says something funny about the situation and I'm laughing it off, and then a particularly hard segment comes up and I'm all tense and panicky as I struggle to survive. Every second of the game I felt like I was feeling something different, and by the end of the game, all I want to do is replay it or pop in the other game out of these two. In short, Contra / Super C just rocks. The game is based on the simplest of premises. There's just a D-Pad to move with, a button to jump, and a button to shoot...but it's just so addicting, replayable and fun. It's an instant classic, and I don't even have to tell everyone this. I'm just talking about it because I want to, and because it's on my list. The only thing that can top Contra in the future is a classic four player simultaneous Contra, and when/if that day ever comes, I'll be the first in line to get it. 30. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords Developer: Infinite Interactive Released on: DS, PSP, XBLA, PS2, PS3, Wii, PC Release Date: March 20, 2007 (DS, PSP), Between Oct 10, 2007 and Oct 9, 2008 (everything else) As we're nearing the end of my Top 100 List by entering the Top 30, it's no surprise that some of the new entries that will be listed are going to my absolute favourite games for their own particular genres, and this is where the puzzle genre comes to a close. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on the Nintendo DS is hands down, my favourite puzzle game ever created so far. It may not have the classic timeless status of Tetris, or the frantic tile switching of Meteos, but it is the most addictive, enjoyable puzzle game that I've played, and even though it just seems like a clone of Bejewelled, it's an incredibly deep experience with the RPG elements thrown into it. Yes, it's a puzzle game combined with an RPG, and the first of it's kind before I saw a bunch of shovelware clones of it on store shelves. It may seem like an odd combination of genres that would never go well together, like an FPS and a pet sim game, but both elements surprisingly mesh together perfectly. Upon starting the game, you can choose your class of character to play as (a knight, a warrior, a mage, and a druid), which will determine their attack move set, strengths and weaknesses in the puzzle-based combat portion of the game. But before I get to the combat, I have to mention the game leading up to it. Starting off in the game's story mode on a basic overhead map of your territory (the standard medieval stuff: fields, forests, castles, citadels, hot and cold areas), you'll travel from area to area, accepting quests, defeating foes, and customizing your character at your base. You can't physically walk around fully detailed areas like a regular RPG. You literally just move your character around an overworld map from place to place. While this did seem lame and boring to me for the first minute or so, it quickly felt right, and became downright addicting. The overworld just feels right because there's a purpose to everything on the map, and there's no tedious backtracking between areas just to do what you want to do. Towns/citadels/castles have various quests that you can accept, which are good training to level yourself up and offer some great rewards and equipment for you to make yourself stronger. Citadels also provide another great feature in the game, which is money-earning. Instead of always hoping to obtain cash from defeated foes or the occasional quest, the best way to rack up that cash is to go to another citadel, invade and seize their entire base with your own hands (talk about being a one man army) and upon domination, you force that town to pay you their taxes to fund your own wallet, which you get the occasional extra gold from time to time as you wander around. Even more interesting, the more citadels that you take over, the more often you accumulate gold, but it requires a bit of work to keep those dolts in line, as every now and then, certain citadels that you've seized will rebel, meaning that you'll have to get over there and give them a good smacking if you want to keep their money flowing to you. Another great aspect is that with a certain citadel in the game (which is your base of operations) you can choose to customize it by putting more money into it, in which you can obtain a jail to capture beasts in and research them for new spells, a training stable to improve your mount (you can capture and ride various beasts with all different attributes), and many more. So now getting into the actual puzzle part of the game, Puzzle Quest's battles play like a game of Bejewelled. The puzzle board is on the bottom of the screen, and your character and foe's avatars/health/moveset is displayed on top and around the board. Both opponents take turns matching up skulls (which damage your enemy), orbs (these four different coloured orbs fills up your magical bar in their own categories: fire, water, wind and earth, which you use as fuel to cast spells from your inventory), gold, wild cards (which multiply damage done, magic and items collected by x3 to x5) and purple crystals (which count as experience points to level up) on the board. These items on the board can be matched up as 3-of-a-kind moves, but if you match up anything 4-of-a-kind to 5-of-a-kind, you gain an extra turn and damage/magic bonuses. There are also red skulls that will occasionally appear on the board which do additional damage, and when you create a massive combo (whether it was by skill or luck) where your gems will keep matching up over and over as more gems fall onto the screen, the damage dealt (especially from red skulls and multipliers) or items collected can yield immense results, which is so damn satisfying. As you match up items on the board, new ones fall down from the top, and if no more moves can be played, then the board gets wiped clean and stacked with a new set of items (also causing you to lose any magic power you've gained, unfortunately). It's a nice blend of puzzle and strategy as you work to deplete your foes health bars. Sometimes they can be more leveled up than yourself, making for some tough matches that rely more on skill and luck, and sometimes you're overpowered, making victory a breeze. A lot of elements factor into your puzzle matches, whether it's how high your HP and amount of magic you can hold for each element is, to the amount of damage you can inflict, to what spells that you've assigned for your character (which in place of your turn, can damage enemies, cause status effects, can increase your defense/magical defense, etc.), what allies (you can recruit allies to give you bonuses at the start of battles) and mounts (which also give you an extra spell slot to cast another spell with) you're using, your playing skill, and sometimes, even the luck of the match. The constant process of fighting battles, upgrading your character (you can choose which attributes to increase, whether it be strength, one of the four elemental magic properties, increases to how much gold you recieve, etc), accepting and completing quests, experiencing the story, storming citadels, finding new equipment/allies/mounts/spells, becomes so addicting that this game becomes nearly impossible to put down. I could play this game for three hours straight until 3:00am, shut it down, lay there for 5 minutes trying to sleep, and then give in by turning back on the DS to play at least one more quest. I've lost a lot of hours to Puzzle Quest, but I've gained a lot too. I don't think I would have ever made it through the many boring college classes that I've had if it weren't for Puzzle Quest to keep me company. It kept me positive during some very hard and stressful times, and I have to thank it for that. The game also supports multiplayer, which meant that my wife and I each had to buy our own copies, not just because we couldn't share, but so we could level up and battle each other someday. Also, the constant flow of the game and leveling up never felt redundant for me (I usually hate level grinding), but flat out addicting (because the puzzle portions were so fun). I do have to note one thing to anyone reading though, which will save you from a vast amount of frustration: I read up on the internet one day that if you level up past 255, your character will reset back to level 1. I'm not sure if it's true or not (I don't want to find out), but apparently 255 is the max level for your character. I'm not sure why the developers would do something so stupid towards hard working players, but if that's the case, it's the game's only flaw, so beware. Still, don't let that refrain you from playing one of the best puzzle games in history. Even if you're not a puzzle fan, but an RPG fan (and vise-versa), there's something to appreciate. I've even introduced this one to someone who hardly plays games, and they loved it. For me, one word describes Puzzle Quest...addicting. If this were somehow made into an MMORPG, many years of many lives would be lost. In fact, it's the most addictive handheld game that I've ever played, but I loved every second of it. 29. Gears of War 1 & 2 Developer: Epic Games Released on: 360, PC (only for Gears of War) Release Date: Nov 9, 2006 for 360, Nov 6, 2007 for PC (Gears of War), Nov 7, 2008 (Gears of War 2) Again with the XBOX 360 games, right? Not to worry, as I'm not the kind of person that will automatically toss any current generation game into the mix without thinking it over or will only hold the newest games with the shiniest graphics in high regard. While I do have a few other current generation games to add to my Top 100 List, Gears of War 1 & 2 remains as one of my favourite XBOX 360 games, and for me, is the best new original franchise that's been released on disk format for the XBOX 360 so far (that I've played, of course). Both Gears of War games play pretty similar to each other and have a great amount of consistency between them, but if I had to pick an absolute favourite, Gears of War 2 definitely edges out the first game with it's extremely high production values. Virtually every aspect of the game is better than the original, but like a good (soon-to-be) trilogy of novels/movies that follow one specific plot-line (don't worry, I'm not hailing these games for their plot), it's easier to throw all of the Gears of War games into one entry spot. To start off with some more praise, I'll first state that I normally hate third person shooters. I've always found the aiming/movement/cover systems to be way too sloppy and clunky, while you're getting shot from every direction and not having the precise movement to deal with your foes in a skilled way (see my Max Payne entry [#86] to know what I'm talking about). While the characters in Gears of War aren't exactly Olympic athletes, the great cover system, precise controls, and non-cheap placement of your enemies makes this series the best third person shooters that I've ever played, bar none. The controls are a little difficult to get used to at first, mostly with the cover system, since I felt myself sticking to too many surfaces that I didn't want to, but once I got the hang of it and got more skilled, the whole game played very smoothly. Speaking of cover, the Gears of War series relies heavily on this aspect, but in no way does it feel gimmicky, but really gives it a personality of it's own. Why, you ask? To be honest, the battles somewhat play out like a giant game of paintball...except that the paint is replaced by deadly bullets. Coincidentally, I had never been paintballing myself until right around the time that I played Gears, when I was invited to practice and play at someone's house with two others, and the actual game of paintball itself relied heavily on the aspect of moving around between different cover points and trying to flank your enemies. Aside from my first round, I was actually able to take my limited Gears knowledge on the actual battlefield and win the other few matches, and when I went back to playing Gears of War, I really noticed these similarities and had even more fun with the game itself. Because of the sport-like aspect of blasting apart your foes (called The Locusts), the Gears of War games are much more fun to play cooperatively (or competitively, which I still haven't tried) with others, due to the amount of teamwork and covering each other that you will have to employ. I guess when I really think about it, this game is really like the 3D equivalent of Contra in most senses. It's testosterone-filled, shoot-everything action with a heavy emphasis on cooperative play, and it just feels right (In case anyone hasn't noticed, I'm a huge fan of cooperative games. While playing competitively is fun, playing cooperatively leads a lot more to smiles and high fives rather than *****ing and complaining). This whole series may seem like it's built around one concept, which is taking cover and shooting the crap out of most things, but it's the simplicity in that aspect that makes it so fun to come back to. It doesn't become repetitive, because the A.I. is always working to surprise/flank you to make each scenario different, and the areas and situations that you get into (especially with the sequel) have some very unique gameplay elements and twists to them (like running through a gauntlet of organs that are trying to crush you inside a giant worm while you chainsaw through all of it's hearts to get out, or when you're playing in a night-time scenario, you're playing a game of hide-and-seek with the light and darkness, since entering the light will cause a swarm of locusts to rip your body to shreds). The whole series is based around a classic, but fun, primary gameplay mechanic, but the levels and situations are built around that to make sure that you're always going through something new as you progress. There's a lot of extravagance to Gears of War (such as the fountains of blood, having a chainsaw on the end of your gun to slice enemies in half, cheesy one liners, excessive swearing at some points, and movie-like scenarios that are meant to be laughable in the aspect in how absurd that they are), but there's also a lot of great little things that heighten the experience. I enjoy how there's skill required to reload your weapon by tapping the same button again when the moving cursor on the reload bar hovers over the small area on the bar to reload quicker (which requires you to stay calm instead of freaking out and mashing the reload button over and over). There's a revive system in these games that allows you to lift up downed comrades to their feet if they've been "killed" (technically knocked down, but they can't get up without your assistance). This system focuses on teamwork, since it puts you in a bad situation when your friend collapses, and you're not able to just run away to try to respawn your ally like in most shooters. Plus, sometimes an enemy can literally blow you or your friend up (or rip the players apart), making it a "Game Over" for both of you. If one character is literally dead, then it's back to the last save point, giving you both good reason to help keep each other alive. The chainsaw on the end of your gun is actually a really useful one-hit-kill melee weapon that actually makes sense in a shooter world (I've never understood why a fist to the face was more powerful than even one individual gun shot), but at the same time, takes a few seconds to cut through your foe, which puts your own character at risk, since they're stationary for a moment. Add to that with chainsaw struggles (with a clash of two chainsaws), human shields, the occasional huge or intimidating boss, thrilling vehicle segments and taking control of huge locusts (known as brumaks) and riding them around to kill the other locusts with, Gears of War always seemed to throw something at me every minute, no matter how big or small they were. One of the most memorable parts of the Gears of War games was also the weapons, which had some brilliant instruments of death. While some of these weapons are pretty basic in the shooter world, their impact and usefulness puts them on a whole new level for me. For example, the sniper rifle had a great zoom feature, and bullets would make locusts heads explode, but it didn't have many shots that you could get off before you had to reload, which made you have to aim properly. The shotgun was really overpowered (at least in the first game from what I remember) and could save your life countless times by blowing your enemies in half, but it mostly came in handy during when you were being ambushed at close range, or when you were going to ambush someone else. The Lancer is the machine gun that has the chainsaw on the end, and is versatile for medium-to-long and extremely close range combat. There's also an assortment of pistols and grenades, a grenade launcher, enemy variations of guns, turrets, and even additions that I haven't seen to any kind of shooter yet (although maybe there is for all I know) such as a mortar which shoots an explosive canister into the air, causing multiple explosive to rain down overhead, and the Hammer of Dawn, which is a satellite-tracking weapon, that whoever you're locked on to for a few moments of time, will be hit my a giant scorching laser from outer space (provided that the enemy is outside). There was so much versatility in my weapon set, along with the environments and situations that I normally get into, that the Gears of War games always felt like they had something new to offer me throughout the game. At heart, Gears of War 1 & 2 are pure multiplayer experiences than aren't meant to be taken too seriously. I really hate the usual flak that many series like this gets for seeming like something that only dumb, rowdy, party-hearty frat/jock boys play in their spare time, when really there are a bunch of decent gamers out there that can enjoy it for what it is, without being reduced to a frothing, spazzing fanboy that refuses to play anything else. Yeah, the Gears of War series is an adrenaline/testosterone-pumped thrill ride of an action B Movie-like game, but it's fun damn it. Much like a guilty pleasure action movie like Die Hard 4 (seriously, who drives a car into a helicopter and says that their own reason for doing so is because they ran out of bullets?) that would seem to insult your intelligence, it's still all in good fun, even if it is really ridiculous. If you're going to give it a try, I really recommend playing it with a friend who's open to this kind of game. Gears of War 1 & 2 may be pretty short games, but they're akin to a blockbuster film (especially with the production values of the sequel) that can be played over and over for years to come. 28. Megaman 2 Developer: Capcom Released on: NES, PS2/GC/XBOX (as part of the Anniversary CollectioN) Release Date: July 1989 (NES), June 22, 2004 (PS2/GC), March 15, 2005 (XBOX) I normally wish that I could go against the grain and find something more to love about a less appreciated game in a series to the most talked about one, but I just can't in this case. While I do have some great memories of some of the other Megaman games (most notably playing Megaman 5 for a couple of days straight in bed when I got sick when I was really young), and the whole series tends to play pretty similar, I still can't deny it. I've found Megaman 2 to be the best game in the series so far, and surprisingly, it was the first Megaman game that I owned (as well as one of my first NES games). Obviously, I'm not going to fill up this entry with what Megaman 2 is about, what it's story is, and how to play it, because BrentalFloss has already explained that for us (see his video: http://www.screwattack.com/brentalfloss/DrWily). This may, in fact, be my shortest entry, because all I have to do is mention Megaman 2, and pretty much everyone will know what I mean. To elaborate on what I like about it, it's pretty much everything. The eight robot boss' levels are incredibly varied and well designed, the amount of challenge is just right, and the robot bosses themselves are also just the right difficulty without seeming overly cheap (and most of their powers make sense, based on what to steal to use on who, and even the mega buster works decently on most of them if you can memorize their patterns). Variety-wise, most of the levels all have something to them that sets them apart from the others. With Bubble Man, you get to have floaty jumps underwater in which you'll have to use to navigate yourself around instant death spikes. In Air Man's stage, there's a lot of platforming across moving platforms that results in instant death if you miss a jump. In Quick Man's stage, you literally have to be quick to outrun the constant barrage of instant death laser beams that shoot around the level horizontally. In Metal Man's stage, you'll be trekking on a ton of treadmills and dodging mechanical crushing devices. The list goes on, as each level perfectly fits each theme while offering up it's own set of platforming challenges and enemy sets. Many of the weapons are versatile and useful, from the famous metal blade (that does huge damage, shoots in eight directions and uses up little ammo), to the leaf shield barrier (that can protect you against an attack while attacking others if they touch it), to the crash bombs (which latch onto surfaces and explode for massive damage, and can also break some walls), etc. Add to that with absolutely perfect controls and an awesome main character, and everything seems to come together perfectly. Possibly the only flaw that I can find with the game is Dr. Wily's castle. I've just found it to be way too damn long, and I've only ever been able to finish it once, way back when I was a kid. Sure, it was rewarding, but there are still a few problems. One involves the level design and your weapon ammunition. In the first Wily stage, just before getting to the dragon, you have to traverse over a large drop to reach the ladder on the upper left part of the screen. If you screw up too many times while trying to use your floating platforms power-up on this section, you're f**ked. There's no more ammo available to get past that part, so it would be time to start over. Even worse, is a particular boss battle a stage or two further than involves using Crash Man's bombs to break away some walls that the mounted turrets (which is the boss since you have to take out all of them) are hiding behind. If you've already used all of your bombs, or use too many on this boss and screw up, you're f**ked again, since you can't gain the ammo you need (or regain it back from spawning) after you die to face the turrets. This time though, you'll have to reload your last save at the first stage of Wily's Castle, since you can't save between his stages. What a bunch of bull****! Other than that though, if you know about it beforehand and don't waste your ammo, it's fine, and the rest of the game is perfect anyways. Speaking of Dr. Wily's stage and the word "perfect", his first stage's is the most epic music in the game, and some of the best music I've ever heard. Actually, Megaman 2 does have one of the greatest videogame soundtracks in history. My favourites were always Metal Man, Wood Man, Flash Man and Air Man's stages, along with Wily's first stage of course. On another note, Quick Man and Heat Man's stages (especially Heat Man) always make me panic, particularly during tough platforming sections (speaking of Heat Man, I love just being able to use the #2 power-up [haha, number two...] to cross over the huge lava pit that would otherwise require you to traverse the difficult disappearing and reappearing blocks. It's cheap, but it works). Anyways, Megaman 2's music is always so active, fast paced and full of life, and I can safely say that I hold it in a higher regard than any entry I've listed so far, and that even goes for most of the entries after this one too. However, I've got to say that BrentalFloss makes Megaman music even better, as I've still got his Megaman 2 and 3 tunes stuck in my head (and for BrentalFloss' music, I definitely have to go with Megaman 3 in that regard). By today's standards, Megaman 2 doesn't really have anything new that most platformers can do, but virtually everything about it meshes together so perfectly that it's still just as enjoyable even after all of these years. With the resurgence of Megaman 9, we're getting a taste again of the classic greatness of the old Megaman formula (hopefully, Capcom makes a Megaman X9 in the style of the original SNES game, because I don't think a Megaman 10 can be made, since the "X" in Megaman X is a roman numeral for 10). Still, even with the fresh take on the series and the added power to recreate the NES engine while pushing it to it's absolute limits, Megaman 2 (or maybe 3, depending on your tastes) will always be as close to perfection that the series will come to. For now, I'm not complaining. Capcom has gotten their act back together with the ninth installment, and good old Megaman 2 will always be sitting there beside my NES until the day I die. Even if there are no more great Megaman games ever created, this one has enough replayability to last until the end of time. Oh, and so it turns out that this isn't my shortest entry after all. I should learn when to keep my big mouth shut. 27. Rock Band Developer: Harmonix/Pi Studios Released on: Wii, PS2, 360, PS3 Release Day: Between Nov 18, 2007 and June 22, 2008 Ah, multiplayer music games. One of the types of games that shines at it's brightest when surrounded by the company of others, and sits in the closet to collect dust when you're either reduced to having to play it by yourself or when you live in an apartment and don't want to get evicted by creating a noise disturbance. Well, at least my DDR mats have a new friend to keep them company, and even though my beloved Rock Band game isn't gaining much attention now, I had a blast with it before I moved out, and I know I'll have a blast with it again when I move out into an actual house (or I may end up breaking down soon anyways to risk it all, just to play a few songs, which I guess couldn't hurt to do in the middle of a weekday). Going back to when they shine brightest though, Rock Band is one of the greatest and most accessible multiplayer games that I've ever played. I rarely ever get the chance to play four-player games, but whenever I brought it over to my wife's house, both of us and her whole family would play it for hours upon hours on end, late into the night. Even if you suck at music games, it's even easy to just jump into the simplest difficulty and play along with everyone else. As long as you're not one of those boring people who takes the game so seriously, that they seriously think that this is trying to replace or become a substitute for real music, Rock Band is a joy to play with others (make a note of that, with others). Yes, I'm tired of the whole Guitar Hero / Rock Band craze myself, where the videogame industry is getting overloaded with music games, but it doesn't really matter to me, since I only have to keep the music games that I've already bought and can ignore the rest of the new ones that arrive on store shelves. Because of this, I'm able to appreciate the Guitar Hero games that I have for what they are, as well as Rock Band, without getting sick of them, but for me, Rock Band wins over Guitar Hero in every way for me by creating the experience of having a full band with multiple instruments, instead of just playing a couple of guitars. But wait! Guitar Hero does that too with World Tour, right? So why not include it? Because with the over-saturation of music games on the market, I really don't see the point of owning two sets of the same kind of musical instruments for two different games. Seeing how I bought Rock Band first, I don't need to buy another music game that does the same thing for a ton of money, so Rock Band takes this spot on the list (either way, I don't think you can really go wrong with either choice). Anyways, on to the actual game itself. Rock Band is pretty much identical to Guitar Hero in every way, from the way that the notes scroll down the screen (but now they're rectangles instead of circles, which I actually find a bit harder to strum/hit the drums to) to the way that you have to raise the neck of your guitar to activate your star power which multiplies your score and gives you a greater chance to live through the song. The only differences to Rock Band are the extra instruments and the music track list. However, just playing the different instruments and obtaining a band-like atmosphere is what really propels this game over Guitar Hero for me. The drums are the most worthy addition to the game, as before I bought Rock Band, I tried out the Rock Band drums at my friend's house and was instantly hooked. It feels so good to wail on those drums to the beat, that if feels like a much different experience than the guitars. Playing the drums is much more difficult (mostly due to the foot pedal), but it's one of those new types of challenges that excites me to get better at it. Whether you're playing perfectly or even screwing up frequently, those drums are just a joy to play to, and they really took the music genre a step further than the simple strumming of the guitar. Next to that, is the addition of vocals, and while it's the last instrument that anyone I've known wants to pick up (which is usually alternated between players in between rounds), having someone singing to the song makes the experience more fun (and funny), which truly completes the band-like atmosphere. A word to the wise though. Unless you're friends can take even the harshest of insults/criticism, don't make constant fun of them or you'll be short on one player, causing yourself to have to sing more frequently (plus, the game is at it's maximum level of fun when there's four people). Moving on, the guitar portions do play exactly like Guitar Hero, but the guitar the comes packaged in with Rock Band is a piece of crap, with an unresponsive strummer that doesn't even click when you strum, making it hard to time your strums with the notes onscreen. Luckily, the saving grace of Rock Band (at least on the PS2) is that it's compatible with past Guitar Hero guitars, so you can plug in the good responsive ones and play with some actual skill. The bass is the easiest instrument to take on, and is a good choice for the noobiest of players, but either way, the guitars are still just as much fun to play to as Guitar Hero, and this really matters due to the fantastic track list of this game. Before I get into talking about the music selection, I've heard a lot of talk over the internet about how Rock Band 2 has an absolutely stellar track list that blows the original out of the water. Because of this, I was excited as hell about Rock Band 2...for about 5 seconds, until I checked the song list, which was one of my most disappointing reactions as a gamer. I know music is all about personal preference, so I'm not going to say that the actual track listing is actually bad for Rock Band 2, but based on my own particular preferences, everything was just "meh". Almost virtually every song listed failed to evoke some sort of excitement from me, which was a huge shame for me, since I loved the original Rock Band's soundtrack (I'll still probably pick up Rock Band 2 for super cheap someday, if I can, just to have a little bit larger of a music selection). There are so many gems to me in Rock Band, such as "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters, "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden (both of these last two are great to drum to), "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston, "When You Were Young" by the Killers, and "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, just to name a few. All of these songs, plus the others not mentioned, are really fun to play to their own particular instruments, which means that there are four different experiences for each and every song. Now if only Rock Band would include "Best of You" by Foo Fighters, I'd be set. To note once again, this is all based on my own musical preferences. If you're interested in Rock Band (or even Guitar Hero: World Tour), just go for the one that suits your personal musical tastes better, as all of them basically play the same. I know that the current generation versions of Rock Band have online play, as opposed to my PS2 version, but I'm completely fine with that, since I hardly play online games anyways, and Rock Band is such a great game to play with a bunch of people around me. It truly is a party game in most senses, and I wouldn't recommend it for the single player at all. While single player games are great and all, sometimes, we really do need some great party/multiplayer games to play with others, as the whole aspect of being a purely single player gamer can get rather monotonous over time. Friends add unpredictability to the game, frequent laughs and commentary, and can make gaming a really fun social experience. It's true that I'm listing some games higher up on my Top 100 List, based on how important it is for me that games have a very solid single and multiplayer portion packaged together whenever they can. But for me, the multiplayer in Rock Band is so over the top, that it would be a crime to me not to include it high up on my list, making this game my #1 music game of all time. 26. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: GC Release Date: June 7, 2004 I've already noted that I'm not a fan of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I played the game until it's full completion, but all it turned out for me, was just "okay". There was nothing that really captivated me about it, and while I'm all up for non-linear gameplay and roaming around and all, it wouldn't have hurt the game if it just dropped a hint or two (even if it were extremely subtle) about what you may need to acquire to get into certain areas, or even just where to go in general sometimes. Regardless, I found that nothing in that game screamed with sheer brilliance, but I can respect the gameplay foundation it set up for future Zelda titles to come. What came after it, many, many years down the road, was the perfect evolution to the Link to the Past formula for me: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for the Nintendo Gamecube. Even though it couldn't be helped back in the SNES ages due to hardware limitations, which I cannot blame, Four Swords Adventures takes the concept of a Link to the Past, and makes it four times better (sorry, I really had to. Get it? Four Links makes it...eh, whatever). By adding multiplayer into the mix, and with it being the first true multiplayer Zelda out there (excluding the ultra short add-on that game in the Link to the Past GBA remake), Four Swords Adventures built on Zelda's classic puzzles by often requiring the input of all four coloured Links to solve them, as well as to work together to beat foes. I have to start off by noting that this game is meant to be played with two or more people. For those who have only played this game in single player, they can't realize the sheer genius that went into this game towards the multiplayer support, and have only experienced half of the game. That's like buying a MMORPG for the single player portion alone and not taking it online. There's just no point in doing so. The only downside about the multiplayer in this game, is that depending on how many people you want to play with, you need to have a Game Boy Advance and a Game Boy Advance-to Gamecube link cable for each player. It's a pain in the ass, since it would require one person to own four handheld systems and four link cables if none of their friends do. Luckily, GBAs can be bought on the cheap (around $20) at this point in time but GBA-to-GC connectors are harder to find. If you do have all of the components though, it's absolutely worth it. Now I know what you're thinking. "How could a game that rips people off to the extreme make it so high on your list?" Well, that all depends on your point of view. Today, the components are easier to acquire, and the use of the GBAs really do make sense and provide so much more depth to the game in terms of exploration. While you can play the single player mode with a Gamecube controller, it's not as fun as having friends with GBAs. The point of the GBAs, is that all of the players can go their own separate ways at many points in the game. While you can't go across the entire level separately from each other, there are areas apart from the main map that players can enter, while some players stay where they are. For example, all four Links are running around on the main map, battling foes, when the person playing as the Red Link spots a cave to the side. The player rushes over to the cave and enters it. Now, if the GBAs didn't exist, Red Link wouldn't be able to go to a separate screen area while the other Links are outside. He would probably have to wait for them all to run up to the door at once. However, due to the GBA, once Red Link enters the cave, he will appear on that player's GBA screen, where he can run around, battle the enemies inside, collect the loot, and possibly exit out a different doorway, which could lead back to the map where all the Links are fighting, but Red Link will be on top of a structure that the others can't reach unless they enter the cave. There are so many opportunities in Four Swords Adventure that rely on at least two different Links to solve puzzles, whether it's cooperating to complete multiple tasks at the same time in different areas, or employing multiple strategies in the same place to get a boss to expose it's weakness. This whole setup creates a great sense of teamwork (and sometimes competitiveness if it comes to stealing rupees/items and just plain hogging everything) that not only makes this a completely different type of Zelda games than all of the others, but one of the best cooperative games that I've ever played that truly emphasizes on working together. In case you're wondering how you play the game if you have less than four players, it's simple. For single player, just tagging a coloured Link on the field will allow them to automatically follow you. By the press of a button, you can choose to control one of the other Links that are following you while the rest of the team remains still (in which you can break apart another one from the team, over and over again until all the Links are separated. This way, you can take each Link to an individual area to complete a task, such as all four Links stepping on four switches for example. With two players, it works the same way, so each player can have another coloured Link following them if they like, or one player can just take all three while the other player goes solo. By having multiple Links following you, you can change their formation with the press of a button (for example, you can line them up horizontally so that they all shoot a line of arrows in the same direction, or you can line them up vertically to traverse narrow walkways). There's not much to note about the dungeons or story, other than the fact that they rely heavily on cooperation. In a way, the dungeons do resemble A Link to the Past, but now that there's multiplayer involved, the players have to take a different approach to how they do everything, which makes even the simplest of premises seem more interesting for me. What I can say though, is that Four Swords Adventures has one of my favourite weapon systems/lineups in any Zelda game. Each Link can hold their sword along with one other item (to switch items you just pick up a new one, and your old one will be swapped in it's place). Because of this, is gives each individual Link their own importance, and while in some instances, everyone can wind up with the same item, there are many times where you'll have to rely on each other's individual skill sets to progress further in the game. Whether it's the bow, boomerang, fire rod, jump feather, pegasus boots (for your dash attack), bombs, magic hammer, fire lamp, shovel, and slingshot, you'll need to play off each other's strengths in order to succeed. Also important are the heart containers and bracelets that boost attack power and defense, which will seem to create many arguments even amongst some of the most cooperative players (although most of the time, we really tried to balance our team out). Also, the visuals are extremely bright and colourful, as they take most of the charming art style from A Link to the Past (one thing I actually did really like from it), only making it more vibrant. That's pretty much all I can say about The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. It's your classic overhead Zelda game, but with multiplayer that is absolutely anything but tacked-on. The whole game is built around it, and succeeds in just about every way. The only complaint that may arise is that the game is somewhat linear, as it progresses in a level-to-level approach instead of one giant open world, but the addition of multiplayer makes up for it, and there's always room for a sequel for that, right? I also think that the reason that Four Swords Adventures never seems to get mentioned is because the Zelda franchise is mainly a single player one where players prefer to take their time and explore at their own pace, and for that, I can come to an understanding. Despite what the majority thinks though, Four Swords Adventures is still one of the most different, unique Zelda games out there, and I would encourage anyone who enjoys Zelda to give it a try, as long as they have friends to play it with, and if not...then get out of the house and meet people! 25. Jet Grind Radio Developer: Smilebit Released on: DC Release Date: Nov 1, 2000 Jet Grind Radio for the Sega Dreamcast is such a fantastic game, that it already ranks at the top among two categories for me. It's the best game I've played that involves extreme sports (hey, it's a category, as there's lots of different games in it, like Amped, Tony Hawk, Sled Storm, Wave Race, etc.), and it's the #1 funkiest game that I've ever played. That's right, Jet Grind Radio funks out the competition with it's hip soundtrack, sharp/colourful/edgy visual style, the excessive use of graffiti, being able to pull off cool tricks and being able to dance like a pro on rollerblades (the game doesn't revolve around dancing, but they do dance on their character select screens). The game is set in Tokyo-to (Shibuya) and revolves around a rudie (which is the term for a skater that goes around the city spraying graffiti on everything as a means of self expression) named Beat, as he forms his own skater gang to rival the other three skater gangs in the city, in a quest to mark all of the territories over Shibyua to claim it as their own turf, whether it means getting to new areas to spray first, or spraying over rival gangs' territories. All the while, both your rival gangs and the police force will be on your ass more and more, as you paint the town red. Whether it's a bunch of cops with nightsticks trying to chase and dog-pile on you, to them hiring out the military to send a chopper your way to blast you with missiles, you'll have to be quick and aware of your surroundings if you want to make Tokyo-to yours. If I can use some words to describe Jet Grind Radio, my mind falls along the lines of "quirky", "weird" and "unique". Everything about this game was, and still is, different. When it was first released, it was one of, if not the first cel-shaded video games to ever be released, so it really had an artsy style to it. The soundtrack was incredibly diverse, whether it had mellow tunes, funky hip-hop tunes (which weren't annoying, and this is coming from someone who hates rap) or all-out badass metal tunes (like "Dragula" from Rob Zombie), which mixed in with the atmosphere of Jet Grind Radio perfectly. The mixture of rollerblading and spraying graffiti around the town was certainly odd, but it worked really well, as you needed to be very mobile, since you were pretty much playing two games at once: A cat-and-mouse game with the police as they tried to kill you when you were trying to spray graffiti around town, and a game of tag, as the only way to complete a level was to make sure that all of the areas that could be tagged, were tagged by you and not your rival gang members (which meant that it was a race around town to make sure that you had all of the areas sprayed, even if it meant spraying over their own art). There are three gangs that reign over the territories in Tokyo-to, and when they're defeated, they have to hand over everything that they have to the rival gang that has dominated them. To get around town very quickly (as well as escaping the cops), being a skater has it's benefits, since you can reach your "spray" areas with ease to start creating art, and will be able to make a quick escape whether you're in the middle of doing so, or have completed your work. Unlike games like Tony Hawk, the skating mechanics are extremely simple, involving only the use of the jump button. You see, when you jump off of railings, the sides of walls (when you run your skates along the side of the wall and then jump) and off of the edges of ramps, your character will automatically do a trick, earning you more points. If you can keep combo-ing between grinding and tricking for a very long time in a level without touching the ground, the point count becomes astronomical, earning you a lot of them so you can score a higher ranking at the end of a stage (which can open up some unlockables). Along the way, you'll have to collect spray cans littering the street, so that you can spray your graffiti on specific tag points throughout the city, as well as tagging military vehicles and even gang members themselves when you're tasked with defeating them. Making graffiti is simple, since there are small, medium and large tag spots littered throughout the town. Small graffiti points can be sprayed in an instant with the press of one button, while the medium and large tag points (the large points take longer to finish your art) will require you to move your analog stick around in the directions that the screen tells you to. Screw up, and you'll have to start again. Plus, you'll have to make sure that you're far enough away from the cops to do so, since you'll need all the time that you can get to create your art. Skating and spraying are such a joy to do because of the interesting and well thought out level design. Each area seems really large and multi-layered, giving you constant opportunities to create endless trick combos if you explore the areas well enough and know where to go. Graffiti points are spread throughout each level in easy and hard to reach locations that will require a ton of exploration, and are so satisfying to get to and complete once you know what you're doing. Each area is truly like an actual city in every sense, since it's so non-linear. You can go in any direction, down any street and even over buildings or through the sewers if need be, to get where you need to go. There are so many opportunities to create your own shortcuts to outwit the cops and to get to the tag points that you need to get to, that the game is really rewarding as an adventure game for it's exploring, and as an action game for your constant evasion of the police/racing to your graffiti points. I just really love the amount of strategy that you can take, combined with your explorations skills and knowledge of the environment to pull off really successful runs in pure style. As you create more graffiti in each stage, the cops will start to wise up to your tricks. As I've said, at first they will chase you around with nightsticks, often making leaps of faith at you to grab onto you as you dash and jump, dragging them down the street as you skate for your life (sometimes you'll have multiple cops piled on you as you're still skating away). However, with the more cops that pile on you, you will eventually have a limit to your strength as they will tackle you do the ground, beating you, as you struggle to escape. Eventually, they will start wielding guns, SWAT teams will drop from helicopters, they will send out the tanks to get you, along with helicopters that sport guided missiles (which if you can actually reach the chopper, you can spray it's windshield, causing it to crash). The build up of your opposing forces getting more strong/challenging and the constant pursuit always makes each playthrough really exhilarating. For those having trouble with the law, I would encourage the player to explore their environment more first, to get familiar for spots to evade them. If you happen to reach a place where the cops can't reach or find you, they will hold off their pursuit until you create trouble nearby again. Still, completing the challenges while the law is looking for you rarely ever feels frustrating or tedious. I can't really explain why. They're never so difficult that it makes it a pain in the ass to get around to complete your objectives, but they're never so passive and out of the way that it makes you wonder why they're in the area in the first place. It's a perfect balance that creates a perfect blend of skating, tricking, exploring, spraying, evading, and fighting back that's always seemed to maintain my 100% attention, being fun at all times. It's a shame how this series of games never took off that well. Starting on the Dreamcast, Jet Grind Radio offered one of the best games for the dying console, and was an experience like no other. There was a port to the Game Boy Advance, which I never heard much about, and then there was a sequel created for the XBOX, called Jet Set Radio Future, which was a very good game in it's own right, but wasn't as monumental or memorable as it's predecessor (it still was very close to making it on my list though, so I would encourage anyone to check it out). Despite being destined for failure, Jet Grind Radio is an incredible game, takes the spot as my #2 Dreamcast game of all time, and is at least, a better single player experience than my #1 Dreamcast game (which you'll just have to stay tuned to find out what it is). Rollerblading used to be my favourite physical exercise, which I would partake in daily, and I won't lie that it actually encouraged me to learn some cool tricks on them. But I don't feel any bias because of a connection between my hobby and the game, because even though I hardly rollerblade anymore, Jet Grind Radio still stands out as a stellar game to me. Still, to this day I still think that I could have posed as a real-life Beat back then at the game's release, with red hair, yellow shirt, black pants/gloves, a sneer on my face, rollerblades and all...except for those funky shades, which I really wanted. 24. Metal Gear Solid Developer: Konami Released on: PS1, GC, PC Release Date: Oct 21, 1998 (PS1), March 9, 2004 (GC), Sept 24, 2000 (PC) What a common choice. Of course a Metal Gear Solid game would make this list, due to it's immense popularity, right? Probably all of the Metal Gear Solid games will make my list, right? Nope, just the first game, for me. I found Metal Gear Solid 2 to be a good game, but it was nothing extraordinary to make it worth being on my Top 100 list. Metal Gear Solid 3 was (which may surprise some people) a game that I flat-out didn't enjoy, due to it's awful camera placement, no radar (which combined with the awful camera, makes it almost impossible to sneak up on people), a camouflage system that never seemed to work for me, and an unnecessary hunger meter/body condition system that made taking care of yourself more tedious than the sneaking system that was crippled by the awful camera placement (hopefully, I can buy the Subsistence version sometime to rectify some of the camera problem at least, so that I can give it another go in the future). As for Metal Gear Solid 4, I don't own a PS3, so that's out of the question. Therefore, my choice is just limited to the original Metal Gear Solid, but as a standalone game, even if the others didn't exist, it is probably the most cinematic game that I've ever played. The story for Metal Gear Solid is amazingly told and perfectly paced, as it puts you in the shoes of Solid Snake, coming out of retirement to infiltrate a nuclear weapons disposal facility with the mission of rescuing hostages and stopping a renegade special forces unit from unleashing a nuclear strike. On paper, it sounds like your typical action movie script, and in a way it is, but it never stops being exciting throughout the game as the tension of the story just keeps building up as it runs at the fast pace of a high-budget blockbuster film. The presentation of Metal Gear Solid is so high quality for a regular Playstation game, as the story is well written and shown with expertly-handled camera work, top-notch voice acting, memorable characters/bosses, incredibly epic music that fits every scenario, and has a series of events that just keeps snowballing as it gets more epic by the hour, up until it's final conclusion (which would rank among the top final boss battles for me). The game just seems to cram so much into a short game (which isn't bad, since the length of the game makes it more movie-like), with it's unique stealth gameplay, high-intensity (and memorable) scripted events and boss battles (every boss battle has something clever and different to encounter), an incredibly vast amount of interesting radio conversations that you can have with your teammates and other people (that reside at your base or at the facility you're in) at any time so that you never feel alone, combined with the high presentation quality. It's a little hard to describe what makes Metal Gear Solid so great without repeating myself on some aspects, because all of the game's elements coincide so well with each other, they all mesh together so easily. This seems to always bring me back to a previous point that I've mentioned, so it's hard not to sound repetitive. I believe that I've already said all that I could about the game's presentation, since I can't emphasize any more about how high of quality that the pacing, story and production values were for it's time. However, even today, these values still stand strong, despite the advancement in graphical technology that has been made since then. Gameplay-wise, Metal Gear Solid just works in always creating a nice balance between it's gameplay and story, since it almost seems like you get an equal amount of both worlds. The gameplay connects each story segment together, but it's also not gameplay that was created just for the sake of giving you something to do in-between story segments. The stealth gameplay connects seamlessly between these story segments, and truly fits in with the theme of suspense, mystery and the overall gritty nature that the story presents, with it's themes of death, betrayal, war, love, and politics (and I normally hate politics). Getting onto the actual gameplay itself, as most people know, the point of Metal Gear Solid is to infiltrate the enemies headquarters, which means that you have to not been seen if you want to succeed. Since Snake is only one man, he's doesn't have the battle capacity of a whole army, so you'll need to hide, sneak, crawl, and pick off your enemies one-by-one so you don't get overwhelmed. You can press against walls with the camera angling itself so that you can see around corners when you get close to one, as well as crawl under objects, and hang from ledges/railings to keep out of sight. Also, you have a radar that accompanies the "over the head camera" style of gameplay, so you can see the dots on your map of the enemies moving around, provided with their cone of vision, so you'll know where to strike from). Choosing which enemies to defeat, and well as thinking about how to defeat them presents a nice sense of strategy. How about trying to knock on a wall to lure a nearby soldier in your direction, and then hiding, sneaking up from behind on them (on foot, or in a cardboard box if you'd prefer) and then grabbing them in a headlock while covering their mouth, and snapping their neck? Or if you can't get close, you could always take them out with silenced weapons...or with a land mine if you feel brave and don't mind getting chased for a bit. There are different ways to alert guards, such as making sound, in which they'll come to investigate, but if you're caught, then you're going to have to think of a quick strategy to escape the near-infinite wave of spawning enemies. You'll most likely have to use some firepower, but the key to making all of the chaos end is to escape somewhere, where they can't see you, and hiding for a while until the heat dies off. The gameplay perfectly suits the heavy and intense atmosphere that the story brings along, as you'll need to be careful through most of the game (although there are plenty of opportunities for intense shootouts/boss fights as well). When there are heavy shootouts and boss fights in your face, you may not be a one man army, but your arsenal is powerful and flexible enough to save your life. Whether it's weapons like your pistol, assault rifle, frag/stun/chaff grenades (chaff grenades disable electronic equipment, like cameras), land mines, the nikita missile launcher (in which the missiles can be guided by the player through third or first person view), the stinger missile launcher (which can be fired in first person view at any height, and can lock on your targets), C4 explosives that can be detonated by remote (that you can place on floors, walls and even enemies backs), and your trusty sniper rifle (that actually works like a sniper rifle, since you will need to take medicine to calm down Snake's breathing patterns to aim it more precisely). Gear-wise, Snake has can find and will have access to food rations to heal himself, night-vision and thermal goggles, a gas mask, a mine detector, body armor, a silencer for your gun, cigarettes to spot out laser trip-wires with, and your trusty cardboard box to fool the occasional dumb soldier with. There's a lot of versatility with Snake's weapons, so even though the game encourages you to be stealthy so that you can preserve health/ammo, it doesn't punish you immensely for being caught by mistake. Both stealth and combat abilities make it extremely fun to sneak around your environments, finding crafty ways to pick off foes and just providing an overall sense of accomplishment and exciting when fighting them off. On a side note, if you beat the game by fulfilling certain requirements, you can get bonuses to your inventory on your next game, like infinite ammo or a stealth cloak, for example. Overall, Metal Gear Solid ranks among the finest original Playstation games out there, and for good reason. It was truly ahead of anything for it's time, and because the developers pushed their limits so much, it still holds up really well today. The graphical polish may not be there, but it's story does still resemble a fast-paced blockbuster film in my eyes (while it's an experience that relies on the build-up of tension, the game is still relatively short), and the best word that I can think of to define this game is cinematic. Even though I haven't been astounded by the later Metal Gear Solid games, I'll always appreciate the original as an amazing stand-alone game, and I can only hope that I can find the time to try the third game out again (the Subsistence version this time) so that I can experience a crucial part to it's story. Also, who knows? If I ever get around to doing that, as well as possibly acquiring a PS3 in the future, I may get to see the end of Snake's story someday. Here's hoping, and if that day never comes, I'll still be proud that I played the original Metal Gear Solid...many, many times. 23. Castle Crashers Developer: The Behemoth Released on: XBLA, PSN Release Date: August 27, 2008 (360), 2010 (PS3) Everyone must now think I'm crazy. I'm putting Castle Crashers (which is a simple game where I can beat up vikings and ninjas with a raw steak while my little pet bat bites their heads off, all in a quest to eventually make out with a princess after I eat a sandwich to grow to an "Incredible Hulk-like state" to beat the tar out of her captor) over Metal Gear Solid (which is a deep and complex game with an intense story that relies on strategy/stealth to outwit your enemies instead of brawn). Yes, that sounds like I just slapped Metal Gear Solid across the face, but that's Castle Crasher's style, and I like it. It's a purely zany, quirky and downright fun game on XBOX Live Arcade (and was also developed by Behemoth Studios, who made Alien Hominid), and this game has me more interested in replaying it over and over, for the sheer amount of pure fun that it provides. Along with the craziness and hilarity of it all, Castle Crashers wins three awards. It's the best beat-em-up style game I've ever played, it's my #1 XBOX Live Arcade title, and it's also the funniest game that I've ever played. To start off, I might as well elaborate on Castle Crasher's sense of humour. It's incredibly random and goofy, and it should not be taken the slightest bit seriously when playing. Everything in this game is demented, from the enemies that you fight (such as bears beating you with fish, the aliens from Alien Hominid, walking fish with spears, eskimos, and all sorts of knights, etc.), to the areas that you traverse (from flowery fields, to riding logs and tires on the rapids, to crashing a wedding, to fighting ninjas on a pirate ship, to getting abducted by aliens), to some of the weapons that you can acquire and use (ex. a spoon, a fish, a steak, a carrot, a leaf, a twig, an umbrella, a lobster, a lollipop, etc), to the bosses (such as a giant cat that hocks up hairballs at you, to this giant insane monstrosity that chases you as you make your escape while riding a deer that is constantly pooping itself while it's running), to the sandwiches and princesses that I've already mentioned, and more. The bright, colourful, hand-drawn art work also keeps in spirit with the cartoony zaniness, and the catchy, simple music compliments on how this is a game that you don't need to think much at all when playing. Sometimes, I just like playing this game to simply put me back into a good mood, as there is virtually no way that I can't crack a smile at it when playing. Plus, it's ending is the biggest "what the hell?" moment in videogame history, I assure you. Combat plays off like your standard beat-em-up. You have your strong attack (a vertical swipe), your fast but weaker attack (a horizontal swipe) and a mid-air attack, but you can also air juggle enemies, use your current item that's equipped (ex. boomerang, bombs, bow and arrows [sounds like Zelda, huh?]), and use your character's own personal magic spell (that the other characters do not have) in the form of a wide range but weaker magic attack, as well as a smaller, bullet-like attack that's harder to hit enemies with, but does more damage. There's a constant array of weapons to discover and use, and you can also find little animal creatures that will follow you around as your pet, that will grant different abilities/stats, like raising your strength, locating treasure, aiding you in battle, giving you more experience points, and more. Also, with every weapon and pet you find, you'll have access to them at your safe house which is located at the beginning of the game, in which you can just travel all the way back across the world map in an instant to get to areas that you've already unlocked, like your base, instead of having to fight your way back. While it's fun to just play Castle Crashers for the pure beat-em-up aspect alone, what makes it even more addictive and compelling is it's RPG elements (much like how Puzzle Quest is addicting). Not only do all of the weapons have their own statistics to them, but your character will receive bonuses that you can spend on various statistics upon leveling up. For each hit that you make on an enemy, you receive a small bit of experience, so the key to more efficient victory is to build yourself up, of course, by smacking everything in sight. This can lead to both a competitive and cooperative aspect in multiplayer. Apart from the sharing of resources like in most beat-em-ups, you also have to manage experience. Will you be a flat out hog when you're a level 30 and your friend is a level 2, and defeat all of the enemies before he can really hit someone, or do you let him grab most of the experience, while backing him up (much like you might do in an MMO)? Or if your character is overpowered, why not create a new class of character and start from scratch along with him? When you complete the game with a particular character, you unlock a new character to play as. For example, the Orange Knight will unlock a Demon Warrior upon completing the game, where the Green Knight will unlock a different character type. When you beat the game again with those character types that you've unlocked, you unlock more character types, and the list goes on. You can also unlock some characters by beating certain levels, or by completing the tough arena challenges. As you play, the list of options for character customization and unlockables becomes vast, which gives the player a lot of variety in how they want to play. Plus, leveling up isn't a complete chore, because at the end of the game you won't be stuck with a useless high level warrior with no more challenges to take on. Enter Insane Mode. This next difficulty level of Castle Crashers is so brutal, that I still can't complete it. Like a good MMO, it requires constant leveling up, an accumulation of good items/weapons/pets, and a ton of skill and luck in order to stay alive. This mode is so freaking hard, that my wife and I still can't beat it (we're only around a quarter through the game on that difficulty), even after making it to very high levels, and accumulating all of the weapons, items and pets. I believe that to actually finish this mode, you need at least two players of an extremely high level, or possibly three to four players to actually finish it. Regardless, it is still a very rewarding challenge to take on, and we're still not backing down. Because of this, Castle Crashers can be as simple or hardcore as you want it to be. It can be easily accessible, or brutally challenging, which gives this game something for everybody. I really have to emphasize that Castle Crashers is a pure multiplayer game at heart. For anyone thinking about buying this game for the single player game, stay far away, unless you really like playing beat-em-ups by yourself for some reason. Also, on the downside, don't buy Castle Crashers if you're looking to play with your friends online. There was a really moronic patch that everyone is forced to download that makes it impossible to establish a connection to people that you've registered as friends online. You can still play with strangers, but once they log off, you'll never see them again or at least will never be able to play with them again. This at least happened to me months ago, but I don't think that they've fixed the issue yet, or even will fix it at all. For that reason alone, it severely bumps Castle Crashers down my list, but even if online play was never included in the first place, Castle Crashers is one of the best local multiplayer games that I've ever played. The more people that you can get to play with you, the better. Every moment is hilarious and a blast to play, as you and your friends can really work together as a team to take on the toughest foes, or be little greedy bastards that only care about themselves by robbing each other of their loot/experience and hearing the *****ing that follows. This game may look stupid, but just keep an open mind and don't take it seriously if you're going to try it out. It's fun on a bun! 22. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Developer: Square-Enix Released on: PSP Release Date: March 25, 2008 Well, there you have it people. I've reached a game that's pretty close to the top of my list, that is one of the primary hated franchise games across the whole internet (even though I cannot fathom why people need to constantly attack people just for liking a +10 year old game that they didn't care for, when it's only a deal about personal opinions anyways). I feel like I've given myself a death sentence here, or rather two of them, because we all know what comes after a prequel, right? It's really a shame that throughout my list, the general consensus of the internet has caused me to loathe having to talk about this particular franchise entry in the Final Fantasy universe, as well as one other franchise that I will be mentioning later. All because if you spout off the words "Final Fantasy VII", then you'll probably expect at least one comment that says "Final Fantasy VII is overrated". No....really? Who would have thunk? Of course these games are overrated to many that started up a huge rally after the game became successful, but despite that, I don't take this whole argument too seriously about the franchise. It's either fun for some, or it's not. It's the exact same with every other Final Fantasy game, and for me, Final Fantasy VI wasn't my cup of tea. But so what? I'm not upset that it's universally praised, and even if it was more successful than Final Fantasy VII, I wouldn't care. The only thing that bugs me is when people start comparing different entries in the Final Fantasy franchise like it's an all-out war. Here's a news flash: they're all from the same franchise, and the money from all of the games is going towards the same company. It doesn't matter which one is more successful or which one is better, because all of the Final Fantasy games are meant to be different experiences and stories from each other. It doesn't matter which consoles got which entries, and it doesn't matter which game is better than another, as there is no way in hell that all of the entries in this franchise (or any franchise known to man) can be of the exact same quality, and live up to every single person of millions of peoples' expectations. I just find a couple of Final Fantasy VII games to be really fun and likable, and just because it's fairly high on my list doesn't mean that I'm a frothing lunatic that doesn't desire to play anything else, as the rest of my top 100 list has proven. Getting to the point of this particular entry, I'm going to be including the prequel separately, because the game plays very differently than the original game, as much as many people would like to believe that it doesn't. Ranting aside, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII takes the #22 spot for me, and ranks as my favourite PSP game so far (keep in mind that I own 13 PSP games, but I've only had the time really sit down to play and complete this game, Jeanne D'Arc [which almost made my top 100 list] and Star Ocean: The First Departure). Crisis Core is certainly a different beast than Final Fantasy VII. While it's story is an extension off of Final Fantasy VII's, it has a bit of a different kind of tone to it, and the actual gameplay itself is vastly different, which I'll get to soon. The story starts out on a good note. It actually has a much more enthusiastic and optimistic protagonist than Final Fantasy VII. Zack Fair, in this game is pretty much the opposite of Cloud Strife. He's always happy, positive, energetic (if he gets bored, he'll start doing squats, and I swear that this guy must have some form of ADD since he can't sit still) and strives to just be a great hero, much like plenty of other RPG protagonists. While this might seem annoying, it's actually a breath of fresh air within the dark themes of the Final Fantasy VII universe, which actually makes it incredibly painful when Zack dies at the end. Now don't worry, I didn't spoil anything. It's common knowledge, along with the death of Aeris around the videogame community, much like it's common knowledge that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father in the movie community. I knew full well that Zack was going to die since the beginning of the game, and I told myself not to get set up for a major disappointment when he does, but I couldn't help but get so attached to his character and the ways that he grows as a person over the course of his journey, that his death scene at the end is more heart-shattering than Aeris' death in Final Fantasy VII. It's all because I got to know Zack a lot better by the end, that it becomes a lot sadder (possibly being the most emotional ending that I've seen in a videogame). The story is good throughout too, and explains a bit of the events well that cross over with Final Fantasy VII's flashbacks, but it was Zack's personal journey from beginning to end that captivated me much more. Gameplay-wise, Crisis Core works extremely well for a handheld game. Normally, I'm not too fond of playing RPGs on handhelds because they can't really be played in short bursts of time, but Crisis Core gets around that roadblock. You can play the main quest at your own leisure, and even if you can't find a save point, you always have the option of turning off your PSP, because upon turning it back on it leaves you at the exact same point that you turned it off. However, there's also an abundance of small quests that take minutes to complete and that get more challenging as you move down the mission list, and give you great rewards such as new materia and cash, for doing so (plus, just playing them helps you level up). These small missions may get repetitive every now and then, but the great part is that they're 100% optional, and I even found them fun and rewarding for the most part, due to the style of combat (also, upon completing missions, more and more missions just keep opening up). Combat-wise, you'll only be controlling Zack, with no party members to be controlled by you or the computer (sort of like only playing as Sora in Kingdom Hearts, except without a jump button but with more special moves and magic to use). This always puts the emphasis on only yourself during the combat, in which you can move all around the field at will, attacking enemies whenever you please instead of waiting for a bar to fill up for each attack. You can also set up to six different types of materia in your available slots (although at the beginning you will start out with less slots) to boost your stats, and to use magic and special attacks when need be. There's also rolling and blocking maneuvers so that you can also play defensively during battle, which gives it some depth. At heart though, Crisis Core does have a fairly simple combat system, but it's still fun and works perfectly for a portable game, for people that want to just jump right in and play it without worrying about too many technicalities. This game can actually be a little technical if you want it to be, with the unique materia fusing system. It takes the simplicity of the original Final Fantasy VII's materia system (that lets you level up each materia for it to become more proficient), and puts a spin on it. All you need to do is take two different materia and fuse them together to get something new, and before you fuse two materia, the menu will tell you what you're going to get, as well as will keep a log of all of your "recipes" for all of the materia that you have created so far. A neat aspect about this can be shown by this example that I'm going to make. Imagine fusing a fully leveled up HP+10% materia with another fully leveled HP+10% materia. What you'll get is an HP++20% materia. Then, take that fully leveled HP++20% materia, and do the same with another one. You'll have HP++40%. Even if you can only include +10% more HP from your next materia, you could send it up to HP++50%, and the list will go on for a long time. I think by the end of the game, I did this so much that I had an HP++450%, which is kind of useless at the time, because my natural HP was so high, that I didn't need as high of a percentage to increase my health to it's maximum limit, but upon starting a new game + after finishing my old one, I'll be able to keep that materia, so when I start the next game, even if it's on hard mode, I could possibly start off with 9999HP. Other types of materia can also be fused together not just to create updated versions of old attacks, but new special and magic attacks as well as support materia. There's really a lot of depth to the fusing system that kept me busy for a long time, and I don't even think that I had exploited even half of it's potential. The system really works hand-in-hand with the pick up and play mission system. Apart from that, leveling up and limit breaks are all dependent on a system called the DMW, which is a spinning slot machine-like reel that will randomly pause the action of the game and pop up at times. While it would seem to be random, the DMW is activated by killing at least 10 enemies, and level ups aren't completely dependent on the 3 reel slots all landing on the number "7" by absolute luck, as I believe that the game will register around how much more experience you've accumulated to increase the odds of those reels all lining up to level you up (don't worry, level ups are more frequent than it looks like on paper). If three pictures of a Final Fantasy VII character lines up on the reels, Zack will automatically go into the limit break based on that character's style of combat (or will unleash a summon spirit if their pictures line up). Also, if the numbers on the reel line up, you'll receive a level up to the particular materia that you've had in that numbered slot (so if you get three #5's on the reel, the materia in your fifth materia slot will level up). So Crisis Core's story and main characters are good, the gameplay is fast paced, there's some customizability with your materia, and the game is well suited for pick up and play gameplay. But what about everything else? Visually, this game is on par with the highest quality PS2 visuals, and the cinematic sequences are gorgeous and very well animated. Also, the game also feels cinematic as a whole, since even the in-game cutscenes are taken at well thought out camera angles, making it seem like a movie at times. Audio-wise, I just like Final Fantasy VII's style of music, and some tracks are certainly remixed in this version (it really comes down to personal preference here, but if there's one aspect that I have to really commend Final Fantasy VII for, it's the music). The voice acting is extremely clear and top notch as well. I've never seen a portable game with these kinds of production values before. Relating to my introduction, I don't expect everyone to agree with me, and I would rather be honest with my list (with it's risky entries and all), rather than backing down like a coward and picking something else, just to please the majority of readers on the internet. So I like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Oh well. We all know what game I'm going to pick as well very soon down the road, so I may as well make this statement. We all have games that others are going to see as overrated in their eyes, but sometimes that doesn't make the game design of the "overrated" game actually awful. There is virtually no one in the world that can make a product that will appeal to 100% of it's consumers. Final Fantasy VII just happened to impact a specifically large audience at the right time, and by all rights, the people it impacted have a reason to actually enjoy it...not because there was nothing better to play at the time, but because the product connected with it's own particular audience, which in result created a fanbase. Not everyone is going to enjoy Final Fantasy VII, and if people don't, it's because they're not the right audience for the game, and in that case, Final Fantasy VI may be the right one. If it is, more power to them for finding something that they can connect more with. Final Fantasy VII and it's prequel were never horribly designed games. There's much worse out there, like shovelware games that are virtually unplayable. Even in regards to Final Fantasy VII's movie (Advent Children), if it had a horrible story to some, one cannot deny the fact that it had a lot of heart put into it's animation (as a lover of all animation ever since I was young, I can see that). My point is that Final Fantasy VII may seem like an overrated entry in the whole franchise to some, but others really do have genuinely good reasons to like it, because they were the right kind of audience for that right kind of game that was released. For me, Crisis Core is a very well designed RPG. As a pure handheld gameplay experience, I've personally had more fun with it than any other handheld RPG that I've played so far, and as a story, I really happened to like it, but I can see how it may not appeal to everyone, with the amount of debate that goes on through the internet. Regardless, if you have an open mind and liked the story to Final Fantasy VII, or have been interested into giving the franchise to go, Crisis Core is a fine place to start, and I really hope that I see handheld RPGs in the future that are just as easy to get into as it. 21. Star Ocean: The Second Story Developer: Tri-Ace Released on: PS1, PSP Release Date: May 31, 1999 (PS1), Jan 20, 2009 (PSP) The Star Ocean series has been a very odd one for me, since the series has gotten progressively worse with each new installment that I've played, even though it started out on an amazing note. To start on the bad end, Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the XBOX 360 is one of the worst RPG's that I've ever played (in fact, it may also be one of the worst games that I have ever played and completed). Star Ocean: The First Departure for the PSP was merely an average game (there was nothing special about it, and it was insanely easy) but still gave a few interesting tidbits on the story of the overall universe and timeline of Star Ocean. Star Ocean: Till The End of Time was a good game, which would at least make a Top 150 List for me, despite it's mindf**k of an ending. Now we come to Star Ocean: The Second Story, which is such a phenomenal entry to the franchise for me, that it's absolutely worth being in my Top 25, and is easily one of the most underrated RPGs that I've ever played. So what's so interesting about this particular game in the series? Upon being in my Top 25, it must have an incredibly rich and deep storyline for an RPG, right? Well, upon looking back, it's story isn't exactly groundbreaking or original like the most commonly top-placed RPGs on many peoples' lists, but it's still presented well despite that, has enjoyable/memorable characters, and has at least one major plot twist somewhere in the middle of the game that I hadn't seen before at the time, followed by a series of epic related boss fights as the latter half of the game went on. The interesting thing about the story, is how you can choose to see it from the perspective of two different characters that eventually come into contact near the start of the game: Claude C. Kenny (the blonde guy in the background of the first picture) and Rena Landford (the blue haired girl shown). I've only played and completed the game with Claude so far, so I'll talk about the story from his perspective. Also, it doesn't hurt that the next time that I will play this game, I can play as a different character for a fresher experience. The game starts off with Claude C. Kenny, who has been commissioned by Earth to go on his first mission as part of a space exploration team with his father, Ronixis J. Kenny (who was one of your party members in Star Ocean: The First Departure, 20 years before the story of this game takes place). The mission that's to be undertaken is to survey the planet of Milocinia because of an unknown energy field that appears there. Claude eventually stumbles upon a mysterious machine in a broken down alien ruin (despite his father's orders to keep away from it), that suddenly activates and teleports him to the unknown and underdeveloped planet of Expel. Upon landing in a forest on Expel and finding out that he has no way of communicating his father's space exploration team, he realizes that he's basically stranded and needs to find a way to get back home. Before he can do anything, he finds Rena being pursued by a monster, defeats it with his phaser, and is suddenly being claimed as a prophesied "Hero of Light", due to the mistaken sword of light that he wields (which is his phaser. Keep in mind that the citizens of Expel are far less advanced than Claude). The Hero of Light is of course, supposed to arrive on Expel to save the populace from the disaster from the Sorcery Globe, which is a meteorite that crashed on Expel three months ago that has been rumoured to be spewing out monsters. Claude claims to not be this hero, but decides to investigate this meteorite in hopes that his arrival on Expel may be connected to it, and that there may be a way for him to get back home. It all sounds like a pretty standard story, and it kind of is, but there is a good twist or two to it between the middle and end, as I've said, that really makes it more interesting before things start to seem monotonous. Thankfully, the story isn't what puts Star Ocean: TSS so high on my list (although it's certainly not bad. It's just not groundbreaking). It's the overall gameplay that makes this one of the most deep, complex and fun RPGs that I've ever played. Before I really get into it, I'll talk about one brief aspect that connects the story and gameplay together: the characters. Not only are most, if not all, of the characters in this game very interesting, but Star Ocean: TSS has a very unique way of building up a party that I haven't seen in most RPGs. Within this game, there are sixteen potential party members that you can bring along with you to complete your quest, but throughout one playthrough, you can only have up to a total of eight members in your party (which gives you a choice of six other members, excluding Claude and Rena). What this means is that depending on your actions, you can build up your party to suit your preferences, since you can pick and choose who you want to take with you. There are some things to keep in mind though. Some potential party members are very well hidden within the game and are only recruitable during specific points in the storyline (so if you happen to get too far in the story, a potential character could be missed). Also, some party members can only be recruited at the expense of another choice (ex. there are two characters named Precis and Bowman that you can recruit, although if you choose to recruit one of them, the other cannot be recruited on your current playthrough). While it may seem annoying at first, I actually think that it gives the game a nice sense of depth to it, and gives the player new characters to strive for and recruit on multiple playthroughs. All of the characters are extremely well diversed with their move sets, making your parties in Star Ocean: TSS the most diverse, flexible, and unique that I've ever seen in an RPG to date. Everyone has their own personal abilities, making them all useful in different ways, depending on your playing style. Speaking of characters, the leveling up and skill building system is also the best I've seen in an RPG, as there's an incredibly vast amount of depth to it. In fact, character customization is the bread and butter of this game. First of all, your characters can be leveled up all the way to a maximum level of 250 or 265 (I forget which one it is), which gives you the capacity to make your characters as strong and brutal as hell. Secondly, when your character levels up, they are given a set amount of skill points (SP) that they can use to spend on learning new abilities (you can buy skill books in about every town to give yourself a larger list of available skills to learn). There are so many different useful abilities to learn in this game, that it's absolutely staggering. You can learn a skill that will make it so that you don't have to spend as much SP to learn the rest of your skills. You can learn a skill to accumulate experience faster. You can learn battle-specific skills such as reducing the time that you'll be stunned from an attack, being able to run faster, counterattacks, flipping behind opponents, casting magic faster, using less MP per spell, being able to block more often, ignoring enemy defense when you attack (the list goes on). You can learn "on the field" commands that let you take items from your inventory to create different kinds of items, like Smithery to create new weapons and armor, Alchemy to create new accessories, Cooking to create restorative items, Writing/Artistry skills allow you to create works of fiction/art that can be sold for high prices depending where you go (and the list really does go on much further). Also, with most of the skills that you learn by putting SP into them, you get a statistic bonus every time you increase one of your abilities. For example, not only will learning the Kitchen Knife skill help you on being a better cook, but it gives you a permanent increase to your overall strength every time you put some SP into it, which is constantly rewarding. I'm not even done here. You can also enable a feature called a "private action" before going into towns that allows you to talk to your party members, which can increase how much they like and respect you. The more that you connect with each member, are the chances that you'll get better and more unique endings with them, and in battle, if one of them gets killed, it will send the person that liked them into a rage which increases their speed, defense and attack power. Did I mention that this game has over 70 different endings that you can get due to the private action feature? There's a ton of potential for replayability right there. I knew upon writing this entry that I would be covering a boatload of topics, and just to elaborate, the skill system in Star Ocean: TSS is the most customizable that I have ever seen. In that last paragraph, I only listed a small fraction of the different useful skills that you can learn to customize your party with, and I didn't even mention how each character will learn new special attacks over time, and with the more you use them, the more quick and powerful those individual attacks will become. As for the actual battles themselves, they're very fast paced in my opinion. Your characters don't just stand in a line, attacking and taking shots during battle. The field of battle is shown from somewhat of a side view, where you can still move in a 3D space in all directions. You can take control of whatever character that you want to use in battle, while the rest of the characters are controlled by a decent A.I. At any time, you can switch between your characters with the touch of a button, so you can control someone else specifically if you need to, while your previous character is handed off to the computer's A.I. There's no command menu (except when you hit the triangle button to pause the action, which brings up a small menu over your character's head that allows you to pick items, change individual character strategies, flee, etc), as you can run around the field and attack your foes at will, whether it's by using your regular or MP-costing special attacks (the specials are assigned to your left and right shoulder buttons). There can be quite a bit of strategy sometimes (especially during boss battles) based on where to position your character as well as the others (by giving them a strategy) that can turn the tide of battle. Sometimes, a boss may have deadly close range attacks, so you'll have to wait for your magic casters to stun it so you can go in for a few hits. Sometimes you can position yourself on the other side of a boss while another fighter of yours is attacking it from the other side, so you can both constantly stun it without it being able to turn around to attack either of you. Battles are always fast paced and fun, and it's sure more exciting than other RPGs that just have you standing in a line wailing on the enemy over and over while they wail on you. I feel like I'm writing a novel with Star Ocean: TSS, and in a way, I have to, because I haven't even covered everything that there is to mention about this game, so I'll try to be brief with a few other things. This game is challenging, which makes the whole character customization aspect very rewarding, but if you trigger a certain combination of events, you can fight an upgraded form of the final boss that will seem nearly impossible unless you've put a lot of thought and training into the customization of your party (there may even be a hard mode upon completing the game, which I forget). Personally, I thought (and still think) that the visuals were stunning for a Playstation game. The areas apart from the overall world map are pre-rendered, but look as if they were hand-painted in a soft, but soothing style, and the character models really compliment and mesh in with the environments perfectly, despite them being sprites. The music is very enchanting, which helped immerse me in this world of mystery that I was stranded on, and the battle theme for bosses is one of the most riveting, kickass themes I've heard for such an occasion. Apart from the story (which is still good, but not jaw-dropping), everything else about this RPG is of near- perfection for me. I have a few more RPGs that will be appearing on my list...one of which I'm sure that most of you know of and are just shuddering with hatred that I would dare mention it, and another that's a very nice and underrated surprise (which ranks above the previously mentioned one). There's also one more RPG in between those two that I've previously mentioned. While Star Ocean: TSS hasn't had as much of an impact as the next game that I will mention (although both games were just a hair apart, making it almost impossible for me to decide), and is not absolute perfection like my #1 RPG, it's still an incredibly memorable, yet underrated RPG that I would hope that many more RPG fans will give a try. Just trust me, and don't start on Star Ocean 3, or Star Ocean 1, and certainly not Star Ocean 4 for the XBOX 360. I've played all four entries, and while Star Ocean: The Second Story may be a little dated, I found it as the most balanced and fun entry in the series, and the challenge was just right. It's a rare game on the Playstation, but it's been remade for the PSP recently, so give it a shot if you want to dive into the deep star ocean. 20. Final Fantasy VII Developer: Squaresoft Released on: PS1, PC, PSN Release Date: Jan 31, 1997 (PS1), June 24, 1998 (PC), June 2, 2009 (PSN) Here it is, the game I've been dreading to add onto this list, not because I don't like the game, but because of all of the raging, screaming, pointless debates that go around the internet based on it. It's really sad that just because I've really liked this game at the time of it's release, and still do now, that I'm pretty much a target that's going to be hit with a giant "overrated" stamp by the general consensus of the internet, just for simply liking it. It's not like I'm an ignorant fool who has refused to play anything else though, which can be seen that I'm not, based on my Top 100 List, as well as me having played (and completed) at least ten Final Fantasy games (such as III, IV, VI, VII, Crisis Core: FFVII, VIII, IX, X, X-2, and XII). But I'm not here right now to go on a big rant about the whole debate aspect that's been going on whenever the words "Final Fantasy VII" pop up, since I've already covered this topic in my recent Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII entry (in which if you need to know where I stand on the subject, then check it out: http://screwattack.com/node/25897). That aside, I will note that Final Fantasy VII was (like a lot of other people out there), my first RPG, that really got me into playing them. Despite what's being said about it now, I can't deny and change many things. I can't deny that it's had a very large impact on me as a gamer (due to never experiencing a detailed story in a videogame before). I can't change the fact that this was the first RPG that I've ever played (I had no real expectations of what an RPG was really like at the time, and I just decided to jump in. It's not like I'm going to yell at my 14 year old self for not playing something "better", or for not getting into RPGs at an earlier point in time). Finally, I can't deny that I really still do like it now. It may not have the most complex of plots, the most deep of characters, or the most intricate combat system, but there's just something about Final Fantasy VII's atmosphere that gripped me about this game, and I'm going to go into detail to find out what that is. Atmosphere. Now that's the best word that I can use to describe my experience with Final Fantasy VII, which was only made possible by an accumulation of many different elements that just managed to bring everything together into a magical game for me. Whether it was the art style, music, the plot that always seemed like it was moving while delivering a sense of urgency, an easy to understand battle system that plays at a fast pace, the dark/quirky nature of the world, the entertaining sub-games, the massive (and nearly impossible) optional bosses, the side-quests/hidden rewards, and the dialogue that offered a balance between being light-hearted and serious, this game just had a unique balance for me that brought the whole world together. I always felt like I had something new to do and a reason to do it. The game made me feel positive and relaxed when I needed it (due to the light-hearted and quirky elements that the story threw in), and got darker and more urgent to keep me moving right along, while wondering what happens next. I could side-quest as much and as little as I wanted to, and if I decided to embark in those extra quests, many of them would hold something different, from a quirky tournament-style showdown in Yuffie's village of Wutai, to just finding the optional Yuffie and Vincent to add to your party (both offering both luck-based and clue/mystery-based challenges to complete), to playing different brief and quirky mini-games to earn cash and items, to breeding chocobos to explore the world for hidden materia (such as the most powerful summon in the game), to even trying to take down those insanely powered "weapon" creatures, and failing miserably at it, laughing all the while about how hard I just got schooled. I don't know how to describe it, people. For a first RPG, it was just so easy to get into for me. It just had a plot that I cared about, which kept me moving along at a brisk pace, while allowing me to stop and smell the roses whenever I wanted to with all of the light-hearted moments. There was also no tedium for me in the game, compared to seeing other people playing slow moving, level grinding, generic setting RPGs before the time that I played Final Fantasy VII, which didn't seem like my kind of atmosphere back then (although I've played those kinds of games now and can hold an appreciation for them with their old-school settings and plots). I could focus on moving along in the story as much as I wanted, and I didn't have to do the stuff on the side, but the more I took the time to engage in them, the more I was having fun with the overall game. Also, whenever I started to feel the slightest bit of tedium from what I was doing on the side, it was incredibly easy to just jump right back into the main plot of the game, with next to no worry of missing good optional items from side-questing (since I could usually just come back later, whenever I wanted to explore). Graphically, Final Fantasy VII isn't something to drool over now, but I don't understand why I hear so many complaints regarding it's visuals, and how they haven't aged well. I thought that the general thoughts of gamers everywhere was that games aren't about the graphics, but the gameplay itself. Still, while I loved Final Fantasy VII's graphics at the time, there are still little things that I can appreciate about the art style today. The towns and dungeons themselves were pre-rendered, which means that your character was basically running over static pieces of art at different camera angles, much like the first three Resident Evil games. Still, even though the camera never really changes, I still find the pre-rendered art as really nice to look at. It can still overlap the character when you run behind objects or items in the foreground, so it's not like you're walking on a completely static picture, and there's a warm feeling emanated from many of Final Fantasy VII's locales. When I first booted up the game and entered the polluted town of Midgar (which remains as my favourite place in the game), it had so much atmosphere in it. The visuals really represented the economic state that everyone was in due to Shinra's actions, and how the people not involved in the draining of energy from the planet are being pushed further into the outskirts of town with no resources. The town showed off a real sense of poverty and being run down, but showed off signs of hope at the same time with the populace's faint glowing lights around their towns (the different types of music in Midgar also protrayed many emotions for me, such as the beautiful piano-based music which gave off a small sense of hope, to the low-pitched, sleazy, tunes which displayed the corrupt attitude of the city). I know that I've taken a lot of time to only describe one town, but the point that I'm making is that gameplay and story aside, every pre-rendered place in the game conveyed a lot of different emotions for me, just through their own particular art style, layouts and music. The world map wasn't as pretty to look at, but world maps never are by comparison in RPGs. It still did contain a really good piece of music for it, regardless. On a brief note, the highest thing that I can commend this game for is it's music. I can proudly say that I enjoy pretty much the entirety of Final Fantasy VII's soundtrack, and I really like it more than most of the RPGs that I've played to date. I don't know how to link music to a blog right now, but if you ever have a chance to listen to the song "Life Stream", I think it really conveys a sense of beauty, mystery and wonder, which makes it my favourite track in the game. The overall world map theme makes the scale of the game feel grand, Tifa's theme offers a feeling of reminiscing, Aeris theme offers a feeling of sadness, helplessness and regret, and Sephiroth's theme "One-Winged Angel" (as common as this may seem to say) does offer a feeling like you're in way over your head, since you're fighting a god-like boss with the ability to hurl the sun at you - as little sense as that may make (just to note, it was incredibly intimidating the first time I ever fought him, since because I had never played an RPG before, the prospect of fighting a being on a god-like scale [or at least he looked like it] with that music going on made me feel like it was truly the end of the world). Every music piece just seemed to fit in perfectly with every scene that occurred, as serious, weird, or sad as they may be. Story-wise, Final Fantasy VII wasn't the deepest thing that I've ever seen, but I actually didn't mind that aspect, since it juggles around your emotions and doesn't take itself so seriously the whole way through. As generic as a villain as Sephiroth was, I can't deny that his character design wasn't memorable. As a villain though, I don't see how he may be any more or less generic than Kefka from FFVI, as both of them are insane, hate the world, and want everyone dead (even though Kefka is just purely insane and Sephiroth is just doing it for revenge, their actions are pretty similar, which doesn't set them worlds apart from each other like most people see when comparing the two). So yes, Final Fantasy VII is your generic setup of a madman who wants to destroy the world and is about a group of heroes that must travel around to stop him. However, it's not the overall basis of the plot that hooks me to it (in fact, almost all RPGs follow this basic setup...especially the Final Fantasy series). I enjoyed the characters, the dialogue, and the overall atmosphere of Final Fantasy VII (which is a collaboration between the art style, music, characters, plot, gameplay and extras). The plot does have a few interesting twists in it though, which I won't deny the creativity of them at the time. I especially enjoyed the aspects of Cloud's amnesia, and how he would replace his old friend, Zack Fair in exchange for himself within his flashbacks, and seeing the real truth unravel about what really happened later on in the game. I had also never seen a main protagonist go insane and end up confined to a wheelchair before in an RPG, which was also interesting. Of course, I had never seen a character or side-character be permanently killed off either, but I will admit that time with newer games has desensitized me to that moment in the game a bit. Possibly the largest downside to the story is the abrupt sudden ending that leaves you scratching your head. While the later movie adaptation "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" does clear up some of those loose ends, as a standalone game the sudden kick-in-the-balls-of-an-ending does knock the game down a few pegs for me. Anyways, as I've mentioned before, I just like the pacing of Final Fantasy VII's plot regardless, as it always moved along briskly, whilst never being so forgettable that if I went off to side-quest that I wouldn't know where to pick up later. Before I wrap this all up, I'll just note that combat-wise, I felt like this game was just the right challenge for me. It's not so hard that newcomers can't play it (which I think was a big selling point for the game), but it wasn't so easy that I didn't have to try at all. Even though my party was confined to a line, taking and giving attacks, the active time battle system made battles move along quickly, and I always had to pay attention and make quick decisions on the fly instead of sitting back with all the time in the world to think of my next move. The materia (magic) system was really easy to use and understand, and there was a lot of different types of it to collect and level up. Even though you could set up all of your characters so that they had identical skills if you wanted, it only created more versatility for your team so that you wouldn't be stuck with anyone useless (although it's a double-edged sword because sometimes I really do like to have party members with all different abilities, where in this game, the only thing that sets each member apart is limit breaks). The animations for your summoned creatures were too long at times (damn you, Knights of the Round!), but nonetheless, they usually looked brutal, like they were beating your foes to a pulp). Okay, it's time to end this entry. I'm sure that there are people who have had no problems with a person other than them that likes a game that's not their cup of tea, but to address the people that don't understand, just keep in mind: It's a personal entry of mine, and is only my favourite of the Final Fantasy games so far. In no way, am I speaking for anyone else on the internet when I've listed this game on this spot, or for any other game on my entire Top 100 List for that matter. I can't sit around all day trying to compare which Final Fantasies rock, and which ones suck, because in the end it's absolutely not worth it. People have their favourite entries for their own personal reasons, and even though I'm listing the most common entry for my list, it may not be on a right place in a top 100 list for some, but it is for me (hence, why I'm entering it here and writing about it). To me, Final Fantasy VII isn't the best game ever. I've still got two other RPGs that rank ahead of it, with my #1 RPG following a storyline that I haven't personally experienced before in an RPG. For the longest time, Final Fantasy VII was on the top of my list, not because I wouldn't play anything else, but because nothing else just had as big of an impact on me at the time. I couldn't lie to myself back then, just saying that another RPG was better than this game, just so I could bump this RPG that was commonly known as "overrated" down my list, and I can't lie right now by not including it on this spot (and I won't lie that I'm not ashamed to do it). At this point in time though, I have truthfully found two other RPGs that I prefer more than this game. Despite all of the worries I seem to be having about placing Final Fantasy VII in this spot though, I'll just say it. I'm proud to sit Final Fantasy VII on my #20 spot, as it wasn't just an RPG that I found amazing at the time, but it's one that I can pick up at this point in time and get into easily, not taking it too seriously, and still enjoying it to a great amount. A lot of RPGs have come and gone in the 12 years since this game (and many years before it), and there may be better games out there, but Final Fantasy VII is still just purely fun for me. I don't think that it really revolutionized anything other than getting more people into RPGs more, and even if it were the least successful entry by society's standards, I would still enjoy it for what it is in general: a game. 19. Kingdom Hearts Developer: Square-Enix Released on: PS2 Release Date: Sept 17, 2002 Wow, four RPGs in a row (counting my last three entries)? Just to point out, I'm not grouping them all together for the sake of convenience. The reason is because even though RPGs are one of my favourite genres, my list of RPGs is almost coming to an end with Kingdom Hearts. However, I have to note that I find that the last RPG on my Top 100 List is so much better than this game (and the previous three) in my eyes, that it's actually distanced pretty far away from Kingdom Hearts. Aside from this mystery game that I have yet to unveil, these four RPGs that I've just mentioned are among my personal favourites, and Kingdom Hearts stands on top of the recent pile of RPGs by simply being more fun to play and experience than all of them. So how does the original Kingdom Hearts not only top the past three RPGs, but it's sequel as well? For the last three games, as I've noted, I just find Kingdom Hearts more fun to play, due to it's fast-paced action based combat, platforming elements, light-hearted story, colourful and unique Disney Worlds/other locales, and an overall sense of magic that makes me feel like a kid again whenever I play it. In terms of Kingdom Hearts II, while the plot in the sequel may be more complex (and it's gummi ship segments weren't as annoying), I found that the original game was more fun to play overall. It's Disney Worlds were more fresh the first time around, since it didn't have to deal with the repeats of Disney worlds like it's sequel did (I also just enjoyed some of the world designs even more, like the Hercules, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Hollow Bastion and Nightmare Before Christmas stages than it's repeats, as well as it's original stages, like Peter Pan [my favourite], Wonderland and Tarzan). You also didn't have to visit and save each world twice like in it's sequel, which I found flat-out tedious at times for Kingdom Hearts II. The story isn't as deep as it's sequel, as I've said, but it's not-so-serious nature fits in more with the Disney theme of the game, whereas the sequel feels like something that's more written towards a typical Squaresoft game, rather than a Disney one. I also enjoyed the combat system much more in Kingdom Hearts as well., While it may not seem as stylish, cool, or as fast-paced as it's sequel, I enjoyed it's sense of balance more. It's mini menu system that sat in the corner of your screen wasn't used to move around or jump, but it was a helpful little menu that allowed you to switch between attacking, use any kind of magic, use any of the items that you're holding on Sora (I think you could hold up to ten types of items, with up to nine units of each type), as well as using special techniques, like the Ragnarok (a series of strikes followed by shooting a bunch of homing lasers from your keyblade) and Trinity (an attack with Donald and Goofy that kills everything on the screen and brutally damages bosses). The menu system was a lot more user-friendly and versatile in the original game, since you always had more options as to what kinds of magic/special attacks you could use, and since you could hold more items and magic with you in battle. This gave it a sense of strategy, and gave every kind of magic, item and attack their own sense of usefulness (where in Kingdom Hearts II, sometimes all you had to do was set the "Heal" spell as your magic, set Ethers as your item [you could only hold one particular type of item on you in battle, such as a mid-ether for example, but not a high-ether. You had to choose one or the other] and wail on the attack button for most of your fights). Another aspect that I preferred over the sequel was fighting the Heartless without the inclusion of Kingdom Hearts II's new enemy type, the Nobodies. The Heartless may look more simple, but they had a lot more variety in their designs and would mingle in naturally with each Disney world (ex. the monkey Heartless in the Tarzan world). While they didn't look as threatening as the Nobodies, they only contributed to the not-as-serious Disney-like tone of the game, instead of the Squaresoft-inspired Nobodies of the sequel. I guess when I really think about it, the original Kingdom Hearts feels more like a Disney game in every sense (whether it's the story, the simpler combat, the enemy designs, and even Sora's attire) and I think that's why I enjoy it so much more. I've seen so many RPGs in my time that fit the Squaresoft model of style and storytelling, but I had never seen such a magical Disney-like game since Kingdom Hearts (which was a plus that it really worked as an RPG). The original still did have a little bit of Squaresoft flair, with brief cameos from Final Fantasy characters thrown in, as well as the anime-inspired look of the protagonists. Also, I'm not saying that the sequel hardly had any Disney elements to it either. The original was just far noticeably more Disney-heavy than it's sequel, and it shows like day and night. Kingdom Hearts never took itself too seriously, and it always felt like the main reason I was trekking through it all was to help save the Disney worlds with a little bit of internal conflict rising between Sora and his friends in between (whereas in the sequel, it seemed like all that Sora cared about was finding Riku while coincidentally having to help out the Disney worlds again, all with the dark story involved with Organization XIII overshadowing most of the light-hearted premise, Squaresoft-style). I know that I've been ranting a lot about the difference between the two games here, like they're night and day, and by no means is Kingdom Hearts II and unworthy sequel. It made my #34 spot, and I would moreso constitute it as being different, and that the difference with it didn't suit my preferences as much as the atmosphere given from the first game. For Kingdom Hearts, I loved it's lighthearted story, specific Disney worlds (as well as other environments that blended in, like the Destiny Islands and Traverse Town), simpler combat, more vibrant colour scheme, more Disney-fitting character designs, upbeat music and great opening and ending themes (combined with the cinematics). Looking back, I even enjoyed the level design far more in the original, due to it being a lot more multi-layered and platform-heavy than the sequel which just felt like I was walking on flat terrain most of the time (plus, the original had unique abilities to learn to help you with that platforming, like Peter Pan's ability to fly at will for example [which in turn, would even help you find new treasures from areas that you couldn't reach earlier]). Also, how could I forget the epic Disney-inspired boss fights too, like the giant Jafar and Ursula in Aladdin and the Little Mermaid respectively, storming up Oogie Boogie's tower and then facing off against him in a gameshow deathmatch in the Nightmare Before Christmas, combating against the FFIX-inspired boss inside Monstro that held Pinnochio captive, and fighting the dragon form of Malificient in Hollow Bastion (as well as evil Riku)? How could I forget the awesome Hercules Collesium from the first game either, since the Collesium tournament battles were incredibly fun, challenging, gave you very useful rewards, lasted a long time, and let you fight in some exciting battles with Squaresoft characters like Squall, Yuffie, Cloud and Sephiroth (as well as fighting Hades from Hercules). How can I forget the simple sense of wonder, adventure, and stress-relieving fun that this game provides? It's hard to describe what makes Kingdom Hearts so great to me, and I can see why many people wouldn't rank it so high on their lists. It isn't incredibly innovative or very deep in any way. It all just works and comes together so well for me. It doesn't focus on the complexity of RPGs, but only focuses on providing a fun atmosphere, gameplay that's easy and exciting to get into, enough optional content to make it worth your while to stay playing for longer, and outstanding production values that allows Kingdom Hearts to retain a timeless Disney look. There's just something in this game that's so classic and replayable to me, and for once, I don't think that I have exact words to express the reason why. Kingdom Hearts wins me over with it's simplicity and it's ability to send me into worlds and situations that aren't anything like this world, and isn't filled with many of the dark, drab or depressing themes and undertones that reside in many RPGs. It's charming, it's optimistic, and while it isn't a light-hearted trek the entire way through (which is a good thing, since a little seriousness now and then never hurts either), Kingdom Hearts is like a trip through DisneyWorld for me. Even though I've never been there, I would like to think that the place would invoke the same feelings of cheerfulness and nostalgia as Kingdom Hearts has. 18. Super Mario Bros 3 Developer: Nintendo R&D4 Released on: NES, SNES (Super Mario All Stars), GBA Release Date: Feb 12, 1990 (NES), Aug 1, 1993 (SNES), Oct 27, 2003 (GBA) It was bound to happen, right? It was all just a matter of when. It's true that Super Mario Bros 3 has a legendary status within the history of gaming, but you know what? It's not even my favourite NES game out there. Despite that, Mario 3 is an incredibly fun classic, but I know that I won't have to explain much, since it's one of the most well-known videogames of all time. It's pretty much 2D platforming at it's finest, and is the source of some of my favourite memories of playing the NES as a child. I remember actually having that fresh, new, store-bought copy of Mario 3 in my hands as a kid. I remember the first time I ever popped the game in my NES, getting as far as the third world in one playthrough, only to have that damn huge fish keep eating me alive in one bite, over and over until I ran out of lives (I'm still slightly fearful of that bastard). I remember having to go over to my brother's friend's house that was just down the street every morning before school for about an hour and a half. Since my brother's friend also had a younger brother, we would mostly play the NES in the basement before school started, and we would almost always play a 2-player game of Mario 3 (I was always Luigi). We would try to make it as far as we could, as fast as we could every morning (looking back on it, we probably would have gotten further if we didn't always play the two-player mode), and all the time when we played together, we could constantly land on the same area on the map so we could battle each other in the classic Mario Bros. minigame to steal each other's tiles that are required for gathering multiple one-ups at the end of a stage. I always loved getting into those battles at the time, as they would often end extremely randomly or on a funny note with one of us messing up. We probably spent half of the time in that mode trying to kill each other. Also, as a result of my visits, he was the one who showed me where the secret warp whistles were in the game, and I had no clue how he found them (thinking on it, I'm guessing that he watched The Wizard back then, or at least looked in an issue of Nintendo Power). Back then, those were good careless times, where we didn't care about how far we got in the game, because Mario 3 always delivered non-stop fun every moment, that every second of the game was a joy to play through. Fast forward to today, and I still love it. It's gotten a little bit repetitive with the huge amount of times that I've played it (hence, slightly bumping it down my list), but it's still gold. So much, that I own both the NES and GBA version of it, for on-the-go Mario 3 goodness (the downside to the GBA version is that it's a lot easier, since there's a save feature involved). There's also no need to discuss how it plays or what you can expect, because it's one of the most common games out there. I'll still note on my absolute favourite aspects though. I loved the opening world, the desert world, the world where everything is giant and the sky worlds the most. It had such unforgettable power-ups to it like the Raccoon Tail (and the P-Wing, which was my personal favourite), the frog suit and the hammer bros suit (I also hated the damn music box whenever I got it. It's so useless because I want to fight the hammer bros around the map for their items; not to bypass them!). It was also great about how you could store those power-ups for later use, which is a system that I wish would have carried over to future Mario titles. Oh, and that green shoe that you could bounce around in...was epic (if you could call that as a power-up, it would be my favourite one). The level design is absolutely fantastic, with tons of variety and challenges (especially with those scrolling stages, which were panic-inducing, but fun at the same time). Probably the most notable aspect for this game was the music, which may even beat out the original game's music, when I really think about it, due the amount of variety and complexity to Mario 3's songs, compared to the first. Also, if it weren't for the great music, we wouldn't have brentalfloss' awesome rendition of the Mario 3 theme: http://www.screwattack.com/brentalfloss/SMB3. It's been stuck in my head for a week! Quit making such catchy lyrics, brentalfloss! Wow...that's all that I have to say about Mario 3. I can't believe that I'm making such a short entry since my #96 one, but this game absolutely speaks for itself. Mario 3 left such a huge impact on me, and here I am, breathless and unable to think of anything that hasn't been said by the majority of people out there. Um, I had a Super Mario Bros 3 T-shirt as a kid. That was awesome. I also watched the Super Mario Bros 3 cartoon (I can't believe that I actually own the box set of it right now) and dressed up as Mario for Halloween as a kid because this game rocked so hard. If there was a Mario 3 cereal, I would have even eaten that religiously. In fact, when I think about it, one of my only memories about being under the age of 10 years old was Mario 3. That's the impact that this game had on many young minds (it still has an impact on my mind to this day), and I wouldn't have it any other way. 17. Sonic 3 & Knuckles Developer: Sonic Team Released on: Sega Genesis Release Date: Feb 2, 1994 (Sonic 3), Oct 17, 1994 (Sonic & Knuckles) Out of my whole list so far, I bet people are starting to notice more of an abundance of Sonic, Mario, and to an extent, Zelda games (and if you're wondering why there's no Metroid, I haven't played much of the series...yet). It's true, that many games from these series are instantly accessible and fun for me, while never being so similar to each other that all of their entries rank side-by-side with each other. I've talked about Sonic earlier, from his first and simplest entry in the franchise, to his time-travelling adventure, to those actual 3D adventures themselves. However, this next game that I'm going to be talking about kicks the series into overdrive and blows the other games out of the water, by combining two games in one. That's right. I'm not going to waste two list entries by talking about Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles. For when you plug that Sonic & Knuckles cart onto your Sega Genesis, and lift the flap on the top of that cartridge, you can plug Sonic 3's cart on top of Sonic & Knuckles' cart to receive one of my favourite and longest 2D platforming games out there: Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I'm sure that most of you know the story. Both Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are meant to be the same game: Sonic 3. Sega didn't have enough time back then (or may have not have had enough cartridge space, I'm not sure) to create the second half of Sonic 3, so later on they released Sonic & Knuckles which could lock on to Sonic 3, which would unlock the full, giant game that it was meant to be in the first place. I always found it kind of weird at the time about how Sonic 3 just seemed to end so abruptly, but it all makes sense now. Another neat aspect about both games being linked together as one, is that if you obtain all of the chaos emeralds within Sonic 3's game, you won't have any emeralds in Sonic & Knuckles (you wouldn't have kept any of the emeralds that you've obtained from Sonic 3 for that matter). Now, saying just that would piss many people off, but upon collecting those seven emeralds again in Sonic & Knuckles, you can unlock Hyper Sonic/Super Tails/and Hyper Knuckles. All of them were faster than even their regular Super Forms (and Tails' plain invincibility) of course, but Hyper Sonic/Knuckles could now double jump, and Super Tails had a bunch of birds (called flickies) flying around him that would automatically attack any nearby enemies without Tails having to do so. I think with both games combined, there are about 16 or so levels to complete now, as well as some small added features, like being able to play as Tails alone or have Tails follow Sonic within Sonic & Knuckles (which as a standalone game, only allowed you to play as Sonic or Knuckles alone without the inclusion of Tails). Both games also had their own individual save feature, but with the lock-on technology, more save slots were added too. Just to note as well, Sonic & Knuckles could also be locked on with Sonic 2, so you could use Knuckles in it, but I like the lock-on technology with Sonic 3 much more. To start off, I have to say that Sonic Team had put a ton of heart into their level designs, and does it ever show. This game is complete proof that Sonic games don't need to be "extended" with useless world hubs, long loading times, and pointless gameplay additions (ex. Sonic being a werehog, fishing, shooting stages, etc) just to feel longer. I mean, just look at how many levels Sonic & Knuckles has, combined with the length of each level, automatic save states, an abundance of checkpoints, and multiple characters that aren't annoying to use which let you explore the levels in completely different ways. That's what really stood out for me in this game. While the levels were a little overly complex/long at the time, making me get lost in them occasionally, they still had a lot of thought put into them, and kept me glued to the television screen for hours on end. The length of the levels were likable in their own way, and were a nice change from the shorter ones in the previous games. They were also jam-packed with many segments to really build up speed, many traps/obstacles to avoid and tons of platforming segments littered throughout. Possibly the greatest thing that lied within the level designs were multiple paths to take and the amount of secrets. While there wasn't always the option of taking another path 100% of the time, there were a ton of times in which the levels were multi-layered. Do you stay near the top of the stage to avoid any pitfalls near the bottom? Or are the bottom segments easier and less filled with enemies than the top of the stage? Or how about the multiple paths in the middle? Or do you just go all over the place, making a run through the level starting near the top, going down to the absolute bottom, coming up to the middle, dipping down a bit, then going up to the very top of the level, hitting off a spring to launch you over a hundred feet further over the course without having to encounter any obstacles, then landing on the bottom segment of the whole stage and running past the sign that signifies the end of the level? The game may have seemed all over the place at times, but that was the beauty in it, that you didn't always have to stick along one plain of territory. Plus, within the whole jumble of different places to go in each level, there were many secret areas and walls to pass through that contained extra lives, ring boxes, power-ups, and most importantly, the giant rings that would send you into a special stage to hunt for a chaos emerald. Before I get into the special stages, I've still got to note on the regular stages just a little bit more. Sonic 3 & Knuckles has some of my favourite stages out of any Sonic game, and not just for their level design, but their music too. The Flying Battery Zone, is what you would get if you mashed a rollercoaster and a gauntlet of challenges together, with extremely high intensity music. It's such a fast paced level, with tons of loops, running around on the inside of tubes, and really well-placed enemies/obstacles that just make dodging everything that levels throws at you a complete joy to maneuver around. The Sky Sanctuary Zone, is my personal favourite, with epic music as you're dashing up the floating ruins of the level amidst the bright blue sky, storming through it to reach the top so you can board Robotnik's death egg, and having a final showdown with Metal Sonic before doing so. The Hydrocity Zone from Sonic 3's portion has tons of loops, waterslides, running on water, bursts of water propelling you everywhere, etc...which is my favourite water-based stage in a Sonic game. There are so many great stages and bosses in these two games packed together, that it overloads my brain. In terms of bosses, I love the fight with Robotnik in the Marble Garden Zone (from Sonic 3's portion) in which Tails is airlifting Sonic throughout the whole battle as Robotnik is dashing around in his craft, trying to kill you. When two players are controlling Sonic and Tails for this fight, it can present some really rewarding teamwork. There's also the showdown against Knuckles in the Hidden Palace, which was fun to give him a beating for all of the **** that he put you through, and as I've stated before, the Metal Sonic in Sky Sanctuary Zone is more menacing than his Sonic 2 counterpart, and was fun to face. While I did enjoy the special stages in Sonic 2 more than this game, I have to admit that I've always had more incentive to try Sonic 3 & Knuckles special stages more. They weren't easy by any means, but they did have patterns to them that I could eventually figure out, which made me more capable of going through the trouble of obtaining those emeralds in the first place. The stage consists of you running on a planet, on a sphere-like plain, much like Mario Galaxy. You have to run over the blue spheres to change them into red ones, but if you run into a red sphere, you get sent back out of the special stage. There's certain unique trails of spheres that you have to follow in these stages, or you may wind up following a trail that leads you back into a cluster of red spheres that you've already ran over previously. It takes some learning and strategy to know where to go, but once you figure out the pattern, it's really rewarding. There are also some difficult elements thrown in, such as white spheres that act as bumpers to send you backward into the red sphere that you've just changed, to your character picking up more and more speed as you change the colour of more spheres, giving you much less reaction-time and plenty of more panic-inducing moments. Playing a two player game with Sonic and Tails is my favourite addition to this game. No, I'm not talking about the crappy split-screen multiplayer game. I'm talking about playing the main game as Sonic, with someone else controlling Tails on the same screen by another player. Sure, this was already included in Sonic 2, and sure it's easy to outrun Tails and lose him off of the screen for a while (if you slow down, he'll eventually fly back on the screen. Plus, he can't die), but if two people really focus on cooperating together, it's an epic game to play with someone else. Plus, for the first and only time in a Sonic game, the second player can use Tails' ability to fly, and also the ability to airlift Sonic anywhere, if Sonic just jumps at Tails when he's flying (or if Tails passes Sonic in mid-air). I cannot tell you how many times that a second player controlling Tails has saved my life. Probably one of my most satisfying experiences ever as a gamer was when I was playing with Sonic, I had bounced off an enemy or boss, and had fallen backward towards a bottomless pit to my doom. My friend saw what was going to happen beforehand and dove towards the pit, activated Tails' flight, and caught me, hoisting me up to safety as I leapt from Tails into the enemy, killing it. Something like that is such a satisfying sense of teamwork that I don't think can be replicated in many types of games. He didn't just cover me to save myself from dying. He literally caught me. I could go on and on about Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but it would be much more fun to play the real thing instead. Back when Sonic Team had created Sonic & Knuckles, they cut the crap and made the game 100% fun, through and through. They had a winning formula going on for them, and they stuck it up their ***** afterwards, with it never being seen again (except for partially being there in the Advance and Rush games). I've noticed that right now, one of the main reasons why Sonic Team adds so many unnecessary tacked-on elements to their games is simply for the purpose of making them longer. Remember Sonic Unleashed? We first got videos of Sonic tearing around a 2D landscape at breakneck speed, but the developers thought that the game wouldn't be long enough if they only had those portions, so they added the slow werehog levels in. My point is that technology has come a long way since Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and that was honestly a very long game for a fast-paced 2D platformer. I don't think gamers could ask for more. If Sonic Team would just leave the gimmicks alone, and make their traditional gameplay last just as long as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, if not more, then they could have a successful formula on their hands. It's true, with the release of Sonic & Knuckles back in the Sega Genesis day, it didn't sell that well. However, that's only because it was released at the end of the Genesis' lifespan, and many gamers were moving onto the newly released 3D consoles. It was never the formula's fault, but the timing of the game's release. In these days, Sonic Team and Sega have the power to use this formula and to release it at a more successful time of year, and I really hope that they would take it into consideration. Like Mario's revival with The New Super Mario Bros, Sonic needs one more desperately nowadays. There needs to be another game that's more similar to this gem, because out of playing games for 22 or 23 years for me, and out of all of the hundreds of games that I have played, this formula of the past has the power to make it into my top 20 videogames of all time. If that isn't a formula for success, then I don't know what is. 16. Super Mario Galaxy Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo Released on: Wii Release Date: Nov 12, 2007 Like I stated for Sonic, I really hope that I'm not overdoing the whole Mario theme here, but I have to be completely honest about this list, and there's no doubt in my mind that Super Mario Galaxy is one of the finest platformers that I have ever played (plus, it doesn't hurt that it's on the Wii, seeing as how I haven't included a Wii game since entry #77, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess). Pretty much everything about this game comes together perfectly for me, from the unique spin on Mario's traditional gameplay, to the epic orchestrated soundtrack, to the crisp and vibrant visuals, to the creative/varied locations and challenges, to the fun new power-ups (excluding Spring Mario), to even Luigi himself. Also, even though many people claim that one of Mario Galaxy's disappointments lies within it's easy sense of challenges, I actually found the game to be incredibly challenging at some points (and this is coming from a Mario veteran who's most skilled genre is in Platforming), sometimes to the point of borderline frustration. With the occasional bout of frustration aside, Super Mario Galaxy is still incredibly solid the whole way through, is one of the best games that I have played this generation, and I can see that it will remain classic and timeless, as one of the best games on the Wii. Probably the best place to start off with is with the unique twist on Super Mario Galaxy's gameplay. As most of you know, the twist has to do with Mario being in space and having new platforming challenges based off of the different types of gravity effects on various planets. Mario could jump from one planet towards another, getting sucked in by the gravity of the second planet towards it's surface. He could traverse small spherical and irregularly shaped planets, whether it would mean walking forward until he arrived where he started, or starting a level being right-side up, then trekking through some of the level, eventually winding up up-side down and seeing the start of the level's floor above him. Levels would wind and wrap around on each other and would often have to be traversed by walking on walls, ceilings, spheres, tubes, cubes...you name it, and Mario probably had to platform on it, from every direction and angle possible. Now, there were still plenty of challenges that required being right side-up while running on regular plains like a traditional Mario game, but the beauty of Mario Galaxy was that I never knew what obscure challenges were going to present themselves next, and any plain, unoriginal territory that I had to cross over was to merely disguise the surprising changes in level design that would just fly up and hit me in the face. Of course, Mario Galaxy can't only rely on this one new gameplay element to make it a standout game without focusing on anything else. It's a complete collaboration of those planet and gravity effects, great level design, unique and varied worlds, and your interaction with these new areas, whether it be through the creative use of a power-up (for example, using Ice Mario who can turn water to ice just by walking on it, to wall kick up to a higher place between two waterfalls), or by using gravity to scale a giant robot that's trying to kill you by not just climbing it traditionally, but instead running all over it like it's whole 3D body is your floor, as you scale the sides and undersides of it's limbs like it were regular ground. The level design can get so obscure and creative, that it's really hard for me to nail down Mario Galaxy's gameplay, because the game doesn't exactly stick to the same thing the whole way through. It's true that it's standard gameplay revolves around your standard Mario-fare of jumping and platforming, but this game combines that standard gameplay with new challenges and gameplay devices that often provide new content and thrills on a moment-to-moment basis. It always feels somewhat random, as the game developers are constantly feeding you more new and progressively challenging gameplay puzzles that haven't existed in a Mario game before. The strategies to get through every level aren't the same as each other, and while you still do have to collect the traditional stars, it's still a refreshing and exciting experience to have a wealth of variety as the game goes on. Mario Galaxy never felt to me like Nintendo had used up all of their ideas by the first half of the game while expecting me to drudge through the other half on an uninspired adventure, that they just copied and pasted the elements from the first half of their game from (with the occasional exception of the comet-based challenges, which I will get to momentarily). While Super Mario Bros first introduced gamers to his 2D adventures, and then went into 3D with Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy had broken down another wall in being able to explore environments from almost any angle. Despite the fact that most of this game did provide me with fresh challenges, I will admit that not every part of the game is perfect. In the case with Super Mario Galaxy, it has some comet-based challenges, which can be challenging and rewarding, or frustrating, repetitive, and tedious, depending on how you look at them. On the world selection map screen, if you happen to see a specific challenged-based comet hovering over a planet, you can choose to engage in that set challenge to obtain one of the 120 stars, required for completing the game 100% if you collect them all (although you need only half of that number to finish the game). Some of the challenges did happen to be fun to me, but there were more annoying/frustrating challenges than fun ones in my opinion. I did happen to like the Cosmic Comet challenge, in which you had to race a doppelganger version of yourself to a particular star, which gave a fun element of competition which relied on my level knowledge in order to finish first. The Speedy Comet challenge, while uninspired, was still a rewarding one, which required me to speed run through a level to a star within a strict time limit. Also, to a degree, I found some of the purple coin challenges to be pretty fun and rewarding, but most of them were flat out, controller-throwing frustrating and cheap, such as the hundred coin challenge on the Dreadnought stage (called Battlestation's Purple Coins) that required me to collect coins on a consistently moving platform that would occasionally change in direction, making me collect coins from a different gravity angle (like going from moving on a horizontal plane to a vertical one, which changes my gravity as I scroll up the screen). The thing about a challenge like this, is that if you miss one purple coin, you can't go back to get it since the platform you're on that hovers above instant death has already crossed it's path, never to return (which means that you have to kill yourself in order to try again). Other elements of frustration lie in the facts that when the platform changes direction, gravity will "suck" you in that direction, making you fall back down to the platform faster while being disoriented to exactly where you will land, often killing you over and over, as well as getting hit by crap (knocking you off the platform to your doom) that's constantly flying at you, all the while. The Daredevil Comet challenges aren't also much better, which often pits you against some really hard bosses with only one bit of health. You can't collect any more health over the fight, and a few of these bosses are almost impossible to not get struck by at least once (at least that's how it was in my case). The Fast Foe Comets also just speed up your enemies while you venture to a certain star, which isn't really fun or frustrating...they're just there. On a final note about frustration, these challenge comets only really appear above planets when they want to, which means that you'll often have next to no power in deciding what challenges you want to tackle. If the game puts only the most frustrating challenges on the map, then you had better get used to them before it allows you to tackle the easy ones...either that, or you can pay a fine to move the comets, which only punishes you for trying to increase your playing skill if you want to take on those simpler ones first. ********. Whew...after much venting aside with some of those challenges, the game itself still plays like a dream. It has fantastic levels and worlds, whether you're platforming through a series of interconnected asteroids/small planets in the Good Egg Galaxy, to using heat and ice-based power-ups in the Freezeflame Galaxy (in which the level design varies between being hot and cold, requiring you to use those abilities in different ways), to riding on a star encased in a glass sphere as you roll on it to your goal (which shatters the glass when reaching it) while tilting your wii-mote left and right to control it (you can also use a similar control scheme to race a manta ray over a river of water suspended in the sky), to playing in a challenging special stage that consists of tons of moving platforms with many holes in them as one of the tracks of Super Mario Bros 3 plays in the background. I simply can't describe all of it. There's too much. All of it comes together so well in the end, and to me, it's nothing but straight-up fun. The boss fights are epic, the power-ups are new and creative (such as Bee Mario, Boo Mario, the Freeze Flower and the return of the Fire Flower), the wii-mote based challenges are interesting and don't feel tacked on, the game has tons of variety and challenges, the visual presentation is incredibly easy on the eyes and relaxing to look at, the soundtrack is on a grander scale, the controls are almost always spot-on (except for Spring Mario and a couple gravity-based challenges that require pinpoint accuracy on where you land), the camera works well in most cases, the Lumas are cute, and the game finally allows you to play as Luigi when you complete the game. For a current generation platformer that exists in a time where these types of games are starting to run out of ideas and stagnate, I found that Super Mario Galaxy opened up a whole can of whoop-ass to everything on the market, and proved that modern platformers still have a place in gaming culture today. Many years from now, I'll be looking back upon Mario Galaxy as another one of the greatest Mario games that I have ever had the pleasure of playing, and even though Super Mario Galaxy 2 is looking similar, I can only hope that it's ideas stay as fresh as the original game's ideas (and just maybe, the sequel will be able to tie with the original game on this spot of my list). 15. Super Smash Bros Brawl Developer: Sora Released on: Wii Release Date: March 9, 2008 As of right now, my list must be looking pretty basic at times, right? It's true, Super Smash Bros Brawl is a common choice for a gamer's favourite fighting game, but I can't help but like games that are based on the pure premise of fun. While you can use skill to some degree in the Smash Bros series, I do like it's simple premise about being able to hop into a game and to just start pummeling each other in random, fun ways. It's not a game that requires vast amounts of skill that you can build up throughout a lifetime, like Street Fighter, but it's purpose doesn't lie in complexity, in which I think that this game can't be compared to other technical fighters with complex move sets (probably the only thing that this game can be compared to is the Power Stone franchise). Some people may not "get" what the Smash Bros series is all about, but all I have to say in regards to it, is that I don't enjoy fighters as much that constantly require you to "study" and practice at the game, day after day, while keeping that same momentum going through your life just to be able to compete with others. While you can play Smash Bros and be better at it than newcomers, the randomness of some matches really does make it exciting, because if you're a skilled fighter, it means that you won't always win 100% of the time. It may sound weird to say, but constantly winning isn't always fun, and the result normally drives people that get sick of losing 100% of the time away from the game. If two fighting veterans want a highly skilled game to practice with each other at, Super Smash Bros Brawl isn't the deepest game to keep bettering themselves at. However, if you just want a fun fighter that you can sit down and beat the crap out of your friends with, regardless of everyone's skill levels, Super Smash Bros Brawl is an infinitely replayable game. You can still get good at the game and completely school others at times, but there is a certain degree of randomness that can give others victory every now and then that prevents the matches from ever getting stale (not to the degree of being 100% unavoidable though, like Mariokart's blue shells). Because of this, Super Smash Bros Brawl stands as my favourite fighting game of all time (keep in mind that I've only played the original and this version, so I can't include Melee). From a gameplay standpoint, I love how untraditional the Super Smash Bros series plays. The removal of a life bar that will result in a person being defeated and the match ending afterwards is gone. Instead, we have that awesome different way of defeating others through ring-outs only, by beating up opponents consistently until their damage percentage meter builds so high up, that they get easier to knock off the screen for a K.O, with every bit of damage they take. It's so much more satisfying for me to keep a match going with people constantly knocking each other out of the ring and then coming back for revenge within a time limit, rather than to defeat an opponent once, getting sent back to the menu screen right after to go through the process of selecting and starting up another match. Even when there isn't a time limit in Smash Bros, you can set a certain amount of lives for everyone, which still extends the action and fun much longer than a traditional fighting game match. In general, this is one of the only kinds of fighting games that could really work with more than two players, and it's nice that when you have more than two people over, you can have more people playing at the same time, instead of seeing them waiting for their turn with a traditional fighter, for a current two player match to end so that they can play next. Combine all of that with some platforming in your fighting game (which really comes into play when trying to get back on the arena when you get knocked off), tons of items to beat your opponents down with, many assist trophies that call upon a computer-controlled videogame character that's not in the playable roster to jump in and beat some ass, final smash moves that gives each character a devastating power to wipe out the competition with as long as they crack open the floating smash ball, and the gigantic roster of playable characters throughout the Nintendo universe (as well as Snake and Sonic), and you have yourself one hell of a crazy and unpredictable game. The size and versatility of the character roster itself is something that has actually really wowed me. You see, I've never really sat down and played Super Smash Bros Melee (I tried it once at a friend's house for 15 - 30 minutes once), since I had never owned a Gamecube and had already gotten into the N64 version too recently before that, so I wasn't too allured into buying into a new Smash Bros game. That made it even better for me though, as I've made the transition from the small 11 character roster of the N64 game (I know there are 12, but I could never unlock Ness in that damn game), to a whopping 35 characters for the Wii game. The incredible amount of variety that I got with the character selection is so diverse, that it's easy to at least get good with a couple of characters on the list (ex. Sonic, Toon Link and Kirby are my best fighters), and I really think that there's some type of character to suit everyone's tastes within it. Sure, unlocking the rest of the roster kind of sucks and is really time consuming, but once that's done and over with, it really pays off. Also, I really enjoyed the addition of the Smash Ball/Final Smashes in the game. While there are some strict tournament-based people out there in the world that refuse to play as certain characters, on certain stages, without items, and that hate the inclusion of the Smash Ball, I actually like to have fun with my games. The occasional Smash Ball that floats up every now and then suddenly invokes a mean spirit of competition, as everyone drops what they are doing to attack that ball and eventually crack it open...as well as to knock others away from it. Even though it can be frustrating sometimes if you've put the majority of hits into that ball and then someone comes along and hits it once to gain their special power, the inclusion of it is still a nice random element that changes the pace of a match, in my opinion. Plus, using those Final Smash powers can be so fun when you defeat others with them, and it can also be incredibly rewarding if you're skilled/lucky enough to dodge one. I'll have to state that I did like the inclusion of many of Super Smash Bros Brawl's modes/features into the game, but there are a couple of massive duds within them all. First of all, I would have preferred it if the developers had never added the Subspace Emissary. I did enjoy the cutscenes a great deal, but the main adventure mode is pretty bland and generic, and I've only played through it once since I got it, just for the sake of unlocking everything. All of the levels felt as if they were cut-and-pasted from a generic level editor, and not too many of the bosses (aside from Ridley) were fun or unique to fight. I felt that if the adventure mode was never included, they could have increased the overall character roster to a greater number. I would have even preferred five new characters at the very least over that deal (or maybe they could have had more time to obtain a few more third party characters, like Megaman or Bomberman...hell, I'd even take Pacman over that mode). Also, I don't mind the addition of trophies...but stickers? They were the most useless addition to the game, and if they were never included, I think at the very least, we could have gotten some more assist trophies or a new stage or two, with that development time. Plus, the "Masterpieces" addition of the minute-long game demoes were completely unnecessary, which could have went towards anything else positive in the game, no matter how small of an inclusion it may have been. Aside from those things, there are still many fun additions, like the level editor (as generic as it may seem, it still adds a lot of replayability), classic mode (to play the standard arcade-like mode of beating certain members of the roster with a set amount of lives, depending on what character you are), all-star mode (which is like an endurance mode, where you fight the whole roster with a couple of healing items in-between), events (which are small, particular oddball battle challenges), training, stadium (for the multi-man brawl and boss battles endurance modes), challenges (which are as close to achievements as you can get, which opens up unlockables like stages, music and trophies) and replays (which is still a nice feature if you had a really memorable match, although the game never seems to always give me this feature at the end of a match for some reason). I could go on and on, and give off examples of why it's fun to see Nintendo characters beating the stuffing out of each other, but there's no real point on elaborating too much about that, as I'm sure people have seen it many, many times before (at the time of it's release, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amounts of similar SSBB reviews out there). One last thing that I have to note on is that the soundtrack to this game is one of the greatest nostalgia trips that anyone can experience, and like I said before, I don't have to tell you why. Also, the game contains a ton of stages from classic Nintendo franchises, which are are all wonderfully designed, and contain some interactive elements within them (such as a wave of lava rising from the background in Norfair, requiring everyone to fight their way into a small safety shelter to avoid getting killed by it). To wrap it up, Super Smash Bros Brawl just contains so much to do for a fighting game, and the matches are always so fun, unpredictable and chaotic, due to the amount of ways you can fight, whether it's cracking someone in the head with a baseball bat, or calling on Little Mac from Punch-Out to beat the crap out of someone else for you, to turning into Super Sonic to fly around the screen at breakneck speed and demolishing everyone in your path, there's so many ways to play, and so many things that can happen during a match. The action isn't so random and filled with crap that you never know what you're doing or where you are, but it's never so stale that it's ever just two characters standing on an even plain of ground, generically punching each other. As I've said for a lot of my more recent entries...it's the games that I don't take too seriously, that are the most fun to play. I do like skill in my games, as well as the ability to continuously better yourself. However, if the whole element of skill/competition becomes so elitist and technical that it's just not fun to play anymore or that the game isn't easy to get back into after an absence, then it loses it's value to me. Hence, I never forget what gaming is about. The best games that can appeal to yourself are a mass of pure, concentrated fun that you can pick up and play right away at any time, and Super Smash Bros Brawl fits the mould perfectly for me, and this game alone will hold me over for at least another decade before I need another installment to the franchise...with the exception of a DS version, if they ever make one. 14. Shadow of the Colossus Developer: Team Ico Released on: PS2 Release Date: Oct 18, 2005 After writing up an entry on how much fun I have with a game that involves as much stuff being on the screen as possible, it seems weird that I'm putting a game above it that involves there being almost nothing within the game's world...that is, until you encounter the skycraper-sized beasts known as the Colossi. Enter Wander, a man on horseback carrying an unconscious girl with him to a temple in a secluded peninsula (known as the Forbidden Land) that's cut off from the outside world by mountain ranges from the way that he entered from. He crosses a massive stone bridge over a stretch of desolate land, enters the temple/shrine and sets the girl, named Mono, on a stone table. It's unclear whether she is dead or in a coma, but Wander has ventured to this temple to seek the disembodied entity known as Dormin, which has been known to have the power to revive the dead. Dormin accepts the request to revive her, but only as long as Wander defeats the sixteen different Colossi that roam around this ancient land. Wander accepts the offer, but is warned that he will have to pay a great price by completing this task and reviving the girl. Regardless, Wander ventures out to destroy the Colossi. The story in Shadow of the Colossus (for the PS2) is pretty bleak and bare-seeming at first, as there are hardly any cutscenes throughout the game. The key that lies within this game's story is subtlety, which makes you question your own motives and morality. Were these Colossi ever doing anything wrong by just existing and freely roaming these desolate, ancient lands? How important is this girl, and what happened to her? What's this great price that Wander may have to pay? Just what was the purpose of this whole land before you got there, and what is Dormin? The story is very minimal, but it leaves you with a lot of time to interpret it for yourself, and gives you just enough story by the end to allow you to conclude your own thoughts as to what has happened by the end of the game. In fact, the whole game itself is pretty minimalist, but that's what makes it so grand when you actually encounter something that wows you. From the point on in which you venture out of the temple to defeat your first Colossi, you see that the temple is stuck in the middle of a desolate valley, and you're surrounded by different types of territories and pathways in every direction. To find the general direction of the Colossi that you have to defeat, you have to raise your sword above your head as the light reflects off of it. When you point in the right direction the Colossi is in, the beam of light reflecting off of your sword will get thinner and thinner, until it's actually pinpointing the specific weak point on whatever Colossi that you're happening to fight, when you're close enough to it. The game never gives you an exact path to follow and doesn't mark the beast's location on your map, so you have to get on your horse, Agro, and find your own path to it while still knowing what general direction that the Colossi lies in. Agro is an amazing steed, and possibly the most realistic one that's ever been created in a videogame, that it's hard not to grow an attachment to him. Along the way to the Colossi, you can hunt for small white lizards to eat (with your bow and arrow), that will increase your grip meter or fruit from trees that will increase your health meter (both items are pretty hard to find in the vast world though). Not only that, but there are no enemies to encounter along the way, as right now it's all about navigating and pathfinding, whether it's trekking by horseback (to note, you can also stand, shoot, and use your sword to navigate while on horseback as well), or on foot, by climbing around environments Prince of Persia-style. "Damn, what a boring game", some people must be saying that's never heard of Shadow of the Collosus. However, by the time those words are said, the player stumbles upon their first gigantic Colossi. The first beast is a furred being, covered with patches of metal armor, that's as tall as a building, wandering a landscape. His footsteps hit the ground so hard, that they literally shake the ground (and screen) as you get close. You use the sword to see that the Colossi's weak point is near the top of his body somewhere (the weak point only takes a few stabs to bring a Colossi down), and run around the Colossi, looking everywhere, trying to find out a way to climb up the damn thing. As you run in front of him, this particular one notices you, and raises his giant metal club in the air. Now, you may feel like the size of an ant, as you run for your life, barely escaping from the giant club as it booms into the ground, knocking you off your feet. It may seem like you're screwed, and this specific Colossi finds your presence threatening, as it sense some danger coming from you, but will only occasionally attack if you get too close. It may take awhile to search for the first step to climbing up this beast. He can't be killed by your arrows alone, and your sword will just bounce off it's metallic hooves. Some people may find frustration in just standing around, trying to find a starting point, but this is a game that I would fully encourage anyone to not look up any form of strategy guide to win. The whole game's actual gameplay, lies within the mental puzzle of how the hell to get onto a Colossi, and to reach it's weak point. I'm not going to spoil how to defeat the first Colossi, but I will say that the solution will eventually click in with the player. Is there a place to jump on and climb the beast's fur? Can you climb on any grooves in it's armor? Do you have to stab the beast somewhere else to make them flinch so that a brief opportunity for something to grip onto will arise? Do you actually make the Colossi purposefully try to attack you so that you can climb it or make it injure itself? Do you use your horse in any way to get on or keep up with the beast any easier? The beauty of Shadow of the Colossus is that the game never holds your hand. It never gives you hints, and never tells you what you can or cannot do within the world. Defeating these beasts requires some really out-of-the-box thinking, as you may be stuck on wondering as to what to do for quite some time, only to slap your forehead later, as there was an unorthodox, but simple seeming solution in front of your face all along. The Colossi aren't exactly enemies. It's true that they can hurt you, but their bodies are giant puzzles themselves, and you often have to figure out how to exploit movement patterns with their bodies, or how to use the surrounding environment to your advantage in order to climb up them to their weak spots. In this way, Shadow of the Colossus can be even more clever than Zelda at some times, since these beasts are giant, natural, moving puzzles that you have to fight and solve at the same time in order to become successful. In fact, these puzzles are unlike anything that's ever been presented to me in another game before, and I can definitely say that Shadow of The Colossus contains my favourite boss battles that I have ever fought in a videogame. It's also one of the most rewarding feelings that I have ever had in a game to finally figure out the solution to, taking down each beast, and at the same time, it's hard to not have a little remorse for the giant innocent beast that you've just slayed. Another intense element of climbing these Colossi, is the inclusion of your grip meter. The longer that you hold onto something, whether it be the Colossi's fur or armor, the more that your grip meter dies down. In the cases of when your grip is getting weaker, it's best to find a stable surface on the beast that's as flat as can be to stand on, to let your grip meter recharge. If it runs out while hanging onto something, you fall of course, meaning that you may have to start climbing the creature all over again, if you drop to the ground. Not only that, but the Colossi can actually feel you climbing up at them, as they will attempt anything to get you off, such as shaking around violently, to trying to swipe you off of them. When they shake like that, it's very intense and thrilling to be hanging onto this creature's fur, as it's wringing you around like a rag-doll, while you're clinging on stubbornly for dear life. These moments do cost you more time for your grip meter, so there's often a strategy in finding out when to rest. If you're standing while it shakes and moves, Wander really has a realistic sense of balance and physics, as he could stumble, roll and trip when the beast below him is moving erratically. Sometimes, you may roll down the back of the beast and just catch onto his fur before dropping off of him. At one time for me, I was hanging onto a Colossi's arm as he flung his arm upward and I let go of him, landing on his head by luck where I could stab the weak spot (which even shows that getting to their weak spots isn't always a linear path). Not only are these Colossi giant puzzles, but they're also action-packed obstacles at the same time. There's a difference between planning and knowing how to get to where you want to go on each creature, but it's another experience to actually climb and endure your way to the weak point. I'm not even done talking about the Colossi. Not only are all of them great puzzles to solve, as well as challenges to overcome, but they are also incredibly varied, and by the end of the game, you'll probably come across several favourites. There are ones as big as skyscrapers, to ones as big as large boar. There are ones that can swim, ones that can fly, ones that can climb, ones that can go underground, ones that are strong enough to smash through stone, etc. There are violent ones and passive ones. There are fast ones and slow ones. There are ones that are bipedal, ones that are on four legs, ones that are more amphibian-like, and ones that are bird-like. Each and every time, the next Colossi I had faced had put me in awe, as they were all so drastically different in looks, attitude and strategy than each other. While it seems like there is so little in Shadow of the Colossus, there's actually a lot right underneath your nose. The game seems empty at times, but it only makes the grander moments that much more shocking. Even the music (there's hardly any, but the themes that play when battling and defeating a Colossi are really epic), art style (with some great lighting effects) and unique ending are equally as grand as fighting the Colossi. Normally, I do like brighter, more positive, simple games that are easier to get into, but Shadow of the Colossus really sets off a mood of it's own that just calls to me. It's got some of the best puzzles/boss battles that I've ever seen in a game, and everything just comes together so perfectly, and the premise is certainly original. Just trust me on the note about never using a guide for this game. Keep trying consistently, thinking outside the box, and don't give up, for the certain Colossi that I had to eventually look up on the internet to find out how to defeat (I gave in at a few times, based on not having much time to play, due to a heavy college workload) were only half as satisfying as the ones that I had defeated on my own. Even if you only play this game once, and are into this kind of game, it's an unforgettable gem, and it will always be one of my favourite games in the PS2 library. 13. Okami Developer: Clover Studio/Ready at Dawn Released on: PS2, Wii Release Date: Sept 19, 2006 (PS2), April 15, 2008 There are few games out there that can even come remotely close to resembling The Legend of Zelda series, and because of that I don't think that many other companies ever try to recreate the formula into their games, due to Zelda overshadowing them. It's true, that Okami is a bit similar to The Legend of Zelda, and sales-wise it has been completely overshadowed by it (especially from Twilight Princess), but there is no doubt in my mind that Okami is almost better than every Zelda game out there. Keep in mind that Okami is not a Zelda rip-off by any means. It does share a somewhat similar flow to it, with a vast overworld with occasional dungeons and towns to adventure in, and with many, many items and powers to collect (a few of them being similar to Zelda, like a bomb), but the similarities end there. Okami is a unique experience of it's own, and now that it's a "Greatest Hits" game on the PS2 for $19.99 (I own the PS2 version), as well as being on the Wii as well, there's no reason that this game should be ignored by action/adventure fans. The game starts off by telling about how a hundred years before the actual game takes place, a pure white wolf named Shiranui and a swordsman named Nagi, had defeated an eight-headed demon named Orochi in order to save Nagi's beloved (Nami) as well as Kamiki Village. Together, they couldn't defeat Orochi, but they had managed to seal him away, and in the process, Shiranui had become mortally wounded and died. A statue was set up in Kamiki Village in honour of the white wolf. Years later, a decendant of Nagi, named Susano, accidently breaks Orochi's seal, as the demon escapes and saps all of the landscape of it's life, leaving most of the land dead and rotten. In Kamiki Village, a wood sprite named Sakuya reincarnates the statue of the white wolf into the sun goddess known as Amaterasu (Ammy for short), and asks her to remove the curses from the land. A bug-sized artist known as Issun accompanies Ammy as a guide, and helps her on her quest to restore the land to it's former beauty with the Celestial Brush techniques (the game's power that lets you draw with ink over the landscape in order to use new powers, such as rejuvenating life to their healthier states, and creating items/weapons to progress in the game). The story sounds rather generic, and that was my first impression of Okami when I started playing, but in time, the story actually became really deep and meaningful, and I really liked the message it brought at it's climax without sounding too preachy or forceful. Plus, the game has some clever plot twists in it, like a Back to the Future 2-style time travel sequence. The characters are also very well thought out, whether it's the smart-ass Issun, to the cowardly (but brave) Susano, to Ammy herself (which is the absolute best main character that I've ever seen that's an animal). Ammy never talks throughout the game, because she's an actual wolf, without the ability to speak. While Issun does always do the talking for the two, you can sense Ammy's moods and character very easily thoughout the story, such as her agreeing, her ignoring Issun by sleeping, and I can tell that she actually listens. Plus, she's the coolest looking canine I've ever seen, with the ability to use magical powers, weapons (such as a spinning wheel, rosaries [a chain-like weapon], and swords) and being able to pee on things (doing that action on enemies will cause them to drop fangs [which is a secondary form of currency used to buy special items]). The story itself is a nice balance between being light-hearted with serious, meaningful moments/plot mixed in. I was always entertained, always wanting to know what happens next, and was always comfortable to go at my own pace without forgetting the story, because of the wealth of side-questing and exploration that was available. Speaking of side-questing and exploring, is there ever a ton of it in Okami, and it certainly pays off to partake in. First of all, when exploring the world of Nippon, you'll find that it's in a state of decay. In terms of area progression, the only way that you will be able to cross the cursed lands is if you revive the Guardian Sapling trees, which will wipe out the dark and malicious curse spreading out over the landscape. After that, everything is up for grabs in terms of exploration and collecting. For building up Ammy's statistics throughout the game, you will need to earn "praise", and to do that, you'll need to explore and collect it from various sources. You'll need to use your Celestial Brush to revive dead areas, such as turning wilted trees into full cherry blossom trees, digging up black clovers out of the ground to turn into green ones or turning small cursed zones into small meadows/fields, for example. By doing this, it earns you "praise", for the good deeds that you have done, which you can spend in your menu to level up your stats, like how much health that you have, how many ink pots that you can hold (which is like your magic meter, which holds your ink/mana), the size of your wallet, and how many resurrection pouches that you can hold (pouches that will bring you back to life if you are killed. They become useable as you fully fill each one up with food/fruit). You can also gain praise by feeding any animals that are residing in the animal with foods that you can collect on the field or buy at the shops, as well as by doing side-quests for people throughout Nippon. Other collectibles include treasure that you can find or dig for (which you can sell for lots of money), demon fangs (the alternate form of currency), sun fragments (collect 3 for another piece of health), going fishing and selling those fish for cash (the bigger ones that you have, the more you earn), learning new combat and physical ability techniques at the dojo (such as double jumping, dodging, extra hits to your combos, being able to insult enemies [by peeing on them] which makes them drop demon fangs, etc), and finding secret, optional Celestial Brush skills which are either completely new techniques or upgrades to previous techniques that you have. There's so much to do in Okami's vast, beautiful world, and a big part of the fun is the interaction that you can have with your environment by using the Celestial Brush. The brush can make areas that seemed like they were previously inaccessible, actually accessible upon obtaining a new brush power. Couldn't cross the water before? Now that you have the new brush technique that lets you paint lily pads on the water's surface, you can now cross it. Better yet, you can use your wind technique after landing on the lily pad to ride it around on the water to get to where you need to go. If there's a crack in the wall, bomb it. If there's goods in an area that's too high to reach, you may just need to use that new "vine" power that you've gotten to grapple up there. Is there something quest-related that requires the presence of the sun? Then draw one in the sky. There's a massive amount of opportunities to use your many amount of techniques on most of the places in the entire world, and by doing so, they always lead you to plenty of rewards, which helps Ammy get stronger. Never once did Okami make me feel like I was going out of my way to think and explore for no reward, and that only made me want to explore each and every area, multiple times. In terms of the brush, you can also use it in combat, apart from Ammy's normal move set, and some enemies can only be defeated by using specific brush techniques, which will make sense to use, based on the enemy's design. Is that enemy that's chasing you on fire? Then use the wind to blow that fire out and attack it. Plus, the bosses in this game are grand, which always require a certain brush technique (or multiple ones) in order to defeat it. Okami gives you so much opportunity to experiment with the Celestial Brush both inside and outside of battle, that it always feels fresh, innovative, and really extends the replay value of the game. Last, but not least, the most standout features that people will notice about Okami is it's incredible visual style and choice of music. I think the Wikipedia article explains it the best when it says that the game is, "in a woodcut, watercolor style, cel-shaded environment, which looks like an animated Japanese ink-illustration with other styles of art". The game is simply beautiful, and is the most eye-catching, timeless, visual type of graphical presentation that I have ever seen in a game. Upon looking at screenshots before getting the game, I thought that reviewers were only paying attention to this game just because the art was really nice, and to be honest, the screenshots didn't wow me to the extreme that I feel now upon playing it. Okami does have a lot more than pretty visuals, but I do have to say that seeing and playing this game in motion has had a completely different impact on me than just seeing the screenshots. I also have to note that the music is composed of traditional japanese instruments that really gives it an oriental flair that really fits in with the nature of the world's beauty. While the voice acting is just a bunch of jibberish, I found that it still gave the game it's own sense of character, since if any of the voices were done in English, some of them had the possibility of sounding lame or being badly acted, which would have only detracted from the experience. It's just nice to at least hear the pitch/tone in their voices when the characters are talking though. With all of these elements put together to create an entire game, Okami is a beautiful, fulfilling, fun, original, long and replayable package that just begs for a proper sequel some day (it's ending was a tad open-ended). Amaterasu may not be a badass with guns, or an in-your-face mascot geared towards a western audience, but she still does kick ass (most notably, Wolf Link's ass), makes the world a better place, and has a heart of gold, and I can tell that Okami wasn't a package put together by a love for money, but rather by a love for games. 12. Phantasy Star Online version 1 & 2 Developer: Sonic Team Released on: DC, GC/XBOX (PSO Ep 1 & 2) Release Date: Jan 21, 2001 (DC) My pictures from my PSO experience, down below: Before you get thinking to yourself, I have to make a note on something. Phantasy Star Online version 1 & 2 isn't the #1 RPG on my list, as I refer to it as an MMORPG, which is not a traditional one, like you will see for my #1 (traditional) RPG later on in my list. Getting back to Phantasy Star Online version 1 & 2 for the Dreamcast, I have never played a better MMO, let alone a better online game than this one in my entire life. Actually, this is pretty much the only MMO I've ever played. I've dabbed into Diablo II once, but it didn't click with me since your character's looks weren't customizable at all (other than the armor you put on), giving you no real identity. Plus, I didn't enjoy the perspective that you played from, and the point-and-click nature of the game. Phantasy Star Online allowed yourself to customize your character's looks as much as possible within their character class, from their face, to their hair, to their height, weight, etc, which was quite an advancement for console games at the time. No, I didn't enjoy the game strictly for it's dress-up feature. It was just nice to have an identity that you could connect with and represent yourself with online. I know that there are a lot of World of Warcraft (I've never played it, and don't intend to) players out there, as well as players of many other MMO's that will disagree with me on PSO, but to get to what was really important about PSO, I enjoyed it's easy to get into gameplay that lightly resembled an N64 Zelda game (movement and combat-wise), I loved the amount of customization that there was (including a high level cap, tons of items/weapons/armor), playing with three other people and working together with them (it was a big thing for me at the time), and most importantly, the community, as PSO made me some great friends that I could always come back to during the start of a really rough time in my life. I'll start on talking about the actual gameplay of PSO. It wasn't the most unique game out there, but everything about it was handled solidly, and it all really came together and worked. For what little story there was to the game, it was kind of interesting, but there was never a definitive conclusion to it upon beating the final boss. In fact, there was no real story progression aside from the main introduction, which states that your previous planet was uninhabitable due to a large scale war, so your planet sent out a launched a vessel with a large amount of the population in it for colonization on a new planet, Ragol. Upon hearing that it was successful, they launched your vessel towards the planet, but upon arriving before the planet, a large explosion erupts on it, and the whole previous colony had vanished. Upon beating the final boss, you're treated to the credits, as it shows your character fighting in different scenarios, but then nothing happens, and the game goes back to the title screen or your main city hub (if you're online). PSO could be played offline or online, but the offline mode is pretty damn boring, and the only purpose of it was to level up by yourself when your friends weren't online and if you didn't want to play with strangers (not to mention to avoid using your dial-up internet connection, so you could use your phone at home). It worked for the sake of level progression, but the main appeal was PSO's online mode (version 1 was free, and version 2 had a monthly fee, but far more extras like a higher level cap, more items, more levels and a higher difficulty mode). The actual game consisted of running through various environments, avoiding traps, unlocking doors, and beating the tar out of your foes together. It's a simple and monotonous sounding concept, and if you're playing it offline, it really is. However, the game was meant for online play, and even such a simple gameplay premise can be turned into a really fun one with other people to experience it with. In this case, it's time to crank up the difficulty and truly fight for your life as you help each other get through the dangerous environments and bosses. There was just so much teamwork involved, such as healing each other, giving each other stat increases, creating strategies, hunting for new and rare items, having those great moments of others actually sharing with you (or you giving something valuable to a friend), constantly communicating to each other, laughing with each other, making friends, knowing about each other and how your teammates play, defeating bosses within an inch of your life, reviving your friends when they're knocked out, playing off of each other's strengths and protecting their weaknesses, helping others level up to face against the higher challenges with you, taking on side-quests...there was just so much to do. This is one of my hardest points to elaborate on, because everyone's experience with PSO (or any other MMO for that matter) is a personal journey about you and the people that you meet while playing the game. Such an unforgettable amount of teamwork and camaraderie comes out of everyone's years of playing. While it was a game, and a well-playing game for that matter, it was the people that I had met that made PSO what it was, and I can never experience that journey again, because those friends are now gone, the servers of the Dreamcast version are down, playing another version of PSO isn't the same (especially without the same friends), and now that I'm much older and living on my own with a wife (who luckily happens to be a gamer anyways), I can't waste time to commit myself as much to an online Phantasy Star Online game as I did when I was around 14 - 16 years old. I had literally spent somewhere between 1000 - 2000 hours logged into the game. I'm serious, as that's what MMO's can do to you. With my current, most used character, Jet Firebeam, I had made it to level 148, with over 800 hours clocked on. Before that, I was Jet Fire with around the same amount of time clocked in, and that's not to mention all of the different characters that I've created and played with. Anyways, it's really about the close-knit group of friends that you meet that can truly make an MMO what it is, and even though I had put thousands of hours into PSO, I would never trade it away. I remember forming a group of about 17 friends, and calling us "Team Nacho", just for kicks. Some others had clans that they belonged to, but I let them know that it was just a group of friends that would play together for fun, without any set schedule, and that there was no leader to this labeled group. Despite that, most people in the group called me a leader anyways, and it was the first and only time in my life that I've ever been referred to as one, which made me feel especially special and intrinsic inside. I had next to no friends in real life at that time in my life, and those people online really brought out the good and positive feelings in me. They made me laugh and I made them laugh, and it gave me the strength to get through some of the hardest times in my life. If a game can create such a powerful experience than that, then it deserves to be so high on my list. Plus, I lucked out with this group of friends, as most of them happened to always be online, including me. There's so many things to talk about PSO, that I can't name them all. I mean, look at how many hours that I clocked in, which shows that there are countless experiences to be had. I remember a time where one of my only real-life friends and I were playing the game, along with two friends of high levels that we just met (that ended up becoming some of the best ones we had online). I had just went from deleting an old level 100 character that was named after my real name, to a little spiky orange-haired midget that was a Humar class (there were hunter classes that used melee weapons, ranger classes that used guns, and mage classes that used magic) known as Jet Fire (this is the first time that I ever created my user name). I was probably only around level 10 - 20, but one of the guys, Jeremiah, gave me a fairly powerful spear weapon that I was just strong enough to equip, and we trekked into the hardest ruins in the game. The guys trusted us enough to partake in such a hard run on a high difficulty through those ruins. We entered the room, and Jeremiah got ambushed from behind, getting killed instantly. I was using a hit-and-run strategy as I ran around the room. My real-life mage friend, who called himself Lenny, went to revive Jeremiah, but got killed before he could cast his spell. The other guy, Zero, got taken out trying to help out the other two, leaving me only left. They all told me to get the hell out of there, as there was no need to get killed and lose my weapon, and that they would just respawn in town. I ignored them, and by playing very strategically, for such a low level, I whittled down enough enemies (and trust me, they were strong, as one or two hits from even the front could have killed me) and was able to revive one of them, and we were all eventually back up on our feet and finishing off the last couple of enemies that I didn't get to. It's experiences like that which really cement a friendship, and they recognized me as not just a player, but a damn good one, and a reliable friend at that. There's no real point in going too much in depth about the gameplay of the original PSO, because it's long gone, but I have to say, by version 2, there was a ton to do. There was the ultimate difficulty mode, which made it necessary to get past level 100 as high as you could if you wanted to survive. The level cap was so high, and so hard to level up to (due to massive amounts of experience required), that I think it would take a lifetime to reach level 200. The bosses in the original version and the update were massive, intimidating, and really damn fun to fight, whether it was the first stage's dragon, the second stage's tentacle-fish-like creature as you fought it on a raft going at high speed, the third stage's machine of death, or the final stage's showdown with Dark Falz, who had brutal moves that could kill you instantly. There were so many weapons, armor and items to obtain within the game (even items for permanent stat increases), as well as some illegally banned items within the game that I still have. I was a legit player through and through, but my friend Jeremiah, had a way to hack the system to get the most brutal weapons that couldn't be found on the game's field. I loved my super-upgraded spread needle gun that took out rows of foes in one shotgun-like blast, or my incredibly souped-up lavis blades that were two daggers that sent energy waves at people from across the screen for my character's highest amount of damage. Speaking of those blades, I remember partaking in a battle mode against 3 friends in a free for all fight. They eventually got sick of me winning and all charged at me at once, where I took them all out with three lavis blade swipes. Damn, that was satisfying. Some of the armor/accessory types were amazing, such as the Burning Field (I can't believe I remember that) that literally sets my character on fire (there's no damage done to me with it on), and with that, I truly lived up to my name. The levels themselves were labyrinths, but required teamwork to get past the locked doors and traps. The communication aspect was extremely easy to get used to, due to the Dreamcast keyboard. There was even a lobby game in version 2, where everyone could kick a giant soccer ball around, and play a game of soccer, with goals included. The game even inspired me to get back further into my hobby of drawing, by making my first full-fledged +60 page comic, regarding a huge team deathmatch between the members of Team Nacho. I'll show it, but pleased be warned, I was young, so my ideas were quite stupid (but they are still really funny even today, and my drawing was actually good before I really got to the better style of my signature's picture): http://www.geocities.com/jetfirebomb/comicmain.html (I still couldn't believe my old PSO site was still up and working). Team Nacho themselves even loved the comic, and it was something that they really commended me for, and made me proud about getting myself really involved with the game. This entry is getting so long, and I'm sure that many people won't understand the significance that this game presents to me. Even if it were a crappy game for other readers, it just all worked out in the end so flawlessly with me. Even though there was no real story for the game, this game was our story...Team Nacho's story. I've almost never had this much fun with a multiplayer game before, and what I got out of the game will last with me for a lifetime. So I have to say this upon completing my entries. Thanks to my friends from PSO. I'm pretty sure that none of you guys will ever see this, but I have to say thanks to Lenny, Jeremiah, Zero, DarkCloud, Jon, Unholy Light, Elissa, Zoe, Magus Zeal, Arctic Blaze, Blade, JediKnight, Slicer, Spider II, Dreammaster, and Dark Ryan. We were Team Nacho, and we rocked the f*cking world. P.S. I've also realized recently that my name Jet Fire, is also the name of a Transformer. I've never even watched Transformers! How random is that? Also, I'm sorry if this particular entry isn't as deep or analytical as the others, but since the whole experience was so personal, I just can't see PSO as a game that everyone is going to get the same experience out of. Also, I found a few pictures that I took from around 10 years ago! How crazy is that? 11. Super Mario Bros Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: NES, SNES (Super Mario All-Stars), GBC (Super Mario Bros Deluxe), GBA Release Date: Sept 13, 1985 (NES), Aug 1, 1993 (SNES), 1999 (GBC), 2004 (GBA) Oh, how predictable...and undeserving...most people might think. No, I'm not putting the original Super Mario Bros on this spot on my list for the reason that it saved the videogame industry. That doesn't have anything to do with how fun it is to play now, and you know what? I'm still having a blast with it. Seriously! While many others have claimed that this game hasn't aged well, I completely disagree, and happen to prefer it over Super Mario Bros 3. I'm not even 100% sure why I do, but every time that I sit down to play Super Mario Bros, a sense of giddiness and excitement overcomes me. I think that part of the reason has to due with the immense challenge of the game, on trying to beat it without using the warps. To me, Super Mario 3 is an absolute cakewalk compared to the original, and every time that I pick up the controller to play the first game, I know that I'm in for one hell of a fight. It's so rewarding with every level that I happen to complete, and reaching the end is one of the most satisfying victories that I can think of. I'm certainly not going to comment on how the games plays or what you can expect. In fact, at a first glance, or based on how many games that have been released since Super Mario Bros, the game may not seem all that special anymore. Sure, it was the first game that I ever played, but even today, I have a high respect for it (not based on what it did for videogames, but because of how fun it is). There's just something that's so much more simple and classic about it to me. I can die in this game over and over, and just laugh it off, thinking "maybe I'll have better luck next time". I think it's also because the game isn't so overly long that when I die, I'm not thinking about how long it will take me to reach the end again (for example, Mario 3 had tons of stages within each world. It was basically twice as long as the original). That makes death in the game so much easier to accept, which makes it easy to rise up to the challenge again. The challenge of course, wouldn't be so fun to rise up to if it weren't for the absolute perfect controls within this game. Even more than Mario 3, I felt that every single step that I took was my own responsibility. Sure, the game could be brutally hard at some points by flinging as much crap at you as possible (damn you, hammer bros!), but every death wasn't cheap, as I was the only one at fault every time. I just can't get mad at the game, and I can't get bored either. I don't know why it's absolute simple premise is so fun and addictive, but I always find myself with the urge to pick it up and play it again...almost more than any other game I own. It's just so simple to pick up...it's calling to me....ah! I've got to snap out of it! Aside from the purely fun simple platforming and a great challenge to rise up to, I even like the graphical style over all of the other 2D Mario games. It may seem like I'm on crack, and nostalgia may be pulling a sheet over my eyes (keep in mind though that I've played Mario 2 and 3 as much as the first), but everything about it just screams of being classic and retro. The lack of outlines, the slightly washed out feeling to the colours, the blockiness...I don't know. It just makes me smile. Plus, that music is the definitive music of 2D Mario games for me. It's so simple, yet so catchy. I don't know why I prefer it more, but I guess that when something unconsciously puts a smile on your face, it's hard to disagree that you like it. It puts me at total ease when playing, and I enjoy every second of it. Now this is a short post, but to get overly deep on a game like Super Mario Bros is like writing up a twenty page essay on Pong. It's pointless, and you know what you're getting with it. In no way, am I even trying to appeal to anyone's senses with this entry. If you like Super Mario Bros 3 over this game, then more power to you. It's a lot more deep, so there's more elements to appreciate. However, I just love this game's simplicity, accessibility, challenge and replayability so much, that it has to make it this high on my list...but it just barely fell short of reaching my Top 10, just like falling a tiny bit short of that last jump to safety when Mario didn't get enough momentum going. My next entries in my Top 100 will be going into my final Top 10, and things are entering a whole new scale of fun factor and replayability for myself, but all the same, I'll still always love to play Super Mario Bros, and it put up one hell of a fight with the next game on my list for that Number 10 spot. Still, being Number 11 out of 100 is never a bad thing. It's never a bad thing at all. 10. Diddy Kong Racing Developer: Rare Released on: N64, DS Release Date: Nov 24, 1997 (N64), Feb 7, 2007 (DS) Now we're getting controversial, since we're finally into my top 10 list. Why in the hell would I be including a cheap Mariokart knock-off into the highest part of my favourite games list? While the game may seem uninspired and unoriginal, it's actually got a lot of depth and certain attributes that Mariokart doesn't have, and it's still insanely fun (and certainly not cheap) to me after all of these years. I know that the main complaint that I am going to get for this is "it's too similar to Mariokart 64", but I absolutely don't care, because both games were great, and I love playing both of them. Just owning two of the best kart racers out there only doubled the amount of fun that I had (and still have)...oh, damn it. I basically spoiled it. Oh well, it's better that everyone clues in now before someone flies off the handle and claims me as a noob for mentioning Diddy Kong Racing in my list without any mention of a Mariokart game. Maybe with that fact out of the way, it will keep everyone's attention on Diddy Kong Racing for now. Just so you know, I've never thought for a second that Diddy Kong Racing is an inferior version of Mariokart (at least, that's what most of my friends thought at the time of it's release). It really stands out as a game of it's own, and besides the Mariokart franchise, I find that Diddy Kong Racing is the next best kart racer that I've ever played. Diddy Kong Racing pretty much has it all for me. It's certainly more fun to play by myself than a Mariokart game, due to the Adventure mode (in addition to just racing for fun against the computer). Multiplayer, while not as fun as a Mariokart game, still does provide a lot of fun and competition, due to the unique tracks, the upgradable weapon system, different vehicles and objective and non-objective based battle arenas. I'll start off by talking about the Adventure mode, as it's the game's largest feature that sets it apart from it's competition, and while racing games are primarily a multiplayer experience, the single player mode is still really well constructed, fun, challenging, and addictive for when you have no one to race against. In the Adventure mode, you'll start off within a main overworld, in which you can drive your vehicle around to various locations and find groups of doors (each of which lead to a particular race track) that fit the theme of each location that the bunch of doors are found in. By completing races and coming in one of the top positions by the end, you gain balloons, which unlock future doors, somewhat like Super Mario 64. Once you collect all of the balloons from all of the races in one world, the world's boss door will open, in which you will have to race against a certain creature (not a cart-based opponent, but a large beast) and finish before them. Afterwards, all sorts of different challenges are available to you. There's the silver coin challenges, that require grabbing 8 silver coins throughout hidden (and sometimes out of the way) places on the track, while still coming in first (you have to do these for every track). There's rematches to be had with bosses afterwards, as well as hidden secrets that require grabbing a hidden key in one track of each world to open up a Challenge event that plays like Mariokart's battle mode. There's also Trophy Race Challenges that run you through all four tracks in a world in succession like Mariokart 64's Grand Prix races, Time Trial Modes (which upon beating every timed challenge in every track unlocks a really fast hidden character), a hidden Space World (complete with four new tracks and a boss) and an Adventure Mode 2 (which allows you to play through the whole Adventure Mode and all of it's tracks in reverse). There are so many different kinds of challenges to complete in the game's Adventure mode that it takes a serious amount of time and mastery to complete them all. Sure, sometimes the challenges can be insanely frustrating and downright cheap (I'm looking at you Wizpig 1!) that I actually kicked both doors off of the hinges of my small TV cabinet when I was younger. Still, when I completed those really hard challenges, they were some of the most rewarding accomplishments that I have ever had as a gamer, and luckily, most of them were just really fun to complete. I loved the amount of variety in Diddy Kong Racing's Adventure mode (even though there were mountains of collectibles and challenges, they always give me something to do and strive towards). Another thing that really set Diddy Kong Racing apart from Mariokart was it's emphasis on clever track design, multiple types of vehicles and a weapon upgrading system. Diddy Kong Racing had a lot of incredibly well designed tracks, that were meant to be taken advantage of through the use of it's different vehicle types. In most tracks, there were many different shortcuts that could be taken depending on what vehicle you were using (The kart, the hovercraft or the plane). The plane was great, since you could fly through the air and over gaps in the tracks that the karts would have to waste time weaving around, as well as being able to dodge most of your opponents weapons with ease (however, the planes took a while to build up speed, they turned slower than the other vehicles, and if you bumped into something, it would take a long time to get moving again). The kart didn't really have much of an advantage over the other two vehicles in terms of creating it's own shortcuts, but it was the fastest to accelerate with, easiest to turn with, it would hit speed boost pads on the ground the easiest due to being able to control your kart more precisely into it. For me though, everyone else was a chump, since they all sucked at controlling the hovercraft...except me. If you can master the hovercraft, it's better than the other two vehicles. I can control it just as well as the kart, and I get most of the advantages that the plane has, without the disadvantage of the poor control/manuverablity of the planes. The hovercraft can cross water and lava, which means that you will never slow down if you touch a little bit of a wet slick on a track or a non-road section like dirt or grass, and you'll be able to make some great shortcuts with it (on a track that has a pirate ship in the middle of a lake, the kart players have to go through a large, confusing track section within it, while I can just cut around it with ease with my hovercraft). The weapon upgrading system was also innovative. Sure, you could use a weapon as soon as you got your hands on it, but the effects of using them alone were pretty weak. If you happened to grab one or two more balloons of the same colour, you could upgrade your weapon up to a level 2 or 3-type, which can wield their own devastating results (ex. you can upgrade on lone missile, into ten missiles to use, and then again into one homing missile). If you touch a balloon of another colour without using your previous one, you will lose your current balloon and switch to the balloon type that you just grabbed, so there's kind of a risk that you have to take if you want to reap the rewards of other weapons. It really adds an element of strategy to your weapon set, and in no way do the weapon types ever feel cheap and inescapable, which adds a layer of fairness and skill to the game. I'll admit that Diddy Kong Racing's multi-player isn't as good as Mariokart 64's multiplayer (there's something that's more frantic and intense about Mariokart that pulls me in more), but it's still very fun, due to the gameplay elements that I mentioned about before. You can choose to play single races against friends from the menu, as well as Grand Prix races, so most of the modes from Mariokart 64 are there to play against others with. Just like Mariokart 64, there are four battle tracks, but half of them are deathmatch-based (with one arena being in cars within a multi-floored igloo structure and the other being in a lake with multiple islands while driving hovercrafts) and half of them are objective based (with one arena taking place in a volcano as you fly your plane to grab your opponents eggs out of their "base's" nest to drop in your own nest for points and my favourite arena which is a caslte that has four bases, in which you must collect bananas to place in your treasure chest to fill it up [as well as shooting others to make them drop their own bananas so that you can steal them]). There wasn't just variety with the Adventure mode, as multi-player had a lot to offer with it's various modes, arenas, race tracks and vehicle types. I don't know what else I can say about Diddy Kong Racing that will make it sound more fun to people who haven't played it before, or as something that's worthy of being an alternative to Mariokart. In a way, the game is similar, but there are just so many different touches in it's single player game, level design, weapon system, vehicle selection, and challenges, that it makes it a fun game in it's own right. The perfect word to describe it would be different. What I can say is that for some reason, Diddy Kong Racing isn't as competitive as Mariokart 64, and that may be due to the simplistic nature in how the game plays and controls compared to it's competitor. It's certainly more challenging than Mariokart's hardest Grand Prix modes when playing it by yourself, and in that respect, it offers up a higher sense of accomplishment. While Diddy Kong Racing's actual control and premise seems a little basic, I find that it is more varied in the amount of features and ways to play than Mariokart 64. Both games are really worth playing, and they share a similar concept due to them both being kart racers, but both games are very different when you sit down and play them. I've hardly seen one person that will actually like both games instead of preferring one over the other (and the victor in the latter respect is normally Mariokart), hence why it's kind of nerve-wracking to set this game so high upon my list, after the build-up of my previous 90 entries. To note, there are tons of other little touches that make Diddy Kong Racing so freaking enjoyable. Who doesn't enjoy having Conker (who I always race as) and Banjo in the game? How about the code screen, which can really liven up battle modes by turning all of the balloons into red missile balloons for battle matches, or by turning all of the balloons into blue turbo balloons for races (there are also plenty of other codes other than just changing the balloon colours). Plus, the visuals are bright, colourful, crisp and extremely well animated, and the music is constantly positive, upbeat and energetic. I'm going to end this entry on a note about my final Top 10. The games featured on it are really hard to explain in perfect detail. With the expectations set so high after all of the build-up through my list, some people are bound to be disappointed with my choices, and as best as I may to describe each one, it can't be helped or blamed it some people just don't get it. I think it's impossible to describe my games so cohesively, that the words that are sitting on the screen in front of you, will pop out and be translated into a literal matter of fun that you can accept, experience, understand and embrace. I don't think that I've covered every single element of Diddy Kong Racing that can really emphasize to the public about what makes it so special to me, and I think that I will have that trouble in some form for the rest of my entries (although I do have to say for all of my entries, is that I believe that they excel in every single category, and do not have any real flaws that bring down the experience for me). With that in mind, bear with me, and trust me that I personally really connect with these games. Diddy Kong Racing may seem like a simple, kiddy game, but for me, it has a lot of great design to it, as well as tons of variety, a rewarding challenge, a "simple-to-get-into but difficult-to-master" nature, a positive vibe to it, and a great single player/multi-player component that provides endless replayability, and pure, concentrated fun into the mix. If you can embrace the simple exterior to Diddy Kong Racing, you may be extremely glad that you gave it a chance. I'm glad that I did. 9. Goldeneye 007 Developer: Rare Released on: N64 Release Date: Aug 25, 1997 The first thing that many people may say with this entry is "but it hasn't aged well!" I personally disagree with that statement. Yes, there are a lot smoother, prettier, faster FPS games out there at the moment, but Goldeneye 007 was incredibly fun when it was first released, and by staying in a positive frame of mind and accepting what it has instead of what it doesn't have by today's standards, has kept me in love with this game the whole time. There is no possible way that the game could have ever had a chance of standing up to modern FPS games on a technical level, and I find that making such a statement based on it's age is ridiculous. It's like complaining about Super Mario Bros in regards to Super Mario Galaxy being far more advanced. Games can't help being what they are for their own respective time periods that they were created in, and I don't think that Goldeneye 007 could have possibly been anything more than what it was intended to be, because for that time period, this game was already well ahead of it's time, and I can still enjoy it to great lengths today (especially with the multi-player). I'll start off by saying that Goldeneye's movement and control aren't the most fluid controls around, but they're far from being sloppy. You do happen to move quite slowly, but the level design doesn't exactly encourage you to tear through it anyways, since you will have to rely on using stealth and taking cover quite frequently through the game (especially on higher difficulty modes). Since the N64 never had dual analog sticks for movement and aiming at the same time, I think that Goldeneye did have some auto-aiming to a degree, since you would just have to aim in a general direction and line up the middle of the screen with the enemy to hit them (also when shooting them, you can use the Up C button and Down C button to aim more for the head or legs as you're attacking. The left and right C buttons were used to strafe). You could aim precisely at enemies with an aiming reticule by holding down the right shoulder button, but when using this feature, you'll be a standing target, so it's best to use it when you're far away, or when you're taking cover and using stealth. Still, despite not being able to move, look and precisely aim all at the same time, Goldeneye does still control very well. It's not a hardcore, precise, and super highly competitive game like Counter-Strike, but remember, I base my list on the premise of games that I can have fun with, by myself or with friends. The game doesn't have to be highly competitive or tournament-worthy in order to be fun for me. However, Goldeneye isn't a game that's incredibly casual either. If you practice hard at the game, you can destroy newbies at it, and yet, even though there may be skill gaps between players, the multi-player mode always remains fun throughout (especially between four players, where you can get into all sorts of unpredictable scenarios). Anyways, I can play for pure fun, or for the sake of competition with Goldeneye. Either way, I can have a blast with it, and for that reason, it remains as an immensely fun game to play with others, as everyone in the room will be laughing, fighting, commenting, competing and just having an overall fun time without taking the game to an extreme level of seriousness that it stops becoming fun for them and for everyone else. On a side note, I never got the chance to get too much into Perfect Dark yet, so it won't be making my list, due to not having much time with it. Even though I enjoy the multi-player mode so much more, the single player mode had a lot of thought and heart put into it. It seems like with most FPS games that I play they seem to only focus on the single player or the multi-player modes alone, apart from each other. I never often see both modes in one game actually being just as worth to play as the other mode, and one of Goldeneye's greatest strengths to me is being a very fun game in either mode. The single player portion can be as easy or challenging as you want it to be, with it's four difficulty modes, such as Agent (easy), Secret Agent (normal), 00-Agent (hard), or the fourth option, which is a mode called "007" that lets you toggle all of the various aspects of difficulty in the single player game to your liking, which means that you can make a mission even easier than the easy mode, or insanely harder than the hard mode. There's a ton of variety in the settings, which makes it perfect to tailor towards yourself depending on what kind of a challenge you happen to want at the moment. The single player missions consist of getting from your starting point in the level to your exit, but there are mission objectives that you have to complete along the way. While some mission objectives can be ignored, there are others that are necessary to complete which if ignored, will cause you to fail the mission upon finding the exit. If you choose to complete the optional missions, they will contribute towards increasing your overall ranking at the end of a mission. All of the missions are well varied, and playing through levels more successfully nets you more rewards, whether it be gaining extra multi-player stages/characters or unlocking different cheats by completing missions quickly before a set time limit (the time isn't given to you, but if you do complete it before a certain amount of time hits, you will unlock something) with a good enough ranking. This aspect adds a mountain of replayability to Goldeneye. When you combine the various difficulty modes, mission system, ranking system, and unlockable cheats with great (an non-linear at times) level design, interesting weapons, a stealth system, good controls and a ton of enemies to kill/overcome, Goldeneye's single player mode can be insanely fun, challenging and replayable. Ah yes, and my favourite aspect was the multi-player, as it was for most people who were into this game. I know, the amount of options present for Goldeneye's multi-player are not as vast and varied as FPS games today. Basically, the only modes that were there was deathmatch, team deathmatch, a game where the player that holds a flag the longest will win (who is unarmed when they carry it around), and a couple of "one shot and you're dead" modes. There was still customizability to the weapon sets in each match, as well as being able to set handicaps for other players (which is great, because if you have less skilled players, but you want more of a challenge, you can just increase their health, or decrease yours...or even both). Even though there wasn't a ton of modes available, and today that may seem like an aspect of the game that hasn't aged well, but I really do find that claim as being overly picky. I don't think that Rare could have possibly had such foresight at the time to believe that over 10 years from then, even though their game was ahead of their time, that people would complain that Goldeneye doesn't have the vast amount of modes that other FPS games do (also, you have to think of the cartridge space that they were already limited to, and about how much they already packed into it...not to mention that they made one of the best movie-to-game adaptations of all time). Instead of focusing on what Goldeneye doesn't have, I embrace what it does have. For what it does have, it pulls it off amazingly. The heat of the competition is so intense when there are four people playing the game, that it becomes a great and unpredictable social experience while playing Goldeneye. Anyone who can control a first person shooter can play this game, and anyone of the highest skill level can still have a challenge due to the handicapping and overall fun nature of the game. I would recommend to not taking the game so seriously while you play. If you want to improve, then more power to you. Just don't expect Goldeneye to be some kind of national sport with limitless growth potential to it (although it may really have the limitless potential for players to grow, for all I know). Oh, and who could forget the fun stage designs in the multi-player mode, as well as the amount, diversity and fun factor of the weapon set? The Temple stage had a great open area in the middle (as well as in the hole to the second floor below) for crazy shootouts, with a maze-like labyrinth around the outside of that area. The Archives took place on two floors, with different offices to hide in, crates and pillars to take cover behind, and secret doorways in the walls to ambush people with. The Library had a ton of open areas to blow people away with on the top floor, with a dark, corridor heavy section in the basement. The Complex was the most confusing stage to navigate, but for players who knew the level well, there were limitless opportunities to surprise people. My favourite stage had to be the Facility, as it was filled with interconnected rooms and seemed to be the most natural-looking area within the multiplayer stages. I knew that stage inside-out and was able to come up with mountains of strategies depending on my situation. The weapons too, were so fun to use. Like I said, you can toggle the weapon sets for each match, so if you're getting tired of the default weapons that are placed in each map, you can choose a heavy weapon setting for example, where the map is filled with grenade launchers, rocket launchers, assault rifles, RCP-90's (the most powerful and fast firing machine gun in the game), grenades, remote mines (you can place them all around the map, and then blow them up with your detonator), timed mines (they can be somewhat useful is someone is chasing you), and my favourite, the proximity mines that explode when someone comes close to one (great for placing on the other sides of doors, or in little corners or inside door frames where people can't see them until it's too late). There's all sorts of automatic machine guns, hand guns (complete with silencers, which is also extremely useful in single player) and sniper rifles. The weapon set may seem a bit standard, but diversity is the key, and Goldeneye's natural layout of weapons is very well balanced and useful for many situations. I believe that presentation-wise, Goldeneye hasn't aged the best with. Honestly, it does look pretty damn blocky and somewhat blurry, but graphics don't mean a thing to me as long as the gameplay is stellar. The music is average. There are some standout tunes that are memorable, and I know that the music always fits the atmosphere with each stage, but there still aren't too many songs that I can remember from the game. Aside from these minor nitpicks though, I still love playing Goldeneye. I don't consider it as the messiah of first person shooters, and I'm not going to claim that it revolutionized the FPS industry, as I'm sure that for you PC gamers out there, that there were more smooth and complex shooters at the time, as well as now. To note, I'm not a PC gamer at all. I didn't grow up with FPS games on the PC, I'm not used to using a mouse and keyboard combination, PC's are unreliable to me with the constant wave of viruses and glitches that I have to endure, and I've never been interested in updating a rig every 6 months to play the newest games. With that in mind, please place yourself in my shoes, as a person who prefers consoles and just isn't that interested in the PC scene. Because I couldn't really get into FPS on the PC at the time, Goldeneye was a god-send to me. I was finally playing an FPS that I was comfortable in controlling, it got me more interested in FPS than I once was, and I had (and still do) a blast with friends as we played countless hours of multiplayer, as well as having a nice challenge for myself when I was alone. For people in the same shoes as me, Goldeneye was an extremely important FPS, which was the best FPS game that consoles had to offer at the time (and is still one of my favourite FPS games to date). Yes, Goldeneye didn't reinvent the wheel, and may not be the slickest thing around today, but it's still damn fun for me and my wife & friends, and I'll always appreciate it for what it is and not for impossible expectations of what it could be. 8. Starfox 64 Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: N64 Release Date: July 1, 1997 Sometimes, it's the shortest games that we play that are often the sweetest, and that's the case of Starfox 64 for me. It may take an hour or two to tear through this arcade-like 3D flight shoot em up, but every single second of it was an absolute blast. I find that there's almost nothing that I can hate about this game, and it's aged extremely well, from the first time that I played it when I was younger, to right now. I just wish that I still had that rumble pack...I grew to love that thing with Starfox 64. Starfox 64's main game is so jam-packed with constant swarms of enemies and obstacles, that the action never stops. The controls are as smooth as butter (some of the smoothest I have ever experienced) which makes it great for trying to obtain the highest score possible by decimating as many enemies as you can by the end of the level, as well as by losing as little health as possible while keeping your teammates alive (which gives you rankings at the end of each level, combined with the possibility of obtaining a hard to get medal for getting an outrageously high score). The score-based challenge really gives gamers something to strive for, which adds a lot of replayability besides the main game. As a pure action story experience and as a high score based challenge, Starfox 64 doesn't disappoint in either category. Possibly my favourite thing about this game is the design of every planet that you venture through. I'm sure most people know how the game plays. On the map screen, there's a cluster of planets as you start from one end of the galaxy, heading towards the other end with all of the different planets in between. You can't visit all of the planets in one playthrough though. If you finish a level by taking the standard route, you'll move along a predetermined path between a string of planets. However, if you fulfill one of the hidden conditions in a level or find a hidden shortcut, you can be treated to optional paths and bosses for the level you're in, as well as opening up new routes to other planets on the map. This aspect also propels Starfox 64's replayability into the stratosphere, since it encourages you to play through the game over and over to see all of the planets, as well as trying to obtain the highest score possible in all of them. The actual designs of the planets are extremely varied, and really feel different and unique from one another. In one level, you could be flying through a asteroid field, and in the next planet you'll be trying to save it from an alien invasion, and then in the next planet you'll fly over a sun-like star as your ship constantly depletes in health (you need to keep grabbing health power-ups to keep you alive), and then in the next planet, you'll man a tank instead of flying to provide some much needed ground support. There's such a vast difference in the feel of every single planet and boss within the game, that it makes the game all the more thrilling and exciting to face something new each time. The game even switches between linear, path-based shooting to 3D arena-based dogfights at times. Another key factor to the game is the inclusion of your co-pilots (I love Slippy! - Just kidding!). While they do need constant saving, and it can get pretty annoying at times, their presence makes you feel less alone throughout the game, and the means of saving them can sometimes throw in a nice curveball for a change to give you more of a challenge, as well as immersing you in the atmosphere, since it just wouldn't seem natural if they were never attacked (I would like to see a future version of Starfox involve them trying to save each other at times, without me having to do the work every single time they need saving). Weapon-wise, there isn't a ton of variety, but every single function that your ship has works, and is really useful. Fox's laser can be upgraded to a blue, faster shooting one, and the screen clearing bombs are just so satisfying to use (I love the sound effect. PCHOOOOO!!!). The arwing can barrel roll (which can also deflect lasers), flip, do a 180 degree turn in 3D environments, use turbo boosts, as well as slow down. The tank has most of the same features (I love it's barrel roll), but also has the ability to hover for a brief period of time. The submarine...kind of sucks in my opinion. Luckily, you only have to use it for one optional planet, but I just didn't like the amount of darkness on that planet, as it was almost impossible to see, incredibly blurry, and just filled to the brim with explosive mines. Other than that, the rest of the main game is incredible. The battle mode for Starfox 64 isn't the most interesting thing to play, but if you have four players, dog-fights can be pretty fun (the more players, the better and more action packed it is). Visually, I think that Starfox 64 has some of the best visuals on the N64, and it really has a style to it that stands the test of time. Musically, it's epic and energetic, and even a little haunting and creepy at times during a few high tension, lonely moments. Story-wise...you're a fox in a plane. Is there really any reason to care and get deeply involved in something like that? Still, shooters like this don't need a story, but the presence of the animal characters makes the game a little more original and less serious or monotone than just some random people flying random planes. I realize that this entry is a little short in comparison to the last two games that I've mentioned, but Starfox 64 is a shorter experience than both of them and doesn't have as much diversity in the ways that you can play. So why is it higher on my list than the last two games? Because as I've said again and again, sometimes the most simple games are the most fun ones. I know that Diddy Kong Racing and Goldeneye can be very engaging games in both single and multi-player while Starfox 64 seems to rely mostly on the single player component. Still, there's something that's just so much more easily accessible and replayable about this game than the other two. You don't need to set aside tons of hours just to make it through the single player portion, as Starfox 64 is like a short, action-packed movie from beginning to end (that can be played in different ways of course, through the multiple paths). At any point in time, I can pick up and play Starfox 64, for some good fun and fast paced shooting action, and the score-based part of the game can be so addictive when you buckle down and take it seriously. This game is as good as vehicle-based shooters get, in my opinion, and Starfox 64 hasn't decreased in fun by the slightest, miniscule bit since day one. 7. The Halo Trilogy Developer: Bungie Released on: XBOX, 360, PC (Halo 1 and 2) Release Date: Nov 15, 2001 for XBOX and Sept 30, 2003 for PC (Halo), Nov 9, 2004 for XBOX and May 31, 2007 for PC (Halo 2), Sept 25, 2007 (Halo 3) Oh boy...I am so dead...so f*cking dead, for putting the Halo games in my #7 spot, and I absolutely do not care, although I won't lie upon saying that the legions of Halo-haters are really, really starting to get on my nerves. This is mainly due to the fact that the good natured, mature gamers who simply like Halo for what it is that never, never shout out like moronic, rabid, frothing fanboys about how Halo is the messiah of gaming, still can't even say the word "Halo" in a positive light without getting pelted by virtual tomatoes. I, for one, know fully in my heart, that Halo did not reinvent the FPS genre, but how wrong is it to simply like a game (let alone enough to put it in my Top 10), just because I simply find it really fun to play? Yes, Half-Life defined this, and Doom defined that, and Call of Duty 4 has a better community, and Counter-Strike takes more skill, and Unreal Tournament has a better sci-fi setting, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah (Remember folks, this is a personal Top 100 List, and I'm adding the Halo Trilogy on this very spot, because I really connect and enjoy it's gameplay). I absolutely do not care who's FPS game is more important and who has the bigger balls in the industry. People, these are games. Games are meant to be enjoyed for their single, solitary experiences, and aren't meant to be used as a basis for war, boasting, bickering and complaining about who has the better tastes and quality of games. I know that I'm going on a bit of a rant with this, but as in the style of my Final Fantasy VII entry, I'm not going to back down like a coward and post Halo lower than I believe it should be (or leave it all out together) because I'm worried about what the general consensus of the internet says. I'll end off this little rant by asking the people who need to constantly announce that Halo is overrated, to grow up. Many games are intended for many different audiences, and it is completely impossible to please 100% of the fans of a genre. It's true, Halo has sold a mountain-full of games, and it didn't re-invent the wheel, but it did appeal to a certain audience that genuinely happened to enjoy it. All in all, it doesn't matter if it sells better than another critically-acclaimed shooter, because that other shooter is still raking in tons of cash anyways for doing so well (in fact, most shooters gain a lot of sales nowadays due to the popularity of the genre). Halo may not be the most special thing around, and I admit, there are probably tons of annoying, frothing fanboys out there that are truly annoying...but it's really tiring to always be grouped in with them, when I'm a mature gamer that just happens to enjoy the game, but also takes interest in the rest of the gaming world (just look at my list for evidence of that fact, as well as knowing that I have about 450 games in total, spanning all different systems). Look at me, I don't like Final Fantasy VI, God of War, Gran Turisimo, Tekken 3, Super Mario RPG, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and certain other popular games that have huge fanbases, and are often claimed to be the messiahs in their own categories...but they just weren't my cup of tea, and I can respect that other gamers out there do have something within those games that they do genuinely like. I just wasn't the right intended audience for those games, despite huge sales and critically acclaimed reviews. They were never badly designed, and I don't think that they changed the gaming world at all for me, but if those games are right for those people and makes them genuinely happy, then more power to them. We're all gamers, and we all have our own tastes, no matter how successful or unsuccessful those games may be...I have to end this gigantic rant now, but keep in mind, that I had been despising having to bring up a game that I really like throughout the creation of this whole list, based on the general immaturity of people on the internet (I'm not specifically saying that it's you) that has to use the most overused word in existance: "overrated". I hate it more than the word "fanboy". Anyways, now that my ranting is finally over, I'll be moving onto my own specific reasoning for liking the Halo Trilogy myself. As I've said, I don't think that Halo has revolutionized anything, but I really do like it's simplicity and complexity at the same time. After talking about Goldeneye 007, I'm sure that most of you know that I'm not the biggest fan of PC's FPS controls. No matter what, I just can't adapt to them. Goldeneye brought forward a method of control that I could actually play, and ever since then, I only found sloppy controls for console FPS games. I'll admit, Halo's control scheme was a vast improvement for me. Unlike Goldeneye, I could now turn much more quickly, jump, and move while aiming and shooting at the same time. I enjoy the melee attack being assigned to a button instead of having to select my melee attack from my weapons menu, and the same can be said for grenades. They're just so simple to throw, and allow you to toss up your strategies between tossing and shooting, sometimes being a good means to set up a trap with a grenade by forcing someone to move into your cross-hair sights so you can pick them off. I like the simplicity of only carrying two weapons. While I don't feel like a one-man army with only that many guns, it does add a certain element of strategy for what to carry. Plus, it forces me to switch up my weapons on the field quite often to experiment with them for different situations. Another thing that I enjoy is not having to scroll through weapon after weapon to get what I want while fighting. There's not too much to think about when you only have two guns, grenades and a melee attack, and it leads me into being able to change guns and strategies more quickly, rather than sitting there shocked when a swarm of enemies are approaching me, trying to think about which one of my 20 different guns on hand may be the best solution, and then going through the process of cycling through my inventory. Driving the vehicles is also very simplistic, and the overall game is very accessible (which probably relates to why we see so many frothing newbies entering the game which will refuse to play anything else). Still, the easy controls do make the game really fun and simple for me to dive into, and there's still plenty of room for potentially improving skills as you play more (maybe not to the extent of Counter-strike, but it can still be played both for competitive reasons and for fun at the same time). Now, one of the main complaints that I hear over the internet, is about how basic, drab and boring Halo is. Yes, I can sometimes see how it might be so. Sometimes corridors are recycled, Master Chief never shows his face (giving him next to no personality), and the premise is based on a whole generic "alien invasion" theme. However, despite the look of the games and the overall atmosphere being a bit cliche, the games are still really well designed, and a joy to play through for me (repetitive corridors aside). I for one, happen to like the look and feel of the ring-shaped planets as well as the occasional Earth and Covenant ship settings. I just find that there's a nice mixture of wide open areas with large scale battles, peppered with smaller, confined areas with close-range, in-your-face fights. However, the real kicker for me that gives the Halo games a flavor of it's own from most other FPS games that I have played (remember, ones that I have played, so if there is something like what I'm about to say, I'm all ears and willing to try), is Halo's artificial intelligence. No, I'm not talking about the Easy and Normal settings, and for whoever has only played Halo on those settings and has dismissed it as boring and generic because of that, that's the whole reason it's boring and generic. After moving onto at least the Heroic difficulty mode of these games, I have never looked back, as it's a completely different game altogether. From Heroic to Legendary mode, the foes in the Halo Trilogy are drastically harder to kill, and actually put up as unpredictable of a fight as an FPS has gotten for me. While it's true that there aren't too many enemy types in the Halo series, every single one of them has their own ways of fighting, their own strengths, their own weaknesses, and they're not confined to strict attack patterns and routines. The enemies will try to flank you from multiple sides, they take cover when they know that they're in critical danger, they work in groups, they move often, they can sneak up on you, etc. Never at any point in the game do I feel like two battles are identical. I may be facing some of the same foes over and over again, but every situation that I get into leads to them taking different strategies against me, and myself getting into unpredictable situations as I fight them off. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes I get killed by a lucky shot. Sometimes I demolish everyone, sometimes I get killed from behind by that one lone Grunt left in the room that stuck me with a plasma grenade. While the Heroic and Legendary modes do lead to a health increase (as well as them having more powerful weapons at times) for the Covenant, they really do start to use a much wider variety of tactics during battle. The way that the levels are constructed combined with the random enemy A.I presents a little bit of open-endedness that always seems to offer up different scenarios with every time I play (I do have to briefly note that your ally A.I. with the marines are absolutely horrible, and at times, team killers. I just let them die anyways). Not only does this make the game more fun, but another large part of it for me is when I'm playing Halo cooperatively on as high of a difficulty setting as possible. If Halo never had it's cooperative mode, I may have had to have given the title of my favourite FPS game to Goldeneye, as I find that it's single and competitive multiplayer modes are just a small touch better than Halo's. However, Halo comes close to those two modes from Goldeneye for me, and with the Cooperative mode available that's more fun than single player and deathmatch combined, this game takes the cake for me. With the aspects of unpredictability in the enemy A.I, and good level designs for the most part (which often contains plenty of cover points as well as different ways to approach your enemies from), the cooperative experience makes the action even more unpredictable, random and fun than playing it alone. There's many of great situations where you can save the other player, or they can save you, that it often makes me wish that I had a video camera on hand throughout every playthrough. While the levels aren't built from the ground up based on cooperative play, it was certainly meant for it, vehicles included (which are really fun to commandeer with two people, such as the warthog, with it's driver and gunner seats). I can't explain exactly what makes the game so playable as a cooperative experience, but I'm sure that everyone can at least relate to the feel of playing a cooperative game in general, and playing with someone else on the Legendary modes is an absolute must (I wouldn't recommend playing on the easiest mode, which is an absolute joke). Legendary on Halo 2 is an incredibly rewarding experience to complete together, as it's the toughest of the three games, and the enemy A.I. is absolutely brutal. Living through such a punishing mode is something to really high-five each other about, since it relies so heavily on teamwork. While Legendary in Halo 1 and 3 are very hard, Halo 2 will send you back to a checkpoint if just one teammate dies. There's no respawning to fall back upon with this game. As for Halo 3, there's an optional scoring system included in the game (somewhat like Goldeneye's) where you can cooperatively collect a high score by the end of a level as a team, or compete as to who got the most kills, who died the least, who got the most stylish kills and the most headshots, etc. Halo 1 didn't have any special features about the cooperative mode, but it's campaign always felt like the most balanced, which is partially due to the original Halo's pistol being the perfect mid-range weapon to carry along with you. Playing competitive is really fun too, whether it's having a split-screen match between close friends (which is normally the better option) or by playing Halo 2 or 3 over XBOX Live. I will admit that the online community for Halo has gotten terrible and annoying over the years though. For most of Halo 2, there were many people who had a sense of sportsmanship to them, but it's all gone to hell with Halo 3's online multi-player from what I've played. Still, all of the versions are fun to play competitively in split-screen mode, and have tons of customizability for their matches, whether it's through the modes developed into the game by Bungie (deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, king of the hill, assault, zombies, oddball, V.I.P mode, etc.), being able to customize your own match types by being able to include what weapons, vehicles, time limits, etc, to being able to use the Forge mode in Halo 3 to edit each level's weapon and item placement to your liking, or even being able to create your own levels. The games have always allowed up to 16 players in it's competitive mode, being able to have more than two teams in matches, and have many different map sizes, such as small, medium, large and gigantic map types. I really find that the Halo series has a ton of variety in it's ways that you can play it, with the unique A.I, multiple difficulty modes, the cooperative play, deathmatch modes, online modes (cooperative and competitive play are offered online through Halo 3), stage editing/creation, multiplayer mode editing, replays, hidden skulls to collect in each level of Halo 3 (which can grant you various difficulty challenges to increase the overall difficulty and amount of handicaps that you have in the campaign), and the after-game scoring system in Halo 3 (which can add a competitive aspect to cooperative play). There's also a good variety to the weapon sets in the games with a balance between human and Covenant (alien) weapons, as well as the addition to tons of different equipment/gadgets that you can use in Halo 3 for offensive or defensive purposes (such as the Bubble shield barrier or the Power Drain orb that sucks away shield power and explodes). The many vehicle types in the Halo series aren't just thrown in for the heck of it, but are great uses to cross large patches of terrain, getting away from danger, using for offensive purposes or making distractions. There's a huge amount of content that's packed into the Halo Trilogy itself, which could even rival the amount that Super Smash Bros Brawl has. I'm not sure what more I can say about the Halo series, that makes it worth being in my Top 10. I love it's accessible nature, unpredictability in levels with it's enemies, the huge level designs and accommodating maps for multiplayer, as the single, cooperative and competitive modes themselves, in addition to all of the content and secrets packed into the three games. It's gameplay is fast paced and intense on it's highest difficulty modes, and it's a great ice breaker. What do I mean by that? Well, let's just say that aside from really liking Halo as a game, it's also helped me get closer with my wife before we started dating. I've always been a really shy guy, and I had barely been able to talk to girls coherently. My wife and I were friends first, but by playing Halo together more and more, it really made me more comfortable to be around her, and I was able to share a lot of my interests with her from that point on, since I had no clue that she liked the same things I did (it started off by learning that she likes videogames, but afterwards, we started watching anime together, playing different board games, finding out that she likes stupid comedy and action movies like me, and so forth). Halo wasn't the only reason that we got together, but I won't lie in saying that it didn't help at all. Also, for anyone who still hates Halo, we at least got the amazingly witty and funny web series, Red vs. Blue (hey, I have a friend who hates Halo, but loves Red vs. Blue). All in all, I just really like the games, and I won't rave on and tell anyone that it's the best game on Earth, or if they are gamers then they must play it. The only thing that I need to mention, is that I personally have a lot of fun playing these games by myself and with others. So much, that it does make my Top 10...but for those that disagree, don't sweat it. We've still got six more games to cover, and I'm really excited about talking about them (plus, be thankful that I decided to include all three games in one entry spot instead of taking up three entry spots, which I realize is kind of cheating, but all three games do play pretty similar [with different stories, settings and new features of course] and I do happen to like them all just as much as each other). I've got to say though, despite the beating that Halo takes over the internet, I'm still happy to include it in this spot. It may not be the most intelligent game around, but it's pure, concentrated fun to me, and is a multi-player experience through and through. 6. Mariokart 64 Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: N64 Release Date: Feb 10, 1997 I feel like every entry in my Top 10 list warrants some kind of explanation. The most common statement that may arise is, "why?" and "aren't there better installations of Mariokart, like the original, or the DS version?" To that, I'll say that I've barely had any playing time with the original SNES game, and while it was decent, I found it a little too flat, basic and archaic for my tastes (although I haven't played it too much yet, so it's only a first impression). As for the DS version, I do like it for the most part, but I find that it's track design doesn't pale in comparison to the N64 version, and that damn blue shell of death is far, far, cheaper, is virtually impossible to escape, and slows you down to a complete stop for seconds upon getting hit with it, in the DS version (the Wii version also didn't appeal to me for the reason of cheap weapons, and the blue shell). I do own Mariokart Double Dash for the Gamecube and Mariokart Super Circuit for the GBA, and while they're pretty fun and all (more-so with Double Dash), the definitive version of Mariokart for me in the N64 version. This has to be one of the most fun multi-player games that I have ever played so far, whether it's in the Grand Prix mode (which you can also play with others, as it fills the track with computer controlled racers other than the players), the versus mode (which only contains human players) or the battle mode (even though there are only four arenas, the replay value of these stages is infinite) . It's just pure, fast paced and hectic fun. There's skill to learning each track and battle arena, and there is a little bit of luck thrown in there when using weapons, but I've never found the luck factor to be as strong as future Mariokart titles in deciding the outcome in a race. The game is simple enough that anyone can join in, and have fun, whether they win or lose, but for people who really take the time to knowing all of the tracks, perfecting their driving skills and using the weapons wisely will certainly have an advantage over players that don't practice. Normally, I don't tend to like multiplayer games that focus on an elite style of playing that requires constant practice with the consequence of not doing so being constant defeat, but the Mariokart series really needs a little bit of this factor in order to be worth playing to me. I don't mind a little bit of luck or randomness in multiplayer matches, since it gives less skilled players the chance to catch up or win every now and then, which is fine. However, when it comes to the point that you absolutely don't have to practice at all to beat someone who's dedicated time to mastering the driving system, just because you happened to get a bunch of lucky, cheap weapons (as well as all of the other racers), then it becomes a problem. This is the factor that can make or break a Mariokart game for me, and the future titles seem to be so imbalanced, that no matter how hard you try, you're often destined to lose. With Mariokart 64, I never feel that kind of stress. The only cheap weapon in Mariokart 64 is the blue shell, of course, and while it can home in on the player in first place while hitting other players along the way if they drive in it's path, it has the same effect on a player as the green or red shell. It momentarily stuns the player as they roll forward a little bit and then start accelerating again (without making the player lose their current item). It's just a red shell with a near-perfect homing power (although even the blue shell is possible to dodge in this game). In Mariokart DS for example, the blue shell will hover above the player, being virtually unavoidable to avoid, landing right on top of the player, creating a large explosion that can stun nearby players, and bringing the player who was hit to a dead stop for about three to five seconds (as well as making the player who was it to lose their item). Aside from the blue shell in Mariokart 64, every weapon has some chance to be avoided. The three red shells can be blocked by holding an item behind you, by having shells hover around you, or by the shell running into a nearby wall or object before it hits you. Aside from that, there's just singular red shells, three green shells, one green shell, invincibility stars, ghosts that steal items and make you invisible, lightning bolts (granted, they are somewhat cheap and completely unavoidable [except for when you're using a ghost], but they don't completely stop you in your tracks), bomb boxes that look like item boxes, singular bananas, and trails of bananas. Sometimes, less is more, in Mariokart 64's case. Sure, there could be more weapons, and sure, you could get bombarded with crap by 11 other people instead of 7, but why would you want that? It would only take away from the racing aspect, and would only add to the frustration aspect. I love the balance in Mariokart 64's weapon set, as they're fun to use, they're effective, but they're never so frustrating to get hit by that the weapons alone will actually ruin a race (well, it can happen if you're unlucky enough to get hit by the edge of a cliff or right before the finish line if you're not holding a weapon behind you, but that's it). Another aspect that I love about this game are the track designs. They just really work. Whether it's the varying themes between levels like Koopa Troopa Beach, Bowser's Castle (filled with tons of obstacles like Thomps, bridges and jumps over lava), Wario Stadium (which is designed like a dirt bike track), Frappe Snowland (which has you driving through minefields of exploding snowmen), Moo Moo Farm (complete with bumpy hills and moles jumping out of the ground) and so forth. Pretty much all of the tracks apart from the raceways, feel so completely different in themes, layouts, and lengths. They're really fun to drive in, easy to remember the layouts, and are extremely memorable. I also love the Battle Mode arenas, with the Block Fort being my absolute favourite, since it contains four separate multi-layered forts with various ramps leading up them and bridges connecting them together (which just presents so many opportunities to hide, ambush, retreat and chase others around the stage). There's also the Donut arena (which is a giant ring with lava in the middle), Double Deck (which is also multi-layered with a hole in the top leading down to the lower level, but the whole thing is one structure, with a lot of hallways as well), and the Skyscraper stage (which has instant death falls around the middle and outside of the stage). Not one single track or arena from Mariokart 64 has gotten old for me, ever since I first played it. The game is infinitely replayable for me, and the fun factor really rockets through the roof every time I play it with others. Graphically, the game hasn't aged too well, but there are still things that I appreciate about it's visuals The first being the track design (I also love the amount of hills, dips, twists and turns in them), as I've mentioned before, and I find that even the sprite models have some unique retro charm to them. The whole game is really smoothly animated too. Music-wise, it's just plain catchy and upbeat, which always keeps me in a positive mood as well as energized to kick some ass. There's also a time trial mode present in the game that's strangely addicting, 3 different difficulty modes as well as an extra difficulty that lets you race on mirrored versions of all of the tracks. I think that I've basically covered everything about Mariokart 64, and there's not else much to say other than it's purely fun, simple, and a timeless gem to me. I understand that I've included mostly N64 games within the start of my Top 10 list, and for good reason. A lot of the N64's library was based around such a simple concept of pure fun, and I won't deny it. The N64 has some of my favourite games out there. While the N64 games won't fill up my final Top 5 like these last 5 games, one thing is for sure. Mariokart 64 is my favourite racer out there. Why? Because it's a videogame in it's purest form, and it kicks realism in the ass out the door. 5. Klonoa Developer: Namco Released on: PS1, Wii, Release Date: March 10, 1998 (PS1), May 5, 2009 (Wii) I've sure come along way from where I started, right? I'm not just talking about since the entry #100, but in regards to Klonoa as well. It's sequel landed on #93, and now I'm setting the original game at #5? What the hell? Where's the consistency in it? And what the hell is Klonoa anyway? You're about to find out. Some people probably know about Klonoa from my 93rd entry, but for those that aren't familiar with it, I'll go over the facts briefly. First of all, there's the 1997 version of this game, entitled, "Klonoa: Door to Phantomile" for the Playstation. I used to play that game constantly back in it's time by frequently renting it, but I never bought it, and regretted that action for 12 long years...until it was remade onto the Wii for 2009, titled only as "Klonoa". Klonoa is a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer that has Klonoa running on a 2D plane, but the environment is somewhat rendered in 3D, since the paths that you can take can curve into the foreground and background (while still running on a 2D plane to the left or the right), with the camera appropriately changing direction to keep the emphasis on it being a 2D platformer. Basically, it's a 2D platformer with some 3D elements thrown in. Klonoa is this bunny-cat-dog-like...thing, that travels around with a ring that houses his wind spirit friend Huepow (who can combine powers with Klonoa by having Huebow shoot out of the ring to inflate nearby enemies like balloons). The story is about in the land of Phantomile (a place that is normally fueled by dreams), the residents have suddenly started to not be able to remember any of the dreams that they have been having. Klonoa does have one at the start of the game though of a dark airship crashing into a nearby mountain that's close to his village. Upon waking up the next day, Klonoa actually witnesses the same event happen in reality, and decides to go with Huepow and investigate the mountain. The plot proceeds to develop into a typical "villian is going to take over the word by kidnapping a girl and needing a magic pendant" routine, but one of the aspects that I enjoy about this game more than it's sequel is it's story. Yes, it's very typical, but there's something really magical about it that makes me feel like a kid again (somewhat like Paper Mario. You don't go into it expecting shakespeare, but it does turn out to be a fun and magical journey, even though at it's base, the plot is typical), and damn...that ending. I don't know why a game like this can almost make me tear up at the end, but the ending is the most bittersweet one I've seen. I felt bad about what happens at the end, but the very end of it ends off on this kind of happy, pick-me-up tune, as the tale ends up wrapping up, and as the credits roll, the screen turns into a storybook format, as page after page is flipped from the end of the book to the beginning (showcasing all of the different scenes from the game) until the book closes cover-side up, with your name on it. I don't know, it just ends off on such a classic, timeless, storybook note, that comes back full circle with itself. The whole atmosphere of the first game trumps the sequel in every way, in my opinion. Klonoa has a unique way of platforming. It's kind of like an adventure/platformer/puzzler. To get through each stage, you need to take advantage of Klonoa's wind ring by inflating your enemies, and using throwing them to attack other enemies, solve puzzles, hit switches, and to double jump with (by putting the enemy under his feet after he jumps and leaping off of it. Plus, Klonoa can slowly hover for a second or two after jumping, which extends your air time). There's a lot of clever, individual puzzles scattered through your environment in Klonoa. Basically, the whole levels are your puzzles, just figuring out how to navigate them, and what techniques to use to do what you need to do. For example, if you see three flying enemies all flying above one another, you can jump and grab the first one and double jump off of it in mid-air to reach the second enemy above you, letting you repeat the process until you've reached the top. You can also toss enemies into the foreground and background, so sometimes your solution can be right in front of your face without you realizing it at first. Some enemies are armored, so you can't grab them, but you can knock it's armor off with another enemy in order to grab it. Some enemies even have a function other than being a toss-able object, such as time bomb enemies, or ones that have propellers on them to take you higher in the sky. There's also plenty of other more action-packed sequences mixed in, like riding down high-speed waterslides, riding gondolas, and fighting the gigantic bosses. The only downside, is that Klonoa is a very easy game (made even easier by the remake). It's not a complete pushover that requires no effort at all, as there is a lot of out-of-the-box thinking required for solving puzzles on your first run through, but it can be pretty much be beaten by anyone if they put enough time and practice into it. This leads to the game's incredibly short length (for a first timer, maybe 6 hours, for a veteran, maybe 2 or 3 hours). Despite the short length and easy difficulty, I've always enjoyed every single second of Klonoa's gameplay (and it's short length even makes it replayable for me, since I enjoy it so much). It never overstays it's welcome and becomes redundant because of it's length, and if you need to increase the challenge/replay value of the game, you could always attempt collecting all of the gems located in each level to open up an optional world that is much harder than the regular levels. Plus, you can open up mirrored versions of each stage (in the Wii version) upon beating the game, which are a bit more difficult than the default ones. Personally, I don't play Klonoa for the challenge. It's probably the most relaxing game that I've ever played, and every single detail with it puts me in a positive mood. Whether it is it's beautiful, colourful, dream-like visuals/world and stage designs, or the simple, upbeat tunes that perfectly accommodate every single moment of the game (speaking of audio, I recommend to not listen to the voices in Klonoa in their horrible English dialouge. There's an option in the remake to change it to Phantomilian, which is the gibberish used in the first game. Trust me, it's not annoying like the English acting), to the simple narrative that seems like something out of a storybook or a dream, Klonoa is a game that always puts a smile on my face. It's almost for the reason of the atmosphere alone that the first game ranks so much higher than the sequel for me (Klonoa 2 had more of an "attitude" than the first. It was almost like trying to give Mario a Sonic-like attitude and attire. It just doesn't work and isn't the same, despite how good the gameplay is). I just enoy everything about the first Klonoa more, from it's narrative, to it's visual style, to it's music, to it's characters, to it's puzzles and stage designs. Because of these things, Klonoa's world flows together so perfectly for me, in such a way that is impossible to explain. This entry is going to be the most personal one out of my Top 5, as I'm sure that most people haven't even played it or given it a chance, because it looks like just another "average" 2D platformer. That saddens me a little inside. Klonoa may not have the attitude and badass-ary like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, he may not be presented like a Saturday morning cartoon like Sly Cooper, and he may not have the timeless status and familiarity to audiences like Mario, Sonic, Samus, Kirby, Yoshi, etc, but it still is one of the most satisfying and overlooked games that I have ever played. There's just something positive, dream-like and magical about the whole game, that I get excited just thinking about playing the game again. I don't think that I can convince anyone here about what makes Klonoa such a good game for me, but I will really encourage anyone who is a fan of side-scrolling platformers to give it a try. The game is sold at $30 new, and since it hasn't sold too well, it may be even cheaper. It's my favourite Wii game so far (that's saying a lot next to Brawl, Galaxy and Twilight Princess), and I really hope that some people out there will at least give it a chance. Buy it cheap. Rent it. There's certainly a lot of heart put into Klonoa, and with Namco finally building up the guts to remake their best Klonoa game on the Wii (while fully knowing that it probably wouldn't sell well), it really needs to connect with a larger audience, or else the series will fade off into obscurity again like a dream. P.S. Life is just a dream you know, that's never ending...I'm ascending...(to my other Top 4) - blatant Cowboy Bebop reference 4. Persona 4 Developer: Atlus/SMT Released on: PS2 Release Date: Dec 9, 2008 Here we are, finally at my #1 RPG that I've been waiting to mention (good call, Srassy), as well as the newest-released game on my list that stands near the top. It has encouraged me to write out this whole Top 100 List, because it's such a stand-out new entry to my list that completely breaks new ground for me in the way that I will see RPGs from now on. Oh yeah, it's time for something new and fresh, RPG-wise. It's time for Persona 4. First of all, I find that the narrative and setting of the game are absolutely incredible. The whole premise/description of Persona 4 sounds incredibly stupid on paper, but my curiosity got the best of me to try it out (I heard that it got really good reviews, but nothing more. I hadn't seen any previews or had read any reviews at the time. My wife ended up getting it for me last Christmas as a random surprise, and I was absolutely blown away with it. I knew pretty much nothing going into it). You start off as The Protagonist (you can actually name your character), as you're traveling to the small town of Inaba for a year, to live with your uncle and cousin, as you continue your studies in that town (yes, a completely modern setting, which might sound boring on paper, but there's a lot of character to it). Throughout the game, you'll live on a day-by-day basis, going through morning, noon, afternoon, and evening segments every day, as marked by your calender. Not long after arriving in Inaba, after you've met some new friends, strange murders start occurring throughout the small town, as bodies are being discovered hanging from telephone poles, antennas and other high fixtures in town, on display. These murders occur after every time there is a bout of fog within Inaba. When the fog clears, people are found dead, even people you know will be affected by it. That's right, this is turning into a murder mystery, and that's the plot. It sounds cheesy, but it's extremely well paced, well put together, has incredible dialogue and plot twists, and clues that are laid out to you bit by bit over time, which will put your anticipation and personal detective skills into overdrive as you're trying to guess and find out who in town is the source of these murders. Even stranger is the Midnight Channel. "The what?", you say? Well, it seems that on television in town, the victim of the murder will always appear on the midnight channel, before they just suddenly disappear from the town. It turns out that a little later, you discover by accident that you have the power to walk through TVs, which is a portal to an alternate realm filled with dangerous, dark creatures, which seems to be sharing some sort of connection with the murders. It's up to you and your group of friends to investigate the town and the alternate realm to find out the solution to these killings, to prevent and rescue potential victims from being murdered, and to catch the killer. Normally, I would start talking about the gameplay right now, but I'm going to talk about the stellar cast, and amazing presentation that Persona 4 has to immerse you in it's atmosphere. Aside from the really smart, well-paced and complex plot, every single one of Persona 4's characters fits perfectly in with the game, and are brilliantly acted. Yes, they may seem like a typical group of angsty, problem-ridden teenagers before you get to know them, and I'm the first person that would hate such a typical cliche scenario, but every single person in the cast (as well as the side characters) have a lot of complexity to them, and with each and every one of their inner demons and problems, I actually really cared about. Some of them even have original seeming problems that wouldn't occur in an RPG, like gender confusion and sexual identity confusion. Despite these problems that lie underneath every character has their own unique charms and personalities, and the interaction between them all (as well as you, since you can pick choices from dialogue trees) is priceless, humorous, believable and natural in every sense. Never before in an RPG have I seen a cast of characters that seem like people that you've known throughout your whole life, and every moment I cared deeply about what was happening to them, and would actually tense up and feel a sense of worry when they were in danger. Now that's true atmosphere in an RPG. Like I said, the voice acting is top-notch, with the right voice actors perfectly suiting the right characters, as they get every single word, tone and pitch down right for the dialogue. I've never seen characters seem so real, charming and believable with the way they interact, which makes the whole town of Inaba feel so alive, even though it's such a small, quiet, peaceful town. I truly felt like I was actually living in Inaba for the span of a year while experiencing these events unfold. It's a true atmosphere in every single sense. The presentation of the game also wouldn't be what it is without the stellar soundtrack. Yeah, there's some japanese pop and rock in there, but it fits the japanese theme of the game perfectly, and the right songs always cue up for their right music. It's so good, that I'll often pop the extra soundtrack disk that comes with the game in my CD/DVD player to listen to when I'm not playing it. It's really, really catchy music, with my favourite tunes being the song from the game's anime intro (which is also an amazing piece of artistry), the boss battle rock music, and the absolute final boss battle theme (which is kind of like an anthem-rendition of the main theme of the game). Visually, the game isn't mindblowing, due to it being one of the latest games released on the PS2, but it still does have an eye-catching art style, great character designs and slick menu screens. The whole town and various residents of Inaba all have character to them (n fact, there are hardly no random NPCs in Inaba, as many of the residents have names, different faces and their own profile art), which makes the whole place more believable. Getting onto the gameplay aspect, as I've said before, the game takes you through a day-by-day basis for the main character, starting with the day time at school (where you can answer questions at school, interact with students and eat lunch with others), the afternoon outside of school (where you can choose to hang out with other characters from your party or even side characters, as well as choosing to work, shop, or participate in after-school activities/clubs that you've joined. You can also go to your local department store to enter a big screen TV there to fight in the alternate realms to level up and rescue murder victims who are being thrown through TVs and left in the realm to be killed by all of the creatures), and in the evening you can sometimes choose to work at your job, do homework, or to check out the Midnight Channel to find who your next potential murder victim will be. Now why would you want to participate in all of these day-time activities when you could just fight in dungeons and advance the story? Because by interacting with others, you learn more about them, as well as being able to increase your social link with them. The higher your social link builds up with a particular person, the stronger Personas you can create (spirits that you use in battle). Apart from building social links, and apart from leveling up of course, you'll also have to build up your personal attributes such as diligence, knowledge, understanding, courage and expression in order to do access different ways to increase social links and earn cash (for example having the courage to hit on one of your girl party members, having a high understanding to talk to your troubled cousin, or having enough diligence to qualify for a job). It may sound like a pain in the ass on paper, but it's extremely addictive to build your main character's relationships with other people and to develop their skills as a person (as well as a fighter in the alternate realm). With every day that passes by, you have choices. For example, an exam is coming up in a few weeks, and your party's levels aren't buffed up much. Do you take the time to study on rainy days (which nets you more points towards leveling your knowledge up, rather than studying in any other weather condition) or do you go to the alternate realm to level up, since monsters are stronger on rainy days? Do you choose to hang out with a friend after school to increase your social link with that particular person, or do you go to work your job at night for the money (there are also people you can build social links at your job sites). There are always choices within Persona 4, and there's no way to master everything in one go (well, there may be, but I couldn't find the right combination of times to do it. There's always a new game + though to have an easier chance at that). As I've said, sometimes you will have to go into the TV realm in order to save potential victims that have been thrown inside the TVs. When a victim is thrown inside, it will be up to your party to venture through the dungeons inside the alternate realm, and save the victim before a certain day hits on your calender (when the town gets foggy and then clears up days later, the victim will die if you don't save them by then). So of course, you always have a few weeks to save each victim, and at first, I was turned off and a little stressed out by this aspect of gameplay. I didn't want to feel rushed, and what if I couldn't save the person by then (you'll have to load up a previous save for let the game start you from a few weeks back [luckily, that never happened to me]). However, the time-based missions really do provide you with a sense of urgency to get things done, and the time limit is actually really lenient for the most part with how many weeks they always give you to perform the task. During this time frame, you can choose to keep entering the TV to progress through the dungeons, or you can perform actions of your everyday life like increasing social ranks and such. I do find that it's good to focus on the task at hand, like progressing and leveling up (usually, you'll never be strong enough to make it through the whole dungeon in one day, so it's good to train and pace yourself on a day-to-day basis), but sometimes, there are also important events in Inaba that can happen at the same time, which give you great opportunity to raise social ranks and increase your character traits. It's all about balancing your personal life, and your training/rescuing in the TV realm. It may sound complicated and confusing by juggling all of these aspects around, but it constantly makes things active, compelling, exciting, addictive (I've played for whole real life days-straight before) and rewarding. Another interesting aspect is that based on the victim you are trying to save, you'll enter a different dungeon/level to save them. Upon entering that place, the level design and creatures will reflect the victim's personality, and what kind of mental state they are in. One person who is sexually confused has a very sweaty sauna for a dungeon, one person who wants to escape from responsibility has a dungeon that's a huge mansion (since she refers to herself as a princess, waiting for her knight to come and save her), one person is a pop culture figure who hates being put up on a pedestal like a sexual object of desire (wanting only a normal life instead) but her dungeon is themed like a strip joint. For combat, your party does have their standard melee attacks, but they're also all equipped with personas, which are physical/spiritual manifestations of their inner selves to help them fight against enemies. All of your party members can only carry their own persona throughout the game, and work on leveling it up as they level up (and replacing old techniques with new ones, since they have only eight slots for magic/techniques). The main character however, can hold multiple personas of his own (you can carry more as you level up more). You start off with your standard persona, Izanagi, but it's important to use cards that you win after battles that have pictures of different kinds of personas on them to fuse together to make your own personas to use in battle. You'll be able to see what you'll create before you make one, so you don't have to take any random chances, and there are hundreds of combinations to create different personas with all of the different cards that you can fuse together. Even if you take two particular cards to fuse a particular persona, there's always a chance that you can use a different combination of cards to make the exact same persona, but with different abilities (which may be better than the first choice). It's important to experiment on creating newer and more powerful personas throughout the game, to eventually build up a set of them that each have their own important magic/techniques, so that your main character is diverse in using all sorts of magic and techniques that your other members don't have the capacity to hold (keep in mind that you can switch between different personas one per turn without having to lose a turn (but you can't keep switching between them over and over through one turn). During battle, you can manually control your team's actions for each of their turns (I'm only mentioning this for you Persona 3 players, who couldn't control your teammates directly in that game). Battles within Persona 4 are tough, and rely pretty heavily on exploiting enemy weaknesses. Their weakness is never always flat-out obvious to figure out, so often, it takes some experimenting with different magic attacks to find it. Once you hit them with an element they're weak to, they'll collapse to the ground, giving you an extra turn to attack. If all of the enemies on the battlefield are collapsed on the ground, your whole group can perform a brutal team attack at no cost, which is a great reward for exploiting weaknesses. Beware though, since enemies can exploit your elemental weaknesses too, knocking your party members to the ground. Because battles can be so strategic, the boss battles in Persona 4 are brutally hard, even on the normal setting. While it may seem frustrating, they're actually extremely rewarding to defeat, they all have a variety of techniques that are completely different that each other (always forcing you to think of new strategies), and the scale and importance of these battles always feels truly epic. These are the best boss battles in an RPG, in my opinion. Near the end of the game, all of the game-based clues will really come together to use in unveiling who the perpetrator is. By paying attention throughout the game, and listening to the clues and reasoning that your characters exchange through dialogue, as well as using your own deductive reasoning, the game will put the choice in your hands for calling out who is the murderer. It's extremely exciting, and I felt the greatest reward that I have ever felt in a game, when my deductions were absolutely right on my first try, based on me paying attention to the clues throughout the whole game. The game basically gives you a list of all of the residents of the town and asks you on who you think is the killer (you get three choices to guess right). This whole aspect really draws you into the atmosphere of the game. There's even multiple endings based on what kinds of decisions you make, and the plot of the game can end early if you don't make the right decisions (as you may not be able to see the true final boss if your choices are wrong). A few tips without spoilers though. Be sure to make plenty of save files available for yourself at different times and locations in the game, because for the true last dungeon, you can't escape it, so you'll have no way to search other levels for important SP-restorative items if you trap yourself there. That leads to my other tip if you want to enjoy and finish this game. Save your somas (they heal full HP and SP) as there are very few of them, as well as many SP-restorative items that you can for the end of the game. It's really hard to find SP restorative items, and you will at the very least, need one soma for the true final boss battle (don't worry, you'll come across at least one), and the other bosses before that are pretty brutal too. SP is your magic meter, so it's vital to your success to at least have one soma by the final boss. I'm really recommending it. Don't use your last one, even if you're going to die on a previous boss before the final boss. You won't regret it. I've pretty much written up a novel on Persona 4, but everything is worth explaining. I've never experienced an RPG that was so deep, interesting, engaging, touching (there are some truly powerful moments in the game that are far more powerful than either FF7 game could ever pull off, in my opinion), and addictive as Persona 4 throughout my whole life. If the story, characters and presentation were the only good parts to the game, this game would be great, but it has an incredibly deep and replayable set of gameplay mechanics to boot (I've invested 100 hours into this game). Persona 4 is an incredibly overlooked RPG. It gained a lot of positive attention throughout reviews, but I hardly hear it being mentioned among anyone. Personally, it blows every RPG combined that I've entered in my Top 100 list right out of the water. I laughed (many times, this game can be hilarious on it's light-hearted moments), I cried, I got put to the absolute test with it's difficult parts, and was utterly relaxed living through the protagonist's interesting life on the non-dungeon parts. I cared about every single thing that happened in the game and embraced it all at the same time. It has one of my favourite plots and set of characters more than any sort of media that I have seen to date. It's absolutely powerful, and I loved every single second of it. I'll say this. If I can recommend any games in my Top 100 List more than any of my other games, they would be Klonoa and Persona 4. While I do have three games above Persona 4, I don't think that the majority of games have played Klonoa or Persona 4, and these games are something that can be easily missed amongst the sea of popular games and franchises out today. I encourage you to take the chance, if either game sounds interesting to you, or if it's a genre that you love. I'll always cherish every moment that I played Persona 4, and I will definitely be taking a trip to Inaba again some day soon, as this game is truly the PS2's swan song. 3. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: N64, GC (Master Quest) Release Date: Nov 21, 1998 (N64), Nov 17, 2003 (GC) Oh boy, here we go. I'm expecting to hear the saying "Oh my god! I've seen Ocarina of Time ranks near the top of peoples' list hundreds of times! Just stop it already! It's overrated!" To that, I just have to say that I'm not ashamed to be predictable. Why? Because I've loved this game long before all of these lists had started appearing. I've enjoyed it ever since it's release, and I'm not going to just deny or swear off something that I enjoy, just because it's getting too popular. I can't change what I like, and I can't change where I rank Ocarina of Time, because I'm being absolutely honest with myself and this list. Look on the bright side though. At least I didn't put it as my #1 pick of all time, right (and I'm not giving two other games the honor of that title just to avoid the eye rolls of tons of gamers over the internet. I really do actually like them more than this game). With that out of the way, The Legend of Zelda: OoT is my favourite Zelda within the franchise, and naturally it was the one that introduced me to it. Even though it's my first Zelda game, I'm not blinded by nostalgia-fogged goggles, because I'm open minded to every Zelda that I come across. I've just happened to enjoy OoT's world, characters, music, quests and sense of balance far more than the other games. It had nothing about it that I hated. From the other Zeldas I have played, they have all at least had one really annoying element to them. Wind Waker had the annoying Triforce quest, Phantom Hourglass had the Temple of the Ocean King, Twilight Princess had the boring segments where you kill bugs as a wolf as well as the Dark Temple at the end, Four Swords Adventures even had one particular level that was impossible to complete while playing as four players (as all four Links had to be in formation to cross through a portal at the same time), I found that A Link To The Past was a little to bland for me (and I hated it's map-travelling system), and last but not least, I couldn't get into Majora's Mask's Groundhog Day-like symptom of having to play the same parts over and over (for the record I haven't played much of the other Zelda games). However, the closest thing that Ocarina of Time had for me was the Water Temple, and even I completed that fairly easy (I also think I'm in the minority that actually enjoys that temple). So what is there to say about Ocarina of Time that hasn't been said before? Pretty much nothing, really, as I'm sure that you've all been beaten over the head with info about it mercilessly. If you would like to know what I personally liked about it, I'll still explain. For one, like many others, I loved it's atmosphere. It's true that the N64 hasn't aged the best, and Ocarina of Time isn't a graphical masterpiece anymore, but I still love the look and feel of every area in the game (yes, I know that Twilight Princess is more detailed and larger, but that doesn't exactly make the areas more fun and memorable as this game. Every area was vastly different from the next, such as Kokiri Forest's grassy and tree filled landscape, and the inside of the Great Deku Tree's dark and lonely interior, and the Forest Temple's ancient ruins that are covered with vines. The Goron Mountain was rocky and dry, the Fire Temple was hot and full of lava and the Goron Cave Dungeon was a cross between both. Zora's Domain was a peaceful, ambient cave with waterfalls, the Fish Temple was...well, inside of a big fish (with organs and all), Lake Hyrule had a fishing area as well as a very deep lake, which housed the Water Temple which was confusing, wet (well, of course water is wet!), and had varying levels of height that you could change the water level at. There was a graveyard area behind Kakariko village that was a precursor to the dark shadow temple, complete with many hidden traps, pitfalls and a spooky atmosphere. The Spirit Temple existed behind Gerudo Valley (complete with a large gorge) and the Gerudo Fortress (which is a stealth-based area, guarded by tons of thieves), as the well as a vast desert that was overrun by Sandstorms (the temple was a maze-like area with a higher emphasis on puzzle solving). Connecting all of these places was the large Hyrule Field in the middle, complete with Hyrule Castle and Hyrule Market, The Temple of Time, Lon Lon Ranch, and various other little secret areas throughout Hyrule. Ganon's Castle was also tall, menacing, and just plain evil. There was a lot of variety between venturing throughout all of the areas in Ocarina of Time, since all of the town and dungeons had amazing level designs and themed (and those dungeons were incredibly well set up, being just difficult enough to propose a challenge, but never frustrating enough to give up on the game with). Tying together all of these amazing areas to explore was the ability to travel through time (and eventually being able to do it at will), to become Young Link or Adult Link. I loved the amount of new problem solving that the time travel proposed, since you could often affect the future by altering the past, as well as by taking songs that you've learned in the future, to be able to use in the past with your ocarina to make key events happen. Plus, the way that the game starts off by having you play as Young Link (who uses weaker items) really makes for an appropriate introductory portion to the game, before you turn into an adult and are granted with the more powerful items. The weapons and items though, are all of the classic Zelda staples of course (yes, I realize that it may not have as many as some other Zelda games, but it really isn't a make-or-break element to me), and they are all useful, balanced, and fun to use. Last but not least, about the gameplay, is that I found all of it's side-quests (such as the skulltulas, poes, heart containers and biggoron's sword for example) and puzzle solving to be non-stop fun, interesting, and addicting to complete and solve. I can't give a hundred examples of different moments, but I can say that I've enjoyed everything about Ocarina of Time, at least a little bit more than every Zelda game I've played. The story was just a little more interesting (I also enjoyed the bittersweet ending), the world design/towns/dungeons were just a bit more compelling, I liked the overall puzzles better than any other entry, I found the side-questing portion to be more rewarding than any other Zelda I've played, I'll admit that the graphics and style aren't as good as Wind Waker though (bit I still really enjoy them), the controls are the most fluid and responsive (mostly due to the N64 pad. I love that thing), and the soundtrack is fantastic (containing some of my favourite music in any game, like the Hyrule Field theme). Oh, and the bosses...I absolutely adore every single boss within the game, as they ooze with style, character and fun strategies to take down. Also, I don't see what's so annoying about Navi. I never hear her shout out "listen!" every 2 seconds, as I'm sure if she actually did in reality, non-stop throughout the entire game, no one would have liked it, and it would have scored much lower in reviews. Overall, I'm making this entry short, as I'm sure that you've all heard this before. I can't exactly explain why I love The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time so much. It's a game that I can appreciate on a moment-to-moment basis. It's filled up with great area after area...amazing puzzle after puzzle. Every moment has something magical and timeless within it for me, and while new titles have come and gone, they haven't affected they way I see this game in the future. I still always see it as the same game that I played when I was younger, and I can appreciate what it is without getting too picky about it. I try and maintain this type of mentality when I play all games, that just because future releases of a franchise may be better than a past one, that there is no way that it makes the previous entry that I've already enjoyed, any worse. Games will be games. Usually, if I loved something then, I'll love it now to the exact same amount, because nothing about the game ever changes. That's what gives a timeless feel to many of my favourite games on my list, and Ocarina of Time was already so good for me in the first place, that it's been guarding this spot very fiercely for years...because I've never found it any less fun now than it was back then. I'm not expecting anyone here to agree with my own, predictable, personal choice. Everyone has their own favourite Zelda games, and that's what makes us all interesting. Who knows? Maybe by talking about our favourite Zelda games to each other, we may be able to see each other's games in a different light, and appreciate them a bit more for aspects that we may have not seen previously when playing another person's favourite. Regardless of comparisons and who likes what, I don't think that an awfully designed Zelda game really exists out there (besides the CD-i ones). I may not like the design and gameplay of Majora's Mask at all, but even I can appreciate the amount of complexity, creativity and passion that was put into creating a game like that. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time may be one of the most loved and one of the most *shudders at the word* overrated games in videogame history, but I stand by my word, as I think that's it's one of the best designed games that I have ever played, and cheesiness aside, it's absolutely timeless for me. 2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Developer: Sonic Team Released on: Sega Genesis, PS2/PSP (Sega Genesis Collection), PS2/GC/XBOX/PC (Sonic Mega Collection), 360/PS3 (Ultimate Genesis Collection), XBLA/PSN Release Date: Nov 24, 1992 (Genesis), Nov 16, 2006 (PS2/PSP), Nov 10, 2002 (PS2/GC/XBOX/PC), Feb 10, 2009 (360/PS3), Sept 12, 2007 (XBLA) My first game that I have ever played may have been Super Mario Bros, but Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Genesis was the definitive 2D platformer of not only my childhood, but my entire life as well. I absolutely adore every aspect about this game, from it's simple, fast paced gameplay (and smooth controls), to every single level, to every single boss, to the two-player cooperative mode (I'm not talking about the versus mode), to the bright/colourful/crisp visuals to the best music that I've heard on the Sega Genesis. Sonic 2 blows it's 2D competition out of the water for me, and is truly an eternal gem that can be replayed over and over, to an infinite amount of times for myself, whether I was a young kid, the 25-year old I am today, or on my death bed. Sonic 2 kicks so much bum. As I'm climbing up the list to my #1 pick, you have to remember my favourite phrase, "sometimes it's the simplest games that are often the best". Sonic 2 completely excels in that category. You have a D-Pad and one button to jump. You can roll on the ground while pressing down while moving, and you can rev up in place by spinning when holding the down button while mashing the jump button continuously to build up speed until you release the down button and zip off (a great move for climbing hills when you have no real means to accelerate). You run around and breakneck speeds, you dash through loops and all sorts of corkscrews, you jump on stuff, you dodge stuff, and you attack stuff. It's so simple, and with the inclusion of a second player as Tails, it makes for an amazing cooperative game, since two people can enjoy running and platforming throughout the worlds together simultaneously on the same screen (providing that the person playing as Sonic isn't a complete bastard and lets Tails catch up every once in a while). Just like Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, or Sonic 3 & Knuckles, it's hard to describe what makes the game so good. It's so basic, and it's something that everyone has seen numerous times by now, but it's just the sheer collaboration of all of Sonic 2's elements that raises it to a colossal status for me. The game really doesn't even have anything that Sonic 3 & Knuckles doesn't have. In fact, it seems to have less on the exterior, but deep down inside, it has a lot more for me. First of all, as odd as it sounds, I love the length and difficulty of the game. Sonic 2 can be plowed through within a couple hours in one sitting, and is a game of moderate difficulty (it's hard at first, but when you play it time and time again, it gets easier). Like Klonoa, Sonic 2 never overstays it's welcome for me. Yes, Sonic 3 & Knuckles has save points, so I can turn it off and resume pretty much any time that I want, but I really like Sonic 2's aspect of sitting down and finishing it in one sitting. It makes the game more challenging as a whole, since you can't pick back up from a previous save point (which makes every single action and life count). It's also the absolute perfect length for me, never ending so early that I would feel gipped, or so late that I would feel like it's a chore. Since the game isn't overly long, it makes the whole experience feel more fast-paced, which suits Sonic's world just fine. I'd rather have a Sonic game of this size than the new ones offered today. The level designs are perfect. Going back to length, each individual stage is never too long, and never takes close to 10 minutes to complete. Sometimes with Sonic 3 & Knuckles (like the Carnival stage) the level would seem to go on and on, getting closer to that 10 minute timer to complete (when the time reaches 10 minutes, you die). If you hit a checkpoint close to 10 minutes, and didn't have enough time to finish the level, you would lose all of your lives, since the goal is just too far to physically reach before the timer goes out. With Sonic 2, you never feel absolutely rushed, because most of the time, levels can be completed between 3 to 7 minutes. It just suits me so well, because before a level starts to get boring, I'm moving onto the next level, but never do I feel like I wasn't able to see enough of each level. Plus, levels also often have multiple paths (like I explained with Sonic 3 & Knuckles), that there's always variety in the path that I take, that I never feel like every time that I play, I'm always following the same route. Probably the most unexplainable aspect of the level design is that I just like how the levels are laid out better. I just find myself having more fun with the flows of pathways, obstacles and challenges ahead of me more than any other Sonic game I've played. Also, there are virtually no stages that I hate in Sonic 2, whereas in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, there were at least a few duds, like the Carnival Night Zone in Sonic 3 or the Death Egg Zone in Sonic & Knuckles. I enjoyed fighting the bosses (mainly Robotnik...you know, when he was actually called Robotnik) in Sonic 2 more than any other Sonic game as well. I never felt as if the bosses were overly frustrating and cheap. Sure, they're pretty easy once I had gotten the hang of them, but they're fun to face off against every time I fight them. I've even developed some great flawless strategies against some of them (like remaining on the pillars as they raise in the Aquatic Ruin zone so I don't have to jump on the shooting arrows to reach him. In the Casino Night stage I will rev up, spin up the wall for a second, jump off the wall, hit Robotnik and then fall back at the wall that I spun up, rolling right back down underneath him before he can drop a mine on me. How about just plain ducking on the Chemical Plant boss when he drops water on you so you don't get hurt? How about continuously jumping on the oil ocean underneath the platform so that Robotnik's lasers can't fry you? How about standing directly underneath Robotnik [and I mean directly] and jumping straight up at him in the Metropolis Zone to avoid getting hit by his rotating orbs?). It's untraditional stuff like this that can make each boss encounter so fun to face off against. I don't have to fight the way that the game intends me to do it. The Bonus stages in Sonic 2 are the cream of the crop in regards to Sonic games, as the camera switches to a behind-the-back view of Sonic (and Tails when available) as he races down a half-pipe tube to collect as many rings as possible without getting hit by bombs (which makes you lose rings) for a Chaos emerald. The stages get progressively and insanely difficult, but always remain fast-paced and fun. I can hardly ever get all of those emeralds to unlock the reward of transforming into Super Sonic, but when I do attain them, it's the most satisfying reward I can think of. It's like having speedy shoes and being invincible the whole time. It makes the rest of the game easier, but with all of the difficulty that you have to go through to attain this, it balances the two aspects out. Speaking of Super Sonic, I have to mention the Debug mode in Sonic 2. What the hell is a Debug mode? It's a special cheat for Sonic 2 that allows Sonic to transform into any object (including rings) or enemy in the game, and place them wherever you want in the stage. You can transform into a diagonal spring, and hover the spring around the level, as you place springs wherever you want all over the place. Go back to the area of the initial spring and transform back into Sonic, so you can bounce off of them all. While I normally hate cheats in videogames, this one is a fun afterthought after beating the game that just allows you to mess around for the fun of it. Getting back to Super Sonic, there is a cheat to start off the game with all of the emeralds, so when you combine this with the Debug mode, you can generate rings wherever and whenever you want to keep Super Sonic going on endlessly. Musically, Sonic 2 is a treat for my ears, as I find that virtually every single tune in the game is catchy, upbeat and memorable. I can hum to those songs all day, and the sound effects really add to the experience, whether it's Sonic's classic jumping sounds, the sound of bouncing off springs, or my favourite, collecting rings. Visually, it's a joy to look at, as the game is always colourful, varied in it's level themes, crisp, and runs at a fast and smooth frame rate. Finally, as I've said before, the game is twice as fun when someone else is playing as Tails with you (or vise versa). For forever, I have been waiting for a 2D (or even 3D) Mario platformer that has two people controlling Mario and Luigi at the same time. Why? Because Sonic 2 does it perfectly, and despite Tails not being able to fly in this game, it still allows for a lot of fun cooperative moments. Sonic 2 has always been an incredibly special game to me, and if a certain 3D platformer never came along, Sonic may have been standing on top...but one lucky bastard had to come along and steal all of the glory away from our blue blur...in a game called.... 1. Super Mario 64 Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: N64, DS Release Date: Sept 26, 1996 (N64), Nov 21, 2004 (DS) "OH MY GOD! YOU JUST DIDN'T - ARRRGGHHHHHH!!!!", is what I expect that I may be hearing from plenty of enraged people out there, most notably lovers of Super Mario 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Galaxy, and to a degree, Super Mario Sunshine. "Hooray! Good choice, Jet Fire!" or even "Not a bad choice at all", is what I'm really hoping the result will be from people, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Lately, it's seemed like there is a popular trend going around for the dislike of Mario 64. The most notable complaints that I hear about it is that it hasn't aged well (in fact, I think I hear this fact for about any N64 game that is mentioned, when I think about it), or that it's just boring and uninspired. I for one, couldn't disagree more, personally. I'll be honest, Super Mario 64 has remained on the top of my list since the day that I completed it for the first time when it was first released. It always has remained my favourite, and I just can't change that. Nothing has impacted me as heavily as this game, in the sense of how well it plays, how magical and positive it feels, and how purely fun this game is for me. I find it infinitely replayable, and every single star, every single level and every single boss encounter with Boswer is absolute perfection for myself. Mario 64 is one of the simplest games that I have ever had the pleasure of playing, that I don't even know where to really start. I guess to begin, I have to say that I have never found a better control scheme than Super Mario 64. Every single step Mario takes is 100% my responsibility, and all of his moves (the double jump, triple jump, wall kicks, back flips, side flips, long jumps, dives, punches, kicks) are insanely easy to use, and incredibly precise. Not only does this precision allow for just a more overall enjoyable experience, but it's allowed me to take Mario 64 much further than what the main game presents me with...which I'll get to soon. You know the drill with this game. Bowser has taken over Peach's castle, imprisoning her in a painting, and hiding all of the power stars that are the key to freeing Peach within the paintings on the castle walls. First of all, the castle is still like a giant playground for me. I don't know why it's still fun for me to just simply run and vault around all over the place. Every single level (painting), is incredibly diverse in themes, whether it's going from Bomb-omb Battlefield's grassy fields and gigantic mountain, to surfing on a turtle shell across the lava and volcano based areas in Lethal Lava land, to the gauntlets of obstacles in Bowser's levels (which always felt to me like the last challenge in an episode of American Gladiators), to the huge temple surrounded by desert and quicksand in Shifting Sand Land. Each level is bright, sharp and colourful, and expertly designed to provide a ton of variety in challenges for obtaining stars. There are so many different cases of different stars to grab, that I can't possibly list them all right here, but every one of them is purely fun for me to obtain, whether I'm racing a penguin down an ice slide, changing an island from a huge state to a tiny state in order to easily grab a star at the top, to slowing down the time or a clock level so much that it makes some stars accessible to earn, there's too much to do. But it's not just simply exploring the levels and finding each star that makes Mario 64 so special for me. I mean, the levels and star challenges are great and fill me with excitement at the thought of just simply collecting them all, and platforming my way through such a well designed world...but if there was only one way to grab each star, Mario 64 wouldn't be as fun to me...in fact, it would kind of turn into Super Mario Galaxy in that case (I mostly found that with that game, while the stars were more challenging to get, there was usually only one pathway required to obtaining each of them). You see, Mario 64 is such an easy game at it's core. It's not 100% unchallenging, and will require a lot of effort and reflexes to make it through the challenges, but collecting all of the stars is an absolutely doable task for anyone who puts enough effort into it. There are no brick walls in this game that I have ever seen anyone hit, that makes them put the controller down and give up (at the same time, this is a very good thing, which keeps it fun). I actually find the easy difficulty quite relaxing when I merely run through the game casually...but then you can decide to be crazy...how crazy? As crazy as you can get. The great thing about Mario 64, is that you can choose to find and invent routes to stars that are must faster, but are completely unorthodox, which can rely on complete skill, or even a certain degree of luck to grab them. For example, in Thwomp's Fortress, you're supposed to activate a cannon that will allow you to shoot to a pole between two platforms that are normally too high for Mario to reach. What I will normally do on the other hand, is triple jump towards the wall that the platform is attached to, way above me, and wall kick off of it at a certain angle, so that Mario will land on the platform without having to use the cannon to get there...all within seconds (it's a little harder than it looks). How about starting on the top of the first snow level's mountain and bouncing off of an enemy that lets Mario float down the mountain like a helicopter, around off the side of a mountain's cliff (that would normally lead to death) and under a huge overhang to grab a star on a small bridge of ice (normally, you would need a cannon to access this area too)? There are tons of faster and more stylish alternate routes and possibilities to grab each star, that it's kind of like a game within a game to speedrun with. Never does trying this ever feel like a chore to me, and whenever I pull off some kind of trick that I would have never thought would have worked, it's the most grin-inducing, rewarding thing that I can accomplish in a videogame. For years, I've been creating my own tactics and routes for obtaining stars more quickly...and just when I thought that I had attempted every possibility, I recently saw a speedrunner online that grabbed all 120 stars within a little over an hour...and was completely schooled by his methods. This only gives me encouragement to get more inventive in the future...and that's the beauty of Mario 64 for me. The fun never ends as long as I don't want it to end. While the primary game is fun in itself, as a person, I have the power to add endless replayability to this game. With Mario 64, every day is a new adventure to me, and the open-endedness of the whole game creates near-endless possibilities to improve at such a simple looking game. I'll be honest, that the first time I ever played Mario 64, since it was my first 3D game, it completely blew me away. I played the game for six months straight before I was given my next N64 game (Goldeneye), and not once throughout those six months had I ever gotten bored with it (in fact, not once since I started playing have I ever been bored with it, and I've beaten it more times than any other game). I think that the impact of the game really stuck with me and imprinted itself into my head, because every single time that I enter a new world in Mario 64, I get filled with a sense of child-like giddiness and excitement. This whole deal must have prevented the game from aging at all in my eyes, because I still see it as the exact same way as when I booted it up for the first time. The challenges for each star still feel varied to me to this day, and I like being able to grab them in any order that I wish. The secret star levels can be a blast too, and those boss battles with Boswer are absolutely epic for me. Even though there are only three power-ups, I still love the feeling of flying, going invisible seems so cool, and that Metal Mario song theme is timeless. The soundtrack is music to my ears, as every single track is incredibly memorable and catchy. The Dark World theme that plays in the Bowser levels is one of my favourite videogame tracks of all time. Damn it...seriously, I'm a little bit nervous and in shock since I've reached my #1 pick, that it's a little hard to write cohesively and elaborately. I thought that I was going to reach the end of my list, and write a novel about Super Mario 64...complete with going on and on about every single level and star that I could think of. I really hope that I haven't disappointed anyone with the quality of my final entry, as I can't believe that I'm just typing on this spot right now. If I can't go all out with explaining Super Mario, then I'll at least say it all at once. I love the controls, I love the overworld and every single level, I love the linearity of the core concept of grabbing stars by their traditional methods, but I love finding unorthodox ways to grab them more. I love the overall length of the game (which is just right for a 3D platformer, despite many people wanting their platformers to drag on into tedium by going on for 25 hours), I love the difficulty (like I said, it can be insanely easy, but it can be pretty difficult when you're experimenting with new way to grab stars). I love the bright, colourful, simple, very smoothly animated and happy visuals. I love the sweeping soundtrack that seems to convey every level perfectly, whether it's the somber tone of Jolly Roger Bay or the upbeat tune of climbing the mountain in Bob-omb Battlefield. I love it's creative boss battles and epic bowser boss fights. I just love it's overall simplicity. I don't need tons of modes and I don't need tons of power-ups. I just love it for it's pure gameplay and atmosphere. It's a game that makes me feel great inside, and I don't know how else to explain it. I can see that other people may not find it as special as I do, but it still doesn't change the fact that Super Mario 64 is my favourite game of all time. It's a game that I can't possibly put into words, so I hope that everyone else can see why I picked it, based on all of my favourite games leading up to it. Super Mario 64 is my #1 videogame of all time, and I wouldn't have it any other way...unless something better comes along someday, which is going to be really hard to top. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that is all for my Personal Top 100 Games of All Time. It was really exhausting by the end of writing this beast up, but it was absolutely worth it. Again, to the readers and commenters. Thank you. Thank you time and time again for the time you've put into reading my list, and the support that you've given so far. It may be the end of my Top 100 List, but it's certainly not the end of me, so check back sometime, as I'll continue to blog as regularly as I can. I hope that you enjoyed reading my list, as long as it may be (I swear that I must have set some king of world record in terms of a long list), and until next time everyone, keep reading, keep writing and keep gaming! P.S. Also, if anyone is interested, I have been interviewed by Thunderbird in regards to my Top 100 List, so you can check it out at: http://screwattack.com/node/26928 P.P.S. Be sure to check out my Honourable Mentions List as well, as I touch on all of the games that had come close to making my Top 100 List, but fell a little short. There are some great gems in that list: http://screwattack.com/node/27108 P.P.P.S On a final note, my Top 100 List will be gradually uploaded onto: http://www.controlfreeks.net/. Be sure to check them out too, as they have a lot of quality content, besides my list. - Jet Fire