Every February on whatever message board I'm hanging out on, I try to have a little stupid fun and do a theme month. Didn't pull it off last month, but usually it works out. Anyway this year, I'd like to present my Top 28 games of all time. This is a list I've been thinking about during a lot of down time at work for the past week, and I'm actually pretty proud of it. It's just my list of favorites, so there will be several games you've never heard of or at least never played. And there will likely be some that you'll go, "seriously? you like that turd?" Well, fuck you in advance. It's my list and I love it.
Anyway, I'll be posting one game a day with a blurb about why I love it so until the month is over, with my number 1 game being presented on Feb 28. Before we begin here is a semi-sorta sneak preview. Just a quick list of the honorable mentions. The ones that came so close and yet..... not good enough.
- Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess
- Fortune Street
- NiGHTS Into Dreams
- Final Fantasy Legend II
- Lemmings
The top 28:
28. Super Mario Bros. 2
27. Dig-Dug
26. Hero's Quest/Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero
25. Scorched Earth
24. The Saboteur
23. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
22. Azure Dreams
21. Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
20. Legend of Mana
19. Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
18. EverQuest
17. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
16. Rune Factory Frontier
15. Street Fighter Alpha 2
14. The World Ends With You
13. Pokemon Snap
12. Mother 3
11. Heroes of Might and Magic III
10. SimCity
9. Super Mario World
8. Chrono Trigger
7. Tetris
6. Red Dead Redemption
5. Persona 3
4. Resident Evil 4
3. Final Fantasy Tactics:
2. Valkyria Chronicles
1. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Yes it is.
#18. EverQuest
EverQuest was about as big of a deal as it gets for me. In my world there was gaming before EQ and gaming after EQ. It opened up a new world to me. It was like experiencing a new dimenion. I can tell you the exact moment where it all clicked for me, and I realized that I was playing something special. I was playing as a dark elf and sneaking through the sewers of a human city, as being spotted would result in being killed on site. As I walked in the shadows above me a human "married" couple was having their own conversation. And it hit me that I'm in this world doing my own thing, and they're in the same world doing their thing. It was simultaneouly a shared and separate experience, and it was monumental to me. To top it off though, it was the care that went into building the world that you got to experience. Everything was beautiful, even the slimy sewers and swamps. Entire histories were written for different countries and accessible in libraries. And on some occasions giant events would happen that would change the world as you knew it. Monumental, and a complete game changer.
#17. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Take the classic point and click adventure gameplay, add a legal system that doesn't exist anywhere on earth, throw in some of the funniest writing ever found in a video game, force the player to really think and use some (at times ridiculous) logic, and what do you get? You get Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It's very hard to pick just one from the original series, as the trilogy is masterfully woven together in a way that I don't think has ever been done in a game before. Still the original gets a special nod since it introduces nearly all of the series' characters and can stand on its own better than the other two. The game can be impossible to put down at times, and on one occasion I was so enveloped in it that I tried to play it on my drive home in rush-hour traffic (don't worry I didn't get into a wreck, though I can damned close). For anyone who enjoys critical and analytical thinking this game is an absolute must.
#16. Rune Factory: Frontier
Rune Factory: Frontier is one of those games that does everything. Farming, fighting, monster ranching, dating, social sim, crafting... it's a pretty full experience. And all of them are done well. That's the reason why this game is so good. It offers so many different experiences and none of them feel like an after thought. It's just all good. Real good. And it's wrapped up in an amazing art style that lends itself perfectly to the game's setting. The small village in a magical forrest with little spirits flying around, all with a giant stone whale floating over it. Everything about the game just makes you feel cozy. It's a strange way to describe a game, but cozy and comforting... that's the best way to describe this.
Never played Everquest, but wanted to say that you wrote a great description of what it's like to play a good MMORPG.
Got to say I'm jonesing for a new MMO to play. If EQ Next or DQX doesn't get here soon I'm going to have to venture out into the world and find something new.
Where are the shooters and the games with tits and blood!!!!
Rune Factory!! DAFUQ I LOOKING AT HERE
Hey there was blood and guns and boobs in Phoenix Wright. So there ya go.
I have a lot of reading ahead of me.
Making a Best list though? Playing with fire dude. I did it once, went back and looked at it abuot a month later and has a complete, "WTF were you thinking, dude?!" moment. It was like an out-of-body experience (one imagines).
If you liked Crackdown/ Infamous you would dig it. It is that kind of game but with Nazi's, better traversal, more diverse missions and boobs.
(RE: The Sabotuer).
Of course you pick one of the ones I don't have!
I've actually been toying with this list for about 6 months. It's definitely undergone some changes, but the top 10 has been relatively stable, and most of the games from 11 to 28 have always been strongly considered. I was well aware that 90% of the games I thought were good would be given strange looks by others, assuming they had even been played. Still I'm very happy with my final list, and at the end of the day I think it does justice to the games I've liked over the years and still enjoy to this day.