To celebrate our 10 year anniversary I think it's only fair that we do the exact same thing every video game magazine did whenever they reached a milestone... create a top 100 list. So that's what I'm going to do. I've spent the last couple weeks thinking this over and I have a list in front of me that I'm pretty happy with. No one else on earth will be happy with it, but as I always say, "fuck off it's my list and I don't give two shits what you think you little pissant." At least I think I say that.
Also, if you recall I did do a top 28 list a while back. However, that was 5 years ago and many great games have come out since, so even that top 28 has some changes in it. There's a few new games, a few games my opinions have changed on, and there was one really great one that I completely overlooked somehow when I made the list the first time. So rest assured there will be some very noticeable changes.
And it's going to go by fast. Since I've got that new job starting in just over a week, my free time may be reduced, so I'm going to try to get all 100 games posted within the next two weeks. I need to sharpen up my writing since this is a PR job so it's good practice. Writing about insurance benefits and filing medical claims is just like video games right?
100Sonic Adventure
99Kaboom
98Conquests of the Longbow
97Streets of Rage 2
96Lollipop Chainsaw
95Bloodborne
94 Crazy Taxi
93Bit.Trip.Beat
92Wii Ski & Snowboard
91RiverCity Ransom
90Dragon Quest Monsters
89Jones in the Fastlane
88Dark Cloud 2
87Professor Layton and the Curious Village
86MadWorld
85Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
84Torneko the Last Hope
83Crystal Castles
82Space Harrier
81Retro Game Challenge
80Final Fantasy VII
79Bulletstorm
78Rayman Legends
77Super Dodge Ball
76World of Goo
75The Magic of Scherazade
74Minecraft
73Fantasy Zone 2
72Golden Axe: Revege of Death Adder
71Final Fantasy Legend II
70Hotel Dusk
69Splatoon
68Pitfall
67Dragon Quest V
66SteamWorld Dig
65Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
64Order Up
63Hearthstone
62Monkey Island II: LeChuck's Revenge
61Bayonetta
60Galaga
59 Earthbound
58Super Mario Bros.
57Wii Sports Resort
56Pac-Man CE: DX
55Trauma Team
#14. SimCity
Good ole' SimCity. God only knows how many hours I've spent with this series. I've enjoyed the hell out of plenty many of the games in the series, from the SNES port to SimCity 2000 and even SimCity 3000 (though I've never really liked any of the other games in the Sim series). But for my money, the original was still the most fun. All the extra bells and whistles that the later installments had were nice, but I've always appreciated the simple balancing act of the original. Don't get me wrong though, there was nothing simple about the "simple balancing act" of trying to keep your industry, commercial, and residential buildings in harmony, and the game threw constant curve balls at you just to make sure that was the case. Earthquakes, fire, nuclear meltdowns, an invasion by Godzilla (or Bowser in the SNES version) always kept things lively and ultimately ruined a lot of the progress you had made. And who couldn't love that?
During the initial few months after I was introduced to SimCity, it was my immediate go-to game after schoool. I would spend a couple hours every day creating a new city, usually named after a prowrestler I was a fan of (Piperville in particular was a thriving metropolis). Inevitably within 30 or so years of in-game time I'd realize I'd made serious mistakes that could never be overcome, and I'd immediately delete the city and start up a new one again. I can't honestly say I was ever good at the game. I don't think I ever had a town last more than 100 years before going wildly bankrupt. Still, something kept me coming back to it, and I suppose that's the sign of a good game. To suck at and it and still enjoy.
I only played this at school, and I don't think it was really built for intermittent, short sessions.
I had some really good times with the SimCity games myself. I remember the time I was playing one and.......Zzzzzzzzzz
#13. Super Mario World
When Nintendo first announced the Super Nintendo and they would soon stop supporting the NES I pitched a fit. "Why the fuck would they force people to buy a new system? I should be playing the NES for the rest of my life! Fuck those assholes for trying to steal my money." In retrospect it wasn't the most rational thinking I ever displayed, but I was 13 or 14 so what are you going to do? But after seeing picture of Super Mario World, I backed off my stance. And the day I finally got to play it at a SNES kiosk at Target, well.... I stopped bitched all together. That first fortress level where you climbed the fence and then hit the door to start climbing from the other side?!?! Holy sweet Jesus. That was the most next-generation moment I think I've ever seen.
As far as Mario games go, World has been my number one for about as long as the game has been out, no matter if you're talking 2-D or 3-D. 100 levels of pure genius and fun. It might have forgone some of the cool suits from SMB3, but it more than made up for it with the Yoshi's, and more importantly with all the secret levels. After you got past the first island, you couldn't just play a Super Mario World level and then move on. There could be a secret exit. There could be a new level awaiting you. There could be another entrace to Star Road. This was serious shit, and there was just no room for filthy casuals or newbs who were satisfied with going straight thru the main levels. You play Super Mario World to experience THE ENTIRE WORLD DAMMIT!!!! So yeah, fucking genius game.
Super Mario World is such a perfect Mario game, it’s definitely my favourite 2D Mario game and stands toe to toe with the best 3D ones as well. The SNES was the golden age of video gaming for me and a large part of the reason why is because of SMW.
Yep, the best 2D Mario and it really isn’t close. I loved everything about SMW.
Finally something I can get behind. A masterpiece of a game!
#12. Chrono Trigger
It's a jRPG that's over 20 years old, and yet in that time very few games in the genre even come close to being as good, let alone surpassing it. For a lot of people this game is the game others are measured up against, and I can't find much fault in that. Chrono Trigger is excellent in every way. I got it on Christmas break during my freshman year of college, and playing that game is pretty much the only thing I did for the rest of my vacation. That Christmas we were actually visiting my sister who lived in New Jersey, and on the flight back home to Atlanta the airline lost our luggage. Needless to say I was miserable. I had read the previews in EGM, and I was pretty sure I was missing an amazing experience. Fortunately the next day the bags were found, I got my game back, and didn't stop playing it for about two weeks. I played through the first time in just a matter of three or four days, but then I saw New Game + mode, so I went again.... and again.... I think in total I got 4 of the endings in that time period. And if anything EGM undersold it. It was a life changingly good game. I'd later go on to buy the 3 disc soundtrack for $50 through some sketchy Japanese music website, and some other merch for the game where I could find it. It wasn't just a game. It was a lifestyle.
When it comes to Chrono Trigger I don't know if it's a crime that we never got a full franchise out of it, or if the only crime was Chrono Cross (not that it's a bad game). It totally stands on its own and Cross didn't really do anything better and if anything kind of made the original cast look kind of weak. It's a tough game to follow though, and it's just as likely we could never get something that good again, so as much as I'd like more, maybe it's for the best.
Yeah Chrono Trigger is my all time favourite RPG and may very well be my all time favourite game period. As much as I would love to see another Chrono game get made it would have to be godly because I really don’t think that I could accept anything less.