If you had to choose only one title, which one would it be? In establishing this list, some ratings of some video games are a bit off the radar when considering which game I truly like the most, which is normal to happen.
Without further delay, enjoy my opinion!
Hideo Kojima's flagship franchise has revolutionized gaming, has deep philosophical messages about conflicts, is sometimes defined as watching engrossing movies, and it is also one of the most diversive series out there for the developers are always approaching it different each time.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is unquestionably like a James Bond movie, but combine that with good writing, Japanese humor and stealth gameplay, and you've got a well packed video game with interesting characters, design details and a very solid mix of gameplay and story.
I found MGS and MGS 2 to be excellent for different reasons as well, but MGS 3 is the most appealing for me so far.
#24: Heroes of Newerth
The Multiplayer Battle Arena sub-genre has exploded into popularity since League of Legends gained so much succession somehow with it's design, and nowadays, dozens of MOBA's exist to compete against each other.
Personally, I experienced the old Defense of the Ancients(or DotA Allstars) since 2004 already, and around that time, the sub genre was hardly popular, RTS was the king of PC gaming back then. Aside from playing League of Legends with friends nowadays, my favorite still is Heroes of Newerth.
The reason for that is how competitive HoN is designed, plus it has some great unusual heroes not seen anywhere else such as Martyr and Balphagore. The only major dissapointment that seems to plague all of the MOBA's is the harsh community itself, which I already addressed in the past.
Even so, when Heroes of Newerth has the best odds going for it, it provides for me the most intense and close multiplayer battles, where outcomes can spontaneously happen at all times, and the slightest mistakes will punish your tactics.
#23: Final Fantasy VII
After doing a Final Fantasy marathon some years ago, my conclusion was still the same around part VII. It remains very nostalgic and the most fun to play through, because it offers many different scenario's and things to do.
It's impact created a new generation of JRPG players where the genre finally became popular all over the world, and it simply features a sublime soundtrack, an exciting storyline and memorable characters and events.
With a plethora of mini games, secrets and battles awaiting you, Final Fantasy VII is inviting to experience, is diversive and is wonderfully designed, as the graphics grew on me.
I have explained several times already why Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the best so far, and that is because it has the most content, technical features and options to play with yet, plus it has so much to celebrate.
While Melee and 64 remain the best for other reasons(which are competition and nostalgia), Brawl expands upon pretty much everything else introduced earlier on, and it's only the slower gameplay with some questionable designs that makes it generally the lesser liked.
Nonetheless, Brawl remains the superior sequel for me, however, there is a very good chance that the upcoming part 4 of the series will easily beat all three currently released Super Smash Bros. games.
#21: Deus Ex
Back in 2000, those graphics looked incredible, but having beaten the game only as late as 2010, I had to get used to them. Nevertheless, Deus Ex has plenty of other interesting elements to keep players engaged.
There are different ways of playing through the game, such as stealth, hacking and assault. Then there are several factions in the story where you will ultimately have to choose 1 of them at the ending stage.
Then there is a strong sense of morality playing, as you will have to choose from options during the intelligent dialogue appearing. Top that all with a strong soundtrack to boost your adventure, and you've got a video game that has a lot to offer.
#20: Silent Hill 2
This has an emotional disturbing plot cleverly desgined, and I’m glad to have finally played and beaten this incredible PS2 game,
once should be enough for now. Part 2 is more of a stand alone title
from the rest of the franchise, it’s entirely about James’s life instead
of some demonic cult bent on shaping the world.
The first time playing these atmospheric games, there is definitely a
feeling of unease playing in your mind. Especially when you are
searching for the destination in a foggy or dark town, or when you try
to open the umpteenth door only to acknowledge that it’s a locked or a
broken down door once again, or when the tension music is quietly yet
effectively playing, in summary, Silent Hill is an expert in trying to
creep you out.
And I can easily see why Silent Hill 2 is such an amazing game. It’s a messed up journey full of symbolism, weird occurrences, scary environments and a beautiful but sad complex plot await. Gameplay wise, Resident Evil comes to mind what with the weapons and the vast amounts of ammo. The enemies although scarce in variety are original and the most effective are the mannequins and of course Pyramid Head.
There are so many theories floating around on forums as to what it all means that it keeps getting interesting to talk about this classic horror game. And as for how scary Silent Hill 2 truly is…the sense of unease is definitely present.
However I think that the original slightly wins more because of its
sudden but well placed loud and scary SFX sounds and the Otherworld
“looked better”. But make no mistake, Silent Hill 2 is easily the best
SH game I have played so far, and it most likely will remain my
favorite.
An explosive sequel where the scope
of the settings increased dramatically, and the action sequences could
easily be described as an excellent "Hollywood" scope of an adventure third person shooter.
In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves,
Nathan, his mate Harry Flynn and colleague Chloe Frazer have an
agreement upon going after the mythical Chimsala Stone, rumoured to be
hidden in Shambhala somewhere.
But the road is long ahead, as Drake
will journey through Turkey, Borneo, Nepal and Tibet before arriving on
the destination. Through these transitions, old friends and new
villains are appear. Victor takes a minor role but Elena is more
involved with Nathan's troublesome adventures.
And boy do these adventures get
crazy sometimes. From a falling train at the very beginning to a
collapsing building during a civil war to a giant hidden temple of ice
and platforms, there certainly were a variety of locations present.
Especially the parts of Tibet were
astonishing for me. The culture was well presented. I thought the snowy
mountains of the Wii game Cursed Mountain were already impressive, but
the ones seen in here are just sick. (although to be fair, the mountains
were used differently in each game)
Lavericius was one son of a bitch as
a final boss as he wouldn't go down easily. The excuse of quantity from
the Serbian army was more plausible than the large group found in
Drake's Fortune because they felt more authentic as mercenaries.
Among Thieves is a very good game
that builds upon what was achieved with the original with everything,
but the best part is that it's such a lengthy game with many satisfying
moments of success.
#18: F-Zero GX
Forget Mario Kart, or any realistic driver, or even Wipeout. F-Zero GX is singlehandedly the most exhilarating driving experience I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
As a collaboration project between Sega and Nintendo, GX is the futuristic sequel towards the 64 and original edition, and the racing is fantastically hectic and fastpaced.
A rich cast of different characters with their respective cars await you
inside this difficult game, giving us variety not only in likes and
dislikes, but also in gameplay itself. I said difficult because Story
Mode is especially a nightmare on harder difficulties and will guarantee
let you retry for hundreds of times on certain chapters.
To accompany these characters, very specific songs embody their nature. It's one of the reasons that I really enjoyed playing this a lot with friends in the past. Not to mention the hidden video clips each of them have, sometimes to give us comedy, sometimes just for awesomeness.
The race courses of the game speak for themselves, at times you travel in a long tunnel with hazards, at other times you are going down several slopes and race on 3 very straightforward paths (your choice) in order to win. Like the rest of the game, the courses are varied and categorized into difficulty, and luckily there's plenty to pick from.
To accompany these characters, very specific songs embody their nature. It's one of the reasons that I really enjoyed playing this a lot with friends in the past. Not to mention the hidden video clips each of them have, sometimes to give us comedy, sometimes just for awesomeness.
The race courses of the game speak for themselves, at times you travel in a long tunnel with hazards, at other times you are going down several slopes and race on 3 very straightforward paths (your choice) in order to win. Like the rest of the game, the courses are varied and categorized into difficulty, and luckily there's plenty to pick from.
I was completely dissapointed to hear that F-Zero like Star Fox has kind of been put on hold for far too long, and I am still waiting for a proper return towards both series. I can easily see both of them on either the 3DS or Wii U returning.
The most recent title to be put so high on this list, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the best in the series so far for being gorgeous, challenging and tightly designed all the way through. 4 playable Kongs make for a good distinction between playthroughs, and boss battles are surprisingly satisfying.
David Wise returns as the sublime composer for the franchise, bringing
back a few fan favorite tracks remixed, but most impressively, he has
created some outstanding new ones, with my favorite being Grassland
Groove, whose level in itself might just be the best in the game for the
sheer amount of presentation there.
The cohesive level design can be coherse, but remains coherent and consistent with only a few levels having true trial and error moments. The collectibles are familiar in their locations, but expect to have quite a challenge if you want to catch them all in order to unlock the secrets.
In any case, Tropical Freeze is one of the best platformers I have ever
played. Aquatic and ice bound levels truly return this time, there are
tons of collectibles, secrets and other stuff to do, Funky Kong will
help you out with his shop if needed and it clearly shows that Donkey
Kong remains relevant and he is here to stay.
#16: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Unfortunately, Castlevania seems to have gone in the same direction as Mega Man, as currently no longer being truly relevant. Luckily, many of us haven't forgotten about the joys of the past, and Dawn of Sorrow is easily my favorite one out of them all.
If my first Castlevania game(Mine was Super Castlevania IV) was Symphony of the Night, then perhaps that would had taken this spot instead. Dawn of Sorrow not only features a marvelous presentation, it simply is more challenging and fun for me, with some of the best boss battles out there.
With cool extra's such as optional playable characters and optional bosses, there is enough input provided alongside collecting the many souls in order to enjoy Dawn of Sorrow. And it's always fun to replay this one as the pacing is in the right place.
#15: Warcraft III
In 2003, I got my first own PC from my family, and with it, Warcraft III. Now I actually had beaten I and II in the past, and I especially enjoyed playing II online on Battle.Net. So once I saw the transition from 2D to 3D in action, I was hooked.
I was drawn into the world of Warcraft III, as there were many intriguing events playing out between the 4 main races of this RTS, which are the Humans, the Orcs, the Undead and the Night Elves. Not only was the single player campaign exciting just for the story alone, it's truly the gameplay that shines the most.
Although balance patches have been made over the year, there have always been plenty of strategic options to use depending on who your enemies were and what map you currently were playing on. The so called micro and macro management of Warcraft III combined with the metagame was always interesting to see unfold.
Playing this online was not only a blast of excitement, it could be very tense as well when speaking of competition. Next to the main course of RTS gameplay, Warcraft III also let you design your own custom maps, of which DotA was the most famous to be created by the community.
#14: La-Mulana
The very bold design of La-Mulana can only be appreciated by those who want a true but fair challenge, and this not only includes puzzles and combat, but a sense of navigating around the many ruins as well.
Instead, you are expected as an archaeologist to carefully unravel the
many cryptic hints that await you, be it written on signs, tablets,
skeleton remains or even more subtle objects or backgrounds. La-Mulana
is a thinking man's game combined with action platforming.
Henceforth, it would be best if you started remembering, writing or taking pictures of each hint. Take heed of the advice the quirky gaming elder gives you through e-mails, and especially show your respect towards the ancient ruins of which celestial beings were once occupying these areas. Or else, divine judgment might find your way through those pesky electrical eyes.
Don't believe me? I angered the gods by reading upon a tablet twice which clearly said not to do so, thus activating hard mode. With more enemies spawned everywhere, the game suddenly became even more challenging.
Henceforth, it would be best if you started remembering, writing or taking pictures of each hint. Take heed of the advice the quirky gaming elder gives you through e-mails, and especially show your respect towards the ancient ruins of which celestial beings were once occupying these areas. Or else, divine judgment might find your way through those pesky electrical eyes.
Don't believe me? I angered the gods by reading upon a tablet twice which clearly said not to do so, thus activating hard mode. With more enemies spawned everywhere, the game suddenly became even more challenging.
It has to be said. La-Mulana is one of the hardest games I have
ever played, and it simply comes from the fact that the game is very
non-linear, very confusing and very cryptic on how to proceed at certain
parts. Regarding combat and platforming, I'm used towards those kinds
of difficulties, but finding a way to progress through this at certain
times is mentally challenging.
The complexity of the level design and the obtusity of the puzzle design
is compelling. It really is a genuine hardcore title, and also serious
competition for other 2D action platformers. Puzzles are not my main
interest in general, but the design seen in here is a large driving
force for enduring them and continueing.
La-Mulana can only be appreciated by the most hardcore and open minded gamers out there.
#13: Arkham City
With the recent announcement of Arkham Knight, there is a good chance that that one will eventually be the best of whole trilogy and prequel. But for now, let's certainly not forget the toyground with tons of fun stuff to do which was Arkham City.
Taking the story away from the asylum and into the city, Batman could traverse better than before and hunt on the many insane criminals occupying the experimental city as envisioned by Dr.Strange. The combat is the same free flow tight package we have grown accustomed to.
And the formula of getting key items to progress further while solving the riddles and doing side quests has been issued here as well, alongside Catwoman being playable and a bigger length being given.
The ending is admittedly quite over the top, as it seemed that the developers could no longer choose who the main villain was. But the boss battles make up for that, and Arkham City is such a big game in general that you will be occupied all the time anyway.
As far as storytelling goes from a videogame perspective, I cannot
remember it being so effective and rewarding as seen here with Virtue's
Last Reward. Zero Escape has easily become one hell of a new franchise
to definitely watch growing up with close surveillance, because it has a brilliant story to share.
You think that you have seen it all regarding video games and storytelling? Then definitely give these newcomers a chance. Will you be able to escape, or will that possibility be on a scale between one through ten simply mean zero opportunity?
#11: Xenoblade
There is just no way around it. If you are by any chance a faithful JRPG fan, Xenoblade will
deliver for you, in one way or another. It's grand presentation is
marvelous, and it's interface is designed in a simple but helpful way.
This is, without a doubt, one of the Wii's prettiest games.
Xenoblade revived and uplifted the bar so to speak regarding JRPG's, for not only being innovating on various levels such as the futuristic incoming attacks, but for having an unbeatable large nice world to explore and being able to do so much.
For it's sheer amount of fun, length and lasting appeal already is Xenoblade an absolute must play for RPG fans.It's graphics and soundtrack are top notch, it is rewarding on it's own to traverse the god's bodies(which are the world maps of this game basically) and listening to these dazzling songs while the great gameplay kicks in plenty of times. Even the difficulty is fair and spot on for me.
#10: Super Metroid
Although I got to say that Prime 2 really got close on this spot, Super Metroid is ultimately one of the best classic video games out there. Not only has it popularized an entire community of speedrunning through games, it's overall design just reeks of dare I say it, perfection.
With a very moody and spooky soundtrack accompanying you through the depths of planet Zebes, join Samus as she investigates and returns against the Space Pirates with precise controls, tons of hidden routes and items plus pleasant backtracking.
Super Metroid has intimidating boss battles, great pacing, immersive areas and simply a legendary soundtrack . It is always fun to return towards Super Metroid in order to replay it one more time, and I really wish that Nintendo would announce a new 2D Metroid title already, as the potential impact is certainly still there.
#09: Chrono Trigger
A truly epic RPG that transcends time and curious settings, Chrono Trigger is one of the juggernauts of gaming found on the SNES. With a rich cast of characters from different time era's, a time traveling theme and awesome RPG mechanics, it's always fun remembering this.
Iconic characters such as Magus the misguided and Chrono the silent yet recognizable hero, Chrono Trigger's concept was created by some sort of dream team inside Squaresoft's corners. It's unique battle system is addictive and the graphics are detailed with impressions.
Chrono Trigger also revolutionized the features of multiple endings and New Game+ in gaming, which prompted players to replay through it for these reasons. There is also something about the overall presentation that makes it so captivating playing this, and the music certainly helps with that.
#08: Secret of Mana
The unbelievable features to be found back in 1992, such as co-operation RPG gameplay, an unbelievable soundtrack and high replayability, just to stomp on all those fun enemies and bosses once again, has made Secret of Mana one of my favorite RPG's.
It doubles as a cherished childhood game which I occassionally would play together with my brother, trying to get further in this very magical journey about the tree of Mana and how evil is created accordingly.
This action RPG has such entertaining gameplay, challenge and music to be found that I am astonished how it was able to triumph so easily over so many other RPG's back then. Squaresoft truly created wonders on the SNES back in the days, and I miss their magic.
#07: Perfect Dark
Although GoldenEye revolutionized FPS multiplayer on consoles, it was this spiritual successor that managed to totally beat it on all fronts for me personally. Perfect Dark is a very strong title on the N64 with a robust presentation.
Ambitious for it's time, it has tons of customizable options available for you and others during multiplayer matches, including the various bots to be implemented, and the single player campaign is really diverse with it's missions.
With creative weapons such as the Laptop gun, tons of secrets and codes, painful difficulty on the last stages and what seems to be pushing the N64 towards it's limits, Perfect Dark will always be remembered as the defining FPS for me.
#06: Advance Wars: Dark Conflict
One of the finest reboots I have ever played out from an already excellent series that originally originated on the Famicom, Advance Wars: Dark Conflict is the bold new more serious direction from the usual goofy and funny mood it provides.
Although Fire Emblem is in general a great franchise, Advance Wars definitely beats it because of it's multiplayer and more interesting strategic options. In Dark Conflict, the balance of the various units is very good, but the same doesn't hold true towards some of the playable commanding officers.
Nevertheless, I found the story to be sad and engaging to follow, the newer units to be exciting, as well as the cast to be exceptional and boldly designed. The real meat with Advance Wars is to be found in multiplayer, and I can very easily recommend the other titles such as Dual Strike as well.
#05: Resident Evil REmake
Although I have argued for many years that Resident Evil 4 is the best in the whole series purely for it's gameplay alone, I have finally decided to let REmake take the spot over part 4 instead. In this remake of the original Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami gave it everything he wanted to accomplish, and the results are insanely effective.
As REmake is the definite game that upon beating it for the first time(and beating it again 6 times afterwards!), I was drawn into the world of horror, including games, movies, stories and other kinds of media.
I was definitely frozen in terror by this. Not to mention that extremely
haunting soundtrack, Resident Evil´s scenery seen in here remains
beautifully scary. The hanging man from the residence area is one event
I´d like to remind everyone that this game knows what it represents.
The plot, the characters,
the mansion, I will probably remember them forever. This is a
masterpiece and a classic comprised of two discs. Capcom managed to
remake Resident Evil with such stunning results, that the impact can
still be felt by me.
It remains one of if not the scariest video game out there, has insane graphics, and it's also very easy and worthy to replay through it again. It has enough unlockable extra's to justify playing through the story again.
Whatever the course of future titles will be, Capcom will always be able
to look back at this and be able to remember that REmake is a great
example to follow with inspiration. Revelations was a great direction,
let´s see what´s coming up next.
This is my favorite and first Zelda, for I feel so spoiled whenever I replay it once in a few years. It has some of the greatest dungeon designs, interesting items to use and joyful side quests, while I also grew up with it.
Although the OST is very small, it has some amazing songs nonetheless, with Dark World sticking out the most. Whenever I talk about A Link to the Past, I can't help but think back when I first experienced entering the alternative world of Hyrule, and seeing those flashy diamonds on the world map.
They represented new dungeons to delve into, and it was one of the most exciting video game moments I ever experienced. And the dungeons here are utterly worth exploring and solving, as the Ice Palace, Dark Palace and Turtle Rock are some of if not the best dungeon designs when speaking of puzzles, atmosphere and challenge.
#03: Paper Mario
As I like to call this my final childhood game, before the internet, high school and so on, Paper Mario is the best game designed by Intelligent Systems, for it has created such a charming and engaging world of paper.
Paper Mario, for me, is my personal favorite and
best RPG. The game's design, content and gameplay are the prime reasons
for being so. For being the only worthy RPG and one of the last games
released on the N64, it surely was a triumphant way to go.
The
world is comprised of paper objects, allowing the player to interact
with their "paperistic physics", resulting in both visual as well as
gameplay enhancements. As you wander around in this pretty big land, the
NPC's, or non playable characters provide not just any dialogue, but
humoristic, helpful and curious ones.
And there is so much to see and so
much to do. From discovering star pieces to being a postman to
experimenting with cake recipes and
intriguing badges, opitional boss fights, secret areas, empowering your
partner allies even further and more.
Personally,
Paper Mario is my favorite Mario game out of them all. When speaking of
Mario platformers, that would have to be Super Mario Bros. 3. But Paper
Mario has such a
charm to it, because of its simplicity, it's graphics, it's humoristic dialogue and its sublime soundtrack that it beats out even the best of the traditional platformers.
charm to it, because of its simplicity, it's graphics, it's humoristic dialogue and its sublime soundtrack that it beats out even the best of the traditional platformers.
#02: Killer 7
Otherwise known as the game screaming for originalism, Killer 7 is criminally underrated and the most original and effective game I have ever experienced, as my mind was blown on several occassions at the overall plot.
The surrealism and style seen here is so abstract that I really cannot compare it to anything else in life. It's guaranteed that it will divide gamers upon playing and beating it, as the writing of Shinji Mikami and Suda51's minds are so twisted in here.
The soundtrack is vastly varied with some very catchy tunes to listen
to, with Tecks Mecks, Russian Roulette, Sweet Relief and Election Plot
standing on top as my favorite ones. With mixed genres thrown in, you
never know what kind of music is coming up next in each of the chapters.
The graphics and sounds being created are so unusual with cel shaded beauty in it's own way and disturbing laughing enemies surpressing your movements. The presentation is just wow, and again, the random factor is highly present. There are so many objects and situations that you will never see again, unless the chance has come to parody something out of Killer 7, but I doubt that.
The graphics and sounds being created are so unusual with cel shaded beauty in it's own way and disturbing laughing enemies surpressing your movements. The presentation is just wow, and again, the random factor is highly present. There are so many objects and situations that you will never see again, unless the chance has come to parody something out of Killer 7, but I doubt that.
You see, to really appreciate Killer 7, you must learn to understand the
rules of the game, which is heavily emphasized by the story. Killer 7
easily became a work of art after uncovering the difficult symbolism
plot. And throwing the word "art" in the game industry is very rare and a
big deal because so far, pessimistic critics have denied that art even
exist in games. From what I have gathered so far atleast.
However, despite all of this praise, it truly is "One man's trash is another man's treasure". Be very warned that this game might instantly turn your excitement down, but if you're looking for a milestone in originality with a deep plot that can easily compete with deep movie or deep book plots, this is it.
However, despite all of this praise, it truly is "One man's trash is another man's treasure". Be very warned that this game might instantly turn your excitement down, but if you're looking for a milestone in originality with a deep plot that can easily compete with deep movie or deep book plots, this is it.
#01: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 is my favorite and most nostalgic video game. It has a perfect blend of design, gameplay, music, controls and even a decent story for Mega Man standards. This epitome of classic gaming has so much to
offer in greatness.
The story goes that Dr.Wily has calmed down in
here, and offers his intellect and abilities towards his former partner
Dr.Light in order to create Gamma, apparently a peace keeping robot.
While the good doctor's latest creations go berserk in several areas and
mines, the Blue Bomber himself is asked to stop the attacks happening.
The level design in here is the most unique seen yet, and that
information goes along with the 3rd wave of Robot Masters. Many
fundamental elements are missing here, and instead of that, we get odd
bosses such as Gemini or Top Man. The gameplay has smoothly evolved,
primarily for including the mighty slide.
The soundtrack is a masterpiece, even by Mega Man
standards, which is already full of high quality. So much has been said
about it already, such as the amazing opening, the overcoming get weapon
theme, the mystifying electronic stage select, Top Man's beyond badass
song and my personal favorite, Dr Wily Stage 3&4 Theme. That song
embodies Dr.Wily's personality completely for me. His jealousy and
rivalry will never go away.
