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[ViewtifulJC]

I don't think anybody uses that site, although somehow my top 10 ended up the same except for our beloved blue hedgehog getting bumped down for my recent love affair of Doom. And even with the top 50, I forgot about Wario Ware(again) and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and some other cool shit, but uh...you get the basic idea

 

[BlackJace]

Get on AA5, it definitely redeems the series.

[Dark Age of the Law]

 

[Kart94]

is it me or does this look like the dumbest thing any developer has ever done *well at least second to fishing in a Sonic game* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cLBniQfjcE Sonic Lost World's 3ds Special stages

 

[TimmiT]

is it me or does this look like the dumbest thing any developer has ever done *well at least second to fishing in a Sonic game* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cLBniQfjcE Sonic Lost World's 3ds Special stages

Yes, these are by far the worst special stages in any Sonic game ever. Especially considering they have to be controlled with the gyroscope.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Well damn JC, the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down with that list, an enjoyable read as well, I think I can manage 50 with some quickfire quips attached.

I was halfway through a moderately hefty post for that best gaming levels of last/current gen thread yesterday when my brain decided it was going to shut down and go into spontaneous depression mode so that entire post was wiped off the face of the earth because reasons and I never did get off my perch to begin the listing here because I was too busy feeling like Sonic 06 given human form, EXCUSES.
Now I've recovered with a mediocre nights sleep I'm feeling more like an uneven Sonic game that's half good half mediocre, you could say i'm Owl Unleashed, somehow this means that I'll have my lineup ready by nightfall or else I'll be doomed to a evening of tedious combat and repetitive jazz.

Yes, these are by far the worst special stages in any Sonic game ever. Especially considering they have to be controlled with the gyroscope.

There should be a law against this.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

is it me or does this look like the dumbest thing any developer has ever done *well at least second to fishing in a Sonic game* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cLBniQfjcE Sonic Lost World's 3ds Special stages

I can barely even tell what's happening here but I sort of like the probably unintentional throwback to the blue orb special stage stuff in S3&K.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

And here I thought Sonic Heroes controlling a bar of soap around a toilet special stage would hold the worst crown forever

You done it again Sega

 

[Kart94]

well at least in Sonic Heroes, i thought the special stage was a neat idea with a bad execution, but this...this is just a terrible idea. having to move you 3DS around in 3d special stages? Are you serious?

 

[Nocturnowl]

Special Stages have always consisted of varying degrees of suck, Sonic 3 being the best game in the franchise comes the closest to not entirely sucking but then throws 7 more at you when "& Knuckles" joins the party under the fan fiction pretence of hypah emeroolds and proceeds to shit the bed thoroughly where one slightly mistimed turn is all it takes to instant failure leading me to never ever want to deal with that time consuming tomfoolery ever again.
Nothing like having my fast paced 2D platforming action interrupted midstage because I speed blitzed into a giant ring and got forcibly dragged into the realm of janky pseudo "3D" minigames, Sega and I have very different interpretations of the word Special.

 

[Azure Dream]

The original special stage in Heroes (not when they redid them in later games like Generations 3DS) were extreme jank and clearly hacked together in a hurry. I seem to recall it possible to get turned around backwards in them.

is it me or does this look like the dumbest thing any developer has ever done *well at least second to fishing in a Sonic game* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cLBniQfjcE Sonic Lost World's 3ds Special stages

I actually... kind of enjoyed these, at least initially. Unfortunately, they go from "wow that's easy" to "crap crap not enough time" way too fast. I think there's a way to adjust your view with the stick, too, possibly if you hold one of the shoulder triggers, but I don't want to dig my copy out to check.

 

[Village]

I would rather they just not do special stages.

 

[Anth0ny]

It took me just over 15 years, but I've finally acquired a Dreamcast. Dude was selling it at my school for $40 with the box. Done. Time to play some real ass Sonic Adventure 2.

I also bought a 32x for $10. Oh my.

 

[Dark Schala]

I'm tired. Most of my time was deciding what to even put on here, and then I had to get some sleep since I had to wake up to be in the lab this morning looking at cool-ass bacteria! I'll write more writeups when I get home.

Well, I think I’ll go for a more subjective list than an objective list. If this were more objective, the better-designed games would be weighted towards the top than the bottom, and more of the reasons would be more technical. If it were more objective, I’d talk about how I feel as opposed to how revolutionary the game is (and in many cases, the games aren’t historically significant). If I were to be more objective, I’d actually list stuff like Doom for being historically significant, Commander Keen (or even Copyright Infringement) for being historically significant, Super Mario 64 for being historically significant, Radia Senki for being incredibly polished, Phantasy Star Online for being revolutionary, etc. I used to post in the game documentaries thread and had a few posts in game history threads, so if I were ever bothered to post on GAF in a more intelligent and in-depth circumstance, I would’ve listed historical essentials, but this isn’t the place or time and I’d need to do more research. But since I’m not doing that, I’ll stick with a more subjective list.

Numbering’s silly, too. I change my mind every so often so ask me again in four months and ranks would be entirely different. It’s kind of hard, too, because I’ve been playing stuff since I was a little girl and that was like… 23 years ago, so it’s hard to decide. It’s really hard when you’ve tried to archive everything you’ve owned or played on several sites and gave up 60% of the way when you’ve played so much.

I mean, look at this shit.

I stopped listing everything because I’ve either played or I own too much shit and I can’t keep track anymore! I didn’t even list any of my Famicom Disk System stuff or my Master System stuff or my PC stuff or Atari stuff or anything like that. Selecting even fifty out of all that and all the stuff I’d never listed is effing hard! So fuck that shit, numbers are arbitrary here. I just wanna talk about 50 games I like since it’s like picking your favourite kid.

But since I wanted to prove a point and demonstrate that this isn’t very hard to do, I’ll go for this. Time to put my money where my mouth is. I actually looked back to see what I’d written the first time we did this, and I’ll crib a bit of what I’d written back then. And I might as well just link older posts in circumstances where I felt like I wrote a boatload and I feel like I cannot write any further or even better.

1. Genso Suikoden II / 幻想水滸伝II - I’ve written at-length about this game in my Essential RPGs post: http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=45788319&postcount=330. I also wrote the summary in the OP for said thread.

2. Chrono Trigger / クロノ・トリガー - See above. I think it’s one of the most beautifully-designed games I’ve played. http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=45788319&postcount=330. I wrote the summary in the OP of the Essentials thread.

3. Super Metroid / スーパーメトロイド – Super Metroid may not be without its faults, but a lot of people would probably agree that it’s one of the more “almost-perfect” run n guns, and it was so successful that it ended up spawning an entire genre, or at least popularizing a budding concept. I guess you have to think about how amazing Super Metroid was to players back then: the concept of getting powerups whenever you wanted by sequence-breaking, good spritework and animations, teaching yourself how to use the aforementioned powerups because the environments were built for it, and fair balancing worked so well for a game of its time.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask /ゼルダの伝説 ムジュラの仮面
5. Mother 3 / マザースリー
6. Phantasy Star /ファンタシースター - I wrote a fairly moderate description of the game in the Phantasy Star 25th anniversary thread a few years ago. Please check that out: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504882

When it comes to voting for a Phantasy Star game on the list, I always seem to pick Phantasy Star II for being so damned revolutionary in terms of a deeper character-based narrative, but I’ve decided to dial back a bit and select the first game. Phantasy Star 1 was one of my first RPGs. First of all, wow, you’re playing as a female in this game in the 1980s/1990s! You barely ever do that unless it’s a platformer or a run/gun, and that protagonist has a decent backstory and a fair amount of character expansion for its time. The game was designed by a woman! Wow, we usually only heard of Roberta Williams doing that at Sierra! It also had smooth-for-the-time 3D dungeons (though it forced the player to draw out their own maps like they would in other games at the time), had great dialogue cutscenes reminiscent of scenes in games on other platforms like PCs, and it was just so damned colourful. It may not be as balanced as some PS4, or even games of its era, but it's worth a once-through.

7. Ys Origin /イース・オリジン
8. Ultima VII: The Black Gate
9. Final Fantasy V / ファイナルファンタジーV
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Sonic 3&K
11. Planescape: Torment
12. Shadowrun
13. Terranigma
14. Mega Man X4
15. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
16. Shin Megami Tensei III
17. Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan 2
18. Sorcerian
19. Yoshi’s Island
20. Tengai Makyo The Fourth Apocalypse
21. Devil May Cry 3: SE
22. Bayonetta
23. Ninja Gaiden Black
24. Ultima IV: Quest for the Avatar
25. Dragon Quest VII
26. Sora no Kiseki The 3rd
27. Kirby Super Star
28. Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
29. Mega Man 4
30. Silent Hill 2
31. ActRaiser
32. Final Fantasy X-2
33. Castlevania: Chi no Rondo (PCE)
34. Rudora no Hihou
35. Super Mario Bros 3
36. Trauma Team
37. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
38. Diablo II
39. Rayman Origins
40. Tales of Destiny R: Director’s Cut
41. Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu
42. Bubble Bobble - Bubble Bobble was legitimately one of my favourite games at the arcade. I thought the music was super-awesome (even though it’s one incredibly repetitive tune that I’m sure we’re all sick and tired of hearing), and the objectives and trying to get to Level 100 was addictive. The game ate up quarters like crazy. The NES version is competent and out of all of the console ports or versions out there, I think the NES version is the only one I can tolerate.

43. Tales of Graces f
44. Popful Mail
45. Romancing SaGa 3
46. Super Mario 3D World - This is probably the most recent game on here. Since I was young, I’d felt that this is how platformers were going to transition into 3D: they’d still work the same, but they’d just have 3D models. Of course, that didn’t end up being the case, and because I was a little girl, I didn’t know how much effort and time and money went into 3D modelling. Like, I looked at stuff like Final Fantasy VII and figured everything would look like that, but that didn’t really happen. Super Mario 3D World does everything I wanted a 3D Mario game to do. It doesn’t make me feel nauseous like the Galaxy games do. It looks incredibly pretty and the environments are fairly detailed. The level design works incredibly well, and the tropes are actually fun to get through.

47. Metal Slug X
48. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
49. Tetris Battle Gaiden
50. Baldur’s Gate II

Special Mention to Emerald Dragon, but I haven’t played the PCE version yet and there is a certain poster on this forum who looooves this game to death who would really like me to one day. I’ve only played the Super Famicom version and that version is apparently iron compared to the PCE version’s gold. One day.

I was supposed to get to Alshark and Xanadu Next this summer too but I didn’t. I seemed to have gone through a bunch of RPGs that were more along the lines of being historically significant as opposed to being something I’d like according to that same aforementioned poster on this forum.

Ask me about this list tomorrow and I’ll give you a different answer. I think this list more reflects my age and which generations had more of a profound impact on me growing up than anything else.

Well damn JC, the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down with that list, an enjoyable read as well, I think I can manage 50 with some quickfire quips attached.

Yeah, I'll finish my list off when I get home after doing some work and getting some "me" time in. I really wish I had all the time in the world like I did in the summer because my schedule makes me feel super-busy lately. I barely ever have time to myself.

I've got a case of the old.

Knowing me, I'll run out of characters and then have to post two posts instead of one. :/

The original special stage in Heroes (not when they redid them in later games like Generations 3DS) were extreme jank and clearly hacked together in a hurry. I seem to recall it possible to get turned around backwards in them.

I actually... kind of enjoyed these, at least initially. Unfortunately, they go from "wow that's easy" to "crap crap not enough time" way too fast. I think there's a way to adjust your view with the stick, too, possibly if you hold one of the shoulder triggers, but I don't want to dig my copy out to check.

I didn't like them because I got motion sickness while doing them. No thanks. That game overall was poorly designed, though I think you took that into account with respect to discussing the poorer parts of the special stage.

Heroes' special stages were just as bad as everything else included in Heroes. Super-janky as shit.

 

[Kart94]

maybe it is a problem with the PS2 verison of Sonic Heroes. i don't know. i did hear the gamecube verison is better.

 

[Dark Schala]

Being another version of the game doesn't make the game design any better. The game's design is pretty crap and that doesn't change per version unless it's markedly and knowingly different.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Gamecube version has better frame rate so at the very least it comes with 1% less jank, which is to say it's still super-janky shit.

I'm going to break all of your hearts when I say for the meantime I'll stick with a top 25 for this listing business, I have my flimsy reasons which I'll explain when I'm actually done with what I've already got on my plate here, even mini explanations stump my mind.

 

[Dario ff]

The lack of Fallout (1/2) on these lists is worrying.

 

[Dark Schala]

The lack of Fallout (1/2) on these lists is worrying.

That's more of a Top 60-70 game for me (more Fallout 1). Fallout 2 had a bigger story, but Fallout 1 perfected what Wasteland had in the late 1980s. Stat differentiation is more streamlined than you would do it in D&D/Wizardry/Ultima/SMT, etc. I'd give more points to it for the setting and mood derived from the 1950s. I thought the pacing was nice too. Granted, it's been years and years since I've played Fallout 1/2, so it's more likely that I probably forgot what I liked about it with a fresh mind (and in my mid-20s).

Like I said, I've played a lot of stuff, so it's hard! If it were more of an essentials or historically-significant list, then decisions would be much, much easier.

Ultima gets tops because I went through a few games this summer, so if I did go through stuff like Fallout or Morrowind (fuck I forgot Morrowind, brb, editing), then they'd be placed on the list too.

 

[Shadow Hog]

I tried Fallout (the first) once. Was okay, but I recall having issues with healing - takes up a turn to do it, and the enemy would whack off more than you healed. Either that or it took a turn to switch to the healing item, I forget what it was specifically.

 

[Professor Beef]

It would honestly be too hard for me to rank my Fave Five Terrific Ten (what would Booker T call his top ten? I desperately wanna know lol), so I'm gonna list them in no particular order.

• Majora's Mask
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles
• Pokemon
• Pokemon TCG
• Final Fantasy 9
• Persona 4
• Streets of Rage Remake
• Chrono Trigger
• Kirby Superstar
• Donkey Kong Country 2

Just missed the Terrific Ten:
Bust a Groove 1 & 2
Final Fantasy 5
Capcom vs. SNK 2
LoZ: Link's Awakening
LoZ: The Wind Waker
Def Jam: FFNY

I'll come back and add reasons in a bit, I have laundry to take care of.

 

[OMG Aero]

10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Sonic 3&K

GET OFF THE FENCE AND PICK ONE SCHALA

 

[Falk]

The lack of Fallout (1/2) on these lists is worrying.

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

So after all this stupid talk of video games and shit I actually decided to do something that I haven't over the past few months; play video games. Just today I went out to get a Dualshock 4 controller to use with my laptop. All the games I'vep layed have run well on my laptop, with the exception of Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DE), which only runs at 15 fps with GameBooster (lol).

Thus far I've started playing South Park: The Stick of Truth, Dust: An Elysian Tale, and Typing of the Dead. I also got Freedom Planet off the Humble Bundle, and will try that out later. Also looks like I can finally play Sonic CD with a controller now, so I'll definitely add that to the list, too.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

FGAYLLOUT TACTICS, GOAT

 

[Tizoc]

So after all this stupid talk of video games and shit I actually decided to do something that I haven't over the past few months; play video games. Just today I went out to get a Dualshock 4 controller to use with my laptop. All the games I'vep layed have run well on my laptop, with the exception of Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DE), which only runs at 15 fps with GameBooster (lol).

Thus far I've started playing South Park: The Stick of Truth, Dust: An Elysian Tale, and Typing of the Dead. I also got Freedom Planet off the Humble Bundle, and will try that out later. Also looks like I can finally play Sonic CD with a controller now, so I'll definitely add that to the list, too.

PS4 controller is great for playing games off Steam.

Are you among my steam Friend list? Add me if you aren't-
http://steamcommunity.com/id/tizoc789/

 

[Professor Beef]

"Fgayllout," holy shit my sides lmao

 

[BHZ Mayor]

How do you even pronounce "fgayllout"?

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

Played some Sonic Adventure 2 HD on Steam. Spent a good 30 minutes in the Chao Garden raising and getting all these weird ass combinations with the Chao (one of them had ram horns and tiger feet and tail, while the other had peacock feathers).

Screw the haters, the Chao Garden is awesome.

 

[Professor Beef]

Played some Sonic Adventure 2 HD on Steam. Spent a good 30 minutes in the Chao Garden raising and getting all these weird ass combinations with the Chao (one of them had ram horns and tiger feet and tail, while the other had peacock feathers).

Screw the haters, the Chao Garden is awesome.

Just think of all the levels you could've beaten in that 30 minutes

A few Sonic/Shadow levels, a Knuckles level, etc

 

[ViewtifulJC]

if it was one of those last couple knuckles levels in space, I don't think he could have fit a Knuckles level in with a couple of Sonic/Shadow ones

 

[Kart94]

I should try getting a steam account sometime. *though i am not too big on PC. Last time i tried doing that, a game i had required me to input some stupid code that i didn't remember or had, so i couldn't play it. Can't quite remember what game it was, but it put me off of PC gaming*

 

[WillyFive]

I should try getting a steam account sometime. *though i am not too big on PC. Last time i tried doing that, a game i had required me to input some stupid code that i didn't remember or had, so i couldn't play it. Can't quite remember what game it was, but it put me off of PC gaming*

Yeah, PC gaming used to be like that back before online DRM, when you needed CD-keys to prove you had a disc or a legit copy. Heck, Steam is probably the reason you no longer see stuff like that anymore.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Fave Fifty Terrific Twenty Five!
Self Imposed variety rule: No multiple entrants per franchise, except for the splitting up of 2D and 3D Mario as well as my Donkey Kong bias. Also some games will pair up due to core similarities and/or indecision.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
I expected nothing and got everything, the moment I figured out the puzzle behind the giant web in the Deku Tree there was no turning back, I was hooked. I stepped out onto Hyrule Field and had my young mind blown, it’s all so quaint now but back then that vast emptiness presented a sense of scale I’d yet to encounter in a game.
Of course it’s not all just nostalgic musings, OoT is still the most well paced 3D Zelda shuffling you on from one dungeon to the next while ensuring everything you did felt purposeful, it got so much right when things could have gone so wrong, all the pieces fit from its implementation of the ocarina to the usage of Link’s tools in a 3D space. The definitive 3DS remaster brushes up the package so that the kids of today can experience it as well and while I don’t think they’ll see Hyrule Field in quite the same light they’ll definitely have a damn fine Zelda outing and a piece of gaming history.

2. Donkey Kong Country 2
Masterfully entwines obstacle course level design with the greatest secret hunt in the genre without either detracting from the other and wraps it all up in an SNES spectacular audiovisual package while fixing the glaring faults of the first game, truly it’s the sequel of kings. Wielding stage gimmicks and animal buddies as tools to diversify the level design in memorable ways there’s nary a weak spot for me in the game and I really dig the setting having this fantastical yet ominous vibe like a dark fairytale.

3. Super Mario Galaxy 2
Galaxy 1 passes the baton to Galaxy 2 who continues running with it at the same pace straight from World 1 throwing in a whole host of imaginative concepts within the first few stages and increasing the complexity as it goes. It’s 3D platforming in its most refined form backed up by the grandeur of space and an orchestrated soundtrack that sets the scene. There’s so many cool ideas thrown at the player in Galaxy 2 that it’s also a shame that some concepts don’t get explored a bit further though in turn that helps nearly every stage feel that much more special.

4. Metroid Prime
I find Metroid lends itself incredibly well to 3D, though it sacrifices Samus’ swift mobility there’s a fantastic sense of place in the environments and the exploration element feels elevated due to the greater opportunities 3D offers.
The alien atmosphere of Tallon IV is excellently realized through strong visuals and story telling told via scanning backed up by stellar sound design. There’s a subtle joy in path finding, item hunting and sight seeing and yes I don’t even mind the artefact hunt. Prime 2 has more visual splendor whereas Prime 1 has the best map design of its trilogy which helps edge it out as the peak of the Prime Trilogy.

5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Who knew that Dracula’s Castle could be such a lovely place to visit? Far removed from its bleak and challenging classicvania form, here in SotN the castle is an intricate maze of wonderous sights, sounds and gothic architecture. It manages to take the connected Metroid like world map style and create something that feels like a genuine castle layout, albeit one filled with all sorts of supernatural ghouls, like a home for the world’s mythical menagerie who all perish is gloriously grandiose fashion because SotN is all about the small details that seep out of every area of the game.

6. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
The oddest entry in the top 10 for sure but I can’t deny the quirky allure of Ace Attorney’s courtroom drama, the witty dialogue and banter between characters has a spark to it that always brings a smile while simultaneously delivering murderous mysteries to solve. Having the guilty party on the ropes while the cornered theme blares out the speakers is one of gaming’s most empowering feelings and Wright himself makes for one of my favourite leads.
Like a good book I’m capable of taking this first entry for a spin every few years to revisit the original tale.

7. Whatever my favourite 2D Mario game currently is
Maybe I should just put down Super Mario All Stars plus Super Mario World cartridge that existed at one stage for the SNES since this entire spot is an indecision cop out. Though I will say I’m leaning more towards either SMB3 or NSMBU, SMB3 is the crowning jewel of the NES while NSMBU is the culmination of a sub series that makes up for familiarity by being polished to the finest sheen. Mario design in general manages to consistently hit this perfect spot where it always feels fair, hazards don’t try to catch you out, levels can be tackled in various ways with different powerups and the base mechanics simple enough for anyone to grasp and consistently satisfying.

8. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
I don’t know if you guys have heard of this one but you should check it out, it’s neato. Sonic 3 really feels like the culmination of everything the previous games were working towards, Sonic 2 almost pulled it all together but tapers off towards the end. Sonic 3 & Knuckles isn’t just a robust package when put together, it’s also consistently quality throughout building incredibly layered stages for multiple characters where I’m still finding new things on each run.

9. Pokemon Fire Red/Black
The mainline games are similar enough in progression that I’m going to lob two in one spot here, Pokemon games do come in pairs after all. Fire Red offers the original sensation only not nearly as broken with a more modern and robust update. Black meanwhile treads a different path eschewing the vast library of Pokemon before it to place its new critters center stage effectively giving me the closest return to that original Red version sense of discovery as well as a greater sense of characterization to its cast by pokemon standards at least. In any case picking 6 of your favourite Pokemon and watching them grow into killing machines is one of gaming’s great treasures that continues to endure.

10. Super Smash Bros Melee/Brawl
Melee and Brawl together is like mass hysteria to some I’m sure, though gameplay wise they can lean to different ends of a competitive spectrum at the heart of both lies a Nintendo museum and addictive platform fighter with mechanics that seem unusual at first but quickly become grasped. Something of an antithesis to the traditional fighter Smash lures you in with its All Star mashup and keeps you hooked through its multiplayer madness that can be as serious or as silly as you want. Hopefully the incoming Smash 4 can just take this spot for itself alone by being the best of both worlds.

11. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
The one exception to my list imposed rule because franchise bias.
Unlike DKC2 Tropical Freeze didn’t have much to fix coming off the already fantastic DKCR, it’s a game that carefully tweaks the formula for the better and builds upon what worked in Returns. Retro’s blending of visual themes and level layout is nothing short of spectacular, each stage feels like a little journey and the worlds themselves have this flowing sense of progression throughout the stages, by the time you head out of Juicy Jungle it’s like you’ve been on the full fruit factory tour and it also contained top tier platforming action suited to each stage of the factories processes as well, splendid.
Also has the best Ice World in platforming history, bucking the trend!

12. Resident Evil 4
Resi 4 never lets up for its surprisingly lengthy duration, the memorable set pieces keep coming and the varied enemy encounters mix things up all the way through to the finishing line while still giving the player time to breathe. Few games could get away with an ever present escort mission yet Resi 4 finds a way to make this work and even add to the game. Even with the tense atmosphere It’s not afraid to be silly either, gotta love those cheesy quips.

13. Dark Souls
A gradual learning process embodies the core of Dark Souls, be it the enemies attacks, the map layout and the options available to you, the more you put into Dark Souls the more it all comes together. The world connects its visually striking areas together in such a seamless fashion that it’s like fine art helping cement Lordran as a land that feels authentic spurred further onwards by its snippets of lore. Exploration is tantalizingly terrifying when venturing into the unknown in hopes of loot and in fear of dropping all the souls you’ve yet to use, a gripping game once it sinks its claws in. Bed of Chaos is a pile of poop though.

14.Shadow of the Colossus
Here’s an artsy game that actually went and brought a game with it, a most magnificent puzzling boss rush pitting the player against great behemoths wandering an empty serene land. In a sense SotC does so much with so little, across its 16 battles you’ll make use of your limited abilities and the environment itself to fell the varied types of colossus where no battle plays out the same with some of the most awe inspiring moments of gaming residing within.
There’s also some sort of poignant plot points in there but I was too busy stabbing giants in the head to notice.

15. Street Fighter 4
Well you’ve got to start somewhere and even if I am like nearly two decades late to figuring out this quarter circle malarkey it’s better late than never. I was grabbed by the eye catching art direction and pulled in by the gradual satisfaction of learning mechanics and close fought encounters with my equally scrubby friends. In a way it’s one of the landmark games of the last gen for me as it opened me up to a genre that I previously didn’t quite get.

16. Fire Emblem Path of Radiance
This one has been slowly creeping up my favourites over the years, it hits a sweet spot where the game is challenging enough to be consistently fun and engaging while never getting too punishing or suffering from sudden spikes in difficulty. The story of Ike and his band of mercenaries also walks a similar line where the premise is simple but has just enough depth to it that it’s a step beyond the other localized FE games. In any case I get attached to the cast due to their supports conversations and combat prowess, it stings to let anyone die so that’s not an option, not in my army because I wont let it happen.

17. Perfect Dark
I’m surprised the N64 cartridge doesn’t just rupture from sheer content overload, say what you will about its dated style of play due to console limitations, Perfect Dark is still a crowning achievement for the N64 that has so much caring detail poured into every facet that I can’t help but love it even with the frame rate drops into the shitter in multiplayer. I’m still playing modern shooters that don’t do a fraction of the cool things Perfect Dark did and damn do I miss that objective mission structure and difficulty dynamic.

18. Kid Icarus Uprising
A franchise re-imagining so severe it barely resembles the original game instead springboarding off the limited lore it had to create Sakurai’s grand tale spanning three acts of episodic action supported by an enjoyable and eccentric cast.
An unusual arcade shooter that is initially unwieldy but clicks in style, so much content is thrown into the package with both stages and plot escalating side by side. The cream of the crop on 3DS and I don’t expect anything is coming to unseat it.

19. Valkyria Chronicles
It’s Anime World War 2…no wait, don’t go!
Valkyria Chronicles blends turn based and real time strategy in such a way that one doesn’t have to worry about performing mathematics, levelling up individual units correctly and other such niggles that deter some from the genre. This is a game with a lot of heart, wonderful presentation and heaps of character, that all sounds like fluff I’m sure but you gotta believe me. Also carries that Fire Emblem like feeling of family within your unit choices, team building is always neato.

20. Banjo-Kazooie
The 3D collectathon is a curious enigma, Super Mario 64 started the trend but Banjo feels like the game that steered most following 3D platformers in the direction that prioritized seeking and collecting over platforming mechanics which is something of a debating point. Still Banjo did what it did because it perhaps wasn’t aiming to be a platforming masterclass, you could say it used the uneasy early days of 3D gaming to its advantage by instead presenting fun worlds to explore choosing to expand that side of SM64’s design. Thus Banjo mostly sidesteps the cumbersome side of early 3D platforming and delivers a cartoony journey across a variety of colourful locales. Without a doubt I’d say it’s the most aged game on this list but man, that nostalgia, that soundtrack, its fake out final boss is in fact a board game based upon your knowledge of the game and that’s just terrific.

21. Pikmin 3
Third time’s the charm for this series, Pikmin 3 is the flower blooming from the seeds of the original concept. Merging an RTS base with a classic sense of adventure makes Pikmin 3 feel fairly unique, the daily expeditions uncovering new landmarks be it pots or puddles filled with all sorts of garden variety beasts can be taken at a steady pace or approached with multi tasking speed which also leads to an addictive challenge mode. The hidden gem though? That camera function.

22. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Initially clunky and confusing Monster Hunter is an odd franchise to get to grips with but you’ll be well rewarded for sticking it out. Every action you make should have a purpose, it’s a constant learning process both for when encountering a new monster and mastering a weapon type. It’s okay for the single player alone but multiplayer is the main draw, there’s a genuine sense of team work afoot when you work as one to fell a monster after a 20 minute ruck where you rely on each other to get through without failure, roll on MH4.

23. Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan 2
I spent a long time not really getting rhythm games, after much badgering by a friend of EBA’s quirky goodness I eventually succumbed to giving it a shot and it was a wise decision being another game that basically opened up a genre for me. Tapping to the beat is addictive and the comic stylings that accompany each track are delightfully absurd and can even make failure amusing. So good I imported Ouendan 2 which is arguably even better in ways, still I dig the Agents style more, westernisation done right.

24. WWF No Mercy
Wrestling games used to actually be pretty awesome, you didn’t need to know who these people were or why they were brawling in their trunks to enjoy a good wrassle. The gameplay spoke for itself with AKI’s finely honed mechanics that were part fighter, part simulation of the weird world of sports entertainment. A tactical single player showdown or a crazed clusterfuck of multiplayer, No Mercy embodied it all, the best WWE game for the best year (2000 is where it’s at) is truly a fitting result and I can give Kane all the title reigns he deserves dammit.

25. Mario Kart DS
The most complete Mario Kart game, after a series of slim pickings DS was a massive content jump adding the retro tracks, mission mode, (limited) online, stat tracking and at last a customizable versus mode. Mario Kart mornings were a staple of my sixth form days and elevated MK DS to a height that’s hard to match even for the refined Mario Kart 8 and arcade goodness of Sonic Transformed, alas those days are gone now so while this one will soon be surpassed I’ll always have those good times of getting screwed over by blue shells, wait, were they really good times?

Stopping here at 25 for a few reasons.
- This is taking me forever
- While I have numerous games in mind to bridge the gap to 50 I'm not so sure on what to say for some of them, there's a number of games I could use a replay of (Chrono Trigger, Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden Black leap to mind) to give my memory a jog especially because in those three examples I feel like I've only scratched the surface.
- Now I don't know if you noticed but this list has a sort of strong leaning towards that one Nintendo company, safe to say that I'm a fan. Still when building towards 50 I got a strong feeling that there's a lot more I need to play to expand those horizons further, it's a slow burn but that's what happens when most of the consoles you own as a kid are Nintendo ones, so many games have the multiple replays nostalgia advantage! Meanwhile more recent games I've discovered elsewhere don't have that luxury which I guess relates to the above point.

 

[Professor Beef]

Fuck I forgot Ace Attorney. This is why it's hard for me to make these lists.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

only 25 games LMAO what a scrub

 

[Nocturnowl]

Fuck I forgot Ace Attorney. This is why it's hard for me to make these lists.

This is funnier when I remember that you're the founder of the Ace attorney Community thread.

only 25 games LMAO what a scrub

Shush you, I didn't tap out, I passed out in the list submission like a hero.

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

I can only list ten of my favorite games, and even then it's not so much a "top ten", but a "ten top", as I virtually love all the games equally and can't think of one I liked more than the other.

 

[BlackJace]

All I know is that Metroid Prime is my favorite game of all time.

 

[Professor Beef]

I think it might just be easier to do a Terrific Twenty five instead of narrowing down to ten for me.

 

[Freakmonkey]

I can only list ten of my favorite games, and even then it's not so much a "top ten", but a "ten top", as I virtually love all the games equally and can't think of one I liked more than the other.

I'm the same way, also, I'll like a few of them for such drastically different reasons it becomes really hard to compare which one I like more.

 

[Falk]

http://i.imgur.com/MKs0N34.png

wat

edit: Oh it already has its own thread

 

[TheOGB]

Jesus

I thought that was a fucking joke

 

[Village]

* Finishes revelations on PC*
That was a good silly ass video game, I might have to write something up about or draw a thing.

anyways

* sees the cat sword thing *

... Huh... I.. Ok.

Maybe more Sega X Capcom Stuff in the future?

 

[Tizoc]

http://i.imgur.com/MKs0N34.png

wat

edit: Oh it already has its own thread

Avoiding it like the plague.

That's hilarious and wut inducing, but if the Felyne were more cartoony looking, it'd look OK I guess.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Once again, thanks Ken Penders

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

The funniest thing is the sword he's carrying is Caliburn from Black Knight.

 

[BlackJace]

Can Schala or other JRPG buffs give some impressions of the latest FF XV trailer? I feel like the battle system is getting slower and less interesting every trailer drop.

The graphics tho...

 

[Village]

I never knew how much I wanted a road trip jrpg untill now.

No not characters go on an adventure to save whatever.

Apparently Nomura a while ago had talked about it being a brotrip.

I need this, I need this in my life. If this is coming out in 2015 with all the other games, movies, comics, tv shows, and the music rumors.

2015 will be the death of my wallet

 

[Azure Dream]

The funniest thing is the sword he's carrying is Caliburn from Black Knight.

I love the thinking that went into Caliburn.

"We need someone to talk at Sonic!"
"But it's just him and the sword!"
"...What if the sword talked?"

 

[TimmiT]

Knuckles