Your top 5/10/15 games

[nitnit]

Hello everyone


I have been mentally formulating a top 10 of my favorite games feature that I will be writing in the coming months. Each entry will have a lengthy page long entry, featuring a list of games spanning across genres, timeframes, and platforms.

One problem. I feel I haven't played enough of these "classic" games. The ones that are always on the top 50 games lists from large publications. Sure, I've played dozens, possibly more games to completion throughout my life... but if I'm going to make a personal top 10, I want to make sure I cover all of my bases by at least trying out as many of the "greats" as possible.

So now I turn to you. All I ask is that you post up your top games. I'm not asking for the best games of all time, just which ones are your favorites. If you'd like to write up reasons why, that's great, if not, then a list will suffice.

Thanks in advance, and try to not bash each other too much =P  

[Chaotix Bluix]

nitnit

One problem. I feel I haven't played enough of these "classic" games. The ones that are always on the top 50 games lists from large publications. Sure, I've played dozens, possibly more games to completion throughout my life...

Isn't that an issue that (at least I think), gamers tend to run into nowadays... I mean, sure enough there is "classic" literature that everyone almost expects you to have read or at least heard about... but when you apply this same idea to something like videogaming, it almost seems like you don't even have to know of these classic games... and yet having played/known them increases your overall scope of what makes a good game or what could be defined as a "classic" game.

Anycase, favorite games of mine? Well... to list a few in no particular order at the moment:

1. Golden Sun (GBA)
While it might seem like I've come to love the story and characters more, the gameplay is both solid and fun, and the visuals are pretty impressive for a game of it's time. Summon Judgement sometime. You'll see what I mean. heart

2. Final Fantasy 6 (GBA)
A well written storyline and plot, good graphics and music, interesting characters, and one of the most badass/best villians I've encountered... this game certainly has the works.

3. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (GCN)
When you get a group of people to sit down and play alongside you, this game shines like no other. Music and visuals are amazing and each of the levels don't have the issue of seeming repetitive, especially when you have a crew in tow.

4. Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Genesis)
If anything, this is one of the crowning jewels of Sonic games, not just because each level has it's own flare, but also goes on to add more content and possibilities to whats been seen before. Music and graphics were top notch for it's time and still remains fun without a direct need for a specific storyline. Also the final boss music (Doomsday Zone), owns.

5. Super Mario World (SNES/GBA)
I've played this game so many times, it shouldn't be funny... and yet, it still remains to hold it's charm and interest. If anything, this is the game I would suggest to any gaming neophyte simply because it's easy to understand, fun, and generally can keep a 5 year old interested for more than 5 minutes.

6. Okami (Wii)
Amazing storyline, stunning graphics and style, and the concept is something that hasn't been touched by any other game (that I've heard of), as of yet. The detail that went into this game is what I would consider an art, and yet... you can play and influence the world this game is set in just as much.

7. Donkey Kong (arcade)
Good ol classic donkey kong. Easy to learn, hard to master, and generally all around fun.

8. Pokemon Red/Blue (GBO)
Though the franchise has long since grown off these games, those hours of training your pokemon and trading them to catch them all with all your elementary/middle school buddies really bring back the nostalgia. The music is excellent , the graphics well sprited, and the story still engaging as it was when it first came out. And if the normal gameplay doesn't suit you, the sheer amount of rumors and glitches about this game bring in a new sense of fun itself.

9. Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (GBO/GBC)
I grew up with this, but the story and gameplay always seem fresh whenever I pick this title up again.

10. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (DS)
With the introduction of using wifi for battling and trades, I've found myself playing this game still since it's release in... 2006? Anycase, though the core gameplay hasn't exactly changed, the community it's brought up certainly has given itself a good place on my list of favorite games.

11. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
Being able to run through levels with more controls and a new...er adventure was pretty sweet when it came out. Also being able to have Tails do your dirty work was amusing at times too.

12. Super Smash Bros Melee (GCN)
The Smash Bros that everyone probably has played once or at least has heard of in some respects.

13. Gunstar Heros (Genesis)
Guns, explosions, Customizable weapons (though limited), awesome music, more explosions, actually is difficult without being overly so, lovely character concepts and visuals, bigger explosions, Timeron, space travel, kick a** co-op, playable controls, lots of explosions... ah... the list can go on. Still, this literally is a gem of the Genesis era games and still is awesome compared to today's standards.

14. Final Fantasy Legends 2 (GBO)
Think along the lines of (at the time), Square Soft's testing the waters of how a RPG would do on a handheld console, add a bit more story aspects and options from their first try, add some awesome 8-bit music and you've got what FFL2 is. If anything, both your father and Odin are awesome characters in their own right. :3

15. Masters of Magic (PC)
Played the heck out of this one. Think Civilization with magic, different races, and generally being able to piss everyone off in one turn with either one particular enchantment or marching a small battalion of near invincible warriors/heros straight into their capital cities. Also having the opportunity to move between the overworld and the underworld is pretty dang sweet.

The list is bound to change with added content and organized appropriately, but here's a sample for now.

EDIT: That looks better.  

[darkslasherX]

I don't really keep tabs on what my favorite games are in order, but here's a few of my all-time favorites that I can remember off the top of my head:

-Tales of Symphonia
Great story, fun battle system, lots of replay value.

-Master of Magic
I played this game to death and then some, and it's still fun. Only problem is getting it to run on a modern system, but it's doable. It's also a bit glitchy.

-Starcraft
Epic strategy game. Well-balanced, fun, well-designed scenarios.

-The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Ages is also good)
A nice, fun Zelda game. The interactivity between the games is a plus, but not wholly required except to get to the true final boss.

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
A fun, light-hearted Zelda game. I grew up with this one.

-The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Everyone puts it in their favorites, and that's because it's a great game. Maybe a bit overrated, but still great.

-Pokémon (Emerald was my favorite so far)
The battle system never gets old. A fun game all-around, but it's getting a little stale after 14 years, I guess.

-Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (Blue and Time+Darkness, maybe Sky but I haven't played it)
A fun roguelike where you play as a Pokémon. Tons of items to collect, Pokémon to recruit, and dungeons to conquer.

-Rogue
The classic roguelike. ASCII graphics don't seem to limit its playability, and it's a fun struggle for survival.

-Sonic the Hedgehog 3 + Knuckles
A great game. Fast-paced action, memorable boss battles, lots of secrets in the levels.

-Sonic CD
Sonic with an innovative twist. The past/future mechanic is fun to play around with, and adds some replay value. The last level is especially creative.

-Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (multiplayer mode)
A fun game to play if you have several players. It's fun when you coordinate well and everyone prospers.

-Metroid 2: Return of Samus
Excellent level design, great battle system, plenty of powerups to play around with. A little slow-paced, though. Kinda amazing that they managed to fit this game into a tiny GB cartridge.

-Metroid: Zero Mission
Fast-paced, plenty of replay value, great level design.

-Metroid Prime
Great atmosphere, exciting first-person shooting action, plenty of puzzles to keep the player busy between the action.  

[The Ginger Dude]

1.Chaser PC- One of the most underrated games of the decade, the best fps i played, good story, level design, and A.I is very balanced, made in 2005 or 06.

2.Half-Life 2 PC/Xbox- This was tough, both were good, but i loved the game's dystopian city setting, Ravenholm is one of my favirote levels, and the best graphics at the time, and the Gravity Gun was beast too.

3.Final Fantasy 9-This might change but this really seemed like the true ff game to me in terms of was it was created for, good medival tone, great party members, compelling story, and interesting bosses, expect the only flaw was the come from behind fight aganist Necron, useless fight.

4.Mike Tyson's Punch Out NES-Best fighting game ever, and Mike Tyson.

5.Star Wars KOTOR Xbox- Best bioware game to me, in the top 5 of greatest stories in gameing, customization was the best, biggest plot twist in rpg's and combat was excellent in those days play it once a month.

6. Thief PC- The game that brought out the stealth genre to popularity, addicating to play, graphics are so-so, but way to take out enemies was good, and i putting the series on 6 especially thief 3(The Cradle) not scary anymore but six years agofreakiest moment ever)

7.DND Temple of Elemental Evil- Very rare game to find, but if you can get past the bugs, truly a remarkable game, great dungeon, biggest at the time, great story, iffy magic combat though.  

[Cybylt]

1 - Monster Hunter (series- PS2,PSP,Wii)
Awesome fights, epic creatures and a punishing on mistakes. A series I've put god knows how many hours into over the past 6 years(over 3000 at my best count I believe) in a series of 6 games I've played with two more on the way next year. I think I'll stick with these games for a long time. No other game has given the sense of accomplishment than anything else I've played, even with the low-end quests you feel like you've actually done something.

2 - Mass Effect Xbox360
I like Bioware games, a lot, and Mass Effect is a great entry into their library. Great plot, and Saren is one of the greatest villains I've ever seen in a game. I enjoyed reading into the technology and powers as well.

3 - Persona 4 PS2
Fun characters, interesting plot and a very different take on the JRPG forumla, even seeming to parody it at some parts. Atlus made day to day life fun, which in itself is a pretty good accomplishment next to making moving around fun(Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia) and rewarding you for exploring that in battle with the social links setup.

4 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Xbox
Great story, characters and interesting twists all put in the star wars universe. Bioware made the greatest interpretation of the expanded universe when they made this.

5 - Final Fantasy 9 PS1
A really underrated entry in the series, a fact I don't like, I love their back to basics sense they put in this and the skill system. I'm happy that some of their games retain this sense, but it's the MMOs that do it. Zidane remains to be my favorite hero of the series, being charismatic and fun rather that an angst-ridden p***k. The characters felt more human rather than having each character pick a trait and stick with it.  

[DJ Arctic Wolf]

i'd have to say....

1. Silent Hill 3 (PS2)
I love the plot of the story and the action. It gives scary thematic elements and the music fits all appropriate situations.. Heather has to be my all time favorite game girl.

2. Tomb Raider: Legend (PS2)
Lara Croft is sexy, I'll admit it. This game is full of action and it gives an in depth look on Lara's past and the disappearance of her mother.

3. Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
I loved the idea of mixing Disney with Squaresoft. The plot was fun and the battles were better than your typical turn-based attacks. The enemies introduced were new and original and the music was fantastic.

4. Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
The plot was fantastic!!! I loved the game with all my heart and im sorry it's gone form my collection. Squall was the best and his story was really entertaining. i loved the introduction of strange (and slightly funny) new GFs. I even have Eyes On Me in my iPod

5. Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
What could be more fun than going around and tagging the streets of Tokyo with spray paint. The turf battles were fun and the music was very interesting. The characters were kooky and even the dog gets involved in the battle sometimes.

6. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
This was another fun final fantasy. The storyline was great and the characters were funny. I loved how the battles were like the KH battles and not turn based again (well, as much). The monsters came in huge quantities but were always unique.

7. .Hack//Infection (PS2)
This anime-based game is fun. The battles are the same as FFXII and its fun to switch the language from Japanese to english whenever I want.

8. Jak & Daxter (PS2)
This game is fun to play and the storyline is good. Daxter has to be my favorite because of his quirky and sometimes rude behavior. His comments always make me rofl  

[nitnit]

The basis of my list is pretty firm so far, though the exact number aren't there, and there are only a few big titles I'm really missing.

This may come as a surprise to some people who know me, but only 1 game mentioned so far is definitely on my list. There is one more with an 80% or so chance of making it (requires another playthrough), and there are about 5 games mentioned that I'm going to play before I make the list. (Like I said, the list isn't coming for quite some time, but I promise you it will be worth reading when it does come out)

Feel free to try to guess. ninja

(And yes, unlike my other "epic" promises, this is one I actually have the mental discipline to go through with)  

[KRaZyAmmo]

1: GRID. Perfect physics, beautiful graphics, challenging, and flashbacks beat restarting a race.

2: MadWorld. Needs no explanation.

3: Super Mario Brothers series. It's Super Mario Brothers.

4: Supreme Commander. Love the scale, strategic zoom, over-the-top battles, and how it makes you look at the battlefield differently.

5: NFS Series. Although the series went downhill, Shift saved the series from disaster. I just love getting chased by cops with exotic cars on the country roads and exotic places.

6: Persona 3/3 FES. The only RPG that got my into RPG. Love the music, plot, and personas.

7: Super Smash Brothers series. I really don't need to tell you guys why

8: Sonic CD. I loved the music and fast paced gameplay.

9: Burnout 3/Revenge/Paradise. I love crashing cars.

10: Command & Conquer. I like RTS and this series got me into the genre. Games like Yuri's Revenge/RA2/Generals/Zero:Hour/Tiberian Sun makes me drool because at that time I never played an RTS like it(before SupCom came out)

will edit for more.  

[Jonnnn]

nitnit

The basis of my list is pretty firm so far, though the exact number aren't there, and there are only a few big titles I'm really missing.

This may come as a surprise to some people who know me, but only 1 game mentioned so far is definitely on my list. There is one more with an 80% or so chance of making it (requires another playthrough), and there are about 5 games mentioned that I'm going to play before I make the list. (Like I said, the list isn't coming for quite some time, but I promise you it will be worth reading when it does come out)

Feel free to try to guess. ninja

(And yes, unlike my other "epic" promises, this is one I actually have the mental discipline to go through with)

It's either Starcraft, Metroid Prime 2, or FFVI  

[Haratio TaFotter]

Mine are just ten of my favorite games in no particular order.

1. Fallout 3 (360): Good, if not buggy. Got my money's worth from this one, and even if some of the DLC was hit or miss, I still thuroughly enjoyed it.

2. Borderlands (360): Hoping this will be my Fallout 3 for 2010 and beyond lol. Lots of fun thus far, and I'm still not even through my first play-through, not to mention DLC already almost here.

3. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA): I have a lot of firends who like strategy and RPGs, but just hate tactics games. Oh well, I paid $30 dollars for this game and got well over 200 hours out of it lol. Money well spent.

4. Half-Life 2 (360 and PC): never has a crowbar been so badass. Gravity gun still one of my favorite videogame guns.

5. Gun (GC): I like western games, and I don't really think they get made enough. It was shorter/smaller than I would have hoped, but I still played through a couple of times.

6. No More Heroes (Wii): Great story, great characters, just great, great, great!

7. Killer 7 (lol) (GC): Unique story and characters make this one a game to remember.

8. Battle Arena Toshinden (GB): one of my first videogames. A good weapons based fighter if not a little outdated by today's standards.

9. Star Wars Episode 1 Pod Racer (N64): I know this game was pretty much shameless franchise whoring so Lucas could make more money, but I really enjoyed it, and still do to this day. Everything makes it feel so much more hardcore than other racers lol.

10. All Super Smash Bros. Games (N64/GC/Wii): I really liked the battel stages, the damage system, and latest and (in my oppinion) greatest addition, Final Smashes, this series just keeps getting better and better.  

[Wade640]

1. Civilization 4 (PC) Honestly this is the best Strategy game I have ever played It's not too complicated yet it's complicated enough not to bore me. Plus every time you play it, it's different

2. Warcraft 3 (PC) The single player campaign is nice enough it sets up the basis for WoW but the main reason this is on my list is because of Battle.net the multiplayer is awesome and since all maps are player created there are endless possibilities of games you can play on it (plus it started DotA I don't like it but I have Respect for it)

3. Banjo Tooie (N64) I always loved this game since I was a kid yet I never knew why and I still don't know why. I guess it's because of the variety and uniqueness of the levels... oh and the music too.

4.Legend of Legaia (PS1) The first RPG i ever played (besides Super Mario RPG but i have a very vague memory of playing it) It's the music, awesome graphics (for it's time), battle system, and the way it seems like the game will last forever (It had so many tree's to save which took about an hour and a half to do minimum)

5.Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (GC ver.) There is a bunch of reasons why i like this game but probably the main reason is because It is actually the first game i've ever beaten without the help of cheats, gamer guide or someone else helping me and it's actually the first game i've ever beaten. (sad right?) Besides that, it's the graphics and puzzle's  

[Chaotix Bluix]

KRaZyAmmo

8: Sonic CD. I loved the music and fast paced gameplay.

Ah... but is it the American soundtrack or the Japan/European release of the game who's music you loved? ... Since there is a significant difference between the versions. twisted

@Nitnit's post: Knowing previous post's you've made in this guild, I think it's safe to think that the game in question is Starcraft.  

[nitnit]

Bluix is a winrar, and JONNNN would be a winrar, except he named a game that wasn't mentioned at all... (though he was very close to the game that might make it on).

Also since my last post someone else has said another game that will be on the list.  

[darkslasherX]

nitnit

Bluix is a winrar, and JONNNN would be a winrar, except he named a game that wasn't mentioned at all... (though he was very close to the game that might make it on).

Metroid Prime > Metroid Prime 2, imo.  

[KRaZyAmmo]

Chaotix Bluix

KRaZyAmmo

8: Sonic CD. I loved the music and fast paced gameplay.

Ah... but is it the American soundtrack or the Japan/European release of the game who's music you loved? ... Since there is a significant difference between the versions. twisted

@Nitnit's post: Knowing previous post's you've made in this guild, I think it's safe to think that the game in question is Starcraft.

Their pretty much equal IMO.