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This is it, guys! My top 10 video games of all time... To see what lead us to this point, check out the rest of my top 100:
50-41
40-31
40-31
30-21
20-11
If you've had any fun with this little side project of mine, I ask that you consider becoming a Patron, it's only $1 a month, and when I reach my goal, it will help me to bring ad-free content on a weekly basis to my blog. Now, as a reminder, only one game per franchise. Now, let's go on and BURN THIS CANDLE!
20-11
If you've had any fun with this little side project of mine, I ask that you consider becoming a Patron, it's only $1 a month, and when I reach my goal, it will help me to bring ad-free content on a weekly basis to my blog. Now, as a reminder, only one game per franchise. Now, let's go on and BURN THIS CANDLE!
10. Mario Kart 64 - Nintendo 64
This one was a tough choice for me. There are so many great Mario Kart games out there for me, and while I love the new tracks and customization that's available in Mario Kart 8, I've still got to give it to Mario Kart 64. The second entry of the series remains the best from a pure gameplay perspective. The first of the series to add four player split-screen multiplayer, Mario Kart 64 adds more characters, the most memorable tracks of the series, and keeps the core gameplay of powersliding, racing, and grabbing items in addition to giving us the best Battle Mode of the franchise (BOMBS anyone?!?).
9. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Multi
FUS! RO! DAH! Minor confession time. I don't really like The Elder Scrolls as a series. I hated Morrowind, and I thought Oblivion was OKAY. But man, did they hit it out of the park with Skyrim. All of the games gave us a fully realized living world, but Skyrim did it in a way that not only felt intimidating and expansive, but also intimate and accessible with improved controls and a more welcoming rendered in-game world. With the addition of buying and renovating property, Bethesda created a kind of life simulation game, just that the life you're simulating is that of the Dragonborn. It's a fantastic game, I just wish Bethesda would stop releasing new versions of it every year.
8. Toejam and Earl - Genesis
There's a lot I can say about Toejam and Earl. I can talk about how it was one of the first games that gave us procedurally generated levels, or maybe how it revolutionized cooperative gaming with some of the first split-screen exploration gameplay where players can be on completely separate levels, or even how the early 90's kid-friendly hip hop aesthetic (think Fresh Prince/MC Hammer) still holds up and feels charming now, but the biggest thing about Toejam and Earl, is that this game is just fun! It's one of the few games that is fun EVERY time you play it, because it's going to be different, EVERY time you play it.
7. Chrono Trigger - Super Nintendo
I love Chrono Trigger. One of the first games to introduce multiple endings, this game made sure you utilized EVERY save slot. Far from being another Final Fantasy clone, Chrono Trigger told a steampunk time travel story with a unique combat system which borrowed both the timed turn based stye from Final Fantasy and the movement based tactical movement style from Fire Emblem. Chrono Chross may have been a "sequel" but only in name, and not in spirit. Chrono Trigger remains a classic, and should be required playing by anyone who considers themselves a gamer.
6. Mass Effect 2 - Multi
When the original Mass Effect came out, well, I'm not too proud to admit that I was jealous. At the time, I didn't have an Xbox 360, only a PS3, and my friend Jay was just going on about how COOL it was, so I created a kind of protest against the game series just because I couldn't play it. And then Mass Effect 2 hit the PS3, and voila! My protest was done! Commander Shepard was finally mine to command, and in the best game in the series, nonetheless! While technically a continuation of the original story, Mass Effect 2 told the seemingly unrelated story of Shepard's battle against the Collectors. With improved gameplay, and the largest selection and most memorable characters of the series (Shep + Miranda = LOVE), Mass Effect 2 stands out as the franchise's masterpiece.
5. Super Mario World - Super Nintendo
I know, I know. "But what about Super Mario Bros. 3?" Listen, y'all. It's great, but it just doesn't hold a candle to Super Mario World. Yes, Super Mario 3 introduced the flying power up and world map which have become staples of the 2D Mario Bros. series, it was Super Mario World that perfected it. The different levels, the secrets, the easter eggs, and YOSHI! Who could forget about YOSHI, the GREATEST POWER UP in all of video games! I don't think I need to really say more. Super Mario World, one of the greatest video games, and THE greatest launch title of all time!
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64
I remember sitting with my friends Garth and Steve as we played this in high school. Well, they played, and I watched. It was fantastic just to backseat game, experiencing the story and the exploration and the discovery with them! When I finally got my own copy, I couldn't put this sucker down until I finished it. Nintendo's ability to take a fantastic top down action RPG series and transforming it into a landmark 3D adventure game with intuitive and revolutionary controls remains mind blowing to me. Ocarina of Time is Legend of Zelda the way that Legend of Zelda should be played, and is the game that all Legend of Zelda games should strive to be. You heard me, Breath of the Wild, you horrible piece of trash. Go %&*^ yourself.
3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS3
About a year into its release, PS3 was still trying to find its legs. Exclusives that were supposed to be the killer app for PS3 and justify the $600 price tag, like Lair and Warhawk, turned out to be flops. But in November 2007, Naughty Dog released a game that everyone wrote off as a Tomb Raider clone: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. A fun little third-person cover shooter that was a little too short, but it spawned THE PLAYSTATION FRANCHISE for the modern era. The sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, took everything that was great about the first game, and mastered the technique of blending seamlessly between gameplay and cinematics. One minute you're watching Nathan Drake being chased by a humvee down an alley, the next, YOU'RE in charge of making sure he gets out of that alley in one piece! Improved gameplay and presentation, voice acting that turned Nolan North into a (voice acting) star, the best story of the series, the addition of a multiplayer suite, and a campaign lasting about 20 hours if you go through as fast as you can. One of the best of all time.
2. The Last of Us - PS3
Naughty Dog strikes again! When The Last of Us was announced, most people thought they would be getting Uncharted, but with zombies. And honestly, most of us were okay with that! But what we got was even better. A stealth/action-adventure/survival horror game that perfectly blends the gameplay of all the genres, The Last of Us not only presents us with great cinematic gameplay, which Naughty Dog has since become synonymous with, but also presents us with a complicated and compelling story comparable to anything you'd see coming out of Hollywood, which I won't spoil here. Just play it. Play it now. The Last of Us perfectly balances horror and beauty, proves that Naughty Dog is top dog.
1. Final Fantasy VI - Super Nintendo
You should have seen this coming. I own this game on three different systems. I have played through this game four times, currently working on the fifth. It is the RPG that I compare all other RPG's to. Final Fantasy VII was great, but at the end of the day, it doesn't hold up. Going back and playing it feels like a chore on the eyes. I LOVED the combat system of Final Fantasy XII, but it doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy VI still does it all. Great gameplay including character specific controls, great story, graphics that hold up to this day and have inspired new classics like Octopath Traveler, and great characters, including THE GREATEST VILLAIN in the entire franchise! Sephiroth ain't got nothing on KEFKA! Everyone talks about Sephiroth killing Aeris, but Kefka kills a whole damn CITY and then you have to watch as your wife and son board a train for the afterlife! BRUTAL! I could go on for an entire blog entry, but I won't. Simply stated, Final Fantasy VI is the greatest video game of all time.
That's it. Thanks so much to my readers for indulging me, and please feel free to discuss! I'm always up for lively discussion!
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