I think this is the point in the list where I’m starting to list games that I can get a little obsessive over. Either a rougelike that hooks me and makes me dive deep, or just a fantastic adventure in the case of Zelda and Donkey Kong. There are times where any of these games could be higher on a certian day, but hey. On the day that I made this list, this is where the chips fell.

40 – Crypt of the NecroDancer

Year Released: 2015 | Platform: PC

There aren’t many rhythm games that I enjoy, but Crypt of the NecroDancer is one of them. Another roguelike with plenty of weapons, characters, and biomes to discover and explore. What makes Crypt of the Necrodancer unique is that the entire engine of the game is tied to a beat. Every move or action for both you and the monsters happens on a beat. If you can keep up with the song, you’ll rack up a sweet multiplier and start raking in the gold.

This system is slightly panic educing, as you need to move your character around the map, position yourself so you can damage the enemies while not falling into any other traps, all while having milliseconds to decide on your next move. I find it really comical when I’m having a great run, but I suddenly fall off the beat, then get dogpiled into oblivion.

Despite the fact that I can’t keep a beat to save my life, I ended up really enjoying Crypt of the NecroDancer. It was perfectly engaging, fun, and frenetic enough to capture my attention and not let go.

39 – Final Fantasy V

Year Released: 1992 | Platform: SNES

This one is a bit of a cheat. I realized while putting this list together that I had a game repeated twice, so I needed to fill a gap. Thankfully, in the time between creating this list and posting it, I’ve embarked on my Final Fantasy Project, and one of the absolute highlights so far has been Final Fantasy V.

Final Fantasy X was already featured further back, and you’ll see Final Fantasy IV in a future post, but Final Fantasy V was the first new (to me) Final Fantasy that really made me smile. The job system on display here was just so much fun to explore, and unlike Final Fantasy III, I didn’t feel punished for swapping jobs. Instead, near the end of the game when I had several jobs mastered, I was rewarded with some ultra powerful stacking abilities that just made me feel so excited to run into battle.

I know there are more depths to plumb with this system than what I did in my first play through, and if I’m being honest, Final Fantasy V is so far the FF game that I’m most likely to go back and replay once I’m done, just because that system is so varied. I can also see how the job system here was developed into the Tactics series, which are some games that I absolutely love.

38 – The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Year Released: 2004 | Platform: Gameboy Advance

Alright, you’re gonna start seeing a lot of Legend of Zelda as we move up this list. It, and Pokemon have been my two favourite franchises since I was a little kid, so, there’s quite a lot of affinity built up here.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap takes Link’s iconic toque and turns it into an intrepid sidekick. The titular Minish are a race of miniscule elves, and Link is able to grow and shrink to interact with the Minish’s world. Nintendo did a fantastic job of imbuing the Minish point of view with a ton of charm, with things like, riding a lilly pad over a lake by using a jar that blows wind. The graphics are really bright and each of the biomes have their own distinct identity, and the music is phenomenal.

37 – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Year Released: 2023 | Platform: Nintendo Switch

I’m actually using this entry to represent both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which might be silly, but it’s my blog, so I’ll do what I want.

I always try to go into Zelda games blind. I purposefully avoid reviews, previews, designer discussions, everything. I want to discover the game on my own. I also vividly remember when Breath of the Wild was first announced in 2013, then was delayed at least twice, much to my dismay. But when I finally launched Breath of the Wild on my brand new Nintendo Switch in 2017, I was hooked. I loved the open world, free-flowing gameplay, and the discovery that came from… literally everything. I would launch the game, set my marker on a point just across a small field, and then two hours later I’d be turning my game off, not having reached that marker. That feeling of discovery gave me such joy that I played it every moment I could for three months straight.

I was a bit disappointed that the traditional big puzzle solving dungeons were pushed to the side in favour of the 120 shrines and 4 divine beasts, but I still recognized that Breath of the Wild was a monumental achievement.

Then Nintendo did it again with Tears of the Kingdom. The base map of Hyrule looks the same, but it feels like everything has been shuffled. In addition to shuffling the main map, to my full surprise when I discovered it, there’s a whole second map in the underworld. While that map is fairly barren, it’s not insignificant by any stretch of the imagination. Also, the real trick for Tears of the Kingdom is the ability to build all kinds of machinations. I don’t really have the imagination necessary to really dive deep into this mechanic, but seeing what others have built and seeing how the physics of the world react to creative problem-solving has been an incredible experience.

36 – Slice & Dice

Year Released: 2021 | Platform: Itch.io, PC, Mobile

There’s something special about playing a game a lot when it’s in early access, or it’s 1.0 release, then coming back to it a few years later and experiencing all the updates and upgrades all at once. That’s been my experience with Slice & Dice, and it is wonderful. I get all this new content, but I also don’t have to go through the effort of learning a whole new roguelike system.

Slice & Dice is a rogue like game where you play a team of 5 heroes, as they crawl through a series of battles. Each hero is represented by a die, and on each turn, you roll those die and apply their effects. From generic hits, to ranged attacks, to cleave attacks, to cruel attacks (x2 to enemies with less than half health), to so many more, your goal is simply to destroy your enemies before they do the same to you. After each enounter one of your characters will level up, or, you’ll be given a new piece of gear to modify one of your chracters. With over 100 heroes and much more loot to pick from, each run feels different, and the feeling of power you get when you utterly break the final boss over your knee is addicting.

There’s a reason why this game never gets uninstalled from my phone.

35 – Tetris

Year Released: 1989 | Platform: Anything with a screen

While the screenshot is from Tetris: Effect, this entry stands in for all the Tetrises out there. It’s a classic exciting puzzle game that has endured the test of time, and it also kind of served as a benchmark for me as a gamer. My mom and I used to play The New Tetris on the Nintendo 64, and she’d whoop my butt up and down the block. Until I got my first job, and with my first paycheque, bought a platnium GameCube and Tetris Worlds, and actually sat down and practised this game, until I finally surpassed her.

I also toyed with the idea of putting Dr. Mario World in this spot, as I absolutely loved that mobile game, to the point where I was ranked in the top 100 players. But considering that it’s a discontinued live service game that you can’t play anymore, I decided to leave it off the list entirely. I weep for lost games.

34 – Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Year Released: 2004 | Platform: Nintendo Gamecube

Another Gamecube game, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is still the best game in the Paper Mario franchise, and the reason why I keep trying all the games that have come after it, just for the off-chance that Nintendo can make lightning strike twice.

It’s a joyful, funny adventure that has such great characters. From Peach and the pervy computer, to a wacky Bowser, and endless witty sidekicks. The turn based gameplay with it’s wide range of moves and badges to mix up your abilities, I loved this experience, and it came completly out of left field when I first played it way back in my teenage years.

33 – Bravely Default

Year Released: 2013 | Platform: Nintendo 3DS

While I’m not a fan of a lot of the 3D games that graced the Nintendo 3DS, because I find the 3D models to be ugly as sin. my biggest annoyance with Bravely Default’s style is the toothpicks they use for legs. Seriously, look at some screenshots. None of the chracters have feet! But I’ve never been a graphics first gamer, and the gameplay of Bravely Default (and it’s sequel, Bravely Second: End Layer), hooked me from the very first battle.

While turn based like the NES trilogy of Final Fantasy games, what sets Bravely Default apart is it’s namesake. Characters can “Brave” on their turn to take multiple actions in one go. Or, Default, to defend themselves, and store up a turn for a later use. This ebb and flow of actions makes playing a turn based JRPG a breeze. For the random encounters, just brave all your characters and (hopefully) you’ll wipe them out in a single round. For boss encounters, have everyone default and wait for your moments to strike.

That system, coupled with a Job system reminiscent to Final Fantasy III, made Bravely Default one of my favourite Square Enix games on the Nintendo 3DS.

32 – Donkey Kong 64

Year Released: 1999 | Platform: Nintendo 64

Now here’s an entry based solely on nostalgia, as I haven’t played this since like, 2001. Donkey Kong 64 is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer on the Nintendo 64. Donkey Kong, along with his friends, like Diddy, Tiny, and Lanky, traverse worlds, collecting multicoloured bananas as they try to stop King K. Rool from destroying Kong Island.

I say this lives on Nostalgia, because I’m pretty sure if I went back and replayed Donkey Kong 64 now, I would get endlessly frustrated with it. Each Kong can collect a specific colour of banana, and wield a unique gun, and have unique abilities. Each of these unique traits are used to unlock more parts of each level, so each other Kong can get further and collect more of their colour bananas. Now, as I said, it’s been a long time since I played this, but I’m pretty sure the amount of back tracking involved with ensure I never finish this game again, let along complete it.

I had a lot of fun with Donkey Kong 64 when I was a kid. But as an adult who doesn’t have much time for video games, I’m much more likely to start up a replay of Banjo-Kazooie instead.

31 – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Year Released: 1995 | Platform: Super Nintendo

Yoshi’s Island is quite the game play depature from a game sporting the title “Super Mario World: 2”. Instead of Mario running and jumping on Koopas, getting powerups and having a sense of velocity, Yoshi’s Island saddles a multicolour series of Yoshi with a baby Mario, and sends you on a slower adventure. The art is amazing here, with everything having a wonderful pencil crayon aesthetic to it.

The monsters are all cute, and the music is just wonderful. Yoshi’s can jump on baddies, but their main tool is throwing eggs, which, in addition to dispaching enemies, can also be used to solve puzzle, knock down crates, and help you progress past seemingly impossible high cliffs.

If your goal is just to reach the end of every level, then Yoshi’s Island is a simple, fun game. If you strive for 100% on every level, which means finding 5 flowers, 20 red coins, and keeping Mario’s star-power health at 30, then this game turns into a challenge, even for adult me. I highly recommend giving this game a go.