Gosh. I love all the games on this list. Any of these games could be in my top 10, but, there’s only 10 spots on that list, and way too many really great games competing for those spots! But, if you asked me in person, any of these games would be liable to slip their way up the list, depending on how front of mind these games are.
20 – Golden Sun
Year Released: 2001 | Platform: Gameboy Advance
Golden Sun was literally a buried treasure for me. I was a pre-teen, visiting a friends house, digging through his treasure chest, when I excivated a random GBA cart from the bottom. The sticker has been ripped off. I asked him what game this one, and he just shrugged, so I asked if I could take it home to try it out.
Golden Sun is an epic tale of young heroes with the ability to use Psynergy powers, trying to save the world. Satros and Merdini have kidnapped your childhood friends, stole the elemental stars, and are trying to light the four elemental lighthouses spread across the land. If they do, the world will surly end.
Along your journey, you’ll find some Dijinn, who can be assigned to different character to augment their powers. Also, many of your psynergy powers can be used in the overworld to solve puzzles, from forcing vines to grow, to reading peoples minds, to psychally moving distant objects.
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly make Golden Sun special, but it holds a pretty special place in my heart, and it the kind of JRPG that I enjoy returning to every few years.
19 – Mass Effect 3
Year Released: 2013 | Platform: PlayStation 3 (multiplatform)
Much like how The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won 11 Oscars, not just because the individual movie was stellar, but it was more of a recognition of what the series had accomplished. Mass Effect 3 is one of my favourite games because it was the culmination of a trilogy of excellent sci-fi games. While the series changed gameplay styles from game to game, and some storylines were a little more boring than others, the overall experience was nothing short of phenomenal.
I was originally put off playing the entire Mass Effect series because of the voheminetly negative reaction around the finale. But for my money, I thought the ending was perfectly adequate.
What I really pine for, from Mass Effect 3, is the online multiplayer mode. It was seriously, so much fun. it was cooperative as you try to hold your own against a waves of enemies. I don’t usually play online modes, but that one was absolutely worth the time.
18 – Final Fantasy IV
Year Released: 1991 | Platform: Super Nintendo
I’ve been working my way through all the Final Fantasy games as part of a Final Fantasy Challenge, but even before I started that, Final Fantasy IV has been a favourite game of mine ever since I was a little kid.
I covered Final Fantasy IV in depth already based on my very recent replay, and the long and short of it is, Final Fantasy IV holds up. As I continue to go through the FF series, I’m seeing a lot of rehetoric that FF 6 through 10 was the “Golden era”. In my humble opinion, that era starts with FFIV, and if anyone asked where they should start with the series, I’d point them to Final Fantasy IV without hesitation.
17 – Banjo-Kazooie
Year Released: 1998 | Platform: Nintendo 64
Banjo-Kazooie has a pretty special place in my heart. I distinctly remember visiting a video store while visiting a friend, and I was allowed to rent one game for the weekend. My friend tried pushing me towards Doom 64, because “LOOK HOW AWESOME THE COVER IS” (to a 9 year old boy, anyway). But I’ve never been a big fan of gratuitous violence, instead I was drawn to the bright colours of Banjo-Kazooie.
A 3D platforming collecta-thon, Banjo-Kazooie has you tracking down 100 notes and 10 jiggies across 10 distinct worlds, before confronting the evil witch Guntilda. The worlds are focused and full of charm and secrets, but what really stands out for me is Grant Kirkhope’s absolutely iconic soundtrack. Every track for this game is an absolute hit, and even the re-jiggied album is one of my default soundtracks when I go for any drive that’s longer than 30 minutes.
I recently finished a “100%” replay of Banjo-Kazooie with my 4 year old daughter as a copilot, and had an amazing time doing so, but I made a terrible mistake. Turns out, on the 360 version, if you play Bottles puzzles before going to the Haunted Mansion level, the Banjo in the puzzle will collect 4 notes, and then they won’t be there when you make your way to the level, forever leaving your note count for that world at 96.
16 – Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Year Released: 1996 | Platform: SNES
Mario and friends embark on a JRPG adventure across the Mushroom Kingdom to collect stars to repair the star road, and kick Smithy out of Bowsers Castle. Square crafted a wonderful, charming adventure, and while the RPG elements are a bit of a back seat, I did really enjoy the active turn based battle system, where well timed button presses will net you extra damage, or give you a bit of a defensive buff. The isometric view is excellent, the story is goofy, but when I was a 8 year old playing this for the first time, I felt like there was a real gravity behind the events as they unfurled.
I did play the Switch remake, and I had a great time revisiting the game, but the extra bits that were added sucked any difficulty away from the game. I felt a profound sense of joy when Princess Peach joined the party, and how excited my daughter got when she saw that Peach was a playable character, and demanded she be present in every battle possible.
To this day, I pine to see Geno in Smash.
15 – Donkey Kong Country
Year Released: 1994 | Platform: SNES
To me, Donkey Kong Country is the quintessential Donkey Kong game. The music is atmospheric and perfect, the platforming gameplay is challenging, especially if you’re aspiring to collection all the KONG letters in each level. I really appreciated the inclusion of 2 players here, so I could play with my siblings. We bonded as we cursed those bastard bumble bees.
I know future DK games add so much more to the ape’s gameplay, including Donkey Kong Country Returns barrel jetpack, or Dixie Kongs hair twirling helicopter, but for me, Donkey Kong Country is the DK for me.
14 – Mega Man X
Year Released: 1993 | Platform: SNES
Oh the Blue Bomber. Mega Man X takes the jump and shoot gameplay and gives you a dash and wall jumps. Now you’re zipping through levels, leaping over chasms, and blasting baddies to kingdom come.
I’ll be honest here, I can’t even be unbiased. I friggin LOVE Mega Man X. I played it so much as a kid, that I just innately know the order in which to fight the bosses, where all 4 health packs are, and I can clear this game in like, 90 minutes.
The momentum and excitement of Mega Man X is brilliant. If I’m being really honest, Mega Man Zero 2 is probably the better game (of course it’s the better game, it has a friggin SWORD), but Mega Man X has such strong nostalgia, that I can’t help but put it here on my top games of all time list.
13 – Super Mario Galaxy
Year Released: 2007 | Platform: Nintendo Wii
Side note, sometimes when I write the year released for these games, I feel like I’m a billion years old.
ANYWAYS, Mario Galaxy is a stellar entry in the Mario franchise. The core quirk is that Mario flies around to little unique planetoids, and he collects stars. The gravity of the planets is so much fun, and pretty technically impressive on how well they pull it off. After all, it’s not uncommon for you to be running to the left, then for the camera to swing around, and suddenly you’re running to the right. A few times, Mario gets stuck running in circles, but coming to a stop resets the joystick orientation.
Being a Nintendo Wii game, there is an emphasis on pointer controls and stick waggles, but thankfully those moments are fairly few and far between and unobtrusive. Getting through the game is a joyful occasion, but getting that 100% will make you want to tear your hair out in a couple places. From the daredevil runs where you need to beat a boss with 1 hp, or trying to collect 100 purple coins. And when you do get those 120 stars, you get to do it again as Luigi!
I love Mario Galaxy. Mario Galaxy 2 is also excellent, but I generally really appreciate original games, rather than sequels that improve upon the path blazed by the first game. It also helps that Mario Galaxy is a part of the 3D All Stars collection, and I recently replayed it, while Galaxy 2 is locked to the Wii. Perhaps it’s about time I configure my Wii emulator and revisit that Galaxy.
12 – Slay the Spire
Year Released: 2019 | Platform: PC
I was determined to not like Slay the Spire. I immediately disliked the art style. And the animation. I played my first game, died before the first boss, and called the whole game unfair.
I don’t remember what brought me back, but at this point I’ve poured hundreds of hours into Slay the Spire. It’s an absolutely brilliant game that just keeps revealing new layers the more you dive into the system. Every character is a unique puzzle to solve, every decision matters, and most often I feel like my losses are due to my own poor mistakes rather than randomness just being a jerk.
The ascension levels change the game dramatically, getting and beating A20 with each character was an incredible challenge that I was so proud of overcoming. Every deck building roguelike gets compared to Slay the Spire and more often than not, I drop them after a few hours just to return to Slay the Spire.
11 – Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire
Year Released: 2002 | Platform: GBA
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire is my most played Pokemon game by a very wide margin. First, I was on a 10 hour road trip with my school one year, and one of the other boys wasn’t interested in playing it, so he let me take it. When I started, he only had 1 gym badge, and when I gave it back, I had just reached the Elite Four. But what made me replay this version of Pokemon so much, was that it was so easily emulate-able. Every smartphone and laptop I’ve owned had since I turned 18 has had a copy of Pokemon Sapphire on it, and it’s generally my favourite way to kill time. Spin up a new save, and blaze my way through the Hoenn region. I have a deep love for Ruby and Sapphire, from the music, to the new ‘mons introduced in 3rd gen, all the way down to the colourful sprites. Going from Pokemon Gold to Pokemon Sapphire was an incredible jump in graphics for my little 12 year old brain.
And as you’ll see next week, this isn’t even my favourite Pokemon game. 😉
Generally, I prefer to play games in person before I start playing them on Board Game Arena. For one thing, I’m much more likely to actually sit down and learn the rules, rather than rely on click-and-pray and letting the computer manage all the rules. But for River Valley Glassworks, designed by Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, and Matt Riddle, with art by Andrew Bosley, and published by AllPlay in 2024 after a successful crowdfunding campaign, I was drawn into a tournament and ended up playing 5 games back to back.
The others in my online game group, refuse to play a game on BGA before they’ve played it on the table, so when I visited a local board game café with Otter, and saw River Valley Glassworks on the shelf, I knew it would be a great opportunity to teach him, and get some more online games played.
River Valley Glassworks is a game about collecting glass. The main board is a series of tiles forming a river, ending at a small pool. Each river tile has a number of rocks, indicating how many glass pieces get placed onto that tile, and a shape. On your turn, you take one of the glass pieces from your satchel, and place it on a river tile that matches the shape of the glass that you’re placing, and then take all the glass from one of the adjacent tiles. You take the tile, put it at the end of the river, refill it with glass based on its stones, and place the glass you collected into your player board.
Your player board consists of 5 rows, with 7 columns each. You can choose the order in which you place your glass, but if you already have glass of the same colour, then that glass has to go onto that column. Should you exceed 5 pieces, the extra goes into the overflow. Glass in the overflow will cost you 3 points at the end of the game, which comes up surpisingly fast. the first person to reach or exceed 16 pieces of glass triggers the end game, which has all players complete the same number of turns, then take one final turn, and then you move into end game scoring.
For end game scoring, you simply count each of your rows from left to right until you reach the first empty spot, then you score your two tallest columns. If multiple columns are of equal height, you score the lower value one. Subtract your overflow, and that’s the entire game!
River Valley Glassworks plays lightning fast on the table with two players. Averaging 10 minutes per play, I couldn’t believe how quickly the game came to a screaming end, which makes this game perfect for starting the night off, or a tidy night cap before everyone heads home.
The gameplay is smooth as silk, with the only real decision you need to make is which piece of glass you want to put down, and which of the two adjacent river tiles you want to take from. Once you have the glass in your hand, it simply flops onto your playerboard into the appropriate spots (unless you have two new colours being added to your board, then you choose which order to add them in, but I digress). There is the decision of when to take glass from the lake to replenish your options, but that only really comes up once or twice in the game. Although I have been sincerely tempted before to take the lake glass ‘early’, forcing one into the overflow before. The loss aversion I hold refused to let me do it, however, even if it would had given me the tactical advantage in the moment.
There are 8 different colours of glass, but only 7 columns on your board. It is an interesting challenge to consider if you want to get the common colours early so you can build fuller rows, or if you hold out to get them a few turns in, so you have an easier time filling the most lucrative columns. That push and pull of short term planning is delightful in this lightning quick game. And if whatever choice you make doesn’t pan out, just throw all the glass back in the bag and play it again!
I played the retail edition of River Valley Glassworks, which was a perfectly reasonable production. The glass pieces were lovely to look at, if a tad small. The river tiles were colourful and fit together perfectly, and each of the animal entrepreneurships you play as are full of character and are fun to look at. I did see some pictures of the deluxe version of this game, and while it looks absolutely gorgeous, with its neoprene mat for the river, dual layered player boards, and animal meeples, I don’t think any of those deluxe components really add anything to the game, especially considering how simple and lovely the gameplay is. Personally, I don’t like an overwrought production, and the retail edition fits the vibes perfectly.
River Valley Glassworks is quick, cozy, and approachable, but still gives you meaningful decisions and a puzzle that lingers in your head afterwards. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, it looks great on the table, and it’s the sort of game I can play back-to-back without blinking. It’s also great to play asynchronously on BGA, if you’re so inclined, as it’s always easy to parse the board state. If you’re in the market for a half-hour filler with charm to spare and just enough bite to keep you engaged, this is one river worth diving into.
I’m constantly reminded that nostalgia is a bitch. Case in point, every game on this list is 10 years old or more.
30 – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Year Released: 2006 | Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
The last Gamecube Zelda game, or the first Wii Zelda game, depending on your perspective. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was the ‘realistic’ Zelda game we were all clamouring for back in the early 00’s. See, in 2002, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was released with a gorgeous, emotive cel-shaded art style that looked amazing. But all us edgy teenagers rebelled against it, calling it a baby game for babies. We wanted the dark and gritty browns that were so pervasive across all video games at the time.
In Twilight Princess, Link and Midna embark on an adventure to save the world from an encroaching darkness. With Link having the ability to transform into a wolf, and Midna having an ethereal hand to overcome… well, pretty much anything. Twilight Princess was the real follow-up to Ocarina of Time that fans at the time wanted, and while Wind Waker‘s art style has aged MUCH better than Twilight Princess has, the dark fantasy atmosphere did a lot to entertain my teenage brain.
29 – Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Year Released: 2005 | Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Intelligent Systems first foray for Fire Emblem into the world of 3D was one of my favourite experiences. From centering the story not on a little lord trying to raise an army, but instead on a common man, Ike, who is thrust into a leadership role when the continent is embroiled in war, and his father Greil, the leader of the Greil Mercenaries, is cut down in front of him.
The moment that really sealed Path of Radiance into the upper echelon of video games, is the chapter that happens immediately after Greil dies. Two of your teammates abandon ship, and you’re left to defend the princess against a seemingly never ending onslaught of enemy forces. The despair and hopelessness I felt as a young lad, seeing more and more enemy reinforcements swarm in from all directions, each of my young characters desperately holding their choke points, was a formative gaming moment for me.
Beyond that single chapter, Path of Radiance also grapples with themes of racism and prejudice between the humans and the Laguz, a race of people who can transform into beasts. As most Fire Emblem games, there are politics in play, but the themes feel well executed and personal, as Ike struggles against a mighty empire, hell-bent on Laguz genocide.
28 – Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Year Released: 2007 | Platform: Nintendo Wii (multi-platform)
Guitar Hero 3 sits at number 28 on my top video games of all time list, simply for the sheer number of hours played. Guitar Hero 3 was the only guitar rythm game that I owned for a long time, and one of my friends bragged that he could beat every song on expert, so, naturally, I had to do at least the same.
It turns out he was lying at the time. While we were teenagers, neither of us managed Through The Fire and Flames (although he did send me a video of him accomplishing that feat almost a decade later), but Guitar Hero 3 was the game that forged my rhythm fingers, and trained me to be a video game guitar expert.
27 – The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Year Released: 2013 | Platform: Nintendo 3DS
You’ll find A Link to the Past near the very top of the overall list, but A Link Between Worlds holds a special place in my heart. Revisiting that version of Hyrule nearly 20 years later was a blast, but what made this even better was that I just so happened to have a day off work on the day this game released. I picked it up from the mall the moment it opened, then went home and played through the entire game, start to finish, in essentially one sitting. I don’t think I have ever done that before, and I had a phenomenal time doing it here.
What makes A Link Between Worlds unique was the Zelda’s team first foray into a more open-world design. Instead of getting a new item in the middle of a dungeon, you can rent items from Ravio, and tackle the dungeons in almost any order. Many of the puzzles of A Link Between Worlds has you slipping between cracks in the walls, and between the light world of Hyrule, and the dark world of Lorule.
Listen, I could go on, but A Link Between Worlds is a fantastic Zelda game, and perhaps it’s boosted by my love of a Link to the Past. But hey, this is a subjective list, what do you want from me?
26 – Stardew Valley
Year Released: 2016 | Platform: PC
Growing up, I remember ranting to my sister about how much I disliked Harvest Moon 64. It was boring, tedious, and obtuse. Why would anyone choose to play Harvest Moon?, I’d cry. “Why did you play it?” she asked me. At the time, I answered it’s because it was my personal ethos at the time to beat every game I owned. After all, I don’t get many games, so I need to make the most of the games I have. She rewarded me with buying Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, taunting me to either give up my ethos, or be miserable in my attempt.
While Harvest Moon wasn’t the game that broke my ethos, it did lay the groundwork for Stardew Valley, the indie PC darling that has absolutely taken over my family. It started with just me playing it, then I got my wife into it. We both had 100 hours into each of our farms, then we started a new multi-player farm. Then my mom came to visit, and she tried it, and now she has dozens of farms, all well beyond Year 3. Now my brother has gotten into it, including the mods, specifically Stardew Valley Expanded
Stardew Valley itself is a cross between a farming simulator, a dungeon dive, and a dating simulator. Obviously, it’s more than the sum of its parts, as it’s utterly charming, and the kind of game that demands “just one more day” out of you, despite it already being 2:30 in the morning, and you need to work your real job at 7am.
25 – Star Fox 64
Year Released: 1997 | Platform: Nintendo 64
In my honest, spicy opinion, Star Fox 64 was the first and last good Star Fox game. You’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to follow up on this on rails shooter. I mostly enjoyed Star Fox Command with it’s multiple endings, and Star Fox Assault, despite the annoying walking Arwing missions, but neither really managed to capture the magic that was Star Fox 64.
Star Fox, despite being on-rails, manages to get my heart pumping, every time I revisit this classic. The characters are all unique with their quips, alternating between being helpful and needing to be rescued, crafting the brotherhood forged in battle feeling. The levels all feel unique and intresting, many with several paths to discover, Star Fox 64 is one of my favourite games on the Nintendo 64, and is actually one that I make a point of replaying year after year after year.
24 – Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Year Released: 2003 | Platform: Game Boy Advance
The start of the Mario & Luigi series was magical. I remember standing in a mall, debating between Mario & Luigi: Super Star Saga, and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. In the end, I’m glad I made the choice that I did (if only because I hadn’t played Golden Sun at that point yet), Mario & Luigi: Super Star Saga is a wacky and charming adventure through the bean kingdom to try and get Princess Peach’s voice back. It uses an active battle system, mapping Mario and Luigi to the A and B buttons respectively, encouraging you to press a button during an attack to get some extra damage, or, dodge attacks from enemies when timed correctly.
It was a bright, colouful, and fresh take on RPGs, and I adored this game. I haven’t enjoyed anything else in the Mario & Luigi series as much as this entry, but, this one, I wholeheartedly recommend.
23 – Super Mario Bros. 3
Year Released: 1993 | Platform: SNES
Alright, before all you NES fans get mad at me, for me, Super Mario Bros 3 was a part of the Mario All Stars collection on the SNES, and that’s where I experienced it, so this is the proper verion of Super Mario Bros. 3, for me.
It’s great. The levels are unique and can be challenging, the music is excellent, and the SNES sprite work is brilliant. SMB3 is one of the best platformers of all time, there’s no question there. I guess, the only question becomes, why are there 22 games above it?
Well, there are only 3 platformers above it, and each one is a special, nostalgic entry for me. Perhaps I’m not fair, but hey, neither is life.
22 – Heroes of Might and Magic III
Year Released: 2000 | Platform: PC
Goodness, just looking at this screenshot makes me want to drop writing for the night and start playing HoMM3
My earliest memories of HoMM3 involve hot seat with two other boys, huddled around their dads Windows 95 PC. In Heroes of Might and Magic III, you play as heroes, as they scour the lands surrounding their castle, recruiting creatures to fight in their armies, building up the castles under their control, and pillaging the land for resources. Another one of those “just one more turn” games that will literally keep you at your computer until the sun comes up, it’s hard to put into words as to just what makes Heroes 3 SO SATISFYING.
When your hero encounters a mob on the overworld, or another hero, or even another castle, the scene shifts to a 2d hex map where a turn based battle takes place. In order of speed, each of the creatures under your control move, and will do damage, with many having special abilities, such as flying, unlimited counter attacks, ranged attacks, and more. Whichever side manages to eradicate the other first, wins!
Most of the campaigns will have you trying to wipe out all of your opponents, or searching for various relics to outfit your heroes with. On and on the game goes, your power and empire slowly growing with you, until you achieve victory, and you start again from 0 on another map. It may seem anti-climatic, but again, it’s SO SATISFYING TO PLAY.
Heroes of Might and Magic represent hundreds of hours across various play-throughs. It’s the best in the series, and it’s not even close.
21 – Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Year Released: 2004 | Platform: Game Boy Advance
My first Fire Emblem. I don’t think Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is particularly well revered within the community, but for me, it’s the bar against which all other Fire Emblem games are measured. It’s fairly short, only 20 chapters long (although the story splits in the middle of the game, making a replay much more interesting), and pretty straightforward. I can’t help but be led by my baises here. This is one of the few games that I completed 100%. Getting every support conversation for every character made me fall in love with each and every one of them. While not all support convos were created equal, this is the game that made me love the Fire Emblem series! I can’t help but have it elevated in my top games of all time list!
I’ve been a fan of Level 99 Games for a while now. From Millennium Blades toBullet❤️, and all of its expansions, I really dig how unique every game of theirs I’ve played has been. So when I saw Argent: The Consortium in a math trade earlier this year, I hopped on it, and was delighted to receive it. While I am a big fan of the early 90’s anime and video game theme from Millennium Blades, and adore the anime aesthetic that all of Level 99 Games, my friends in my game group are less enthusiastic, which is one of the reasons it took so long for me to get Argent: The Consortium to my table.
The other reason it took so long for Argent to come out, is that it looks incredibly dense. Twice I opened the rulebook, started reading the rules, and immediately felt too tired and packed the game away again. I don’t know what it is about Argent, but the rulebook does not feel welcoming.
For our first game, we stuck with the “recommended beginner’s setup,” since it was our first go, but even with training wheels on, Argent: The Consortium showed off its teeth.
A 3 player game has 8 locations for you to put your workers, with each of those locations having between 3 and 5 spots. On your turn, you can take a fast action if you wish, then take one main action, which can consist of placing a mage on a spot, casting a spell, or using a supporter or treasure. If you don’t want to do any of those, there are also some bell tower cards you can take instead, which act as the timer for the round. The moment the last bell tower card is taken, the round ends.
On the surface, Argent is just a worker placement game. You put your mages (workers) out on various locations to gather resources, gain spells, or position yourself for the endgame scoring. Pretty standard stuff. Except, there’s a lot of interaction, and not even just the standard worker placement of interaction that comes from taking the spot that someone else really wanted. Argent: The Consortium has a lot of direct player interaction as players cast spells to blast opposing mages off the board, and even some that let you shift your opponents workers around after they’ve been placed. That one twist, being able to knock, vanquish, or blast someone else’s carefully placed worker, isn’t just cute. It’s the heartbeat of the whole design. The worker placement here isn’t just about action efficiency; it’s about tempo, timing, and disruption.
There are 5 different types of mages you can recruit, each with its own ability. The red mages can wound other mages, kicking them out and taking their spot, and sending them to the infirmary, giving its owner a paltry benefit. The green mages are immune to wounds, the purple mages can be placed as a fast action, the black mages can be placed after you cast a non-fast spell, and so on. Each of these effects seem pretty simple on their own, but when your turn comes around, you’ll find yourself going down a flowchart in your head of which worker to place first. Perhaps you place a defensive one down to lock the spot you need the most, or you hold back your offensive mages so you can punish one of your foolhardy opponents. Not only picking a location is a tough choice, but trying to figure out which worker to use compounds that decision.
The goal of the game, is to accrue the most votes of the Consortium, a group of administrators, each valuing something different. 2 are open information to the whole table, but the other 10 are face down. While each player does get to peek at one each at the start, you’ll be blind as to what resource the other 9 each value. At the end of the game, each of those cards are flipped up, and whomever has the most of whatever criteria they ask for, wins their vote. The player with the most votes, wins the whole game.
Of course, there are ways to earn more marks, letting you peek at more cards. Knowledge is power, and focusing your efforts into the actions that will ultimately earn you a vote is the way to win the game. Sometimes you can glean from your opponents as they stockpile a specific resource, what they might know, but you can’t always be sure. And even if you do follow them, now they have a head start on you.
Argent: The Consortium is flush with variability, even in just the base game. 18 council votes mix up the end game, 6 double-sided player boards, each with their own player ability. 30 spell cards vary the abilities you can accrue, 15 double-sided university tiles ensure the actions you take are different in every game. But with all this variability, comes table bloat. As you can see in the pictures, it’s a massive table hog. The board is just a modular cluster of cardboard tiles, but each player needs to have room for their player board, and room off to the side to hold their spells, vault cards, and supporters. Argent has an almost comical abundance of “stuff”, and that’s not even counting any of the content that comes in the expansions.
Which kind of brings me to my main thought of this review. Argent: The Consortium is just a worker placement game. There’s no flashy gimmicks or crazy twists to the mechanism. It’s not mixing other mechanics to make a game that feels wholly unique. There’s no flash or pizzazz, and it isn’t the kind of game that stands out on a table that makes people stop and ask “what’s THAT game!?”. But this game obviously has legs. It has replayability out the ying-yang, and that’s something that a lot of modern games seem to lack. If you’re tired of modern games dazzling you with their fancy pants productions and really exciting and interesting first play, but lack of replayability, well then I hold up Argent as the solution to those woes.
Is Argent: The Consortium perfect? No. A few things may rub players the wrong way. For one, despite all the flashy magic theming, Argent is still fundamentally a Euro about collecting and converting resources. If you came here for wild spell-slinging battles, you’ll find yourself instead managing mana crystals and counting up influence points. For another, some people will find the overabundance of options paralyzing. On your turn, you may have up to 20 options to choose from. Some will balk at how mean and interactive it can be, since one well-timed action can completely upend your plans. All those paralyzing options mean that the game can feel slow to play, especially with new or AP prone players.
But at it’s best, Argent is a dazzling mess of interaction and tension. It’s a Euro with resource management at its core, yet it smuggles in drama and intrigue that most Euros can only dream about. Every game feels distinct, every set up is a whole new puzzle. It’s the kind of game where you might feel like you’re dead last, but in a dramatic reveal at the end, scrape together just enough votes to edge out the victory.
Argent: The Consortium is a gem. It’s one of the most interesting, interactive, and clever worker placement games I’ve played in a very long time. It’s not the easiest thing to get on the table or convince normies to play, but it’s worth the effort every time. If you love worker placement, love interactive games, and don’t mind a bit of magical cruelty, Argent: The Consortium, despite being 10 years old, might end up being your new favourite too.
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 IVin 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 Fantasygames, 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.
