It’s finally here! My top 10 video games of all time! Expect me to get a little rambly, as (obviously) I adore each and every one of these games.
10 – Train Valley 2
Year Released: 2019 | Platform: PC
This was my Covid game. When we were all told to stay home for 2 weeks, which turned into the better part of 2 years, I got really, really into Train Valley 2.
It’s a simple concept. You have stations dotted around the map, one of those stations produces workers, and wants a certian type of good, lets say, chairs. You build train tracks to the wood station, and send workers. Then when the workers are turned into wood (don’t ask), you build more track and send that wood to the chair shop. But the chair shop also needs workers, so you build rail and send people as well. Then, when the chairs are done, you send the chairs back to the person station, and you’ve succeeded.
Now that that concept, and multiply it by 50. You now have 3 person stations, all of whom want different things. There’s 10 different goods, and each good needs 3 other goods before they can produce. Also, your rails are built on the edge of a cliff, so you need careful management to prevent head on collisions. And to get 5 stars, you can’t turn any trains around.
It’s a cerebral puzzle, kind of like digging into a box of wires, and slowly teasing the edges until you find one that can be pulled loose. As you tug and tease, the knot gives way, and you end up in a flow state. You’re a symphony conductor of trains, deftly balancing 7 locomotives, all with different destinations and switching junctions at the precise moment to get everything where it needs to be.
By the time you hit the end game levels, some maps take upwards of 45 minutes per attempt. I recognize this puzzle game is not for everyone, but goodness me I fell in love with Train Valley 2 HARD. At 362 hours recorded on Steam, it’s my most played game on the platform. I adore this little train game, and am always eager to get back into it and work my brain through a new map.
9 – Mario Kart 8
Year Released: 2014 | Platform: Wii U
I was one of the apparently few people that bought a Wii U, and my reward for doing so, was Mario Kart 8.
I find it kind of remarkable how Nintendo manages to release a new version of Mario Kart, which feels perfect and amazing, and renders the versions that came before it as clunky and terrible. I loved Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, and then Mario Kart 8, but once the later one came out, I found it very difficult to go back to the older itierations.
Mario Kart 8 (with the DLCs) was the sole reason my Wii U stayed plugged into my TV for years after the Nintendo Switch launched. The main gimmick of Mario Kart 8 is the anti-gravity wheels and the tracks going up walls, upside down, and curving all around, but that aspect can largely be ignored, as the camera sticks behind you the entire time. It is kind of cool when you’re not the one playing, seeing the course in the background curl up into the sky, or enjoy the details in the distance. Beyond that, Mario Kart 8 doesn’t dramatically reinvent the formula, but it does deliver on fantastic arcade racing, with power-ups and chaos that keeps my wife and I coming back over and over again.
And really, one of the biggest compliments I can give a game, is that I bought it at full price, plus paid for the DLC on the Wii U, and then paid for it again on the Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
I am mildly salty that the Nintendo Switch didn’t get a proper Mario Kart game of its own. I know Mario Kart World is waiting for me on the Switch 2, but I’m waiting for a while before I pick up any new hardware.
8 – Fallout: New Vegas
Year Released: 2010 | Platform: PS3
Fallout 3 was mind-blowing for me, but Fallout: New Vegas improved on the experience in every way. While I didn’t get the ‘mind-blown’ experience of exiting the vault for the very first time and exploring the wasteland, I was instead treated to the Mojave Desert, and the excellent factions and characters that inhabit it
Now, I first played New Vegas on my PS3, and it was fine. It was buggy, slow, and prone to crashing, yet I persisted. I loved chosing between the factions, each one having their own ending as they fight for control of New Vegas. Mr. House loading you up with cash, Yes Man pushing for an independent New Vegas, siding with the NCR to bring governmental legitimacy back to civilization. There’s also a Caesar’s Legion questline that I never followed, because I’m not a rephrensible human being.
Also, because Boone is my main man.
What really cemented New Vegas as one of my favourite games of all time, was when I built my first gaming PC and I picked up New Vegas: GOTY for $5 on Steam. The DLC was a breath of fresh air, as by that time I has already plundered the depths of the game, but the DLCs were new and exciting. And even after several full playthroughs, every time I set out from Goodsprings, I found something new. I was always uncovering more layers of the onion, and discovery is something that I really appreciate.
For me, New Vegas is peak Fallout. It’s the one I keep going back to, and the one I hope will inspire future games in the series.
7 – Super Mario Odyssey
Year Released: 2017 | Platform: Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Odyssey is the definition of whimsy. A wonderful 3D platforming adventure with tight, exciting controls, and dozens of gimmicks around every corner, Odyssey is just a damn joy.
It’s something I’ve come back to again and again, Nintendo games are fun. Mario Odyssey doesn’t lose itself in trying to be a dozen different genres, it’s just a colourful, fun, romp through a myriad of biomes, with excellent music, and original thrills. Yes, Mario is the same running and jumping dude we’ve been playing as for 30 years, but every game feels fresh and joyful.
What I have really come to appreciate, is how if you just want to breeze through the worlds, you can do that. But if you want a challenge, some of those moons can be a real pickle to pick up. Much like Breath of the Wild and those damn Korok seeds, there’s powermoons EVERYWHERE. The more you stop to look around, the more you’ll find. The firehydrant you’ve run by a dozen times, turns out you can move that to reveal a power moon. Sit down next to a dude, power moon. Scale your way to the tip-top of any level, and you can be sure you’ll be rewarded with a power moon. Those little achievements are a joy to reveal, and after playing through all the 3D Mario games with my daughter this year, I can definitively say, they are always getting better. If you can shake your nostalgia glasses off, I’m sure you’ll agree.
6 – Super Mario World
Year Released: 1990 | Platform: SNES
But this is the Mario game of my childhood. 3D Mario games are great, but nothing replaces the joy I get from Super Mario World. Unlike the collectathons that are the 3D Mario games, Super Mario World is all about running to the right and getting to goal. Sure, most levels have some kind of secret for you to find, which may open a branching path on the world map, but the goal is still the same. Get to the exit. Coins exist to give extra lives, and that’s all. Just, run and jump platform to platform, stomping Koopas, and making your way to Bowsers Castle.
I know I just talked about taking your nostalgia glasses off, but I’ve literally been playing Super Mario World since before I could read. This is the Mario game for me.
5 – Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Year Released: 2003 | Platform: GBA
While Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones was the Fire Emblem game I played the most, The Blazing Blade was the one I fell in love with.
Beginning with Lyn’s story, serving as a 10 chapter introduction to the game, culminating with her reuniting with her grandfather, not only does this part of the game introduce you to the gameplay mechanics, but it introduces you to many of the characters that will come back in the second act.
I have always been a character first type of person, and Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade really knocked it out of the park with a genuinely good cast. The character interactions were brilliant, and by the end, I felt like each unit did have their own motivations and characterizations, which is tough to pull off with such a large cast of characters. As always, I really enjoyed the support system, seeing characters that would never interact within the main narrative spin have their moments in the sun.
The plot, I actually have a hard time recalling properly. A year after Lyn saves her grandfather, you follow Eliwood as he searches for his father. Accompanied by his best friend Hector, they find themselves entangled in a plot to bring Dragons back to the world.
But for all the plot’s weaknesses, the maps and gameplay more than make up for it. I loved playing The Blazing Blade, and it continues to be one of the games that I go back to over and over again. Sometimes the pacing of the narrative can mean that if a character is unlucky in their stat growths, then they simply fall behind and get benched. This is something that was “fixed” in The Sacred Stones, but I will concede that allowing players to grind made the game trivially easy.
And as a special bonus, when you finish Eliwood’s adventure, you get to play through it again with Hector as the main character! It’s a bit like Ender’s Shadow, where it’s really the same story, but there is a little bit more characterization for some units from Hector’s perspective. Either way, I’m a big fan of having a bonus mode getting unlocked after you complete the main narrative.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is the quintessential Fire Emblem experience. It’s a tactical strategy game with great characters. While every entry in the series that has come after it has tried to add their own unique takes on the system, The Blazing Blade is the bar against which every other Fire Emblem is measured against.
4 – Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Year Released: 2003 | Platform: Gameboy Advance
This might be one of the more controversial takes amongst the Final Fantasy Tactics community, if not the FInal Fantasy community at large. I ADORE Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
I’ve always appreciated the depth of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. As a kid, I struggled to understand Marche and his desire to return to the boring ‘real’ world after being isikaied into a Final Fantasy adventure. why would anyone want to leave a magical world where they’re strong and admired to return to a harsh and boring reality? Especially as he meets his friends who have all of their main troubles solved. Doned has his health, Mewt has his father, who is a respected judge. Ritz has her… red hair. But, I appreciate the story that focuses on doing whats right, not what’s easy or comfortable, even when your loved ones are the ones pushing against you from the otherside of the battlefield.
Most people will say that Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the best games ever, but I personally think FFTA improves upon the original, mostly in respect to a more approachable story and style, but especially on the gameplay mechanics. Some people despise the Law system, but I never found it to be that difficult to work around. It is fusturating when a law forbids blades and your whole party is kitted out with swords, but I appreciate the game trying to push you in different directions, to keep you from being comfortable.
My biggest gripe with FFTA is once you have your 6 characters, you keep recruiting party members that you’ll never use. The characters that you do use, however, grow and change jobs in a way that is very reminicient to Final Fantasy V. The job system and customization options makes Final Fantasy Tactics an absolute joy to play.
3 – Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Year Released: 2009 | Platform: Nintendo DS
A reoccuring theme you’ll see in these top 3 games is the surprise reveal of more or a new map/world to explore. When I first played Pokemon Gold on my Gameboy, I had no idea that after I got all 8 badges, and on the cusp of challenging the Elite Four, I’d be back in Kanto. And further to that, after challenging the Elite Four, I’d get to explore Kanto all over again, rebattling the gym leaders that I spent so much time banging my head against just a few years earlier. That hidden feature just blew my 11 year old brain when I discovered it.
I’ve chosen for HeartGold to represent this game, because it’s probably the best remake that Pokemon has ever recieved, followed closely by Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The real shame with that remake was the exclusion of the battle tower, but I’m getting off track.
Pokemon Gold improved on Pokemon Red in every way. A day/night cycle that affects which pokemone are available, new pokemon types in the Dark and Steel types, shiny pokemon, held items, eggs and breeding mechanics, all of which do wonders to deepen the gameplay experience.
HeartGold and SoulSilver were the best remakes, bringing the excellent Johto region into the DS era. The bright spritework is brilliant, now your lead pokemon walks behind you, giving so much more personality to the mons you keep at the top of your party, redesigns to the bug catching contest and the safari zone, I could go on and on, but the more I write here, the more I want to go and play a Pokemon game, and doing that would derail my Final Fantasy project…
2 – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Year Released: 1991 | Platform: SNES
This is the first video game I have memories of. My mom had a SNES attached to our living room TV, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was the game that was most often slotted in. I remember playing this before I could read, which means I spent a lot of time just wandering the plains and forests of Hyrule. To this day, I clear the first three dungeons with complete and total muscle memory.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past tasks Link with gathering the three pendants spread out all over Hyrule, so Link can obtain the Master Sword and defeat the evil wizard Agahnim. When you do that, however, you’re transported to the Dark World, which doubles the world map size, and tasks you with collecting 7 crystals. Just when you thought your adventure was coming to a close, BAM, a new world and new objective.
I’m going to firmly blame nostalgia for the fact that no other Zelda game has ever surpassed A Link to the Past for me. A Link to the Past is a warm hug, a familiar friend that I can always go back to. I adore this game, but not as much as the top game on my list.
1 – Tales of Symphonia
Year Released: 2003 | Platform: Nintendo GameCube
Tales of Symphonia was my introduction to the Tales of… series. You follow the story of Lloyd, who is best friends with Collette, the chosen. The game begins with the Chosen embarking on her journey of regeneration, which involves her unlocking the seals at the elemental towers scattered throughout the world. When she completes this journey, the world, which has been in decline, will be restored.
The Tales of series is known for its Linear Motion Battle System, which puts you in control of only one of your party members, with the others being controlled by AI, and sets you on a 2D battle plane in a 3D arena. It’s a little confusing to describe with words, but basically, all your enemies and party members are running around the 3D arena, while you target an enemy, and can run towards or away from your target. The battles all happen in real time, creating a more engaging combat experience when compared to many other JRPGs of the same era.
As your party goes on the pilgrimage of salvation, unlocking the seals on the towers, and eventually scaling the tower of Salvation, in a big twist reveal, the party is transported to a second planet, the flourishing world of Tethe’alla. You eventually learn about the system of flourishing and declining worlds is due to the two worlds vying for access to the limited supply of mana, and the worlds were rent in two by an ancient hero named Mithos. Because Lloyd is dumb and an idealist, he simply proposes to put the worlds back together again. How lovely it must be to be unburdened by logic and reality.
I love the characters in Tales of Symphonia. There’s an affinity system that affect which characters join you for certain events in the game, and as a kid, I replayed the game enough to experience those events with every single character. This is another game that I was obsessed with as a teenager, eventually hitting that 100% completion goal, and then continuing to replay the game again and again, just because I loved the world so much. If I recall correctly, my GameCube save file had 36 game clears on it.
I should also mention that after completing a game and starting new, you are given access to a GRADE shop, which modifies certain things for your next play through. From increasing the amount of money and GRADE you can earn, to keeping your techs and titles, after enough play throughs it is possible to have everything there is to experience on a single save file.
I could go on and on, but Tales of Symphonia is a special game for me. The story of racism and perseverance resonated with me at a young age, and I love returning to this game over and over again. It’s just a shame that all the ports and remasters use the PS2 version as their base, which is locked at 30fps while the original GameCube version was a buttery smooth 60fps.
And that’s it, my top 100 video games of all time. Thank you so much for checking out my lists! As always, please let me know which games you also love, and what game would you call your #1 game of all time, if pressed for an answer!
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. 😉
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 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.
It’s the mid-way point! Hopefully you’re able to ascertain what kind of gamer I am, and what types of games really tickle my fancy.
50 – Cuphead
Year Released: 2017 | Platform: PC
I utterly love the super cute aesthetic, reminicent of the hand drawn animation of 1950’s cartoons and the whimsical score. The cozy, funny vibe gets wiped away pretty quickly once you start playing. The controls are move, dash, jump, and shoot. And for your sake, don’t stop shooting.
A devilishly difficult bullet hell game lies underneath this cutesy exterior. I had so much fun playing Cuphead. Learning the attack patterns, getting better and further with every attempt, I felt like the game was actually rewarding to play. Every loss felt fair, every obstacle felt like you could overcome it, if you’re strong enough to persevere. Cuphead was a fantastic experience, and I wish I could play more games like it.
49 – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Year Released: 2014 | Platform: Xbox 360
With gameplay very similar to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor established itself as a fast favourite of mine. The Middle Earth theme infinitely more appealing than Batman, and a dynamic nemesis system that made hunting down the cretin that killed you last utterly satisfying, This was a fun game to play.
Story-wise, I’m always dubious of anything outside the main LotR cannon, as nothing consequential can happen to the story I already know. It’s not like I can find and destroy the ring in this game! Calebrimbor’s ghost teaming up with a human to get revenge is a pretty fine tale to tell, and I’m more than happy for a reason to slay orcs. I can’t overstate how, once you get into the game play of Shadow of Mordor, it’s just really fun violence. Highly recommend this polished title!
48 – Into the Breach
Year Released: 2018 | Platform: PC
A puzzly, tactical, turn-based, strategy game about piloting mechs, time travel, and saving the future from an alien invasion? Sign me right up! But Mechwarrior, this is not. Instead, Into the Breach is a slow, tactical game where everything that’s going to happen is blatantly and obviously telegraphed before you ever push a button. The goal is to save the human race, protect the citizen buildings and the electrical grid. You’ll get to upgrade your mech with new weapons and abilities, push back the alien Vek, keep yourself alive, and eventually, save the earth.
More realistically, you’re going to fail. And when you do, one of your surviving pilots will be thrown through time to start again. As you win, though, you’ll unlock new teams of mechs with wholly different skill sets that are actually surprisingly interesting to play as. A team might specialize in stunning the enemy, or setting the forests on fire. Some will be able to deal huge damage, while others won’t be able to do damage at all, but they’ll be able to push and pull several spaces, which has some huge tactical implications.
Into the Breach is a perfect mobile game. Runs are short, and when you ‘solve’ the puzzle and manage to get through a confrontation without any casualties, it’s utterly satisfying.
47 – Pocky & Rocky
Year Released: 1992 | Platform: SNES
One of the few 2 player coop video games that my mom and I played together, Pocky & Rocky was one of those weird SNES games that no one else I’ve talked to has ever heard of.
Pocky & Rocky is a bullet hell-esque cooperative game where you and a partner take on the roles of a shrine maiden (Pocky) and her tanuki companion (Rocky) as they fight against hordes of goblins inspired from Japanese mythology.
Things get hectic in Pocky & Rocky, but it’s so much fun when you manage to accrue a full set of power ups and fill the screen with your bullets (which are either leaves or fireballs, depending on your power ups). I have such strong nostalgia for this game, if my mom and were to sit down and play a game together, it’d very likely be this one.
46 – Sea of Stars
Year Released: 2023 | Platform: Xbox
This might be one of the most recent games on the whole list, and one that I’ve already talked about in depth. There may be some recency bias, and in my review I point out some of my qualms with the game, especially with how it ends, but I still found Sea of Stars to be a highly endearing experience. The music, the visuals, and the characters are all things to love! Not to mention that I’m a sucker for any RPG that has an active combat mechanic, which you’ll see more of those the further up this list we go!
45 – Journey
Year Released: 2012 | Platform: PS3
Journey caught me off guard. What started as a quiet little adventure in the desert, grew into a surprisingly emotional experience. And that’s really what lands it so high in my top games list, that it was able to evoke an emotional response without using a single word.
The Hero’s Journey is a story template that we’re all familiar with, but in Journey, everything happens so organically, that you’d be forgiven for missing each of the story beats. It’s brilliantly done, and culminates wonderfully. The aesthetic of a ruined civilization and beautiful music give depth to the adventure. A high recommend from me
44 – Rogue Legacy
Year Released: 2013 | Platform: PC
Rogue Legacy was my introduction to the roguelite genre. This Castlevania style game features a lineage of heroes, each with randomly determined characteristics. Perhaps you’re a giant with colourblindness, or an endomorph, so you can’t get stunned. Each run through the castle randomizes the room layouts as well, making the experience feel fresh each time.
Rogue Legacy was a fun game to get good at. Figuring out the broad strokes of the castle layout, memorizing enemy attack patterns, and getting the right gear made flying through the castle feel awesome. When you die, you take your gold back to your home and build out a new wing that increases your next character’s stats. I feel that Rogue Legacy strikes a perfect balance between permanent upgrades and reset-able runs.
43 – Enter the Gungeon
Year Released: 2016 | Platform: PC
I have 200 hours in Enter the Gungeon, making it my 5th most played game on Steam. My interest in EtG came in waves. I played for a few hours, then left it for a few months. Then I came back and put another few hours in, got frustrated, and left it for a few months. Then I came back and fell in hard. The bullet hell gameplay, the synergies between the guns and the items, all the secrets to be discovered, I was in love.
I’m actually quite surprised that this isn’t higher on my list, considering how much I’ve enjoyed playing this over the years. And really, I credit Enter the Gungeon for my modern affection for rougelike and rougelite games, which is both a boon and a bane, depending on my mood
42 – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Year Released: 2018 | Platform: Nintendo Switch
I’ve been playing Super Smash Bros. since the series started on the Nintendo 64 back in 1999. I’ve chosen for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to represent the entire series, because of its tagline “Everyone is here”. Considering that I’m not a competitive gamer, I feel like every Smash Bros. game has gotten better and better, culminating with Smash Ultimate.
Super Smash Bros. is an arena fighting game where each player takes on a unique character, and tries to knock the others out of the arena. As characters take hits, they fly further and further until the inevitable happens. Featuring representatives from every major and minor Nintendo franchise, Super Smash Bros. is the series crossing smash up that is the envy of every major platform.
While not every fan favourite character gets a fully fleshed out fighter, each game is packed to the gills with references to even the most obscure characters. This really culminated in the Spirits Mode in Smash Bros.Ultimate, where the base fighters with colour swaps and specific quirks were used as avatars for a wide variety of unplayable characters. The adventure mode had literally hundreds of references to characters that just left me tickled.
41 – Borderlands 2
Year Released: 2012 | Platform: PC
The Borderlands series is a post-apocalyptic first person looter-shooter game with cell shaded graphics and a juvenile sense of humour. The series really found its voice with the second game, and that’s the one that I’ve sunk the most time into, particularly because I was able to play it cooperatively the whole way through.
While there are a wide variety of guns, each one with its own unique blend of attributes and quirks, in the end it really is just a pew pew pew shooter game. Pick the gun with the biggest numbers, and use it until you run out of that ammo type, or you find a gun with bigger numbers. I had a real good time with Borderlands 2 specifically, and I’ve played every sequel that’s come out since, but considering my coop partner isn’t available, and my sense of humour has matured while these games haven’t, it’s one of those video games that I remember fondly, while not actually having a strong urge to go back and revisit.
Almost at the halfway point! It’s at this point that I start to feel fatigued with these lists, but once I break past the halfway point, I pick up enthusiasm again. It’s not that I’m unenthusiastic about any of the games that have come so far, it’s just that the top 50 are really a cut above all the rest. I also have to purposefully stop myself from just skipping right to the top 10!
60 – Papers, Please
Year Released: 2013 | Platform: PC
Papers, Please is the kind of game that when explained, your first thought is “I thought video games are supposed to be fun?” After all, working a boarder patrol gate in a communist state doesn’t exactly scream joy. But Papers, Please immerse and engages you. While the gameplay is rudimentary, considering it’s mostly text and an approve/deny stamp, as well as an in-game document telling you what to look for, it’s surprisingly fun to find the counterfeit documents.
What really elevates the game is the humanity injected into every interaction. On one hand, you need to care for your family, and part of that is working quickly and efficiently, as mistakes will dock your pay. Immigrants will plead with you to approve them, despite their insufficient documents, and as the game goes on, implore you to assist those trying to bring down the communist regime.
Papers, Please excels at ethical dilemmas, which is something I weirdly enjoy. It’s a fascinating experience and one I highly recommend.
59 – Mario Kart Wii
Year Released: 2008 | Platform: Wii
I mean, what can be said about Mario Kart that hasn’t already been said? Mario KartWii is a bit special because it was the console Mario Kart that came out when I was a teenager, and was the edition that I spent the most time with, outside of Mario Kart 64.
I’ve played lots of racing games, but I’ve always preferred the arcade style games over the realism based ones, as I’m not a car guy. Mario Kart represents the best in the genre, and even though Mario Kart Wii was insistent on motion controls, this entry introduced bikes, which was a big deal at the time. Bikes could shake the controller to pop onto one wheel for a speed boost, but had less handling, and their drifts could only mini boost one level. I really liked that trade off, and am kind of sorrowful that the differences have been negated in later editions.
58 – Shovel Knight
Year Released: 2014 | Platform: PC
Shovel Knight is an indie darling that is a love letter to the 2D platformers that I grew up playing. With gorgeous pixel art, amazing chip tune music, and addictive, well crafted gameplay, Shovel Knight is a modern classic that I absolutely adore.
It’s an excellent throwback to games of yore. The mechanics are simple, run and jump, and point your shovel down to pogo stick onto your enemies. The platforming is tight and fair, and once you get into your groove, flying through the levels is utterly satisfying. The characters all feel unique and funny, but not crazy. If you have fond memories of platforming in the early 90’s, then Shovel Knight is a must play.
57 – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Year Released: 1998 | Platform: Nintendo 64
I’ll admit that 57 feels criminally low for one of the most critically acclaimed video games, ever. But this isn’t an objective list, this is fully subjective, and even if at this moment in time I feel the urge to push The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time waaay higher on the list, this is the spot it fell on when I originally created it, so here it will stay.
For those who haven’t played, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an adventure where a young boy, Link, adventures across Hyrule to save the kingdom. His adventures hurl him through time into a future where the villain achieved his goals, and Link is tasked with undoing the damage.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a masterpiece, do not get me wrong. Link’s first 3D adventure was magical back when I first played it, and even to this day I have fond memories and strong urges to return to the low-poly version of Hyrule.
56 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Year Released: 2011 | Platform: Xbox 360
Skyrim has a special place in my heart. The summer after I broke up with my long time girlfriend, and started college, this was the game that filled every waking moment between work and school. For months I was immersed in the Elder Scrolls universe, which I also need to point out, this is my first and only Elder Scrolls game I’ve ever played.
Bethesda Studios sucked me in with Fallout 3, then hooked me with Skyrim. A decade ago, I was so happy and excited with what Bethesda was doing, and I was thirsty for more. Unfortunately, over the next 10 years they haven’t been able to release a game that gets me as excited as these did.
55 – Dragon Age II
Year Released: 2011 | Platform: Xbox 360
Now THIS is a game series that I keep meaning to revisit. Dragon Age was a really excellent introduction to the world, but I personally fell in love with Dragon Age 2. The combat system was nowhere near as tactical as the first game, but instead felt a lot more action-y, which suited me just fine, as I was playing on the console.
My main qualm with Dragon Age: Origins, was that the story basically boiled down to “We need backup! go to these three factions and gain their loyalty” then each faction was like “Hey, we’d love to help, but we’re in the middle of a crisis. Solve our problem, then we’ll help you”. While the second game felt a lot more insular, the story centres around Hawke, the “Champion of Kirkwall”, and is a flashback about Hawke’s arrival at Kirkwall, and his growth within the city’s power structure.
I haven’t played Dragon Age since 2012, so my memory is quite fuzzy. I have the games installed, and they’re just waiting for me to come back and revisit them, especially since I never played Inquisition, and with Veilguard just on the horizon, I feel like I should really start prioritizing this replay.
54 – Chrono Cross
Year Released: 1999 | Platform: Playstation
Chrono Cross was the JRPG that I played in snippets as a child because I didn’t have a PSOne. Instead, I would visit my friend, and try to remember what happened since the last time we had played. With an impressive 40 companions to recruit, Chrono Cross is a big experience. What I do remember from the game is vibrant locations, a robust, tactical battle system, and some really great (for the time) visuals.
An important caveat here, I’ve never actually played Chrono Trigger. It’s one of those games that I’ve always meant to go back and play, but I’ve never made it a priority to do so. I’ve read that those who have a deep reverence for Chrono Trigger don’t care for Chrono Cross, but that’s not my story.
53 – Batman: Arkham Asylum
Year Released: 2009 | Platform: Xbox 360
This was the first time I actually enjoyed playing a superhero game. Batman: Arkham Asylum made me feel like Batman. Constrained to the small map of Arkham, and containing a great cast of villains, Arkham Asylum features a fast and fun combat system, and some really satisfying stealth moments. The combat is simple, but also complex enough to pose a challenge when you’re being overwhelmed.
The most important moment for me was near the end of the game when Batman is ingesting Scarecrow’s fear serum, the game appears to glitch and the opening cinematic begins to roll. That cold feeling ran down the back of my neck as I worried my entire save file just got corrupted somehow. But then in the cinematic, Joker is driving the Batmobile and Batman is the one in restraints, being delivered to Arkham Asylum. Well played, Rocksteady Studios!
52 – BioShock Infinite
Year Released: 2013 | Platform: Xbox 360
This is absolutely an entry for the entire BioShock franchise. From the depths of Rapture into the skies of Columbia, the BioShock franchise gripped my heart for a solid couple months when BioShock Infinite came out. The original game, being somewhat a post apocalyptic situation, as you arrive and everything is ruined and the only humans you’re finding attack you on sight. Fast first person, gameplay, a story shrouded in mystery, characters who don’t make sense, and plot twists that leave you reeling for days made BioShock a beloved series for me, back in the day.
An iconic franchise, with its Big Daddy monsters, it now seems to lie dormant. 13 years have passed since BioShock Infinite, and I’m quite surprised. Two separate film adaptions have been talked about, but since the early 2010’s, BioShock seems to have gone into hibernation.
51 – Caesar III
Year Released: 1998 | Platform: PC
Upon reflection, I have no idea how Caesar III came into my possession, but in my late teens, it became the obsession for both my mom and I. Somewhat ironically, we diverged in the missions we preferred. She took the military route, while I felt the combat was the weakest part of the game, and took on the peaceful missions. For dozens of hours, we toiled, trying to raise our damned prosperity rankings so we could move onto the next map.
Even to this day, Caesar III is a game I’ll install from GOG and pour a few hours into. The city building feels intuitive, I like the roman aesthetic, and it isn’t too complex, which is what keeps me way from more modern city builders, like Cities: Skylines. Caesar III is a hard recommend for me, and right now I need to fight the urge to launch the game and start a new campaign for Caesar!
