My Favorite Video Games of All Time
This is very much a work-in-progress list of the video games I feel have had the strongest and longest-lasting impact on me, as a gamer. Those of you who know me well will understand how important this little hobby is to me. This is not meant to be a list of "the best games ever", as I feel that designation is very much subjective and can not be the same for each person - attempting to make such a list is nearly impossible.
For each entry, I will include a blurb about why I love the game, as well as the impact I feel the game has had on the industry as a whole (if any). My goal is to include only those games which I have distinctly fond memories of, without regard to their critical reception or widespread notoriety.
AS IT STANDS NOW, THIS LIST IS COMPOSED ENTIRELY FROM MEMORY! MORE GAMES WILL BE ADDED AS I THINK BACK.
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NES
Super Mario
Bros 3
Why I love it: The first video game I ever owned, for the
first video game system I ever owned. I cannot begin to imagine the combined number
of hours I spent playing this game
as a child, a teenager, and an adult.
Without the ability to save your game progress,
this game required you to either cut out a huge amount of time in your day if you had any hopes of beating it or
just leave your NES on for days on end...
I did both. The tanooki suit still stands out to me
to this day as both a perfect "power-up" addition for Mario and as a feat of programming
genius. Flying in a video game never
felt so good.
How it affected the video game
industry: SMB 3 perfected the platforming formula developed in Super Mario
Bros. (Super Mario Bros. 2 was
really just a renamed and reskinned
version of a completely unrelated game).
The tight control scheme used in SMB 3 is truly amazing to behold when
one looks at the comparatively primitive controller
the NES used; but if you died in SMB 3,
you knew it was because you fucked up. In an age where "cheap" deaths and
infuriating game mechanics were common, SMB 3 gave you a perfectly realized
world in which you had complete control.
Every sidescrolling Mario game
that has been made from that point on - of which there are many - has stuck with this formula, opting
for the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" approach.
----------
Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
Why I love it: Through the eyes of a child, TMNT was pretty
much the coolest thing ever -
"Teenage" referred to the upcoming age range in which everyone was way
cooler than me, "Mutant"
referred to the awesome genetic tampering that created scientific monstrosities, "Ninja" is NINJA, and "Turtles"... well that one was only cool because of the preceding descriptors - put them all
together and you had a show, toy line, comics, and
countless other licensing deals that had a young DJ foaming at the mouth. When I heard
there was a video game based on the Turtles, I knew it must be mine. Sad for me then
when I finally got my hands on the game and it turned out to be an
infuriatingly horrible piece of garbage
(referring of course to Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles, the 1989 debut of
the TMNT in gaming). Luckily, their next
outing, TMNT II: The Arcade Game, was an incredible
redemption! Choosing from one of the
four turtles (I always picked Leo, I
mean come on, two swords?!), you got
to run through different levels and beat
up countless soldiers of the Foot Clan and robots (robots that exploded
awesomely when killed), with each
level culminating in a boss fight with one of the more notable enemies from the TV show. Oh yeah, and you got to eat pizza to gain
life - COWABUNGA DUDE! Throw in the fact that the game supported
multiplayer and I could share
the experience with friends, and I think I probably wept tears of joy.
How it affected the video game
industry: TMNT II: The Arcade Game further explored what would soon become a new genre in video games - the
"beat-em-up". It (thankfully) changed the way in which
future TMNT games would be made, leading to the
wonderful Turtles in Time and The Manhattan Project.
----------
Battletoads
& Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team
Why I love it: Having never played the original Battletoads by the time I picked up the sequel, I found Battletoads & Double Dragon to be truly amazing. The characters and cartoon graphics immediately reminded me of TMNT, which I had
always adored, and the gameplay
was also reminiscent of the Turtles' second NES game. However, Battletoads & Double Dragon really
gave you a sense of kicking ass by making your foot grow to about the size of your entire body and literally
kick an enemy's ass so hard that they cartoonishly
went flying off of whatever level you were currently playing on - a feat I did every chance I got and something
I think TMNT was sorely missing. The choice between the Battletoads and Double Dragon characters was a nice touch,
though I always chose the same toad every time: Rash, the one who constantly
wore sunglasses (yes, even at
night). Remember, people, this was the '90s.
How it affected the video game
industry: Like TMNT II before it, Battletoads
& Double Dragon continued to
push what was possible for beat-em-ups on 8-bit consoles. The toads
would return again for Battletoads in
Battlemaniacs on the SNES.
----------
SEGA GENESIS
Sonic the
Hedgehog 2
Toejam &
Earl
Streets of
Rage 2
----------
SNES
Donkey Kong
Country
Super Mario World
----------
NINTENDO 64
The Legend
of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Super Mario
64
Mario Kart
64
Star Fox 64
Banjo
Kazooie
Goldeneye
007
The Legend
of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Wave Race
----------
GAME BOY
Pokemon Red
----------
GAME BOY ADVANCE
Mega Man
Zero
Golden Sun
----------
PLAYSTATION 1
Final
Fantasy VIII
Tony Hawk's
Pro Skater 2
----------
NINTENDO GAMECUBE
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Naruto:
Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3
Resident
Evil 4
Timesplitters
2
Pikmin
Metroid
Prime
Soulcalibur
II
The Legend
of Zelda: The Wind Waker
----------
PLAYSTATION 2
Marvel vs.
Capcom 2: A New Age of Heroes
Dynasty
Warriors
Grand Theft
Auto: Vice City
Kingdom
Hearts II
Ratchet
& Clank
Jak &
Daxter
Devil May
Cry
DDRMAX 2
Prince of
Persia: The Sands of Time
----------
XBOX 360
Halo 3
Rock Band
Assassin's
Creed II
Bioshock
----------
PLAYSTATION 3
Borderlands
2
----------
NINTENDO WII
Super Smash
Bros Brawl
----------
PC
World of
Warcraft
Plants vs.
Zombies
