Favorite Video Games 20 - 11

This month marks the day of my birth, so I'm feeling a little self-centered and wanted to make a post about what I consider to be my favorite video games of all time. It's been a question that pops into anyone's head if you play enough, and I've been playing since 1991 from my earliest memories. Sitting around the Nintendo Entertainment System, spending hours playing Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Dig Dug and Mega Man 2; gaming has been good to me. Please note, this is not a list of what I think are the best video games. There are a lot of games that I like that are not perfect, but for some reason they managed to capture me in a way other games couldn't. So without further ado, here's the first part of the top 20 most favorite video games of all time.


20. Okami

A sleeper hit, Okami's strength is in its concept. Someone on the development team wanted to make a game about paint brush mechanics, someone else said it should be set in feudal Japan, someone else said the game should be stylized in the art of a classic Japanese painting. This is what makes a great game, a solid, well-thought out concept. And they really did center all their design around the idea of using a brush to interact with the world.

You control the god Ammy (I can’t remember how to spell that name out correctly) as you travel all over Nippon, occasionally running into famous historical figures like Yoichi in order to save the world from a supernatural menace. A lot of people compare this game to a classic Zelda-style adventure, but that’s really selling it short. Zelda had a focus on puzzle solving and dungeons, Okami really is about culture and painting: painting for combat, for solving puzzles, for annoying the town’s people, really whatever.

The only real short-coming I could find was you fought the same boss about 3 times without any variation in tactics. It’s really just the same fight 3 times. Of course being a Capcom-published game, I’m hardly surprised.

This might actually be one game that’s better on the Wii since you have the Wii-mote to help with the brush strokes, but I played and beat it on the PS2, and it was a load of fun. Some times you do run into a drought of excitement, but stick with the game and you’ll find a great experience.


19. Killer 7

Killer 7 is one of those unique games that are hard to compare to anything else because, quite frankly, it's one-of-a-kind. In all my gaming years, there hasn't been a single game that even comes close to what Killer 7 is. Unlike the other ones before, I didn't play Killer 7 when it was first released in 2005. It has only been recently that I can say that I've even beaten the game. I took it upon myself to play it considering I liked No More Heroes and appreciated Suda 51's unique approach to gaming. What I didn't expect was to be completely bewildered by an odd combination of gaming genres and a plot that seemed so incoherent and twisted; it would make Hideo Kojima's head spin.

Start with elements of a first person shooter, throw in some puzzle elements, now some RPG elements, cap it all off with plot about political conspiracies and an invasion of Heavenly Smiles that can only be resolved with a team of 7 assassins, you got one heck of a unique game. Visually the game is also unique, and most people like to applaud its effort, but I honestly thought the graphics could have looked a lot better. Everything is cell-shaded and usually just a simple gradient. I didn't find it that impressive, just a little dated. But clearly the game should be recognized for not wanted to be another game trying to copy the latest trends, it dared to push the boundaries of what defined genres and managed to shatter and conventional means of classification.

Each assassin played out differently, with their own ability and weapon of choice. From magnums to grenade launchers, sniper rifles and machine guns, there's something for everyone to enjoy with this group.


18. Tales of Symphonia

The Nintendo Gamecube had some great RPGs that didn't get the praise or attention that they should've. Although, Symphonia had the benefit of being released on the PS2 with added features afterwards. This was my first Tales of game and it's also probably the best. Prequel to Tales of Phantasia it was an interesting journey.

Graphics were very well rendered and the sound track complimented the scenary. The one draw back was not being able to skip any of the cutscenes. Everything played out in dialog with voice acting.

There were some great moments in the game unless you're turned off by anything tangentally related to anime. It was easy to like the characters despite most of them just filling in some cliche, anime role.

It's a charming game and considering it's platform not really changing the Tales of formula too much, I put this game on the list because it's a great example of when everything just comes together perfectly in a series.


17. Ico

This game was originally my #20, but after writing about it, I decided I need to bump it up a few spots.

If you look up the definition of sleeper-hit, you'll probably find someone holding up this game and pointing to it. Ico came out of the gates with little fanfare and almost no media attention. But that didn't stop people from picking it up and playing. And what those chosen few found was a gem of a game. It was one of the first games on the Playstation 2 to really take advantage of the latest generation of graphics in terms of aesthetic appeal. Everything from the landscape, architecture and character models has this heavenly, surreal quality to them. The design was clearly geared towards more a realistic feel, but there was a hint of cell-shading and fantasy thrown in to make the most mundane of environments glow with personality and beauty. Of course, you can't spend the entire game just looking at it; you had to eventually play it.

If I had to define a genre for this game, which is tough to do, it would be Action / Puzzle. Every new area had a puzzle or series of puzzles to solve in order to move on. That's not to say you had to do math problems or search for some interpretation of a key; these puzzles were more like throwing switches and pressing buttons. You had to work with the environment to move on; and sometimes the solutions were very simple but not obvious, leaving you feeling a little stupid when you had to look up the solution only to realize it was right in front of you. The game challenged you in a good way.

Game play did get a little dicey when combat was thrown in. Often times the camera would stray away from the action and combat boiled down to flailing whatever you were holding at the time at the enemies which would respawn until the game decided enough was enough. But a big part of the game play relied on your partner, Yorda.

Believe it or not, Ico is a giant escort mission game. You have to drag around a helpless female character all over the place, hoping none of the enemies capture her or its game over. While this may seem like a giant hindrance on a game, since the entire design was built around this content of having someone tagging along, the game does well. That's not to say there aren't some times where you want to smack her with a 2x4, but it's something that's easy to accept. In fact, I would stay that you having a companion makes it a much stronger game than if you were playing by yourself.

Ico isn't about getting a high score or mowing down a legion of enemies, it's about building a relationship between you and the game, between you and Yorda and between Ico and Yorda. Ico needs Yorda to get out of the prison through her powers and Yorda needs Ico to help her escape through his strength. And it is this relationship that makes it the game it is. It does so much with that basic of basic concepts. The plot isn't epic or even apparent, it relies on the minimal elements it provides you and let's the player grow attached to the characters and develop feelings for them all on the player's own accord. And I for one was captured entirely.


16. Chrono Trigger

I can say with the utmost certainty that I've beaten Chrono Trigger more times than any other game I've ever played (unless you count solitaire on the PC). This game is just so easy to pick up and play and so hard to put down. The game is constantly throwing new settings at you, it's really hard to get bored. Your band of heroes is on a quest to journey through several time periods to prevent the destruction of the world in the future, and each of those periods has its own personality, mood, and set of characters, plot line and music. It's no wonder the development team behind this game was referred to as the 'Dream Team'. It's a remarkable game.

The intertwining plot lines all come together so nicely, it makes it feel like you're constantly doing something important to further your goal. There's never a dull moment where you might be doing something pointless or a part of the game that serves as padding. The cast of characters is also diverse. You got a frog, a princess, a robot, whatever Magus is, the whole works. The team even included some classic rock cameos with Flea, Ozzy and Slash. Lavos makes for a great antagonist because he is just a primal creature looking for sustenance by destroying the world. It's not human, it cannot be reasoned with. It acts out of pure self-interest which makes the conflict all the more necessary.

The combat is quite good, everything happening in real time or turn-based depending on how you set your preferences. Combining attacks, unleashing devastating combos, pushing your stats to the brink, it's all good fun. The DS version even through in an awesome bonus section, a monster arena and a dumb side quest which I'd like to forget.

It's still easy to play this game, even after 16 years. But is it really any wonder that a game centered on time travel ended up so... timeless?


15. Final Fantasy VI

Probably surprising a few people putting this game outside the top 10, but as most people know, I didn't play Final Fantasy VI until the Final Fantasy VII hysteria age of gaming had passed. In fact, I'm pretty sure I beat it in ROM form until getting it for the PS1 and GBA.

Final Fantasy VI is considered, by me, to be an awkward game in the series. It stands between the transitions from classical RPG to modern RPG. Carrying over elements like princes and castles from the 'classic' Final Fantasy titles, but also throwing us industrial cities which would later show up in the 'modern' Final Fantasy titles. It blended the two concepts interestingly, having mechanized castles and battle armors contrasting the usual traditional castles and chocobo transportation.

It has to be said that Final Fantasy VI has the best opening sequence in the series. The prologue of controlling Terra and marching through the barren snow is classic. A lot of people also credit the game with its famous Opera House sequence. I never saw what the big deal was since there were other scripted moments in this game, and other Final Fantasy games as well. What I did appreciate was the soundtrack. To this day, Final Fantasy VI has one of the best over world theme songs in the entire series.

People also like to point out that Kefka was one of the best villains to antagonize our heroes, and I don't think that's close to being true. Has anyone ever broken down the logic behind Kefka and his situation? First off, he's a clown. How did this guy make it into the military to begin with, let alone become a general? What person in their right mind employs a man who shows up to work dressed as a clown? I have a hard time suspending my disbelief because it's so absurd a concept. And of course, it turns out this clown is very evil. I will give him credit that his level of evil is quite high, but he's still a clown. I think he can also be cited as the first Final Fantasy character to actually have a voice considering he had a laughing sound FX cued up.

Overall though, I can look past the absurd and enjoy the game for what it really is, and that's why I put it on this list. It really is a great game.


14. Zelda: Link to the Past

Probably the first game I really got serious about, and probably the first one I owned for the Super Nintendo. I still remember being over at my grandmother’s house on Christmas morning and opening up my present, to find Link to the Past staring back at me. I won’t lie and say I was a Zelda fan all the way back then. In fact, I could’ve been holding any game back then and I would’ve enjoyed having it. But when I popped that puppy into my console, I was amazed. This was my first Zelda game and it was a blast.

Boasting over 10 dungeons and a host of items, this Zelda was big. Instead of traveling through one world, Nintendo gave us two: Light world and Dark world. This wouldn’t be the last time they tried the whole light versus dark theme.

This one makes the list for not only being a great game, but also hold a lot of nostalgia value for me. Trying to decipher every secret and every method to beating a boss before the advent of the internet. Really created a lot of satisfaction conquering Ganon all on your own.


13. Silent Hill 2

I did a whole shpeal on this game already, there's not really anything left to be said.

Silent Hill 2 was a game I knew I was going to play the moment I saw it. I had fallen in love with the dark tones of Silent Hill 1 and eagerly awaited this game. Each time I play it, I'm reminded of how great a story this game tells. There's no secret why this game is on my list.


12. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Out of all the Metal Gear Solid games, this one seemed unique. The Cold War setting, the survival, everything just worked well. I especially liked the James Bond-esque opening sequence, very nicely done.

Graphics are beautiful, and it's the first 3D metal gear game that has lush, outdoor environments along with the industrial complexes and hangers.

Basically this is the game we got while watching for the sequel to Metal Gear Solid 2, and I didn't realize how to take it. Did Konami pull a bait and switch on us, or was simply teasing us? Little did I realize the true nature of releasing this game and seeing how important it was that we see all the characters and understand them to fully appreciate Solid Snakes final chapter on the PS3.

The main difference between this game and the rest was you had to constantly fend off hunger by eating the wildlife around you. While this may seem like an annoyance, it really feels natural to the rest of the game. It's not like the game is stingy about throwing animals or plants at you, so it never brings up a dire situation unless you just completely ignore your vitality.

This entry also has the best boss cast of the series. Each encounter is just so memorable. It took a lot of creativity to come up with some of these guys: like the man who is bitter over not being an astronaut so he flies around in his own space suit with a flamethrower. Or the old sniper who will actually die of old age if you take too long to beat him.

Snake Eater also has an amusing side game called Snake vs. Monkey. If that's not reason enough to put it on this list, I don't know what is.


11. Devil May Cry

One of the few games (Xenogears being the other) where I fell in love with it the moment I popped that demo disk in.

This game truly revamped the action genre for 3D. The action, the challenges, everything was just brilliant. Probably the only game I've felt adrenaline rushes after intense combat scenes.

The story was trash, but we didn't play it to know what happens next, we played it to see what monster we had to take down. Of course, being Capcom, you'll see the same bosses a few times, but that didn't take away from the challenge. It wasn't uncommon to die 10 times to a boss before you learned all the patterns and tricks. This game forced you to be great at it, or punished you for failing. Deaths rarely ever felt cheap though. Sure, some enemy could blindside you from off camera, but those moments rarely happened.

One of my favorite enemies from most any game ever is the Shadow Cat from this game (official name escapes me). Not only being tough, this thing could morph into various other forms and attack you that way, making it seem very unpredictable. If you're always left guessing and wondering, it just makes that enemy all the more intense to fight. And if you make it to the higher difficulty levels, you get the chance to fight many of them at the same time.

Devil May Cry was definitely an important game for the genre, and it also gave us classic lines like "flock off feather face." It had that Resident Evil B-movie quality to it which made it easy to enjoy.

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With a lot of great games on the list so far, it's a wonder what could've possibly made it into the top 10. Are there anymore SNES games left, or will Nintendo be conquered by the PS1 era? And what about Final Fantasy 7? How far up the list will it be, or did it even make it at all? Find out next time!