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Your Top 5 Favorite Games

I'm really bad at quantifying how much I like games in relation to other games, so even though I know my tastes better than anyone else, I don't know how accurate the order I've put these in is. But, after a bit of thought, I think my top five list would go something like this--

5) 7th Dragon III code:VFD
A JRPG/dungeon-crawler with a really meta take on evolution and dragons. Also there's a side quest entirely dedicated to rescuing cats. Loveable character cast and incredible soundtrack. stupid ending tho

4) The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
A deceptively light-hearted Zelda game that addresses themes of change, loss, grief and acceptance.

3) Hollow Knight
I literally played this because it was about bugs, and instead I got some heavy philosophical game about free will, which is also right up my alley as one of my interests. Also bugs.

2) Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
(As in the first Rune Factory game.) The series as a whole feels heavily inspired by Zelda, with RPG elements, and farming, but this game has a special place in my heart as being the one that started it all. Simpler mechanics, and also probably has the best story pacing of any game in the series, although probably has one of the dumbest expositions.

1) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
My first Zelda game, and 2D Zelda at its finest. Pure top-down goodness with remarkable level design and a very strong sense of atmosphere. <3

Honorable mentions to games that also came to mind but ultimately didn't really fit into a top five: Breath of the Wild, Rune Factory 4, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Metroid, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 

Ronin

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Sticking to one game per series where possible, but treating consecutive stories like they're a singular experience.

5. The Legend of Spyro Trilogy
Simply put, the LoST is a strange amalgamation of things--God of War-like combat, linear stage design, a darker aesthetic compared to the original, and Frodo Baggins voicing Spyro? But where it draws its inspiration from is well implemented, showcasing the internal struggles of each character as they voice regrets and resolve in LotR fashion. Spyro's natural progression from a simple fledgling in A New Beginning to an impulsive adolescent in Eternal Night to a matured adult in Dawn of the Dragon is a relatable metaphor for just about anyone's walk in life. ...However, one niggle I'll concede to is that Sparx is far more annoying than Navi ever was and will talk your ears off.

4. Devil May Cry Series
My favorite hack-n-slash series because of how methodical the combat is. Instead of being this high-octane affair full of button-mashing, DMC rewards players who take the time to perfect combos by pulling of cool moves such as juggling enemies and smashing them into the ground with your sword. The aggressive electro-rock soundtrack never fails to get you in the mood to bash some devils straight to kingdom come. And I can't forget to mention how the setting for each game is unique for each game, so playing them through never really got old.

3. Majora's Mask
Coming down to this and Twilight Princess, but MM won out due to how the mask system set the game apart. It's still my favorite mechanic from any Zelda title and I wouldn't be opposed to it returning in some fashion. MM's story also deserves special mention because of how unsettling the Moon was and the Clock Town citizens running about to complete the festival prep was very realistic to a young me. Of course the three day system could be a pain at times, but generally there was enough time to finish whatever I had in mind (and I despise forced times limits).

2. Trails of Cold Steel Trilogy
There are very few series I can say are spectacular in virtually every single area. Each game can take up to 100 hours to beat if you do everything, but the world and characters are completely fleshed out so even after multiple playthroughs I don't mind encountering them again, generally. While nothing about the visuals is exactly invigorating--Falcom is a very small team--the story is more than enough to move you forward in no small part to an exciting battle system and a stellar soundtrack, respectively. The protag, Rean, and the rest of Class VII as a whole is entirely memorable and likable and never grow stale.

The third game comes out later today on PS4, and I can't encourage everyone enough to either pick it up or try the demo to see if it's up your alley (but be forewarned of some unsavory pandering midway through).

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X
Placed here simply for two reasons: the landscapes are mysterious and beautiful and exploration is engaging and addicting. Mira's world made me stop at several points to just take in the scenery, and it's one of the few that actually adequately reward the player for ambling off the beaten path. That said, Mira is not a peaceful place and you'll find yourself dying to some OP beasties, but the catch here is that death is virtually meaningless since you retain your gear and loading takes about five seconds. We're talking about a fully seamless world with only one separate area in the entire game.

Story seems to take back seat here because once you're out of the lengthy tutorial, the entire world is yours to explore. Collecting gear and materials for the game-changing Skells later on helps to invest interest in something that would cause burnout for the average person. But after obtaining the Skell, the game opens itself up even more and now you can reach vistas that were previously distant. Taking flight in one of these babies is one of the most satisfying experiences you'll ever get in a game. This was one of the few times I didn't mind taking a break from the story because there was so much content to pore through otherwise. Making a custom character and building them up through a masterful class system is also really awesome.

In spite of a fragmented plot and some lackluster characters, XCX is a masterpiece that unfortunately got stuck on the wrong hardware. This thing needs to come to Switch, and with the recent announcement of XCHD, it looks like that might finally come to fruition. Nintendo has been porting everything else over, so why not the best game on their previous console?

Honorable mentions:
Xenoblade Chronicles
Torna ~ The Golden Country
Twilight Princess
Red Dead Redemption
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
YS VIII
God of War 2018
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Hollow Knight
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Nier Automata
DOOM 1016
The Last Story
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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Here are probably my favorite games of all time, most of them helped me through some rough part of life, so they really mean a lot to me personally. I think even with further analysis they are all quality games as well, and are definitely worthy of top marks.

5. Super Mario 64: It was the second video game I played in my life, and solidified to me that gaming was a pretty fun form of entertainment that I wouldn't mind devoting a portion of my hobby time towards. I enjoyed the heck out of this 3D platformer. A lot of my favorite games in my youth were 3D platformers, and Super Mario 64 opened up the genre to me, as well as being influential in my appreciation of 2D platformers.

4. Link's Awakening DX: I originally borrowed this game along with a Game Boy Advance from a friend who knew I enjoyed Zelda games. I liked the game, but the message of the plot was a miss for me at the time because I was still too young to examine games critically. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I replayed the game on my 3DS, and it couldn't have happened at a better time in my life.

I went into the deepest gaming binge of my life when I was 15 years old, and I already was in the biggest slump in my life anyway. What really triggered the plunge was that I was really attracted to a girl in my class, since things were pretty crappy for me at the time, I figured maybe getting a girlfriend could brighten things up. So I tried asking her to date me by passing a note back and forth. Then the gravity of the situation hit me, and I got scared, so I told her I was joking the whole time. Into the binge I went, because she was also part of my normal group of friends back then - interacting with them meant I'd have to interact with her. Playing games and thinking of it like I was busy was just a way to avoid her, but it was a pretty detrimental thing to do because it strained some friendships I had.

Along came Link's Awakening DX. I purchased it from the 3DS eshop right when it became available, by then it had almost been a year since the gaming binge I was in had started. The message was pinpointed and seemed directed exactly for my situation - that all dreams need to end, or in my case, that it was time to put the games away and face the pressures of reality head on.

I pulled out of the binge, patched up most friendships, sadly I never did get another chance to ask that girl out, because just as we started to get back on really good terms, she had to move to a different state.

3. Donkey Kong Country Returns: I loved Donkey Kong growing up. Most children probably liked Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros. 3 better than Donkey Kong Country, but for me DKC was more nostalgic. Maybe this placement is counter-intuitive, because technically this is the game that started the aforementioned gaming binge I went into, but you have to remember, I didn't start this game thinking "Oh, I'm going to potentially ruin my life by binging games!" It started innocently enough, the binge was just the aftermath.

So like I said, I was in a spell of depression before the issues with that girl happened, and Donkey Kong Country Returns released while I was in that slump. I bought it as a late birthday present for myself and appreciate it so much. It was like right when I hit a low point, my childhood buddy finally appeared again out of nowhere and gave me a gaming experience reminiscent of the original DKC, yet still new and unique. Yeah, it led into that gaming binge but I don't blame the game for that, it was more like once I finished it I immediately picked up another game, and another, and I let those games take up all my free time.

2. Majora's Mask: I think I talked about this before, when I was 5 years old, a strange thing happened that caused my left leg to be temporarily paralyzed (either a virus attacked my leg, or my own immune system turned on me, I don't remember which one it was). The doctors stressed that I stay bed-ridden for weeks while I took some medicine, and I would have been bored to death if I didn't have Majora's Mask to keep me occupied.

1. Ocarina of Time: It's not only one of the best games ever created, but also the game that introduced to video games! I had a pretty short attention span as a child, aside from watching The Empire Strikes Back, I had yet to find any other type of media that managed to hold my interest for a really long time. It also introduced me to the Zelda series, which I've formed a deep passion for!
 

twilitfalchion

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I don't like ordering the games I love because it feels like I'm saying one is better than the other when it's really a matter of me appreciating the various aspects of each game equally.

That said. Top 5.

Rune Factory 4 (Special)
Rune Factory embodies everything I love about the life sim genre. It features a charming world, lovable cast of characters, rewarding farming and crafting systems, and even some pretty neat dungeons to make your way through. It's a super chill world to just vibe in. Came upon the series by chance. Very glad I did.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Fire Emblem peaked with Radiant Dawn, if you ask me. It has a top tier story, excellent maps and gameplay mechanics, dope music, and a great cast of characters carried over from Path of Radiance with some neat newcomers as well. I've never felt more satisfied to complete a game than when I finished Radiant Dawn's endgame, and the narrative conclusion it was for Ike's arc as a lead character was handled very well.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The continuation of Estelle's arc that began in FC (First Chapter). I'd consider it to be an essentially perfect JRPG. It nails every aspect I'd want and expect from a game in the genre and is a wonderful ending to Estelle and Joshua's story (though they do show up in later games as side characters). Also some of the best music I've ever heard in any game, period.

Ghost of Tsushima
I've been fascinated by feudal Japan ever since I studied it a fair amount as a karate student years ago. Hearing stories of the samurai and the kind of atmosphere Japanese martial arts in general were developed was endlessly intriguing to me. So I'm not surprised a game like Ghost of Tsushima caught my attention, but I never expected to get so invested in its world and characters. I've spoken at length about my love for the game in my blog, but one area of note where I think Tsushima excels is getting the player engaged with the central conflict. The goal is always in sight (sometimes literally), and this extends to every aspect of the gameplay. You see the effects of the Mongol invasion in the main story, side quests, and even just roaming about the world finding camps to clear out. It's a truly immersive and beautiful experience, and I'm more than happy to have a reason to return to it with the recent expansion.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Prior to playing BotW, I had actually not been into Zelda for a fair number of years. I lost interest in the series as I got older, but I had kept BotW in the back of my mind since the Switch's release. Fast forward to late 2019, I finally picked the game up, and with good timing too. That was a point in my life where a close family member was dealing with some health issues, and BotW helped me deal with that in a way. BotW is a game that invokes the magic of exploration for the player. The world is massive, and the possibilities feel endless with a physics engine that allows for a variety of methods to approach most situations. Exploration and the "feel" of the world is why I play Zelda, and BotW delivers wonderfully on that. Its narrative is lacking, yes, but the 160+ hours I've spent just roaming Hyrule are some of the most meaningful and memorable hours I've spent in my time gaming.

Honorable mentions:

The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Pikmin
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Yoshi's Island
Touhou: Perfect Cherry Blossom
Super Mario Sunshine
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Trails in the Sky FC
 
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Oh, what the hell? I'll put one together.

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past--ALttP has everything that makes a video game great--a well balanced set of items, weapons, difficulty that is neither too high or too low, excellent sense of direction while not holding your hand, excellent bosses(Helmasaur King is my favourite boss in the game, and might be my favourite boss ever), brisk pacing, etc. Everything is fine tuned to perfection. I struggle to find anything wrong with this game from an objective standpoint. It also has dungeons that focus more on navigational challenges more than puzzle based challenges, which is a design choice that Breath of the Wild's Hyrule Castle brought back. I love puzzle based dungeons as much as the next guy, but I would love to see BotW2 have a combination of these. Speaking of...

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild--BotW is my favourite 3D Zelda game. People say that it's not a real Zelda game or something like that to discredit what it accomplished, but I answered that here at the bottom:


BotW is a game that focuses on the open exploration aspect like previous games such as Zelda 1 and ALBW, and expands on it more than before, just like how it expands on TWW's system of picking up and using enemy weapons, TFH's system of having you wear outfits than just the tunic, and makes them all main mechanics of the game. The puzzles in the game are some of the best puzzles in the entire series, focusing on lateral thinking with a lot of them having cool physics based elements, and the shrines are great bite sized mini dungeons. The actual main dungeons are very clever as well, with the four main dungeons having you control the dungeon structure to traverse them and solve puzzles(like how you invert STT in MM, only more refined) while also having the type of puzzles mentioned above. The final dungeon, as mentioned above, returns to the navigational focused dungeon type of the first three games, which is a welcome return. There's so much to discover in the world too, which really brings the open exploration to life; sure you have the shrines and Koroks, but you also have ruins shrouded in darkness, an island where your survival abilities are put to the test, labrynths and mazes to make your way through, a dragon corrupted with malice, mini bosses, shield surfing and archery challenges, a mountain with a mysterious apparition, etc. The story is also told in an interesting way too, and it has one of the best incarnations of Princess Zelda ever.

3. Mega Man 2--This game has great weapons, an amazing soundtrack, and level design that teaches you to get creative with your weapons, as well as having some of the best sppedrunning potential in the MM series. It has a very brisk pace, and it never ceases to be fun to me. My favourite NES game.

4. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest--Has some of the most well placed secrets in any platformer ever, and the reward is more gameplay, which is a win-win. Balance that with the amazingly crafted level design and mechanics, the amazing OST, a cool, pirate theme, and K.Rool and the Kremlings are at their best here.

5. Super Mario World--My favourite Mario game. Love how non linear you can make it and how much freedom you really have, even if you don't realize it on your first playthrough. Finding every secret exit is an exhilerating experience, and like DKC2, it leads to more gameplay.

Here are probably my favorite games of all time, most of them helped me through some rough part of life, so they really mean a lot to me personally. I think even with further analysis they are all quality games as well, and are definitely worthy of top marks.

Same goes for some of the games on my list.
 
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Chevywolf30

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5: Mario Kart Wii
Best MarioKart imo because it has very few gimmicks. Just racing.
4: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
First version of Smash I owned and played a lot, so I'll always have nostalgia bias Plus, the Zelda characters are the TP ones.
3: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Undisputed masterpiece
2: Minecraft
Probably the greatest game of all time. Basically perfect in every way.
1: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
I've said enough on this one.
 

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