first top 10, or 12, list

One of my original intentions of this blog was to have a top 10 or top 5 list here and there since I like to be opinionated about everything. That's what a blog is for right? So here's the first one, something I'm passionate about, my top 12 (instead of 10, you'll find out why) video games of all time. Oh and about my "all time" window, my gaming prime was from the days of SNES up until last year, so keep that in mind. Enjoy. Comments are welcome.

12. Bioshock (PC, 2007)

Okay, I couldn't choose only 10 games. Can you blame me? There are just too many good games I've come across. So here's the start of the top 12. After I thought PC gaming was dead, this jewel came along. While not a full blown Shooter/RPG like Deus Ex, it's an amazingly creative shooter with good RPG elements. You can upgrade your equipment, hack turret guns to work for you, and mess with your body to gain super powers. Even better is the incredible story. You have currency, abilities, and specific ammo types. On top of that, the humor factor is through the roof. You'll find yourself laughing at many points in the game (circus of values?). I won't spoil anything, but it's very unique. What's not to love about an underwater city with little possessed girls who walk around with giant "big daddies?" The length of the game is very good too, long enough to satisfy, but not to bore.

11. Pokemon Red/Blue (Game Boy, 1998)

When I first heard about collecting monsters, I thought "this will never catch on." But oh did it ever. The basic idea is to collect pocket monsters (hence the name) and train them to battle each other. Sounds too bland? That's what you think. Once you start collecting, you realize that you gotta catch em all (sorry, had to). It's just wildly addicting, as are most good RPGs. What made it even better is that you can trade with or battle your friends' pokemon (yeah, that's plural). It's just so much fun to train your pokemon, strive for greater agility or strength, and to assemble an awesome team of 6. I could go back and start over right now.

10. Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)

Ahh the N64. What a time to be a gamer. This was probably the best launch game to go along with any console (except for the NES). It fully demonstrated what the N64 was capable of right off the bat. Huge, colorful worlds ripe for exploring. You could just jump in (literally, mario has about a dozen different jumps) and play the game. This was platforming at its best, and a faithful transition from the days of the incredible 2-dimensional Mario games to the age of 3D. You could very well finish the game with the minimum 70 stars, but this game offered more to the hardcore gamers. You can max the game after getting 120 stars, which was rather difficult back then since each level had a 7th star that you need 100 coins in each level to obtain. But in retrospect, it wasn't terribly difficult. If only this game included Yoshi or Luigi. Well it did, but not in the way I was hoping.

9. Final Fantasy X (PS2, 2001)

Just like the 2D -> 3D transition that the Mario franchise went through, the transition from the PS1 Final Fantasy games to the PS2's FFX was faithful. While it wasn't as major as the Mario franchise (not 2D to 3D), it was a big change in that the franchise got voice acting, as well as a huge bump in visuals. The voice acting is top notch, and really makes you feel a part of the game. The story is just incredible, albeit a bit confusing at some times. In all honesty, I was bored out of my mind the first 6 or so hours due to the large number of cut scenes relative to the game play. But eventually they decreased and gameplay took over. The battle system was different from conventional RPGs in that weapons do not have inherent statistics, only abilities and slots for you to add statistics. The character attribute system was very different too. Instead of gaining regular upgrades in strength and magic, players earn points that can be used in the Sphere Grid to upgrade their characters in their own, custom way. All this, combined with the incredibly memorable story make up for one of the most memorable RPGs. This game was way ahead of its time. I can't believe it was released in 2001.

8. Super Mario RPG (SNES, 1996)

It's funny how I hear about certain games. This one is a good example. Believe it or not, this was the first RPG game I ever played. I was borrowing my friend's Nintendo Power magazine and it featured some tips on this game. I looked at the screen shots, the inn, the shop, buying/selling/upgrading your weapons, gaining stats, and then I discovered the essence of the RPG, which was an engrossing story, coupled with a way to customize the flow of the game by making choices. It instantly appealed to me. I rushed to Toys R Us and picked up a copy of this game while eating Round Table Pizza. Oh man memories. You have Mario, you have an RPG, you have humor, and therefore you have an experience like no other.

7. Diablo II (PC, 2000)

You want addicting? This game is as addicting as it gets. Remember that customization as a part of the RPG essence that I was talking about? Yeah, this has it. Not just has it, has more than you'll ever get to. When coupled with its expansion pack, Lord of Destruction, this game has 7 different classes to keep you busy. How you say? Well each class has 30 distinct spells. There are hundreds of unique items, hundreds of items belonging to a set, and plenty more rare ones that are generated on the spot. So let's see, 7*30*100*100 = you are addicted. While not exactly massively multiplayer online (only 8 players can be in one game at once), you can play with your friends to take down enemies, to hunt items, or to fight each other. Some people even made a good amount of profit by selling items or rushing players through the levels. It has everything there is to love about the hack and slash genre, and a top notch story doesn't hurt.

6. Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)

Preceding Super Mario RPG was its first cousin, Chrono Trigger. I didn't find out about this game until way after I played Mario RPG. But when I did, the parallels were immediate. But what sets this game one notch above Mario RPG is its visuals as well as its music. I have a soft spot for good music in my games, and this one hit it. Unfortunately, I never finished this game. I did get very close, and from what I hear, there are multiple endings based on how you played through the game. How's that for customization? This game perfectly demonstrated the essence of Squaresoft.

5. Goldeneye (N64, 1997)

I had heard a lot about this game before trying it, and wondered what the hype was about. Well let's think about it. What shooters were there before this? Doom? Wolfenstein? Yeah they were good and all. But most would agree that this game defined the FPS genre. What's not to like about James Bond? Put him in a first person shooter game that has all the pieces of the movie and allow for four players to play at once. I remember getting together with friends and cousins to just shoot it out with rocket launchers, shotguns, RCP90s, and all sorts of wacky scenarios. This is the one that truly launched the FPS world, and for that it's #5 on my list.

4. Resident Evil 4 (GCN, 2005)

I'm ashamed that I didn't notice this game on my own. Thanks to a friend letting me borrow his copy, I got to experience this game. I'd always loved the Resident Evil franchise, as well as the survival/horror genre as a whole. But this went above and beyond expectations. The gameplay was outstanding, and is what made the game. From the ease of aiming your gun to the introduction of items and more customization options, this game presented a whole new way to look at survival horror. It was scary, which I like, but not as much as the previous installments of the series. I think it's due to the view point of the game. In the previous ones, pre-rendered backgrounds and eery silence were the reason for the scares. In this one, it's still existent, but not as much. The length of the game is perfect, about 20 hours the first time through. I also like how it required you to be alert at all times since there are instantaneous button sequences you have to press to survive. Very enjoyable, marvelously fun.

3. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, 2005)

I don't know whether to call this a game or a masterpiece work of art. This is not a traditional game by most means. It only consists of 16 boss fights. I use the word "only" very lightly. First off, these are the most enjoyable boss fights you'll ever come across. They are colossi (most of them are huge, not all), who are no pushovers. Most of the time you're trying to figure out how to get on the colossus rather than to kill it. Here is where the fun starts. Once you figure out how to kill it, then you can proceed to do so. This is what makes the game so enjoyable. For example, some of the later colossi require an hour or so of trying to get on top of them, and maybe 5 minutes of actually hurting it. What else? How about an epic soundtrack? All of this game's music is orchestrated, and is incredibly beautiful to hear. What's more is that there are no real words in the game. You are left to figure out the story by yourself. While the visuals aren't technically impressive, they do their job to give the player a sense of desolation while showing how beautiful nature can be. This was a game like no other, and I can't classify it under a specific genre. I was blown away, end of story.

2. Metroid Prime (GCN, 2002)

I was immediately blown away by this one. Yet another faithful switch from 2D to 3D. Not just faithful, but glorious. It has everything there is to love about the Metroid franchise, in a very polished and smooth 3D package. Good music is there, good gameplay is there, and especially great visuals. I think I played the middle third of this game in one sitting, about 7 hours. It had me hooked. This may have been the final console FPS that I enjoyed. The auto aiming seemed to dull the game at first, but then I realized it worked out perfectly. The bosses were enjoyable, as were the various puzzles. Then you have four different guns, four different visors, and a host of neat abilities like ball boost, double jump, and a grappling beam. I tend to not like sci-fi games or movies, but I loved this one. That can only mean it's my #2 favorite game of all time.

1. The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)

Was there ever any doubt? No. There wasn't. This one also has an interesting story to it. I had no idea about the Zelda franchise in 1998. But I'd been hearing so much hype about it from others, magazines, and a few epic commercials. So I bought into the hype and went and got my copy. Oh my. I remember when playing it that the definition of a video game changed for me. I hadn't known games like this existed. What an experience! You play a little elf boy who goes through such an astounding adventure, full of weird characters, crazy locales, incredible music, and perhaps the best video game story I've ever seen. The game required you to solve puzzles in very creative ways too. Few games can give me goosebumps. I get them when I think about the scene where Zelda tossed Link the ocarina and then Ganondorf saw him. WOW. It's hard to explain. It was just an amazing experience. Engrossing above all others. This was the pinnacle of gaming in my opinion. I doubt a game can ever do this for me again. This was gaming at its finest, and is my favorite game of all time.





There you have it, there's my top 12. Yeah, I got carried away. I couldn't limit my favorites to just 10 games. But now I can round out the top 20 with another 8 since there were so many I wanted to include. Thanks for reading.