Back in May, I made this post about movies. I wanted everyone's Top 15 films in the comments.
Well, now I'd like to do that again, this time with a newer media: Video Games!
In case you don't feel like clicking the link, here are again the rules:
A) Your personal Top 15 Video Games.
B) Full titles and dates.
C) Countdown so that your number 1 is last.
D) If it's a tied franchise (like, let's say you like the Super Mario games fairly equally), pick only your most favorite one for your slot. An exception I will make is if the franchise spans several genres (i.e. Super Mario Brothers, MarioKart, MarioParty, Mario Tennis, etc.). You may also put an asterisk (*) if you'd like to indicate that this is a franchise pick.
Here is my list, to share and as an example:
15. South Park Rally (1999)
14. MarioKart Wii (2008)
13. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
12. Freaky Flyers (2003)
11. Skylanders: Giants (2012)*
10. Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011)
9. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
8. Final Fantasy IX (2000)*
7. Heroes of the Storm (2015)
6. Star Wars Racer Revenge (2002)*
5. Undertale (2015)
4. Star Wars Battlefront II (2005)
3. Pokémon SoulSilver (2009)*
2. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009)*
1. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (2010)*
I want comments. I want lists. Top 15. Go!
Hm. Hm hm hm. This'll be hard--don't know if I have enough rock-solid favorites for a Top 15, but I'll try.
ReplyDelete15. Starcraft
14. Super Metroid
13. Contra
12. Actraiser
11. LEGO Star Wars
10. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
9. Steven Universe: Attack the Light!
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
7. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
6. Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts
5. Donkey Kong Country 2
4. A Dark Room
3. Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
2. Soul Blazer
1. BIONICLE: Mata Nui: The Online Game
...yeah, that was difficult. The top three could really go in any order there, they're all pretty equally important to me.
Whoops--forgot to include the dates on each of those. If you want them:
Delete15. Starcraft (1998)
14. Super Metroid (1994)
13. Contra (1987)
12. Actraiser (1990)
11. LEGO Star Wars (2005)
10. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
9. Steven Universe: Attack the Light! (2015)
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
7. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
6. Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (1991)
5. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995)
4. A Dark Room (2013)
3. Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993)
2. Soul Blazer (1992)
1. BIONICLE: Mata Nui: The Online Game (2001)
This was harder for me as well - in fact, I edited this post at least twice because I was like "Ooh, I forgot [[X]]!!". Especially since not one, but two games were released this year that made me rethink my top ten.
DeleteI think the only games on your list that I've played are StarCraft and LEGO Star Wars (the latter was a top 15 staple until the last five years or so). I watched my wife play the Chamber of Secrets game once and get stuck in Borgin & Burke's.
My copy of Chamber is the PC one, which I believe starts you right at Hogwarts. I grew up with Sorcerer's Stone, but Chamber has for me the more memorable set pieces and the less frustrating mechanics (both that and the Mata Nui online game had a huuuuge impact on how I parse and enjoy games nowadays. I'm all about the exploring and worldbuilding now, which those were all about).
DeleteObviously I love everything on my list, but I'd hugely recommend A Dark Room and the Mata Nui Online Game. Both are just really masterful executions of their respective forms and garner some surprising amount of depth through implication alone. Mata Nui was taken offline years ago, but a playable copy is archived here:
http://www.templar.com/games/mnog/Player.html
And A Dark Room:
http://adarkroom.doublespeakgames.com/
Also, fun fact--I'm pretty sure I sang something from WOW: Cataclysm when I did Video Games Live a couple years back. 'twas fun, though that and the Skyrim piece were by miles the hardest for the choir (most everything else was just decorative).
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think of pieces from Cataclysm where the choral sections dominate, but only "Starfall" stands out as a possibility. I wonder if it wasn't actually "Lament of the Highbourne" from Burning Crusade (which is more famous and one of my personal favorite pieces).
DeleteSkyrim's "Song of the Dragonborn" is a beast, though.
Looked up what it was--it was the opening cinematic of Cataclysm, apparently. I don't think choir was really dominant, but what was there was very difficult rhythmically (lots of 7/8, as I remember). Very fun, though.
DeleteA bit late, but here’s my list. I found I’ve played relatively few franchises that I’d add to a favourite list, but I got it up to 15.
ReplyDelete15. Chrono Trigger (1995)
14. Animal Crossing (2002)*
13. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2001)*
12. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (1995)*
11. Luigi's Mansion (2002)*
10. Super Mario Bros.3 (1991)*
9. Super Mario 64 (1996)*
8. Pokémon Pearl-Diamond (2007)*
7. Okami I (2007)
6. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001)*
5. Metroid Prime (2003)*
4. Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999)*
3. Paper Mario (2000)*
2. The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004)*
1. The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)*
I wasn’t sure how to divide my favourite series, The Legend Of Zelda, due to the fact most of them have more or less the same format. So I divided them into the hand held games and the console games. In any case I’m very fond of exploration and adventure in video games. Especially in medieval(ish) or fantasy settings and when bound to main story, as opposed to being completely unlinear.
I meant division by genre/format, but whatever - I'm not going to be fascist about it or anything.
DeleteLists like this remind me how different my upbringing was - I grew up a Sega kid and never owned anything Nintendo until Pokémon became popular.
I remember reading about the competition between Nintendo and Sega after the fact during the 2000s, realising it had gone right past me. The earliest competition between consoles I remember was between Nintendo and Playstation. But this is probably due to the fact that I got into gaming when I was 7 in 1997 which, I understand, was after Sega’s popularity had lessened somewhat. But I do keep hearing the rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was quite intense.
Delete