100. Valkyria Chronicles
The Good: The story is simple but effective and doesn't go overboard on the 'anime' stuff that plagued the next two games in the series. The gameplay is fun and emphasizes good positioning and strategic movements. The music really adds to everything too - for some reason Japanese composers just 'get' how music should be in a game, way more than their western counterparts. It's just a solid, all-around good game and I'm glad it sold a ton on Steam.

The Bad: The gameplay/animations are slow, which means that large-scale battles can end up taking a looong time as they get more big and complex. This is a common problem with the strategy game genre as a whole, I think. Because of that, when I tried replaying the Steam version I didn't get very far. While the writing is overall pretty good, none of the characters end up being very memorable. Well, except for once...

The Best: Playable Vyse. Pretty much the reason I looked at the game!


99. Half-Life 2 (and its episodes)
The Good: Half-Life 2 has a fantastic atmosphere for an FPS, one of the best ever done. The storyline creates a compelling character out of your silent protagonist, the world you explore is full of details and the way the appearences of the G-man hint at a grander design just make it all the more compelling. FPS games still struggle to copy the sense of immersion that the Half-Life series can give you.

The Bad: Half-Life 2 honestly doesn't age well, for several reasons. It was a groundbreaking game at the time, technically speaking, but since then the shooting mechanics and physics engine that made it such a big deal back then has been iterated on a million times. The weapons aren't too interesting, and some of the vehicle sections (especially the boat) can drag on. And most importantly, the wait for Half-Life 3 just makes the game shine so much less. It's hard to keep caring about an amazing cliffhanger more than 10 years after it happened.

The Best: There's one sequence at the end of Episode 2 where you have to drive around in a car frantically shooting at giant killer robots before they blow up key structures. On paper it's has a lot of things that can go wrong in a game - forced vehicle section, protecting other things instead of protecting yourself, ect. Instead it's just really fun and tense and is the strongest memory I have of the game. Valve's games are (mostly) incredibly well-designed in what they do, it's a real damn shame they stopped making games entirely.


98. Radiant Historia
The Good: I love me some good time travel shenanigans! The way Radiant Historia explores multiple timelines is fun, the battle system has a positioning gimmick that makes for a much better time than the traditional JRPG fare, the music is great, the writing is solid, the main character Stocke is a badass. This game has a lot of positive qualities going for it.

The Bad: I've never played a more solid game that is harder to remember. Pretty much nothing about Radiant Historia sticks out as being truly great. It's lesser than the sum of its parts, which is a shame because it's pretty fun to actually play. It just lacks that spark to make it one of the greats.

The Best: Exploring BAD END timelines was always great, even if they were short. The situations that happen were always so ridiculous. Stocke just tries everything possible to achieve the best ending for everyone involved, including defecting to the enemy team. There's also one where a small event snowballs out of control and causes the most unassuming member of the party to go crazy and kill everyone. Fun times.


97. Bioshock
The Good: Bioshock's atmosphere is otherworldly. From the moment you step into Rapture, the story of the doomed city slowly unfolds before you through audiotapes, visual cues, the scenery, the manic sputtering that comes out of the enemies' mouths...it's truly what makes the game. The writing is exceptional, too, with my favorite being the audiotapes of Andrew Ryan which paint a villain that is simultaneously deplorable and understandable.

The Bad: Bioshock's gameplay is crap. The shooting controls are wonky, the powers are unsatisfying, and most importantly, the gameplay goes contrary to the atmosphers the game is trying to create. It's hard for the game to stay tense, gripping, and mysterious when you're mowing down enemies - not even setting the game on the hardest difficulty can make it a challenge. I think Bioshock would've worked infinitely better if it leaned much, much heavier on the stealth elements as opposed to the FPS elements. If it had done something like that, this game is waaaaay higher up on my list.

The Best: One of the best-executed and most memorable twists in gaming, bar none. A lot of games these days try to play on the medium of video games itself, but few are able to match what Bioshock did here. Unfortunately, THE TWIST was so good that the parts of the game that came afterwards just felt lackluster in comparison!


96. Goldeneye 007
The Good: Total nostalgia pick here. I tried to avoid those in general but it's hard to entirely avoid Goldeneye. This game shaped the console FPS scene more than any other game except Halo. I went through each level a million times trying to do them perfectly, it was just so fun to try and get it down to a science. I never was able to do the toughest missions on the hardest difficulty, though, or even most missions within the time required to get the cheats. I love those cheats, though. Big Head mode is the funniest thing.

The Bad: With a lot of games, I watched youtube videos to refresh my memory on things (not nearly enough time to play everything here). With Goldeneye, I didn't bother. I already know it hasn't held up well, like, at all. No sense ruining those memories at this point!

The Best: Multiplayer with your friends was just such a good time, every time. Normal, Slappers Only, Man with the Golden Gun - you name it, we played it and loved it. Except for that one lame friend who always tried to pick Oddjob. If you're reading this, and you were that guy in your own group of friends, then kid me hates you kid you.


95. The Walking Dead Season 1
The Good: The first time you play this game, it's downright gripping. Each choice feels like the weight of the world being put on your shoulders. Things happen, and you feel terrible about it, and wonder how it all could have been difference. It helps that the writing is overall very strong, and to date is probably Telltale's best outing in that department.

The Bad: The moment when you realize that none of your choices mattered in the slightest woooooo. Oh well, at least the first playthrough was a fun ride. The gameplay isn't great, but it's a point-and-click adventure game. Comes with the territory.

The Best: Lee and Clementine. They're the soul of the game and the experience would be much worse off without them. Both of them grow through different ways throughout the course of the game, and the payoff at the very end is worth the entire trip - including the one choice in the game that still manages to feel meaningful after all is said and done.


94. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
The Good: This game definitely became a zetgeist moment when it came out. It won a million game of the year awards for good reason! All the characters are likable, the tone has a nice Indiana Jones feel to it, and the setpieces are some of the best in any game. It's just a fun game to play, hard to see someone flat-out disliking it.

The Bad: Uncharted 2 feels less 'special' as games get more cinematic in general. I doubt it ages well. But the real issue with Uncharted 2 (and the series in general) is what happens anytime you try to go slightly against the path that Naughty Dog has set for you. Things are fine and dandy when you know what to do, but if you get stuck even for a moment then the game grinds to a screeching halt. Have never been a fun of the shooting elements of the game, either.

The Best: Uncharted 2 has one of the best openings to a game I've ever played, and that momentum carries through the entire experience. There's the train section too, but my personal favorite moment is when you're caught on the second floor of a building as it crumbles around you. Good stuff. Might have ranked this one too low, actually.


93. Metroid Fusion
The Good: It boggles my mind that we haven't gotten another 2-D Metroid (that wasn't a remake). It's a good formula! Start out weak. Explore. Collect shit. Get stronger. Fill out the map. Get upgrades. Explore more. Repeat. It's just a good feedback loop placed in atmospheric settings.

The Bad: The story segments. Not because they were bad in this game, but because of what it did to the series afterwards. The Federation stuff and ADAM all spawned from this game. I was really looking forward to where the series was going to go after the ending, too.

The Best: The SA-X sections give this game a survival horror feel that I really enjoy. It's an "OH SHIT" moment every time it appears. This all leads up to the final boss fight against it, which is kind of a mess but really fun at the same time. Dark Samus has got nothing on this.


92. Starcraft
The Good: Starcraft is one of the most flawless games ever made. The storyline is tight and well-written, the gameplay balance is amazing, the sound effects and unit quotes are memorable and fun to listen to a million times. I have very little negative things to say about Starcraft. I guess the graphics are getting kind of shitty by modern-day standards.

The Bad: Starcraft 2 retroactively makes the story worse, but really the issue with the game is that it just isn't my genre. I'm generally terrible at it and it just doesn't click with me like other games do. The fact that I like the game so much in spite of all that shows how damn good of a game it is.

The Best: Kerrigan's arc in Brood War is pretty much impeccable. From the way it builds upon itself with subterfuge and betrayal, followed by the way the entire universe turns against her. culminating in the "queen bitch of the universe" line and her taking on every faction at the same time and winning...it's hard to top that. Helps that I always liked playing Zerg the most.


91. F-Zero GX
The Good: As far as I'm considered, this is Racing: The Game. It's not going to get better than this. The exprience G-Zero GX presents pure adrenaline and precision combined and its great. I don't even have many words to say about this game, it's just a freaking good racing game and that's all it needs to be.

The Bad: Like Starcraft, this is not even close to being my genre. Some games just have a negative KP bias from the start and have earned their spot on the list through blood, sweat, and tears.

The Best: My favorite stage was the one that consisted largely (maybe entirely?) of a long cylinder that you would just go around and around, completely defying gravity. It was just a blast to play every time.


90. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Good: I don't care at all about LTTP. I've played it twice to completion and I was bored each time. No 2-D Zelda before this one really clicked with me - I didn't get far in Link's Awakening, Minish Cap was really average, and Oracle of Ages/Seasons just weren't memorable to me. ALBW surprised the hell out of me. All the chaff has been cut out and the dungeon design was improved significantly, leaving a tight game with barely any flaws to name. The story was even half-decent! It's really fun and it's difficult for me to imagine a better 2-D Zelda than it.

The Bad: This game leans heavily on LTTP at times, especially with the map design (being a sequel and all) so for someone who loves that game and has played it a million times, ALBW might seem kind of derivative. Fortunately for me, I didn't quite have that problem!

The Best: I played through ALBW in maybe two sittings. It was hard to put it down once I started!


89. Metroid Prime
The Good: Probably one of the most influential 3D games of all time, and definitely a canditate for best-ever 2-D to 3D transition. Wasn't this, like, Retro Studio's first game? It's ridiculous. Everything that makes Metroid, Metroid, is here and in spades.

The Bad: Fighting enemies is actually kind of boring. It's just a bunch of locking on, shooting, and strafing repeatedly. Occasionally you exploit a weakness but it's rarely in an interesting way. Some bosses are interesting but not very many. The Chozo Ghosts later on are kind of obnoxious too.

The Best: The progression in this game is paced absolutely perfectly. Out of all the Metroid games, it probably does the 'start weak->explore->get stronger' feedback loop better than any of them. It also includes a lot of different environments with different tones and visuals, and nails pretty the atmosphere in all of them.


88. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
The Good: I'm a fan of visual novel-type stuff. They can create some gripping experiences, and 999 definitely fits that bill. I also love the specific genre of 'people trapped in a place' so this one was right up my alley. Good story, good characters, fun puzzles - I'm glad this game ended up finding a market.

The Bad: The replay system sucks and makes you re-do a bunch of dialogue and puzzles every time. I also got the Safe ending first which sucked. A much bigger issue is that the ending completely falls flat on its face. I'm all for big out-there plot twists, but it goes contrary to the atmosphere and tone of the game up until that point and the game doesn't properly prepare the player for it. The buildup doesn't have an effective payoff and it ends up cheapening the rest of the game as a result.

The Best: The first time you go through it, this game is absolutely filled with dread. You're trapped, people are dying in horrific ways, and you barely understand what or why is happening to you. The fantastic, dark, moody soundtrack helps emphasize this. You really have no idea what's going to happen at any given moment and that atmosphere is what makes 999. I really hope that Zero Escape 3 captures the feel that this game had.


87. Braid
The Good: This is essentially the game that made people realize that indie games could be a legitimate thing. Take a strange little man in a tie, give him fully controllable time powers, and you get Braid. The puzzles in this game are great to this day, containing just the right amount of "how do I do this?" so you feel clever for figuring it out while still never getting truly stuck.

Side note: I actually remember people complaining when Braid came out, because it cost $15 while every other Xbox indie game up to that point was $10. It seemed like a dumb conversation back then and it's even more dumb now!

The Bad: Not really many issues with Braid, but the super secret ending is kind of dumb I guess. The overall story is pretty much nonsense, actually.

The Best: That soundtrack. Man, is it completely perfect for the tone this game tries to create. The art style is great too and I love all the puzzles in this game. It's just a really solid experience from start to finish, culminating in an ending level that is perfect for the game.


86. Bastion
The Good: Bastion is a very atmospheric game. I love the western feel to the music, the way the ground rises up to meet you as you walk, the way the story unfolds through tiny nuggets of information as you slowly piece together just what went wrong. The combat is simplistic but fun, with a variety of weapons to test out and experiment with. And despite being minimalistic by design, the story has some some surprisingly powerful emotional moments.

The Bad: I noticed this happening again while playing the sequel, Transistor, and it bugs me equally in both games. You get railroaded hardcore at every turn. You can never go back to a level once you've beaten it, and there aren't enough side challenges to make up for the fact that eventually you just...run out of gameplay and are forced to progress. It's weird and annoying. The art style isn't that great either.

The Best: The narrator makes or break this game for people. For me, it made it. Commenting on all your actions in that gravel-y tone was just so entertaining for some reason and gave the game a storybook feel to it. I also really, really like the music, especially the ending theme which I still listen to every now and then.


85. Fate/Stay Night
The Good: I think I played this because of the Most Powerful Character contests on B8 where random FSN characters kept getting in and doing bullshit things. I wanted to see what the big deal is. I was very surprised by what I got - this was my first visual novel and it's an experience that's stayed with me since then. It's not one that ages well, but it's one that stays with you regardless. It's got a pretty good premise - 7 magicians in modern time summon people form myths and history (that somehow have crazy powers) to fight each other, last survivor gets a wish. And FSN runs away with that premise, big time.

The Bad: There's many issues with FSN. The pacing is really bad, the main character is stupid, the prose is indecipherable at times, it's too long for it's own good, and it has some...questionable Japanese elements at some parts. I wouldn't recommend it to most people, and if I did, I would recommended a patched version. For what is mostly a text-based medium, those flaws can be really bad.

The Best: ...And it somehow produces a ton of amazing moments regardless. While the buildup can be way too long, the payoff is always worth it in an explosive manner. The animations and text make you feel the intensity of combat more than most games with combat do, the story is insane in a good way and constantly subverts your expectations, and a lot of stuff is just plain badass. The Archer stuff in Route 2, and how it relates to the protagonist is especially well-written and is by far my favorite part of the game. I will never replay/reread FSN, but I'll remember it for a long time.


84. Elite Beat Agents
The Good: Kudos to ZenOfThunder for making me play this. What a fun game. Everything about it puts a smile on your face. From the goofy plots, to the remixed music of well-known songs, to the charming character designs, to the fun timing-based rhythm gameplay that utilizes the DS stylus perfectly...everything comes together to form something that could make the grumpiest person in the world smile. It's a very simple experience, but I think that adding else to this game would just make it worse.

The Bad: It didn't get a sequel.

The Best: "You're the Inspiration" almost* made me tear up. Was not quite expecting that from a game this silly.

*Okay, fine, you can remove the 'almost'.


83. Shadow of the Colossus
The Good: Shadow of the Colossus is a game carefully built on highs and lows. You have the lows of exploring the land, slowly finding your way to the next boss battle. While some thought those sections were boring, I liked riding Agro around and was glad that there weren't any enemies around to spoil the mood. Then you have the high of feeling like an ant while fighting a giant, hulking colossus and trying to figure out how in the world you're supposed to take it down, a feeling very much emphasized by Wander not being suited for combat in the slightest. Not every colossus nails this, but the ones that do make everything worth it. Then you finally slay the creature, and you're treated to haunting, somber music as evil black stuff invades your body. It all creates an experience that no game has really replicated since.

The Bad: The controls are just not very good! It's a good thing that the gameplay doesn't really require precise control, because if it did this game would be a disaster. Also, one time I glitched through the giant turtle colossus and fell inside of him. I couldn't get out for like 20 minutes. Kinda ruined the atmosphere of that fight for me - and then it turns out that that fight is the ONE TIME in the game where you actually have to swing your sword, which I had completely forgotten about. Screw that turtle.

The Best: At one point, a sand worm colossus is chasing you. In perhaps the coolest moment in a game full of cool moments, the way to take it down is to let your horse go on autopilot (at serious risk of it crashing into something, Agro isn't very smart), turn around, notch your bow, aim carefully, and somehow nail the colossus in the only weak spot it has - its eye. Nothing ever surpassed that for me, although some moments came close.


82. Dishonored
The Good: Dishonored is a strange game. It has a strange cartoony-but-not-really art style, a strangely bleak tone, a strange out-there story that combines assassinations and godlike whales, and strange stealth abilities to use. It produces a very unique experience that ends up being pretty fun to play through. I like the Victorian trappings, too, everything has a cool design to it.

The Bad: This game was clearly not built around the merciful option, and it shows. There's infinitely more abilities related to killing things - fun abilities, too, which makes it so damn tempting. The developers openly admitted this and said that they didn't even know people would want to go for a no-kill run until they demo'd the game and people started asking about it (which is weird because the endings on a merciful run are infinitely better). The protagonist being silent also works against the game, as a lot of scenes would really be improved by him...you know...having a personality. It's also somehow one of the few games that gave me motion sickness at times.

The Best: I mean, I'm just a complete sucker for a good stealth game. Have always loved the genre. The atmosphere and art style and such is just icing on the cake. Dishonored had a lot of issues but it had enough potential that I'm really looking forward to the sequel. I also loved that, early on in the game, you get the ability to understand a person's inner thoughts/true nature by using an item. It changes how you view...basically everyone.


81. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The Good: XCOM is a cruel game. You don't get units back after permadeath, the game autosaves constantly if you're on Ironman to prevent save scumming (and you should be on Ironman), and stuff can just completely mess you up out of nowhere. The developers stated outright that 90% of finished XCOM runs ended in failure. It's that brutal aspect to the game that makes it so engrossing. You're forced to plan for the RNG screwing you over, for when you get critted, for when you miss the 90% shot. And you will get unlucky, oh so unlucky. But that's just what XCOM is, and when you embrace that gambling mindset and get a hold of its strategy elements, it becomes a blast.

The Bad: I played the console version and it was a bad, bad port. Slowdown and glitches everywhere. That I liked the game so much when my first experience with it was this catastrophe shows how cool of a game it is. I actually appreciate that the sequel didn't even bother to include console versions, don't subject people to that again. Also, I need to play the sequel.

The Best: The first mission I ever played in XCOM, I tossed a grenade at an alien hiding behind a car. It blew up the car, which then blew up the soldier I had on the other side of the car. The soldier who threw the grenade, panicked, ran out into the open and was immediately gunned down by other aliens. That sequence of events set the tone of the game for me.


80. Kingdom Hearts
The Good: Kingdom Hearts is the perfect game to play when you're a kid. It's got Disney characters, Final Fantasy characters, spikey hair, magic, LIGHT and DARKNESS, all that good stuff. It loses its luster as you get older but its still a really fun adventure at heart and has a lot of charm that will never fade. KH1 is back before the series went off the deep end with the plot, too, which is nice. The Disney characters actually matter in this one.

The Bad: I replayed some of KH1 recently using the HD collection, and its gameplay simply doesn't hold up well. There's a lot of awkward movements, mashing buttons, and weird hitboxes. It wasn't even that great when it came out and it's only gotten worse over time. Standards have simple evolved too far - a sub-par action game in 2016 will still probably have better gameplay than Kingdom Hearts 1 does.

The Best: I'm of the firm belief that the soundtrack for the KH series is the biggest reason for why it connected with so many people. Shimomura knocked it out of the park for these games and created a lot of memorable melodies that can easily conjure up memories of the game if you listen to them. The soundtrack elevates the adventure and makes everything seem grander than it really is.


79. Paper Mario
The Good: There's three games that Nintendo refuses to make for whatever reason. A new 2-D Metroid, a new F-Zero, and a new proper Paper Mario game. One with RPG mechanics, and endearing party members, and funny dialogue, and neat areas to explore. It's been over a decade since TTYD! Come on!

The Bad: I feel like, while the battle system is overall good, it has a lot of room for improvement. The Mario and Luigi series did the timed hits thing a lot better, letting you completely avoid damage if you get the timing down right. In Paper Mario, if you time your hit against an enemy correctly, it usually reduces 1 damage. Who cares. In general the battle system is kind of overly simplistic, but I guess it is a Mario game.

The Best: The art style and charm for this game is fantastic. I don't know who thought that making Mario a piece of paper was a good idea, but apparently it turns out pretty well! It gives the game a unique feel that people still want more of. The writing in the Paper Mario series as a whole is also by far the best in the Mario series, and maybe the best out of any Nintendo game period. Bowser's personality in these games is amazing.


78. Golden Sun: The Lost Age
77. Golden Sun
The Good: No point in seperating these writeups, the games are really closely connected and the differences between them aren't very big. I've always been surprised by how it's 'cool' to hate Golden Sun these days, because the games are pretty solid. They've got good puzzles, good dungeon design, the best graphics and music on the GBA, and a fun battle system. I've got a ridiculous amount of nostalgia for these games though. Golden Sun 2 is actually the better game but I played Golden Sun 1 three times as much. I pretty much know it by heart. Good times.

The Bad: The writing is pretty dumb. People say a lot of words that don't mean anything, the story is cookie-cutter as all hell and nothing interesting ever happens. It's still a lot more tolerable than a lot of other JRPGs though. There's no hot spring scene, or scene where people discuss a party member's boobs, pointless melodrama, horrible character designs, or awkward romance. I'll take bland writing over bad writing, personally.

The Best: The Djinn system is really cool. It makes the boss battles really interesting because you have a ton of different effects you can use at any given time, its strong but has significant drawbacks which forces you to plan ahead, it ends in badass summon animations, and it encourages you to explore the game world to find them. Always liked it a lot.


76. Shadow Hearts
The Good: Shadow Hearts has by far the best atmosphere in the series. It combines humor with dark, moody areas in a strangely weird way. You have to go to a graveyard within your mind every now and then and clear out your inner demons or else a curse overtakes you and you die! The story also intersects with history in a really goofy way that makes it even more memorable. Each Shadow Hearts game has a progressively worse atmosphere, but SH1 nailed it.

The Bad: While I like the judgement ring system the battle speed is pretty slow. Common issue with old JRPGs. Random encounters can be a bit high too. Some of the writing can be a bit awkward at times, although sometimes that ends up being the charm.

The Best: Yuri Hyuga is a huge part of the first two games being good. He's one of the best game protagonists out there and has really strong characters arcs that arrive to satisfying conclusions. It gets to the point where Yuri is almost too good - he overshadows basically everyone else in the game except Alice at some times. Worth it, though!


75. Ever17
The Good: More Visual Novels! This one also follows the 'people trapped in a place' idea that I like so much, although it has a significantly different tone than 999. Things are a lot more lighthearted, but that doesn't end up being a bad thing. You get pretty attached to the characters, wonder a lot about the scenario that piiles upon mystery after mystery, and there's a lot of moments and endings that tug at the heartstrings. It has some dumb moments but overall it's a good ride.

The Bad: Like a lot of other Visual Novels, it's just too long, has too much purple prose and weird writing. There's also a lot of repetition in scenes - you see people play Kick the Can way, way, way too much. Some routes are weaker than others, too.

The Best: Ever17 has one of the best plot twists I've ever seen. The final route (and the slow buildup to it) is phenomenal and has not diminished in my mind in the decade or so since I read it. All that repetition and all those slow moments were worth it for the ending, which is batshit crazy insane as 999's but executed a million times better and properly prepared for.


74. Until Dawn
The Good: You know how in B-grade horror movies you're always frustrated with the dumb decisions of the stereotyped one-dimensional characters? Yeah apparently it's a lot more understandable when you're the one making the dumb decisions for them! This game is way more fun and engrossing than it should be. Anyone can die at any moment, the cast start out as stereotypes and then move past those and end up as good well-rounded characters, the graphics look amazing and do a good job at immersing you in the situation, and the game's sense of timing is perfect. You can have a run where everyone dies, and one where everyone lives, and everything in between. I've seen all sorts of combinations happen naturally.

The Bad: The beginning of the game is kind of slow and has some weird writing at times that comes off as college teenagers being written by people three times their age. Doesn't happen often, thankfully, but it's offputting when it does. It's still paced pretty well overall though. There's also the issue that the main storyline barely changes based on your decisions (outside of who lives and who dies), although these kinds of games will probably always be like that.

The Best: Playing it with family and forcing them to make the life-or-death decisions. Then watching them scream when they choose wrong. Simply the best.


73. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Good: It's barely possible to take a view of OoT that hasn't been influenced by outside sources.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/arts/video-games/q-and-a-rockstars-dan-houser-on-grand-theft-auto-v.html?_r=1
Q. Are there games you play in which you think, “Oh, I’m going to steal that,” or, “I’m going to do that but do it better, do it right”?

A. Anyone who makes 3-D games who says they’ve not borrowed something from Mario or Zelda is lying — from the games on Nintendo 64, not necessarily the ones from today. But I would argue in that regard we’ve certainly been more sinned against than sinning.

OoT has influenced basically everything. It's the template for so much, and a lot of it still holds up incredibly well too. I personally don't think anything it does is amazing, but it does a lot of stuff very well and it creates an experience that is consistently enjoyable,

The Bad: At the same time, because it's the template for everything, nothing it does is original anymore. It's still a good game because of the great dungeon and world design, but it's hard for me to summon up strong feelings for the game sometimes. I don't really have the nostalgia others have for it either, I actually enjoyed it more as I got older.

The Best: The transition from the childhood to adult Link, and how you see how the world has changed, is a really memorable part every time you play the game. It makes the journey seem a lot more impactful when you see how awful things are when Ganondorf is allowed to win for a while.


72. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
The Good: One of the best 3D platformers ever made. This game is super underrated. The level design is top notch, the game is full of unique situations, the art style is good, and it's even got collectibles that are fun to seek out. Rayman gets a surprising amount of fun abilities to use, too, like charge shots and long-range tarzan ropes and flying. Variety is king in this game.

The Bad: Honestly can't think of much. Solid game. I guess some people think the character designs are dumb but I always like Rayman. Cool dude!

The Best: There's one area called the Cave of Bad Dreams where the game just shows off all it's good ideas. It's got a creepy atmosphere, the platforming is at its best, and it ends with a tense chase scene where you control yourself while seeing yourself from the perspective of the monster. It's always my favorite place in the game when I replay it.


71. Soul Caliber II
The Good: a.k.a. The game where you could use Link. I played the absolute hell out of this game when I was younger. Other games in the series are probably better, but guess what? They didn't have Link. He fit so well into the universe and was so fun to use. Had good times back-throwing my friends out of the stage (which, looking back at it, kinda looks like I treated Soul Calibur 2 like Smash Bros).

The Bad: Not many glaring flaws in this game, although it doesn't have anything that elevates it above this level either. It would be tough to go back to Soul Calibur 2 these days, with its lack of HD and no online or character creator.

The Best: I loved that stupid single player story mode. It was basically just a series of fights with flavor text but I loved it. You could go down different paths and buy weapons and stuff!!! Soul Calibur 3 has one I liked even more (in addition to a create-a-character thing I loved) but it also tended to delete my save data so eff that noise.


70. Team Fortress 2
The Good: I'm not usually big on online multiplayer FPS stuff, but Team Fortress 2 was too fun not to play. The characters and writing are really charming and witty and hadn't been run into the ground yet when the game was still early in its life. The multi-class system adds a ton of variety to the gameplay, the levels are really well-designed, and the art style sets it apart from the crowd. Lots of cool things going on here. Valve makes (made) good games!

The Bad: The whole HAT COLLECTING thing is definitely overblown (although it makes for funny jokes), but there is something to be said about the game's original style being left by the wayside. The game just looks ridiculous now and I think I preferred it when it was semi-grounded in reality. Really, in general Team Fortress 2 has gotten a bit too over-the-top for its own good. Doesn't help that the new weapons they release tend to break the game.

The Best: The Spy is my favorite class by far because I'm awful at mouse precision in online games, which I'm sure makes me some sort of stereotype, but I don't care. It's too fun to stealth and sneak behind the enemy team, waiting for the right time to strike. Most of the time this ended in horrible failure because, again, I'm bad, but every now and then you get a streak of backstabs and sentry sabotage going and you just feel like god.


69. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The Good: This is one of those games that sets such a standard that the rest of the games in it's series spend all their time trying to live up to that standard (and failing). SotN has this crazy combination of gameplay, level design, and atmosphere that creates something way greater than the sum of its parts. Other games in the series have refined the gamplay, added more variety, and are better in an objective sense - but at the end of day, SotN is more fun and more memorable. Art style is great, too!

The Bad: This game is such a cakewalk. There's this stupid mechanic it has where it bases the difficulty of the game off of how well you do on the unloseable tutorial boss, and all it ends up doing is setting the difficulty range somewhere between "easy" and "piss easy". Not all games need to be difficult but it would've been nice if there were some degree of tension to everything, at least.

The Best: SotN has one of the best soundtracks in any video game, period. In my opinion, it's the main reason for the game's incredible atmosphere why no other Castlevania game has been able to surpass it. I also loved the reverse castle, it was such a brilliant way to extend gameplay time in a fun and unique way that probably took almost no development time to implement.


68. Kingdom Hearts 2
The Good: A game that was good enough to make fans pine for a sequel for over a decade, even as they got jerked around by spinoff games on lesser systems. The storyline is overall worse than in KH1, but it still retains a lot of that charm of exploring Disney worlds. My favorite was the Steamboat Willie one, too good. The battle system is significantly improved and the music is just as good, so overall it's better than the first game.

The Bad: This is where the series' story really starts to go off the rails. It isn't *too* bad in this game, but you see the signs of what was to come. The Disney/FF aspect starts to get marginalized in favor of the KH original characters and LIGHT LIGHT DARKNESS DARKNESS, the storyline gets really convoluted, and there's a lot of stuff that happens that isn't comprehensible unless you play a bunch of spinoff games. I think it was a ridiculous idea at the time to include a ridiculous amount of plot-important stuff in Chain of Memories, a GBA spinoff game on a different console. Didn't affect me because I played it, but still. And Square is still doing it!

I'm also still pissed off about the wasted potential with Roxas' storyline. It's been over a decade and I still can't get over it.

The Best: The battle system is incredibly mashy and incredibly fun. There's so much flash and glamour and bombast to all the battle animations, usually in the place of actual substance. The game has ridiculously long, over-the-top quicktime events all consigned to one button. The magic system is somehow worse than in KH1. And it all works! The game is a blast to play. It's impossible not to have fun when you nail some stupid midair combo while the Shimomura music swells with grandeur.


67. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Good: The classic example of hype backlash in game form. This and Brawl were the big, BIG things to keep track of back in the day. Those were more fun, more innocent days, when every hyped game was going to be the most amazing things you ever fucking experienced. While Twilight Princess didn't come anywhere close to living up to the pedigree that was imposed on it pre-release - nothing would - when the dust cleared, it still ended up as a great game. It has all the trappings that make a Zelda game good; lots of good dungeons, good combat, simple but fun storyline, and a unique atmosphere. I also like the art style and the wolf form, two things that are a stickler for others.

The Bad: The overworld is pretty lacking compared to other 3D Zelda games. There's still some fun stuff to do, but overall it feels empty. This isn't a very big deal to me, but after two games that were more or less defined by the overworld (MM and WW), it was jarring to a lot of people and remains the biggest reason why it's labeled as 'overrated' in a lot of circles.

The Best: Best dungeons in the series, easily. The item you get in them is usually overused within the dungeon and under-used outside of that specific dungeon, and they're still really fun to go through. Good puzzles, good atmosphere, good bosses. To me, Zelda is a series largely defined by its dungeons - there is one major exception, but in general I'm not as huge on the side quests as most people are. Who cares about random heart containers, just give me more Arbiter's Grounds and Snowpeak Temples and City in the Skies and I'll be happy.


66. Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Good: Was it even possible for games based on pre-existing franchises to be good before this came out? If you ever asked someone that, they would shrug and go "Do Goldeneye and Kingdom Hearts count?" and leave it at that. Then AA came out of nowhere and suddenly you could play as The Batman and it would actually be fun. That's one of the big reasons this game is so beloved. Well, that and how it completely rewrote the standard for what the battle system in an action-adventure game should be. Pretty much game in this genre copies the hell out of the Arkham series by now.

The Bad: The battle system, which is great for random encounters, doesn't lend itself well to good boss fights. Killer Croc especially is a huge letdown after the buildup the games gives him, and the final boss being some hulked-up Joker is...well, a joke.

The Best: This game is a really well-designed Metroidvania. It's a lot of fun to move around the Asylum, collect stuff, find hidden areas, ect. But the absolute best part of the game is the feeling it gives you of being THE BATMAN. It's a stealth game that empowers you - you aren't avoiding those guards because you can't take them, god no. You're avoiding them to instill fear in their cowardly, superstitious hearts. You are a predator stalking its prey. You are the night. AA captures the feel of being Batman absolutely perfectly.


65. Mega Man Xtreme
The Good: What's that, you say? You meant to write Mega Man X, KP? Hahaha, oh silly reader. Mega Man X isn't nearly XTREME enough for this list.

http://buccaneertri.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Xtreme.gif

This is a Game Boy port of Mega Man X. It has worse graphics, lower-quality music, and it has some weird thing where it takes some of the levels from Mega Man X and some from X2 and creates one game out of them. Still kinda confused on that. So it's a worse game in every objective sense but, you know what Mega Man X lacks that this game has? Me playing it on my Game Boy constantly, because by the way I never owned an SNES! Even in an aesthetically-gimped form, Mega Man X's level design and gameplay is as fun as it ever is, and back in the day having it in portable form was the best. I also have a big soft spot for the soundtrack of this game, it actually sounds great even with the GB sound chip.

The Bad: I used up a lot of batteries on that Game Boy.

The Best: Getting the Hadouken and Shoryuken. So overpowered. So much god damn fun to use. You shredded bosses with those moves and it didn't matter that it broke the game open because they were incredibly hard to find and you earned them. Really, in general the major upgrades in the game are all really impactful and really fun to use. Mega Man X(TREME) had a fantastic balance between difficulty and character progression.


64. Virtue’s Last Reward
The Good: This is 999 taken to another level. VLR game can't match 999 in atmosphere but it outdoes it in every other way. The twists are even nuttier but the game sets you up for them WAY better, there's a million ridiculous mysteries to uncover, the flowchart system is miles ahead of 999's replay system, the puzzles are more fun, and the way the game plays with your decisions using that flowchart system is something else. It's such a ridiculous game and I love it. Plus, 'people trapped in a place'. Alwways good!

The Bad: The 3D models are a little off sometimes, and Clover's character design is way worse in this game. Also the game spends an inordinate amount of time on showing you door opening animations and people walking through maps and I don't know why. It's also a shame that the foreboding atmosphere of 999 was toned down significantly, apparently at the request of the parent company. Hoping Zero Escape 3 brings that atmosphere back. The game also has a real issue of being mostly setup for a sequel - one that was very, very close to never happening.

The Best: I love how this game unfolds. There's a lot of crazy plot beats and the mystery has you guessing and shocked at every turn, which is extremely impressive for a game that can gives a bunch of routes to explore and a ton of freedom in how you explore them. No matter which way you go through the game, it's going to get you. Very different from 999 where you could get the Safe ending first and kill a lot of the rest of the game's tension.


63. Silent Hill
The Good: This game more or less created the 3D horror genre. Resident Evil came first but it's always been, at the most, equal parts action game and survival horror, even the earliest iterations. Silent Hill is what let people know that games could really, truly get under your skin, and to this day it's one of the best horror experiences in gaming. The old graphics only work in its favor - the best horror is, after all, left best to the gaps your imagination fills in. Silent Hill is one creepy town, and exploring its fog-etrenched corridors is an experience that other games (outside of the Silent Hill series) haven't been able to replicate.

The Bad: Some random parts of the game feel very videogame-y and undermine the otherwise impeccable tone this game creates. Like there's a random giant moth boss fight. Why? Who cares? Considering how immersive the rest of this game is, moments like that really stand out. The gameplay in general is pretty iffy, but it can help make the atmosphere better so I more or less give it a free pass...sometimes.

The Best: Every aesthetic choice in this game is brilliant. The fog, the emptiness, the sirens, the enemy designs, and of course the alternate Silent Hill that makes for an incredibly memorable experience every time it appears. My favorite personal moment in the game is one time I was walking around a building, confused on where to go next. I'd used the elevator to check all the levels but nothing was happening. I went into the elevator again, and found that a 4th floor button had just...appeared. No prompt, no notification, it was just there when it wasn't there before. I pressed it, and everything proceeded to go to hell. Silent Hill does moments like that so well.


62. Dragon Quest VIII
The Good: This is the most Dragon Quest-y DQ game ever made. It doesn't do every mechanic that the series has ever had, but everything that makes it 'Dragon Quest' is here. The story, the enemies, the character and world designs, sound effect, music, and battle system all scream Dragon Quest. As such, the game is charming as hell and a joy to play through.

The Bad: There is no possible way I could ever replay this game. It's too long, too slow. It was a great journey at the time, but by today's standards and with the lessened amount of time we all have, it would just never happen. Even back then, it was a bit much for me. I had to take several mid-game breaks during it because it was one of the longest games I've ever played and it's not a game that gives you too much momentum to keep pressing on, even if it is a great experience.

The Best: The overworld in this game is fantastic, and to this day it's one of my favorites I've ever explored. It was impressive as hell back in the PS2 era and it's still really good even by modern-day standards. There's so much to discover, and it's visually gorgeous to boot. The effect is marred somewhat by the random encounters slow battle system, but not enough to ruin the effect.


61. Final Fantasy Tactics
The Good: FFT has a lot going for it. The story is impactful, the music is fantastic, and the gameplay is incredibly varied and leads to a lot of fun classcombinations. It's a very well-designed game overall, with good pacing and a constant progression (outside of Riovanes, what is that nonsense). It doesn't quite reach the highs that some other games do, at least for me, but in general its a great experience.

The Bad: The script and translation are a disaster. FFT has a really good story and tells it so poorly. There are some good lines - Animals have no god! - but overall it's really bad and full of poor wording, misspellings, translation errors, and some stuff that is just plain incomprehensible. I never played War of the Lions, but from I've watched/read a decent amount of it and the restranslation seems way better, if a bit overdone. Wasn't a fan of how the story focused more on the Lucavi stuff as it went on, either.

The Best: The relationship between Delita and Ramza, and how that develops, is the soul of the game. It has a fantastic buildup and emotional payoff and might be the best personal storyline Square has ever written. Chapter 1 in general is my favorite because it focuses almost entirely on Delita and Ramza. Also, while others have taken its spot since then, for a while I thought FFT had the absolute best game soundtrack and it's still one of my favorites.

Side note: Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together is about as good as FFT, but I got sidetracked and didn't play enough of it so I didn't feel comfortable ranking it. Check it out if you're an FFT fan who was sorely disappointed with FFT's sequels. So, check it out if you're an FFT fan.


60. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The Good: The definitive Metroid Prime game for me. Everything in this game is just slightly better than the others - level design, boss battles, atmosphere, ect. Even the story is kinda decent in this game. It's without flaws, but at the end of the day I just found it the most interesting and memorable game in the series.

The Bad: The animation that plays when you travel between the light/dark world takes too long. It's also a bit lame that the different kinds of beam weapons you get have an ammo system, although it's hard to ever actually run out of them. The Dark Would probably does a bit too much damage to you but it never bothered me very much honestly.

The Best: Metroid Prime 2 significantly improves on the gameplay of MP1 by actually having interesting combat situations. The boss battles are way better and more difficult, with some fights taking place entirely in morph ball form. And as far as specific areas going, Sanctuary Fortress is probably my favorite in the series.


59. Final Fantasy XII
The Good: On some days I don't even like this game that much, but then I always realize I've played it 3 times and wouldn't mind going for it again. FF12 is a very flawed game, but I like its gameplay and character progression a lot - especially in the International version, which adds a game speedup button and gives you character classes to make the party members more unique from each other. I actually enjoy doing solo characters runs of the game a lot, it makes you employ a lot more strategy. Also, just turn off Gambits people. Game is a lot more fun without them on!

The Bad: Final Fantasy XII's story is a hot mess of wasted potential. It completely falls off the map about 1/3 of the way through the game and loses any emotion/impact it may have had on the player. It switches between two main plots - the Archadian Invasion and the Occuria stuff - but doesn't give enough screentime to either of them, leaving both to wither. It's well-known that a lot of development troubles and executive meddling happened behind the scenes for this game (for example, Vaan wasn't even supposed to be the main character) and it shows. What could have been.

The Best: I love the environments in this game, always considered them up there with some of the best in gaming. The art style is gorgeous and the areas are sprawling and atmospheric, which is helped a lot by a soundtrack that sets the mood perfectly. This makes exploring the world and tracking down Hunts a lot of fun, far more fun than the actual main story of the game.


58. Left 4 Dead
The Good: Left 4 Dead came out at a time when the zombie craze was just starting to pick up steam, and proceeded to not only capitalize on that momentum but become one of the best games of its type ever made. The standard it set as a multiplayer experience is one that other zombie games have yet to match (except by maybe Left 4 Dead 2, but I never got around to that one). Valve games tend to do that. The game makes you feel powerless against the zombie horde while also being a very fair experience - attempts usually end in failure, but it's always because one (or more than one) of you fucked up. There's a variety of unique enemy types to watch out for that make each runthrough a different one than before, and it focuses heavily on teamwork.

The Bad: I'm struggling to think of something to put in this category. I have very few poor memories of Left 4 Dead. It's well-balanced, with strong gameplay and atmosphere, endearing characters, and even the people I played it with tended to be more pleasent than your general online fare. I should go back to it someday.

The Best: The real fun in this game comes from turning up the difficulty to the maximum and seeing how far your group can get. It'll almost certainly end in failure, but the levels are fairly short so you can just try again. You get better and better at the levels, working better as a group over time, until you finally manage to clear a big hurdle together and make some progress. And then the next level comes and you do it all over again. Good times.


57. Psychonauts
The Good: Psychonauts is an incredibly charming game. It combines an odd art style with an odd scenario with legitimately entertaining writing, and the result ends up way better than you would expect it to. The characters are very memorable and with a surprising amount of complexity to them. The actual gameplay is weak and tertiary to the experience of exploring people's minds, but that's okay because the experiences are so unique. There's one instance where a mind interprets you as a Godzilla-type monster that has come to terrorize an innocent population. Don't get that too often!

The Bad: There's one point in the game where you need to collect a bunch of stuff to continue and it's just not very fun and temporarily breaks the pacing of the game. The combat in the game isn't great, either. Thankfully the game seems to realize that and keeps it to a minimum, focusing on the other aspects of the game.

The Best: All of the levels after the game reaches its halfway point are really good. They saved their A-game for those. You go from exploring semi-reasonable minds to the minds of people in an insane asylum and it goes exactly like you think it would. My favorite level, which is also everyone's favorite level, is the Milkman Conspiracy. I could explain it but I think giving the name out of context is better.


56. Sleeping Dogs
The Good: This is one of the best open-world style games there out there. Sleeping Dogs takes all the core elements of the genre, cuts out the chaff, makes everything more fun, and has a good story and characters to boot. It doesn't have the insane variety of a GTA game, but what's there is great. The melee combat rips off the Batman Arkham series and is all the better for it, the driving controls are perfect, all of the side mission and story missions are fun. Just an incredibly solid, well-rounded experience.

The Bad: The story has an incredibly promising first half and just kinda fizzles out afterwards, culminating in a fairly disappointing ending. Nothing terrible or anything, it just wasted a lot of the potential it built up and takes the easy route out on the tough questions it posed to the main protagonist.

The Best: The game's main gimmick of being an undercover cop is, for the most part, executed very well. You'll go do some Triad missions and then turn around and covertly perform operations for the police. Unlike other open-world games which tend to gloss over how sociopathic your character can get when they're not in a cutscene, Sleeping Dogs actually penalizes you for doing stupid stuff like running over pedestrians when you're on the clock. It puts you in this weird mindset where you're trying to be the best crook and best cop you can be, at the same time, which perfectly mirrors the emotional turmoil the main protagonist goes through. Just a solid premise that's done well.


55. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
The Good: This game's platforming was basically the prototype for the Assassin's Creed series, and it's done better here I think. Running along walls never gets old. The time gimmick is more fun than it should be - rewinding from death is strangely satisfying and lets you take more risks and leaps of faith than you otherwise would. The level design also strikes a good balance between structured and open.

The Bad: TheKoolAidShoto once described Sands of Time as "the best game with bad combat". It's definitely the weak point - while some moves you pull off in battle are stylish and cool, for the most part it's all really simple and clunky and you find yourself longing for the next platforming section.

The Best: I love this game's atmosphere. It creates an experience that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Taken at piecemeal, Sands of Time has a simple story, some cool platforming segments, neat time powers, sub-par combat, and generic puzzles. But the storybook narration, and the flow of the game, and the level design, and the banter between the main characters, and the sound effects, all come together to form this adventure that stays with you. No Prince of Persia game after this one has come closing to matching the atmosphere Sands of Time had.


54. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
The Good: This game came out of nowhere for me. I picked it up because I was in the mood to try out more Atlus stuff and immediately fell in love with it. It's not perfect, but it has a lot of qualities that I love in a game, like a tense atmosphere, (mostly) realistic characters, and a constant sense of progression. Devil Survivor also doesn't pull many punches. Time progresses increments, and you miss the boat on some events or forget to do something because you were messing around, someone probably just died. It heightens the tension by a lot and makes all your choices seem important. Unlike other games, your choices actually *are* important. The battle system is broken, but in a fun way...for the most part.

The Bad: The random battle music is kinda bad, which is a problem because you listen to it far more than anything else. I got used to it but I still don't think I actually like it. The game also has a difficulty spike at the end, which I was mostly fine because my main character was broken with but ended up stonewalling a lot of people. The writing, while really strong in many places, has several iffy bits that stand out a lot, like Midori.

The Best: The atmosphere in Devil Survivor is stellar. You've got a constant clock over your head that tells you how close you are to death. You're constantly trying to prevent your own predetermined demise, all while stuck in a city that is slowly imploding on itself. Your friends and allies can die if you don't do things properly. Each hour you spend is a decision you never get back. If you mess up everything you get this horrible ending where you essentially end the world due to your own weakness. On the other hand, if you play your cards right, you can become the ruler of all demons, but only after most of your friends leave you in disgust.

I pre-ordered Devil Survivor 2 and it's one of the most disappointing games I've ever played. Makes the original seem like a happy accident.


53. Umineko no Naku Koro ni
The Good: Umineko was pre-cooked to appeal to me in a lot of ways. It involves a rich family trapped on an island they can't escape from, as interpersonal conflict and history clashes with the upcoming inheritance, followed by murders that leaves people questioning the line between fantasy and reality. That's all just in Episode 1 out of 8 - it then proceeds to completely go off the deep end in the best way possible. Combine that with a phenomenal soundtrack and you end up with got one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. Unfortunately, I can't really recommend it to people, because...

The Bad: Umineko really, really does not have a satisfying conclusion. Umineko Chiru, the sequel, has a bunch of disappointing reveals that retroactively makes the plot worse, and the final Episode was both really dumb and actively offended me. It doesn't completely erase the amazing buildup that the first half of the series created but, and the sequel still has some amazing parts, but for reference, Umineko used to be in my Top 5 or so. A lot of the writing and prose gets more awkward with age, and the pacing is super bad at times, but really, I could've easily forgiven that if it stuck the landing. Oh yeah, and while I stockholm syndrome'd myself on the art its objectively kind of terrible.

The Best: When Umineko cracks its knuckles, ends the expository buildup, and starts to throw down, it causes hours to pass by in a flash. The soundtrack is the literal best in anything I've ever played, the sound effects are godlike and incredibly memorable, and the shitty art and nonexistant budget doesn't prevent it from somehow giving thrilling conflicts with bombastic animations. Playing Umineko alongside other people was an experience at the time. I made a freaking flowchart on how to install it because so many people on B8 were asking me about it.


52. Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door
The Good: TTYD doesn't change much of the template that Paper Mario 1 created. It also didn't need to. The sequel improved most everything from the original game, having better combat and better writing and better scenarios and better party members. The charm is still all there and the art style is just as appealing. It's amost like a sequel doesn't need to have everything that made the original fun ripped out of it just to try and reinvent the wheel for no goddamn reason. Nintendo. Hint hint.

The Bad: The game has too much uninteresting backtracking, although its not a big deal overall. The real answer to this category is that we never got a Paper Luigi featuring everything that happened in Luigi's stories he tells you.

The Best: My favorite part of TTYD is the same thing as everyone elses' favorite part: The Glitz Pit. Mario as a professional wrestler? Named The Great Gonlazes? With some intrigue on the side?!? Count me in.


51. Half-Life
The Good: Modern shooters owe an incredible amount to HL1. The level design is still one of the best in any FPS game; each little room and scenario in HL1 is a unique experience that's fun to progress through. The isolated atmosphere works really well and works well with the premise about escaping one dangerous place that's completely gone to shit. Exploration is both expected and rewarded. The weapons are varied, fun, and iconic. The crowbar started here. Gordon Freeman even makes for a pretty good protagonist considering he doesn't say anything and you never see him.

The Bad: Graphics is honestly the biggest thing. This game is started to look dated, which can hurt the otherwise fantastic atmosphere. I think there's a fan mod that recreated the game in an updated engine with new graphics though, I should check that out sometime.

The Best: It has to be the level design. I have no idea how they wrung so many little unique situations out of one setting. Encounters and events never rely solely on the shooting aspect of the game and always offer a little twist to them - a kind of variety that a lot of modern FPS games are sorely lacking in. The game has few big, high-pitched moments, but its consistently very fun to play and stays that way throughout the entire game.


50. Bleed
The Good: Bleed is a game that understands the two core tenents of a good action game - movement and timing. It requires you to avoid the mess of projectiles and attacks being shot out around the screen, using a limited time slow and a triple mid-air dash, all while keeping your pistols constantly aimed at the enemy. It's fun, rewarding, and fair. You'll die a lot in Bleed but you'll also see yourself noticeably getting better over time. The game doesn't have the glitz or glamour of AAA action titles but it doesn't need them. As someone who is picky about their action games, I consider Bleed to be an impressive undertaking - if any one part of the core gameplay had been poorly-executed, the entire thing would crumbled.

The Bad: It's a short game, and the soundtrack and narrative leave something to be desired. Not that Bleed is a game about narrative, but the other two things do stick out a bit. Thankfully it's a very replayable game, and there's a sequel on the way that looks great.

The Best: The Challenge/Arcade modes in this game extends its shelf life by a lot. Seeing how far you get through the game with only one life is a true test of skill, and being able to fight two Very Hard difficulty bosses at the same time is the kind of stupidity that I love. The moment in Bleed where you slow down time, identify the only opening on the screen, and expertly weave three air dashes around a glut of bullets is a moment that never gets old.


49. Alien: Isolation
The Good: Also known as tension: the game. Playing Alien Isolation is a physically exhausting experience. A general summary of the stealth system is that if you can see the Alien, it can probably see you, and that makes you nervous to peek around every corner. You're given a motion tracker, and while that helps you sneak around, it certainly doesn't help your mental state. Watching that big dot on the screen move closer and closer makes your hair stand on end. There's character progression, and you get more items and weapons to help you survive, but you'll still always feel helpless when the Alien shows up.

The Bad: The game is actually a bit too understated at times. If you play the game cautiously (a.k.a. slowly sneaking around everywhere like a coward), the Alien doesn't appear quite as much, which is a shame because the Alien is by far the best part of the game and I pretty much wanted him around all the time. The last 1/3 of the game is still good but weaker than what came before it, and the sections where you stealth past non-Alien enemies just aren't the same. The story is a bit weak, too, with some questionable voice acting.

The Best: They absolutely nailed the feel of this game. It feels like an experience that was made people that are both die-hard fans of the original movies while also understood game design. The architecture of the space station is familiar enough that it feels like an actual space station while being different enough to feel offputting. The Alien's animations and sounds are perfect in every way; watching it wander around looking for you is both mesmerizing and terrifying. There are a bunch of custom death animations on how the Alien can kill you. The situations you get into in the game are really unique but aren't scripted and play out organically - my favorite personal story is the one time I used other people as bait to distract the Alien as I went in the opposite direction (it's okay, they were jerks). When Alien: Isolation is good, it's very, very good.


48. Killer7
The Good: There is no game like Killer7. There is no anything like Killer7. Explaining a game that defies every sense of convention is difficult, but I'll try. The big thing Killer7 has going for it is the atmosphere, which is the sum of a lot of insane stylistic choices. It combines blood-spattered violence with a fantastic cel-shaded art style and calm, collected voice acting. The menus and save rooms are offputting. Characters speak in riddles, and that's just when they're not speaking pure nonsense. Movement in Killer7 is on rails, which helps keep things moving at an unbroken pace. The plot is incredibly obtuse and strange, and refuses to explain basically anything to you. There have been essays written on trying to figure out what Killer7 is actually about. It has all the makings of being a pretentious load of drivel, but it somehow all comes together to form an unforgettable experience.

The Bad: The gameplay, while fun in the moment, is pretty simple and doesn't lend itself well to replays. The plot's obtuse nature is also a double-edged sword; while it helps creates an atmosphere and makes you analyze everything that's going on, one or two more direct answers about what the hell was going on wouldn't have hurt.

The Best: Killer7 has so many memorable parts to it. I can still remember ever Heaven Smile laugh sound like I played the game yesterday. Every character is full of personality. Andrei Ulmeyda steals every scene he's in. The final chapters where you learn what the Killer7 are - and why the Killer7 are - are haunting. But my personal favorite little moment in the entire game is the Russian Roulette scene, which is amazing from start to finish.


47. Batman: Arkham City
The Good: Arkham Asylum is a more tightly-designed game, but I had more fun with City. Flying around Gotham City is just too much fun. The level designs and scenario you get into are some of the series' best, and the game even has the decency to include one really good boss fight in Mr. Freeze. Arkham City adds just enough to the formula to make it feel fresh, without making it feel bloated.

The Bad: The Riddler clues get a little ridiculous in this game. I never bothered to get all of them, there were just too many and the ways to get them required more effort than I was willing to give. Definitely a step down from Arkham Asylum's.

The Best: Outside of the Mr. Freeze fight, I just really like moving around the city and beating up bad guys. It's really just the peak I AM BATMAN experience for me. I love standing on the edge of a rooftop and looking out over the remains of Gotham, scouting out the area and spotting a group of criminals, followed by sailing towards them and taking down one right away as the rest start freaking out. City pulls off that feeling even better than Asylum does.


46. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Good: Majora's Mask doesn't feel like it belongs in the Zelda series at all. The atmosphere is depressing and the dungeons are secondary to the numerous sidequests scattered throughout the world. Everything from the Happy Mask Man to the Moon to Skull Kid is creepy as all hell. Even the little moments, like putting on a mask to transform have a darker twist on them - yes, that's the sound of Link's bones breaking you're hearing. The world runs on a three-day cycle, and the only way to save is by resetting everything to day one. Or else everyone dies! I can't believe that Nintendo ever made a game like Majora's Mask.

The Bad: There aren't many dungeons, and the ones you get aren't memorable outside of the Stone Tower Temple. Considering how strongly Zelda games rely on dungeons, it's amazing this game is as good as it is. The time reset system is a big issue for a lot of people (or used to be, at least, public opinion on MM has gone way up in the past few years) but I think that if the time system were any different than it would throw off the entire game.

The Best: The combination of the time cycle and sidequest system creates a rather dreary mood throughout Majora's Mask. On the first day, people start out alright. On the second, they start to get a bit worried. By the third night, the world has gone into panic and people start freaking out about the end times. You have to watch this happen, time and time again. And while there's a bunch of interesting characters and sidequests full of depth, resetting erases anything you've done for them. You can reunite lovers, fullfill dreams, ease pains, but it's all gone by the end of the third day. Considering how much control you should have over the world, you end up feeling incredibly helpless. It's hard to think of another game that creates an atmosphere like MM does, let alone another Zelda game. Should also mention the Song of Healing here, which has got to be the most important and memorable song in the series outside of the Zelda Main Theme.


45. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Good: Skyrim is a better game than Oblivion. I also didn't connect nearly as much with Skyrim and didn't play it anywhere near as long. Oblivion was the first big open-world I played and the second I stepped out onto the overworld I was blown away at everywhere you could go. I ran in the opposite direction of the main quest and the rest was history. I played Oblivion on and off for years, creating quite the extensive series of feats for my main character. This was back when I had the time and the inclination to play an open-world game for that long, back when the concept was an extremely fresh experience. While I still enjoy them a lot today, but I doubt anything will ever feel like the lightning-in-a-bottle that Oblivion was for me.

The Bad: What in the world is up with the faces in this game? They looked weird as hell even back in the day. The main storyline is a joke too, but that's par for the course in a Bethesda game.

The Best: The Acrobatics stat was so stupid and so fun. It let you level up your jumping height over a long period of time, which also let you break the game in certain areas once you could jump 20 feet straight into the air. I remember skipping large sections of Oblivion gate areas by glitch-platforming up rocky outcroppings up onto balconies. Good, good times. They took the Acrobatics stat out of Skryim and it's the only major disappointment I had with the game. I still haven't gotten past that change.


44. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
The Good: This game has got to be incomprehensible to those who didn't play it back in the day. The voice acting is a joke, Shadow is trying so hard to be cool and failing completely, and it has all the makings of just being another game in a long line of Sega embarrassments. But man, was it fun. It hit me at an age where I was okay with all that cheesy aspects and this was back before Shadow was an actively bad character. The game actually controls pretty well once you get used to it, too. The Sonic/Shadow stages are really fun and the Tails/Eggman stages are neat diversions. I have so many good memories of this game and the cheesy lines and music have just become endearing at this point. ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

The Bad: The Knuckes/Rouge levels just...aren't very fun. They felt like a chore and I never ended up liking them, no matter how many times I played SA2B. Which was a lot.

The Best: CHAO GARDENS, PEOPLE. This side idea they probably put no effort into quadrupled my total playtime of SA2B. I loved raising my Chaos, feeding them the weird glowy sticks you found on stages, making them stronger, racing them, having them do adorable karate fights against each other...it was the best. Even my family got in on the action! My sister still remembers the name of our favorite Chao we raised together. I would buy a standalone game release that was 90% Chao raising with some Sonic levels thrown on the side.


43. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
The Good: Eternal Darkness has atmosphere in spades. The game's story slowly unfolds over its many chapters, revealing a Lovecraftian conspiracy that's been underway for centuries. You control a bunch of different protagonists and witness their inevitable fates. With each truth you uncover, things get worse in the present-day. This is emphasized by the game's sanity system, which is easily the coolest part of the game. As you witness more monstrous things, you lose sanity, and low sanity causes some...interesting effects in the game. I won't spoil them but I'll definitely say that they're memorable.

The Bad: The gameplay is pretty simplistic. Not terrible, but at no point in the game does it ever really impress. The boss battles are silly and the final level is unnecessarily tedious.

The Best: Two things stick out in my mind when I recall ED. The first is one personal moment when I had low sanity and examined a servant in the mansion. I had examined the servant before, and they were described as appearing normal. This time, however, they were described as an abomination tossing organs into a bucket. I freaked out and immediately killed them, and what little sanity I had left evaporated. Only too late, I realized what I'd done...

The second was the chapter headlined by one Sir Maximillion Rovias. Eternal Darkness' chapters are full of varying experiences, all of them good, but this one was the true standout. It's when the game's plot really picks up and you start to learn exactly what you're dealing with, and the effects it has on Maximillion Roivas are taken to their extreme. The final cutscene of this chapter is chilling and a good summary of the game as a whole.


42. Mass Effect 2
The Good: This is the only Mass Effect game I ever really connected with. ME1 I didn't enjoy at all and 3 had a bunch of issues, but ME2 hit this sweet spot that made a bunch of people fall in love with it on release. The gameplay leans heavily towards being a shooter over an RPG, but it's a really fun shooter with an awesome sniper class so I was totally fine with that. The character and character missions are memorable, which is important because the game is all about building up your squad for the final mission. ME2 has a weak main storyline and is borderline filler, but it's paced so well that it doesn't feel that way. Just a great experience from start to finish.

The Bad: Mineral farming is terrible. It's the kind of time-wasting garbage that I would've expected to be phased out of games by now. Mass Effect 2 also definitely suffers from being the middle game in the series - it pulls off being the 'middle' entry with gusto, but yeah. Mass Effect 3's disappointing ending retroactively makes some of the decisions and plots in 2 a little less impactful as well.

The Best: The final Suicide Mission is a heart-pounding experience. It's fantastic from start to finish and it's one of the best setpieces that Bioware has ever created. It's also impressive that they made it possible for pretty much everyone to die there - even Shepard can die! Which hilariously ends the entire series if it happens, as you can't import a save file to ME3 where Shepard is dead. There's real tension in the Suicide Mission and it's the perfect ending to a great ride.


41. Tales of Symphonia
The Good: Tales of Symphonia was a better game when I was a teenager, but it's still a good game that I have a lot of fond memories of. The trappings of a solid JRPG are all here - good sidequests, well-paced story, really fun battle system, good random encounter system, good music, charming characters. There's a lot of cheesy dumb stuff but much like SA2B, it's just become endearing to me at this point. The coffee scene is too good.

The Bad: I've definitely outgrown the Tales series. It's kinda hard for me to put up with the stupid aspects of the games by now. Tales of Symphonia is bailed out by being in the super nostalgia zone bails it out somewhat, but there's definitely some stuff there that makes me go...eeeeeh. Also some of the dungeons are REALLY BAD. I'M LOOKING AT YOU YMIR FOREST.

The Best: Tales is a series that pretty much lives off of the gameplay, and Lloyd is still probably the most fun character in the series to use. His attacks are fast and flippy and just so satisfying. There's also some pretty good plot beats, like the first time you visit the Tower of Salvation and when you visit Dherris-Kharlan. The soundtrack sounds really nice in-game, too.


40. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
The Good: This game was a huge breath of fresh air. It had the herculean task of rebuilding the series after Apollo Justice almost tanked it while still bringing in enough new content so that it didn't feel like a rehash. This is basically an impossible situation to succeed in, but much like Phoenix himself, it emerged victorious against all the odds. They even moved from 2D to 3D models while making everything look just as good! Dual Destinies reminded me of why I fell in love with the series in the first place.

The Bad: I like Phoenix Wright, but as a protagonist he's mostly past his due date. The original trilogy was a perfectly contained storyline, then Apollo Justice screwed everything up and while they have new good characters like Athena a lot of it is more or less fanservice. It didn't prevent me from loving the game, but it doesn't really feel like it's going anywhere or building up to anything like the original trilogy was.

The Best: Everything that makes an Ace Attorney game great is here. The characters are memorable, the situations are ridiculous, the music is great, the writing is strong, the animations are over-the-top, and there's still little out there that can compare to the feeling you get when the music swells after you point out a contradiction. There are some fanservice elements, but it's damn good fanservice so I don't care. After playing Dual Destinies, I'm really looking forward to Ace Attorney 6.


39. Deus Ex
The Good: Mostly known on B8 as 'the game whose fans complained when it was winning'. There's a reason for the reaction, though - Deus Ex is a hugely influential and well put-together game that still holds up very well. WRPGs in general owe an incredible amount to Deus Ex. The depth of freedom you have in going through levels and solving problems is one that WRPGs are still struggling to catch up to. Deus Ex gives you a ton of personal freedom in everything from gameplay, dialogue choices, and character building. It also has one of the most maturely-written and intelligent storylines in a game, gracefully dealing with socioeconomic and political issues that other games hilariously trip over. Pretty rocking title music, too!

The Bad: Hoo boy is the voice acting in this game bad, and not in a charming way. It gets especially bad when you start visiting foreign countries - the way the people in Hong Kong sound would cause a big dumb controversy of Deus Ex were a new game released today. The graphics/animations are getting very dated as well, which can hurt the atmosphere the game tries to build. There's also some character customization choices that are traps and shouldn't exist - do you ever actually need to breathe underwate?

The Best: I think the opening level is probably the most memorable section of the game. It drops you straight into a difficult mission that has a ton of different ways it can be approached, with the game reacting to all your individual choices you make along the way. It lets you know the high expectations you can have for the game, an expectation it never betrays.


38. Mother 3
The Good: I really like the style of the Mother series. It's this nice combination of quirky and sincere that few other games have. There's both light and darkness in Mother 3's world and all of it is given its fair due. It's hard to put the appeal of a Mother game into words, which is probably why a lot of people don't connect with it. Either you get it or you don't. As far as more 'objective' things go, the storyline and characters evolve well, the timing-based gameplay keeps things fun, and the soundtrack fits the mood perfectly. I'm pretty surprised that Nintendo still hasn't brought this one over after how popular it's proved to be with just a fan translation.

The Bad: Mother 3 is a consistently good game with some huge high moments, but I don't really feel like it's a consistently great game. Some parts are just...there. Everything's fun but I wish there were at least a few more bits that really stuck with you.

The Best: With that said, Mother 3 has some of the most heartfelt scenes in any game I've ever played, with the ending of Chapter 1 and the final battle being the big standouts. When people say that a game has 'soul', it's moments like those that they're referring to, at least to me. The entire game is built around those moments and it pulls them off incredibly.


37. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
The Good: The one that started it all. I picked up Phoenix Wright on a whim the day it came out and immediately became a part of the B8 hype train. And it was a hype train that was well-deserved - all these years later, PW1 is still a fantastic experience. Every game in the series follows the template that PW1 set, because changing any major part of that template would reduce the experience. You've got your murder mystery, a doomed client, a court system insanely biased towards the prosecution (which is unfortunately not far off from how Japan actually is), and Phoenix overcoming all the odds to find the truth. They struck gold with the first one and they've been mining it ever since.

The Bad: Being the first game in the series, it has a few foibles before it manages to really hit its stride. Case 1 is a pretty good introduction but it's a bit too overly telegraphed. The resolution of Case 2 is a disappointing deus ex machina.

The Best: The story and characters and writing are charming and entertaining and full of depth, but the real key to Phoenix Wright's success probably lies in its presentation. The way they weave together dialogue, character animations, sound effects, and music all at the same time is nothing short of masterful. How many times has Phoenix pointed his finger and yelled Objection while the music burst forth? Has it ever once gotten old? It turns what would otherwise be people standing around and talking in a courtroom into a real battle with energy and emotion.


36. Suikoden II
The Good: Suikoden 1 is a game I forgot when making this list. It would've been somewhere on here. It has a good formula - fast battles, grounded storyline, realistic characters, recruiting a bunch of people, and building up your castle and forces. The sequel took it all and improved on it in every way. The story is strong and full of great twists, the relationships between the characters is given more focus, and the pacing never lets up. It's a consistently great experience from start to finish, and in many cases even manages to be an amazing one.

The Bad: Luca Blight sustains a lot of the game's momentum, and while the game hardly falls off a cliff after he's killed, it's just not the same. There's also a few bits of translating and writing weirdness that were common in PS1-era JRPGs. I also really hate the missable Stars of Destiny in Suikoden games, and Suikoden II had a particularly nasty instance that made me replay the game from scratch when it happened.

The Best: Everyone who's played Suikoden II will answer this the same way. The assassination mission against Luca Blight is one of the best boss battle in any game. The amount of sheer effort that your troops put forward to take down this one obstacle makes it incredibly memorable. You ambush him with arrows at night, fight him with three full parties of six people each, ambush him a second time after he runs, and finally the main character duels him to death. Even after all this, he still gets the last laugh and closes with some of the most memorable lines in the game. It was a perfect capstone to one of the best villains in gaming history.


35. Dragon Warrior III
The Good: I was introduced to the Dragon Quest series in the strangest way. I was pretty young and reading a magazine, saw an advertisement for Dragon Warrior Monsters and thought it look really cool because it looked like Pokemon. Later on I didn't quite remember the name which resulted in me getting Dragon Warrior 1&2 for the Game Boy Color and was ending up very confused at why I couldn't raise catch and monsters. Liked the games though, so I later got Dragon Warrior III and instantly loved it.

Dragon Warrior III has the only job/class system in a JRPG that I've liked. Outside of the main character, you create your other three party members from scratch, choosing their names, classes, gender, and even modifying their stats. You end up getting really attached to your party members as a result, especially since reclassing isn't advised in most cases. Outside of that, it has all the Dragon Quest standards of combat, charm, progression, and exploration, all perfectly executed. I think Dragon Quest works best in a 2-D sprite settings, keeps the pacing quick.

The Bad: The classic JRPG random encounter system is becoming more of a pain with every passing year. You should be able to escape 100% of the time you want to. That's...about it. Dragon Warrior III is a very, very solid game.

The Best: There's a lot I love about this game, but I want to give mention to two of the most unique things in the game. The first is this little board mini-game called Pachisi which is way more fun than it should be. It's a total luck thing that sends your character across a board via dice rolls and causes a bunch of weird effects to happen, including permament stat changes. Other random JRPG mini-games pale in comparison.

The second is the very opening of the game. You step out into a cliffside overlooking a waterfall, look up into a sky filled with light, and proceed to be judged. A voice asks you a bunch of hard-hitting questions about yourself, and based on what you choose, sends you into one of 8-10 different scenarios. How you react in those scenarios decides your in-game personality, complete with a description of what you're like, and there's a dozens you can be assigned. What it assigns you can even be pretty accurate! The actual personality doesn't change much besides stats, but it's still an immersive sequence that would be impactful in any game, let alone Dragon Quest.


34. Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Good: Much like Dual Destinies, this game was a breath of fresh air in a series that seemed like it had lost its way. Inquisition reignited my love for the Dragon Age series. It takes into account an impressive number of your choices from the previous games, and even lets you set choose those choices manually with the Warden’s Keep online feature if you don’t have any importable save files on-hand. The new characters were good, and the old characters are handled very well. It expands the world while keeping true to what came before. I also really like the gameplay; there’s a bunch of random collectibles which incentivize you to explore the great environments, and the combat is really fun. I solo killed a dragon as a Rogue using strategy and reflexes. Hard to beat that.

The Bad: This game. Is. TOO. LONG. I set aside an incredible amount of time to play this game and I still haven't finished it. I like the game's feedback loop a lot, but not enough to sustain me for the incredible amount of time it takes to finish Inquisition. They really should've cut some of the filler sections out of this game, it can send the pacing to hell.

The Best: I love the feeling of building up your Inquisition. Most that have a lot of personal advancement focus on the main character having a rags to riches story, but in DAI it's all about the organization you're a part of. You start out as a random gathering of pissed-off people that everyone in the world tries to manipulate or dismiss out of hat. By the end of the game, your Inquisition is the most influential organization in Thedas. Your word can dictate law. Everyone wants to be your best friend, and no one dares try and take advantage of you. You move from some huts on a hill to an awesome castle. This is reinforced by the gameplay, which has you staking out claims on land and building footholds in other areas. Your Inquisition really feels like it matters.


33. Dragon Warrior Monsters
The Good: The ending to that previous story is that I eventually did pick up Dragon Warrior Monsters, and I loved it too. It was a weird alternative to Pokemon back in the day, but one that was no less good. You tamed monsters by giving them meat and hoping they liked you. It's a dumb unfair system and it's great. There's some various little side things that go on through the game that help keep things varied, but the main point of the game is the breeding system. You could create a bunch of different kinds of monsters by breeding them together, creating a new monster that inherited previous skills. Bred monsters also got better stats, so it was always a good idea to breed away! If you really liked one type of monster and didn't want to change them, it was also possible breed the same monster with better stats and inherited moves. I boosted the hell out of my BattleWrex/Healer/ZapBird.

The Bad: You can't manually control your own monsters in the main storyline quests and I don't know why. Granted, you could vaguely tell them what to do and hope for the best, but it was still pretty silly. There's also not too much side content and no real world to explore, which keeps things lean and focused but also makes it repetitive.

The Best: I loved the randomized dungeons in DWM. It made for an unique experience every time you went into a dungeon, even one you had been in before. They mixed it up with lots of different stuff - conveyer belt rides, hazards, chest rooms, secret save points, random mini-games, everything. Every time you went down a floor, you never knew what you were going to get. This is another thing that worked really well by having 2-D sprites and a tileset layout. There are no JRPGs that did dungeons like Dragon Warrior Monsters did and I wish someone along the line had copied them.


32. Planescape: Torment
The Good: "What can change the nature of a man?"
Planescape: Torment has the best writing in any video game. Other games have better music, gameplay, graphics, atmosphere...but Planescape is the king of writing and dialogue choices, and I'm not sure it will ever be dethroned. Pretty much the only major WRPG series right now that's trying to come up with complex dialogue choices for you to pick from is Dragon Age, and it's still constrained by voice acting and production values and such. Planescape funneled all of its budget into some guy writing in Microsoft Word, and it shows. The writing is mature and intelligent, the scenarios are difficult, the questions posed to you cut deep, the characters are complex, and the story is full of mysteries layered on top of each other. You're given so many different ways to solve scenarios and answer simple questions, just for the sake of building your own version of The Nameless One. It's completely up my alley.

The Bad: More than any other game on this list, Planescape is held back by age and poor game mechanics/engine. If you aren't a pre-exisiting fan of isometric WRPG gameplay, you won't like the combat in this game whatsoever. Even basic stuff like moving around is a bit...weird. Thankfully you can play the vast majority of the game without fighting, but still.

The Best: The confrontation with Ravel 2/3 of the way in is absolutely the climax of the game. Everything after that feels like an epilogue. You have no idea what to expect going in and it still completely betrays your expectations. Your entire worldview gets slowly deconstructed and twisted upon itself, and you're forced to re-examine basically everything that's happened in the game. Then the game finally asks you to answer the question it's been hinting at throughout the entire story, and it stops you cold. The game would have been a lot less effective as a whole if they didn't nail this part, but they absolutely did. Second place goes to Deionarra's memory, which is simply heartbreaking.


31. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The Good: Human Revolution isn't as intelligent a game as the original, but its gameplay makes up for things. I love the stealth in this game. There's the option to fight people but I never once went that route because stealth was too much fun to do. There's alternate routes, vents to crawl through, walls to punch through (seriously), distractions to create, terminals to hack...all that good stuff. It combines the open-ended choices of Deus Ex 1 with modern sensibilities, and the result is entertaining as all hell. The character upgrade system is great and keeps things fresh throughout the game, and the world nails its atmosphere of world-bordering-on-cyber-dystopia. It also applies this weird yellow tint to everything and it just makes things look nicer! Don't know how they did it.

The Bad: The storyline isn't very strong. There's a conspiracy and stuff going on, but you don't care too much. Adam Jensen is an entertaining protagonist, but there's not much the game can do to give him emotional scenes or anything like that. And the boss battles are super poorly-designed and were literally farmed out to a 3rd-party studio. There is no shame if you temporarily turn down the difficulty just to make them go by faster.

The Best: This section would just be me repeating how much I like the stealth portions, so let's highlight an underrated aspect of Adam Jensen: his sick dancing skill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y414Q7vVgYU


30. Final Fantasy X
The Good: Final Fantasy X is the best all-around package in the series. The world is interesting and well-developed, and I appreciate the water motif the game goes for. The characters are realistic and complex – Tidus is good, people! The battle system is the best in the series, managing to be both strategic and fun in a way that hasn't really been replicated before or since. The soundtrack is definitely up to the series' standard. The art style is great, and the HD remake looks even better. There’s a lot to appreciate about this FFX, especially since it’s one of the last few great games Square ever made.

The Bad: Final Fantasy X was Square's first foray into the world of voice acting and more realistic character models/animations. While it was a huge achievement for its time, these aspects of FFX haven't aged well. The cutscenes can be a bit strangely-directed, the voice direction is off at random times (and hampered by forcing the actors to lip sync instead of changing the models). In short, it just comes off as somewhat awkwards. They nail the scenes that truly matter, though. Also the Cloisters are completely bad and destroy the pacing. We’ll leave it at that.

The Best: Operation Mi'hen might be my favorite part of the game. It means so much for the storyline and the way it plays out is perfect. The visit to Home, Wedding Crashers, and the Ending are also possible candidates. When it needs to, FFX nails the climatic, emotional scenes, and it’s a big reason the people still connect to the game years later.


29. Resident Evil 4
The Good: Resident Evil 4 is a game that's so good it released in early January and was considered to be a shoe-in to win Game of the Year for the next 11.5 months. It's hard to describe what makes Resident Evil 4 good because you'd just be describing virtually everything about the game. It's dripping with smart design choices and unique and varied scenarios. The game is perfectly paced from start to finish. Combat is fun, story is fun, characters are fun, atmosphere is good...it's deserving of all the recognition it gets. Lots of games have copied the over-the-shoulder view that RE4 popularized, but they failed to copy the constant little things that made the game such a joy to play over and over again.

The Bad: It's hard to find flaws in Resident Vil 4, but the game can be too easy at times. The game would've benefitted from not constantly showering you in ammo. It also started the trend of RE games being far more action than survival horror, which rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way. RE4 kept a decent balance but the subsequent games didn't.

The Best: The Castle section of Resident Evil 4 is one of my favorite sections in any video game. The action scenes are at their peak, with a lot of varied scenarios that go beyond just gunning down enemies. The puzzles are fun to solve. There's a lot of creepy moments and a tense atmosphere that help justify the "survival horror" tag. Every boss battle is awesome and the cheesy one-liners are at their peak. Every section of RE4 is quality, but the Castle takes the cake.


28. Earthbound
The Good: Earthbound is one of the most charming, unique experiences I've ever played. Like I said in regards to Mother 3, the Mother series has a special tone all to itself. I think a lot of people who don't like the game just view it as a bunch of random humor, but it's never felt that way too me. Earthbound feels nostalgic for different times, wistful yet hopeful. It's a weird feeling to describe and no other game has really captured the feel that Earthbound has. It's very much a 'get it or don't' kind of game, I think.

The Bad: While mostly good, EB's humor/writing can fall flat at times. How often it falls flat for you - and how you connect with the tone in general - is pretty much what determines how much you end up liking the game. The gameplay is kind of archaic by now, and there's some small things that were common in old games, like a clunky UI.

The Best: Earthbound has one of the best final bosses in any video game. The atmosphere is incredible and the way it ends is memorable to anyone who plays it. I don't want to say much about it to keep it fresh for new players (even though the internet has spoiled it to hell and back by now), but yeah, good stuff. I also love Magicant and all the little plot beats related to Ness.


27. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
The Good: The definite Ace Attorney game. I won't rehash the previous two writeups on why the formula is so good; I'll just say that T&T ends the series perfectly. I mean, it didn't end the series, but you know what I mean! Phoenix's character arc is completed in an incredibly satisfying way. All the buildup, all the series' themes, they all come together. It's also the most consistent game in the series, where every case is a great one.

The Bad: Young Phoenix is a bit too stupid for my liking. I also didn't like 3-5 quite as much as 1-4 or 2-4, although it's still a very good case.

The Best: Trials and Tribulations has a plotline that runs throughout the entire game, and for some reason it's something that other games mostly avoid. Sure there's bits of buildup and stuff, but the way that the cases in T&T are connected is executed very well and makes everything feel that much more impactful.


26. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
The Good: Never thought one of my favorite game plots would be from a Dragon Quest game, but hey. Some of the best plot twists in gaming are in DQV. The overarching narrative carries the game in a huge way and is essentially the entire point of the experience. I loved it from start to finish. Also, Papas is the best video game dad.

The Bad: It's a pretty simplistic game overall, being lighter on the gameplay elements than any other game in the series. In many ways it's a step back from the gameplay in 3 and even 4. It worked for me, but it doesn't work for everyone. Also I just remembered DQ4, that should've been on my list somewhere.

The Best: This game is a truly personal adventure. I can barely talk about it without ruining what makes it so great, but I'll at least say that it charts your main character's progression through life in a way that few other games do.


25. Deadly Premonition
The Good: Deadly Premonition is a perplexing game. It has some elements, such as the generic shooting segments, that seem to be trying to fit in with modern sensibilities. Then it focus on a bunch of seemingly random gameplay elements, like the ability to spy on people's daily routine, weird sidequests with weird characters, and beard growing and laundry mechanics. And then it adds in an insane, obtuse, atmospheric mystery, one of the best main character in any video game. It shakes it all up, stirs vigorously, and the result is this thing that was absolutely trashed by professional reviewers but built up enough of a loving fanbase to get not one, but two ports. Catchy music, too!

The Bad: It's objectively a technical disaster. The FPS drops by a (consistent) 10 when you turn on your flashlight and the driving controls can only be described is hilarious. In once fell through the floor. There's only two points in the game where I actually enjoyed being in combat. You have to look past a good bit to love DP, although honestly by a few hours in the technical issues stopped bugging me entirely.

The Best: Deadly Premonition's atmosphere is unreal. Its heavily-inspired by Twin Peaks but puts its own spin on things and the result is truly something else. It really suckers you in, too. Everyone has the same reaction - at the beginning of the game you're offput by the weirdness and wondering what it's all about. Then at some point, usually the halfway mark, you realize you're extremely interested in what's about to happen next in the story and have started caring a lot for all the characters. Deadly Premonition is an experience everyone should go through once - and then again, which fresh faces around so you can see their reactions play out the same way.


24. Fallout: New Vegas
The Good: New Vegas is more or less a straight upgrade from Fallout 3. The world is slightly less memorable to explore (and that's debatable), but the gameplay is improved, the tone is improved, the story and characters are MASSIVELY improved, and the world is worth caring about this time. Everything that makes a Fallout game fun is still there. Combining Obsidian writing with Bethesda gameplay was a very, very good decision. Well, for the players, not so much for Bethesda. Fallout 4 is actually catching a lot of flak because its narrative was such a huge step down from New Vegas.

The Bad: Bethesda games are buggy. Obsidian games are buggy. An Obsidian game developed using a Bethesda engine resulted in one of the glitchiest, crash-ridden, slowdown-filled launches in recent memory that wasn't from an Ubisoft game. Later patches ironed things out, but the kinks are definitely still there.

The Best: I love the player autonomy you're given in New Vegas. There's several different factions, each with their own realistic motivations and quirks. You're given the option to side with any of them, which makes the others hate you. It's a tough, well-written choice.

...Or. You can flip the world the middle finger, double-cross everyone, and take over Vegas for yourself. The way you play with and betray everyone in New Vegas in the "Yes Man" route is unreal. I've never seen anything else like it in a game. It's what I've wanted to do in basically every game that forces me to choose (and be subservient to) a faction. New Vegas is the only open-world WRPG I've played where I not only beat the main story, but was completely satisfied with it.


23. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
The Good: Playing a lot of Smash 4 recently has made me realize just how little I care for fighting games that feel defensive and slow. I'm all about aggression and speed and MVC3 satisfies that need big time. Characters move like lightning and have tons of options in every given scenario. Everything keeps you on your toes because one hit can lead to a huge combo that murders you. You can play defensively in MVC3, but it's difficult and is way more impressive when you manage to pull it off. The aesthetics capture the comic book feel perfectly and the music gets your blood pumping. Everything just looks, sounds, and feels fantastic in MVC3.

The Bad: The character balance is pretty poor. I'm not sure who looked at Vergil and then looked at Hsien-Ko and went "yeah, this seems about right". Doctor Doom is an assist on almost every team. Thankfully a more unique team won Evo, but it took a hell of a lot of effort to beat the top tiers. It's a shame that Capcom lost the Marvel license and can't update the game anymore.

The Best: I had so much fun learning a bunch of different characters in MVC3, especially since I played it alongside my friends for a long period of time and we learned together. And what an all-star cast to choose from! Dante, Phoenix Wright, Amaterasu, Spider-Man...just had so many good times learn their zany combos and weird tricks. I would go back to play MVC3 now but the only people left playing the game are the really hardcore people that would stomp me into the ground. My execution isn't good enough to do the stuff they do, although I had a lot of fun trying.


22. Persona 3
The Good: Persona 4 might have cemented Atlus as a company to watch, but it was Persona 3 that put their name on the map. It's funny because the game probably doesn't do nearly as well without the press it got from the whole 'teenagers pointing guns at their head' thing. Persona 3 is a fun, addicting experience. The music perfectly captures the high school setting, the aesthetics ooze style, the battle system is simple but slick and enjoyable, and the atmosphere effortlessly weaves between lighthearted and dark. The big draw to the series are the Social Links, where you converse with other characters, learn about their lives, help them solve their issues. There's a lot of good characters, and it makes for a great system that lets you battle, then S. Link when you get bored of that, then battle when you get bored of that, repeat.

The Bad: http://i30.tinypic.com/nqqlj8.jpg
The pacing also slows down in the last 1/3, although it does let you catch up on Social Links so it's not a huge deal. Some of the 'anime' moments get worse with time, too.

The Best: Persona 3 has a great moody atmosphere that's heightened by its aesthetics. Blue hues are used everywhere on the UI, menu screens, and game world. Death is a big recurring theme. The Velvet Room (and its music) are entrancing. It makes the adventure feel like so much more than it otherwise would.


21. The Last of Us
The Good: Even in a gaming climate where you can't throw a rock without hitting a zombie game, TLOU managed to feel like an incredibly fresh, engrossing, and well-executed experience. Naughty Dog is getting really good at making their games feel slick and polished as hell, and those skills were put to good use here. Everything immerses you, from the way Joel slowly sneaks around, to the gorgeous apocalyptic environments you go through, to the fantastic story. The stealth gameplay is right up my alley, and unlike other games of the same type, getting caught is actually fun and results in a crazy firefight that plays out differently every time.

The Bad: The first half of the game is definitely weaker than the second half. The start isn't weak, per se, but the truly memorable moments come later. It's also a very on-rails experience, as Naughty Dog games are these days.

The Best: The ending of The Last of Us cuts deep. The rest of the game stood tall even without the ending, but its those final moments that cement the entire experience as an all-time one. Everything leading up to the ending is pretty damn impressive, too - at around the 2/3 point TLOU hits a stride where you never want to put down the controller.


20. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
The Good: Pokemon GSC came out at the perfect time. It was before Pokemon had started to get somewhat stale, back when RBY was the bee's knees and everyone wanted more. Pokemon GSC lived up to those wishes by being a perfect sequel in every way. RBY's glitches are fun, don't get me wrong, but the way GSC ironed everything out and felt like a polished product was impressive. Everything was re-balanced and new types were added that made things more fair. New Pokemon were introduced, and this was back when 100 new Pokemon was a damn big deal. It's hard to care about the jump from 600 to 700 or whatever we're on now, but 150 to 250 meant something. The starter Pokemon were really cool, the world design was top tier, the graphics were improved...really everything just felt a whole lot better. Subsequent Pokemon games may be technically better (and that's discounting HeartGold/SoulSilver, which are pretty flawless remakes), but they'll never have the same impact that GSC did.

The Bad: They didn't introduce the running shoes to Gen 3. And while the day/night time system was cool when I had infinite time to plan my schedule around catching Pokemon, it hasn't aged well. GSC as an experience has also been somewhat devalued by the continuation of sequels that all follow the same basic formula. I know Pokemon has no reason to break the mold when it's continuously printing money, but personally I tapped out after Gen 5 and I struggled to finish that one.

The Best: The return trip to the RBY areas was absolutely mindblowing back in the day. There's not a hint of buildup to it - the main game is pretty much as long as Pokemon RBY and doesn't feel like a gimped adventure whatsoever. You've conquered all the gyms, kicked Team Rocket to the curb, become the Pokemon champion. The credits roll, you decide to boot up the game just to see if there's a bit of extra content to do and...wait, what's a "Kanto?" Even as a kid, I understood that fitting the entire previous game inside the new one was an incredible technical achievement. Getting to explore the world you sunk so much time into before, and see how much it had changed over the years, was a pure treat. The Kanto Gym Leaders are jokes, but they should be. You're the goddamn Pokemon champion. It's a victory tour in every way.

And then you meet Red. You see the sprite, the "...", the RBY battle transition. You realize who exactly you're facing just around the time he starts sending out Pokemon that are literally 25 levels higher than the next-strongest trainer in the entire world. Your jaw might have enough time to hit the floor before he's done punting your ass off the mountain. At the time, meeting, fighting, and defeating Red was the most dramatic moment of my young life. No Pokemon game has ever come close to finishing as strongly as GSC did.


19. Metal Gear Rising
The Good: Metal Gear Rising is a game that remembers that games are supposed to be fun. The boss fight in the opening prologue has you tossing a Metal Gear Ray into mid-air, which you proceed to bisect in two while an exuberant Russian man cheers you on. Once you reconcile the Metal Gear name with the tone the game is going for, it becomes an an absolute blast from start to finish. It combines skillful, reflex-based gameplay with huge amounts of style and bombast. You can die really easily if you can smacked around a lot - and you will get smacked around a lot, as the Parry mechanic purposefully puts you in harm's way if you mess up - but killing an enemy in the perfect way restore your health to full. There's a ton of QTE events but none of them intrude on the gameplay in the slightest, serving only to cause something cool as hell to happen after you've proven you earned it. Blade Mode is ridiculous and unnecessary but oh so satisfying. Chopping things into a million uique pieces and then watching them fall apart never gets old. Everything from the gameplay to the animations to the wonderful music is full of adrenaline - and despite all that, and it's focus on gameplay over story, Rising still manages to give Raiden a much better character arc than he had in MGS4. Considering that MGR is a game that was nearly cancelled and then salvaged by Platinum (who weren't given much time to work on it), the end result we got defies all expectations.

The Bad: Metal Gear Rising is not a game without fault. The controls and game mechanics are explained to you pretty poorly - this is one thing I can't even fault the professional reviewers for complaining about because a *lot* of people were asking others how to parry when the game first came out. The Mastiffs are pretty goddamn annoying to fight. There's a few sections in the game that feel clunky, and the stealth sections are pointless and very obviously thrown in to appeal to disgruntled Metal Gear Solid fans.

The Best: The final boss is sooooo much fun. Metal Gear Rising would have been amazing regardless, but its those final confrontations that elevate the game to the next level. I'm going to sparse in this section because its an experience that everyone should go into as unspoiled as possible, but I will say that I've personally had the pleasure of being there in-person for at least 4 fresh reactions to the final boss. Puzzled bewilderment, followed by total shock, followed by unbridled joy. Every single time. The cutscenes are amazingly entertaining and endlessly quotable, the atmosphere is pure hype, and the actual fights are tough but fair experiences where you earn your god damn victory. All while It Has to Be This Way blasts in the background. Even if Konami hadn't burnt its bridges with virtually everyone, I would still be more excited for a potential Metal Gear Rising 2 than Metal Gear Solid 6.


18. Silent Hill 2
The Good: Silent Hill 1, 3, and 4 are all good games, but Silent Hill 2 is the kind of game that makes the others in its series look worse by comparison. No game defines the potential of the survival horror genre more than Silent Hill 2. It's one of the most atmospheric, unsettling experiences you will ever have. It might actually be less outright scary than Silent Hill 1 or 3, but 2 has a sense of pacing and mood to it that's almost unrivaled in gaming. Space given to the player is expertly used, but it's not afraid to pull out the stops when necessary. The setting of Silent Hill is used to explore the psyches of its well-realized characters, peeling back the layers of their minds with unsettling details and symbolism and revelations that cut you to your core. Speaking of Silent Hill itself, it's one hell of a creepy town and it's a shame that Konami imploding has left us without it. Pyramid Head is one of the all-time horror antagonists. The atmosphere is greatly assisted by the art style, use of fog, and graphics that still look good today. The music is entrancing. I could seriously go on forever about the positive qualities of Silent Hill 2. There's some criticism levied at the voice acting, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It sounds awkward and unprofessional, and some line readings are legitimately iffy, but overall it's absolutely perfect for the game. The characters feel like real people and are just the right amount of off. They redid the voice acting for the HD collection using top tier talent and it made for a worse experience.

The Bad: There's a lot of issues in Silent Hill 2. If you don't know where to go next and are stuck running around in circles for a while, or happen to miss a randomly-placed item that's necessary to solve a puzzle, tension and fear can quickly turn to frustration. The enemies are too easy to kill. The controls are wonky and combat is barely improved from Silent Hill 1. These are issues that could sink a lesser game, but Silent Hill 2 has so many strong points that you overlook the gameplay failings and even start to stockholm syndrome them. For example, a lot of people say the bad controls are good because they make you feel more helpless and weak, and to an extent it's even true. Yes, I'm part of the problem.

The Best: Silent Hill 2 is a game that goes beyond having a good atmosphere. The themes in this game resonate with a lot of people on an emotional level that puts other games to shame. Silent Hill 2 doesn't hold back; it tackles issues like depression, loss, regret, self-loathing, abuse, and it handles them all in the most honest way a game ever has. From start to finish, the game is a progressive downward spiral through the minds of its characters. The horror aspect, while strong, is actually secondary to the psychological forces that drive the game - something that a lot more games are doing these days, but at the time was fairly revolutionary. Silent Hill 2 is also a game that has an incredible amount of detail put into it - every time you re-examine the game, you learn something new. There's some many small elements of Silent Hill 2 that are masterfully done. It's a game I would call a certified classic. In ten years, people will still be talking about Silent Hill 2.


17. Metal Gear Solid
The Good: Right from the get-go, Metal Gear Solid is atmospheric as hell. It opens with these moody, dimly-lit briefing missions discussing a terrorist plot on a secluded island. You covertly travel there, look at the pretty snow, and then fail the first two rooms 20 times before you get a handle on this whole 'stealth' thing. You slowly creep through the facility as things get weirder and more insane. Mysteries and betrayals pile upon each other, laced with just a hint of pure insanity. People talk about the geopolitical ramifications of nukes right after a cyborg ninja bisects a dozen guys. It's this beautiful experience that only MGS games provide. In more standard terms, the story and characters are strong and memorable, with Solid Snake being one of the best protagonists of all time. I've always loved stealth so I connected to MGS1's gameplay immediately. The music sets the tone very well. And most of all, MGS1 feels like a complete, consistent package. Every MGS game since then has at least 1 or 2 major flaws, but MGS1 really doesn't. It's a very...Solid game.

The Bad: While the gameplay works well for how the game's level design is structured, it's...still pretty simplistic and definitely behind the times. Going from any other MGS game to MGS1 can be very difficult. The graphics look incredibly dated by now, which is an issue for a game that is largely about presentation. The game leans a bit too heavily on backtracking at some points, especially the bit with Sniper Wolf and Meryl. Also, the torture scene probably cost a lot of people their controllers in one way or another.

The Best: Metal Gear Solid is such a memorable game in so many ways. Pretty much every line from the game has been quoted at some point. I have friends that have never played it that know almost everything about the game just through cultural osmosis. You've got Mantis and the controller ports, A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA, Foxdie, 'Master Miller', the REX card fiasco, Sniper Wolf, women having more hiding places than men, the cardboard box, Gray Fox's insanity, Revolver Ocelot's insanity, actually pretty much everyone's insanity. It was the first game in the series that introduced us to Solid Snake, to David Hayter as Solid Snake, and to Hideo Kojima's unique brand of craziness. Other games in the series are technically bigger and better, but none of them will ever resonate with people in general quite as much as MGS1 did. In a nutshell, it's a really really likable game!


16. Persona 4
The Good: Persona 4 is a game people connected with so strongly that Atlus has been milking it for eight goddamn years. Despite using very much of the same template as P3, Persona 4 feels like a very different experience. The busy city setting is replaced with a lazy countryside town that's in decline. The moody blue aesthetic is traded out for an upbeat yellow one. A giant, labyrinthian tower is traded out for...a TV? Okay so some of the plot choices in Persona 4 are strange. They all work somehow though, due in large part to the reactions of the cast, who manage to hit the right balance between shock and willingness to roll with the weirdness. I feel like Persona 3 has a better atmosphere overall but Persona 4 pulls its happier one off very well. There's still plenty of serious moments to balance it out! The battle system is pretty much the same, except you can manually control all your characters, which makes it an entirely different experience. I laughed every time you got a new party member and their controls were initially set to AI. Sure, Atlus. Sure. That's what we still want. Persona 4 also has a murder mystery motif which I'm a sucker for.

The Bad: I feel like the solution to the final mystery is a tad disappointing, both in the culprit and their motivations. They also could have done more with the main character and his potential inner demons, although the anime actually gives him a really nice personal scene to fix that. The Velvetmobile isn't nearly as atmospheric as the Velvet Room in P3, and much like P3 some of the scenes are a bit eeeh (seriously what is up with Japan and hot springs).

The Best: The characters, the party members and Social Links both, are really good in Persona 4. I think that's the main reason the game got so popular. Otherwise it would've essentially been a sidegrade to Persona 3. The character in Persona 4 are realistic, have down-to-earth struggles, and are great at garnering sympathy from the players. Their troubles range from things as common as feeling inferior to others, to things as major as dealing with the death of a family member. Not everything is perfect written - there's still some unrealistic characters and weird moments - but overall it all comes across as very sincere. The best character moments are with the party members and their shadows, where they're forced to accept the ugly part of themselves that they'd rather keep locked away. Oh, there's a lot of non-serious character interactions that are genuinely hilarious. When I played through the game the second time, my friends watched a lot of the cutscenes together and we shared a lot of laughs. Good times.


15. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
The Good: Before I start talking about all the intangibles that elevate RBY in people's minds, I'm going to come out and say that RBY is a very good game. This really shouldn't be something I have to defend, but some fans that stuck with the series all this time are kind of bitter than RBY is still the most popular so let me break it down. As far as just being a game goes, it's still potentially the best one in the series. It lacks the advancements Pokemon has since taken, but in most cases RBY's simplicity works in its favor. The story is a paper-thin excuse to go out and catch em' all, your rival is an uncomplicated douchebag, and Team Rocket are mustache-twirling villains. All of this is good - Pokemon does not do complex stories or characters well, sorry to say! There's just enough to motivate you, but little enough that it keeps the pacing of the game quick and the focus on you and your Pokemon. The world design is one of the best in the series; despite being linear in a some places, it never feels like you're being railroaded. There's a great sense of exploration to everything and plenty of little secrets to uncover. The graphics are dumb but charming and the music is great. The Pokemon and character designs are by far the best in the series. Even now, thanks to the eShop re-release, I see a lot of people right now picking up RBY for the first time and enjoying it a lot. It's was a great game 20 years ago, and it's a great game now.

The Bad: With that said, RBY still lacks a lot of the quality-of-life features that Pokemon has these days. A lot of the new additions are more or less superfluous, but the lack of stuff like the running shoes, better inventory, Dark/Steel types, and the Physical/Special split are things that are definitely missed when going back to RBY. It's also a very glitch-laden game, and while some of the glitches are fun, there's a fine line between good glitches like Missingno and bad glitches like Focus Energy reducing your crit chance.

The Best: It's impossible to appreciate just how big Pokemon was unless you were at the right age during its zetgeist period. Literally everyone I knew was involved in Pokemon. Games, cards, the show...it was inescapable. Friendships were made through Pokemon, and broken up over Pokemon. There was a legitimate air of mystery and wonderment over the whole thing - these days, each Pokemon game is analyzed obssessively months before release, but back then no one knew what the fuck they were doing. What was a Mew? How did you get it? You had to do what with the truck? Something about beating the Elite Four 100 times without turning off your Game Boy? And there's a Pikablu as well? Wait you don't already know about Missingno? It was the wild west out there. When it comes down to it, that's why Pokemon RBY evokes such nostalgia from people and why no game in the series will ever live up to its legacy, at least not without greatly changing the formula that every game since has copied wholesale from the originals. RBY came out at the absolute perfect time. Back then, something like trading Pokemon over a link cable was a huge idea that brought people together. These days, people get annoyed if their 3DS WiFi goes down for 5 seconds. Back then, the game had a huge world to explore that was full of secrets that kept people's interests piqeued for months and years. These days, someone would've made a GameFAQs guide by Day 2, and someone else would've reverse-engineered the game code by Day 3. Totally different climate. Even if you gave it all the bells-and-whistles of the new Pokemon games, RBY in 2016 wouldn't release to 1/5 of the fanfare it did 20 years ago, but that's okay. RBY was more than a game - it was an event, and a damn fun one at that.


14. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
13. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

The Good: No sense in splitting up these writeups. I'd just end up repeating myself a lot.

I really like the Fire Emblem series. The GBA ones didn't quite connect with me enough to make it onto the list, but I still enjoyed both of them thoroughly. Then Path of Radiance came out and was everything I'd ever wanted from the series. The things that make Fire Emblem fun to some are the same things that drove people away until Awakening offered alternatives. FE is a strategy game, but it's more half-strategy and half-gambling. It's very much like XCOM in that while you can plan for things, and should plan for things, everything that goes on is decided by some element of random chance. Your 80% chance to hit will miss and their 30% to hit, will. People get critted. Enemies go after targets you wouldn't expect. Even the level ups are heavily influenced by random chance! Enjoy your +0 to every stat, sucker. Combine all that with permadeath and you get mechanics that are infuriating to a lot of people, but that I love. The element of luck forces you to plan not just for what you expect to happen, but everything that can possibly happen. It really keeps you on your toes. Sure, sometimes you get dicked over, but that's just the nature of the beast. You have to be able to roll with the punches or Fire Emblem will drive you crazy. What makes it so fun to me is that it's all balanced well-enough so that if you play smart, the chances of something awful happening decreases significantly (until the mega hard modes, which no one with sanity should play). You have to have constant vigilance at all points of the mission, and the second you stop paying attention is the second you accidentally move your healer one space too close to a wyvern knight.

Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn take this same template and do very different things with it. Path of Radiance is the archetypal Fire Emblem game; you have a single core crew that you build and grow throughout the story Radiant Dawn switches your perspective around constantly and throws a million different characters, which is way more disconcerting but also makes for more unique scenarios and a plot you get to watch from all different sides. A lot of the new characters are dumb but overall, I really like the way they did it. Both of these games build upon each other - you can import your PoR characters to RD! - and should be played one after the other if possible.

The Bad: No one can play these damn games. They cost at least $100 on ebay each. As far as actual game flaws go, Radiant Dawn getting rid of supports was unfortunate, although not nearly as big a deal as people made it out to be. You already know most of the characters from the previous game and the supports are still good for characters that make sense, like Ike and Soren.

The Best: In my mind, these two are the best Fire Emblem games possible. I love everything about them. The gameplay is at it's best, the art style and character designs (especially in Radiant Dawn) are perfect, the music is great, the characters are great, the story and writing are great, really just everything is great. Ike is the by far the best protagonist in the series - he gets, you know, a character arc and stuff! You'd be surprised how rare that is in these games. Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are the complete Fire Emblem packages and do most everything right. Awakening was fun, but I'm not a huge fan of the direction it took the series is. Everything is at least a slight step down from PoR/RD, and the fanbase it's attracted is one I sincerely don't like conversing with. I can't blame Nintendo for going the route it did - pretty sure Ike's games did not make a profit - but it's still disappointing to see a series peak so high and then fall back down to normalcy. Still, I'll always have PoR/RD to play, and that's pretty much all I need.


12. Dragon Age: Origins
The Good: It's going to be hard to write about why I like Dragon Age, because so much of it is in the little moments. While Dragon Age is a quality game, it isn't the best in anything. The graphics are good but not great, even for their time. The music is serviceable. The gameplay is fun but could use work. The characters are very good and huge personal favorites of mine, but not the all-time best. What Dragon Age does better than virtually any other game I've played, with the exception of possibly Planescape Torment, is the minute-to-minute interaction with the world. You're given a true template of a character - you can even pick their backstory, which you get to play out, hence the 'Origin' tagline - and you can mold them any way you see fit. Every dialogue conversation is immersive, with people reacting differently to you based on race, gender, origin, and past decisions. There's no awkward 'good/bad' option like there is in most games. In Dragon Age, there's only your decisions, and the way people react to them. Including your party members, many of whom can leave entirely if you act like someone who is completely opposed to their beliefs. There's a bunch of different ending outcomes for your characters based on the choices you make. And it has a bunch of dialogue choices for each situation, which I always appreciate! It's such a well-realized world, with strong writing, a cool setting, and unique situations.

The Bad: DA:O's engine is based on the old-school isometric WRPGs like Baldur's Gate and Planescape, and while it modernizes the hell out of those experiences, some of the jank is still there. Glitches are very common, but the biggest issue is that everything in the game, from moving around to combat to the menus, feels slightly slower than it should be. It's not terrible but it feels...off, sometimes.

The Best: I still want to replay Dragon Age more. I want to try out new origins, choose new dialogue options, ally with different people, select different classes, focus on different party members, create new stories. I love the world and its characters. It wasn't a game that was an all-time favorite when I first played it, but I've come back to it over and over again and I never get tired of it. You learn something new every time - for example, in my first playthrough, my favorite character was Alistair. He was a great friend and a stalwart ally with some good lines. On my second playthrough I played a completely different kind of character and suddenly discovered a ton of flaws in Alistair's personality that I never would have guessed my first time around. And both versions of Alistair made complete sense for their respective situations! That's what I love most about Dragon Age. It tackles a lot of purely fantastical issues, like werewolf curses and demons possessing kids, and never once does it stop feeling like a real world with realistic actors in it. I'm a sucker for fantasy and its probably my favorite fantasy world in any video game I've ever played.


11. Super Smash Bros: Melee
The Good: I happily lost hours and hours of my life to Melee. Back when Nintendo was 'kiddy' and everyone was obssessed with image and console wars, Melee was the one cool game on the Gamecube that absolutely everyone respected. It improved on SSB massively, to the point where any changes to the core mechanics afterwards were huge downgrades. I know a lot of people that only casually play the Smash series can barely notice the different, but I promise you that it's night and day. Trying to play Brawl with any semblance of competitiveness was a nightmare coming off of Melee. Smash 4 tried to bridge the gap but all it really made was a decent fighting game. I'm never going to EVO or anything, but I enjoy the feeling of getting better at gameplay I find enjoyable, and Melee hit all the right notes for me. Even ignoring all that, it's Melee is still the best Smash game as a casual player. It has the only good single-player mode in the series. The stages are really good and not constantly trying to fuck you over like the ones in later games. The remixed music is fantastic. Other Smash games may be bigger games, but they weren't better. Everyone around me played Melee obsessively for years. It just connected with people on a huge level, probably on a bigger level than any other fighting game in history outside of Street Fighter II.

The Bad: Age hurts. Melee has a limited roster with a bunch of clones, glitches everywhere, and isn't in HD. At EVO they have to bust out freaking CRTs to avoid input lag. Before Smash 4 reprinted the Gamecube controllers, a lot of those controllers were actually getting worn out and progressively harder to find. Unlike other fighting games, Melee has been shown no love by its parent company and it never will. It's a miracle that it survived for long enough to become an EVO main event. The roster balance is pretty bad, too. Comparing Sheik to Bowser is...yeah.

The Best: For years, Melee was my favorite game of all time. It might still be if I still had people to play it with. It's very difficult to justify bringing out my Wii and hooking it up just to beat up on some CPUs. You give me online Melee in HD and I'm on-board Day 1 and I never touch another Smash game again. The reason they will never do that is because it would remind people of how superior a game Melee is at its core when compared to the others in the Smash series. This was before shields, rolls, and air dashes were broken as hell and slowed the games down to a crawl. Being defensive in Melee usually amounts to having a better offense. The feeling of movement and momentum in this game is fast and fluid and I love it so much. Time can make you forget a bit, especially when other Smash games are easier to boot up, but once you go back to it for a bit you're reminded that there's really no comparison. Captain Falcon in Melee is one of the most fun characters to play as in any game. Maybe after Nintendo is done milking Smash 4 DLC, they'll port Melee to the NX or something. A man can only dream.


10. Demon’s Souls
The Good: I was enamored with Demon’s Souls from the moment I heard about it. I love the dark fantasy genre, and Demon’s Souls was the first game I’d ever seen that gave me the same vibes that stuff like Berserk did. I watched atmospheric trailers and hype videos that praised the game to the moon. Aside from MGS4, it was *the* deciding factor towards me buying a PS3. And to this day I’m so, so glad I took that plunge.

Demon’s Souls is a game that’s story light, but lore rich. You’re given little nuggets of information that come together like pieces in a puzzle, a process that makes learning about the world a lot more satisfying than it would’ve have otherwise. The levels are a blast to explore and ooze personality. The Tower of Latria is one of the best areas in any game. There’s also this great online system that allows people to leave messages for other players in other game worlds, which gives you a huge sense of camaraderie. God I just love (almost) every design choice in this series. It was pretty much made for me.!

The Bad: It took a while, but Demon’s Souls is finally starting to show its age. The sequels in the Souls series are starting to outdo the niche it had. It’s also a game that isn’t incredibly replayable – you can get different class builds and such, but a lot of the game is built around that initial elements of surprise that is lost unless you’ve forgotten everything, far moreso than its sequels are. And last, but not least, the Valley of Defilement is by far the worst area in the series. I still had fun with it because I’m hopeless, but man.

The Best: The first playthrough of Demon’s Souls is incredible. Learning how the world works and how to progress through the game is an experience I wish I could do all over again. The difficult of the Souls series is overrated; there are Hard modes on other mainstream games that are more difficult, some Normal modes even. What the Demon’s Souls – and the others games in the series – do better than anything else is fairness. It’s a challenging experience, but never an insurmountable. Virtually anyone can beat a Souls game if they take the time to get better and learn. There are things that catch you off guard, but even the cruelest traps in these games have hints that will warn a discerning eye beforehand. Combat is completely reliant on timing, positioning, reflexes, and resource management. It’s accessible but deep, and makes both normal enemies and bosses a joy to fight. And because of how fun it is to learn everything about the game, dying never feels like a chore. You take something with you from every death in Demon’s Souls. You lose your Souls (currency), but you have the opportunity to retrieve them all if you can make it back to the same spot you were at before. Everything hits this perfect balance of challenge and good game design, and the result is a truly unique and unforgettable experience. Well, until the sequels anyway!


9. Metal Gear Solid 2
The Good: MGS2 hooks you the moment you watch the opening scene. It’s still one of the best intro scenes in any video game. That main theme music is soooo good. After that, what immediately hit me when playing MGS2 for the first time was how much of a vast improvement it is over MGS1 in many ways. The stealth gameplay is significantly expanded on just by the addition of a usable first-person view, and that’s hardly the only change they made! The graphics jumped from iffy polygons to stuff that still looks good today. The guards are still kinda dumb but their AI is way smarter and more fun to plan around. Of course, this is all just in comparison to MGS1, but even when compared to later games in the series I think MGS2 comes out on top. It lacks the bells and whistles of some other games – you can’t throw a snake on top of someone – but the core stealth gameplay is at its best here. The level design is top notch and the ways you sneak through the level are fun as hell. The tranquilizer is a bit broken but it still takes a while to get the hang of it.  The bosses are on par with the rest of the series, which means they’re great. I played MGS2 5-6 times on every difficulty level and I wouldn’t mind another go at it.

The Bad: I wasn’t around for the whole Snake/Raiden switcheroo, but I can see why it would’ve upset a lot of people if they had no idea about it going in. While most of the game’s writing is strong, some of it is a bit silly and overdramatic, even by Metal Gear standards, and some lines are just bad (“Did you say nerd?”). Voice acting isn’t perfect at times either.

The Best: MGS2’s plot is insane. There are very few experiences like it in gaming. It deceives you, plays with you, sets you up and then subverts you. It targets both the main character and the player. The last few parts of MGS2 are without a doubt some of the most memorable segments in any video game, period. The rabbit hole goes deep in MGS2. And strangely enough, everything the plot touches on is far more applicable today than it was back when MGS2 released. It was an incredibly prescient narrative considering the issues our society is dealing with now, and will continue to deal with in the future. MGS2 hit me at a young age and it honestly changed the way I look at the world, and I still think of it sometimes when reading up on issues related to information control and the like. For all those reasons, it is a game that will probably never leave my memories.

Even removing all that from the equation, though, MGS2 is the last Solid game I ever really loved. MGS3’s plot felt like it wasn’t even trying, and MGS4 was super flawed and a purely hype-based experience. Once the hype died, so did people’s feelings on the game, mine included. I played Peace Walker and it was average, and MGS5 is yet another Big Boss game that I am in no rush to play. I love Solid Snake, I love Raiden, I love Otacon – it’s their world that I connected to and the series hasn’t been about them for some time. Playing through MGS4, it’s a shame because you get the impression that Kojima ended their saga as quickly as he could so he could run off and write more Big Boss fanfiction. Oh well, at least Konami will make Rising 2!.......right?


9. Metal Gear Solid 2

The Good: MGS2 hooks you the moment you watch the opening scene. It’s still one of the best intro scenes in any video game. That main theme music is soooo good. After that, what immediately hit me when playing MGS2 for the first time was how much of a vast improvement it is over MGS1 in many ways. The stealth gameplay is significantly expanded on just by the addition of a usable first-person view, and that’s hardly the only change they made! The graphics jumped from iffy polygons to stuff that still looks good today. The guards are still kinda dumb but their AI is overall way smarter and more fun to plan around. Of course, this is all just in comparison to MGS1, but even when compared to later games in the series I think MGS2 comes out on top. It lacks the bells and whistles of some other games – you can’t capture a live snake and throw it on top of someone – but the core stealth gameplay is at its best here. The level design is top notch and the ways you sneak through the levels are fun as hell. Big Shell lacks the atmosphere of Shadow Moses but it works perfectly for what the gameplay and plot in MGS2 aim for. The tranquilizer is a bit broken but it still takes a while to get the hang of, and it isn't a solution to all your problems. The bosses are on par with the rest of the series, which means they’re great. I played MGS2 5-6 times on every difficulty level and I wouldn’t mind another go at it.


The Bad: I wasn’t around for the whole Snake/Raiden switcheroo, but I can see why it would’ve upset a lot of people if they had no idea about it going in. While most of the game’s writing is strong, some of it is a bit silly and overdramatic, even by Metal Gear standards, and some lines are just bad (“Did you say nerd?”). Voice acting isn’t perfect at times either.


The Best: MGS2’s plot is insane. There are very few experiences like it in gaming. It deceives you, plays with you, sets you up and then subverts you, targets both the main character and the player, and leaves you thinking about it long after the credits have rolled. The last few parts of MGS2 are without a doubt some of the most memorable segments in any video game, period. The rabbit hole goes deep in MGS2. And strangely enough, everything the plot touches on is far more applicable today than it was back when MGS2 released. It was an incredibly prescient narrative considering the issues our society is dealing with now, and will continue to deal with in the future. MGS2 hit me at a young age and it honestly changed the way I look at the world, and I still think of it sometimes when reading up on issues related to information control and the like. For all those reasons, it is a game that will probably never leave my memories.

Even removing all that from the equation, though, MGS2 is the last Solid game I ever really loved. MGS3’s plot felt like it wasn’t even trying, and MGS4 was super flawed and a purely hype-based experience. Once the hype died, so did people’s feelings on the game, mine included. I played Peace Walker and it was average, and MGS5 is yet another Big Boss game, one that I am in no rush to play. I love Solid Snake, I love Raiden, I love Otacon – it’s their world that I connected to and the series hasn’t been about them for some time. Playing through MGS4, it’s a shame because you get the impression that Kojima ended their saga as quickly as he could so he could run off and write more Big Boss fanfiction. Oh well, at least Konami will make Rising 2!.......right?


8. Nier

The Good: The first thing you hear in Nier is a foul-mouthed woman yelling at a book to "start fucking helping us". The the game proper starts, beginning with a somber prologue of a father and his sickly daughter in a barren, snow-filled city. After that bit ends, you're immediately treated to a message that says "1700 years into the future..."

It sets the stage well for Nier, a game which is never content to just be one thing. Nier is a game that is very well-aware of its low budget status, and decides to compensate for that through sheer variety. To be fair to the main combat, it's pretty fun. Simplistic, but your character koves fluidly, attacks have weight behind them, the spell animations are awesome, and there's some bullet hell elements to spice things up. Still, overall it's simplistic and not nearly as refined as other action games...but Nier also has mini-games, boar surfing, 2-D sidescrolling segments, a faux Zelda dungeon, boar surfing, a faux Resident evil mansion, a faux Visual Novel segment, boar surfing...the gameplay never gets bogged down by one element because it's always putting little spins on things.

That variety extends to the game's storyline and tone, as well. Nier is adept at making you laugh and making you cry, often within minutes of each other. The atmosphere, story, and characters are some of the best in gaming. All of the voice actors turned in the finest work they've ever done - and these are dudes with lots of roles. The writing is strong from beginning to end. It plays with its own storyline so well, making an incredible use out of New Game+ of all things. Seriously people, if you beaten Nier, reload the game immediately. You are not done. I've seen this happen to numerous people even though the game pretty much spells this out to you, and it kills me, because they miss out on amazing content.


The Bad: It's a very unpolished game on the technical side of things. This is probably the worst-reviewed game I have on my entire list, maybe even moreso than Deadly Premonition. There's plenty of jankiness around, and there's a clear attempt to pad the game time out with bullshit sidequests. It's not a big deal if you don't have a strict completionist mindset, but, yeah. The graphics got a lot of complaints when the game came out, but honestly I liked them and never understood that particular grievance. Oh, and if you struggle with basic comprehension skills endemic to the average human being, you might get stuck on a part because you didn't read the mini-map and then give the game a 0/10. That would, however, qualify you for a writing job at Joystiq.


The Best: Nier gave me the strongest emotional reaction I've ever had to a game. That's not something that goes away anytime soon. I played the final 7-8 hours of the game all at once, in a sort of daze, in utter disbelief at what I was seeing. Nier doesn't so much tug at your heartstrings as it forcefully grabs them and plays a violin ballad on them, and damnit, it works. The emotional storyline is assisted greatly by the soundtrack, which is simply phenomenal. Nier, along with Umineko, is one of the games I immediately think of when I think of 'all-time game music'. I can't praise it enough. I'm listening to it as I type this writeup! I just really love this game. I impulse-bought it at a store because I wanted a random game to kill time and I was completely unprepared for what was about to unfold. Last E3, when everyone was freaking out about all the dreams being fulfilled with FF7 Remake, Shenmue 3, and The Last Guardian, I was over to the side losing my shit over Nier 2. It's definitely not a game for everyone, but for me, it was a truly rare experience.


7. Skies of Arcadia: Legends

The Good: What an incredibly charming game Skies of Arcadia is. It hits pretty much every checkmark on the JRPG Cliche list, but unless you have a heart of pure stone you won't even care. Skies of Arcadia takes its cliches and owns the hell out of them. Everything in the game is much fun; you've got the sky pirates, flying airships, bounty hunters, airship battles, airship battles against giant monsters, prison breaks, an evil empire, people you can recruit to your cause, and more! Some other games have copied this template since, but none of them have come close to managing what SoA did. Skies has some of the best JRPG writing in the genre, effortlessly making you like all the characters and the world they're in. Not the most complex, but everything in the world just seems natural despite the fantastic setting. There's no bending of your disbelief, and there's a ton of moments that make you so goddamn hyped. And maybe most importantly, very little in Skies of Arcadia feels stupid. There's no nonsensically melodramatic backstory. Your party is headstrong but intelligent. It doesn't stop to give you scientific psuedobabble that no one cares about. Your party members don't act like embarassments around women. Romance is handled subtly and accurately. Moments are exciting and get your blood pumping but they're never far too over-the-top. I love the genre, but a lot of JRPGs can come across as incredibly strangely written, and Skies of Arcadia avoids all that.

In more typical terms, Skies does a lot of things well as a game. The battle system has a unique system where the party all shares the same resource, adding a big element of strategy that makes boss battle really fun. The long special attack animations are cool as hell, and even though you have the option to skip them I rarely did. The art style is great, and when applied to the overworld it's gorgeous. The music sets the tone very, very well. As said before, despite the cliches, the story and characters are great. I freely admit that Skies of Arcadia sank its claws into me at a young age, but a lot of other games did too, and they didn't quite survive the test of time (Tales of Symphonia used to be Top 5). Skies of Arcadia has, and it probably always will.


The Bad: Skies of Arcadia is a mostly slow game. The most common criticism levied at the game is that the random encounters are way too high, which is a problem in a game about methodically exploring the world.
The loading screens are long in that late 1990s/early 2000s way, the battles are long until you get enough Spirit to use Lambda Force at the start of every fight, and all the battle animations can take too long. I think the game peters off a little bit in the last 1/3 - it's still fantastic, but it doesn't have quite the ingenuity of the rest of the game. People have actually made mods for SoA to make random encounters togglable and I've heard it modernizes the game instantly. Make it so, SEGA! And make that rumored Steam port so as well!


The Best: More than any other game that has ever been created, Skies if Arcadia perfected the feeling of ADVENTURE. It's world is 100 times smaller than a Bethesda's games and 100 times more interesting to poke around in. You're in a freaking airship! You sail around, take in the view, discover new areas and cultures and landmarks, and then your airship gets upgraded and you can go to MORE places and oh man it's so fun. Skies of Arcadia's overworld puts every other explorable world to shame. The main story has this perfect sense of progression where you build up your reputation repeatedly with grander and grander deeds, making you earn your legend when all is said and done. I desperately wish for a game to even come close to capturing that feeling of adventure that Skies of Arcadia did.


6. Devil May Cry 3

The Good: Playing DMC3 every 1-2 years is practically tradition to me by now. It's like riding a bicycle - every time I pick up the controller, my muscle memory instantly remembers all the moves I've pounded into them over time. I've tried out every combinations of weapons and style, done multiple challenge runs where I restricted myself on the hardest difficulty, played every level and fought every boss more times than I can count...I'll take a long time before I get tired of it. I've never played a better fusion of combat, challenge, and aesthetics. Everything in Devil May Cry 3 looks good, feels good, and most importantly, plays good. The animations and sound effects are perfect, and the combat is one that was crafted by people that truly knew what makes fighting in games satisfying. Nothing in the combat feels clunky or unpolished in the slightest. Abilities and movement flow together in an intensely satisfying way. There's barely an upper limit to DMC3 - you make the combat looks as stylish as you're able to make it. If you've ever watch a video of people REALLY good at the game playing DMC3 or 4, the stuff they do is mesmerizing. Or, if you want, you can spam Stinger and guns all day and probably still have a lot of fun. No matter who plays the game, they'll be having a great time.

The story's pretty entertaining too! Most cutscenes are ridiculously over-the-top and have stuff like Dante surfing missiles or riding motorcycles up towers, but the game actually manages to nail the few serious scenes it has at well. It's an entertaining ride from start to finish. All the characters in the game have good character designs and strong, memorable personalities, which is really important for an action game. Dante's voice actor is so good that it's hard to imagine anyone else doing it even though Dante has had like 4 different VAs by now. The music is probably bad but the more you listen to it the more you enjoy it, and some of the tracks in the game are genuinely fantastic. DMC3's tone of contrasting a gothic tower with rock n' roll and wailing guitars is one that's hard not to fall in love with.


The Bad: It's really easy to get lost in the tower, which results in a lot of running around in circles looking for the next trigger point. I've beaten the game a bunch of times and this still happens to me. Some of the puzzles break up the pacing, and a few enemy types are extremely obnoxious as well - looking at you, blood birds.


The Best: DMC3 is the first game that made me really want a challenge. I enjoyed the game a ton on Normal mode, and it was very challenging for me too. But unlike other games, I wanted more. I went back to the game, entered a cheat code to unlock Dante Must Die mode right off the bat, and proceeded to headbutt a brick wall for the next few hours as I forced myself to get better. And I loved every second of it. Devil May Cry 3's combat is so fun, so satisfying that making it tougher and tougher only put a bigger smile on my face. The first run where I went through Dante Must Die is one of my fondest memories in any game, and I've never fought a boss fight more satisfying than the final boss of DMC3 on that difficulty.

I've played other touted games in the action genre, like DMC4, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden Black, but none of them captured me like DMC3 has. It'll probably never be topped, especially when looking at the state Capcom is in now. It's not a game without flaw, but it's a game that blows past those flaws with style.


5. Final Fantasy IX

The Good: Final Fantasy IX is a game that gets better the older I get. It's a much more subtle game than virtually any of it predecessors. While there's plenty of big plot moments executed very well, the real draw of the game (at least for me) is in the little moments. There's tons dispersed throughout the game and they endear you to the world incredibly well. One of my favorite mechanics in the game, one which I'm disappointed other RPGs haven't copied, is that when you enter a new town, your party will split up and go do their own thing. As you control Zidane and wander the area, you get to watch little scenes of what the rest of your party is doing as they explore too. It gives them a lot of extra screentime, expands their characters, and makes the world seem bigger. It's such a small, simple thing, but it's incredibly effective. That more or less defines FF9.

FF9's battle system, while good enough, is pretty standard and not really the draw of the game. Everything else is executed very well - the world is well-realized, the pre-rendered backgrounds are gorgeous, the cast of characters is my favorite in the series, the story is excellently paced, and the music easily ranks up there with Final Fantasy's best. The character designs take a bit to get used to, especially when FF9 stands out so much among FF7/8/9/12, but once you get used to them they're pretty nice and work well with the fantasy theme FF9 goes for. It's easily one of the most aesthetically pleasing JRPGs out there. The tone hits a perfect middle ground between dark and whimsical, never drawing you too far down either path. For a game that was essentially a side project/retro throwback to fill the gap in time before FF10 came out, FF9 is a game with a ton of love poured into it, and it shows.


The Bad: Slow-ass battle system and loading times. This is another game that will be made so much better by mods. Steam port can't come fast enough. Additionally, while the quality of the game is high from beginning to end, I think it gets slightly worse as the game goes on, in part to the later character that are introduced not being quite as well-developed.


The Best: The themes that FF9 touch upon are themes that I really connect with. Everyone in the game is trying to find their place in the world. Dagger wonders what it really means to be royalty. Steiner begins to question his duties as a royal guard. Freya is unsure if she has a home to go back too. Eiko is lonely and unhappy with staying in her ghost town. Amarant is wandering without any real purpose. Vivi is forced to question basically everything about his existence. The only outlier is Zidane, who - with the exception of one or two scenes - is the rock that binds the party together. That just makes him more endearing; he's a true friend to the people he comes across. Vivi's arc is especially good; I consider him the best FF character by a mile and one of the best game characters period. The internal struggles the characters face are handled gracefully and realistically, and it's heartwearming to see them slowly find themselves.

FF9 is a game I don't ever want to be remade. I don't want the pre-rendered backgrounds to be changed, I don't want embarrassing voice acting added to Zidane or Vivi, I don't want the drama to be pumped up to 11. The little moments of FF9 are perfect as they are. It's a game that gets better with time, maturity, and as I replay and it continue to notice more and more little details. It's the last 'traditional' FF game that Square will ever make, which is probably for the best. Always good to end on a high note.


4. Undertale

Note: If you have any intention at all of playing Undertale, I wouldn't read this writeup. Even moreso than most games, it's something best experienced with as little knowledge going into it as possible. I'll try to keep the writeup vague, but yeah, just a fair warning.

The Good: The objective Best Game Ever (but not the best game of 2015), as decided by GameFAQs, is only #4 on the list. I'll do my best to justify this error from here on out.

Undertale is probably the most clever video game I've ever played. It was very obviously made by someone who's grown up playing video games and knows how they tick. It's constantly subverting itself, but never too often that you go "oh, of course there's something new and clever here". Its surprises are legitimate and impactful, with everything from the storyline, to dialogue, to gameplay and gameplay mechanics being utlized. And you'd think that subsequent playthroughs would be more boring due to the surprises no longer being surprises, but it keeps things so varied that that doesn't end up being the case - and then it throws new curveballs at you anyway. Just an incredibly executed game on almost every level. Game developers tend to froth at the mouth over Undertale.

It's also genuinely funny most of the time. Some jokes fell flat for me, but overall it was great and results in a ton of memorable lines and moments from the game. And despite being mostly humorous, Undertale has no issue whatsoever with layering the humor with plot details and serious bits of information, or just stopping the humor entirely and giving you a completely serious scene that hits hard. The characters start out seemingly one-note and end up being fleshed-out and relatable. The storyline has a simple hook and then keeps adding more and more stuff onto it that you would never expect. Undertale doesn't connect to everyone, but the people it does connect with tend to adore the experience. Oh, and the music is really damn good. I listened to the soundtrack for like two months straight after beating the game.


The Bad: Undertale is very much a low-budget indie game. While it does an amazing job with that budget where it matters, it can't completely escape those trappings. The overworld sprites are iffy, the backgrounds can appear really bland, and there's a lack of unique sound effects. Also, the humor can be pretty hit-or-miss with people - I actually didn't start fully clicking with the tone until I played through a second time.


The Best: The way Undertale plays with the structure of a game, and its relation to the player playing the game, is insane and unlike anything that's ever been done. The final bosses and endings of each route are completely different, ridiculous experiences. That's not to say that it's focused on just subverting itself - Undertale also has a very strong story that can hit you with emotional gutpunches. I've seen a lot of people that have never cared about what happens inside the game world act bewildered at how much they ended up being legitimately invested in the world of Undertale. The game makes people take long, hard looks at their choices without ever getting preachy about it, and that's a pretty huge achievement. I once saw someone give Undertale a negative review because he was upset that it made him care about a fictional world. Not bad for an indie kickstarter game developed by a shitty dog.

Oh, and of course, it's the Best Game Ever (tm).


3. Bloodborne

The Good: Dark Souls II was kind of a retread. It was still a solid game but it didn't come close to capturing the magic that the first two games in the series did. It left me wondering if the Souls formula was finally losing its lustre - or if, at the very least, I wouldn't immediately love Dark Souls III.

Enter Bloodborne. Bloodborne adheres to the core things that made the previous games great, while changing enough so that it feels like a new experience, and it does this better than any game I've ever played. Bloodborne eschews the dark fantasy tone for a dark Victorian horror tone and it works wonders. The atmosphere in Bloodbore is phenomenal and contributes greatly to the narrative, which is one of my favorite narratives in any game. I liked the stories in the previous games, but they never did anything super interesting with their settings. Bloodborne shows you the edge of a rabbit hole, allowing you just enough time to peer down into the abyss before it gives you a shove.

Its gameplay does everything right, too. Combat is fantastic, the graphics and art style are fantastic, the battle animations are stylish and fluid, the level design is really good, the music is haunting...really I just have endless praise for this game. Going through Bloodborne was the most fun I ever had on a first playthrough in the Souls series, and maybe any game I've ever played. I basically bought a PS4 just for this game and it was worth every penny.


The Bad: Biggest flaw is easily the limited healing item system. I don't want to farm if I lose to a boss too much. It's crap, just give us back the Estus Flask system that fills on respawn. Bloodborne also suffers a bit like Demon's Souls does in that I don't know if the same feelings it gives you could be replicated on a replay. The story revolves around slowly discovering the secrets within a messed up world, secrets that would no longer be secrets your second time through. The exploration is also a bit lacking at times. Hell of a first playthrough though.


The Best: The combat in Bloodborne is the final evolution of what I think Souls combat should be. Previous games offered you a lot of variety in the form of heavy or light armor, shields, long-range magic, ect. A lot of people liked using those builds. I did not. The Souls experience for me is light armor, dodges only, no pansy long-ranged stuff. It's by far the most fun way to play and I only ever did anything else just to see what it was like.

Apparently Bloodborne agreed with me, as the entire combat is structured around fast-paced dodging and melee weapons. You get one shield early on and its description outright states that blocking isn't gonna do jack for you in this game. Because they don't have to account for any heavy armor builds or wimpy squishy mages, they were free to speed up the combat significantly. Battles in Bloodborne are fast, brutal, and tense. Your positioning has to be on-point or you probably won't even be able to get in an attack, even after a successful dodge. They also made the parry mechanic from previous games a bigger deal - its kind of broken but incredibly satisfying to pull off, and balanced by the fact that you get eviscerated if you mess it up. That's Bloodborne's combat it a nutshell, really. You go big or you go home. Yharnam is an unforgiving place, and you must be prepared to steep yourself in blood if you wish to survive.


2. Dark Souls

The Good: Back when Demon's Souls was at the height of its popularity, people interviewed the director and asked if there would be a sequel. He said something along the lines of "There are no plans for a Demon's Souls 2 as of now."

A few months later, they announced Dark Souls. It was one of the most pleasent game announcements I've ever experienced, and the game didn't disappoint. Dark Souls doesn't do everything better than Demon's Souls or Bloodborne, but it's the most complete package out of all of them. The level design is the best in the series. Areas are extremely memorable, full of secrets, and fun to explore. The tone is sudued and somber, yet at the same time everything feels like it's on a grand scale. The combat has since been outclassed by Bloodborne, but it's still incredibly fun to play and one of the best combat systems in any game, with some of the best boss fights in any game. There's a ton of weapons and they're all fun to use, a huge amount of unique situations, a high replay value, the option to invade people and mess with them...I have to reign myself in when taking about these games I really love because I could write an essay on just how much I appreciate all the mechanics that Dark Souls has. Once you click with these games, there's no going back. They hit the perfect balance of action, subtlty, and atmosphere.


The Bad: By far the biggest issue with Dark Souls is that the second half of the game isn't as memorable as the first. It's still really good, but the game clearly hits a climax at Ornstein & Smough. Aside from the that, not much to say here. There's some glitches and jank in various places, but overall the game has few flaws to discuss. People complain about Blighttown's FPS but it never bugged me.


The Best: I actually probably prefer Bloodborne to Dark Souls, but there's something about Dark Souls that makes me give it the edge. It was more of an 'event'. I've replayed it five times and I could see myself going for another run. It was the game that really took people by surprise and created the crazy fanbase that exists today. I introduced Dark Souls to six of my friends and got to watch them all experience the game on by one. It was a blast. I know the world by heart but I still marvel at the level design every time I play through the game. There's a bit of a lightning-in-a-bottle effect to Dark Souls that other games lack. I'll be very surprised if any type of game ever manages to unseat the collective love and appreciation I have for the Souls series. It's hard to think of a game that could be more tailor-made for me.


1. Xenoblade Chronicle

The Good: Xenoblade is the first JRPG in almost a decade to truly 'get it right'. It feels like the answer to people's claims that the genre was way past its prime. It managed to take the optimism, melodrama, and sense of adventure of the JRPGs from the late 1990s/early 2000s, and combines it all with modern sensibilities and writing. It's a game made for people that grew up loving JRPGs and wondered what happened to it all. And it doesn't just match those JRPGs of old - it exceeds them.

Xenoblade has so many positive qualities. It's soundtrack is fantastic and makes you feel like you're on this huge adventure. The characters have strong personalities, but at the same time are realistic people and very endearing. Shulk is the perfect 'standard' RPG protagonist. The combat isn't for everyone, but it's basically a massively improved version of FF12's system so it was right up my alley. BACK SLASH is always fun. The story is extremely strong and has crazy impact in its big scenes. The environments specficially are the best part of the game; they're huge, sprawling, beautiful things that are a joy to explore. The setting of the world itself is such a uniquely good idea that I'm shocked anyone ever implemented before. Overall, the game does so many things well, and does a lot of things amazingly. I was captivated with Xenoblade from the very first cutscene of two gods going at each other in a barren, empty world, and I was captivated until the very end.


The Bad: It's on the Wii. Uuuugh. Playing anything on the Wii in year 2016 is a pain in the ass. It's got the most annoying setup out of any console, it's not HD, the nunchuck okay for Xenoblade but still not as good as a normal controller, and my controllers are starting to die and keep disconnecting. Not being HD is a really a huge issue - Xenoblade is a gorgeous game and it's a shame how badly it's held back by the Wii sometimes. SD games do not look good on HDTVs. The first time I tried to play Xenoblade, I got motion sickness and it only stopped when I upgraded from 480i to 480p. And the game is overall, too long. Could've stood to be a bit shorter.


The Best: There's a lot of buzzwords people throw out when they don't exactly know how to describe what makes a game special. Souls. Magic. Heart. For me, Xenoblade has all of those things and then some. I don't think Xenoblade is the objective best game ever - not even close, honestly. It has flaws. Not everything is perfect. But when I think of every game I've ever played in my entire life, none have carved out a bigger space in my heart and mind than Xenoblade have. I matched every game in the Top 10-20 over Xenoblade, and I found that I didn't want to rank it below a single one of them.

I haven't played Xenoblade X yet. I will eventually, but I'm in no rush. Even if I hadn't already seen the positive-but-not-amazed response to the game, even if it was just a straight upgrade from Xenoblade in every way, I knew there was no chance it had at being the same lightning in a bottle that Xenoblade was. Every piece of music, every screenshot calls forth incredibly strong memories. Even just looking at the title screen with the beautiful piano music playing in the background will make me smile. That's just the kind of game Xenoblade is for me - it's got soul, magic, and heart in spades.