Video Games: the lifeblood of my adolescence. I would like to call myself a self certified expert on the subject. 10's of thousands of hours playing, many more streaming and researching. After 28 years of living, I've done it. Narrowed it down to the 10 titles that I can't live without.
Rules: For this list I limited it to 1 game per franchise. And these are my favorite games of all time based on my experiences, nostalgia, and obviously objective fact (opinion).
10. Animal Crossing (GameCube)
Animal Crossing on paper, sounds like the dullest game ever.
Q: Want to play a game where you are digging yourself out of an almost insurmountable debt?
A: Uhh... No thanks.
Q: What if I told you that you could pick weeds for fun?
A: I still wouldn't want to play it.
Q: All your neighbors are talking animals and you have horns on your head like the little devil you are.
A: Ok, I'm sold!
Seriously though, the most "fun" things you can do in Animal Crossing are go fishing, catch bugs with your net, decorate your house, and look at fossils at the museum. But man, is that something we all had no idea we wanted or needed! This may have been the first slice-of-life game. The fact the game changes with real life was a feature that was far ahead of its time. Making you want to play on every major holiday just to see what surprises were in store.
I played this game so much growing up, and easily poured in hundreds of hours. I even payed off all my debts. Sadly, none of the newer games scratched the same itch the original did for me. Being able to collect NES games was a cool feature that will sadly never return. And the villagers felt so alive with tons of dialogue and personality. They weren't all just happy all the time either... sometimes they were grumpy, or smug, or downright rude and that made it feel more realistic.
To this day I'm still chasing that high the original Animal Crossing gave me, but I don't know if I'll ever find it.
9. Pokémon: Silver Version
The game that started my love of Pokemon. I had Pokemon Yellow growing up, but since I was born in 1994 I was too young to read or really understand what to do. It wasn't until Pokemon Silver came out that I was hooked on Pokemon. And let me tell you, this to this day is the best game in the franchise. The fact that you can play through 2 whole Pokemon regions, something they will surely never do again, is proof enough of that.
With my precious Cyndaquil in hand, we grew together. Me growing up into my adolescence, him growing up to be a badass Typhlosion. To this day it's the only game I ever raised a Pokemon to lvl 100. My precious Lugia. The day my save file corrupted was one of the saddest day of my life.
8. Celeste
The most beautiful game I've ever played. Climbing Mt. Celeste was an unforgettable journey, and one I wish I could erase from my memory so I could experience it again for the first time. Celeste is a masterpiece. The movement in this game just feels perfect and buttery smooth. The game is extremely challenging, as climbing a mountain should be. And while the gameplay alone would make Celeste one of the greatest platforming games of all time, it is the story that makes this game one of the greatest games of all time. The game covers sensitive subjects such as anxiety and depression, and treats them with the respect and love they deserve. I would be lying if I said this game didn’t make me cry.
Thank you Extremely OK Games for Celeste. This game made me fall in love with video games again.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
It was so hard to pick one game from The Legend of Zelda franchise for this list. It's a 3-way tie for me between: Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild. And maybe it's the contrarian in me, but if I have to pick a favorite I'm going to go with Skyward Sword.
I always joke that I'm one of 12 people in the world that actually likes motion controls. And in all seriousness, I do love motion controls! I thought Skyward Sword, especially for its time, was a masterpiece. I understand people's complaints that they got frustrated with the motion controls, and while they weren't perfect, with a little patience I think the upsides they added to the game far made up for going back to buttons for combat. Previous Zelda games combat was nothing more than button mashing, in this game you actually had to slow down and strategically attack even for the most basic of enemies.
The best boss fights in a Zelda game to date, great dungeons, fun motion controls, even though simplistic one of the better stories in a Zelda game, and great art and music. Skyward Sword had it all and then some. Criminally underrated by the masses, probably slightly overrated by this goober.
6. Slay the Spire
The most addicting game I've ever played. I hesitate to even recommend it to anyone because it's so addicting it might just ruin your life and waste hundreds of hours of your time. It's that fun! This game takes mechanics from real life board games and makes a video game out of them. It's based on deck-building board games like Dominion. This is my first foray into the world of roguelikes and I dig it. No 2 runs ever feel the same, playing a run in about an hour feels like a great pace, and the challenge keeps you coming back for more. There are 4 classes to choose from and each has completely unique cards and characteristics. This game is challenging. Beating the Heart on A20 is something that gives me a feeling of pride and accomplishment every single time.
If I was stuck on a deserted island and only allowed to bring 1 game. I, without a shadow of a doubt, would pick Slay the Spire.
5. Paper Mario
I remember when Paper Mario first came out my friends and I would joke that Nintendo was running out of ideas.
"What's next, Cardboard Mario?!?! Hahaha"
We couldn't have been more wrong... Paper Mario was one of the most refreshing Mario games ever made. Turning Mario into a Japanese style RPG that rivaled the likes of Final Fantasy was something nobody expected. The game was a slam dunk! The paper theme was adorable, Mario's partners he gains as he progresses through the story were lovable and memorable, and the game had a depth of content that was rare on the 64. The battles were fun, with a mix of turn based and real-time elements. The highlight of the game may have just been the dialogue. The game was hilarious, the translation team did a killer job, there's so much charm to this whole game.
I know many people prefer Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and while it is also a stellar game, I gotta give the nod to the original. It blew me away the first time I played it as a kid, and I don't know exactly how to put it into words but playing this game just makes me happy.
4. Rock Band 4
I originally thought I would put The Beatles Rock Band as my one game from this franchise. It was an important game to me in my adolescence, and singing Beatles songs with my family was a staple of my childhood.
But what propelled this game so high on my list is actually the drums. In 2020 I bought an electronic drum kit and decided I wanted to get good at the drums. That was one of the best decisions I ever made, because Rock Band drums has been such a fulfilling hobby for me. Pro Drums in Rock Band is very similar to playing the real drums, with the exception of no left foot pedal.
Getting really good at drums, has been an enormously fulfilling hobby. I’m ranked in the top 300 in every drum category on PS4. I genuinely think Rock Band is the perfect party game. Having a full band playing songs and everybody belting out the songs has been a bonding experience for me and many of my friends. And chasing high scores and full combos solo has given me hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Some of my favorite bands in the game are: Blink-182, Boston, and my favorite drummer of all time: Tre Cool, from Green Day.
3. Mario Kart 64
I've always said Mario Kart 64 is my favorite game of all time. It was the first video game that I loved when I was a kid. And while I'm hugely nostalgic for it, I can no longer lie to myself and say this is my favorite video game of all time. The next 2 games on this list have surpassed it. But the fact it still remains top 3 is a testament to how great the game is. The best controls in the series to date - the N64 controller felt like it was made for Mario Kart. And while it may have had a small track list, it made up for quantity with quality. These were some of the most imaginative and fun tracks in the series to date. And the cherry on top: a Battle Mode that was ACTUALLY fun!
Is Mario Kart 64, "The Greatest Game Of All Time"?
No.
Is it "The Funnest Game Of All Time And No Kevin, Diddy Kong Racing Isn't Even In The Same League As It"?
Absolutely!!!
2. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Co-op Boss Battles the Video Game. That's Monster Hunter. Up to 4 players try to slay these larger than life beasts. Some monsters are the size of a Grizzly Bear, others are the size of The Empire State Building 😳 One of the staples of Monster Hunter is how hard the games are. And unlike other similar RPG's, it's not about the gear. While your gear and stats do level up, they can't make up for lack of skill. As you progress in the game, it is your skill that has to increase - not your gear - if you are to beat the game. The game has a really tough learning curve, but once you get over the hump there are few games that are as rewarding as this.
There are 14 different weapon types to choose from, and each have very different playstyles. Hammer users want to bash the Monster's head, Great Sword mains are trying to slice its tail off, and bow specialists are trying to keep their distance while landing a barrage of arrows. The asymmetry of working together in tandem with friends while you all provide different things to the team is what I love the most Monster Hunter.
The game has a rewarding progression system. You slay a monster so you can carve it and use its parts to forge better armor and weapons so you can take on tougher monsters ↩️ so on and so forth.
The Monster AI is incredible. They aren't predictable, and even fighting the same Monster over and over can be fun, which is important in a game like this with lots of grinding.
Very few games can I literally say will give you hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Then there are less than a handful of those games that can give you over a thousand hours. Monster Hunter is one of them.
Honorable Mentions
Baba Is You
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Donkey Kong 64
The Conduit
1. Dota 2
Dota 2 is genuinely the greatest game I have ever played. To someone who has never played a MOBA before, the best way I can describe it is a mix of Chess and Basketball. It's a game of pure strategy, where outsmarting and predicting what your opponent will do is the key to victory. But there is also a real time element to Dota. It's 5v5 like basketball and you will have to practice skills and finesse to outplay your opponents.
While League of Legends is undoubtedly more popular and better for casual play, Dota is more for the competitive player and purist.
I've been ranked in the Top 1,000 on the NA leaderboards at my peak and reached over 6,000 MMR. These are both things I'm immensely proud of. I even won an Amateur Dota League and got $10!
My favorite heroes are: Clockwerk, Wisp, and Spectre.
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