Favorite Games Ever (Besides Ninja Gaiden, Obviously)

[talonmalon333]

I'd say S3&K is the best 2D platformer ever, except maybe DKC2.

Then again, gunswordfist is retarded, so I'm not surprised he'd say otherwise.

[gunswordfist]

Also, I never said I hated S3K. I don't just have superficial complaints either. S3K is a vastly overrated game filled with overly long and badly designed levels (such as Mushroom Hill. That boring zone is too long and having to use that tedious machine doesn't help) and countless uninspired bosses (Hydrocity and Ice Cap's pretty much is the same boss.) The only things special about the game is Knuckles, (even though his Lava Reef Zone sucks) Doomsday Zone and your two favorites, Hydrocity and Ice Cap.

[gunswordfist]

I'd say S3&K is the best 2D platformer ever, except maybe DKC2.

Then again, gunswordfist is retarded, so I'm not surprised he'd say otherwise.

Shut up, before I make EK talk about you behind your back.

[talonmalon333]

Also, I never said I hated S3K. I don't just have superficial complaints either. S3K is a vastly overrated game filled with overly long and badly designed levels (such as Mushroom Hill. That boring zone is too long and having to use that tedious machine doesn't help) and countless uninspired bosses (Hydrocity and Ice Cap's pretty much is the same boss.) The only things special about the game is Knuckles, (even though his Lava Reef Zone sucks) Doomsday Zone and your two favorites, Hydrocity and Ice Cap.

On the contrary, I thought the Sonic adventure was way better. And the final boss is awesome. 8)

I'd say S3&K is the best 2D platformer ever, except maybe DKC2.

Then again, gunswordfist is retarded, so I'm not surprised he'd say otherwise.

Shut up, before I make EK talk about you behind your back.

LOL. That old blowhard?

[gunswordfist]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, feel free to not care for S3&K as much as 2 or whatever, but pretty much everything you don't like about it something I do like, so obviously this isn't going anywhere. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Damnit! All of this talk is making me want to replay the whole damn classic series again!

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's not such a bad idea. I keep forgetting to put aside on day where I have nothing to do and just play all the classics in order. Sonic 1, CD, 2, and 3&K and 100% them (except Sonic 2, that's too much effort on my part).

I did it with Mario once, so why not?

[gunswordfist]

Damnit! All of this talk is making me want to replay the whole damn classic series again!

I have been wanting to play Sonic CD for awhile now. It's near the top of my list.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Here's the 3DS version of Mushroom Hill's music

Love S3&K so much. 

[Kiddington]

Here's the 3DS version of Mushroom Hill's music

Love S3&K so much. 

Can't wait, man. Really need to start setting aside some money for a 3DS, though; I'm just as intrigued for the handheld rendition as I am the console.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Konami announces a new Suikoden!

For the PSP. Which means we'll never get it.

And it has nothing to do with the main universe. Which means it probably won't be very good.

What a lousy company.

[talonmalon333]

So I recently made a new top ten game list, and decided to share with you guys. Expect lots of Mario and Zelda.

NUMBER TEN
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Incredibly polished in every way, Twilight Princess is one of the best games in the Zelda series. The controls are a bit more sluggish then Wind Waker's, but the gameplay overall is definitely improved and has not been surpassed... yet. This game also has some of the best dungeons in the series, like the City in the Sky and Snowpeak Ruins. I also love the story, which has a great structure and twists here and there, as well as some of the best characters in the series. The graphics are also decent and hold up to this day.

NUMBER NINE
F-Zero X

One of the biggest improvements I have ever seen in a video game. The original was merely an average speed, decent racing game. The series earned it's identity here, making this the true first F-Zero. The graphics are lousy, sure, but that had to be sacrificed to keep the speed of the game up, and graphics aren't an issue in a game where you're constantly moving at high speeds anyway. So much skill is required in this game, which brings together high speed and brilliant course design. It really is the best racing game I've ever played.

NUMBER EIGHT
Pokemon Yellow

The most fun I have ever had with an RPG. It's the best of the Gen I games, containing more content than Red and Blue, and a Pikachu that follows you which makes it all the more joyful. This game will always be part of me. A great world with an incredibly deep combat system. Plus, getting all the Pokemon is an accomplish that everyone wants to undertake, unlike future games in the series where the excessive number of Pokemon makes the idea of getting them all just tiring. The beginning might be a little slow, but by Cerulean City, it becomes an addicting adventure.

NUMBER SEVEN
The Curse of Monkey Island

One of the few non-Nintendo titles on my list, admittedly. This game is, simply put, a masterpiece. I adore every minute of it. The crew is loveable, every location is awesome, the music is memorable, and the script is the best in any game, without a doubt. The comedy is top notch, with so many memorable lines and different possible things to say. I especially love the relationship between the main character and the villain, with so much memorable dialogue to be had between them. And did I mention it's quite a pretty game, especially in the cutscenes? Just look at that ship and the clouds in the above image!

NUMBER SIX
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

The best Donkey Kong game, in my mind! Everything from it's predecessor was improved just a little bit, which adds up in the end. The level design is perfect, as is the difficulty. I also love the atmosphere, as it is that of a high seas piratey adventure mixed with just a classic adventure theme. And did I mention that soundtrack? One of the best game soundtracks ever, period! Songs like "Jib Jig", "Forest Interlude", and more importantly, "Stickerbrush Symphony", are all brilliant. I could talk about this game for hours upon hours... But despite that, it just barely missed the top half of the list.

NUMBER FIVE
Super Mario Galaxy

Oh ho! Time for a Mario Galaxy rant! Goodness, I adore these games beyond words! The first Galaxy is perfect in it's own right, with the exception of the difficulty which is clearly lacking. But everything else? Genius. The level design is marvelous. And the soundtrack just might be the best in all of gaming! The game also has a nice story, which most Mario games choose not to have. Plus, I am completely in love with the atmosphere in the game. It mixes a Disney style with deep space. That, coupled with the graphical style, makes this the most beautiful game that I have ever played.

NUMBER FOUR
Sonic 3 & Knuckles

By combining Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with Sonic & Knuckles, you get the true game that the Sonic Team had envisioned in 1994, officially titled "Sonic 3 & Knuckles". This is the pinnacle of 2D platforming. There aren't a whole lot of levels, but each is big and full of content, and it just so happens that quality trumps quantity! And the soundtrack is awesome, bringing out the absolute best in the Sega Genesis! There are multiple characters to choose from, each with there own strengths and weaknesses. This is easily the best game in this classic series, and let's all hope that Sonic makes a wonderful comeback!

NUMBER THREE
Resident Evil: Director's Cut

This game is the true beginning of survival horror. It also happens to be the one that did it best, as games since it have either cut down on the atmosphere or have inferior gameplay. Resident Evil is a classic, and it's Director's Cut on the PlayStation is the ideal version, vastly improving the scares, difficulty, and variety before the GameCube remake downgraded the atmosphere and the DS port had to scale it all down. This game isn't all about the horror, it also has an eerie feeling, where you end up in halls that look just plain strange, not downright terrifying, but just "alien". And the uncanny is far more effective then pure horror... Also, let's not those memorable lines! Resident Evil is the Master of Cheesy Dialogue!

NUMBER TWO
Super Mario Galaxy 2

If Super Mario Galaxy was all about the beauty in the game, then this is all about the pizzaz! It's just totally awesome! The graphics are only slightly improved, if at all. But that doesn't matter cause they were great already! This game took the great platforming of it's predecessor and increased it tenfold, even adding some real difficulty. Sure, there's no story now, but that wasn't very important anyway, so who really cares? I don't, at least, not when I'm blazing through awesome galaxy after awesome galaxy! This game also has a great atmosphere of it's own that separates it from the previous one. Rather then mimicking the "deep space" style, it instead revolves it's atmosphere around the strange, magical, and various galaxies out there, which can especially be seen in World S. It's a perfect game that's better then the original... and it just barely missed the #1 spot.

NUMBER ONE
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

I love Majora's Mask. Topping Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a tough feat, but this game did it by a hair. While some here know how much I love this game, what you may not know is that it wasn't always here. As a child, I was a bigger fan of Ocarina of Time. But then I grew up and came to appreciate real characters, artistic expression, deep storylines, and more. This game just has it all! It's a pretty small, compact game, at least by Zelda standards. But there's just so much to it! Taking away anything from the game would ruin it's meaning. But adding to it would be just as bad... And even putting all of that hoopla aside, everything else is top notch as well! The items are great, the dungeons are some of the best in the series, the soundtrack is awesome, each location is brilliant in it's own way, the masks are awesome, the villain is very effective, and to top it all off is one of the best endings in the series. Majora's Mask is awesome, and it deserves to be here.

Thoughts? I think most of it is pretty predictable. Hopefully Skyward Sword will shake it up a bit.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Great list. I haven't been able to play all of the games on your list, but I think they all have good qualities to them and a couple of them would definitely be in my top 10-20 as well. On the point of Pokemon's deep combat system, though, I'd argue that the original Red/Green/Yellow (Blue is basically the U.S. version of Green) had relatively more shallow combat systems compared to later Pokemon games. It has more to do with stats, though. Back then they didn't have EVs, IVs, or Natures, which cause Pokemon of the same exact species to be radically different as you train and evolve them, with their own custom strengths and weaknesses. It makes the combat system far more varied in later games. Though the originals are still entertaining and addicting games as well. I figured I'd just post my list even though its basically the same as it always was except for a few changes. I'll make it a top 12 list to keep the holiday spirit up (but really its because I had a hard time leaving some games out of my list by only making a top 10, yet I didn't feel like writing a full top 15 either).


12. Halo: Combat Evolved


Personally I think it has aged extremely well and quite easily has the best campaign mode of the entire series. For me, it was the first truly great FPS that I ever played. Before that I played Goldeneye on the N64 which was a good game but I sucked at it back as a kid and couldn't manage to get very far into the game. I also tried playing other console shooters like Turok and Wolfenstein 3D, but I couldn't really "get" the appeal of the FPS genre from playing those games, and also I sucked at them as well. Then came Halo on the XBOX which my older brother and I got for Christmas, and it was brilliant for getting people like me into FPS games. Without sacrificing any challenge, it cleverly integrated a rebounding health system with an underlay of real health beneath the shield that wouldn't recharge, so in that regard you could still take permanent damage while still being able to take some unavoidable shots with your shield. It wasn't overpowered but kept the game manageable and still let it be challenging without ever becoming frustrating. In addition to that, the controls were perfect for a console shooter, and the action was intense thanks to big open environments with lots of room for strategy and maneuverability and extremely intelligent enemy AI for the time that did a fantastic job of exploiting the environment to their own advantage, forcing you to do the same if you wanted to survive. To me this is the base-line that I used to judge all other FPS games that I played on consoles from that point, onward.

11. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons


A Link to the Past is great and so is Link's Awakening, but just like how some would say Ocarina of Time is overrated among the 3D Zelda games, I would say that about these games. Link's Awakening's level design can feel kind of bland by the standards of other Zelda games, and I always found A Link to the Past to be a tad bit overrated in that it starts out rather slow and it has its dull segments. To me both of the Oracle games had great level design for each dungeon, tons of great puzzles, some of my favorite Zelda gimmicks in the entire series, and some pretty awesome and occasionally even somewhat challenging boss fights. These are my favorite 2D Zelda games by far, personally.

10. Mega Man X


Of course I have Desensitized to thank for getting me into this one. Keep in mind that I only played this for the first time a couple of years ago, but the game has aged extremely well and impressed me even to this day. As someone who hasn't played a whole lot of Mega Man games, this game convinced me that the series truly deserved its praise, and as far as I'm concerned its among the best 2D platformers and side-scrolling shooters (if you count it as such) out there, easily on the league of franchises like Mario and Sonic as well as Contra, respectively, in that regard. It didn't really make my list until now because its only recently that I got back into replaying it and discovered how addicting it can be and how much replay value it has. Sure, you can beat the story within an hour, but there is so much fun to be had discovering hidden secrets in the levels and going through handi-cap runs, or experimenting with different weapons that you get from defeating bosses, such as coming up with strategies to use the alternate fire on different bosses and see how you can make it useful to fight them (I mean ones other than the ones other than the one that they are weak against). And of course the boss fights themselves are amazing and some of the most well-designed ones ever made.

9. Jet Set Radio Future


If you had to ask me, this would easily be my favorite 3D platformer ever. Its so unique and inventive and its jammed full of content. There are so many playable characters and the crazy obstacles that you use to traverse your environment leads to some of the most fun platforming I've ever experienced in a game. It essentially combines the mechanics of an extreme sports game like Tony Hawk or Aggressive Inline with the overall design of a platformer, and believe it or not the combination works perfectly. It also has some spectacular boss fights and while the music is hit or miss for me, the hits are really great to listen to.

8. The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker


Fuck what anyone else says. I love this game. I love almost everything about it. Yes, I even like sailing. Also, later on in the game you can skip sailing by using the warp ability, but even then I like sailing in the game. Its fun to discover secrets in the seas, and I just love the whole sea-faring adventure theme of the game. The sailing could have been annoying if the game got you lost easily, but it always points you in the right direction if you just want to get to the next area in the game to progress the story, but I myself don't mind traversing the sea trying to find a giant squid creature to fight for treasure or even going on that Triforce hunt that everybody hates so much. Like I said, fuck it. Sometimes I like a good relaxing fetch-quest, but in this case it actually has some cool scenarios such as having to wait until a particular phase of the moon to show up and then getting to get aboard a ghost ship. That's great stuff right there.

7. Super Mario World


Against popular opinion, I like this better than Super Mario Bros. 3, and I think Super Marios Bros. 3 is the best NES game ever, so that's saying a lot. To me, this game was far more imaginative, adding Yoshi into the mix, and I loved the cape power-up way more than the Tanuki power-up which I honestly found kind of slow and boring in comparison. Like I said, I love Super Mario Bros. 3, but the secrets crammed into this game mixed in with its generally great level design and longer length and just as high replay value makes it the more entertaining game for me to play. Its my favorite Mario game in which you actually get to play as Mario.

6. F.E.A.R.


I have to thank Foggle for getting me to play this one. To me, in terms of pure gameplay mechanics, this is what all great FPS games should aspire to be like. The controls are tight and very smooth, and the enemy AI is the best in the business. They are lethal, they will take cover, and they will absolutely kill you if you let your guard down. This game has both a perfect level of challenge and atmosphere, and although it may suffer from repetitive environments, it makes up for it with the most intense fire-fights to be featured in any FPS game ever made.

5. Max Payne


Hands down my favorite third person shooter of all-time. Even before Resident Evil 4 revolutionized the genre with its over the shoulder point of view and mechanics and controls designed around that, Max Payne did something that makes it totally unique and stand-out in the TPS genre. Its not a revolutionary step as its something that would only apply to the John Woo style of gameplay that the game goes for, but it works out perfectly for this game, and just like in RE4 and other modern TPS games, the perspective is still always from behind the character's back, but just not as close-up, which in some cases gives you a much better view point of the surrounding area. I love how this game incorporates the bullet-time mechanic, and the action and gun-fights are still some of the most intense out of any shooter to this day, and as far as I'm concerned its still the closest that a game has ever come to replicating John Woo's style of gun-fight action (even more so than Stranglehold, the video game sequel to John Woo's own film, Hardboiled, with John Woo himself involved as a creative consultant, lol).

4. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest


Its the best game of the SNES trilogy, and while I also like the first one a ton, I can't deny that this game combines its great platforming mechanics with some truly terrific and creative level design, and the game's satisfactory length and replay value combined with its very well varied and well paced nature from level to level makes it my 2nd favorite platformer ever made.

3. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island


This is my favorite platformer ever made. I love the art design, I love the music, I love the level design, I love the boss fights....hell, I love EVERYTHING about this game!....except for....you know, that awfully annoying sound of Baby Mario crying every time you lose him, but other than that its fucking awesome. Also, I won't lie, Giant Baby Bowser at the end of the game kind of scared me as a kid. That silhouette of his looked really creepy as it started coming closer, and closer to you. Also the track that plays when you fight him may just be my favorite track in the entire game. I'm not ashamed to admit one bit that I find this game to be superior to any Mario game that actually features the title character as the main character. Fuck Mario (**I'm only half-being sarcastic, in case you don't get it**). Yoshi's where its at. 8)

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time


You know what, fuck what everyone else says. Call it overrated, call it outdated, call it whatever the fuck you want. I call it fun, and you know what, I still think its level design holds up just great. The game still has an epic scope even to this day, it still has some of the best designed puzzles in the entire series, it has my favorite gimmick in the entire series allowing you to switch between kid link and adult link and go back and forth through time. It has some of my favorite musical scores in the entire series, and it has many of my favorite dungeons and bosses in the entire series. It not only revolutionized the controls of 3D action adventure games as we know them, but it still holds up well in that department today, and although its camera and controls may not be 100% perfect, unless your a nit-picky bastard they're still good enough to enjoy the game without the experience feeling hampered at all. And you know what, this game isn't anymore overrated than A Link to the Past. Like I said, I love that game as well, but here's a little secret: it just got popular to praise that game after it became cool to hate on Ocarina for being the most popular. Neither game is perfect in my eyes (no game is, really), but they are both excellent games and among the pinnacle of 2D and 3D Zelda games, respectively. That said, I guess you could say that I'm the opposite of Desensitized in this manner. As he says he doesn't like 3D Zelda all that much, I find myself a bit underwhelmed by 2D Zelda (except for the Oracle games, obviously), though in my case I still do like their formula. I just find 3D Zelda games to be more fun than the 2D ones, in all honesty, and if you feel differently then that's fine, but sometimes I do think 3D can be more fun than its respective 2D retro-counterpart, and to me this is one example of that.

1. Ninja Gaiden Black


I've already praised this game extensively up the wazoo. Also, I know that no matter what I say none of you guys who haven't already played it will ever find it more appealing and play it anyways. So you know what, fuck it. I'll just sum up what I truly feel about this game in comparison to every other game that I have ever played. Best combat system ever made. Best enemies in any game ever. Best sense of challenge and accomplishment ever. Best assortment of weapons ever. Best set of boss fights ever. Best assortment of harder difficulties ever. Best level design in any action game ever. Best controls in any action game ever. Best sense of accomplishment in any game ever. Best replay value ever. Best action game ever. Best game ever. Period. 'Nuff said.

Oh, and just for the hell of it my favorite Pokemon game is Fire Red/Leaf Green, the remakes of the original games. That said I would probably pick Heart Gold/Soul Silver if I ever got the chance to play those. They would be among the first DS games that I bought and played if I ever got one (I'd probably go for Black or White first, though).

[Daxdiv]

Both of your lists have inspired me to make my own. I'm working on the list right now so it's a WiP, so I won't list it until I'm done.

Great list. I haven't been able to play all of the games on your list, but I think they all have good qualities to them and a couple of them would definitely be in my top 10-20 as well. On the point of Pokemon's deep combat system, though, I'd argue that the original Red/Green/Yellow (Blue is basically the U.S. version of Green) had relatively more shallow combat systems compared to later Pokemon games. It has more to do with stats, though. Back then they didn't have EVs, IVs, or Natures

Silly EK, IV and EV were always in the games since the beginning. They were just a little bit more different than the current system. See here and here for a more refined example.