Top 50 Videogames: 3 and 2
In the next couple days I'll hit up the one with the ones I forgot or played since I made the list. In the meantime, we're so close...
3. Super Metroid (1994, Super Nintendo)
Difficulty from 1 to 10: 8. Plenty of difficult parts, plenty of things to find, plenty of paths to unlock.
Played it with: Myself.
Did I complete it? Yes. There's a "best ending" if it's beaten under some insane amount of time that I once missed by three minutes, though. I finally gave up and YouTubed it to see the best ending.
I adore this game so much I considered #1 for it. EGM's website handed this one the top spot of all time, and it occupies that spot on other lists I've seen as well. The simple brilliance of this one is that power-ups are hidden all over the game, and certain areas of the planet have to be revisited many times in order to unlock a different area somewhere else, which might be tedious except that there are bosses and constant upgrades to be found along the way.
A game design so amazing and well-received, it was basically blatantly ripped off by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night almost to the letter as far as style goes; luckily, I don't mind theft if it still results in an awesome game.
I know that the Metroid series has continued to be loved--perhaps even moreso--because of the first-person shooters they've created since abandoning this super awesome game design, but I think they'd be well served by getting over how 3D technology is so advanced and go back to making these perfect side-scrollers.
2. Final Fantasy IX (2000, PlayStation)
Difficulty from 1 to 10: 8. Nothing embarrassingly impossible like the last Cloister of Trials on FFX, but many difficult bosses. And assloads of sidequests.
Played it with: Leif Bierly, Josh Mitchell, Greg Johnson, Cathy. Actually, I was playing this with Cathy the first time we hung out. Now we're married. Final Fantasy: Bringing People Together.
Others in the series I've played: All except XI, which is a massive multiplayer online game, which doesn't interest me. Most of them are awesome in some way, and a couple others would be in the top ten, at least, given repeaters. But I could go on for days about this.
I've agonized over this for months now...should this be first, or should the other game be first? I sided with the other game, but now that I'm typing this, it feels incorrect. I've spent more time playing FF games than doing probably any other leisure activity over the past fifteen years, owing to my introduction to the series by Jon Mullaly.
Though at first I thought it was weird to slow down the game by using a screen to give them potions and change their armor, over time this became exactly the type of strategy I love to employ, especially when done so well like in the later games. All things considered, I think the Final Fantasy games from VI to XII generally have better and more fun ways to level up characters than any game before or since.
I chose this one over the others because of the story. Besides being written stronger than the other games in the series (VII is also excellent, but the genre is a little different), the specific plot itself just appeals to me more. It begins with a traveling band of actors on a mission to kidnap a princess, and doesn't let up with the surprises and turns from there. Additionally, whereas most of the recent FF games start frustratingly slowly, this one plops the player into the action immediately, which runs at a faster pace in its first scene than some of the other games do all the way through.
Perhaps most importantly, there's hope here. One of the knocks of VII and VIII is that the characters are so overwhelmingly depressed (and depressing) that the game just sucks the life out of you. I think the bigger problem with VIII is that it feels like it was written by a third-grader, but the point is spot-on anyway. In Final Fantasy IX, each character has a specific arc, each learns and grows, and each has a sunny side, though for some it's well-hidden. Normally I only use one picture for each game, but in this case I'll make an exception for my favorite FF character, Vivi Orunitia.
I have a stuffed Vivi doll, too. Yep.
3. Super Metroid (1994, Super Nintendo)
Difficulty from 1 to 10: 8. Plenty of difficult parts, plenty of things to find, plenty of paths to unlock.
Played it with: Myself.
Did I complete it? Yes. There's a "best ending" if it's beaten under some insane amount of time that I once missed by three minutes, though. I finally gave up and YouTubed it to see the best ending.
I adore this game so much I considered #1 for it. EGM's website handed this one the top spot of all time, and it occupies that spot on other lists I've seen as well. The simple brilliance of this one is that power-ups are hidden all over the game, and certain areas of the planet have to be revisited many times in order to unlock a different area somewhere else, which might be tedious except that there are bosses and constant upgrades to be found along the way.
A game design so amazing and well-received, it was basically blatantly ripped off by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night almost to the letter as far as style goes; luckily, I don't mind theft if it still results in an awesome game.
I know that the Metroid series has continued to be loved--perhaps even moreso--because of the first-person shooters they've created since abandoning this super awesome game design, but I think they'd be well served by getting over how 3D technology is so advanced and go back to making these perfect side-scrollers.
2. Final Fantasy IX (2000, PlayStation)
Difficulty from 1 to 10: 8. Nothing embarrassingly impossible like the last Cloister of Trials on FFX, but many difficult bosses. And assloads of sidequests.
Played it with: Leif Bierly, Josh Mitchell, Greg Johnson, Cathy. Actually, I was playing this with Cathy the first time we hung out. Now we're married. Final Fantasy: Bringing People Together.
Others in the series I've played: All except XI, which is a massive multiplayer online game, which doesn't interest me. Most of them are awesome in some way, and a couple others would be in the top ten, at least, given repeaters. But I could go on for days about this.
I've agonized over this for months now...should this be first, or should the other game be first? I sided with the other game, but now that I'm typing this, it feels incorrect. I've spent more time playing FF games than doing probably any other leisure activity over the past fifteen years, owing to my introduction to the series by Jon Mullaly.
Though at first I thought it was weird to slow down the game by using a screen to give them potions and change their armor, over time this became exactly the type of strategy I love to employ, especially when done so well like in the later games. All things considered, I think the Final Fantasy games from VI to XII generally have better and more fun ways to level up characters than any game before or since.
I chose this one over the others because of the story. Besides being written stronger than the other games in the series (VII is also excellent, but the genre is a little different), the specific plot itself just appeals to me more. It begins with a traveling band of actors on a mission to kidnap a princess, and doesn't let up with the surprises and turns from there. Additionally, whereas most of the recent FF games start frustratingly slowly, this one plops the player into the action immediately, which runs at a faster pace in its first scene than some of the other games do all the way through.
Perhaps most importantly, there's hope here. One of the knocks of VII and VIII is that the characters are so overwhelmingly depressed (and depressing) that the game just sucks the life out of you. I think the bigger problem with VIII is that it feels like it was written by a third-grader, but the point is spot-on anyway. In Final Fantasy IX, each character has a specific arc, each learns and grows, and each has a sunny side, though for some it's well-hidden. Normally I only use one picture for each game, but in this case I'll make an exception for my favorite FF character, Vivi Orunitia.
I have a stuffed Vivi doll, too. Yep.