Any platform(s).
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Final Fantasy VII
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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
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GoldenEye 007
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Metal Gear Solid
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Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
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Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
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Monkey Island
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
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Red Dead Redemption 2
Other honorable mentions would be:
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Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
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Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
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XCOM
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Quest for Glory III: Wages of War
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- Outer Wilds
- Hollow Knight
- Elden Ring
- Baldurs Gate 3
- Metroid Prime
- Mass Effect 2
- Tetris
- Shadow of The Colossus
- Mother 3
- Fallout: New Vegas
Based on an incomplete sampling.
Not in any particular order:
Curse of Monkey Island
Final Fantasy VII
SOMA
Stardew Valley
Anno 1800
The Last of Us
The Last of Us 2
Dark Souls 3
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
HadesI think Curse of Monkey Island is the only Monkey Island game that I haven’t beaten. At the time, I really couldn’t get over the art style. Might have to give it another shot.
Aw, I really like the art style personally. I do love all the Monkey Islands (though haven’t gotten around to the newest one!), but Curse has such a special place in my heart. I say Papapishu in my every day life.
The new one is pretty good! I think it stuck to the original feel perfectly.
In no particular order:
- Mass Effect 2
- Pokémon Colosseum
- Kingdom Hearts 2
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Super Smash Brothers Melee
- Ocarina of Time
- Ratchet and Clank
- Uncharted 2
- inFamous 2
I realize I included a lot of games that were sequels or part of a series, but these are my favorite of the series in general.
Honorable Mentions:
- Pokémon Emerald
- Mariokart 8
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Mario Galaxy
- Sonic Adventure 2
- Splintercell
- Final Fantasy 7
- Halo ODST
- Halo 2
Hmm, tough choices. In no particular order.
The Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past This game was great when it was released and it’s great now, and thanks to the randomiser community it’s now infinitely replayable as well.
Super Metroid A series that literally helped define a genre, Super Metroid was everything that I suspect they wanted Metroid and Return of Samus to be but the hardware couldn’t keep up. The world is built for speed running as well with so many shortcuts that experienced players can utilise, and again, with the randomiser community making it infinitely replayable (not only on its own, but with a crossover with ALTTP!), this game easily makes it onto my list.
Final Fantasy VII My original introduction to JRPGs and a game whose story and mechanics still hold up today even if the graphics don’t as much. Obviously a lot of people feel the same way thanks to the Remakes, which while slightly out there have had so much nostalgia to play through them.
Final Fantasy XI The original Final Fantasy MMORPG and my introduction to MMORPGs generally, I put about 10 years into this game and still to this today occasionally reinstall it and see where I was last up to.
Final Fantasy XIV I tried several times to start FFXIV, but never got past the first few dungeons until COVID lockdowns hit, and since then am fully on board. The story, while a slow burn, is so good, and being a live service game means there’s always new content coming or changes to learn. But really, the story in FFXIV is easily good enough to qualify as a mainline FF title, and any FF players who haven’t tried it yet, should.
Doki Doki Literature Club You have to play this blind. Don’t watch a let’s play, and avoid any spoilers if you can. It’s worth it. But when it’s all done, if you’re playing on PC, people have written entirely new mods and story for it, and the good ones really know how to make you connect with the characters.
Persona 5 Royal I discovered the Persona series with Golden, and was super excited to play Persona 5 when it released, but Royal is the definitive version that you’ll want to play. The story is great, the gameplay is lots of fun, and the combination of JRPG and slice of life makes you feel a lot more connected to the loveable cast.
Factorio Just perfectly tickles that itch for resource management. The factory must grow.
Metal Gear Solid 2 A main memory I have of this game is the first time playing it where I bought out a whole box of those chocolates they sell for fundraising - was supposed to sell them to other people but they were great for late night snacking while I played. The stealth, the tension, the weird everything towards the end, it was a trip from start to finish.
Duke Nukem 3D Duke wasn’t my first foray into FPS games (Wolfenstein 3D manages that title). But it holds a special place in my heart as it was the first game I ever played online multiplayer on. But I did it before the internet, so literally had a modem to modem connection running over an IPX network. Realistically, there’s been plenty of better FPS games since, both modern and classic, but the irreverent humour, plus the fact I was a teen who probably wasn’t supposed to be playing a game with strippers and highly pixilated tits in it, just edges it into my top 10.
If you like DDLC, you should try Song of Saya. Just a warning, it can get quite graphic, but the storytelling is amazing.
Also Chrono Trigger if you’re a Final Fantasy fan.
Chrono Trigger have played and loved as well, but it’s not one I’ve gone back to and replayed, which was one of my key criteria in this list, longevity (for me - I realise Chrono Trigger does have it between the multiple endings and New Game+ mode).
I have a very distinct memory of first playing it via emulator on ZSNES, and running into a bug in a section in the future that required you to hold L and R and activate some controls to open a door. For whatever reason the emulator wasn’t handling that properly and I got stuck. Eventually went back to it on Snes9x and was able to progress, but that stuck out.
Haven’t heard of Song of Saya though, thanks for the recommendation!
I don’t think an emulator bug (especially from a 90s emulator) should factor into how good a game is.
I’d recommend giving it another shot. It’s one of my favorite games of all time, and the only game I find myself replaying every year.
Oh, sorry, please don’t read it that way! It’s a game I very much enjoyed when I played it, and I do still today watch speed runners race it occasionally. The bug didn’t impact my enjoyment of it in the longer term, it’s just a fun fact I remember about it from when I did play it all those years ago that I thought I’d share.
Ah. Makes sense. The early days of emulators were something I really enjoyed. One of the reasons I even got into computers was ZSNES (although glitching Pokemon 1st gen was another)
I love how you can tell how old someone is by their favorite final fantasy games :)
You’re right, you really can. That being said if it’s purely personal favourites I’d put FF6 into that list as well. I would love if they gave that the Remake treatment.
Same! FF6 is so damn good
Not in order:
- Outer Wilds
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Metal Gear Solid
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Super Metroid
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Stardew Valley
- Undertale
- Starcraft
Dang. This is almost my list as well, and the ones that are different I can totally see why they could be on someone else’s list. I like your taste in games.
Thanks. Also now realizing that picking just 10 is super hard and looking back at my list there’s like 2 strong honorable mentions for every title in my list (some might even be swappable).
Just off the top of my head, a few others I’d rate as A-tier or S-tier all-time-greats in my personal list:
- Disco Elysium
- Final Fantasy 7
- Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Hades
- Dishonored
- Banjo Kazooie
- Doom (2016)
- Dead Space
- Psychonauts 2 (part 1 is also A-tier)
- GTA 5
- Case of the Golden Idol
- Mass Effect 2
- Paradise Killer
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
- The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (both parts are excellent)
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
- Tony Hawk’s Underground
- A Dark Room
- 999 (aka Zero Escape, aka 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors)
- edit: How the hell did I forget Portal?!
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Is Obra Dinn that good? I started it but only played for about an hour. If it’s on your top 10 I might have to give it another look.
I love Obra Dinn, but not top 10 love. I think the fresh style in an industry of samey games using the same few engines made it really stand out for me. It’s retro styled, but also goes beyond that to show you it’s world in a new way.
If the art style doesn’t do it for you then you might not enjoy it as much.
Subjectively I’d say definitely yes. I adore cerebral games with interesting stories to tell, and this one has that plus a ton of mystery at its core (mystery is maybe my favorite genre of any fiction). The art style can be a little hard for some to get behind, but if you enjoy similar themes & game elements it’s a phenomenal game that will live in your head rent-free for awhile after you’ve finished. It’s one of only maybe three games I’ve ever legitimately referred to as a masterpiece (one of the others being Outer Wilds).
Not in any order of value, but in alphabetical order. I couldn’t stick to just 10, sorry. And I’m sure I’m missing some good ones.
- Crash Bandicoot (especially 2)
- Dark Souls (1 and 3)
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Elden Ring
- Escape From Tarkov
- Factorio
- Half Life (all of them)
- Hollow Knight
- Hotline Miami
- Little Big Planet (especially 2)
- Morrowind
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
- Satisfactory
- Terraria
- The Binding of Isaac
- The Forest (both games)
- The Talos Principle (especially 2)
- Yakuza (hard to pick one)
…yeah, I’m bad at picking favorites.
Stalker was fantastic. It’s been years but can’t wait for Stalker 2. The Half-Lifes too, kind of similar eastern gloomy atmosphere. I’m currently stuck in Talos Principle, near the end… haven’t even tried 2 yet. And Morrowind of course : the greatest fantasy adventure of my teenage years, if we set aside my french teacher. Hollow Knight, what a blast. Hoping Silksong is going to be vaaaast. I love exploration.
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Xenogears
Nier: Automata
Vagrant Story
Super Mario World
Hades
Elden Ring
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Final Fantasy XIV
Kind of in order, kinda not. They all deserve 1st place, really, and I’m sure there are many others that could be up there with them that didn’t spring to mind as fast.
Yakuza 0
Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 3
Yakuza 4
Yakuza 5
Yakuza 6
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Dragon Quest 11
Nice, I love Yakuza, really very special in the world of gaming! :-)
That’s rad!
In no particular order:
- Star Craft: Brood War
- Diablo II
- Half Life
- Counter Strike
- Homeworld
- Heretic
- GTA Vice City
- Quake 2 (and 3)
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Battlefield 2
I bet our birthdays are pretty close to one another’s.
Youngins. Did you never even meet Wirt?
Yeah I’m showing my age here. lol
In no order
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Bloodborne
Celeste
Slay the Spire
Monster Hunter: World (+ Iceborne)
Hades
Portal 2
Persona 4: Golden
Advance Wars 2
TES 4: OblivionIn no particular order:
- Elden Ring
- Mass Effect 2
- Dark Souls 3
- Bloodborne
- Factorio
- Terraria
- The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
- Metroid Prime
- Alan Wake 2
- Outer Wilds
Honourable mentions:
- XCOM 2
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Fallout 3
- Terranigma
- Resident Evil 2 (Remake)
- Dark Souls 1
- Beyond Good and Evil
- Half Life 2
- Halo 1-3
- Mass Effect 1 and 3
- TES 5: Skyrim
- Zone of the Enders 2: The second Runner
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 🎶
- Endless Legend
Extremely close to my list - I’d probably only add Starcraft and Minecraft.
And maybe switch wind waker for Ocarina, twilight princess, or BOTW.
in no particular order:
-Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun Firestorm
-Wolfenstein 3D
-Max Payne
-Railroad Tycoon 2
-Starcraft
-Half-Life
-Fallout 2
-Tropico 3
-Age of Empires II
-Uplink
Firestorm represent! I had the biggest oh shit moment when the core defender came out
Uplink and RRT2… many hours of my childhood lost to those.
Okay let’s do this. Not in any order:
- Diablo 2
- Fallout 2 (and to a lesser degree 3 and New Vegas)
- Civilization 4
- Rimworld
- Morrowind
- Against the Storm
- 7 Days to Die
- XCOM 2
- Factorio
- Minecraft
I’m just going to drop my number 1, especially because it’s in no one’s list but somehow CP2077 is mentionned several times…
- The Witcher 3 !
Then the rest would be:
- Age of Empires II
- Minecraft
- Overwatch 1
- Star Wars Battlefront II (the OG)
- Trackmania
- Portal
- Skyrim
… I’ll leave the remaining 2 to others :)
