15 All Time Video Games (I'm a nerd... duh)

Screw your Madden and MVP. Even my addiction to XIII is only because I'm sick and I can't find my other games. But thanks to Danno rehashing the NES games list, its time for me to do my long awaited top 15 games of all time. Since I was deprived of NES as a youngin (my first system was, in fact, Gameboy) I will do all platforms. I never had that many games, but I played a lot (rental, borrowing, etc.) I'm including computer games on this list as well since I've had my share of comp game addictions. And I'm making this list 15 for no reason. 20 is probably too many (altho I could do it) and 10 is too little. So here tis. The main criteria for this was the gameplay-ability. Meaning no matter what (even the RPG's) I could keep playing these games over and over again. And yes, if i had the systems and the games, I wouldn't be writing this now and probably playing one of them. Anyone who knows me well will automatically know what isn't on this list. And that's Contra. Not because it didn't own, but because I was so detreimentally bad even with the code, that I can't like it. Everyone would say, eff playing with you, you suck! So I ended up hating it. Anyway, here we go.

15. Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)- No other game universe as as unique as the FF universe. With a ton of games under it's belt (and two more to come on my list), between amazing stories, endless amounts of possibilites and the first of the post Nintendo FF's, VII is a legend in the gaming world. It's pretty much the perfect RPG. And anyone who is a fan of the real-deal RPG's and not the Action RPG's which are also amazing, this is the best. However, it ranks third on my FF list and 15 overall game of all-time. Why? You'll find out when you read about the other ones on this list. It is epic and great and lord knows those cut scenes are amazing, but something about the Materia gameplay made it so complicated at times that it held me back a bit. Overall, this game is amazing and a lot of people rank it as one of the greatest ever made. I can see why.

14. Super Mario Kart (SNES)- Yes, I went there. I love Kart in every form, but every incarnation of it (for me at least... I know no one will agree with me on this one) just wasn't as good as this. This game had some of the hardest levels (between the ghost levels and the various rainbow roads) that made it challenging and amazingly fun. This also has the best memories for me as me and my oldest sister had massive rivalries at who would trump who. Koopa Troop was my fav. Also, personalized songs for when certain characters won was pretty sweet. The one thing this game had that was odd that I loved was the feather item that made you jump mad high. And it seems kind of useless at first, until you hone your skills and learn when to use it to jump a tight turn and get ahead. Regardless, probably one of the games I spent the most hours playing.

13. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)- Probably the most recent game on the list, this is the premier third person shooter, although there is not a huge amount of shooting. The ultimate test of stealth and thriftyness (you run out of ammo so fast, it's not even funny) and the thinking mand's violent game. The story picks up after MGS 1, but is a little more intriguing. I usually don't care if my game has great graphics, but my word. Lush is a good word to use. There is soemthing about sneaking around, putting an enemy to sleep and then hiding his body in a closet that makes a game great. When you have to think as much with a shooter like this, it makes the gameplay so much better than any other. Oh yeah and a crazy awesome ending that freaks your mind.

12. Super Mario World (SNES)- Again, I'm turning heads here, but this is by far the best Mario Bros. game for any system. It has the best power-up's (The cape is the best hands down), Yoshi, the many Koopa's named after several hard rockers (Iggy, Lemmy etc.) and the inspirado for the first mario spin-off game (Kart... all the races parallel the games levels), and just all around amazing endless gameplay and hidden secrets, Mario had never been this unique and intricate. Mario 2 can suck it as far as I'm concerned. It goes by too fast. Mario 1 is great and all, but this took the smae greatness of that and injected it with Awesome. The closest to greatness that comes from any other Mario game is the real Mario 2 coined Lost Levels that came out for Mario All Stars.

11. Goldeneye 007 (N64)- This is on everyone's list because we all wasted most of our late teen years and on for this games multiplayer greatness. Even the 1 player game was unfettered brilliance, but here you got a game that did both. A lot of times the game is good at one and crappy at the other (Smash Bros.). But here we have a first person shooter that is just plain fun. There really isn't too much depth to the game (and that is why its not higher on my list... i have 2 other first person shooters that trump Bond), but we all know that it was reliable enough to be damn fun. That and this is one that I think myself, Stev, Norlen and Dr. Carey all claim to own. So this usually calls for the best match-ups in big gaming events (this and Kart 64).

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarnia of Time (N64)- The first of the 64 games that really showed the future of gaming. Real time atmospheres, highly advanced gameplay and great story make this the second best Zelda game of all-time. Difficult at many turns, yet super fun with lots of side games and such. The useage of actually playing the Ocarina is a sweet add with rediculous spells and such. I found myself just fishing in the one pond at times for a while. The horse riding was awesome too. Just an all around complex, yet fun game. It was never so complex (minus that goddamn water temple... most annoying level in that game) that I lost interest. That and the bosses were awesome. I miss this game a lot.

9. Half Life (PC)- What can I say about one of the scariest game I've ever played. Yes, this freaks me out sometimes way more than Resident Evil. The AI in this game is really creepy. Stalks you when you need to run because you only have a few bits of health and a few bullets. You try to run, but they track you down. This game also brought on the best online multiplayer I have ever played. With a few spin off mods (Counter Strike) and a specific online version (Team Fortress Classic) had one too many hours on this. I got so good that I had nerds bigger than myself asking me to join their "clan". Never did that because they did training and practice. Thats lame. The single player game was one of the coolest stories ever, enough so that I think this deserves a movie before Halo. A cliffhanger open ending to a video game is always awesome too. This is also one of the hardest games I've ever played on an advanced hard mode. You have to be the best to beat that shite on the hardest level of ability. And even myself who prided in being damn good, took so many hours trying to finish that on the hardest level. Fun times.

8. Final Fantasy V (SNES)- Why was this game never brought to the states until playstation did it like 10 years later? I only played this on emulator on the computer, but my word was it amazing. The job system was really cool. You honed your skills as specific types of characters (black/white mage, knight, dragoon, ninja, etc.) and then once far enough in the game, you could mix your characters abilities and make them an ultimate fighter with healing skills, magic skills and fighting skills like whoa. Rather than having to change your line-up and leave certain characters out, you had four of them who could learn all trades and types of fighting. Not to mention, the characters and story were so complex that this was the most complex FF I think they ever dreamed up that didn't lose any gameplay-ability. If you like classic RPG's, try to download this. So worth it.

7. System Shock (PC)- I got this game randomly one Christmas from my sister who probably had no idea that she bought one of the strangest and most awesome PC games ever made. I said Half Life was scary, but I forgot about this game. A shooter it was, but it was more than that. It was a game about being stuck on this space station where the computer took over and mutated the people on it to these weird cyborg things or humanoids and such. Your goal was to shut down the computer that was at the top level, but it was so intricate that you had to accomplish things sometimes in a viruatl reality type part of the game (not that I had to wear something on my head, it was all in game stuff.) This game also had so many intricate possibilites. You woudl get fatigued and there were patches you had to apply to yourself sometimes in order to funciton right. Also, although it got annoying if you forgot to save, but there were some small chances that you could prematurely end the game. It only happened to me like twice, and they were two different possibilities, but it sucked. This game was really hard and really great. I doubt anyone else has ever played it, but since its so out of print and I had to install it via like 8 floppy disks back in the day, its a lost treasure. They made a sequel which I need to find, but I bet it lacks the greatness of the first one. It was made way late after the other one, so who knows if any of the first developers were on it. It ruled and I need to find it (so if you see it at a flea market, Ryan, get it for me no matter the price.) Also, System Shock was "the gaming world's first 3-D environment." This game eludes me so. I need it back!

6. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)- Ah yes. The many days spent on this amazing masterpiece of a game. Takes the Mario jumping on heads format and perfects it into a fun adventure game. Chock full of the best side-scrolling gaming ever made, the levels were more complex and interesting than any Mario game for these early systems (Even Super Mario World couldn't touch the complexity of these levels.) Also, some of my favorite game music is on this game. It's not the great 8-bit sounds of NES that forged the best tunes, but its the jungle tunes that made you tap your feet as you stomp all sorts of crocidilian creatures, armadillos and snakes. Plus, who could resist the much fun of the mine cart levels replaying the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom feel... but with primates. I beat this game with over 100% completion several times (that means I really searched for those extras.) The good old days of SNES.

Now to the 5 games I wish I was playing right now.

5. Civilization II (PC)- You know you are a real gaming nerd when you have Civ II in your top 5. But this game has the same addictive effects as tobacco. There is no game on this good earth that I have played for more hours than this. Nothing can compare. You would think that a game based upon raising an entire civilzation from the days of inventing the wheel to the implications of Nuclear Weapons and trying to end the game by building a space craft large enough to reach Alpha Centauri would be amazingly lame. Well, many people probably would hate this game, but when you love spending time building army units, creating world wonders, keeping the peace in all your cities and getting money from your citizens, you get pretty engaged in it. Civ III was great and all since it had better graphics, but gameplay was at its height on this game. I found a site where a guy lost all hope in school, relationships and life in general from this game so much that he deleted his game, tried to sell it on ebay and when no one bid on it, he took a gun and shot it (not really, but heres the picture dramatization.) Games can take over your life and this one is probably the one that would end me if I still had it. Too much fun and so time consuming!

4. Final Fantasy III (SNES)- The best classic RPG ever made in the (Final Fantasy series). In Japan, this one was VI. The story line in this is rediculous and intricate. It also varies so much that you can play this game so many times and have a totally different outcome so much so that I have no idea how many it really is. It all depends on certain points what characters path you decide to choose. My word it was hard. But hard never made it bad like some games could be for me. The plot was about a time when magic was dead, yet this strange person was discovered with the power to hone the magic skill. This was bad with the reign of some king that I forget his name, but it got intense at times the stuff you had to do. And for SNES it was worlds ahead of any other game to that date. I probably rented this game more than any other because I had to keep it out long so other people didn't delete my game. That's all I'm saying on it. It's been too long since I've played it and I'm searching for the playstation re-release that has this AND V on it. That would rule to own.

3. Tetris (Any system, but I had Gameboy version)- Well, this is the simplest game ever made, yet it's more fun than most any other game I've ever played. So much so that my Dad and Sister would ask for some time on Tetris on Gameboy and I'd have to fight for it back. Everyone can play, but not everyone is good at it. Regardless, the tension builds perfectly and the gameplay will never let you down. If I still had my classic gameboy (it broke on me.... piss) I'd still be playing this. This and my Atari games which I didn't include on this list for some reason, but I really only loved Joust and that's probably #16. I don't like the online Tetris I find, so I need either a Gameboy or NES to get this fix back. Tetris Attack was cool, but dynamics were different. That was better for multiplayer anyway. I need some alone time with Tetris...

2. Chrono Trigger (SNES)- This, my friends, is finally the greatest of any classic style RPG. It blends some of the elements of the Action RPG style (Zelda) and throws in the classic turn-based style of other RPG's (Final Fantasy) and it does it perfetly. Another amazing plot and another game that sucks your life away for several hours on end. I think everyone reading this is finally noticing that I had a very lonely existence and played a lot of one player RPG's, but what you don't know is that I played a lot of these games with friends each taking turns and contributing to the process on those long all-nighter grade school sleepovers. This one wasn't one of them, however, for I found it late in the game and had to play it on emulator style. You know a game rules when now it goes on ebay for a good chunk of change for a SNES game (I've seen 80 bucks shelled out.) Another game that depends on what you do and such andone that changes when you select certain characters. I also now have this on the Playstation release they did with this and Final Fantasy II. Lot's of fun and there is a huge cult following for Chrono Trigger.

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)- You all know (unless you haven't played it like Dr. Carey) that this game is the best. Tons of levels, items to find, characters to meet (I freaking love Shahsrhashrasrrhhsrhsahhshrsahshshaala or whatever his name is) and the greatest gameplay ever, you got lost in this game. If you haven't, discover it on emulator or SNES somehow. It's engrossing to the max, has the greatest musical score of any game ever hands down, and it's just damn good fun gameplaying. I really can't say much else about it. You know how awesome it is.