Bryan’s 50 Favorite Games Ever (10-1)

Here it is, the final 10.

10)  Super Metroid. Super Metroid was flat out revolutionary. Excellent controls that felt responsive. Secret items hidden throughout the game to cater to the completionist. With skill you could actually skip over entire sections of the game. Metroid and Super Metroid practically invented a genre, the quasi-open world action game didn’t exist prior. No gamer is complete until they’ve played this game.

9) Final Fantasy 6 (Final Fantasy 3 in America).  Final Fantasy 6 is one of the pinnacles of the RPG genre. Interesting characters with completely unique gameplay styles. Superb moments litter the game. The opera scene, Kefka actually succeeds in his evil plan, and the grandeur that is the final boss. So many hidden things to find and espers to collect.  Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Final Fantasy 6 is that there is truly no main character. You could make an argument for Terra, Locke, Edgar, or even Celes, but no individual character becomes bigger than the group.

8)  Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic. Kotor was one of Bioware’s early hits. At the time the game was graphically impressive. The dialog tree helped make every conversation interesting. The well written characters make the shocking twist at the mid-point all the more legendary. It doesn’t hurt that this might be the best licensed game ever.

7) Chrono Trigger. One of the few games to ever make time travel not seem forced. Chrono, Marle, and crew travel throughout time in a quest to stop Magus and then Lavos. The characters are unique and the sprite designs are great. Chrono Trigger is one of the most prominent early games to feature multiple endings. Upon beating the game, you are given the ability to play through multiple times keeping the experience you’ve accrued. Because of this you actually have the ability to take on Lavos almost immediately leading to one of the many alternate conclusions. Chrono Trigger has one of the best soundtracks in the history of gaming to, Schala’s theme is particularly powerful.

6) Mass Effect 2. The whole Mass Effect series was fantastic, but the second one easily takes the cake as best in the series. Shepard’s brings some new characters to the fold, while keeping the best from previous games. It’s one of the first games where you get to see the impact of your previous choices. Bumping into my old pal Wrex when I landed on Tuchanka was one of my happiest moments. Martin Sheen does a fantastic job as the Illusive Man, one of those villains you love because they aren’t particularly evil, they just have a different path toward the same end. Mass Effect 2’s biggest improvement over the original is that it streamlined EVERYTHING. The combat got smoother thanks to the improved cover system. Even the inventory system became more accessible.

5) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Hands down my favorite Zelda game. I loved the melancholy feel to the world. Making you play as both Wolf Link and Human Link was a great idea and well executed. Midna was a far better companion than Navi. The controls were the tightest of any of the games in the franchise.

4) Metal Gear Solid 3. I find it ironic that my favorite Metal Gear game doesn’t even feature Solid Snake. As a bit of a history buff, going back to Cold War era Russia was pretty awesome. What makes Metal Gear Solid  the best in the franchise was the incredible boss fights. The End still is probably one of the best fights ever and replicates the feel of a sniper standoff. Some of the Easter Eggs were pretty cool, in fact you even have an opportunity to ruin the timeline of the Metal Gear series, which results in a Game Over. MGS 3 features possibly the best final boss fight in the history of gaming.

Warning, the video below contains spoilers

3) Final Fantasy 7. This was the ultimate game of my childhood.  The addition of FMV to the franchise really helped take it to the next level. The summon spells felt appropriately epic and battle changing. The Materia system was an interesting one in that while you could make any of your characters play whatever style you wanted, it was simple to find good combinations of materia to make your character powerful. Nobuo  Uematsu continues to make fantastic soundtracks. Try not to shed a tear when Red’s theme hits it’s peak when Red learns the fate of his father.

2) Resident Evil 4. At the time, the gameplay was unrivaled. The game felt properly tense, and while Ashley occasionally got in the way, the game balanced that by giving you places to stash her. The game has some fantastic moments, like when you are surrounded by the enemy on all sides as they assault the small building that you, Luis, and Ashley had to hole up in. The game has a very high replay value thanks to speed runs, and unlocking new items as you play through multiple times.

1) The Last of Us. The combination of fantastic story and great gameplay. Never before had I been hit so hard emotionally in the first fifteen minutes of a game. The acting was powerful, and you came to legitimately care about Ellie, Tess, Joel and nearly everyone. The controls were superb, and the game always has a surprise coming for you just when you start to feel comfortable. Speaking of Ellie, I feel that she was the main character of the game, and while you control Joel it’s really her story. Never before or since have I come across characters that seem as purely human as in the Last of Us, which is why it is my favorite game of all time.

There you go, my top 50 games of all time. I’m being completely sincere when I say that if I have to make this list again, everything will probably be moved around. Most of these games are just so close to each other.