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In celebration of AcidGameReviews' 5th anniversary, I've dedicated this month's Top 10 to talk about my 10 favorite games of all-time. I've been planning this one for months, mainly because I kept changing games back and forth. I'll be looking at some of my favorite games I played when I was young and I thought that I'd share with you my experiences with each one. It's been a tough one and took me a while to compile but I'm pretty satisfied with what I came up with in the end.
Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Easily what I consider to be the best Nintendo game ever made, Super Mario Galaxy is also one of my favorite game of all-time. One of the earliest Mario games I recall playing, Super Mario Galaxy blew me away with its level deign that had you taking control of Mario in space. As a kid back then, I was worried that the controls were going to be difficult and gimmicky, but it was anything but that.
Despite the annoying camera at times, the gameplay was simple to grasp and exploring all of the game's galaxies was all the more fun. I remember easily getting addicted on getting as much stars as I can in when I heard Luigi was an unlockable character. Bundle the game with an out of this world orchestral soundtrack featuring the likes of legendary Nintendo composer, Koji Kondo, and you're in for a treat.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (2011)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sets how I measure adventure games. A memorable plot, great characters, solid gameplay, Ocarina of Time fits all that. I remember picking up Ocarina 3D on a whim back when I was looking for games on my 3DS back in 2011. Being my first Zelda game, I had nothing but great memories of the game. The whole time-traveling story and characters were memorable looking back.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (2011)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sets how I measure adventure games. A memorable plot, great characters, solid gameplay, Ocarina of Time fits all that. I remember picking up Ocarina 3D on a whim back when I was looking for games on my 3DS back in 2011. Being my first Zelda game, I had nothing but great memories of the game. The whole time-traveling story and characters were memorable looking back.
I especially loved the supporting cast of characters as the likes of Impa, Darunia, Ruto and yes, even the annoying fairy, Navi, grew on me in the end. Despite the obnoxious water temple, the gameplay held up pretty well years later. The puzzle-solving aspects of the game hold up decently and I still get stuck on some of them. The reason I chose the 3DS remaster over the original Nintendo 64 release is that it updates the presentation and I can't stress how great is it having the full adventure on the go.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 2 is the most divisive entry in the long-running series. While I won't go in-depth about the matter, the story divided fans as some hated it, while others loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed MGS2 as for starters, I was one of those who actually liked Raiden and didn't mind him taking over as the main lead. Granted, I would have wanted to play as Snake throughout the game, but at least there's an option to play the Tanker chapter again. There were lots of memorable moments in the story such as the time Raiden had to sneak past guards while and putting up with the Colonel's fourth-wall breaking antics towards the end.
Thought-provoking themes such as the unregulated power of AI and the nature of our existence also made it the most compelling one of the bunch for me. The gameplay just felt spot-on as the sneaking felt more refined and fully exploring the Big Shell was a lot of fun. Admittedly, one aspect where the game falls short is in the boss fights as aside from a couple exceptions such as Fat Man and Solidus, the rest just leaves lot to be desired. Nonetheless, Hideo Kojima's debut outing on the PS2 remains a stellar one and one of my all-time faves.
Persona 4 (2008)
Man, where do I start with Persona 4. I'm really glad that it was the first JRPG I've played as it sets the standard for how I measure future games of the genre. While the whole school setting is over-saturated in the JRPG market, I still loved Persona 4's cast of likeable high schoolers who mist uncover the truth behind a string of murders that's been taking place in their quiet town. I really liked the turn-based gameplay that has you exploring dungeons and using beings known "personas" to fight enemies. Additionally, you have to form bonds with the people around you in order to strengthen the personas that you can create, meaning that there's lots of memorable interactions to be had.
Persona 4 (2008)
Man, where do I start with Persona 4. I'm really glad that it was the first JRPG I've played as it sets the standard for how I measure future games of the genre. While the whole school setting is over-saturated in the JRPG market, I still loved Persona 4's cast of likeable high schoolers who mist uncover the truth behind a string of murders that's been taking place in their quiet town. I really liked the turn-based gameplay that has you exploring dungeons and using beings known "personas" to fight enemies. Additionally, you have to form bonds with the people around you in order to strengthen the personas that you can create, meaning that there's lots of memorable interactions to be had.
I can't talk about Persona 4 without making mention of the legendary soundtrack by the renowned Shoji Meguro. My favorite game OST of all-time and remains one that I frequently listened for many years to come. Also, Persona 4 was the first game where I clocked nearly 150 hours into it. That's a lot of time, but I have no regrets simply as P4 is that amazing.
Final Fantasy VII (1997)
I'll be honest here and say that prior to jumping into Final Fantasy VII, I had little to no familiarity with the Final Fantasy franchise. I read in forums and comment sections of sites where players kept touting Final Fantasy VII as "the best RPG of all-time". Being a relatively new the JRPG genre, I had high pretty high expectations coming in. I was immideitly drawn into the world of FFVII and its cast of characters. While I wasn't the biggest fan of the pacing of the narrative, I found myself taking a liking to its mature themes of life and death. The gameplay was also a highlight for me as using some powerful summons and equipping stats-increasing Materias into your equipment and exploring the game's vast world were all pretty fun to do.
While the visuals haven't aged well by today's standards, FFVII looks decent enough to be played (at least for me) yet an aspect of the presentation that stood the test of time is the outstanding soundtrack by Nobou Uemastu, which features tons of stellar tracks. FFVII shattered my expectations despite it being over 20 years old and I consider it one of the finest games I've ever played. I love the game to the point where I decided to make a long and throughout retrospective of the game that took me over a month to compile, which you should check out if you want a history lesson of the making of FFVII and the challenges it posed on the dev team.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999)
I'll be also completely honest: I'm not much of a fan of horror films and games in general. However, I always find myself making exceptions for the Resident Evil games. I don't know if its either the cheesy one-liners or the over-the-top plots, but there's a certain charm to the RE games that always gets to me. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is no different. Taking place during the Raccoon City outbreak, we follow Resident Evil survivor Jill Valentine as she must escape from the zombie-infested city. However, she's being hunted by Nemesis, a highly lethal bioweapon courtesy of the Umbrella Corporation. The defining factor of the game, Nemesis' sole purpose is to hunt down poor Jill whenever she goes. This translates perfectly into the game as Jill is always vulnerable and exposed and you never know what door Nemesis might be behind.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999)
I'll be also completely honest: I'm not much of a fan of horror films and games in general. However, I always find myself making exceptions for the Resident Evil games. I don't know if its either the cheesy one-liners or the over-the-top plots, but there's a certain charm to the RE games that always gets to me. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is no different. Taking place during the Raccoon City outbreak, we follow Resident Evil survivor Jill Valentine as she must escape from the zombie-infested city. However, she's being hunted by Nemesis, a highly lethal bioweapon courtesy of the Umbrella Corporation. The defining factor of the game, Nemesis' sole purpose is to hunt down poor Jill whenever she goes. This translates perfectly into the game as Jill is always vulnerable and exposed and you never know what door Nemesis might be behind.
This concept genuinely scared the hell out of me when I first played the game as Nemesis is faster than Jill and can easily kill her in a few hits. To counter this, Jill has a lot more weaponry and ammo this time around, but she still has to account for the other zombies and enemies out in Raccoon city, so she's always never safe. This resulted in RE3 easily being the best horror game I've played (yes, even beating the REmake) as it checks-off all of things needed to deliver a truly terrifying experience. While the early Resident Evil games did survival horror right, but Resident Evil 3 did it best.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (2004)
I'm a huge fan of mech action. I grew up watching a lot of the Mobile Suit Gundam shows and I've developed a big love of seeing some giant robots duke it out while leaving tons of damage and destruction. It was always something appealing to me as a kid. So when I played the sequel to the underrated Zone of the Enders, I was instantly hooked on the fast as hell action. The 2nd Runner is harder, better, faster, and sleeker than its predecessor in every way. Taking control of a powerful mech known as Jehuty, you'll be slashing your way through BAHRAM forces in all sorts of flashy manners.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (2004)
Your mech Jehuty is packed with some heavy artillery and blasting your way through waves of enemies while quickly evading their attacks is pretty sweet considering the game isn't forgiving when it comes to some of the lighting fast and brutal boss fights. An underrated gem of the PS2 days, it stands among the best hack-and-slash games to have come out in recent years
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (2005)
When I get stressed out in life, I turn to video-games as a means to vent off. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is one of those games where I can easily pop-in and lose myself into it. What I love about Devil May Cry 3 is that it doesn't take itself too seriously a evident by the laid back demeanor of protagonist Dante and the many over the top set-pieces of the game. Make no mistake, slashing throw waves of enemies and tough as nails bosses is hard as hell, and Devil May Cry 3 won't shy of having your ass handed to you.
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (2005)
When I get stressed out in life, I turn to video-games as a means to vent off. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is one of those games where I can easily pop-in and lose myself into it. What I love about Devil May Cry 3 is that it doesn't take itself too seriously a evident by the laid back demeanor of protagonist Dante and the many over the top set-pieces of the game. Make no mistake, slashing throw waves of enemies and tough as nails bosses is hard as hell, and Devil May Cry 3 won't shy of having your ass handed to you.
You might be wondering "why the hell do I play a hard game in order to vent off my frustrations?" Well, let's just that the faced-paced gameplay where you slash and shoot demons All in all, DMC3 is a game I come to from time to time to get my over-the-top action fix and it doesn't disappoint.
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
The PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved was my first, first-person shooter that I've played. The futuristic sci-fi setting where you control the badass character of Master Chief against an army of aliens known as the Covenant was an exciting premise back in the day. Combined with the game's excellent multiplayer mode, in which I sunk tons of time in the deathmatch component with my friends back in school, it easily stands as being of my personal favorites.
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
The PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved was my first, first-person shooter that I've played. The futuristic sci-fi setting where you control the badass character of Master Chief against an army of aliens known as the Covenant was an exciting premise back in the day. Combined with the game's excellent multiplayer mode, in which I sunk tons of time in the deathmatch component with my friends back in school, it easily stands as being of my personal favorites.
I've been an avid fan of the Halo series since then and pursued playing the other games on the Xbox. Granted, the series didn't have much of an impact on me ever since it took on a new direction helmed by developer 343 Industries but looking back, I still fondly remember the good times I spent in arguably the best entry in the series.
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009)
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors is one of the best games to come from the Nintendo DS' library. An underrated gem, it fortunately developed a cult following over the years and spawned sequels due to its well-written narrative, but I find myself gravitating to first entry of the Zero Escape series more. The grounded premise and relatable cast as well as the many mind-bending puzzles you solve throughout the game were some of my favorite aspects of the game.
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009)
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors is one of the best games to come from the Nintendo DS' library. An underrated gem, it fortunately developed a cult following over the years and spawned sequels due to its well-written narrative, but I find myself gravitating to first entry of the Zero Escape series more. The grounded premise and relatable cast as well as the many mind-bending puzzles you solve throughout the game were some of my favorite aspects of the game.
It might look a bit rough in some areas in terms of the visuals but the colorful character sprites compensates. That and the chilling soundtrack, courtesy of Shinji Hosoe, sends shivers all over my body every time I boot up the game. If the premise of nine persons being trapped in a boat that's going to sink if they don't find a way out excites you, then you'll be pleased to know that 999 got recently remastered on PlayStation systems with updated visuals and voice acting.
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