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Everyone's Top 10 Video game list!

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sportscoach

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Well I have been wanting to do this for awhile, and I finally decided to actually post it! Haha

Essentially I want to know everyones top 10 list of video games, regardless of genre. I think this is a good way of seeing games you may have never heard of before from other people. I don't care what system either! Also you can just say series as well, but if possible pick out your favorite from that series... I am working on mine, so let's hear what everyone else has to say! @Man Called X @foucault87 help me starts us off! @Marcus I believe you play a fair amount of games. Tag others and let's get this rolling!
 
  1. Dota/Dota 2. Okay, it's definitely not the greatest game of all time... but I've been playing this for like 16 years or something now. It's absurd. Probably around 20K hours on a single game. I still remember how cool it was when VALVE picked up the custom game I played in WC3 and made it its own game, and had the first International with a million dollar prize pool--and I knew the majority of the players competing for it, including everyone from the North American region personally. It's the game that launched an entire genre, and the #2 most popular custom game of all-time behind Counter-Strike.
  2. Portal 2. Yeah it's short, but it's the best gaming experience I've ever had.
  3. Baldur's Gate 2 + ToB expansion. I still go back and play this game every so often--and it holds up. How many games from 2000 still hold up? Un-freaking-real.
  4. Can I cheat and just put all of the SNES-era JRPG's in here? FF5, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG all hold special places in my heart.
  5. Mega Man X--ok, another one that isn't good enough to be up here, but it holds a special place for me.
  6. Super Mario--all of them, but if you make me pick one, it's SMW.
  7. Beat Saber. The definitive VR game. It's single-handedly carrying the medium.
  8. Halo. The original. I still remember lugging my Xbox around high school after Finals (or was it AP exams?) were done, but while school was still going on and playing in our free classes. Blood Gulch and Hang em High for life.
  9. Slay the Spire. Best roguelike game.
  10. Magic The Gathering Online. I'm pretty sure this is dead now, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't even good when it was around, but my brother and I spent every waking moment playing this game for a few summers. We used to sit in an auction channel all day, volunteering to play the role as auctioneer in hopes of getting a few tips here and there to build our deck. Playing a pay-to-win game without spending money is quite interesting.
There--a personal top 10 that doesn't even include Half-Life (although Portal's Half-Life adjacent)
 
  1. Dota/Dota 2. Okay, it's definitely not the greatest game of all time... but I've been playing this for like 16 years or something now. It's absurd. Probably around 20K hours on a single game. I still remember how cool it was when VALVE picked up the custom game I played in WC3 and made it its own game, and had the first International with a million dollar prize pool--and I knew the majority of the players competing for it, including everyone from the North American region personally. It's the game that launched an entire genre, and the #2 most popular custom game of all-time behind Counter-Strike.
  2. Portal 2. Yeah it's short, but it's the best gaming experience I've ever had.
  3. Baldur's Gate 2 + ToB expansion. I still go back and play this game every so often--and it holds up. How many games from 2000 still hold up? Un-freaking-real.
  4. Can I cheat and just put all of the SNES-era JRPG's in here? FF5, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG all hold special places in my heart.
  5. Mega Man X--ok, another one that isn't good enough to be up here, but it holds a special place for me.
  6. Super Mario--all of them, but if you make me pick one, it's SMW.
  7. Beat Saber. The definitive VR game. It's single-handedly carrying the medium.
  8. Halo. The original. I still remember lugging my Xbox around high school after Finals (or was it AP exams?) were done, but while school was still going on and playing in our free classes. Blood Gulch and Hang em High for life.
  9. Slay the Spire. Best roguelike game.
  10. Magic The Gathering Online. I'm pretty sure this is dead now, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't even good when it was around, but my brother and I spent every waking moment playing this game for a few summers. We used to sit in an auction channel all day, volunteering to play the role as auctioneer in hopes of getting a few tips here and there to build our deck. Playing a pay-to-win game without spending money is quite interesting.
There--a personal top 10 that doesn't even include Half-Life (although Portal's Half-Life adjacent)

Pumped for Baldurs Gate 3? Bought it early access, played 90 minutes of it. All I needed and wanted to see. Gonna be a banger.
 
My personal top ten (no particular order):

1. Starcraft/Starcraft: Brood War. One of the games that really started it all for me. This is the game that got me into RTS games. This is the game that got me into working on computers and inspired me to learn more about map creation modding - and in that way, it helped shape the person I've become today, as I am now a security engineer working at one of the world's largest software companies. The sequel and its expansions are also among some of the best RTS games out there.

2. Half-Life/Half-Life 2. Another early, influential game for me. I had played other PC shooters before this - Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, and Quake all come to mind - but this was the one that I spent the most time with. It was revolutionary for its time, with its 3D environments, full range of motion, tight controls, enemy design, atmosphere... everything. Half-Life 2 took a perfect game and somehow made it even better. I am among the millions of gamers that laments the fact that we've never gotten Half-Life 3 (although I hear the recent VR game that came out was quite good).

3. Halo. I mowed plenty of lawns and scrimped and saved every penny I possibly could as a kid until I could go to Toys-R-Us and purchase my first Xbox and a copy of Halo. What can be said about this game that hasn't already been said? This game revolutionized the first person shooter genre. Master Chief has become one of the most iconic characters in the history of video games. The gameplay, the sprawling world design, the music, the graphics, the story were all incredible for their time. I spent untold amounts of time on split screen multiplayer with my buddies, fragging each other on Blood Gulch and desperately trying to escape the Library with the Flood hot on our heels.

4. Super Mario Bros. 3. One of a few NES games that I could pick up and lose myself in for hours today. As a kid, I've got plenty of fond, fuzzy memories of this game. Beautiful graphics, addicting gameplay, and tough platforming make this an all-time classic.

5. Mass Effect (the original trilogy). In my mind, one of the greatest sci-fi franchises in any medium. Sadly, BioWare just doesn't make them like this anymore, as evidenced by 2017's incredibly disappointing Mass Effect: Andromeda. This will probably be a controversial choice for some, given that opinions are pretty split between how the original trilogy ultimately ended. If I had to pick a favorite in the series, it would probably be Mass Effect 2 - it takes the deep, compelling story of the first game and gives us a much-needed improvement to gameplay and controls. The graphics, atmosphere, gameplay, voice acting, and story of this trilogy are among the best in games. The emotional weight of character development and what ultimately can happen to those characters is something that stays with me, even years after finishing ME3 for the first time.

6. Pokemon Red/Blue. Two of the games that got me into handheld gaming as a kid, and by far the ones I spent the most amount of time with. I couldn't tell you how many Pokemon there are today, but you better believe I caught all original 151. Anyone remember the Missing No. glitch where you could infinitely clone your items? Fun times.

7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Similar to how Halo revolutionized first person shooters and multiplayer as we know it, COD4 further continued that trend, as their online multiplayer became the basis for what we have seen out of so many other online shooters today. Sadly, the series has largely gone downhill since this game was released (with the exception of World at War and Modern Warfare 2) and is nothing more than a glitch-ridden mess filled to the brim with microtransactions. Getting away from the commentary on the current state of affairs in the series, however, this game had it all. The campaign is one of the best for an FPS, in my opinion - it was gritty, detailed, and compelling. It was emotional and at times gut-wrenching, with twists that you would never see coming. The Chernobyl mission is one of the single best levels for any game, anywhere. My only complaint about the campaign is that it was too short.

8. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. I was a fan of the series well before this game was released (both the games and the books), so this was a highly anticipated title for me - and boy, let me tell you, it did not disappoint. One of the greatest RPGs of all time, this game has a massive world to explore, rife with secrets, lore, and side activities. Its two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, are so good that they could have easily been released as standalone games. This game has more memorable subplots (Bloody Baron, anyone?) than some games do entire storylines. The music in this game sets the tone so well - there's nothing quite like riding around on Roach, listening to Fields of Ard Skellig for the first time while the sun bathes the snow-covered mountains around you. The story is compelling and emotional. It has a minigame that was so popular that CDPR released it as a standalone game. A full playthrough of this game in which you try to uncover everything you possibly can could easily take over 100 hours. This is one of the very few games that I have played where I felt a profound sense of sadness when I finished, both because it was over and because I realized that I could never again experience it for the first time.

9. The Last of Us. One of the most emotionally gripping media experiences that I have ever had, this was the game that convinced me to finally purchase a PS4. I've not played the remake, but I have heard that it does the original proud. It's a game that straddles the line between action and horror, and it does it so well. It's a game that gives you precious little supplies and ammo, forcing you to do something other than go into an encounter with guns blazing where you might be better off just sneaking past. It's a game that causes you to consider the needs of the few versus the needs of many, and there are plenty of touching moments and hard-hitting tragedies. I'll be interested to see the show.

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I would be remiss if I didn't include arguably the greatest video game of all time on my list, from arguably the greatest video game series of all time. Ocarina of Time introduced several gameplay features that have since become industry standards. In fact, there are multiple games on the rest of this list that have borrowed elements that first appeared in this game. Everything from Dark Souls to GTA to The Witcher has cited this game as a major source of inspiration. It has aged comparatively well to other titles that were released during this era. For its time, it was truly a flawless game - visuals, audio, gameplay, music, and story were all perfect. It truly is the benchmark against which all other action and adventure games are measured, and it belongs in any "all time" pantheon.

Honorable Mentions
- Resident Evil 4
- Advance Wars
- Animal Crossing
- Soul Calibur II
- Donkey Kong Country
- Mario 64
- God of War
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- Uncharted 4
- Metroid Prime
- Warcraft 3/The Frozen Throne
- Persona 5
- Skyrim
- Portal
- Jade Empire
- Literally any Soulsborne game, to include Sekiro and Elden Ring
- ETA: @foucault87 reminded me of the Golden Sun series.
 
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Alright, I gotta go with my top 10, in no particular order. I also specialize in JRPGs...

Tales of Destiny 2.... Tales series in general is pretty good, but this one is the one that is very important since its what really got me into JRPGs in general. My mom got it for like 5 bucks (worth hundreds now) when KMart went out of business.

Suikoden V... Most people are like this isnt the best of the series, but honestly, it became my favorite... My brother played one, and I played the other. He had 3 and I had 5 and I just ended up playing it over and over...

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel this one really includes all 4 games since they are all connected, but the length is right and everything about the game is just so well done. If anyone wants to try a JRPG, this one is one to start with.

Final Fantasy X... Honestly I have played this game over and over... Tales of Destiny 2, got me playing JRPGs and this one, made me 100% fall in love with the genre. I still want them to make a stand alone Blitzball game!

Ys VII Lacrimosa of Dana... This one is more of an action RPG, but it really became one of my favorites quickly. Ys series in general is pretty good, but I felt this one, became my favorite in no time flat with its solid characters and story building.

Balders Gate Series (Dark Alliance 2)... Honestly, my brother and my cousin also played these games a ton. We spent hours upon hours playing and replaying the games. My cousin still has my old xbox and we get it out and play it!

Valkyria Chronicles... great storyline and a unique combat system! Its worth playing if you are a JRPG fan...

Pokemon Crystal... Nothing wrong with a pokemon game! Johto was always my favorite generation (anyone getting the new ones coming out in November?) This one will always be my favorite of them!

Persona 5 Royal.... Persona 3/4/5 in general are solid JRPGs, but Persona 5 especially the Royal version, ended up being so legitimately good, to the point, can they even make another one?

Skies of Arcadia... One of the most unknown and legit JRPGs around... Just play it!


Honorable mentions...
Fire Emblem Series
Legend of Dragoon (I so want a remaster of this game)
Mana Khemia
Sands of Destruction
Rachet and Clank
 
I'll take a swing at this. My one caveat ... it's difficult for me to include old ass games that are legendary, and I grew up on, but know if I went back to them they'd not have nearly the impact today that they did then. That said I think a couple will sneak on this list.

1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. My introduction to this franchise and I think when all is said and done, I put about 120-130 hours in including the expansions. Just one of those games I was utterly enchanted by, from the characters to the story to the world and exploration. Just chock full of incredible, memorable moments - the game is absolutely beautiful as well. A once in a generation type of experience, for sure. This surpassed some heavy hitters to be my favorite game of all time.

2) Deus Ex. Yeah, the original from 2000. An oldie and one of those games that I probably wouldn't be too keen on if I went back and played now, so I'm holding out for a remake. But this was my favorite game of all time for about 15 years. The conspiracy-laden story and the myriad tactical ways to approach situations, and badass story twists...man, please remake this game in UE5 or something. I struggle to formulate my feelings on this game since I haven't played it in so long, but it's an all-timer.

3) World of Warcraft. I'm including an MMO on here, yes. I played WoW on and off for like 18 years. I have always been a huge Blizzard fan, and Warcraft my favorite IP, so I remember never having played an MMO and WoW releasing and trying out the game with some friends. That began a journey the lasted almost two decades. Game has had its fair share of issues, and expansions were very hit or miss, but I've played (to some extent) all of them. With a game like this the social experience no doubt plays a factor in the sentimentality behind it; I formed a guild in the early days with some high school buddies, and we met people that we literally still associate with today, people who came to our fucking weddings despite living in other countries or on the other side of the States. Even then, WoW still provided the framework for all of this - a game that was accessible enough for non-hardcore (but not totally casual) gamers like myself and my friends. Some of my best gaming memories are of building our guild, tackling endgame challenges and pushing the edge of content progression. Time passed, the game definitely went downhill and most of us don't really play anymore (MMOs aren't conducive to lifestyles once you're a grown ass man in your 30s with kids, either :chuckle: ) but I'll always look back on WoW as some of my finest times gaming. And I know I made lifelong friends as well. Can't beat that. Which leads me to ..

4) Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos / The Frozen Throne. This is still my favorite RTS ever. It combines the macro of a true RTS with the micro of an RPG. Starcraft is great, but Warcraft 3 was my jam. Its campaigns set up World of Warcraft, which is part of the reason I got involved in the MMO afterwards. A great story, four truly unique factions with different playstyles, and I love the RPG style of the hero system. I wanted to love WC3 Reforged but just could not get back into it, but I'll never forget the time spent in customer games, 4v4s and 6v6s that took hours, or the immersion of the campaigns. In fact, I think the campaigns in WC3 were some of the best in RTS game history. Blizzard really excelled here. There were always new things being introduced, from unique heroes/factions that you took control of for a mission or two or other crazy mechanics. What a fucking phenomenal game. I miss this one actually. I really wish Blizzard would make a Warcraft 4 someday.

5) Bloodborne. This one got me into the Souls-genre and introduced me to the mastery of From Software. I am still early (and had to shelf for a while due to having a kid) in Elden Ring so I dunno if that one will top this. But Bloodborne is one of the most atmospheric and intense single player experiences I've ever had. In typical From style, the different paths through the interconnecting levels always blow my mind. The trick weapons are just baaaaaaaad ass, and the combat is fast and aggressive unlike the plodding of Dark Souls (which has its own merit). No spoilers here, but I also loved how midgame everything you thought you knew kinda morphs and changes - something you've seen hints of leading up to that moment, but when it happens you're just blown away. Truly one of the best games ever made. Very challenging but as someone who isn't that great at video games I still found it decently accessible, too. Unlike Sekiro, fuck that game.


All right, I'm done for now. These are my top 5, I'll do another 5 later. Think I need to stew on it a bit. I know when I finish this list I'm gonna be like, "Ah, shit, I forgot [Insert game XYZ]!" But these top 5 are pretty locked in.
 
My personal top ten (no particular order):

1. Starcraft/Starcraft: Brood War. One of the games that really started it all for me. This is the game that got me into RTS games. This is the game that got me into working on computers and inspired me to learn more about map creation modding - and in that way, it helped shape the person I've become today, as I am now a security engineer working at one of the world's largest software companies. The sequel and its expansions are also among some of the best RTS games out there.

2. Half-Life/Half-Life 2. Another early, influential game for me. I had played other PC shooters before this - Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, and Quake all come to mind - but this was the one that I spent the most time with. It was revolutionary for its time, with its 3D environments, full range of motion, tight controls, enemy design, atmosphere... everything. Half-Life 2 took a perfect game and somehow made it even better. I am among the millions of gamers that laments the fact that we've never gotten Half-Life 3 (although I hear the recent VR game that came out was quite good).

3. Halo. I mowed plenty of lawns and scrimped and saved every penny I possibly could as a kid until I could go to Toys-R-Us and purchase my first Xbox and a copy of Halo. What can be said about this game that hasn't already been said? This game revolutionized the first person shooter genre. Master Chief has become one of the most iconic characters in the history of video games. The gameplay, the sprawling world design, the music, the graphics, the story were all incredible for their time. I spent untold amounts of time on split screen multiplayer with my buddies, fragging each other on Blood Gulch and desperately trying to escape the Library with the Flood hot on our heels.

4. Super Mario Bros. 3. One of a few NES games that I could pick up and lose myself in for hours today. As a kid, I've got plenty of fond, fuzzy memories of this game. Beautiful graphics, addicting gameplay, and tough platforming make this an all-time classic.

5. Mass Effect (the original trilogy). In my mind, one of the greatest sci-fi franchises in any medium. Sadly, BioWare just doesn't make them like this anymore, as evidenced by 2017's incredibly disappointing Mass Effect: Andromeda. This will probably be a controversial choice for some, given that opinions are pretty split between how the original trilogy ultimately ended. If I had to pick a favorite in the series, it would probably be Mass Effect 2 - it takes the deep, compelling story of the first game and gives us a much-needed improvement to gameplay and controls. The graphics, atmosphere, gameplay, voice acting, and story of this trilogy are among the best in games. The emotional weight of character development and what ultimately can happen to those characters is something that stays with me, even years after finishing ME3 for the first time.

6. Pokemon Red/Blue. Two of the games that got me into handheld gaming as a kid, and by far the ones I spent the most amount of time with. I couldn't tell you how many Pokemon there are today, but you better believe I caught all original 151. Anyone remember the Missing No. glitch where you could infinitely clone your items? Fun times.

7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Similar to how Halo revolutionized first person shooters and multiplayer as we know it, COD4 further continued that trend, as their online multiplayer became the basis for what we have seen out of so many other online shooters today. Sadly, the series has largely gone downhill since this game was released (with the exception of World at War and Modern Warfare 2) and is nothing more than a glitch-ridden mess filled to the brim with microtransactions. Getting away from the commentary on the current state of affairs in the series, however, this game had it all. The campaign is one of the best for an FPS, in my opinion - it was gritty, detailed, and compelling. It was emotional and at times gut-wrenching, with twists that you would never see coming. The Chernobyl mission is one of the single best levels for any game, anywhere. My only complaint about the campaign is that it was too short.

8. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. I was a fan of the series well before this game was released (both the games and the books), so this was a highly anticipated title for me - and boy, let me tell you, it did not disappoint. One of the greatest RPGs of all time, this game has a massive world to explore, rife with secrets, lore, and side activities. Its two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, are so good that they could have easily been released as standalone games. This game has more memorable subplots (Bloody Baron, anyone?) than some games do entire storylines. The music in this game sets the tone so well - there's nothing quite like riding around on Roach, listening to Fields of Ard Skellig for the first time while the sun bathes the snow-covered mountains around you. The story is compelling and emotional. It has a minigame that was so popular that CDPR released it as a standalone game. A full playthrough of this game in which you try to uncover everything you possibly can could easily take over 100 hours. This is one of the very few games that I have played where I felt a profound sense of sadness when I finished, both because it was over and because I realized that I could never again experience it for the first time.

9. The Last of Us. One of the most emotionally gripping media experiences that I have ever had, this was the game that convinced me to finally purchase a PS4. I've not played the remake, but I have heard that it does the original proud. It's a game that straddles the line between action and horror, and it does it so well. It's a game that gives you precious little supplies and ammo, forcing you to do something other than go into an encounter with guns blazing where you might be better off just sneaking past. It's a game that causes you to consider the needs of the few versus the needs of many, and there are plenty of touching moments and hard-hitting tragedies. I'll be interested to see the show.

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I would be remiss if I didn't include arguably the greatest video game of all time on my list, from arguably the greatest video game series of all time. Ocarina of Time introduced several gameplay features that have since become industry standards. In fact, there are multiple games on the rest of this list that have borrowed elements that first appeared in this game. Everything from Dark Souls to GTA to The Witcher has cited this game as a major source of inspiration. It has aged comparatively well to other titles that were released during this era. For its time, it was truly a flawless game - visuals, audio, gameplay, music, and story were all perfect. It truly is the benchmark against which all other action and adventure games are measured, and it belongs in any "all time" pantheon.

Honorable Mentions
- Resident Evil 4
- Advance Wars
- Animal Crossing
- Soul Calibur II
- Donkey Kong Country
- Mario 64
- God of War
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- Uncharted 4
- Metroid Prime
- Warcraft 3/The Frozen Throne
- Persona 5
- Skyrim
- Portal
- Jade Empire
- Literally any Soulsborne game, to include Sekiro and Elden Ring
This is why I fucking love @Marcus . Just exquisite taste in video games. Love it.
 
I probably should've put Persona 5 in my list--it might be the second best game I've ever played behind Portal 2. It's one of the best pieces of art I've consumed in the past few years.
 
2. Deus Ex. Yeah, the original from 2000. An oldie and one of those games that I probably wouldn't be too keen on if I went back and played now, so I'm holding out for a remake. But this was my favorite game of all time for about 15 years. The conspiracy-laden story and the myriad tactical ways to approach situations, and badass story twists...man, please remake this game in UE5 or something. I struggle to formulate my feelings on this game since I haven't played it in so long, but it's an all-timer.

Funny you should mention that-

 
I'll take a swing at this. My one caveat ... it's difficult for me to include old ass games that are legendary, and I grew up on, but know if I went back to them they'd not have nearly the impact today that they did then. That said I think a couple will sneak on this list.

1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. My introduction to this franchise and I think when all is said and done, I put about 120-130 hours in including the expansions. Just one of those games I was utterly enchanted by, from the characters to the story to the world and exploration. Just chock full of incredible, memorable moments - the game is absolutely beautiful as well. A once in a generation type of experience, for sure. This surpassed some heavy hitters to be my favorite game of all time.

2) Deus Ex. Yeah, the original from 2000. An oldie and one of those games that I probably wouldn't be too keen on if I went back and played now, so I'm holding out for a remake. But this was my favorite game of all time for about 15 years. The conspiracy-laden story and the myriad tactical ways to approach situations, and badass story twists...man, please remake this game in UE5 or something. I struggle to formulate my feelings on this game since I haven't played it in so long, but it's an all-timer.

3) World of Warcraft. I'm including an MMO on here, yes. I played WoW on and off for like 18 years. I have always been a huge Blizzard fan, and Warcraft my favorite IP, so I remember never having played an MMO and WoW releasing and trying out the game with some friends. That began a journey the lasted almost two decades. Game has had its fair share of issues, and expansions were very hit or miss, but I've played (to some extent) all of them. With a game like this the social experience no doubt plays a factor in the sentimentality behind it; I formed a guild in the early days with some high school buddies, and we met people that we literally still associate with today, people who came to our fucking weddings despite living in other countries or on the other side of the States. Even then, WoW still provided the framework for all of this - a game that was accessible enough for non-hardcore (but not totally casual) gamers like myself and my friends. Some of my best gaming memories are of building our guild, tackling endgame challenges and pushing the edge of content progression. Time passed, the game definitely went downhill and most of us don't really play anymore (MMOs aren't conducive to lifestyles once you're a grown ass man in your 30s with kids, either :chuckle: ) but I'll always look back on WoW as some of my finest times gaming. And I know I made lifelong friends as well. Can't beat that. Which leads me to ..

4) Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos / The Frozen Throne. This is still my favorite RTS ever. It combines the macro of a true RTS with the micro of an RPG. Starcraft is great, but Warcraft 3 was my jam. Its campaigns set up World of Warcraft, which is part of the reason I got involved in the MMO afterwards. A great story, four truly unique factions with different playstyles, and I love the RPG style of the hero system. I wanted to love WC3 Reforged but just could not get back into it, but I'll never forget the time spent in customer games, 4v4s and 6v6s that took hours, or the immersion of the campaigns. In fact, I think the campaigns in WC3 were some of the best in RTS game history. Blizzard really excelled here. There were always new things being introduced, from unique heroes/factions that you took control of for a mission or two or other crazy mechanics. What a fucking phenomenal game. I miss this one actually. I really wish Blizzard would make a Warcraft 4 someday.

5) Bloodborne. This one got me into the Souls-genre and introduced me to the mastery of From Software. I am still early (and had to shelf for a while due to having a kid) in Elden Ring so I dunno if that one will top this. But Bloodborne is one of the most atmospheric and intense single player experiences I've ever had. In typical From style, the different paths through the interconnecting levels always blow my mind. The trick weapons are just baaaaaaaad ass, and the combat is fast and aggressive unlike the plodding of Dark Souls (which has its own merit). No spoilers here, but I also loved how midgame everything you thought you knew kinda morphs and changes - something you've seen hints of leading up to that moment, but when it happens you're just blown away. Truly one of the best games ever made. Very challenging but as someone who isn't that great at video games I still found it decently accessible, too. Unlike Sekiro, fuck that game.


All right, I'm done for now. These are my top 5, I'll do another 5 later. Think I need to stew on it a bit. I know when I finish this list I'm gonna be like, "Ah, shit, I forgot [Insert game XYZ]!" But these top 5 are pretty locked in.
We deserve a Bloodborne remake like Demons Souls got. It already has my favorite setting/atmosphere in the entire series… updating the graphics a bit (feels weird to say because they still look amazing) and boosting it to 60 FPS would be incredible.
 
We deserve a Bloodborne remake like Demons Souls got. It already has my favorite setting/atmosphere in the entire series… updating the graphics a bit (feels weird to say because they still look amazing) and boosting it to 60 FPS would be incredible.

That’d be nice. But I’d like a sequel also. Sony owns the IP so they don’t necessarily need From to do it. A while back it was being rumored that Bluepoint was working on Bloodborne stuff

I doubt it, but it’s the only hope we have as I don’t think From is doing it anytime soon.

One of the most criminally underused IPs at this point. For Sony to continue to neglect it is infuriating - although I’m guessing they eventually smart up, especially in light of Elden Ring’s insane success.
 
I guess I'll do this in a way that minimizes redundancy, so only one game per series...otherwise 3 series own 6/10 for me. This is top 10 favorites for me which is not the same as top 10 best games., otherwise this list would largely be populated with stuff from the last few years. Alright lets go,

1. Golden Sun: The Broken Seal - Still by far my favorite JRPG and video game ever. Holds its age surprisingly well, tho not a hard game. Amazing graphics for its era (on a handheld no less) and a soundtrack that has no buisness being as good as it is. I mean who puts pan pipes on a hand held. A lot of nostalgia for this game, but it was a formative game for me and what got me into JRPGs which is still my favorite genre. First HM goes to the sequel (The Lost Age) which would be number 3 on this list otherwise. TLA doesn't have quite as much mystery about it as TBS, but closes the book on what was a single story told in two games.

2. Metroid Fusion - I love Metroidvania's as a genre, but I have yet to love any of them as much as the Metroid franchise itself. Fusion just has an incredible survival horror atmosphere that I have yet to see matched in any other game. Fusion gets the nod over Dread and Super as its the one I have the most time on (<400 hours). Second HM goes to Dread which would otherwise be a clear top 10 for me. Super is just a bit on the outside of my overall top 10, a bit due to me being too young to come to the game early and also because the controls feel a bit clunky on newer hardware.

3. Pokemon Colosseum - Probably the game series that I have the most hours in. Gen 3 was always my favorite and the first one I really got into the games, rather than just playing it because my friends did. I have owned and beaten at least one game in every Gen and Gens 2 and 3 were always my favorites (along with their remakes). Colo gets the nod over any of the specific games because of how unique it was in the franchise as a game focused around snatching other people's pokemon, a darker storyline, and no wild mons. HMs to both the Gen 3 remakes (ORAS) and PLA, both of which are close to my overall top 5. Love the competitive side of Pokemon as I have been playing 6v6 singles for almost a decade and a half now. Looking forward to Gen 9 hopefully being better than 6-8 were.

4. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - I love the FE series as a balance between traditional JRPG and strategy games. SS wins the spot since it was the first of the series I played. I think SS, FE7, and 3H all have spots in my top 20 or so. Franchise has been up and down in recent times, but always a fun and potentially very punishing game series.

5. Portal 2 - Just an absolute masterpiece of a game. If this was a rank of the best games I have played, this would be a clean top 3. If I could erase all memory of one game so I could have the first time playing experience again, this is it. I was late coming to the Portal franchise, only played it for the first time in 2018 and I almost wish I had played it earlier. The movement is so clean and just very fun. And unlike every other shooter, my terrible aim isn't usually an issue :)

6. Super Smash Bros Melee - Melee being on here should be no surprise given my profile picture. The best platform fighter ever made. A beautifully complex game that is fun both casually and competitively. Probably the single game I have actually buried the most hours into as my poor hands can attest to. Great community too. And I have actually had a little competitive success with this one!

7. The World Ends with You - A mix of RPG and rhythm game. Feels like this is a bit of a forgotten gem despite the sequel (NEO) coming out last year. If you have not had the chance to play this, or at least listen to the soundtrack, you should give it a whirl. Super fun game with a surprisingly compelling storyline that I want more people to experience.

8. Transistor - Supergiant Games are my favorite indy studio and this is my favorite of their games. I will caveat by saying I still need to play Hades and Pyre as those have been sitting on my Steam Library for a few years now. Transistor was just all around a super fun game with an interesting story and solid gameplay.

9. Tales of Abyss - Love the Tales franchise as a whole. Vesperia and Berseria also slot into my top 20, but Abyss was the first of those three that I played so it gets the highest spot. As a more character driven JRPG, the Tales games are sort of the standard I judge other modern JRPGs by and very few have made the cut.

10. Kingdom Hearts 2 - I played way too much of this franchise before it went off the deep end. KH2 was my favorite, but KH1 and COM were awesome as well. Whoever thought mashing FF and Disney would work out so well?

Some honorable mentions for franchises that barely missed my adjusted top 10:

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess -OoT and WW were better games, but this one was my favorite. Zelda is a great franchise and of the ~6 of them I have played, they all delivered. BoTW was a bit of a disappointment as a Zelda game but was a great game overall. Can dig into this more if people are interested.

Trails in the Sky - The most recent game series I have played on this list. Very solid JRPG all around and just waiting for work to die down a bit before I dive into the sequel.

SMB3 -My vote for greatest video game ever made and probably first one out of my top 10. Perfect NES era game that just aged super well.

Dota 2 - I have way too many hours in this game. Best MOBA by far. I have retired from playing this in the last year as it was just way too much of a time sink, but man did I have fun...and get really salty too.

Halo 3 - The only true shooter that I would put in my top 20. Great soundtrack and very fun game, both solo and splitscreen.

Runescape - This gets a pure nostalgia vote. Played a ton of this thru HS. OSRS all the way
 
That’d be nice. But I’d like a sequel also. Sony owns the IP so they don’t necessarily need From to do it. A while back it was being rumored that Bluepoint was working on Bloodborne stuff

I doubt it, but it’s the only hope we have as I don’t think From is doing it anytime soon.

One of the most criminally underused IPs at this point. For Sony to continue to neglect it is infuriating - although I’m guessing they eventually smart up, especially in light of Elden Ring’s insane success.
I'm not interested unless Miyazaki is doing it. Bluepoint is great at remakes, but I don't trust anyone but Miyazaki at new entries.

That being said, sign me up for a Bloodborne sequel.

Supposedly From is already finished developing their next major release, as well. Curious to see what it is.
 

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