They're not always the best games. They're just my favorite for one reason or another. This list isn't in any particular order and I'm going to go for the more obscure stuff first, since no one needs to see a list that says "OH MAN SUPER MARIO WORLD IS AWESOME."
That said, Super Mario World is awesome.
This was the game I thought of when Wing Commander got big. "Oh, they're just making a better Star Raiders."
When it comes to my favorite fighting game of all-time, it's either this, Tekken 2, or SF2T.
Hard, but good. I got to a point where I could finish it without cheating, but being invincible made the game a lot more fun.
Played this on a C64. I remember later hacking my save games to give myself more money, which didn't seem like cheating since it was in the spirit of the game.
Those Epyx dudes were so, so talented back in the C64 days. Jumpman and Jumpman Jr. were the games that made me want a C64 in the first place.
Specifically, the Atari 400/800 or the Apple II versions.
I feel like Geometry Wars surpassed it in a couple of ways, but Smash TV is still the world's greatest all-around dual joystick shooter.
I still have disks and disks full of tables I created or downloaded for PCS. Hope they still work...
This is the game were my Honda started getting better than my Ken.
I don't know that I ever actually finished this game.
Great music. Metroid-like adventure that I didn't even realize was based on an anime until years later.
Specifically, the C64 version. The NES version was pretty lame by comparison.
Get your ass to Mars.
I wish I knew more local people who were good at this game. My arcade machine gets more use as a magazine rack than as a Blitz machine these days.
Amazing squad tactics, terrific shooting, and a fun plot. It's a shame that a sequel never materialized.
Bionic Commando is a game that I'd play through once every couple of years, just to stay sharp. I feel like Bionic Commando Rearmed cured me of that streak, though.
Aahh, the forgotten art of flying halfway over a fuel tank to get fuel and then shoot said fuel tank for the points.
OK, maybe I'm just putting this on here to be pretentious about it or something. Actually, I love vib-ribbon. It's got great style and is balls-out crazy when you feed it certain CDs.
I still have the habit of naming things like computers and hard drives "K-Project" when given the chance. Normally things with a techno-hippie "spirituality inside the machine" motif really put me off. But I love Rez.
This game is still totally playable. And way more exciting than modern baseball games.
Specifically the Atari 400/800 version.
"Up, please!"
Again, the C64 version was the one to play. But the Lynx version (a completely different game) was really good, too.
It's the secret exits that make this game so amazing. It gave you a reason to go back through levels you had finished, and some of those secrets required you to do some really crazy things.
Though I like the NES version a lot, I'm talking about the arcade game here. Its rotating joysticks were crazy, but totally necessary.
Randomly generated levels and big chests full of sauerkraut (U to use).
Incredibly funny.
This is the most I've ever loved a Star Wars-related thing.
The box art for the 2600 version: still amazing and also one of the original things I sent over when we started thinking about site logos. Love the way the music grinds on the 2600, the arcade version seems too polished by comparison.
Crazy flips, little bikes, and lots of turbo boost. One of the great early Game Boy releases.
It's like five games in one, and it mocks you the entire time you're playing it.
Competitive multiplayer Breakout. Simple but intensely satisfying when four players are sitting around a (very hard to find) cocktail machine.
Jump-kicking spies in their stupid faces, getting the documents, and getting the hell out of there.
Probably the greatest pinball machine of all time, as far as I'm concerned.
In some alternate universe, kids are playing Bounty Bob Galaxy 2 and Bounty Bob Kart right now and this "Mario" dude just faded away after two games. I wouldn't mind living there.
Yep.
Awesome sound effects.
Reverts! This changes everything!
The Atari 400/800 version had an entire second quest that, at the time, was damn near impossible. I probably left my computer on for over a week trying to get it solved.
The team creation stuff really set this game apart from most of the older NES baseball games.
What an absolutely magical thing.
