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Mooncake

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My All-Time Favourite Games

Games have never really been a passion of mine, until recently. Before, they've been just a hobby, a form of escapism; there when I'm bored. As part of a younger generation, my first console being the Nintendo 64 at the age of 8, I missed out the classic 8-bit titles that have defined the gaming genre. As such, the games I've experienced are much more current. Having followed the gaming industry for several years, fairly deeply, and recently picking up my ridiculously large stack of untouched games (mostly Xbox 360, for now), I've discovered a passion and appreciation for games. 
 
Inevitably this raises the question, what are my favourite games? 
 
(This was also sparked in part by this article: The Best Games Of, Sort Of, The Decade, which is super long, and I still have to finish reading it)
 
The first two on the list are ultimately the games that pop in my mind when thinking of this question. Surprising and also unsurprising. I think for me, the best games in my mind are the ones that I would go back to time and again whether it is re-playable or not and the ones with an experience that will always be in my mind.

List items

  • This is the first game I've ever been enamoured with. It was partly due to the fact that I've never owned an SNES, and the fact that I couldn't play this apparently great game, made me want to play it even more. I remember first hearing about this game when a couple of young kids at my chinese night class debating what was the best game (back in the Gameboy days when I had no home console, and was just playing Pokemon). Obviously it wasn't a very intellectual debate, but there were some merits. Especially when one kid proclaimed Super Mario RPG as the best. That always stuck with me until I actually played the game. Having never been a great Mario fan, but allegedly a Nintendo fan (despite feeling no attachment to Nintendo, but sticking with them only because of my friend's influence) the idea of a Mario RPG wasn't that enticing. But learning what SquareSoft was (the makers of the legendary Final Fantasy series) later on in my life, and the fact that this was the last great project between Nintendo and Square made me want to play the game even more. It was a Mario game, yet not.

    I finally sought this game out (though regrettably illegally) during the GameCube era, and finished the entire game through emulation (a first since I didn't enjoy the "fakeness" of emulation). It was fantastic. I didn't use cheats (which I was prone to do back in the day). It was easy (which I liked, allowing me to progress through the story quickly) and it was great. The worlds, the setting, the out-of-left-field story (compared to other Mario games) and great new characters made this one of my most memorable experiences in my life and lived up to the almost 10 year hype. The ending was touching, and it was fantastic. I can't wait to replay it again one day (hopefully forgetting most of the finer details to re-experience them again).

  • This is probably one of more stranger choices to describe as my all-time favourites, considering I am disregarding its predecessor, the great Ocarina of Time. Furthermore, this is a game that I do not own (eventually buying the Zelda Collector's Package later on in my life, past the N64 era) and I haven't actually beaten! I would get frustrated at losing to the third temple boss (the Great Bay Temple) and would give up, because I hated water back then. Any water bosses which required swimming made me feel very vulnerable. As such, I never played the fourth temple (Stone Tower Temple). However, I did load up my friend's save file and beat the ending. I am also proud to say that I completed the Kafei and Anju sidequest completely.

    It is precisely this sidequest that defines the meaning behind Majora's Mask. The characters are what defined the game for me. In this "Groundhog Day"-esque game, I found myself extraordinarily attached to every character I met, and I felt I knew them really really well. It was a great feeling. This 3-Day cycle was what made this game great. Also, it is the first Zelda game and definitely the first game I remember with such a great central hub town, the Clock Town. Man, with every progression in the game, you would always discover something new about it. It was and will be the best "hub" experience I will remember; better than Liberty City, and better than any other town in every RPG. In the end of the day, it's this darker and more personal feeling in this Zelda that hooks me; its shortness but higher difficulty makes this an incredible experience, and after finishing all my current Xbox 360 games I will finally beat this game fully (with my Nintendo Power Guide in hand!) and maybe purchasing a N64 cartridge and dusting off my old console.

  • This game is the only multi-player game on my list so far, and represents my fighting game obsession (recently developed) as a whole. Other than the single-player story driven games (which incidentally are RPGs), fighting games are my "favourite game" of all time. I consider them separately though they need to be mentioned. As such, these games were what reinvigorated my interests in games, particular fighting games, which have transitioned towards video games as a whole.

    As such, I wholeheartedly believe Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike is the best fighting game of all time. It is the first fighting game I played (in preparation for the hype of Street Fighter IV), and it is the most in-depth fighter I have experience with so many great characters/play styles. For now this number 3 spot goes to 3rd Strike, though Street Fighter IV is the game I am spending countless hours on and am infinitely more skilled at. Only time will tell if Super Street Fighter IV can take this standing (with its inclusion of my favourite SF3 characters).

  • Fresh off my rediscovered and reinvigorated passion for video games, Mass Effect 2, to me, stands on the pinnacle of modern day gaming. After finishing the game, I immediately wanted to re-experience it again (though I didn't actually play it again fully). I am slightly hesitant at declaring this one of my favourite games of all time, considering it has only been out for a month. But I think that this is quite deserving, especially if it were a representation of the current generation, and I believe this game will stand the test of time (unless Mass Effect 3 surpasses it in even more far-reaching ways).

    This was the first game in a long time (if ever actually, since I don't really remember my gaming habits to be that bad) that I've had long streaks of continuous gameplay; up to 8 hours, with an hour lunch break (sort of like a work day). This game had all the qualities that I found to make a compelling game: story and characters. You can read my full thoughts on the game in my post, but this game is fantastic.
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