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What it says on the tin: My personal favorite games. Not too many old games, I know, even though I started playing games on the NES. The order is kind of meaningless after the top 3, those stay..
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Biggest "wow" moment I've ever had in games. Nintendo reinvented action-adventure for a whole new audience. I still get goosebumps when I start it up and title music starts playing. The game itself has held up terrifically as well, washed-out N64 graphics notwithstanding. Play the Gamecube port!
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Deus Ex's "wow" moment is much more subtle. Maybe it doesn't happen until your second playthrough, or your third, when you find out that a particular situation could've been resolved differently. When you realize this game lets you decide for yourself, something that wasn't normal in games back then. This wasn't a game with "do you want to be good or bad?" moral choices, they were usually not spelled out for you at all. This game lets you play it however the hell you want to. I was still discovering new things my 5th time through. Ahead of its time, and still unparalleled in its freedom.
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Best writing in any game, ever. Whereas MP1 was a parody of noir, this is more like a homage. It still gently poked fun at itself without ever getting too wink-wink, nudge-nudge. A terrific, tragic story, masterfully told, with slick gameplay.
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Back in 1998, it was not common for proper games to have cinematic ambitions. This delivered in spades. Fantastic voice acting, a techno-triller plot that moved along at an almost frantic pace and made stealth cool again.
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My first proper JRPG. Yeah, the story is dumb, in retrospect. But it's really kind of the quintessential stereotypical JRPG. Plus, it has terrific music.
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Probably the most visually arresting game I've ever played. It sounds crazy: A game consisting of 16 boss battles with some horse riding, climbing and exploration in between. But it really suits the melancholy nature of the game. There is zero filler, and it has one of the greatest endings ever. Nothing matches the thrill of fighting some of the spectacular flying colossi for the first time.
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A revelation. Even without buying into all the subtext, Braid's mood, music, graphics and gameplay are enough to make this game hauntingly powerful. The most mind-blowing ending ever.
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The best MMO ever. It will also ruin your life. I feel those two are somehow linked. Play at your peril!
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Who knew the Super NES could produce such an atmospheric game? The isolation of planet Zebes was almost palpable. It's still the gold standard for the Metroidvania style game.
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Sure, parts of Shenmue are boring as hell. But I think that's the point. It painstakingly recreates nearly every single aspect of Ryo's life. This results in unparalleled immersion. It tells its story first and foremost, and opened the door for games like Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain. I'm ready for games that aren't fun all the time.
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