696	603	57	22
Forum Posts	Wiki Points	Following	Followers

LK's Top 30 Games of All Time #5-1 + Honorable Mentions

By WightnNerdy April 10, 2010 2 Comments

PLEASE READ: I wrote this entire top 30 games thing a while ago—actually, before I even finished high school (I think anyways... whatever). As I went through all of it when posting it I decided not to touch it just to get it up. As of right now (when I wrote this little paragraph), this list wouldn't look nearly the same if I did it over. I sort of mixed my favorite games and what I think are the best games together, making a weird overall list. So yeah, it's not written especially well, and lots of the text is just explaining the game which was definitely unnecessary. Please don't complement me on this list; it's not that good. But like I said, I just wanted to get it up so... Boom goes the dynamite:

5. Half-Life 2 (PC)

Valve’s first person shooter that came out in November of 2004 was considered the best first person shooter games ever made, and still is considered that after all of these years later. I never got to play it on the PC unfortunately, but when I got my hands on the Orange Box back in 2007, I finally got to play it, and it absolutely blew me away. The game had an incredibly awesome story with superb visuals, amazing animation, and above all else, it was fun as hell to play.

Half-Life 2 has a story where you wont know what’s happening at first, but once you get further and further through the game, you’ll understand more and more. You play as a man named Gordon Freeman, he was involved in an incident in Black Mesa in the first Half-Life game, and he’s back for more. This time the world has been infiltrated by a species known as the Combine, and Gordon is there to save the day. It doesn’t exactly turn out as “the hero saves the day” type of story, and actually ends up being anything but.

Half-Life 2’s world is scattered with the Combine, and everywhere you go you can tell that the Combine are really messing with the earth. The sea levels for example, are far less high than usual because the Combine are using the earth’s water for resources, and thus is draining the sea significantly. Everywhere you go there’s something terribly wrong, and you are never safe. City 17 is littered with battling humans trying to survive, safe houses with people praying, everything has gone seriously wrong in Half-Life 2’s world.

Half-Life 2 is considered one of the best shooter ever made because it not only had an incredible story, but it also played great as well. Gordon has a normal pistol, machine gun, and shotgun, but there’s one weapon that introduced that changed the face of game physics, and that’s the Gravity Gun. With the Gravity Gun, Gordon can pick up pretty much anything he wants, and can chuck it at any foe you want. For example, there’s a saw blade sitting on the ground, Gordon can pick this up and shoot it at an enemy, slicing them right in half.

Visuals were good!

But the Gravity Gun would not be so amazing without the physics that the game possesses. The visuals are awesome, the environments are sweet, the character models are amazing with great animation in the very awesome in-game cutscenes. But the technical side of the graphics, the physics, are where the game really shines. Items can be picked up and thrown around, certain items are heavier than other, and items have different weight to them. Throwing a box across a room? It will land and break like a real wooden box. Want to pick up a small piece of it? Go right ahead. This is just an example on how good Half-Life 2’s physics are, and are the best bulk of the entire game.

I know some people will argue that I never actually played the definitive version of Half-Life 2, it doesn’t change the fact that I absolutely adored every moment of the game with a 360 controller. It may not have been the correct way of playing this amazing title, but it was the best way I could. Don’t be alarmed, it’s number 5 on my all time list, and I haven’t played the definitive version, that’s really saying how masterful Half-Life 2 really is.

4. Metroid Prime (GCN)

People often consider Metroid Prime to be a first person adventure, instead of a first person shooter. It does have shooting in it, with a first person perspective, but the game focuses more on adventure elements of the game instead of blasting enemies, this is why people don’t like to consider Metroid Prime as a shooter. Either way, whatever you want to call the game, it doesn’t change the fact that Metroid Prime is not only one of the best sounding and looking games on the Gamecube, but easily one of the best games of all time. Metroid Prime is a tough, atmospheric, and gigantic game, and to call it anything other than amazing is putting the game down.

The last Metroid game before Prime was Super Metroid in 1994, and though it was an amazing game, it was a long and tiring wait for the the next Metroid game. The Metroid franchise literally skipped the whole Nintendo 64 generation altogether. But once Metroid Prime hit the scene with its incredible visual design, and atmospheric gameplay, it was a smash hit. Samus is again here to explore the world of Talon IV. What she finds is that the world has been overrun by Space Pirates. Eventually, he main mission is to find all of the keys to get to Metroid Prime, and take it out for good.

Metroid Prime is so highly recommend because the game focuses a lot more on the adventure elements than the shooting elements. While playing your way through Metroid Prime, you’ll jumping around environments, and solving puzzles, occasional shooting enemies with Samus’ trusty arm cannon. The world of Talon IV is massive, filled with tons of different smaller areas like the Phazon Mines, the Magmoor Caverns, Chozo Ruins, and Phendrana Drifts. All of the areas are very atmospheric, and completely different from one another. Phendrana Drifts for example is an snow covered area with ice peaks, while the Magmoor Caverns are a cave full with fire and lava surrounding the area.

What makes the areas come to life is the fantastic visuals, which are easily one of the best on the Gamecube. The environments are stunning, stopping to look at them is a must. When you run through steam, Samus’ visors becomes filled with it, and slowly becomes more visible. The effects like Samus shooting her cannon, the lava, fire, and pretty much everything else is top of the line. Watching Samus while traveling down an elevator while the walls in the background are zipping by has never looked so good in a video game before. All enemies, which look intimidating, also look good enough.

Best. Metroid. Ever.

The atmosphere is easily the greatest asset of Metroid Prime. You will never meet another human on Talon IV, ever. You’re by yourself through the whole game, fending enemies off, reading lore left behind from the Chozo, all by yourself. You feel isolated, like no one will help if you mess up, and the game does a good job of making you feel unsafe, because Metroid Prime is no walk in the park (Metroid Prime is a fucking beast). You get a major feeling of success when you beat Metroid Prime, it’s a very satisfying game with tough bosses, but all is worth it at the end.

One of the major concerns about Prime was the controls. It did NOT control like an ordinary first person shooter, the C-Stick (or the second analog stick) didn’t control Samus’ axis's, instead, you would have to hold R, and while stationary, move the camera around to look, or shoot enemies. Then, while you ran around, turning left and right on the left analog stick turned Samus, and pressing up or down made her walk in the respective direction. The controls worked perfectly fine, and the enemies and bosses are done in a way that knows that you can shoot them very easily. You’d think that this would ruin the entire game, but it doesn’t.

Saying that Metroid Prime is anything other than fantastic is putting the game short. It is one of the most atmospheric games of all time, as well as one of the most fun. The visuals and audio (which by the way is great) are both flawless, and the controls are tight and responsive. Metroid Prime is a definite must-own if you have a Gamecube, or a Wii. It was easily the best game of 2002, and is definitely one of the best games of all time. It is highly recommended by critics alike, so don’t waste your time, run over to you local store and buy this game, it is simply fantastic, and is my 4th favorite game of all time.

3. Paper Mario (N64)

I remember seeing this game at local stores across my town back in the day, and always wondering what it was. I never used the internet much, I never got my gaming info from anything other than the look at the boxes, so one day my sister and I put our money together and bought the game. My sister and I liked the art on the box, and I liked Mario, so it had to be good right? But not only was it good, not only was it better than I thought, but it is easily one of favorite games of all time, and though it may not be the prettiest, it may not be the most epic, and it may not be the most compelling, but boy, Paper Mario is a fantastic game.

Paper Mario is a very weird looking game when you first see it. Mario and characters aren’t the normal sprites like in the Super Mario Bros. on the NES and SNES, and they’re also not the polygonal models from Super Mario 64. Paper Mario has sprites like the first Super Mario Bros. games, but they’re mixed into 3D environments, paper thin. Yep, all characters and enemies in Paper Mario are paper thin, when the spin around, they go wide, then fat, and so on. It was an awesome look at the time, and looking at it in action for the first time had me astonished, and blown away. The visual style Paper Mario used was unparalleled.

But the charming visuals aside, Paper Mario also played pretty damn good as well. You play like a 3D platformer when not in a battle scene. You can buy items from the shop, talk to characters scattered throughout towns, rest at an Inn to regain health, and do all sorts of things. But when Mario steps into an enemy, or an enemy step into him, a battle ensues.

Battles in Paper Mario are very simplistic, Mario always attacks first, and he can either use his hammer, jump, star power, or items. If Mario attacks, your enemy loses a certain amount of health, and after it’s all gone, the enemy is a goner. After Mario is done attacking, your opponent attacks. A cool thing about Paper Mario was pressing the A button right when Mario attacks his enemies to take off more damage, or pressing it just before an enemy attacks you to lessen the enemies power. It really adds more gameplay to the battles, making them less boring.

Uh-oh.

Paper Mario is filled with stuff to do. The game is 8 chapters long, but none of them are the same. The first chapter has Mario infiltrating a castle of Koopas to try and save the first Star Spirit. But the second chapter has Mario going through a desert to try and find a secret tomb that lies the second Star Spirit. The story was actually surprisingly deep. Bowser stole the Star Rode from Star Heaven and is trapped the 7 Star Sprites across the world. Mario is at a party Princess Peach is holding, but is interrupted from a giant rumbling. An earthquake you ask? No, below Peach’s castle, deep underground, holds Bowser’s castle, and it comes right out of the ground and takes Peach’s castle with it. Bowser suddenly appears and defeats Mario is a fight and sends him to the ground below. Mario’s mission? To save the Star Spirits, and get back at Bowser once and for all.

The story is presented with hilarious dialog and cutscenes that you would eventually come to love. Though there is a lot of dialog to read over the course of the game, what you do end up reading is a really funny story with some memorable moments in every unique chapter. Mario also meets up with a bunch of Partner throughout the game like a Koopa, Goomba, and Fish, and all have different types of attack while using them in a battle. Some are more powerful and useful then others, and they can also be powered up. The partners added a great deal of strategy to the game.

The presentation does sadly distract from the overall quality of the game. Sure, the presentation is nothing bad, but people look at it for it’s visuals, not it’s gameplay and story. Still, Paper Mario is a beautiful game. The environments are lush and colourful, while each and every character model, though sprites, look awesome. The 2D to 3D combination of Paper Mario is really cool, and turns out it was the perfect fit. The soundtrack is also brilliant. Every instance of your speaker making a sound is nothing other than flawless. Every stage in the game had a great tune, and the overall soundtrack was brilliant.

I know I could on for days, but Paper Mario is really one of the very best games I ever played in my short lifetime thus far. It had a great story, memorable characters, and memorable characters. It had an amazing visual style, a brilliant soundtrack, and hilarious dialog. Paper Mario played like an elite RPG, it was engaging, friend ruiner, and ultimately, fun. It still sits in my heart as one of the games that I have had the most fun with, and this will never, ever, ever change. Paper Mario is my 3rd favorite game of all time, and I can’t highly suggest this game enough.

2. Resident Evil 4 (GCN)

After Resident Evil 0 on the Gamecube, which was an exclusive to only to the Gamecube, the Resident Evil series was getting a little stale. Capcom knew this, and after a disappointing beginning to the making of Resident Evil 4, Capcom totally turned the direction of the series around, and the result was nothing short of amazing. The only similarities from past Resident Evil’s and 4 is some characters, guns, and zombies, though Capcom even got rid of Zombies for a more powerful type of enemy that can throw, and swing weapons at you. But even with the major shakeup, Resident Evil 4 was the biggest turn around in a franchise ever, and is easily my 2nd favorite game of all time.

Instead of fixed camera and moving around barely infested areas like a mansion, or a police station, Resident Evil 4 puts the camera behind Leon Kennedy (known from Resident Evil 2), as he traverses throughout a small village in Europe looking for the President’s Daughter, Ashley Williams. The camera is literally right behind Leon’s back, then you would have to aim with the R button, and while aiming, you could aim anywhere you wanted. This new control scheme was one of the biggest sighs of relief I ever had. It wasn’t only a major improvement, but it was just simply fun.

Resident Evil 4 is an action oriented adventure, with tons and tons of shooting. Action takes most of the game’s time, instead of going room to room looking for items and solving puzzles. Sure, there are puzzles here and there in RE4, but nothing nearly as frequent as any other past Resident Evil game. RE4 is way more intense, enemies will surround you quickly, they will throw knives at you, and will even slam you to the ground if need be. There are also new enemies that carry chain saws around, and if they get anywhere close to you, you can easily be killed in one hit. While playing through an area with a chain saw maniac, you have to be alert, because he can really fuck you up.

Other enemies like giant ogre like monsters, wolfs, regenerators, iron maidens, and knights in rusty armor also make Resident Evil 4 more and more different from past RE games. The regenerators for example cannot die you just shoot them with all you have (besides a Rocket Launcher of course), you’ll have to find a infrared scope for your rifle, and you’ll have to shoot the certain spots on their bodies. The bosses are also tough, but epic at the same time. There’s a sea creature near the beginning of the game, and you’ll have to be on a boat to kill him, and Leon throws spears before having to cut the rope attached to his feet.

Fire!

One of the major improvements in Resident Evil 4 is not only the improved aiming and camera, but the weapons and new inventory. Weapons can be purchased by a traveling merchant, but they can also be upgraded with scopes, and other attachments. It does suck that you upgraded the first shotgun all the way, then a new and improved one is for sale a short time later, but it does keep the weapons fresh and new. There are also 3 kinds of grenades, stun, incendiary, and frag. The frag blows up limbs, and incendiary lights enemies on fire, while stun grenades... Well, stuns them. The addition of grenades was a major improvement. The inventory also got an overhaul, instead of 8 or 6 item slots, you’re given a grid, and each item has a certain size. Guns take up most space, while boxes of ammo, and grenades take up less space. Don’t worry about key items, they go in another inventory altogether.

Resident Evil 4 also looked gorgeous from the many areas you traverse through, it had lots of little things here and there, and the overall presentation was top of the line. The character models looked real, the textures were never ugly or muddy, the game was very gritty and ugly looking, but it added to the scary atmosphere. The cutscenes were awesome, while also being interactive, you never had to put down the controller. The music was eery, intense, and overall a great soundtrack. The sound effects were amazing once again, and everything else was top notch.

If you haven’t played Resident Evil 4, do yourself a favor and go play it. Resident Evil is on the Gamecube, PlayStation 2, and now on the Wii and PC. It has incredibly tight gameplay that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire game, and it has the incredible presentation as well. The new elements that turned the franchise around was welcome with open arms, and couldn’t have turned out any better. Resident Evil 4 is easily the best Resident Evil game, easily the best Gamecube game, and one of the greatest games ever made. You’d be hard pressed to find a game better than Resident Evil 4 on any platform, it is the definitive game of the generation, and my 2nd favorite game of all time.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

I know this may not come as a surprise, but it will never change the fact that the first Zelda game on the Nintendo 64, Ocarina of Time, is the best game ever created, and my favorite game I have simply ever played. A lot of people were extremely excited about this game, because the game prior to this was the amazing A Link to the Past for the SNES, and not only was it better, it was A LOT better. The 3D environments, the 3D characters, the 3D boss fights, everything about the game was brought to life in 3 dimensions. I could go one for hours upon hours about what make Ocarina of Time my favorite game ever, but I’ll keep as minimum as humanly possible.

(A tiny bit of spoilers here, but who hasn’t played this game yet?)

The story is the same old Link has to save Zelda, but the way Ocarina of Time puts it all together is really something special, because it’s well thought-out, and overall, one of the best stories in Zelda’s franchise. As Link, you start out as a child, and after being terrified by a dream, Link is awoken by a Fairy named Navy, and is sent to the Great Deku Tree, the leader of the Kokiri’s in Kokiri Village. Link is sent inside of the Deku Tree, and after his quest, the Great Deku Tree tells Link of a great quest he must take part in, but suddenly dies. The awesome thing about Ocarina of Time’s story is the memorable characters, and memorable cutscenes throughout the game. Though the cutscenes weren’t the best thing you have ever seen, they were all in game, and all looked great.

But the story twists in a way that brings the story to a great new high. After you completed the first 3 dungeons, Link is faced with pulling the Master Sword out of its pedestal in Temple of Time, and thus causes him to be transported 7 years into the future. Once you leave the Temple of Time, Hyrule is drastically different. The Zora Domain is frozen over, Lake Hylia is gone dry, the Hyrule Market is overrun by Zombies, Hyrule Castle is now Ganondorf’s, and the whole world has been turned upside down. This is where the best gameplay elements come into play, and where the best dungeons take place as well.

Think of A Link to the Past, or the original Legend of Zelda, and think of it in 3D. What you would likely get is Ocarina of Time. Many of the areas and gameplay elements are like past games, but done in 3D. Take the Bow and Arrow for example. In A Link to the Past you would have to aim, but it would be kinds of difficult to aim it properly, but in Ocarina of Time, you can aim it in first person, anywhere you want. The swordplay is also nearly identical, as well as the other items like bombs and hook shot. The classic Zelda gameplay was still here in Ocarina of Time, and still amazing in every which way.

The dungeons were probably the best part of Ocarina of Time through and through. The designs for each of the Forest Temple, Fire Temple, Water Temple, Shadow Temple, and Spirit Temple were all unique from each other, all of them were extremely atmospheric, and all were fun as hell to play. But it’s not just the ingenious puzzles and tough enemies that made them so good, the boss fights at the ends of each one really brought them to perfection.

Didn't see this coming...

Other than Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple, most of the bosses suited each dungeon with their element, like a dragon boss in the Fire Temple, an aqua monster in the Water Temple, and a shadow ghoul in the Shadow Temple. There all looked amazing, all looked intimidating, and all were really fun to fight. Bongo Bongo of the Shadow Temple for example, was a shadow beast that only could be seen while using the Lens of Truth, and is fought upon a giant bongo.

Ocarina of Time’s presentation was easily some of the best on the Nintendo 64. The visuals, were absolutely amazing for 1998. The character models were a little jaggy around the edges, but it was acceptable back then. The textures were great, the enemies were intimidating, the bosses looked fantastic, and the visuals of the dungeons brought them to life. The soundtrack is also the one of best of the Zelda franchise, and one of the best in the era. Each dungeon has an eery or epic tune, the town music is cheerful, and the boss fight music was extremely suitable for the situation. The sound effects like Link’s screams, the click and clacks of his sword, and pretty much everything was easily top of the line.

There are very few games that literally have nothing wrong with them. Ocarina of Time is not only one of those games, it’s the best of them all. Nintendo worked their asses off with Ocarina of Time. It had unbelievable detail from the visuals, to the sound design, to the gameplay, and to just about every other aspect of the game. Ocarina of Time is not the best Zelda, the best Nintendo 64 game, and the best game of the generation, but it’s simply the best game to ever hit the market. People like to compare Ocarina of Time to the Godfather. Both are the best of their entertainment, and both are flawless. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is my number one favorite game of all time.

Honorable Mentions
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (GB): The first Pokemon games kept me busy for years upon years during public school. Pokemon Red and Blue were the 2 that brought me a Gameboy in the first place, and they were the games that got me addicted to those Pocket Monsters. Yellow version also has a special place in my heart as the best of the 3, though it as primarily the same game with a little different things here and there. Red, Blue, and Yellow are special games, and I will always love them as time goes by, they have a place in my heart that will never leave, they were amazing games.

ICO (PS2): Though I only recently played and beat this game, there’s no doubt that ICO is an amazing game. It had an incredibly designed castle, with great puzzles throughout, and gameplay that’s simple, yet effective in the end. One of the best things about the game is that it had absolutely no HUD (heads-up display), and just went to show how beautifully designed the game was. It had a deep story that didn’t necessarily make sense in the end, but it was still a factor to make you jump through the short, but sweet game.

Resident Evil Remake (GCN): You’re probably wondering why I only put one Resident Evil game on the top 30, but if it was even one year ago, Resident Evil for the Gamecube would have made it for sure. Resident Evil Remake is like the name suggests, a remake of the original Resident Evil for the PlayStation. But it wasn’t just a tiny visual upgrade, it was a major overhaul. The visuals alone brought the Mansion to life that it never had before, it actually looked like a real Mansion, and Capcom even added more parts to the Mansion and area making it seem like a whole new game.

Banjo Kazooie & Tooie (N64): Growing up as a kid I loved the 2 Banjo Kazooie games. They had incredible detailed graphics, while also having a great kiddish style to them, but having hilarious dialog with jokes I didn’t understand at the time. The gameplay was criticized for being a “collectathon” having to collect too many items too much, but I found the game to be fun as hell, and though they’re not in my top 30 games of all time, they’ll always have a spot in my heart.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii): There’s no doubt that Twilight Princess was an amazing game, but it did not have enough credentials to fit into my top 30 list. Sure, it may have jumped into the top 40, but even with its lengthy adventure with great graphics and awesome dungeons, it just wasn’t enough. But Twilight Princess did everything right. It was long, but never boring, while also feeling fresh and new with a great twisted story that ultimately ended up being what you’d come to expect.

Donkey Kong 64 (N64): Though there are many Nintendo 64 games on not only the top 30, but even in the HM’s, Donkey Kong 64 sticks out as one of my best childhood memories growing up. The game starred the famous Kong in his first and only Nintendo 64 game, but was joined by Diddy, and new monkeys like Tiny, Lanky, and Chunky. The ability to use all of the Kongs, and the mixture of great levels, and an memorable moments make this game stand out among all Donkey Kong games ever made.

God of War (PS2): Though I only recently defeated this game, the game I played was amazing. It had amazing flow, nothing felt thrown in, and the whole game had amazing production values. People claim that God of War is the best PlayStation 2 game, and I don’t think their stupid, because God of War really is that good, and is worthy of the name. It didn’t make the top 30, but I can assure that I will be on later lists.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN): The Gamecube remake of the original Metal Gear Solid game was a perfect transition to the newer generation. The game was nearly identical with the exception of new cut scenes, and some nicer graphics, but all was nice and neat like the first. In this day and age, I would play Twin Snakes over the original PlayStation game any day of the week, but the original is on the list because its the real game, not a remake.

Resident Evil 2 (PS1/N64): Few games have actually gave me nightmares, making me afraid to go to sleep, and Resident Evil 2 is one of those games. It had an unbelievable sense of a spooky atmosphere, and it also was fun as hell. The game took what the original made so good, and made it even better. Picking each of the two characters were even more unique from one another, and the 2 different scenarios made the game a lot longer than you’d originally think it would be. Resident Evil 2 is one of the best Resident Evil games, one you should most definitely own.

Star Fox Adventures (GCN): A lot of people like to bash the hell out of Star Fox Adventures. They say it’s too little like Star Fox 64, and the story doesn’t fit with the kind of franchise that Star Fox. I say they can all suck it, because Star Fox Adventures is a fucking awesome game. It has its flaws, sure, but it’s definitely not bad. If you like games like Zelda, the games that have more of an adventure style to it, mixed with collecting items like a Banjo Kazooie game. It’s my favorite Star Fox game, and should NOT get the kind of disrespect it gets.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES): Link’s adventure on the SNES was awesome. It was a huge improvement over the 2 original Zelda’s on the NES, with way better visuals, better audio, and just better gameplay overall. The game was lengthy, it had a great story, and was just amazing overall. Some complain that the game is too difficult, mainly because the enemies take off a ridiculous amount of hearts near the end of the game, but it doesn’t change the fact that A Link to the Past is one of the best Zelda games.

2 Comments