Gaming Bucket List

A couple years ago after the loss of a very dear friend, and a few seriously depressing weeks of self examination I decided to craft a list of things to do before I die. The list is meant to make some special memories, and to encourage me to try things that I always wanted to, or never would've thought to. Entries range from "Learn to Make Brownies", to "Own a Sword", to "Get Married". This particular entry is: "Make a list of 100 games, Finish Each Game".

This list is an incomplete draft of the 100 games I need to play. Most of these games are older because I feel like it would cheapen the list to include newer games I intend to play anyways (though I am not opposed to the idea of trying out a newer game from a genre or series that's outside of my comfort zone.) I am very open to suggestions because thinking of 100 games I want to play but haven't is much harder than it sounds. Many of the entries on here are non specific and you can definitely help me with those, in addition, here's a list of all the games I've beaten. If you notice any glaring blindspots be sure to yell at me so that I can add them.

List items

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  1. Final Fantasy II

  For years when people asked me which Final Fantasy's I'd beaten I was able to give a simple "4-(latest entry)." Then I had to go fuck it all up and finally put FF1 in the bag and now when explaining I have to say "1 and 4-(latest entry)" Thats TWO SYLLABLES that have come up at least once since then. Unacceptable. I'll never forget the time I've wasted on those syllables and FF2 is on this list to reclaim those lost seconds, regardless of how much I hate it.

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  2. Final Fantasy III

  (See previous entry) Never beat this one because it took so long to come to america. Before that the translation I tried playing with only covered half the game before it screwed up on me. Then when it got here I never got around to playing it because it's always felt like a shallower version of 5 to me.

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  3. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

  Despite its issues I hold the original FFT in very high regard, which is why I found this games dramatic change in tone so off putting. However I still love the gameplay in the previous games, and my friends have a high enough opinion of this game that I feel like I need to give it a better shot.

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  4. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

  Been told this game is awesome for years, I got stuck on it when I was young and gave up on it. I will rectify this.

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  5. The Legend of Zelda

  Yeah I never beat the original...

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  6. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

  I always thought the duality of these two games was really cool and I recently got a copy at my local "old stuff" store. Once I get a charger for my GBA I intend to do this one.

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  7. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

  (See previous entry)

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  8. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

  One of the best series ever made, on one of the best systems ever made, and one of the most modern 2d Zeldas. No further explanation required.

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  9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

  I just had a little trouble getting into the fiction of this game. The fact that such a traditional fantasy aesthetic had been transposed onto the Zelda series really put me off to the game. I already liked the whole fairy tale/fable/modern fantasy mishmash feel I got from previous entries. That and I already saw all the epic shit that goes down at this game climax so I don't really know what there is left for me to care about.

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  10. Planescape: Torment

  Never had a PC for gaming growing up and there are a lot of classic story based games that I'd really like to go back and play. The premise to this one sounds really promising. Got this on GOG and I intend to play it when I get the chance.

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  11. Baldur's Gate

  Same type deal as the last one. I really loved Dragon Age and people tell me it's a spiritual successor to this game, plus I think it would be really interesting to go back and explore the roots of Bioware. But I've always had trouble getting into it and it's sat on my desktop for too long. I think I'm gonna wait for the re-release and play that.

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  12. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

  Thought maybe it would be easier to get into than the first because I'm told it's far superior, but all I really managed to do was spoil the first one's story for myself.

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  13. Vagrant Story

  I loved just about everything Square did ps1 era and this game sounds intriguing. It's sitting on my psp and I intend to play it when I find the time.

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  14. Breath of Fire II

  The third entry is one of my favorite games of all time, and I'd like to explore the rest of the series. I got a pretty long way into this game and my save file was lost. I cant wait to see how this game wraps up.

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  15. Breath of Fire IV

  Same thing as the last game, although this one I just had a little trouble enjoying. I didn't give it too much of a chance though so I'm gonna go back to it at some point.

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  16. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

  *COMPLETED* I'm kind of sad I didn't get into this when I was younger, because playing this game confirmed my suspicions that I would have been a die hard fan of this series. Even as an adult without the benefit of nostalgia, I really enjoyed this game.

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  17. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

  *COMPLETED* The most divisive Metal Gear ended up being a game I really enjoyed, with just a few small flaws that kept this game just short of surpassing the original. I love the last couple hours. Doubt I'm in the majority on that one.

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  18. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

  *COMPLETED* After all the crazy at the end of MGS2, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed that they took a step back at this point in the series, and decided to do a more grounded prequel. It was an excellent game, and manages to stand on its own better than any of the other 3. Just wasn't crazy stupid enough for me.

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  19. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

  *COMPLETED* They brought the crazy back in full force. This game ended up being a damn fine send off to a series that's not actually over, which makes this a pretty weird game in hindsight.

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  20. Mother 3

  This game is apparently amazing based on what everyone says about it. I love RPG's that try to do something a little different and even after just my first few minutes with it I could see that this was such a game. I just haven't had the chance yet.

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  21. EarthBound

  Pretty much the same reasons.

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  22. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

  *COMPLETED* Never played a Castlevania game before this one. I thought it was pretty good aside from the difficulty curve being completely out of whack, and the story being ass. I'd love some recommendations on other good Castlevania's to try.

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  23. ICO

  *COMPLETED* A wonderful game that I fear is slowly aging out of relevance. Check this one out while you still can.

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  24. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

  My best friend swears by this game and so does the internet. All the insane mechanics I hear about are fascinating. I just never dug too deep into the gamecube library.

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  25. Parasite Eve

  One of the few times when Square tried to be mature and it was in an era of their games that I loved. Got a copy waiting on my PSP for a rainy day.

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  26. Parasite Eve II

  This game blew my brothers mind and he keeps telling me to play it.

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  27. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

  After how amazing the third and fourth entries were I feel I simply must play this game. I never played any other Shin Megami Tensei games, and while I've heard there are other more solid entries, I'd rather try the traditional RPGs first because strategy games are harder for me to get into when they are not named Fire Emblem. Kind of boring so far, but not exactly willing to give up just yet.

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  28. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin

  (See Previous Entry)

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  29. Shin Megami Tensei

  There's so many spinoffs of this franchise, and lots of these games are so hard to get ahold of that I'm completely lost about where I should start. Some recommendations would be loved. I've heard good things about Nocturne.

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  30. Diablo

  I never played a Blizzard game other than World of Warcraft, it's just another case of not having a pc. How just about everyone in the industry and the community swears by this company makes me feel like this is a pretty huge blindspot. This series is the closest to an RPG so it's the one I'm most interested in. However I'm not really sure which one to start with.

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  31. Warcraft

  Again I'm just not sure where to start, I don't like going back to games that are too old but I also don't like jumping into the middle of a series.

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  32. StarCraft

  *COMPLETED* Kind of a technological step back from the only other RTS I've played (Age of Empires), and so that made it a little frustrating. Overall pretty cool though.

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  33. Suikoden

  I know some people who think these games are awesome, and I'd like to go back and experience some of them but it's another one of those series where I'm just not sure where to start.

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  34. Conker's Bad Fur Day

  Played about 2 hours of this game 5 years ago and thought it was pretty funny. I loved my n64 and am interested in going back and playing some of the games I missed.

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  35. Donkey Kong 64

  I loved this game but never properly owned it. I was either renting it or borrowing it a bunch but never had it for long enough to actually beat it. And now it's a matter of actually hooking up an n64. How is this not on the virtual console?

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  36. Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition

  This game ate my youth but I don't think I ever managed to actually defeat the elite four. I'd like to go back and see what this game is like from an adult's perspective and finally finish off what I couldn't when I was younger.

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  37. Xenosaga: Episode I - Der Wille zur Macht

  In my dark gamefly days I was in a phase where I was basically trying to beat 2 new games a week, a lot of jrpg's fell by the wayside because they were simply too long, and I didn't want to hold on to them at the expense of another new game. This is one of those games, where I got so thoroughly stuck at a late game boss that I got too frustrated and sent it back. Since then my save file was deleted, and this game really stuck with me in a way that makes me want to finish it now that I can actually afford to buy it.

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  38. Xenosaga: Episode II - Jenseits von Gut und Böse

  Heard it kind of ruined what was cool about the first one but still I'd like to get into this series.

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  39. Xenosaga: Episode III - Also Sprach Zarathustra

  If I'm gonna force myself to play the first two might as well polish off the trilogy.

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  40. Shadow Hearts

  The sequels to this game sound fucking awesome, this one sounds alright. It's another casualty of my dark gamefly days, where I didn't want to put up with the crude graphics when I could just rent a ps3 game. I want to rectify this injustice I did.

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  41. Shadow Hearts: Covenant

  The one I'm really interested in.

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  42. Shadow Hearts: From the New World

  Know a couple people who swear by this game.

• 43. Adventure

  So yeah... another product of my giant pc blindspot. I've only played one adventure game and that was Torin's Passage. On my list I have

  -"A classic Lucasarts Adventure Game"

  -"A classic Sierra Adventure Game"

  -"A Telltale Adventure Game"

  -"A Modern Adventure game."

  If anybody has some recommendations (especially for the classic games) I'd love to hear them.

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  44. Psychonauts

  One of those games you always hear about being amazing that not enough people played. Got it in the recent Humble Bundle and intend to give it a shot soon enough.

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  45. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

  Because this is a remake it just felt like such a step back gameplay wise from the other entries I've played and that prevented me from enjoying my time with it. And being a NES game the story sucks, and I don't mean to hate on the 8-4 guys translation but were all the "Thees" and "Thous" really necessary? This game feels more like work than fun, but I'd like to get it out of the way anyways.

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  46. Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu

  This is supposedly one of the best entries in the series.

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  47. Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

  Sounds pretty interesting, and at least has a lot of the more modern gameplay mechanics missing from older entries.

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  48. Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi

  *COMPLETED* Finally got the true ending. I'm left with a somewhat anticlimactic feeling. I wrote a blog post on my thoughts which can be found here:

  http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/hunter5024/fire-emblem-the-sword-of-seals-retrospective/30-94576/

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  49. Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo - Hikari to Kage no Eiyuu

  I am beyond bummed that this isn't going to make it to america. All of the things they added to this game sounded so cool. I intend to play it the second the game is 100% fan translated. An exception to my new game rule because I've never actually played an imported game before.

• 50. Real-Time Strategy

  The reoccurring theme of this list is "I never had a PC growing up, wish I had played more PC games" The only RTS game I ever played was Age of Empires at school and I thought it was so awesome. Would love to try out some games in this genre at some point and would like some recommendations.

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  51. Xenogears

  People always tell me to play this, but I've never been beyond the demo that came with Parasite Eve.

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  52. Super Metroid

  *COMPLETED* Great game aside from some minor quibbles I have with controls and platforming. I can see why it's so highly praised. It's a shame they don't make them like this anymore.

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  53. Ecco the Dolphin

  This is the first game I ever played! =D Now I need to go out and finish what my two year old self could not.

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  54. Super Mario 64

  *COMPLETED* Very cool to finally beat a game that spawned some of my earliest video game memories and played a part in my love of the medium. I'll write a blog about this one when I get the chance.

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  55. Tales

  I've never played a "Tales of" game and that seems like a pretty big franchise to ignore for a jrpg fanatic like myself. The only entry I've ever tried was Tales of Symphonia and that really put me off with its childishness. Any recommendations guys?

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  56. Disgaea

  I love strategy rpgs and never played one of these games because it sounds very time intensive and I don't like the art style at all. Still seems worth exploring what these games are all about.

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  57. Rez

  I enjoyed Child of Eden, a game I played on a whim, more than I even could've imagined I would. I'd like to play this game for the history.

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  58. Tear Ring Saga

  As I understand it, this game has some developer connections with the Fire Emblem series and has a whole lot else in common with it, that alone makes it worth playing to me. Plus think about how hipster I could be when I tell you about this obscure japanese tactics game for the PsOne I beat.

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  59. Kirby

  I've never beat a kirby game, but I love this little fucker. Not sure which one to play first though, I'll probably pick up the anniversary thing when it comes out and figure it out from there.

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  60. Final Fantasy X-2

  So I guess I technically already beat this game, but I did it using a gameshark, so while I was able to fully appreciate the story (HA), I don't really feel like I got any sort of accurate experience with the battle system. As I understand it, this is supposed to be one of the game's redeeming qualities and so I'm going to give this game a second chance once I have mentally prepared myself for another ride.

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  61. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

  So I beat the 8th entry of the series and thought it was pretty good, but I don't really have very much of a grasp on this series. This is supposed to be one of the best ones and theres a nice remake on the DS that I've got a copy of.

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  62. Nier

  *COMPLETED* I simply do not understand the middling reviews this game got. I really enjoyed it.

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  63. Crash Bandicoot: Warped

  *COMPLETED* Gave me a pretty decent nostalgia attack, but I think it's weaker than Crash 2.

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  64. Alundra

  Hell yeah Alundra!

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  65. Hotel Dusk: Room 215

  There's only three things I truly love in this world: Time Travel, Pizza, and Detectives. While my hopes to see a game that combines all of these elements have yet to be satisfied, I can take solace in the fact that in this medium there is supposedly a strong example of detective story telling, and I'd like to see that for myself.

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  66. Professor Layton

  I've never played a Professor Layton game but all the quick looks really seem to ooze charm, and it seems like a wonderful and relaxing way to spend a weekend. I've no idea which to play, but I definitely intend to check one out.

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  67. Metroid: Zero Mission

  *COMPLETED* Its games like these that this list was designed for, Super Metroid stoked my desire to learn more about this series, and now I have a new found respect for the genre, and one of my favorite Smash Bros characters.

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  68. Metroid Fusion

  *COMPLETED* See previous entry.

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  69. Metroid Prime

  I'm not a first person shooter kind of guy, and the gamecube is a huge blindspot for me, however after playing through three of the 2d Metroids, I've fallen in love with this series, and I have to give this one a shot.

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  70. Mega Man X

  *COMPLETED* Decided I needed to beat a Mega Man game. Figured I'd do this one. Not bad for a game of its age! Maybe I'll do one of the NES entries as well.

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  71. Tactics Ogre

  *COMPLETED* It's like if the original Final Fantasy Tactics weren't called Final Fantasy Tactics! Awesome!

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  72. Super Mario Bros. 3

  Not only one of the most highly regarded Mario games, but one of the most highly regarded video games. Mr Ryan Davis' favorite game as I understand it. I'd like to see what it's all about.

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  73. Dark Souls

  *COMPLETED* When a game comes along that people claim is Game of The Generation material, it's something you've gotta pay attention to. While I don't hold it in such high esteem as that, I certainly managed to find some enjoyment in the experience.

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  74. Advance Wars

  For all that I love Fire Emblem, I figure I owe it to myself to explore Intelligent Systems other strategy game.

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  75. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

  *COMPLETED* Probably the biggest omission in modern RPG's I've ignored. Excellent game!

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  76. Resident Evil

  I have limited experience with this series and because of the impact its had, I feel like I owe it to myself to give some more of these games a shot.

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  77. Silent Hill

  As someone whose very much not a horror guy, I always felt comfortable ignoring this series. However it means enough to enough people that I feel like I should explore this series and figure out what people see in it.

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  78. Thief

  I have very little experience with stealth and very little experience with old pc games, this fits both categories!