As the title implies, these are my top 100 favorite games of all time. Not the best, but the ones I have the most nostalgia and fondness of. It's bound to change over time, and to assume it won't is pretty silly, but as of today this is what I'm working with.
World of Warcraft wins purely based on the absurd amount of time I've put into it over the last 14 years. I'd estimate it's in the thousands. Shout out to my fellow Demonology Warlocks and Moonkin.
The NES original certainly isn't the best entry in the Zelda series, but it was my first. My babysitter was obsessed with it, beating the game and immediately jumping into the master quest, and I became so enamored with it that I'd pretend to be sick just so I could stay home from school and watch her take down Ganon again. My parents eventually got me my own copy for Easter one year and I remember being surprised waking up to a golden cartridge instead of a basket full of candy. They'll never understand how important that game would be nearly thirty years later.
Similar to The Legend of Zelda, I can confidently say the original Metroid isn't close to being the best in the series. However, I spent many, many summers getting lost in its labyrinthine world, ass parked in my parents' uncomfortable recliner, glued to our shitty floor model television. Super Mario Bros. may have introduced me to video games, but Metroid and The Legend of Zelda really tickled my sense of adventure.
Having been at this whole gaming thing for roughly 32 years of my life, I'm surprised to put such a modern game near the top of my list. However flawed it may be from a technical perspective, NieR Automata went places and did so much rad stuff in the process. It's a special game.
Chrono Trigger was my first RPG and thankfully it's one of the best of all time. Had it been a stinker, I may have been turned off from the genre forever! I never owned Chrono Trigger on the SNES, but borrowed a friend's copy numerous times throughout middle and high school. I did pick up the eventual PS1 port, and boy were those loading times a hot bag of pickled dog shit.
Haunting, atmospheric, and one of the best endings in horror gaming.
I fondly remember spending an entire summer grinding out the perfect squad, recruiting Cloud and Worker 8, and reaching the final floor of that brutally difficult dungeon. There was something to be said about an Archer with the Knight subclass's break abilities. The opposition would be completely naked by the time they entered melee range.
The Mass Effect trilogy is fantastic (and yes, I enjoyed Andromeda). The 2nd entry's emphasis on narrative flow and superior cast edge out the others as my personal favorite. Sing for me, Mordin.
There's no game on the planet that I've beaten more than Contra. Sure, I cheated. I never claimed to be good at video games.
One of the best RPGs of all time made even better on the PlayStation Vita. I just wish it wasn't stranded there. PS4 port when?
