Ten “versus” One hundred

A “conversation” between 100 Best Games of the 21^st century and my vote for those

It took me less than 10 minutes to cast the vote above. The short time even included a sudden realization that I forgot about 2020’s Hades and went back to replace something else with it. Don’t even remember what “something else” was. So, I cannot in good conscience call those “my top 10 games of the quarter century” and make such list. Yet there is still a conversation to be had between my vote and the end result of piling up all the data of this fine community provided. Hence this blog.

With all the votes being anonymous, it would be hard to demand the demographics of those who participated. But I would guess that my 35 years old jaded ass is not in the majority, only 1 above made into top 10 barely after all. Still, I am bit surprised by the fact that only 2 above were not in the top 100.

One Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021 as a whole then partially 2007, 2010 and 2012)

Last time I saw it through: July, 2021, before a review

Sorry but not that sorry, my fellow fans of Mass Effect 2. For one I will die on the hill of “Mass Effect Shepard versus Reapers trilogy is an inseparable whole”. For another, I quite admire the way Outer Wilds’ puzzle box gives its players a sense of solar system exploration. So being a fan of space themed science fiction, I would gladly see the shooting galleys spread across the galaxy losing to that. And I guess it’s the only way to give Mass Effect 3 a good name.

2007’s Mass Effect also gave me an axe to grid with the top spot titled Breath of the Wild. It was one dog day of summer back in 2017, as I drove the infamous Mako up a hill while replaying Mass Effect on PC. I felt that this loathed-by-many experience back in 2007 was identical to what the much-beloved Switch launch title has to offer, if not a little better. I climbed up a mountain in Breath of the Wild once and the system told me to either freeze to death there or leg it. Blame the trend of over tutorizing all you like, I just also hate a game wasting my time by doing the opposite!

Two Batman Arkham City (2011)

Last time I saw it through: June, 2015. I themed my 2023 list after it though.

By the end of day, I do agree that 2009’s Asylum is a better game than its 2011 sequel. It’s tighter and more focused, both merits I look for in my preferred games. City can also be seen as a bad influence on things came after it. However, as far as the Legend of Zelda experience is considered, nothing even came closer to Batman Arkham City for me as a completed package.

Yes, of course, Okami five years before it plays better and has areas mimicking the Hyrule plain. But City had better production value (Thanks to full support from Warner and how Rocksteady applied it.) while its gameplay does not suffer much for it. While many see it as the sign of a new Golden Age for licensed games, yours truly see it as the last hurrah.

I just read the Snyder (Scott, not Zack mind you.) run’s Batman origin story. Got to say, Warner pictures insisting on all Batman theatrical release being Dark Knight style crime epic is just one sign of corporate cowardice nowadays.

Three Fire Emblem Three Houses (2019)

Last time I saw it through: September, 2020 with the Kingdom campaign/Blue Lion Route

So, I sang some praises for Outer Wilds, but I did not vote for it. The reason is simple: I had not seen that game through. Just as I tried to see it through back in July, 2019, when the time loop adventure game was still an Epic Game Store exclusive, something more appealing came my way. Some pretty little thing can be played on the go titled Fire Emblem Three Houses.

Scoring 15 by 66 votes, Three Houses did not make the top 100 while Death Stranding (scoring 18 by 72 votes) did. Shame since 2 long-time Hideo Kojima collaborators sure put up better performance here than Kojima wanking without Konami’s shackles for the first time.

Guess I was never in touch with fans of turn-based tactic game. They enjoy the navigation through many variables in their games while I prefer more constants in those I prefer.

Four Persona 5 Royal (2020, kinda, sorta, not really)

Last time I saw it through: December, 2023, before a review

Despite some glowing flaws (Like the 5 to 6 hours long tutorial), Atlus’ Persona 5 is still undoubtedly one of the most well-made role-playing games from Japan in the last decade or so. While many contribute its success to its developers sticking to what they know (Like good old 2D art style instead of chasing the photoreal dragon and turned-based combat), yours truly also saw right lessons learnt from things like 2006’s Gears of War or 2007’s Mass Effect.

For one thing it’s close to over-the-shoulder orthodoxy, as player look over party members’ shoulders during battles. The command being issued through something closer to hot keys rather than scroll-and-select on menus sure feels actiony. Despite having hand-crafted Palaces as story dungeon (With wall-hugging points like Gears.), Five’s lay-out not predetermined Memento is closer to Three’s Tartarus. But it being a vehicular sure is fresh for JPRGs.

Unlike Metaphor Refantasio, whose message about diversity, equality and inclusiveness ultimately feels swallow next to its a prince comes of age plot, Persona 5’s “uncover the facts and fight the power” theme was not only timely when it came out but also evergreen. I would love to put vanilla Persona 5 here, but the overhaul of Royal was how I played it. So, the “shameless cash-in” that got ported out of Playstation hardware shall be here.

Oh, one last thing. I missed out on Royal’s “brand new” winter chapter because I preferred hanging out with the ladies instead of “Anakin Skywalker brothers”. You know the 2, one being the heel and another being the shrink added for Royal. So, as a virtual skirt chaser, I want to say that I just loathe Shift Up as the wankers they are. Instead of polishing up gameplay template or telling an interesting story, their focus on er, soft-body simulation is just disgusting!

Five Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Last time I saw it through: September, 2020 as part of Mario 3D Collection

So, Odyssey managed to outrank this one on this list, huh? While recency bias might have a part to play in this, I do think stubborn Nintendo finally let player having camera control in a 3D Mario by 2017 is a major factor. Anyway, I voted for this one mainly out of my own preference of interstellar voyages over global ones. And no, Odyssey going to the Moon for its endgame is still weak sauce compared to Galaxy.

Six Half-Life 2 (2004)

Last time I saw it through: December, 2024, before a review

Now the only one I voted for that ended in the top 10, barely. Without malice, I think there is the dilemma of either be wowed by this or Breath of the Wild with their interactive physical wizardry. The loudest advocates for the 2017 Zelda game that I know of are Dr. Austin Walker and former IGN employee Marty Sliva (The man is becoming Second Wind’s Dan Ryckert style clown at an alarming rate, with both trades, affection for Kojima and not knowing things.), neither is known as PC gamer and neither had much to say about Half-Life 2.

To me, Half-Life 2’s wide corridors and firefights are where physics in games can shine. Being able to pick up things across the street with the gravity gun and without exposing oneself to enemy fire is the experience I look for, while Breath of the Wild’s bigger arena never provides that.

Seven Resident Evil 4 (2005, Not to be confused with the 2023 one)

Last time I saw it through: December, 2024, before a review

For those who do remember, players of video games were spoiled rotten in the mid-aughts. Resident Evil 4 came out as a Gamecube exclusive less than 2 months of Half-Life 2 and its gun game is something else. While the remake improves on many places, it is still another acolyte of over-the-shoulder orthodoxy while the 2005 game is among the cornerstone for it.

Eight Sifu (2022)

Last time I saw it through: June, 2025, before a review

Supposedly, as someone being “out of touch”, at least one item on this list is bond to be bit too niche. Though, I am happy to see that I am in a company of five on this one. This game just feels like the one for people who are interested in From’s Soulsbourne epics yet find them overwhelming. Also, “Why do expansive polygonal extravaganzas feel compelled to have inhuman monster?” was a question my teenage self and high school mate had 2 decades ago. Sifu seems like the one finally answered “Why indeed, we can do variety in humans.”

Nine Hades (2018, 2019 and 2020)

Last time I saw it through: October, 2020. Tipped my toe into it for a review in March, 2025

This is Amir Rao showing Gameinformer folks around “his” office for the hype circle of Hade 2 early access release. See how one grown ass man size up to the rocket shaped trophy of Hugo Award Mr. Rao point to? I guess novelists who won the award can threat Hollywood executives with shoving it up their ass whenever they were given make-it-safe notes. Well, I guess the reality is that “We won’t move on with the project” might be the usual reply to such threats. Anway, just here to mention that trophy.

Ten Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater (2004+8=2012)

Last time I saw it through: March, 2023, before a review for the 3DS port.

The screenshot above is taken from Death Stranding 2 On the Beach’s Wiki page. Strangely the Japanese page was still missing when I took this one on July, 6th, 2025 (Weeks after the game’s launch on PS5) while there are pages for English, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Czech and 6 other languages. Guess people in Kojima Productions’ country of origin just lost their appetite for the so-called video gamer auteur. Cannot really blame then as the man’s works became increasingly masturbatory by the decade.

So, I guess Snake Eater wins automatically for being the relatively least masturbatory one of this century. So, no real talk on the game here, but on the part of Kojima wanking that does not bother me much. And if you are reading this, Dan Ryckert, your “boyfriend” had you playing “Stanley Goodspeed” all the time in Metal Gear Solid series. Your wish for the John Manson (Or capable old operative who does cool shit so effortlessly, and Old Snake in MGS4 just ain’t that.) game was never answered.

On Akio Otsuka’s wiki page, it is said that he had been a main Japanese dubber for one Nicolas Cage. In the mid 1990s when Mr. Cage was becoming an action icon, Otsuka was there for the whole “trilogy”, starting with the Rock, finishing with Face/Off (I am interested in how they handled the four FUs when Otsuka started to play Sean Archer.) and Con Air was there as well. It’s not hard to imagine when the Japanese casting calls for 1998’s Metal Gear Solid went out, Kojima went to a dubbed screening of the Rock and considered the then still somewhat fresh Otsuka as the voice of playable player in “his” first polygonal extravaganza.

Only problem: the original MGS being more or less the conclusion of Metal Gear trilogy, Solid Snake’s arc does not line up with Dr. Goodspeed. So, I guess even though 2004’s Snake Eater was potential the most fitting to recast the voice of Snakes, Otsuka was hired back. After all Dr. Goodspeed had to step up as a field agent to rescue hostages from the Rock is an arc more closer to Naked Snake’s venture into sad spy territory during Operation Snake Eater.

Afterword: Best and Prom Queens

Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queens.

----Sean Connery as John Manson in the Rock (1996)

Let the beginning of the end here be a quote from the Rock. While Mr. Manson was talking about people’s own limitations, it can also be applied to people whining on the internet after they bought into the hype for some piece of shit product. Nothing new given that Jeff Grestmann said that he got to deal with that very early in his career more than 3 decades ago. If a shitty game is one’s “prom queen”, there is really no calling to bite someone else’s head off for it. The privacy people usually apply to sexual pleasure can be applied here.

“Better taste in games” is a loaded expression and not all that accurate when used to describe the advantage those doing criticism as a hobby have over those doing it professionally. “Lower tolerance of bullshit” would be my way to put it. After all, if one treasures their money and time, they would look things up on Metacritic and Open Critics first to filter out a lot of shit first, then pick things out according to one’s preference and disinterest. While hidden gems can be mined, going into anything excepting one is a fool’s errand that cost people dearly.

I am currently typing on a new laptop. The Surface Pro I got around the time of Switch 1 launch is coming apart at the seams, literally, after more than 8 years. So, I got this replacement before the whole touch screen falls off. Neither fancy nor powerful, it’s just used for word processing, spread sheets and maybe some film screening with Blu-ray on it during the weekends. It is also the first laptop I got without gaming consideration over the last decade.

While I happily celebrated the last quarter century of gaming, I really have no high hope for its future, or at least its foreseeable future where corporate mingling is ruining everything. 007 First Light and Blood Message are about 2 things I saw trailers of during June, 2025, yet I cannot say I am impressed. What Second Wind’s Yahtzee Croshaw dubbed as “ghost train rides” only spell “Been there, done that” to me with higher asking price and swallower interaction.

So, this should do it as Microsoft gutting its game division, Nintendo providing rage inducing asking prices and Sony getting pulled in several directions. Hard to see myself still interested in video games in 25 years’ time unless something changes. But then again, I still love comic and it’s not like that industry is getting better any time soon…