If you asked me to list the best games of all time, it wouldn't look anything like what I've got here. These are my personal favorite games, many of them close to my heart because of experiences I had when playing them or introducing me to a genre I'd never gotten into before. They're special to me, and something I find myself always wanting to play.
I played this game since it was in beta. I've spent more hours of my life in Paragon City than I've probably spent in every other video game, combined. It was ton of fun, the most player-friendly MMO I've ever seen, with no emphasis on loot, raids, or grinding. Just flying around and kicking ass with superpowers.
It's gone now, and there's nothing else like it to fill it's place. I hope some day either it returns, or someone makes a spiritual sequel. But I'm afraid it's probably just lost forever.
The first game I owned, the first game I beat, and the game I always come back to. Some people may say it's inferior to Super Mario World, as far as the 2D Marios go, but I can never get enough of this game.
I've probably bought it every time it's been rereleased on any platform. I might have a problem.
My first real RPG experience, and a game I play through over and over and over again... after a year or two between replaying it. Chrono Trigger wowed me when it came out from every angle- graphics, music, story, and combat- and even now it really stands strong compared to other JRPGs of it's era. I'm not big on this genre these days, but Chrono Trigger is something I can always come back to.
The Ace Attorney series as a whole deserves a place on this list. It's been an ideal portable experience for me over the years, letting me figure out logic puzzles and put together clues to solve some weird and entertaining cases. But Trials and Tribulations, more than the other games in the series, really embodies the heart of these characters and tells a story that unfolds in some amazing, unexpected ways as you get closer to the ending. I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone, but it was the perfect ending to the original Ace Attorney trillogy of games, and though I'm still enjoying later games in the series a ton, they don't quite compare to how much I got into this one.
Team Fortress 2 has something no other shooter these days cares about: personality. Not just in it's characters(who are great), but in it's weapons, it's visual style, it's map design. Even the game's official blog oozes humor and flavor. It's no surprise that this game is still going strong after so many years, and though it's certainly starting to show it's age, I hope Valve continues to support it until it's just no longer viable to do so.
Plus, hats.
I tried to pick just one version of The Sims to pin down as my favorite, but really, it's just the franchise as a whole. I never stick with The Sims for long, but it's something familiar and calming that I can always return to every few years. Sims 2 got the most play out of me, but I enjoyed 1 and 3 a ton too. All three games have had their own share of problems(especially 3), and the sheer volume of expansions is kind of overwhelming, but there's no denying that The Sims is a series I hold dear to my heart, and likely always will.
