As always:
The first ninety games are in NO particular order. For someone with OCD, compiling a list of 100 games in order would drive me absolutely crazy. There's a good mix of titles from multiple consoles, developers, and genres. Hope you leave this list with some fuzzy memories and good times.
~Top 100 - The Third Ten~
- Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (GCN)
Marching to the beat of a different drummer.
The same team that later came out with the phenomenal Super Mario Galaxy developed this unique platformer. Why was it so unique? Well, you played it completely with the DK bongo peripheral used on such games as Donkey Konga and Odama (not to be confused with the presidential runner, Obama, or the asshat terrorist, Osama). Hit the right drum to move right, hit the left one to move left, hit both to jump, and clap to attack foes. The gameplay's simple, but when you're going for high scores you suddenly realize how incredibly deep and engaging this game and its cleverly-crafted levels are. The game with the bongo's now only $20 new, so what are you waiting for? Jam with Donkey Kong!
- Final Fantasy IV (SNES, PS1, GBA, DS)
The Fourth Fantasy
Final Fantasy IV was my very first Final Fantasy. Blessed with an excellent combat system, a stellar soundtrack, a sensational story, and hours upon hours of gameplay to be had, Final Fantasy IV is just an incredible game. I eagerly await the DS remake coming to Western audiences as soon as this year. In the meantime I have the SNES, PS, or the glitchy GBA version (which represents the screens) to play.
Link Formation, ho!
Besides Zelda II: Adventure of Link, no Zelda has been as a dramatically different to the formula than The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. This game was a much more expansive title to the original Four Swords game that was included with the GBA port of A Link to the Past. Regardless, this title had you playing in a broken up world (there was no cohesive overworld like in all the other Zelda games), solving puzzles, beating bad guys, and taking new formations with your army of four Links. This game was great alone, and it was even better if you had a buddy with a GBA to play with you-- or three. Four Swords Adventures is the closest thing we've seen to a sequel of A Link to the Past, and it shows with its music, graphics, and enemies. Check this title out, dear readers. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
RHOH'ding your mind.
What it had in intense action it was matched fully in pure style. Slacker, Joe, is watching yet another showing of his favorite action superhero, Captain Blue, on the big screen when all of a sudden, a big mean robot arm grabs his girl, Sylvia, and pulls her and Joe into Movieland. Now the goal is simple, save Sylvia... while scarfing down fuel in greasy hamburgers and salty french fries. Kids these days.
Not only was the game extremely challenging-- try getting all Rainbow V ranks-- I dare you, but it had very cool moves. Joe could slow down time, speed things up, and zoom in on the action for killer combos! It's a damn shame that Clover Studios is kaput, because I'd love to see the conclusion of the Viewtiful Joe trilogy!
The Missing Link
Yuji Naka and his team were going to have Sonic the Hedgehog 3 have all of the levels of the following game, Sonic and Knuckles, but they simply didn't have enough development time. Well, this was fixed by allowing the Sonic and Knuckles cart to be linked to the Sonic 3 one, so you could play all of Sonic 3 and S&K on one save file-- earning the Chaos Emeralds and then the Master Emeralds. You could even use the cart to link to Sonic 2, so you'd be playing as Knuckles in Sonic 2. Very cool, yes?
Regardless, the zones were varied, the music was top-notch, and the challenge was quite good. There was a reason to play the game more than once with the edition of Knuckles who could reach areas Sonic couldn't. You even faced different final bosses depending on who you chose.
One of the most quotable games ever.
Considered by many to be the last "great" Star Fox title, Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 64 launched its way into the hearts of many fans. There were plenty of planets and areas to pilot your arwing, landmaster, or bluemarine in, and unlike Star Fox Assault-- all of it was in-ship. No on-foot missions here!
The game was mostly an on-rails flight/ground/sea game where the goal was to rack up as many points as possible while trying to stay alive. The main game could be completed in less than an hour, but there were so many paths through the Lylat that playing once just wasn't enough.
Couple the gameplay with the introduction of the Rumble Pak and a fun four-player dogfight mode, and you have what is my favorite Star Fox title period. Here's hoping the original team comes back for a fantastic Wii version!
A Platforming Revolution
What can I really say about Super Mario 64? It's really the revolution to 3-D gaming that its older brother Super Mario Bros. was to 2-D gaming. It showed how a platformer in the new gen should act and behave.
It had sixteen varied worlds from snowlands to tall mountains to rainbow rides to the innards of a giant clock. And who could forget the phenomenal Bowser stages each ending with a showdown with the King of the Koopas himself! Many would imitate this game, and most would fail at capturing the magic that Super Mario 64 casts over players' imaginations.
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2, GCN, XBX)
Skate or Die
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was Tony's first ollie into-- at that time-- the next generation of consoles, and with it was an entirely new engine. This game had it all, fantastic tricks, an impressive array of pro boarders (and the coolest unlockable skaters in my opinion), and some of most incredible levels ever to grace a Tony Hawk game. The fun was creating your own skater, taking him through the main mode, completing a level's objectives such as a high score or finding the secret tape, moving onto the next one, entering a skate competition, and making it all the way to the game's penultimate level-- the cruise ship. And then you do it all over again with a new skater! This was the last traditional Tony Hawk game before everything was changed up once again. Regardless, THPS3 remains my favorite Tony Hawk game of all time.
A banana-slamma
Donkey Kong came out of hibernation in 1994 with small English developer, Rare, came into the limelight by creating DK's first adventure in many years, Donkey Kong Country. Right away when I sat down to play this game as a kid, I was blown away by the awesome 3-D modeled sprites and the incredible soundtrack.
Now DK wasn't alone this time. He had help from his best buddy, Diddy Kong, as well as assistance from the Kong family as they ventured through seven worlds on their quest to get DK's banana bunch back from the nefarious King K. Rool. There were many secrets to discover, bonus rooms to play around in, and Kremlings to krush-- er... crush. Was it my favorite of the trilogy? We'll find out.
Back to Basics
New Super Mario Bros. was announced publicly at the same time the Nintendo DS was first shown. Years later it finally came out, and if sales are an indication of anything, gamers like old-school Mario and they want more.
And so do I. New Super Mario Bros. felt like a mish-mash between Super Mario Bros. 1, 3 and finally, Super Mario World. The 3-D sprites were fantastic, the gameplay was smooth and felt so incredibly responsive, and the secrets were many. Many stages had alternate exits revealing new worlds and levels. Gold coins were hidden in each level for the adventurer to find and collect. And the new power-ups created new forms of gameplay the likes of which Mario fans hadn't seen before. Couple all this with some of the most fluid controls ever, and you have one of the greatest [handheld] Mario titles of all time.
=======================================
The Fourth Fantasy
Final Fantasy IV was my very first Final Fantasy. Blessed with an excellent combat system, a stellar soundtrack, a sensational story, and hours upon hours of gameplay to be had, Final Fantasy IV is just an incredible game. I eagerly await the DS remake coming to Western audiences as soon as this year. In the meantime I have the SNES, PS, or the glitchy GBA version (which represents the screens) to play.
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GCN)
Link Formation, ho!
Besides Zelda II: Adventure of Link, no Zelda has been as a dramatically different to the formula than The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. This game was a much more expansive title to the original Four Swords game that was included with the GBA port of A Link to the Past. Regardless, this title had you playing in a broken up world (there was no cohesive overworld like in all the other Zelda games), solving puzzles, beating bad guys, and taking new formations with your army of four Links. This game was great alone, and it was even better if you had a buddy with a GBA to play with you-- or three. Four Swords Adventures is the closest thing we've seen to a sequel of A Link to the Past, and it shows with its music, graphics, and enemies. Check this title out, dear readers. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
- Viewtiful Joe (GCN, PS2)
RHOH'ding your mind.
What it had in intense action it was matched fully in pure style. Slacker, Joe, is watching yet another showing of his favorite action superhero, Captain Blue, on the big screen when all of a sudden, a big mean robot arm grabs his girl, Sylvia, and pulls her and Joe into Movieland. Now the goal is simple, save Sylvia... while scarfing down fuel in greasy hamburgers and salty french fries. Kids these days.
Not only was the game extremely challenging-- try getting all Rainbow V ranks-- I dare you, but it had very cool moves. Joe could slow down time, speed things up, and zoom in on the action for killer combos! It's a damn shame that Clover Studios is kaput, because I'd love to see the conclusion of the Viewtiful Joe trilogy!
- Sonic 3 & Knuckles (GEN)
The Missing Link
Yuji Naka and his team were going to have Sonic the Hedgehog 3 have all of the levels of the following game, Sonic and Knuckles, but they simply didn't have enough development time. Well, this was fixed by allowing the Sonic and Knuckles cart to be linked to the Sonic 3 one, so you could play all of Sonic 3 and S&K on one save file-- earning the Chaos Emeralds and then the Master Emeralds. You could even use the cart to link to Sonic 2, so you'd be playing as Knuckles in Sonic 2. Very cool, yes?
Regardless, the zones were varied, the music was top-notch, and the challenge was quite good. There was a reason to play the game more than once with the edition of Knuckles who could reach areas Sonic couldn't. You even faced different final bosses depending on who you chose.
- Star Fox 64 (N64)
One of the most quotable games ever.
Considered by many to be the last "great" Star Fox title, Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 64 launched its way into the hearts of many fans. There were plenty of planets and areas to pilot your arwing, landmaster, or bluemarine in, and unlike Star Fox Assault-- all of it was in-ship. No on-foot missions here!
The game was mostly an on-rails flight/ground/sea game where the goal was to rack up as many points as possible while trying to stay alive. The main game could be completed in less than an hour, but there were so many paths through the Lylat that playing once just wasn't enough.
Couple the gameplay with the introduction of the Rumble Pak and a fun four-player dogfight mode, and you have what is my favorite Star Fox title period. Here's hoping the original team comes back for a fantastic Wii version!
- Super Mario 64 (N64)
A Platforming Revolution
What can I really say about Super Mario 64? It's really the revolution to 3-D gaming that its older brother Super Mario Bros. was to 2-D gaming. It showed how a platformer in the new gen should act and behave.
It had sixteen varied worlds from snowlands to tall mountains to rainbow rides to the innards of a giant clock. And who could forget the phenomenal Bowser stages each ending with a showdown with the King of the Koopas himself! Many would imitate this game, and most would fail at capturing the magic that Super Mario 64 casts over players' imaginations.
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2, GCN, XBX)
Skate or Die
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was Tony's first ollie into-- at that time-- the next generation of consoles, and with it was an entirely new engine. This game had it all, fantastic tricks, an impressive array of pro boarders (and the coolest unlockable skaters in my opinion), and some of most incredible levels ever to grace a Tony Hawk game. The fun was creating your own skater, taking him through the main mode, completing a level's objectives such as a high score or finding the secret tape, moving onto the next one, entering a skate competition, and making it all the way to the game's penultimate level-- the cruise ship. And then you do it all over again with a new skater! This was the last traditional Tony Hawk game before everything was changed up once again. Regardless, THPS3 remains my favorite Tony Hawk game of all time.
- Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
A banana-slamma
Donkey Kong came out of hibernation in 1994 with small English developer, Rare, came into the limelight by creating DK's first adventure in many years, Donkey Kong Country. Right away when I sat down to play this game as a kid, I was blown away by the awesome 3-D modeled sprites and the incredible soundtrack.
Now DK wasn't alone this time. He had help from his best buddy, Diddy Kong, as well as assistance from the Kong family as they ventured through seven worlds on their quest to get DK's banana bunch back from the nefarious King K. Rool. There were many secrets to discover, bonus rooms to play around in, and Kremlings to krush-- er... crush. Was it my favorite of the trilogy? We'll find out.
- New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Back to Basics
New Super Mario Bros. was announced publicly at the same time the Nintendo DS was first shown. Years later it finally came out, and if sales are an indication of anything, gamers like old-school Mario and they want more.
And so do I. New Super Mario Bros. felt like a mish-mash between Super Mario Bros. 1, 3 and finally, Super Mario World. The 3-D sprites were fantastic, the gameplay was smooth and felt so incredibly responsive, and the secrets were many. Many stages had alternate exits revealing new worlds and levels. Gold coins were hidden in each level for the adventurer to find and collect. And the new power-ups created new forms of gameplay the likes of which Mario fans hadn't seen before. Couple all this with some of the most fluid controls ever, and you have one of the greatest [handheld] Mario titles of all time.
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Until next week, I'm tucking away my list of favorites! See you next week!
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