SuperPhillip Central's Top 100 Games of All Time (100-91)

If you're not in the loop, let us enlighten you. Five years ago on this very day, one person started a little blog. Little did he know that this small blog would evolve into something many readers would stick with worldwide. Little did he know that he'd need more staff to help him deliver content on every weekday. Little did he know that his blog would reach over 400 reviews. And little did he know that his blog would reach one million views on the very same day as the site's five year anniversary.

Yes, today is SuperPhillip Central's five year anniversary, and the site that was just about SuperPhillip has shifted focus since its inception to become an all-encompassing game site full of news, reviews, editorials, interviews, top ten lists, and more.

We're celebrating in a big way. SuperPhillip Central's staff have come together to come up with our top 100 games of all time. These don't necessarily have to be the best, but they are indeed our favorites. Coming up with an order for these games has been an immense challenge. We're sure you won't agree with our order-- heck, we don't even agree with our order. That said, for the next ten weeks, we will be counting down our favorite games of all time. Please join us for this great undertaking. Let's get to the countdown!

100) Chrono Cross (PS1)

Chrono Cross is the successor to the 1995 Super Nintendo classic Chrono Trigger. Many staff from that game moved onto work on Chrono Cross, including director Masato Kato, composer Yasunori Mitsuda, and art director Yasuyuki Honne. The game followed the exploits of Serge, a teenage lad who, in an alternate reality, is dead. You see, parallel worlds is a theme of Chrono Cross, and one that makes the plot so appealing. From the turn-based battle system, where players could run from every battle if they so choose, to the immense amount of characters that could join Serge's party, Chrono Cross is one of the PlayStation's better RPGs to grace the platform.

99) Saints Row 2 (Multi)

So often the press and gamers are so eager to name upcoming games as the *insert game series here*-killer. That was true with Saints Row 2. Unlike the original Saints Row, Saints Row 2 was a multiplatform affair, and one which was all kinds of wacky. While Grand Theft Auto IV went in a more realistic route, Saints Row 2 captured the fun and craziness that made past Grand Theft Auto games so enjoyable. Being able to customize your character however you wanted, participate in a myriad of off-the-wall side missions, and exploring the living, breathing city of Stilwater are all facets of Saints Row 2 that make it one of our favorite open world games.

98) Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

Tales of Symphonia released on a system, the GameCube, that didn't really receive a lot of RPGs. Now, we're not saying Tales of Symphonia is only worthwhile because it was on a system that didn't get many RPGs. No, we're listing this game because it was very good. Tales of Symphonia sported a beautiful cel-shaded art style, a great soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba, and an entertaining battle system that made battles not a chore but a fun experience. We can't wait to replay the game when it hits the PlayStation 3 in HD form. We salivate at the very thought!

97) LocoRoco 2 (PSP)

A platformer like no other, LocoRoco 2 is played with the shoulder buttons of the PSP. Pressing the L button would make your LocoRoco move to the left, while the R button-- you guessed it, you smart, smart reader-- would move your LocoRoco to the right. Hitting both shoulder buttons at the same time made your lovable blob jump in the air. LocoRoco 2 featured a wealth of platforming challenges, a notable art style and musical score, and loads of charm. Between saving Muimui characters, finding all of the fruit in a given level, and saving the world from the Moja threat, LocoRoco 2 is one of our favorite PSP titles.

96) Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS)

We're going to admit something. We are not very good at rhythm games. We love them to death, but the skill that we need to play them just alludes us. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is one of those rhythm games that we were actually good at, and that's not the only reason the game makes our list. The game was a Final  Fantasy fan's dream, filled with a multitude of music from all thirteen mainline Final Fantasy games. Leveling up characters, getting a high rank on a given song, defeating powerful enemies through tapping, sliding, and holding the stylus on the touch screen, and unlocking new heroes and heroines all made us giddy with excitement. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is an excellent, excellent rhythm game that strays from the norm.

95) Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)

There have been five Professor Layton games that have been released in the West, but our pick for the best and most memorable is the third entry in the series, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (or The Last Time Travel, if you're a PAL pal). The amount of puzzles in the game made for some late night brain-busting. We could honestly feel our craniums grow as we solved puzzle after puzzle. That was just one part of the game, though. Unwound Future possessed one of the most touching stories in a Nintendo DS game-- actually, in a game in the past ten years. It really made us emotional. What, we're man enough to admit that!

94) Mario Golf (N64)

Phil's very first golf game was Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, so we had to include it on this list or else he would give us grief for the rest of eternity. Mario Golf was a tremendous golfing title, featuring familiar Mushroom Kingdom characters as well as "normal" characters like Charlie and Plum, six well designed courses, a memorable soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba, and more modes than you can shake a 3 Wood at. Many nights Mario Golf was the game of choice-- trying to get that ever-elusive albatross or hole-in-one, acing that fifty foot putt, and trying to come out top in a tournament. All of these activities made for one excellent golf game.

93) Hot Shots Golf Fore! (PS2)

From one golf game to another, we go from Mario to the world of Hot Shots Golf with the fourth installment of the series (and the second on the PlayStation 2), Hot Shots Golf Fore! We all agreed that Hot Shots just inched out Mario Golf as the top golf title. It featured more characters, more courses, more challenge, and more options than its competition. We especially loved unlocking new characters like Ratchet and Jak (from their respective PlayStation franchises) through Match Play, new caddies to support (or criticize) us while we play, and recording our favorite shots. Hot Shots Golf Fore! is one of those games that we get very nostalgic for, despite mostly featuring a cast of one-time golfers.

92) Golden Sun (GBA)

Camelot knows how to make games. We've already featured them on this list with Mario Golf. They know how to do more than golf games, however, as evident by Golden Sun, one of the best RPGs to be found on the Game Boy Advance. We prefer the original Golden Sun, as the game was much more novel than its successors. Golden Sun featured the addicting turn-based combat, Djinn-obtaining, summon-summoning, puzzle-solving action that made it a unique title in the GBA's wide catalog of software. Using the wide amount of Psynergy (magic) in the game's many towns and dungeons to solve puzzles and progress was something that we hadn't seen so much out of an RPG. Couple all that with an engaging battle system, and you have the #92 game on our list.

91) Dead Rising (360)

One of our favorite Xbox 360 exclusives is Dead Rising. It came from the mind of one of the folks behind Mega Man, Keiji Inafune. Dead Rising was quite unlike anything at the time. You played as Frank West, a photojournalist who has covered wars, y'know. However, no war could really prepare him for a zombie outbreak in a Colorado town's mall. To survive, Frank would need to utilize as many things in the mall to stay alive, including chainsaws, lawn mowers, baseball bats, soccer balls, hammers, and much much more. This was all the while Frank had to carefully watch a clock, for if he could miss story-related events and survivors to save. The former of which meant that the player would have to restart the game, though they would keep all of Frank's upgrades. Dead Rising is a technical marvel, sporting hundreds of zombies on screen at the same time. It's also just an innovative and special title in the Xbox 360's library.

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Our first of ten features on our favorite video games of all time is now in the history books, much like the games we've talked about and are going to talk about. Every Wednesday for nine more weeks we will be counting down our top 100 games of all time. We hope you'll join us, and we hope you continue to enjoy SuperPhillip Central's content for the next five years!

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) Launch Trailer

Yes, this is a bit premature, since the game doesn't come out in North America officially until Sunday, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from posting this launch trailer for Animal Crossing: New Leaf on their YouTube channel. The trailer does a wonderful job of showcasing the new stuff that New Leaf is chock full of. Animal Crossing: New Leaf arrives on the Nintendo 3DS on Sunday, June 9.

Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume Seven

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

SuperPhillip Central is back with more incredibly designed and/or simply fun levels from gaming's glorious past. Some of these games and levels are from further in the past than others, but they're all terrific feats of level design. For Volume Seven, we have a five more levels to present to you from games such as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Rayman Origins, and Mega Man X. We'll get to the masterful levels, but first, here's the other six installments of Best Levels in Gaming History to get you caught up.

Volume One

Volume Two

Volume Three

Volume Four

Volume Five

Volume Six

Top Ten Most Memorable E3 Moments

E3 2013 officially kicks off one week from today. It is setting up to be one of the most important yet, as we have two new consoles trying to beat the other in hype, and another console that is trying to prove itself as anything but irrelevant. We at SuperPhillip Central thought today would be a perfect day to look back on what we consider to be the most memorable E3 moments-- or at least what moments are our favorites. Will your favorite moments make it on this list?

10) Don't believe SEGA Saturnday's lies (1995)

1995 was an important year for gaming. It was the very first official E3 presentation, and the big contenders in the industry took it seriously. For the longest time, SEGA was claiming that their new system, the SEGA Saturn, was going to release on a special day called SEGA Saturnday, which just meant it would release on Saturday, September 2, 1995. However, this date was a ruse, and in a surprise announcement, SEGA announced at their press conference that the Saturn was already shipped to four specific retailers in North America.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bad thing, as not only did the retailers who did not get Saturn systems early feel absolutely betrayed by SEGA (KB Toys went as far as not selling the Saturn and actively promoting its rivals because of this), but it helped a certain company arrive in the game industry with a huge advantage. For more on this, check out #2 on this list.

9) Final Fantasy XIII heads to Xbox 360 (2008)

Speaking of betrayals, PlayStation fans felt betrayed after Square Enix announced at Microsoft's press conference that Final Fantasy XIII was coming to the Xbox 360. Message boards and comment sections everywhere turned into an embarrassing display of fanboyism, immaturity, and meltdowns. If only PlayStation 3 owners knew of the quality of Final Fantasy XIII before their reactions, perhaps the loss of exclusivity wouldn't have bothered them so much. It's funny to think of the outcry in retrospect, as Final Fantasy XIII turned out to be one of the lesser mainline entries in the franchise, especially for Xbox 360 owners who had to deal with worse performance and a game split up across three discs. Still, the moment at Microsoft's press conference was certainly a memorable one.

8) Jamie Kennedy falls flat (2007)

The Electronic Entertainment Expo was greatly downsized for the 2007 edition, and it was a much weaker show because of it. However, not all was bad. Well, actually Activision's 2007 press conference was legitimately bad, but it was basically as intriguing as watching a car accident. "Comedian" (and we must use quotations, mind you) Jamie Kennedy was the host of the press conference, and to say he was out of it would be an understatement. Throwing around unfunny non sequiturs, taunting the gaming public with cliche insults, and just being generally awkward were all tricks in Kennedy's repertoire that day.

Such gems including Kennedy asking "Should I do this interview as Ozzy Osbourne" followed by the quick quip of "Aren't you doing that already?" contributed more to the art of comedy than Kennedy's own drunken and/or stoned antics. Truly hilarious and awkward, and for all of the wrong reasons.

7) Konami's press conference (2010)

Speaking of things that are awkward and act like train wrecks, Konami's unforgettable and now infamous 2010 press conference was all kinds of weird. Where do we even begin? It was a greatest hits of awkward moments like "extreeeeeme", "you will be sucked", "one million troops... wow", "love you guys", "not funny", a Silent Hill developer that stands too close to his coworker, some kind of wresting slap fest, a silly dance game that made it demonstrators look silly, and-- aw, hell, words do not do this press conference service. It must be seen to be believed. Praise Sir Tak Fujii!

6) Killzone 2 reveal (2005)

At Sony's 2005 E3 press conference, a certain trailer for a certain game got an immense amount of buzz. It was a trailer for Killzone 2, what many in the industry wanted to call a Halo-killer. (Let's face it. People get hard-ons when they can call something a Halo-killer, despite how good or bad it is.) Regardless, the incredibly impressive trailer hyped up not only existing PlayStation 3 owners, but also a good portion of the gaming world in general. There are STILL arguments to this day on whether or not the Killzone 2 reveal trailer was real-time or CG, which Sony is known to do for their trailers occasionally. That said, we haven't been floored by graphics in a long time as much as we were with Killzone 2.

5) Reggie revealed (2004)

"My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games." That little speech started a rallying cry that Nintendo fans could support. It was one that had a vulnerable and weakened Nintendo (especially after E3 2003) coming back strong with a backbone, despite having to go up against both Sony and Microsoft and currently losing to them both. Yes, Reggie Fils-Aime has become nothing but a marketing and public relations face for Nintendo of America with little real power, but at the time during E3 2004, he was a god among Nintendo fans.

4) Super Smash Bros. Brawl reveal (2006)

Nintendo's 2006 E3 presentation came and went without a word of this next game reveal. Instead, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was shown in a closed room at the end of one of the show's nights. When the gaming world caught wind of a new Smash Bros., one with new characters like Metaknight, Pit, and Wario, and impressive new graphics, the hype was unbearable for many. It certainly was that way for us at SuperPhillip Central (we've only gone on to call Brawl one of our favorite video games of all time on multiple occasions). The creme dela creme, however, was the arrival of an unexpected character-- Solid Snake. Showtime! Super Smash Bros. Brawl's reveal was one of those game reveals that will always stick with us, and to see why, here's the full trailer.

3) Sony's 2006 abomination (2006)

One of the most infamous press conferences, and not really because it was so bad, but knowing that this conference was the starting point for a once dominant video game console manufacturer to have to play catch-up for an entire generation, was Sony's 2006 E3 showing. From the incredibly large money investment of five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars to all the lackluster games sporting real-time weapon change, attacking crab weak points for massive damage, and RIIIIIIIDGE RACER, the show is something that Sony is still recovering from. That is how devastating the showing was, proving that a bad E3 showing really can be detrimental to the success of a platform. (Though it's obviously not the only thing that went wrong with the PS3.)

2) The beginning of the PlayStation brand's rise to power (1995)

We move from Sony's worst E3 showing to one of their most successful. Continuing the story from moment #10, the SEGA Saturn's reveal was botched in many ways, from developer outcry to a lack of games at launch. The most important of which is the price tag, which was $399 USD. Sony took this information and proceeded to go directly for SEGA's jugular. Olaf Olafsson (as great a name as Phillip Phillips), then president of Sony Electronic Publishing, went on stage, supposedly to talk about game developers being successful storytellers. Instead, he interrupted himself midway through his speech, called up another Sony employee, Steve Race. Again, Mr. Race was supposedly going to talk more about the PlayStation, but instead simply came up to the stage and said, "$299," and proceeded to walk off the stage with an applause worthy of an Oscar winner. This was the beginning of the rise of the PlayStation brand in the gaming industry, and one hell of an introductory showing.

1) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess reveal (2004)

We at SuperPhillip Central are big supporters of the industry, and all three of the big three. We have a particular soft spot for Nintendo, as all of us on staff grew up on Nintendo. Not only is the debut trailer for what would later be known as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the subsequent reaction something that gave us absolute goosebumps all over, but when Shigeru Miyamoto came out with a replica of the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, we screamed like the man-children we are. These moments are what E3 is all about, and Nintendo is usually one of the best at giving gamers a good show (2008 and 2012, not withstanding). It is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess reveal that even for those who don't care for Nintendo or Zelda can appreciate the genuine excitement and enthusiasm of the moment. This is why we have ranked it as our number one moment. That, and because we're whores for the Zelda franchise.

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Those are our personal favorite moments from E3's historic past. Which moments do you remember the most? Post your comments below, and discuss your thoughts with other readers. Just think, there's only one week to go until we are bombarded with more video game news and titles than we can shake a booth babe at! Stay tuned later on in the week when we list the worst E3 moments, much like we did last year.

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Countdown to Five Years Edition

You might be wondering what in the world this week's edition's title is referring to. If so, then you must have missed our announcement that SuperPhillip Central is celebrating its fifth anniversary on Wednesday, June 5. We're kicking off the festivities with five tracks from video game past and present. Such games featured this week include Yoshi's Island DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. After you've heard these great songs, check out our VGM Database for all past themes documented.

v386. Yoshi's Island DS (DS) - Windblown Wilderness

Quite possibly the only good song in Yoshi's Island DS (which is a huge disappointment after the original Yoshi's Island's excellent and memorable soundtrack), Windblown Wilderness is a little bit country and a little bit awesome. The song would be remixed in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

v387. The Munchables (Wii) - Panic Restaurant

The Munchables is a severely underrated and overlooked Nintendo Wii game that needs more attention. It's charming, it has qualities of both Pac-Man and Katamari Damacy, and it's just a load of fun. Panic Restaurant is theme that plays as your Munchable takes on one of the game's many bosses, such as a broccoli monster, a creature made up of grapes, and several blocks of chocolate.

v388. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) - Main Theme

We have fond memories of playing Animal Crossing: Wild World with old internet friends, as well as playing it on our own or locally with one another and/or friends. This folksy main theme is a gentle one that puts players right into the mood to visit their home away from home, chat with the locals, catch bugs and fish, and collect as much for their homes as possible.

v389. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U, 3DS) - Success!!!

Sure, you've been hunting that Rathalos dozens of times and still haven't acquired that rare drop yet. Don't despair, because at least when you bring down the fiery dragon you can listen to this rousing victory theme, boosted by brass and soothing strings. Just a side-note that this song was also in Monster Hunter Tri on Wii, but we figured we'd classify the song under the expansion game for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.

v390. Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U, 3DS, PC) - Edwin's Farm

Volume 390 has the Scribblenauts series making its first appearance on SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs with Scribblenauts Unlimited. The team at 5th Cell did a grand undertaking when they developed this game, and the final product is one they can be proud of. What they can also be proud of is the excellent music that accompanies each level. Edwin's Farm is the first level in the game, and it comes with a catchy and relaxing theme.