My Top 115 Favorite Video Games (15-11)

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15. Okami (PS2)

Some people call Okami “the best Zelda game Nintendo never made”, but I don’t think that does the game justice. Yes, in terms of its structure and feel Okami definitely takes inspiration from my favorite video game series, but similar to Beyond Good and Evil it is also a uniquely brilliant game in its own right. The level of artistry on every level of Okami is awe-inspiring. The art design is breathtaking, the musical score is wonderful, and the Celestial Brush is one of the most inventive mechanics in video games. The world, a fantastical version of Japan, is a layered land of wonders and the narrative and endearing characters truly moved me in a way that only a handful of games, or any works for that matter, have ever done. There are few feelings as magical as dashing through the fields of Nippon as Amaterasu as flowers bloom in my wake. The way mechanics, art design, and the central narrative themes of good vs. evil and restoring nature all come together in Okami is nothing short of poetic, and more than just an endlessly imaginative journey, Okami feels like a lifetime. Okami is a video game masterpiece if there ever was one.

14. Shenmue (Dreamcast)

There has never been a video game that has amazed me as much as Shenmue did in 2000. It was way ahead of its time and revolutionary in many ways. Many video games strive for realism, and while graphical prowess has continued to evolve, few feature a world that truly feels “real”. With its dense, yet hyper-detailed world, Shenmue felt like I actually lived in Japan throughout my duration of playing it. It appealed to me because of my interest in eastern culture, but the magic of Shenmue is also in the mundanity of it. I mentioned when talking about Animal Crossing that despite it being a very unique experience, there was actually another game somewhat similar to it that I had played previously. I was referring, of course, to Shenmue, and like Animal Crossing, it is the simple act of living a life day to day that makes Shenmue so special. In other words, it’s another game where “downtime” is the focus. I could walk around Ryo Hazuki’s house and open every drawer, I could buy and drink soda from a vending machine (and even inspect the cans), I could enter a convenience store and browse through different packets of noodles, or I could waste hours buying toy capsules from a machine outside of it. I could play classic Sega games at the local arcade, I had a daily allowance from my sweet housekeeper, I went to work, I practiced martial arts in the park, and I could talk to a wide variety of other people living their lives (and at the time, I was astounded by the sheer amount of voice acting in the game). Shenmue immersed me in its ordinary yet foreign world, it made me want to travel, it catered to my love of Japanese culture, and it made me gain more of an appreciation for other cultures in general. The sense of realism in the game, the wide degree of interactivity, the atmosphere, the ambitious storytelling…Shenmue was and still is in a league of its own and is an experience that will always stick with me.

13. Super Mario 64 (N64)

I don’t specifically remember the very first time I played Super Mario 64, but I remember the time period. The Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were taking console video games into a bold new dimension, and everyone on the N64 side was either playing Wave Race 64 or Super Mario 64. Mario 64 truly felt massive back then, with an intricate, labyrinthine overworld full of secrets and what seemed like a never-ending supply of colorful and imaginative levels to explore. I remember even being taken aback by the peaceful courtyard of Peach’s Castle; Mario’s world had come to life in a way it never had before. Super Mario 64 is a playground; it’s a joyous, bounding experience in which it is a wonder to just move around. That’s perhaps what I remember most about my initial experience with the game: just how damn good it felt to move Mario around in 3D, to do backflips and triple jumps and climb trees. I’ve gone back to 64 in the past simply to run and jump around just for the hell of it. Super Mario 64 is more than just great control though. Its many worlds feel like the epitome of classic Super Mario themes (which, for the record, I don’t inherently hate) and all of them are jam-packed with memorable moments, like the terrifying piano in Big Boo’s Haunt, exploring the pyramid in Shifting Sand Land, and finding the hidden town in Wet-Dry World. Beyond the worlds is the brilliantly-designed hub from which you access them: Peach’s Castle, which might be my favorite thing about the whole game. There are just so many secrets and little details to discover inside and outside the castle: the secret aquarium, looking at the sun in the lobby, following a Big Boo and leaping into a birdcage to access a new world, not to mention the surprise waiting on the roof…so much effort was put into making the hub just as interesting to play around in as the levels themselves. Mario 64’s Koji Kondo-composed soundtrack is also one of my absolute favorites in the series, with “Dire, Dire Docks” and “Koopa’s Road” being particular highlights. The game’s colorful art and smooth, simple geometry also really stood out to me back then over the grainy, jaggy PS1 visuals and still holds up pretty well today despite the obviously dated technical aspects. It’s amazing that Nintendo got 3D Super Mario so right right out of the gate and paved the way for intuitive 3D control in video games with this one exceptional title.

12. Super Mario Bros. (NES)

Super Mario 64 changed the game in a major way, but there might not be a game at all if it wasn’t for Super Mario Bros., which essentially saved video games from a tragic early demise and is in my opinion basically the moment that video games stopped being merely “games” and started being works of art. It is also one of my earliest gaming memories along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Kirby’s Dream Land and very likely the first video game I ever played. Super Mario Bros. is basically the reason I care about video games at all. Video games were no longer a single screen with simple rules and only a few actions, they weren’t merely about getting a high score anymore; Super Mario Bros. was an adventure over land, air, and sea, it was a fantastical world, it had a story to it, there was a beginning and an ending. The first major post on this blog that I wrote four years ago was a breakdown detailing how Super Mario Bros. basically contains all of the core elements that make me love video games so much, and while I’m not sure I’d break it down into such a cut and dry list anymore, I still basically feel the same way; hell it even has the kind of progression and level-to-level connection that I love in platformers so much. Not only is Super Mario Bros. a game that I can go back to and play at any time, at any place, at any point in my life and get an immense amount of enjoyment out of, but there’s something about the stark atmosphere of Mario’s original Mushroom Kingdom adventure that I really love. I love the idea, whether official or not, of two plumbers supposedly stumbling upon a surreal fantasy world that has been conquered and brought to ruin by a fascist turtle monster (a set-up that the infamous 1993 film was actually surprisingly pretty “faithful” to) and whether intentional or merely a byproduct of the limited technology of the time, there’s a mystery and somewhat somber vibe about this game that was largely lost the more the series went on. The game’s narrative premise and backdrop of what essentially is a post-apocalyptic Mushroom Kingdom is at least a fair bit more interesting than the “Bowser absconds with the Princess to lava land” routine that the series constantly recycles today. Of course, even though I consistently replay it and do think the game has aged wonderfully, I also simply cannot deny how large a role nostalgia plays in my undying love for Super Mario Bros., and every art asset, music track, and sound effect evokes powerful feelings deep within me. A masterpiece of surreal art, a masterpiece of game design and game feel, Super Mario Bros. simply is eternal.

11. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GameCube)

When I think of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, I think of a cool Saturday morning in October, the sun gently falling through the window, a little bit of heat coming through the radiator, and exploring the mysteries of the Glitz Pit, where Mario had enlisted as a prize fighter and was trying to weed out seedy corruption in the floating entertainment center accompanied by a newly-hatched baby Yoshi with a spunky attitude. Around the same time, I remember proclaiming that The Thousand-Year Door was my favorite game of all time. It’s hard to put into words just how good this game truly is, but let me try: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of the most creative, subversive, and memorable games that not only Nintendo has ever made, but that I’ve ever played period. It is the complete antithesis to the staleness the Mario franchise largely wallows in today and I find it hard to believe that the current Nintendo even created a game like this once upon a time. Like the original Paper Mario, The Thousand-Year Door is comprised of several chapters, each complete with their own unique characters and subplots that all tie into a larger story, which in this game’s case involves the core mystery of what lies behind the sealed Thousand-Year Door that a secret society known as the X-Nauts want desperately to unlock for some reason. Unlike the first game’s more familiar Mushroom Kingdom setting, TTYD takes Mario to a bizarre new land where he sets foot in the risqué harbor town of Rogueport, which features a gallows as a centerpiece, is full of the Paper Mario universe’s versions of criminals, and even has its own mafia. From here, we meet a host of colorful and memorable characters and go on one captivating adventure after the next throughout one of the most interesting worlds Nintendo has ever created, from the aforementioned corrupt fighting arena, to a cursed town in the woods, to a murder mystery aboard a ritzy locomotive. That’s the key word: mystery. The Thousand-Year Door is like a series of short stories and every one of them is compelling and full of mystery and intrigue. On that note, TTYD probably has the best writing of any Nintendo game aside from some of the Zelda games (namely the ones Yoshiaki Koizumi was involved with such as Link’s Awakening and Majora’s Mask) and is also probably the funniest game the company has ever produced as well, and one of the funniest games I’ve ever played period. Even if you don’t care about Mario or Nintendo, you owe it to yourself to try this game out. This list is all about special games, and it really doesn’t get much more special than Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

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We head into the top ten next time with #10-4, followed by the big finale!

My Top 15 Favorite Video Games of All Time (2012)

I had a difficult time numbering these, but ultimately the numbers don't matter too much aside from the top two or three. I also limited my choices to one game per series for this list. This list is also, of course, open to change in the future.

Here are my top fifteen favorite video games of all time!

15.) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow: I adore the Castlevania series and if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS. Simply put, this game is a perfection of the “Metroidvania” formula pioneered by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It has a huge castle to explore, my favorite magic and equipment system in the series, epic bosses and enemies, a great soundtrack as always, and is just overall the most perfect Castlevania game I can think of.

14.) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Subsistence version): The jungle environment in this game makes for some really exciting stealth scenarios and I love the survival and camouflage mechanics. The game also gives the player the freedom to explore and tackle situations in different ways. The story of The Boss and Naked Snake is quite touching as well. This game is simply the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Metal Gear game. So fun in fact, that I played through it once on a borrowed copy and then went out and bought my own copy and played through it again.

13.) Metroid Prime: Metroid Prime built on the atmospheric game design first established in games like the excellent Super Metroid and delivered a gorgeous 3D alien world to explore. The environments in this game are astounding. I’ll never forget the first time I stepped out into the gorgeous, snowy landscape of the Phendrana Drifts and watched the ice flows drift by to that peaceful music.

12.) Kirby’s Dream Land 2: This is a choice born mainly out of nostalgia, but Kirby’s Dream Land 2 is also a great platformer. This game is one of my childhood favorites and it captured my imagination when I was younger. I even wrote a short story for school partly inspired by this game. I played this game for hours and hours and had so much fun exploring every secret of Dream Land with Kirby and his friends.

11.) Okami: Everything about Okami is wonderful. The fantasy Japanese world is full of memorable locations and characters, the game’s visuals look like a classic Japanese painting come to life, the gameplay is fluid and fun, and the Celestial Brush (which allows the player the turn the world into a canvas and paint objects into reality in order to solve puzzles) is still one of the most unique and interesting gameplay mechanics I’ve ever seen in a game. “Masterpiece” just seems so appropriate a word when referring to this work of art.

10.) Half-Life 2: Something that a lot of my favorite video games have in common is a captivating atmosphere. Half-Life 2 features a brilliant, layered world that combines atmosphere and excellent sound design to draw the player in. It also doesn’t hurt that every single part of this game is engaging. Each stage in the game delivers something new and exciting for the player to experience. I haven’t played the game in years but still remember sections like the creepy Ravenholm, exploring empty seaside cottages, building bridges out of junk with the gravity gun to avoid creatures dwelling under the sand, and hiding from gigantic tripods trying to hunt me down. Half-Life 2 is simply a perfectly designed game, featuring a brilliant narrative that is unfolded through gameplay, a rich world full of secrets to discover, and pitch-perfect gameplay. It is a game that melds story, gameplay, world and art design into one unforgettable package.

9.) Shenmue: The word “realism” gets tossed around a lot when it comes to talking about the latest, greatest video games, but when Shemue was released gamers had never seen such a living, breathing world that felt so real before. It might seem trivial to some, but it was just so cool to me that every drawer could be opened, every object picked up, and that every character could be spoken to. Little things like going into a shop and examining packets of noodles are so fun to me in this game. I have a love of Japanese culture and Shenmue catered to this love as well as provided a rich world to explore, experience, and live in.

8.) Silent Hill 2: I remember watching my brother play Silent Hill 2. The dark, cramped apartment building in the game with its creepy ambient noises and twisted mannequin monsters freaked me out so much I had to leave his room and avoided the game afterwards. A long time passed before I finally played this masterpiece for myself and not only was my trip to Silent Hill a truly freaky one, but one with a potent human story lying underneath. This game still has the best-written and most-detailed story I’ve ever seen in a video game to date. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to praise the depth and richness of this experience enough. Play it, damnit!

7.) Shadow of the Colossus: I’ve never played any other game as epic, melancholic, and maybe even as beautiful as Shadow of the Colossus. This is a story about a boy and his horse, and their lonely journey to slay sixteen gigantic beasts in order to fulfill a wish: to bring a loved one back to life. Shadow of the Colossus involves a minimalist narrative that sweeps the player into a lonely world and forces them to question their own actions, which they are forced to carry out if they wish to complete the game. It also probably has the most epic boss encounters in any game ever.

6.) Chrono Trigger: Chrono Trigger is a true masterpiece in every sense of the world. It combines simple yet deep gameplay, wonderful music, a gorgeous and imaginative world and a thrilling story with memorable characters into one fantastic adventure. Play Chrono Trigger and you’ll be stunned by just how whole and complete the game is. Travelling through time to several different eras in the lifespan of a planet was and still is a revolutionary and amazing concept. Characters like Frog and Robo will always have a special place in my heart. And did I mention this game (along with its sequel, Chrono Cross) has my favorite soundtrack in all of gaming?

5.) Golden Sun: The Lost Age: Another masterful RPG, Golden Sun: The Lost Age is pretty much my ideal RPG: a giant, gorgeous world to freely explore, a simple and fun battle system with epic summons and magic spells, an engaging story, a great soundtrack; like Chrono Trigger, Golden Sun is just the whole package. This game’s world design is incredible and I loved exploring every area the world had to offer, both optional and mandatory ones. I really can’t say much else, except that this would be my favorite RPG of all time if not for one other game which appears a little higher on this list.

4.) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles: This awkwardly named game is the true Sonic the Hedgehog 3 that is born when Sonic 3 is attached to Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic the Hedgehog is a massive part of my childhood and will forever have a huge place in my heart and soul. Sonic 3 and Knuckles is my favorite Sonic game; it’s the most complete and perfect Sonic experience there is. Superb and imaginative level design, a fantastic soundtrack, and perfect platforming gameplay make for one incredible game and an integral part of my gaming career. I play through this game at least once a year.

3.) Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario 3 is a masterwork and my favorite platformer of all time. Tons of awesome power-ups, crazily imaginative world and level designs and an unforgettable soundtrack; this game has it all. I really can’t put my love for Mario 3 into truly effective words: it’s just a perfect gaming experience and I’ve played though it time and time again. It is the quintessential Mario experience.

2.) Skies of Arcadia (Legends version): My favorite RPG of all time, Skies of Arcadia is not simply a video game, but a true adventure. I have so many memories of endlessly exploring the sky both above and below the clouds and across numerous floating islands and continents. An engrossing story, endearing characters, beautiful music, and those big, open skies to explore…everything just so perfectly captures that sense of adventure and wonder that the human soul craves. An unforgettable masterpiece.

1.) The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask: Here we are. My favorite video game of all time. It’s a game about healing. Throughout the game, Link heals and helps many people. And healing is precisely what this game does for me, and what video games as a whole do for me. They heal my soul. They cheer me up when I’m sad, they keep me company when I’m lonely, they stir my imagination, they challenge my mind, and they make me happy to be alive. I’ve gotten to know many video games over the years and one has always stood out among the rest. Call it powerful nostalgia or call it what you will, but Majora’s Mask is simply the reason I play video games. A touching story, layered and blissful gameplay, an unforgettable world and countless endearing scenarios all meld into the experience that is closest to my soul among all of video games.