LogFAQs > #950459286

36. F-Zero GX (Gamecube, 2003)

The blackbird sings to him: "Brother, brother,
If this be the last song you shall sing,
Sing well, for you may not sing another;
Brother, sing."

In dreary doubtful waiting hours,
Before the brazen frenzy starts,
The horses show him nobler powers;
O patient eyes, courageous hearts!

And when the burning moment breaks,
And all things else are out of mind,
And only joy of battle takes
Him by the throat and makes him blind,
Through joy and blindness he shall know,
Not caring much to know, that still
Nor lead nor steel shall reach him, so
That it be not the Destined Will.

The thundering line of battle stands,
And in the air Death moans and sings;
But Day shall clasp him with strong hands,
And Night shall fold him in soft wings.

from "Into Battle" by Julian Grenfell

35. Pikmin 2 (Gamecube, 2004)

Pikmin 2 is one of those rare sequels that takes the general premise of the original game, remixes it heavily, and hits every mark. The President of Hocotate Freight sends Olimar and his hapless co-captain Louie back to the Distant Planet to retrieve as many treasures as they can to clear up the company's debt (which was incurred by Louie bungling a shipment of carrots by letting a "space rabbit" eat them)

Olimar and Louie get separated on the planet, but with the Pikmin's help, are reunited. What springs forth is a more robust, complex game than the original Pikmin, where you must use both Captains in tandem to solve puzzles and retrieve treasures that one Captain could never retrieve alone. You confront two new kinds of Pikmin - purple and white - who are super strong and poisonous, respectively. And you descend into dark and foreboding caves, where for Complicated Science Reasons, time does not pass as it does on the surface.

Initially, my concern was that these untimed areas would lessen the tension of the game, as danger of impending night was the prime motivator up to that point in the series. But the Caves replace the time constraint with a different one - the Pikmin you bring in are all you get for the whole cave. You occasionally get candypop bulbs to change Pikmin from one color to another, but you really have to strategize to clear each cave effectively and efficiently while minimizing your losses. Add to that the fact that some of the cave denizens you have to fight (or avoid) are horrific threats unlike anything on the surface, and you've got an incredible game that leans harder into survival horror than any of us would have thought the series possible.

34. Command & Conquer: Red Alert II/Yuri's Revenge (PC, 2000-2001)

I played the first Red Alert some, and liked it well enough. It's a good game. But Red Alert 2 was better in every way, and came after I'd been transfixed by the RTS genre; RA1 had come before. The setting, the story, and the insane live action cutscenes, helped hook me. An alt-history where the Cold War went hot was a compelling way to frame a strategy game. But it was the gameplay - both the strong single player campaigns and the fun but somewhat outlandish (and in retrospect, probably a little racist?) multiplayer - that kept me coming back for years (until I moved on to Warhammer: Dawn of War in college; a game I've only just remembered and should have been an Honorable Mention). The creativity of unit and structure design was top notch, and in many ways remains unparalleled. Here's hoping it gets a remaster soon, like C&C and RA1 did last year. I'd love to replay it with a full visual upgrade.

33. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Gamecube, 2003)

Speaking of games that got a fancy remaster: It's The Wind Waker, the most charming of 3D Zelda games. Despite its flaws, which are well-documented, it remains among the most enjoyable and satisfying Zelda games in the series. A lot of that is attributable to its inimitable style, which was as dramatic a shift from OoT/MM as OoT/MM were from LttP/LA. It's a style that endures, though, thanks in part to Toon Link's inclusion in the Smash series and its use in the handheld Zeldas that followed it.

Another reason it Wind Waker endures is how it subtly but fundamentally shifted (and re-shifted) the way the series is played. It introduced a new camera system that gave the player much needed control over their field of vision, something that its 3D predecessors sorely lacked. It brought Zelda back to its roots as a game where exploration of the world is as central to progressing through the game as the plot is. It brought back greater elements of non-linearity that had largely left the series over the preceding ten years or so. These fingerprints are still on the series, as anyone who's played Breath of the Wild can attest.

Also Wind Waker has the best endgame in a Zelda game. It ends with the Master Sword plunged into Ganondorf's skull. Unbeatable.

---

The Thighmaster