Board 8 > The Board 8 Discord #sports Chat Ranks Their Top 100 Respective Games

(+) Yeah! (+)

82. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Multiplatform, 2000)

One of the best versions of the series that upon its release permanently became synonymous with skateboarding video games. On a run at the most recent GDQ, a runner commented that THPS games are basically platformers, and I couldn't disagree with that argument - they're mostly about precise jumps and a ton of movement options - and it's a big part of why the games are so satisfying and addictive. THPS2 has a distinctive and memorable licensed soundtrack, some of the series' best levels, and lots of good multiplayer modes and options to boot.
Like Mega Man or Mario Party, THPS's second installment takes the original's good concepts and makes them better, while adding features that were missing to create their definitive installment. And while some THPS sequels were similarly excellent (and regarded by some as superior) the amount of time I put into THPS2 puts it a cut above the rest.

81. Pokmon Go (Mobile, 2016)

In the summer of 2016, Pokmon Go arrived and took quite literally the whole world by storm. For a few weeks, you couldn't go anywhere without finding someone walking to catch Pokmon or reclaim a gym. That experience alone was totally unique, and pretty fun, but with a game that was full of bugs and fairly lacking on content or depth, a lot of folks lost interest pretty fast and it faded away.
Well, not exactly. Pokmon Go undoubtedly had growing pains in its now nearly five years (!) of development, but it's advanced into a pretty thoroughly engrossing game now - with online trading and competitive battling, multiplayer legendary boss battles, and even live paid events to obtain rare Pokmon and items. On its own merits it's a neat game, but I really have never been so enamored with it to place it among my favorite games. However, as a social gaming/real-life-crossover (?) experience, it goes beyond anything I've probably ever played. At the insistence of a real-life friend, I picked up the game back in 2018 for a while and found myself making new friends for raid meetups, spending hours walking through parks to catch Pokmon, and standing in freezing-cold rain to follow a raid train to several locations. (Okay, I had an umbrella.)
It's almost impossible to quantify where that stands among largely more traditional single- or multiplayer-game experiences, so I'm throwing it into the X1 - "I want this on the list, but I don't know where the hell to put it" - space of honor. 71 is gonna be another similarly weird one, hooray!

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#77 - Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U, 2013)

I legitimately couldnt tell you the backstory for why I ever bought this game. I never played with Board 8. I never had any real life friends that enjoyed Monster Hunter. I dont think an excerpt from a gaming magazine drove me to play it. Maybe it was on sale and it looked different, so I tried it out? I have no idea, but my god, what a can of worms this game opened.

The gist of a Monster Hunter game is very simple to explain. You pick a weapon, you grab some gear, and you go out on a mission to hunt a monster. When youre done, you come back, use the spoils of your plight to craft new armor and weapons and then go out and hunt more dangerous monsters. Each weapon you pick will make it feel like youre playing an entirely different game. For example, my favorite weapons in the series are the Sword/Shield, Greatsword, Hammer, and Hunting Horn. I legitimately do not enjoy playing as many of the ranged weapons or the Longsword at all, but those 4 weapons really gel with my playstyle.

Eventually, youll reach a point where you find a set of gear that gives really good bonuses for the weapon you like to use, and one certain monster will drop the parts you need to make it. So you then have to go hunt it a few (dozen if you have really bad luck) times so you can build it. Then you equip it and feel like a total badass. For a few hunts and then theres a new set you see that will do even better. This is how Monster Hunter goes. Its not for everyone, but I love this gameplay loop. Its very easy to get addicted. This might be the single game Ive spent the most time playing in my entire life. Ive never spent an extended time playing an MMO or any game that incentivizes extended playing with continuous bonuses over time. All the time I spent with MH3U was entirely because I felt like playing it. Im pretty sure I broke the 400 hour mark. I actually dusted off my Wii U to check, but something horrible has apparently happened.


Im not too sad about it, because I will never come back to 3 in particular when I have 4, Generations, and World to play if I ever get the ol Monster Hunter itch, but it still feels like those 400 hours of my life where I had that itch the most have been erased from history.

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#87. Donkey Kong Country (SNES, 1994)
I've always enjoyed these games graphical style, they are very appealing. pun. This game has solid music, the 2 monkey system is sort of interesting, if not super fleshed out. There's a ton of secret area/barrels and things to collect. It controls reasonably well. The environments are nice and varied. There's animal buddies that are fun to use. And you have a classic fake out ending,that I'm sure killed everyone the first time around, what a troll!

The game boy version, Donkey Kong Land, was one of the first games I ever played and I liked that game a good bit, so to play that fleshed out in Super Nintendo style was neat.
Saving your game was a pain in the ass in this game, and while I like having a select map, having some of the alternate areas here felt kind of unnecessary, but oh well. Still fun. Bosses could've been better.



Next up: There was a 12 year gap between this game and the one before it.

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First-fifth Round-up:
100. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii, 2007)
99. Unreal Tournament (PC, 1999)
98. Pikmin 2 (GameCube, 2004)
97. Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC, 2015)
96. Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA, 2004)
95. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1, 1998)
94. Time Crisis II (Arcade, 1998)
93. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA, 2003)
92. DJ Max Portable (PSP, 2006)
91. Zany Golf (PC, 1988)
90. Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch, 2019)
89. Contra 4 (DS, 2007)
88. Mega Man 5 (NES, 1992)
87. Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
86. The Oregon Trail (PC, 1993)
85. TimeSplitters 2 (Multiplatform, 2002)
84. Fat Princess (PS3, 2009)
83. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS, 2007)
82. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Multiplatform, 2000)
81. Pokmon Go (Mobile, 2016)

-Breakdown by Decade-
1980s: 1
1990s: 6
2000s: 10
2010s: 3

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#79. Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBR9ypSOTGQ

Here's another sports game on my list! Although, as much as Punch Out is a sports game, it also is kind of a puzzle game and a rhythm game. Fights need memorization, along with fast reflexes and movement along with the natural rhythm of the fights. The difficulty quickly ramps up, so it's not just the final fight against Mike Tyson (or Mr. Dream) that's hard, but many of them. And as SummoningSalt has greatly detailed in video form, there's always the challenge to get better at the fights and chase those better times.

It helps that Punch Out has one of the most colorful cast of characters. There's some strong stereotypes, kind of like how Street Fighter did back in the day, that maybe wouldn't work as new designs now. But everyone is unique and memorable in appearance, fighting style, and dialogue. Punch Out was an interesting game to look at when I was a kid who couldn't beat Bald Bull, and now it's an interesting game to challenge the mechanics of. There's enough depth in this simple little package that it never came close to turning stale.

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Alright, just for that, I'm posting #76 too!

#76 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, 2011)


Its Skyrim. Its on every system and everyone knows what it is. I like Skyrim a lot. Its even more fun on PC where you can Kamehameha Wave people. And Thomas the Tank Engine. And Macho Man dragons. And Zoidberg Mudcrabs. And Tommy Wiseau. And bears playing Misirlou on lutes.

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#82 Capture the Flag (MS-DOS, 1992)

One of the trends of the early 90s PC games market was the Shareware business model. Because PC games did not come on expensive cartridges, and the floppy disks that were commonly used for distribution lacked copy protection, it became very efficient to produce a free version of the game that could be shared with anyone. This "shareware" version often included only the first few levels of the game, or a version of the game with limited features. Shareware games would also include lengthy ads for the full game, usually available only by mail order.

That was how I first experienced Capture the Flag, what was basically an indie title at the time. It's a turn-based strategy game modeled after the traditional outdoor sport of the same name. You control a team of up to 24 players, each with differing attribute levels (speed, endurance, vision, stealth) and have to try to find and capture the opponent's flag while protecting your own. The map has a somewhat realistic fog of war system and you only see actions taken within your line of sight. While enemies are in your territory, your people can take a chance to tackle them, and if successful, send them to "jail" or back to their own territory. Different terrains offer advantages in stealth, vision, or movement speed, so weighing the advantages of how you traverse the map and position your defenders is essential. You can play either versus an AI or a friend and there are plenty of options and maps to customize each match.



The shareware version came with only one map and limited options, but my brothers and I enjoyed it so much playing against each other that we ended up sending for the full game pretty quickly. It was one of the very few shareware games that we actually ended up paying for. The full game came with a map editor that we used to make really cool (and sometimes really dumb) maps.



The concept still holds up pretty well, I recently tried it out again and had a good time. Of course, the game does not play as smoothly as a more modern game would. In 1992, they just had not really figured out controls and UI for strategy games that well yet. At the same time, considering when it came out, I'm surprised that it is as good as it is. This is mostly on my list because it was one of the first strategy games I ever played and was responsible for stoking my interest in the genre before the renowned and classic games in the genre were released.

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89.) NHL Hockey '94 (Genesis, 94)

This game always stood out from the pack for me. For one thing it's the first genesis game I can recall seeing with the big yellow tab on it. I always figured that meant it was bigger or special. Or that it increased their blast processing or something. I think in the end they're just intended to make the game easier to eject. Me and my brothers were absolutely addicted. I would always play the Chicago Blackhawks against the Pens because well, I liked their logo. Everything about this game is pure nostalgia for me, but most especially the now criminally underrated soundtrack.



Most importantly though, I think the game still absolutely holds up and plays great - enough so that they re-did the game in NHL'14 and given the trend in other sports games probably will again.

Let me be clear here - I don't even like hockey. When I first started playing this game, I had actually never seen an actual game of hockey. I STILL love this game.

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88.) Long Live the Queen (PC, 2012)


Easily the best of the Princess Maker games that were once in vogue, and the easiest to consume in English besides, this game is way more fun than it has any right to be. You play a princess who has a year basically to get her shit together to be named Crown Princess after her mother dies. You have to manage her classes and her mood and a whole bevy of events to survive the year and be crowned.

The big thing that sits this apart is the replayability and the dramatic effects that costumes and mood can have on the princess's capabilities. Even seemingly useless skills can end up cropping up in unexpected and exciting ways. And the whole thing doesn't take itself too seriously to boot, so its fun to see the different faces and outfits you unlock along the way.

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88.) Dungeons and Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (Genesis, 1992)


So this game both sucks and rules and that's why its on my list. It's also the game indirectly responsible for the life I lead in a lot of strange ways. This game is like a slightly better version of Dungeons and Dragons Eye of the Beholder. These are games built using the D&D rules in video game form - predating Neverwinter Nights and the like. It uses the Dungeons and Dragons Basic rules from 2nd edition D&D. Note I say D&D not AD&D. The story here is actually pretty damn cool and there is a lot of unusual and great detail in it - the gravestones all have different witty sayings and the townspeople give you little hints about what to do next.

If you know anything about Basic D&D you'll know that it uses the Mystara setting, not the Greyhawk or Faerun settings thats Advanced used. Mystara is very very basic - the realm where Dwarf, Elf and Halfling are classes, levels max out at 14 (and only for humans, you filthy demi-humans get to max out at level 12, 10 and 8 respectively and if you don't like it, try being human next time bub). And the game begins with your kingdom getting sucked into a rift and disappearing into a land where the sun never sets and strange beastman roam.

It was my first exposure to D&D and I struggled with the game a lot but it was so cool. It had the overland maps of a normal JRPG but with two different "encounter modes". Combats on land are like an early SRPG style of combat while dungeons are first person dungeon crawlers like Phantasy Star I.

I've actually never beat this game but it inspired me to seek out the real thing and that makes it a great game.

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87.) Ms. Pac Man (1982, Arcade)


First of all that above image always cracks me up - the ghosts all ogling at Ms pacman and her weird thighs.

Anyway this is probably the arcade game I have spent the most time with. When I worked at a game room as the guy checking things in and out, Ms. Pacman was my time-wasting activity of choice and I got pretty damn good - like started spelling funny things out on the leaderboard good. And a lot of people probably forget this but the game is a straight upgrade on the original pacman - the fruits bounce around, the ghosts patterns are less predictable, the mazes are more vibrant and interesting to look at.

Anyway I have nothing special about this - you all know about Ms Pac Man. I just really enjoy it

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86.) NCAA Football 2014 (PS3, 2013)


I think this was my first ever PS2 game and nearly certainly the one I spent the most time with. I guided the Pitt Panthers from bottom feeder to perennial powerhouse and made great use of the dynasty mode to try to cobble together a successful franchise - however the series got canceled immediately after this season and that's where things took a turn for the interesting with this game for me. What it did was force the creation of an online modding community that keeps NCAA Football 2014 a "living" game. There's always a chance to start over using the updated rosters and keeping things interesting.

To boot the dynasty mode is so rich - as one of the last games EA put out before loading down their games with all the microtransaction bullshit that currently makes Madden so shitty, they actually put a lot of time and effort into making their dynasty mode have some real depth to it and I still find myself surprised at what all this game is actually capable of.

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85.) Pokemon Red (1998, Gameboy Color)


I don't think I have anything in particular to add to the discourse about Pokemon Red. Yes, it was a huge part of my childhood - bringing the game to school and fiddling around with the stupid trade cable to make trade and get decent pokemon. Even learning the early meta for pokemon competitive was all very formative to me as a person who plays games. Even the rumor-mongering for the various cheats and things - including all of the elusive ways in which you could "catch Mew" or break the game. Most of which weren't true but some of them - like Missingno - amazingly were.

I do remember an intense burst of pride when I got my certificate that I had in fact caught all 150 pokemon.

I also will go ahead and post my first hall of fame class since I still know it off by heart -

Charizard
Pidgeot
Kangaskhan
Mr. Mime (aka Marcel)
Tangela
Dragonite

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84.) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES, 1995)


Or how I learned to stop fearing falling and learned to love the mine cart. I loved the DKC games quite a bit even though, as I said, I never actually owned them. The 3D environments felt super impressive at the time and the background work was always very lovingly done. I always preferred the 2nd one over the others - Diddy and Dixie handled similarly enough to one another and didn't feel different while playing and the level design is a notch up from 1 here without having yet gotten stale like it had by DKC 3.

I do wish the two characters had different gimmicks but the level gimmicks more than made up for it -especially the mine cart levels which were always my favorite.

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Man I don't think I can remember my first HoF pokemon team. I lost my original carts so who knows.

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82) Knight and Merchants (1998, PC)


This is one of the first games I got truly truly obsessive over. The demo was available on AOL's gaming site and I played the SHIT out of those demo missions while waiting to save enough money to buy the game itself. IT was really fun - at its core its sort of like the "build a medieval town" version of Roller Coaster Tycoon mixed together with a classic style RTS. You had to build a town, maintain an army, find a way to make sure you feed everybody and fight off the other kingdom - or the rebelling peasants, an attack that would usually come at a pre-ordained time.

There are modern successors to this style of game - Banished (which I absolutely love) and The Settlers come to mind - but this one sucked a few hundred hours from me as a child so it makes the list where those two do not.

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80. Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991)

I have a confession to make: I've never beaten a single Final Fantasy game. In both this game and the one I have higher on this list, I made it to the final boss area and, through a combination of being underlevelled and impatient, couldn't get to the end credits. Generally, I'm not too fond of RPGs, and at a certain point near the end when the story has basically run its course, I lose interest in the purely mechanical race to the finish line. So, uh, why the heck do I have FF4 here, a by-the-book RPG if there ever was one?
For starters, the game's flow and pace is actually generally very good. Battles feel pretty quick and manageable, and when you encounter some of the tougher late-game boss encounters at just the right level, they're very satisfying. I remember taking on some of the late Four Fiends fights and losing several times before getting the flow just right, and they're some of the most satisfying RPG boss encounters I've ever had. The simplicity of the game's system - a rotating cast of characters of generally standard RPG classes with the spells and attacks you'd expect - and a fairly linear world map/story progression keep things moving along nicely.
More than anything though, I absolutely love the story, perhaps because I played it in the mid-00s among a swell in RPGs that had become significantly more complicated and convoluted. My best description of FF4's plot is that it plays out like an action movie, or a season of 24. Characters' motivations and plotlines come to a head quickly and explosively, and then you're quickly whisked off to the next point of drama. The heavier narrative threads of moral ambiguity and redemption are good too, but they are never weighing down the story to the detriment of the more fun stuff. There are a couple other Square RPGs quite a bit higher (including the aforementioned other FF game) but 4 will always have a particular place in my heart for just being so dang charming and great.
Top 5 characters: Rydia - Cid - Yang - Cecil - Tellah

79. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GameCube, 2004)

Probably the unlikeliest Zelda game ever made, the component requirements to actually play the game in its best form (with four human players) most likely stopped a ton of people from ever getting to play it. And it's a shame, because if you could actually get a group of four players each equipped with a GBA and the GBA-to-GameCube link cable, you were in for a treat.
Four Swords Adventures is the spiritual successor of the similarly titled side-game Four Swords that was bundled with the GBA Link to the Past port a year earlier. It's fun but fairly short - you can get through the randomized missions to the end in about 30 minutes. FSA is a more comprehensive experience, both in following along a fully fleshed-out story, and in really doubling down on the competitive aspects as well. All players' current Force Gem (essentially Rupee-equivalents) counts, along with their place, are depicted on the screen, and a trophy is awarded at the end of each stage to the player who collected the most.
Playing the game solo is totally doable, and it's a fun if forgettable experience. But going through the campaign with three other friends was a blast, and our instinctive competitiveness made the whole endeavor so memorable. In one stage, players are navigating a mysterious village to uncover paths and power-ups to get to the end. I remember while being stuck and figuring out where to go, we also were busy trying to snipe each other with bombs to steal each others' force gems. In another level where players have to dodge searchlights while swimming through a castle moat, we kept intentionally getting caught to try to grab more gems. It's the kind of experience that no other Zelda game, and very few cooperative games, really can pull off successfully. And for neither the first or last time on this list, I'm giving a unique multiplayer experience extra points for simply being so memorable.

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81.) King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder (Commodore 64/PC - 1990)


The first of the King's Quest games to make use of the point and click adventure style that we have all come to know and love. This was just about the only game on my Dad's Commodore 64 that I liked to play because the other Kings Quests had the typing interface that I didn't understand.

It's a pretty typical King's Quest with the corny sense of humor and the grinning fantasy references all over. The puzzles force you to think outside the box as you try to solve the mystery of how to get your disappeared castle back!

As a note the Telltale King's Quest was really truly excellent and its a shame we may never get the sequel they hinted at .

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#70. Dark Cloud 1 & 2 (PS2, 2001, 2003)

Another case of could not separate them. While they are drastically different, they always end up next to each other on my lists. I love the world building and dungeon crawling a lot more in the first. The second game looks way better and has much better combat. 1 has better characters and music. 1 also feels more charming. The real star here is collecting stuff and building up your city or cities. It is really satisfying to build a city that every citizen loves. Also getting the Chronicle Sword was some fun stuff. Breakable weapons though ..... UGH.



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Watch out Graham, a POIsonous snake!

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#69. Kirby Canvas Curse (DS, 2005)

One of the only games on the DS or 3DS to do stylus controls properly. This game feels so good to play and was super early in the DS life cycle, its sad that other games didn't learn how the stylus can work from this. The worlds are the typical Kirby stuff, great music and design but instead I am a ball all the time with power ups etc. There are tons of collectibles and secret paths. Its a real shame they made the sequel so poorly. Way too easy and slow compared to the first.



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#75 - Mario Party 2 (N64, 1999)


There was a 3 year period between 1998 and 2001 some time where any kind of get-together with me and my friends, and there were at least 3 of us, it was Mario Party time. By far, the one we played most was 2. It had the best maps and the best games, and those two things are like 90% of what makes Mario Party fun. It came after they figured out that people dont like running their hand ragged spinning their joystick and before they started running out of ideas.

This is too short for a write-up, so have a list of my TOP 10 MINIGAMES

1. Lights Out
2. Grab Bag
3. Bombs Away
4. Bumper Balloon Cars
5. Speed Hockey
6. Hexagon Heat
7. Look Away
8. Face Lift
9. Bumper Balls
10. Shy Guy Says

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#68. Jackbox Party Packs (PS4, 2014-2020)

I love playing these with B8. I love playing this on game night with real life friends when COVID isn't a thing. These took over our game nights with our friends. Gone are board games and card games. Its all Jackbox now. They are short, simple mostly and there isn't really a way to be better than anyone else. Anyone can win. These are gonna appear a lot in this topic I think, so here is a ranking of all the games in all the packs.

Tee KO
Patently Stupid
Drawful 1/2
Role Models
Blather Round
Fibbage 1/2/3/About You
Mad Verse City
Bidiots
Talking Points
Quiplash 1/2/3
Trivia Murder Party 1/2
Champ'd Up
Guesspionage
Bracketeering
Survive the Internet
YDKJ 2015/Full Stream
The Devil's in the Details
Civic Doodle
Joke Boat
Earwax
Push the Button
Split the Room
Dictionarium
Lie Swatter
Bomb Corp
Zeeple Dome
Word Spud
Fakin It
Monster Seeking Monster

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That is much lower than anticipated

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#84 - Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland (PS3, 2012)

The 3rd game in the now tetralogy of the Arland games in the Atelier series, Atelier Meruru was originally made to be a send-off to the Arland games by bringing back characters from the 1st and 2nd games to tie everything together. The PS3 and Vita versions I've played both have various (and completely different) problems ranging from pop-in of enemies and age regression of a character, but the end result is another solid entry in the series, with both great music and one of the best alchemy systems in the series - so much that when they remade Atelier Rorona they took this game's system to use as its base.

#83 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC (PSP, 2011)

The Trails series that Board 8 has been raving about started here, with a very overlooked PSP title that started as a commercial failure for XSEED. The game itself starts as two young bracers traveling through the kingdom in order to become full-fledged bracers and eventually develops into a much bigger plot behind the scenes. By the end of the second chapter I was hooked on this series, and placed this title at 2nd on my top 10 games of 2011. The characterization of all characters - including NPCs - has been one of the series' highlights, with dialogue constantly changing as major events in the story happen. A lot also carries over through a save import to the sequel - but I'll talk about that when we get to that game.

#82 - Kirby Super Star (SNES, 1996; version played - DS, 2008)

The only Kirby game on my list but still the best one - this title places Kirby in a number of different scenarios, with even more added into the DS remake that I played. My save file is permanently at 98% - I've tried many times to finish the True Arena but I have not been able to do it. Even with that, the various scenarios in the game are all fun to play through, fitting Kirby perfectly. My favorite scenarios are actually the ones added in Ultra, the Revenge of the King and Meta Knightmare Ultra, with The Great Cave Offensive in 3rd (though the Smash stage based on it is terrible).

#81 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS, 2001)

I still remember getting into this series as one of my friends in high school lended his copy to me one day. That night I played all the way through the first four cases, and eventually finished the fifth two days later. The game still holds up even today, as I replayed the game last year. 1-4 is still one of my favorite cases in the series - though, I am very indifferent towards 1-5 as it is still too easy to get lost in the investigation and it really drags on with some of the most annoying witnesses in the game (though the villain is one of the best!) I eventually got my own copy years later when they reprinted it alongside Ghost Trick.

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#86. Mega Man 9 (Wii, 2008)
I realize as I do these write ups I struggle to come up with differences in different games in the series when I haven't played them in a while, and just going off of a memory, but mostly I remember the excitement I had to play a game like this in 2008, because as I recall, or at least personally, being able to play a new NES-like sprite game, an official Nintendo one at the very least, was an innovative and unique thing to be able to do. So I played it and took to it. For some reason, Mega Man 10 is not on my Top 100 (though I do like that game), and I'm not really sure why. I draw Mega Man 9 sort of in parallel to Mega Man 2 since you didn't have your later Mega Man game powers, like charge beam or slide, but of course that gives the game its own unique style, which works with this game's mechanics.
I also remember this game being one of the more difficult Mega Mans (could be wrong here though), which was enjoyable. The music really knocked it out of the park in this one, what with some of the best Mega Man themes ever in Tornado Man's theme and the Wily Stage we're the robots (I like Hornet Man's also). Hornet man also has a pretty funny weapon, the Bee Tracker or whatever it happens to be called. Also thanks Capcom for finally having a female robot master! The ending where Wily is like plz forgive me and Mega Man is like hey uh you've done this like 9 other times, showing the clip with Wily begging on the ground is a good one too.

Quick shoutout also to some Mega Man 10 stuff since I won't talk about it otherwise, but the different characters (Mega Man, Bass, Protoman) all being unique was great. Plus I think it had overall better robot master design- especially Sheep Man, Blade Man, and Strike Man (A BASEBALL!!!!--also the best theme in MM10)

One joke I always appreciated that I don't know how many other people notice, or if it's even supposed to be a joke at all, but I always thought as the MM Classic series progressed, when they drew the lines between the stages in the Wily's Castle stages "map", the lines got slightly more and more twisted and complicated as the series went on. So in MM9 (and I think 10 also), they just went goddamn nuts all over the place with these lines between stages, before drawing a simple straight line between the last 2 levels. Always makes me laugh. I'm weird.



Up Next: If you don't get this game, you better work harder, ya butt

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As mentioned just now in the chat too, it was definitely "the right game at the right time". MM9 was a great idea, that launched a bunch of other great games, because it was very well done.

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#74 - The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain (PC, my GotY for 1994)


When I was a kid, most of my favorite games were edutainment games on PC. Magic School Bus in space and back in time, a bunch of Carmen Sandiego titles, and this series called Living Books, that weren't games, just picture books where you could click on stuff and something wacky would happen on the screen. However, in the middle of all this was a really great game about a mad scientist that tried to make his rat smart enough to have conversations with, but fucking up and transferring ALL of his own intelligence over, and you had to do 10 kinds of puzzles to revert the process and fix everything.

In one of them, you had to fix a scrambled famous work of music by swapping the bars, and flipping them so they fit.


In one of them, you have to micromanage a bunch of different colored objects on train tracks, make sure none of them crash, and then send them to the station in the order he wants them in.


One of them teaches kids about fucking computer logic and sub-routines, to make your character move throughout a level, picking up brains and avoiding enemies!


Not only was it super fun, there was a really solid learning experience to be had, too. I'm pretty sure I'd have to really think about how to complete some of that last minigame's hardest puzzles even now as a 32 year old man. Hell, Im looking at that last picture that is already mostly solved and wondering how youre supposed to fit all that into 8 moves! And if that all wasn't enough, the intro is crazy good. The title music is great and incorporates sound clips from all 10 games, and then the cinematography and background music of the opening cutscene make it legitimately tense and intriguing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f43lclvdY5Q

This game actually started at #94 on my list, but after researching a bit of this write-up and having a massive nostalgia bomb dropped on my face, I decided to bump it up a lot. This game deserves it; it's rad.

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#67. World of Final Fantasy (PS4, 2016)

I got this because I love me some FF fan service, but didn't have high hopes it would be anything special. Boy was I wrong. This is a deep RPG with a cool monster capture and battle system, lots and lots of call backs to the series and some great music. Gilgamesh and Bartz man, they are too good when interacting. The stacking monsters thing seemed weird at first but really grew on me. I will say this game picks up like crazy about halfway through. I was doing like, a few hours a week for a bit, then hit the 50% point and finished it in a weekend.



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Yeah I really do like interacting with good ol Gil
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Dang, you guys went crazy today. I've got a lot of reading to catch up on.

Also, eddv, your list had 88 twice and skipped 83. I assume that batch of numbers just needs to be shifted, but wanted to check on that.

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#78. G-Darius (Arcade, 1997)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC62uO7hPto

Darius games are all a little weird. Sometimes it helps to be weird as a shoot em up to stand out in the crowd. But like, you control a ship and fly around and shoot... fish. And fight giant boss fish. I'm sure there's a plot or a story about why you battle giant fish and robotic fish, but I'm sure knowledge of it would cause things to make less sense. And then there's the music, generally so quirky and weird in all the Darius games.

And that brings me to one of my top points. I don't think I ever explicitly said this in any of the old video game music topics, but the G-Darius soundtrack is my favorite video game soundtrack. It's a unique and strange blend of very mechanical/industrial sounds (with drilling sounds and machine whirrs as percussion) mixed with softer, more organic sounds, with kind of a watery echo to it all. If there was ever to be perfectly fitting music for robotic space fish, this is it. There are also odd vocal samples and sound effects and orchestral hits that are balanced way too high and it just creates this particular sound that is specific to G-Darius. The final level and final boss themes (Kimera II and Adam) are both fantastic songs that I think I pushed hard for in old VGM contests.

Back to how the game plays, there is a capture ability where you can take control of enemy ships alongside your ship, each coming with unique support weapons. There are also branching paths after each level, so there are numerous routes to get through. The whole thing is a kind of trippy, very distinct experience, and fun to just go through a run of this game every now and then.



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#81 Loom (MS-DOS, 1990)

During the late 80s and early 90s, One of the genres that really flourished on the PC versus other platforms was the point and click adventure game. The computer mouse made control very easy and intuitive, and the keyboard was used to type commands, similar to older text-based adventures.

Thankfully, as typing in commands was really tedious, adventure games started to drift away from that traditional method of play and rely more on using the mouse for control. Loom, a fantasy-themed adventure game from LucasArts, used the mouse to its full potential by allowing you to control the game using the mouse for pretty much everything. The character in the game uses a staff that produces magical musical spells, and you click on different parts of the staff to cast them.



I played Loom when I was very young, and it left a huge impression on me. It was the first graphical adventure game I experienced, and the open-ended nature of it was enthralling. The game had a fantastic other-worldly atmosphere and, as Loom did not have any failure state, so you could literally just explore the world and click on things and try to figure it out. It wasn't a long game (probably beaten in 3-4 hours), except for 5-year old me, then it took tens of hours. In fact, I'm fairly certain that I never finished it before losing interest and moving on to other games. While it lasted though, it was a wonderful experience.

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#66. Fall Guys (PS4, 2020)

I am pretty sure everyone else liked this game and got over it pretty quick. Not me. I maxed Season 1 and Season 2 and while I have slowed in Season 3, holy god did this eat up a ton of my pandemic time. What a just fun experience. You can be great at this game, but also there is just enough silly crap that makes you furious that you lost so stupidly. Also team games. I had so much fun playing this with B8.

https://twitter.com/WhiskeyNick95/status/1326698313391992834

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Since everyone else did a recap after 20, here:

81. Loom
82. Capture the Flag
83. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
84. Binary Domain
85. Wolfenstein: The New Order
86. Awesomenauts
87. Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol
88. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
89. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
90. Darksiders
91. God of War: Ghost of Sparta
92. The Wolf Among Us
93. Pokmon Red Version
94. Shadow of the Colossus
95. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
96. Heavy Rain
97. Duke Nukem II
98. Plants vs. Zombies
99. Flower
100. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

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#77. Pop'n Music (series) (Arcade, 1998 + other years)

Pop'n Music is a rhythm game series with tons of games that all have the same base gameplay. There's easily over 20 different arcade versions, plus some spin-off arcade games. And then there are like 15-20 home versions? I could try to count it up, but it's quicker just to type these figures and estimate. It started in the late '90s/early 2000s Bemani series boom from Konami, but the series is still active today, coming out with new games. I've never owned a Pop'n Music game, though. The home releases were Japan-only when I was really into it, and the home version controller was crazy expensive. I had a friend who owned it though, so I got to play at his place quite a bit.

The main draw for Pop'n Music is the cutesy aesthetic. Everything is bright and colorful and cartoony. Each song has a specific cartoon character with it, so it's as if you're battling that character when you play the song. There are 9 buttons to hit, which make a loud sound when you hit them (almost like a loud pop oh ho ho). The buttons themselves are called Pop-kuns, as if they are their own cutesy character. The series also has a very wide variety of music, trying to draw in any and every genre possible. You get stuff like Ragtime, Twee Pop, Romanesque, 80s Werk, Drm'n Fry, Retro Future Groove, Tea-sy Listening, Loud Beach, Elemental Jig, and Velvet Bullet Hit. Okay, the genres just got kind of silly after a while.

Of course, this cutest exterior hides that the game can reach brutal difficulties. The hardest songs get pretty nuts to play, and require a lot of arm and hand movement and finger stretching. I'll never get there without a lot of work, so without owning a version for myself, this probably won't ever climb higher on the list. Also, I tend to hit the buttons hard, so sometimes I have very sore hands after playing Pop'n Music. The soreness is a sign I had fun and played a lot, but maybe also a sign that it's good I just play this casually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hDRbLadSyI

The video above is a very recommended viewing of who I believe is the top player at the game playing a very hard song. Easier songs are much much simpler and way easier for anyone to start. Pretty wide range of difficulty in these games!

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EDDV - 100 through 81
100 SimTown PC
99 Bang Dream! Girls Band Party
98 Phantasy Star III Genesis
97 North vs South NES
96 Scooby Doo Genesis
95 MechWarrior: Living Legends Arcade
94 You Don't Know Jack PC
93 General Chaos Genesis
92 Cannon Fodder PC
91Kirby's Dream Course SNES
90 Hexzyz Force PSP
89 NHL Hockey 94 Genesis
88 Long Live the Queen PC
87 Dungeons and Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun Genesis
86 NCAA Football 2014 PS3
85 Pokemon Red GBC
84 Ms Pac Man Arcade
83 Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES
82 Knights and Merchants PC
81 King's Quest V PC

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80) No More Heroes (Wii, 2010)


One of the few wii games to really just own how incredibly silly the wii's motion control gimmick was. It made you jerk off with that controller and really did not give one single shit whether you were okay with that - and that's fucking hysterical.

The gameplay here is really good with a real Kill Bill meets anime goofiness aesthetic as you work your way up the assassins rankings to become best in the world with your silly light tube sword.


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Surprisingly, I've never played a NMH game.

Might rectify that.

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Oh my god. The title was The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain. I think I spent a full week a few years ago trying to remember what that game was! I don't remember too much about it; the intro and voice acting were great, and sometimes I could spend hours poring over puzzles, but I think I often got too frustrated to carry on. Such an unexpected hit of pure nostalgia.

I think if I had this as Software of the Month in 94-95, my time gaming spent at that age would've been... my new SNES, soccer, watching cartoons, and building block forts.

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My mom and I can still quote the game to each other from memory. I told her I found a browser version of the game you could play and that I was trying it out to see if it was as good as I remembered, and she told me she would sneak into our computer room when I was at school and play the Music game when she was at home alone.

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#73 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (3DS, my GotY for 2013)


Ace Attorney is great. Dual Destinies is underrated. It was a tall task to bring the series back from the lows of Apollo Justice. They decided to play it safe with DD and it paid off in dividends. I love a lot of the new characters, and many of the cases filled me with glee. They decided to bring back Phoenix, but still flesh out Apollo so that hes more of his own character, instead of Phoenix Lite, and its a decision that makes AA5 and AA6 two of my favorite AA games in the series. On top of that, they bring in a spunky new young attorney in Athena, who has her own fascinating story unfold in this game. Not so much in AA6, but in Dual Destinies, shes great!

Case ranking: 5-DLC > 5-2 >>> 5-5 > 5-3 > 5-4 >>>>>> 5-1. Only one bad case, the others are all very good, and DLC and 2 are my 5th and 7th favorite cases of all-time, respectively.

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Here's my 100-81 recap

100 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)
99 - Style Savvy: Trendsetters (3DS)
98 - Diablo II (PC)
97 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (3DS)
96 - Cosmic Star Heroine (Vita)
95 - Fate/extella Link (PS4)
94 - Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
93 - South Park: The Stick of Truth (PS3)
92 - Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey (PC)
91 - Dynasty Warriors 8 (PS3)
90 - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS)
89 - Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (3DS)
88 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)
87 - Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (3DS)
86 - Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver (DS)
85 - Taiko no Tatsujin: V Version (Vita)
84 - Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland (PS3)
83 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PSP)
82 - Kirby Super Star (SNES)
81 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)

and top 80 system breakdown:
Vita: 13
PS4: 13
DS: 11
PS3: 9
3DS: 6
SNES: 6
PC: 4
GameCube: 4
PSP: 2
GBA: 2
PS2: 2
Wii: 2
Switch: 2
Mobile: 2
PS1: 1
360: 1

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#65. Tales from the Borderlands (PS4, 2014)

I had played Telltale TWD and loved it, I had also played Telltale Jurassic Park and hated it, so I was not sure what to expect here. I love the Borderlands universe and figured this would be a fun little adventure. They fed it into the mainline games and even pulled characters from this into them later. Loader Bot is perfection. Seriously play this just for Loader Bot. More Handsome Jack is always good. This is legitimately one of the funniest gaming experiences I have ever had. Telltale is so hit or miss with their games. This one is an absolute hit. If you like the Borderlands games do yourself a favor and play this.



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79.) Dishonored (2015, PS4)



I suppose technically this game came out in 2012 but I didn't play the original version, I played the HD version of it and I really was quite taken with it. It commits itself to its world whole heartedly. As someone who doesn't usually care for steampunk this really impressed me. I think the reason why is that usually steampunk is the victorian noble experience repackaged. Here it was the grimy actual experience of living in the victorian age without that wealth brought to life.

The narrative was great, the sneaking aspect was very satisfying. Very good stealthy game - better than MGS and on a par with the Hitman games theyve put out lately.

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78.) Dark Souls 2 ( 2014 , PS3)



I realize this is the red-headed step child of the franchise but its also the only one I really got super into. Yeah ADP is a stupid mechanic and forcing you to spend build points getting your i frames up is silly but there is a lot of surprising depth to the way you can build things out with the various weapon types here. Once you master it, rapier and dueling dagger just feels so natural. Getting a feel for when to roll and when to parry.

And the story of Dark Souls 2 - the corruption of the once-great queen is so fucking good. The lore unfolds so slowly through the boss fights the way people claim it does in Shadow of the Colossus.

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#80 Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bse (Playstation 2, 2005)

What a weird game to have on my list! I don't even know for sure why I like this series. But I do, even though I would consider it a guilty pleasure. At the time, there were not many other JRPGs that relied so much on cutscenes, and I kind of dug it, especially because this is yet another game with a really cool and dumb story. Xenosaga is a bunch of a science fiction bullshit and I'm not going to go into the story because it's really all too complicated.



The game plays like your typical active turn-based battle system JRPG. Characters take their turns to attack, can use items and techniques, and do dual-tech attacks. If I remember correctly, there is a lot of time spent charging things. Episode II has the weakest battle system of the three, but I still enjoyed it. Between battles and the hours of cutscenes, you travel around areas and do quests and stuff like that. You can see enemies on the field so there are no random battles, which is nice. Also a pretty good soundtrack.

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77.) The Simpsons Arcade Game (Arcade, 1991)


This one is pure nostalgia. This was the game you raced to beat while you were at the bowling alley with your buds in the summer. And looking back on it the game is a simple little shmup that's not got a lot going on. But there is so much care put into it to make the thing feel so authentically simpsons. Marge going on a rampage with her vacuum to rescue Maggie from Smithers doesnt exactly feel like an episode of the simpsons but its still really fun.

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76.) Sonic 2 (1993, Genesis)

Not a ton to say here - Sonic 2 because Tails is awesome but not sonic and knuckles because I like the level design more in Sonic 2. I had sega consoles in this period so I have much stronger memories about the generic platformers for this platform instead of the other.

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Thank you again, MSG, for remembering PC games of yore. Feeling all the nostalgia this morning.

And thank you Whiskey Nick on the Tales From the Borderlands write-up. I forget how fun and funny that game really is, and being reminded of the greatness that is Loader Bot (and how wonderful Gortys is) is awesome

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