Key

YorkeDaddy's thread about personal top game lists made me want to go more in depth about each one in a dedicated journal entry. It won't be super lengthy descriptions as I've talked about many of these games before. But I figure some form of context would be nice.

Anyway, this is the list.

LoZ: Breath of the Wild -
I'd be sort of lying if I said there wasn't a reason for the games near the top of the list. Obviously I did make this list with some form of theme in mind, though it's not necessarily meant to be a definitive list, 1 being the best. However in this case, my number 1 spot had to be filled with Breath of the Wild. If you've read my full review in this journal you'll know that I am a humongous fan of Breath of the Wild. Every single minute of the 100+ hours that I spent in this game were full of discovery and mindblowingly great moments. All leading up to possibly my favorite Ganon fight in any Zelda game. Truly a remarkable feat, this game.

Divinity Original Sin 2 -
Divinity Original Sin 2 being on this list should be no surprise. It's definitely made it's way to my #1 spot before, but again, Breath of the Wild just had to take it. I'd easily play through this game 10 more times if I had the energy to do so. I've played through it twice, and have beaten it once. I highly recommend it, and will always recommend it to anybody looking for a game like this. Truly a fantastic experience and one I will remember forever. This game is nearly perfect in every way. It's like a 9.9/10 for me. Or maybe even a 10/10. It's possible.

Fallout 3 -
Yet another game I have talked infinitely about and have praised it to the ground. But man, Fallout 3 is just something else entirely. I love this game to bits and will always defend it for what it has to offer. You have to dig for some of it, but man, once you do, it really pays off. Still to this day one of my top 3 favorite gaming experiences ever. This game also took my #1 spot for a while. But again, Breath of the Wild is just better. This game is also a solid 9.9-10/10.

Middle Earth: Shadow of War -
The first game in a long time that I have fully 100%. Every little nook and cranny was searched for every little piece of something that I could find. Eventually I finished the main story, all the side quests, got all the items, and just became an overpowered powerhouse. Such a great game. Infinitely better than Shadow of Mordor.

Banjo Kazooie -
Coincidentally coming right after Shadow of War is the very first game I ever fully 100%. Back then, 100%'ing Banjo Kazooie was a feat and a half. Collecting all the notes, puzzle pieces, everything proved to be a difficult task for a lot of people. But with a lot of patience I eventually managed to collect every thing the game had to offer. And those final notes at Click Clock Wood were some of the best moments due to the fact that the first time I almost 100% the game, my younger brother turned the N64 off before I could get them and save. Yeah, it's ****ed up. But that sweet redemption felt so good. And to this day, the game is still worth playing.

Banjo Tooie -
Once again, coincidentally I have Banjo Tooie falling right after Banjo Kazooie. Banjo Tooie was one of the earlier games that I also 100%. I don't think I did it right after beating Banjo Kazooie, because back then we still had a little while until Banjo Tooie came out. But again, I was dedicated on finishing the game. And eventually I did. I absolutely love Banjo Tooie and I think it improved perfectly on everything Banjo Kazooie brought to the table. I will always say that both Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie are two of the finest works of art the N64 had to offer at the time. And this is the same system that had two of the best Zelda games as well. Many good memories of Banjo Tooie, and everyone I talk to about it says the same thing. It's definitely one of the best sequels to a game that we've ever had.

Diddy Kong Racing -
For whatever reason, I always see this game kind of fall through the cracks in terms of gaming discussions. It's quite a shame too because Diddy Kong Racing is certainly one of the finest examples of a racing adventure game. The amount of characters you could play as, and how different each one felt was just a feat in itself. But to make an entire story and adventure out of it with different worlds and levels is just on another level. And the boss fights were so much fun back in the day because not only were they difficult, they were a little bit unfair. But that's more-so due to developers not really giving a **** and doing what they wanted to do. I still love this game dearly and will always have fond memories of beating Wizpig for the first time. Definitely one of the hardest races in this game.

LoZ: Wind Waker -
This game. This ****ing game. I did everything in this game. I fully completed the map. I cut every little piece of grass. Got every god damn rupee. Did every side quest. Beat the main story many times. This ****ing game is fantastic. I really wish people weren't so negative towards this game from the get go because man, a lot of people missed out on this true masterpiece of a game. The HD version does nothing but improve the game where it needed it, and it really didn't need much of it. My first experience with Wind Waker will always be one of my favorite experiences in gaming. I know a lot of people love this game now, but playing it when it came out was so much fun.

LoZ: Ocarina of Time -
This one has always been an interesting one for me to talk about, because I actually didn't complete this game until way after it had originally come out. Back in the day when this came out for the N64, I didn't even get to play it because I couldn't afford it. Never got it as a gift either but I did watch people play it. I finally played through it years later when a friend of mine let me borrow his N64 and a copy of Ocarina of Time. I spent an entire week and weekend just playing this game, and I eventually beat it at the end of the week. I remember I would just do nothing all day but wake up and turn this on and play for many hours. I still also remember the time I was almost done with the Fire Temple, didn't save, and tripped over my controller cord and reset my game. That ****ing sucked because I had a **** ton of progress to go through again. Super demotivating but I did it anyway. Great ****ing game. I think I 100% this game too but that's not especially hard to do if I remember correctly. The game basically gives you nearly all the items.

LoZ: Majora's Mask -
One of the first games I rented from the Hollywood Video in my neighborhood many years ago. I remember just falling in love with this game right away. The story and the theme surrounding it all pulled my in right away. Of course, I didn't really think about how dark the game actually was until the internet started putting it all together. Seriously though, this game is still straight ****ed up even today. And man, it's ****ing amazing to watch people play this game now. Especially speedrunners. Still holds up to today's standards tbh, even though the graphics could use some work. The 3DS version was also great.

Fallout 4 (w/ Far Harbor DLC) -
I wanted to include this because I'm still playing this game many years later. It definitely became an addiction playing this game. I certainly understand a lot of the criticism for this game, but imo the Far Harbor DLC definitely saved this game from falling into a theme of forgotten-ness. I was hoping they'd go back to a darker theme when they released the DLC and that's exactly what they did. While I did love the story of the base game, I do think it was a tad bit cliche. But hey, that's fine. As long as the gameplay is fun, and it is, it deserves a spot on my list. I'm currently going through the Nuka World DLC and so far, I am loving it.

Pokemon Black & Pokemon Black 2 -
I'm putting these both together because honestly, I love them both for a lot of the same reasons. I'd probably say that this was my absolute favorite generation of Pokemon games. Not only were the games still somewhat difficult, the story was rich, and all the characters were memorable and enjoyable to have in the game. Definitely one of the first Pokemon games that I felt a true attachment to in terms of the story. I know the Hoenn games are also at that level for me, but I just have a huge love for these ones. That's probably more so why the Hoenn games didn't make this list. Because honestly, if I hadn't chosen Black and Black 2, it'd very easily go to Ruby and Sapphire. But these games are just better by a touch. Not very much.

Pokemon Yellow -
You may be surprised (or not) by the fact that I actually started my Pokemon journey with Pokemon Yellow. I know a lot of people didn't bother with this one, but I absolutely loved it to its core. I did eventually play Red and Blue because my brothers had them, but I just loved the fact that I could have a Pikachu following me all the time. He also became a pretty crucial part of my team. But yeah, I love Pokemon Yellow. I think it's an absolutely worth competitor when talking about the original generations. Plus, there were lots of colors. Red and Blue just had one color pallet throughout the entire game.

Rocket League -
Although I really don't even play this game that much anymore, I still like to play a few matches every now and again. I actually have it uninstalled at the moment because it just takes up space right now. But man, when this game first came out, it was some of the most fun I've ever had playing a video game on release. Me and a friend of mine stayed up for several hours when we got it and just played the **** out of. The entire concept of playing soccer with cars was really interesting to me and to be able to play it and get good at it is an amazing feeling. I still love this game dearly, but I really don't play it much these days. I'll eventually get addicted to it again but so many games come out now that it just falls to the wayside.

Goldeneye 007-
Anybody with common sense will know why this game is on this list. So I shouldn't really have to explain myself. This game is just fantastic and I could easily play through it today and have a blast. The music, the gameplay, everything about it is so good. Like I said, not much to explain here. It's on the list for a reason.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent -
The first time I ever saw this game, I was at my cousins house and he was playing through the part with the water and the monster in the water. At that point, I fell in love with this game. When he told me what it was called, I immediately got on Steam and got myself a copy. I played through it completely and it instantly became one of my favorite survival horror games of all time. I love the survival horror genre as well, especially when it's done right. Now, I also do love its sequel, but this game will forever hold a place on this list for being what it is. It's just a fantastic experience and I highly urge anybody to play through it if you get the chance.

Runescape -
The first, yes, the very first online MMO I ever played and possibly the only game that I've ever played that I have the most play time on. To give you sort of an idea, they have these capes in the game that allow you to commemorate how long you have been playing the game actively for. I have both the 5 year cape and the 10 year cape and I can almost get the 15 year cape. I had actively been playing this game since around...2004? I still have same character that I started way back then, and every now and again I do get an itch to play. But I haven't played in several months. But yeah, I ****ing love this game and hate the fact that I love it because I don't want to play it anymore. It's just so addicting. But...just don't have the time these days. Many many good memories of meeting cool people and making clans with them. I remember a lot of my childhood because of this game, and most of my childhood was spent playing this game. I'm serious. I used to come home from school, skip homework, and play this. I almost didn't graduate high school because I suffered in 9th grade because of it. No regrets.

Super Mario 64 -
Although this game does show its age to a degree, I still hold the notion that this game was way ahead of its time when it was released. It was the first time we had ever experience a Mario game in full open world goodness. Back then, we had no games like this to this extent. And yeah, the game is also humongous. 120 stars to get to be exact. Quite the experience playing this game for the first time back then but I would easily play through it again and again if I felt like it. I got a copy of it on my Wii U for a couple bucks and I just haven't played it much. But I need to be in the mood for it. I eventually did 100% this game as well. Such a fun and exciting achievement to fully complete this game and take the cannon up to the top of the castle and find Yoshi. I just wish you could have used Yoshi more but that's ok. He gives you 100 lives so it's cool.

Halo Reach -
I'd definitely consider this to be my favorite Halo game to date. I haven't really played any of the newer ones because I just don't really want to, but Halo Reach was definitely one of the last Halo games that I absolutely fell in love with. I do have a love for the first 3 as well, but Halo Reach brought a whole new look on the story, and overall just a really fun game to play. The missions were all really good, the level designs were all interesting and unique, and just overall a pleasurable experience. I feel like this is the last true Halo game we had until it went off the rails. But hey, i'm also ignorant because I haven't played the ones that came out more recently, so yeah. I am excited to see how the new one will be. Cool to see the series come back, maybe?

Rayman Advance -
One of the games I wish I still had from my childhood. I remember this being the first game I ever played on my Game Boy Advance. This was of course before Ruby and Sapphire, but yeah, Rayman Advance also goes on the list of being one of the earlier games that I fully 100% completed. But that's mostly because you had to fully finish it before you could get to the final stage. I remember this clearly because it took me forever to beat this game because of that very fact. You can get all the way to the 2nd to the last stage, and it won't let you progress further afterwards until you finish all the other levels, get every item, THEN beat this stage again. Only then it will give you a path to the final level. Such a big achievement for me to do this back then. I just remember spending hours trying to find everything because there weren't really any guides to look up. Just sort of went with word of mouth. Eventually did it though.

Super Mario World -
This is a lot of people's favorite Mario game and it certainly deserves that praise. This was I think the 2nd game I played on my Game Boy Advance, and once again, I felt the urge to fully complete it. Eventually of course I did. I think I played through this game to completion at least 100 times in my lifetime. Sometimes several years apart. But it's still so much fun to play even today. All the mechanics and powers were all fun and interesting and just overall a fun game to play. It was perfect for the Game Boy Advance as well. The controls worked perfectly with how it was setup on the system. I'd easily give this a 10/10 if I were asked to rate it.

Monster Hunter World -
I know I just made a slew of posts about this game so I'll keep this short. I didn't expect I'd love this game as much as I have loved it, but I'm excited at least to be able to say I love a Monster Hunter game. It's a series I wish I got into earlier, but I'm glad I've gotten into it now. It's sincerely a great game to play, and the combat is fun and difficult enough that it keeps you engaged. I know a lot of people don't like this game as well, but for what it goes for, and that is hunting monsters, it does it pretty well. Some things I find annoying but not enough to remove it from this list. It's definitely continued to leave a good impression and I enjoy playing it and progressing each time I play.

Bioshock Infinite -
As I mentioned before, there's really no reason for this being at #24, especially since this is one of my top favorite gaming experiences of all time. This opened my eyes to a lot of really interesting theories that played really well throughout the story, and coincidentally ended up being the first Bioshock game I played to completion. Every single thing you do in this game, it's full of action packed combat and really amazing feeling acrobatics that makes for a really full and rich experience that I hadn't felt quite before. Definitely a recommended experience if you've never played a Bioshock game. Keep in mind I did play this on PC and honestly, it felt pretty natural to play on PC. I enjoyed my time with this and would happily play through it again if I get the itch.

Dishonored -
Last but certainly not least, we get to Dishonored. Now don't get me wrong, I tried Dishonored 2, but they did enough things bad with that game that it really soured my experience. However, Dishonored is truly a remarkable experience and a fun one at that. I played through this game both full stealth, and full chaos, and both times I had a blast. The game is full of many different ways to take on tasks, and it just gives you the levels and the powers to figure **** out. I love how open the game feels all the time while playing, even though you are doing a linear story. It works to its favor, and I loved playing through it each time I played it. I played through the DLC's as well and they are also great. A truly magnificent experience for sure.

Mindfulness

i installed a emulator for #16 golden eye. i hooked my usb xbox controller a friend gave me and played golden eye for a few weeks. i want to buy the n64 mini when it comes out. or a used one if it never does. this game and mario cart are the only games i really want

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February 28th, 2024

Key

^I'll be all over the N64 mini if they do decide to release it. That'd be a must have.

Key

I'm taking a temporary hiatus from this journal. Working on something for it and I want to focus on it. So it'll be quiet in here for a bit until I get all the kinks worked out. Stay tuned.

Key

Welcome to the (a few days early) month of November and a new theme month for this journal. If you don't know, I've always sort of done theme months in this thread. Sort of stealing Trollheart's idea way back then, but I've sort of dropped off on doing more. So, for the month of November i'm presenting a very special theme month titled "25 Years of Video Games (from birth to now)". If you're confused by the name, don't worry, I am too. It's not really that creative. However, it does have meaning.

Basically, I'm going to be spending the month of November talking about the games that have released from the year I was born, all the way to now. The only catch: I'll only be talking about 5 games from each year as I don't think I could manage more than that. The other catch is it may go with the same method that I did my last one where there wasn't an entry every day, but instead multiple over the course of the weeks in the month. I do this because there will be a lot of sections that will take 2 or maybe 3 parts. But, if I can manage it, I'll attempt to still do daily updates. I'm going to be writing these beforehand so I have a backlog. That should make it easier.

The next post in this journal will be going over the games we will talk about this month. I may or may not stray from the path and talk about something off this list, but that'll just add to the amount of things I'll be discussing here. In my eyes, that's a good thing. And of course, there will be links to everything that will be discussed this month.

So once again, I welcome you to 25 Years of Video Games (from birth to now)

Key

Here is the compiled list of games we will be discussing this month. Once again, this could change throughout the month, but nothing will be removed. Things will just be added as I see fit. So...I guess enjoy? Idk. If some of the years are off or wrong, I'm going based on a Wiki page and some years had certain console releases whereas others had the initial releases for the game. So if I put the game in a certain year, I'm going based off of when that specific game first came out. If I still get some wrong, feel free to lemme know. The list I'm using is decent-ish.

INDEX

Let's Talk About's, etc.
The Start of Something Great [Pt.1]
The Start of Something Great [Pt.2]
Let's Talk About...NES
Let's Talk About...SNES
Let's Talk About...Nintendo 64
Design Choices For Controllers and Consoles [Pt.1]
Design Choices For Controllers and Consoles [Pt.2]
Design Choices For Games and Cartridges
Rating Systems & Games From 1991 - 1992 [Part 1]
Rating Systems & Games From 1991 - 1992 [Part 2]
Favorite Tracks From Super Mario Kart
Honorable Mentions From 1991
Looking Back...At The 90's

An Extra Look (Basically from time to time, I will be talking more in depth about certain games I talk about. Those entries will be listed here)

Super Mario World (In Depth)
Super Mario Kart (In Depth)
Super Mario All-Stars (In Depth)
Donkey Kong Country (In Depth)
Super Mario 64 (In Depth)
Banjo Kazooie (In Depth)
Banjo Tooie (In Depth)

1991-1999

1991:
Neverwinter Nights
Sonic The Hedgehog
Super Mario World
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
Civilization

1992:
Super Mario Kart
Mortal Kombat
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Kirby's Dream Land
Sonic The Hedgehog 2

1993:
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Kirby's Adventure
Doom
Secret of Mana
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario: The Lost Levels

1994:
The Elder Scrolls: Arena
Donkey Kong Country
Warcraft
Mega Man X
Earthworm Jim

1995:
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Rayman
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Chrono Trigger
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

1996:
Pokemon Red & Green
Duke Nukem 3D
Super Mario 64
Kirby Super Star
Super Mario RPG

1997:
Diddy Kong Racing
Yoshi's Story
Star Fox 64
Mario Kart 64
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

1998:
Banjo-Kazooie
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Glover
Vigilante 8
Spyro The Dragon

1999:
Counter-Strike
Unreal Tournament
Soulcalibur
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Pokemon Pinball

2000-2018

2000:
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Banjo-Tooie
Star Wars Episode 1: Racer

2001:
Runescape
Paper Mario
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Halo: Combat Evolved

2002:
Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World
Jet Set Radio Future
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
Super Smash Bros: Melee
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

2003:
Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Postal 2
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

2004:
Ninja Gaiden
Doom 3
Fable
Star Wars: Battlefront
Tony Hawk's Underground 2

2005:
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords
Psychonauts
Pokemon Emerald
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Façade

2006:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Super Mario Bros
Dead Rising
Neverwinter Nights 2
Gears of War

2007:
Diddy Kong Racing DS
God of War 2
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
Team Fortress 2

2008:
Super Mario Kart Wii
Smash Bros Brawl
Battlefield: Bad Company
Soul Calibur IV
Spore

2009:
X-Men Origins Wolverine
Killing Floor
Overlord II
Wii Sports Resort
Batman Arkham Asylum

2010:
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Halo: Reach
Limbo
VVVVVVV
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

2011:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Dead Space 2
DC Universe Online
Rift
Homefront

2012:
Dishonored
Borderlands 2
Soul Calibur V
Dungeon Defenders
Temple Run
Blacklight: Retribution
Fez
Minecraft
Diablo III
The Binding of Isaac: The Wrath of the Lamb

2013-2018 still to come.

The Batlord

I thought that Sub-Zero game was supposed to be terrible.

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Key

I'm not excluding terrible games.

MicShazam

Some terrible games are pretty good.

Key

I nearly put Bubsy 3D on here but I decided against it.