My Top 100 Favorite Games of All Time: #25 - 1

Hi, and welcome to the final part of my favorite games list. The games that made the Top 25 on my list are the games that I would find any excuse to load up any time. Some of these games are highly acclaimed masterpieces, and some are games that I just happen to have enjoyed the most even if the critics didn't. In the first three parts of this list, I showed how diverse my gaming interests were, and that shows in this part as well. Like the rest of the list, I'm only including one game per franchise and only mentioning the platform that I've played the listed game on the most.

Let's go!

#25 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Xbox One

My only regret is that I couldn't afford to back this one on Kickstarter. While this is closer to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow rather than Symphony of the Night due to the soul collecting component, it's still a masterwork of a Metroidvania game. There are so many ways to approach every combat scenario that I'm having a blast trying everything.

#24 - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - Super Nintendo

While the first Donkey Kong Country grabbed my attention, the second held it better. The levels are much tougher, but they're also more fun to explore for secrets. Then there's the music. The bramble stages can be outright infuriating, but I can't get enough of the tune played during them.

#23 - Blast Corps - Nintendo 64

Forget Zelda, Mario 64, or Smash Bros.; THIS was the game that made me buy a Nintendo 64. This perfect blend of action, racing, and puzzle solving is so unique and so outright addictive! How many puzzle games can you think of where puzzles are solved by plowing through whole neighborhoods with a mech and destroying skyscrapers with heavy explosives?

#22 - Aven Colony - Playstation 4

I talked about this one before. While Utopia on Super Nintendo first got me hooked on building sims, this one took the concept of building space colonies and really ran with it. It's always cool to see a site go from a few domes to a futuristic metropolis... even if those f***ing spores and meteor storms end up destroying half of it. :-D

#21 - Sacred 2: Fallen Angel - Xbox 360

No, the optimization from PC isn't that great. No, the voice acting isn't good. However, this Diablo-clone provides more bang for the buck than Diablo ever could. With light and dark stories to play through, more characters with unique abilities to choose from, and a world that's so huge that it'd take months to see everything, this is a hack-and-slash RPG I could play forever.

#20 - TimeSplitters: Future Perfect - Xbox

Why'd this series have to end here? This is everything I could conceivably want in a first-person shooter in one package! The story is hilarious, the challenges are insane, the characters are crazy, and there are tons of tools for building not just deathmatch arenas but also more single-player and co-op missions! There's almost too much here!

#19 - Super Mario Bros. 3 - Super Nintendo

As far as I'm concerned, Mario games never reached the height of the third one. The levels are all creative, there are secrets everywhere, and the various powers Mario gains here make replaying levels a joy. When I actually beat this one, it was one of my proudest moments as a gamer.

#18 - Intelligent Qube - Playstation

More than Tetris, Puzzle Bobble, or Lumines, this is my favorite puzzle game of all time. It's simple but elegant. It's easy to understand, and the difficulty ramps up at a perfect pace. There's no depending on random luck like too many puzzle games. It's really telling that I played the demo on a demo disc to death before I finally got the game. This is pure puzzle game bliss.

#17 - Culdcept Saga - Xbox 360

This is just about the perfect board game and the perfect card-collecting strategy game at the same time. Every match, win or lose, gives you more cards to add to your decks. The boards are all unique, but the rules are consistent. I'd happily play this over Magic: The Gathering any time. Also, since this one doesn't depend on servers, it can still be played on Xbox Live!

#16 - Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins - Playstation

Ninjas are awesome. Ninjas will always be awesome. Tenchu 2 is my favorite ninja game because it truly makes you feel like a ninja. There are plenty of tools to use to improve your performance on missions, and the stealth kills are good and gory. Then there's the mission creator. I filled up three memory cards with missions I built myself and had a ball when friends tried to complete them (the key word is "tried").

#15 - Super Metroid - Super Nintendo

This is the most perfect Alien homage ever made playable. While it doesn't feature any xenomorphs, it does provide the haunting atmosphere that the first Alien film did so well. Planet Zebes is always a thrill to explore, more so when Samus gains her new toys. While the Metroid Prime games are good, too, this will always be the best Metroid game.

#14 - Yakuza 0 - Playstation 4

I haven't stopped gushing about this game since I reviewed it on the now-defunct PressA2Join.com. Though I'm a huge fan of the whole Yakuza franchise, 0 is easily its best. Kiryu and Majima are both awesome, complex protagonists; the plot is tense; the sidestories are wonderfully absurd; and you will NEVER run out of things to do.

#13 - Tropico 4 - Xbox 360

Forget SimCity; as far as I'm concerned, THIS is the most perfect building sim ever. It can be as simple or deep as you want. If you want to build your islands to be a tyrannical dictatorship, you can. If you want them to be huge tourist traps, that's possible, too. I haven't had a chance to play Tropico 6 yet, but it'll have a hard time topping El Presidente's fourth term.

#12 - Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? - PC

This is the most fun geography lesson ever made! I've always been a huge fan of detective mysteries, and someone decided to make an educational game around the idea. Bravo! Playing it again recently (the Genesis version, for the record), it still holds up amazingly well, even if a few of the country clues are a bit out of date now.

#11 - Resident Evil - Playstation

Though the sequels and remake are mostly good, too, the original will always be my favorite. The atmosphere can still provide chills thanks to the score and good camera angles, and I still get a kick out of the flimsy translation and hilariously bad voice acting. It's also the most replayable thanks to two characters, multiple endings, and the way the story changes depending on the order the rooms of the Spencer Mansion are explored.

#10 - Doom 2: Hell on Earth - PC

This will always be my favorite first-person shooter of all time. The maze-like levels are much more interesting to explore than the generic battlefields used today, and firing the BFG at a hoard of hellspawn never stops being awesome. I've beaten it multiple times, and I'd still gladly take another trip to Hell any day.

#9 - Rock Band 3 - Xbox 360

This is the perfect music game, period. As if having the guitar, bass, drums, and vocals weren't enough, they added in keyboards, vocal harmonies, and almost too many customization options for your band. Harmonix really didn't need to bother with Rock Band 4 (though that one's good, too). If they just kept providing new songs for this one, I'd be totally satisfied.

#8 - Silent Hill - Playstation

I've talked about this one constantly. I won't drone on more about it. The original Silent Hill may look and sound rough now, but it's still an almost perfect horror experience in video game form. I like it more than the highly-esteemed second game. Let's leave it at that.

#7 - Outlaw Golf 2 - Xbox

This is my favorite golf game ever, and I've played more golf games than probably anyone in the world ever has. It's perfect mechanics and fun courses coupled with rednecks and strippers. It deserved to be in my Dream 18 more than any other game.

#6 - You Don't Know Jack! - Playstation

While Jack has been making the rounds for decades (including appearances in the Jackbox Party Pack collections), the first appearance on the PS1 is still my favorite. The questions and commentary from Cookie still get me cracking up to this day. If I wanted to break my own rules, I'd put the whole franchise in this spot.

#5 - Chrono Trigger - Super Nintendo

This is no hyperbole; Chrono Trigger is the most perfect JRPG ever made. The battles have the perfect mix of action and strategy. Every character is memorable. The score is phenomenal. The visuals are amazing even now. The story jumps all over the place with unforgettable setpiece moments. It's available on a bunch of platforms, including smartphones, so there's no excuse. PLAY THIS GAME!!!

#4 - Mega Man X - Super Nintendo

More than Sonic, more than Donkey Kong, more even than Mario, Mega Man is my pick for the perfect platform series with the first 16-bit game ruling over the whole thing. The action is frenetic, but there's still room to explore for enhancements for X. The story actually gets heartwrenching. The music is amazing; Storm Eagle's stage music was my ringtone for years. With the remasters on current consoles, there's no reason not to play this one.

#3 - Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Xbox 360

I've been a fan of the Tekken series since I played the first in an arcade in 1995; I've even won a couple of local tournaments. The second Tag Tournament has everything I could ever want in a fighting game. The tightest mechanics in the series. Every character ever up to that point. More modes than I'd ever have time to play. While Tekken 7 seems to be more about nickel-and-diming people, this one truly gave me my money's worth.

#2 - River Raid - Atari 2600

Yes, an Atari 2600 game is my #2. No, I'm not trolling. River Raid is a virtually flawless shmup if you can ignore the archaic graphics. The challenge doesn't come from floods of bullets that slow down the game; it comes from wise path choices, accurate shooting, and managing your fuel. Even to this day, it is just so addictive. It's on every Activision compilation out there. Play it if you haven't already!

#1 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Playstation

Those who've kept up with my work on Vocal are not the least bit surprised by my #1. I've said so in my "No Zombies" Playlist. It's really telling that the worst thing about this game is the stilted voice acting. Other than that, this game is practically perfect. The castle is a sight to behold and a joy to explore. In fact, if you're thorough, you can double the game's length. Alucard has an endless supply of weapons and magic at his disposal. The music is so amazing, it could work for classic horror movies, as well. It's a game so amazing that it created a whole genre. I've beaten it every way that it's possible to beat it (including the secret ways), and I'd still return to Dracula's castle in a second.

What do you think of my Top 100? Disagree with any of my picks? Let me know, and I'll see you in 2020! Game on!