(Note: I also don't have any MMO's or MOBA's. They just aren't my thing. I haven't played an MMO since Dark Age of Camelot...heh. And I have played Smite but didn't care for it),
The more I think it over, the more my top 10 list looks kind of dumb. I'm a huge fan of RPG's yet my top 10 list only has...okay it has 5 RPG's (arguably 6). I just couldn't bring myself to cutting any of them from the list. So that meant I had to cut some all time classic games like Super Metroid, Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 2, and The Last of Us. Oh and spoiler alert, Sonic is on the list, but not Mario.
10. Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master
What is it with 1990's era ninjas and surfing?
Shinobi was SEGA's answer to Ninja Gaiden. While it wasn't nearly as infamously difficult, it still had quite a challenge and is arguably the 2nd best side scrolling ninja game at that time. Then came Shinobi 2....AND IT SUCKED. It was a port of an arcade game that was nothing like the original. I just refer to that game as Shinobi: Dog Training Simulator.
Then in 1993, a true sequel, properly subtitled, and inexplicably called "3". It had an improved skill set, great looking sprites (especially for the Genesis), a killer soundtrack, and most importantly, fantastic level design. The only real knock was that it was easier than the original, until you got to that falling rock level, then you were fucked.
Out of any game on this list, this is the hardest one to defend considering the games I cut to put it on here. However, this is the only game, to date, that I have ever put a self-imposed handicap on. For my, like, 15th playthrough, I attempted to beat the game using only jump kicks. I did well, until that falling rock level, then I was fucked. Plus, I still play this game today, which I can't say about many on this list.
9. "The Sonic and Knuckles Saga"
This is not a 32X.
I'm making the argument that this isn't cheating because Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles are the same game. Literally. Cartridge limits forced it into two "games", hence the lock-on thingy. I would complain about SEGA charging people full price for 2 half-games but I was like 10 years old so I didn't pay for shit.
Anyway, for this entry only, I recommend watching this video from Satchbags Goods about this game. It's pretty much word for word what I would say. Also, I like this Youtuber and he doesn't get nearly as many views as he should.
I should mention that this is the last time I ever give 2 shits about Sonic. He is dead to me.
8. Deus Ex:Human Revolution
Fuck this room.
A prequel to the first Deus Ex, which has the distinction of KILLING my PC, this game follows Adam Jensen, his ex-girlfriend that he is totally still in love with but won't admit it, and human augmentation. That, is basically a fancy term for robot body parts, aka cyborgs. And for anyone who is reading this that has played this game, it's important to note, that Adam didn't ask for this and this fan film is cool but bullshit.
It's a stealth game in every sense. Some games give you the option of stealth or guns a blazin. This game forces you into stealth buy giving enemy AI absurdly good aim and health that goes to zero in about 4 hits. But I dig that about this game. It gives you the illusion of freedom then strips it from you in a plausible way.
The game mechanics are admittedly weird. Most of the game is in first person, but when you get into cover like in the picture above, it switches to 3rd person without moving the camera. It takes some getting used to. Also the boss battles are SHIIIIIIIT. Word of advice. Upgrade the Typhoon and take them out in two hits. Fighting them for real is a nightmare since you're out in the open and this is a goddamn stealth game.
Some crappy aspects aside, this game is still great. Outside of two open world hubs, many mission levels are huge with several possible paths through. Hack the lock on a door. Find a computer or PDA with the code to that door instead. Bypass the door completely by crawling through an air vent. So many different choices on how to progress through a level and I've never seen another game do it this well. Add the several layers of augmentations one can use and this game has more options than I can count.
Also, this games narrative is fantastic. Several times in the game, you get these "conversational bosses" where you need to convince them to give up crucial information, change their mind, or flat out talk them out of killing a bunch of people. The whole game revolves around human augmentation and what it means to be human. If somebody with a robot arm could lift a car, are they still human? What if they have eyes that can see through walls? What if they can hack computers with their brain? This shit is happening NOW. Real life cyborg researchers have already come under fire for changing what a human...IS. One day, this debate may happen in my lifetime. I'm not sure what side to be on.....
7. Chrono Trigger
Hello, old friends
It's fucking Chrono Trigger. Do I even need to explain?
6. Uhhh
Okay fine.
I grew up with the Sega Genesis but I was lucky enough to have a friend across the street that had Super Nintendo. There were times when we would trade consoles, sometimes for a month straight, and one of those times he also lent me a shitty game called "Krano Trigger". (He was not a smart kid).
Basically, fuck Final Fantasy VI, THIS is the best old school Final Fantasy game...even though it was pretty different but not entirely, but kinda the same, but not really. If you haven't played it, do it. I'm at a loss for words and I'm far too shitty of a writer to explain how awesome this game is.
6. Ultima IV - Quest of the Avatar
That is clearly an axe.
It was a real struggle between this and Ultima VII - The Black Gate but this is the game that launched my love of RPG's. It was the first time I actually cared about my party and how I was solely responsible for them. They had simple AI and I was the only one smart enough to keep them alive. I'm saying they are like children okay?
Seriously though, this RPG is unique in that it does something almost no other VIDEO GAME has ever done. There is no villain. That's right. This entire game revolves around fighting leaderless demons and monsters while setting up a brand new fucking RELIGION. "The Quest of the Avatar" is more of a TV reality show of finding who is gonna be the next pope, aka Avatar.
That said....I don't remember a whole lot from this game and can barely tell you the mechanics. (They are complicated). I do remember playing the SHIT out of this game and that it has never really left my top 10. It's also the first "long" game I ever completed. Long being 40 hours or so.
(Side note: This game came out in 1985, which means I was 3 if I played it when it came out. I played it in...1993 or 94. I was young and mostly remember forgetting how to get to it on MS-DOS.)
5. Doom 2
Doom Guy on the left has the biggest balls ever. Like he's gonna win this fight.
I don't think I've played any PC game more than Doom 2. OH, I played the original Doom as well, but it was Doom 2 that I put in...I dunno, 1,000 hours. I played this game on and off for at least 3 years. Maybe longer.
This is almost the same game as the classic Doom, except it's longer, more demons, more weapons, more power-ups, more everything. Why is this game so forgotten? It's the same awesomeness just exponentially more awesome.
I should mention, this is the first PC game I forced my parents into buying more RAM for because our computer couldn't run it. 5 fucking floppy disks? Holy shit right? That's like, 1/23,000th of a blu-ray.
Anyway, IDDQD.
4. Medieval: Total War
Totally historically accurate!!!!
I loooooooovvvveee the Total War series.....until Rome 2 in which FUCK the Total War series. WHY?!?! Why must everything I love turn to shit?
Uhh
Anyway
The first Medieval: Total War is the best in the series because it's the only one that doesn't severely damage you because a certain territories' taxes are too FUCKING HIGH! OH I'm sorry, am I playing IRS SIMULATOR?? WHY DON'T YOU JUST FAX ME AN I-9 SO WE CAN GET YOUR AUDIT PROCESSED FASTER!!!
Ahem
Medieval: Total War is what this series should be about and it nailed it. Conquest and personally overseeing large armies on the battlefield was so satisfying I have half a chub just writing this. Some people will argue the first Rome: Total War is the best but I didn't care for it's troop movements and it's weird navy. Medieval: Total War only sort of cared about naval combat, which is a flaw, but it did everything else right. It was the closest thing to "Total War" I've ever seen in a strategy game. Even allies would attack you, usually stupidly and fucking themselves over right before the Mongols invaded.
Also, the Pope is immortal. Doesn't matter how many times you conquer Rome, he ALWAYS comes back.
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