My Top Ten Video Games

Updated
(as bonus I've gone back and linked a favorite song for each title!) high five if you've actually played all these titles.

So not a big update, but finally got around to a popular top ten meme on DA. These could be taken as being in direct favorite order, but with the goal of having one favorite represent my favorite genres of gaming. Enjoy learning more about my bizarre tastes, if you didn't already know some of the obvious choices.

Original Meme [link] by
Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Sega Genesis) (1994)
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Sonic the Hedgehog was easily my favorite video game franchise growing up in the early 90s. With 14 of the largest zones in a sonic game with so many pathways to either explore or speed through with Sonic Tails and for the first time Knuckles. For me the locked on cartridge of Sonic 3 and Knuckles is the game I can't seem to stop coming back to again and again. Way Past Cool

Shenmue (I/II) (Dreamcast) 1999-2001
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Back in 1999 the graphics and open ended gameplay of Shenmue was pretty ground breaking its late 80's Japan vibe and do anything atmosphere has made the Shenmue saga one of my personal all time favorites. While it has its share flaws (some dated controls, the dub, its pace) It's one of a kind and I can't help but crack a smile each time I think about some of the one liners, characters, epic music and capsule toy machines. Now if only we had a Shenmue III...

Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS) 1995 (2008)
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My other favorite RPG doesn't need much explanation for those familiar with it, I got into it pretty late, but the Akira Toriyama concept designs and some of the best game music to date is what hooked me in so fast with Chrono Trigger. This is honestly one of the few traditional RPG's I've actually played and finished over and over again.

Street Fighter III 3rd Strike (PS2) (1999)
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It says PS2, but really it doesn't matter which port you play, Street Fighter 3 is awesome. Weird characters, the parry system, some of the most gorgeous hand drawn sprites in gaming and a thumping soundtrack helped this Capcom fighter shoryuken its way into my heart. I couldn't be more excited about the rerelease of 3rd Strike for XBLA! [link] Hands down this is one of the most technical fighters out there and its what has me coming back to it again and again to master the craft of my favorite fighter.

Soul Calibur (Dreamcast) (1999)
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After Street Fighter Soul Calibur just might be my favorite fighting game, though the later iterations of the franchise don't really set the world on fire. Soul Calibur 1 was the most fluid 3d fighter I had played back in 1999-2000 for my Dreamcast. A solid 1 player mode and an exciting yet deceptively accessible fighting engine kept this game popular for years, plus you have to love a game where one of the fighters is Lizardman.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo Wii) (2008)
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Now I struggled with which Smash Bros. to put on my list. As a fighting game enthusiast I had to include one but I figured I'd use the most recent game, brawl. I may prefer certain qualities of the original engine but all the Smash Bros. games are awesome for their free for all madness and its accessible yet addictive fighting mechanics. Plus the 1 player in Brawl is probably better then any other fighter I can think of at this point.

Yoshi's Island (Gameboy Advance) (1995)
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Gotta love Yoshi, and this is probably in the list for being the most adorable game ever created. Seriously its so much fun, I almost don't want to kill anything its so cute. I played the Gameboy Advance port which only made the game more addicting being able to play it on the go. Even though I'm a Sega head, if I had to pic only one Mario inspired game for my top ten it would be this one.

Jump Ultimate Stars (Nintendo DS) (2006)
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So I mentioned how much I like Capcom and Smash bros. fighting games, this is like both of those in a blender with Shonen Jump franchise characters. How does it get better? It has a roster of over 60 characters, 100 unique assist attacks, and 30 stages. It's also on a handheld system. Which works surprisingly well on the DS. But one of the things that made this game so addictive for me was team formation. You have to piece together teams like puzzles on the touch screen (This is a sort of balance system so that you can only have so many of the most powerful characters on a team since they take up more space in your deck then weaker characters or assist attacks) Creating all star teams from various Jump franchises like Yu Yu Hakusho, DragonBall, Naruto, Kenshin, One Piece, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and seeing how to strategize them as a team is something I've spent hours doing. Not to mention pretty darn good 4 player co-op online, I could talk all day about this one it had to be in my list.

Mega Man X (Super Nintendo) (1993)
[link] best theme
I only recently began playing Mega Man, but tickle me impressed, although the original series is more unforgivingly hard then most fans want to admit. The first Mega Man X game had me from the first stage on the highway. Catchy tunes, cute animal robots and various power ups keep the Mega Man formula alive and I've gone back and replayed this particular one several times already. If I had to pic one Mega Man game the first X game is my choice.

Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo DS) (2009)
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Probably the only other Nintendo DS game I've played more then Jump Ultimate Stars, though perhaps not for the reason you might think. One player Pokemon is all fine and well, its very cute and charming. In fact if we're strictly talking a good one player kids RPG experience I'd say Black and White has superior gameplay over Diamond/Pearl/Platinum But what really hooked me into Pokemon was the post meta game. It's Where you can really delve into personalizing your teams and fighting your friends till you're blue in the face. With fighting games and any kind of multiplayer game, the scene around it sort of dictates how much of the game you play, And I think my friends and I squeezed just about as much out of Pokemon as humanly possible. EV training anyone?