Now, it’s no secret that I consider myself a gamer, and I have even released pictures of my game collection to the public to prove it (though it’s a little outdated now). Recently GameFAQs.com started their own Best Game Ever contest, and that got me thinking “which games do I consider the best?” That’s why I have compiled a list of my favourite game that I own." The rule for these games? I have to presently (April 23rd, 2009) own the legal verson of it obviously, download only games don’t count (sorry Jay’s Journey and AVGN: Game Over), I also don’t count collection games since they have an unfair advantage and I only accepted one game per series. Let’s start off.

10. When deciding which game to start off this list, I had a three way tie in my mind: the game I picked, the number 9 spot and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. In the end, I had to go with Spider-Man for the PlayStation. The reason why I chose it over Yoshi’s Island? Because, despite how short it was, it stands out in my mind as a great and fun game, truly capturing how I remembered Spider-Man. The reason why it lost to number 9? Because, despite how great and fun I thought it was, it was still rather short. I also feel like I have to mention its sequel, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, but a much more serious overtone and needlessly complicated bosses makes it a much more “average” game. By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice how the AVGN conveniently forgot mention these in his Spider-man games review.

9. Now, I don’t know why people seem so shocked when I tell them I’ve never been a fan of the Zelda series: it seems like a lot of other Action-RPGs, and though it has great puzzles, what RPG doesn’t? The story line doesn’t do it for me either. But, there are a few Zelda games which I particularly enjoyed, such as Link’s Awakening and Link to the Past. However, I only own two Zelda games I own, and though one of them is Ocarina of Time, the number 10 spot goes to The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for the N64. Having the weird plot of the MOON crashing into the Earth because a kid found a mask and the interesting game play element and plot device revolving around only having 3 days (which affects EVERYTHING) to save the world made this game truly stand out for me. Also, rolling around as Goron Link kicked ass!

8. One Nintendo series I have never had trouble with, and many people agree with me that it’s awesome, is the Donkey Kong series. Owning 3 DK games, I knew I had to pick one to be on the list, and that one is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest for the SNES. Why did I pick it above DK64? Cause side-scolling DK just feels right, and though it was is fun, it just didn’t say “DK” for me. Why did I pick it above the original Donkey Kong Country? Cause this game takes everything that game had, kicked it up a notch and added it’s own special stuff to it. Challenging, yet fun, this game was when Donkey Kong was truly at the top of his series.

7. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a PC gamer. First off, my computer sucks too much for it and nothing PC only really pulls me in. But there is one game I loved so much, despite being a PC game: Freedom Force. This is a game that is somewhat underrated, and I can’t understand why. With a great cast of colourful characters and a classic Superhero story, this game truly awakened the comic book geek. Tag that along with a delicious mix of RPG and Real Time Strategy element, fully interactive/destroyable environments and even the ability to make your own Superheroes, and you’ve got a great game. I also enjoyed its sequel, Freedom Force vs. the 3rd Reich, which still has the great gaming system and more characters, but the story seems to take a much more serious tone and I don’t think it was as comic inspired.

6. We’re only half way down the list, and already I’ve put 3 popular Nintendo series on my list, so naturally I’m a fan of Super Smash Bros. and had to put one of the games on here. With almost no doubt in my mind, the number 6 spot goes to Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. No offense Melee, but in Brawl you can play online and make your own stages (a BIG plus), and lets not forget the Subspace Emissary mode. Of course, it also came with all your favourite Nintendo characters, including several new to the Smash Bros. series (Pokemon Trainer, yay!), great new stages to fight on and tons of new items, including the assist trophies. It also includes Snake and Sonic making 3rd party cameos in this game, which was just a little plus to what was already destined to be an awesome game. The series itself is great, using simple and easy moves (unlike 20 button combination moves in other fighting games), in battle items and recognizable character, but each addition to it seems to simply be getting better and better. I can’t help but wonder what’s going to be in store for the next one.

5. I think most people roughly around my age liked Pokemon at one point. But, when the fad died down, it truly separated who was just going along with it, and who were the ones that truly enjoyed the game and concept. I am defiantly one of the people belonging in the second category. That’s why the number 5 spot goes to Pokemon Blue Verson for the Game Boy. Now, I actually had a hard time deciding between this one and Pokemon Emerald (mostly due to its highly advanced graphics), but I had to go with Blue due to nostalgic reasons. I can also connect it with Pokemon Stadium, which is naturally a plus. I honestly believe that this game and series is just so popular that this is all I have to say about it.

4. A lot of people have been bashing Sonic the Hedgehog recently, saying that all of his 3D games sucked. Really, I think this is an example of a few bad apples ruining the bunch. Sure Sonic and the Secret Rings REALLY sucked, and Shadow the Hedgehog wasn’t that great, and I’m scared to play Sonic Unleashed… Alright, so maybe they have a point, but he still released some good 3D games which I own most. So which one did I chose to go on the list? I’m probably going to get flamed for this, but I went with Sonic Heroes for the Gamecube. Now, don’t get me wrong, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are both great games, but Sonic Heroes seemed to be what I what I thought classic Sonic in 3D was supposed to be like. The 3 member team switching thing was a great concept in my eyes and it made for some nice cute scenes. It also had less emphasis on missions, as recent Sonic games have been wrongly doing. I also can’t forget to mention the return of team Chaotix, who had some of the best cut scenes and missions in the game. Sleek graphics, fun levels and unique game play, this is a game I’m willing to get flamed for.

3. When the 64-bit consoles came out, game makers had to completely rethink and redesign their games and how they would be played. One of the most interesting changes happened to the platforming genre: they went from being linear (e.i. going left to right) to having full maps, giving you a freedom of choice, and mostly concentrating on a need to collect. Now, while Nintendo may have started this off with Super Mario 64, Rareware truly perfected it. That’s why the number 3 spot goes to Banjo-Kazooie for the N64. With maps that allow you adventure it however you feel, Jiggies that you had to collect in no particular order, an addicting amount of stuff needed to collect and moves and skills you learned and could you however you wanted as you went along, this changed the way we saw platforming. Combine that with the odd concept of a bird and bear fighting a witch, humour that most kids and teenagers can enjoy and odd missions to get Jiggies (all apparent when you use the witch doctor Mumbo Jumbo turn you into a pumpkin so you can get flushed down a toilet), you have a game that is just simply fun. The great thing about having this game on my list is that I just got this game last week, and I’m working on getting Banjo-Tooie. If I had that one, it would probably that this place on the list.

2. Its no secret that I’m a fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, so its no surprised that one of the games managed to get this high on my list. So, it would be Guitar Hero: World Tour, right? Wrong. It seems that the honeymoon is now over and, though I love the ability to play drums and sing, I have went back to my original guitar hero love, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock for the Wii. Yes, I can’t play drums, sing, make my own avatar or download songs like on World Tour, but guitar is my best instrument, I use Judy Nails most of the time anyways and the set list in GH3 is better then any downloadable content that has come out yet. Yes, what really counts is the default playlist: this game has all killer, no filler (with the exception of Kool Thing). It also had those animated cut-scenes in between each gig that I enjoyed. With great colourful scenes and characters to choose from and a kick-ass song list, this game got to both the rocker and gamer in me.

1. When I decided I was going to make this list, I had to put absolutely no thought into this game. It’s a game with a story line that is classic, but gives it a gradually complex twist as it goes along. It’s a game that broke a few borders and caused the world to thank it. It’s a game that I have come back to time and time again, and I’m still not tired of it. It’s a game called Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES. The difficulty curve is great, the story takes the “Mario tries to save Peach from Bower” and gives it an unexpected twist and I honestly can’t think of a single complaint I have about this game. Also, this game was such a hit that it started its own sub-series; Mario RPG games, which includes Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi games. Actually, this game is pretty much why I decided the “only one game per series” rule: if it wasn’t for it, I this list would have been 50% Mario RPGs. But, despite all of these games, they still don’t compare to the original. Just a little anecdote about this game, I bought my copy from my uncle for 10$. At the time, I thought nothing of it; I played and wanted to own it to fully experience it. Now that I have been able to experience everything about it, I find it almost hilarious at how cheap I got it. I truly think that Super Mario RPG deserves the title of best game ever.