Your favorite games?

[iconoclast]

A few days ago, I started putting together a list of my favorite games because I thought it would be a fun exercise. It was, but it was also 10x harder than I thought it would be. I can make a list of my favorite action games, shumps, action/platformers, FPS, fighting games, RPGs, etc. without much trouble, but smashing everything together into one giant list makes it pretty damn hard to order. Do I like Resident Evil more than F-Zero GX? Hell if I know, they're both great for totally different reasons. Plus I had a hard cutoff of 100 games, so I had to leave a ton of great stuff off.

But this thread isn't meant to be all about me. I'm interested in seeing what games the people around here would choose as their favorites because this site has a good mix of users with diverse taste imo. You don't have to create a huge list of games, any number is fine (5, 10, 20, whatever). Commentary is also appreciated because it makes lists more interesting to read, but it's not totally necessary. I'm sure everybody can figure out why somebody would pick Super Mario Bros. or Dodonpachi as one of their favorite games.

So, here's my list: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/iconoc ... 00/352897/

I wanted to write at least a few sentences about most of these games (I might have gone a little overboard with Ninja Gaiden II), but that wasn't my greatest idea. I just dont rite gud. And frankly, I don't even want to proofread what I did write, so expect to see some typos, grammatical errors, and who knows what else. Fair warning. (´･ω･｀)


(This thread has to have been done before, but consider this one the '2015 Edition'. Surely a lot of great games have come out since the last time it was posted.)

[Teufel_in_Blau]

You ask it the wrong way.

Imagine you are on an island and have the women of your life (dat ass, big tits, great legs, fantastic lips etc). If you could bring only ONE game to this place, what would it be?

For me: Distant Worlds: Universe. There is nothing quite like it, aside from Aurora. I wrote a couple of times already about this games on this forum and I don't want to look like some bot. Just check it out, if you like Paradox games or space 4x, you should give this game a try.

Oh, and your list is great! You have a very good taste in games!

[Some-Mist]

top 3 (no order)
grim fandango - point and click adventures = my favorite genre. great humor, puzzles, characters, and story. it was actually in my top 3 before the remake even released, but the remake fixed any potential issue I had with the game.

planescape: torment - imo, one of the best stories in gaming. I love the dark-themed humor, characters, and environments.

progear - my favorite shmup. I love hori bullet hells, the steampunk theme is/was pretty unique for the genre, the bullet cancelling/cashing mechanic = my favorite scoring system in the genre, and the 1-ALL is very obtainable even for newcomers. The 2nd loop is balls hard tho..

top 10 (no order)
team fortress classic
sin & punishment: star successor
mother 3
battle garegga
mushihimesama futari
the sea will claim everything
bayonetta 2

[Ruldra]

Months ago my friends were sharing over Facebook a top 10 list of their favorite games and asked me to write one as well. This is what I came up with at the time:

1) Treasure of the Rudras (SNES)
2) Phantasy Star 4 (MD)
3) Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
4) Gradius V (PS2)
5) X-COM: Enemy Unknown (PC)
6) Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (SNES)
7) FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
8 ) Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (Arcade)
9) Baldur's Gate / Baldur's Gate 2 / Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal (PC)
10) Demon's Souls (PS3)

I don't really like ranking games as I genuinely love too many to list them like this.

[KAI]

1) Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
2) Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengou vs Z.A.F.T. II Plus
3) Beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD
4) Ibara
5) Radirgy
6) Initial D Street Stage
7) Fate/Unlimited Codes
8) Battle Gear 4 Tuned
9) Sora no Kiseki
10) Umihara Kawase Shun Kanzenban

I never get sick of these.

[iconoclast]

^ I've been wanting to give the Initial D games a shot since Sega is by far my favorite racing game developer. So Street Stage would be the best starting point?

[KAI]

People say Special Stage (PS2) is better, but I love the steering mechanics, the courses and the music of the PSP port.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I'll keep editing this post to add more commentary.

Super Mario Bros. 2 (Lost Levels)

-The ultimate pure platformer. Super Mario Bros.'s hugely momentum-based movement is still fantastic even if the game built around it is a little simple - which is why its sequel, filled with consistently great and inventive levels that push your knowledge of the original SMB to its limit, is a true top-class game. Later Mario games just focused too much on making gimmicky levels rather than truly interesting ones (which isn't a bad thing, but it does make them lesser games than this).

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

-Fast, punishing, focused combat.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts

-One of the very greatest sidescrollers. Its pacing is fantastic - every level is dense as hell while throwing a ton of varied scenarios at you, the multidirectional shot, naturally, lets the levels become more intense than in the (also excellent) first game, and the i-frame-granting magic attacks you can only use when fully powered up make for an excellent little wrinkle.

Gimmick!

-Amazing technical work. Incredibly charming (the amount of unique assets and cool enemy behaviors is staggering) and the star is incredibly fun to use as both an attack and means of mobility.

Super Metroid

-Godlike movement (walljumping really makes the game) and top-class level design.

Alien vs. Predator

-The ultimate beat-em-up. Ridiculously fast and intense, amazing fluid controls, and I really appreciate the character variety even if I can't play Linn or Dutch for shit.

Earthbound

-Like its (superior) sequel further down the list, this is just something I have to give a nod to because of its top-tier storyline (atmosphere) and music. As a jRPG / strategy game, it's solid enough, but that's not the game's real strength.

Alien Soldier

-Hard to get into but it's intensely satisfying to blow through this game once you've learned it. A huge amount of depth too; I learn some new subtlety almost every time I play it.

Final Doom

-The strongest Doom - at least, Plutonia Experiment is. The first Doom games are excellent, obviously - the first sets an incredibly strong foundation with its great movement, enemy lineup, and weapon variety, and the second takes things to the next level by speeding up the game and adding enemies that are lightyears beyond what Doom 1 offers. The issue with Doom 2, though, is that it has extremely scattershot levels (and even most of the good ones don't test the player's skill much). Plutonia has consistently excellent level design that really draws out the best elements of Doom 2. (The other campaign included in Final Doom - TNT: Evilution - is a lot more middling and has even weaker stages than Doom 2. So this entry is really just for Plutonia.)

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

-Masterclass tactics game that seriously makes you feel like you're a shitty guerrilla army up against a massive empire. The base mechanics of Fire Emblem have been solid as hell since even the first games on the NES, and with Thracia the series finally really comes into its own with fiendish maps that beg you to bullshit them as much as you can - but first you have to wrest those bullshit tools out of the enemies' hands (this game's new capturing feature, which was oddly never used in Fire Emblem again, helps a lot with that).

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

-The best realization of the 3D Zelda formula - way denser than Ocarina of Time, and every Zelda game after this suffered from poor pacing and lots of filler (although some are better in certain individual aspects). The time / schedule system is absolutely brilliant and makes for a lot of really cool sidequests while doubling as a great way to give the myriad NPCs more development than you'd expect.

Deus Ex

-Huge in a way games never are. A massive array of player abilities, fantastic level and world design that makes every solution you find feel natural and clever, and the solid storyline - which does an impressive job of keeping track of and acknowledging everything you do - ties it all together.

Devil May Cry

-The father of "crazy action games" is still one of the best. Its rigidity (compared to its successors) really forces you to learn all the strengths and weaknesses of your character as well as the enemies and bosses you face - as well it should, since all of those are top-notch.

Silent Hill 2

-The art, soundtrack, and storyline are all absolutely top-notch. The game isn't that strong mechanically, but I think it makes up for it through its absolutely godlike aesthetics.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

-Definitely my favorite fighting game. I've always loved the SSB series' odd take on fighting games, the way it hybridizes them with action-platformers - and Melee, with its intense speed and great stage lineup is the strongest in the series.

Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi

-Fast, intense right from the first level, awesome risky scoring system that keeps the game incredibly engaging during every second.

Viewtiful Joe

-Probably my single favorite game. The absolute freedom of movement and the system that allows you to launch enemies all around the playing field once you've weakened them are probably its strongest aspects, right behind VFX. The way your VFX abilities tie into every element of the game, working in both platforming and combat seamlessly, along with the constant meter management they impose on you during combat are both amazing.

Resident Evil 4

-A top-class TPS. Its biggest strength is probably its fantastic pacing - for a game as long as it is, it does a fantastic job constantly throwing new (meaningfully different) enemy types and locations at you.

Ys: The Oath in Felghana

-Maybe one of the best boss lineups (and soundtracks) in any action game ever. I also really like the temporary stat-boosting items you get for killing enemies; they serve as a great way to keep you playing aggressively. I'd like to see more games implement something like that.

Ninja Gaiden Black

-A lot of other great 3D action games give you a degree of leniency because they tend to push the meat of the game behind the scoring system, so just playing for survival sometimes feels less satisfying than it should. NGB may have a undeveloped and fairly weak scoring system - but that it eschews asking the player to go for a high combo score and instead focuses on making its enemies as fast and brutal as possible goes a long way towards making it one of the absolute best entries in its genre. The fantastic progression in (the heavily remixed) difficulty modes, from Normal all the way to Master Ninja, and the huge mission mode are great too.

Mother 3

-Fantastic storyline, music, and visuals (even if they aren't particularly technically advanced, this game takes its art style and runs a marathon with it). That's basically what this game is here for as I'm not hugely into jRPGs - but I have to say that the rhythm battle system is really fun, and combined with the large number of pieces of music used for battles, it goes a long way towards making the game feel fresh constantly.

God Hand

-Punching dudes fast, looking for that opening to guard break and open them up (and getting punished hard if you fail), and landing perfect counterhits to send enemies flying never gets old. The game doesn't have the variety of DMC1, Bayonetta, or NGB, but its core systems are so strong that it doesn't really matter.

Demon's Souls

-The strong, decently-punishing combat and death / bloodstain system are standouts enough, but what really makes this game are its godlike aesthetics. I don't think any other action game of this level of quality has managed to nail a dark atmosphere quite so well (well, aside from the obvious one...)

Bayonetta

-It's hard for me to really sum this game up; all I can say is that Bayonetta has to be one of the most fun characters to handle in any game. Her movement and attacks are perfect (and I have to say the game almost feels like a 3D realization of Viewtiful Joe).

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor

-A meaty game with a rock-solid core (the i-frame dodge and projectile-deflecting melee attacks are always cool) and an insane amount of variety. The last bit is this game's strongest asset; it can't be overstated just how cool the insane variety of boss battles and setpieces is, and how consistently fun the game is despite being made up of so many disparate bits.

Vanquish

-On a mechanical level this has to be the best third-person shooter out there - nothing can match up to the joy of just moving around in the ARS suit, or facing off with challenge 6 or the final boss on God Hard mode - but I have to admit I prefer RE4 just due to its greater sense of adventure.

Hard Corps: Uprising

-Maybe the coolest moveset ever in a run-and-gun-style platformer. How can you say no to a game that offers you so many mobility options (a double jump, dash (that lowers your defense, forcing you to use it carefully), airdash, dodge maneuver, wall-running) and actually constantly pushes you to use them all? The game isn't exactly arcade-tight (there are a couple of levels or segments that maybe needed to be cut down on), but it's so strong otherwise that it's hard to fault it too much. The boss lineup is absolutely excellent too, especially since they don't lean towards raw memorization like several other Contra games tend to.

Dark Souls

-It's Demon's Souls but cooler. Bosses are better (even if they aren't quite as varied as the first game's), character builds are better due to magic being slightly better-balanced, estus is a massive improvement over the first game's more standard healing items. The only thing Demon's Souls has over this is that it has more consistent stages just because Dark Souls has a couple of lame areas near the end. But that's not enough to keep the sequel from reigning.

Serious Sam 3: BFE

-You get big guns and fight huge hordes of enemies. Of course all the weapons you get are useful and keep you switching all the time, and the enemies play off each other well and allow for an incredible amount of cool battle configurations; otherwise this game wouldn't be on the list.

Kid Icarus: Uprising

-A shockingly fantastic third-person shooter with a great and massive lineup of enemies that complement each other well, are used in cool varied ways all throughout the game, and (on the higher difficulties) are constantly pushing the player - combined with the limited stamina system and great stylus aiming, this makes for a great game. The 3D rail shooter segments are cool, if a bit basic compared to the ground stages, and the storyline is an insane rollercoaster filled with fun characters and great production values.

The Wonderful 101

-The craziest Hideki Kamiya game, if not the most consistent. It's huge as hell, constantly throwing new and interesting scenarios at you (even if some of them are a bit rough, the sheer energy of the game is undeniable) and backed up by a top-class combat system with great opponents and a lot of layers of micromanagement that make every encounter engaging.

Bayonetta 2

-I don't think this is quite as refined as the first Bayonetta (it has a lot of nice quality-of-life improvements - like the lack of insta-kill QTEs and overlong vehicle sections, but due to changes to the Witch Time mechanic, alongside the fairly overpowering Umbran Climax power-up state, I don't think the combat ends up feeling as great as the first game's) but it's still a comparable sequel, and that easily lands it a spot in this list.

[mamboFoxtrot]

Wow that's a big list!

Honestly, trying to think about this, I haven't played most of my games enough to really pick and choose favorites too well. There are games that I have and like so far, but I wouldn't want to really call it a "favorite" until I play it a great deal more. Anyways, to attempt a list of games I tend to go back to, in no particular order:

- Akai Katana: Both play modes are two of my favorite STG scoring systems so far. I've gotten a lot farther in to this game than any other STG, having made it to the 6th stage several times, compared to my usual stage 2~3 game over in every other game I own.

- Sonic Adventure 1 & 2: I couldn't call these "great" games with a straight face, but running and spin-dashing around at ludicrous speed and using that speed to take the most ridiculous shortcuts is among my absolute favorite gaming experiences.

- Yoshi's Island: One of the most visually pleasing 2D platformers I've ever played, with absolutely incredible stage variety. The player controls and physics is also amongst my favorite. It's just too bad about that near-infinite health and broken-ass flutter jump.

- Super Mario Bros: I couldn't really say it's the best Mario game, but it's the one I replay the most due to how straight-forward it is. The other 2D Mario games have too many puzzles and auto-scrollers for my taste, and I like the running and jumping physics in this one a lot more than the others. Your acceleration is smooth, compared to how P-Speed in 3 and World add that sudden jump in speed once you get to max. The jump is also a lot quicker in this game.

- Sutte Hakkun: Fav puzzle game by a mile.

- Mega Man X4: Mostly a familiarity thing. X4 is probably the easiest X game, so this is the one I like to just crash through in a random afternoon.

- Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door: I liked the dialogue in this game: translation team did a great job. Forgoing HP upgrades in favor of MP and Equipment points, abusing certain badges, and avoiding damage with well-timed A or B button presses when you've got shit for health is pretty fun.

- Sin & Punishment: The only thing I don't like about this game is the abysmal voice acting. Everything else is great.

- Starfox 64: Childhood fav.

- Smash Bros. Melee: This game is the reason I had to replace my old Gamecube controllers. One of the few fighting games that's actually fun to play single-player.

[iconoclast]

I'll keep editing this post to add more commentary.

Nice list. It definitely makes me want to revisit SMB2, since it has a really good shot at becoming my favorite platformer. Pretty much everything I've played puts most of its focus on exploration, gimmicks, and/or item collection, which I enjoy, but a game that focuses on challenging level design instead should be more engaging. Gimmick! also looks interesting for the same reason.

Also, I'm surprised Battle Circuit isn't on there.

[Ed Oscuro]

Imagine you are on an island and have the women of your life (dat ass, big tits, great legs, fantastic lips etc). If you could bring only ONE game to this place, what would it be?

Twister

To answer the other question, my list would have a lot of not-quite-top-rank stuff for sure. I only recently decided I'd had enough of Morrowind but I'll probably revisit it again someday (I've still never finished *everything* in that game off.) I'd add some Tenchu and Hexen II for sure. "There is more here than usual." A list of 100 games? Well damn. To be quite clear, I think I'm not well suited for the kind of question - I'm less interested in most specific games, and more interested in variety and trying out everything.

[trap15]

WIP:

1) Thunder Dragon 2
2) J.J. Squawkers
3) Panel De Pon
4) Hishouzame
5) Dariusburst Another Chronicle EX? Not sure about this one

Don't know what else D:
Will try to write something about why they're there and the order, but want to be sure I didn't miss anything for #5 first.

[Stevens]

There are some great games in here.

My list -

Under Defeat - Like I even need to put this here. It was the 1st shooter that clicked with me. It has been 18 months and over 160 hours and I'm still at it. Love everything about it even if I still don't understand exactly what to destroy at certain parts for contribution ratio.

Gunstar Heroes - 9/9 is a day of greatness for Sega. Everyone knows the NADC release was on 9/9/99, but the Mega Drive's best Run n' Gun was released on the same day 6 years prior. If you ever had a friend who doubted what Genesis does this was the game you would use to show them Nintendon't:D This one has it all.

MDK 2 - I've played it once a year for 15 years. 3 unique characters, memorable villains (Hello earth, who's your daddy?), FANTASTIC boss fights, a GREAT soundtrack, it controls well, and it is hard as FUCK. I've accepted the fact that I will never kill Zizzy with anyone but the good Dr., he is just too hard with Kurt or Max.

What pulls it all together though is the atmosphere. Kudos to Bioware for creating such a unique alien world. And Dr. Hawkins? Possibly my favorite game character ever. There is a spot on my left leg reserved for him. I don't need luck, I've got science!

Zillion - The NES had Metroid, but if you were the kid with a Master System (and in America we were few) you had this. It was merciless, especially for a 10 year old. No password, no save, and to be honest it would have ruined the tension. The deeper you forged into Norsa's base the more nervous you became knowing that one mistake and 2 hours worth of work was down the tubes.

Also the best 2 minute loop of music ever.

When people ask me what game I want remade Zillion is always the answer. It is ripe for a Metroid style HD remake.

Yie Ar Kung Fu - The granddaddy of the fighting genre. Super fun and easy to pick up. Sure some of Oolong's moves are useless, and I've never actually beat Blues, but it is fun nonetheless.

Nary a month goes by that I don't play it at least once.

[Zaarock]

WIP, 30 games. This is hard. I'll add some descriptions & change order later

01 Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram
02 Vanquish
03 HellSinker
04 God Hand
05 We Love Katamari
06 Border Down
07 Alien Soldier
08 Wip3out SE
09 Valkyrie Profile
10 Ninja Five-O
- amazing platformer centering around grappling hook usage and challenging combat. As I remember bVork putting it, would be considered a classic if it were released back in the 16-bit era instead of as an obscure GBA title.
11 Virtua Fighter 5 FS
12 Ninja Gaiden II
13 Crimzon Clover World Ignition
14 Sin and Punishment
15 Akai Katana Shin
16 Rayforce
17 Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R
18 Sora no Kiseki
19 Okami
20 Senko no Ronde Rev.X
21 Dark Souls
22 Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara
23 Ginga Force
24 Earth Defence Force 4
25 Ikaruga
26 Armed Police Batrider
27 NiGHTS into Dreams...
28 Wolf Fang
29 Policenauts
30 Child of Eden

[BIL]

The last game I'd ditch is Silent Hill 2. ¦3 I am a hyperactive bouncy muhfucka with a perpetually raging nerdboner and its coolly wistful air and sense of quiet aftermath always relax me right down. RUNNER UP THIS POSITION: Akumajou Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight

Second to last would be Ninja Ryukenden. Favourite example of my dearest genre. A short, tricky set course with a pinch of RNG to ensure strange and possibly fucked-up things will happen every time. Far from the apotheosis of its style but again I ultimately game to relax. RUNNER UP THIS POSITION: Metal Slug X.

Imagine you are on an island and have the women of your life (dat ass, big tits, great legs, fantastic lips etc). If you could bring only ONE game to this place, what would it be?

Twister

[KennyMan666]

I started writing a list like this once. It still exists in WIP form, but new games have been released and I have started questioning parts of it.

It was also written so that each spot on the list would contain a series of games, rather than an individual game.

But, summing up an upper layer of it...

- Mushihimesama Futari
- DoDonPachi
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Metroid Prime 1 & 2
- Super Metroid
- LocoRoco 2
- Mega Man 3
- Mega Man X4 & X8
- Umihara Kawase
- Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters
- Wario Ware Twisted!
- Portal
- Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (not actually on my WIP because it has not been updated since I got this game)

[Satan]

1. Ghosts n'Goblins - arcade
2. Green Beret - arcade
3. Knightmare - MSX
4. Penguin Adventure - MSX
5. Ninja Gaiden - Xbox
6. Salamander - arcade
7. Space Harrier - arcade
8. Wonderboy - arcade
9. Manic Miner - MSX
10. Jet Set Willy - MSX
11. God Hand - PS2
12. Chase HQ - arcade
13. Operation Wolf - arcade
14. Contra - arcade
15. Resident Evil 4 - Gamecube
16. Metal Gear Solid 2 - PS2
17. Ninja Gaiden 2 - Xbox 360
18. Demon's Souls - PS3
19. CoD4 Online - Xbox 360
20. Road Fighter - arcade
21. Exciting Hour/Mat Mania - arcade
22. Super Contra - arcade
23. Track and Field - arcade
24. Circus Charlie - arcade
25. Rygar - arcade
26. Flying Shark - arcade
27. Slap Fight - arcade
28. Mushihimesama Futari - Xbox 360
29. Killer 7 - Gamecube
30. Resident Evil REmake - Gamecube

[Tregard]

top 3 (no order)
grim fandango - point and click adventures = my favorite genre. great humor, puzzles, characters, and story. it was actually in my top 3 before the remake even released, but the remake fixed any potential issue I had with the game.

planescape: torment - imo, one of the best stories in gaming. I love the dark-themed humor, characters, and environments.

Good shouts my man, both of those would grace my top 5. Grim was the first game that came to mind when I saw this thread.

My favourite part of any game though is Blood Island in Monkey Island 3. So evocative! The twilight skies, darkening with the threat of a storm on the horizon, thunder sounding out at sea. The dancing of fireflies between the palms. The eerie whistle of the wind through the smashed panes of the lighthouse. The bats roosting in the cemetery, with Mort the gravedigger holed up in his little shack. The glow of the tiki lanterns strung outside the Goodsoup Family Hotel. I used to have a saved game that I would load just so I could listen to Griswold Goodsoup's wonderfully-voiced tales of "The guest who never left" and "The Flying Welshman".

[Obscura]

Doom II.

Yes, it's true, The Plutonia Experiment has the best level design of the IWADs. But, mods have taken Doom a lot further than Id themselves ever did. And when it comes to mod support, Doom II is where it's at. Deus Vult II, Hell Ground, Scythe, Scythe II, Combat Shock 2, Vanguard, Lunatic, Going Down, and Alien Vendetta all make the official levels look rather weak by comparison.

[emphatic]

__-- #1. Rygar (Arcade) --__ Once you understand the controls (fight or flight), the scoring (kill lotsa stuff) and learn how to get secret bonuses, it's just the essence of arcade gaming.

[JBC]

Just picking ten.

Desert Island discs/carts/cabs/apps/etc:

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor
Castlevania (NES)
Crisis Zone (PS2)
Shinobi (PS2)
Demon's Souls
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
Infinity Blade II (iPad Air)
Gaplus (arcade)
Raiden DX (arcade)
Resident Evil 2 (PSX)

[broken harbour]

I'm not even sure I could bring it down to 100 games, but my ever-changing top ten list in no particular order...

Mass Effect Series (This counts as 1 game right?)
Duke Nukem 3D
Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold
Portal 2
Half Life 1 & 2
Final Fantasy 7
Fallout 3 / New Vegas
Yoshi's Island
Super Metroid / Metroid Prime (I'm torn between these two, love em equally but for different reasons)
Mario Kart 64

*Note, this list changes daily

**Wow, not a single shmup listed, weird, but not be in a shmup mood lately.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I'll keep editing this post to add more commentary.

Nice list. It definitely makes me want to revisit SMB2, since it has a really good shot at becoming my favorite platformer. Pretty much everything I've played puts most of its focus on exploration, gimmicks, and/or item collection, which I enjoy, but a game that focuses on challenging level design instead should be more engaging. Gimmick! also looks interesting for the same reason.

Also, I'm surprised Battle Circuit isn't on there.

Agreed on that. Gimmick is something I'm interested in too; I'll certainly play it someday (along with some of Sunsoft's other NES titles)

Battle Circuit is a fantastic game, but if I were going to put a beat-em-up in that 5/5 bracket, it'd be Alien vs. Predator. Admittedly - if I were better at that game I'm sure I would put it up there. I need to practice more.

Going off your lists, I still really need to play Ninja Gaiden II, Bloodborne, and (to a slightly lesser extent) Mushihimesama Futari. The Evil Within, Dead Rising, Contra: Shattered Soldier, and Strider 2 really interest me too. I don't really have the systems for most of those games at the moment though, but someday I'll grab them.

Doom II.

Yes, it's true, The Plutonia Experiment has the best level design of the IWADs. But, mods have taken Doom a lot further than Id themselves ever did. And when it comes to mod support, Doom II is where it's at. Deus Vult II, Hell Ground, Scythe, Scythe II, Combat Shock 2, Vanguard, Lunatic, Going Down, and Alien Vendetta all make the official levels look rather weak by comparison.

I actually agree on this, and I meant to mention this in my post but forgot. I'd definitely rank some fanmade Doom 2 wads over even Plutonia Experiment (particularly the fantastic Back to Saturn X: Episode 1). I just didn't want to include unofficial things in my list, even if there's functionally no difference between something like BTSX and Plutonia.

[juonryu2nd]

1. Touhou GoS
2. Suguri
3. Sora
4. Demon's Souls
5. Stronghold + Crusader
6. Settlers 2
7. Lufia 3
8. Kamui
9. Touhou StB
10. Prince of Persia (DOS)

[Ruldra]

4. Penguin Adventure - MSX

Nice pick! Best MSX game right there. Tried really hard to make it to the end, but the second half of the game is brutal.

[Some-Mist]

top 3 (no order)
grim fandango - point and click adventures = my favorite genre. great humor, puzzles, characters, and story. it was actually in my top 3 before the remake even released, but the remake fixed any potential issue I had with the game.

planescape: torment - imo, one of the best stories in gaming. I love the dark-themed humor, characters, and environments.

Good shouts my man, both of those would grace my top 5. Grim was the first game that came to mind when I saw this thread.

My favourite part of any game though is Blood Island in Monkey Island 3. So evocative! The twilight skies, darkening with the threat of a storm on the horizon, thunder sounding out at sea. The dancing of fireflies between the palms. The eerie whistle of the wind through the smashed panes of the lighthouse. The bats roosting in the cemetery, with Mort the gravedigger holed up in his little shack. The glow of the tiki lanterns strung outside the Goodsoup Family Hotel. I used to have a saved game that I would load just so I could listen to Griswold Goodsoup's wonderfully-voiced tales of "The guest who never left" and "The Flying Welshman".

great taste!

admittedly never played monkey 3, as I got stuck on monkey 2 and quit the series I think it's honestly twice as hard as the first game (the only one I've beat). I still own both 2 and 3, and I should probably get back at monkey 2 since your description is really making me want to play the series again.

did ya get to check out broken age yet? it's not too bad of an effort for a modern take on the old school point and click adventure genre. there's some pretty badass voice actors in it too like pendleton ward and elijah wood

[Obscura]

I actually agree on this, and I meant to mention this in my post but forgot. I'd definitely rank some fanmade Doom 2 wads over even Plutonia Experiment (particularly the fantastic Back to Saturn X: Episode 1). I just didn't want to include unofficial things in my list, even if there's functionally no difference between something like BTSX and Plutonia.

I actually couldn't get into BtSX, aside from "The Colossus Crawls West" from E1 and "Fireking Says no Cheating" from E2. It always seems like those wads have so much filler and so few fights worth actually having.

If you're into Doom wads, you should go play my 1-map wad that I released last year, Impure Offering. It plays in the map 20 slot, and requires you to load cc4-tex.wad with it. It's built for prboom-plus -complevel 9 (and also works 100% in Boom 2.02 -- yes, I actually tested this). Don't try it with other ports; Zandronum and certain other ZDoom variants, in particular, don't model Boom's stairbuilder effect accurately, so certain things won't work. Also, don't try using gameplay mods; it's balance is *very* tight, and you'll probably break the DeHacked work anyways. REAL MEN play without using saves, and on UV difficulty

[BrianC]

Off the top of my head:
Jr. Pac-Man
Outrun
Mappy
Crystal Castles
Space Harrier
Fantasy Zone
Zanac
Gradius Gaiden
Donkey Kong Arcade and Atari 800
Donkey Kong Game & Watch
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Land
Super Punch Out SNES
Maniac Mansion DoTT
Ninja Gaiden
Castlevania
Legend of Zelda
Bubble Bobble
Motocross Maniacs
Mario's Cement Factory (not the version in Game and Watch Gallery 4)
Berzerk
Frenzy
Puyo Puyo Tsuu
various versions of Tetris
Daytona
Virtua Racing
Sega Super GT/Gale Racer
Devil May Cry
Super Smash Bros Melee
Naxat/Compile Crush series
Kirby's Dreamland
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby Super Star
Revenge of the Gator
Streets of Rage 2
Sonic 1-3 Genesis
Rocket Knight Adventures
Contra III
Arkanoid
Panel de Pon/Tetris Attack/whatever else it's called
and probably a few others

[Satan]

4. Penguin Adventure - MSX

Nice pick! Best MSX game right there. Tried really hard to make it to the end, but the second half of the game is brutal.

Was definitely torn choosing between Penguin Adventure and Knightmare for top MSX game. I just went with the fact I played Knightmare more when I was a kid.

[copy-paster]

There's too many my favorite games to wrote, but this is list of my favorite video game franchises :

Ninja Gaiden NES
Contra
Castlevania ( some games are worst for me like Haunted Castle, CV legends )
Gradius
DonPachi / DoDonPachi
Mega Man Classic
Mega Man X ( same as CV, X7 and X6 was biggest letdown in the series )
Mega Man Zero ( if X series has X6, Zero series has Z4 )
Metroid
Every SMB games for NES-SNES era
Strikers 1945
Devil May Cry
Resident Evil
every Lego games ( Lego Batman, Star Wars, etc )
Darius ( except Darius on Amiga port )
and many more games.........