Leftwich's Top 100 Games of All Time

[Leftwich]

46

Tomb Raider



Platforms: A lot

Wow, Tomb Raider takes me way back to when I got my Playstation. The first 3D platformer I ever played. No longer considered the best in my book but without it there would have never been an Uncharted, Sly Cooper and many others.



Tomb Raiders gives you control over Lara Croft, a British archeologist always looking for ancient artifacts and adventure. Without spoiling the story too much, Lara is hired by a woman named Jacqueline Natla to collect an ancient artifact that is actually broken up into many pieces. Through double crossing and everything you would expect in an action adventure game, you watch a pretty good story unfold. The best part of the game is the actual gameplay. Lara can walk, run, jump, swim, climb, hang off ledges and pretty much anything you want her to do. At the time all of these actions were revolutionary especially the swimming. You have guns as well but those are mostly used to take down animals and the occasional human. To be perfectly honest the emphasis on Tomb Raider was not killing people and animals. It was on the platforming and solving puzzles. Tomb Raiders did have some easy puzzles as well but sometimes you were stuck with a real noodle scratcher. Other than shooting the occasional enemy and solving some puzzles, collecting treasure and artifacts was another integral part of the game but at some points seemed monotonous. Definitely not a game killer but at some points I just wanted to get the shit and get out. The level design at the time was good. Sure they were pretty linear but at the time they looked great and felt really big. The graphics were great back then but now look very dated but I can’t fault the game for that because this game is almost sixteen years old. All in all a very good game for its time.

Tomb Raider changed the game and although it was featured on both the Saturn and Playstation, it really moved consoles for the Playstation. A revolutionary game back in 1996 and it deserves your attention now, so watch the video below.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyW3-cCdc0Y"]Tomb Raider 1 Speedrun: Caves - YouTube[/ame]

[Leftwich]

45

Gran Turismo 3



Platform: PS2

The first real simulation racer on the Playstation 2 was Gran Turismo 3. Although the car selection was not nearly as robust as Gran Turismo 2 it was still hands down the most beautiful race game I had ever played and pretty deep for an early PS2 release.



Gran Turismo 3 was the third entry in the very iconic Gran Turismo series. Greatly enough this was the first Gran Turismo game to feature formula 1 vehicles. Some gamers may not have been fans for the F-1 cars but I was. They handled exactly as they are supposed to in real life which harkens on the ability of the developers to keep realism at its apex. Another key addition to Gran Turismo 3 was the separation of manufacturers by country. In previous games it was done by who made the car. So instead of me having to know where the car was from so I could compete in Japan only races I could easily sort by country of manufacturer. Might not be as appealing to some gamers but it was to me based on pure ease. Along with tuning and different mechanical things to do to the cars not much was changed in that section but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. One of my favorite things to do in Gran Turismo 3 were the endurance races. Sure they would last a few hours but I would pause in between go eat something come back and play for a little and repeat the process. Sure that sounds boring but winning one of those nets you a lot of credits which fueled my passion to own every car in the game. This may sound kind of OCD but I played the hell out of this game so that I could own every car in the game and after some months later I ended up owning every single car and placing first in every single race. Sure it took me a long time but it was a personal accomplishment of mine. Other than the gameplay, this game was gorgeous. Like I said before the most beautiful game on the PS3 until Gran Turismo 4 came out. Tracks, cars, and even the menu system was freaking beautiful. The look and feel of this game were true accomplishments by the developers at Polyphony

I agree that both of the last two games were short reviews but I had to write them on the fly as opposed to doing them earlier like I did the rest of the list. I promise it will get better and if you’re interested watch the video below to see how good an early PS2 game can look.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vZR7LNJqg8"]Gran Turismo 3 Intro - YouTube[/ame]

[hackett]

Definitely two games worthy of being on anyones list. Played the shit out of both of them.

[Swarley]

Reminds me of how pumped I am for the new Tomb Raider.

[Twigg4075]

At the very least Uncharted 2 better be on this list.

[Leftwich]

44

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening



Platform: Game Boy

Incredible is the perfect adjective for this game. I could probably think of more but there really is nothing else I can think of that better explain the gameplay, story and overall addictiveness of this game. I wanted to put this game higher on my list but to appease the lot of you I only have it at 44.



The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is the first Zelda game to be featured on the Game Boy and the third entry in this very storied franchise. The original version came out in 1993 and a Game Boy Color version came out just five years later. The Game Boy Color version featured updated colors and a new dungeon that takes advantage of the new color system but I will focus on the original. This is the first Zelda game to not take place in the land of Hyrule but instead on Koholint Island. The game is an entire dream although that does give away a lot of the game but you find that out relatively early. Graphically the game is good mix of Legend of Zelda and the SNES version, A Link to The Past. If I based this list on how many hours I’ve put in a game and how many times I’ve played and beaten it this would be number one. As far as I know this is also the first game to feature the Ocarina as well. The gameplay is very similar to the original Zelda and A Link to the Past. This in no way is bad but the way the game should be played. The top down perspective in my opinion is the way I’ll always remember the game. As in all Zelda games the action is based on exploring the world and fighting enemies of varying difficulty. You obtain many weapons that are familiar to the franchise such as a Sword, Shield, Magic Powder, Boomerang, Hook Shot and many more. As in all Zelda games you collect heart containers scattered throughout the world as well as defeating dungeons to gain full heart containers as well. The Dungeons are very well laid out as well. Some at the beginning of the game are small while towards the end they get larger and contain tougher puzzles. This game also featured enemies only in this game such as Goombas and Cheep Cheeps. Yes those were in Mario but somehow found there way into a Zelda game. There are times where there is a side scrolling section but those are far and few between and don’t detract from the flow of the game. I really enjoyed the story as well because it was a far cry from the norm. We are used to fighting Gannon, collecting the triforce and freeing Princess Zelda but in Link’s Awakening you do none of that. You are collecting Instruments to eventually awaken the Wind Fish and prepare for an epic battle. I won’t tell you what you have to go through but just getting to him is half the battle. A very fulfilling adventure to get that far is what you embark upon. As far as sound goes it is what you would expect in a Zelda game. Same classic theme also with new ones. A very good accomplishment with what they had to work with using the Game Boy’s sound.



I could really go on and on about this game but if I did I’d spoil a lot for you. If you’ve never played this game you deserve a punch in the dick. Watch the video below and tell me you wouldn’t be excited over this game.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYlMc638Yq0"]Zelda: Link's Awakening Walkthrough part 1: I dream of Zelda - YouTube[/ame]

[Leftwich]

43

River City Ransom



Platform: NES

Ah, one of my guiltiest pleasures ever on the NES. River City Ransom in my humble opinion is the pinnacle of beat em ups on the NES. A simple, linear storyline and overly simple fighting games would normally be panned by critics and gamers but actually ended up being a very addictive and fun game to spend an hour or two grinding to get to the end.



River City Ransom came out in the spring of 1989 and is still an easily playable game over 20 years later. River City Ransom forces you to assume control of high school students Ryan and Alex on a journey to save River City High School and Cyndi, Ryan’s girlfriend, from thugs and an evil boss named Slick. Although the storyline is linear you don’t have to follow a set track making this one of the first real sandbox action games. The controls are similar to games like Double Dragon, meaning you can move left, right, up and down while kicking, punching and jumping. You can upgrade to better moves by collecting books that teach you different martial arts such as Stone Hands and Dragon Feet. The moves you unlock are pretty damn cool. Also you can pick up items lying around such as brass knuckles, pipes and bats. The game is fairly long but you can beat it in one sitting if you are dedicated. There are numerous gangs, the amount I can’t remember but they are all distinguishable by the colors they wear. As you defeat them all and make it to the end of the game you get your final showdown with Slick but that’s as much as I’m going to say cause any further would spoil the ending. The graphics and sounds are what you would expect from a middle of cycle NES game. They’re not going to blow you away but they aren’t bad enough to turn you away from the game. The game is a lot of fun and It may have multiplayer but I honestly can’t remember because I used to play it by myself. Obviously since it is a lot lower on my list than Double Dragon means that I prefer it to the former. Another cool thing about this game is that there is dialogue on screen almost all the time. Either the thugs will be taunting you or Alex and Ryan will be talking to each other as well as meeting people or saving individuals will reward you with dialogue as well.



River City Ransom is some of the most fun you’ll have on the NES and is an often overlooked game due to the popularity of Double Dragon and other classic beat-em ups. I really prefer this game to all of them and you should at the very least give it a try so watch the video and judge for yourself. By the way does anyone else think of "The Outsiders" when they see the cover of this game?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfwLBk1zvrw"]River City Ransom (NES) - YouTube[/ame]

[Leftwich]

42

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion



Platforms: Xbox 360/ PS3/ PC

Ugh, not looking forward to writing about this game. Not that I don’t like it or anything, it just sucks having to write about a game that is this big. So I’ll write it similar to the way I did Skyrim. A lot of you would say this is one of the greatest games of all time but due to Skyrim and other games it fell greatly on my list. Years ago it probably would have hovered around the top ten but unfortunately it did not this time.



Oblivion was the first iteration of The Elder Scrolls saga to get the next-gen treatment. Just as you would expect there is a main quest that you’re required to play to beat the game but you can complete it at your own leisure. Completing a nice chunk of the side quests is actually beneficial to you before you embark on a good portion of the main storyline. You can acquire better spells, weaponry and armor by completing the quests that aren’t required or pertain to the main quest. Any who, when I first played Oblivion I was in awe of just how big an beautiful the game looked. The land of Cyrodil is absolutely huge and I’m sure all these years later I never actually explored it all. Graphically the setting was amazing for a early entry to the Xbox 360/PS3/PC consoles. It may be a bit dated now but at the time it was really stricken by the depth and beauty of the landscape. Your main character and the NPC’s looked very good as well although due to the fact that the game was so expansive and took up a lot of space on the disks, they had to cut on the graphics on players. Not such a bad thing because the big picture of the whole game was well worth it. As far as the sound goes in this game, I was always impressed by the soundtrack that has a Nordic vibe to it. The clang of a sword hitting armor, an arrow tearing through flesh or the simple sound of a babbling brook were all spot on. Voice acting was kinda generic but I wasn’t really into the game to hear people talk.



Gameplay on one hand was pretty damn good. This was actually my first venture into the Elder Scrolls universe. At first I thought it was weird to be playing a first person Action-RPG but I adapted well after I got a hold of things. As in any game like this you are expected to slay monsters and enemies of multiple races. When you first begin your journey through Cyrodil you have to choose exactly who you are. You can be a Nord, Redguard or many animal-like species. They all have their strengths and weaknesses so you really have to determine what you want to play as based on how you want to play the game. As in all RPG’s the game relies heavily on leveling up your character by using your major skill sets such as One handed combat, destruction magic, Archery etc. This was my first time playing a game with leveling like that and I absolutely loved it. For once I could play a game how I wanted to and not be restricted by how the game wants me to play. The only downside to leveling up was you had to find a bed to sleep in. Fuck that. Another cool thing about the gameplay was the fact that you could play it in first person or third person. I often switched between the two depending on what I was doing. Typically if I was sneaking I went into third person to be completely aware of my surroundings but if I was fighting I popped back into first person. A very well polished game and something that was very fresh and took me a while to get down pat.

I can’t really go into the story without spoiling anything but I also don’t remember it all that well other than the dude at the beginning telling me to “Close Shut the Jaws of Oblivion”. I hated that guy. Check out the video below for more.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXWYWfFqlSw"]The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Trailer - YouTube[/ame]

[Maestro]

Oblivion just might be my favorite game of all time. I logged so many hours on that game.

[Leftwich]

41

Sonic The Hedgehog



Platform: Sega Genesis

Sonic The Hedgehog was the first in a series that put Sega on the map. Sonic will forever be immortalized as a video game icon because of this game. Sonic 2 was reviewed earlier over 50 positions away but the first will always be my favorite in the series.



Sonic’s whole story revolves around him preventing Docton Robotnick from gathering the six Chaos Emeralds scattered through six worlds. If that unthinkable circumstance happens then he will rule the World or at least the world Sonic lives in. You play through six worlds ranging from Green Hill Zone, Casino Nights and the oft hated underwater level. At the beginning of the game you can punch in a code to play any level you want. I often did this to skip that god awful water labyrinth zone. The game is a side scroller which was basically Sega’s answer to Mario. The whole premise of the game is to use Sonic’s super speed to travel haste fully through the levels while collecting rings and killing enemies. As you beat each act you will meet Dr. Robotnik at the end of the zones. He comes at you with some crazy contraption but can easily be beat with patience and timing. All sonic is equipped with is his jumping ability and spin attack. They worked well taking on some enemies but proved useless against spikes, pits and lava. Another goal is to get Chaos Emeralds that are in the special zones. The goal of those zones is to unlock the middle area without falling into the zones labeled “Goal” if you are able to collect enough rings and get the chaos emerald you will win a continue which proves useful later in the game.



As far as Sound and Graphics go they were very vibrant for a Sega game. The palettes were expansive and the background music is memorable. Although no talking is actually done in the game it still moves along smoothly. Sonic looks great speeding through the beautiful environments as well. The difference in looking at Green Hill Zone and Casino Nights Zone is literally night and day.

A game I could honestly say the majority of you guys have played. If you haven’t then there is obviously something wrong with you. Watch the video below and see what you’ve been missing.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqOlpQ7sepE"]Sonic the hedgehog (Sega Genesis) - Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]

[Rudi]

MOAR

[Leftwich]

40

Super Mario RPG



Platform: SNES

This is probably the only game on the SNES that I didn’t play until after the console was essentially dead. Super Mario RPG really surprised me in every way possible and didn’t think initially that a Mario game and an RPG style could ever work in perfect harmony. I was wrong and I am glad I was. Super Mario RPG is a one of a kind game that every Mario gamer should play.



Super Mario RPG was a joint effort between Nintendo and Square. My perfect way of describing this game is a fusion between Mario and Final Fantasy. This is the first Mario game as far as I’m concerned that wasn’t a platformer although it had many platform elements to it. This was also the first Mario game to be in complete 3-D, albeit an isometric 3-D game but a 3-D Mario game nonetheless. You start the game controlling Mario but eventually you will gain a party of five characters such as Bowser, Princess Peach, Geno and Mallow. Mallow looked a lot like Kirby but was a tadpole and Geno looked a lot like Link but was a doll that came to life. All of the characters you acquire during your adventure have special attacks and strengths and weaknesses that can assist you in battle. You aren’t locked into using specific characters as the story progresses but Mario is required at all times, hell it’s his story. The game is turn based so you do have to wait for your turn and what not but in a very cool innovation you can time your button presses correctly to deal out more damage. I, as always, don’t want to ruin the story but I will let you in on a lot of where and what you do in the game. It takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom of course but only at the beginning is Bowser your enemy. A big sword looking dude takes over and causes mass chaos throughout the world and it is up to Mario and his gang to stop him. Super Mario RPG is a fairly long game that will take at least a few days to beat but that’s at the very least. Since it’s a Mario game you know it has a good story. A lot of surprising moments and funny situations are abundant. Graphically the game is superb. Although it was basically at the end of the SNES console life, it is probably the best looking game on the console but debatable if you prefer the style of Donkey Kong Country. The game also has a very good soundtrack. A kind of mash up of the Mario Universe and what you would expect from a typical Square RPG. I like the sound effects as well because they are quirky and really have that old school Mario vibe to them. This is an RPG and isn’t for every Mario fan but it still is one of my favorite RPGs I’ve ever played.



Like I said, Super Mario RPG isn’t for everyone although if you consider yourself an RPG fan or a Mario fan you should at least give it a try. I could go as far as to say this is underrated but it did sell well and got universal praise but when people talk about good Mario game’s, this one is almost always forgotten. Watch the video and judge for yourself.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiJ9eZt1YA0&feature=fvst"]Super Mario RPG Part 3: See Ya Later Gator - YouTube[/ame]

[wingsfan77]

Twigg's gonna lose his shit when he reads that.

[G-men]

That's one of the few Mario games I don't think I've ever played. I was a huge Mario fanboy growing up, but that game outdates me.

[SethMode]

Don't know if the "since it's a Mario game you know the story will be great" part was sarcasm or what, but either way: I fucking love this game. One of those that makes me remember how talented Nintendo is when they try to do something new even with old characters. Can't decide if I liked this or Paper Mario better, but both are classics, very, very funny, and have exceptional gameplay.