I do believe this was my first Zelda game, and, not that I need to say it, one of the best adventure games of all time. I hadn't played a game before that allowed this level of freedom of exploration. It was very refreshing to just wander around, maybe seek out a mini-game or two, and see what new places and treasures could be reached with the latest acquisition from a dungeon. Just being given almost free reign from near the very beginning was a very refreshing change of pace. And it was a surprising bit of realism when certain random villagers recognize that, yes, Link is a wanted man, and actually call the guard. Not that it does any good, since that's guard: singular, but still a nice touch. With Mario games as one of my primary background sources when I picked this up, it seemed pretty mind-blowing to actually rescue Zelda in the first act. Sure, she didn't really stay rescued long, but it was a nice subversion while it lasted. Also satisfying for my Mario past was finding that, while Link's princess was usually in another castle, at least there was a chick waiting for him. And a chick armed with exposition, no less. Unless I'm mistaken, this game has the most dungeons of any other Zelda title: 3 plus Hyrule Castle in the Light World, then 7 plus Ganon's Tower in the Dark World made for a whopping 12 in all. There were some pretty clever puzzles and bits of problem solving, too, and not just for leaping between Dark and Light Worlds. I still remember bombing a path for the sunlight on every floor of Blind's hideout, based only on a brief chat I had with a very ugly NPC earlier, before finally revealing that the mysterious girl you find is the eponymous bandit in disguise. He made for a pretty crazy boss fight, too. Much like several others, including both giant eye boss fights, the second Agahnim bout, the battle with Trinexx, and, of course, the final battle with Ganon.
And all those gadgets were a hell of a lot of fun to just play around with. Throwing out the Quake medallion to turn everything land-based into... some creepy-looking, squishy vegetable things, following that up with the Ether member of the set to solidify them in all their ridiculous glory, before humming 'Maxwell Edison's Silver Hammer' and just going to town on them to replenish the spent magic is a fond gaming memory I'll treasure forever.
14. The Secret of Mana
The Secret of Mana is close to my heart in a way few others have managed. This was my first RPG. Since I'd played adventure and action games almost exclusively before, and was picky about damn near everything back then, it was probably for the best this more action-based RPG introduced me to the genre. Not that it really needed this; I was guaranteed to play this one to the end, and to be hooked on RPGs forever after, within an hour of play. Maybe I got too much sadistic pleasure out of bashing those helpless Rabites, after watching their ridiculous attack techniques, and taking their candy (I don't think I actually thought about random drops until years after this), or how I thought it was just so awesome to spontaneously develop a new charge-up technique from doing so, or the satisfaction of showing up that worthless sack of crap, Elliot. But what really sealed the deal was the cutscene that followed: the kid gets banished, gets offered a paltry 50 G for the road, and the sad music cues up as the elder informs him his mother left him in the village as a baby, and then disappeared. With my current outlook, that's none too original a plot development; it is, in fact, remarkably garden variety. But, in the short time I'd been playing, I apparently connected with the kid in a way I hadn't with any other video game, book, or movie character, so I felt really terrible for all the crap that was dumped on him in such rapid succession. That was the only time a video game, or any other piece of media, ever made me cry.
That little emotional mile stone did a bit for it, but the game also had quite an amount more going for it. It was rather a pretty game for its time, and the music always fit the situation, a few of them even finding their way into my regular humming rotation. The upgrading-abilities-through-use thing was a nice idea, and certainly better executed in than Final Fantasy II, though it was a little frustrating that normal gameplay would probably never max out any elementals. And it was cool to keep and improve the same set of weapons throughout the game, even if a few were useless. Again, as my first RPG, the plot didn't blow me away, but a lot of what seems conventional today struck me as interesting and satisfied me, and it's still great nostalgia fodder. Further, seeing the villain actually win by raising the Fortress (and changing the flying music) was a bit of a shock, which seems crazy given how common it is today. That taking bonesy out wasn't enough, and that you then had to stop the natural world's attempt to restore balance also seemed like an interesting twist at the time. Perhaps one of my favorite things about the entire game though, was Flammie; airships may be more practical for today's modern casts, but few things seem cooler to me than soaring to the enemy's eyesore of a final dungeon on the back of the last white dragon.
13. Final Fantasy VII
Had I played this sooner than I did, it might well be higher on the list, what with more chances to play it through and the nostalgia factor going for it. But I didn't for quite a few years after it came out because I used to be one of those Nintendo fanboys who somehow thought graphics and plot with gameplay were mutually exclusive. I sometimes wonder how satisfying it would be to go back in time to punch myself for that... This is an incredible game, and any who refuse to play it are doing themselves a disservice. I just think it's a touch overrated, is all. The materia system had an enormous amount of depth, once you really started collecting the stuff, and being able to change the party's abilities at a moment's notice was a very nice feeling. The Limit Breaks were a definite evolution of VI's Desperation Attacks, becoming a serious part of the gameplay instead of a rare occurrence. The final dungeon and secret bosses were also very satisfying, actually giving a chance to feasibly break out some of the late game sidequest rewards. Not Knights of the Round, of course; just keeping it handy and knowing I could massacre everything in the blink of... a lengthy animation was enough to make inbreeding all those damn birds worthwhile. And speaking of lengthy animations, Sephiroth made the final battle by pulling out the single most hilariously over-the-top battle move I have ever seen: Supernova. Twice.
12. Kirby Super Star
Oh, dear God... They took Kirby's Adventure, made it prettier and longer, and upped the versatility and fun factor exponentially! Not that the creampuff's other titles have been bad, but this is without doubt the definitive Kirby game. Giving every power its own moveset instead of just the one attack was a brilliant development, and I'm shocked that it hasn't come up more often in subsequent games. And even with each power's own arsenal, the number of abilities was still massive: Sword, Plasma, Jet, Mirror, Fire, Chef, Hammer, Wing, Ninja, Stone, Fighter... The list had so many eclectic entries I wonder if they just started drawing nouns from a hat at some point. On that note, giving a distinctive cap for each was another nice touch. Even more kudos goes to whoever came up with partner creation. It may seem a mite odd, but in a series where a small pink something eats monsters to wield their powers in his crusade against a penguin monarch or the visiting evil incarnate of the week, spontaneously birthing a combat buddy fits right in. Best of that aspect was the ability for a second player to command the new entity. Such a great time to be had playing through this game with a friend...
11. Super Mario Bros.
Oh, nostalgia... This was the one that made gaming for me and for so many others. I still remember the day my parents gave me this with an NES as a present. My cousins, sister, and I played it so much for so long. We were all pretty terrible at it, but that did nothing to stem our enjoyment. It was all about snagging the iconic mushrooms, fire flower, and star, while enjoying the ride until our lives were all gone, just happy to have gotten a little further that time. I spent so much time on that pursuit that for some years afterward I think I expected to become intimately familiar with the Game Over screen when I put a title in. But that hardly matters if the game's too much fun for those two words to be a bother.
I really don't know what else to add. This game changed the course of gaming, and began my love for the medium. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever actually beat it. Crap. That's one thing I have to correct as soon as humanly possible.
I do believe this was my first Zelda game, and, not that I need to say it, one of the best adventure games of all time. I hadn't played a game before that allowed this level of freedom of exploration. It was very refreshing to just wander around, maybe seek out a mini-game or two, and see what new places and treasures could be reached with the latest acquisition from a dungeon. Just being given almost free reign from near the very beginning was a very refreshing change of pace. And it was a surprising bit of realism when certain random villagers recognize that, yes, Link is a wanted man, and actually call the guard. Not that it does any good, since that's guard: singular, but still a nice touch. With Mario games as one of my primary background sources when I picked this up, it seemed pretty mind-blowing to actually rescue Zelda in the first act. Sure, she didn't really stay rescued long, but it was a nice subversion while it lasted. Also satisfying for my Mario past was finding that, while Link's princess was usually in another castle, at least there was a chick waiting for him. And a chick armed with exposition, no less. Unless I'm mistaken, this game has the most dungeons of any other Zelda title: 3 plus Hyrule Castle in the Light World, then 7 plus Ganon's Tower in the Dark World made for a whopping 12 in all. There were some pretty clever puzzles and bits of problem solving, too, and not just for leaping between Dark and Light Worlds. I still remember bombing a path for the sunlight on every floor of Blind's hideout, based only on a brief chat I had with a very ugly NPC earlier, before finally revealing that the mysterious girl you find is the eponymous bandit in disguise. He made for a pretty crazy boss fight, too. Much like several others, including both giant eye boss fights, the second Agahnim bout, the battle with Trinexx, and, of course, the final battle with Ganon.
Had I played this sooner than I did, it might well be higher on the list, what with more chances to play it through and the nostalgia factor going for it. But I didn't for quite a few years after it came out because I used to be one of those Nintendo fanboys who somehow thought graphics and plot with gameplay were mutually exclusive. I sometimes wonder how satisfying it would be to go back in time to punch myself for that... This is an incredible game, and any who refuse to play it are doing themselves a disservice. I just think it's a touch overrated, is all. The materia system had an enormous amount of depth, once you really started collecting the stuff, and being able to change the party's abilities at a moment's notice was a very nice feeling. The Limit Breaks were a definite evolution of VI's Desperation Attacks, becoming a serious part of the gameplay instead of a rare occurrence. The final dungeon and secret bosses were also very satisfying, actually giving a chance to feasibly break out some of the late game sidequest rewards. Not Knights of the Round, of course; just keeping it handy and knowing I could massacre everything in the blink of... a lengthy animation was enough to make inbreeding all those damn birds worthwhile. And speaking of lengthy animations, Sephiroth made the final battle by pulling out the single most hilariously over-the-top battle move I have ever seen: Supernova. Twice.
Oh, dear God... They took Kirby's Adventure, made it prettier and longer, and upped the versatility and fun factor exponentially! Not that the creampuff's other titles have been bad, but this is without doubt the definitive Kirby game. Giving every power its own moveset instead of just the one attack was a brilliant development, and I'm shocked that it hasn't come up more often in subsequent games. And even with each power's own arsenal, the number of abilities was still massive: Sword, Plasma, Jet, Mirror, Fire, Chef, Hammer, Wing, Ninja, Stone, Fighter... The list had so many eclectic entries I wonder if they just started drawing nouns from a hat at some point. On that note, giving a distinctive cap for each was another nice touch. Even more kudos goes to whoever came up with partner creation. It may seem a mite odd, but in a series where a small pink something eats monsters to wield their powers in his crusade against a penguin monarch or the visiting evil incarnate of the week, spontaneously birthing a combat buddy fits right in. Best of that aspect was the ability for a second player to command the new entity. Such a great time to be had playing through this game with a friend...
Oh, nostalgia... This was the one that made gaming for me and for so many others. I still remember the day my parents gave me this with an NES as a present. My cousins, sister, and I played it so much for so long. We were all pretty terrible at it, but that did nothing to stem our enjoyment. It was all about snagging the iconic mushrooms, fire flower, and star, while enjoying the ride until our lives were all gone, just happy to have gotten a little further that time. I spent so much time on that pursuit that for some years afterward I think I expected to become intimately familiar with the Game Over screen when I put a title in. But that hardly matters if the game's too much fun for those two words to be a bother.