The final blog. The final four. Are you ready?!?

4. Chrono Trigger

Back in the 90's no developer could compete with Squaresoft. '98-'06 Capcom and 90's Rare came close but no other developer had the flawless track record of Squaresoft. Square compiled a "dream team" for this release which consisted of Yoshinore Kitase, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, and Yasunori Mitsuda. Chrono Trigger went on to become one of the best JRPGs ever. It was very progressive in the design with the ATB battle system and the lack of random battles. The story was also really, really good and had characters you cared about during your time-trotting journey. It's a shame we didn't get a proper sequel and probably never will.

3. The World Ends With You

As lackluster as Square-Enix has been these past few years, it's incredibly hard to ignore the masterpiece that is The World Ends With You. Using the DS touch-screen to its potential Square-Enix created the best and most complex battle system in RPGs ever. An awesome story with awesome characters carries the rest of the game and keeps you playing. Though Neku's character arc is pretty predictable you can't help but care about him and Shiki. Oh, and the soundtrack is something different than traditional JRPGs but it's the most memorable in the past few years blending elements of Hip-Hop, J-Pop, and Electronic into one delightful mix that truly feels like the game was made for this music, not the other way around. Congrats Square, you prove that you still have talented developers on your team that know how to make incredible role-playing games.

2. MOTHER 3

Time for another bold statement! MOTHER 3 is the best RPG ever made, period. It's a shame it was confined to Japan only but there are ways to play it in English. It's surprising to see a Nintendo-developed title have such dark and mature themes but if the Terminator can become governor of California than everything is possible. Brimming with humor, a really cool battle system that makes you combo attacks by pressing A to the beat of the music, an extremely well told and written story. The story of Lucas and how is family broke up is one of the saddest yet heart-felt moments of the past decade. Brilliant writing and storytelling are the high point of the game for sure. It's scary to think a game with such simplistic and childish looking graphics can tell a better story than....well just about every single game ever. There might be a lot of absolutes in this paragraph but I honestly believe what I say when I talk about this game. PLAY IT RIGHT NOW! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Now, before we get to number one, time for a recap of the list:

20. Banjo Kazooie
19. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
18. Pokemon Gold/Silver
17. Sin and Punishment
16. Company of Heroes
15. Okami
14. Sid Meier's Civilization IV
13. WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos
12. Ninja Gaiden Black
11. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
10. Final Fantasy VI
9. Viewtiful Joe
8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
7. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
6. Super Mario Galaxy
5. Bayonetta
4. Chrono Trigger
3. The World Ends With You
2. MOTHER 3

Now, for number 1...

1. Resident Evil 4

If you think MOTHER 3 had a lot of absolutes than holy **** you ain't seen nothing yet! Part of this might be nostalgia but can you blame me? Pretty much everyone that considers Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy VIII as the greatest games ever attribute that to nostalgia. Anyway, Resident Evil 4 is the game that got me to think of gaming as a hobby and not just a way to pass time on rainy days. It's just...wow. To this very day I'm still stunned at what I played. The game is literally perfect, inside and out. There is not a single aspect of this game that I can even nitpick. Resident Evil 4 is god's gift to gaming everyone.

The mish-mash of references and hilarious one-liners by one of the girliest badasses in gaming none other than Leon Kennedy. Chris Redfield needed a partner but not Leon. Hell, Leon even took care of the president's daughter while managing to kick-ass! Resident Evil 4 basically gave birth to a whole new genre and that's the Third Person Shooter. Uncharted, Gears of War, and countless others were influenced by Resident Evil 4's revolutionary design. Sure, it bastardized the stale Resident Evil-styIe of static cameras and awkward controls but who gives a ****? The game was the epitome of badass. Where else can you shoot a zombie monk in the face and then proceed to suplex him? NOWHERE, THAT'S WHERE? Anyway, it was still a pretty scary and tense game at times. Particularly your first encounters with Regenerators and the maze scene in the castle.

The pace never lets up even for a second. The boss-fights are all really unique and the game never feels dull at any given time. It's all thanks to the versatile gameplay and genius game design by none other than Shinji Mikami and the folks at Capcom. Games after Resident Evil 4 incorporated QTE but none of them nailed it as good as this game, not even Bayonetta. It forces you to say on your toes and never drop the controller down, particularly the incredible sequence with Krauser that was all QTEs. Also, once you beat the game you're awarded to so much post-game content and the option to keep playing all with your current equipment!

The game culminates with a huge boss fight with Saddler and you drive off the island on a jet ski while rejecting "over-time" with the president's daughter. Resident Evil 4 is my perfect game and a true cIassic for decades to come.

That's it folks! What do you think of the full list?

Oh snap, getting into the top 5! :shock:

8. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Lets forget the Zelda Cycle for a minute and think about this. Twilight Princess is most well-rounded Zelda game, ever. Not counting the slow opening it also possesses the best pacing in the game. Sure, it has some flaws like an empty over-world, the horrible Twilight Palace dungeon and the fight with Zant. Other than that, it's the closest Zelda games have ever come close to perfection. Most people won't agree with me on this choice but it's okay, they'll realize once Skyward Sword releases.

7. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Prior to 2010 I had never played a Metroid game before. Yeah...let that sink in for a minute. So, when I purchased my Wii I also got the Metroid Prime Trilogy. It's a toss-up between Prime and Echoes but I'm going with Echoes by a sliver. The Metroid Prime games totally changed my perspective on what is possible in a video game and how effortlessly they blend narrative and gameplay. The crushing feeling of being alone in an alien planet adds more tension than any survival horror game can hope to achieve. Cutscenes are kept to an absolute minimum and it adds SO much more to the experience. Take notes Kojima. Satisfying gunplay, intricate level designs, absolutely brilliant styIe and some boss battles that make God of War blush. Oh yeah, and the soundtrack and light/dark elements are something I really love in this game.

6. Super Mario Galaxy

I can't decide between this or the sequel so I'm going to chose the original for the impact. Super Mario Galaxy is another game that I was late on. I never really cared for 3D Mario games. I liked Sunshine but was indifferent to 64. Galaxy has a sprinkle of magic dust in just about anything in the game. It's hard to describe but the level design, tight platforming, and orchestral soundtrack come together to literally create a moving picture book. It's whimsical, it's wonderful, and it makes you feel like a kid again. Super Mario Galaxy is quite possibly the greatest game Nintendo ever made and will ever make.

5. Bayonetta

You want to touch me?! Hey look, another Kamiya game! Simply put, Bayonetta is one of those special games that make me think "Wow, there is no other medium but video games where this would have worked". The gameplay is sublime and seriously king of it's genre. Bayonetta doesn't just fight, she dances around her enemies and make them looks silly. The first cutscene in the cemetery is a testament to this and also one of the best introductions ever in gaming. Bayonetta herself is a hilarious character with a human side at times.There is a ton of content and I admit the game isn't for everyone. If you're a srs bsns gamer that considers Heavy Rain and Metal Gear Solid 4 as the "pinnacle of storytelling" you're not going to like this game. Even an absolute gem like Bayonetta has some rough edges like the difficulty is too easy and I hated the save system. All in all, it's the best game in it's genre by a great deal and if PlatinumGames or Hideki Kamiya are able to top this game then....wow.

One more blog to go! The Final Four!

Oh snap, getting into the top 10 now! :shock:

12. Ninja Gaiden Black

Ninja Gaiden Black is Mr. Miyagi and you're Daniel. This game will kick your ass (repeatedly) until you don't man up and make it your *****. On the surface you really hate the game for putting you through torment and anguish to beat Master Ninja but deep down you know it's devilishly good and would be nowhere near as engrossing without the difficulty. Ninja Gaiden 2 is even harder! The game even insults you and recommends you tone down the difficulty if you suck. Granted the gameplay feels somewhat slower compared to Ninja Gaiden 2 but it's just as deep and strategic. Quite possibly the best action game (or is it?) ever made, period.

11. StarCraft II

I know what you're thinking "buh buh afterburner teh game just came out!1!" yeah it did, which speaks volumes for how good it is. I'm not one for twitch-based gameplay but Blizzard crafted the best Real-Time Strategy game, ever. They took a tried-and-true formula and polished it to perfection. Nothing else needs to be said about this game.

10. Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy might be my favourite video game franchise ever but we go through a lot of love/hate/indifferent phases. Every time I'm blessed with greatness like this game, I'm cursed with trash like Final Fantasy VIII (oh no he di'nt!). VI is without a doubt my favourite game in the franchise and one of the few times I've actually cared about the characters in a game. The story gets too much praise for god knows why and Kefka is bat**** insane with little explanation but the cast truly helps it go above and beyond. Oh, and the gameplay. And the music. And the final boss.

9. Viewtiful Joe

Surprise, surprise, another Hideki Kamiya (could it be the last one?) and Clover game! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Viewtiful Joe is without a doubt, my favourite side-scrolling game EVER. Yes, I said that. Go ahead, name a better side-scroller, I dare you! Wait, what? You can't?! Of course you can't! The styIe of the combat, humor, and Joe himself is more badass than Dante and Ryu Hayabusa put together (yeah Champ, I said it!). It also had hard as nails difficulty and everything in the game oozes cool. The only nitpick I can think of is the boring flying sections and the music wasn't as memorable as I would have liked it but oh well, can't have it all right?

What are your thoughts of the current list so far? :D

Time for round 2! Getting into the mid-teens now.

16. Company of Heroes

Innovation is one of the most overused terms in this industry. Rarely does it mean anything other than a dreadful bore. Company of Heroes is the exact opposite of a bore. It's dreadfully spectacular. Sure, the multiplayer might have that trademark dose of Relic unbalance and it sacrifices depth for accessibility but goodness gracious if the campaign isn't awesome! A lot of epic real-life battles and the mission variety is awesome.

15.Ōkami

I played this game very recently for the first time. When I finish it I can see it pushing into the top 10. Ōkami is a baffling game. One can consider it an "art" game and right off the bat I should hate it with a passion. It might be an art game but that's part of it's charm. It's a beautiful game in every aspect. I prefer it's graphics to almost every title this gen! Being a huge Hideki Kamiya fanboy, I'm punching myself in the face for not playing this earlier. There's not much to say that others haven't said before butŌkami is a cIassic in every way.

14. Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Civilization IV is one of those games that time literally passes by. It could be 8:30pm at one time and next thing you know it's time for school in the morning! It's just fun to mess around with the games and there's so many ways to win that you choose how you can play. It's the perfect game to ease yourself into the Turn-Based Strategy genre. Very accessible but also very deep with multiple difficulty settings and length of games. Can't wait for Civ V!

13. WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos/Frozen Throne

Simply put, WarCraft III and its expansion are one of the best RTS series ever. Blizzard refined an already near-perfect concept into a perfect one with the sequel to WarCraft II. The game also incorporated several RPG aspects which added a layer of depth. Multiplayer was the key selling point for WarCraft III and custom games were all the rage. Everyone and their mother knows about DoTA. Sadly, I don't forsee Blizzard making WarCraft IV anytime soon. World of WarCraft's story already messed up the canon but a man can dream can't he?

That's it for now! A lot of PC games in this one. :o

I have not been blogging at all on this site for some reason. It might be laziness, I don't know. Anyhoo, here are my top 20 favourite games of all-time. A small or big write-up will accompany each game, depending how I'm feeling at the game and if laziness is taking over. :P I don't know how long it'll take to reach number one but I shall try to overcome laziness. Oh, and I limited this to one game per franchise. Here we go!

20. Banjo Kazooie

I might get flamed for this but the vast majority of N64 titles are unplayable to me now. Banjo Kazooie is one of those exceptions. Collect-a-thon platformers aren't really my thing but I love this game. The hilarious innuendo, great cast of characters, kick-ass music, and some tight platforming truly make it a cIassic. There's very few developers that are able to compete against 90's Rare.

19. Sin And Punishment

Heh, another Nintendo 64 game! Treasure are known for creating intense gameplay experiences that test your mind and reflexes. Sin And Punishment might be their best game, well, ever. The controls take some getting used to and the story and dialogue is pretty nonsensical but man, is it fun to play. A lot of crazy stuff happens and the ending is totally insane. You can really see the anime influence in this game.

18. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

If there ever was an argument for video games as art, Yoshi's Island is that argument. It's truly a beautiful game and has a unique crayon artstyIe that catches your eye. Personally, I prefer the graphics of this game to the majority of games released today. It was also really challenging but never unfair due to the amazing gameplay and tight controls of Yoshi. This is without a doubt my favourite 2D Mario title and unless the next 2D Mario game is developed by Jesus Christ, Chuck Norris, and Mario himself I don't see Nintendo being able to top this masterpiece.

17. Pokémon Gold/Silver

If you're not one of the five people who have no idea what Pokémon is, chances are you have played these gems. Pokémon Gold/Silver helped propel the capsule monster fad into a world-wide phenomena that is still making waves all over the industry 15+ years since it started. Gold/Silver is without a doubt the best game in the series. Massive amounts of nostalgia intoxicate gamers today that cause them to dismiss the new games simply because these were so damn amazing and revolutionary. Gold/Silver pioneered a lot of features like the Day/Night cycle and days of the week. Pokémon is known for it's addicting gameplay but for me my favourite aspect of the games are the music. Gold/Silver had cIassic tunes like the battle with Elite Four's Lance and the remixed version of Pallet Town and Lavender Town. Basically, you feel like a kid again when you play these games. They were THAT good in 2000 and still remain ball-bustingly good to this very day.

Here's the first four games! Three more after this! Hope you enjoy reading and stay tuned for the next time I feel like blogging! :D

Right so I was tagged apparently in one of these things so I guess I will do it.

1. Tag at least 10 friends. (I'll tag as many as I want)
2. Anyone tagged has to do the same, because fun pointlessness spreads like a virus.

1. If someone says, "Is this okay?" You say

"Yeah, brah"

2. How would you describe yourself?

Mix of introvert and extrovert? Shut up, I can't think of anything better.

3. What do you like in a guy/girl?

To share some of the same hobbies as me, and nice ASSets.

4. How do you feel today?

Horrible. I've been better

5. What is your life's purpose?

To write a great American novel.

6. What is your motto?

Don't look before you leap.

7. What do your friends think of you?

Something positive, I hope.

8. What do you think of your parents?

Awesome, but have a temper.

9. What do you think about very often?

The future.

10. What is 2 + 2?

+ is equivalent to 6, thus 2(6)(2) is 24.

11. What do you think of your best friend?

I love them.

12. What do you think of the person you like?

Not answering that one.

13. What is your life story?

My life is a weekly episodic cartoon in the New Yorker.

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Journalist for National Geographic.

15. What do you think of when you see the person you like?

Not answering that one either.

16. What will you dance to at your wedding?

Lady Gaga, obv.

17. What will they play at your funeral?

Arthur theme song.


18. What is your hobby/interest?

Music, movies, anime, reading games, going out, traveling, etc.

19. What is your biggest fear?

Lakes and music playing that I don't know where it's coming from (don't ask)

20. What is your biggest secret?

Wouldn't be a secret if I told you now would it?

21. What do you think of your friends?

Non-blood relatives.

22. What will you put as the title?

Quote from Romeo and Juliet.

The people who I tag will be the first comment of this blog.

As some of you may know, Squaresoft which is one part of Square-Enix are my single favourite developer of all-time. They have created some of the greatest games ever made when they were at their peak in the 1990's. I got this idea from following fellow Gamespot member siLVURcross aka BryBry's :oops: various marathons.

It's summer and I have a lot of free time on my hands and due to personal reasons I won't be going to Japan this summer so I thought this is a great way to kill time when I'm at home. For this marathon I will play some of their lesser known games from this time period. Here's the list of games:

- Final Fantasy III (NES) 1990
- Secret of Mana (SNES) 1993
- Alcahest (SNES) 1993
- Live A Live (SNES) 1994
- Front Mission (SNES) 1995
- Seiken Densetsu 3 (SNES) 1995
- Secret of Evermore (SNES) 1995
- Bahamut Lagoon (SNES) 1996
- Rudra no Hihō (SNES) 1996
- Einhander (PSX) 1997
- Brave Fencer Musashi (PSX) 1998
- SaGa Frontier 2 (PSX) 1998
- Threads of Fate (PSX) 1999

Of course this is a lot of games to finish so naturally I won't be able to finish them all but I will play them all. Without further ado, here I go! :D

Now playing: Final Fantasy III

In no order other than when I came up in my head.

1. Lost In Translation by Sofia Copolla (2003)

2. Yi Yi by Edward Yang (2000)

3. In The Mood For Love by Wong Kar-Wai (2001)

4. Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa (1952)

5. Sunset Boulevard by Billy Wilder (1950)

6. High And Low by Akira Kurosawa (1963)

7. To Be Or Not To Be by Ernst Lubitsch (1942)

8. Chungking Express by Wong Kar-Wai (1994)

9. Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa (1950)

10. Hiroshima Mon Amour by Alain Resnais (1959)

11. Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard (1960)

12. Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese (1980)

13. Some Like It Hot by Billy Wilder (1959)

14. Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying And Love The bomb by Stanley Kubrick (1964)

15. Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese (1976)

16. Contempt by Jean-Luc Godard (1963)

17. The 400 Blows by Francois Truffaut (1959)

18. Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick (1975)

19. Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino (2003)

20. Wizard of Oz by Victor Fleming (1939)

What are yours?

Should be getting Dragon Quest IX shortly. Also, pre-ordered Pokemon White on Play-Asia a few days ago. HYPE :D

Yes, school is finally done and I'm heading off to college next year. I say it's time for a gaming binge! I have a pretty big backlog and need to compile a list of games that need to be beaten/completed this summer. The list of games will be in the next blog. :D

Also, I am going to Japan on August 5th-19th. I am so excited for that. :D