Recently I got sucked into a Facebook application where you can make your own top 5 of anything so I gave it a whirl and instead of listing a usual "top 5 games of all time" or "top 5 action games" I gave it some deep thought and decided to go with "Top 5 Games that Got me Addicted" (I know, it's not that exciting after "deep thought.")

1.) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This was offically my first Legend of Zelda game of the series and boy did I get hooked. The vast open world of Hyrule seemed so limitless, getting your horse, Epona, was one of the most rewarding items in the game. Ocarina of Time had me staying up way past bedtime on a school night to even trying to get some precious time in before leaving to school in the morning. I'll never forget that epic battle with Ganon at the end as my palms sweat more than I could ever believe and if someone played a no blinking game with me, I could have probably beaten anyone at that single moment. From that game on I have continued to love the Legend of Zelda series and have played and beaten them all.

2.) Super Mario Bros./ Duck Hunt cartridge. Technically, two games but all in the same cartridge anyway. When I blew the bottom of the cartridge enough and was able to play it in my NES it was fantastic and played for hours on end. This was one of the first games introduced to me in the video game world. I could never get very far with Super Mario when I was a young boy but as I grew and played it more and more I began to perfect it, down to the underground level running at the top and skipping all the enemies. Such a great feeling that was. When I couldn't pass an area in Super Mario I would turn to Duck Hunt. Who could forget that orange obscure prephrial: the Zapper and the hunting dog that would always laugh at you for missing a duck? I despised that dog but I always came back for more.

3.) Battletoads. I don't remember if it was the co-op gameplay that would entice me when I played with my brother for hours on end or the sheer coolness of doing a hard punch in which your toads fist would turn into a hammer slamming down on your foes. It was so long ago I barely remember the plot but being as young as I was I just wanted to smash every opponent that I came across. Where's Battletoads on the Wii Virtual Console? A revamp on the DS maybe? I await anxiously for the day Battletoads arises from the grave.

4.) Chrono Trigger. My first dive into the realm of Role-Playing Games. I've played Final Fantasy games here and there around the time but it was Chrono Trigger that really got me hooked first. What was really enticing was how the battle seemed to keep moving and wasn't always a, "your turn, my turn" battle. Perhaps it was my long love for Battletoads that made me adore the character Frog in the game to keep him in my party even though he was debatable to keep in the party for his rather weak combo strikes with other party members. Excellent soundtrack, multiple endings, (I have called out Chrono Trigger on this before) great characters and intiscing gameplay kept this game in the Super Nintendo cartridgeslot for a long time with no signs of ever pressing the eject button.

5.) Oregon Trail. Oh how I love Oregon and games about historical Oregon and how it was discovered was even better. This is the game that has people asking me whether we still use wagons as a means of travel in Oregon. As much as I like to say it's true; it's not. There is no way I'm going to risk falling off my wagon, breaking my leg and having to rest five days to recover and hope the local Native American population finds me some wild berries. I always remember my whole school would go to the computer lab to play Oregon Trail and would all choose the, "Banker from Boston" so they could start with the most money and buy a lot of Oxen to make it through the game faster to play that final stage floating down the river. To this day I can remember my formula of the supplies I would buy before heading out: 4 Oxen, 20lbs of food, (hunting was a much better means of food) 10 sets of clothing, 2 wagon wheels, 2 wagon axles, 1 wagon tongue (never knew what that was but a spare was always nice) and 99 boxes of ammo. The hunting game was the best. Shoot 10 buffalo on screen but sadly, you could only bring back 100lbs of it. No wonder the buffalo population went down! I had a great time with that game and I wish I could still get my hands on the original, it has to be out there somewhere...