This is it. What you've all been waiting for. The #1. My favorite videogame of all time. I must warn you that this might be a bit surprising.

Let me just refresh your memory with the list so far:

10. Halo: Combat Evolved

9. Golden Sun

8. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

7. Pokemon Gold

6. Guild Wars

5. KOTOR 2

4. Super Smash Bros. Melee

3. Golden Sun: The Lost Age

2. Metroid Prime

1. ???

If you have not read the posts of earlier games on the list, feel free to scroll below and read (only if you want to).

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#1

When asking someone about their all-time favorite game, it's usually a game played during their early childhood. A game that was played when "all was good", and there was little to do but play videogames. A game that brings a nostalgic feeling just thinking about it. I was just like that, after I played Metroid Prime. Prime's atmosphere and unique qualities just dazzled me even years after playing it. It was my favorite for a LONG time. That all changed once I played a game this summer. A game called Chrono Trigger.

Chrono Trigger

It was in this summer that I returned to Gamespot, after a long hiatus. I was surfing around, and I discovered this well-made union called The RPG Temple (join now!). Throughout the union board, there were numerous references and reccomendations for Chrono Trigger, and as I was in desperate need of a good game to play, it felt like the perfect thing.

I was lucky enough that my uncle had the game on the SNES, and since he was completely out of gaming, he sent it to me right away.

The first thing I noticed while turning it on and watching the intro was the main theme music. I am VERY musical. Like, I am NOTHING without music. So when a game has good music, it means a lot to me.

Let me just tell you right now- Chrono Trigger has one of the best soundtracks ever offered on a videogame cartridge or disc. Whether it's sad, cheerful, epic, or mysterious, all songs take you to another place and fill your head with colors (yes, just like a drug).

While delivering a musically perfect game, Square put the same efforts into graphics too. The game is simply beautiful. It has such a unique color palette, using varieties of shades and colors. Even graphically, Trigger can stand up to most DS and GBA games today.

The story develops from a simple "save a princess" quest to a larger, more widspread plot, dealing with various emotional sidestories, and an overall drive to stop a parasitic beast from sapping all DNA from the world.

The gameplay delivers just as well, moving from exploration to battle UNNOTICEABLY. The dungeons are laid out with perfect design, and battles are given at a perfect pace. The active time battle system works well, and special techniques look beautiful. The main attraction of gameplay are the double and triple techs, that use two to three people to deal out massive, overwhelming, and incredible attacks.

I've been noticing this year that Gamespot has been on the easy side. They've lost all their rock hard editors, and they've been giving a lot of these:

10

"Perfect"

As far as I'm concerned, the only game that deserves a perfect score is Chrono Trigger. There are absolutely ZERO faults with this game, and it's the only game I would EVER rate a 10.

I'm so ashamed that I was THIS late to this game. It came out in 1995, and has lived 13 years right under my nose. I always thought it was one of those Japanese RPG's with cheesy stories, so I tried to avoid it. Only now have I played it, and I don't regret playing it ONE BIT.

There is a line that only few games cross. A line that divides "just games" from actual, beautiful, true art. Only a small number of games cross this line, and these timeless games are remembered even decades later.

Chrono Trigger is one of those few games.

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Alright, that wraps it up. My first top ten. Please, if you have any suggestions or comments, write them below.

My next list is going to be a top FIVE on my favorite videogame characters. Before then, there are probably going to be a couple regular posts.

Thanks for reading,

SilverRao

... for an important announcement:

It's my 15th Birthday!

Yay! =D

PLEASE NOTE THAT NUMBERS 2, 3, and 4 are below.

#1 will hopefully be arriving tonight.

Please note that #3 and #4 are below.

#2

Metroid Prime

I was first introduced to Prime at my friend's house. We thought of it then as an impossible game with an impossible first level. Basically, we were so dumb that we couldn't get passed the first boss. Idiots.

Around a year later, that same friend calls me up, telling me that he's close to finishing the game and that it was one of the greatest games he had ever played. Who would've known?

So I buy the game a couple days later (and fortunately, i beat the first level). Being smarter than before, I was able to experience the game to its maximum, and actually understand what was going on.

Metroid Prime is all about atmosphere. Probably one of the most atmospheric games ever created. There is absolutely NO dialogue, and you are forced to hunt and gather information using your scanners. You feel like you're on your own, on a quest to regenerate a dying world.

Prime beautifully converted Metroid to the 3D world. It is BY FAR one of the best looking Gamecube games. Everything is detailed wonderfully, from the shine on Samus' armor, to the reflection of Samus' eyes on her visor.

Additionally, Prime successfully converted the gameplay aspects of Metroid to 3D as well. The 3rd person morph ball is done perfectly, and the use of first person for Samus fits extremely well.

Which is why it's my 2nd favorite game of all time.

#1 (HOPEFULLY) COMES TONIGHT...

Please note that #4 is below this post.

#3

Golden Sun: The Lost Age

My family was hosting a party, and all my friends were over. I saw one of my best friends booting up something on his GBA. It was like something I had never seen before. It was called Golden Sun.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age was my entrance to RPGs. And boy, what an entrance it was.

I just have to put one thing aside: Golden Sun 2 probably has the best graphics seen on the GBA. One of the only games to attempt 3D (in battle) in an old-gen portable console.

The djinn system is one of the best battle systems i've ever seen. Having set djinn on a character increases his or her stats, and using one on an enemy causes massive damage. However, that unsets the djinn, lowering your stats to normal. You are then allowed to use summons to cause more damage and re-set your djinn. Overall, it works really well.

The characters fit very well together: Felix being the quiet one, Jenna being the rash and impacient, Sheba being the curious and confused, and Piers being the wise. The story also brings a significant and nostalgic feature: the addition of the past characters. Later on, Isaac and his party have a meeting with you, realize that what they were doing is wrong, and join you in your epic quest. The story becomes more large-scale and important.

Which is why it's my 3rd favorite game of all time.

#2 (hopefully) comes later today.

Sorry for the delay.

#4

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Melee was one the first games I ever bought. Well, it was at least the first game I bought for the Gamecube, which was my second console.

And what a great start for a console. Melee surpassed the 64 version of Super Smash in every way. More characters, modes, and more of everything really. Everything was enhanced almost to the maximum.

I was saying before that whenever my friends come over, we always play two games. The first is Sonic Adventure Battle 2, and Melee is the second. This game is really irresistable. One of the best party/multiplayer games i've ever played.

My best character was always either Pikachu or Roy, and I would always duke it out with level 9 computers just to test my abilities.

Like I said, with a mind-bending character roster, many modes, and amazing graphics for its time (while so many things are taking place on the screen), this is one of the best multiplayer/fighting games ever.

Which is why it's my 4th favorite game of all time.

#3 (hopefully) comes later today.

Again, VERY sorry for the long delay. I was busy over the weekend, so i'll try to make up for the two I missed.

Anyways, now that we are reaching the top 5, these games are the ones I hold the strongest connection to. The games I love the MOST.

#5

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

I can already predict that a lot of people are going to hate me for this: Instead of choosing the much-loved prequel to this game, I chose the sequel that everyone was disappointed with.

First of all, I don't have KOTOR (the first). I HAVE played some of it, and I DID like it. However, I played all of KOTOR 2, and loved the whole package.

KOTOR 2 in general was way darker than the first. The galaxy itself was on the path to destruction, with the republic dying out, and no Jedi to protect it. You, unfortunately, are the last of the jedi.

You are actually a Jedi Exile, who was cut off from the force after leaning too close to the dark side. The whole game is an epic tale of reconnecting with the force. It gives you a nice sense of redemption.

Like KOTOR, the game offers a surprising variety of force powers, enhancing either speed, power defense, etc. The lightsaber combat is also very flashy and eye-pleasing.

The graphics and gameplay are much of the same, but offers a GREAT touch: Influence. The first KOTOR was already about interacting with characters and changing the game with your decisions, but KOTOR 2 adds to that. Decisions now affect your party's stats and how they respond to you. It was amazing how one little decision could change a whole character storyline.

Which is why it's my 5th favorite game of all time.

4 comes either in 15 mins, or tomorrow (with #3).

#6

Guild Wars: Prophecies

Guild Wars was actually the first PC game I ever played. I have distant memories of how my old, rusty computer didn't meet the system requirements at first. I was so discouraged that I immediately hated the game (without even playing it).

I couldn't play it for a month or so because of this annoyance, but eventually my dad fixed the problem. I finally played the game, and I can tell you one thing for sure: I DID NOT hate the game afterwards.

My first character was an elementalist who was strong in the ways of fire. Walking through the lush fields of Ascalon and other beautiful environments was such an experience. It was like a dream. Like YOU were actually there.

In this huge world, the game makes you feel SO significant, putting you in the center of an epic quest to save the Kingdom of Ascalon, and eventually, the world itself.

And then there's the 8-skill system. There are many skills for each power, but you can only bring 8 of them. Which will you bring? It was all strategy.

I know there's an ongoing war between World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. I don't want to be stuck in the middle of this, but I have to say my part. The price of a game DOES and SHOULD affect its judgement, and Guild Wars is just way less costly. I've played World of Warcraft, and don't get me wrong- it's a great game. It just doesn't stand up against the greatness of Guild Wars.

Besides, Guild Wars looks WAY better.

Which is why it's my 6th favorite game of all time.

5 comes on Friday.

I'm very sorry for the delay, I was just extremely sick yesterday, and couldn't really get to my computer. Anyways, here's #7, one day late.

#7

Pokemon Gold Version

Ahhhh... Pokemon. Pokemon is sort of like a gaming hub. You HAVE to cross it sometime during your gaming adventure. I haven't seen one gamer who hasn't at least played a Pokemon game.

Being a pretty big fan of pokemon, I've purchased quite a lot of them. Based on actual gameplay, they're pretty much all the same game. However, there IS one that manages to sway from the crowd and stand out: and that's Pokemon Gold.

Game Freak seems to be adding more and more pokemon with each game, but I really believe that Gold had the perfect collection of Pokemon. Not too much, and not too little. Additionally, the pokemon still had a unique quality to them, something they seem to be losing in recent games.

Pokemon Gold was a birthday present for me, and the first thing that stood out to me was the use of TWO worlds rather than one. For nostalgic value, Game Freak decided to merge the regions of Johto and Kanto into ONE game. This definitely made it quite nostalgic, but it also made the game WAY longer than the other, puny games in the series.

It was also very pretty for its time.

Gold was one of my first RPGs, and I believe it truly surpassed its family (be it older or younger) in every way.

Which is why it's my 7th favorite game of all time.

6 comes on Wednesday (hopefully).

#8

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

This is one of the most underrated games i've ever played. Gamespot rated it horribly, but the game surely didn't deserve it.

The game itself is my favorite of all Sonic games, both 2d and 3d included. It definitely tramples most 3d Sonics, I can assure you that.

There are several MINOR flaws in the game, such as graphics and camera angle, but its positive points outweigh these flaws by FAR. It has a pretty long campaign with a surprisingly captivating story, and the multiplayer will keep you playing with friends for quite long.

There are 2 games my friends and I play EACH and EVERY time they come over; one of them is Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Not only do we venture through the long and interesting multiplayer levels, but we also spend a large portion of our time rasing Chao.

The Chao-raising system in this game is simply genius. What items you obtain in the game, the characters you use, and other decisions you make all affect how your Chao is brought up. Your Chao can be either heroic, demonic, or neutral, and can compete in contests that test stats and award money.

The depth of this system and the FUN of the racing levels are what keep my friends and I coming back for more.

Which is why Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is my 8th favorite game of all time.

7 comes on Sunday.

#9

Golden Sun

The funny thing about Golden Sun is, I played it after playing its sequel. After loving the living crap out of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, I decided that I HAD to try out its big brother.

Well, to say the least, this game did not disappoint.

I've always loved how Golden Sun was able to break free from the RPG crowd and use "alchemy" rather than the cliched "magic". Alchemy works just as good, and with the game's lush, nice graphics, it LOOKS amazing as well, too.

The story is has you travel around the world on a quest to stop these lighthouses from being lit, but in the end- it makes you wonder who REALLY is the villain and the hero. Complex and satisfying.

The battle system is like any other typical RPG, and again, the graphics are VERY eye-pleasing.

I played this game around 4 or 5 years ago, so I remember sitting on my bed, spending ALL my time looking for better weapons and various Djinn. What a great experience.

Which is why it's my 9th favorite game of all time.

8 comes on Friday.