I've been in a list-y mood lately, and I was thinking earlier about all of the games I've bought and then gotten rid of for store credit. I always thought my life would be a bit easier if I could somehow go back in time and give myself top ten lists of favorite games for every console I've ever owned, so here you go.

Please note that these lists are opinion, and should not be observed with any kind of objectivity.

Top Ten Atari 2600 Games:
1. Outlaw
2. Maze Craze
3. Haunted House
4. Flag Capture
5. Pitfall!
6. Dolphin
7. H.E.R.O.
8. Plaque Attack
9. Freeway
10.Laser Blast

Top Ten NES Games:
1. Castlevania III
2. Castlevania II
3. Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
4. Zoda's Revenge: Startropics 2
5. Mega Man 3
6. Magic of Scheherazade
7. Deja Vu
8. G.I. Joe
9. Kirby's Adventure
10.River City Ransom

(Making this list was definitely the hardest, as I could go on and on about Guardian Legend, Xexyz, Double Dragon 2, Goonies 2, Ski or Die, The Bard's Tale, Balloon Fight, Ghoul School, Archon, Deja Vu, Shadowgate, Sweet Home, Mega Man 2, Maniac Mansion, Crystalis, Sweet Home, North & South, Tombs & Treasure, Stanley, Friday the 13th, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Gauntlet 2, and Monopoly. I also considered adding Journey to Silius due to it having the best soundtrack of any game on the NES.)

Top Ten SNES Games:
1. Earthbound
2. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
3. Kirby's Dream Course
4. Super Metroid
5. Mortal Kombat 2
6. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
7. Super Castlevania IV
8. Simcity
9. Lemmings
10.Ultima VI: The False Prophet

Top Ten Sega Genesis Games:
1. Streets of Rage 2
2. Streets of Rage 3
3. Phantasy Star IV
4. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
5. Castlevania: Bloodlines
6. Out of This World
7. Clue
8. Gauntlet 4
9. Flicky
10.Light Crusader

Top Ten Game Boy/Game Boy Color Games:
1. Dragon Warrior III
2. Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons (If I have to pick only one, Ages)
3. Pokemon Gold/Silver
4. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
5. Final Fantasy Legend
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Street Fighter Alpha
8. Deja Vu 1&2
9. Heroes of Might and Magic
10.Resident Evil: Gaiden

Top Ten Game Boy Advance Games:
1. Mother 3
2. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
3. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
4. Metroid: Zero Mission
5. Metroid Fusion
6. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
7. Final Fantasy VI
8. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
9. Golden Sun
10.Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World

Top Ten PSone Games:
1. Parasite Eve
2. Resident Evil: Director's Cut - Dualshock Version
3. Resident Evil 3
4. Resident Evil 2: Greatest Hits Version
5. Xenogears
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
9. Martian Gothic
10.One Piece Mansion

Top Ten PS2 Games:
1. Silent Hill 3
2. Silent Hill 2
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance
4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
5. Capcom vs. SNK 2
6. The Sims
7. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
8. Virtua Fighter 4
9. Final Fantasy X
10.Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

(This was the other most difficult list to make; I couldn't go without also mentioning Time Crisis 3, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Bully, Resident Evil 4, Manhunt, Shadow of Destiny, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, We <3 Katamari, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (a.k.a. 3rd Strike), Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, The Suffering, Resident Evil Code: Veronica X, Silent Hill 4, Psi-Ops, Activision Anthology, Devil May Cry, Tekken 5, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, Shadow of the Colossus, Way of the Samurai, and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2)

Top Ten DS Games:
1. The World Ends With You
2. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
4. Chrono Trigger DS
5. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
6. Kirby: Canvas Curse
7. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
8. Aliens: Infestation
9. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
10.Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Top Ten Xbox 360 Games:
1. Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
2. Telltale's The Walking Dead (season 2, if I only get to pick one)
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
5. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
6. Dead Rising 2
7. Dead Space
8. Condemned: Criminal Origins
9. Mirror's Edge
10.Deadly Premonition

Top 10 Assorted PC Games:
1. Doom 1&2 (the first game, if I have to pick one)
2. Hotline Miami
3. The Binding of Isaac
4. Lone Survivor
5. The Cat Lady
7. Downfall
8. To the Moon
9. The Path
10.The Crooked Man

Also, Top Five Games I Should've Just Bought When They Came Out Despite Mediocre/Lukewarm/Bad Reviews:
1. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
2. Splatterhouse (360 version)
3. Fatal Frame
4. Cold Fear
5. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Also, Top Ten Games That I Should've Avoided And Saved My Money, Despite Hype/Good Reviews:
1. Final Fantasy III
2. Siren
3. Any Mortal Kombat game after 4
4. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
5. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
6. Simcity DS
7. Illusion of Gaia
8. God of War
9. Fear Effect
10.Madworld
Honorable Mentions go to Suikoden III, The 7th Saga and Galerians.

I've actually wanted to since it first came out, but I've never seen it anywhere at an affordable price. I could just emulate it though.

jprime wrote:

I think he means the DS remake of the actual III.

That is correct.

I suppose I didn't note this in the original post, but I was hoping others would make lists of their own as well.

sidewaydriver wrote:

I love you right now for including RE: Gaiden. I really like that game for what it is and wish it would end up on the 3DS VC. But as we all know, Nintendo abandoned the 3DS VC like the dicks they are. I also love you for saying you never should have bought Eternal Darkness. That game is trash and for the life of me, I don't understand why everyone goes apeshit about it. If that game had been made for PS2, it would have gone unnoticed and uncared for as it deserves.

I remember not getting it until a couple of years after it came out because all of the reviews were pissing and moaning about how it wasn't a "real survival horror game". I mean yeah, I don't think there's any conceivable way you're going to achieve anything resembling a survival horror game on the game boy color (the god-awful attempted port of the original Resident Evil is a testament to that), but for what it is, RE: Gaiden is a unique and, frankly, largely fun game to play. The battle system is really creative and addicting once you get the hang of it, and the game at least tries to incorporate elements of the console games (like conserving ammo and health items for the balls-hard bosses and running away from zombies). I'm just impressed that they even accomplished what they did.

As for Eternal Darkness, I think my main problem with it is that I had literally every single low-sanity effect spoiled & ruined for me through G4 specials and magazine articles about it, so the mood and atmosphere were kind of ruined for me when I actually played it. That and the fact that the gameplay, boiled down to its core, is pretty repetitive and bland, especially considering other survival horror games released during the same era hold up much more.

Preng wrote:

Throwin' some random questions/comments into the mix: Top Ten Game Boy/Game Boy Color Games: 1. Dragon Warrior III For whatever reason, I think if I had to pick one game that I've restarted/lost interest in more than any other, it would be this guy. Not sure how well this one has aged, but I definitely do have some strong nostalgia for it. Did you ever use the Thief? I don't know how to explain it but they seemed incredibly broken, at least in the early game - mine would always end up with more defense than a Warrior. Also, my friend experienced the "Level 99 Pachisi glitch" which was fucking mind-boggling at the time.

Thieves were EXTREMELY broken - the GBC version had this weird quirk where agility was automatically converted to defense, so naturally thieves had the highest defense. I would always end the game with two sages and a fighter, though - and every character knew spells from every class up to level 20. I remember getting it at Wal-mart when I was seven, and it was honestly my first major RPG. I played it again a year ago and it's more simplistic than I remember, but I definitely still love it the same.

Preng wrote:

2. Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons (If I have to pick only one, Ages) I only owned Seasons, any comments on why you preferred Ages? I was thinking about these games not too long ago, and whether I should replay one or the other.

I've always just kind of thought the story in Ages was more interesting. Not to mention I liked Ages' gimmick better; changing the seasons to see the terrain change slightly was interesting in seasons, but I thought the variations in the map between present and past in Ages were a lot more interesting. I do love Subrosia (I think that's the name, IIRC) in Seasons, though.

Top Ten Game Boy Advance Games:
6. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
A friend and I bought this at the same time and would play it side-by-side on our systems. Good memories overall, though I remember this game being stupid easy. The Strikeback skill works in 80% of situations, and some classes like the Assassin are straight broken. Then again, you were only allowed to hold a limited count of quest items, and I remember being locked out of some quests in my first file since I had thrown them out. I see that its sequel is missing from your DS list, did you ever try that? It's generally more of the same, and the law system isn't as obtrusive.[/quote]
Huh, I never actually used Strikeback because of how much I could never get it to work against abilities. I'll have to try that again sometime. And yeah, the game isn't exactly challenging, but grinding up for abilities is always a fun way for me to kill time. My girlfriend has A2, which she loves, but I haven't had the chance to play it yet.

Preng wrote:

8. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones A solid game, though I thought Fire Emblem (the U.S.'s first release) was better designed and much more challenging. Though that's argument of "straightforward campaign" versus "overworld with free roam battles" which I've already rambled about in the past.

I know a lot of people prefer the first one, but I definitely prefer Sacred Stones. The overworld/free-roaming that a lot of people complain about is actually exactly why I prefer it. I also prefer the wider variety of classes and the upgrade system.

Preng wrote:

9. Golden Sun Played this side-by-side with the same friend. Wonderful graphics and great music, but I don't think I could ever replay this game. The puzzles were interesting at the time - especially because my friend and I were trying to solve them at the same time, so we could combine our brainpower - but they're pretty tame now. Probably more of a fault with growing up than the actual game itself. Still, did anyone ever legitimately get team wiped in this game? Why did Camelot write so many useless Yes/No questions?!

Golden Sun has its flaws (my utter loathing of silent protagonists is well documented, and the first and third games in the series are ridiculously easy, if I remember correctly) but for being another of my first real RPGs, I had to include it. The Lost Age is probably a better game, objectively, but I honestly got bored with the storyline about a third of the way through and never managed to finish it. I will say that more RPGs need to implement class systems like Golden Sun does with its djinn - finally figuring out how to have both a Ninja and a Samurai in the party was a crowning achievement of mine as a kid.

Preng wrote:

Top Ten Xbox 360 Games: 1. Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition Did you try Fallout: New Vegas? It is definitely worth your attention if you have not. Fallout 3 does earn high props, though. I just thought its world was very "black and white" whereas New Vegas forced you through some "grey/no perfect solution" situations.

I haven't tried New Vegas yet, not for lack of interest, but because I know that I won't have time for an open-world game again while I'm still in school (and because my save for Fallout 3 has over 200 hours logged and I still haven't beaten it yet). If I'm being honest, though, one of the reasons I love Fallout 3 so much is because of the setting; an open-world game set in a desert just doesn't really pique my interest (I've put off playing Red Dead Redemption for the same reason).

Preng wrote:

Also, Top Ten Games That I Should've Avoided And Saved My Money, Despite Hype/Good Reviews: 1. Final Fantasy III So, this is the slowest fucking game I've ever desired to play. The loading itself isn't too bad, but the battle transitions and animations are ridiculous. I recall getting really annoyed whenever a temporary fifth member joined, because they usually didn't help very much, and it would just make the battle last longer. I tried to beat this game four separate times and just lost interest, it was just too damned slow. Wasn't there some sort of penalty for switching classes? At least they got rid of that in Final Fantasy V.

God, that game is insufferable. Even though Final Fantasy III technically came out first, Final Fantasy V has the exact same job system as III and is a superior game to III in literally every conceivable way, so I was pretty pissed when Square never ended up porting V to the DS. FFIII also has being a colossal bore going for it, so there's that. That's honestly why I haven't even bothered looking at Bravely Default - I can get over the art style looking exactly the same, but the job system looks exactly the same as FFIII and FFV, and the battle system looks almost exactly like Xenogears, so, well, I'd rather just save my money and play FFV and Xenogears.

jprime wrote:

That's just the DS version, mind you. Ever played the Famicom original?

My vehement hatred of the DS version has prevented any interest I might have in playing the original. Doesn't the original just have four essentially faceless characters anyway? One of my main issues with the DS version is how boring the story is, so I don't think playing the original would help much with that.

HardcoreGamer4Ever wrote:

Since no one else has done it, I'll list my 10 favorite N64 games. This list was off the top of my head, so it could change in the future.. 10. Yoshi's Story 9. Mario Kart 64 8. Diddy Kong Racing 7. Super Smash Bros. 6. Donkey Kong 64 5. Banjo-Kazooie 4. Paper Mario 3. Super Mario 64 2. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 1. The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Sadly I've never owned an N64 so I haven't had the chance to play as much games for it as I would like. However, based on what I've played (my roommate has one), Smash, Quake 2, Doom 64, Mario Kart 64, Paper Mario, Resident Evil 2 and the Battletanx games would most likely be somewhere on my hypothetical list.