My Top Ten From My Years of Gaming

This is not necessarily in order, and it was hard to pick for sure, but these are my top ten favorite games of all time:

1. Super Mario Brothers 3

Super Mario Brothers was the first game I ever played, and as much as I loved it, Super Mario Brothers 3 takes the top spot as my favorite Mario game. This game has so many unique worlds and power ups, the music is awesome, and it even has options for how to play (Want to use the warp whistles to take out Bowser first, then return to the other levels? Go for it!). Still a fun game to this day.

2. Sonic Gems Collection

I remember playing Sonic for the first time at my cousin’s house when he got a Sega Genesis, and the speed, improved graphics over the original Nintendo, and coolness of Sonic blew me away. I still like Mario, but once I got a Genesis of my own, Sonic took the top spot for favorite gaming character. To this day I am still a fan - even with some of the hit or miss games in the franchise, I have found something to enjoy in all of the Sonic games I have played. I chose the Sonic Gems Collection from the Nintendo Gamecube because Sonic CD and Sonic Triple Trouble are my favorites of the classics, which I didn’t actually get to play back in the 90s.

3. River City Ransom

One of the deepest, best beat em ups of all time. A lengthy adventure with RPG elements, you won’t win this one without powering up. The game is great solo, but playing with a friend makes the game even more fun. Confession: I have only beaten the Dragon Twins by inputting my save game password over and over again to refill my health.

4. Resident Evil 4

The original Resident Evil games on the Playstation made me a fan of survival horror games. I am currently loving 7 and very hyped for the upcoming Village game, but 4 is my franchise favorite for reinvigorating my interest in the series, and making the stress of surviving perilous situations in a game fun.

5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Metal Gear Solid on the original Playstation was the game that proved being an adult gamer was ok. At the time it felt like playing an interactive movie, and David Hayter’s voice performance as Solid Snake blew me away. This was the point of my life when the seeds were planted for me wanting to become a voice actor, a dream I would not fully acknowledge until much later. I have enjoyed all the Metal Gear Solid games (although I have to still finish Portable Ops). My favorite all around entry is the special edition of the third game, which had what I believe was the best story in the franchise.

6. Silent Hill 2

Resident Evil got me into survival horror games, but Silent Hill was the series that disturbed me the most. There’s just something about exploring a cursed town that messes with your head that is appealing to me. The second game in the series had the best plot in my opinion, and to this day all the psychological touches still haunt me. I wish this game would be remade for modern consoles like Resident Evil 2 and 3 were.

7. NHL ’94

I’m not a huge sports fan, and my knowledge of sports is minimal. But when I was a teenager, I enjoyed playing sports games with my Dad on the Sega Genesis. Hockey games were my favorite sports games to play, and hockey was likely the virtual sport I was the best at. I still play some virtual hockey on modern consoles, but NHL ’94 was a happy piece of my childhood, so it takes the spot here on my top ten.

8. Operation Warcade

As a child of the 90s, virtual reality sounded like the coolest thing ever. Now that VR is readily available, I can say it isn’t quite as unreal as I imagined as a child, but it is still a mind blowing, immersive, incredibly fun experience. My favorite Playstation VR games to play are Astro Bot, Operation Warcade, Rez Infinite, and Resident Evil 7 in VR mode. Operation Warcade is not the most impressive of the VR offerings, but it is the one I enjoy playing the most. The game is a rail shooter that plays like a classic arcade game, complete with goofy fun (there is a weapon that pulls enemies towards you, and you can fling them at other enemies). I hope to see VR games in general continue to grow more as the technology develops.

9. Final Fantasy XV

It may not be the best Final Fantasy game, and it definitely has its share of flaws. However, Noctis, Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis are one of my favorite teams I have ever gone on an adventure with. I felt like I went on an amazing journey after completing the game, and the acting from the characters was top notch. I got to meet Ray Chase (Noctis) and Robbie Daymond (Prompto) at the first anime convention I ever attended, and the interactions my family and I had with the actors cemented my desire to be an actor as well.

10. Persona 5

It may be #10 on this list, but Persona 5 is likely my favorite video game of all time. We played this one after a Final Fantasy XV fan group recommended it, and it amazed our whole family. The style, characters, music, story, and palaces are all incredible, and we have had the pleasure of meeting several voice actors from this game as well, including Max Mittleman (Ryuji), Erica Lindbeck (Futaba), Robbie Daymond (Akechi), the Subway Announcer (Ray Chase), and recently we virtually met Cassandra Lee Morris (Morgana) and Cherami Leigh (Makoto) via Colorworld Books. One of my favorite themes of the game is that everything you do in life matters and can improve your skills. The game definitely has disturbing themes and does not pull punches from the start, but it is a must play for anyone that loves games with amazing stories.

I hope you enjoyed my list and reasonings behind it. There are more games I wish I could have added, but at this moment these are my top ten favorite games of all time.