To celebrate our 10 year anniversary I think it's only fair that we do the exact same thing every video game magazine did whenever they reached a milestone... create a top 100 list. So that's what I'm going to do. I've spent the last couple weeks thinking this over and I have a list in front of me that I'm pretty happy with. No one else on earth will be happy with it, but as I always say, "fuck off it's my list and I don't give two shits what you think you little pissant." At least I think I say that.
Also, if you recall I did do a top 28 list a while back. However, that was 5 years ago and many great games have come out since, so even that top 28 has some changes in it. There's a few new games, a few games my opinions have changed on, and there was one really great one that I completely overlooked somehow when I made the list the first time. So rest assured there will be some very noticeable changes.
And it's going to go by fast. Since I've got that new job starting in just over a week, my free time may be reduced, so I'm going to try to get all 100 games posted within the next two weeks. I need to sharpen up my writing since this is a PR job so it's good practice. Writing about insurance benefits and filing medical claims is just like video games right?
100Sonic Adventure
99Kaboom
98Conquests of the Longbow
97Streets of Rage 2
96Lollipop Chainsaw
95Bloodborne
94 Crazy Taxi
93Bit.Trip.Beat
92Wii Ski & Snowboard
91RiverCity Ransom
90Dragon Quest Monsters
89Jones in the Fastlane
88Dark Cloud 2
87Professor Layton and the Curious Village
86MadWorld
85Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
84Torneko the Last Hope
83Crystal Castles
82Space Harrier
81Retro Game Challenge
80Final Fantasy VII
79Bulletstorm
78Rayman Legends
77Super Dodge Ball
76World of Goo
75The Magic of Scherazade
74Minecraft
73Fantasy Zone 2
72Golden Axe: Revege of Death Adder
71Final Fantasy Legend II
70Hotel Dusk
69Splatoon
68Pitfall
67Dragon Quest V
66SteamWorld Dig
65Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
64Order Up
63Hearthstone
62Monkey Island II: LeChuck's Revenge
61Bayonetta
60Galaga
59 Earthbound
58Super Mario Bros.
57Wii Sports Resort
56Pac-Man CE: DX
55Trauma Team
#63. Hearthstone
Ohhhhhh Hearthstone...I wish I could quit you. For about three years, Hearthstone has been one of my favorite and least favorite games of all time. It's a great evolution on the traditional card game, and has been a source of good fun and great frustration. At times I've been near the legendary rank of players and at others I'm right with the newbs who just opened their starter packs. It's constantly updated with new cards, and each year older decks are retired in order to keep strategies somewhat fresh. It's pretty friendly to new users as well. You're not going to make it to the legendary ranks overnight, but if you put in enough time and play smart, you'll be competitive.
One of the coolest things about it is the in-game lore. It started out as a direct spin-off of Worlds of Warcraft, but over time it actually forged its own storylines separate from the main game with its own characters and scenarios. It's little extra touches like that this have really elevated this beyond the point of other card games out there.
#62. Monkey Island II: LeChuck's Revenge
The adventures of Guybrush Threepword continue and they were never better or funnier than in LeChuck's Revenge. The second game in the Monkey Island series addressed most of the issues the first game had, and then kept the quality of the puzzles and sense of humor the same, and created one of the all-time great PC Adventure games. This game was basically Pirates of the Carribean the video game (before those movies started to suck ass), about 20 years before anyone thought of turning a ride into a movie. Despite all it's goofieness, the actually has a pretty impressive story, of Guybrush looking for the treasure of Big Whoop, while trying not to be killed by the zombie pirate (who was previously a ghost pirate) LeChuck. The ending was straight up bizarre with one of the weirdest 4th wall breaking moments I've ever come across, but it matched the game's tone. I could go on and on about the story in fact, but here's the ultimate sign of how in-love I was with it.... in highschool and college, I tried to take the game's story and write an adapated screenplay for it because I was so sure it could be a hit movie. Sure enough... 15 years later Pirates of the Carribean comes out. Who would have thought....
I've never played most of these games you're listing, but I am enjoying the ride.
#61. Bayonetta
Hardcore Bayonetta fans will praise the game's controls and battle system....I assume they do. That's what I keep reading on message boards. And indeed it's pretty cool. However, as someone with virtually no skill at these kinds of intense action games, I really couldn't be bothered too much with them, though I do try to pull off whatever combos I can. For me Bayonetta was all about it's bizarre beautiful style. The character, the angels, the settings, the music, and the batshit crazy breakneck speed it was all delivered in. The game seems like it was created after Kamiya took a shitload of ecstasy and then started playing Devil May Cry while listening to someone read The Inferno with some piano music playing in the background. Oh, all that except he wanted a female lead. Even with my lack of skill I still found this to be one of the best gaming experiences I had a in a while. IT's an adventure that everyone needs to experience.
Anything else that you liked?
I was really disappointed by Monkey Island 2. Everything felt like those making it had lost interest in the characters, the concept and the setting. Particularly the ending.
But I will say the ending has some novelty value now that Pirates of the Caribbean films exist.
Ehhhh not really. I liked her character design, but I've never been at a point where I've been hot and bothered by a video game character.
Really? Huh, I thought most people thought pretty highly of the second one. I guess I can see your point, but I will admit that I prefer Guybrush's more douchenozzle characterization over the eager beaver one.
#60. Galaga
There's really not a ton that can be said about Galaga. You're a space ship and you shoot aliens. And if you're not doing it quickly enough you're dead. That's pretty much all there is to it, but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the most addicting games ever made. It took the "simple but addictive" gameplay theory, but really elevated it with a surprising amount of strategy. That made it fun for me when I was a kid, and keeps it fun for me today. In fact, I probably like it more today than when it originally came out 35 years ago. I will happily spend a half hour trying to beat my high scores, and if I'm at an arcade that has one I won't rest until I've set a high score there... unless of course it's a super high score than then I'll say fuck it and move onto something else.
They do, I don't.