Duke Nukem 3D is a parody, isn't it?

Doom not in the top 10 is a travesty!

16. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

This is my list, my favorites. I know that while Sonic games are great they arent usually this high on any greatest list, but again my list. In my gaming history few games captured my love like Sonic 2. Its a game I can play at any time and feel completely at peace. Its a game I can finish in like an hour because I know it so well. If I ever need a short fix of happiness and joy, Sonic 2 is there for me. It is the best Sonic game, its pure in a way that Sonic 3 sort of lost, the levels are super fast paced, the game still that pefect balance of speed and learning routes. It has the best and most memorable collection of levels, the best music, and the pacing is impecable. It introduced the spin dash which is the equinticential sonic ability, a way to create momentum from nothing to keep Sonic moving. Tails makes his first appearance expanding the Sonic universe into one that will have a bevy of characters and personality. With Tails came a sort of coop and a small 2P mode that while basic was a fun way to play with your friend or in my case my sister. The first time Super Sonic makes an appearance giving us great incentive to get all chaos emeralds which are earned in the best mini game, the half pipe. Sonic 2 is one of those sequels, the one that expands on the first in every way.

Sonic 2 came out in 1992 to a huge promotional campaign that littered the airways with commericals to promote the big release date. I recived Sonic 2 on christmas of that year, Sonic 1 had become an all time favorite of mine and made me a Sega fanboy. Sonic 2 was the Genesis biggest weapon against the Nintendo, never had I been more hyped so it was the top of my christmas list. Good old Santa delivered me Sonic 2 with a t-shirt of Sonic 2, I was ecstatic. I had a poster of the giant 2 in my room, I had Sonic clothes, sonic pajamas, all the EGMs with sonic coverage. From the moment I put in that cart I was in love; that Emerald Hill music would come on and I was off and running. The speed was so noticable, Sonic 2 made Sonic 1 feel slow, the levels would just fly by but they were still filled with many paths and secrets. Then came chemical plant zone and its winding ramps and pipes, level design unhear of at the time. I remember being blown away when I went so fast down a slope that sonic flew off the screen, the game couldnbt keep up. The danger was always there though, slip up once and down you go into the slower water parts of the level. The trick is to stay high and stay fast, thats what I loved so much about it, mastering it took lots of repetition and training.

I love most all the levels, I cant even think of one I don't like. The joys of getting into a sonic slot machine in Casino night zone, the great colors and music of Hill Top zone. The great look and obstacles of Oil ocean. I guess mystic cave I have issues with, thats about it. I love the ramp up toward the end, getting a 3 act metropolis zone that really tests your sonic skills. Then taking flight in what maybe a gimmick level with the airplane but still at that time it felt like an epic adventure. All leading up to Sonic flying into space to do battle with the giant death egg robot, a perfect ending to an incredible game. As I mentioned before tails allowed for some 2P action. Sometimes my little sister would want to play so I let her be tails, a character that had no real bearing on the action as tails cant die nor advance the screen, but hey he was still super cool, he has two tails! I did greatly enjoy playing with my sister even if I was mean and always took the lead, she never complained cause she wasn't as good as me, though she did get good at those two player levels. It's one of those games that are a building block of your childhood, something that transports me right back to a great time. Sonic 2 has everything that made for a great 16bit platformer, its easily my favorite Genesis game and still my all time favorite Sonic game.

15. Super Metroid

There was an EGM top 100 greatest games of all time back at the turn of the millenium and the number 1 game was Super Metroid. That peaked my interest  greatly as Metroid was always that weird NES game to me. I never owned it but I borrowed or rented it quite a bit because I did play it but its bland repetitive environments and how its impossible to know where to go did not hold my interesting like Zelda. I didn't have an SNES so Super Metroid was off my radar. Really the first time I played a Super Metroid like game was SOTN which blew my mind. So when I got into emulators I wanted to play a lot of classics I missed on the SNES and Super Metroid was at the top of that list. I remember sitting in the PC room, late nights playing Super Metroid and being in complete awe of what a masterpiece this was. It was then that I understood why it was ranked the best in that issue and why its one of the most influential games of all time.

What makes Super Metroid so special is how the game slowly opens in ways where you feel you are exploring but for the most part it keeps you in tracks until certain points of the game where it lets you make choices on how to proceed. All the game logic is presented in such a way that the game teaches you by example like the small animals that tech you advance techniques or smart traps that have you learn a new skill to get through the room. It's paced impecably, its a non stop ride of greatness, detailed engrossing environment one after another. A new skill just at the right moment that opens up all those possibilties that you made a mental note on to return to. A game that is simply a joy to play because of how smooth Samus controlls and how fast paced the combat can be. The boss battles, wow, gigantic screen filling battles, epic sequences that were top of the line for 16-bit. And then there is the music, just iconic track after iconic track.

In terms of sheer replabiility few games are as perfect to replay as Super Metroid. I find it far easier to replay than say SOTN, if I ever feel like I am in a rut with gaming I can start up Super Metroid and have a blast for 6 hours. It's all so memorable, I remember getting the screw attack and feeling that freedom to explore the surface and fly sky high. Entering a derelic space craft with freaking ghosts. There was one part that did drive me mad, it drove many mad, the glass tube, come on now. It is a near perfectly designed game when you first play it and it may feel even more perfect when you see sequence breaks and how this game practically started a whole style of game. This is easily one of the best 16-bit games ever made.

I had just gotten out of high school and went on a trip with some friends.  I picked up the new Stone Temple Pilots album and this game when I got back.  My family was gone for a week, so it was me playing STP while experiencing this game with no interruptions .  Yeah, I remember that time too well. Super Metroid was amazing, one of the best 2D experiences ever.

travo said:

As for Sonic, I was the opposite of Vader, a Nintendo fanboy.  I never ever played a Genesis game until the Virtual Console.