[SHELVED] Made it through about six hours of wandering, kicking, and mindless combat before deciding there were better uses of my time.
*Played via PCSX2 emulation.
Original rank: #88
Log date and number: March 19, 2023 (013)
Supplementary video: G4/X-Play's wildly inaccurate but amusing review from 2005 (3 mins)

Like hoovering dust bunnies in a musty closet.
Original rank: #12
Log date and number: January 26, 2024 (034)
Supplementary video: Luck Stat documentary on the cancelled third Fallout game from Black Isle Studios (32 mins)

[SHELVED] Eerily difficult to put down, or find jubliation in.
*Completed story missions from base game and The Dark Below expansion.
Original rank: #81
Log date and number: July 1, 2023 (020)
Supplementary video: Lance Reddick's reply to xMechanizex on Twitter (2 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Tedious, but I'd love to try the Numenera TTRPG.
Original rank: #100
Log date and number: April 9, 2022 (001)
Supplementary video: Infinite Construct (Claire Jackson) intro to the Numenera TTRPG (20 mins)

[SHELVED] Less of the historical value of Pool of Radiance, but not without some VGA-assisted charm.
*Played via ScummVM emulation.
Original rank: #85
Log date and number: May 13, 2023 (017)
Supplementary video: Retrohistories (Chris Chapman) retrospective of the M&M series (14 mins)

The first dungeon-crawler I've enjoyed since Diablo 1, and hopefully not the last.
*Considered "finished" as per story content available when original list was published (Acts 1-4), plus Lord's Labyrinth content from patch 2.2.
Original rank: #67
Log date and number: June 23, 2023 (019)
Supplementary video: Producer Chris Wilson's GDC talk on designing POE's replayability (60 mins)

Not to be underestimated as someone's first glimpse into the RPG genre.
Original rank: #82
Log date and number: August 26, 2023 (021)
Supplementary video: Game Informer interview with lead animator Shon Stewart (7 mins)

Fun vibes. Surprising to learn it warrants a Part 1 subtitle.
*Played via mGBA emulation.
Original rank: #94
Log date and number: September 12, 2022 (007)
Supplementary video: 8-Bit Music Theory (Ben Kidd) analysis of OST (17 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

A decent first dip into the series, but boy, does it try it on pacing-wise.
*Played on PC with Special K fixes and enhancements.
Original rank: #89
Log date and number: February 5, 2023 (012)
Supplementary video: Good Vibes Gaming (Daniel Alba) on the game's various releases (14 mins)

[SHELVED] Kinetic, epic, and exhausting.
*Completed Gwendolyn's campaign.
Original rank: #80
Log date and number: September 24, 2023 (024)
Supplementary video: CGR Undertow (TJ) review of the original PS2 release (5 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

So many mechanics and minigames! Worth a look on emulation or if you nab it cheap on PSN.
Original rank: #97
Log date and number: July 8, 2022 (004)
Supplementary video: Qazplm breakdown of any% speedrun category (21 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

[SHELVED] A bastion of communal joy, and a reminder how fleeting it can be.
*All-time highest-levelled character (Cataclysm OG) estimated to be 56. Most recent (Lich King Classic) is 25 as of log date.
Original rank: #6
Log date and number: April 14, 2024 (037)
Supplementary video: GameSpot (Greg Kasavin) review of the original release (9 mins)

Gilds the Gen-1 lily, but never surpasses it.
*Completed Johto portion.
Original rank: #50
Log date and number: November 16, 2023 (029)
Supplementary video: Pokémon The Johto Journeys anime series OP (1 min)

As uniquely terrifying as ever, but by all means let Nightdive have a crack at smoothing its rough edges.
Original rank: #38
Log date and number: April 19, 2023 (038)
Supplementary video: 3dfx Voodoo Card demonstration of the game's opening sequence (11 mins)

More important to me personally than good, but it ends wonderfully. If only the Dark Seeker Saga had too.
Original rank: #25
Log date and number: October 26, 2023 (026)
Supplementary video: Disney 411 segment shot at the game's launch party (2 mins)

[SHELVED] The RPG as tabletop sim. Browse the companion books and try it as a historical monument.
*Played via DOSBox emulation.
Original rank: #86
Log date and number: April 23, 2023 (015)
Supplementary video: DM It All recap of the tied-in D&D module (36 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Strikingly atmospheric despite being more compellingly iterated on since.
Original rank: #20
Log date and number: December 25, 2023 (032)
Supplementary video: Ars Technica interview with lead programmer David Brevik (24 mins)

[SHELVED] Cold numbers in a colder wasteland. Makes Bethesda's take feel terribly small.
Original rank: #39
Log date and number: February 2, 2024 (035)
Supplementary video: Producer Timothy Cain on replacing the combat and character system (8 mins)

[SHELVED] Status ailments, mulled to splendid malignancy.
Original rank: #64
Log date and number: November 22, 2023 (030)
Supplementary video: The Escapist making-of documentary (68 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Fair enough to acknowledge the proliferation of RPG elements in mainstream titles, and you’ll hardly find better candidates than this. (Made even better with The Mapless Run.)
*Original list predates PS5 enhancements played for re-ranking.
Original rank: #84
Log date and number: April 27, 2023 (016)
Supplementary video: Noah Caldwell-Gervais review (81 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

The first-ever CRPG I've enjoyed to completion, and assuredly not the last.
Original rank: #93
Log date and number: October 2, 2022 (008)
Supplementary video: Eurogamer (Chris Bratt) on the game's opening half-hour (8 mins)

So thankful I could still play this on DS. The single-screen ports are hard to take.
Original rank: #95
Log date and number: August 28, 2022 (006)
Supplementary video: Begin Japanology ep from 2010 on women's fashion magazines (24 mins)

A merry, silly symphony of quest-grinding and god-dethroning. I get the hype.
*Original list predates Nintendo Switch remaster and evaluates versions released in 2010 and 2015.
Original rank: #83
Log date and number: June 16, 2023 (018)
Supplementary video: Digital Foundry (John Linneman) on the game's three versions (15 mins)

Ample scope and satisfaction for such an urtext, though the Pixel Remaster's QOL trimmings must help enormously.
*Original list predates Pixel Remaster.
Original rank: #33
Log date and number: January 3, 2024 (033)
Supplementary video: The Cellar (Taigen Moon) on the art of Yoshitaka Amano (14 mins)

Still bangs in a post-Hades world.
*Original list predates Nintendo Switch port played for re-ranking.
Original rank: #91
Log date and number: October 14, 2022 (009)
Supplementary video: Noclip making-of documentary (40 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Trashy, janky, funny, one of a kind. Would replay tomorrow.
*Played with Basic variant of the Unofficial Patch installed.
Original rank: #98
Log date and number June 2, 2022 (002)
Supplementary video: NeverKnowsBest retrospective (34 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

As cozy as it gets.
*Played via Nintendo Switch Online service.
Original rank: #72
Log date and number: November 7, 2023 (028)
Supplementary video: Gorialis on the game's world geometry zoning and object collision (4 mins)

Fully thought this was a cool spin on the genre that just needed a richer narrative to live up to the hype... and then came Disc 4.
*Played via Mednafen emulation.
Original rank: #90
Log date and number: November 21, 2022 (010)
Supplementary video: Archipel acoustic OST performances by Saori Kobayashi (4 x 5 mins)

Not my preferred Souls, but a pretty fine one all the same.
*Original list predates this remaster.
Original rank: #24
Log date and number: September 23, 2023 (023)
Supplementary video: Matthewmatosis full game commentary (384 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Beautiful and captivating. It deserves a PC port.
Original rank: #96
Log date and number: August 10, 2022 (005)
Supplementary video: Tim Rogers reading "Hanna's Departure" (13 mins)

For a game this gorgeous, playing ball with its complicated systems and clunky interface might be the best decision you ever make.
*Played via PS3 digital download.
Original rank: #87
Log date and number: April 16, 2023 (014)
Supplementary video: Resonant Arc's (Mike Brown) succinct guide for new players (21 mins)

A special and unnverving kind of Souls. Surely the PS4's best.
Original rank: #11
Log date and number: October 21, 2023 (025)
Supplementary video: The Final Bosman (GameTrailers/Kyle Bosman) video (15 mins)

It's nice when the trendsetter stays best in class.
Original rank: #73
Log date and number: February 22, 2024 (036)
Supplementary video: strafefox (Jeroen Bekker) documentary on the production of SOTN and Rondo of Blood (27 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Rises to the hype with charming mechanics and grand theming.
*Played via DuckStation emulation.
Original rank: #18
Log date and number: December 23, 2023 (031)
Supplementary video: Kotaku's (Tim Rogers) comparison of the Japanese and English scripts (366 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

[SHELVED] Immense, inviting, and full of meaningful choices. Could not hack it with that final boss though. I'll be back someday.
*Original list predates Reborn's release and evaluates versions released in 1998 and 2010.
Original rank: #92
Log date and number: January 11, 2023 (011)
Supplementary video: Xygor Gaming retrospective of the Ogre series (25 mins)

Depraved and magnificent.
*Played entirely offline due to server closure in 2018.
Original rank: #46
Log date and number: September 6, 2023 (022)
Supplementary video: videogamedunkey video (6 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Wonderful and customisable in so many ways. I'm putting the HD-2D remake on as many radars as I can.
*Played via SNES9x emulation, with fan translation from Romhacking.net. Original list evaluates Western releases for NES, GBC, Android and iOS.
Original rank: #99
Log date and number: June 13, 2022 (003)
Supplementary video: Mr Gentleman review (67 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)

Tough to think of what else I could want from a video game.
*Played via SNES9x emulation.
Original rank: #27
Log date and number: October 28, 2023 (027)
Supplementary video: SaganYee animated music video tribute (6 mins, SPOILER WARNING!)