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!)

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!)

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!)

[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)

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!)

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!)

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)

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)

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)

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!)

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)

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)

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!)

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!)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!)

[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!)

[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)

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] 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!)

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)

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)

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)

[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)

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] 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!)

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)

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!)

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)

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)

[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)

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] 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!)

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] 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)