SixtyFour
The art style for this game is still one of my favorites to this day. Nintendo decided to bring back its GameBoy classic in a claymation-esque art style that made experiencing this game far more pleasant. This does not go without saying that the dungeons and overall scope of the game still felt as if they belonged on an old handheld, which made the game rather easy and short. Regardless, it is still a very fun and charming game.
Twilight Princess decided to dive into an art style and theme that was unseen by the franchise at the time; instead of being a High Fantasy world, Hyrule was now a Dark Fantasy world. This game introduced the "Wolf Link" mechanic, where Link could pass into the Twilight world and use his abilities as a wolf to clear enemies and free the area from darkness. Another legendary story unfolds involving the triforce and the new Twilight Realm, with plenty of memorable characters along the way. Dungeons are very well designed and the overall Dark Fantasy atmosphere remains unmatched.
A Link to the Past is undeniably the best 2D Zelda game with little to no competition. This game provided a scope larger than any other game seen at the time, and was regarded to be one of the most ambitious games ever made. With loads of iconic and challenging dungeons, numerous weapons and magic items, carefully placed collectibles and side quests, its hard to believe a game with such an incredible design philosophy was one that came out of the era of the Super Nintendo. Truly one of Nintendo's best works.
Another game, while showing its age, that is timeless in its presentation and gameplay. One of the very first console games of its scale to utilize a day-by-day schedule that changes the characters and environment depending on what day it is. Using time manipulation and a number of masks that grant you different abilities, this game comes together nicely. One of the thematically darker games in the franchise, this is one of few Zelda games that can rival Ocarina of Time.
An absolute masterpiece of a game and one that I truly wish I could erase my memory of and play again. One of the few truly "open world" games in my opinion in that pretty much every single corner of Hyrule can be explored. Numerous ways to play the game with infinite amounts of player expression. The music, graphics, and atmosphere of this game are unrivaled and deliver an experience that no other game has ever provided.
2021
This game is very obviously where Square started to gain their footing with what exactly they wanted Final Fantasy to be. Graphics in the pixel remaster are fantastic. Each character in game is fleshed out enough to have a personality; this is contrary to the previous three games where story and character development was nonexistent. Gameplay is fine and is at times tedious. Overall very solid game and very important to the FF franchise.
2021
Arguably the best of the original three FF games, Square decided to go back to a similar story framing shown in FF1. Pixel remaster, as always, looks fantastic and there is TONS of customizability with your party. This game introduced the "job" system, where characters can change and level their classes as you choose. Once again, the story pretty much does not exist but the gameplay more than makes up for it.
2021
It does not go without saying that there may have been valid reasoning behind why this game never made it to the West until years after its original release date. The pixel remaster is still graphically stunning but the gameplay is very counterintuitive and and takes the "Role-playing" out of a Role-Playing game. An attempt at a more in depth story was made but fails miserably about 1/3 of the way through the game.
2021
A graphically impressive and accessible remaster of a genre defining game. Gameplay is very simple and the story is comically cliché. While I do have my gripes with the game, there is no denying that this game was paramount to the JRPG genre.
A solid return to form for Mario from a series that was notoriously mediocre (New Super Mario Bros.). Great level design, music, and even more impressive art style. Overall very fun game.
Still to this day remains as one of the greatest games ever made - it's age does show due to the sticky controls of the Nintendo 64 but the story and gameplay revolutionized not only the action adventure genre but the entire industry as a whole. Many have said this is THE greatest game of all time, and it is for good reason.