Another cultural landmark title that should be experienced for its history if nothing else. It also happens to be a fun little reflex puzzle game.

Super Mario World is the Super Nintendo. Get dragged to one of your parents' friends' houses in the 90s? They probably have SMW. Playing games on the hotel's in-room rental service? Probably SMW. Game Boy Advance comes out with the power to play SNES level games on the go? Time to port SMW.

It's immaculate. It's a vibe. I don't even really have strong opinions on platformers but I know one thing: this is one of the best.

Right before the PS1 era would shake up the genre again, Chrono Trigger was a capstone bringing together the most refined JRPG experience to that point. Fun characters, an interesting plot, flashy combat, superb art and animation work, and excellent sound design. All in a very reasonably sized package for the genre.

Aside from any other common praise levied towards this game, what I really recommend it for is as a time capsule to that particular moment in history for the medium. The presentation fluctuates wildly between awkward and some of the most ambitious of its time, the synth based music captures an otherworldy ambiance the various reorchestrations over the years simply can't, and the UI and sound design has a clear industrial/practical origin but is still infused with enough "humanness" to feel inviting. The thoughts, talents, and views of its creators are so baked in and laid bare. It's wonderful to witness.

Not the first real-time strategy game, and with Starcraft it might not be the biggest. But, as it has remained culturally relevant through my entire life and is set to be for many years more, I'm convinced it will still somehow manage to be the last RTS when humanity as a species breaths its last.

While SoulCalibur will likely never appeal to the competitive fighting game scene to the same degree as Street Fighter or Guilty Gear or the like, it's ability to appeal to pull in more casual players is something to be respected. I think what makes it so good is the fabulous and "intuitive" flow to the combat design. Even if you have no idea what you're doing, you'll probably end up pulling something off that feels good. And if you kinda know what you're doing it's easy enough to improvise some plays to get some hits on the good players. While the sequels are all still good in their own rights, I think SoulCalibur 2 in particular has a timelessness in its execution that I recommend first.

Of the 3D Mario games this is the one I believe has the best balance of novelty, challenge, and thematic cohesion. It's not that -any- of the 3D mario games are really lacking those qualities, but Sunshine hits different and is like SMB2 in being one of the most unique entries in the series.... It's also the first 3D Mario that actually felt nice to control.

Pokemon is already something everyone interested in games should try just by sheer virtue of its cultural presence. So really what I'm saying here is that of all the versions you could try, this the one I'd suggest. It's got a very charming art style and world, a very moody use of weather as an element to the whole adventure which is an oft overlooked element in game worlds outside of survival mechanics.

Most highschool romantic dramas stop where this story is just getting started. The wholesome struggles of young love is only a slice of the experience. What you get here is a heartbreaking tale of family, responsibility, and perseverence.

What I'm saying is that this Visual Novel made me cry more than any piece of media I've ever experienced.

Few games before and since have offered such a robust, accessible, and complete package: an exciting campaign with 4-player co-op, an excellent PvP component; flexible custom ruleset tools; a level editor; a replay and screenshot tool. And all with an in-game sharing suite THAT WORKED. Boot up this game even today it still shines—literally. Whatever Bungie did with the lighting in this game was a decade ahead of its competition, even if the models and textures are fairly low fidelity by today's standard.

Most are likely aware of the game's visual identity, physics bending puzzles, and fun writing. What I always come back to is how effortless it was to 'enjoy' this title even when I was still convinced I didn't like puzzle games. The puzzle design was all gradual ramps and the presentation of the game constantly tricked you into forgetting it was—in fact—nothing but puzzles. It is a puzzle game for those who also want to be on an adventure.

Just opening this prompt to write got me turning the OST on again, so there's that. And then beyond that is a briliantly executed sci;fi tale that manages to give a compelling scientific mystery keeping things grounded and reasonable as a piece of contemporary fiction. It has a level of rigor to the math and physics presented that surprised me, but it doesn't hit you over the head with a thesis and prefers to let that simply be a backbone for a very character driven drama.

I've never really been aware of this game's reputation in the wider community, but to me this has always been the model of what I want from a co-op Action Adventure game. The tricks my dad and I pulled off with the physics sandbox and character unique tools provided taught me as a designer what it meant to truly make a "cooperative" challenge in a game, and its the kind of design I see very rarely (though I hear It Takes Two might might hit that bar).

I don't have a comment you haven't heard 100 times on this one.

In many ways did for console racing sims what Halo 3 did for console shooters: lots of features, lots of polish, and none at the expense of the core gameloop. I can only be considered a semi-casual racing sim player. Hardcore enough to turn off assists and use manual transmission, but I don't sink in the kinds of hours your typical enthusiast would. With that said, this game had appeal for all levels.

And who can resist having the whole experience narrated by Jeremy Clarkson?

The Metal Gear Solid games have always been fascinating to me in how they layer so many technical gameplay systems and world details into a package that sits right on the edge of being a mess but never quite spilling over. That holds true for the narrative usually as well, but in this one we get the extra special treat of it being a Cold War thriller complete with some very James Bond-esque flourishes.

An incredibly satisfying series of dirtbike technical trials with a polished control scheme, a dash of absurdist humor, and a built-in custom content toolset that was leagues beyond what almost any indie console game was offering at the time.

For any roguelike, making chaos and failure a part of the enjoyment of the experience is important. FTL does that better than any other I've played as the ship combat and frantic galactic exploration is designed from top to bottom to make doom slow and full of both last hopes and sudden disasters. The charming soundtrack and general Star Trek vibe help set the mood as well.

Fractions are Fun!

There's a lot to be said about Hotline Miami as a piece of art depicting violence and drug use. None of which I'm qualified for. But I can say the brutally punishing but ultra quick game loop is what makes this worth checking out on its own. This is a game has decided to induce a flow state through force and repetition and I think there's something special about that.

This is a game that straddles the border of what inconveniences a modern player can tolerate. Your inventory requires frequent weight management; your lantern goes out when its wet and the dark is actually dark; powerful spells have long cast times that leave you vulnerable; and quick travel requires manually finding and placing the waypoints as physical markers and consuming a limited resource to use them. In return you get one of the most memorable adventures of its era.

While I always respected Pac-Man for its position in the hobby's history, this was the version of the formula that made it 'fun' I think. It's a series of micro time-trial maze puzzles that keep progressively more elaborate delivered with copious visual "juice" that brings you into another plane as you get deep into the grind for perfect runs.

It turns out tank controls can be fun. While likely a bit outdated title now to some, this I still believe is a fantastic toe dip into the Survival Horror genre. It's thick with atmosphere; full of tricky traps, threatening monsters, and odd puzzles; and the story can be legitimately creepy at times but without being too hardcore for those who aren't quite ready for that sort of thing (like me at the time).

It's soccer. With cars. With rockets.

It sounds like your typical indie gimick pickup that you have fun with for a few sessions than drop, but the geniuses here nailed the controls, presentation, and variety. It's easy to get into but has a visibly high skill ceiling. But what's most important, is that you wanna be good at the game not [just] for bragging rights but because it's fun to be good at it.

The beauty of extracting, refining, and processing a world's natural resources in either the most efficient or obtuse ways you can imagine.

The intensity and depth of an Anime fighter but with perhaps the most approachable and refined control scheme and presentation yet. While the enthusiast crowd will bemoan the lack of certain hurdles to basic execution of moves and combos I would argue that little to none of what makes a fight interesting was lost: from tactical decisions players have to make to the flash and glamor for the observer.

This is the game that finally taught me to love its genre. It didn't have to trick me and pretend it was anything but, it just gave a concentrated and well-polished dosage of the experience long time fans were likely used to. I won't promise anyone else will have the same eye-opening to Metroidvanias I experienced, but I can heartily suggest this if you're still on the fence.

Putting a Type Moon VN on a pedestal may already be seen as a questionable move to many, so then why one of the more obscure ones? Because of all the visual novels I've read (which is still a modest but growing number) this has the enthralling presentation I've seen yet. It also helps that I really enjoyed the story, but the story alone would put this in my "Acquired Tastes" category.
This is 'here' for the presentation.

Hi-Fi Rush takes a simple (but underutilized) concept—the rhythm character action game—and executes on it with as much charm and love for music as any developer could hope to muster. The visual style is so detailed and full of life and color. Never gaudy but always exciting. And there really is something special to seeing the entire world move on beat with the music.