Favorite games ever.

[Jude]

Lets stick to positive comments; if someone mentions something you don't like, feel free to criticize the game elsewhere, but I'm hoping this thread is just devoted to glowing praise of awesome games and why you love them (not to say you can't cheer on other people's choices though).  I'll start out with my favorites:

Resident Evil 4 (PS2 version)

There are some games that from the moment I pick them up I have to play them from start to finish.  It doesn't happen too often anymore, but Resident Evil 4 was quite possibly the most compelling of them all for me (especially outside of the RPG genre).

I loved the feeling of being alone, surrounded by insurmountable odds, fighting all sorts of otherworldly, bizarre creatures.  The way the monks chanted freakishly, the plagas that popped out of villagers, large numbers of enemies closing in from all sides; everything worked together perfectly with the slow but steady control style and emphasis on trick-shooting, accuracy, and ammo conversation to create a masterful survival game.

The horror part was debatable, but playing alone late at night certainly gave it that extra edge.  I remember one night in particular it was 3 a.m. and I was running through the garden maze with the wolf/dog/plagas things, and there was an earthquake.  It wasn't very strong, but it was enough to scare the crap out of me and make me think (in my half-awake, late-night state of paranoia) something was behind me moving my chair.

Decent storyline, fun upgrading system, awesome feel; and I especially loved the bonus content.  Mercenaries mode and playing through on professional was incredible.

Final Fantasy X

This was the very first video game I have ever played that employed property voice acting along with strong narrative to create an amazing experience.  I loved the Sphere Grid and damn near everything about the game up to the very end.  It was really the first game I got on my PS2 that blew me away, and to this day I love to replay it from time to time just to re-experience the story.  Itching to play it again now in fact, I just wish it would run on any of my current systems since I no longer have a PS2.

Final Fantasy Tactics

I'm not sure if I've spent more time playing any other game.  Leveling up jobs, finishing sidequests, duplicating Excalibur... Ahh, those were the days.  The remake is good too, I just wish it supported infrastructure networking.

Crystal Defenders

I love tower defense games, and this one struck me perfectly.  It's a great balance between predictability, style, challenge, and simplicity.

Deadly Premonition

Francis York Morgan is the best character ever.  That is all.

[Noelle]

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
I hardly need to sing the praises of this game because pretty much every worthy nerd ever loves it, too. If you don't love this game, then I don't want to know you.

It's actually one of the few games whose storyline I actually followed closely and even wrote fanfiction for as a middle schooler. If inspiring 11-year-old girls to use their free time at school to type up stories about Link and Saria on a decrepit Macintosh doesn't make this an awesome game, then I'm just not sure what else could possibly convince you. Furthermore, as a grown adult, I have considered on several occasions a Zelda-based tattoo that I have since rejected, but it's the thought that counts, right?

When they finally remake this game on the DS may possibly be a day happier than my own wedding.

The World Ends With You
Possibly one of the most compelling, complex, and mind-fucking storylines I've ever encountered, and for a handheld, no less. If I had a dime for every time I've restarted this game just to understand it all, I'd have zero dimes because to this day, I still haven't finished clearing every single chapter to search for the secrets and read Hanekoma's extra notes about the Game and obsessively collect pins. Literally a year of on-again off-again playing without the aid of any cheater-guides only to fail at the hands of Square Enix. How much more awesome can it get than that? It's a trick question, it can't.

Dual-screen play was a little weird and I still didn't get very good at it, but the combat was unique, it really, truly utilized the touch screen/stylus combination, as well as the D-pad. The pin evolutions kept things interesting and the eye candy alone may have permanently altered my retinas for the rest of my existence, which otherwise would seem like a cause for alarm and a need to file a lawsuit, but let me tell you, it is a delicious burn, indeed. It takes classic Final Fantasy-styled sprites (this IS Square Enix we're talking about, after all) and not only makes a ginger the lead role (look at how progressive they are! Aww, isn't that cute?), but get a bunch of legitimately hip, urban-styled graffiti art going on all while managing to keep the setting in Shibuya and not succumbing to a bad case of the weeaboo. Fuck yeah. I didn't care much for the soundtrack myself, I hated that the songs didn't seem 'complete', and often just looped endlessly until I wanted to Falcon punch my DS into the face of an innocent child, and I'm not much of a fan of J-anything to begin with, but I will give it props for being better than the average listing.

[Lavaske]

Left 4 Dead 2
I swear to god, I've killed at least a few million zombies with this game.  As a single player campaign game, Left 4 Dead 2 is really poor.  However, if you have a bunch of friends over with snacks, booze, deaf upstairs neighbors and nothing to do the next day, it's one of the most fun and hardcore gaming experiences that you can have.

When making L4D1, Valve didn't have very much money so they couldn't make a gigantic blockbuster game like Halo 3 or Gears of War with a big fancy physics engine, killer graphics and huge sweeping levels.  Instead they had room in the budget for about 4 hours of campaign play.  With such small levels, they had to do something BIG to keep things interesting, and they did it.

Basically, they designed an AI program that was designed to make the players have fun.  By creating random lulls and climaxs in the gameplay they keep gamers on their toes for the whole session.

This is an absolutely brilliant game.  I've never had so much fun with anything else, ever.

[Lavaske]

Noelle,

I swear to god, if you get a tri-force tattoo that is somewhere visible on your body, you will have to beat off the boys with a stick.

[Ryu]

Super Mario 64
Come on, this is the best game ever.
What is better than going on another adventure with Super Plumber Mario to save
not only Princess Toadstool, but ALL your friends that are trapped within the walls of the castle.
When this came out, the graphics were mind blowing (I mean for a Mario game) and every
painting had new tests for you to complete to get the stars needed to free your friends
from the evil clutches of King Bowser. And at the end you got to see Yoshi, the most adorable
Nintendo character ever made.

Little Big Planet
So your a sack boy. A sack boy made of ownage, with love in every carefully sewn stitch.
You run around the world, playing crazy levels, either alone, which makes it easier, or with multiple players, which
is entirely more fun and allows for more items to be unlocked. (Stickers, Tools, Clothing, Accesories, etc.)
Once you beat the story part of the game, you can do it again, but this time in STYLE! Or go on and create
your own gorgeous levels with all the materials and tools you've collected throughout the Story mode!
Then upload then through your internet connection and share them with the world!

Super Smash Bros Brawl
This is just amazing. What did Nintendo decide to do but make another smash game with more characters
and better graphics than ever? This was a beautiful plan from the start. Then they add a create your own level
section to make you feel even more in control and creative. And wait, what? Solid Snake? He's not even a Nintendo character!!
What is this nonsense? Nonsense, it is not, my friend. He's a super powerful character and owns with his beasty moves
and stealthy sneak attacks, not to mention they gave his taunt a special power when used on his own stage. It doesn't do it everytime,
but when it does, you'll try it on every character in the game. They put that much into one character that wasn't even their own.
I applaude you, Nintendo, for being reliable for however many years it's been now, even though you've had your downfalls.

Hey You! Pikachu
Just...just don't even argue.
This is one of the most adorable games ever made.
Also one of the most frustrating, but it still makes my top ten.
Maybe that because it was the very first game I got for the N64... either way, though,
who wouldn't want to talk to a Pikachu? Let him listen to you and choose how he wants to respond.
The cutest thing on this planet (besides fuzzy li'l kittens) is watching Pikachu blush in excitement and
squeak when you say," I love you, Pikachu!" It's just...AH! I wanna hold him and squeeze him and pet him and love him and call him George. (Old
Looney Tunes episode...anyone? No? w/e) But I love Pikachu to death, so my obsession creates this love for the frustrating game.
I lost that little yellow ball that goes on the microphone...this is hardly relevant, though. : )

I'll stop there. If I think of more, I'll be sure to post them.

[Will]

Final Fantasy Tactics

I'm not sure if I've spent more time playing any other game.  Leveling up jobs, finishing sidequests, duplicating Excalibur... Ahh, those were the days.  The remake is good too, I just wish it supported infrastructure networking.

Without a doubt, one of my favorite games ever.  Just unbelievably great.

Noelle,

I swear to god, if you get a tri-force tattoo that is somewhere visible on your body, you will have to beat off the boys with a stick.

*snerks*  That sounds painful, but some of them might be into that.

[Brandon]

Deadly premonition: One of the best survival horror games just because of the story (the gameplay wasnt great but the story more then makes up for it) and the main character. There are few scenes better then "FK in the coffee!" or "Sinners sandwich"

FK In The Coffee Deadly Premonition: Possibly the funniest cutscene in the game

Naughty bear: Yeah its got some bugs but for some reason I just love adorable teddy bear murders in strange and disturbing ways that I should probably tell my psychiatrist about :P

Alpha Protocol: Ive always been a lover of the James bond style secret agent but a James bond style game where I can play it my way and with RPG elements? Yes please 

Marvel vs capcom: For fighting games this is my favorite. Better then anything else out there due to the wacky characters, flashy special moves, and the totally awesome super moves.

Final fantasy 2/4: For pure RPG goodness it doesnt get any better then this. Good combat system, lovable characters, a rich world with a large variety of people and places to explore. It has just about everything I want out of an RPG, especially the ass kicking ninja Edge

Battlefield: Bad company 2 Multiplayer: Normally Im not into FPS's but this ones multiplayer has made me fall in love with balanced yet challenging gameplay where I can blow up any kind of cover and get points for keeping my squad alive.

[King_Furby]

Thief 3 - spent so much time being sneaky and loved it, truely a great stealth experience.

Resident Evil 2 - only game that ever scared me

[Hemingway]

Yikes, tricky.

Mass Effect ( 1 & 2, but 2 if forced to choose ): Possibly my favorite series ever, for so many reasons. Getting to hold people who piss you off at gunpoint is but one of those. Flirting with sexy aliens is another. Being the ultimate badass ... well.

Alan Wake: What it lacks in replay value, it more than makes up for having not only one of the most original stories I've encountered in a while, but also a story that's actually well told. Being a huge fan of Stephen King and Twin Peaks, there wasn't any way this game could fail.

GTA4: Aside from being fun just to play without even doing missions ( see how long you can obey the law before someone pisses you off and makes you blast them away ), this game - surprisingly - has one of the most authentic and believable stories I've seen in a game.

Command & Conquer: Come on. Best strategy game ever. Awesome story, with just enough sci-fi to make it believable. I play this game to this day - at least once every five years or so! Oh, and it has the best music of any game, ever, period.

[Jag]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

I have not been able to put this game down since the day my grandmother gave it to me for Christmas when I was little. It has sucked more hours of my life away than any other game. I have spent entire days searching through caverns and corridors to make sure I get every little item. And I love getting that color changeable cloak. Nothing like seeing Alucard running around in a Magenta colored cloak to get your giggling.

Dark Cloud

Again, so many hours of my life drained away into this game. It's graphics aren't very good, but the game play is so much fun. I love seeing how powerful I can make my weapons just by constantly maxing them out and then fusing them back into themselves.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
I hardly need to sing the praises of this game because pretty much every worthy nerd ever loves it, too. If you don't love this game, then I don't want to know you.

It's actually one of the few games whose storyline I actually followed closely and even wrote fanfiction for as a middle schooler. If inspiring 11-year-old girls to use their free time at school to type up stories about Link and Saria on a decrepit Macintosh doesn't make this an awesome game, then I'm just not sure what else could possibly convince you. Furthermore, as a grown adult, I have considered on several occasions a Zelda-based tattoo that I have since rejected, but it's the thought that counts, right?

And what Noelle said.

[Lady Annabelle]

I have a ton of favorite games, but I am going to stick with my two all time favorite games.

The Legend Of Zelda(NES)

This is the first game that got me really hooked into video games.  Granted, I played the Atari and the Intellivision before this game along with some other NES games, but this was the deal breaker for me.  It was beyond shocking to me that you had a game at that time that could not beat in one sitting.  Having something as innovative as a save spot was just mind blowing for me.  When you tact on the exploration, deep storyline, open ended gameplay and extra quest, the game had it all and one I had to play countless amounts of times.  I will always love this game because of what it means to me.  I have beaten this game over a dozen times and I know it like my own child.

Final Fantasy X(PS2)

If there was one game that tug at my heart strings, it was this one.  I fully admit it that I wept like a freaking baby at the end of this game.  I was depressed for days after I beat it because of the ending.  I absolutely adored the characters, the graphics, the music and the setting.  The battle system was so damn addicting that I just had to keep playing.  I spent hours just messing around on the Sphere Grid.  This game will always be attached to my heart as it just reminds me of home.  Whenever I am depressed, I play this game and I instantly become happier again.  I have put over a thousand hours into this one and they were all proudly spent!

Honorable Mentions: Dr. Mario(NES), Sonic The Hedgehog 2(Gen), Streets Of Rage 2(Gen), Final Fantasy VI(SNES), Lufia II: Rise Of The Sinstrails(SNES), Super Metroid(SNES), Goldeneye(N64), Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time(N64), Paper Mario(N64), Super Smash Brothers(N64), Final Fantasy IX(PS1), Final Fantasy Tactics(PS1), Suikoden 2(PS1), Valkyrie Profile(PS1), Disgaea: Hour Of Darkness(PS2), Final Fantasy XII(PS2), Grand Theft Auto III(PS2), Suikoden III(PS2).

[Hunter]

Legend of the Dragoon

Simply awesome, best PS1 game ever created.    8-)    Nothing has ever equaled the quality of this game.

Ever.

[Jude]

Reading everyone's posts has been incredibly enjoyable to me.  It's great to see so many awesome games getting have a special place in people's hearts. :D

[Will]

Mega Man X - Picking a favorite in this franchise is tough, but I played this one the most.  I still love the music.

Madden - Yeah, I said it. :P

[Heaven Sent Blossom]

Everybody who mentioned Deadly Premonitions is a hero, a hero I say!

Alpha Protocol - It's so prototypically Obsidian that it's painful at times, but I waited a long time for this game and despite the little quirks and flaws it delivered everything I had hoped for and probably a little more. Mike Thorton, super dick is just awesome. The cast of NPCs is pure gold and it's filled with fun dialogue and great action-spy genre tropes, frankly the fact that it's not going to get a sequel is criminal.
THROAT PUNCH!

Mass Effect 2 - I don't know why, I mean I could give you a list of things wrong with it that's longer than my arm (starting with "It's sci-fi" and ending with "it's fucking sci-fi") but Mass Effect is a series I'm madly in love with. And Mass Effect 2 took the first game, stripped off everything that was clunky and poor about it before standing as a shining example to all other developers. Sure it could've been a little bit more of an RPG in places, but I don't care. I don't care about anything that is wrong with a game when I can headbutt a giant space dinosaur in mid-sentence and get involved in the greatest kind of bromance with Garrus. Also my Captain "Tony Almeida" Shepard, space dick is probably my favourite game character in recent memory.
TL;DR - Mass Effect 2 is the greatest game ever made, send back through time so that we in the past didn't have to wait another fourty years to experience nirvana.

Battlefield 2 - Never loved a shooter more before or since. Yes I liked Bad Company and Bad Company 2, I even found Modern Warfare (but not the sequel, that was awful) to be tolerable. However nothing can compare with Battlefield 2 on full 64 player maps for me, not even Counter Strike. I sunk a ludicrous number of hours into that game despite the frankly incompetent team at Dice trying to make it so that people couldn't play it at all (how many times did your patches break the game Dice, how many?) and then sank even more time into the Special Forces expansion pack which kept all the awesome goodness but got rid of the rage inducing aircraft.
I will probably never find a shooter that satisfies me as much as my prime in BF2 did, although right now I am finding a decent level of fondness for Blacklight: Tango Down, so who knows?

Planescape: Torment - Best written RPG ever made, no question. Terrible combat and borderline unplayable now but that story and those characters are worth enduring almost anything for.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - First Fire Emblem that I played where the story wasn't just a brief respite between the battles and it will always have a special place in my heart because of that. Frankly though any Fire Emblem I've ever played could occupy this spot because it's my favourite SRPG series, even rising above Shining Force which was my first ever RPG.

Shining Force 2 - First ever RPG that I played and to this day remains as one of my all time favourites purely because of nostalgia--and because it's better to remember the good times rather than think about what they've done to the Shining Force series in the years since Shining Force 3 was released.

Suikoden 2 - Possibly my favourite RPG of all time, I have a thing for political intrigue and betrayal though so that probably explains my obsession with the Suikoden series (except 4, 4 is dead to me).

Bayonetta - Best brawler I ever played without a shadow of a doubt. It also has the added bonus of being so mental that I can feel myself getting crazier every time I play it.

Lost Odyssey - Best current gen JRPG, yes it can be a little grindy in places and sure there are still irritating JRPG tropes ever present. However the short stories alone make it pretty much the best written JRPG in history.


Long list is long. Also honourable mentions go to Punch Out, Samba De Amigo and Rock Band 2--plus probably a bunch of games that I can't think of right now but will probably remember through out the course of the evening.

[Inkidu]

Final Fantasy IV (II in America)

I love this game, it is the best in the series as far as I'm concerned. I have played nearly ever iteration of it since I was five. It's music, characters, (first love story I thought wasn't icky-girly-gross XD) and environments held an element of terror and fascination with me as a child. Whether it was climbing Mt. Ordeals --which was my first really tricky boss fight-- or going underground for the first time, or even the final climax on the moon. It is truly a stellar piece of work that is the embodiment of what a Final Fantasy game should be and it's countless remakes are a testament to its popularity then, now, and onward.

Final Fantasy VIII

My first Playstation experience with Square. I love this game all most as much as four. I didn't find Squall moody or emo, I found him overwhelmed. In the beginning of the game life is easy. He lives to become a SeeD but as he's forced into evermore demanding situations he finds it hard to cope. He was never out to save the world but that's how it ended up. I found the junction system challenging and deep and the GFs are awesome. Final Fantasy VIII was my kick into the greater scope of world culture and legend. Any flaws this game has are vastly diminished by what they got right.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

I know everyone likes to give all the credit to Ocarina of Time but I found Majora's Mask a much more rewarding experience. It returned Link to his kid-saving-the-world appeal which was awesome to me as a wee little Inkidu. He wasn't a grown up he could save the land from an evil force. I found the premise actually very likable and the sheer amount of stuff to do in Majora's Mask as well as the deeper more involved world made it far superior to OoT in my opinion.

Link wasn't out to save any princess this time. In fact, taking him from his lofty, yet under-appreciated job of Zelda's lackey and thrusting him into the  everyday lives of a whole land was genius. The story was well-crafted and the what you did with your three days was structured but you could still get out and explore. I think I'm going to have to go and find my 64 now.

Resident Evil 4

It was my first RE game and I have to say I was damn scared. It wasn't an anticipatory scariness it was a visceral, OMG he's got a fucking chainsaw and he's going to kill me, or stab me or they're going to beat me to death. Oh crap has he got a sword, Ah my shotgun's out, why oh why didn't I buy the blacktail, are those claws, Jesus what did he do to his arm, oh god he's a centipede... experience.

Dead Rising

I think it really nailed the experience. Sure the A.I. was hokey at best but nothing can underwhelm the sheer amount of fun a person can have with this game... if they like zombies. It was actually kind of scary sometimes too.

[HairyHeretic]

Elite

Yeah, I'm showing my age, as this game is probably older than some of you here :)  You started off a rookie pilot in a bare bones ship, a few hundred credits in your account, and the dream of making it big. You could go anywhere. Trade anything. Fight anyone .. but of course, if you start shooting up other traders in high security systems, you had the cops all over you before long.

UFO: Enemy Unknown / Terror From The Deep

Ok, technically two games, but all that really was different about them was cosmetic. The game play was just as good, and the second game had bigger maps. Aliens invade, and only you can stop them. Send your fighters up to shoot down the little ones. Tool up your crack military squad and send the transport to the crash site, or catch the bigger UFOs while they were on the ground. Your scientists researched the alien artifacts, and your engineers produced the high tech goodies that got your team bigger and badder.

And you never, ever forget your first encounter with the chrysalids.

I may add more later.

[Imogen]

Gabriel Knight : Sins of the Fathers.

This Sierra adventure/roleplaying game dates from 1993 and is the first of the Gabriel Knight Trilogy and, in my opinion, the best. You take on the persona of Gabriel Knight, writer of horror stories in New Orleans. The game has a wonderful atmosphere of voodoo, murders and mysticism.

The characters are fun, and the storytelling is superb. The game has a good, solid plot and the game sports a star cast for the voice actors, such as : Tim Curry as Gabriel, Mark Hamill as Mosely, Leah Remini as Grace Nakamura and Michael Dorn as Dr. John.

The Sequel: The Beast Within was also very much fun to play. Much more modern it had video scenes where you witnessed the outcome of your decisions. Although I missed Tim Curry's sexy voice and did not like this incarnation of Gabriel so much, the nifty Baron Von Glower made up for that deficit!

[Lithos]

For story line, I would say first and third gabriel knight games. The third one even though had 3d graphics had awesome story. My computer at the time of the second game could not really handle it so I missed that.

For freedom, old came called Hunter for amiga that was first 3d sandbox game. You had world where you could drive the vehicles and do pretty much what you wanted. Like pre historic ancestor of GTA and the like. (of course it looked ugly, imagine full 3d world on amiga 500) I was so frigging amazed when I played that and it kept me hooked for weeks cause it was first time I had ever experienced freedom like that in a game.

Hunter Amiga

Does not look like much anything now but that was so friggin awesome back then.

[Hemingway]

UFO: Enemy Unknown / Terror From The Deep

Ok, technically two games, but all that really was different about them was cosmetic. The game play was just as good, and the second game had bigger maps. Aliens invade, and only you can stop them. Send your fighters up to shoot down the little ones. Tool up your crack military squad and send the transport to the crash site, or catch the bigger UFOs while they were on the ground. Your scientists researched the alien artifacts, and your engineers produced the high tech goodies that got your team bigger and badder.

And you never, ever forget your first encounter with the chrysalids.

How could I forget? You know they're making a new XCOM, right? It's not the same thing, but I'm still excited as all hell.

But, damn. UFO is amazing. I played it ages ago, and again last year or so. I didn't realize until then how much depth there really is to that game, and how complicated it is.

[HairyHeretic]

An official one, or open source? I've seen and heard assorted bits and pieces.

[Imogen]

And in my gushing over the storyline of the Gabriel Knight series, i completely forgot the games of that other big studio's at the time: Westwood and Mindscape They produced the game that got me hooked on exploring dungeons and fighting monsters and that would later put me on the road towards Everquest 1&2 World of Warcraft, Vanguard and Warhammer:The Age of Reckoning.

I am speaking of

and

[Nyarly]

An official one, or open source? I've seen and heard assorted bits and pieces.

An official one. But for some reason it will be a FPS. No, I don't understand this either.

[Lithos]

Above most others also, definitely Planescape: Torment

Music was amazing, Story was amazing, Characters were amazing... baldurs gates had nothing going in comparison.

[HairyHeretic]

An official one. But for some reason it will be a FPS. No, I don't understand this either.

Eh?

That makes no sense. XCOM was all about tactics, not who had the fastest twitch.

Pff. I'll just go back to the originals then.

[Wolfy]

if we're talking about XCOM, there is a trailer up now on the 360 Marketplace..and I'm sure on Gametrailers.com.

It's going to be an FPS similar to Bioshock.

[Hemingway]

Considering how well Bethesda managed to turn a top-down, turn-based game into a first-person shooter, I'm vaguely optimistic about XCOM. If they get the story right, manage to give it that X-Files sense of mystery, and being unaware of what you're really facing, I think it'll be great.

Obviously, if an FPS isn't your thing to begin with, that's a slightly different matter.

[Heaven Sent Blossom]

Well Bethesda really just turned an isometric, very good RPG into the same first person RPG they've been making for years--just with guns. In the instance of the new X-Com game it's going to be handled by 2K Marin who have only made the fairly underwhelming Bioshock 2.

[HairyHeretic]

Come to think of it, I think I have heard about the XCOM one. They're setting it back in the 1950s or something.

Meh, pass. I liked the original, but this is changing all the stuff I like, and unless the finished product is incredible, I won't be playing it.

[kckolbe]

Uncharted Waters (SNES)-I never played another game more, likely never will.  You play a common sailor whose family's lands were lost.  You start with nothing but a small ship and some goods.  You build up money through trade and eventually and up with better ships and can have more than one.  You fight off pirates and warships, and maybe do a little pirating yourself.  The goal is to build up rank until the princess is captured and you have to go save her.  What I really loved was the fighting at sea.  Every battle was a blast.  When it ended, I didn't even wanna marry the princess (not that it mattered).  I just wanted to keep sailing, and I hate sandbox games.

Final Fantasy VI/ III US (SNES)-For me, this is where Final Fantasy peaked.  I know a lot of people disagree, but I like a story where more than one person is important, and no RPG really delivered that quite like FF VI.  It's hard to say if there even was a main character. 

Crazy Taxi (SEGA Dreamcast)-Fun enough to drive around, but what really did it was the kick ass soundtrack.

[KatieSparks]

We <3 Katamari

I know it's a weird choice, but I didn't want to pick an obvious one. :p Seriously, I have played this game sooo much. Oddly enough, though, it's the only one of the series I have. I guess I figure it's kind of repetitive, so why bother buying another one when it'll just be the same thing? I love this one anyway. If only I could roll things up into a gigantic ball in real life.. then I'd show my dad who's boss.

Tetrisphere

Awesome, AWESOME game on the N64. Most people have never played it but whenever I mention it to somebody and they have played it they say they loved it too. It was like Tetris. Kind of. You put down pieces on a sphere, and match them to make them explode and uncover more of the sphere until you uncover the whole thing/enough to save a little guy/break off a tower thing/whatever the game mode wants you to do. It's really simple but REALLY fun, and I'm not even usually one to play puzzle games a lot but I've always loved this one.

Ninja Gaiden

The newer one on XBOX, not the original one. Although the original one was fun, too, kind of before my time so I can't appreciate it as much. But the new one.. so sweet. Difficult enough that you have to know the moves and what you're doing, but I never found it so brutally hard that I had to put down the game. Finished the whole thing, and got all the scarabs, and the best part was that you can even unlock the old Ninja Gaiden games in it! The bosses in this game were so great... but it was really fun how you had to focus because most normal enemies could potentially kill you fairly quick if you aren't paying attention. I haven't played the second one, though.

[Brandon]

I thought of some more, and these are more "retro" games

Lufia: and the fortress of doom & its prequel Lufia: Rise of the sinistrals: My third, possibly second favorite RPG of all time (it ties with final fantasy tactics). Both games have amazing stories and the game play broke the mold with its spellcasting in the prequel and puzzles placed in dungeons (some of them left me as horse as Ninja Gaiden for their difficulty). Even more interesting is I just cant bring myself to count them as two games, playing one without playing the other is like having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the bread.

Dragon warrior 4(NES): This is my Fourth favorite RPG of all time, just below Final fantasy 4, Final fantasy tactics, and Lufia respectivly. Once again, interesting and fun characters who all had their little personality quirks making them seem like real humans.

Breath of fire: Im not sure where this one stands in my RPGs of all time list, somewhere in the teens I think. Ya know what attracted me most to it? I could be a hero that turned into a freaking DRAGON! Not some armored dudes with supernatural powers like in legend of dragoon, not some summoner of dragons like Rydia. I could actually play as a freaking DRAGON! Coupled by an amazing story, interesting characters, and being able to play as a freaking DRAGON! I couldnt ask for more

Bionic Commando(NES): Bionic commando taught us simple child hood lessons like hookshot arms are awesome and all Nazi's should die (You get a cookie if you know who said that). Start to finish it was a wonderful game with, as far as I know, the first swinging mechanic ever (probably why I can never put down ultimate spider man for long). Ever since I played this game I just love games where I can swing around on stuff

Ultimate spider man(PS2):  If I believed in reincarnation then I had to be a monkey in a previous life because my brain is hard wired to enjoy any game with a swinging mechanic and this one has it in spades. For me, Ultimate spider man isnt about beating up bad guys or following a questionable story line its just old fashioned web swinging goodness where I can rocket off, over, between, or by skyscrapers at the speed of a jet. The expansive sandbox style city just makes it better although Im kind of guilty as Ive never actually won the game, I just cant stop swinging around the city when I play it

Jade Empire: A martial arts based fantasy RPG set in psuedo Japan/China and that has a great story? Wait wheres saint peter? Wasnt he supposed to greet me when I got to heaven? :P

[Noelle]

Someone mentioned Streets of Rage 2, but I'm gonna lump it together and say Streets of Rage 2 and 3.

First off, what's not to love about a side-scrolling fighter starring the gang of Scooby Doo as jaded 90's teens named after failed American Gladiators?

Yes, let's meet the characters:

We've got Axel, the notoriously handsome Aryan male who is the best at everything ever including Pantene hair and muscles for his muscles, his hot prostitute girlfriend Blaze who has mysteriously become a Judo master while walking the streets and can't adequately practice said martial art unless she's got 82% (that's a scientific measurement) of her cleavage hanging out, and then, of course, Skate. The token black kid. Who is, unsurprisingly, wearing roller blades. The whole time. It doesn't matter that the inclusion of said skates would make it hilariously impossible for the average mortal to kick a sufficient amount of ass in order to take down Mr. X, save the day, blah blah, because the kid seems to have made some kind of martial arts-breakdancing hybrid from his time in the 'hood that makes all of his creepy middle-aged attackers think twice about diddling other innocent 11-year-olds in the future. Besides, he probably has his gat stuffed down his gym shorts along side a bottle of malt liquor and other hilariously bad racial stereotypes...you know, just in case. The kid's kind of a bastard anyway -- if you've played the game, I think you know, and I think you've also probably wondered why he's not in school getting an education. Kids these days.

In Streets of Rage 2, we get Muscly McMeaty, whose name I can't recall, but it doesn't actually matter because he's the prototypical slow oaf whose only real talents in fighting are destroying things with his horrifying, Thor's-Hammer-styled fists of rage. In Streets of Rage 3, we are given Zan, who seems to be David Bowie's geriatric incarnate -- you know, after they slowly replace his body parts with machine parts in order to give him and his disturbing bulge in his pants a shot at immortality. Don't take my word for it. With an arm that also acts like a tazer and more abs than he probably knows what to do with, if I were an innocent 11-year-old boy, I'd probably let him touch me like that, too, and promise not to tell my parents.

Anyway, the storyline is something like -- well, wait...there was a storyline?!

Frankly, I didn't pay attention. Because it really doesn't matter and the dialogue is so trite, the story so unoriginal and cliche that you could probably watch any Die Hard movie to get the gist of what kind of a watered-down John McClane our protagonist hero of the master race Axel is. But what does matter is that Streets of Rage was ahead of its time. You could be young, old, black, female -- there was even a code to unlock so that you can fight as a really bad gay stereotype, not to mention the father of all awesome unlockables -- a round where you assault and eventually kill a clown, beat its pet kangaroo into submission, and then you can fight as it, too! Can you say awesome? But besides that, you don't just go all vigilante justice on the pasty asses of muscly white guys -- your enemies were all kinds! You can beat up fat people, gay people, questionably-gendered female dancers with mohawks wearing offensive amounts of spandex, government agents with guns (so much muscle, YOU DEFLECT BULLETS), dominatrices, i don't know what this is, werewolves, samurais, and SO MUCH MORE. This game not only lacks discrimination against age, sex, race, and sexual orientation, but also does not discriminate against such petty features as species or even mythological status! Amazing.

Best game ever. I rest my case.

[Heaven Sent Blossom]

I'm pretty sure you made a typo there. I think you typed "Streets of Rage" when you meant to put "Final Fight";-p


Seriously though, Streets of Rage was majestic in how amazing it was. Easily one of the finest examples of the brawler's of its generation.

[Inkidu]

From what I hear the new Xcom is tactical. From what I read (I'm trying to keep this opinionless as possible) it's more like being a field agent and going out to investigate X-File-esque happenings. The more time you spend in one area the more aliens will be drawn to you, and your standard weapons are ineffective for the most part. So you have to find alien tech and ways to implement it. Time will tell if it delivers.

EDIT: Sorry meant to add this.

Metroid Prime

Metroid's first and awesome debut in 3D is not to be forgotten. The worlds were lush and detailed, the puzzled very intricate and downright tricky. The FPS element was well-done and who wouldn't want to see Samus in all that sexy power-suit glory? It's a game that shows that 2D can transition very well. It added a lot of depth to the Metroid universe previously unseen. Even a few glimpses into Space Pirate life and culture.

[Wolfy]

Come to think of it, I think I have heard about the XCOM one. They're setting it back in the 1950s or something.

Meh, pass. I liked the original, but this is changing all the stuff I like, and unless the finished product is incredible, I won't be playing it.

Well Hairy, considering it's going to be done by the same team behind Bioshock..Expect good things.

[Inkidu]

Well Hairy, considering it's going to be done by the same team behind Bioshock..Expect good things.

I don't know they weren't very outgoing with Bioshock 2... lets hope they know to push the envelope a little more.

[Paradox]

*looks around warily*

Although I don't really play them anymore, I was a gamer for many years. This thread brings back warm, fuzzy memories.

I won't re-describe what others have already posted, but these are definitely on the top of my list:

RE4 for PS2 is the only FPS I've ever really played more than an hour or two of, aside from Goldeneye, so it deserves an honorable mention on the list.

-Legend of Zelda for NES
Like Anna, this hooked me into RPGs. I still remember digging through a box of Corn Pops for a send-away offer to obtain a map of the overworld and poring over it for hours once it came, imagining all of the wonders that lay beyond what I had explored.

-Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This, along with the next three games, stole countless hours of my elementary and middle school years. I tried going back and playing it last year, but it just wasn't the same. Better to let those sacred memories rest intact.

-Super Mario 64
Sheer unmitigated fun.

-Shadows of the Empire 64
I know Will and Karma will back me up on this one. Sheer unmitigated awesome, though to this day, I still resent not being able to destroy that Star Destroyer on the final level.

-Final Fantasy 7
I never actually owned this until a few years ago; in middle school, I simply played it for hours on end at a friend's house. It really moved me to the next level of loving RPGs, having only played Final Fantasy Legend on the black-and-white gameboy before that.

-Baldur's Gate 1 and especially 2
I cannot count the number of times I started the second game and never, ever finished it. To this day, after over a decade of having owned it, and more than 20 protagonists created, I have never finished it. It was a great game, but too damned time consuming. I prefer table-top D&D, but I cannot deny how awesome that game was (granted, I never played Neverwinter Nights).

-Diddy Kong Racing and Super Mario Kart 64
Multiplayer ruled ass on these games when I was growing up.

-Goldeneye 64
Multiplayer ruled even more ass, but in a more serious sort of way, the kind of red-eye, staying up until 4 am sneaking around that temple level with proximity mines, silenced pistils, and rocket launchers kind of ruling ass.

Super Mario 3 and Kirby's Adventure for NES.
I spent a ton of time beating the former, but I had seen a friend do so numerous times already, so nothing beat the thrill of excitement at beating my very first game, which was the latter.

Jade Empire
This one brings back a lot of good memories because the graphics were good, the story was good, and I lost myself in the game when I was in rehab. Positive reinforcement!

Age of Empires, Age of Empires II, Starcraft, and Warcraft II
Aside from C&C, probably the four greatest RTS games I ever played. The humor and graphics in Warcraft II were great, and Starcraft's story and replayability were awesome.

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
It's like a combination of Master of Orion and Civilization. The boy in me that once wanted to be an astronaut loved this game.

Guilty pleasure games: Rampage and Rampage 64. Yeah, it's mindless, but damn was it fun.

Oh, I thought of one more FPS I liked- Redneck Rampage for the PC.

I'll put up more when I think of them, but this list is essentially my childhood and adolescent alone time in a nutshell (books notwithstanding).

Edit: Master Blaster for NES. So fucking hard that I never beat it, but damn was it good.

[Wolfy]

I don't know they weren't very outgoing with Bioshock 2... lets hope they know to push the envelope a little more.

I personally think there was some executive meddling behind Bioshock 2.

"Oh guys, look how much your game sold! It's really a big hit!...Sequel. NOW."

"But..but the story is finished! D:"

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of the cash registers."

And thus Bioshock 2 was born. o3o

[Will]

-Shadows of the Empire 64
I know Will and Karma will back me up on this one. Sheer unmitigated awesome, though to this day, I still resent not being able to destroy that Star Destroyer on the final level.

Gah, no kidding.  I don't care how ridiculous it is for a light transport to fight a Star Destroyer, I wanna do it!!  Damn you!

I loved that game so much; I must have played the swoop race out of Mos Eisley a hundred times just for the heck of it.

I also want to cosign on Goldeneye.  I haven't played it in many years, but I still know what weapons spawn where. ::)

[Nyarly]

I personally think there was some executive meddling behind Bioshock 2.

"Oh guys, look how much your game sold! It's really a big hit!...Sequel. NOW."

"But..but the story is finished! D:"

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of the cash registers."

And thus Bioshock 2 was born. o3o

That's how most sequels come into existence.

[Brandon]

I personally think there was some executive meddling behind Bioshock 2.

"Oh guys, look how much your game sold! It's really a big hit!...Sequel. NOW."

"But..but the story is finished! D:"

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of the cash registers."

And thus Bioshock 2 was born. o3o

IMO Bioshock 2 was actually good. Although nowhere near as awesome as the first one which coincidently was a system shock 2 clone. Anyway, yeah I kinda agree with you in the sense that thats how most sequels get made. Once a franchise is made and does ok, even well, the executives want to push it toward its first sell out

[Aiden]

Hand held games-

Pokemon- Ya I said it, these games are like crack and every fuckign time there is a new one out...I buy it and play it.
Harvest moon- Enough said
Advanced wars- Tactical war game, so much fun in multiplayer.
Final Fantasy Tactics- I both the PS version and the remake, I have sunk so many hours in this game. I refused to leave galbadia until I had a few mastered classes.

Console games-
Mario 64- This game was just so amazing, I actually played till I got all 120 stars...what up yoshii!
Starfox 64- This game was so much fun in multiplayer, such a good party game.
Mario Party- Party game, super competitive.
Rogue Squadron 64- Such a great game, I rented it so many times I could have bought it twice and eventually did.
Halo- Just cause I liked getting on live with friends and mowing each other down for hours.
Saint Row 2- Great game, better than the GTA series imo...but this following scene, so awesome.
Saints Row 2 - Ronin - Requiem

Pc Games
Diablo 2- Such a fun game, spent so much time playing this when I could.
Starcraft- Another great game
Starcraft 2- not out yet but I know it is going to be great.

[Inkidu]

I personally think there was some executive meddling behind Bioshock 2.

"Oh guys, look how much your game sold! It's really a big hit!...Sequel. NOW."

"But..but the story is finished! D:"

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of the cash registers."

And thus Bioshock 2 was born. o3o

Actually no. They wanted to make a sequel using Big Daddy as your main character (awesome). They then promised a lot of things they delivered on (Awesome). The improved a few areas of iffiness from the first (Awesome). Unfortunately, they chickened out halfway through it feels like and Alpha became just a Jack clone with a drill. (Bad.) It was like they suddenly became intimidated by all the things a big daddy could do and said "Whoa!"

I thought the story was fairly on par; they couldn't just do another "Would you kindly" thing and have people salivate like before but when it came to the gameplay. The awesome in-your-face, locomotive that was big daddy kind of wilted and the guys stayed firmly within the formula. That's my problem with it. It's not bad it's just nothing ventured and nothing gained.

Segway!

Bioshock

As an atmospheric shooter nothing holds a candle to it. Detail pours from Andrew Ryan's dystopic utopia by the gallon. It's like Disney's World of Tomorrow gone horribly, horribly wrong and I love it!

[KatieSparks]

Gah, no kidding.  I don't care how ridiculous it is for a light transport to fight a Star Destroyer, I wanna do it!!  Damn you!

I loved that game so much; I must have played the swoop race out of Mos Eisley a hundred times just for the heck of it.

I did that too. Rogue Squadron on 64 was pretty good, but I always reeeally loved the first level of Shadows of the Empire, the Swoop Race, and all the cool bosses.

[Wolfy]

Gah, no kidding.  I don't care how ridiculous it is for a light transport to fight a Star Destroyer, I wanna do it!!  Damn you!

I loved that game so much; I must have played the swoop race out of Mos Eisley a hundred times just for the heck of it.

I also want to cosign on Goldeneye.  I haven't played it in many years, but I still know what weapons spawn where. ::)

The Force Unleashed let's you bring down a Star Destroyer with your mind. WITH YOUR MIND. o3o

"You're a Jedi, boy! Size means nothing to you!"

[Paradox]

I did that too. Rogue Squadron on 64 was pretty good, but I always reeeally loved the first level of Shadows of the Empire, the Swoop Race, and all the cool bosses.

Yeah, that first boss fight against the AT-AT freaked the shit out me for a few days because I kept dying until I realized "Run between its legs and shoot upwards!"

[Wolfy]

I have a feeling this September, Halo: Reach will become one of my Favorite games..ever. o3o Along with FFXIV, probably.

If Halo Reach proves to be anything like the Beta..hell yes I'm going to enjoy it immensely.

Anyway..I just realized I haven't listed my favorite games of all time. O_o



Shadow of the Collosus
No More Heroes
Saints Row 2.
Modern Warfare 2
Halo 3
BlazBlue
Final Fantasy (Any of them...with an aversion to 12.)
Pokemon, of course.
Digimon World 2-3
Super Mario World (First game that I ever played...I think..it was either this, or Megaman X)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Phantasy Star (Any of them..except the first one. o3o)

[Inkidu]

The Force Unleashed let's you bring down a Star Destroyer with your mind. WITH YOUR MIND. o3o

"You're a Jedi, boy! Size means nothing to you!"

Yoda said it first and best (cool Yoda as a name is in Firefox's spellchecker), "Size matters not."

Although the second one has Darth Vadar on Kamino which raises an interesting question. Why if they can clone Jedi are they stuck with Jango Fett and conscription? (I personally think it's a reconstruction not a cloning.)

Super Mario Bros. 3

Raccoon leaf, nuff said.

[Will]

Don't forget the frog suit!  And the hammer brother suit!  Damn, that was fun.

[Wolfy]

Yoda said it first and best (cool Yoda as a name is in Firefox's spellchecker), "Size matters not."

Although the second one has Darth Vadar on Kamino which raises an interesting question. Why if they can clone Jedi are they stuck with Jango Fett and conscription? (I personally think it's a reconstruction not a cloning.)

Super Mario Bros. 3

Raccoon leaf, nuff said.

Well, don't forget that Darth Vader is also keeping this a secret from the Emperor..so he could be keeping the entire Cloning thing secret as well. For all we know Darth Vader and his most trusted assistants could be the only ones in the universe who know how to clone...well, outside of those that are not loyal to the empire.

[Lady Annabelle]

Don't forget the frog suit!  And the hammer brother suit!  Damn, that was fun.

* Lady Annabelle prefers the boot or the tanooki suit.

 

[Imogen]

I finally managed to break the addiction and I will not ever play WoW again... But I can't remember just how many times I've watched this vid with friends over beer and vodka, promising eachother we would get to Molten Core too and kill this dude.

It's old news now... But NOT a single gaming experience has ever beaten the thrill of our first Ragnarok kill. I doubt anything will ever match it. EVER

Nihilum VS Ragnaros - Wuked PoV

[Inkidu]

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

So it was the first Zelda game that I actually beat. It was fun and it set up a nice set of item combos. Bomb-arrows for the win.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Pink-haired Link for the win.

[Nyarly]

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

So it was the first Zelda game that I actually beat. It was fun and it set up a nice set of item combos. Bomb-arrows for the win.

This was the first Zelda game I ever had. And as such it will always have a special place in my heart...

Also, Link+Marin=OTP!

[Dunnuck]

Final Fantasy X

FFX started many things for me. Actually, it started everything. Final Fantasy X was the first RPG game and first Final Fantasy game I played. It was the first, and one of the few, games that drew legitimate emotion from me: happiness, jealousy, anger, sadness. It is one of the only games to make me cry, and the only one that made me do so multiple times. It's gripping, original, and emotional plot and driving narrative inspired me to begin writing, something which I have been doing ever since. The musical score inspired me to learn piano and take interest in multiple types of music. I have now been playing piano for years, the first song I ever learned being the game's "To Zanarkand". The game ignited a fire within me that still has not gone out or died down.

The gameplay and sphere grid are among my favorites in RPGs, which I now have played plenty of. The game feels like an enormous adventure, taking you from the high tech home of Zanarkand to the frosty mountains of Mt. Gagazette. The whole idea behind the game and the world created inspired me greatly, sparking originality in me and the drive to create a new, compelling world each time I write.

Even telling you all this, I cannot fully describe how vital this game has been in my life. The smallest spark can cause a fire, and this rings true here. Some people's inspirations are books, movies, poems, people...when I get big, and it will come, I'm gunna be the guy pointing at Square's FFX. Too me, this game is as close to perfection as it comes.

Metal Gear Solid 4

The MGS series as a whole is probably my favorite of all time (not FF because they have different stories). It's pure intellectual value show that games and progress beyond merely aim and shoot. Hideo Kojima takes reality and makes it his own. The reason I chose the final installment was because, not only did it wrap up the complex series with perfection but it did what only the game before it did: bring an emotional response to me. The entire game is cinematic and epic.