(My) Top 5 Video Games... Ever! -

So I've been gaming for about 13 years. My first console was an NES in 1995 (despite the SNES being released in 1991-- We didn't have a ton of money when I was younger, so I basically had a recycled late 80s childhood with the help of yard sales and hand-me-downs). Since then, I've played my fair share of games across a bunch of consoles, and these are the ones that have stood out to me as being the best:

5. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990)

A list of top games just wouldn't be complete without this quintessential classic. Considered to be the best NES game by nearly everyone, SMB3 had everything that you could want in a 2D platformer. Great controls, the intuitive worlds, and the items and minigames along the way... It was, and still is, awesome. This game has perhaps the highest replay value of all time. It just never gets old! Because of that, I find it hard to say anything about SMB3 that hasn't already been said hundreds of times. That's okay though, because I know that nearly everyone who reads this has played Super Mario Bros. 3 at one point or another.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)

Often thought of as the best game in the Zelda franchise, Ocarina of Time told the story of the original Hero of Time. This was the first that people saw of Link on a home console since Link to the Past came out in 1993. Since then, gaming had jumped to the third dimension, and while some games made a graceful transition, others crashed and burned (sorry, Bubsy). Mario 64 had essentially set the standard for 3D transitions, but Nintendo took extra time to make sure that Ocarina of Time didn't feel like Mario 64. Rather, they wanted it to feel different, so that it would be recognizable as a Zelda game.

Of course, they nailed it. The game had awesome controls, which most notably included the targeting system. This allowed Link to lock on to his enemies and strafe around them between attacks. The camera was also great. While it wasn't free roaming like Mario's, it could be centered behind Link at any time, which made navigating certain areas a LOT easier.

As I said before, this game is about the one and only Hero of Time. A hero that is CONTINUALLY referenced throughout the Zelda series. Appropriately, game fits the bill for your expectations. You play as both Young Link and Adult Link, who can respectively do different things. This adds an interesting dynamic to the game, because you're playing at two different points in time.

Couple all of this with the rather large (for its time) overworld and overwhelming soundtrack, and you've got yourself the best Zelda title to date.

3. Resident Evil 4 (GCN, 2005)

Oh Capcom, you finally got it right. After a series of games that was plagued by bad controls and a crappy camera, Resident Evil got a total makeover for its first true sequel in 5 years. The plot is kind of corny: You are Leon Kennedy, who has since been recruited by the United States Secret Service after his involvement in the events of Resident Evil 2. You're dropped off in a remote European village (which I would assume is in Spain, since all of the locals speak Spanish) to search for and recover the President's kidnapped daughter. Which, you know... Is cheesy.

Plot aside, RE4 is just greatness. The controls and the new over-the-shoulder camera are a VAST improvement over previous games, and they even add to some of the game's suspense. Leon isn't the quickest guy in the world, and when you're up against a horde of strong enemies and you're running low on shotgun shells, it makes you feel trapped, which really gets your heart pumping.

The game's location is another part of why it's so good. This village is out in the middle of nowhere, and you're cut off from your allies for most of the game. You're trapped and you know it. Sure they try to send in a helicopter, but it gets shot down! And it's not like Leon can just run to the nearest city and call in the armed forces.

As far as the graphics go, the game was one of the best looking on the GameCube, second only to Metroid Prime. I could go on and on about how heads explode into a thousand pieces when met with a shotgun blast, or how meticulously detailed the environment is, but words alone don't do the game's visuals justice.

This game was originally a GameCube exclusive, but Capcom decided to whore it out for as much money as possible by porting it to the PS2 and the PC (and later, the Wii). While the PS2 version had a couple extra features, the graphics were noticeably jaggier to allow the game to run smoothly on the PS2. The PC version looked like a joke when it came out-- It had no shadows and, again, didn't look as nice as the GCN version. However, they may have fixed it up since its release. I've heard great things about the Wii version, and I may pick it up in the near future. I played it on the GameCube first though, which is why I have it listed as a GCN title.

Oh, and I consider this to be the best title for the GCN. Eat it, SSBM.

2. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)

If you're looking for a game that is remembered for its multiplayer, here it is. This is, by a wide margin, the best offline game that you can play with a group of friends. GoldenEye was the most groundbreaking FPS ever made. Years before Halo fanboys were circlejerking over the thought of dual-wielding, GoldenEye had you covered.

This game was all about fast-paced, run-and-gun action. The game gives you a wide array of weapons to choose from, and it actually follows the movie quite well. They even put in a couple bonus levels, which depict movies like Moonraker, and... er... Well, the other one doesn't even make sense, but it's awesome.

The cheats that you could unlock in this game were a surprisingly fundamental part of why this game was so fun (well, maybe not, but they were still really cool). There were around 30 that you could earn, and they all did weird stuff like turning your bullets into paintballs. There was also another one called DK Mode, which morphed the character sprites into deformed, ape-like figures with huge heads and long arms (the "DK" means "Donkey Kong"

.

This game was being revamped by Rare (who is now owned by Microsoft) for an XBLA release, which supposedly included updated graphics, and online play. However, the release of this version was blocked by Nintendo, who claimed that they wanted to release the game on the Virtual Console before any other profits could be made. I really hope that 1) This game actually DOES come to the VC, and 2) That Microsoft can release their updated version of the game after Nintendo is done whoring for profits. It would mean the world to me.

1. EarthBound (SNES, 1995)

This is it. This is the best game ever. While it may not be the best RPG in the world, EarthBound had its own appealing qualities. It was actually the sequel to a game called Mother (which was only released in Japan), making EarthBound's Japanese title 'Mother 2'.

The game stars Ness (who is probably best known here in America for his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series), a silent protagonist who discovers that he has psychic powers, and must save the world from an evil entity known as Giygas. The game is set sometime in the 1990s, though it feels more like an affectionate caricature of 1950s America. The setting was rather uncommon at the time, as most RPGs were set in medieval periods with swords and magic.

The RPG aspect of the game is pretty standard. The battle system wasn't revolutionary or different, but that's not what made the game so great. It had personality. I'm sure that sound ridiculous, but if you play the game, it won't take you long to figure out what I mean.

The game is filled with quirky items and characters, and at times, the NPCs are even humorously self-aware of the fact that they are in a game. If you're smart enough, you may even notice that there are quite a few pop culture references throughout the game that make the experience all the sweeter (the prime examples that come to mind are The Blues Brothers, the Loch Ness Monster, and Sci-Fi B-movies). The battle scenes are always set in front of a trippy, animated background that would have made Timothy Leary say "Groovy." In fact, one of the more common enemies in the game are Hippies.

There are so many amusing details to this game, and I simply can't name all of them. I would encourage you to play this if you haven't already given it a try.

With the hype of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo has stated that EarthBound WILL be released on the Virtual Console in Japan, but no word has surfaced about the possibility of a US release. In addition, EarthBound also has a sequel called Mother 3, which stars another Smash Bros. fighter, Lucas. This game is currently being translated by a team of very knowledgeable EarthBound fans (one of which translated the Dragonball anime series for FUNimation). I'm peeing my pants in anticipation for the translation, and I hope that Nintendo will someday give Mother 1 and Mother 3 some sort of official US release.