I define a 10/10 as a game that is one of my personal favorites, and a game that I would not change anything about, or cannot point to a single, glaring flaw. I'm also only choosing games that are at least a few years old, as much as I want to put Undertale on here. Starting with ones that may not already be on a thousand lists already:
Yume Nikki - It's almost difficult to call it a game, but I'm going to include it. Horror in general is hard, as different things are scary to different people. For me, I loathe much of the horror genre, especially when applied to video games. I also have vivid dreams, making it an especially impactful game for me, and the only story/game that actually managed to scare or horrify me on some deep level. I don't want to say too much about it for those that wish to play it (it is free), but my opinion may also be influenced by the fact that I triggered a certain event without really trying to.
Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio) - Unique, innovative, and fun most of all, it has a vision for what it wants to be and executes pretty much flawlessly. It's uncompromising, challenging, but keeping things fun, while also having interesting subtexts about self-expression, taking out military helicopters and dodging police bullets all by tagging. I also don't know if another video game's soundtrack has ever been built around trip-hop.
Seiken Densetsu 3 - Way ahead of its time and the epitome of its series, it uses a real-time battle system along with non-linear paths and stories. The characters are all unique and interesting, and the story is good enough to keep you interested. Only a shame it's never gotten a proper western release.
Megaman Legends/64 - I'm sure this selection will anger some Megaman purists. Legends/64 was never really Megaman, but that's primarily why I loved it. I kept trying to come up with criticisms or ways to push it off the list, but I couldn't think of any. It was a free-roam adventure game with graphics that still hold up mostly today, with expressive faces a great character designs. It's quite memorable, sure you remember the big action set-pieces, but also the small side quests, of which there are plenty. It doesn't skimp on the challenge, either, even if it's not as hard as its more "pure" siblings.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (first three?) - Since the first three games are bundled as one on the iPad app store, I'm going to count them as one. If I had to choose just one, it would likely be the first one, but to be honest I wouldn't change anything about any of them. Blending the visual novel and adventure game formats seamlessly and effectively, while maintaining a cast of characters that manage to be consistently fun, interesting, and memorable. I was considering putting it in the "almost" column due to the localization team trying to pretend it is in Los Angeles, but I'm not sure if it's totally fair to penalize it over that.
Chrono Trigger - Venturing into more familiar territory, it's hard to think of a linear jRPG that has this much replayability and lovability. A near-perfect execution of the time-traveling story trope, a delightfully Japanese mashup of different character designs, tech styles, and universe to explore.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - The ubiquity of OOT on best-ever lists has seemed to lead to a backlash of those who say it is overrated, A Link to the Past or Majora's Mask was better, etc. While the rest of the series is undoubtedly solid, OOT holds up on all levels. I enjoy it as much today as I did when I was a wee one, and I could also appreciate the emotional turns in the story just as much. I simply can't say the same with some of the other entries, save for maybe TWW, which was unfortunately rushed.
Pokemon X/Y - I have always liked Pokemon, but I have always lamented the fact that such a great game series could never get a true console-quality adaptation. I realize that is part of the charm, for some, but it seems the potential has been hampered by it. Well, unlike its predecessors, X/Y seemed to be the perfect compromise, a handheld game that also looks and feels more like a console game from my youth. From a pure gameplay standpoint, it is amazing how Pokemon is able to rehash the same formula every game but still somehow feel new, fresh, and improved-upon.
Portal 2 - Some might consider it sacrilege to put Portal 2 on here without Portal was its length and Portal 2 fixed that problem while also greatly improving on the overall formula.
For this section, I'll focus on some that just missed and give a short explanation as to why. Some Close Calls:
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The graphics simply don't hold up. Even in their day, character models looked muddy, and even the cars looked flat and boring, in most cases. Introduced a cool car customization feature, but made it extremely difficult to actually hold on to modded cars.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - I have a number of small gripes, but the biggest is likely the use of the dice roll system that made it a bit more clunky than it really needed to be.
Recettear: An Item's Shop's Tale - As much as I want to give this a 10, I could never get into adventurers who were not Louis.
Fallout: New Vegas - Somewhat buggy/clunky even years later, no improvements to the fairly crappy character models, among other small gripes. Not all Obsidian's fault, but it does take from the experience.
