Okami, Mass Effect and 2, Jak and Daxter 1, 2 and 3 and the Wind Waker.
Okami had everything slot in perfectly and was infintely better for it. What was essentially "Zelda w/ paintbrush" became so much more when you factor in the excellent writing, the gripping story and the believable and entertaining story, not to mention the art style and the utterly brilliant soundtrack.
The Mass Effect series has created such an interesting universe with great dialogue and a detailed encyclopedia that it saved the first game, whose combat I found quite frustrating, from being a passable RPG. Mass Effect built on that and streamlined the process to ensure that you were always in the universe.
Jak and Daxter has always had such great characters, animation voice acting and writing. It really draws you into the struggle and makes the ridiculous character designs more relatable as people. Rather than just say, "'ey lookit dis guy, 'e's fat!", they made an intimidating and well-rounded villain.
Finally, the Wind Waker combined everything I love about Zelda. It's got the great music and classic gameplay which you expect, but it also contains an intersting story that masks the generic "Find X to get to Y" formula" so well. And, as a bonus, it still looks great 8 years later, thanks to its art style. Zelda is at times too serious for me, *cough* Twilight Princess *cough*, and the Wind Waker shows that you can have lighthearted fun and antics and still invoke emotion at the right times. It's my favourite Zelda.
Okami had everything slot in perfectly and was infintely better for it. What was essentially "Zelda w/ paintbrush" became so much more when you factor in the excellent writing, the gripping story and the believable and entertaining story, not to mention the art style and the utterly brilliant soundtrack.
The Mass Effect series has created such an interesting universe with great dialogue and a detailed encyclopedia that it saved the first game, whose combat I found quite frustrating, from being a passable RPG. Mass Effect built on that and streamlined the process to ensure that you were always in the universe.
Jak and Daxter has always had such great characters, animation voice acting and writing. It really draws you into the struggle and makes the ridiculous character designs more relatable as people. Rather than just say, "'ey lookit dis guy, 'e's fat!", they made an intimidating and well-rounded villain.
Finally, the Wind Waker combined everything I love about Zelda. It's got the great music and classic gameplay which you expect, but it also contains an intersting story that masks the generic "Find X to get to Y" formula" so well. And, as a bonus, it still looks great 8 years later, thanks to its art style. Zelda is at times too serious for me, *cough* Twilight Princess *cough*, and the Wind Waker shows that you can have lighthearted fun and antics and still invoke emotion at the right times. It's my favourite Zelda.
