Your 5 most influential games

[shrekfan246]

Sonic 3 & Knuckles -
I could follow the pattern of the latter portion of this list, since I still buy and love Sonic games, but 3 & Knuckles is where it all began. Growing up on the Genesis/Megadrive, I did play all three of the games (and Spinball and 3D Blast, as it happens), but this one was the game that really grabbed my attention. Multiple ways to play the game with character-specific paths, a co-op function with Sonic and Tails together that opens up paths not normally available in Sonic's route, and just fantastic aesthetic design and music. Any love I have for games like Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong, Kirby, LittleBigPlanet, or any other platformer stems originally from this game.

Pokemon Red/Blue -
Again, I still mostly enjoy Pokemon, but Red/Blue were by far the most influential on me. It was my introduction not only to handheld gaming, but also to RPGs in general. I had played Betrayal at Krondor previously, but being as young as I was I never knew what to do. Pokemon allowed a simple enough system and world that I could lose hours upon hours in it. Other RPGs like Final Fantasy VII/IX or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic may have left more of an impact on me for their stories and graphics, but I don't know what they would have been to me without Pokemon first.

Mass Effect (Franchise) -
There are precious few modern games I've played through multiple times. The number of them over 15-20 hours in length drops even further. Reduce it even more when you add in an entire series of games instead of just a singular title, and Mass Effect is practically the only thing left, joined by the ranks of Batman: Arkham Asylum/City and the Bioshock franchise (which are shorter) and Kingdom Hearts. Each game has its problems, undoubtedly, but taken as a whole Mass Effect makes up something greater than I could've ever imagined before having played it.

Metal Gear Solid (Franchise) -
Quite simply, it's the reason I've gotten into stealth games. I've only gotten into it recently (2011) as with many other games I missed over the years, but aside from the crushing difficulty due to my ineptitude I'm not sure there's a single thing I don't like about Metal Gear Solid. Even the ridiculously long-winded and overblown exposition is charming. And since it led me to the likes of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dishonored, and Mark of the Ninja, I can't really hold anything against it.

Kingdom Hearts (Franchise) -
I've made console purchasing decisions based on this franchise. I'd be liable to buy a PS4 solely for Kingdom Hearts III. They are the only JRPGs I've ever come seriously close to 100%ing (though stopping short at ~97% each time because the last few things constantly and consistently wreck me). Tetsuya Nomura is the sole reason I have any hope for Final Fantasy XV. So yeah, while they may not be my favorite individual JRPGs or anything (beaten out by Final Fantasy IX and Persona 4 Golden), taken as a franchise Kingdom Hearts may well beat out Sonic the Hedgehog at this point.

Honorable mention to Steins;Gate -
While it hasn't been quite as influential on my gaming habits (mostly opening the way to things like BlazBlue and Zero Escape, which I may not have otherwise played), Steins;Gate stands out as the only game to have ever pulled me in to another realm of media and entertainment: It's the reason I began watching anime. Now, I don't know if I'll ever seriously follow any anime (I barely follow television anymore), but a year and a half ago the only ones I'd ever even seen were Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragonball Z. Now I've watched enough that I have a hard time recalling all of them on the few occasions I'm prompted to think up a list. So, yeah. Fantastic job, Steins;Gate.

 

[Kyber]

1. Champions of Norrath
2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
3. Timesplitters 2
4. Dragon Age Origins
5. Civilization 4

All of these games have are joined by very fond memories of playing them with my brothers and friends, these games have had more influence on me than any other games ever.

 

[King of Asgaard]

1. Kingdom Hearts. The first game to make me bawl multiple times. This was the case when it originally released, and a couple of months ago in the HD collection. The series is one of my all time favourites, even if it gets convoluted at times.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3. It shows that prequels can both be good on their own terms, and add to an overarching story. Just the level of detail in that game astounds me. Hell, I'm still finding out about Easter eggs.

3. Mass Effect. My second Bioware RPG, after Dragon Age. Now, DA disappointed me immensely, so ME had quite a bit of work cut out for it to impress me. I've never felt so attached to so many characters at once, but by gumption Bioware pulled it off.

4. Final Fantasy X. I love this game. I can't explain it more than that, I just adore it, from the characters and the story to the world and the spot-on combat. I'd played Final Fantasy before, but X was the first I completed.

5. Demon's/Dark Souls. Demon's Souls was the first game that actively got me into seeking challenge in gaming. Were it not for it, I'd have never gotten into Dark Souls, the game I've played consistently since release.

Honourable mentions go to Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, for a 1900+ hour play time, Master of Orion 2 for being my first 4X and eating days of my time, Doom for being my first FPS and Yakuza 3 for being a breakout game I'd never heard of before and being fucking awesome. Yakuza 4 was even more so. I hate Sega for not releasing 5 in the west. *shakes fist*

 

[Casual Shinji]

Resident Evil 2: I love the early Resident Evil games, but my favourite has to be Resident Evil 2. I liked the re playability of it, through the Leon A and B scenarios, and the Claire A and B scenarios. I also liked some of the little secrets in it as well, such as

Spoiler

If you can go through the beginning section of the game without picking up any items, you can encounter the zombie of Brad Vickers, and if you kill him, you can get a key that unlocks costumes for Leon and Claire

Yeah, it had the leather jacket for Leon that made him shoot his gun gangsta style. I can't remember what Claire's costume did, if anything.

 

[thibaut95]

1. Fable - This is the game that got me really hooked on gaming. It was also the game that made me appreciate fantasy (in general)& story and lore in a videogame. So for a big part, it made me who i am today. (i hadn't heard all the hype, so i wasn't dissapointed btw)

2. Halo: CE - This was one of my first console games. And even though i was way too young to play halo, it was the only game i loved playing with my brother and my cousins. I loved it when we all came together and played together competive or co-op. ( my only previous multiplayer experience was Pokémon colloseum)

3. Pokémon red - my first game and i loved it. simple. until my brother got his console (i was 8) it was really the only game i played and i never went on a vacation without my precious blastoise.

4. Assassin's Creed (franshise)- It is my favourite franchise. I have so much merchandise that i'm quite ashamed. I still see it's flaws and hope they will stop the annual release (hahaha....) but i love the characters,lore,historical setting and gameplay

5. Rayman: hoodlum Havoc - influential because 1. it was the first game i bought with my own money 2.It was the first game i talked about with friends.

So yeah a lot of "firsts" on this list, but thats kinda the point ,isn't it?
honourable mentions too: Mass effect,Red Dead Redemption, Crash Bandicoot, GTA: San Andreas and portal

 

[The Funslinger]

1: The original Sonic the Hedgehog. It was the first game I ever played, when I was three years old, although at that age, all I could beat was the Green Hill Zone.

2: Crash Bandicoot. The first console my family owned was a PS1, and this was the first game we got for it. Hell, I've done a Retro Review [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.387158-Retro-Review-Crash-Bandicoot] on it. My sisters, my dad and I all put hours away on that game. Shame I'm the only gamer left in my family. They all went off it. I should also mention Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, as prior to us getting our Playstation, we played that on a friend's every time we went over.

3: 007: Nightfire. My friend had this for Playstation 2, and it was my first experience with first person shooters. I absolutely loved it, all the awesome game modes, the campaign... hell, one thing I loved was that it even had its soundtrack in multiplayer. I sometimes think games like Halo should try that.

4: Tobal No. 1: Obscure side view cell shade, 3D graphics fighting game for the PS1, made around the time of the first Tekken. I've gone back and played it (and reviewed it) and it still plays brilliantly smoothly. Oh, and the characters were designed by Akira Toryama!

5: Pokemon Yellow. My first Pokemon game (which I also reviewed, and got a review spotlight for... Jesus, this is turning into a horn tooting session) after watching the cartoon religiously. I played the ever loving shit out of it. And one of the default character names was Jack, which is my name. I'm still bloody proud of that.

 

[PPB]

1. Warcraft 2 and Warcraft franchise - Warcraft 2 was pretty much the first real PC game I played. It introduced me to PC gaming, the RTS genre and fantasy in general. It's one of the video games I remember the most from my childhood and was ultimately responsible for sparking my interest in not only subsequent Blizzard titles, but also in fantasy - which led me to play games like Baldur's Gate and read books like Lord of the Rings. Warcraft 3 came during my teens and was the first game I played online competitively (never really got into the battle.net scene of Starcraft). Then I started playing World of Warcraft as a young adult and it was my first real MMO. Warcraft is by far the series that has had the biggest impact on my gaming life.

2. Baldur's Gate series and Neverwinter Nights - Introduced me to RPGs, which is my favourite genre. BG and its sequel represent the perfect RPG in my opinion. From the start of BG1 to the end of BG2, you have it all: wilderness exploration, dungeon delving, small towns, sprawling cities, character interactions and a solid story. NWN was a highlight mostly for its extensive use of community-made modules, which provided me with tons of smaller RPG experiences.

3. Jedi Knight series and KotOR - Dark Forces 2 was my introduction to the expanded universe of Star Wars. It was also awesome to run around the Star Wars setting with blasters and a lightsaber. Jedi Outcast was even better in my opinion. Then KotOR came along and, as a RPG fan, was a dream come true.

4. Morrowind - I came in relatively late to this one, becoming aware of its existence when people kept comparing it to NWN. This is one of the most immersive game I've ever played and remains fun to play even after all these years. Along with NWN, it's another example of an incredible modding community too.

5. Super Mario World - I don't really have incredible memories of this one but I had to put it somewhere because it was the first console game I played on my first console. I was never a big console gamer but until the late 90s Mario was synonymous with gaming for me.

 

[Silvanus]

1) Banjo Kazooie. The first game that I spent an inordinate amount of time on, and the first one I just had to be a complete perfectionist with (finding every jigsaw piece, exploring every nook). Also started my love affair with the N64 (along with Donkey Kong 64). Brilliant game.

2) Ocarina of Time. Still my favourite experience of gaming to date. Embodies everything I want: the right amount of exploration, the right element of mystery (that creepy windmill, the Skull Kids, stuff like that).

3) Half Life 2. Perhaps HL1 would take this spot if I hadn't played #2 first. Started me loving FPS.

4) Age of Mythology. I played AoE2 first, but spent more time on AoM and loved it more. I really got into mythology as a result of this game.

5) Guild Wars: Prophecies. Without a doubt, I have spent more time on this game than any other. I had more pride in my Guild Wars character than any other.

 

[Evonisia]

Halo 3 - Introduced me to the series which began the deep love I held for 5 years (which doesn't sound like long but it felt like quite a while). My love for the Halo series 2001-2011 will never die, everything that's come since can suck it. It's also a major reason I got Xbox Live and I've played many fun games both multiplayer and singleplayer because of that.

World of Warcraft - Has occupied a larger portion of my gaming life than most other games, I still play it now and I still love it. While the story and writing is dodgy there are a few little story parts of it I do enjoy a lot. There's nothing more I can say.

Oblivion - Oblivion is my favourite of the three immensely popular Elder Scrolls games (that being 3, 4 and 5). Morrowind just upset me with the murky design and faulty combat, and Skyrim bored me stiff. Oblivion does have boring elements but it still held onto me long enough for me to keep playing it over and over on different characters and even different platforms (it's the only game I've finished all achievements in on my Xbox 360, though the achievements aren't hard).

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 - I seriously love this game, and even though it's incredibly laggy when online I still get immense enjoyment out of it. It's campaign is a nice little trip through the Star Wars canon, too. As somebody who doesn't dedicate their life to hating the Prequel trilogy I can sample most of the game without getting a sour taste in my mouth. Though I wouldn't call it one of my favourite games it's certainly one that has a foot print in my gaming history.

FarCry - Still my favourite game, still poured over a hundred hours into it. Story is still ridiculous but charming, as are the characters. World is still very beautiful and the gameplay is a bit glitchy but definitely fun. It certainly has impacted my gaming life seeing as how I tend to compare any 'big map' shooters to it, heck most shooters in general.

 

[somersetsaxon]

In no particular order....

1. Timesplitters 2: I remember rushing home with a few friends after school to try and cram in as much 'Splitters as we could before they'd have to go back to get their buses home. Good times...

2. Call of Duty 4: Probably the quintessential blockbuster shooter to my mind, has a story which was not so preposterous that you're struggling to suspend disbelief and (whether you love it or loathe it) its success has changed the gaming world.

3. TES IV Oblivion: I resisted my friends insistence that I would would enjoy this for around about a year, complaining that I didn't really like fantasy stuff and I preferred sci-fi and blah blah blah. Played it.... played it a lot, loved every minute. Leads into...

4: Fallout 3: It's oblivion in a sort of sci-fi setting... sold. When I said order didn't matter you could probably slap a big number 1 next to Fallout 3.

5: League of Legends: Not ashamed to say I love LoL, trolls and creaking EU servers and all. It's really got me into eSports as a whole.

Honourable mentions: Mass Effect, Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow, Age of Empires 3

 

[MysticSlayer]

1. Super Mario 64: The game that got me into gaming. By now I don't necessarily love the game and am constantly reminded of how horribly it's aged every time I decide to play it again, but I doubt I would be much of a gamer today if it weren't for this game capturing my attention so fully when I was a child.

2. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: By far the game I think of the most, at least when comparing games that have had multiple years to be forgotten. Not only does it often remind me that emotionally-driven rather than logically-driven stories that simply capture human interaction are sometimes the best, but it is also the game I go to the most as an example of how to build character relationships through gameplay. Granted, it is hardly the only game that does it well, and RPGs were doing things well long before it came along, but it still is the game that I think best shows the potential to build relationships in action games. Also, I often use it as an example of how to do platforming right. Ultimately, I bring it up more than Super Mario 64, but it wasn't the game that got me into gaming, so that's why it only gets second.

3. BioShock (series): Well, BioShock 2 really isn't included, but both BioShock and BioShock Infinite are very influential games. When they get things right, they have plenty to talk about regarding why it was right and how to improve it, and when they get things wrong, they screw up so bad that it makes for an easy example of how to avoid that pitfall in the future. Not to mention, they offer a lot of interesting discussion value on real-life issues, even if none of them are particularly the deepest commentary on the issues they try to tackle. Ultimately, it may not be the best franchise to ever arise, but it is certainly a discussion-worthy franchise and one that has had more influence on me than its quality would immediately indicate.

4. Roller Coaster Tycoon: Next to Super Mario 64, this game is probably the most responsible for generating interest in games, though it did more for non-action and non-RPG games. It's a game I may often forget, but I still remember fondly when I do remember it, and it still serves as a good reminder that action and RPG games aren't the only ones out there.

5. Cabela's Outdoor Adventure: I was very much an indoors person before playing this game. It generated an interest in outdoor activities (not just hunting) that still sticks with me today.

A close 6th would be Call of Duty (original). It got me interested in military shooters, which dominated my gaming time for years, and it also generated an interest in military history. The reason I don't put it as #5 is that that interest in both the genre and subject have waned a lot over the years.

 

[Artina89]

Resident Evil 2: I love the early Resident Evil games, but my favourite has to be Resident Evil 2. I liked the re playability of it, through the Leon A and B scenarios, and the Claire A and B scenarios. I also liked some of the little secrets in it as well, such as

Spoiler

If you can go through the beginning section of the game without picking up any items, you can encounter the zombie of Brad Vickers, and if you kill him, you can get a key that unlocks costumes for Leon and Claire

Yeah, it had the leather jacket for Leon that made him shoot his gun gangsta style. I can't remember what Claire's costume did, if anything.

For the Playstation dual shock version (which is the one that I own) Claire's costume comes with a Colt SAA revolver, which used standard handgun ammo and had the benefit of firing faster than the handgun as well. A friend of mine owns the Nintendo 64 version and that had a different costume for Claire which had the logo of the studio that developed the port of Resident Evil 2 on the back. I can't remember if it came with a different special effect though.

 

[GabeZhul]

1. Final Fantasy VIII: I have first played this game when I was about fourteen, and since then I have replayed it over and over again for at least ten times. It is just a game that resonated with me, and much more so that its more acclaimed predecessor, and it is the main reason I started playing JRPGs.

2. Morrowind: My first taste of the Elder Scrolls series, and I would say I sinked more time into these games than into all the others combined, which is a little scary now that I think about it... -.-

3. The Prince of Persia Trilogy: For a while these games literally dominated my online (and in some respect my offline) life and interactions with my friends. In fact in retrospect it is a little creepy just how obsessed we were with the games... -.-'

4. Knights of the Old republic 2: I loved this game from the first time I got my hands on it, and I replayed it as many times as FF8., even though my old PC at the time could barely run it. I found it to be better than its prequel in every single aspect save for its ending, and I am thinking about replaying it again with the mods.

5. Ever 17: Not exactly a game per se (it is a visual novel, so it is closer to a book than an actual game), but this was the first VN I have ever read and which opened up the world of visual novels for me, something that defines my online activity to this day.

 

[OldKingClancy]

1 - Spyro 2: Gateway To Glimmer

The VERY first game I ever played and still play to this day. Introduced me to gaming and a lifelong obsession.


2 - GTA: San Andreas

The game that introduced me to the open world and the free-play of no consequence and plenty fun.


3 - The Last Of Us (and to a lesser extent the Uncharted Trilogy)

Showed me that a great story and brilliant characters can makeup for frustrating gameplay.


4 - Saints Row 2 & 3

Showed me the opposite, an ok story is fine but fun and mayhem can be just as great.


5 - Portal

Games don't need to be 20 hours long to be great, sometimes short and sweet is the way to go.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Wow this thread is designed to expose age. I'm about to feel really old and crusty.

Ha! No kidding, right? Let's see...

1. Lemonade Stand, C64. My first real "video game" on my first computer. I hardly played it and it was nothing special, but it was the spark that kindled the flame.

2. Ultima IV. And this was the flame that kindled the flame, as it was the first game that truly enthralled me and kept me playing for hours and hours at a time, days on end.

3. X-Com, UFO Defense. My first real 'hardcore' strategy title, and one of my favorite games of all time.

4. Ultima Online/Everquest. My first real massively multiplayer games, and still arguably my two favorites of the genre. Felt like rediscovering the hobby all over again in a brave new frontier.

5. Sid Meier's Pirates! There's an exclamation mark in the title of the game, I'm not being excitable. Just such a wonderful, well rounded game. The "modern" remake changed very little and it was still eminently playable.

I guess that's technically 6 games right there, so I'll stop. I also considered M.U.L.E., the Fallout series, Planescape Torment, Daggerfall, Utopia, Bard's Tale, Wasteland, Civilization, MOO2, Golden Axe and Legacy of the Ancients.

 

[Roxas1359]

Oh I love these sorta things, welp let's go.

5. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis)-
I guess no list can really not have my first video game in it no? Sonic 2 was my first ever video game, fully introducing me into the genre of platformers and video games as a whole. I loved the fast paced action and platforming, while also enjoying the level design, except for the death pit in Mystic Cave Zone Act 2...screw that thing. I would be converted into a Sega kid and never had a Nintendo system to combat it. As a result of Sonic 2 I ended up trying out the rest of the Sonic series, and I will say that I am a fan to this day.

4. Roller Coaster Tycoon (PC)-
I wasn't always a console gamer, no I used to play some PC games on my computer along with my older sister. The one I remember the most, other than the Lego Island games, was Roller Coaster Tycoon. The game let me be creative and let me build my own park. Although I was never really good at it, my rides breaking down at times and I never knew why no one seemed to go to the bathroom, I mean it only cost about $5 to use it and I thought that was cheap. I also didn't understand the concept of a "loan" so I used to always pull out the maximum money when I could. Either way the game gave me hours upon hours of fun, and I'm glad to say that I still play the game to this day. Although the ignorance of me not knowing about the stuff in the game has been replaced with me being an asshole. >:3

3. Megaman Legends 1 (PS1)-
Not only was this my first PS1 game I ever owned, it was also both my first Megaman game and my first 3D platformer that I'd ever played. The game was short, but I still enjoyed it immensely. The island and inner ruins were fun to explore, and the weapons I got were tons of fun. Being the stupid kid I was I sold it at one point to get my PS2, but a few years later I found a copy of both the first and second game inside a GameStop and as it turned out, they were my original copies. Today I'm glad I've kept the games, they were a huge milestone for me when it came to gaming in the 3rd dimension, and also because to get copies to replace them would set me back about $300 for both games. Still regretting not getting the Misadventures of Tron Bonne though, but then again I never knew it existed... :/

2. Pokemon Red (Game Boy)-
Time for my first ever RPG as well as the only real Nintendo game I ever grew up with, and thus it will get the nostalgia boost and will be only Nintendo franchise to get that from me, so suck it Mario, Starfox, Metroid, and Donkey Kong!
Pokemon was really addicting for me, and of course as a child I saw the anime and was hooked. I didn't have a Game Boy as a child, but instead I had the Game Boy Color which was way better than my Game Gear. I would spend hours upon hours on playing Red Version, dismayed at the fact that my sister overwrote my save file because she thought that there were multiple ones. I never was able to trade Pokemon because I never really had any friends as a kid, so that sucked. Later on when the second Generation came out I had saved up and bought Crystal version. Fast forward to today and I've got most of the Pokemon games, and the only reason I don't have them all is because again the stupidity as a kid caused me to sell them to GameStop. I even have Hey You Pikachu with the mic peripheral! >.<

1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)-
Oo, controversial, I love it. Anyway, Final Fantasy XII wasn't my first entry into the series, that was X, but either way at first I loathed the game entirely. I hated the plot, I hated the characters, and I hated how slow things were. It wasn't until I picked up the game later that I truly fell in love with it. The story picked up later and I became engrossed in it, the characters, while some were still annoying, started to grow on me, and the combat became faster and faster as I leveled up. By the end of my first run, Final Fantasy XII became the game with the largest amount of playtime I had ever accumulated in a video game, 400 hours, and while that would later be replaced by New Vegas I still must remember the beginning of it. I later would go on to acquire the Final Fantasy XII International edition, after I had modded my PS2 to be region free, and I fell in love with the game even more. The game had fixed the license board system to represent classes like the Tactics games, I could control my guest and Esper members by turning off their gambits, and I could break the damage limit of 9999. While the game's difficulty raked up, I just got more and more into it and am still having a blast. For being the first game that I ever spent more time on than Pokemon, I just have to say that I'm glad I gave Final Fantasy XII another chance after my initial reactions to playing it, and while many people like to call it the worst Final Fantasy, I considered it the best one.

Spoiler: And now for some self-made propaganda

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

1. Super Mario World: Quite simply, this was one of the first, if not the first, games I played, along with Capcom's Aladdin. This was the one that really hooked me, though.

2. Mass Effect: I'd played KOTOR and Jade Empire before this one, but Mass Effect is what made me a Bioware fan, something that has not changed in the 6 years since I picked up Mass Effect.

3. Guitar Hero: This one really launched me into enjoying the rhythm game genre. Shame what happened to the later Guitar Hero games, but judging from the 700+ songs I have on Rock Band 3, I think I'm good.

4. GTA III: This one is mostly memorable for me because it was the first game that I disobeyed my mother in playing. She didn't want me to play it? Well, I had a friend who owned it. Guess what we did for sleepovers?

5. Final Fantasy X: This was the game that introduced me to the series, which I have since gone on to play almost every game in (haven't played III, V, XIII, or XIV yet). I'm not sure how it holds up now, but at the time, it was a really enjoyable game. Even if I did spend about half of it on Blitzball.

Honorable mention: The Walking Dead. It's a very new one, so it can't exactly be on my list for influential games, but it's done for me what Mass Effect did: it made me a solid fan of Telltale Games.

 

[MordreadRN]

I agree with the age thing
1. Mines of Mars - The first RPG I played. I didn't understand it all that well but I spent a heck of a long time with it and there were just so many options and builds for each character (C64)
2. Pirates - The open world was amazing, the graphics were amazing and I could spend hours just plotting my route on the cloth map which was included (C64)
3. EverQuest - The first online MMO I played. First time I popped outside Qeynos a whole new world opened up for me. (PC)
4. Wings - This was my pick of the Cinemaware games, the first games that had an amazing story and superb graphics (Amiga)
5. Baldur's Gate - It was just so different and wonderful, unlike anything I had played before. (PC)

Could pick a lot of games really but these 5 stand out at the moment.

 

[UPISTRVIMYD]

1. Link's Awakening: At an amateur radio swap fest at around 8 or 9, I stumbled upon an older fellow with a trailer full of all manner of junk. In amongst this stuff I found an old Game Boy Advance and after a bit more digging I found copy of the DX edition, black cartridge. This was my first video game. I played the crap out of that game, and I will never forget how much it blew my mind. No Zelda has ever matched it's epicness for me, not even the almost universally worshiped OOT.

2. Super Mario 64 DS: Rock solid gameplay with tight controls, a wide variety of worlds with big open levels to explore, four characters to choose between, 150 stars to collect. Great example of an upgraded port, and a game I wonder to this day why there remains no true sequel to.

3. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga: This is my favorite RPG of all time, bar none. Hilariously irreverent(Fawful, anyone?), entertaining new characters, the entire overworld is directly interconnected(I cannot stress how much I like it when this is the case), fun and easy to learn but still challenging gameplay, and pretty damn long to boot.

4. Metroid Fusion: This was the first "scary" game I ever played, and lemme tell ya, at age 9, hearing those footsteps for the first time? And do NOT get me started on Nightmare...(shudder). Lots to explore, plenty of abilities to find, neat bosses, and good god possibly the most atmospheric soundtrack I've ever heard. Zero Mission and Super Metroid are arguably better, but this set the gold standard for Metroidvania, and is still my favorite to this day.

5. Mega Man: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION, HITSUGAI NO IMAGINATION... ahem. Yes, well. Megaman has always been an excellent series, and I have yet to see one fail to live up to the title(except Battle Network 4 and half of the X series... ugh...). wait this has to be only one game? aww man. Fine. Megaman Battle Network 5 DS: Double Team. This was the best of both worlds: Twelve playable characters besides yourself, giving you a legitimate reason to play through the game twice, a mixture of grid-based strategy to break up the old monotonous running about until random encounter, new chips, upgraded navi customizer... This game was the best of the series far and away, and made for a gread end to a soli-what do you mean there's another one.

...I'll be back.

 

[Hero of Lime]

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time- Solidified my love of video games and the Legend of Zelda which I already had an insane love for before playing. I love everything about it even to this day.

2. Super Mario 64- Similar to Ocarina of Time, it showed me the potential of what video games could be and could do. I wanted to be a part of that.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess- Got me back into gaming after a few years of other passing interests. It also got me through some hard times back in high school, I was making no friends, and getting bad grades. This game sucked me in enough for some real escapism.

4. Pokemon Black-This got me into Pokemon big time. I always liked Pokemon, but I had a pretty casual interest in it, this game made me love the series so much more.

5. Kingdom Hearts 2-Similar to Twilight Princess, it helped me cope with some bad times for me. I love the game, though I played it so much it is hard for me to try to play it anymore. Still very influential, it practically defined myself for a good year or so.

Honorable Mentions: Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Halo 3, Metroid Prime, Star Fox 64, Gears of War 2, Pokemon Red, Golden Sun