#63 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Game: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle



Phoenix Wright makes me laugh like no other game can and it's also makes me feel really clever when I figure out the puzzles myself. The great thing about the first one was that I had no idea what to expect and had never played anything like it so it completely blew me away. People complain about the graphics but I love the character animation and it's got some great music too. Someday I hope to end up in a real-life situation where I get to legitimately shout "Objection!"

#64 - Eternal Darkness

It is with great sadness that I must announce that I've decided to stop updating my Top 100 Games. Updating the blog daily takes precious time out of my day that I just don't have to spare, between working full-time and spending time with the people in my life, not to mention playing more games and finding new favourites to add to my Top 100. I know I've only reached entry number 64 in the list but someday I hope to share the rest of the list with you some other way. Until then, thanks for reading and keep playing games!



Game: Eternal Darkness
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: Horror



This isn't. Really. Happening.

#65 - Tales of Symphonia

Game: Tales of Symphonia
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: RPG



In Tales of Symphonia, Lloyd goes from humble beginnings to saving two worlds and in the process ends up getting exiled from his home village, assembling a party of oddballs, falling in love with a girl with a mysterious secret, being betrayed by a close friend, finding long-lost family members, fighting countless random battles, visiting elemental shrines, exploring a massive world map on numerous vehicles and occasionally saying "...". While it may be guilty of almost every RPG cliche in the book it's also a brilliant demonstration of how all those elements can work together to make a brilliant game and a reminder of why they're overused cliches in the first place.

#66 - Super Smash Bros Melee

Game: Super Smash Bros Melee
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: Beat Em' Up


Sure, Brawl has more characters, stages, songs, trophies, as well as collectible stickers and a more involved story mode but Melee is the true origin of the Smash Bros nostalgia-fest as we know it. I remember being so excited when this was coming out and I wasn't disappointed.

#67 - Metroid Zero Mission

Game: Metroid Zero Mission
System: Game Boy Advance
Genre: Platformer



Metroid Zero Mission is a brilliant remake of Metroid for the NES, not that there's anything wrong with the original but this updates it to make it much more palatable to modern gaming tastes. One of the best and worst parts is the bit at the end where you take control of Zero Suit Samus for the first time. It's good because it makes you feel so vulnerable playing without your suit and the whole section makes for an exciting finale but it bugs me because it's the origin of Zero Suit Samus. Her existence is just gratuitous in my opinion and has done a lot to cheapen Samus's character and remove a lot of her mystery. Catching a glimpse of her face at the end of each game will never again be the thrill it once was (yes face, I'd rather not see her strip down to her underwear thank). Having said all that, the touching ending of this game is one of her characters finest moments so I guess it's not so bad.

#68 - Timesplitters 2

Game: Timesplitters 2
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: First Person Shooter


What I love about Timesplitters 2 is that it seems it's main goal is to be as fun and silly as possible. With it's cartoonish graphics, time travelling story mode and abundance of monkeys, zombies and robots in multiplayer you would have to try really hard to not like it. I'm not such a big fan of FPS games in general and it's rare I'll even try one let alone like it, so the inclusion of TS2 in this list says a lot about it.

#69 - Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Game: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Platformer



Castlevania Portrait of Ruin is a lot of peoples least favourite Castlevania game from the recent generations but I quite enjoyed it. I liked having the castle broken up into bite-sized chunks, it helped reduce the number of occurences of that "where the hell am I and where do I go next" feeling. It probably also helped that it's one of the easiest Castlevania games in recent times, since I've never been that good at them (although to be fair I did finish Super Castlevania IV and it's rock hard). It's also the only Castlevania where I went out of my way to unlock 100% of the map and do all the sidequests along the way, even the boss-rush coliseum type-thing. Ultimately it seems unfair to single out Portrait of Ruin though because I have enjoyed most of the DS and GBA Castlevanias (expect Circle of the Moon - too difficult in an annoying way).

#70 - Pokémon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire

Game: Pokémon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire
System: Gameboy Advance
Genre: Pinball


I'm not a big fan of pinball but I'll happily make an exception for this. What I really like about it is that instead of going for high scores you can focus on catching the Pokemon and all 386 (roughly, at the time) are available to be caught. The thrill of not knowing which Pokemon is going to pop up next, or the excitement of getting the chance to evolve a new Pokemon, helped keep me hooked on this when I would have been long bored of a regular Pinball game. Gotta Catch 'Em All indeed!

#71 - Shadow Hearts

Game: Shadow Hearts
System: Playstation 2
Genre: RPG


The main thing I love about Shadow Hearts is how utterly crazy it is. It's a comedy horror rpg set in a monster-infested version of the real world during World War 2. Instead of starting in a pleasant forest village (which later burns down/exiles you), you start in a village full of cannibals. Party members include an American spy who can magically summon grenades using her mobile phone (in the 1940s), a vampire and a London street urchin. Yuri, the main character, spends half the game being pursued by his fox-masked dead father, occasionally visiting the graveyard in his soul to unlock further monster transformations. And this is all just a warm-up for the total insanity of the sequel, Shadow Hearts:Covenant.

Shadow Hearts also benefits from a decent story (and love story), a wicked sense of humour and a great battle system thanks to the timed button presses of the Judgement Ring.