#50 - Pikmin

Game: Pikmin
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: Strategy



Pikmin is rare example of a real-time strategy game that I actually like. Controlling the Pikmin can be a bit fiddly but it's also great fun being able to defeat large enemies through sheer force of numbers. Due to the cuteness and fragility of the Pikmin it can be also be a pretty heart-breaking experience (watching a Pikmin ghost float into the air accompanied by that little cry they make brings about such a mixture of sorrow and guilt). One of the best things about the game is that it's reasonably simple, 30 parts in 30 days is plenty of time and while there are some hard bits it never gets too frustrating (the exact reason I'm not so fond of Pikmin 2, though a recent replay has made me more forgiving of it's many flaws).

#51 - Super Mario Land 2

Game: Super Mario Land 2
System: Gameboy
Genre: Platformer



Along with Tetris this was my first experience of the Gameboy and it makes up some of my earliest gaming memories and memories in general. Having played it recently it seems shockingly short and easy but I still absolutely loved it. It features the first appearance of Wario and some really great levels, my favourites being the Space Zone for the music and floatiness, and the Macro Zone because getting shrunk is always fun.

#52 - Suikoden

Game: Suikoden
System: Playstation 1
Genre: RPG



Although it's reasonably short and simplistic Suikoden 1 is still a brilliant game. I was so excited when I won it in an Ebay auction and I got it for a pretty reasonable price considering how rare it is. Since I started with Suikoden 2, 1 was basically a history lesson for me but it was the very best kind of history lesson. The castle isn't my favourite and there's nothing to flesh out a lot of the stars but it's great to see so many of the characters from Suikoden 2 as they originally appeared, plus it features a very nasty death for one of the main characters (although it is reversible if you get all 108 Stars as is the Suikoden tradition). Some people I know would prefer to leave him dead however. This game laid all of the foundations for the greatness that was to come...

#53 - Sly Raccoon

Game: Sly Raccoon
System: Playstation 2
Genre: Platformer



The Sly Raccoon games are among the best platformers ever made, all three combine stealth and action to brilliant effect and the entire series is yet another example of cel-shading being done right. It's also surprisingly good in the plot/character department for a series of platform games, with real character development over the 3 games, a decent romantic relationship between Sly and Carmelita and even a proper, final, ending for the trilogy.

#54 - Super Princess Peach

Game: Super Princess Peach
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Platform

I love everything about this game, it saw me happily through many a freezing bus journey. It's so bright, colourful and cheery, the music is great and the gameplay, though easy, is hugely enjoyable (even if Peach's amazing special ability to become overly emotional at the touch of an icon is a bit iffy). I've already played our imported Japanese copy twice and I intend to play through the English version very soon. If Peach gets to star in more games like this I might start floating with happiness myself!

#55 - Viva Pinata

Game: Viva Pinata
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Simulation



*coughlastminuteadditioncough*

It's not often that a slow-paced "sim" game grabs me like this but it helps that Viva Pinata involves funnily-named, brightly coloured animals filled with sweets. It also helps that attracting Pinatas to your garden and getting them to romance them is so addictive in a "Gotta Catch 'Em All" kind of way. It has so much more depth than the cutesy graphics would have you believe and even though I played it for a month solid I enjoyed every minute of it (except perhaps the many minutes I spent trying to get an Elephanilla resident..) This is Rare as I remember them from their N64 days and it's great to see.