#21- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
System: SNES
Genre: Acion RPG


A truly classic game, I was in such a rush to get it that I nearly fell over a bin during our mad dash into the shop. It's got one of the most memorable game openings of all time (everyone gets stuck in the Hyrule Castle gardens) and it still looks and sounds gorgeous. The dungeons are all excellently designed and full of clever puzzles. Link's ever-growing and often since reused item collection is great fun to play around with. The Dark World is a stroke of terrifying genius, especially the first time you visit as a helpless rabbit, and it's a concept that has been used in many of the later Zeldas. Plus, what other game lets you defeat a powerful wizard using only a bug-catching net?

#22 - Final Fantasy X

Game: Final Fantasy X
System: Playstation 2
Genre: RPG


Final Fantasy X tells a really good story which is both exciting and touching and it has some brilliant characters (Auron is by far my favourite). It looks amazing, so good in fact that I thought the first in-game footage I saw was an FMV. The voice-acting adds another dimension to it though the quality does vary (Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!). I also really like the completely turn based battles and the Sphere Grid customisation system. I spent one summer playing with the sphere grid and powering up my characters into incredibly powerful demi-gods so that I could fight the Dark Aeons. It brings back nice memories of the day we pooled our money and bought a PS2 just to get it.

#23 - Paper Mario

Game: Paper Mario
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: RPG


I love Paper Marios colourful and unique visual style, witty dialogue, catchy music and fun, rhythm action style battles. The interludes where you play as an imprisoned Peach as she sneaks around her own castle are a nice little touch and it's full of nods to past Mario games. It also does wonderful PR work for previously generic Mario enemies, as each of his companions are likeable examples of their respective species. When we got it in my first year of college I lived in a house with only one, shared, tv, which drove me crazy because I barely got to play it. Thousand Year Door is it's brilliant GC sequel but unfortunately Super Paper Mario on Wii falls a bit flat (unintentional pun!)

#24 - Super Mario Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Platformer


Super Mario Galaxy was everything I was hoping for and it's definitely my favourite Wii game. I played it through twice in a row (with good reason of course) and would happily play it again. It's so much fun to control Mario, flying between planets, taking in the amazing scenery and using the great new power-ups (I especially love Ice Mario). It's also got an amazing soundtrack with the orchestral music from the Bowser battles being an absolute highlight. I'm so happy with the recent new that the sequel is on the way.

#25 - Wario Ware, inc. Mega Microgames

Game: Wario Ware, inc. Mega Microgames
System: Gameboy Advance
Genre: Puzzle/Platform/Shooter/RPG/Adventure/Sports/Sim/Action/Rhythm



I love Wario Ware because it's just so silly, funny and downright insane. The graphics, animation, music and sound effects come together for each mini-game to create a perfect little moment and it's often worth failing a game just to see what happens. There are too many funny games and moments to mention but some of my favourites are the dog that cries if you fail to shake his paw, the lady in the red dress who falls flat on her face if you fail to help her jump the tiny pebbles between her and her lover and on Wii, pulling the tv remote out of the hands of the naughty little boy who won't go to bed.

#26 - Mario Golf

Game: Mario Golf
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Sports


I'm not a fan of golf in real life, and I'm sick of hearing people talk about it in work, but add Mario to it and it suddenly becomes a lot of fun. It was certainly a surprise hit for me. Mario Golf 64 and Toadstool Tour are proper golf simulators with wind, fade, draw, clubs and all that stuff, they just also happens to have courses shaped like Yoshi and DK, filled with Piranha Plants, Chain Chomps, Thwomps and other Marioverse staples. They also have plenty of normal courses and extra modes like Ring Shot and Birdie Badge challenges so there's plenty to do in them. These games define the year I spent living with my friend William after I finished college and there's just something so pleasant and relaxing about a nice round of Mario Golf.

#27 - Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations

Game: Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle


Trials and Tribulations has a brilliantly twisting plot which slowly unfolds over each case, some great villains (especially Godot, the epitome of cool) and the Ace Attorney trademarks of lots of silly humour and a brilliant soundtrack. It gives an interesting new perspective on Phoenix by allowing you to play as Mia and the final case is a rollercoaster of shocks and gutwrenching twists which caused my jaw to literally drop on more than one occasion. It also brings back memories of the 2 weeks I spent travelling around the country doing night work last year, as it made the perfect companion. (I also have to give special mention to Apollo Justice which I love for similar reasons and will always make me think of my trip to America).

#28 - Donkey Kong Country

Game: Donkey Kong Country
System: SNES
Genre: Platfomer


A great start to a classic series, the fuss at the time was all about the graphics but while they seem unimpressive by these days standards the gameplay still holds up well. It's not as structured as it's sequels with odd numbers of bonus stages in each level, hidden in odd places. I even rang one of those tips hotlines to find one of the bonus stages in the days before gamefaqs (it was at the very bottom of the screen as you bounce across a pit on some Neckies heads in a forest level). The final boss is brilliant with some misleadingly jolly music and it's one of the first games I remember feeling truly triumphant about completing.

#29 - Suikoden 3

Game: Suikoden 3
System: Playstation 2
Genre: RPG



Suikoden 3 is another excellent addition to the Suikoden series. I was so disappointed that it wasn't being released in Europe but my friend Ste came to the rescue by surprising me with a copy of the game and the slide cards needed to play it on my PAL PS2 for my 21st birthday. It's got some brilliant characters, a great mansion/castle and an unusual approach to storytelling which allows you to choose who you want the main character to be. My wonky PS2 won't play the game anymore but I'll always have the official soundtrack and the memories.

#30 - Spyro the Dragon

Game: Spyro the Dragon
System: Playstation 1
Genre: Platformer



Spyro is a very good example for people who like to say "They don't make them like they used to". The original trilogy of Spyro games on Playstation 1 were consistently brilliant but the series slowly went downhill with the move to Playstation 2 (the most recent PS2 game made me want to cry with it's awfulness). It brings back strong memories of my junior cert because we first rented it around the time of my exams, possibly even as a reward for afterwards. As with many platformers these days it had funny cut-scenes with surprisingly good voice acting and even though it's incredibly short I loved it for the simple gameplay, well-designed levels, beautiful graphics and catchy soundtrack. I even remember leaving a level loaded in the PS1 after the disc had been sent back to the video shop because I wanted to play it for just a little bit longer. They just don't make them like they used to.

#31 - Ratchet and Clank

Game: Ratchet and Clank
System: Playstation 2
Genre: Plaformer Shooter



Ratchet and Clank is half platformer and half shooter but all fun. It's cutscenes are hilarious which is always a plus and the characters are great, my favourites being Clank and Captain Qwark. Every planet you visit is beautiful and distinctive thanks to the brilliant graphics and music that go with each one. The best part though is the gameplay itself, the huge range of weapons you acquire are all a joy to use from the basic blasters right through to the apocolyptic rocket launchers and sillier weapons that makes your enemies dance/turn into chickens. The games also tend to very varied with lots of well made mini-games and "Xbox 360 achievements"-style skill points.

#32 - Final Fantasy VI

Game: Final Fantasy VI
System: Playsation 1
Genre: RPG



Final Fantasy VI is epic in every sense of the word. Apart from the usual lengthy play time and massive world map you also get a whopping 14 playable characters in your party.All 14 of them are likeable and interesting in their own way. The game also has a brilliant villain in Kefka, totally evil and totally mad, the scariest thing about him is that he's simply an ordinary man who became corrupted. The gameplay is pretty standard but the skill learning system is very good and some of the boss battles can be very exciting. There are so many brilliant and moving moments in this game, made all the more memorable by the fantastic soundtrack, but it would be impossible to list them all and unfair if you haven't seen them for yourself.

#33 - Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

Game: Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
System: Gameboy Advance
Genre: RPG



Superstar Saga is one of those special "Christmas morning" games for me so it will always bring back good memories (in fact I'm pretty sure every single game I've been really excited about on Christmas day makes this list). It's a fairly light and easy rpg which makes good use of the trademark Mario rpg action commands and is notable for having lots of great humour including a whole lot of Luigi-bashing and the brilliant dialogue from Fawful. Come to think of it this game has really saved me on some dark and sleepless nights. Mario and Luigi:Partners in Time is almost as good despite the crying babies and the 3rd game is on the way and looking good.

#34 - Abe's Oddysee

Game: Abe's Oddysee
System: Playstation 1
Genre: Puzzle Platformer



Abe's Oddysee is a dark and brutal game but a very funny one too. Abe is a very fragile character, he dies with one hit and has no attacks of his own, yet he is constantly in danger from meat grinders, explosives, falling rocks, bees, trigger-happy sligs, rabid slogs, ferocious Scrabs, deadly Paramites and the nefarious Glukkons who have enslaved his people to use as food. It's a neat little platformer with lots of clever puzzles and some great locations and character design including Elum, the weird but brilliant two-legged mule thing. It's very satisfying to defeat your enemies and rescue your 99 fellow Mudukons using only your wits and words alone, though having the mystical ability to possess and control your enemies also helps.

#35 - Blast Corps

Game: Blast Corps
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Action



Blowing things up has never been as enjoyable as it is Blast Corps. It helps that most of the vehicles are lots of fun to control, from missile-launching bikes to barrel-rolling robots (though the less said about the Backlashe and that bloody railway line the better). Having to clear the path of an unstoppable nuclear truck certainly adds to the excitement and the music is nice and upbeat for a game about averting an apocolyptic explosion. Once you finish the main game you even get to play some brilliant low gravity levels set in space for some reason, but the games biggest mystery is how on earth you delete a save file!

#36 - Um Jammer Lammy

Game: Um Jammer Lammy
System: Playstation 1
Genre: Rhythm Action



By far my favourite rhythm action game, I love every song in Um Jammer Lammy without exception, making it very hard to choose a favourite. I much prefer playing the guitar over rapping because it sounds much better, even when you experiment and do you own thing which makes getting a Cool rating much more enjoyable. Along with the plot, which is full of typically silly moments, I also love Lammy herself. She's a character I can really identify with for her shyness and hesitance, something Anto even pointed out when we first got the game.

#37 - Breath of Fire III

Game: Breath of Fire III
System: Playstation 1
Genre: RPG


Maybe it was because I was younger or just new to rpgs in general but when I played BoFIII it felt like it went on forever and I was living every moment along with the characters. It proved too hard the first time around so it wasn't until we played it a second time as a team game that I finally saw the ending (on the night before going to Scotland for the first time). It's definitely the best of the Breath of Fire series (though V comes close, for me anyway) with a brilliant cast of characters and some brilliant moments (like the scene with the Australian dolphin which is then re-translated for players who don't speak "Australian").

#38 - Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

Game: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: RPG



It's not easy to setup thanks to the need for a GBA + link cable for each player but if you can get it going FF:CC is a lot of fun. It requires real teamwork, especially during boss battles and it has a great mix of co-operation and competitiveness, especially when money appears. It also has an absolutely brilliant soundtrack along with some quaint, Irish-accented voiceovers for each level (the one for Moschet Manor is especially good, never mind the spooky, brave lilties). As a whole the game was a brave experiment which didn't quite work as well as it could have but it still remains a favourite of mine.

#39 - Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Game: Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
System: Playstation 2
Genre: Strategy RPG



The gameplay in Disgaea is good but tough going, and it requires a lot of work to make progress, but it's totally worth it for the characters and the plot. There are tons of silly laugh out loud moments making it feel more like watching a cartoon sometimes. Sweet, innocent angel Flonne is the perfect foil for evil demons like Laharl and Etna and their interactions are always hilarious, as is Captain Gordon the inept Defender of Earth and his crew. Not only is it funny but when it gets serious it can be heart-breaking too. No matter what ending you get you're in for a shock and the Red Moon chapter is one of the most haunting moments I've ever seen in a game with a beautiful song to go with it.

#40 - Mario Kart 64

Game: Mario Kart 64
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Racing


Our first N64 game, we were so excited about it that I think we bought it even before we had the console. I spent hours wondering what it would be like to control with the 3D stick and was very disappointed when I saw it running on a tv in a shop only to find out it wasn't a playable demo. As it turned out it was a solid single-player game with some great tracks that have stood the test of time (Mario Circuit) and some sneaky shortcuts (Peach's Castle). What makes it truly great though is the multiplayer, no Mario Kart has come anywhere close to matching it since. You can't beat a battle with 4 human players on the Block Fort stage.