#11 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Game: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Adventure



We got Majora's Mask strictly for Christmas but decided to test it out first to make sure it worked ok... several hours later we finally put it away after finishing the first area and dungeon. I can't blame myself really, it's such a good game. The time loop/bombers notebook mechanic is great and unusual as are Link's mask transformations (especially rolly Goron Link). Termina is an eerie and twisted version of Hyrule, especially with that big moon glaring down at it and Clock Town feels like a living breathing town with so much to see and do in it. Even with 4 dungeons the game doesn't feel too short and the boss battle with Goht is one of the best moments in any game ever. It's also quite dark for a Zelda with a couple of genuinely upsetting moments in it.

#12 - Final Fantasy VII

Game: Final Fantasy VII
System: Playstation 1
Genre: RPG



Whatever about the games that came before, this is the game that truly ignited my love for RPGs. Fate seemed to have a hand to play as very shortly after seeing it at Tony's house and thinking "I want that", our mother won a PS1 in the local supermarket! It's one of those games I "lived" along with the characters, the entirety of Midgar felt like a full-length game in itself so it was such a shock when things finally kicked off after leaving Midgar. I loved all of the characters, the world, the music, the graphics and even the story, nonsensical as it is. It's also the first game to make me cry, even if we stupidly managed to spoil it on ourselves by reading teletext the night before we got to *that* bit in the game. It's such a shame they won't leave it alone instead by releasing one crap spin-off after another when all anyone really wants is a graphical update of the game as it is.

#13 - Jet Force Gemini

Game: Jet Force Gemini
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Shooter



I didn't expect to love this as much as I did because I wouldn't have said 3rd person shooters were my favourite genre. I'm sure the general cutesiness and lack of real gore helped (green bug blood and bouncy ant heads don't count) but it's simply a great game. The bosses are tough but satisfying to defeat, the tribals are cute but infuriatingly fragile and the atmospheric music matches perfectly to the alien levels. Most of all it was just enjoyable to play, the controls worked well, the weapons felt right and even I enjoyed the splatter of blood from an exploding group of ants.

#14 - Secret of Mana

Game: Secret of Mana
System: SNES
Genre: RPG



The first of many team games it was amazing at the time to be able to have both players on the same screen at once, never mind three. We recently started a Virtual Console replay and it's as addicitive as ever. It makes up some of my earliest gaming memories and I'm amazed how clearly I remember some aspects of the earlier part of the game. The 3 playable characters are great (I'm always the Sprite) and there were some very cool bosses and odd moments in it (Santa Claus). I think it's a hard game too because the only way we seemed able to defeat the last boss back in the day was to cast a pointless status curing spell just as it attacked. Fantastic soundtrack too.

#15 - Advance Wars

Game: Advance Wars
System: Gameboy Advance
Genre: Strategy



You know a game's good when you fall in love with it during the "How to move" tutorial, with chibi infantry running around and Nells theme stuck in your head you can't help but love it. It's a very cutesy take on the whole war thing which suits me down to the ground. It's also a deep and addictive strategy game with a large variety of different units and some fiendish levels. One of the best things about it is the diverse range of characters, each with their own unique abilities, CO Powers and theme tunes. Personal favourite themes include Andys, Drakes, Nells, Lashs, Colins, Jess's and Grimm's, but they're all great.

#16 - Diddy Kong Racing

Game: Diddy Kong Racing
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Racing



Diddy Kong Racing came as a complete surprise to me, not only because Rare waited until near release to announce it but also because our mother randomly came back from the shops one day and announced she'd bought it for us for Christmas, with barely any prompting. Very impressive. I love the "racing adventure" idea, it works so well. Even the bosses are good if surprisingly hard. It's one of those primary coloured games that I absolutely love with my kind of hummable soundtrack too. Some of the characters in it are very strange, from a more innocent Conker, to the bug-eyed Timber and Bumber, to the weirdness of TT the playable stopwatch. Tiptup was always my favourite though.

#17 - Super Mario 64

Game: Super Mario 64
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Platformer


One of my biggest gaming regrets is that I was stupid enough to use a guide when I played this. Problem was I'd been eagerly awaiting it for so long that I'd read the free guide that came with a magazine cover to cover before I even got the game. I suppose it didn't stop me enjoying the game or tarnish my memory of it as a true classic, nor did it dampen the amazement of actually exploring a 3D world for the time. The first few minutes I spent playing this were incredible, it was such a revelation at the time and I can think of no other game where I've spent hours messing about in the training level alone. These days it all seems a bit blocky and simple (I recently guided Aidan through a playthrough of it) plus it didn't quite work with DS controls but I'll never forget the Halloween when I first played this.

#18 - Banjo Kazooie

Game: Banjo Kazooie
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Platformer



Banjo Kazooie is a classic Rare collectathon with googly-eyed vegetables and silly voices, but that's why I love it (the opening of Nuts and Bolts is a brilliant parody). The whole 3D thing was still new enough for me to be blown away by it at the time but a recent XBLA replay confirmed that my glasses aren't too rose-tinted at all. It seems surprisingly short and simple these days but the levels are classics and it's a lot of fun. My favourites are Click Clock Woods and Freezeezy Peak (best Christmas level ever) though I absolutely love Gruntys Furnace fun too, it's such a clever idea. It's also notable as the first game I played with controller feedback, though I can't believe we actually wasted money on a rumble pak.

#19 - Donkey Kong Country 2

Game: Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddy's Kong Quest
System: SNES
Genre: Platformer



This is one of the first games I can remember being really excited about, thanks to my love of the first game and an 8-page review in the official Nintendo magazine at the time. I probably drove my parents crazy by my singleminded quest to find this somewhere on my confirmation day, but at least I had my priorities right and it was totally worth it. If I'm honest it's probably the best DKC and certainly the hardest (Animal Antics is such a nasty level). It introduces so many great ideas such as Dixie's helicopter hair, teaming-up, playing as the animal friends directly and the DK coins. Gotta love that sneaky dig at Sonic!

#20 - Goldeneye

Game: Goldeneye
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: FPS



I didn't expect to like Goldeneye at all when I first saw it but I turned out to be very wrong. It's the first shooter or "violent game" that I can really remember liking. Most of the levels in it are such classics and so memorable from the Dam, to Facility, to Bunker, to the Train and right on through to the Cradle. The multiplayer was another unexpectedly brilliant aspect of the game and I spent uncountable hours playing it with various different people. The time-trial cheats were a stroke of genius too (Facility on OO especially stands out) as were the objective-changing difficulty levels. Try as I might I couldn't get past jungle on OO Agent but after seeing Alan doing Aztec in OO that may have been for the best. The single most memorable thing about this game of course is watching the ever-bumbling Natalya ruin your efforts by dying again and again and again..