#1 - Suikoden 2

Game: Suikoden 2
System: Playstation 1
Genre: RPG


To think that I only made the decision to buy this game because of a short 1-page review in CVG magazine and the only reason I ever saw it in a shop at all was because I happened to be in Scotland when it was released. I had no idea it would turn out to be my favourite game ever by a huge margin. It tells a deep, emotional story with a cast of 108 brilliant and memorable characters set in a beautiful world with a real sense of politics and history. The highlight for me is the castle, to watch it grow from crumbling ruins to a lively castle town as your new recruits fill it with life is truly inspiring. It's the kind of place I'd love to visit in real life. Add in one the best videogame soundtracks ever, fast-paced battles, intense duels, sweeping strategy battles, addictive recruitment gameplay, some bizarre and mysterious characters, a great sense of humour, clever connections to other games in the series and multiple heart-wrenching endings and you've got the defining moment of my gaming life.

#2 - Donkey Kong Country 3

Game: Donkey Kong Country 3
System: SNES
Genre: Platformer


In order to get this game we had to run from one end of town to the other and back again in order to borrow the money needed to get it before the last few copies sold out. It was worth it. I'm not blind to DKC3s faults, it is a bit short and easy for the most part, in fact I had the first 5 worlds completely done by the end of the Christmas Day I got it on, bonus stages and all. I don't care though, I love it and it's one of those games I could play endlessly. The music (the proper music, not that GBA rubbish) is great and really gives it an isolated "frontier" atmosphere. It's brilliant to have Dixie in the starring role with her helicopter hair and it's interesting to go back to the heavy/light dynamic thanks to Kiddy. Very nice graphics too being a DK country, I especially liked the water effects in the stilt levels and banana bird ending.

#3 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Game: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
System: SNES
Genre: Platformer


I was so excited about this game and by coincidence I stayed over at Tonys house the night I got it so I envisioned a fun evening of the two of us playing it together; he spent the entire time play A Link to the Past while I slowly went mad.. Yoshi is great fun to play as with his egg making and throwing and trying to get 100 points on each level is a very good incentive to fully explore each one. Yoshi can't die from normal damage as long as he can catch Baby Mario within 10-30 seconds which is a refreshing change from the norm even if that baby's cry could split stones and sent our mother running in to find out why there was a baby in the house the first time she heard it. I love the graphics in this game, all hand-drawn crayons and patchwork quilt, they're so charming. Also gotta give credit to whoever decided Yoshi should transform into a helicopter, a train, a submarine, a mole tank and even a car for one level only.

#4 - Pokémon Blue

Game: Pokémon Blue
System: Gameboy
Genre: RPG


It may come as a surprise to the people who know me but I am something of a Pokemon fan.. I can still remember excitedly talking about this with Alan before it was released, being jealous that he got Red before I got Blue and then playing Blue all the way home from Blanchardstown when I did get it, even though I felt car sick. Squirtle was my very first Pokemon and even though it would probably look like a mess of pixels to me now I loved it at the time. There are few things as compelling to me as trying to Catch 'Em All™ and I'm pretty confident I could name all 493 Pokemon and their types on sight. I also had some really fun battles with my original lv 100 team (Kingler, Sandslash, Dodrio, Electabuzz, Jynx, Chansey) from beating Alan's powerful team of legendaries (dumb luck) to running rings around Tony's Gengar with my Chansey, much to his annoyance. I'm currently playing Platinum and loving it as much as ever.

#5 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Adventure



Hey! Listen! It's hard to believe I had no interest in this when it first came out. Alan couldn't understand it but it just didn't mean anything to me. Then I had my first taste of it at his house and couldn't get enough. I'd say I've played it through 3 or 4 times at this stage and I'd happily do it again. It's one of those games where everything just feels so right. The controls, the music, the Ocarina, the graphics (for the time), the dungeon design, the Skulltulas, the items, Hyrule Field, Epona.. everything. Just don't mention the Water Temple or try to figure out where the Song of Storms came from.

#6 - Metroid Prime

Game: Metroid Prime
System: Gamecube
Genre: Adventure


Until I played Metroid Prime my only experience with Metroid was Metroid 2: The Return of Samus on the original Gameboy. Needless to say I was blown away. That first moment after landing on Tallon IV, looking up at the sky with rain bouncing off your visor and *that* music playing in the background is pretty awe-inspiring. The game looks great, seeing things from Samus's point of view is so immersive and the morph ball is very well done in 3D. I love the way that whole rooms turn out to be giant puzzles and each new upgrade unlocks another cool ability or area. The two sequels were good in their own way but the original Prime is the one I'll always love.

#7 - Final Fantasy IX

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


My favourite Final Fantasy, I love the more light-hearted and humourous tone compared to the other PS1 FFs with plenty of references to past games and tons of brilliant comedy moments. All 8 main characters are great and plot is one of the more comprehensible of the Final Fantasy's, right up until it literally "Pulls a Necron" at the end. Quina is by far my favourite, s/he's so strange, though Vivi also stands out as a very memorable and tragic character. I also really like the battle system, it's nice to have 4 party members in battle at once and I much prefer when characters have set classes to characters that are all the same. Great soundtrack too, as always.

#8 - Fire Emblem

Game: Fire Emblem
System: Gameboy Advance
Genre: Strategy RPG


A totally unexpected Christmas present from Anto became a totally unexpected hit as I quickly fell in love with Fire Emblem's blend of precision strategy and character recruitment. The attachment to each individual unit and my total willingness to replay a 2 hour level because someone died towards the end is the key to what makes Fire Emblem my favourite strategy series. The first GBA game is the clear winner for me, not only because it was my first one but also because it had a great tutorial in Lyn's chapters and Lyn, Eliwood and Hector are my favourite group of Lords. More impressive is the sheer number of support conversations between the characters that do a really good job of fleshing them out and making you care about them all the more. It also makes allowing them to be brutally slaughtered during the final battle all the more fun, mwahaha!

#9 - Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Game: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
System: Sega Mega Drive
Genre: Platformer


My favourite of the 2D Sonic games, I was so amazed when I first played it. I particularly liked playing as Tails, even though most of that time was spent off screen waiting for him to catch up to Sonic again. It was nice to be invincible during bosses though. The zones are pretty cool and the last boss is tough, especially if you're impatient. The multiplayer is also quite good despite some terrible slowdown and the pointless incluson of the bonus stage (now I'm front, now you're in front, now I'm in front, now...). We even discovered the infinite speed shoes cheat ourselves. Most impressive of all is that it was designed to be connected to Sonic and Knuckles, adding a whole new dimension to it years later.

#10 - Perfect Dark

Game: Perfect Dark
System: Nintendo 64
Genre: First Person Shooter


It's controversial but I liked Perfect Dark that little bit more than Goldeneye. After finally getting my hands on it I loved every bit of it (I was going crazy waiting for Golden Discs to get it in stock before finally cancelling my order in favour of going to Dublin and even then Anto had to buy it because I wasn't quite 18). I even managed to complete it on Perfect Agent once I got over my fear of the terrifying cloaking Skedar. It's such a quotable game: "Please don't do that Joanna, it worries me" and the added modes to the multiplayer make all the difference. It has to be my most played multiplayer mode out of all the games I've ever played. We made 8 regular sims we got to know by name and I'll never forget the mode where we pitted ourselves and 7 normal sims against a tiny blonde woman in a red dress set to the hardest difficulty. If we knew she was coming we'd literally run away screaming, terrified, and she always won by a landslide but it was great fun.