For anyone who has a deep love and appreciation for games, you always have that list of games that mean so much to you. Whether it's the first game you ever played, the first one you beat, or one that was just that good, you've gotta have that list, and in no particular order, this is mine.
Kirby: Squeak Squad
Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite game series of all time is the Kirby series, and Kirby: Squeak Squad is the game to thank for that. It's actually an interesting story why I love this game so much. One day, I let my little cousin play on my DS, and she wound up deleting my save file by accident. You can probably imagine how mad I was in the moment, but ultimately, it turned out for the better, because it motivated me to unlock everything this time. It was the first game I one hundred percented, and even now, I open the game at least once a year just to see the "Happy Birthday" message and play a few levels.
It's not just the memories that keep bringing me back to this game though. I really appreciated the system of having items and abilities in bubbles, and then storing them in Kirby's stomach for later. It reminded me of a specific episode in the anime, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. In the episode "Beware: Whispy Woods!", the tree of the same name is cut down by King Dedede, and Kirby has to search through his stomach to find one of Whispy's apples, so it can be planted and Whispy can come back. I guess what I'm saying is that this system is a nice way to keep that idea apparent. So hats off to Kirby: Squeak Squad; I'll see you on my next birthday.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Yeah... expect to see a lot of Nintendo on this list.
I probably praise The Thousand-Year Door more than any other game I've ever played, simply because it's just that good. There are so many lovable characters that you get to meet in a great story that makes you want to laugh and relate to as many of them as you can. And of course, you have to talk about the art style; it's helped the game age so unimaginably well over time, and meshes with the different mechanics and systems perfectly. If I had to pick a favorite chapter from this game, it would probably to be "For Pigs the Bell Tolls". Twilight Town was a really nice mix of funny and creepy, plus the focus of the chapter is pretty heavily geared towards my favorite companion. There's never gonna be a time when I'm not enjoying this game, and I can definitely see myself doing another playthrough sometime soon.
Luigi's Mansion
I can honestly say that this is the game I've played through the most times in my life. When I was a lot younger, my parents use to take me to my sister's weekend-long horse shows, and I pretty much spent everyday laying around in our RV with my Gamecube. There was always a few select games that I brought, but there was something about this game that made me always want to play it there. The gameplay is solid, the story is fun and interesting, and I always find myself trying to get more money than my last playthrough. Thinking about this makes me super excited for the third game to come out, but no matter how good that is, I won't forget all the joy that the original has brought me over the years.
Pac-Man World 2
We're gonna take a break from Nintendo and give it up to one of the oldest characters in video games. I think my love for Pac-Man World 2 originally came from my experience with Pac-Man Vs. My best friend introduced me to both games since they came together on the Gamecube, but since Pac-Man Vs. was multiplayer, we probably played more of that together. None the less, this one makes the list because I could play it more ofter, and it was so much fun to explore each different environment. It also happens to be the game on this list that took me the longest to beat. I probably spent way too many years not getting where I needed to be, mostly because Ghost Island was REALLY tough. Even so, I found myself still trying to beat the game after all those years, and also to play the level "Blade Mountain" a bunch more. There's a reason why they put that level on the game's cover.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom
If you saw my last blog post, you'll know that I have a lot of praise to give this game, but I'll just give a recap. This was the first real video game I ever played, and was the reason I saved all my allowance and spare change to get a Gamecube. For a game based on a cartoon, they executed it beautifully. The writing is just as good as the show, the gameplay is really solid, and exploring each level is so satisfying. On top of all that, the soundtrack is one of my all-time favorites; each song fits the environments really well, and is completely original. I just started another playthrough of the game at school, and once I get back for next semester, I can't wait to finish it.
Mario Party 6
I've played a lot of Mario Party games over the years, but the first one I played is still the one that I keep going back to. One of my favorite parts about Mario Party 6 is the day night cycle in party mode. Having the boards and minigames change based on the time of day keeps the gameplay interesting in a really unique way for the series. There's also a lot of strategy that comes with the change, as when pathways and goals change with day and night, you have to adjust your plan. I think the best example of this is the board "Clockwork Castle", where at night, the entire direction of the board is changed. On top of that, the main goal of get to the star space is entirely reversed, and you now want to avoid the space as much as possible. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a lot of the other Mario Party games, but this one is always gonna be my first choice.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone for Mac
Aside from my Gamecube when I was little, I had my desktop, and this was probably the only game I had that required a time investment. It was so much fun getting to explore Hogwarts, solve puzzles, and find all the secrets, and man there were A LOT. I specifically remember accidentally trying to cast a spell in front of a mirror, and then all of a sudden, I could walk through the mirror and find a secret area. Finding that was so satisfying, and afterwards I think just tried casting spells on every mirror I saw. Thinking about it more, this might be the game that spawned my love of puzzles.
I know the game's story has differences between the book and the film, but I think that made it feel kind of nice. My favorite part of the game involves sneaking around the castle at night to avoid Filch and deliver Hagrid's dragon to Ron's brother to raise. From my own understanding, this part of the game mixes a couple parts of the book together, but none the less, it's a portion of the game that's filled with a lot of tension, and beating it is so satisfying. What sucks right now is that I don't have a way of playing the game anymore, but I'm sure I can figure it out.
Pokemon: Heart Gold & Soul Silver
Let me just start off by saying that even though this is my pick for Pokemon, Gen 3 is still my favorite. With that out of the way, I chose Heart Gold & Soul Silver because Soul Silver was the first Pokemon game I really committed to. My family went on vacation to a less developed part of the Bahamas one year, and this was one of the only games I brought with me. Even after the vacation was over, I still found myself playing it, and for the first time, beating the Pokemon League. On top of all that, Cyndaquil is my favorite starter Pokemon, so that gave these games some major points. I think without this game, I wouldn't have played so many more Pokemon games over the years.
Portal 2
This is another one that I've played through more times than I can count, and I bet I'm not the only one. While the first Portal is also a great game, Portal 2 took what Valve already had and made it even better. The puzzles are complex and fun and the narrative is amazing, but when the 2 mix together, that's when the game shines the most. I think the best example of this is during "The Itch". Just trying to figure out how to smash each monitor is its own extra puzzle, and Wheatley's reactions to the process are absolutely hilarious. Just that chapter alone, I've played so many times, and I'm sure there will be a couple more times this coming year.
Kirby's Return to Dreamland
The Kirby series had been doing a couple of spin-off ideas in the years before this game, and while they were pretty good, I was itching for some classic gameplay. Thankfully, Kirby's Return to Dreamland came along, and the itch was scratched. Out of all the Kirby games, this is the one that I enjoyed the most. The skill sets for each copy ability felt really diverse, with my favorite one being ice. I'm a big fan of turning into an ice ball and just rolling around and destroying stuff.
Another thing that really stands out to me about this game is The True Arena. After playing the versions in most of the other games, this one definitely felt the most difficult, but wasn't too difficult to feel like another game. On top of that, all of the bosses are really fun to fight, with just enough nostalgia and uniqueness to them for the need to adapt your play style to each one. Honestly, this could be my favorite video game.
Galaga
I was pretty fortunate to get a lot of experience with classic arcade games when I was a kid. Galaga stands out though because it was the first time I got to the top spot of a high score board that was of a significant score. I don't remember how many quarters I put into that machine that night in the restaurant, but I do know it was enough to make me want to get the digital version for my Xbox 360. I like to think that everyone has a classic arcade game that they really love, so I'm really happy this one made my list.
Soon To Be Added
Castle Crashers
Pokemon: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
A Hat In Time
Hollow Knight
Splatoon 2
I know everyone has their own list of games, so let me know what yours are, and if we have any in common.