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HONORABLE MENTION---Final Fantasy
This one misses the cut because honestly, I only really like the first one. I can play that one over and over again. I've tried playing the later ones (VII and beyond) and just couldn't get into them. I do want to track down the "original" III and IV and try them though. The first one still remains my favorite RPG of all time.
#10---SUPER SMASH BROS.
What can be better than smacking your friends and family around with your favorite Nintendo characters? I still remember how much laughter ensued when my friends and I popped in the original on the Nintendo 64. Then with Melee on the Gamecube and Brawl on the Wii they kept adding more and more content. More fighters, trophies, secondary modes and even online play. It all has evolved into one of the funnest fighting games in existence.
I remember being intrigued when this collaboration between Square Enix, makers of the Final Fantasy series and Disney was announced. The game is a very well put together story that blends the two worlds. It turns out to be a lot of fun to visit Disney-themed worlds and fight alongside well-known Disney heroes. The games are well put together, with easy-to-use controls finding inspiration from another entry on this list to be mentioned later.
#8---Castlevania
This is what people need to think about when they think Dracula and vampires. These games still hold up very well today, I find myself playing the first one and the third one from time to time. The second one, Dracula's Curse, was attempted but I gave up due to many reasons. If you'd like to know most of them, watch The Angry Video Game Nerd's review. This franchise was not happy just keeping to the same formula, later entries introduced new twists, from leveling up to changing characters and even sometimes using two characters in the game. I currenty am working on "Portrait of Ruin" for the DS and I am just in awe of how well it's put together graphically, gameplaywise, story, etc.
#7---Mega Man
I still remember my first experience with the Blue Bomber. A friend in school offered to trade Mega Man 2 for one of my games for a period of two weeks. I had heard about Mega Man, but not that they'd made a sequel. After just a few days I became hooked and eventually bought the game myself. The Mega Man series is often known for it's unforgiving difficulty but it still remains addictive. I currently own the Anniversary Edition and still love playing these games over and over. To my admission I have only beat 2 and 3, though I've come very close on 1 and 4. For nostalgic reasons, along with awesome music and bosses, I have to declare I think 2 is the best in the series. 3 is pretty good too, I know it has it's fans, but I hate that they chose to recycle the bosses from 2 and shoved them inside some hideous generic robots to extend the game.
#6---Animal Crossing
I admit I have tried the Sims but just could not get into it. It's too much responsibility to feed, bathe and rest your Sim to keep their spirits up and keep them alive. But Nintendo's kiddie version surprised me and sucked me in. The game plays in "real time", meaning it plays even when you aren't. Seasons change, in most versions they celebrate holidays and sometimes your neighbors want to come visit you! You're the only human living in an animal world. The mayor is a turtle, the shopkeeper is a raccoon and the museum curator is an owl amongst other animals you can meet. Your neighbors will move in and out at will, normally based on how well and often you interact with them. The DS and Wii versions allow you to travel to other people's towns, giving you a more interactive experience.
#5---Metroid
This is another series that, for me, has stood the test of time despite many different variations of gameplay. I love the side-scrolling versions, the first-person shooter versions and even the mixture version. (Other M) The game pretty much just starts you and allows you the freedom to figure out what to do next. True you can't access certain parts of levels until you get certain weapons or upgrades, but it adds to a puzzle aspect that I have grown to love. It surprises me that there are people out there who don't know Samus is a woman. I once read a letter to Game Informer by some girl who was offended they'd suggested Samus Aran marry Master Chief on the grounds that "Master Chief isn't gay." Boy did they have fun answering her, letting her know that Samus is a butt-kicking woman and that marriage would be a bad sign for bad scum of the universe. My only wish for the series is that they'd expanded on the multi-player version that they included in Metroid Prime:Hunters. I think it would have been a fun experience had they included it in Metroid Prime 3:Corruption.
#4---Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat.......the game that single-handedly gave us the ESRB rating system that we all know and love today. Don't get me wrong, I believe we need it in this day and age, but I just have to pay homage that it was this game that got the ball rolling. It does have over-the-top blood and gore incorporated but also the fighting and combinations you can pull off are amazing to watch if you can get the button combinations right. Also, you would think it was just a game thrown together as "let's just let people beat each other to death", but Ed Boon and John Tobias went to great lengths to actually create a storyline for their games. That translated into one of the best video game movie adaptations I've ever seen. The second one really got lost and was not nearly as good of quality as the first one but I still love watching the first one.
#3---Madden
Oh........Madden NFL football....the series that has eaten up so many hours of my time over the years. Writing this I still remember playing it on the Super Nintendo, it had some of the cheesiest lines. Plus I remember there was a cheat to play as a Tiburon team which you could not lose with. I still have Madden 08 on my Wii and I have yet to find a reason to update it. Roster updating isn't too much of an issue for me. I love strategizing on both sides of the ball. For me it's almost half as fun picking my plays and reading the offense/defense as it is actually running the plays. I will probably keep playing these games as long as they keep making them.
#2---Legend of Zelda
One of the most storied franchises in all video game-dom. I have played most of the games in the series and actually only have beaten one but one day I hope to add more to that list when I get the chance. I don't even know where to start on why I love this game. Each game has a great storyline that adds to the lore of the series. When Zelda moved to the 3d realm on the Nintendo 64, it created controls that were emulated in other series. (See Kingdom Hearts) For the life of me though, even with cheats I cannot beat Zelda II:The Adventure of Link. I neglected to think of that when I created my "Most Difficult Games" list.
#1---Mario
Who else would take the number one spot but the most recognizable face in all of video gaming? Every one of his outings has been fun and challenging at the same time. At least with this series I can say I've beaten numerous entries! Nintendo hasn't been afraid to try just about anything with the plumber in his many attempts to rescue Princess Peach and has very rarely failed at it. He even has a popular spin-off that failed to make the list. (Mario Kart) I'm fully looking forward to his next adventure.
#8---Castlevania
This is what people need to think about when they think Dracula and vampires. These games still hold up very well today, I find myself playing the first one and the third one from time to time. The second one, Dracula's Curse, was attempted but I gave up due to many reasons. If you'd like to know most of them, watch The Angry Video Game Nerd's review. This franchise was not happy just keeping to the same formula, later entries introduced new twists, from leveling up to changing characters and even sometimes using two characters in the game. I currenty am working on "Portrait of Ruin" for the DS and I am just in awe of how well it's put together graphically, gameplaywise, story, etc.
#7---Mega Man
I still remember my first experience with the Blue Bomber. A friend in school offered to trade Mega Man 2 for one of my games for a period of two weeks. I had heard about Mega Man, but not that they'd made a sequel. After just a few days I became hooked and eventually bought the game myself. The Mega Man series is often known for it's unforgiving difficulty but it still remains addictive. I currently own the Anniversary Edition and still love playing these games over and over. To my admission I have only beat 2 and 3, though I've come very close on 1 and 4. For nostalgic reasons, along with awesome music and bosses, I have to declare I think 2 is the best in the series. 3 is pretty good too, I know it has it's fans, but I hate that they chose to recycle the bosses from 2 and shoved them inside some hideous generic robots to extend the game.
I admit I have tried the Sims but just could not get into it. It's too much responsibility to feed, bathe and rest your Sim to keep their spirits up and keep them alive. But Nintendo's kiddie version surprised me and sucked me in. The game plays in "real time", meaning it plays even when you aren't. Seasons change, in most versions they celebrate holidays and sometimes your neighbors want to come visit you! You're the only human living in an animal world. The mayor is a turtle, the shopkeeper is a raccoon and the museum curator is an owl amongst other animals you can meet. Your neighbors will move in and out at will, normally based on how well and often you interact with them. The DS and Wii versions allow you to travel to other people's towns, giving you a more interactive experience.
This is another series that, for me, has stood the test of time despite many different variations of gameplay. I love the side-scrolling versions, the first-person shooter versions and even the mixture version. (Other M) The game pretty much just starts you and allows you the freedom to figure out what to do next. True you can't access certain parts of levels until you get certain weapons or upgrades, but it adds to a puzzle aspect that I have grown to love. It surprises me that there are people out there who don't know Samus is a woman. I once read a letter to Game Informer by some girl who was offended they'd suggested Samus Aran marry Master Chief on the grounds that "Master Chief isn't gay." Boy did they have fun answering her, letting her know that Samus is a butt-kicking woman and that marriage would be a bad sign for bad scum of the universe. My only wish for the series is that they'd expanded on the multi-player version that they included in Metroid Prime:Hunters. I think it would have been a fun experience had they included it in Metroid Prime 3:Corruption.
Mortal Kombat.......the game that single-handedly gave us the ESRB rating system that we all know and love today. Don't get me wrong, I believe we need it in this day and age, but I just have to pay homage that it was this game that got the ball rolling. It does have over-the-top blood and gore incorporated but also the fighting and combinations you can pull off are amazing to watch if you can get the button combinations right. Also, you would think it was just a game thrown together as "let's just let people beat each other to death", but Ed Boon and John Tobias went to great lengths to actually create a storyline for their games. That translated into one of the best video game movie adaptations I've ever seen. The second one really got lost and was not nearly as good of quality as the first one but I still love watching the first one.
Oh........Madden NFL football....the series that has eaten up so many hours of my time over the years. Writing this I still remember playing it on the Super Nintendo, it had some of the cheesiest lines. Plus I remember there was a cheat to play as a Tiburon team which you could not lose with. I still have Madden 08 on my Wii and I have yet to find a reason to update it. Roster updating isn't too much of an issue for me. I love strategizing on both sides of the ball. For me it's almost half as fun picking my plays and reading the offense/defense as it is actually running the plays. I will probably keep playing these games as long as they keep making them.
One of the most storied franchises in all video game-dom. I have played most of the games in the series and actually only have beaten one but one day I hope to add more to that list when I get the chance. I don't even know where to start on why I love this game. Each game has a great storyline that adds to the lore of the series. When Zelda moved to the 3d realm on the Nintendo 64, it created controls that were emulated in other series. (See Kingdom Hearts) For the life of me though, even with cheats I cannot beat Zelda II:The Adventure of Link. I neglected to think of that when I created my "Most Difficult Games" list.
Who else would take the number one spot but the most recognizable face in all of video gaming? Every one of his outings has been fun and challenging at the same time. At least with this series I can say I've beaten numerous entries! Nintendo hasn't been afraid to try just about anything with the plumber in his many attempts to rescue Princess Peach and has very rarely failed at it. He even has a popular spin-off that failed to make the list. (Mario Kart) I'm fully looking forward to his next adventure.
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