Favorite Games By Year

[IMPress Polly]

XI wrote:
Got home late tonight, will finally finish this in the morning. Almost there, lol

Well it is kind of a project, I understand. Anyway, I really like the diversity of titles on your lists so far. It's only so often that one sees a Pokemon game, a sports game, and a Grand Theft Auto installment listed as top favorites for the same year, accompanied by a fighting game and a serious role-playing game. You seem a very broad-minded person.

As for my personal tastes, I LOVE the Kingdom Hearts and Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, and the Phoenix Wright games aren't bad either, and you KNOW I still collect the DBZ Budokai titles to this day! Super Smash Bros. is probably my favorite fighting franchise too. I like a lot of those sorts of games: really good titles that make fun of genre and game world trends. I've got some of those on my lists as well (especially the newly-revised version). Mario Kart and Drill Dozer come to mind. The old Clay Fighter games would be another classic example, although I couldn't actually justify any of those beating out games like Illusion of Gaia and such. And there are similarly other titles on my own lists that aren't satirical in nature, but nonetheless revolve substantially, or even entirely, around criticisms of trends in video game development, like Spec Ops: The Line, Braid, The World Ends With You, and, to a lesser extent, World of Goo (which is more of a much broader social commentary that includes criticisms of Silicon Valley).

Anyway, I look forward to seeing your selections for recent years!

[The Xl]

2009

1. Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Sayians(DS)
2. NBA 2K10(Xbox 360)
3. UFC Undisputed 2009(Xbox 360)
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2(Xbox 360)
5. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010(Xbox 360)

2010

1. Red Red Redemption(Xbox 360)
2. Civilization 5(PC)
3. UFC Undisputed 2010(Xbox 360)
4. NBA 2K11(Xbox 360)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops(Xbox 360)

2011

1. LA Noire(Xbox 360)
2. NBA 2K12(Xbox 360)
3. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3(Xbox 360)
4. Saints Row: The Third(Xbox 360)
5. Mortal Kombat 9(Xbox 360)

2012

1. Max Payne 3(Xbox 360)
2. NBA 2K 213(Xbox 360)
3. UFC Undisputed 2012(Xbox 360)
4. WWE 13(Xbox 360)

2013

1. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies(3DS)
2. Fire Emblem: Awakening(3DS)
3. NBA 2K14(Xbox 360)
4. Grand Theft Auto 5(Xbox 360)
5. Dynasty Warriors 8(Xbox 360)

2014

1. NBA 2K15(Xbox 1)
2. EA UFC(Xbox 1)
3. WWE 2K15(Xbox 1)
4. Super Smash Bros(3DS)

[The Xl]

Off the top of my head, I forgot to list Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core(PSP, 2008) and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney(DS, 2008)

Haven't gotten a game yet in 2015, but I'm looking to grab DBZ Xenoverse within the week or so.

[The Xl]

Well it is kind of a project, I understand. Anyway, I really like the diversity of titles on your lists so far. It's only so often that one sees a Pokemon game, a sports game, and a Grand Theft Auto installment listed as top favorites for the same year, accompanied by a fighting game and a serious role-playing game. You seem a very broad-minded person.

As for my personal tastes, I LOVE the Kingdom Hearts and Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, and the Phoenix Wright games aren't bad either, and you KNOW I still collect the DBZ Budokai titles to this day! Super Smash Bros. is probably my favorite fighting franchise too. I like a lot of those sorts of games: really good titles that make fun of genre and game world trends. I've got some of those on my lists as well (especially the newly-revised version). Mario Kart and Drill Dozer come to mind. The old Clay Fighter games would be another classic example, although I couldn't actually justify any of those beating out games like Illusion of Gaia and such. And there are similarly other titles on my own lists that aren't satirical in nature, but nonetheless revolve substantially, or even entirely, around criticisms of trends in video game development, like Spec Ops: The Line, Braid, The World Ends With You, and, to a lesser extent, World of Goo (which is more of a much broader social commentary that includes criticisms of Silicon Valley).

Anyway, I look forward to seeing your selections for recent years!

I guess I'm all over the place with my genres and whatnot. But like you said, I'm pretty broad minded, entertaining is entertaining, and I'm as much nerd as I am jock, lol.

I like your list too. Did you just get around to playing Xenogears for the first time, what's the story with that? Good choice either way.

[nic34]

You forgot one from 1987 Polly:

Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards

https://archive.org/details/msdos_Le...e_Lizards_1987

I first played this on an IBM PC with an Intel 286 processor.

Good times.

[Dragonborn Herald]

You should've said computer games. I was think pen and paper games.

[IMPress Polly]

XI wrote:
I like your list too. Did you just get around to playing Xenogears for the first time, what's the story with that? Good choice either way.

Thanks! And actually, you can credit yourself because it was when I saw it ranked #1 for 1998 on your list that I remembered how awesome a game it was. I went back and replayed a little of it and realized how much deeper it was than I remembered because, now that I've had some philosophy and psych classes, I get all the numerous allusions to Niezsche's and Jung's work. I especially liked the game's conclusion and how it dealt with the topic of religious faith vs. doubt. It can't be said that I see a comparable depth to any of Sakaguchi's subsequent Xeno games, but, interestingly enough, even though I'm not really a subscriber thereto, there are, in fact, several games inspired at least in part by Nietzsche's thinking that I've found particularly awesome over the years, and Xenogears is just one of them. Another, Beyond Good and Evil (circa 2003) is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It's a lot more expressly political than Xenogears though and I think that's been much of the reason for its appeal to yours truly. More recently, the Dark Souls dungeon-crawlers (2011 and 2014 respectively) have served as additional examples of obviously Neitzsche-inspired titles that really play well and provoke critical thought. (As you know, I'm all about video games advancing as an artistic medium.)

Dragonborn Herald wrote:
You should've said computer games. I was think pen and paper games.

Sorry for the confusion, DH!

Nic wrote:
You forgot one from 1987 Polly:

Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards

Whoops, my bad! ...

[The Xl]

Just got DBZ Xenoverse. Will play the $#@! out of that as soon as I workout then eat.

[IMPress Polly]

So...what's the word, XI? On a scale of 1 to 10 (weighted to account for DBZ fandom ), what would you give it?

[IMPress Polly]

SUMMER 2015 REVISION

Well it's that time again: time to update my list of top five favorite video games by year! I do this seasonally. There have been a number of changes spanning the years represented, but this time the most significant ones are concentrated in my lists for years from the late 1980s, as expanding my '80s game library has been a significant focus of this year for me so far. I've acquired a number of new games from the second half of the 1980s this year and some of them have definitely been good enough to make this list, including a pair of true hidden gems! More broadly, I continue to focus on increasing the number of original games appearing on this list and that's been made easier by the discovery of some additional hidden gems from more recent years of late. In addition to these changes, I've also been able to add a proper top five list for (early) 2015 now that I have ten games released this year. (Speaking of my 2015 list, wow, four of my top five favorites for the current year are digital distribution titles. I think as much reflects my perception that modern retail games by and large are totally stuck in a rut.) As always, I'm listing the oldest versions of these titles I have (or have played, as applicable), using their North American titles where applicable, and dating them according to the time of their North American release where one applies. Enjoy!

Note: To simplify your quest a little, @The Xl, and also to advance the general knowledge of all on the array of quality games about girls and women, female-centric games making my list will appear in purple this time around. For our purposes here, a female-centric game is defined as a title wherein either 1) the lead character is female, or 2) if more than one lead applies, then a game wherein most of the lead characters are female.

1985:

1) Balance of Power (Amiga 1000)
2) A Mind Forever Voyaging (Commodore 128)
3) Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (Commodore 64)
4) Gyromite (NES)
5) Super Mario Bros. (NES)

1986:

1) Trinity (DOS)
2) Leather Goddesses of Phobos (DOS)
3) Moonmist (Commodore 64)
4) Ghosts n' Goblins (NES)
5) Bubble Bobble (Arcade)

1987:

1) Guerrilla War (Commodore 64)
2) The Great Giana Sisters (Commodore 64)
3) Metroid (NES)
4) Dungeon Master (Amiga 1000)
5) Kid Icarus (NES)

1988:

1) Phantasy Star (Sega Master System)
2) Hidden Agenda (DOS)
3) Metal Gear (NES)
4) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
5) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)

1989:

1) Tetris (NES)
2) The Guardian Legend (NES)
3) Mega Man 2 (NES)
4) Ninja Gaiden (NES)
5) Dragon Warrior (NES)

1990:

1) Phantasy Star II (Sega Genesis)
2) Clash at Demonhead (NES)
3) Crystalis (NES)
4) The Secret of Monkey Island (DOS)
5) Balloon Kid (Game Boy)

1991:

1) Out of This World (Amiga 1000)
2) Civilization (DOS)
3) Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)
4) Sim City (Super NES)
5) ToeJam & Earl (Sega Genesis)

1992:

1) Sewer Shark (Sega CD)
2) Dragon Warrior IV (NES)
3) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES)
4) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis)
5) Super Mario Kart (Super NES)

1993:

1) Secret of Mana (Super NES)
2) Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
3) E.V.O.: Search for Eden (Super NES)
4) Shadowrun (Super NES)
5) ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (Sega Genesis)

1994:

1) Final Fantasy III (Super NES) <-- My second-favorite game of all time.
2) Heart of the Alien (Sega CD)
3) Super Metroid (Super NES)
4) Shadowrun (Sega Genesis)
5) The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey and Minnie (Super NES)

1995:

1) Solar Eclipse (Sega Saturn)
2) Chrono Trigger (Super NES)
3) Lunar: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
4) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Super NES)
5) Secret of Evermore (Super NES)

1996:

1) Wonder Project J2: Josette of the Corlo Forest (Nintendo 64)
2) NiGHTS Into Dreams (Sega Saturn)
3) Resident Evil (PlayStation)
4) Tomb Raider (PlayStation)
5) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (Super NES)

1997:

1) Mischief Makers (Nintendo 64)
2) Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation)
3) Oddworld: Abe's Oddesee (PlayStation)
4) Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)
5) Harvest Moon (Super NES)

1998:

1) Magic Knight Rayearth (Sega Saturn)
2) Xenogears (PlayStation)
3) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)
4) Oddworld: Abe's Exxodus (PlayStation)
5) Klonoa (PlayStation)

1999:

1) Drakan: Order of the Flame (Windows)
2) Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation)
3) Star Ocean: The Second Story (PlayStation)
4) Jet Force Gemini (Nintendo 64)
5) Sonic Adventure (Sega Dreamcast)

2000:

1) Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Nintendo 64)
2) Perfect Dark (Nintendo 64)
3) Jet Grind Radio (Sega Dreamcast)
4) Space Channel 5 (Sega Dreamcast)
5) Ecco: Defender of the Future (Sega Dreamcast)

2001:

1) Final Fantasy X (PlayStation 2)
2) Red Faction (PlayStation 2)
3) Civilization III (Windows)
4) Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion (Game Boy Advance)
5) Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo Game Cube)

2002:

1) Lost Kingdoms (Nintendo Game Cube)
2) Mega Man Zero (Game Boy Advance)
3) Red Faction II (PlayStation 2)
4) Metroid Prime (Nintendo Game Cube)
5) Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)

2003:

1) Beyond Good & Evil (Nintendo Game Cube) <-- My third-favorite game of all time.
2) Primal (PlayStation 2)
3) Final Fantasy X-2 (PlayStation 2)
4) Kya: Dark Lineage (PlayStation 2)
5) Lost Kingdoms II (Nintendo Game Cube)

2004:

1) Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (Nintendo Game Cube)
2) Mega Man Zero 3 (Game Boy Advance)
3) Tales of Symphonia (Nintendo Game Cube)
4) Siren (PlayStation 2)
5) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo Game Cube)

2005:

1) Psychonauts (Xbox)
2) Civilization IV (Windows)
3) Killer 7 (Nintendo Game Cube)
4) Trace Memory (Nintendo DS)
5) Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life (Nintendo Game Cube)

2006:

1) Okami (PlayStation 2)
2) Rule of Rose (PlayStation 2)
3) Chibi-Robo! (Nintendo Game Cube)
4) Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (Nintendo Game Cube)
5) Drill Dozer (Game Boy Advance)

2007:

1) Peace Maker (Windows)
2) Aquaria (Windows)
3) NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii)
4) Folklore (PlayStation 3)
5) Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja (Nintendo DS)

2008:

1) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PlayStation 2) <-- My #1 favorite game of all time.
2) World of Goo (Wii downloadable)
3) Spore (Windows)
4) Mirror's Edge (PlayStation 3)
5) The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS)

2009:

1) Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
2) Borderlands (PlayStation 3)
3) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo DS)
4) A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
5) Flower (PlayStation 3 downloadable)

2010:

1) Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)
2) Heavy Rain (PlayStation 3)
3) Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Nintendo DS)
4) Ivy the Kiwi? (Wii)
5) Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PlayStation 3)

2011:

1) To the Moon (Windows)
2) Radiant Historia (Nintendo DS)
3) Catherine (PlayStation 3)
4) Sword & Sworcery EP (iOS)
5) Lost in Shadow (Wii)

2012:

1) Papo & Yo (PlayStation 3 downloadable)
2) Thomas Was Alone (Windows)
3) Spec Ops: The Line (PlayStation 3)
4) Borderlands 2 (PlayStation 3)
5) Dear Esther (Windows)

2013:

1) Beyond: Two Souls (PlayStation 3)
2) Gone Home (Windows)
3) Depression Quest (Browser)
4) BioShock Infinite (PlayStation 3)
5) Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PlayStation 3)

2014:

1) Never Alone (PlayStation 4)
2) Revolution 60 (iOS)
3) Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (PlayStation 3)
4) Child of Light (PlayStation 3 downloadable)
5) Dragon Age: Inquisition (PlayStation 4)

2015 (so far):

1) Life is Strange (PlayStation 4 downloadable)
2) Broken Age: Act 2 (Windows)
3) Crypt of the Necro Dancer (Windows)
4) Splatoon (Wii U)
5) Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PlayStation 4 downloadable)