Raiden's Top Games List: 50-41

50.) Metroid Prime (Gamecube)

When I first heard that Metroid was going to be getting a fully 3d installment, I was very excited. I wasn’t fond of the movement of all of the series I loved growing up turning 3d (Castlevania 64 anyone?), but I figured that if any series belonged in 3d, it was Metroid. It probably didn’t hurt that that there was an eight year dry spell for the series, but they already had me hopelessly hooked after the original and Super Metroid. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Exploring the beautiful world of Tallon IV with the backing of an excellent soundtrack that enhanced the atmosphere, great first person combat, fun and creative boss battles, the attention to minor details (such as the condensation on Samus’ visor in really hot areas) made for a wonderful experience. I never get tired of the music in the Phendrana Drifts, it fits the area perfectly.

49.) Age of Mythology (PC)

After playing Age of Empires 2, I thought that there was never going to be another RTS that I would like more. Then I played Age of Mythology and was blown away. The two games are very similar at the basic level, but the depth and variation added by the God Powers, and an excellent campaign mode (and expansion mode) caused me to change that thought process.

48.) Sentinel 3 (iOS)

I had been hearing people talk about playing this new genre called “Tower Defense” and I thought it sounded interesting, but I had no idea where to look to try one out. When I got my ipad I decided to search for Tower Defense games and I found a game called Sentinel 3 on sale. The timing of that would ruin all other Tower Defense games I’ve played since (aside from maybe the upcoming Sentinel 4!). I was hooked before the first level was done. Once you buy the game (pretty cheap, given the size and depth of it), you don’t have to spend any additional money on it to advance, unlike so many others I’ve played since. As this was my first Tower Defense game, I still compare all of the others to it, and none of them have even come close. If you like Tower Defense, this game is a must!

47.) Bubble Bobble (NES)

At a time when violence in video games was out of control (Games like Contra , you SHOOT ALIENS WITH GUNS. THINK OF THE CHILDREN), a family friendly game came to the rescue. To defeat enemies, you trapped them in a bubble and popped it. Once popped, they turned into food. There were a bunch of various items and power-ups that you could get, and it was the first game I could remember with branching endings. Once you played through the main game and finished it you could advance to Super Bubble Bobble (aka the same levels, only with different enemies.) None of them were as difficult as level 57 on the initial mode, but still, it made for a very long game. My sister and a friend of hers actually went through the game and wrote down the passwords for every level and named it “Bub and Bob’s Password Pages” (this was long before the internet), and I still have that on my bookshelf today. This past Christmas when my brother was here, he mentioned that he found a way to beat the end boss (we never knew his name so we just called him Mr. Bubble) in about a minute and a half, which was huge. The battle normally took us about 5 minutes, so I was naturally skeptical, but he proved it right there. It’s always nice to learn new things about a game you’ve been playing for over 20 years.

46.) Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)

This was the second Fire Emblem game I played, and it didn’t disappoint. The gameplay didn’t really change from the Sacred Stones, but it had a much better cast and a better story. It probably would have been better if I had played Path of Radiance first on Gamecube, but I had no idea there was a prequel of sorts until it was too late.

45.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)

Even though the NES port had two additional levels, I still liked the Arcade game a lot more. I ended up buying Battle Nexus 2 for Playstation 2 just so I could unlock this game and play it again. Yes, I own the NES version, but it’s just not the same. When we went to Florida when I was eight they had a little arcade building by the outdoor pool, and two older kids had broken open the coin collector for this game. They weren’t stealing the money though, they were grabbing handfuls of quarters and putting them into the game so they could play as long as they wanted to. Playing longer was worth more than getting away with at least $20 in quarters, that’s how much fun this game was.

44.) Aquaria (PC)

Prior to playing this game, I didn’t know that there were indie game developers (ignorant, I know). It looks and plays better than a lot of big budget games. Aquaria is big on exploration, kind of like Metroidvania, but it’s underwater. The voice acting is excellent, the world is vivid and very large, the music, like Metroid Prime, fits perfectly. The story starts off in kind of a Myst like manner, where you’re alone and have no idea what’s going on, but it ramps up as you go. Aquaria is available on Steam, from Bitblot’s site,  or on the iOS App Store for Ipad.

43.) FEAR (PC)

I normally don’t play FPS’ for their single player modes, I play them for deathmatches. A very exciting single player campaign was surpassed only by how creepy Alma was. As soon as I realized this game was going to have some scare moments, I had to wait to play it in the dark to enhance the atmosphere. It worked.

42.) Megaman X4 (Playstation)

Finally, the ability to play the entire game as Zero! Yeah, it may be hard mode vs. X’s easy mode, but it’s ZERO. The voiceacting was terrible (What am I fighting fooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr *gag*), but the gameplay was excellent. The anime scenes were a nice addition as well, and I really enjoyed the scene where Sigma and Zero fought for the first time when Zero was a Maverick and Sigma was the leader of the Maverick Hunters. Reaper Sigma ended up being the character basis for Darius in the Twisted Universe (for you IRCers out there).

41.) Kickle Cubicle (NES)

This was one of the first games I went for on ebay, since I could never find a copy of it in any of the used game stores around here. It’s kind of like a combination action/puzzle game. You have to turn enemies into ice blocks to make paths across the water to collect 3 magic bags (or something like that). There were a lot of levels, some of them very confusing to a young me when I rented it, but that didn’t matter since the game is that much fun.